INVENIRE

Despite the fall of the Western Roman Empire to invading tribes, the Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire, flourished for nearly a millennium after. The longevity of the Byzantine Empire can be attributed to Constantinople, and the reforms of the Emperor Justinian. The city of Constantinople gave the Byzantine Empire stable rule, made the Empire a formidable military power, and created immense wealth; moreover, the city’s architecture imparted an invaluable Greco-Roman identity onto the Byzantine Empire, uniting its citizens, and enabling the empire to survive on. On the other hand, the reforms of Justinian created a fair, orderly society that discouraged separatism and increased contentment amongst the people of the Byzantine Empire. The foremost reason that the Byzantine Empire survived so long was the physical situation of its capital. As a result of the imminent collapse of Rome, Constantine decided to move the seat of Roman power to a new city. He identified th...