It was a continuation of the Roman Empire because they had many similarities with them. People in Constantinople called themselves Romanois. They followed the Roman law, they used the same technological and artistic devices that Romans used and even wear the same clothes. People in the Byzantine Empire had the same trade that Roman's used to have; leather and silk manufacturing, weaving, ceramics, and fishing. These are some piece of evidence of how this empire tried to be the continuation of the Roman Empire.