: He codified Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis , but his reign was also marred by the devastating Plague of Justinian , which decimated the population. III. Survival and Transformation (610–1025 AD)
: Unlike the pagan Rome of old, Byzantium was defined by its integration of Roman law, Greek culture, and Christian theology. A History of Byzantium
The empire’s origins lie in the restructuring of the Roman state. : He codified Roman law into the Corpus
: Justinian commissioned the Hagia Sophia , a feat of engineering that remained the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a millennium. The empire’s origins lie in the restructuring of
: Constantine established a new capital at Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), strategically located on the Bosphorus to control trade between Europe and Asia.
: Facing a Crisis of the Third Century , Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into East and West to make it more governable.
A thousand-year saga of resilience, intrigue, and survival, the history of the —or the Eastern Roman Empire—is the story of a civilization that preserved the legacy of antiquity while bridging the gap to the modern world. Founded on the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, it rose as the "New Rome" and endured long after the Western Empire fell. I. Foundations: The Birth of New Rome (285–457 AD)
