Byzantine Empire (Saracen Jihad)

The ‘’’Byzantine Empire’’’ refers to the predominantly Greek-speaking nation that served as a continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Centered around its capital of Constantinople, originally known as Byzantium, the Byzantine Empire is also often called the Eastern Roman Empire, as it was a part of the Roman Empire that survived the fifth century fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire, continuing to exist for much longer past the fall of Rome. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe.

Although its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire (Ancient Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων, tr. Basileia Rhōmaiōn; Latin: Imperium Romanum), and Romania (Ῥωμανία), the empire also came to be known as both the "Byzantine Empire" and the "Eastern Roman Empire", historiographical terms applied in later centuries.