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Period: 300 to Dec 31, 1500
Brzantine
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330
Emperor Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Capital
After the Germans conquered the western Roman Empire, the emperor, Constantine moved the empire to the eastern Mediterranean. He rebuilt Byzantium, a Greek city, and renamed it Constantinople. By 330 AD he made Constantinople the new capital of what used to be the Roman Empire and what is now the Byzantine empire. -
530
General Belisarius Military Campaigns
Because of General Belisarius, Byzantine's military reconquered North Africa, Italy, and the southern Iberian peninsula. Justinian's treasury was exhausted and his defenses were weakened because of all the fighting. Although the victories weren't permanent, all of the Justinian successors lost the conquered lands. -
532
Nika revolts (riots)
A crowd was at the Hippodrome for the chariot races. In the stadium, the fans could see the Byzantine emperor- Justinian watching from his palace. At the beginning of the races it started with the crowd shouting insults at the Byzantine emperor, but once it got to race 22 the crowd broke it into a riot and attacked the palace. For the next 5 days, the palace was in chaos. 531-some members were arrested for murder and connection with the deaths that occurred with the rioting. -
537
Hagia Sophia Completed
For over 900 years the Hagia Sophia was a principal place for royal ceremonies. It was very important for the Patriarch of Constantinople. It was transformed to a mosque at the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Islams thought the illustration of the human form was disrespectful so the Hagia Sophia's mosaics were then covered with plaster. For about 500 years, the main mosque of Instanbul was showed as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques of Constantinople. -
Jan 1, 1001
Emperor Basil II military conquest of Bulgaria
Basil went on a conquest to Bulgaria to take back the land and Samuel and his brothers were controlling. Operating from Thessalonica, Basil II took control of Vodena, Verrhoia, and Servia. Also, he ended communications between Samuel's Macedonian heartland and Moesia. In return, Samuel started a raid on Adrianople. On his way back from the attack, he was captured by a Byzantine commander who attacked the Bilgarian camp and defeated them. -
Jan 1, 1054
Great Schism
This event is the permanent divide of eastern and western Christianity. The Byzantine or eastern Christian church be am known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The western church became known as the Roman Catholic Church. The reason is that the Byzantine citizens would pray to images of Jesus and Mary and the saints, which the emperor thought was against God's commandments this conflict led to the split. -
Jan 1, 1095
Emperor Alexios I contacts Pope Urban II for military help in Middle East
The Seljuk Turks and the Byzantine Empire were at war. The conflict interfered with the the way to the Holy Land and threatened the survival of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked Pope Urban II for christian knights to help fight the Turks. Dispite the rivalry between the Byzantine Empire and the Roman popes, Urban agreed. -
Apr 12, 1204
Fourth Crusade (attack on Constantinople)
The Fourth Crusade was when a Western European exposition planned on invading Jerusalem to take it back from the Muslims. While on their way, the prince of the Byzantine empire; Alexius Angelos I made an agreement with most of the crusader leadership to change their route to Constantinople to make his father the emperor again in exchange for financial and military support. -
May 29, 1453
Fall of Constantinpole to the Ottoman Turks (official end to Byzantines)
The Ottoman Empire, who was commanded by the 21-year old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, attacked the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. During the attack, they captured the city and ended the Byzantine empire. The capturing of Constantinople was towards the end of the 7 week siege that started on April 6th. -
Early Islamic military campaigns in Byzantine territory
Muslims entered the Byzantium's southern territories and took them by force. Right away, Byzantium was on defense, but then they counterattacked that led to big fights in Asia. Byzantine's destroyed the Muslims defense and took their control of Syria back. All together it was a back and forth war that ended with Muslims conquering Constantinople.
