Byzantine Empire

Empire of western Asia and southeastern Europe, named for Byzantium, the Greek name of its capital Constantinople. Formed from the eastern Roman empire and lasting until the 15th century, it carried forward the ideas and ideals of the Roman empire for a thousand years after the fall of Rome. Heraclius (r.610-645) implemented reforms which marked the the beginning of the Byzantine empire. Despite losing territory to the Arabs, Bulgars and Lombards, the empire recovered and reached its peak in about 1000 under Basil II. Crushing defeat by the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert (1071) brought rapid decline. Calls to the Latin west for armed help began the Crusades but strained relations led to the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Byzantines recaptured it in 1261 and the empire lingered until conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Byzantine empire was alienated from Europe by the schism between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.