While the western half of the empire was crumbling, the eastern half remained strong. Today, the eastern empire is called the Byzantine Empire. The emperors there saw themselves as Roman, and Latin remained the chief language through the fifth century. Eventually, however, Greek became the official language. The emperors in Constantinople still considered the western lands part of their territory, at least in theory. In practice, however, they realized that the various Germanic kings in the region wielded local power and had only weak loyalties to the eastern empire.
Although the eastern empire was stronger than the west, it still faced outside threats from the Sassanids and the Huns. Unlike Rome, however, Constantinople was spared foreign invasion. The city was surrounded by water on three sides, and a huge wall protected it from a land invasion.
The east also had its own political intrigues, as German generals tried to gain influence the way they had in the west, and leaders sometimes struggled with bishops for power. One of the calmer periods came under Theodosius II, who ruled for almost 50 years (408-450). One of his greatest accomplishments was collecting all the laws passed since Constantine the Great and publishing them in one book, which is now known as the Theodosian Code.
After Theodosius II, another member of his family tried to preserve the dynasty founded by Theodosius the Great. His sister Pulcheria (399-453) influenced both the Church and government, with backing from a powerful German general. As a woman, she could not rule the empire, but she married Marcian (c. 396-457), a Roman who became emperor. The Theodosian Dynasty in the east ended with Pulcheria’s death, and a new ruling family emerged starting with Leo I (c. 411-474, not the same as the pope of that name). With German backing, he was named emperor. His grandson and son-in-law followed him to the throne.
The last emperor with ties to Leo was Anastasius (491-518), who married Leo’s daughter. Under him the empire continued to battle outsiders, including the Sassanids and a Central Asian tribe called the Bul-gars. Anastasius helped strengthen the empire by reforming the tax laws. He ended some taxes and paid money from his own wealth to make up the difference in the state’s funds. He also raised more money by ending corruption and making sure the taxes were properly collected. With his reforms, the Byzantine Empire expanded its economy and paid for its military needs.
World History
