The Roman Empire is a wide spread autocratic state in Italy, Dalmatia and North Africa, centered in the great cities of Rome and Carthage as both represent the greatest and strongest cities in the western Mediterranean. It is currently the successor state of the Eastern Roman Empire. It became centered again in Italy after the collapse of the Eastern Empire when the siege of Constantinople yielded a decisive victory to the Muslim armies and the later takeover of the Balkans and Greece from the Eastern Empire, and after the generals in Italy successfully led an army in Dalmatia against the Caliphate.