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Constantine defeated his rival, Licinius, who was a co-ruler of Rome. Licinius's part of the empire was then in Constantine's hands, so the entirity of Rome was under his control. Constantine founded the new capital of Rome, Constantinople, near Byzantium. He had defeated Licinius near that city.
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Justinian became emperor when his uncle and co-emperor, Justin I, died. Justinian tried to revive the Byzantine empire to its original glory, as in Constantine's days, and succeded. He brought in a cultural revolution of art, architecture, and religion.
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The Hagia Sophia is a massive cathedral in Constantinople. It is the second replacement for the original cathedral built in constantinople, as the first two where destroyed. Hagia Sophia's dome has been described as "The dome of Heaven itself" (quote from metmuseum article, see sources).
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Belisarius, a general of Emperor Justinian's army, led several military campaigns against varius other nations, including the Vandals and the Persians. Belisarius also helped defend the capital against the Huns. Although he was very helpful to Justinian, there were several times Justinian distrusted his general.
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A ruthless but somewhat just emperor, Basil II, tried to settle problems in his land and in lands farther away. He destroyed the Bulgarians and their tsar, Samuel. He chastized leaders in Asia minor for being too greedy, and gave small farmers more privliges.
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The Great Schism of 1054 was a breaking up of the Catholic Church, into the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The fight started because of arguments between the Pope and the Patriarchs.
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Emperor Alexios met with Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza in 1095. They discussed regaining land in Asia Minor, and a Crusade.
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An attack by the Venatians on Constantinople happened in 1204, because they had opposing religious views. An army of ~20000 men and ~200 ships attacked.
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Constantinople fell in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks. The empire then consisted of Constantinople, that was it. The Turks pretty much charged in and fired their weapons and captured the place.
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Several wars between the Arabs and the Byzantines resulted in regions including North Africa and Egypt becoming part of the Muslim territory. Although their territories were diminishing, the Byzantines were still able to stop the expansion of the Muslim conquests.
