Byzantine emperor

The Byzantine Empire was the direct legal continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire following its division in 395. Emperors listed below up to Theodosius I in 395 were sole or joint rulers of the entire Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire continued until 476. Byzantine emperors considered themselves Roman emperors in direct succession from Augustus; the term "Byzantine" became conventional in Western historiography in the 19th century. The use of the title "Roman Emperor" by those ruling from Constantinople was not contested until after the papal coronation of the FrankishCharlemagne as Holy Roman emperor (25 December 800).