Byzantine senate
The Byzantine senate or Eastern Roman senate (Greek: Σύγκλητος, Synklētos, or Γερουσία, Gerousia) was a continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but the senate's powers varied greatly during its history and gradually diminished until its eventual disappearance in the 13th century. The senate of the Byzantine Empire originally consisted of Roman senators who happened to live in the East, or those who wanted to move to Constantinople, and a few other bureaucrats who were appointed to the senate.