Which empire conquered the byzantines and held sway over the middle east for nearly 500 years?

The answer is the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine Empire and its capital, Constantinople, in 1453 CE. Since then, the Ottoman Empire remained as a strong power and its sovereignty spanned from the Balkans and Anatolia to the Middle East and all of North-Africa. Since it was an Islamic empire, it influenced strongly in the culture and politics of the Middle East. This empire collapsed with the end of the World War I in 1919, and most of its former territories were divided by the British and the French or formed new nation-states. The Republic of Turkey is the direct heir state of the Ottoman Empire.

escalation means to increase in intensity, extent, or amount.

swe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. — that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. "

- declaration of independence

  according to this passage from the declaration of independence, who gives government the power to exist?

a) the king

b) the people

c) their creator

d) their governmenthook