Was the Byzantine empire part of Europe?

>>1418095
Not really.

>>1418095
Yes. The Byzantine empire was quintessentially Greek and Greece is part of the European continent. Through out most of the empire Greece was a core part of the empire.

The European parts were.

It's European in the same sense that Egypt is African and half of Russia is Asian. It doesn't mean anything beyond an arbitrarily-defined landmass.

It wasn't Western.

File: The_Byzantine_Empire,_c.1180.png (120KB, 801x370px) Image search: [Google]

120KB, 801x370px

>>1418095
That map is deceptive as hell.

For most of its history the Byzantine Empire had most of its holdings in Europe, i.e. the Balkans, Italy, Sicily etc. Most of its Asian land was seized first by the Arabs and then the Turks.

>>1418251
Indeed, though the empire's European holdings fluctuated quite a bit throughout their history, I believe OP's map was from when the Empire had been btfo by the Bulgarians iirc.

I find pic reelated a better map. Also to answer OP's question, "Europe" is a pretty arbitrarily defined. If we go by geography, yes it was European. But it seems more accurate to say the the Byzantine Empire was Mediterranean, as a shared European identity we are familiar with today didn't really exist until the Byzantines were long dead/irrelevant. But the Empire shares its history and culture with the Mediterranean world and was an integral part of it.

File: Byzantine-3-period-map.gif (150KB, 1600x800px) Image search: [Google]

150KB, 1600x800px

>>1418274
Forgot pic

>>1418095
It was part of Christendom.

Didn't byzzies themselves often refer to their realm in two halves europa and asia?

And afaik they considered their anatolian asia the better half and europa the poorer shittier one

I don't know though, I might dead wrong

>>1418095
Really it was just an empire holding on to land first conquered by Europeans

Nationalism was weird back in antiquity where you think your city-state/culture/tribe is the best, but you don't mind living in the same empire as other people either if your country absorbs them through war.

Just like Russia today, both yes and no.

Sort of like Europe's half brother.

>>1418364
Asia originally referred to anything east of Greece, so yes.

Also, Anatolia was important due to all the manpower it provided, which was why the Byzzies were so fucked after Manzikert.

>>1418364
>>1418380
Also wouldn't trade from the Silk Road have gone through Asia Minor/Anatolia.

>>1418370
>Russia
>not part of Europe
Is there some historical truth to this meme?