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330
Emporer Constantine I Founded the Byzantine Capital
The capital of the Byzantine empire is Constantinople. It is a crossroads of land and sea trade routes. Constantinople is a renamed and rebuilt versoin of Byzantium. This "New Rome" had trade routes fanning out from the city. The roads went to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans. -
Period: 330 to Jan 1, 1453
Byzantine Empire
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527
Justinian Becomes Emperor of the Byzantines
The peak of the Byzantine empire was under the rule of emperor Justinian. He was determined to recover the land which was taken over by invaders. With the help of his general he reconquered North Africa, Italy, and the southern Iberian peninsula. Although the victories were great they were only temporary, as his successors loose all the land he reconquered over time. -
537
Hagia Sophia Completed
The cultural and geographic crossroads of Constantinople. Otherwise know as "Holy Wisdom", it was previously destroyed in riots and rebuilt three times. The rebuild was only successful the third time. It was a cathedral for Eastern Orthodox, Roman Christian, and a mosque for Mulsims. -
545
General Belisarius Military Campiagns
He led the military campaigns that helped to reconquer North Africa, Italy, and the Southern Iberian Peninsula. He was greatly regarded as the "Last Roman General". Even though he won the battles to take back the lost parts of old Rome, they were later, once again, lost. -
Jan 1, 700
Islamic Conquests Parts of the Byzantine Territory
In the 600's and 700's Arabs gradually gain control of parts of the Mediterranian world. The Arabs took a small part of Byzantine but Constantinople haulted further invasion and stood as a barrier. So even after the attacks, the Byzantine Empire still held land in Asia Minor and the Balkans. -
Jan 1, 1025
Emperor Basil II Military Conquests up to the Year 1025
Basil aimed solely at the extension of Byzantine rule. His main areas of conflict were Georgia, Armenia, Syria, and Italy, but he is best known for his conquest on Bulgaria. During this attack, which took many months, he campaigned and took over central and northern Bulgaria. After taking over these areas he wanted to go for the capital. He crushed his enemies in this battle. To scare their ruler he blinded all the troops, except every 100th man so they could lead the rest of the army home. -
Jan 1, 1054
Great Schism
During the Middle Ages two parts of Christianity drew further apart. Many Byzantine Christians used idols for worship. A new emperor had put a ban on the use of "graven images". This caused the split to go even further. This set off many violent battles and pushed the two branches to the final point of the Great Schism. The Byzantine Church became known as the Easern or Orthodox Church. The western became known as Roman Catholic Church. -
Jan 1, 1095
Emperor Alexios I and Pope Urban II
When Alexios I was crowned emperor the empire was weak. So whlie they were being attacked by the Turks, in a time of need Alexios sent a letter to Robert of Flanders. In this letter he caught the attention of the pope by saying that the Turks had commited countless sins. Some true, some not so true. So to help him the pope declared war on Islam to recapture the Holy Land. This was not what Alexios had wanted but nonetheless needed his assistance. This, in turn helped push back the Turks. -
Jan 1, 1204
Fourth Crusade (Attack on Constantinople)
On June 23, 1203 the fourth crusade reached Constantinople. They were there on a bussiness mission. Alexios IV wanted them to dethrone Alexios III. He offered them to give the soldiers 200,000 silver marks, pay of the debt they owed the Venetians, and the maintenence of 500 knights in the Holy Land. The final attack was on April 12, 1204. This lasted a total of three days. The crusaders ransacked all of Constantinople. They destroyed churches, relics, and stole anything of value. -
Jan 1, 1453
End of the Byzantines
In 1453, Ottoman forces prepared to attack the great city of Constantinople. The Ottomans brought cannons, to attack the city's walls, and brought their ships by land to avoid the chain that the Byzantines had strung across the harbor. After two months of constant battery the Ottomans had broken much of the city walls so they stormed Constantinople. After winning the battle the city was renamed Istanbul, and became the capital of the Ottoman empire.
