Byzantine Empire

'''Note- A lot of you will probably say that Grandpa Rome is both empires, east and west, but I'm just saying that Grandpa Rome has a twin (or younger brother). If you want to complain, go to my talk page. But possibly, the Byzantine Empire is Grandpa Rome's Son and the "Father" or so Italy calls him. '''

Byzantine Empire, also known as Eastern Roman Empire, is a Hetalia fan character who represents the Byzantine Empire, which lasted for a thousand years. He takes the name Basil Argyros when he was given a human name (Based on the book; Agent of Byzantium).

Personality/Appearence
Though much quieter than his twin brother, Western Roman Empire, he is very intelligent and strategic. He could read maps very well and he has a knack for foreign languages, especially Medieval Greek. Like his brother, he is a hit with the ladies as he can charm them with his great singing and skills at music. He is also good in battle, though he can sometimes become too proud or arrogant. He also suffers from the same problem Canada does, with the other countries thinking that he is Ancient Rome and then admitting they have never heard of him (especially the west European countries).

He has a very similar appearance to his twin, with only slightly tanned skin and dark blue/green eyes. He is tall, with a slightly muscular figure. He has a long scar on his forehead from a fight against the Bulgarian Empire. In battle, he dresses in Roman armor that is very similar to his twin with the only difference of a purple cape opposed to his brother's red cape. When not in battle, which isn't often, he wears a long cloak of dark purple with peacock patterns and a gold trim, a tunic of the same color and cloth sandals (which result in his feet being very badly bruised; almost to the point of bleeding.

History
His history is that of a brutal one. He was born in 284 from Mother Greece and was adopted by the Roman Empire, but wasn't officially a nation until 395, according to many historians later on. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Roman Empire was split into several pieces to support better management. After the pieces began to fight, one came out on top and helped formed two separate independent pieces, the Western Roman Empire (the original Rome) and his twin/son/younger brother Eastern Roman Empire. He started out as the Eastern Roman empire in 395 CE (AD) when Rome split, making him and Rome look almost identical. But under the supervision of Rome, he grew quickly and became very powerful, a force to be reckoned with. He became known for his excellent war strategies and his unique fighting styles that won him many wars. He was nicknamed by others as the "Purple Phoenix" known for falling into chaos before rising again from his ashes, he had known to shrink before rising again about 6 times throughout his thousand year history.

His main rival was the Sassanid Empire (ancestor of Iran) and fought several wars with him and his successors (or incarnations) throughout many centuries. After Western Rome began a slow fall to Germania (finally ending in his final death in 480, despite falling in 476). Byzantium vowed to reclaim the lost glory of Rome and to continue the true line of the Roman Empire. In 500s, he began a campaign that helped reclaimed what was left of Rome, Northern Africa, and southern Spain. It wasn't until by 600s, that Byzantium fell into disarray after Germans and Persians had attacked him by both sides, coupled with the fact of the rise of Islam. Byzantium would never reclaim his lost glory. As of this time, he had turned to Greek when most of his territories were mostly Greeks.

At this time, Byzantium obsessed and struggled to reclaim his old territories, this obsession and rivalries had led to a split between his Western allies at the beginning of 1000s. But eventually they came to his aid in the Crusades, but had taken some territories meant for Byzantium for themselves, frustrating Byzantium. It wasn't until the fourth crusade that Byzantium was forced out of his home by Venice and his Crusading army in 1204. Fearing being chased after, he temporarily put himself under the guise of Nicaea. Byzantium (and his children, now independent) had co-operated to reconquering Constantinople in 1261. He would never recover his power from Venice's betrayal and soon began to be exploited, abused, and attacked by his former allies and enemies. His biggest enemy of all was the Ottoman Empire, led by Ottoman's bosses; Osman and his successors. Eventually, Byzantium was reduced to a mere major city and several territories.

During the siege of constantinople in 1453, Byzantium realized that he had failed in his life-long objective to reclaim and rebuild the Roman Empire and reminisced on his passed achievements. Upon the last week of the siege, Byzantium concluded that while he had failed to achieve his ultimate goal, he had created his own identity and rich history as well. When the Ottomans had finally burst into the inner city, Byzantium would lead one final charge in the name of Rome.

Death
His empire lasted a over thousand years, making it one of the longest ruling empires in all of history. He officially fell in 1453 AD, when the Ottoman Empire (Turkey's old empire) invaded him and toppled the empire, destroying him. He is called the last of Rome, even today. He had two regrets when he died; never being able to repay his debts to/restoring his fallen brother, and never meeting his two nephews, Feliciano and Lovino. (North and South Italy)

Trivia

 * His birthday is January 17th when the Diocletian decided to spilt the Roman Empire, thus creating the Byzantine Empire
 * He also has a death year, 1453 AD, The year when Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople. But his children had survived until 1461 AD
 * He is nicknamed "the last roman" from when his brother died from the Sack of Rome, and leaving him as the last roman empire.
 * Though never meeting them, he is shown to have cared about both his nephews, with much more admiration for Lovino.
 * He have a problem with people thinking he was a girl at first, similar to China's situation at first sight.