OHHHH MY GOD!?!?!
WE ARE BACK BABY!!!!
With that said I have to express how glad this TL is back. It was one of the first I ever read on the Forum and got me into late Byzantine history, which I have had the pleasure of playing in during a Nation game set in the 1350s as Nikephoros II Orsini. (The empire as fallen to the Serbs and some Turks occupy Constantinople but I’ve gotten Dusan to have his son adopt Andronikos IV as his heir by joining him. Things be wack)
With that game I’ve gotten a lot of knowledge about the period and i honestly think that John’s more Latin view of things could be quite helpful for the empire, as when compared to the Knights and men at arms of Europe the Byzantine thematic soldiers. And that’s mostly because of a few different factors, as they are full time soldiers who have much more time to train and their equipment is generally better. If I’m not mistaken then this is a major reason for why the empire came to rely on foreign mercenaries, as their own homegrown armies just weren’t up to task.
Dusan’s and Serbia’s transformation into a more western based army and forces is one of the biggest factors for why it was so successful, especially their cavalry, which they did by adopting it from Italian and German mercenaries (the latter of which were made into a special unit of about 300 German knights named the Alemannic Guard) . So while the empire is certainly in a better position I do think it will have to rethink its military structure in the near future.
That does lead into my last point though, which is essentially this; allow the Byzantines to lose. And by that I mean don’t force the empire to always win or for its enemies to be incompetent. Because as the saying goes “a hero is only as good as his villains” and it would be a disservice towards Andronikos for him to face some real good opponents because it makes the victories so much sweeter. That’s a major reason for why o don’t like wanks, as I just don’t feel that they give stories the same quality that hard fought battles have.
…with that rant done I do want to state this. I’m so glad that this is back, and I really hope you are doing good. And if you ever want some simple battle maps then I’m currently working on improving my skills on editing stuff, so I’d be willing to make some stuff for the future if you are interested. Either way, good luck with the TL. It’s great to have you back.
Glad to be back!Especially as the Timurids, assuming Tamerlane and his rise wasn’t butterflied away, moving West and handing the Empire serious defeats would be a good way to shake up Rhomania and trigger potential changes that would otherwise not be possible. This would especially IMO be the case with how Timur, in addition to claiming legitimacy from Genghis, saw himself as the Sword of Islam and having him march to “protect” the Turkish beyliks (while vassalizing them) from Romanian aggression would very much be in-character for him.
On the topic of 'Latinising' the Empire, and the notion that the Empire relied on mercenaries because it's own army wasn't up to the task, I feel the need to correct that perception.
Primarily the reason for the Empire's reliance on mercenaries stems from three key factors; loyalty, cost, and manpower. In short hiring someone else who had no reason to betray you besides money, ala no political aspirations, was preferable to (and cheaper than) having your own men die or potentially have enough power to rebel. Roman soldiers, at least in the Thematic System, trained for periods of time to maintain professionalism, although yes they weren't life-long warriors as Europe's Knightly Class was.
Of course though, the Empire needs enemies who're viable threats, and a wank invalidates that as said--the story is boring otherwise. A balance, in the end, needs to be struck between having realism and good narrative; sometimes enemies are just weak.
You gotta stop reading my notes--did I drop them somewhere? 🤣It would be interesting if Timur was defeated due to a desperate alliance between the Rhomans and Ottomans (IIRC @Averious said the Ottoman Empire will be around as a perpetual rival of sorts), the Rhomans don't like allying with their Turkish enemy to defeat an even greater foe. Modern day Rhomans and Turks ITTL (an especially proud group of people) do not like when people bring it up, only the Brits are allowed to rib them about it 🤣🤣🤣.
Tying this up in a sort of bow--Latinisation; the Empire has the mind of an early-modern power, but the heart of an antiquity one--I will be openly honest and say that rather than further feudalise there will instead be a sort of weird synergy where things akin to soldier cantons co-exist with French-style noble estates and so forth; although this evolution will take place over centuries.
My opinion on Rome being locked into 'being stuck as far as Antioch' has also changed over the years as well, and if I'm honest I was likely influenced in this by a combination of being worried at turning this into a 'wank'--and by 'meta correctness'. My current mindset is trying to more deeply imbed myself into the minds of the characters, and the time; for example, if the chance is seeming there to reclaim Jerusalem? Why not? The character shouldn't possess the future bais I do.
Anyway, ramble ramble ramble, lol.
@Vikingen I would be more than happy to work with you on map things.
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