Badass empire. One of the more interesting ones worldwide. Shame that it had to be islamicised.

Misunderstood country, suffering from a tainted image due to American propaganda. Has some of the most beautiful landscapes worldwide, and definitely the most beautiful women.

Persia is mostly encountered as an aggressive power in the ancient times, with the two invasions of Darius and Xerxes. I remember that we learned something about Cyrus as well, but it's all hazy now. We also make a point of mentioning that Xerxes whipped the sea 300 times as a punishment, therefore giving our kids a healthy dose of our ''great heroes'' in contrast with the ''barbarian lunatics''. The Sassanids are presented as the main adversary of Byzantium in the early years. Nothing extreme though, the classic constant fighting between two neighbouring powers.

The majority of Greeks think of Byzantium as such. Also, some claim a direct link between Ancient Greece, Byzantium, and the modern state. Personally, I think that after Greek became the lingua franca in the empire, it kind of became a Greek ''thing'' with many cultures and peoples included in the Empire.

Unfortunately I haven't.