Byzantine Empire

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noun

the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the Western Empire in a.d. 476. Capital: Constantinople.

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Words nearby Byzantine Empire

by-your-leave, Byz., Byzantine, Byzantine chant, Byzantine Church, Byzantine Empire, Byzantinism, Byzantinist, Byzantium, Byzas, Bz.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Byzantine Empire in a sentence

Monasteries and convents were in fact almost invaluable to party politicians of the Byzantine Empire.
The Walls of Constantinople|Bernard Granville Baker
Besides, in the decadence of our Byzantine empire, the criminal laws fail worse and worse of execution.
The Prince of India, Volume I|Lew. Wallace
This failure did not prevent him from again attacking the Byzantine Empire, and this time he was successful.
The Story of Russia|R. Van Bergen, M.A.
In the Byzantine Empire, the oldest son was the heir, and the priests tried to introduce this as a law.
The Story of Russia|R. Van Bergen, M.A.

From these three types of building are derived the various schemes on which the churches of the Byzantine Empire were planned.
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople|Alexander Van Millingen

British Dictionary definitions for Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

noun

the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East, esp after the deposition of the last emperor in Rome (476 ad). It was finally extinguished by the fall of Constantinople, its capital, in 1453See also Eastern Roman Empire

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

[ (biz-uhn-teen, biz-uhn-teyen, bizan-tin) ]

An empire, centered at Constantinople, that began as the eastern portion of the Roman Empire; it included parts of Europe and western Asia. As the western Roman Empire declined, the Byzantine Empire grew in importance, and it remained an important power in Europe until the eleventh century. The Byzantine Empire was conquered by Turkish forces in the fifteenth century.

The Byzantine emperor was an absolute ruler (see absolute monarchy), and the laws and customs associated with his empire were strict and complex. His rule was supported by the Christian Church in the region, which later became the independent Eastern Orthodox Church.

notes for Byzantine Empire

The word byzantine is often applied to a group of intricately connected and rigidly applied regulations or traditions, or to a complex bureaucracy that insists on formal requirements.

notes for Byzantine Empire

Constantinople is called Istanbul today.