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Constantine Became the western Roman emperor through battle. He then defeated Licinius, the eastern emperor, and united the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople, the capital, was named after Emperor Constantine.
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Justinian became co-emperor with his uncle, Justin I. Later the same year, his uncle died, leaving him sole emperor. He was remembered for his efforts to strengthen the Byzantine Empire, but also for Justinian's code.
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The name Hagiaj Sophia means "holy wisdom." Justinian ordered the church to be rebuilt after it was destroyed in riots. It has a huge dome at the top supported by triangular supports called pendentives, structures that were new when Hagia Sophia was built.
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Belisarius was appointed commander of the Eastern Byzantinian army by Emperor Justinian. He was highest-ranking military officer in Constantinople. One of his major contributions was causing the Persians to retreat, which lead to a negotiation of peace.
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Arab armies gradually gained control of most of the Mediterranean. Constantinople withstood their attack, and the Byzantines kept their heartland in the Balkans and Asia Minor.
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Basil was emperor during the Macedonian dynasty. He fought many places, including Asia Minor, Bulgaria, and Sicily. He was known as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young in his time.
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The two branches of Byzantine Christianity divided, partially over whether or not to use icons. Controversies divided eastern and western Christianity. The event is called the Great Schism. The Byzantine Church became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the western branch became known as the Roman Catholic Church.
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Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade. Alexios I gained back many important cities during the First Crusade, including a lot of Asia Minor.
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The Fourth Crusade was considered the last major campaign of the crusades. The crusaders of Western Europe invaded Constantinople. It was a key point of the declining of the empire.
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Constantinople was taken over by ottoman forces and fell. That was also the end of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages.
