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330
Emperor Constantine I founded Byzantine Capitol
In 330 Emperor Constantine I rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium, after the German's invaded western Rome, and renamed it Constantinople. Constantinople was on the Bosporus strait and was surrounded on three side by water. This 'New Rome" was the largest marketplace in Europe with goods from China, Egypt, India, Southeastern Asia and Vikings land. -
Period: 330 to Feb 20, 1453
Byzantine Timeline
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527
Justinian becomes Emperor of the Byzantines
Emperor Justinian ruled from 527 to 565 and helped the Byzantine empire reach its peak. Justinian was determind to revive ancient Rome by conquering the old land. His army managed to conquer North Africa, Italy and the southern Iberian peninsula but his treasury started to run out which weakened his army and they lost the land one by one. -
533
General Belisarius Military Campaigns
From 533- 545 Flavius Belisarius was the gernal of the Emperor Justinian. Flavius helped Justinians meet his vision of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously. Even when Justinian sometimes wasn't able to help gernal Belisarius, Belisaruis was still very succesfull with his army. -
537
Hagia Sophia Completed
In 532 a great fire burnd much of Constantinople, destroying buildings and many lives were lost. To restore the Roman glory Justinian had the Hagia Sophia built. Hagia Sophia is an immence church that means 'Holy Wisdom'. This buliding had a huge arching dome that was an improvement on earlier Roman buildings. On the inside was colored marble and silk curtains. -
Jan 1, 600
Islamic Conquests part of the Byzantine Territory
From 600- 700 AD the Arab armies started to control the Mediterranean world. Constantinople was able to withstand the attacks of not just the Arabs but the attacks of the Persians, Slavs, Vikings, Huns and the Turks. The whole empire stood as a wall or buffer for Western Europe. While territories around the Byzantines were being invaded they were able to hang onto their Balkans and Asia Minor land. -
Jan 1, 1025
Emperor Basil II military conquests up the the year 1025
Emperor Basil II or Basil Bulgaroctonus was a Byzantine emperor who extended his kingdom in the Balkans, Mesopotamia, Georgia, and Armenia and increased his authoriy by attacking the powerful landed interests of the military aristocracy and of the church. from 986 to 1014 there was warfare between Byzantium and Bulgaria but after years of persistence the Byzantines won then moving on to establish a Greek Pope in Rome but failed, he had better luck in Italy where he then died. -
Jan 1, 1054
Great Shism
The Grin 1054 eastern and western Christianity split due to a number of controversy reason such as the icons or holy images. A lot of Byzantine Christians used the images of Jesus or the Vigin Mary and the other saints that they worshiped but in the 700s a Byzantine emperor outlawed the multiple icons. After the split of the two Christianitys the Byzantine church became known as the Eastern, or Greek, Orthodox Church. The western church became known as the Roman Catholic Church. -
Jan 1, 1095
Emperor Alexios I and Pope Urban II
Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Alexius inheirted a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, he was able to slow down the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. Pope Urban II was a Pope and was best known for starting the First Crusade and setting up the modern-day Roman Curia. -
Jan 1, 1204
Fourth Crusade (attack on Constantinople)
The Fourth Crusade was suppose to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem throughan invasion in Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and destroyed the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople. This is seen as one of the final acts in the Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, and a big start in the decline of the empire and of Christianity in the East. -
Jan 1, 1453
End of the Byzantines
In 1453 the Turks from the Ottoman Empire conquered the city of Constantinople bringing an official end to the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman surrounded the city attacked the city walls. After a siege that lasted two months the Turks broke through the walls and they captured the city. The city was then renamed Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia was turned into an Islamic house of worship.
