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

State of the Nation - January 2012

Greetings all,

I'm pleased to be sending the first official State of the Nation for the new year!

The first month of 2012 has been a good month for Byzantium Novum. Our micronation currently stands at 241 officially registered Citizens - people are continuing to find us and are expressing enthusiasm for our work to build a new Byzantine Nation!

As of January we now have 2,649 Facebook contacts, which means we are closing in on Three Thousand people who are able to see our public announcements! This number continues to grow each month, and it is amazing how this sort of social networking expands our international presence.

Work in the various provincial territories continues, and I would like to thank all the various Counts and Countesses for their willingness to assist building a material presence for Byzantine civilization in their local areas around the world!

Discussion in our various Forums has been ongoing, and now that the holiday season is past we can look forward to more active discussions as the Spring season progresses. Advertising has been ongoing so we can look forward to our community continuing to expand!

Special thanks to Senator Baduila for his work in promoting list activity, and Senator Amma for her work to complete the upcoming new issue of "The Basilica", the official periodical of Byzantium Novum. Also to Senator Audens for his updates to his historical weblogs, and to everyone who has continued to participate in rebuilding Byzantium!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum
www.byzantiumnovum.org