Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire is the name given to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, which survived until well into the Middle Ages. First split into an Eastern and Western divisions by Diocletian in 293, the Eastern Empire went on to outlive its Western half by 1000 years. The empire was multi-ethnic and predominantly Greek-speaking. The empire's heritage consisted of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Greek philosophy,Greek language, Byzantine Art and Architecture and Roman law.

The Empire was often at war with at least one foreign power and as a result, its borders fluctuated greatly over time. However, it was always centred in Constantinople.

While taking on offensive position to "reunite" with the west under Justinian in the 500's, for the most part the position of the Empire was defensive in nature, having little desire, or for the most part, ability, to increase its borders. For years the cultured Byzantine Empire was the protector of Dark Age Europe, repelling Islamic armies that would stretch to control lands from Morocco to India. This didn't stop the Western forces of the Fourth Crusade sacking Constantinople in 1204 and setting up their own "Latin" Empire which lasted until the Byzantine reinstatement in 1261.

On May 29 1453, after the refusal of the Christians in the West to come to their aid, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks after a long cannon bombardament - though by this time, following the fall of the city to the Latins in 1204, the Empire had been reduced to a mere shell of its former self.

In time, the conquerors renamed the city Istanbul.