Legacy of Rome will be released next week, so this dev diary will be the last of this cycle. Doomdark is busy hammering away at the game, so this week the honor of writing it falls to me. As he said last time, we'll finish off with some of the unique decisions, events and mechanics we've added to the Byzantine Empire in the DLC. Note that the following stuff is for the DLC, not the free 1.07 patch.

Succession in Byzantium works the same as in the rest of Europe, except for one thing. Children born to an emperor during his reign will get the ”Born in the Purple” trait, which gives them a stronger succession claim than any older siblings born before their parents ascended the throne. If you, as emperor, still want your gifted firstborn son as your heir instead of his snotnosed younger brother who had the good fortune of being born during your reign, infanticide is not your only option. Granting the Despot honorary title to your firstborn will rank him the same as if he had the Purple trait, and given his seniority in age, he will become your heir again.

View attachment LoR_02_ERE_Events.jpg

Ambitious emperors will no doubt try to reclaim some of Rome's former glory by restoring the Empire's lost territory. If they or their imperial vassals hold certain provinces, they will have the opportunity to restore the Roman Empire. This decision essentially signifies that the West has no choice but to accept the Byzantines as the true heirs of Rome's legacy. You will get a new title (complete with a new flag, of course), and the rulers of a restored Rome always get the ”Augustus” trait, which gives a slight boost to vassal relations. If you wish it, there is a decision to move your capital to Rome, though the city scarcely compares to Constantinople in this era so you will likely have to invest a lot of gold and time to rebuild it.

Another major decision, of course, is to mend the Great Schism between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. You will need to reunite the Pentarchy (Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Rome) under Byzantine and Orthodox rule and accumulate a great deal of piety. When this decision is taken, Catholicism will become a heresy and Catholic rulers across Europe will have to decide whether to convert or not. A few will refuse, and Europe will likely be plagued by religious unrest for some time, but the first step has now been taken to unite Christendom under a single church.

View attachment LoR_01_ERE_Events.jpg

As you have probably seen, Byzantine rulers can elect to blind or castrate their prisoners. This can be an efficient way of permanently crippling your rivals without executing them outright. Have an obnoxious brother that covets your throne? If he is blinded or castrated, he will be removed from the imperial succession, and you will have one less pretender to worry about. Just don't expect him to like you much afterwards.

Castrated rivals aside, eunuchs played an important role at the Byzantine imperial court, and from time to time one of them will distinguish himself enough to be brought to your attention. This eunuch will be very loyal to your ruler and quite skilled in his chosen field. When other lords turn their backs on you, you will usually still be able to depend on his service, whether it's as a skilled general or a gifted spymaster.

Other events you can expect to see are triumphs being held when you emerge victorious from decisive wars, unruly Varangians in the capital, Hippodrome races and much more.

View attachment LoR_03_ERE_Events.jpg

Finally, let me stress that this does not mean that we have created a supercharged Byzantine Empire that will always go on to dominate Europe as the Romans did before them. Skilled and dedicated players will be able to stage a miraculous recovery and recreate the borders of the Roman Empire and maybe even hold it all together afterwards, but we have naturally taken care not to upset the balance of the game. Just wanted to put that out there.

 

[Joel M Bridge]

Sorry, I can't tell you anything... Doomdark is making threatening gestures from behind his desk. You will have to wait for an official announcement.

Is Byzantine usurpers any different from there western counter part, I mean they had quite few usurping Emperors, through court coup, or be declare by the army and take Constantinople that halft the fun of the emperor is events or feature for that in game?

 

[Jeradia]

Good points all, and I agree that it's not likely to be in the Vanilla DLC. But modding the game to personal taste is an entirely different matter. I'd only been throwing around Nova-Roman as a stand-in, but I'd note that if the name were derived from the city/province (like Roman was) and not from a linguistic standpoint, then Nova-Roman or even just Roman would be correct (assuming Constantinople reverted to it's original name of New Rome - which is something I'd also add). But calling it "just plain wrong" has just a slight provocational tinge to it - entirely unintentional, I'm sure. :happy:

For matters like this, one has to set aside game mechanics and linguistic conventions and think about the culture and politics of the time. All authority and status derived from one's perceived connections with Rome. Kings, Emperors and Popes were not above falsifying documents to give them Roman legitimacy in order to increase their own power (see the Donation of Constantine). So if an Emperor were to retake Rome and establish a new Empire, it is not entirely unreasonable that they would begin to shift their culture to conform with existing ideas about Rome.
During the Middle Ages, there was a certain nostalgia about all things Roman - even more so than there is today. Rome was the ideal, and bringing back its glory was very important to Medieval rulers. If a ruler managed to 'restore' the Roman Empire (which is of course a legal fiction), then surely there would be some attempt at rebuilding/restoring Roman identity.
This is all conjecture, of course, but as both an Historian and a fan of Alternate History, it's something I think about a lot. Of course it's entirely possible that this would create a new divide in the Empire and lead to yet another fracture between East and West - and another bloody, interminable civil war. And that's something I'd also be interested in seeing. Giving possibilities and options isn't a bad thing, even if it's only available through mods. Saying something definitely wouldn't have happened is a determinist fallacy.

The way I'm thinking of it is this, if the Greeks reform Rome, you cannot shift the entire population of the Empire from Greek culture. HOWEVER. The Greekish nobility would likely only use Latin for offocial documents and the like from that point on. So perhaps a slight linguistic shift or title naming shift, but nothing to major.

 

[Mushro0m]

Will you release a byzantine music DLC too?

 

[grumphie]

oh: is constantinople fixed int his patch? it SHOULD be about the most developed city in europe at game start, not simply a very large city beraly giving levies.

 

[Dr_Vile]

The way I'm thinking of it is this, if the Greeks reform Rome, you cannot shift the entire population of the Empire from Greek culture. HOWEVER. The Greekish nobility would likely only use Latin for offocial documents and the like from that point on. So perhaps a slight linguistic shift or title naming shift, but nothing to major.

Why not? It would be slow, of course, taking centuries (possibly overtaking the scope of the game). Start with the nobility and work its way slowly down to the peasantry. By 'reforming' the empire, what you're actually doing is legitimizing the political fiction of the continuation of Rome. In this regard, a return to the glory days of Rome, including a revival of the old cultural idiosyncrasies is not entirely inconceivable.

 

[Keanon]

Why not? It would be slow, of course, taking centuries (possibly overtaking the scope of the game). Start with the nobility and work its way slowly down to the peasantry. By 'reforming' the empire, what you're actually doing is legitimizing the political fiction of the continuation of Rome. A return to the glory days of Rome is not entirely inconceivable.

But returning to Latin is. The thing is, according to the Greeks of this time they already ARE Romans.

 

[Mixxer5]

Why not? It would be slow, of course, taking centuries (possibly overtaking the scope of the game). Start with the nobility and work its way slowly down to the peasantry. By 'reforming' the empire, what you're actually doing is legitimizing the political fiction of the continuation of Rome. A return to the glory days of Rome is not entirely inconceivable.

Ok, idea itself is good- but how do You want to picture it if such culture shift would end in XVI century? Or later? Using save converter and move game to EU3? Fine but that means that new version of mod or new add-on is needed.

@UP: Romanization isn't bad idea- but game should start in 800 so it's possible at all.

 

[Ciccillo Rre]

Good points all, and I agree that it's not likely to be in the Vanilla DLC. But modding the game to personal taste is an entirely different matter. I'd only been throwing around Nova-Roman as a stand-in, but I'd note that if the name were derived from the city/province (like Roman was) and not from a linguistic standpoint, then Nova-Roman or even just Roman would be correct (assuming Constantinople reverted to it's original name of New Rome - which is something I'd also add). But calling it "just plain wrong" has just a slight provocational tinge to it - entirely unintentional, I'm sure. :happy:

Yes, sorry if my tone sounded harsh. The scenario you depict is totally realistic. What I wanted to point out is that any re-institution of the Latin language would be totally out of place, for even in late Roman times there was that separation between the elite language and the geographically varying people's language that also characterized, to a different degree, the Middle Ages.

A more extensive utilization of the word "Roman" (maybe sometimes "New Roman"), latin titles and possibly names would be definitely fun and cool, but to get a new culture called "Roman" or similar in vanilla would confuse many who do not know much about history and upset others who definitely know more.

And yes, I am a fun of Alternate History as well, one of the things that fascinates me the most is the divergence where the Welsh/Britons had resisted the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain!

 

[Dr_Vile]

Ok, idea itself is good- but how do You want to picture it if such culture shift would end in XVI century? Or later? Using save converter and move game to EU3? Fine but that means that new version of mod or new add-on is needed.

Does the game need to end with the culture shift complete? The entire history of the world is not contained within the scope of the game, and when EUIV comes out, I would certainly mod that one as well.

But returning to Latin is. The thing is, according to the Greeks of this time they already ARE Romans.

I wasn't arguing for Latin. Unless the Emperor moved the capital to Rome, then I doubt that would happen. The official language would no doubt be Greek, but culturally would begin to assimilate Latin elements/resume Roman traditions.

 

[GreatSlayer]

This is the second time you release a DLC/expansion when I won't be able to afford to buy it. By scientific certainty and by sources unrelated to each other, it is now confirmed that Paradox is conspiring against me.

Sad to see.

(I'll still buy it, because it's awesome, which is also sad. )

 

[Joel M Bridge]

So no nobody cares about the long history Usurers and how there many different method of taking Imperial , that would only really seen in Byzantine for time period. Or how there is no landed nobility in the Western sense. Nobody cares or want asking more question about that?

 

[Drakken]

Why is castration and blinding unique to Greek culture?

Probably because A) it was mostly used in the Byzantine Empire and its Greek tributaries in the era, and B) to prevent the player playing a Western country to blind and castrate its heirs left and right as a matter of course.

 

[Faeelin]

So no nobody cares about the long history Usurers and how there many different method of taking Imperial , that would only really seen in Byzantine for time period. Or how there is no landed nobility in the Western sense. Nobody cares or want asking more question about that?

Enjoy this string of code which lets you blind people.

 

[Faeelin]

oh: is constantinople fixed int his patch? it SHOULD be about the most developed city in europe at game start, not simply a very large city beraly giving levies.

Yea, this is why Alexius Commenius was able to raise vast armies from its citizens.

 

[Ciccillo Rre]

Post Scriptum: Never ever is a return to Latin as a language of the masses feasible/realistic, regardless of what we think of a new "fashionability" of Roman-ism in the restored Empire. Unless it's imposed by brute force, or by that kind of hegemonic cultural assimilation of Imperial times that still spread from a place where Latin was actively spoken, Italy (so no way in the Middle Ages) evolutionary linguistics is against it.

Half-analytic languages like the Romance languages and German never revert to a higher degree of synthesis (Latin, classical/byzantine Greek, Russian and Sanskrit - not to mention Finnish - are highly synthetic languages; on the other side of the spectrum we have English, the Celtic languages, Afrikaans and Chinese which are very analytic). This is because language evolution naturally tends towards simplification and enrichment of the lexicon not through within-language construction but through alien borrowing, which badly adapts to a complex syntax.

So, at most I'd say that Latin names return fashionable and/or are adapted to more modern languages, but a complete return of the culture and the language are impossible to say the least.

 

[Joel M Bridge]

Enjoy this string of code which lets you blind people.

Yea but there court coup, get army to declare you, being make co-emperor, marry the empress, the list goes on.

 

[Bundeswag]

Do I need sword of sslam to play this and Is this and sword of islam save game compatible to 1.6?

 

[Alerias]

They will not be getting a crusade equivalent, but the Byzantine ruler gets a new "Imperial Reconquest" casus belli against former Roman territory. This works much like Holy War CB, but it can be used against fellow Christians.

Also, yes, those things are open for modding.

Wait what, we learn about this gloriousness on page three of the last DD?! This is ... EPIC. Coupled with Faeelin's sweet tears , this has made my day. Hats off.

Is former Roman territory defined as merely Byzantine De Jure lands, or does it extend to North Italy or even beyond? If it's really all former Roman territory and you can really use it on London, I will be greatly amused and mail Faeelin that screenshot.

 

[grumphie]

actually, if constantinoplis ISNT fixed i think im going to mod in new tiers of buidligns(constantinople level) and change it into 4 castles-2cities perfectly developed giving lots and lots of gold and levies, which CAN be equalled granted you got the coin.

 

[Dr_Vile]

What I wanted to point out is that any re-institution of the Latin language would be totally out of place, for even in late Roman times there was that separation between the elite language and the geographically varying people's language that also characterized, to a different degree, the Middle Ages.

I agree. Latin returning as the official language is rather unrealistic, unless there's a complete shift from Constantinople to Rome, which is why I was suggesting two different cultures: Neo for Greek and Nova for Italian. I'd be more than happy to have the Roman Empire using Greek, whilst the HRE uses Latin & supports the Pope (a fascinating scenario, and one that I'm sure I'll mod in).

A more extensive utilization of the word "Roman" (maybe sometimes "New Roman"), latin titles and possibly names would be definitely fun and cool, but to get a new culture called "Roman" or similar in vanilla would confuse many who do not know much about history and upset others who definitely know more.

Perhaps Graeco-Roman culture then? That might be the best bet, since both a Rome-oriented and Constantinople-oriented Empire would fall under this banner.

And yes, I am a fun of Alternate History as well, one of the things that fascinates me the most is the divergence where the Welsh/Britons had resisted the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain!

I like this scenario as well, but can never seem to get past 1180. I hate the Normans.