What empire is also known as the Byzantine Empire?

What empire is also known as the Byzantine Empire?

• A. Ottoman Empire.
• B. Roman Empire.
• C. Eastern Roman Empire.
• D. Holy Roman Empire.

Answer: (C)

This question tests how historians name the eastern continuation of Rome. The Byzantine Empire is the eastern portion of the old Roman Empire that survived after the West fell, with its capital at Constantinople. People inside it regarded themselves as Romans and their rulers as Emperors of the Romans. The term “Byzantine Empire” is a modern label; the state was still essentially the Roman Empire in its own time, often called the Eastern Roman Empire to reflect its location in the east and its continuity from Rome. Because of that continuity and centrality in the eastern part of the empire, the best label is the Eastern Roman Empire. The Ottoman Empire came later and replaced Constantinople, becoming a different state; the Holy Roman Empire was a separate medieval power in Central Europe, not the eastern continuation of Rome. The distinction helps avoid implying a break in Roman identity where there was persistence in the east.

This question tests how historians name the eastern continuation of Rome. The Byzantine Empire is the eastern portion of the old Roman Empire that survived after the West fell, with its capital at Constantinople. People inside it regarded themselves as Romans and their rulers as Emperors of the Romans. The term “Byzantine Empire” is a modern label; the state was still essentially the Roman Empire in its own time, often called the Eastern Roman Empire to reflect its location in the east and its continuity from Rome.

Because of that continuity and centrality in the eastern part of the empire, the best label is the Eastern Roman Empire. The Ottoman Empire came later and replaced Constantinople, becoming a different state; the Holy Roman Empire was a separate medieval power in Central Europe, not the eastern continuation of Rome. The distinction helps avoid implying a break in Roman identity where there was persistence in the east.