The Byzantine Empire stood at the geographical and cultural centre of the European and Middle-Eastern world for more than one thousand years.

For much of that time, and over several cycles of decline and recovery - from inception as the eastern half of the partitioned Roman Empire in the fourth century AD through to final disappearance in the fifteenth century - Byzantium played the role of an economic, political, and cultural superpower.

On this site you will find a historical overview, timelines, maps, articles and bibliographic material - all dedicated to the fascinating civilisation of Byzantium. The site also features an extensive photographic gallery, which details some of the surviving examples of Byzantine architecture and public art - from Italy through to the empire's heartland in modern Greece and Turkey.