Byzatium

Roman State in the East Ρωμαϊκό κράτος στην Ανατολή
Coat of arms
Capital	Byzantium
Official languages	Greek language
Spoken languages	Predominantly Greek List Kurdish Zaza Arabic Turkish Armenian Albanian Serbo-Croat Bulgarian various others
Religion	Eastern Orthodox Church
Demonym(s)	Byzantine Officially: Roman
Government	Unitary constitutional monarchy
Legislature	Roman Senate House of the Representatives
Establishment
• Foundation of Rome	21 April 753 BCE
• Establishment of the Roman Republic	509 BCE
• Establishment of the Roman Empire	27 BCE
• Permanent establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire	395 AD
• Modern State established	21 April 1723
• Current constitution	29 October 1923
Area
• Total	1,052,656 km2 (406,433 sq mi)
Population
• December 2022 estimate	117,139,970
• Density	1,112/km2 (2,880.1/sq mi)
Currency	Roman lira (₺) (BYZ)
Time zone	UTC+3 (BZT)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+90
Internet TLD	.by

Byzantium, also commonly known as the Byzantine Empire, officially the Roman State in the East (Ρωμαϊκό κράτος στην Ανατολή), is a transcontinental country located in Southeast Europe and West Asia. It borders the Black Sea, Croatia and Romania to the north; the Russian Empire to the east; Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Adriatic Sea to the west. The largest ethnicity of the country's citizens are ethnic Greeks. Byzantium the capital and largest city, as well as economic and financial centre.

The Byzantine Empire is a regional power with a geopolitically significant strategic location. The economy of Turkey, which is a founding member of the OECD and G20, is classified among the Emerging 7, EAGLEs and NICs. The Byzantine Empire is a charter member of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; a founding member of the OSCE, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Economic Cooperation Organization; and an early member of NATO. After becoming one of the early members of the Council of Europe in 1950, the Byzantine Empire became an associate member European integration organizations.

Name

The official name of the country is Roman State in the East, in order to reflect the legal pretense to the continuity of government from the Classical-era Roman Empire. The name was officially adopted in 1723 when Emperor George II reorganized the state and established the modern iteration of the power having its centre in Byzantium.

Byzantium and Byzantine Empire

The name Byzantine Empire appeared in Western sources after the 16th Century, referring to the power exercising a continuity of government from the Classical-era Roman empire. This name, while formally rejected by the country's official policy, is nonetheless used for the sake of clarity.

Administrative divisions

The local government system reflects the Imperial principles and the diverse nature of the empire, while also incorporating the principles of Orthodox Christianity and Enlightenment ideas.

Provinces

The Empire is subdivided into 16 Provinces (sing. Περιφέρεια, Periféreia; pl. Περιφέρειες, Periféreies; lit. "Regions"). for administrative purposes. Each Province has a Governor (Περιφερειάρχης, Perifereiárches) appointed by the Emperor. The Governor is assisted by a provincial parliament known as Provincial Council (Περιφερειακό Συμβούλιο, Perifereiakó Symvoúlio). These Provincial Councils are responsible for discussing and passing legislation related to regional matters, such as cultural preservation and language policies. While these parliaments have legislative powers, they also serve as advisory bodies to the Eparchs and the Roman Senate.

Eparchies

The Byzantine Empire consists of an eparchial system at the local level. Each Province is divided into smaller administrative units known as "Eparchies". Eparchies serve as the foundation of local governance and as significant hubs of central government's actions.
Each Eparchy is led by an Eparch, appointed by the Emperor. The Eparch would be responsible for overseeing local administration and ensuring that imperial policies and values are upheld within the Eparchy. Below the Eparch, elected local councils would manage local affairs, including infrastructure, education, and public services.

Archontates

Eparchies are in turn subdivided into Districts known as Archontates. The Archontate councils consist of representatives elected by the local communities, as well as individuals appointed based on their expertise and contributions to the community. The councils would have the authority to make decisions on matters related to local governance, such as infrastructure, public services, and community development.

Government and politics

The Byzantine Empire is a constitutional monarchy within a multi-party system. The current constitution was approved by the 1923 Byzantine constitutional plebiscite, which determines the government's structure, lays forth the ideals and standards of the state's conduct, and the state's responsibility to its citizens. Furthermore, the constitution specifies the people's rights and obligations, as well as principles for the delegation and exercise of sovereignty that belongs to the "Roman Nation".

In the Byzantine local government system, citizens are subject to four levels of government: national, provincial, and eparchial and local. The local government's duties are commonly split between municipal governments and districts, in which the executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. The Byzantine Empire is subdivided into 16 provinces for administrative purposes. Each province is divided into Eparchies.

The government, regulated by a system of distinction of powers as defined by the Byzantine constitution, comprises three branches, which are headquartered in Byzantium.

• The Imperial Parliament, a bicameral legislature, made up of the Roman Senate and the House of Representatives, makes law, aproves the declaration of war, approves treaties, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove the Government and imperially-appointed civilian officials. The Roman Senate has 150 members, and consists of senior bureaucratic, religious, and military leaders appointed by the Emperor or ex officio. The House of Representatives has 468 members, elected for a five-year term in multiple-seat constituencies of approximately equal population (one Representative every 250,000 inhabitants).
• The Roman Emperor is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints and dismiss the members of the Government (subject to House of Representatives vote of confidence) and other officers (subject to Senate approval), who administer and enforce laws and policies. The succession follows primogeniture with male preference.

Parties and elections

Elections in the Byzantine Empire are held for five functions of government:

• Parliamentary elections (national),
• Municipality mayors and councils (local),
• district mayors and councils (local),
• Eparchial councils (local)
• Provincial councils (local).

Apart from elections, referendums are also held occasionally.

Every Byzantine citizen who has turned 18 has the right to vote and stand as a candidate at elections. Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied since 1934. There are 468 members of the House of Representatives who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 88 electoral districts.

The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-christian or having ties to terrorism, or ban their existence altogether. The Interior Ministry can block new parties from elections even if a court rules in favour of the party. The electoral threshold for political parties at national level is five percent of the votes. Smaller parties can avoid the electoral threshold by forming an alliance with other parties, in which it is sufficient that the total votes of the alliance passes 5%. Independent candidates are not subject to an electoral threshold.

After World War II, starting from 1946, the Byzantine Empire operated under a multi-party system. On the right side of the Byzantine political spectrum, parties like the Justice Alliance and Motherland Party became the most popular political parties, winning numerous elections. Byzantine right-wing parties are more likely to embrace the principles of political ideologies such as conservatism and nationalism. On the left side of the spectrum, parties like the Social Democratic Party and Democratic Party once enjoyed the largest electoral success. Left-wing parties are more likely to embrace the principles of socialism or secularism.

Law

The Byzantine Empire adopts a civl law legal system based upon principles of Roman law. Law enforcement in Turkey is carried out by several agencies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. These agencies are the Imperial Police and the Imperial Gendarmerie. Furthermore, there are other law enforcement agencies with specific or local assignments.

Foreign relations

The Byzantine diplomatic and geopolitical posture is shaped by its historical and cultural ties to both Russia and the NATO bloc, with a focus on maintaining regional stability and safeguarding its values. The Byzantine Empire officially adopts a policy of neutrality with the aim of promote conformity with Byzantine interests of adjacent regions.

Military

The Imperial Roman Armed Forces, commonly known as Byzantine Armed Forces, consist of the General Staff, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the Emperor. The President is responsible for matters of national security and the adequate preparation of the armed forces to defend the Byzantine Empire. However, the authority to approve the declaration of war and to deploy the Byzantine Armed Forces to foreign countries or to allow foreign armed forces to be stationed within the Empire rests solely with the Senate.

The Gendarmerie General Command is a law enforcement agencies with military organization (ranks, structure, etc.) under the dual jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and of the Ministry of Defence.

Every fit male Turkish citizen otherwise not barred is required to serve in the military for a period ranging from six months to two years, dependent on education and job location. The Byzantine Empire does not recognize conscientious objection and does not offer a civilian alternative to military service. However, military auxiliaries to civilian organizations do exist.

Religion

The official religion of the Byzantine Empire is Orthodox Christianity. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and conscience. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in the Empire, adhered to by 82% of the total population; religiously unaffiliated people comprise 13% of the population, while 2% are Muslims.