Map showing the split of the roman empire. the western side is colored orange, and the eastern side is colored red. two areas colored green are lands that were lost or abandoned during the split. © 2012 the exploration company based on the map, why did the eastern roman empire have more wealth than the western roman empire? the eastern roman empire had more access to resources from britain. the western roman empire no longer controlled the wealthy city of rome. the eastern roman empire connected europe and asia and had more trade access. the western roman empire was not close to any bodies of water.