About the Byzantine Empire
A Thousand years after the fall of The Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire continued to preserve the Roman Law and culture. Like the emperors of the Western Roman Empire, the Empire's ruler was an absolute ruler, and struggled to keep the Germanic peoples, Huns, Goths, and other invaders out of their land. Despite so much effort, much of the land belonging to the empire was lost to the invaders. Fortunately, one emperor was able to restore control over the former lands of the Eastern Roman Empire. This emperor's name is Justinian I .
The Split of the Empire
Most historians today have trouble deciding exactly which event or date signifies the fall of the Roman Empire. One of the most common conclusions is that when the Empire was split in two, it would never be able to reach its former glory again. There’s even more debate on the religions of the age, which were probably the decisive factor separating the Byzantine Empire from the spirit of Classical Rome.
Theodosius I was the last emperor to rule over the whole Roman Empire. He was also the one who split it right down the middle, giving Rome (West) to his son Honorius and Constantinople (East) to his other son Arcadius. The more classical, Western part of the Roman Empire weakened significantly when the land was divided, while the Greek-influenced Eastern half continued to develop the oriental aspects of its culture. The Roman Empire, as the world had known it, no longer existed.
Theodosius I was the last emperor to rule over the whole Roman Empire. He was also the one who split it right down the middle, giving Rome (West) to his son Honorius and Constantinople (East) to his other son Arcadius. The more classical, Western part of the Roman Empire weakened significantly when the land was divided, while the Greek-influenced Eastern half continued to develop the oriental aspects of its culture. The Roman Empire, as the world had known it, no longer existed.