Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire, also known as Byzantium, was a major empire of the Classic Era, and was both the earliest modern nation to have been created, as well as one of the most influential and powerful. The nation's original homeland was located within the central Balkans, but they quickly expanded outside of it to encompass large parts of southern Europe and West Asia. They also colonized parts of coastal Africa, eastern North America, south Asia, and even part of Oceania and South America. It was one of the largest and powerful nations for most of its existence, rivaling many early and later nations in terms of territory and power up until its fall.
The nation was the founder and leader of the Eurasiatic Entente alongside its ally and later enemy Scotland, co-founder of the European Union alongside the First Finnish Empire, a main member of the Sino-Greek Alliance with Timor and Terra, and also once was part of the Eastern Alignment. They frequently found themselves in conflicts with many nations, being one of the nations involved in both the First Worlda War and Second Worlda War, emerging victorious both times. They were also rivals with the Seljuks, the Nicolides, and later the USSR and the Ottomans.
The Byzantine Empire officially collapsed during the 232 Solar Flare, with its technological advances being effectively destroyed, and its many ethnic groups rising up across the state. A rump state claiming to be its official continuation known as the Kingdom of Greece survived until annexation by the Ottomans in 233AD. It was one of the longest lasting nations in history, only having been surpassed long after its demise by Australia, Armenia, and Iceland. As a result of their long existence, they were also the longest lasting superpower to have existed. They were later revived, but this revival was smaller and never reached the same level of power. It was played by Sean.
== History of Byzantium ==
=== Early History of the Byzantines ===
==== Prehistory ====
The history of the Byzantine Empire begins with the history of the Kotromanić family itself. The origins of the Byzantine Kotromanić dynasty are mysterious, and are not documented. According to the earliest sources, the family controlled a small valley around modern-day Visoko, ruling with the title knez as Great Visoko. Their origins are likely in the city itself. As such, they are most likely an indigenous family to the region. One member of the family, Nebojša, was born sometime around 87BC. In 66BC, the knez of Visoko, Prijedza I, died. His son Prijedza II took over, but was quite unpopular.
Nebojša took this chance and gathered support from both the people and the army. He overthrew Prijedza II, and took the title knez himself. He began to rapidly conquer his neighbors, eventually culminating in the conquest of the last remaining independent states in Bosnia in 57BC. He declared himself ban of the new Banate of Bosnia. 
The Banate of Bosnia is generally considered the first semi-modern state to have existed. While it barely lasted 60 years, it made a major impact on the culture of the region. The main reason for the Banate surviving so well was mostly due to the work put in by the leaders of the time, allowing them to consolidate their power. Nebojša died in 37BC, with his son Vladislav succeeding him.
However, the Banate of Bosnia's later years were troubled with internal issues. The nation was subject to raids by outside tribes, and by the time Daris I became the ruler, its hold upon Bosnia had great diminished, leaving only the southern and central regions under the full control of the nation.
==== The Beginning of Byzantium ====
Upon Daris I's ascension to the throne, he reformed the nation into a kingdom, and began to push back against outside tribes. The nation was very small, having been subject to a major decline in land area for a few decades. However, he quickly expanded the nation's size to a reasonable area, covering most of Bosnia once more. He also pushed south into Montenegro and Albania, and north towards Italy through Dalmatia and Istria.
By the first contact with the English, he had fully reconquered Bosnia, and pushed into Serbia and Slovenia as well. Bosnian explorer Fuad Bogdanović was the first to contact the British in Italy. Relations between the nations swiftly began, and shortly after, an alliance was officialized. He allied with the English Empire due to their close proximity. Their alliance would be quite notable, lasting over a century and a half before being mostly forgotten, although it nearly broke apart during the First Worlda War. A Kotromanić princess would also marry the Stuart heir, further cementing their close relationship. 
Daris continued his rapid conquests, taking all of Serbia, pushing towards Greece, and taking northern Italy. He also moved into western Anatolia. By the time of Daris's death, his nation had grown massively since he took the throne. With his death in 29AD, his son Simeon was crowned king. His first major change was the moving of the capital to a small city known as Constantinople. He also changed the nation's name to the Byzantine Empire, after the former name of its capital Constantinople. He also chose to now be known as emperor rather than king. With the capital moving towards Anatolia, the Seljuks became the Byzantine Empire's rival for a time.
During his reign, he continued to conquer more territory just as his father did, allowing the empire to grow much larger than it was before. Some of his conquests included the Crimean peninsula, the rest of the Balkans, and even some territory in North Africa and Iberia in order to provide easier access to the Atlantic. The nearby Seljuk Commonwealth became their main rival during his reign, and were perceived as a threat to Constantinople due to proximity. The nation began to look for new routes of expansion outside of Europe and Asia, however Simeon would tragically die in 42AD before he could finish these discoveries, leaving his son to finish the job. It is believed that he died due to a minor disease outbreak within the empire.
Even with his death, the discoveries that he made resulted in the conquest of new, once unknown lands.
=== Golden Age of Byzantium ===
==== Era of Colonization ====
Under the leadership of Alexander I, the first Byzantine explorers were sent along the coast of Africa. This was done to find a way around the Seljuks to Asia. Realizing the potential of the new discoveries in Africa, he funded more expeditions to explore and colonize parts of Africa. This led to the establishment of minor port colonies in Mauritania, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa and Madagascar along the way to India. He also conquered the Kingdom of Azov with the Seljuks and landed in south India. While some of their colonies would later be gifted to their other nations such as their ally Britain, some of them such as South Africa would continue to be within the empire as late as the solar flare. In addition, Iberia was also conquered and split with the British Empire. 
Alexander I died in 61AD and his son Alexander II took the throne. Alexander II improved the economy and fully standardized the currency of the Byzantine Empire, creating the Byzantine drachma, which would be used officially in Byzantium up to its collapse. New provinces were also created during his reign. With the fall of the Seljuks, Byzantium grew to cover a large part of the Middle East, and expanded into Arabia. Colonists also finally crossed the Atlantic to America, where a Byzantine colony was established. The colony on the continent eventually grow to be its largest non-European holding. By the time the death of Alexander II in 83AD, the empire was considered one of the largest in the world and would only grow further. 
During the reign of Nicholas, the Byzantines made many trade deals with many new nations across the world, established relations with nations in East Asia and America, and inflicted several defeats against Chinua Khan's army during the Mongol Civil War. He also expanded many of Byzantium's colonies greatly, and built roads throughout them. Although, this did nearly lead to a war between them and Mexico. It was resolved before anything major occurred. Nicholas was considered one of the greatest emperors in the history of Byzantium due to him leading the empire to near its maximum extent during that period.
==== First Worlda War and the Conflict Era ====
After his death, his son Julian took the throne in 108AD. Julian was quite moderate compared to his predecessors, as he was the first emperor to fully legalize the religion of Islam in the eastern provinces of Byzantium, and also undertake major building projects in Constantinople to improve the major structures within the capital city. This was when the Church of Hagia Sophia was built, as well as when the oldest experiments with steam-based machines began. He also notably reformed the Senate of Byzantium. He was not very aggressive against other nations, and mostly wished for peace. His only big military accomplishments were invading the First Libyan Empire in the Carolina War, as well as crushing the Italian rebellion with Libya. However, tensions did rise during and after the Sfax incident between them and their ally, Scotland. Before it could escalate further, Julian suddenly died in 122AD, leaving his son Theodosius to inherit the throne. 
Theodosius took over the throne upon his father's death. His reign saw much higher tensions with the Scottish, escalating into the First Worlda War. Despite being forced to give back all gained territory, his advancements against Scotland were startling and proved that Byzantium was still a strong powerhouse. Following the war, Byzantium became the de facto strongest nation in the world. Despite this, they rarely expanded during this time, only annexing Italy following Scotland's downfall, and some territory south of the Danube and Rhine. They also retreated from Vojvodina, as the Danube provided an easily defendable northern border. New provinces were also created, with some being merged and others divided. Not much of note happened during Theodosius's later reign besides this. However, the nation made significant progress in pioneering new technologies, which would eventually revolutionize the world.
He passed away in 164AD, leaving his son Maximus to inherit the throne. The period later became known as the Byzantine Golden Age due to it being the height of Byzantium's power, with them leading technological and cultural advancements of the era.
=== Later Byzantine Empire ===
==== Bharati Era ====
By the 170s AD, the Byzantine Empire had not only influenced many of the nations across the world, but had also become one of the largest empires ever. With its largest rival, the Scottish Empire, falling in the 130s due to their poor handling of internal issues, the Byzantines had temporarily become the dominant world force, reaching a new apex. Not much of note occurred during Maximus's first decade as emperor, as there were no major conflicts in the world.
However, soon after the beginning of the next decade as emperor, the First Empire of Bharat became their largest rival, as they began to conquer large chunks of Asia, and expand close to Byzantium's borders. Tensions between them continued to rise, as they frequently fought border gore wars over territories such as West Africa, Central Europe, and Australia. At the same time, the Byzantines began to view New Portugal as their greatest ally, as they frequently cooperated to stop Bharat's expansion. With the tensions between Byzantium and Bharat eventually spiraling out of control in 187AD, the Second Worlda War broke out between the two empires. 
This war would last several years, with it devolving into a stalemate following the early months. Although Bharat made significant gains against Byzantium, they did not manage to reach the southern Balkans. Eventually, many of the peoples within the Empire of Bharat had grown sick of their ruling, and revolted, which effectively marked the end of the conflict between them and Bharat. In 191AD, the Byzantines eliminated their other largest enemy with many other nations, the First Libyan Empire, during the War on Libya. They also made peace with Bharat beforehand. This was the last major Byzantine expansion. 
==== Reign of Alexander III ====
Maximus died in 197AD, after a very solid reign. His heir Alexander III took over. He soon had an heir of his own, Basil I. During his reign, he allied with the First Finnish Empire under Ajax and Banat to forge the European Union. It was the strongest alliance in Europe in decades, and led to prosperity across Europe. The period was sometimes called the new golden age of Europe. Technological advancements also occurred, with the first planes and cars being made. Sadly, the First Finnish Empire collapsed in 206, which left the EU in ruins. Ajax and his family as well as his friend Aallotar fled to the nation and settled in the provinces of Catalonia and Italy respectively, although this was unknown at the time. 
Their new northern neighbor, the USSR, was originally seen as a threat due to their ideology as well as them forcing Byzantium to leave the lands north of Crimea. However, they eventually became friendlier after the USSR was overthrown and became the Russian Federation. They also allied with the Republic of China and Timorese Empire. Their last major ally from the Eurasiatic Entente, New Portugal, collapsed in the 210s. This marked the official end of the alliance's relevance. In addition, a new threat emerged from the north in the form of a newly-revived USSR, which had destroyed the Russian Federation. Due to Byzantium aiding people fleeing from the collapsing Russian Federation, as well as their control over Crimea, they were openly aggressive against each other. The new USSR would not last very long though, since it was eventually blockaded by many nations including them, and then invaded by many of its enemies and destroyed. With this, it seemed as if Byzantium would continue to peacefully exist. 
==== Fall of the Byzantine Empire ====
However, during this time, more and more rebellions began to occur in various regions, such as a Turkish rebellion and Egyptian rebellion. This led to Byzantium becoming less stable overall, with other regions such as Texas breaking away with permission, as well as the Zulu rebelling. Byzantium also ceded its American colonies to various nations on the continent, leading to them being further weakened. A rebellion in Azerbaijan also led to some of their Caucasian land being lost. Even with their conquest of northern France, the empire was still in decline. Despite this, much worse things were about to occur to the empire. 
On January 29th, 232AD, a major event later known as the 232 Solar Flare would occur. The massive solar storm led to the complete collapse of the Byzantine state, as the destruction of most electronic devices led to widespread revolts across its territory. The chaos led to the dissolution of the empire, and is generally considered to be when the empire ended. However, during the chaos, Alexander III managed to escape Constantinople and reach Athens, where he was able to establish a rump state of the Byzantine Empire there, known as the Kingdom of Greece. This state claimed to be a direct successor to the Byzantines, but controlled only a tiny part of their land, mainly in Greece. After some expansion and failed attempts to reclaim its lost territory, it was annexed in 233AD by the Ottoman Empire, finally officially ending the long and chaotic existence of the Byzantine Empire. 
The Kotromanić family still lives in a few places, notably in their homeland of Bosnia, where they converted to Islam. Some were exiled to America by the Second Ottoman Empire as well, where they lived as farmers in Kansas. This branch later became notable for Quinn Kotromanić, a president of the US. 
== Government ==
idk lmao
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
=== Senate of Byzantium ===
The Senate of Byzantium was the legislature.
=== Administrative divisions ===
The Byzantine Empire was divided into provinces. In total, there were ? provinces. Provinces were governed by governors, who were appointed by the emperors for 5-year long terms. They were preceded by oblasts under Bosnia. Later on, provinces gained some levels of self-governance, primarily due to the size of the empire. Colonies were also considered provinces, but always had autonomy due to their distance from Constantinople.
== Demographics ==
people
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
(will put a map here at some point)
== Family History ==
Main article: House of Kotromanić
=== Early Family ===
The exact origin point for the Kotromanić dynasty is unknown. Due to its origin being somewhere in prehistory, where there are few records, not much is known about its early years. However, they are known to have ruled over some parts of the Visoko valley at some point, including Visoko itself. It was likely their original home, and as such is likely where the entire family originated from. The founder of the Byzantine Kotromanić branch, Nebojša Kotromanić, was born sometime in the 90s or 80s BC, with an estimated date of 87BC. He probably died sometime in 37BCE. His son, Vladislav Kotromanić, took over the Banate of Bosnia he founded after his death and ruled up to 1AD. After his death, Daris I formed the Bosnian Kingdom, soon to be the Byzantine Empire. Daris died in 29AD, with his only male heir Simeon taking the throne. If Simeon was born after his sister Irene, she would have been the first queen of the empire. Later on, she would marry Alistair II, the future king of Britain. Theoretically, this would have led to a personal union.
Simeon ruled for a decade before his death in 42AD of disease. His death was quite sudden, and was later linked with a minor disease outbreak in Anatolia, Bulgaria and Greece. Alexander I was his only heir. Alexander had two children, with his eldest Alexander II being the one to inherit the empire. This marked the first division in the family since the days of its rule over only Visoko. The Byzantine royal family continued to fracture into various branches in the centuries after the second century. In the modern day, at least 10 of major descent exist. While most Kotromanić royals lived in the capital of Constantinople, some also lived in Venice and Sarajevo, as they were both important cities. More evidence suggests other cities being the homes of various Kotromanić family memebers, possibly including a few unconfirmable illegitimate children and related royals. 
=== Main Kotromanić branch ===
The Main Kotromanić branch of the Byzantine royal family began with Alexander II, who ruled over the empire instead of his younger brother. Both Nicholas and Julian had two children, while every one of Julian's successors until Basil only had one child. With the title of Byzantine Emperor being passed through eldest children, it would have eventually followed the Justin branch, passing to the eventual rulers of the Second Byzantine Empire. The division following Basil's death led to two potential claimants to the throne. Eventually, Justin's descendants, the elder line, managed to reclaim the Byzantine empire over a century later in a revolt.
The split between Justin and Theodosius was made more apparent due to the exiling of the elder branch. No major claims to the throne have been made by the Theodosius branch, who are unwilling to also be sent into exile. Some moved back to Constantinople, while others stayed in İzmir or went elsewhere. The eldest branch later went on to become noteworthy for producing Quinn Kotromanić, a president of the United States who fought in many wars in Europe, and Ioannes Kotromanić, an earlier presidential candidate.
=== Basilicus branch ===
The Basilicus branch of the Byzantine royal family began with its namesake, Basilicus Kotromanić. He was the second son of Alexander II, and was thusly not in the main line of succession. As a general, he had a successful military career, leading the Byzantine armies to many successes during his life. Basilicus lived to the age of 85. Their son, also named Basilicus, would later be involved in the First Worlda War, where he would lead a Byzantine army into the city of Tokyo, liberating it with the help of the Colonial Empire's forces. Basilicus II (or junior) died in 173AD at the age of 74, while son Quintus was still alive until 199AD, dying at the age of 75. Quintus's son, Maurinus, survived up to the solar flare, after which he is not mentioned again. His descendants seem to have survived the solar flare, and went on to serve in the Ottoman army at some point. Later, Alexios Komnenos, a descendant of his through a female line, began a rebellion in Pontus against Bharat. He eventually joined up with his very distant cousin, Alexander IV, and helped conquer Bulgaria. He gained the surname Komnenos through his great-grandmother, who married a member of the former noble Komnenos family. 
The branch is parallel to Alexander II's branch. The Alexander II branch, if it ever died out during Byzantium's existence, would have passed the title of leading family to the Basilicus branch. Due to the Basilicus branch having a long history of being competent military generals, some have speculated this might have led the Byzantine Empire to go on a path of warfare once more. Members of this family after Basilicus II. usually held the middle name "Basilicus" to honor its founder, which is still used by most today. The descendants of Basilicus are documented to have lived along the Pontus coastline of Anatolia. There is also a rumor one is located in Australia, where a small Greek community which still speaks their old language exists.
=== Other major branches ===
Julian I had 2 children, Leocadia and Theodosius. Theodosius is famous for having been emperor until his death and succession by Maximus, while Leocadia was the highest level royal that accompanied a Byzantine ship that managed to sail all the way from Texas to Malaysia without using the Drake Passage. Although considered an impressive feat at the time, her life and accomplishments remained very obscure for centuries until the re-discovery of documents regarding the expedition. She died during the 160s, and had 1 daughter, Rhode. She had two children, one son and one daughter, Volusian and Palatina. The exact fate of the two are unclear, as little information regarding their lives remains, and their likely times of death intersected with the solar flare. Their children seemed to have survived. Descendants of Leocadia are recorded to have lived in the Ottoman Empire. This Byzantine royal lineage lived primarily in Greece. 
=== Royal marriages ===
Other branches of the Byzantine royal family do exist, although these were usually created via royal marriages. This included their marriages into the Stuart dynasty, the Koskinen family, and other major families. Due to the marriage between the Kotromanić and the Stuarts, the Senussi dynasty of Libyan origin is also technically related to them via the Stuart dynasty. 
The Kotromanićs may have possible claims to many of the largest empires of history, as well as some modern nations. Many people may be potentially related to the original Kotromanić dynasty, although the exact number is unknown as some branches are poorly documented. Estimates put the number of descendants range from a few hundred to thousands of people across the world.
== Wars and Enemies ==
The Byzantine Empire was involved in many wars during its existence, and also had many enemies. The first war Byzantium fought was for territory in southern Ukraine. The Seljuk Commonwealth was its first enemy, although they sometimes cooperated. A war never broke out between them, as the Seljuks collapsed suddenly, and the Byzantines were able to conquer much of their land. Byzantium's next major rival was the First Libyan Empire, though in the beginning this was caused by Scotland's view of them. They fought against each other in multiple wars for over a century, including the Carolina War, the Libya-Kushan War, the First Worlda War and finally the Second Worlda War. Byzantium finally triumphed over them in the War on Libya. They also at one point teamed up against Italian rebels that took over Scotland's colony in Italy.
Following the Sfax incident, their once major ally the Scottish Empire became their greatest enemy. Some believed they aided the English in the War of the Isles, although this has not been confirmed. The tensions would lead to the First Worlda War, during which Byzantium was able to invade Scottish territory, taking over Italy for a while, and even reaching the gates of Paris. Scotland would end up collapsing a decade after the war due to the economic and social impacts of the war. Their alliance was never officially dissolved, and they stayed in the Eurasiatic Entente until the very end. After several decades of peace, the First Empire of Bharat would end up becoming their next rival. Tensions between them rose due to the border gore wars that occurred in various parts of the world, culminating in the Second Worlda War. They were able to fight the war to a stalemate, and later, Bharat withdrew from the war due to rebellions.
The First Finnish Empire would later be considered a potential threat for uncertain reasons. However, with Ajax in power (who was born in Byzantium), the two began cooperation and became allies, building the Eurasian Line together. In the following decade, the Terran Federation also had close relations with Byzantium, and they bought their colony in southern Australia. While the USSR was considered a threat, their rise was short-lived, as their enemies ended up carving them up after blockading them. Byzantium also had to face several rebellions during this time, with Azerbaijan being one of the only successful ones. Their last invasion of a country was when they invaded Normandy, after they had lost most of their territory. Afterwards, the Solar Flare put an end to Byzantium.
== Trivia ==
* Byzantium is in the favicon for this very wiki, and the color scheme may be based off of them.
* The Byzantine Empire is the empire that had the single longest reign as a superpower. It lost superpower status during the Solar Flare. It also was the longest lasting nation in the world in general, holding the title before being surpassed by the Commonwealth of Australia in 505AD, who has held it ever since.
* The Byzantine Empire was the longest lasting empire of the Classic Era, followed behind by Libya and Mongolia. It managed to survive many potentially disastrous wars and survived for 200 years as a result.
* At one point, they were likely the most diverse nation in the world. However, they were eventually surpassed by Terra, who likely had even more ethnicities within its massive territory.
* They are one of only a few nations that had a large and well-documented family tree, due to it being a nation of incredible historical significance. The family tree has been mostly abandoned in recent times.
* They are the nation probably involved with the most wars in history, due to their land being viewed as valuable by many enemy nations. They are, however, not the person who has been in the most wars.
*The Byzantine Empire was the nation that Ajax and Aallotar along with their families hid in after the events of 206AD. Ajax later re-emerged in the Terran Confederation and ran for president, but narrowly lost.
*Basilicus was the longest living member of the House of Kotromanić not to be Byzantine emperor. Basilicus lived to 85.
*Maximus I was the longest living emperor who was emperor until death, dying at the age of 77, but Alexander III was the longest living person have been Byzantine Emperor, dying at the age of 96 in Izmir. He was born just as Bharat began its rise, and just barely living to see the Second Finnish Empire.
*The nation was the first country to have a countryball made of them. It has undergone multiple changes.
== Gallery ==
BosnianKingdomFlag.png|Flag of Bosnia during the kingdom era
File:Byzantineflag.png|Flag of the Byzantine Empire, adopted by Simeon
BSKingdom1.png|Bosnia during 1AD
BSKingdom2.png|Bosnia during 4AD
SVEmpire.png|Bosnia after conquest of the Balkans
BYZEmpire1.png|Byzantium during 29AD
BYZEmpire2.png|Byzantine mainland during 70AD
BYZEmpire3.png|Byzantine mainland during 107AD
File:ByzantiumWoNball Smug.png|Smug Byzantium WoNball
Category:Nations
Category:Former Nations