Fall of Rome.

Although we speak of the "fall" Rome, the Roman Empire did not disappear from

the map in 476. This dramatic phrase is short for a long and slow process of change from

one life to another. In fact, an emperor still ruled the eastern Roman Empire that was later

named the Byzantine Empire, this would last for another 1000 years.

The Byzantine Empire began with the Roman emperor Constantine in 330 and

ended in 1453 when Constantinople falls to the Turks. He decided to construct his capital

in a town called Byzantium, later called Constantinople or the "New Rome Which Is

Constantine's City." Constantine had several reasons for building his capital there. First,

it was easily defended since it was surrounded by water on three sides and it was

crossroads of trade. Secondly, the hills allowed citizens to spot invading ships or armies

far away. Lastly, it enabled them to control land routes used by merchants.

English: The extent of the Eastern (Byzantine) and...

English: Byzantine Empire emblem. The double heade...

Map of the Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent...

The Byzantine Empire was the "new Rome," because there were many

similarities between the two cities in areas such as religion. Both these civilization

believed in Christianity, even though they did things differently such as the priests of the

Byzantine faith may marry or get a divorce depending on the situation. Another similarity

between the two is in the economy. Both of these empires had once controlled import

trade routes from sea and land, which made them immensely rich.

The two empires also had identical governments. Emperors who were an autocrat

or a sole ruler with complete authorithy ruled them both. In addition, their codes of law

were very similar. The Byzantine emperor Justinian had ordered to collect, revise, and

organize all the laws of ancient Rome. The result was Corpus Juris Civilis, "Body of

Civil Law" popularly known as Justinian's Code. This massive...