Christianity, Greek culture, and Roman customs flourished in the empire, which thus served as a link between ancient and modern European civilization. The people of the Byzantine Empire called themselves Romans. The word Byzantine comes from Byzantium, the Greek name for a city on the Bosporus. The Bosporus, a strait, forms part of a waterway that connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The city was renamed Constantinople after him.
Some historians believe the Byzantine Empire began that year.
Others think it began in 395, when the Roman Empire split into the West Roman Empire and the East Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire ended after the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453. The people of the Byzantine Empire were descendants of various ancient peoples. Many Armenians and Slavs lived in the remote areas of the empire. In Constantinople, the upper class included Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Normans, and Turks.