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Constantine rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium and renamed it after himself - Constantinople. Constantinople was a vital center of the empire because the city was located on the shores of the Bosporus, a strait that links the Mediterranean and Black seas. It had a harbor and was guarded by three sides of water.
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Constantinople was swept with riots and a devastating fire. Many buildings were destoryed and many lives were lost.
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Belisarius led Byzantine armies to reconqure North Africa, Italy, and the Southern Iberian peninsula. Although, the fighting exhausted Justinian's treasury and weakended his defenses so the victories were only temporary.
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Hagia Sophia had an arching dome improved on earlier Roman buildings; and a glowing interior with colored marble and embroidered silk curtains. After the Nika Revolt, Justinian launched a program where they rebuilt the Hagia Sophia church to make Constantinople grander than ever.
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The Islamic conquests brought about a great territorial loss for the Byzantine Empire. The reason for the Islamic success is the Byzantine empire was militarily and economically exhausted from fighting each other.
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Basil led an army of 30,000 men into Bulgaria as the start of the conquest of Buldaria. Having deafeated the Bulgarians, Basil exerted his vengeance by cruelty; he captured 15,000 prisoners and blinded 99 of every 100 men, leaving one one-eyed man in each group to lead the rest back to their ruler
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The time period where there is the break of communion between what are now the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. The schism between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Christians resulted from a variety of political, cultural and theological factors which transpired over centuries.
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The conflict between the Seljuk Turks and the Byzantines disrupted travel to the Holy Land. Roman popes and Byzantine emperors were lond time rivals, but Pope Urban II agreed to help in the war.
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During the Fourth Crusade, the crusaders were diverted from fighting Muslims to fighting other Christians. After defeating Byzantine trade rivials, crusaders captured and looted Constantinople.
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The official end to the Byzantines occured after the Fourth Crusade. The Byzantines were invaded by the Ottoman Turks, who were led by Mehmet II.
