The social crises and the great migrations of the Germanic peoples during the later years of the Roman Empire led to its division into two empires, one in the east and the other in the west. The Eastern Roman Empire, with Byzantium as its capital, withstood the test of social unrest and aggression of aliens. It served as a cultural bridge between the East and the West thanks to its effective preservation and continuation of Greek and Roman cultures. Under the influence of Roman culture, the Germanic peoples created feudal states across West Europe over time.