History of the Byzantines

Founded Byzantine Capital

330

Emperor Constantine founded the city of Roman/Constantinople and decided to name the capital after himself naming it Constantinopolis. The city went on to be the largest and the wealthiest city in Europe. It was also an advancement of Christianity.

Nika Revolt

532

A riot against Emperor Justinian I that took place in a course of a week in Constantinople. The most violent riot in the history of Constantinople. Nearly half the city was burned down or destroyed and tens of thousands of people were killed.

Hagia Sophia

532

The Hagia Sophia which means holy wisdom was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica. later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul.

General Belisarius military campaigns

535

A land and sea expedition against the Vandal Kingdom. The Romans had reasons for this expedition such as political, religious, and strategic reasoning. One of the reasons was that the Romans wanted to take control of the Vandal territory in North Africa, which would guarantee access to the Western Mediterranean.

Early Islamic military campaigns

Feb 9, 634

Syria was the first territory to be taken from the Byzantine Empire. The next territory to be taken was Southern Palestine after the Arab forces defeated one of Byzantine`s expeditions. Then they took Damascus and eventually the Arab forces had conquered most of the Byzantine territories.

Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria

Feb 9, 907

First started with series of conflicts between the two empires. Eventually started a war between the two empires and the Balkan Peninsula was captured by the Byzantines. There was even more struggles in Eastern Bulgaria which led on to more war/conflict. The wars led on until 1018 when the Byzantines finally made the Bulgarian Empire fall.

First Crusade

Feb 7, 1095

The attempt to capture the holy land. Ended as a military expedition by Roman Catholic Europe to regain the holy land taken by the Muslim conquests and also eventually resulting in the capture of Jerusalem.

Fourth Crusade

Feb 7, 1202

A Western European armed expedition directed by Pope Innocent III. Intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt.

The Great Schism

Feb 9, 1378

Split between the catholic church. Driven by politics instead of theological disagreement. Was ended by the Council of Constance. This then made the office have a bad reputation and some what the church as well for this schism.

Fall of Constantinople

Feb 9, 1453

The capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading army from the Ottoman Empire. This started a 53 day siege and eventually ended in the fall of the Roman Empire. This was the main reason why Constantinople and Roman began to fall.