A short history of the Byzantine The ancient Roman Empire having been divided into two parts, an Eastern and a Western, the Eastern remained subject to successors of Constantine, whose capital was at Byzantium or Constantinople. The term Byzantine is therefore employed to designate this Eastern survival of the ancient Roman Empire. The subject will be here treated under the following divisions: I. Byzantine Civilization; II. Dynastic History. The latter division of the article will be subdivided into six heads in chronological order.