In 1453, the burgeoning glory of the Ottoman Turks claimed their millennium long prize- the Jewel of the Romans, or what was left of them- Constantinople. But even as that city was engulfed in flames and the walls crumbled, Constantine Xi- the last Roman emperor, stood defiant. The Eastern Romans/Byzantines were not merely custodians of Roman glory; they were the living successors. Though their language had shifted and their faith transformed, their spirit remained Roman. From the splendor of Hagia Sophia to the legal reforms of Justinian, Byzantium carried forth the torch of Romulus, Augustus, and Constantine the Great, merging the might of Rome with the intellect and spirituality of Hellenic culture. From the hordes of Hunnic invaders to the resistances shown to Persians, Arabs, and Bulgars sieges- Roman had become, in truth, the shield of Europa during the tumultuous centuries of Late Antiquity.

Even their conquerors, the Ottomans, could not escape the pretentions of the Roman legacy. Even as Mehmet II raised the flag of Osman, he immediately styled himself a Caesar of Rome. The Ottomans went as far as adopting the administrative and cultural frameworks from Byzantium, grafting their Islamic empire onto the rootstock of Roman governance. In that innovation was birthed a Golden Age for the Arab world.

In truth, the fall of Constantinople seemed inevitable and by that point, nothing more than the last ragged breath of a dying wolf. An old and weary wolf, battered by more than a thousand years of internal strife and external assault. Yet this lupine beast fell not with a whimper, but a howl that shattered the barriers of the medieval world. Refugee scholars fled westward, igniting a reintroduction of European kingdoms with their own ancient past. Trade routes were barred, spurring a desire for new and alternative routes. And with the Islamic conquering of the east, a new border and seat for their superpower was now firmly established. Though Rome fell, its legacy seeded the future, ensuring that the ideas and achievements of thousands of years would never perish.