Kingdom of Heaven: New Rome

New Rome—the Queen of Cities. The grains of Europe and the olives of Asia nourish this most incomparable crown of the Mediterranean world. Amber and furs from the depths of the Rus' forests, along with Persian spices and silks, flow through the Bosporus into the Golden Horn. The clatter of merchant caravans never ceases, and pilgrims stand awestruck by the city's splendor. The Patriarch and the faithful offer their heartfelt blessings to the Emperor in the Palace of Blachernae. "Great Basileus! You are the Lord's image upon earth, the restorer of the primordial lands, the sharp hunter who tears apart vultures and hyenas… You are also the grim butcher of the Normans, the tearful dirge of the Armenians, and the cold, lingering nightmare that haunts the Latin heretics night after night." So records Choniates in the Nikephoros Chronicle: The pulse of Rome surges with your might—and with your passing, it marches toward a new catastrophe.