The Byzantine Army in Video Games. Common Misconceptions Shaping Popular Perceptions

Abstract

Scholars of Byzantium cannot afford to ignore the growing medium of video games, which play a key role in shaping the modern perception of Byzantium among a formative audience. In numerous popular strategy games, Byzantium is differentiated from other contemporary civilizations and factions through a series of highly specific historical vectors including the Varangian guard, kataphraktoi, and the so-called Greek fire. Given the constraints of the medium, this leads to significant distortions in its reception by players. This problem is further exacerbated by the same emphases and omissions being persistently deployed across disparate video game titles spanning the last three decades. Byzantium is thus molded into something it was not. Reasons for this range from Enlightenment thought to modern political discourse, and from gameplay concerns to marketing demands. Understanding these are essential to course-correcting Byzantium’s historical legacy in the modern milieu, particularly since younger demographics often first encounter Byzantium in the medium of video games.