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Description

As the Roman Empire's borders continued to grow and grow, it became harder and harder for just one emperor to govern. And so by 330 AD, the Empire was divided into two halves: East and West. These two halves would come to be ruled by their own emperors, though both halves considered themselves to be a part of the Roman Empire. The earliest emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, what would eventually be called the Byzantine Empire, was Constantine I. Constantine had captured the city of Byzantium during his reign, renaming the city Constantinople, and by 324, he had officially moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople.

Constantine was neither fully allied with the Templars or the Assassins, rather he had both orders constantly whispering in his ears. He did offer the Byzantine people a good amount of religious freedom, a move supported by the Assassins. However, he did make a strong effort to enforce his own religion onto the people, a Templar-backed plan. Several other leaders would follow this pattern throughout Byzantine history. Though, after the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, the Templars gained a much bigger influence after they were forced to shift their focus on what was left of Rome.

One of the more famous Byzantine emperors was Justinian I, who ruled from 527 until his death in 565. It has been suggested that Justinian had a Sage within his church, whispering strategies in his ear, though some claim that Justinian himself was the Sage due to his different eye colors and occasional insanity. Whatever the case, Justinian proved extremely successful in his operations. He put a lot of effort into taking back territory from the Goths that tore down Western Rome. His general, Belisarius, even managed to take back the city of Rome itself, though not for long. Upon hearing that Belisarius had lost Rome again, Justinian had him blinded.

Justinian did do his fair share of building up things as well as tearing them down though. His most famous building project was the massive church (which eventually became a mosque) called the Hagia Sophia. What kept him reigned in was mostly his wife, Theodora, who worked as an influential ally to the Assassins. However, when she died of the plague in 548, Justinian was basically engulfed in Templar influence. The Assassins eventually put him to death in 565 because of the way he restricted and restrained the freedoms of the Byzantine people.

Several other Byzantine emperors would go through similar patterns of switching loyalties. But the Byzantine Empire definitely ended on a Templar note. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, worked with the Templars to systematically capture and execute most of the Assassins in the empire. The Assassins bounced back however, when in 1453, the Ottoman sultan, Mehmet II, and his armies conquered Constantinople, killed Palaiologos, and destroyed the Byzantine Empire once and for all. The Ottomans, upon officially claiming the land as theirs, changed the name of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul, which it's still called to this day.

Why did Constantinople get the works? Well, that's nobody's business but the Turks.

Description

As the Roman Empire's borders continued to grow and grow, it became harder and harder for just one emperor to govern. And so by 330 AD, the Empire was divided into two halves: East and West. These two halves would come to be ruled by their own emperors, though both halves considered themselves to be a part of the Roman Empire. The earliest emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, what would eventually be called the Byzantine Empire, was Constantine I. Constantine had captured the city of Byzantium during his reign, renaming the city Constantinople, and by 324, he had officially moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople.

Constantine was neither fully allied with the Templars or the Assassins, rather he had both orders constantly whispering in his ears. He did offer the Byzantine people a good amount of religious freedom, a move supported by the Assassins. However, he did make a strong effort to enforce his own religion onto the people, a Templar-backed plan. Several other leaders would follow this pattern throughout Byzantine history. Though, after the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, the Templars gained a much bigger influence after they were forced to shift their focus on what was left of Rome.

One of the more famous Byzantine emperors was Justinian I, who ruled from 527 until his death in 565. It has been suggested that Justinian had a Sage within his church, whispering strategies in his ear, though some claim that Justinian himself was the Sage due to his different eye colors and occasional insanity. Whatever the case, Justinian proved extremely successful in his operations. He put a lot of effort into taking back territory from the Goths that tore down Western Rome. His general, Belisarius, even managed to take back the city of Rome itself, though not for long. Upon hearing that Belisarius had lost Rome again, Justinian had him blinded.

Justinian did do his fair share of building up things as well as tearing them down though. His most famous building project was the massive church (which eventually became a mosque) called the Hagia Sophia. What kept him reigned in was mostly his wife, Theodora, who worked as an influential ally to the Assassins. However, when she died of the plague in 548, Justinian was basically engulfed in Templar influence. The Assassins eventually put him to death in 565 because of the way he restricted and restrained the freedoms of the Byzantine people.

Several other Byzantine emperors would go through similar patterns of switching loyalties. But the Byzantine Empire definitely ended on a Templar note. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, worked with the Templars to systematically capture and execute most of the Assassins in the empire. The Assassins bounced back however, when in 1453, the Ottoman sultan, Mehmet II, and his armies conquered Constantinople, killed Palaiologos, and destroyed the Byzantine Empire once and for all. The Ottomans, upon officially claiming the land as theirs, changed the name of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul, which it's still called to this day.

Why did Constantinople get the works? Well, that's nobody's business but the Turks.