Byzantine Empire

American  

noun

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

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Byzantine Empire British  

noun

1. 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 1453 See also Eastern Roman Empire

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Byzantine Empire Cultural  

1. 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.

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Discover More

Constantinople is called Istanbul today.

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.

Compare meaning

How does byzantine-empire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Byzantine Empire vs. Roman Empire

Example Sentences

Recently, I took Gemini on a long walk with me, during which we had a Socratic dialogue about the history of the Byzantine Empire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

Together with other groups from Central Asia, they formed a new power center in Europe, forcing the Byzantine Empire to pay tribute.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 24, 2024

Naismith hopes to establish how and why so much silver moved from the Byzantine Empire into Western Europe.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024

The patriarchate dates from the 1,100-year Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which ended in 1453 when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2024

In reward for this timely assistance the Seljuk Sultan awarded to Ertogrul the district of Anatolia, which bounded the Greek or Byzantine Empire, the capital of which Empire was then Constantinople.

From Turkey Peeps at Many Lands by Millingen, Julius R. Van