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Byzantine architectureis thearchitectureof theByzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire.
The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 CE, whenConstantine the Greatmoved the Roman capital toByzantium, which becameConstantinople, until thefall of the Byzantine Empirein 1453. However, there was initially no hard line between the Byzantine and Roman empires, and early Byzantine architecture is stylistically and structurally indistinguishable fromRoman architecture. This terminology was introduced by modern historians to designate the medievalRoman Empireas it evolved as a distinct artistic and cultural entity centered on the new capital of Constantinople (modern-dayIstanbul) rather than the city ofRomeand its environs.
Its architecture dramatically influenced the latermedieval architecturethroughout Europe and the Near East, and became the primary progenitor of theRenaissanceandOttomanarchitectural traditions that followed its collapse.
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