IndexThe fall of the Byzantine empire Rapid rise to powerThreats to the Byzantine empireTHE CRUSADESThe rise of the Ottomans"Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on"Why violent video Games do not should they be banned? Get the original essay The Fall of the Byzantine Empire Rapid Rise to Power The Byzantine Empire began its rise to power as the Roman Empire was coming to an end, damaged by civil wars, Constantine, the first to take power and in the IV century they established Constantinople as their capital. Constantine's successors continued to expand the empire, eventually leading the Byzantine Empire to cover most of the Mediterranean region including Egypt, Sicily, Italy, Greece and Rome key to the end of the empire as excessive expansion proved to be the fall of the empire Simply the position of the Eastern Empire was unfavorable, geographically speaking, which surrounded them with enemies. To the south there were various amounts of Saracens be the Umayyad Caliphate, the Seljuks or the Ottomans. This failed to recognize the Pope as Christendom's highest religious authority and strained relations, making Western support for Byzantium less certain. The Eurasian steppe ended at the gates of the Eastern Empire around the area of ​​modern Romania. This ensured that the Basileus of Constantinople had constant nomadic threats such as the Bulgarians and Pechenegs. Threats to the Byzantine Empire The placement of the empire saw the empire battle numerous challenges. During the Late Antique period, the Byzantine Empire faced invasions from the Atillas, Huns, Visigoths, Vandals, and Alans from numerous fronts, and the expansion of the empire became a difficult task. Starting in the 5th century, the rise of Islam in the Mediterranean sparked fear as Islam continued to move closer to the capital. Battles such as the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate saw the empire suffer another humiliating defeat. With victories coming left and right, the Arabs began their campaigns to take and gain land from the Byzantine Empire in which they managed to conquer Asia Minor, Sicily, Crete, and Cyprus. The fall of Egypt became a major blow to the Byzantine Empire, the region was an important source of grain and manufactured goods. The Byzantine Empire saw the rise of another challenge in the form of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century and clashed at the Battle of Manzikerta in August 1071, which led to the decisive defeat of the Byzantine Empire. The humiliating defeat was compounded by the Byzantines' loss of Armenia and Anatolia to the Seljuk Empire. The Byzantine Empire had large territories in Italy conquered by small nations such as the Normans THE CRUSADES To combat these numerous threats, and with the Seljuk Turks located in Central Asia closing in on Constantinople, Emperor Alexios I called for help from allies in the West , resulting in the declaration of a “holy war” by Pope Urban II, which began the First Crusade. As armies from France, Germany, and Italy poured into Byzantium, Alexios tried to force their leaders to swear an oath of allegiance to him to ensure that the lands conquered by the Turks would be returned to his empire. The main purpose of the Crusades was to help the slowly weakening Byzantine Empire to regain its lost land, however it was perhaps the greatest threat to the empire as in 1204 AD The Fourth Crusade in particular was incredibly devastating to the Byzantine Empire, as = the soldiers of the crusade mutinied and invaded Constantinople where they were involved in widespread looting, vandalism and destruction. The great sack of Constantinople became an important point ofturning point in history. The mere idea of ​​attacking the largest Christian city in the world was unprecedented, unexpected and immediate. controversial, and it is blasphemous to attack such a holy subject. Religious relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches were catastrophically injured for many centuries afterwards, Christianity in the East was greatly reduced and gained the opportunity for a rise of Islam in Europe Plagues Justinian's plague, which decimated the population of empire between 541 AD and 542 AD During its peak, the plague led to the deaths of 5,000 people every day in the civil wars of Constantinople. All this culminated in two civil wars that damaged not only the military but the social aspect of the Byzantine Empire, one in 1321 the other in 1341. Both diminished the military capabilities of the Byzantines. The civil war of 1321–1328 was led by Emperor Andronicus II, supported by Byzantine magnates who often clashed with the centralized authority of Byzantium. The outcome of the first war was inconclusive and ended with Andronikos III being named co-emperor together with his grandfather. Many took this opportunity like the Turks to make considerable gains in Anatolia and establish their capital in Bursa 100 kilometers from Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. With the death of Andronicus III in 1341 another civil war began which lasted until 1347. When Andronicus III died he left his six year old son under the regency of Anna of Savoy. The de facto leader of the empire, John Kantakouzenos, was a close associate of the late emperor, an extremely wealthy landowner. However, things did not go his way and he was declared emperor in Thrace. The war was based on class: the rich supported Kantakouzenos while the poorer supported the empress regent. The civil war was exploited by the Serbs, whose ruler took advantage of the chaos to proclaim himself emperor of the Serbs and Greeks. Serbian king Stefan Uroš IV Dušan made significant territorial gains in Byzantine Macedonia in 1345 and conquered large areas of Thessaly and Epirus in 1348. To secure his authority during the civil war, Kantakouzenos hired Turkish mercenaries in 1352 who seized Gallipoli from the Byzantines . Although the rebel mercenaries were defeated by the Western Crusaders in 1354, the Turkish armies ended up controlling many of the territories once controlled by the Byzantine Empire. These two monumental civil wars severely diminished the military strength of the Byzantine Empire and allowed its opportunistic enemies to make substantial gains in Byzantine territory. that almost who almost surrounded Constantinople. Not surprisingly, the Turks made the capture of Constantinople their number one priority and began the first siege of Constantinople which began in 1397 but was interrupted due to attacks by the Mongols, the Ottoman sultan Murad II led a second siege of Constantinople in 1442, but it was quickly revoked after fierce resistance from the city's defenders. In 1453, Sultan Mehmet II decided to end the Byzantine Empire once and for all. At this point, the empire consisted only of the province of Morea and Constantinople. Emperor Constantine Conclusion The Byzantine Empire survived for nearly 1,125 years. The Byzantine Empire became the center of civilization that sealed Greek and Roman societies as Western Europe fell into horrible times. Even though it was once with Rome, it continued some of Rome's patterns, established its own form of civilization, but it does not mean it was a separate state. The Empire protected the possessions of Western Europe until the decline of barbarism. Many"