The Split
The Byzantine came out of the Roman Empire in 285 as the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital in what was known as Byzantium. Its first emperor, Constantine, the capital was renamed as Constantinople. The Roman Empire split because the empire became too large and needed more localized government that needed to cater to each part of the empire. Before the split, the empire was heavily divided due to the western half speaking Latin, and the eastern half speaking Greek.
Diocletian and Constantine
Constantine built a new Rome on where Byzantium used to be. This was a smart choice as it was at the mouth of the Black Sea, making trading very efficient, it was half way between the European and Asian parts of the empire, and fairly close to the frontier regions.
In the beginning days of the empire, it was build upon reforms implemented emperor Diocletian (DIE-O-CLEE-SHUN). He stabilized currency in the Roman Empire by setting it to a gold coin system. He also implemented changes to the structure of the army.
Under Constantine, the Byzantines enjoyed a lot of military strength, and experienced a period of stability and wealth. Although Christianity wasn’t the official religion of the Byzantines until 380, Christians enjoyed many benefits such as, exemption from taxes, and were preferred for administrative government positions.
Theodosius
During its early years, the Byzantines were largely spared from the troubles in the West. Some of those troubles included lack of reliable armies, overpopulation, and inflation. They were spared because of its greater natural and financial resources. In the fifth century, the west was overran by invading armies such as the Goths, Saxons, and Franks.
Theodosius II further fortified the walls of Constantinople (they were created by Constantine) and they weren’t breached until 1204. He also gave bribes to the Huns not to attack them. His successor, Marcian refused to pay the Huns, but they had already spent all their attention on the Western Roman Empire.
The Leonids
Lio I was the first emperor not from a military not from a military leader, but from the Patriarch of Constantinople. The switch became permanent, from military to religious. In 468, he tried to reconquer North Africa from the Vandals, but failed. By then, the Western Roman Empire was restricted to Italy and the Balkans and was crumbling fast. His successor, Zeno came into power in 474. Zeno tried to negotiated with the Ostrogoths to retake control of Italy, but failed.
Social Studies for Fun 