Byzantium

Declining empire, a Shadow of Rome---
You fight to take all the Roman Territories back.
But, are invaded by Huns and Germans
Goths and Visigoths, Vikings and Barbarians.
The institutions are not so powerful
With various booms and busts.
Muslims then invade, and Crusades.
You bulwark the West
And Schism from Rome
And are now Orthodox Christians.
You rule over religious rites
You make encyclopedias---
You bring the idea to Da Vinci
By routes to Italy in the Fifteenth Century
And Da Vinci compiles empirical observations
And invents the Compendium of Science.
That goes to Britain, and America
While Masons forge their best interests
And their many interests in Geometry and Magic
To create a world where illusions are made
Into leisure. And then Prometheus gives fire
To man, and Industry excels and man has comfort---
The poorest of all were more situated than kings.
And then Arab princes invade, and smash
And European princes apologize for making the world better.
And Irishmen dawn the horns of demons
And metastasize the West with belief in Fairies again.