Byzantine Empire

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Emblem of the Palaeologus dynasty
Emblem of the Palaeologus dynasty

The Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire) is the name given to the Roman Empire that existed during the Middle Ages. Its capital was Constantinople, which is located in Turkey and is now called Istanbul. Unlike the Western Roman Empire, its people spoke Greek, not Latin and had a largely Greek culture and identity.

The Roman Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the city of Byzantium, and he renamed the city Constantinople. Many years later, after the city of Rome was taken over by Germanic peoples, the entire "Roman" Empire was moved to the Constantinople, and a new empire was born. The new empire still followed the ways of Christian Rome, but it had a smaller territory than the old Roman Empire.

The Christian Byzantine Empire fell in 1453, when Muslim Turks took over the capital, Constantinople. They re-named it Istanbul.

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