The Byzantine Empire

In 330, Constantine moved his capital from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium. Constantine wanted the capital of his empire to be safe from barbarian invasion. The emperor renamed the city Constantinople, but we refer to the civilization centered in Constantinople as the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Empire began to look less like the Roman Empire as the years passed. The empire covered Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. By the seventh century, Greek had completely replaced Latin as the language of the empire. The Byzantine emperors still thought of themselves as the successors of Caesar Augustus, but over the years Roman influence gradually disappeared.

Seljuk Turks began moving into the Byzantine Empire from Central Asia in the eleventh century. The Turks had recently converted to Islam, and the Byzantine emperor feared the Turks would soon overpower his Christian empire. The emperor asked the leader of the Christian church—the Pope—to assist in a holy war against the Turks. In 1095, Pope Urban II launched the first of many Crusades, or "wars of the cross." Urban hoped that in addition to expelling the Turks from the Byzantine Empire, he would also be able to reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem from Muslim control. Soldiers from Western Europe left their homes to free the Byzantine Empire of the "unbelievers." This was the first time many Europeans had left their homes. Their exposure to new and different cultures was a factor that led to the Renaissance.

The Crusades were ultimately unsuccessful because the Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire. The city first called Byzantium and later Constantinople is now known as Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish has replaced Greek as the language of Asia Minor, and more than 99% of the people in modern Turkey are Muslims.

Resources

Download this lesson as Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file.

Listen as Mr. Dowling reads this lesson.