Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire, also known as Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was an Orthodox Christian empire during the Middle Ages. He occupied the Balkans, the Middle East, as well as North Africa, and even what is today Italy at some point. He is the continuation of the Roman Empire after the West fell.

History

Pre-Split

The Eastern Roman Empire was "formed" when Constantine I the Great shifted the capital of the remaining SPQR from Rome to the ancient city of Byzantium in 330, however the empire was still united. Constantine the Great then proceeded to rename this city Constantinople and also gained the city a new set of prestigious titles, such as New Rome (Nova Roma), Second Rome (Roma Secunda), Basileuousa (Queen of Cities), Megalopolis (the Great City), Tsargrad ( Slavic name of Constantinople) and more. He was the emperor who legalized Christianity earlier in 313 AD.

Early Years

Under the reign of Theodosius I in 380, Christianity became the state religion, and other religious practices became forbidden.

The Roman Empire had been divided many times throughout his history. There were times when two, three or even four emperors ruled simultaneously. So, when Theodosius divided the empire between his sons in 395 AD, no one was surprised. They expected the great Rome to be reunited again soon. The emperor Arcadius (reigning 383 to 408) was weak-willed, and instead of him, the nobles from his entourage ruled instead. They allowed the Visigoths to used the Byzantine-controlled Balkans as a base for his raids on Western Empire's Rome.

In the Eastern Empire, most of the customary Roman positions were abolished and more Germanic mercenaries were recruited into the Byzantine army. Thus, Byzantine drifted further away from the traditional Roman.

In 408, upon the death of Arcadius, everyone expected his brother to unite the state under his rule. However, instead of him, Arcadius' son Theodosius II was proclaimed emperor in the east. He was crowned while still a minor and inherited his father's lack of will. Power was instead held by his sister Pulcheria, who was more interested in religious matters than politics. Her main achievement was the construction of two rows of walls around Constantinople, topped with 96 guard towers. These were the most extensive defensive structures in the world at the time, which were known as the "Theodosian Walls".

The Vandals were getting powerful and they were pirating and plundering trade in the Mediterranean. This started the Vandal War (461-468), with both the West and East trying to destroy Vandal, but they were both defeated, especially at sea.

When the Western Roman Empire finally collapsed in 476 and Rome was captured by some barbarians, the East was still stable and thus, didn't completely collapse despite the existence of some hungry people like Sassanid and Germania.

Middle Ages

Between 502 and 506, a war erupted between Byzantine and his old arch-nemesis, the Sassanids. Despite giving the Sassanids a good fight, they lost and were forced to pay them 1,000 pounds of gold.

In 527, Justinian I ascended to the throne. He dreamed of reuniting the Roman Empire into one single entity. He however, needs to deal with the pesky Sassanids who wanted to flex their muscles and capture Dara. Just like Byzantine's previous fight, despite giving his best, he was forced to pay Sassanid 11,000 pounds of gold.

After dealing with the pesky Sassanids, Byzantine turned his gaze westward, determined to reclaim the lost provinces of Western Rome. Under the command of his brilliant general Belisarius, Byzantine launched the Vandalic War in 533. It only took one year to conquer Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, reclaiming the clay and securing the province. Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy was also conquered the same year.

With the eastern frontier now secured, Justinian dispatched his army to reconquer the west. This army were led by some of his best generals, which includes Mundus, Narses and of course, Belisarius. By 555, Eastern Rome achieved his apex, reconquering much of the historically Roman western Mediterranean coast, including Africa, Italy, and Rome, which he held for two more centuries. But Justinian's Plague hit hard in the 540s, wiping out a huge chunk of the population and completely wrecking the economy.

The Byzantine- Sassanian War of 602-628 exhausted Byzantine's resources, and during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th century, Byzantine lost his richest provinces ( Egypt and Syria) to the Rashidun Caliphate. He then lost Africa to the Umayyads in 698, before the empire was stabilized by the Isaurian Dynasty (717-802) who were successful in defending and consolidating the empire against Islamic aggression.

In 907, Rus tried to go to Constantinople with massive ships, and Byzantine tried to stop him before he reaches there. But it was no use, and in the end Rus found the city gates locked and barred. So, Rus nailed his shield to the city gates and asked for a trade partnership, and the two sides made peace.

The Macedonian Dynasty (9th-11th centuries) expanded the empire again but ended with defeat by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Civil wars and the ensuing Seljuk invasion caused Byzantine to lose the most of Asia Minor. The empire recovered during the Komnenian restoration, and until the Fourth Crusade in 1202-1204, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe.

Between 1007 and 1014, Byzantine ambitiously attacked Bulgaria many times and eventually won a great victory. Later, he fully recaptured Greece (who has divided by the Fourth Crusade) and recovers him for the empire. He then went on to take over Bulgaria, who was fully conquered in 1018.

Fall

In 1452, brilliant engineer Orban offered his help to the Byzantine Empire. But, Byzantine didn't have enough money and resources to support his work, so Orban got rejected. Orban turned to the Ottoman Beylik who saw his potential and gave full support. Orban constructed great cannons pivotal in attacking Constantinople.

In 1452, Sultan Mehmed II resolved to capture Constantinople, and laid siege early the following year. And so, it was May 29th, 1453. The sun was set, and Constantinople was no longer Greek.

Relationships

Friends

• Western Roman Empire - He was my brother and ally before getting killed by Germany.
• Republic of Genoa - He helped me in my final battle against kebab! I thank him for that.
• Kievan Rus' - At first we were rivals and he even raided Constantinople, but I stopped him dead in his tracks multiple times with flamethrowers. He was so impressed that he begged to be adopted. I taught him how to be of good Jesus loving child and made him literate. He was my best trading partner for a while and served as my bodyguard in my times of need. He got really angry and jealous whenever I tried talking with the West though. In hindsight I think it was right to not trust them…
• Timurid Empire - Thanks for repelling the Ottoman for a few years.
• Taugas - Thank you for all the silk brought to the Empire. You are good at treating neck swelling and punishing criminals, also you are good at making nice containers, clocks, silk, architecture, and exploding shooty things. You are one of those rare civilized nations. That's why I made an embassy in Chang'an. If you weren't civilized I would do no such thing. You have an embassy in my empire too. We are good trading partners. Also thanks for giving rice.

Frenemies

• Principality of Hungary - Warring barbarians that like to raid me. But not all hope is lost for you if you submit to the right church. And sometimes I try to team us up against the Bulgarians.

Enemies

• Ottoman Empire - BLOOD-THIRSTY HUNGRY MUSLIM JIHADI! WORST AND MOST EVIL ARCH-ENEMY! YOU STOLE MY BEST CITY CONSTANTINOPLE! I DON'T CARE IF YOU GO AGAINST THE CRUSADERS TOO!! 1453 WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE!!!!!! REMOVE KEBAB!!! REMOVE JIHAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Sassanid Empire - This MANBIRD ruined the 7th century. And he was my main enemy in Middle East. At the start of the war, I lost heavy to him, even Jerusalem almost fell to him. I defeated him in the end and I still want to keep my clay.
• Crusaders - You traitors! We could've removed Kebab together but instead you had to plunder my resources and people and weaken me, allowing for the Ottomans to take me out. Yuo are reason for Kebab dominance and yuo is descended from those filthy German barbarians!
• First Bulgarian Empire - Took a lot of my European clay and nearly took Constantinople… 922 NEVER FORGET! YUO WERE VERY HARD TO REMOVE UNTIL 1018!
• Vandal Kingdom - Weak barbarian that I conquered in less than a year.

How to draw

Banner of Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire has a drawing rating of intermediate.

1. Draw a ball.
2. Fill it with red.
3. Add a yellow cross in the middle with its ends reaching the borders of the ball, like this +
4. Your ball should now be divided into four sections. Add four Greek letter beta in yellow in each section.
5. Add eyes and done!

Color Name		HEX
	Red	#BA0E09
	Yellow	#FEBE01