Byzantine Empire Timeline: Saracen Jihad
Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων Imperium Romanum OTL equivalent: Kingdom of Asturias | ||||
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Motto: Hoc Signo Tuetur Pius, Hoc Signo Vincitur Inimicus (With this sign thou shalt defend the pious, with this sign thou shalt defeat the enemy) |
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The Empire at its greatest extent in 555 AD under
Justinian the Great
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Capital | Constantinople | |||
Official languages | Latin (official until 620) Greek (official after 620) |
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Religion | Roman paganism until 380. Christianity (tolerated after the Edict of Milan in 313; state religion after 380); |
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Government | Absolutist autocracy | |||
- | Emperor | |||
Establishment | ||||
- | Partition of the Roman Empire | 285 | ||
- | Founding of Constantinople | 330 | ||
- | Death of Theodosius I | 395 | ||
- | Nominal end of Western Empire | 476 | ||
Population | ||||
- | 565 AD estimate | 26,000,000 |
The Byzantine Empire refers to the predominantly Greek-speaking nation that served as a continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Centered around its capital of Constantinople, originally known as Byzantium, the Byzantine Empire is also often called the Eastern Roman Empire, as it was a part of the Roman Empire that survived the fifth century fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire, continuing to exist for much longer past the fall of Rome. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe.
Although its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire (Ancient Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων, tr. Basileia Rhōmaiōn; Latin: Imperium Romanum), and Romania (Ῥωμανία), the empire also came to be known as both the "Byzantine Empire" and the "Eastern Roman Empire", historiographical terms applied in later centuries.