Did Byzantines call themselves 'Byzantine'?

No; they called themselves Romans (Rhomaioi) and saw their empire as the continuation of the Roman Empire. 'Byzantine' is a later scholarly label.

When did the Byzantine Empire fall?

Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, conventionally ending the Byzantine Empire, though a few remnants persisted slightly longer.

Byzantine World

The Byzantine Empire — the Greek-speaking, Christian continuation of the Roman Empire centered on Constantinople — endured for over a thousand years, shaping the politics, religion, and culture of the eastern Mediterranean and beyond.

Definition

The Byzantine world denotes the civilization of the Eastern Roman Empire, ruled from Constantinople, that preserved Roman statecraft and law in a Greek and Orthodox Christian form from roughly the fourth century until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Scope

This area covers the eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire from late antiquity to 1453: its state and society, law, and administration; Orthodox Christianity, theology, and the relationship of church and emperor; its art, learning, and economy; and its dynamic relations with Persia, the Islamic world, the Slavs, the West, and the Ottomans.

Sub-topics

Core questions

In what sense was Byzantium 'Roman', and how did it change over time?
How were emperor, church, and society related?
How did Byzantium survive repeated existential threats for a millennium?
What was Byzantium's cultural and religious legacy?

Key theories

Continuity of the Roman Empire: The interpretation, central to modern Byzantine studies, that 'Byzantium' was not a separate civilization but the uninterrupted eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, which called itself Roman (Rhomaioi) throughout its history.

History

Emerging from the eastern Roman Empire and Justinian's sixth-century reconquests, Byzantium weathered Persian and Arab assaults, iconoclasm, and the loss of much territory, recovered under the Macedonian dynasty, suffered the catastrophe of 1204, and finally fell to the Ottomans in 1453. Ostrogorsky's classic synthesis and later scholars established the field's continuity-of-Rome framework.

Debates

When does 'Byzantium' begin?: Scholars dispute whether to date the start of Byzantine history to Constantine, Justinian, the seventh-century transformations, or to resist a sharp break from Rome altogether.

Key figures

Georg Ostrogorsky
Judith Herrin
Warren Treadgold
Averil Cameron

Seminal works

herrin2007
ostrogorsky1956
treadgold1997

Frequently asked questions

Did Byzantines call themselves 'Byzantine'?: No; they called themselves Romans (Rhomaioi) and saw their empire as the continuation of the Roman Empire. 'Byzantine' is a later scholarly label.
When did the Byzantine Empire fall?: Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, conventionally ending the Byzantine Empire, though a few remnants persisted slightly longer.