Should Heraclius be the leader of the Byzantine Empire?
Civilization VII is going to be released on February 11th, 2025, along with the sequel to the Kingdom Come Deliverance II by Czech publisher, Warhorse. It is going to be an interesting month for historical games with just those two releases that I have mentioned. My interest is angling at Civilization VII, and I am thinking about the prospective leader for the Byzantines in the game.
The Byzantines were originally seen in the in Civilization 3’s expansion pack, Conquests. The leader for the civilization was Emperor Justinian’s wife, Theodora. She was an interesting choice, but it made sense considering Civilization III’s leader roster, which included unorthodox leaders; These leaders include women such as Joan of Arc, who was a military commander and not a ruler. Her art style was great for what Firaxis was trying to achieve with these slow animating heads in the game. She worked well but there was clearly more to come when it came to the representation of Byzantine Emperors.
Civilization IV began the tradition of having fully animated leaders in the diplomacy screen. Emperor Justinian was included as the leader for the Byzantines in this game and he looks great. While the design is somewhat cartoony, I get what they were trying to achieve with Civilization IV. It was meant to be more colorful Civilization game, aiming to be a game that was bringing some change to the aesthetics of the Civilization games.
In Civilization V, Theodora was the leader once again. She is depicted lounging on a couch in the view of the Hagia Sophia. Unlike in Civilization III, she is depicted with more sensuality. There isn’t much in this depiction that is explicitly Christian. The only way that you can tell its Christian is that the Hagia Sophia does not have minarets. I can see that Fraxis Games wanted to show off how the graphics appear in Civilization V. It is in this game that we have the modern depiction of the leaders in Civilization. They are now seen as more than faces in a rectangle; they are now personalities in the game.
In Civilization VI, the leader for the Byzantines was Emperor Basil II. He is among of one of my favorite Emperors. In Civilization VI, he is depicted in his older years, forged in fire by years on the battlefield with the Bulgarians. This is probably the most realistic depiction of a Byzantine Emperor.
When one considers the depictions of these Byzantine leaders, one can see the thematic aspects inherent in there. Theodora repersents the woman who was behind the throne and assisted Justinian. The Emperor Justinian repersents the later Empire which become Christian but remembered its Republican heritage. Basil II repersents the apex of Medieval Roman power in Middle Ages.
In my view, Heraclius should be the leader of the Byzantines in Civilization VII. He represents the transition from a Latin Roman Culture to a Greek culture which was Christian. This is the emperor who saved and the Empire only to see his empire being taken away by a powerful new faith coming out of Arabia.
Heraclius is the link between the Pagan Rome and Christian Rome.
Byzantine-Empire.com 