As a last resort, the emperor could marry a foreign princess or give a sister or a daughter in marriage to a foreign prince. The Byzantines did not really approve of the latter, especially the ladies who were shipped off to some outlandish country without Byzantine comforts or conveniences! “I am being sacrificed to the wild beast of the West!” wailed one of them. But it often worked wonders. From distant Asbagia under the towering snow-crowned Caucasus Mountains to distant Germany, where the “wild beast of the West” lived, many and many a kingdom was made friendly to the Byzantines because a Byzantine princess sat on its throne. But of course when an emperor did this, he must never give the barbarians all they asked for, and he must always think up a good reason for not doing so. If they asked for an imperial crown or an imperial robe, he must point out that these were sacred and consecrated and tell of the horrendous death suffered by one emperor who had given some to his Khazar relatives. If they asked for Greek fire, he must tell them that it was given by an angel and that anyone who gave it away would be struck down from heaven. If they sought to marry a princess, he must tell them that the demand is monstrous, even though the royal robe-makers were already embroidering the wedding gown. In that way he would not only save some of his valuable possessions, but the barbarians would appreciate the ones he did give them all the more. [Illustration: Man talking] ONE RELIGION, ONE CHURCH Last of the things that made the Byzantine Empire strong and powerful was the Byzantine church. In some ways, it was the most important of all. The Byzantine Empire was much more than just one half of the old Roman Empire dragging out its days for another thousand years. It was a new Roman Empire based on Christianity. Practically every Byzantine was a Christian, and so it was Christianity that united all the many races and languages into a single people. In spite of all the arguments about this doctrine and that doctrine, practically every Byzantine believed in the official Orthodox faith, and as the emperor was head of this faith, that gave him additional power. Even a weak emperor could point to the Bible. “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” But the emperor was _caesar_, and he was God’s representative too. He had to be obeyed on both counts. The Byzantines were by nature an intensely religious people. They were Middle Easterners as well as Greek, and more than half of the world’s great religions were born in the Middle East—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, to name just the most important three. The Byzantines had been religious from the very beginning, and the Greek side of their nature made them like to talk and argue about their religion as well.