What is Byzantium?

Byzantium was the name of the ancient Greek city known today as Istanbul. During antiquity, it was an important city but never a first-ranking one. However, in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, the Roman Empire faced not only invasions of barbarians but also political instability, combined with a demographic and economic decline in the western regions. To address these challenges, Emperor Constantine moved the capital to the city of Byzantium, refounded as Constantinople. Then, in 395, the empire was definitively divided into two distinct parts. In 476 AD, Odoacer deposed the last Western Roman emperor. The Eastern Roman Empire emerged as the sole legitimate successor to the Roman Empire. It would henceforth be known as the Byzantine Empire, also called Byzantium.

The Byzantine Empire was cemented by the greek culture and the legacy of antiquity, the christian orthodox faith and a roman conception of law, administration and imperial power. Its capital, Constantinople, was one of the most influential city in the world. Through their rich, turbulent and complex history of 11 centuries, the Byzantines overcame many difficulties and the loss of most of their territories to numerous invaders : Arabs, Slavs, Bulgarians, Crusaders and Turkish to quote only a few. Despite many setbacks, and its final disappearance in 1453, Byzantium always remained a religious, artistic and cultural beacon in the medieval times which rich legacy survives today.