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The Roman Empire splits under Diocletian's rule.
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Diocletian retires from rule.
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Constantine is the new emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
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The capital of the city, Byzantium, is renamed Constantinople. (now Istanbul, Turkey) Christianity is now the official religion of the empire.
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The other half of the now-split Roman Empires falls.
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Under Constantine's rule, the fallen western half is reclaimed by the Byzantine Empire. The entire empire is now able to use many different major bodies of water, such as the Mediterranean Sea, and the Silk Road for trade.
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The city of Constantinople is extremely well-protected, with multiple walls and a moat system.
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Justinian and Theodora come to power after Constantine.
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Justinian condenses the old and new laws into a new set called the Justinian Codes, and expands the empire into Europe.
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The Nika Revolts were a series of uprising caused from Justinian's harsh laws. In the end, Justinian enlisted the help of military general Belisarius and he taps and kills 50,000 rioters in the Hippodrome, a chariot racing stadium.
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After the Nika Revolts, Justinian hires architects to rebuild a new and improved Hagia Sophia, which was finished just 5 1/2 years afterwards. The domes in particular had a huge affect on other buildings in the rest of the empire and other surrounding cultures.
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The empire slowly starts to fall in 1453 from outside forces, such as the Ottoman Turks.
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The empire also has problems such as a series of weak rulers, corruption, and lost land.
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The empire finally falls after 500 years to the Ottoman Turks, because of both internal and external weakening in Constantinople.