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324
Emperor Constantine founded the Byzantine Capital
In 324, Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantines. It was built on the already existing city of Byzantium which was originally settled by early Greek explorers. Constantinople became a Christian metropolis. -
527
Military Campaigns of General Belisarius
General Belisarius was a military leader who worked under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. He made countless numbers of military campaigns during his life time and an amazing amount of victories. He put down the Nika uprising, defeated the Vandals in North Africa, fought in Mesopotamia and took Sicily, Naples, and Carthage among many other feats. -
532
Nika Revolts
The Nika revolts or Nika riots took place over the coarse of one week. They were the most violent riots ever in Constantinople. Nearly half the city was destroyed by fire and thousands of people were killed. They were a result of bad governing by Emperor Justinian I and the people were upset about heavy taxations. -
537
Hagia Sophia Completed
Construction on The Hagia Sophia began in 532. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I hired two men, Anthemeus and Isodore to design and consruct the building. It was completed in December, 537. Throughout its existance it has been a church, a mosque, and a museum. -
Jan 1, 1054
The Great Schism
The Great Schism, also known as the East-West schism was the rift that occured within the Christian church in 1054. The church split into two sides: Western Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It is said that the schism was created by conflict over rules of papal authority. -
Nov 27, 1095
Emperor Alexius contacts Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II responds to Byzantine Emperor Alexius' call for help in fighting the Turks and Islam. This played a big role in starting the First Crusade and the Crusade movement in general. It also had a role in starting the two century long feud between the Christian and Islam worlds. -
Apr 12, 1204
The Fourth Crusade (Attack on Constantinople)
On April 12, 1204, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire was sieged by Crusaders and Venecian armies. Originally, the Crusaders were in debted to the Venecians and could pay off their debt by helping them capture a Byzantinian port calld Zara. Then, the armies marched to Constantinople and captured the city. The crusaders attacked fellow Christians and looted and pillaged the entire city. The city was damaged and many people were killed. The Fourth Crusade permanently weakened Constantinople. -
May 29, 1453
Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks
The fall of Constantinople occured May 29th, 1453 when an army of the Ottoman Empire invaded and captured the capital city of Byzantine. The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the end of the 1500 year old Roman Empire. it also marked the end of the middle ages. -
Emperor Basil II conquests of Bulgaria
In 986, Byzantine emperor Basil II lead an army of 30,000 men to Bulgaria's capital city, Sophia. The army laid seige to Bulgaria but was later ambushed and defeated. Then in 1000, Basil II lead another invasion to the center of Bulgaria. He captured 15,000 prisoners and killed many others. He was then nicknamed the "Bulgar-slayer". -
Islamic military campaigns into Byzantine territory
Multiple Muslim conquests into Byzantium resulted in the loss of Byzantine's southern provinces. Over the coarse of fifty years, the Muslims would make repeated attempts at conquering the capital city of Constantinople and other territories in the Byzantine Empire.
