History glossary

Eastern Roman Empire

the eastern half of the Roman Empire, centered on Constantinople, which survived the fall of western imperial rule.

Category: Empire
Region: Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans, and Anatolia
Date range: late 3rd century-1453 CE

What it means

The Eastern Roman Empire was the eastern half of the Roman imperial system, centered on Constantinople. Unlike the western imperial court, it survived the fifth-century collapse of western Roman rule and continued to identify itself as Roman for centuries. Historians often call its later medieval phase the Byzantine Empire.

Stories using this term

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