In the 320s, when most of Europe, North Africa and the Near East lay within the borders of the Roman Empire, the Emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Under successive emperors and empresses for more than a thousand years, artists, architects and craftsmen produced superb and intriguing works ranging from the grandest public buildings to the smallest and most personal items. Today this art is generally termed Early Christian and Byzantine. It was and is an art of extraordinary directness, but also of mystery and transcendence. It defined the Christian tradition in art and architecture for succeeding centuries.