Islamic Almohad - The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire
Constantinople or Byzantium itself, founded as the second Rome by Constantine the Great, is the greatest city in Europe, and may be the greatest in the world. Its walls are impregnable, its armies fearsome, its people impossibly wealthy. Byzantine coinage effortlessly dominates the world of trade and can be used to buy goods the world over. In matters of religion, the Byzantine patriarchs are unwilling to consider the idea of the Papacy's claim to equal or superior status, as the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic halves of Christianity goes unhealed
This information was compiled on the 6th of February 2002 by Terazawa - source: official site
The Byzantine Empire is the child of the Roman Empire, or at least the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. It has always been a power in the world, ruled by despots and assassins, fools and wise men, poets and generals, all combining religious and political authority in one man. That it has survived and even prospered is a tribute to its underlying strengths, and the luck of the Empire's position at the crossroads of the world. Almost no trade moves east or west without making Byzantium richer, and filling the Emperor's coffers with taxes. This very wealth and the heavy taxes needed to sustain the Imperial court can be a cause of envy and resentment from other peoples.