The Byzantine Empire

Constantinople/Byzantium/Istanbul

Constantinople now known as Istanbul was the Capital of the Byzantine empire and was on a strait in between The Black Sea and the Mediterranean sea. Constantinople is also the home to the Hagia Sophia and a major trading port.

Justinian

Justinian was born in the present day country Macedonia. His Dad Emperor Justin I made him ruler in 527 A.D.  as co-ruler of Macedonia. Justinian died a few months later and Justinian made himself the rightful ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Justinian was a Orthodox Christian (someone who persecuted Christian heretics). In 529 he closed the schools of philosophy in Athens Greece. In 529 Justinian’s people revolted and burned the center of Constantinople and when Justinian rebuilt the city he also made the Hagia Sophia a famous church. In 533 Justinian started a series of wars that resulted as the beginning of the end for the Byzantine empire. He died November 14,565 A.D. 

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is now a museum in Istanbul Turkey. The Hagia Sophia is famous for its design of vaults and arches. The Central Framework supports the center dome for the interior to be humongous. The Multicolored marble veneers and ornamental mosaics originally decorated the church interior. Images of religious figures were added to the church walls in the 800’s.