The New Rome [Image source: Byzantine Foundations

After the Roman Empire was divided in A.D. 395, the eastern half became known as the Byzantine Empire. [Image source:

The Eastern Roman Empire managed to escape many of the barbarian invasions that threatened the stability of the West.

The city of Constantinople served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire. [Image source:

Constantinople was founded by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in A.D. 330 on the site of the tiny village of Byzantium. [Image source: onstantine.JPG]

At the crossroads of the ancient world, Constantinople’s strategic location allowed it to control the trade that passed between Asia and Europe, and between the Ægean and Black seas. [Image source:

As a result, Constantinople became a fabulously wealthy city.

Constantinople was easy to defend, because it was located on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water. [Image source:

Triple walls fortified the city against attack from the land side. [Image sourec:

“Good fences make good neighbors.”

[Image source: Constantinople controlled an empire that embraced the lands of the eastern Mediterranean Sea Basin.

The Byzantine Empire was regarded by many people as the heir to Roman power and traditions.

Constantinople was known as the New Rome, because its emperors were Romans who spoke Latin and many of its wealthy families came from Rome. [Image source:

Eventually Byzantine emperors and officials used Greek rather than Latin. [Image source:

Religious scholars expressed their ideas in Greek, developing a distinct form of Christianity known as Eastern Orthodoxy. [Image source:

The Byzantine Empire was a true international empire, joining the Balkans, Asia Minor, North Africa, and Syria. It had Arabs, Jews, Christians, Slavs, and Turks. It was a “multi- ethnic Christian state.”

The Byzantine Empire evolved into an urbanized, cosmopolitan society.

Between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1200, Byzantine civilization was one of the most advanced in the world, boasting a high standard of living. [Image source:

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