Byzantine empire
Also called: Eastern Roman Empire · Topic: The Roman Empire · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "An Empire Across Three Continents"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Changing Cultural Traditions"
Meaning
The Byzantine empire is the name for the eastern Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople. In the fifth century the western half broke up into Germanic kingdoms. The East stayed united and prosperous, and its population kept growing until the sixth century. It links ancient Rome with the medieval world.
Example
Under Justinian (527–65), the Byzantine empire reached its high point and won back Africa from the Vandals in 533. Khusro II of Iran invaded its eastern provinces, including Egypt, in 614–19, and Byzantium recovered them in the 620s. Then, by 642, the Arabs had taken large parts of its territory.
Don't confuse with
- Western Roman Empire: the West split into "post-Roman" kingdoms, such as the Visigoths in Spain and the Franks in Gaul. The East survived as one state.
Related concepts
- Diocletian
- Constantine
- Edict of Milan 313
- Christianisation of the Roman Empire
- Constantinople
- Post-Roman kingdoms
- Justinian
- Late antiquity
- Prophet Muhammad
- Hijra