Our 40th issue tells an unusual tale of alternative history. The Byzantine Empire met its end in 1453, when the Ottoman Turks stormed its ancient capital, Constantinople, and the last emperor died fighting somewhere amidst the carnage. A few outposts would fall over the coming decades, and the Empire would never rise again. In Byzantium Eternal, we add the Byzantines to our Soldier Emperor game, a Byzantine Empire that never fell. The Empire faced long odds in 1453, but it had miraculously survived even worse odds before. While it’s indeed improbably that the Empire could have survived another 350 years, it was just as improbable for it to have muddled through the previous 350.