Byzantine Empire: 1. 330–650

Abstract

The early Byzantine Empire is the same as the later Roman Empire in the east, the part that did not fall. As a phase of Roman history, it begins with the foundation of Constantinople in 330 ce and ends with the Arab conquests of the 7th century. It is defined by an intensive degree of bureaucratic, fiscal, and legal regulation of many aspects of life; the gradual acceptance by most of the population of a Roman identity and the normative values of a common culture; and Christianization, which gradually drove paganism to extinction. The early Byzantine Empire was not driven by conquest, except during the ambitious reign of Justinian, who recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarian kings.