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The emperor Constantine built the capital of the Byzantine empire, and named it after himself, Constantinople. He built this city by rebuilding the Greek city of Byzantium.
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The emperor Justinian ruled from 527-565 AD. He built the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), a church, in hopes of restoring Roman glory. Justininan also made the Justininian code, which is a collection of Roman laws.
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The Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was built by the emperor Justinian. The church features a high arching dome which is an improvement of earlier Roman buildings. The inside of the building is decorated with colored marble and silk curtains.
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General Belisarius fought against the Persians. He also was the leading military figure in the Byzantine empire, and served for the emperor Justinian.
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The Islamic conquests caused a large territorial loss for the Byzantine empire, and ended up bringing down the Sassanid empire altogether. Heraclius was the emperor when the conquests started.
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Emperor Basil II ruled from 976-1025. The main areas of conflict
during his rule and military conquests were Syria, Georgia, Armenia, the Balkans, and southern Italy. He was acknowledged to be one of the best Byzantine emperors. -
The Great Schism was the split between eastern and western Christianity. One of the factors that contributed to the Great Schism was the controversy of the use of idols. After the Great Schism, the Byzantine church was known as the Eastern or Greek Orthodox Church.
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Emperor Alexios I and Pope Urban II ruled during the first crusade. Emperor Alexios I asked Pope Urban II for help against the Ottoman Turks, and the Pope's response was to preach the First Crusade. (11-27 1095 AD). (the picture for this item represents emperor Alexios I)
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The goal of the Fourth Crusade was to win back the holy city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was conquered by the Islamic armies in the 7th century.
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After the Crusades, the Byzantine empire had been greatly weakened. One of the weaknesses was that the Venetian merchants had taken over the control of Byzantine trade, which drained the wealth of the empire. The final thing that brought Byzantine down was the attack of the Ottoman Turks. The Ottoman Turks invaded Constantinople, and changed the city's name to Istanbul. Also, after the Ottoman Turks won the battle, they turned the Hagia Sophia into an Islamic house of worship.
