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Why do modern historians use the term Byzantine Empire?

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Hagia Sophia: mosaic — Byzantine Empire The Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child (centre), Justinian (left) holding a model of the Hagia Sophia, and Constantine (right) holding a model of the city of Constantinople; mosaic from the Hagia Sophia, 9th century.

Modern historians use the term Byzantine Empire to distinguish the medieval eastern state from the earlier Roman Empire.12

While the inhabitants of this empire identified themselves as Romaioi (Romans) and viewed their state as a continuation of the Roman Empire, historians recognize that by the 7th century, the state and society had evolved significantly from their ancient forms. The term serves as a scholarly convention to acknowledge these profound historical distinctions.1

The name itself is derived from Byzantium, an ancient Greek colony located on the Bosporus that Constantine I refounded as Constantinople in 330 CE. Using this name emphasizes the central role that the city of Constantinople played in the empire's administrative and intellectual life throughout its existence until 1453.12