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[[File: Constantinople.jpg |300px250px|thumb|left|Sultan Mehmet I the conqueror of Constantinople]]
The Byzantine Empire, also known as New Rome, was very influential on the history and culture of Europe during the Middle Ages. By the 15th century, the Empire was in terminal decline and had been for several centuries. At this time the various Italian city-states were experiencing a cultural flowering that is known by historians as the Renaissance. In 1453 the capital of Byzantium fell to the Ottoman Turkish army and this was the effective end of the Byzantine Empire, that had endured for almost 1000 years.
