Introduction
In 330 AD, a new city named Constantinople was dedicated on the site of an old Greek city by the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great. Constantinople became the Eastern capitol of the Roman Empire, supplanting the city of Rome in importance. Rome was lost to Germanic tribes in 476 AD, but the Eastern Roman Empire, more commonly known as the Byzantine Empire, remained a superpower over the course of the next thousand years. The Golden Age of Byzantium lasted from the 9th century to the 11th century, when Byzantium had control over a great deal of the Near East. The empire was noted for great achievements in architecture, law, religion, art, diplomacy, and economy. The Byzantines saw themselves as heirs to the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome and were responsible for the preservation of Classical Greek culture. Byzantium was a buffer between the cultures of Western Europe and the Islamic countries of the Middle East. The empire’s decline began in 1071 when troops were defeated by the Seljuq Turks at the battle of Manzikert. The decline continued through 1204, when Constantinople was attacked by European Crusaders, and the empire finally fell to the forces of Sultan Mehmed II in 1453.
Some important figures in the history of the empire are the emperors Constantine the Great, Justinian, Theodora, Heraclius, Leo III, Basil I, Alexios I Comnenos, and Michael VIII Palaiologos. Some prominent family names are Phokas, Comnenos, Doukas, and Palaiologos.