The Byzantine Empire. “Second Rome.” A great state, the cradle of Orthodoxy, a center of high culture? Tyranny that mercilessly ruled many conquered peoples, crushing in its subjects every hint of free-thinking and thirst for independence? Travelers wrote with admiration about the splendor and luxury of the “Second Rome.” Rome" and mentioned with horror the cruelty of the intrigues of the imperial court, the numerous religious and political strife that tormented the empire, the phenomenally scandalous for the Middle Ages morals of the noble Byzantines... The Byzantine Empire knew both times of wealth and power, and days of decline and destruction. The day when Byzantium ceased to exist, it is known exactly: May 29, 1453.