<span> It survived the </span>fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire<span> in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the </span>Ottoman Turks in 1453. But why did it survive? <span>The eastern half of the Roman Empire was far less vulnerable to external attack, due to its geographic location. With Constantinople located on a strait, it was extremely difficult to breach the capital’s defenses; also, the eastern empire had a much shorter common frontier with Europe. It also benefited greatly from a stronger administrative center and internal political stability, as well as great wealth. The eastern emperors were able to exert more control over the empire’s economic resources and more effectively muster sufficient manpower to combat invasion. </span>
c War began in 264 B.C. when Rome interfered in a dispute on the Carthaginian-controlled island of Sicily; the war ended with Rome in control of both Sicily and Corsica and marked the empire's emergence as a naval as well as a land power.
