Question: why was the eastern roman empire called the byzantine empire

title: Byzantine Empire
text: The Byzantine Empire , also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire , was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages , when its capital city was Constantinople ( modern - day Istanbul , which had been founded as Byzantium ) . It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 . During most of its existence , the empire was the most powerful economic , cultural , and military force in Europe . Both `` Byzantine Empire '' and `` Eastern Roman Empire '' are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm ; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire ( Greek : Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων , tr . Basileia tôn Rhōmaiōn ; Latin : Imperium Romanum ) , or Romania ( Ῥωμανία ) , and to themselves as `` Romans '' . 

Answer: answer: The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople which had been founded as Byzantium.  Both "Byzantine Empire'' and "Eastern Roman Empire'' are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm.