2) DECLINE AND FALL OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE: In the centuries after Justinian's
reign, the empire lost much land to invading armies. It was also weakened by internal court
and constant warfare. During the Fourth Crusade in the early 1200s, western Christians took
Constantinople and ruled it for 50 years. The final blow to the empire was the taking of
Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire in 1453.
(5) The Byzantine Empire fell for many reasons. Specifically,