The Byzantine Empire: Key Significance and Achievements

1. What was the significance of the Byzantine Empire?Notes #35

2. In 285, the Roman Empire was split into two parts (West and East).

3. By 476, the Western Roman Empire fell to Germanic invaders.

4. However, the Eastern Roman Empire still stood, eventually becoming known as the Byzantine Empire. Present-day Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, and Byzantium of ancient Greece)

5. The Byzantine Empire lasted until the 1400s and covered the areas of Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa.

6. Its capital, Constantinople, was located on the Bosporus Strait, allowing the empire to control key trade routes between Europe and Asia.

7. One of the Byzantine Empire’s greatest rulers was Justinian, who created the Justinian Code.

8. This code of law served as a model for later European legal systems.

9. Byzantine achievements in art and engineering showed that the empire was able to preserve ancient Greek and Roman culture. Mosaic Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul, Turkey

10. The Eastern Orthodox Church was founded in the Byzantine Empire, which helped preserve the religion of Christianity in Europe.