Decline of The Byzantine Empire - Timeframes

Timeframes

In its own time, there was no such thing as "the Byzantine Empire," there was just the on-going Roman Empire; the "Byzantine Empire" is a scholarly term of convenience. As a result, there is no date that marks the moment when Rome became Byzantium and no scholarly convention either. Likewise, there is no consensus on exactly what period marks either the empire's zenith or the beginning of its decline. Like most nations and empires, the fortunes of the Romans/Byzantines ebbed with plagues, earthquakes, contested successions, and military challenges. Four distinct periods of sustained crises have been identified by historians:

• The crisis of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries, which saw invasions by the Visigoths, Huns, Alans, and Vandals across both the Rhine and Danube frontiers and sweeping through most of Europe.
• The crisis of the Seventh Century, which saw the explosive expansion of the new Arab empire at the Byzantine's expense.
• The crisis of the Eleventh Century, which saw simultaneous invasions by the Normans (in Italy), the Pechenegs (in the Crimea and the Balkins), and the Seljuks (in Asia Minor) and the devaluation of the nomisma.
• The crises of the Thirteenth Century, which followed the Sack of Constantinople and partitioning of the empire by the Fourth Crusade.

Several specific events have been suggested by various historians as marking the turning point:

• 634 – Start of the Byzantine-Arab Wars
• 636 - The Battle of Yarmouk
• 1025 – Death of the soldier-emperor Basil II
• 1071 – The Battle of Manzikert
• 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon
• 1180 – Death of Manuel I Komnenos
• 1185 – Demise of the Komnenos dynasty
• 1204 – The Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade

Of these, the Byzantine-Arab Wars and the Battle of Manzikert have traditionally been considered the most significant. However, recent books by Paul Magdalino and J. Birkenmeier have re-evaluated the position of the empire in the 12th century, citing the collapse under the Angeloi (1185–1204) as the most decisive turning point in the empire's fortunes. Although this view is not universally held, historians generally agree that after the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the empire was only a shadow of its former self. The death of Michael VIII in 1282 marks the last period of Byzantine success on anything more than a minor scale. From this date onwards, the empire entered its final decline.