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TheByzantine Empire(orByzantium) was theEastern Roman EmpireduringLate Antiquityand theMiddle Ages, centered on the capital ofConstantinople. Known simply as the "Roman Empire" (Greek:Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων,Basileia Rhōmaiōn;Látìnì:Imperium Romanum) orRomania(Ῥωμανία) to its inhabitants and neighbours, it was the direct continuation of theAncient Roman Stateand maintained Roman state traditions.Byzantium is today distinguished fromancient Romeproper insofar as it was oriented towardsGreek culture, characterised by Christianity rather thanRoman polytheism, and was predominantlyGreek-speakingrather thanLatin-speaking.
As the distinction betweenRoman EmpireandByzantine Empireis largely a modern convention, it is not possible to assign a date of separation; however, important points are the Roman Empire's administrative division into western and eastern halves in 285 by EmperorDiocletian(r. 284–305),and EmperorConstantine I's(r. 306–337) decision in 324 to transfer the capital fromNicomedia(inAsia Minor) toByzantiumon theBosphorus, which became Constantinople, "City of Constantine" (alternatively "New Rome").The Roman Empire was finally divided in 395 AD after the death of EmperorTheodosius I(r. 379–395), thus this date is also very important if the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire) is looked upon as completely separated from the West. The transition to Byzantine historyproperfinally begins during the reign of EmperorHeraclius(r. 610–641), since Heraclius effectively established a new state after reforming the army and administration by introducingthemesand by changing the official language of the Empire from Latin to Greek.
As theWestern Roman Empiredecayed and fragmented into numerous separate kingdoms, the Byzantine Empire continued to survive, existing for more than a thousand years from its genesis in the 4th century until theFall of Constantinoplein 1453. During most of its existence, it remained one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe, despite setbacks and territorial losses, especially during theRoman–PersianandByzantine–Arab Wars. The Empire recovered during theMacedonian dynasty, rising again to become a preeminent power in theEastern Mediterraneanby the late 10th century, rivaling theFatimid Caliphate.
After 1071, however, much of Asia Minor, the Empire's heartland, was lost to theSeljuk Turks. TheKomnenian restorationregained some ground and briefly reestablished dominance in the 12th century, but following the death of EmperorAndronikos I Komnenos(r. 1183–1185) and the end of theKomnenosdynasty in the late 12th century the Empire declined again. The Empire received a mortal blow in 1204 from theFourth Crusade, when it was dissolved and divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms.
Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople andre-establishment of the Empire in 1261, under thePalaiologanemperors, Byzantium remained only one of many rival states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. However, this period was the most culturally productive time in the Empire.Successive civil wars in the 14th century further sapped the Empire's strength, and most of its remaining territories were lost in theByzantine–Ottoman Wars, which culminated in theFall of Constantinopleand the conquest of remaining territories by theOttoman Empirein the 15th century.
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