Byzantine Empire

Meanings

1. 1proper nounproper

   The eastern half of the Roman Empire, ruled from Constantinople, which lasted until the Ottoman conquest in 1453.

   Grammar: A proper noun with capital letters: the Byzantine Empire.

   Patterns

   • the Byzantine Empire

   The Byzantine Empire survived for a thousand years after Rome fell.

   Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

   Byzantine Empire art is famous for its mosaics.

2. 2proper nounproper

   The culture, religion and political system of that empire, which blended Greek, Roman and Christian traditions.

   Grammar: Often shortened to Byzantium or the Byzantines.

   Orthodox Christianity shaped the Byzantine Empire.

   Historians study how the Byzantine Empire influenced Russia.

   The Byzantine Empire preserved Greek learning.

Common combinations

fall of the Byzantine Empire

The fall of the Byzantine Empire came in 1453.

Byzantine Empire emperor

A Byzantine Empire emperor ruled from Constantinople.

Eastern Roman Empire

The Eastern Roman Empire is another name.

Byzantine mosaics

Byzantine mosaics decorate old churches.

during the Byzantine Empire

Scholarship flourished during the Byzantine Empire.

Synonyms and how they differ

Byzantium

Byzantium is the older Greek city that became Constantinople, and the name is often used for the empire itself.

Eastern Roman Empire

Eastern Roman Empire is the name its own people would have used, while Byzantine Empire is the later historians' label.

Opposites

Word family

Byzantine adjective

relating to the empire, or overly complicated

Byzantium proper noun

the ancient city later called Constantinople

Byzantines noun

the people of the empire

Commonly confused: Byzantine Empire or Ottoman Empire?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “Byzantine Empire”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words