Nova Byzantium

Early Empire
Following the division of the Roman Empire into two halves during the 3rd century A.D., the Eastern Roman Empire became an increasingly independent entity. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th Century, the East attempted various expeditions to reconquer the West. The most successful attempt occured under the reign of Justinian I in the middle of the 6th century, when his General Belisarius succeeded in capturing many former Roman territories in the West, including the Iberian peninsula, Carthage, and parts of Hispania. This was not to last as most of these newly conquered territories were lost within a generation.

The borders of the Empire would continue to slowly shrink, with occasional resurgences until the battle of Manzikert. On August 26th 1071 at Manzikert, the Byzantine forces under Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, narrowly defeated the Turkish forces under the command of the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan. After the conclusion of the battle, a bloodied prisoner was brought before the Emperor, who could not believe that the tattered man covered in dirt had been the mighty Sultan who had opposed him on the field of battle mere hours before. The following conversation is alleged to have taken place:

Romanos: "What would you do if I were brought before you as a prisoner?" Alp Arslan: "Perhaps I'd kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Merv." Romanos: "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."

From that point on, the Empire remained on shaky ground, miraculously repelling assault after assault. The greatest danger occured in 1204, when Constantinople was besieged by a crusader army during the Fourth Crusade. Emperor Alexius IV managed to repel the invaders, though much of the surrounding countryside was ravaged before the Crusaders eventually disbanded due to disease and starvation.

Greece and Anatolia remained core territories of the Empire, occasionally violated, but never relinquished. In 1453 Sultan Mehmed II of the Turkish rump in conjunction with the Egyptian Sultanate made one last serious attempt at breaking the Empire. The Byzantines were busy defending Crimea from the ravages of the Golden Horde, and Mehmed II struck. Seemingly effortlessly the Turkish Empire plowed through the Empire's Eastern defenses, laying siege to Constantinopolis. Anxious to secure a truce in the North, Emperor Constantine XI abandoned Crimea, returning the army to Greece. On May 29th 1453, the Byzantines attempted a daring strategem. The defenders sallied out of the Northern Charisius Gate. As the Sultan committed his main force to push into the city, an armoured column of Cataphracts smashed through the Turkish rear lines, causing havoc. The Turkish Janisaries foughtly valiantly, but ultimately fell. The cataphracts carried the day, and the Sultan's head. The losses were horrendous on both sides, and it would be generations before the Empire could fully recover.

In the aftermath, the Empire was left significantly weakened. The flower of the Nobility had been killed in the great charge at the Battle of Charisius Gate, and the military had been decimated. The Emperor himself had been killed in the charge, and in spite of the great victory, the petty nobility began seizing what they could for themselves. Anatolia had been ravaged and pillaged, and the spring planting season had been missed, resulting in intermittent famines for the next decade.

It was Constantine's cousin, Andronicus VI Comnemus who ascended to the throne. A strong hand was needed, and the Emperor was willing to wield it. Andronicus instituted wide ranging legal and administrative reforms, and set about rebuilding the Empire. The Empire was reforged as Nova Byzantium, and the Byzantine Renaissance had begun.

Armoured
The mainstay of the the Byzantine land force is the ''Mk. IV Cataphract'' main battle tank. The first operational use occurred during the Republican insurgency of the early 1980's. As is common with most armoured vehicles in the Empire's military, the vehicles are crewed primarily by the sons and daughters of the nobility.

Specifications: Weight:	62 tonnes Length:	11.5 m (Gun forward) Width:	3.51 m Height:	2.95 m Crew:	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver) Armour:	Chobham, classified Primary armament: Imperial Ordnance VLL6 120 mm rifled, 64 rounds Secondary armament: 7.62 mm KT34, 7.62 mm KT57 machine guns, 4,000 rounds Engine: Belisarius Motors OCT2 26 litre diesel, 1,200 hp (895 kW) Operational range: 450 km (on road) Speed: 56 km/h (37 mph)