Sometimes the empire was so small that it was little more than the city itself.
But whether it was big or little, it was almost always the most important and the strongest nation west of China. Sometimes it was the only important one!
How did it get that way?
How was it able to keep strong when so much of the rest of the world was breaking into pieces?
What did it do for the world? For it did a great deal.
Why should you and I care about Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire?
I will try to tell you.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
AND CONSTANTINOPLE
The beginning o£ the story took place a long time ago, and not even in the same land.