Well, "how much better" would depend on a [i]lot[/i] of things... it's tough enough to question how different the world would be if a coup didn't happen 20 years ago, much less speculating on an empire that's been dead for many centuries. Overall, however, I'd at least like to think it would be better off. I'm a fan myself. They've gotten a bad reputation over the years but many would claim it's undeserved, possibly colored by the Schism as much as anything. Has anyone read any of John Julius Norwich's work? I've only read A Short History of Byzantium. He's got a lot of [url=http://www.johnjuliusnorwich.com/artists.php]other work[/url] I'm interested in getting at some point.