Byzantium

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/byzantium

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Byzantium built?Established by Greek colonists from Megara in the 7th century BCE
2. What is the renamed?Refounded and renamed Constantinople by Emperor Constantine the Great in 330 CE
3. What is the capital of?The Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) for over 1,100 years
4. What was Byzantium and why was it so important?Byzantium was a Greek colony founded in the 7th century BCE by people from Megara. It was built on the Bosporus, a narrow strait that connected the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, so it could control trade and defend against invaders.
5. Why did Emperor Constantine rename Byzantium to Constantinople?In 330 CE, Constantine the Great made the city his new capital and called it Constantinople, meaning "New Rome." He chose it because it was stronger than the old Rome and could be the center of the Eastern Roman Empire.

City-state: An independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.
Bosporus Strait: A narrow, natural strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia.
Eastern Roman Empire: The continuation of the Roman Empire in the East after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire.