When Roman Emperor Constantine established his new capital city at the location of Byzantium (which then became known as Constantinople), he wanted to give it all the prestige and aura of the Roman Empire. The building of Constantinople took several years, and Constantine modeled it after Rome, with government buildings designed in Roman style. The Byzantine Empire, which was the Eastern Roman Empire and outlasted the Roman Empire in the West, was still modeled after the Roman Empire and influenced by its history and traditions.
