The lower hall of the Byzantine Palace was converted into a stable. Bronze reliefs upon the Constantine VII columns were removed to mint money, statues of horses in the Hippodrome, church doors and everything else of value was plundered and carried away. The Byzantines fled to Iznik and made it the capital. By taking advantage of the French and Venetian rivalry for the throne, they returned 57 years later, in 1261, to chase the Franks from Byzantium. During the reign of Constantinos Palaiologos XI, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror conquered the city in 1453, and renamed it Istanbul.
Byzantine art is an exclusive product of the Eastern Empire.
It is totally medieval in form but developed in a peculiarly Byzantine way. In Byzantine art we see Greek and Roman forms exposed to the stylistic influence of ancient Anatolian cultures and eastern art. It reached a totally Byzantine synthesis within the religious framework of the empire. Specific examples of this art, which took its main source from Anatolia may be seen in several places around Anatolia. The transition phase between the years' 400-500, when Christianity made its biggest impact, is known as the Early Byzantine art.