Byzantium is one of playable civilizations in Rise of Kingdoms and is available in the Civilization Selection main menu upon creation of a new account. Players also can switch to Byzantium at any given time as long as they have Civilization Change token available.
Nationality: Byzantium
Trait 1:
+5% Cavalry Health
Trait 2:
+10% Stone Gathering Speed
Trait 3:
+15% Increase Hospital Capacity
Civilization Popularity Ranking:
9 out of 11
Unique Unit: Cataphract

Byzantium Summary:
- Increases Cavalry health by 5%.
- Gather stone 10% faster.
- Expands hospital capacity by 15%.
Why Byzantium is the Best Civilization?
- Great for cavalry commanders.
- Good late-game civilizations thanks to increased hospital capacity size.
- Harvest stone faster.
Background Information

Byzantium was mainly a trading city due to its proximity in the Black Sea entrance. The city later conquered Chalcedon and was only captured by the Persian Empire during the Scythian Campaign in 513 B.C.
Byzantium was added as an adminstrative province of Skudra, although Achaemenid’s control of the city wasn’t that stable compared to other cities in Thrace. Then the city was besieged by Greek forces, captured by Sparta in 411 B.C.
The Athenian military retook the city in 408 B.C. Several centuries later, the location of Byzantium attracted a legendary commander, Roman Emperor Constantine I in 330 A.D who refounded it as an imperial residence inspired by Rome itself.
The combination of imperialism and location soon transformed Byzantium into an empire that became a commercial, cultural and diplomatic center. Due to its strategic position, Constantinople controlled major trade routes between Asia and Europe.
Constantinople was officially renamed to Istanbul in 1930 and remains to be one of the largest and most populous cities in Turkey. Though, Ankara is the country’s national capital.
Introduction
Welcome to our Rise of Kingdoms civilization guide for Byzantium. If you are looking for the best Byzantium civilization guide so that you can get up to speed. Then you have come to the right place, because in our best Byzantium civilization guide we’ll cover all the basics that you need to know about this nation.
Byzantium is one of the playable civilizations in Rise of Kingdoms, featuring improved cavalry attack, increased stone gathering rate, and expanded hospital capacity. This civilization is one of the best picks for late game, especially when you are playing T4 / T5 troops then you would understand how costly they can be.
One of the main advantage Byzantium has over offensive civilizations like Germany and Arabia is the expanded hospital capacity. Which means this civilization can hold more troops than risking them to die on the battlefield. This allows you to retain majority of your troops after each battle. However, I will talk more about Byzantium civilization guide for beginners in details next. Stick around to learn more.
Best Byzantium Traits
Byzantium features three civilization traits that are permanent once you select it as your nation. Although, you can always change to a different civilization if you prefer to have better traits for your gameplay. Which will set you back 1,000 gems for doing a civilization switch.
Trait 1
Increases your cavalry attack by 5%, great for doing full cavalry army with cavalry-specialized commanders.
Trait 2
Increases stone gathering rate by 10%, great for gathering commanders.
Trait 3
Expands your hospital capacity rate by 15%, allowing you to heal more troops.
Best Byzantium Unique Units
Byzantium’s unique unit is Cataphract, which is a heavily-armored knight that becomes available for training at Tier 4. Cataphract excels at dealing major blows while taking in heavy strikes from the enemies. Though, Cataphract edges their counterpart with balanced attack and defense, which makes them an ideal choice for multipurpose battles.
Cataphract

![]() Attack: 197 | ![]() Defense: 197 | ![]() Health: 187 |
![]() Speed: Slow | ![]() Load: 10 | ![]() Power: 4 |
Elite Catphract

![]() Attack: 222 | ![]() Defense: 222 | ![]() Health: 217 |
![]() Speed: Very Slow | ![]() Load: 12 | ![]() Power: 10 |
Best Byzantium Commanders
Byzantium has 3 commanders who are affiliated with this civilization. In Rise of Kingdoms, it does sound like this civilization has 4 commanders because some of them have names that made sense to have Byzantium as their nationality, Constance for example. Though, Byzantium only really has 3 commanders in this game. You can still build your own commander roster through unlocking other commanders to assemble your armies. Belisarius is your starting commander and he is pretty good at leveling up quickly.
Best Byzantium Tips & Tricks
In my best Byzantium commander guide for beginners, I created a list of tips & tricks to share with you so that you can master them and gain edge while playing this civilization. Like every other civilization, Byzantium is a great civilization to play once you get a hang of these tips & tricks. Here’s how:
Tip 1: Specialize in Cavalry Commanders
The 5% cavalry attack bonus is definitely a nice perk to have. But you can take it much further by doing a full cavalry army. Commanders like Cao Cao, Attila, and Takeda Shingen will benefit it much more when you stack cavalry only.
Tip 2: Specialize in Gathering Commanders
One of the main advantages that you have over other civilizations is 10% improved stone gathering rate. To further improve this trait, train your gathering commanders. For the best experience, I recommend leveling up Sarka and Gaius Marius.
Tip 3: Max Out Your Hospitals
As Byzantium, you get a 15% increase capacity bonus to hospitals and that’s pretty huge. Because in late game, once you start training T4 / T5 units. The cost of training new troops will become more and more expensive. So alleviate this, max out your hospitals to make the most use out of it. Whenever you are defending your city, you will have plenty of space to heal all of your troops at minimal cost.
Conclusion of Byzantium Civilization Guide

As we come to the conclusion of our best Byzantium civilization guide for beginners. You have learned more about its traits, unique units, commanders, and tips & tricks in detail.
If you are thinking of playing as Byzantium after the minute you download Rise of Kingdoms on your mobile device or as your next civilization in a new game. You will have no problem trailblazing playing as Byzantium.
Lastly, if you have any suggestions or tips that you have for playing as this civilization, drop an e-mail to us via contact@houseofkingdoms.com. Happy ruling, Governor!