Welcome to GameSpot’s exclusive profiles of the new nations in Civilization III: Conquests. Over the next few weeks, we’ll introduce you to the new civilizations that will enter the race for control of the world in the upcoming expansion pack, which will include not only new playable nations, but also all-new, era-specific campaigns, enhanced multiplayer play, and a huge number of new features and additions. For more information on the upcoming expansion, consult our previous coverage. The Byzantines The Byzantine Empire was first known as the eastern Roman Empire, when Constantine I relocated the Roman capital from Rome to Constantinople and his successor Valentinian I made the division between Western and Eastern Empire official. When barbarians sacked Rome and defeated the western armies a century later, the Byzantine Empire was the final bulwark of Roman civilization to stand against the increasing pressure from European barbarians to the north and Persia in the east. Byzantine government was based largely on that of Rome, although unlike Roman emperors a Byzantine emperor was elected by a threefold vote of the senate, the people, and the army. To govern the empire, Byzantine emperors relied on a labyrinthine system of advisors, ministries, and offices–hence the…