History of the Byzantines

Founding of the Byzantine Capital

330

This is when Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium and then had it dedicated to himself as Constantinople.

The Byzantine Empire

Period: 330 to Jan 1, 1453

Justinian Comes to Power

527

After many weak Emperors, Justinian came to be Emperor of the Byzantines. He created the Justinian Code, instituted quite a few administrative reforms, and tightened control of the provinces and their tax collections.

General Belisarius Military Campaigns

533

Emperor Justinian sent General Belisarius to defeat Persia. He had a series of victories and in the end defeated them so that Justinian could go and make peace with them. Took until 545 AD.

Hagia Sophia Completed

537

Justinian commisioned the building of this new Greek Orthodox basilica. It took less than 6 years to make because its building was done with such haste. Although there were problems with its domed roof, they did accomplish it.

Islamic Conquests

Jan 1, 600

Muslim armies attacked the Byzantine Empire by going through Syria. In the end, the parts of the Byzantine territory that were lost were Syria, Holy Land, Eygpt, and North Africa. Lasted till 700.

Emperor Basil II Conquests

Jan 1, 1025

Basil aimed only to extend his land during his reign. He had secured land from Georgia and Armenia. He won over all of Bulgaria. He also got Sicily, and attempted to place a hold in Germany and Rome but those two attemts failed.

Great Schism

Jan 1, 1054

This was the final seperation between the Eastern Christian Chuches (the Patriarch of Constantinople) and the Western Church (the Pope of Rome). The Pope and the Patriarch excommunicated, and the Eastern Christion Churches became the Greek Orthodox Church.

Emperor Alexios I and Pope Urban II

Jan 1, 1095

Emperor Alexios ruled when there were quite a few Turks trying to invade the Byzantine Empire, so he appealed to Pope Urban for help to drive them out of his territory. This led to a rush of Crusaders that then harassed the Byzantine Empire.

Fourth Crusade

Oct 1, 1204

The Venetian annd French Crusaders were originally planning on attacking Eygpt to get control of the Muslim power and get back Jerusalem. Then the son of the disposed Emperor Isaac II, Alexius, escaped captivity in Constantinople and went to the West. That is when the Crusaders decided to stop in Constantinople and overthrow the Emperor to put Alexius on the throne.

End of Byzantines

Jan 1, 1453

The Byzantine Empire's economy had been crippled for a very long time. They had to become a vassal for the Turks until they revoked the privileges they gave the Byzantine Empire and the Ottomon army stormed Constantinople, finishing the fall of the Byzantine Empire.