>>521016740 (OP)
Man, I love the byzantines. Especially the Imperial art. Look up the portraits of their last ten emperors. The one with the good portrait went to europe and said 'Look, I'm converting. Let's heal the schism. You don't want turks on your doorstep. You sacked my city in the fourth crusade. So for your own sakes, FUCKING HELP ME.' and they said no but here's a pretty picture, good luck.
Irene and that fucking eunuch were the biggest death knell of the empire. But not the only one. The entire roman story from start to finish is small and petty men managing to destroy the great ones leading the empire out of ruin and to victory. Except for Trajan, that was another jewish revolt stopping him from outdoing Alexander.