Byzantine Empire

noun

1. the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the Western Empire in a.d. 476. : Constantinople.

Byzantine Empire

noun

1. the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East, esp after the deposition of the last emperor in Rome (476 ad ). It was finally extinguished by the fall of Constantinople, its capital, in 1453 See also Eastern Roman Empire

Byzantine Empire

1. An empire, centered at Constantinople , that began as the eastern portion of the Roman Empire ; it included parts of Europe and western Asia . As the western Roman Empire declined, the Byzantine Empire grew in importance, and it remained an important power in Europe until the eleventh century. The Byzantine Empire was conquered by Turkish forces in the fifteenth century. The Byzantine emperor was an absolute ruler ( see absolute monarchy ), and the laws and customs associated with his empire were strict and complex. His rule was supported by the Christian Church in the region, which later became the independent Eastern Orthodox Church .

Notes

Constantinople is called Istanbul today.

The word byzantine is often applied to a group of intricately connected and rigidly applied regulations or traditions, or to a complex bureaucracy that insists on formal requirements.

Example Sentences

Once part of the Byzantine Empire, it was later hotly contested between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetians, who called the town Lepanto.

From Seattle Times

Together with other groups from Central Asia, they formed a new power center in Europe, forcing the Byzantine Empire to pay tribute.

From Science Magazine

B.C.E., when they suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of the Byzantine Empire—the Avars shifted away from their nomadic lifestyle and settled in villages and farmed cereal crops.

From Science Magazine

Naismith hopes to establish how and why so much silver moved from the Byzantine Empire into Western Europe.

From Science Daily

The patriarchate dates from the 1,100-year Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which ended in 1453 when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul.

From Seattle Times