Byzantine Empire Timeline

Byzantine Empire 19

330 – 610 The Early Empire (330–610) The Early Byzantine period spans from Constantine's founding of Constantinople to the death of Maurice and the accession of Heraclius. It encompasses the Christianisation of the Roman Empire, the fall of the West (476), Justinian's great reconquest of North Africa and Italy, the construction of Hagia Sophia, the Plague of Justinian (the first pandemic in recorded history), and the exhausting Persian wars that leave both empires vulnerable to the Arab conquests. This is the period in which the Roman Empire becomes the Byzantine Empire -- Greek in language and culture, Orthodox in religion, but Roman in law and institutional identity.
330 Constantinople founded Constantine the Great dedicates Constantinople on 11 May 330 AD on the site of the Greek city Byzantium, at the strategic junction of Europe and Asia on the Bosphorus. Designed as a new Rome with seven hills, a Senate, a Forum, a hippodrome and grain doles, the city is virtually impregnable by land and sea. It will serve as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for 1,123 years.
395 Division of the Empire On the death of Theodosius I the empire is permanently divided: Arcadius takes the East (Constantinople), Honorius the West. The two halves never reunite. The Western Empire falls in 476; the Eastern Empire survives for another 977 years.
527 – 565 Justinian I and the great reconquest Justinian I rules 527-565, reconquering North Africa, Italy and southern Spain, building Hagia Sophia, codifying Roman law in the Corpus Juris Civilis, and steering the empire through the catastrophic Plague of Justinian. His reign is the apex of Byzantine power and the last attempt to reunite the Roman world.
541 – 549 Plague of Justinian -- the first pandemic The Plague of Justinian (541-549, with recurrences to 750) is the first pandemic in recorded history -- bubonic plague that kills perhaps 25-50 million people across the Mediterranean world. It strikes Constantinople at the height of Justinian's power, kills 5,000 people per day at its peak, and fatally undermines the economic and military foundations of the reconquest.
600 – 610 Persian wars exhaust the empire The wars of Maurice and Phocas against Sassanid Persia (572-628) drain Byzantine resources to the point of collapse. Phocas's brutal usurpation (602) triggers a Persian invasion that overruns Syria, Egypt and Anatolia. Only Heraclius's extraordinary campaigns (622-628) recover these territories -- too late to prevent the Arab conquests that follow within a decade.
610 – 1025 The Middle Period (610–1025) The Middle Byzantine period spans from Heraclius's accession to the death of Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer. It encompasses the catastrophic loss of Syria, Palestine, Egypt and North Africa to the Arab conquests, the iconoclasm controversy that splits the empire for over a century, the conversion of the Slavs and Bulgars to Orthodox Christianity, and the Macedonian dynasty's military and cultural renaissance. The period ends at Byzantine apogee under Basil II, when the empire controls more territory than at any time since Justinian.
636 – 642 Arab conquests -- Syria, Palestine and Egypt lost Within a decade of Muhammad's death, Arab armies defeat the Byzantines at the Yarmouk (636) and conquer Syria, Palestine and Egypt (by 642). These are the wealthiest, most populous provinces of the empire -- their loss is a catastrophic blow to Byzantine power, wealth and identity from which the empire never fully recovers.
726 – 843 Iconoclasm -- a century of theological civil war The Iconoclast controversy (726-843) divides the Byzantine Empire for 117 years over whether religious images should be venerated or destroyed. Leo III orders the removal of icons in 726; two councils reverse and restore the policy; Empress Theodora finally restores icon veneration in 843 (the Triumph of Orthodoxy). The controversy permanently damages relations with Rome and accelerates the East-West schism.
863 – 885 Conversion of the Slavs -- Cyril and Methodius The missionaries Cyril and Methodius, sent by Constantinople to the Slavic peoples, invent the Glagolitic alphabet (precursor of Cyrillic) to write the Slavic languages and translate the Gospels. Their mission converts Bulgaria, Serbia, Moravia and eventually Russia to Orthodox Christianity, creating the cultural sphere of Eastern Orthodox civilisation that endures to the present day.
976 – 1025 Basil II -- the Bulgar-Slayer at Byzantine apogee Basil II (976-1025) is the greatest military emperor of the middle period. He destroys the Bulgarian Empire, blinding 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners (leaving one eye to every hundredth man to lead the others home), reconquers Syria and Georgia, and converts the Rus of Kiev to Orthodox Christianity through the baptism of Vladimir I. At his death the empire is at its largest extent since Justinian.
1025 – 1261 Decline & The Crusades (1025–1261) The period from Basil II's death to the Nicaean reconquest of Constantinople spans the catastrophic defeat at Manzikert (1071), the loss of Anatolia to the Seljuk Turks, the complex and often damaging relationship with the Crusader states, and the catastrophe of 1204 when the Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople and establishes the Latin Empire. The Nicaean Empire -- the Byzantine government in exile -- reconquers Constantinople in 1261 under Michael VIII Palaiologos, but the empire it restores is a shadow of its former self.
1071 Battle of Manzikert -- Anatolia lost At Manzikert (1071), the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan defeats and captures Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes. The battle opens Anatolia -- the heartland of Byzantine military recruitment and agricultural wealth -- to Seljuk settlement. Within a decade most of Asia Minor is lost. The defeat triggers the political crisis that eventually leads Alexios I Komnenos to request Crusader assistance from the Pope.
1095 – 1099 The First Crusade -- Constantinople as launching pad Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade at Clermont (1095), responding to Alexios I Komnenos's appeal for mercenary assistance against the Seljuks. The Crusaders pass through Constantinople, swear oaths to Alexios, and conquer Jerusalem (1099). The Crusader states are established in the Byzantine sphere of influence -- but the relationship between Byzantium and the Crusaders rapidly becomes one of mutual suspicion and occasional open conflict.
1204 The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople The Fourth Crusade (1202-04), diverted by Venetian commercial interests, sacks Constantinople on 13 April 1204 -- the first time the city falls to an enemy in 874 years. The three-day sack is one of the great cultural catastrophes of the Middle Ages: libraries burned, relics stolen, the Hagia Sophia desecrated. The Latin Empire of Constantinople (1204-1261) replaces the Byzantine state. Three successor Byzantine states survive in exile: Nicaea, Trebizond and Epirus.
1261 – 1453 The Final Century (1261–1453) The Palaiologan period (1261-1453) is the last chapter of Byzantine history -- a twilight of extraordinary cultural flowering (the Chora Church mosaics, the Hesychast controversy, the Council of Florence) alongside relentless territorial contraction. Civil wars, the Black Death, Serbian and Ottoman pressure reduce the empire to Constantinople and a few scattered territories. Constantine XI, the last emperor, dies fighting on the walls on 29 May 1453 as Mehmed II's army enters the city. The empire of Constantine the Great ends 1,123 years after its foundation.
1261 Nicaean reconquest -- Constantinople restored Michael VIII Palaiologos of the Nicaean Empire reconquers Constantinople from the Latin Empire on 25 July 1261. The restoration of the Byzantine Empire is celebrated as a triumph, but the empire Michael restores is a pale shadow of its former self -- territorially diminished, economically exhausted, and permanently weakened by the Latin occupation. The Palaiologan dynasty rules for the final 192 years of Byzantine history.
1347 – 1349 Black Death devastates Constantinople The Black Death reaches Constantinople in 1347, killing approximately half the population of the city including the son of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. The plague strikes an empire already weakened by civil war, Serbian expansion and Ottoman encroachment. The demographic and economic catastrophe accelerates the empire's terminal decline.
1453 Fall of Constantinople -- 29 May 1453 Mehmed II's Ottoman army, equipped with massive bronze cannons cast by the Hungarian engineer Urban, breaches the Theodosian Walls on 29 May 1453 after a 53-day siege. Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine emperor, tears off his imperial insignia and dies fighting with his men at the breach. The city is sacked for three days. Mehmed rides to Hagia Sophia and orders it converted to a mosque. The Eastern Roman Empire, 1,123 years after Constantine's foundation, is extinguished.