Byzantium Novum State of the Nation - October 2013

Greetings all,

 

The Fall season has been a busier time for Byzantium Novum! October 2013 was a good month for our Micronation worldwide. People are continuing to find us, and with new applications we now stand at 412 official Citizens!  Our public presence on social media also continues to expand with over 3,630 contacts able to see our official news and announcements.

Our latest development is that we have made arrangements for the graphic design of the main Byzantium Novum web site to be redone by a professional level designer! Our current site is serviceable but in an older format that doesn't display perfectly on portable devices with various screen formats. The project will be worked on part time so it will probably take a couple of months to complete but the results should be great!

 Our sad news this fall is that Senator Amma Doukaina has decided to resign her Senate position and all other official positions for personal reasons. Her contributions and excellent work as the editor of Byzantium Novum's newsletter, the Basilica, will be missed! Happily Amma will be able to remain as a Citizen and says she'll stay active in the forums as she is able. In the most real sense "Byzantine Citizen" is the most important position any of us here can have in any case!

 As President of the Byzantium Novum Senate, I am officially empowered to bestow the ancient official title of "Magnificentissimus" once yearly upon any Magistrate or Citizen who has done outstanding service to Byzantium.

In accordance with this tradition I hereby bestow the title of "Femina Magnificentissimus" upon Amma Doukaina as a sign of our collective appreciation for her work on behalf of the Senate and People of Byzantium Novum.  It is my hope that all will give her proper congratulations on being the first Byzantine Citizen to officially receive this title in many centuries!  Ave!

I believe Byzantium Novum will be heading into an active Holiday Season. I look forward to communicating with everyone in our various public forums during Winter. The warmth of friendship and shared interest in "things Byzantine" helps to make the colder months much more interesting and fun!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

Senate President, Byzantium Novum

STATE OF THE NATION - March 2013


Greetings all,

 

I'm pleased to say that March 2013 was a very active month in Byzantium Novum. We gained 20 new Citizens! That is almost double our usual monthly average, and it gives us a current total of 372 officially registered Byzantine citizens. 

I'm especially pleased to greet our several new Citizens from Komi, Russia, who are part of a local organization working with Byzantine era reenactments. Welcome to you all!

 

We have continued to gain more Facebook contacts, and several folks have joined our various Yahoo group discussion lists. We're communicating with more people each month and that is helping our Micronation gain more notice.

 

The Byzantium Novum Senate was quite active this month, progressing with much discussion and also voting on 11 appointments and reappointments for various Counts in our local communities worldwide. Many thanks to Baduila Chalkas, Senate Clerk for tabulating and posting the votes!


Speaking of our worldwide community, Byzantium Novum maintains a worldwide map located at http://www.communitywalk.com/byzantium_novum/map/543922 . Each new Byzantium Novum Citizens gets a Citizen number, which is listed on this map.


This month, a Citizen in Tennessee, USA posted this to their Map location: "This is a place in a middle of nowhere surrounded by other cities of nowhere. If anyone happens to be located near here I would love to meet up!"


To me that amusing and honest post really goes to the heart of what Byzantium Novum is trying to achieve worldwide. Most of us have started out "alone" in our Eastern Roman cultural and historical interests.... but it doesn't have to be that way, and won't be like that forever!


We are sincere in our goals to build real world community for those interested in "Things Byzantine." Therefore we very much encourage all Citizens to reach out to others in their local area! The more Byzantium Novum grows, the more real world Byzantine community and friendships all of us can have.


Our Senate stands ready to help people find local Byzantine interests, and the Byzantium Novum Chancellery has been making great efforts to provide help and information for our various local Villages, Colonies and Provinces.


The month of April begins Byzantium Novum's annual commemoration of the Siege of Constantinople, which lasted from April 6th to May 29th, in 1453 AD. In keeping the memory of this event we look to celebrate Byzantine history and tradition rather than to renew ancient conflicts. This story will always raise public interest regarding the Eastern Roman Empire, and public interest is what is needed to build NEW Byzantine community with its own new peaceful and positive story!


I wish everyone a wonderful Spring!


-Marcus Cassius Julianus

Senate President, Byzantium Novum

STATE OF THE NATION - February 2013

Greetings all,

The month of February marks the third anniversary of the founding of Byzantium Novum! On February 8th, 2010, the web site for our Micronation went online and we began accepting Citizens!

During these three years we have made good progress toward our goals of restoring Byzantine civilization and culture. Our work to establish an international Byzantine community and to manifest Byzantine statehood has been successful so far - even though we are realistically still in our beginning.

To date we have 352 official Citizens, an average of well over 100 new people each year. That is surprisingly good, considering how little most of the modern world knows about the Eastern Roman Empire! We have established Byzantine colonies in many places worldwide which work to provide a real-world presence for Byzantine interest. We currently have 3,780 Facebook contacts, which allows us a substantial Internet presence. In short our nation continues to expand at a realistic, manageable pace.

Our overall statistics are in a way less as important as the story of the people that make up our Community. Our forums, and our local colonies and provinces are providing people a way to gather and rekindle something of the Eastern Roman world. Our very existence has inspired people to learn more about the wonderful history and culture of Byzantium... and to share the dream that it can live again today. We have many wonderful and skilled Citizens working to bring Byzantium to life, including accredited scholars and published authors. We have Citizens building local community, producing artwork and literature, and who have created a truly professional periodical publication. An amazing start to a long journey!

Three years may not seem like much for a fully developed nation or community. It IS a big deal for a Micronation. Most "grassroots" ideas of founding new official world states simply don't last through the first year. Byzantium Novum is one of the few Micronations that has continued to grow and gain strength. The old saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" is just as true for NEW Rome... our goals are important enough to keep working toward for years to come.

As we continue, we can ultimately help manifest a wider renewal of Byzantine interest and activity worldwide. With patience and effort, we WILL see active local Byzantine provinces around the world. This will provide modern Byzantines the opportunity for local gatherings and community efforts.

As our numbers grow from the hundreds and into the thousands, we may even be able to establish a world headquarters to consider our international Capital. If medium sized corporations can maintain sites of that size so can we... and such a place would truly be a jewel among modern Sovereignty Projects!

Spring is almost here, and we can begin looking forward to May 11th, Byzantium Novum's "International Byzantine Day." May 21 is the anniversary of the founding of Constantinople - a day which proved that old Empires can be renewed, and that new Sacred places can be created. This day celebrates both ancient tradition and modern hope... the foundations that Byzantium Novum are built upon. The more we promote this holiday, the more we can bring Eastern Roman Civilization to the public!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum

BYZANTIUM NOVUM STATE OF THE NATION
November, 2012

Greetings all,

It is hard to believe that Byzantium Novum is heading into it's third winter! As of November, 2012 our Micronation currently has 326 Citizens located around the world. We currently have 3,798 contacts on Facebook, and our overall Internet presence continues to expand!

The Byzantium Novum Senate is currently voting on five issues concerning Governorships in the various local provinces. That vote will be concluded on December 1st and the results of the vote will be posted in the main Citizen forum.

Overall, Byzantium Novum is doing quite well! We have been able to maintain our presence and infrastructure, and our steady, stable growth is as expected.

Our goal of manifesting Byzantine civilization through living community and a restored, working government is progressing well. We are already one of the largest and most organized Micronations in history. As our local Colonies grow, we will be in an excellent position to build new interest and involvement in "things Byzantine" worldwide!

The largest challenge we continue to face is that of popularization. Byzantium really *is* the "Forgotten Empire" and it is amazing how many people worldwide know almost nothing about it! The Eastern Roman Empire often gets little attention in schools and that is a tragedy for civilization itself. Byzantium encompasses over a thousand years of critically important history and culture. It laid the foundations of the modern world and deserves to be a living part of the world's future.

Happily there is much within Byzantine history, civilization and culture which offers hope that Byzantium can and will be revived. The Eastern Roman Empire is a rich world - and when people begin to explore it amazing treasures come to light!  Byzantium Novum exists to return Byzantium to the world and everyday life. It is an important goal, and one that will continue to be fun and interesting along the way!

Even though Winter was a quiet time in the ancient world, it is a productive time for Byzantium Novum during this first Micronational phase. Our Citizens are spread out all over the world, so we do much on the Internet. The colder months are in essence our "campaign season" as people spend more hours online. Even with the Holiday season approaching things should be busy.

On behalf of the Senate and People of Byzantium Novum I wish all a happy and peaceful Christmas, and a prosperous New Year!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum

Byzantium Novum State of the Nation - August 2012

Byzantium Novum State of the Nation - August 2012


Greetings all,

The Summer season was quiet in Byzantium Novum. This is the time of year when
folks tend to spend less time on the Internet. This was certainly true for me -
it is the busiest season for my business and that kept me away from "things
Byzantine" much more than I wished. It is good that we're heading into the time
of year people have more time and our small new nation is more active!

In spite of the season Byzantium Novum has continued to do very well. We did
have people posting in the public forums, and we have continued to gain new
Citizens and build our Internet presence. The biggest news is that we have
finally broken the "300 mark" and now officially have 302 official Citizens!

In addition to that we now have a total of 3,607 contacts on Facebook, so we are
reaching a good audience with public posts. It is very heartening to find that
there is more Byzantine interest around the world than we ever dreamed existed
when Byzantium Novum was founded!

As a Micronation, Byzantium Novum exists as a successor state to the Byzantine
Empire, and our ultimate goal is the revival of Byzantine civilization and
culture. We will continue to work toward this in the months ahead by
strengthening our infrastructure and building our international Byzantine
Community.

The most effective way we can do this is for each of us to help build and
participate in our various Byzantium Novum Colonies and Villages. Building our
community on the local, real world level is critically important. We need to
build local friendships and work toward more face-to-face meetings and events,
where we can enjoy the wonderful history, arts, and culture of Byzantium
together!

Happily, you don't need to be any kind of "official recruiter" to work on
building Byzantine interest in your area. Simply share your interest in
Byzantium with others - and tell your friends about Byzantium Novum! As folks
hear about our fascinating work toward making a "lost" civilization live again,
and learn that they can have a role in making history... a lot of recruiting
will happen on it's own!

The other thing each of us can do is simply participate more online. Byzantium
Novum maintains many "special interest" forums for the exploration and enjoyment
of various aspects of Byzantium... and the more we do in those forums the
stronger our Community will be. If you haven't checked the "forums" section of
the Byzantium Novum website in a while it's worth a look... we have places for
discussing Byzantine literature, religion, culture, military history and more!
The more we talk to each other, the more life our renewed Byzantium has. You
don't have to be an expert on Byzantine topics to post!

I look forward to hearing from more Citizens in the forums, and watching as our
local communities grow. My personal goal is to help build Noviodunum, the
northern New England USA colony where I reside, by advertising it in the local
listings on Craig's List. They have tended to frown on international
organizations posting, but at least they have a much more liberal policy for
those posting for local events.

May we all, and Byzantium Novum itself, have a wonderful Fall season!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum

State of the Nation - March 2012

Greetings all,

March 2012 has been a very good month in Byzantium Novum. We now stand at 261 official Citizens, which means ten more people joined Byzantium during this month! We are also widening our presence on Facebook and currently stand at 2,818 contacts.

Our public communication forums are beginning to be more active now that Spring is here. Our Main List had its second highest number of posts ever this month!

Also, this month we have set up a new Announcement list to which all Citizens will be automatically subscribed. This will be a VERY low traffic list - one or two messages per month at most - but will allow everyone to receive official news and updates.

Currently, Byzantium Novum is working to establish a public holiday on May 11, the date on which Constantinople was officially consecrated by official ceremony. We hope to promote this as a sort of "International Byzantine Day" as this date commemorates a time of new beginning.

We already have "live" May 11 celebrations being planned in two of our local Counties, and hope that more of our local communities will be able to participate with public events as well. This next month we will be finalizing arrangements for this event, and making public announcements to begin popularizing this date as a time for annual celebration!

This month our Count of New Brunswick, Canada retired from his position and we would like to extend our thanks and gratitude for his service toward the continuation of Byzantine civilization.

Speaking of our local provinces - we do have official magistrate positions open in most areas. If you have registered as a Byzantium Novum Citizen, and are interested in being active in helping to establish Byzantine community in your area you are welcome to apply to the Byzantium Novum Senate by contacting the Senate Chancellor at: jsmithcsa@yahoo.com.

The month of April will also begin the commemoration for the Siege of Constantinople, which began on April 6th, and lasted until May 29th.

I wish everyone a wonderful Spring, and look forward to our new Nation continuing to grow!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum

Greetings all,

February 2012 was the beginning of Byzantium Novum's third year! We're continuing to grow and this has been a good month for our micronation.

As of February we now have 252 official Citizens. We have gained 126 new Citizens each year so far, and averaged around 11 people each month. That is very encouraging, considering how little time is given to Byzantine studies in schools and popular history!

This month we have reached 2,720 contacts on Facebook, which means we're reaching a good audience on social networking.

Our main website at www.byzantiumnovum.org was updated this month. The forums have remained moderately active, and we've been active on some of the worldwide micronational forums, which is getting us some attention.

The biggest news is that we are continuing to grow very well on the local level; we are in the process of adding three new Colonies and have more going in the works! Our provinces worldwide are perhaps the most vital aspect of Byzantium Novum. As we continue to grow, there will be more opportunity for our Citizens to meet each other face to face, and enjoy Byzantine gatherings and events!

Now that we are beginning our third year, I would like to thank everyone for their interest and help in bringing Byzantium back to life. We're doing what we can to continue Byzantine civilization as an organized community - and we are the first people to directly attempt this in over 500 years.

We're a historical community that is making NEW Byzantine history. That is something to be proud of - and we're continuing to expand both our size and activity worldwide! So far we're building a wonderful community!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum