Final answer:
The statement is true; the Byzantine Empire fell due to a combination of internal issues and external military conquests, particularly by Turkish armies in 1453.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, both internal strife and external pressures played a major role in the decline and eventual conquest of the Byzantine Empire by the Turkish armies in 1453. Various emperors after the Macedonian dynasty struggled to manage the growing power of the nobility, known as the dynatoi, reversing policies that had strengthened Byzantine armies and helped maintain the empire's stability. Foreign invasions, such as those from the Seljuks and later the Ottomans, alongside internal weakening like that inflicted by the Fourth Crusade, which saw Constantinople sacked in 1204, contributed to the empire's vulnerability. Within this complex tableau, the Byzantine emperors sought, yet often failed to secure, assistance against their ever-encroaching enemies, ultimately culminating in the fall of Constantinople.
The Byzantine Empire was also affected by cultural shifts as it lost territory, specifically Anatolia. As the connection to Orthodox Christianity waned with the flight of the clergy and conversion of the population to Islam, the empire's grip weakened, changing the religious and cultural landscape. Even efforts such as seeking aid from Genoese merchants or alliances with the Mamluks could not prevent the eventual absorption of the Byzantine Empire into the emerging Ottoman Empire, which thus marked a significant shift in the region's history.