State of the Nation - May 2011

Greetings all,

Byzantium Novum has done well this month! We now have 181 official Citizens, an impressive gain of 15 new Citizens in May. This kind of growth is wonderful to see... at this point we have gained an average of 12 new people each month since our founding! We also currently have 1,968 Facebook "friends," a gain of 98 new contacts this month for public announcements and communication.

The Byzantium Novum Senate has also approved more new "Counts" to act as local organizers for local territories so that new Byzantine colonies can be formed. Our various cultural interest groups such as the Militarium were also active in May, with interesting discussion and some exciting new projects being started. Our micronation is growing at a healthy pace and continually becoming a more active community!

This month Byzantium Novum commemorated two important Byzantine historical dates - the anniversary of the founding of Constantinople on May 11, 330 AD, and the anniversary of the final fall of Constantinople on May 29th, 1453. Both events went well - with discussion in the Byzantium Novum forums and many Citizens marking the events with local activities also.

Significant dates such as these are important to Byzantium Novum. Our overall goals include both popularizing Byzantine history, and bringing Byzantine tradition and culture to life again through modern celebration and participation. Commemorating the ancient Byzantine world involves people in "things Byzantine" and makes our modern community more meaningful. We will of course continue to mark the dates that are significant for Byzantine civilization.

For many of us this next month is the start of the Summer season, when good weather and fun outdoor activities take precedence over online participation. We hope folks will continue to save at least a little time to participate in the Byzantine forums. We also look forward to the future when our local Colony groups will be able to offer fun and interesting local activities and public events for the more pleasant seasons!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President
Byzantium Novum