The following
outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Byzantine Empire:
Byzantine Empire (or Byzantium) – the
Constantinople-centred
Roman Empire of the
Middle Ages. It is also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, primarily in the context of
Late Antiquity, while the Roman Empire was still administered with separate eastern and
western political centres. In its own time, there was no such thing as "the Byzantine Empire," there was just the ongoing Roman Empire; "Byzantine Empire" is a scholarly term of convenience to differentiate the empire from its earlier existence during
classical antiquity before the western half collapsed (see
decline of the Roman Empire). Its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire (
Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων, Basileia Rhōmaiōn;[1]Latin: Imperium Romanum) or Romania (Ῥωμανία).[2] After the Western Roman Empire
fragmented and collapsed in the 5th century, the eastern half continued to thrive, existing for an additional thousand years until it fell to the
Ottoman Turks in 1453. During much of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe.
James, Liz (2010). A Companion to Byzantium. Chichester: John Wiley.
ISBN978-1-4051-2654-0.
Kaldellis, Anthony (2007). Hellenism in Byzantium: The Transformations of Greek Identity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN978-0-521-87688-9.
Kazhdan, Alexander Petrovich; Constable, Giles (1982). People and Power in Byzantium: An Introduction to Modern Byzantine Studies. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks.
ISBN0-88402-103-3.