Why did the Eastern Roman Empire survive-

In the last video, we asked ourselves the question when antiquity came to an end. The concept of the classical antiquity and the history of the Roman Empire are inseparable from each other. Therefore, the end of the Roman Empire has often been seen as the end of antiquity itself. Nevertheless, it was the Western Roman Empire that fell in 476, not the Eastern one. This raises the question, why did the East survive? Before we begin to analyze the reasons for the survival of the Eastern Empire, we need to acknowledge why the Western part fell. The German historian Bischermeier has dedicated large parts of his work to answer these questions concerning the late antiquity. The migration of barbaric peoples as well as the loss of imperial authority in the Western Empire after 395 might have been the major reasons for the decay and eventual fall of the Western Empire. Furthermore, because of the weak emperors, the magistri militum held the actual political authority, deposing and installing new emperors. The question concerning the survival of the East becomes of even greater interest when we acknowledge the fact that the East had to deal with the same problems as the West. The first major reason is the geography. The geographical location was more favorable and the Dianube served as a protecting shield of the Eastern Roman Empire against the migrating Germanic peoples. Another reason was the location of Constantinople as a capital and also its fortifications, which made most sieges in the city's history unsuccessful. Besides geography, another reason was adaptation. It has to be acknowledged that the Eastern Roman Empire faced the similar problems as its Western counterpart. It also had to fight enemies like the Sassanian Empire, the Arabs and also the Bulgars. Under Emperor Zeno and Anastasius, the Eastern Roman Empire adapted to the new political situation, thus concentrating more on itself and less on helping its Western counterpart. Zeno made no efforts to restore Romulus Augustulus to a throne, given that Romulus Augustus had not been recognized as an emperor in the East to begin with. Even during the 6th century, when the Empire suffered grave defeats and lost much of its territories against its Eastern neighbors, it made use of the internal struggles of the Arabs, thus saving the Empire. Furthermore, the location of the capital also helped them to overcome their enemies. Another major reason were the vast resources and the manpower the Eastern Roman Empire possessed. Thanks to the great amount of manpower in the urban cities, the Eastern Roman Empire could rely on its economic support. In conclusion, one of the major reasons that made the survival of the East possible were the favorable geographical location, the diplomacy of its emperors and also reserve resources. There might even be more reasons that made the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire possible, but it is necessary to select the major ones. Besides from that, we see the establishment of a new Roman identity in the early Roman Empire, meaning the secularization of the Empire, without losing the awareness to be the successor of Rome. I hope you liked the video and I'll see you next time. Goodbye!