The Right Man for the Job - A Komnenos restoration TL V2.0

The Right Man for the Job - V2.0

Volume 1: Manuel I Komnenos

1143: John II Komnenos dies in Cilicia after being wounded by a poisoned arrow. He is succeeded by his youngest son, Manuel, chosen for his courage, his ability to listen to advice and the bad temper of his older brother Isaac.

1146: After three years, Manuel finally marries his fiance, Bertha of Sulzbach, but he keeps his mistress and niece, Theodora Vatatzaina, around. Both maintain the regal dignity of an empress, but Bertha, renamed Eirene, intrigues and impresses the nobles more by her piety and her refusal to be seduced by the intrigues and pleasures of the Imperial court.

1148: The Normans of Sicily capture the island of Corfu from the empire. Manuel allies with Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III and the Republic of Venice. The superior Venetian ships sink the Norman fleet, allowing Manuel to reclaim Corfu and prepare for a joint attack on Sicily and Southern Italy with Conrad.

1152: Conrad III dies. Manuel's wife, Bertha of Sulzbach gives birth to a daughter, Maria.

1154: Roger II of Sicily dies and is succeeded by his untested son, William. The local barons are encouraged to revolt by Pope Adrian IV. Several refugees from Apulia flee to Constantinople. Bertha gives birth to a second daughter, Anna.

1155-1156: A new Holy Roman Emperor is elected - Frederick I Hohenstaufen, nicknamed 'Barbarossa' for his red beard. Frederick prepares to invade Southern Italy but is stalled by the unhealthy Italian summer, rebellious cities in Northern Italy such as Milan and an uprising in the city of Rome. In the end, he returns to Germany with his depleted, demoralised army.

Manuel decides now is the time to launch his campaign against the Normans. He places the expedition in the hands of John Doukas and Alexios Axouch (1st POD). If successful, the emperor and generals will gain prestige and wealth and the empire will gain a rich source of wheat, fruits and other foodstuffs.

The army lands at Ancona and from there heads south into Apulia. The cities of Apulia eagerly welcome the Rhomans, including Bari, capital of the old Catepanate of Italy. William tries to halt the advance with an army of 2,000 men but is heavily defeated by the Rhomans with the help of several disaffected barons, including Robert of Loritello.

The allied army begins to besiege Brindisi. William leads a joint land and naval attack to relieve the siege but is defeated (2nd POD).

William signs a treaty with Manuel which recognises his rule over Southern Italy. At the same time, Manuel discreetly encourages and bribes certain barons in Sicily to crown a new king. William arrives at Palermo but is refused entry. The barons have crowned his illegitimate half-brother, Simon as King of Sicily. William, rather than attempt a siege, instead retreats to Ifrīqiya (Arabic for Africa) and those Normans who are still loyal to him, establishing his new capital at Mahdia.

Manuel, though tempted to invade Sicily, instead discusses what to do next with his advisors. Manuel offers a new treaty to Simon - Simon will remain King of Sicily and receive support against William in exchange for recognising Rhoman sovereignty over Southern Italy. Simon reluctantly agrees but has no intention of keeping to the treaty forever...

1157-1158: Manuel begins reorganizing the newly-aquired lands into themes. Back in Constantinople, his daughter Anna falls ill but miraculously recovers (3rd POD).
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1st POD - In OTL, the expedition was led by John Doukas and Michael Palaiologos. The latter ended up alienating Robert and other allies with attitude and the campaign lost its momentum, leading to its overall failure. Manuel did later send Alexios Axouch but by then it was too late.

2nd POD - OTL, the Byzantines, or Rhomans/Rhomaioi as I'm going to call them, lost that battle. I can't find many details on the battle itself, but there was a combination of the Rhomans being abandoned by the barons and their mercenaries, thus being outnumbered.

3rd POD - OTL, Manuel's daughter Anna died in infancy. This might come into play later.
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Alright, Version 2.0 is a-go. The changes from the original may be small in the beginning, but as I update (not sure how often - every two days, every week) the new TL will end up different from how you may remember it.

As always, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! And, if you're interested in a bit of OTL history told with a bit of black humor, I recommend reading this forum (No, I did not write this):

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=588462

1158:

Manuel finishes organising Southern Italy. Robert of Loritello, Alexios Axouch and John Doukas are made strategoi* of Longobardia, Lukania and Calabria respectively. Benevento and Capua are made themes under their previous counts. Ancona remains independant, but as a Byzantine protectorate.

From here, Manuel makes it a policy to integrate all the enthnicities living within the empire - Greeks, Turks, Franks, Italians, Bulgarians, Vlachs, Serbs and Cumans. To the outrage of many of his nobles, Manuel begins organising Latin-style jousting tournaments and even taking part in them. Manuel's main motives for this, however, were to rebuild his army in preparation for a campagin against the Seljuks and Danishmendids. These two rival Turkish powers held Central and Eastern Anatolia and Armenia, which were prime breeding and recruiting grounds for cavalry mounts and infantry skirmishers. To counter this he started recruiting other peoples into the army, regarded that they convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, with the exception of Venetian, Genoese, French and German mercenaries.

His preparations were stalled when Bertha-Irene went into labour once more. She successfully gave birth to a boy, Alexios. After years of lechery, what they saw as foolish military adventures, and favouring Latins and other barbarians and half-breeds, many disgruntled nobles saw Manuel as weak. A conspiracy led by Michael Palaiologos and Stephen Hagiochristophorites** began to plot the emperor's death.

1159-1160:

After years of training, Manuel decides to personally reaffirm Cilicia and Antioch's allegiance to the empire and to negotiate with the rising power of Nur-ad Din of Aleppo. He wants to settle the issue of Antioch in particular because the new prince, Reynald de Chatillon, had been raiding the island of Cyprus where he had captured the generals John Euforbenos and Michael Branas, plundered the island of its wealth and sent some of the mutilated hostages to Constantinople. There were even rumours that he had mutilated and/or killed the Patriarch of Antioch himself.

Manuel could not allow such outrages to go unpunished, so he set out with a small contingent, including the Varangian Guard and Archontopoulai, while leaving the majority of his army in Dorylaion under the command of his newphew, John Kontostephanos, secretly a member of the conspiracy to remove him.

The new army comprised of:

Psiloi, armed with javelins, slings and cleavers, recruited from the Rhoman Greeks, Vlachs and Serbians.
Toxotai, archers recruited from Rhoman Greeks and Muslims living in Southern Italy, using bows of Turkish design.
A small contingent of crossbowmen from Venice and Genoa.
Skoutatoi, Rhoman Greek heavy spearmen.
Alamannoi, mercenary Frankish, German and Italian knights fighting on foot and horseback.
Kataphractoi, heavy cavalry armed with lances, javelins, swords and maces recruited from Thrace, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia and the Crimean Goths.
Hippo-toxotai, horse archers recruited from Cumans and Turks living in Rhoman territory.
An artillery train including trebuchets, ballistae and mangonels.

After forcing Duke Thoros II of Cilicia to submit to him, Manuel arrives in Antioch. Reynald threw himself upon Manuel's mercy, dressed in a sack and with a rope tied around his neck. Manuel has him imprisoned, orders the release of the prisoners and the return of all the wealth stolen from Cyprus to their owners. Manuel decides to replace Reynald with his daughter-in-law Maria, who he marries to his nephew Alexios***.

Manuel sends the akolouthos (attendant) of the Varangian Guard, Basil Kamateros, to find some hostage candidates. He returns with three - Prince Bohemund of Antioch and his sisters, Philippa and Agnes. Melisende of Tripoli, a cousin of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. To keep up good relations with King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was married to his niece Theodora, Manuel offers to surrender the remaining children of Constance of Antioch to his care. Baldwin agrees and offers his cousin, Melisende of Tripoli**** as a hostage. Manuel politely declines. Although Manuel knew the potential risk of letting the 'legitimate' heir to Antioch go, he also knew that Baldwin was preoccupied with expanding at expense of the Fatimids in Egypt. Manuel leaves Maria and Alexios to consolidate their rule in Antioch while he heads to Turbessel to meet with Nur-ad Din.

1160-1161:

Turbessel was originally the new capital of the County of Edessa before it was sold to Manuel in 1150, but Nur-ad Din ended up conquering it anyway. Manuel offers a deal to Nur-ad Din. He will give up all claims to Turbessel and any territory he captures from the Danishmendids in exchange for lending no aid to the Seljuks of Iconium. Nur-ad Din does not agree straight away and the negotiations go on longer than expected.

Back in Constantinople, the conspirators are debating who to replace Manuel with. Michael wishes to use Isaac Komnenos, grandson of the emperors' deceased brother, as a puppet while Stephen wishes to release the handsome and charismatic Andronikos, imprisoned for an earlier conspiracy against the emperor and for having an affair with one of Manuel's nieces.

Manuel returns to Antioch, his negotiations with Nur-ad Din having come to nothing. They head back to Dorylaion through Cilicia, but when a storm forces them to divert past Iconium, they come under attack by a large group of horse archers led by Sultan Kilij Arslan II himself. Tired and caught unprepared, the Rhomans are quickly overwhelmed. Some of the Archontopoulai manage to escape but the Varangian Guard, including Basil Kamateros, fight to the death, refusing to surrender. Kilij Arslan begins marching back to Iconium with the emperor as a hostage. When news reaches Constantinople, the conspirators spring into action. Bertha, Theodora and the emperor's children are placed under house arrest. Andronikos remains imprisoned while the conspirators try to come to an agreement. John Kontostephanos orders his troops to march for Ankara...
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*: Not sure if the correct term for the leader of a theme was strategos or doux
**: OTL, he was Andronikos I's main henchman.
***: In OTL, Maria was Manuel's second emperor, and after Manuel died, she and Alexios became lovers until their deaths.
****: She was a candidate for Manuel's second wife in OTL after Bertha died, but Manuel picked Maria. Melisende and the Count of Tripoli did not take it well.

I'm no expert in this period of history but this looks far more damaging to the empire than the Battle of Myriokephalon. Emperor captured leading into internal anarchy; looks kinda like another Manzikert.

ImperatorAlexander said:

I'm no expert in this period of history but this looks far more damaging to the empire than the Battle of Myriokephalon. Emperor captured leading into internal anarchy; looks kinda like another Manzikert.

Click to expand...

Rest assured, nothing of the sort will happen yet.

Continuing...

1160-1161 (continued): Kilij Arslan continues onto Iconium with his hostages. When he hears of the advance on Ankara, he leads half of his army to ambush the Rhomans while he sends the hostages to Iconium under his brother Sancar.

Back in Constantinople, news has broken out of Manuel's capture and possible death. The people begin rioting in the streets. While negotiating with Eirene Komnenos, Michael Palaiologos stirs up gangs to hunt down anyone who would support Manuel or his children, but finds himself unable to control all of them. A few Pisan and Venetian mobs take the opportunity to storm the Genoese quarters, beating and killing all in their path - men, women, children. Homes and churches were looted and burned to the ground. By the end, tens of thousands of Venetians were dead.

In Iconium, Manuel is stripped of all his finery and dressed in rags, but is otherwise treated well. One night, Prince Sancar is woken by news of a large contingent of soldiers approaching the gates. The host is difficult to make out, even with a few torches lit, but they can recognise some siege engines. A catapult launches a projectile which lands just over the gate. The soldiers find among the rocks a sack, and within the sack, the head of their sultan.

Sancar is shocked when the head is presented to him. 'Damn the emperor! Damn Palaiologos!' he screams. He calms down and heads to where the emperor is being held. 'Let these backstabbers fight amongst themselves,' he mutters.

John Kontostephanos and the army are relieved when Sancar personally escorts the emperor and the other survivors through the gates. John explains that Ankara has fallen, partly through siege and partly through the cowardice of Kilij Arslan's other brothers, Alp Arslan and Shahanshah. Sancar's brothers have fled to Tyana and Caesarea respectively to stake their claims to the throne. Manuel's last act before leaving is to 'persuade' Sancar to surrender Ankara for good. The following exchange is later recorded in Kontostephanos' journals:

Sancar: Do not test my generosity, your Majesty. My men still surround you.

Manuel: And my men surround you, Sancar. And your brothers will surround your nephews, Mahmud and Malik, I believe their names were? Which matters more to you right now - pride or family?

Fuming, Sancar sends the Rhomans on their way and prepares to face his kin.

When the army arrives on the shores of the Bosporus, Constantinople is in chaos. Stephen Hagiochristophorites grew tired of waiting and released Andronikos Komnenos. The gangs began fighting amongst themselves and eventually pushed back Michael and Eirene, who have taken refuge in the Hagia Sophia. On the shores, a small body is found with his throat slit and his eyes gouged out. It is soon identified as Manuel's great nephew Isaac*.

The army is ferried across the Golden Horn and Manuel sneaks a few trusted soldiers into the city through an unused water conduit. The fighting inside the city begins to die down when the emperor's presence is announced. Those near the gate are deathly silent. When the gates open and Manuel comes into view, they erupt into cheers. Manuel immediately heads for the Blachernae palace, fearing for his for the lives of his family. When he finds them safe and sound, he collapses and hugs them, weeping with joy. It takes a few days, but Constantinople is restored to order. Eirene Komnenos and Michael Palaiologos are banished to a monastary, but Michael is blinded and his tongue is slit so he can spread no more lies. Stephen Hagiochristophorites is accused of murdering Isaac by Eirene, though no one can confirm it. Regardless, he is imprisoned after having his nose and his right hand cut off. The soldiers are unable to find Andronikos...

When he learns of the massacre, Manuel is horrified at the loss of life, but knows an opportunity when he sees one. Manuel allows the Venetians, Genoese and Pisans to stay**, but revokes Venice's tax exemption status. Manuel brings in native merchants from Greece, Anatolia and Southern Italy to 'fill the vacuum' as it were. Manuel justifies his actions on the terms of the Treaty of 1082, where the Venetians did not fulfil their side of the agreement in his grandfather's defensive war against the Normans. As 1161 draws to a close, Manuel heads to bed with an enormous headache. Venice will surely want revenge, and those two Hungarians, Stephen and Ladislaus, would have to be dealt with soon enough. But his eastern border and throne were secure and his family safe and soun, and that was all that mattered to him at that moment. Though he had noticed Theodora was looking a bit more plump around the belly...
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Okay, the first major change from the previous version of this TL was in the last update. Here, Bertha of Sulzbach does not die in childbirth and Manuel doesn't marry Melisende of Tripoli. Second, in this update, instead of an earlier Massacre of the Latins (which I realise I never fully explored of the consequences of in the previous version), there is a raid between the Genoese and the Venetians & Pisans, which is based on a real event.

Hope you're enjoying it so far. Any recommendations, shout 'em out.
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*: OTL, he ruled Cyprus independently like a tyrant for 7 years until he was evicted by Richard the Lionheart in 1191. He then fled to Iconium where he was poisoned in 1196.
**: OTL, Manuel instead expelled most of the Genoese and Pisans, giving the Venetians a free hand for several years. Then, in 1171, when he expelled the Venetians, the Genoese and Pisans profited. And they were the main victims of the OTL massacre in 1182.

1162-1167:

The Kingdom of Hungary was mired in a succession crisis. Following the death of King Geza II, his oldest son Stephen had been crowned. Unfortunately, the Rhoman Emperor Manuel, looking to extend his influence over Hungarian lands beyond the Sava river, was supporting the claims of his uncles Stephen and Laudislaus. Negotiating with the Hungarian barons, Manuel sent the brothers back from Constantinople. Stephen III fled to Pozsony and Ladislaus was crowned King Ladislaus II, granting his brother Stephen one third of the kingdom to rule.

Archbishop Lukas of Esztergom believed Stephen III was the legitimate king of Hungary and excommunicated Ladislaus. Ladislaus responded by arresting the archbishop, releasing him on Christmas Day, 1162 at the request of Pope Alexander III. Shortly afterwards, Ladislaus died, some believe of poisoning, and his brother was crowned Stephen IV. Lukas still remained loyal to Stephen III and excommunicated this new King as well. The Hungarian barons began to chafe against Stephen IV's pro-Rhoman policies. The Csak clan rebelled against him was defeated. His newphew, meanwhile, had sought the aid of Frederick I.

In 1164, Stephen III defeated his uncle in battle with the help of troops lent to him by the German emperor. On the advice of Lukas, the restored king exiled his uncle and appeased Manuel by sending his younger brother Bela to Constantinople as a political hostage. Manuel received Bela warmly, betrothing him to his eldest daughter Maria, but negotiations broke down when he also demanded Bela's paternal inheritance - Croatia, Bosnia, Syrmia and Dalmatia. Stephen refused and war broke out once more.

Manuel sent an army of 15,000 men under Andronikos Kontostephanos (brother of Manuel's saviour) through Serbia to meet the Hungarian army. The two armies met and clashed at Sirmium, ending in a decisive victory for the mixed Rhoman army over the cavalry-heavy Hungarian force. tired of war, Stephen agrees to surrender all Hungarian territory south of the Drava river to the Rhomans. Only Zara, under the Serene Republic of Venice, remains out of Rhoman control. To better incorporate all these new Catholic inhabitants, Manuel grants the theme of Dalmatia to general Michael Branas while keeping Ban Kulin in charge of Bosnia and granting Bela the new themes of Syrmia and Croatia, as is his birthright.

Back in Constantinople, Manuel turns to rebuilding the damage done by the conspirators and to managing his growing family. Theodora Vatatzaina, his niece, gives birth to a boy. Manuel names him Alexios, but refuses to legitimise him unless his first son dies.

In 1164, Bertha gives birth to her last child, a girl, named Eirene both for her mother and grandmother, Eirene-Piroska of Hungary. However, when Manuel comes to visit her alone, after years of being cheated on by her husband and the earlier incestuous birth of a son, Bertha lets loose a tirade of accusations against the emperor, asking what she and their children had ever done to deserve such a fate. Angered, Manuel slapped his wife, but she slapped him right back. Manuel staggered back, holding his cheek in shock. Bertha, still enraged, tries to climb out of bed despite her weakness after the birth. She stumbles and launches herself at Manuel who instinctively tries to push her away. Manuel ended up up throwing Bertha into a stone wall, cracking her skull. This shakes him out of his stupor. When servants, accompanied by the princesses Maria and Anna arrive, they find the emperor on his knees, roaring like a lion in grief and despair...

List of Manuel's children by 1167:

Maria (b. 1152 - 15 years old) - Betrothed to Bela Arpad of Bosnia & Syrmia (b. 1148 - 19 years old).
Anna (b. 1154 - 13 years old)
Alexios (b. 1158 - 9 years old)
Alexios (b. 1161 - 6 years old) - Illegitimate. Uneligible for the throne.
Eirene (b. 1164 - 3 years old)

Would you mind telling me what Manuel looks like?

Will Manuel remarry in this timeline? Hopefully it will be someone better this time around.

Grouchio said:

Would you mind telling me what Manuel looks like?

Click to expand...

It seems physical descriptions of Manuel are scarce, but from what I can figure out from this link (pages 106-107) - http://www.academia.edu/2127300/A_Description_of_the_Jousts_of_Manuel_I_Komnenos - he had:

* 'long hair'
* eyes 'like violets in hue'
* cheeks 'as bowls of spices'
* a chest 'strong, and truly the chest of a man'
* shoulders 'broadly constructed'
* loins 'narrow, as is proper'

ImperatorAlexander said:

Will Manuel remarry in this timeline? Hopefully it will be someone better this time around.

Click to expand...

We'll see... right now.

1167-1169:

The civil war between King William of Ifrīqiya and King Simon of Sicily has been going on for 10 years now. William has just defeated an attempt by Simon to take Tunis, but before he can follow up on his victory, the unlucky Norman dies from a combination of stress and a sudden heat stroke. His son and successor, William II, is still a minor and the regency council finds their depleted army ill-prepared to deal with the threat of the Almohads from Mauretania.

Abandoning Tunis, the surviving Normans flee to Mahdia where they meet with representatives of the Republic of Genoa. The Normans agree to sell their remaining African territories in exchange for passage to Sicily or Sardinia. When they arrive in Cagliari, however, the Genoese offer them jobs as mercenaries against the Republic of Pisa, who have opened up trade relations with the Almohads, and Frederick Barbarossa, who has just installed an Antipope in Rome, Paschal III, and is besieging Ancona. Some accept, but most are hungry and tired of fighting. One nobleman, Bohemond of Tarsia begins telling the Normans that if they must fight, let it be for a new homeland, an island nation to rival both Sicily and Venice. Under Bohemund, the Normans rise up against the Genoese and take control of Cagliari, seizing most of the fleet stationed in the harbour. By the end of the year, the southern half of Sardinia is under Norman control and raids on the northern half and Corsica are common.

Manuel is aware of all these problems in Italy - Pope Alexander himself has fled to Campania - but is currently preoccupied with preparing another campaign against the Seljuks. His son Alexios will accompany him under the watch of John Kontostephanos. Manuel therefore sends John's brother Andronikos to help John Doukas, Alexios Axouch, Robert of Loritello and the strategos of Benevento relieve Ancona. At the same time, he tries to persuade Alexander to acknowledge him as the sole Emperor of Rome. Manuel had fallen into a depression and seeks to clear his mind in the heat and glory of battle. Maria took the first chance she had to leave with Bela after the wedding and Anna and Alexios hardly speak to him, at least as a father. He privately acknowledged the second Alexios as his son but broke off his relationship with Theodora Vatatzaina and shipped her off to a monastary. Hoping to cheer him up, nobleman John Spyridonakes* offered to collect some of the most distinguished and beautiful virgins in the city for a bride show after his campaign against the Turks. Manuel half-heartedly agrees.

He also sends large sums of money to help rebuild the cities of Northern Italy who are allying against Frederick with the support of Pope Alexander III - the Lombard League. The Rhoman army, accompanied by Alexander, defeats the garrison left in Ancona and then marches towards Rome itself, intent on removing Paschal. Frederick moved to relieve his ally and secure Tuscany but his army was slowed down at Turin - struck by malaria. The German army soon found itself under a hail of javelins, arrows and crossbow bolts from both Rhomans and Lombards. Frederick escapes with his army in tatters, the stragglers run down by kataphractoi and Lombard lancers. Frederick escapes across the Alps back to Germany. The cities of the Lombard League demand that Frederick recognise their independence. Furious, but with his troops weary, sick and demoralised, Frederick agrees and turns his attention to Bohemia, Poland, Denmark, and his (in his view) treacherous cousin Henry the Lion. To celebrate their victory, the Italians begin construction on a new commune 56 miles from Turin - Alessandria, named after their restored Pope. Though unable to come to an agreement with the Pope, Manuel is able to strengthen ties to one of the league's leading members - William V, Marquess of Monteferrat, by betrothing his youngest daughter Eirene to his youngest son Renier.

Italy:

While Manuel prepares for his second Turkish campaign, back in Italy, the strategoi returned to their themes, but John Doukas dies shortly after, having picked up malaria while riding down Frederick's soldiers. Robert goes back to Bari and Alexios Axouch helps smooth the succession of John Doukas's son, also named John. After reinstalling Alexander, Andronikos Kontostephanos received calls of assistance from both Genoa and Pisa regarding the Normans. The Genoese need mercenaries to retake Cagliari, not trusting the Normans they've already hired, while the Pisans want to take the entire island for themselves. Andronikos, while tempted, declines, for the emperor has asked him, Alexios Axouch and Admiral Andronikos Angelos* to settle the issue of Sicily once and for all.
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*: OTL, he was the governor of Macedonia under Alexios III Angelos. He unsuccessfully rebelled against Alexios and fled to Bulgaria.
**: Father of OTL emperors Isaac II and Alexios III.

It's great to see so much awesome content, have to spend some time reading!

JohnSmith said:

It's great to see so much awesome content, have to spend some time reading!

Click to expand...

Thanks. If there's anything you like or dislike, just let me know.

The next big difference from the previous TL coming up is I'm removing the incident with Sardinia to focus more on Manuel's campaign against the Seljuks and the final years of his reign, which I glossed over last time.

Hope Rhoman can do better in Sardinia this time

Nurhaci said:

Hope Rhoman can do better in Sardinia this time

Click to expand...

Sorry, but they're not going anywhere near Sardinia this time. I realised that the main focus should have been on Anatolia, so that is what the next update shall be on. In any case, I'm not too sure what exactly Corsica or Sardinia can offer the empire in terms of resources or manpower. They had drifted out of Constantinople's rule since the Isaurian and Amorian dynasties respectively.

1169-1171:

Anatolia:

Emperor Manuel splits his army into two groups. He will lead the first group towards Iconium, accompanied by his son, Prince Alexios, Alexios Bryennios, strategos of the Cibyrrheot theme, Baldwin of Antioch and a contigent of Frankish and Armenian mercenaries. The second group, headed towards Amaseia via Ankyra, would be commanded by John Kontostephanos, John Kantakouzenos and Manuel Laskaris, strategos of the Opsikion theme. They were accompanied by a contingent of Hungarian troops lent to the emperor by Bela. Once they captured or gained the surrender of Iconium, Amaseia and all the cities inbetween, they would meet up again and head towards Caesarea, where it was rumored Sultan Sancar was holed up. Manuel advanced towards Mistheia (OTL Beyşehir), coming across burned crops and poisoned water supplies along the way. Soo he was faced with a dilemma. His scouts had reported a moderately-sized Seljuk force nearby. With his supplies running out, Manuel had two choices - he could try and advance through the mountainous pass of Myriokephalon, or he could try and lure the Turks onto the open plain of Philomelion as his grandfather had done in 1117 AD. Manuel ordered his troops to head for Philomelion, praying to God that he would not lose his son there as Alexios I had...

The Northern Rhoman army marched from Amaseia towards Caesarea, as per the plan John Kontostephanos stayed behind to secure the city while John Kantakouzenos had been wounded during the recent siege and was heading for Sinope with the Hungarian mercenaries. They were halfway there when they were ambushed by the city of Tavium. This was the personal army of Prince Shahanshah. The majority were Azabs (meaning 'bachelors'), lightly armoured and armed with javelins and swords, but their main strength was their cavalry - heavily-armoured Ghulams. Being deprived of horse archers as punishment by his brother, Shahanshah planned to surprise the Rhomans, bog them down with the Azabs while he and his Ghulams wheeled around to kill any enemy commanders they could find. Then he would march onto Ankyra, to wash away the indignity of his retreat years earlier. Initially, this seemed to work. The Rhoman heavy infantry held their ground, but the Azabs kept coming and coming. Manuel Laskaris spotted the prince coming around the side and took his Athanatoi cavalry (named after the Persian Immortals) to meet him. Seeing this, John Kontostephanos screamed at Manuel to come back but his calls were ignored. Frustrated, John stayed with his men to keep them from routing. Athantoi and Ghulams collided. A ghulam swung his mace at Laskaris's head, denting his helmet and nearly knocking him off his horse. He rose his arm to swing again, but Manuel recovered just in time, stabbed at his chest and slashed across his throat. Manuel adjusted his helmet and saw Shahanshah skewering one of his companions with his lance. Manuel charged, cut down another Ghulam, and slashed the prince's horse.

As his horse fell forward, Shahanshah grabbed at Manuel and yanked him out of his saddle onto the ground. They began struggling while Laskaris's horse began to panic. Eventually, Manuel threw Shahanshah off. The last thing the Turkish prince saw was the hooves of Laskaris's horse come down upon him...

Laskaris barely managed to stand, preparing for death, when he heard and saw arrows strike down some of the ghulams. He looked to the horizon and, in disbelief, saw the Hungarians, and John Kantakouzenos riding and shooting alongside them. The strategoi and Hungarians charged straight into the flank of the Azab horde, hacking and smashing through their ranks. Word was already spreading of Prince Shahanshah's death and the Turks began to retreat, being picked off by the cavalry at their leisure. A week after the Battle of Tavium, the army finally reached Caesarea, and they noticed a large army was already outside the gates. A small contingent of riders met the strategoi at the front.

'What took you so long?' asked the emperor.

4 months later:

Sancar, the last Sultan of Iconium, kneels in the same chamber where he had kept the Rhoman Emperor and his concubines hostage. When the gates and walls fell, he gave orders for his fellow brothers-in-Islam to flee in whatever way they could. For him, however, there was no escape. He had been fooled by that very same emperor and led his kingdom to ruin. When Rhoman soldiers storm the room, they find Sancar lying face-first in a pool of blood, the blade of a scimitar protruding from his back. Many Turks, along with the surviving Seljuks, flee towards Persia, where the last remnants of the Great Seljuk Empire are being encroached upon by the Khwarezmian Shahdom. Rhoman territory in Anatolia now extends to the terminuses of the Halys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%B1...4%B1rmak_River) and Pyramus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceyhan_River) rivers. The only other significant powers are the Sunni Saltukids, based in Erzerum, and the rising Orthodox Kingdom of Georgia.

Manuel, his son, John Kontostephanos and John Katankouzenos head with a small entourage towards Trebizond. From there, they will head to Tbilisi to negotiate further conquest of Anatolia and Armenia with King George III of Georgia. Upon reaching Trebizond, however, he is informed that his cousin Andronikos has been sighted in Georgia and that his son has been married to George's daughter Rusudan. Manuel orders Katankouzenos to head for Georgia, conclude an alliance, or at least a trety of friendship with King George, and recapture Andronikos and his children with a minimum amount of fuss.
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Whew! In the old thread, all this, in addition to the Sardinia debacle, was three separate updates. Back then I was only just starting to write TLs.

I hope people don't mind my writing style too much. If I need to explain something so it makes sense, I will, but most of the time I prefer to be direct and to-the-point.

Comments and criticisms are always welcome!
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Map below

Purple - Basileia ton Rhomaion
Yellow - Serene Republic of Venice
Orange - Saltukid dynasty
Green - Zengids/Ayyubids (ignore Tripoli)

Never post an update around midnight EST. Updates can get easily pushed off the main page that way.

1171:

Manuel's last campaign against the Seljuks reestablishes the themes of Anatolia and Charsianon, lost since the aftermath of Manzikert, a hundred years ago. He appoints as their strategoi the generals Thedore Maurozomes and Alexios Branas respectively. Manuel's son Alexios bears witness to this and is intrigued, mainly because the way his father set up the themes was not in line with what he had been taught of the themes in his lessons...

Sicily along the Ionian Sea had been ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 1169, so the Rhomans had met very little resistance. The strategos of Crete had met up with Axouch at Syracuse while Andronikos Angelos had sailed on to Palermo. Sailing along the coast, Axouch had left the Cretan strategos to besiege Agrigentum. After two years of besiegement and unsuccessfuly sallies, King Simon surrenders, Malta following suit shortly afterwards. Now all of Sicily and Southern Italy is back in Rhoman hands, as was Manuel's intention sixteen years ago. Most of the remaining Siculo-Normans leave for Sardinia, England or France. Those that stay convert to orthodoxy and are either left on Sicily or are shipped to Anatolia to repopulate the Central plateau alongside Serbs, Armenians and others. Simon is led to a comfortable 'retirement' at Oinaion on the Black Sea. Sicily is made a new theme under general Michael Aspietes.

John Katankouzenos returns from Georgia with Andronikos Komnenos and his family in chains. Whatever bond the cousins may have shared in the past, Bertha's death has left Manuel determined to throw away the final trappings of his dissolute youth. Manuel blinds Andronikos and throws him into the deepest, darkest dungeon in Constantinople, utterly alone except for the guards posted to watch him at all times. Manuel gives his blessing to the marriage of Andronikos's son, Manuel, and Princess Rusudan and sends them back to Georgia in peace. Ultimately, Manuel decides to cancel the bride show. He knows he is getting older and wants to spend his final years maintaining an empire rather than building one.

1172-1179:

In 1172, Frederick Barbarossa formally concludes a treaty in Venice with the Rhomans and the Lombard League, agreeing to a fifteen year peace. Elsewhere, the Fatimid Caliph in Egypt is overthrown by one of Nur-ad Din's generals, a Kurd named Shirkuh. When Shirkuh dies, he is succeeded by his nephew, Salah ad-Din, aka, Saladin. Saladin refuses to swear loyalty to Nur-ad Din and starts building his own kingdom from Egypt and the Hedjaz. Nur-ad Din dies in 1174 of fever. Damascus falls to Saladin the same year. Manuel considers sending aid to King Baldwin of Jerusalem, but when he hears of a crusader victory at the Battle of Montisgard, he decides the situation is well in hand.

1180:

On the 20th of September, sick with a fever, Manuel asks to be baptised once again. He does so, taking the name Matthew and dressing himself in the manner of a monk. Manuel Komnenos 'the Great' died in his bed, with only his bastard son by his side. Alexios had by now taken on the names Erotikos (the other surname of the founder of the Komnenos dynasty) and Vatatzes, in honor of his mother. Maria and Anna hated their bastard sibling and never forgave their father for his role in their mothers' death. The soon-to-be emperor tolerated him because he was a brave soldier who would be more useful alive than dead. Only Eirene truly liked her older brother, for she had been too young to understand what had happened at the time. Manuel spent his last moments babbling about Bertha, Theodora and Andronikos and weeping over his mistakes. His eldest son, Alexios, is crowned Emperor Alexios II Komnenos in the Hagia Sophia the next day.

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Manuel's children by 1180:

* Maria (b. 1152 - 28 years old) - Married to Bela Arpad of Bosnia & Syrmia. Four children - Emeric (b. 1169), Margaret (b. 1170), Andrew (b. 1172), Constance (b. 1175).

* Anna (b. 1154 - 26 years old) - Originally betrothed to Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, but the marriage was called off when Baldwin contracted leprosy. Now married to Alexios Angelos (OTL Alexios III Angelos). Two children - Andronikos (b. 1170), Eudokia (b. 1173).

* Alexios II (b. 1158 - 22 years old) - Married to Euphrosyne Kamaterina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphros...kaina_Kamatera). Suffers from headaches but has a keen interest in religion and politics. Two children - Eirene (b.1176), Euphroysyne (b. 1177).

* Alexios Erotikos Vatatzes (b. 1161 - 19 years old) - Married to Zabel Rubenid, younger daughter of the deceased Thoros II of Cilicia. Illegitimate son of Manuel and his niece, Thedora Vatatzaina.

* Eirene (b. 1164 - 16 years old) - Married to Renier-John of Montferrat.

DominusNovus said:

Never post an update around midnight EST. Updates can get easily pushed off the main page that way.

Click to expand...

Point taken. (Looks at the time) Dammit! I can't win, can I?

Bump. (I swear this is the last one.)

Assuming Saladin is the same magnificent bastard as OTL he should take Jerusalem soon, hopefully there would be a crusade especially as there hasn't been a 2nd one yet.

ImperatorAlexander said:

Assuming Saladin is the same magnificent bastard as OTL he should take Jerusalem soon, hopefully there would be a crusade especially as there hasn't been a 2nd one yet.

Click to expand...

There was a second crusade, I just forgot to cover it, mainly because the POD occurs after it.

Okay, this isn't an update but I'm considering rebooting this TL again in regards to another of Manuel's campaigns which I've previously overlooked or retconned. IOTL, Manuel made at least one attempt to conquer Egypt from the weakening Fatimid dynasty. I've decided I'd like to see him do it successfully in version 3.0. To be honest, part of the reason for that is I'm getting a bit sick of writing about almost the same Third Crusade over and over.

And, as always, I have a few questions before I start.

1. Egypt, like Sicily, was a, no, the major supplier of grain in the Mediterranean, but how would a Roman reconquest be seen by others? Venice, Jerusalem, Nur-ad Din, Saladin and the Fatimids would clearly not be happy. In Souther Italy and Sicily there were still Greeks and Christians who followed the Greek rite. In Egypt, there are Miaphysite Christians - the Copts, and Armenian and Nubian mercenaries used in the Fatimid army - and the Sunni and Shiite muslims. Were the majority of Muslims in Egypt at the time Shiite, or was it confined to the upper classes like Judaism was to the Khazars?

2. With a surviving Kingdom of Jerusalem, how much territory in Syria and the Levant would the Romans have to control to exert a greater degree of control? As far as Edessa, Aleppo or even Damascus?

3. I might consider having a more powerful Khwarezmian Empire. If there is a Third crusade, would it be more interesting to have them, a Zengid sultanate (not necessarily under Nur-ad Din's son) or even a revitalised Abbasid Caliphate as the 'antagonist'?

4. Most importantly, even if Manuel or his successors decide to reform the Roman government and military, should I make these conquests last?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!