Official Name: The Holy Empire of Byzantine Territories
Short Form: Byzantine Territories
Capital: Constantinople (Istanbul)
Population: 32 million
Currency: nomisma
Official Language: Greek (Turkish)

The Holy Empire of Byzantine Territories, mainly in Western Asia, also includes a small portion of Eastern Thrace in Europe. It thus controls the entrance to the Black Sea, which is straddled by the Empire's largest city, Constantinople. The Empire's strategic location gives it great influence in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Lying on a major earthquake fault line, many Byzantine towns are vulnerable to earthquakes such as the one which devastated Nicomedia (Izmit) in 1999.

CLIMATE

Coastal regions have a Mediterranean climate. The interior has cold snowy winters and hot, dry summers.

TRANSPORTATION

Air service is available through Constantinople International Airport. Plans are under way for a high speed rail line between Constantinople (Istanbul) and Smyrna (Izmir). Shipping forms a high proportion of transportation traffic, handled by an extensive network of ports and harbors, including Constantinople (Istanbul) and Smyrna (Izmir).

TOURISM

Visitors are attracted by fine beaches, classical sites such as Troy, and antiquities from the prehistoric to the Ottoman periods. Recent unrest due to terrorist activity has hit the tourist trade, but government officials expect it to recover.

PEOPLE

Ethnicities: Greek, Georgian, Turkish, Arabic, Circassian, Armenian, Ladino
Population Density: 87 / per sq. km or 224 / per sq. mi
Urban / Rural Population Split: 74% urban / 26% rural
Religous Persuasion: 51% Orthodox, 48% Muslim (mainly Sunni), 1% other
Ethnic Makeup: 39% Greek, 49% Turkish, 2% Arabic, 10% other

The Byzantines are racially diverse. Many are refugees, or the descendants of refugees, often from the Balkans. Many Muslims fled after the successful revolution by the minority Orthodox Greeks. Those that remained are allowed to practice their faith freely, although the government has outlawed extremist forms of Islam and Orthodox Christians dominate national politics. While women have equal rights in law, men dominate political and even family life.

GOVERNMENT

Head of State: His Majesty Alexios III
Prime Minister: Metrios Laskaris
Legislative Body: The Imperial Senate
Suffrage: compulsory and universal at age 18

Under the 2003 Constitution, the Empire is a parliamentary democracy with an Imperial Senate elected every five years. The Emperor has broad powers including unilaterally establishing laws through Imperial Decree and veto power over all Imperial Senate legislation. The Emperor appoints the Prime Minister and all major government positions, including judges.
There are 24 members of the Imperial Senate, each elected independently as political parties are outlawed. Four Senators are elected from each Theme. Although the Emperor holds veto power over all legislation and can establish laws through Imperial Decree, the Imperial Senate can remove the Emperor with a unanimous vote of no confidence.
Since political parties are outlawed, politics is divided by personalities rather than ideologies. The military dominated Imperial Security Council also retains some political influence.

WORLD AFFAIRS

After initially joining the United Nations, the Empire quickly withdrew after widespread public protest. The UN is seen as contrary to the religous values of most Byzantines. The Empire signed and ratified the Balkanic Peace Accords and founded the Balkans Relief Fund to supply humanitarian aid to the Balkans in times of need. The government and people strongly oppose the MPLE agreements and as a result, relations with the signatory nations have been strained. The government is currently strengthening ties with Thracia and Annoyastan and negotiating free trade agreements with both nations.

DEFENSE

The government is currently re-organizing and re-equipping the military. Converting the revolutionary militias and guerilla bands into a modern, professional force, is proving to be a challange. The Varangian Guard, an elite international mercenary force answers directly to the Emperor. All other military forces are commanded by the Imperial Security Council. The Army consists of the small Tagmata (standing army) and the larger Thematic Reserve, which consists of a division from each Theme. The Navy largely consists of patrol vessels. Military spending is on the increase and the Air Force is currently being organized.
At eighteen years of age, all male citizens must serve between 18 and 24 months active duty depending upon the branch of service they join and they must remain in the Thematic Reserve until their 50th birthday. By law, all military forces except the Thematic Reserve must maintain at least a 60% volunteer to 40% conscript ratio.

ECONOMICS

GNP Per Capita: $3,180 US dollars
Average Income Tax Rate: 36%
Unemployment: 12%

Strengths: Liberalized economy has resulted in strong growth. Self-sufficient in agriculture. Textiles, manufacturing, and construction services competitive on world markets. Tourism industry. Dynamic private sector economy. Skilled labor force.

Weaknesses: Large government bureaucracy. Uneven privatization program. Ailing banking sector. Influence of organized crime. High cost of military action against JKLA terrorists.

ENVIRONMNENT

One percent of the Empire's land is protected from development. Much of the western coast has been spoilt by lack of planning and by uncontrolled tourist developments. Concern has been expressed at plans to build a nuclear power plant.

MEDIA

Newspapers: There are 13 daily newspapers in Greek and Turkish.
Television Stations: 2 state-owned services
Radio Stations: 2 services - 1 state owned, 1 independent

The government imposes total press censorship and insists on strict morality. Private citizens are banned from owning satellite dishes. The government recently announced strict rules regarding state and religion on the internet.

CRIME

The government does not publish prison figures. Crime is largely contained by a well-funded police force. Accusations of torture by the police, and the deaths of prisoners in custody, cause concern among human rights groups worldwide.

EDUCATION

97% of the population are literate. Some 9% of total government spending is on education, which is free and officially compulsory for nine years. Teachers are well paid and standards are high. University places are limited and many students go abroad for tertiary education. Technical courses have increased under a recent government directive.

HEALTH

The Empire possesses an adequate national system of primary healthcare. By Western standards, however, hospitals are under-equipped. There are fewer doctors per head than in any western European country.

SPENDING

The government spends 5.5% of its budget on defense, 9% on education and 2.9% on health. The economic expansion after the revolution has created a new class of wealthy entrepreneurs. Urban/rural differences remain pronounced. Instability during and immediately after the revolution eroded earnings of those on fixed incomes, and income inequality has grown.