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330
Emperor Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Capital
Byzantium took on the name of Constantinople after its refoundation under Roman emperor Constantine I, who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in 330 and designated his new capital officially as New Rome. -
532
Nika Revolt (riots)
They were the most violent riots in the city's history, with nearly half of Constantinople being burned or destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed. -
532
Hagia Sophia Completed
The Hagia Sophia, whose name means “holy wisdom,” is a domed monument originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople.
It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a great dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above. -
533
General Belisarius Military Campaigns
Belisarius was rewarded by Justinian with the command of a land and sea expedition against the Vandal Kingdom, mounted in 533–534. -
986
Emperor Basil II Military Conquests of Bulgaria
Emperor Basil II gathered a 30,000-man army, marched on the Bulgarian city of Sofia and laid siege to it. -
1054
Great Schism
The break of communion between what are now the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches, which had lasted since the 11th century. The Schism was the culmination of theological and political differences between the Christian East and West which had developed over the preceding centuries. -
1095
Emperor Alexios I contacts Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II makes a speech calling all Christians in Europe to war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land, with a cry of “Deus vult!” or “God wills it!” -
1204
Fourth Crusade - Attack on Constantinople
broke into the city of Constantinople and began to loot, pillage, and slaughter their way across the greatest metropolis in the Christian world -
1453
Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks - Official end to Byzantines
After ten centuries of wars, defeats, and victories, the Byzantine Empire came to an end when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in May 1453.
