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Emperor Constantine could not decide where to build the new capital. He could of had the capital on the ruins of Troy or Old Rome but, there was no way to make money there. Nicomedia would have been great but the rulers before him ruled there. He decided on Byzantine it would be the New Rome, it was the center of the Empire. It was built on seven hills just like Old Rome and divided into 14 districts.
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The church of Hagia Sophia was in Constantinople and was first dedicated in 360 by Emperor Constantius. It was originally called the Great Church, the name Hagia Sophia was not used until about 430AD
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The church is destroyed during riots. The second church is built and finished in 415AD. The church had two levels that was probably used to separate men and women or different classes at the time during services.
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General Belisarius was one of Justinian's bodyguards and in the 530AD he victories in the battle in Dara.
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In the capital Constantinople the Nika riots were happening because the people were unhappy and wanted a new ruler. General Belisarius and his troops were sent to stop the rioters. The rioters were all killed. The Nika riots lasted a week and were one of the worst because half the city was burned and thousands of people were killed.
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Again the church is burned down during the Nika riots and is built again and finished in December 537AD
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General Belisarius and his troops are sent to attack the Vandals in North Africa and win.
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The General is sent to Italy to begin to conquer it. He wins in Sicily and Naples, but they stop him in Rome.
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The Goths say they will surrender in Rome but only if General Belisarius would rule over them as the emperor. He agreed and had them surrender and then he went back on his promise to be their emperor.
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His last battle was against the Hun tribes, he was able to scare the Hun away and then go back to retirement.
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From 673-678 Arabs besiege Constantinople. From 673AD - 1180AD the Byzantine Empire and Islamic Military fought many wars for power.
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From 986 AD to 1014AD there were battles between Byzantium and Bulgaria. Basil II was able to get get peoples help keeping the Bulgarian military back and he was able to go into Samuel's territory fighting during the winter and summer to finally get control over Bulgaria by taking over Samuel's capital, Ochrida. Emperor Basil was considered a great leader, but he never married or had children so when he died all of the work he had done was undone when he died.
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The Great Schism is when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other. They believed that each held the absolute power. The disagreement created a separation in church and created the Roman Catholic Church (Western Church) and the Greek Catholic of Greek Orthodox (Eastern Church)
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In 1095 the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I asked Pope Urban II for military help to fight the Seljuks. Pope Urban II agreed to help and asked Christians to help the Byzantines get the holy land back from the Muslims. Christians were happy to fight the Muslims because they though they would be forgiven for all of their sins and receive a message from God.
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Over 20,000 men and more than 200 ships broke down the walls and looted the great city of Constantinople. The warriors and ships were supposed to go to Egypt but were diverted by men in power and religious leaders.
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The battle began on April 6, 1453 and lasted until May 29, 1453
