The Byzantine Empire: Map & History
The direct continuation of the Roman Empire in the East, guarding the frontier of Europe and the Bosporus for over a millennium until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'.
Modern Countries Once Part of The Byzantine Empire
At its mapped extent, The Byzantine Empire covered territory in 29 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Jordan395–633 CE · nearly all
- Cyprus395–1191 CE · nearly all
- North Macedonia395–1351 CE · nearly all
- Montenegro395–1187 CE · nearly all
- Malta395–869 CE · nearly all
- San Marino540–731 CE · nearly all
- Vatican (Holy See)540–767 CE · nearly all
- Bulgaria395–1343 CE · most
- Albania395–1351 CE · most
- Egypt395–640 CE · most
- Armenia592–1071 CE · most
- Turkey395–1374 CE · most
- Bosnia and Herzegovina970–1187 CE · most
- Lebanon395–637 CE · most
- Syria395–637 CE · most
- Palestine395–637 CE · most
- Italy534–1065 CE · most
- Israel395–637 CE · most
- Tunisia534–704 CE · most
- Greece395–1467 CE · most
- Serbia395–1187 CE · a large part
- Georgia561–637 CE · a large part
- Libya395–673 CE · a large part
- Croatia536–637 CE · a small part
- Spain555–622 CE · a small part
- Algeria534–704 CE · a small part
- Romania395–1187 CE · a small part
- France534–731 CE · a small part
- Russia469–1055 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside The Byzantine Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
The Byzantine Empire in Depth
History
Given the significant overlap in historiographical periodisations of Late Roman history, late antiquity, and Byzantine history, there is no consensus on a foundation date for the Byzantine Empire. Scholarship with links to Greece or Eastern Orthodoxy has customarily placed it in the early 300s. The growth of the study of "late antiquity" has led to some historians setting a start date in the seventh or eighth centuries. Others believe a "new empire" began during changes c. 300 AD. Geoffrey Greatrex believes that it is impossible to precisely date the foundation of the Byzantine Empire.
Between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, the Roman Republic established hegemony over the eastern Mediterranean, while its government developed into the one-person rule of an emperor.
Economy
The empire's geographic and maritime advantages reduced the costs of transporting goods and facilitated trade, making it a key driver of economic growth from antiquity and through the post-classical period. Infrastructure, including roads, public buildings, and the legal system, supported trade and other economic activities. Regions like Asia Minor, the Aegean islands, Egypt, the Levant, and Africa thrived as mature economic centres despite political challenges and military insecurities. From the mid-6th century onward, plagues, invasions, and wars caused populations and economies to decline, leading to the collapse of the ancient economy.
Legacy
After Constantinople fell, the Ottomans quickly absorbed the remaining independent territories, including Acciaiuoli Athens in 1458, Morea in 1460, Trebizond in 1461, and Gattilusi Lesbos in 1462. They dismantled the Empire's political and secular institutions, leaving the impoverished Church to manage what would be later called the Rum Millet, primarily as a tool for taxing its followers. As the sole sovereign Orthodox state, Russia developed the Third Rome doctrine, emphasising its cultural heritage as distinct from Western Europe, because the latter had inherited much of the empire's secular learning. The Danubian Principalities became a haven for Orthodox Christians and Phanariot Greeks who sought to recreate a Byzantine Greek Empire.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Byzantine Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The Byzantine Empire: Key Facts
| Capital | Constantinople |
|---|---|
| Official language | medieval Greek |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Form of government | absolute monarchy, Dominate |
| Currencies | Byzantine coinage, miliaresion |
| Founded | 17 January 395 CE |
| Dissolved | 29 May 1453 |
Preceded by
- Roman Empire
- Western Roman Empire
- Latin Empire
- Sasanian Iberia
- Ancient Rome
- Low Roman Empire
Succeeded by
- Emirate of Crete
- Ottoman Empire
- Maona of Chios and Phocaea
- Latin Empire
- Umayyad Caliphate
Facts from Wikidata Q12544 (CC0).
Key Events in the History of The Byzantine Empire
Mapped, with their causes, timeline and answers to common questions.
- Black Death (1346 – 1353)The Black Death was the plague pandemic that swept from Central Asia through the Middle East, North Africa and Europe between 1346 and 1353. Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, it killed somewhere between a third and well over half of all Europeans, perhaps 25 to 50 million people, and about a third of the people of the Middle East. It was the deadliest pandemic in recorded history, and Europe's population took more than 150 years to recover.
- Crusades (1095 – 1291)The Crusades were a series of wars, launched by the popes between 1095 and 1291, to win and hold Jerusalem and the Holy Land for Latin Christendom. The First Crusade took Jerusalem in 1099 and founded four Crusader states along the eastern Mediterranean. Over the next two centuries Muslim rulers from Zengi and Saladin to the Mamluk sultans won them back, until the fall of Acre in 1291 ended the crusaders' presence on the mainland.
Byzantine Empire Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which The Byzantine Empire appears, with the other states of the time.
Imperial History & Territorial Expansion
When Emperor Constantine dedicated Constantinople in 330 CE as Nova Roma, he inaugurated over 1,100 years of Eastern Roman imperial continuity. Under Justinian I, Byzantine armies reclaimed Italy and North Africa, while architects erected the Hagia Sophia—a triumph of late antique masonry. Straddling the Bosporus straits, Byzantium acted as the commercial hinge linking Europe, the Black Sea, and the Silk Road.
Byzantine Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Constantine the Great dedicates the city as the capital of the Roman Empire.
Justinian I dedicates the monumental cathedral of Holy Wisdom.
Belisarius and Narses retake Italy and North Africa, reaching 2.7 million km².
The Empire dominates the Balkans, Anatolia, and the eastern Mediterranean basin.
Sultan Mehmed II’s Ottoman forces breach the Theodosian Walls, ending the empire.
Key Monarchs, Architects & Strategists
Enduring Planetary Legacy
- ✓Preservation of classical Greek and Roman literary canons during the Middle Ages
- ✓Construction of the Hagia Sophia, pioneering the pendentive dome design
- ✓Justinianic Code (Corpus Juris Civilis), synthesizing 1,000 years of Roman jurisprudence
- ✓Christianization of the Slavic peoples through the Cyrillic alphabet (Saints Cyril and Methodius)
Byzantine Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Byzantine Empire exist?
The Byzantine Empire is dated to 330 CE – 1453 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of the Byzantine Empire?
The capital of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople (Modern Istanbul).
How large was the Byzantine Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 555 AD the Byzantine Empire covered about 2,700,000 km².
How did the map of the Byzantine Empire change over time?
The Byzantine Empire appears on 7 dated world maps in the atlas, from 750 CE to 1400 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.