BosporusThe waterway that links the Black Sea to Marmara. Europe lies on one bank and Asia on the other.
Byzantine EmpireThe Greek-speaking Roman state of the Middle Ages. It reached its greatest size under Justinian I, who ruled from 527 to 565.
ConstantinopleThe capital city, known today as Istanbul. For more than seven centuries, until the early 1200s, no city in Europe was larger or richer.
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Christian body run by councils of bishops, not a pope. Only the Roman Catholic Church is larger.
emperorThe absolute ruler, who also commanded the army. The line of emperors is counted from Constantine the Great.
Greek fireA secret weapon whose flames kept burning on water. Byzantine sailors sprayed it at enemy ships through tubes. The recipe has been lost.
Hagia SophiaThe great church of Holy Wisdom, finished in 537. Work on it began in 532. Its dome inspired later churches and mosques.
iconA religious artwork showing Jesus, Mary or a saint. Most icons were painted on wooden panels.
Justinian's CodeRoman laws collected and put in order in the 500s. It was issued from 529 to 534 and later served as a model for legal systems in Europe.
mosaicArt made by pressing colored cubes into plaster. Early Christian churches had mosaics on their walls and ceilings. One in Hagia Sophia shows the Virgin and Child.
patriarchThe bishop who headed the church in the capital. The emperor could appoint a patriarch or remove one.
schismA split of one religious body into two. People also use the word for a split in a group that is not religious.
Show all 36 terms (24 more)
Capital, court and trade 12
basileusThe Greek title that the ruler was known by. Emperors used it from the 7th century. An empress was a basilissa.
ByzantiumThe name of the place before it became the capital. Greeks from Megara settled it in the 7th century BC.
cisternA waterproof tank for storing water. Several hundred lie under Istanbul. The largest, the Basilica Cistern, dates from the 6th century.
dynastyRule kept in one family from reign to reign. Under the Macedonian dynasty the empire grew again, in a revival that lasted two centuries.
Golden HornThe sheltered inlet that served as the city's harbor. It runs along the north side of the old city.
HippodromeThe racetrack that was the city's sporting center. Hippos is Greek for horse and dromos for a path. Today the site is a square in Istanbul.
silkFine cloth whose making was reserved to the state. Raw silk was bought from China until silkworms were smuggled into the empire.
solidusA gold coin that kept its value for centuries. Constantine I put it into wide use in the early 300s. Its Greek name was nomisma.
straitA slim neck of sea with a shore close on each side. The Dardanelles is the strait at the far end of the Sea of Marmara.
themeA province run by a military commander. Themes were set up in the mid-7th century. The commander was called a strategos.
Theodosian WallsThe stone defenses on the landward side of the city. They were first built in the 5th century, under Theodosius II, and kept attackers out for some 800 years.
Varangian GuardBodyguards from the far north who protected the ruler. It was formally set up about 988. Many of its men were Norsemen, and later many came from England.
Faith, art and later centuries 12
AnatoliaThe large peninsula at the western end of Asia. It is also called Asia Minor and makes up most of modern Turkey.
Cyrillic scriptA writing system used today for Russian and Bulgarian. It took shape in Bulgaria in the 9th century and takes its name from Saint Cyril.
domeA roof that curves evenly up from a circular base. Curved triangles called pendentives let a round dome rest on a square room.
excommunicateTo cut a person off from membership in a church. In 1054 a cardinal sent by the pope and the patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other.
Fourth CrusadeThe expedition that sacked the capital in 1204. Its stated goal had been Jerusalem. The Byzantines recovered their capital in 1261.
iconoclasmThe banning and breaking of religious images. The first ban ran from about 726 to 787. Its Greek parts mean image and to break.
missionaryA believer sent out to win others to a faith. The Byzantine brothers Cyril and Methodius were missionaries to the Slavs.
monasteryA home for men or women who retire to a religious life. Many Byzantine monks were scholars, and monasteries kept stores of texts.
Ottoman EmpireThe rising power that conquered the capital in 1453. Its sultans made the city their own capital, and it stayed one until 1922.
relicAn object kept and honored for its tie to a saint. The name comes from reliquiae, Latin for remains. A reliquary is a container made to hold one.
Seljuk TurksThe people who beat the imperial army at Manzikert. The battle was fought in 1071. In the years after it the empire lost most of Asia Minor.
siegeA blockade meant to wear down the defenders of a city. The last siege of Constantinople, in 1453, went on for 53 days.
How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, in the articles Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, List of Byzantine emperors, Mosaic, Icon, Schism, East–West Schism, Patriarch, Corpus Juris Civilis, Code of Justinian, Hagia Sophia, Greek fire, Bosporus, Eastern Orthodox Church, Byzantium, Walls of Constantinople, Hippodrome of Constantinople, Golden Horn, Strait, Basileus, Dynasty, Theme (Byzantine district), Solidus, Byzantine silk, Varangian Guard, Cistern, Basilica Cistern, Byzantine Iconoclasm, Iconoclasm, Monastery, Dome, Pendentive, Relic, Cyrillic script, Early Cyrillic alphabet, Cyril and Methodius, Missionary, Excommunication, Anatolia, Battle of Manzikert, Fourth Crusade, Sack of Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, Fall of Constantinople and Siege. The second source is World History Encyclopedia (https://www.worldhistory.org/), in the entries Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, Greek Fire, Theodosian Walls, Byzantine Emperor and Varangian Guard. Where the two give a fact differently it is left out or said in the words both bear. The facts on the Bosporus, the Golden Horn, the Hippodrome, silk, the cistern, the dome, the relic, the Cyrillic script, the missionary brothers, the events of 1054, Anatolia and the siege of 1453 rest on Wikipedia alone. The sentence after each meaning is from the same sources. Licence: own work
How it works
A Byzantine Empire vocabulary worksheet to print: Constantinople, emperor, mosaic, icon, schism, patriarch, Justinian's Code and five more terms down the left, their meanings in another order down the right. An answer key comes out as the last page.
Read the full guide
The capital, its court and its trade
In Set, the second sheet has Byzantium, Theodosian Walls, Hippodrome, Golden Horn, strait, basileus, dynasty, theme, solidus, silk, Varangian Guard and cistern.
Faith, art and the later centuries
The third set has iconoclasm, monastery, dome, relic, Cyrillic script, missionary, excommunicate, Anatolia, Seljuk Turks, Fourth Crusade, Ottoman Empire and siege. Under the tool each term has a fact. Meanings and facts were checked against Wikipedia and World History Encyclopedia.
These sheets are history vocabulary. They teach no faith and take no side between the churches.
Questions and answers
What was the Byzantine Empire?
The eastern half of the Roman Empire, which lasted for nearly a thousand years after the western half fell in the 5th century. Its capital was Constantinople, its official language became Greek and its faith was Christianity.
When did the Byzantine Empire start and end?
Historians do not agree on a start date. Many count from 330, when Constantinople became the Roman capital. The empire ended on 29 May 1453, when the city fell to the Ottoman Empire after a siege.
Why is it called the Byzantine Empire?
The name comes from Byzantium, the Greek city on whose site Constantinople was built. It was coined only after the empire had ended. Its own people called their state the Roman Empire and themselves Romans.
What was the Great Schism of 1054?
The break between the church of Rome, headed by the pope, and the church of Constantinople, headed by its patriarch. Differences had grown for centuries before 1054. The two sides are known today as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.