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Byzantine Empire: Roman Empire
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The name "Byzantine Empire" is a modern term and would have appeared alien to its contemporaries. The term was invented in 1557, about a century after the fall of Constantinople by German historian Hieronymus Wolf, who introduced a system of Byzantine historiography in his work Corpus Historiae Byzantinae in order to distinguish ancient Roman from medieval Greek history without drawing attention to their ancient presecessors. Standardization of the term did not occur until the 17th century when French authors such as Montesquieu began to popularize it. Hieronymus himself was influenced by the rift caused by the 9th century dispute between Romans (Byzantines as we render them today) and Franks, who, under Charlemagne's newly formed empire, and in concert with the Pope, attempted to legitimize their conquests by claiming inheritance of Roman rights in Italy thereby renouncing their eastern neighbours as true Romans. The Donation of Constantine, one of the most famous forged documents in history, played a crucial role in this. Henceforth, it was fixed policy in the West to refer to the emperor in Constantinople not by the usual "Imperator Romanorum" (Emperor of the Romans) which was now reserved for the Frankish monarch, but as "Imperator Graecorum" (Emperor of the Greeks) and the land as "Imperium Graecorum", "Graecia", "Terra Graecorum" or even "Imperium Constantinopolitanus".
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The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. In certain specific contexts, usually referring to the time before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it is ... often referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire. There is no consensus on the starting date of the Byzantine period.
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Artistic characteristic of Byzantine art began to develop in the Roman Empire as early as the 4th century. As the classical tradition declined in vitality, eastern influences were more widely felt. The founding of Constantinople in 324 created a great new Christian artistic centre for the eastern half of the Empire. Artistic traditions flourished ... in rival cities. Constantinople established its supremacy after the fall of Alexandria and Antioch to the Arabs, and Rome to the Goths.
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With the Arab and Persian conquests, the Byzantine Empire lost Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria, which left Constantinople and Rome as the two remaining centers of Christianity. As time passed, the two patriarchs increasingly feuded over control of the church and dogma. The two churches had long gone their separate ways before they officially separated. In the 11th century, in the course of a fight over dogma, the Roman pope excommunicated the Greek Patriarch and his followers; and the Patriarch returned the favor.
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The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire was the eastern section of the Roman Empire which remained in existence after the fall of the western section. The life of the empire is commonly considered to span AD 395 to 1453. During the thousand years of its existence, it was known as the Eastern Roman Empire. It was not referred to as the "Byzantine Empire" until the 17th century.
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The name Byzantine Empire is an academic term, used to differentiate this empire from the former Roman one. It was derived from the original name of Constantinople: Byzants. The rulers in Constantinope themselves continued the use of the term "Roman," and their subjects were referred to as Rhomaioi, "Romans".
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