Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire was an empire in Anatolia (Middle East) that lasted from 395 to 1453 CE, about 1,058 years. Its people spoke Greek languages (Mycenaean, Classical, Hellenistic, Byzantine, modern Greek).

The eastern Roman Empire drew its soldiers and taxes from Anatolia and held off Persians and Arabs, then lost most of the plateau to the Turks after Manzikert in 1071. The Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453.

See Byzantine Empire on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

395 to 1453 CE

Duration

1,058 years

Type

Empire

Region

Anatolia, Middle East

Language family

Greek

Capital

Constantinople

Came from

• Roman Anatolia 133 BCE to 395 CE

Events in Middle East during its time

• 622 The Hijra
• 636 Battles of Yarmouk and Qadisiyyah
• 680 Battle of Karbala
• 762 Founding of Baghdad
• 1071 Battle of Manzikert
• 1099 Crusaders take Jerusalem
• 1187 Battle of Hattin
• 1258 Mongols sack Baghdad

Neighbours in Middle East

• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
• Abbasid Caliphate 750 to 1258 CE
• Sasanian Empire 224 to 651 CE
• Great Seljuk Empire 1037 to 1194 CE
• Umayyad Caliphate 661 to 750 CE
• Rashidun Caliphate 632 to 661 CE
• Zaydi Imamate of Yemen 897 to 1918 CE
• Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli) c. 302 BCE to 580 CE
• Himyarite Kingdom c. 110 BCE to 525 CE
• Roman Anatolia 133 BCE to 395 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE, Europe
• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE, Europe
• Swahili city-states c. 800 to 1700 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Ghana Empire (Wagadu) c. 300 to 1200 CE, North and West Africa
• Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE, Europe
• Kingdom of Aksum c. 100 to 940 CE, North and West Africa
• Srivijaya c. 650 to 1377 CE, Southeast Asia
• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Moche (Mochica) c. 100 to 800 CE, South America
• Teotihuacan c. 100 BCE to 550 CE, Mesoamerica and Caribbean

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