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Ashley Shaaf
8SS7
Constantine Establishes a New Capital
11/20/15
Social Studies
The Byzantine Empire, a once prosperous and culturally diverse empire,
flourished in the arts, was the center of commerce, and was widely known for
its substantial defenses. The origin of the Byzantine Empire dates back to the
gradual decline of its western counterpart, the Roman Empire. At the time, the
Roman Empire was divided into two parts to make it easier to rule.
Constantine I, the first Christian emperor, ruled the western half of Roman
Empire, while Licinius ruled the East. According to Heidi Hayes Jacobs and
Michal L. LeVasseur, Constantine and Licinius declared freedom of religion
and stopped the persecution of Christians (274). Licinius, who still continued
the persecution, lost in many battles against Constantine, and in 324,
Constantine took power of both the West and the East. As the sole ruler,
Constantine did much in his power to improve the Roman Empire and helped
the spread of Christianity. According to History.com, in 330 AD, Constantine
decided to move the imperial capital from Rome to Byzantium (par. 2).
Byzantium, originally a Greek city founded by a man named Byzas,
became known as “New Rome.” Later on, it was renamed Constantinople in
honor of Emperor Constantine. The new capital was superior to Rome in
many ways geographically. Since Constantinople was strategically placed on a
peninsula with low mountains and hills, it could be easily fortified and was
safe from invaders. Moreover, the city’s ideal location enabled trade with
many other civilizations because it was located near the Bosporus Strait, a
narrow passage connecting the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and the Sea of
Marmara (Jacobs and LeVasseur 286). Likewise, the strait linked the
continents of Europe and Asia. Jacobs and LeVasseur stated, “Goods came to
Constantinople from Kiev in the north, from Egypt in the south, and across
Central Asia as far away as China” (286). This implies that Constantinople was
the center of trade in the Ancient World.
In 476, when the Roman Empire was divided yet again, the West fell,
while the East, known as the Byzantine Empire, continued to flourish in the
arts and religion. Since Constantine was a firm believer in Christianity who
made numerous efforts to spread the religion, many churches were
constructed and people were encouraged to practice their religion openly.
One church commissioned by Constantine was the Hagia Sofia located in
Constantinople. Embodying the art style of the time, the church served several
empires, major religions, and is still standing today.
Works Cited
“Byzantine Empire.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2015. Web. 16 November
2015.
This source explained the geographical advantages of the Byzantine Empire,
which made it easier to understand why Byzantium was chosen as the new
capital. It was easier to navigate the article because it included a table of
contents. The sections “A New Rome” and “Survival of the Byzantine Empire”
gave plenty of information on my topic, which I then applied to my essay. The
information taken from this source was predominantly used in the first
paragraph of my essay.
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes and Michal L. LeVasseur. History of Our World. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.
This book was helpful in understanding the overall chronology of the
Byzantine Empire. I utilized this source by including citations in the first and
second paragraphs. It included specific details of when and where the Roman
capital was moved, as well as who made the decision to move it. Moreover, it
was better than the web source because it gave a general and broader
description of the origin of the Byzantine Empire, which made it easier to
write topic sentences for my essay.