How Did The Byzantine Empire Decline

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Byzantine Empire was the Eastern division of Roman Empire which started its reign in 330 C.E. under the leadership of Constantine the Great. It lasted over 1,000 years, thriving and then falling, and became the most prosperous country and brought plenty of positive contributions and influences to the whole world at that long period. While the Western Roman Empire was in decline, conquered by the Germanic tribes, and finally plunged into the Middle Age, the Byzantine Empire still remained strong and flourishing. Many factors contributed to this great difference, one of which was the location of Byzantine Empire’s capital. The capital was called Constantinople and its location was a crossroads for business and trade between Europe, Asia, …show more content…

Its fall is a gradual process which had both reasons of external invasion and internal decay. One of the greatest strengths of the Byzantine Empire was the sheer size and organized of its military. But two civil wars which happened between 1321 to 1328 C.E and between 1341 to 1347 C.E. destroyed a very efficient military system, lost significant population, and distrusted its trade network and economy, therefore severely diminished the power of whole Empire. On the other hand, the rise of Arabs and Turks threatened the survival of Byzantine Empire. Along with few hundred year period of military challenges from outside invaders, the Byzantine Empire became weaker and weaker. In 1204 C.E, the capital Constantinople was sacked by the Fourth Crusade but the Byzantine Empire restored a bit afterwards. And on 29 May 1453, an invading Ottoman army captured the capital again. The army begun on 6 April, had a 53-day siege, and eventually took the control of the imperial capita. This time’s capture of the Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, also the end of the continuation of the Roman

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