vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Byzantine Empire
Alexios was able to recover a number of important cities and islands , and in fact much of western Asia Minor . Nevertheless , the Catholic / Latin crusaders believed their oaths were invalidated when Alexios did not help them during the siege of Antioch ( he had in fact set out on the road to Antioch but had been persuaded to turn back by Stephen of Blois , who assured him that all was lost and that the expedition had already failed ) . Bohemund , who had set himself up as Prince of Antioch , briefly went to war with the Byzantines , but he agreed to become Alexios ' vassal under the Treaty of Devol in 1108 , which marked the end of the Norman threat during Alexios ' reign . John
History of the Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate in the early 5th century as Germanic migrations and invasions overwhelmed the capacity of the Empire to assimilate the migrants and fight off the invaders . The Romans were successful in fighting off all invaders , most famously Attila the Hun , though the Empire had assimilated so many Germanic peoples of dubious loyalty to Rome that the Empire started to dismember itself . Most chronologies place the end of the Western Roman empire in 476 , when Romulus Augustulus was forced to abdicate to the Germanic warlord Odoacer . By placing himself under the rule of the Eastern Emperor , rather than naming himself Emperor as other Germanic chiefs had done , Odoacer ended the Western Empire by ending the line of Western Emperors . The eastern Empire exercised diminishing control over the west over the course of the next century . The empire in the East -- known today as the Byzantine Empire , but referred to in its time as the `` Roman Empire '' or by various other names -- ended in 1453 with the death of Constantine XI and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks .
Western Roman Empire
However , the plans of retaking Africa had to be abandoned due to the immediate need to combat the invading Huns , who in 444 were united under their ambitious king Attila . Turning against their former ally , the Huns became a formidable threat to the Empire . Aetius transferred his forces to the Danube , though Attila had begun to concentrate on raiding the Eastern Roman provinces in the Balkans , providing momentary relief to the Western court . In 449 , Attila received a message from Honoria , Valentinian III 's sister , offering him half the western empire if he would rescue her from an unwanted marriage that her brother was forcing her into . With a pretext to invade the West , Attila secured peace with the Eastern court and crossed the Rhine in early 451 . With Attila wreaking havoc in Gaul , Aetius gathered together a coalition of Roman and Germanic forces , including Visigoths and Burgundians , and prevented the Huns from taking the city Aurelianum , forcing them into retreat . At the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , the Roman - Germanic coalition met and defeated the Hunnic forces , though Attila escaped .
Middle Ages
The Emperor Diocletian ( r . 284 -- 305 ) split the empire into separately administered eastern and western halves in 286 ; the empire was not considered divided by its inhabitants or rulers , as legal and administrative promulgations in one division were considered valid in the other . In 330 , after a period of civil war , Constantine the Great ( r . 306 -- 337 ) refounded the city of Byzantium as the newly renamed eastern capital , Constantinople . Diocletian 's reforms strengthened the governmental bureaucracy , reformed taxation , and strengthened the army , which bought the empire time but did not resolve the problems it was facing : excessive taxation , a declining birthrate , and pressures on its frontiers , among others . Civil war between rival emperors became common in the middle of the 4th century , diverting soldiers from the empire 's frontier forces and allowing invaders to encroach . For much of the 4th century , Roman society stabilised in a new form that differed from the earlier classical period , with a widening gulf between the rich and poor , and a decline in the vitality of the smaller towns . Another change was the Christianisation , or conversion of the empire to Christianity , a gradual process that lasted from the 2nd to the 5th centuries . Map
Byzantine Empire
Leo III the Isaurian turned back the Muslim assault in 718 and addressed himself to the task of reorganising and consolidating the themes in Asia Minor . His successor , Constantine V , won noteworthy victories in northern Syria and thoroughly undermined Bulgarian strength .
Byzantine Empire
In 330 , Constantine moved the seat of the Empire to Constantinople , which he founded as a second Rome on the site of Byzantium , a city strategically located on the trade routes between Europe and Asia and between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea . Constantine introduced important changes into the Empire 's military , monetary , civil and religious institutions . As regards his economic policies in particular , he has been accused by certain scholars of `` reckless fiscality '' , but the gold solidus he introduced became a stable currency that transformed the economy and promoted development .
Byzantine Empire
Byzantines were avid players of tavli ( Byzantine Greek : τάβλη ) , a game known in English as backgammon , which is still popular in former Byzantine realms , and still known by the name tavli in Greece . Byzantine nobles were devoted to horsemanship , particularly tzykanion , now known as polo . The game came from Sassanid Persia in the early period and a Tzykanisterion ( stadium for playing the game ) was built by Theodosius II ( r . 408 -- 450 ) inside the Great Palace of Constantinople . Emperor Basil I ( r . 867 -- 886 ) excelled at it ; Emperor Alexander ( r . 912 -- 913 ) died from exhaustion while playing , Emperor Alexios I Komnenos ( r . 1081 -- 1118 ) was injured while playing with Tatikios , and John I of Trebizond ( r . 1235 -- 1238 ) died from a fatal injury during a game . Aside from Constantinople and Trebizond , other Byzantine cities also featured tzykanisteria , most notably Sparta , Ephesus , and Athens , an indication of a thriving urban aristocracy . The game was introduced to the West by crusaders , who developed a taste for it particularly during the pro-Western reign of emperor Manuel I Komnenos .
Western Roman Empire
Without Stilicho and following the sack of Rome , Honorius reign grew more and more chaotic . The usurper Constantine III had stripped Roman Britain of its defenses when he crossed over to Gaul in 407 , leaving the Romanized population subject to invasions , first by the Picts and then by the Saxons , Angli , and the Jutes who began to settle permanently from about 440 onwards . After Honorius accepted Constantine as co-emperor , Constantine 's general in Hispania , Gerontius , proclaimed Maximus as Emperor . With the aid of general Constantius , Honorius successfully defeated Gerontius and Maximus in 411 and shortly thereafter captured and executed Constantine III . With Constantius back in Italy , the Gallo - Roman senator Jovinus revolted after proclaiming himself Emperor . With the support of the Gallic nobility and the barbarian Burgundians and Alans , Honorius turned to the Visigoths under King Ataulf for support against Jovinus . Ataulf defeated and executed Jovinus and his proclaimed co-emperor Sebastianus in 413 , around the same time as another usurper rose in Africa , Heraclianus . Heraclianus attempted to invade Italy but failed and retreated to Carthage , where he was killed .
Western Roman Empire
Theodosius I 's older son Arcadius inherited the eastern half while the younger Honorius got the western half . Both were still minors and neither was capable of ruling effectively . Honorius was placed under the tutelage of the half - Roman / half - barbarian magister militum Flavius Stilicho , while Rufinus became the power behind the throne in the east . Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals , and their disagreements would be exploited by the Gothic leader Alaric I who again rebelled in 408 following the massacre of thousands of barbarian families who were trying to assimilate into the Roman empire by Roman legions .
History of the Roman Empire
Augustus completed the conquest of Hispania , while subordinate generals expanded Roman possessions in Africa and Asia Minor . Augustus ' final task was to ensure an orderly succession of his powers . His stepson Tiberius had conquered Pannonia , Dalmatia , Raetia , and temporarily Germania for the Empire , and was thus a prime candidate . In 6 BC , Augustus granted some of his powers to his stepson , and soon after he recognized Tiberius as his heir . In 13 AD , a law was passed which extended Augustus ' powers over the provinces to Tiberius , so that Tiberius ' legal powers were equivalent to , and independent from , those of Augustus .
Pope
The Eastern Church continued to decline with the Eastern Roman ( Byzantine ) Empire , undercutting Constantinople 's claim to equality with Rome . Twice an Eastern Emperor tried to force the Eastern Church to reunify with the West . First in the Second Council of Lyon ( 1272 -- 1274 ) and secondly in the Council of Florence ( 1431 -- 1449 ) . Papal claims of superiority were a sticking point in reunification , which failed in any event . In the 15th century , the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople .
History of the Roman Empire
The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of Constantius Chlorus on July 25 , 306 . Constantius 's troops in Eboracum immediately proclaimed his son Constantine the Great as Augustus . In August 306 , Galerius promoted Severus to the position of Augustus . A revolt in Rome supported another claimant to the same title : Maxentius , son of Maximian , who was proclaimed Augustus on October 28 , 306 . His election was supported by the Praetorian Guard . This left the Empire with five rulers : four Augusti ( Galerius , Constantine , Severus and Maxentius ) and one Caesar ( Maximinus ) .
Byzantine Empire
The Macedonian period also included events of momentous religious significance . The conversion of the Bulgarians , Serbs and Rus ' to Orthodox Christianity permanently changed the religious map of Europe and still resonates today . Cyril and Methodius , two Byzantine Greek brothers from Thessaloniki , contributed significantly to the Christianization of the Slavs and in the process devised the Glagolitic alphabet , ancestor to the Cyrillic script .
Western Roman Empire
The political , economic and military control of the Eastern Empire 's resources remained safe in Constantinople , which was well fortified and located at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes . The site of Constantinople , previously known as Byzantium , had been acknowledged for its strategic importance already decades prior by emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla . In contrast , the Western Empire was more fragmented . Its capital was transferred to Ravenna in 402 largely for defensive reasons , and it had easy access to the imperial fleet of the Eastern Empire but was isolated in other aspects as it was surrounded by swamps and marshes . This isolation was intentional , as Ravenna had been chosen as capital due to being more defensible against the increasing barbarian incursions . The economic power remained focused on Rome and its hyper - rich senatorial aristocracy which dominated much of Italy and Africa in particular . After Gallienus banned senators from army commands in the mid-3rd century , the senatorial elite lost all experience of -- and interest in -- military life . In the early 5th century the wealthy landowning elite of the Roman Senate largely barred its tenants from military service , but it also refused to approve sufficient funding for maintaining a sufficiently powerful mercenary army to defend the entire Western Empire . The West 's most important military area had been northern Gaul and the Rhine frontier in the 4th century , when Trier frequently served as the capital of the Empire and many leading Western generals were Barbarians . After the civil war in 394 between Theodosius I and the usurper Eugenius , the new Western government installed by Theodosius I increasingly had to divert military resources from Britain and the Rhine to protect Italy . This , in turn , led to further rebellions and civil wars because the Western imperial government was not providing the military protection the northern provinces expected and needed against the barbarians .
Eastern Orthodox Church
Historically , the Orthodox Church and the non-Chalcedonians were among the first peoples to have contact with Islam , which conquered Roman / Byzantine Syria - Palestine and Egypt in the 7th century , and fought many battles against Islamic conquests . The Qur'an itself records its concurrent observations regarding the Roman world in Surah al - Rum . The main contact with Islam however , came after the conquest of the Seljuk Turks of Roman / Byzantine Anatolia in the 13th century . Until the turn of the 20th century , the Orthodox Church was under the authority of various Islamic Sultanates and Caliphates until the anti-Colonialist surge that began in the early 20th century .
Eastern Orthodox Church
Following Jesus Christ 's Great Commission to the apostles , Christianity spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire . Paul and the Apostles traveled extensively throughout the Empire , including Asia Minor , establishing Churches in major communities , with the first Churches appearing in Jerusalem and the Holy Land , then in Antioch , Ethiopia , Egypt , Rome , Alexandria , Athens , Thessalonica , Illyricum , and Byzantium , which centuries later would become prominent as the New Rome . Christianity in the Roman Empire met with considerable resistance , as its adherents would refuse to comply with the Roman state ( even at the threat of death ) in offering sacrifice to the pagan gods . Despite persecutions , the Church spread . The persecution dissipated upon the conversion of Emperor Constantine I in 324 AD .
Byzantine law
The changes in the internal life of the empire which occurred in the years following the publication of Justinian 's code called for a review of the legislation , so as for the requirements of the times should be met . Within the framework of the reforms Leo III the Isaurian , ( the first Isaurian emperor ) , introduced , he provided also for the modification of current laws . In 726 he issued the `` Ecloga '' , that bore his name as well as the name of his son Constantine . `` Ecloga '' , referring to both the civil and criminal law , constituted , as was declared in the title a `` rectification ( of the Justinian legislation ) towards a more philanthropic version '' . The membership of the editing committee is not known , but its primary mission , however , was , on the one hand , to modify those dispositions not in step with the times and , on the other , to provide judges with a concise legal handbook to help them dispense justice properly .
Byzantine Empire
Constantinople by this stage was underpopulated and dilapidated . The population of the city had collapsed so severely that it was now little more than a cluster of villages separated by fields . On 2 April 1453 , Sultan Mehmed 's army of 80,000 men and large numbers of irregulars laid siege to the city . Despite a desperate last - ditch defence of the city by the massively outnumbered Christian forces ( c. 7,000 men , 2,000 of whom were foreign ) , Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans after a two - month siege on 29 May 1453 . The last Byzantine emperor , Constantine XI Palaiologos , was last seen casting off his imperial regalia and throwing himself into hand - to - hand combat after the walls of the city were taken .
Byzantine Empire
The constitution of the Byzantine Empire was based on the conviction that it was the earthly copy of the Kingdom of Heaven . Just as God ruled in Heaven , so the Emperor , made in his image , should rule on earth and carry out his commandments ... It saw itself as a universal empire . Ideally , it should embrace all the peoples of the Earth who , ideally , should all be members of the one true Christian Church , its own Orthodox Church . Just as man was made in God 's image , so man 's kingdom on Earth was made in the image of the Kingdom of Heaven . '' The survival of the Empire in the East assured an active role of the Emperor in the affairs of the Church . The Byzantine state inherited from pagan times the administrative , and financial routine of administering religious affairs , and this routine was applied to the Christian Church . Following the pattern set by Eusebius of Caesarea , the Byzantines viewed the Emperor as a representative or messenger of Christ , responsible particularly for the propagation of Christianity among pagans , and for the `` externals '' of the religion , such as administration and finances . As Cyril Mango points out , the Byzantine political thinking can be summarised in the motto `` One God , one empire , one religion '' .
Byzantine law
The most important work of Byzantine law was the Ecloga , issued by Leo III , the first major Roman - Byzantine legal code issued in Greek rather than Latin . Soon after the Farmer 's Law was established regulating legal standards outside the cities . While the Ecloga was influential throughout the Mediterranean ( and Europe ) because of the importance of Constantinople as a trading center , the Farmer 's Law was a seminal influence on Slavic legal traditions including those of Russia .
Western Roman Empire
Constantius II focused most of his power in the East . Under his rule , the city of Byzantium - only recently re-founded as Constantinople - was fully developed as a capital . In 361 , Constantius II became ill and died , and Constantius Chlorus ' grandson Julian , who had served as Constantius II 's Caesar , assumed power . Julian was killed in 363 in the Battle of Samarra against the Persian Empire and was succeeded by Jovian , who ruled only until 364 . The
Western Roman Empire
The Tetrarchy fell into collapse after the unexpected death of Constantius in 306 . His son , Constantine the Great , was declared Western Emperor by the British legions , however multiple other claimants arose and attempted to seize the Western Empire . In 308 , Galerius held a meeting at Carnuntum , where he revived the Tetrarchy by dividing the Western Empire between Constantine and Licinius . However , Constantine was more interested in conquering the whole empire than he was in the stability of the Tetrarchy , and by 314 began to compete against Licinius . Constantine defeated Licinius in 324 , at the Battle of Chrysopolis , where he was taken prisoner , and later murdered . After Constantine unified the empire , he founded the city of Byzantium in modern - day Greece as Nova Roma ( `` New Rome '' ) , later called Constantinople , and made it the capital of the Roman Empire . Because of this , the Tetrarchy officially ended , although the concept of physically splitting the Roman Empire between two emperors remained . Although several powerful emperors unified both parts of the empire , this generally reverted into shared control of East and West upon their deaths , such as happened after the deaths of both Constantine and Theodosius I .
History of the Roman Empire
On March 1 293 , authority was further divided . Each Augustus took a junior Emperor called a Caesar to aid him in administrative matters , and to provide a line of succession . Galerius became Caesar for Diocletian and Constantius Chlorus Caesar for Maximian . This constituted what is called the Tetrarchy ( in Greek : `` leadership of four '' ) by modern scholars , as each emperor would rule over a quarter - division of the empire . After Rome had been plagued by bloody disputes about the supreme authority , this finally formalised a peaceful succession of the emperor : in each half a Caesar would rise up to replace the Augustus and select a new Caesar . On May 1 , 305 , Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in favour of their Caesars . Galerius named the two new Caesars : his nephew Maximinus for himself , and Flavius Valerius Severus for Constantius . The arrangement worked well under Diocletian and Maximian and shortly thereafter . The internal tensions within the Roman government were less acute than they had been . In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , Edward Gibbon notes that this arrangement worked well because of the affinity the four rulers had for each other . Gibbon says that this arrangement has been compared to a `` chorus of music '' . With the withdrawal of Diocletian and Maximian , this harmony disappeared .
Byzantine Empire
The traditional struggle with the See of Rome continued through the Macedonian period , spurred by the question of religious supremacy over the newly Christianised state of Bulgaria . Ending eighty years of peace between the two states , the powerful Bulgarian tsar Simeon I invaded in 894 but was pushed back by the Byzantines , who used their fleet to sail up the Black Sea to attack the Bulgarian rear , enlisting the support of the Hungarians . The Byzantines were defeated at the Battle of Boulgarophygon in 896 , however , and agreed to pay annual subsidies to the Bulgarians .
Byzantine Empire
Alexios had anticipated help in the form of mercenary forces from the West , but he was totally unprepared for the immense and undisciplined force that soon arrived in Byzantine territory . It was no comfort to Alexios to learn that four of the eight leaders of the main body of the Crusade were Normans , among them Bohemund . Since the crusade had to pass through Constantinople , however , the Emperor had some control over it . He required its leaders to swear to restore to the empire any towns or territories they might reconquer from the Turks on their way to the Holy Land . In return , he gave them guides and a military escort .
Western Roman Empire
The political situation was unstable . In 383 , a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the West and forced Gratian 's half - brother Valentinian II to flee to the East for aid ; in a destructive civil war , the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I restored him to power . In 392 , the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed an obscure senator named Eugenius as Emperor . In 394 the forces of the two halves of the Empire again clashed with great loss of life . Again Theodosius I won , and he briefly ruled a united Empire until his death in 395 . He was the last Emperor to rule both parts of the Roman Empire .
History of the Roman Empire
Finally , although Aurelian had played a significant role in restoring the Empire 's borders from external threat , more fundamental problems remained . In particular , the right of succession had never been clearly defined in the Roman Empire , leading to continuous civil wars as competing factions in the military , Senate and other parties put forward their favored candidate for emperor . Another issue was the sheer size of the Empire , which made it difficult for a single autocratic ruler to effectively manage multiple threats at the same time . These continuing problems would be radically addressed by Diocletian , allowing the Empire to continue to survive in the West for over a century and in the East for over a millennium .
Byzantine Empire
Basil II is considered among the most capable Byzantine emperors and his reign as the apex of the empire in the Middle Ages . By 1025 , the date of Basil II 's death , the Byzantine Empire stretched from Armenia in the east to Calabria in Southern Italy in the west . Many successes had been achieved , ranging from the conquest of Bulgaria to the annexation of parts of Georgia and Armenia , and the reconquest of Crete , Cyprus , and the important city of Antioch . These were not temporary tactical gains but long - term reconquests .