Editing Byzantine Empire

{{Era|ACR|Rbook}}
{{WP-REAL}}
{{Faction infobox
|name = Byzantine Empire
|image = 500px-Palaiologos_Dynasty_emblem.svg.png
|founder = {{Wiki|Constantine the Great|Constantine I}}
|leader = Emperor
|headquarters = [[Constantinople]]
|related = [[Roman Empire]]
|religion = {{Wiki|Religion in ancient Rome|Roman paganism}} until 391, {{Wiki|Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christianity}} tolerated after the {{Wiki|Edict of Milan}} in 313, and {{Wiki|State church of the Roman Empire|state religion}} after 380.
|formed = 330
|collapsed = 1453
|notable = [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]]<br>[[Manuel Palaiologos]]}}
The '''Byzantine Empire''', known contemporaneously as the '''Roman Empire''', or the '''Eastern Roman Empire''', was the predominantly Greek or Hellenized continuation of the [[Roman Empire]] during the {{Wiki|Late Antiquity}} and {{Wiki|Middle Ages}}. The Byzantine capital, [[Constantinople]], was eventually conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire]] and fell into Ottoman control.

==History==
===Templar infiltration===
During the early 16th century, after the [[Templars]] were driven from [[Italy]] by the [[Assassins]], the members of the Templar Order were able to seize control of the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. Now in command, the Templars set up their primary headquarters at [[Cappadocia]]. The Byzantines' ultimate aim was to uproot the [[Ottoman Empire]] and retake control of [[Constantinople]]. For a time, however, they remained relatively quiet.

===Masyaf===
By 1509, the Templars were aware of the five [[Memory Seals|seals]] of [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]]. In 1509, after an earthquake shook Constantinople, the Templars discovered one of the seals under [[Topkapı Palace]], as the entrance to the seal's chamber had been opened by the seismic activity.

Following this discovery, the Byzantine Templars became more active and militant in their desire to retake Constantinople and find the remaining four seals. Shortly afterwards, this seal passed into the possession of the de facto Byzantine Emperor – the Templar in charge of the hunt for the seals – [[Manuel Palaiologos]].

[[File:The Wounded Eagle 3.png|250px|left|thumb|Leandros instructing Byzantine soldiers]]
By the beginning of 1511, a Byzantine Templar captain named [[Leandros]] had occupied the region surrounding Masyaf, where the [[Altaïr's library|library]] which the seals opened was located, though by May 1511, the region had been cleansed of Templars by the [[Mentor]] of the [[Italian Assassins]], [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]], who was visiting Masyaf to learn more of the Assassin Order. 

By this time, the Templars were searching the [[Forum of the Ox]] and the [[Yerebatan Cistern]] in Constantinople for seals, though they were beaten to both of these seals by Ezio.

===Constantinople===
[[File:Cistern_2.png|thumb|250px|Two Byzantines in the Yerebatan Cistern]]
As the Templars plotted to overthrow the Ottomans, many Byzantine soldiers were present in Constantinople by mid-1511. These soldiers rivaled the [[Constantinople Assassins Guild]], and by the month of May, they had seized all of the [[Assassin Dens]] for themselves aside from two, with them being one in [[Galata district|Galata]], and one in the [[Imperial District]], near the [[Grand Bazaar]].

Shortly after Ezio's arrival in the city, the Templars launched an attack on both of the remaining dens, and though they were routed at Galata, they managed to take the den at the Grand Bazaar. However, this would prove to be a temporary victory, as the Assassins retook the den shortly after. Over the 11 months that Ezio spent in the city, he managed to retake the dens one by one and severely weaken the Templars, until March 1512.

Following this, Ezio left for Cappadocia in search of Palaiologos, who possessed the last seal. Ultimately, Ezio killed Manuel and claimed the seal for himself, though, as he was about to leave, he noticed the Ottoman prince [[Ahmet]] on a ship with Byzantines, who revealed that he was the true mastermind behind the Masyaf expedition.

===Cappadocia===
[[File:The_Spy_3.png|thumb|left|250px|Ezio eavesdropping on Manuel and Shahkulu]]
During the early 16th century, the Templars set up their headquarters in [[Derinkuyu|Cappadocia]], after being driven from their previous base in [[Rome]] by the Assassins. There, the Templars set up prisons and instated themselves as the rulers of the city, filling the streets with Byzantine soldiers.

Palaiologos resided in Cappadocia for some time after his family lost their hold on the Byzantine throne. He, along with his bodyguard and fellow Templar, [[Shahkulu]], governed much of the city and held power within its walls until Ezio's arrival.

==Trivia==
*The frequently spoken name 'Byzantine' is an anachronism, as this name was given to the Eastern Roman Empire by later historians, in order to distinguish between it and ancient Rome. As such, the Byzantines would have referred to themselves as "Romans" (or ''Romaioi'' in Greek), "Greeks" (or ''Graikoi'' in Greek), and/or "Hellenes" (or ''Ellines'' in Greek) since they were the political continuation of the Roman Empire in the east, as well as the direct heirs and guardians of Hellenic civilization. Despite the word Byzantine not being first used until roughly 30 years after the events of Assassin's Creed Revelations, and widespread use of the word not occurring until the 19th century, Manuel Palaiologos and many other characters still use the term, likely for the sake of audience recognition.
*If Ezio liberated all of the [[Assassin Dens|Templar Dens]] and completed the [[Master Assassin]] memories, Byzantine soldiers would thenceforth be rarely encountered in Constantinople, aside from a few lingering patrols in the [[Constantine District]], the bodyguards of Templar officials once [[notoriety]] was high enough, and patrols of Byzantines that would occasionally appear and ambush the player (usually consisting of two or three normal militia and a [[Varangians|Varangian]]).

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180" spacing="small" position="center" captionalign="center">
Manuel Palaiologos.png|Manuel Palaiologos, heir to the Byzantine throne
Leandrosrenderhd.png|Leandros
Guard-byzantine-ACR.png|Byzantine Militia
Guard-varangian-ACR.png|Byzantine Varangian
Guard-almogavar-ACR.png|Byzantine Almogavar
ACR Soldier Art HD.png|Concept art
Byzantine Gunman Artwork.jpg|Byzantine Gunman
Byzantine Leader Artwork.jpg|Byzantine Leader
</gallery>

==Reference==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''
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[[Category:Former empires]]