Timeline Description: The Byzantine Empire lasted for over a thousand years, and it was home to the largest and most powerful empire in the world. This is a timeline of its history.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 667 B.C. | Byzantine was founded According to legend the ancient city of Byzantium was founded by Megarian colonists. |
| 27 B.C. | The Romans come into rule The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful rules in the history of mankind. |
| 330 A.D. | Byzantium becomes the capital Constantine, the Roman leader, made Byzantium the capital city of the Roman Empire. He changed the name to Constantinople. |
| 395 | The Empire is split in half After the death of Theodosius, the Byzantine Empire was split in half. It had western and eastern kingdoms. |
| 527 | An Emperor is crowned Justinian I was crowned and he quickly expanded the Empire. |
| 568 | The loss of the Italian provinces After a battle with the Lombards, the Byzantine Empire lost most of their lands in Italy. Many battles followed over the years and they lost much more land in Africa. |
| 843 | A slight revival of the Empire When the Macedonian Dynasty stepped into rule, the Byzantine Empire started gaining back some of their lands. They had a revival of their greatness for 200 years. |
| 1018 | Bulgaria is conquered The Byzantines conquered Bulgaria and the Balkans. |
| 1025 | Basil II dies, and the empire falls apart When the emperor, Basil II, died, he passed his kingdom along. The next ruled didn't do well, and things began to fall apart. |
| 1081 | The Byzantines participate in the Crusades Alexios I became the emperor and he took his people into the Crusades in Jerusalem. |
| 1097 | Antioch is taken from the Turks The Byzantines took Antioch from the Turkish armies, and later they took Hungary. |
| 1185 | The Bulgarians rebel The Bulgarians set up a rebellion against the Byzantines, and they won back their independence. |
| 1204 | Constantinople is captured During the 4th Crusade the capital city of Constantinople was captured, along with several other prominent cities. |
| 1326 | Other cities fall from Byzantine power Prusia was taken by the Turks, and then in 1331 Nicaea also fell to the Turks. |
| 1347 | The Black Death kills off the Byzantine Empire The Black death was a plague that swept through Europe and Asia. The weak empire couldn't stand against this last fatal blow. |
| 1461 | The last of the empire falls One last Byzantine outpost held out until 1461, when it finally fell to the Turks. The Byzantine Empire and Roman rule were officially over. |