Civ 6: Best Strategies For Byzantium

Master the best strategies for Byzantium to become pioneers in Civ 6!

The Byzantium people are one of the civilizations in Civ 6 led by Basil II, with purple and light yellow as their default colors. Theodora is also one of their leaders, and you will be able to obtain the civilization by getting the Byzantium And Gaul pack that was released on 24 September. The main civilization ability of Byzantium is called Taxis. Using the ability, they will get religious strength and additional combat for every converted holy city. Their unique unit is called the Dromon. 

Key Takeaways
  • Byzantium is one of the civilizations in Civ 6, with Basil and Theodora as their leaders. 
  • Civ ability: Taxis – Gains Religious Strength for each converted Holy City.
  • Key areas: Prioritize forests and mountains for Holy Site construction and Faith.
  • Early techs: Divine Rights, Games, Recreation, Shipbuilding, Astrology.
  • Beliefs: Consider Crusade (belief), Choral Music (follower), World Church or Pilgrimage (worship).
  • Secret societies: Word Singers or Sanguine Pact.
  • Powerful unit: Tagma, replaces Knights with high Combat Strength.
  • Unique trait: Hippodrome Entertainment Complex for culture boost.
  • Victory paths: Domination or Religious.

How To Win As Byzantium 

Regarding the Byzantium civilization, you will see religion and domination as two main factors.

Civ 6 Byzantium Leader
Byzantium Leader Basil II (Picture Capture Credits: eXputer)

Most of the gameplay, while you play as Byzantiums, leans heavily towards religious expansion. Furthermore, their unique ability will allow you to gain points as you expand the religion and spread it in cities nearby. 

Traits

Below are some traits unique to Byzantium in Civ 6.

  • Spreading religion and defeating enemies earn extra military points.
  • Byzantium’s unique ability grants a Naval Ship when expanding religion, making them a powerful civilization.
  • Prioritize establishing Coastal Cities for naval unit production.
  • Build special boats for sea expansion.
  • Utilize the Taxis’ ability to convert other civilizations to your religion.
  • Keep key technologies and strategies in mind when playing as Byzantium.

Technologies To Prioritize 

When playing as Byzantium, there are a lot of factors to consider. First of all, it is important that you settle down their civilization near forests or mountains.

Civ 6 Byzantium Traits
Holy Sites (Picture Capture Credits: eXputer)

This is because it will help you focus on the Holy Sites and expand your religion as much as possible. For the more, you will also get an increased output of faith from these sites when you settle down the civilization in these areas. 

The most important part of the Byzantium gameplay is founding a religion and spreading it across different cities in Civ 6. So your priority should be likewise, and the players should focus on finding a religion as soon as they start playing. 

Astrology 

The most important factor, as mentioned before, is definitely religion. This is why we will be focusing on establishing astrology technology first.

Bronze Working 

Another technology to focus on is bronze working, and below are all its benefits. By establishing the bronze working technology, you can locate all Iron Resources on the map. After locating the iron resources and harvesting them, you can build the Tagma Cavalry.

Divine Right 

You should focus on the divine right because it will benefit you. By unlocking divine right as early as possible, you will be able to train and make use of legendary Tagmas. The divine right will allow you to make your combat strong from early on in the game and give you a stronger edge in combat. 

Shipbuilding 

Shipbuilding will allow the players to make use of the coastal tiles. The players will also be able to focus more on the construction of Dromon, which is the special ship of the Byzantium civilization. As soon as you build two galleys, you will be able to make use of the eureka. Doing so will allow you to reduce your science costs as well. 

Recreation 

It is important to focus on games and recreation as well when establishing your civilization.

Civ 6 Best Strategies For Byzantium
Entertainment Area (Picture Capture Credits: eXputer)

You could establish the Hippodrome District by focusing on the civic. This will allow you to get the upper hand on other civilizations early on.

Strategy To Utilize 

When playing as Byzantium civilization, there are a lot of factors that the players can utilize in their gameplay to ensure they win. It is important to choose a good victory from early on in the game.

Civ 6 Byzantium
Victory Paths (Picture Capture Credits: eXputer)

However, as soon as you reach the game, you should start implementing and establishing the victory path as well. There are many options available at Byzantium, and we have listed all of them below, as well as their benefits. 

Culture Victory 

This is one of the victory parts that the players can utilize when playing Byzantium in civ 6.

It has the following benefits:

  • You can obtain the cultural victory by establishing the Hippodrome district.
  • This will greatly help you if you want to make a cultural victory for the Byzantium civilization. 
  • This victory path is not recommended when playing as Byzantium; however, it can still be achieved. 
  • Entertainment complexes like the Hippodrome district will provide the players with major benefits. 
  • Like Theater Squares, the players will get a lot of cultures to yield out of it. 
  • In case you are up against a civilization that has a strong religious base or a more powerful military, then you can always choose the cultural victory path to go for. 

Religious 

while playing as Byzantium civilization, many players will tend to go for the Religious Victory Path. This is because it has the following benefits in the game. 

  • Byzantium focuses heavily on religion, and you can find and spread the religion from early on in the game. 
  • Through combat and military victories, the place can spread and establish its religion quickly and more effectively. 
  • If you manage to go down the religious victory path, then you will be able to convert cities that you have not even fought or battled with. 
  • It is important to join a Military Emergency whenever it comes up. 
  • This will allow you to use the opportunities you will get to convert all the cities nearby to your religion. 
  • Make sure to look out for any ongoing wars nearby and join your allies in the fight against enemies, as it will also inspire conversion. 

Domination 

This is definitely the most sought-after victory path when playing as the Byzantium civilization.

Tagmas and Dromon
Tagmas and Dromon for Domination (Picture Capture Credits: eXputer)

This is due to the following reasons:

  • Byzantium is a very powerful civilization that relies heavily on military power. 
  • By focusing on military strength and power, the players can defeat enemies easily. 

After a significant amount of progress, you will be able to upgrade your military units, which will help you against stronger civilizations. 

  • If you want to go down this path, make sure you have technologies like Combustion and Ballistics. 
  • You should also focus on getting more gold as it will allow you to invest in your military power and combat. 
  • You will also need a lot of gold to maintain the army, as it will grow larger with time if you are progressing the right way. 

With this, we conclude our detailed guide on the Byzantium civilization in Civ 6 and how to win as Byzantium in the game. While you are at it, don’t forget to check out our Civilization 6 Tier List and the Civilization 5 Tier List. 

Did you find this helpful? Leave feedback below.

Thanks! Do share your feedback with us. ⚡

How can we make this post better? Your help would be appreciated. ✍

Subscribe to our newsletter and get up-to-speed gaming updates delivered to your inbox.

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy.


Kashaf is an RPG and Battle Royale enthusiast and can be seen spending most of her time battling other players in Naraka Bladepoint or improving her skills in Diablo 4. She loves to curate builds based on her own expertise and writes guides to help the audience become pros in no time. She kicked off her writing career on eXputer with several years of experience. You can follow Kashaf's gaming activity on her Steam profile.

Experience: 3+ Years || Education: Bachelors in Journalism.

Related Articles

Join Our Community

Enjoyed this article? Discuss the latest gaming news, get expert help with guides and errors, and chat about all things gaming on eXputer Forums and Discord Server. Connect with fellow gamers who share your passion by becoming a part of eXputer's community.