Image

Byzantine Empire Timeline

By ipanciera
  • Period: 300 to Jan 1, 1500

    Byzantine Empire Timeline

  • 330

    Founding of Constantinople

    Founding of Constantinople
    Emperor Constantine transferred the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome and called it "New Rome". It was later named Constantinope after him.
  • 532

    Nika Riots

    Nika Riots
    A conflict over chariot racing led to outrage by the people. It was the most violet riot of Constantinople, burning half the city and killing tens of thousands of people.
  • 533

    Belisarius Military Campaign

    Belisarius Military Campaign
    The Byzantine General Belisarius wanted to reconquer old Roman territory. He successfully invaded North Africa, Italy, and the Southern Iberian Peninsula, making the Byzantine empire the largest it had ever been.
  • 537

    Hagia Sophia Completed

    Hagia Sophia Completed
    A Greek Orthodox Christian Church in Constantinople with a massive dome was finished under the rule of the Emperor Justinian. It was the largest cathedral in the world when it was built.
  • Sep 15, 634

    Early Muslim Conquests

    Early Muslim Conquests
    The Persian and Byzantine militaries were tired from fighting each other, which made it easy for the Arab-Muslim raids on Constantinople to succeed. In this time, Muslim armies conquered many other places.
  • Sep 15, 986

    Conquests of Bulgaria

    Conquests of Bulgaria
    The Emperor Basil II laid siege to the Bulgarian city of Sofia, and gradually conquered the entire area. This led to the Byzantine control of the Balkan Peninsula.
  • Sep 15, 1054

    Great Schism

    Great Schism
    Differences between eastern and western Christianity led to a formal rupture that caused the Byzantine Empire to want to split from the Pope. Western Christianty was now the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity was called the Greek Orthodox Church.
  • Sep 15, 1095

    Start of First Crusade

    Start of First Crusade
    Emperor Alexios requests Pope Urban to give him people to help defeat the Seljuk Turks from Anatolia. Pope Urban agrees, sending his men to also regain the holy land that the Muslims conquered.
  • Sep 15, 1204

    Sacking of Constantinople

    Sacking of Constantinople
    After succeeding in an armed invasion to take Jerusalem away from the Muslims, Alexios IV asked the crusaders for help obtaining power in Constantinople, in exchange for money. When he couldn't give them the money, the crusaders attached Constantinople, destroying it.
  • Sep 15, 1453

    Fall of Constantinople

    Fall of Constantinople
    The Ottoman army, led by Mehmet II, attacks Constantinople, and after a two-month siege, it falls, and the Byzantine Empire is over. The area is now controlled by the Ottomans.