The House of Palaiologos, Against the Tide: An Eastern Roman Timeline

[euromellows]

Awesome timeline here Avitus. Just finished reading it from start to finish.

[Xgentis]

Originally Posted by Avitus

On succession: They definitely do need to work on it, but with Ioannes IX reasonably secure for the moment, and nobody expecting him to die soon the focus is definitely on other things. Vlad's succession was particularly disasterous because he created a horde style empire that wasn't tied together by anything other than being conquered by the same guy, and because his male children were still well underage. In cases where an emperor lives to a ripe old age with an adult son who is obviously meant to be his successor, the system works, but since this isn't a perfect world (that's ASB) that doesn't always happen. Things will get better once we hit the period of reform under Emperor *classiffied* the Great

On Ukraine: Split between Poland-Lithuania, the Crimean Kahnate, and a little Italian colony held by the republic of Venice. Kiev itself is with the Lithuanians at the moment, but the whole Russian area is evolving pretty rapidly right now, so expect to see some activity there soon.

Yeah but sooner or latter another succession crisis will arise especially if more then one guy has a good claim to the throne.

[Avitus]

euromellows, glad you like it, any particular favorite parts?

Xgentis, Agreed, but it takes a special leader to fix a succession crisis cycle that has been repeating for over a milennium, and a 13 year old Ioannes just isn't at that level.

I had a sudden urge to write, so here is a new update for 1474! Enjoy

1474

"It is the responsibility of every King under God to fight those who stand in opposition to the faith. My brother never learned that lesson, but it is one that I shall never forget."- King Alfonso XII "The Catholic" of Castile


The year begins peacefully enough, with the only technically active war being the so called Long War of Brittan between Yorkist Ireland and Wales and Lancastrian England (the French having pulled out of the direct war by this point), though in many places a peaceful exterior belies boiling conflicts and plots. In March, after months of depression induced seclusion, King Henry IV of Castile is moved to a monastery, where he receives last rights, and dies on the 17th. With his death, his 21 year old half-brother Alfonso, who became King Alfonso XII of Castile on March 21st. King Alfonso XII, while not the best physical specimen, being somewhat frail and thin, if not worryingly so, was nevertheless a man of passion and capability. He had long been disgusted by his elder brother’s policies, and was quick to make several major changes. A pious Roman Catholic, he immediately discontinued King Henry’s negotiations with the French over supporting the Parisian Papacy over the Roman one, calling these negotiations, along with many other things he saw as impious, an unbelievable disgrace to Christendom.

Of all the things that King Alfonso saw as disgracing Christendom, the one that he hated the most, and the one that he seems to have felt most responsible for, was the continued existence of Al-Andalus, in the form of the Emirate of Granada, on the Iberian Peninsula. In May, only a month after his coronation, King Alfonso XII declared war. Shortly thereafter, Alfonso personally led the Castilian forces against the town of Alhama, taking it through the use of surprise and superior artillery after just three weeks. After this victory, nearby towns and fortresses were garrisoned by men loyal to Sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali of Granada, making progress slower. Nevertheless, in most cases the Castilian artillery were able to crush the defenses of these fortresses in a manner of days, and over the course of 1474 most of the western half of the Emirate of Granada had fallen to the Castilians, while refugees and mercenaries flocked to Granada to aid the Sultan.

In France, it seems that around this time Antipope Alexander VI of Paris began his later famous correspondence with Duke Charles of Milan. Both among the most powerful men in France, Charles in particular had found himself a winner after the Valois War of Succession. Although initially disliked by the troops for his stalling tactics used against the Yorkists in England, his later utter victory in that theatre, won almost by accident, and the large amount of plunder scored from that victory had made him a favorite with the army and the knightly aristocracy. His control of the Duchy of Milan gave him considerable wealth and manpower, although whether he could count on the Italian’s loyalty was another matter entirely. Alexander VI, on the other hand, had the support of many among the nobility who had been angered by King Louis XI’s tolerance of heretics. He had arranged meetings with many of them in his first year in office, and would privately confess to the nobles that he worried about the king’s acceptance of heresy, and lack of zeal for spreading the faith or reuniting the church.

Although only a fraction of them were ever carried out, over the course of the first five years of Alexander VI’s papacy he and Charles of Milan discussed plans for all sorts of schemes ranging from the total French conquest of Italy, to a fresh crusade against Jerusalem, or even attempting to use Alexander’s influence to get Charles elected at Holy Roman Emperor upon the death of Frederick III. All of their schemes (some of which have come down to us in copies of their original correspondence letters) focused especially on installing Charles in glorious positions, such as King of Naples, Jerusalem, or France, suggesting that Alexander was attempting to flatter Duke Charles into trusting him. While mostly incredibly far-fetched and likely never seriously considered, these plans marked the early stages of the pair’s political alliance, an alliance that would shake the foundations of Europe to their core.

In Brittan, after a year with scant progress, thanks to the disastrous defeat of King Edward IV at the Battle of Manchester, a breakthrough is made. King James III of Scotland, having abandoned the Lancastrians and French in The Great Welsh War after they failed to provide a suitable bride to cement their alliance, begins to attempt to negotiate a new alliance with the House of York. By summer, it had been decided that King James of Scotland, in the absence of a suitable daughter of the House of York proper, would marry Catherine Woodville, the 17 year old youngest sister of Queen Elizabeth Woodville. Despite her lack of direct royal blood, Catherine is a noted beauty, and the king’s sister in-law, and the arrangement pleases King James greatly. They are married on June 8th, and immediately afterwards, King Edward begins to pressure King James into waging war on the Lancastrians, promising him concessions of various natures in exchange for his direct military support.

By August, King James finally commits to the renewed war effort, and he sends his brother Alexander, Duke of Albany, to accompany some 5,000 Scottish soldiers into northern England and aid the Yorkists. King Edward himself brings his forces, by this time restored to about 12,000 in number, and for the third time marches on York in an attempt to retake England. He easily defeats a force of 3,000 Lancastrians on the way to York, and upon reaching the city, is greeted by the grisly sight of the massacred, mostly French mercenary garrison of the city around the main gates, whom the populace disposed of upon hearing of King Edwards coming. Much of northern England once again falls quickly under the Yorkist onslaught, thanks in large part to the populace betraying mercenary garrisons. Finally, Lancastrian forces under Jasper Tudor march on Nottingham, and manage to set up a fairly effective barrier at the River Trent. Edward responds by besieging Nottingham, while the Scots under Alexander of Albany make sporadic raids beyond the river. Despite a strong effort by both sides to break the stalemate, the siege and the Trent border are still in effect by the end of the year.

Despite his interests in the fate of England, King Louis XI is unwilling to risk renewing the war with Burgundy at the moment by fighting in England, lest he suffer a repeat situation where his troops are stuck beyond the channel. Instead, he attempts to secure the loyalty of his nobility, hoping to make it impossible for Charles of Burgundy to gather support among the French people. It is undoubted that at this point King Louis had every intention of crossing into Burgundy and crushing Duke Charles, but his recent near defeat has left him somewhat shaken. In particular, he has begun to suspect Charles of Milan, thanks to accounts of his earlier stalling actions in England. Still, with Charles of Milan’s strong claim to the throne and the military aristocracy’s love of him, King Louis realizes that a direct attack on his brother could be suicidal, so he waits and attempts to pry supporters from the Dukes of Burgundy and Milan, hoping to find a situation that allows him to remove both of them from power.

In Eastern Europe, things are fairly quiet. George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the great hero of Albania, dies at the age of 69. While alive, he had served as a hero of to Albania, first winning them independence from the Ottomans and Venice, and later holding the Albanian league together through his strong unofficial leadership. With his death, he was succeeded in his hereditary lands, notably Kruje, by his son John Kastrioti, but his position as leader of the Albanian League did not transfer, as none of his countrymen at the time held the strength to unify the Albanian people. In this situation, the Albanian league, already in possession of Greek lands such as Epirus, and with a fair number of its members having close ties to or even considering themselves Eastern Roman aristocrats, began to be pulled into the Roman sphere of influence. While the league did not disappear overnight, as time went on infighting increased within the league, and by the end of the year several families were engaged in minor squabbles over land.

Diplomatically, the Eastern Roman Empire concludes two new alliances with the Kingdom of Smyrna, under Matthias Hunyadi, and the Knights of St. John, under Pierre d’Aubusson. Although neither was particularly unexpected, as all of these states belonged to the Trebizondian anti-Ottoman league, they did gain Emperor Ioannes IX a considerable amount of favor from Pope Pius III and King Ladislaus VI, relations with both of whom being virtually vital to the empire at this point. Further north, after one further failed attempt to march on Moscow, King Casimir IV of Poland and Lithuania concludes peace with Ivan III of Moscow, leaving Novgorod, though now heavily influenced by the Poles, independent and free from the advances of the Muscovites. The defeat of Moscow hurt the pride of Grand Prince Ivan III, but left his nation fairly intact, essentially forcing him to look for other opportunities for expansion.

[Tongera]

Albanians being assimilated a lot more in this timeline? Also, would there be two Russia's or just one?

Love the update.

[Razgriz 2K9]

King Alfonso invading Granada early? He's got guts...

Would Alfonso be gung-ho to try and expand beyond Granada, i.e. Move across the Straits of Gibraltar into Morocco?

[Avitus]

Tongera, Well, thus far the Albanian league is just beginning to disintegrate, and the Greeks in the state are looking favorably on Byzantium, since their only other realistic options for protection from large neighbors is Venice, and lets be honest, nobody wants to make a deal with the devil, and Venice is ten times more likely to screw you over

Also, for Russia, that depends on what you mean by two Russias. As a state, Novgorod is still a pretty sickly entitee, but they may make it beyond that point if P-L keeps protecting them. Still, unless Moscow is hit by an ASB-class warhead Novgorod's eastern expansion option are pretty much nil, so I doubt they could become anything close to OTL's russian giant.

Razgriz 2K9, Alfonso is taking a kind of divine crusader role, so if he sees something that he feels is an affront to Catholicism, he will most likely attempt to bring it down sooner or later. ATM, that includes the followers of the Parisian Papacy, the Muslims in the western med, and Mameluke Jerusalem. With all these lofty goals in mind, you can probably expect Alfonso to be disappointed allot

[Ego_Illud]

Another excellent update. It seems like the ERE has a chance to expand into Epirus and Albania.

[ImperatorAlexander]

Great update, I'm interested in seeing the consequences of Russia never being united

[Avitus]

New update time! I'm doing a little bit of experimenting with some narrative style writing for Emperor Ioannes, so please let me know what you think and whether I should try more narrative style in the future.

1475

"I refuse to surrender my birthright to a drooling fool and the woman who holds his leash. Let all those who would rather die than see the ruin of England fight alongside me!"-King Edward IV of York, King of England and Ireland, outside of the walls of Nottingham.


The year 1475 sees continued actions by King Alfonso XII of Castile both in his war of conquest in Granada and in his diplomacy with foreign nations. As the war with Granada pushes steadily forward, Alfonso has been sending out diplomatic envoys, primarily to King Alfonso V of Portugal, and Pope Pius III in Rome. Together with these two figures, he conspires to turn his war of conquest in Granada into a holy crusade against Islam in the Western Mediterranean. Pope Pius III, as it turns out, is already looking for a propaganda boost. Although his position had become more stable after King Louis XI’s recent misfortunes and the loss of Antipope Dionysius II, Pope Pius III was fairly universally unpopular after giving up on Pope Leo X’s famous vow to retake Lombardy. By endorsing, in his own words “The final stage of the restoration of Spain and destruction of the infidels of Granada,” Pius is able to gain a huge amount of international support, not just in the Iberian Peninsula, but in all countries that share borders with Islamic groups, as well as the former territories of Ottoman Rumelia. As for Alfonso V of Portugal, King Alfonso XII of Castile convinces him to offer naval support to the “crusade”, offering him the promise of future aid in procuring lands in North Africa, as well as a slice of the glory that completing the Reconquista will bring.

Almost as soon as the Crusade had been declared, King Alfonso of Castile began his now famous march on Granada. His soldiers marched solely and deliberately for the entire journey. They were well supplied, and despite being in hostile territory large groups of camp followers continued to perform all manner of services for the soldiers. In addition to putting on a glorious show of arms, with armor gleaming in the sun and soldiers singing Christian songs, the whole affair was an obvious dare to the leaders of Granada, to see if they would attack. Insulted, and fearing mutiny if he allowed this insult to go unpunished, Sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali orders his son Abu Abdullah, better known as Boabdil, to lead a cavalry attack on the Castilian infantry, intending to hit them hard and fast with skirmisher weapons. As one may have surmised by this point, the entire scenario was a trap set by King Alfonso XII. Despite being armored as heavy infantry, most of the front ranks of his soldiers were actually armed with crossbows. When the forces under Boabdil approached, the soldiers in the front ranks were ordered to fire. Their crossbows outranged the enemy’s cavalry ranged weapons, and many were killed or thrown by their wounded horses before even getting close enough to discharge their own weapons. Those who survived the first two volleys were chased by the Castilian cavalry, and most fled all the way back to Granada. Many men were captured as well, among them Boabdil, who had been thrown from his horse near the beginning of the engagement. With this force crushed, the Castilians moved to lay siege to Granada itself in April, though they were as yet unwilling to risk an assault.

In England, after months besieging Nottingham and making no progress in starving the people out thanks to large supply stores and covert supply deliveries by the Lancastrians, King Edward IV of Ireland has had enough. His forces assault the castle on March 15th, a risky decision with the Lancastrian main forces residing only about a day’s march away, but one that is not taken without a plan. Shortly before assault takes place, King Edward’s Scottish allies cross the Trent in force and begin to march strait towards London. This is a threat that the Lancastrians cannot ignore, and the main Lancastrian army under Jasper Tudor moves to intercept the Scots, while the Scots begin to pull back north once they realize that the Lancastrians are pursuing them.

As soon as King Edward receives word of the Lancastrian movement, he begins his assault. As in previous assaults in northern England, King Edward does receive some aid from the populace and other turncoats, but the Lancastrians and their mercenaries within the fortress are prepared for such defection, and manage to keep the gates closed and the towers held. The assault is a long and grisly affair, lasting a little over three days, and costing upwards of 3,000 Yorkists their lives, to say nothing of the wounded, but in the End Kind Edward stands triumphant. Although his army is in no fit state to push far beyond the Trent, without Nottingham the river is soon entirely under Yorkist control. With the French unlikely to enter the war, King Edward IV is now closer than ever to regaining his throne in England.

In the Eastern Roman Empire, Emperor Ioannes IX’s run of early luck finally runs out. Through the actions of the three remaining Pillars of Hagia Sophia the first year of Ioannes’ reign has been free of civil war and diplomatic hostilities in Serbia and Wallachia have been mostly resolved, while new alliances have been struck with the Knights Hospitaler and the Kingdom of Smyrna. Now, an unexpected variable comes into play following the death of Skanderbeg in Albania. With the breakdown of the Albanian League, many, especially those in the league who did not consider themselves Albanian to begin with, have begun to break away. In this situation, the Epirote members are soon united under a charismatic leader, and one who has no intentions of restraining his control to just Epirus, Demetrios Kantakuzenos.

Known for his earlier attempt to take control of Morea upon the ascension of Emperor Vlad I in Constantinople, Demetrios Kantakuzenos had gone into hiding in the Albanian League around the time that his forces dissolved, thanks in large part to Emperor Vlad’s fear tactics. While initially he had kept a low profile within the league, as Vlad’s plans had turned more towards Serbia, Demetrios had begun to gather support amongst the Epirote nobility. His power had been kept in check by the more impressive figure of Skanderbeg, but with Skanderbeg’s death, he was free to capitalize on the power vacuum in the league. By February of 1475 he was ready to make his move. With a force of some 4,000 men of Epirus, Demetrios, aided by his son Manuel, marched on Athens, professing freedom from the Latin Church and the need for a strong emperor, not a boy. With help from local supporters he took Athens quickly and easily, and then marched on Morea. Much of Morea rose up in support of Demetrios Kantakuzenos, although Mystras was saved, thanks to the actions of the garrison commander of Salmeniko, Graitzas Palaiologos, who disobeyed his orders and marched to the aid of Mystras, and there prevented a mutiny that would have allowed Demetrios to enter the city unopposed.

With virtually all of the Morea and the Duchy of Athens fallen by April, and Thessalonica threatening to join the rebels, Emperor Ioannes IX was forced to take military action. Despite his youth, Ioannes IX was to lead the forces himself, since the entire problem was caused in part by his youth and assumed inability to lead. He would be accompanied by Protostrator Giovanni Giustiniani, half the Latin Guard (2,500 men), 3,000 Bulgarian soldiers, 5,000 ethnic Greeks, and 2,000 Turkish mercenaries. When news of this force’s approach reached Demetrios Kantakuzenos, he immediately took his forces, now numbering between eight and ten thousand, thanks to the addition of many volunteers of varying degrees of experience in Morea, north to face the emperor. When he did so, Graitzas Palaiologos, now without an immediate threat to contend with, began to recover lands in Morea. The forces of Emperor Ioannes and Demetrios Kantakuzenos met on June 23rd, near the village of Kozani on the Epirote side of the border with the Duchy of Thessalonica.

Kozani, June 23rd, 1475: It was all so beautiful, the lights, the stonework, the people in their finery, and the smile on his mother’s face. Then two men fell to the floor, and Ioannes ears were pierced by his mother’s scream, and the gasps and screams of all the people gathered in the cathedral. All of a sudden the world went black, and Ioannes heard only silence.

Ioannes shot bolt upright in his bed. Since he had left Constantinople he had spent nearly every night drifting from nightmare to nightmare. He had only ever been out of sight of Constantinople’s walls once before, and though the air smelled sweet and the stars shone brightly, more than anything he felt vulnerable. In any direction he looked, he knew that there must be some threat just beyond his sight, and there was nothing between that threat and him. He turned to face the doorway of his tent, and was greeted by a bright beam of sunlight in his eyes. “Damn the mornings,” he muttered to himself, as he squinted and began getting out of his bed.

“Basileus!” the two guards said as the young emperor stepped outside of his tent. He saluted them, and then asked the guards “Do you know where Protostrator Giustiniani is this morning?” One of the guards, a young Italian who Ioannes knew to be named Aurelio, answered, “He’s rousing the men to prepare for battle, but Basileus, you mustn’t wander around camp dressed like that.” As he said this he gestured towards the emperor’s silken robes, which he had brought along to sleep in. “Would you like us to call you some servants to help you with your armor?” Ioannes nodded. He loathed the camp servants, if for no other reason thanks to their unfamiliarity, but he had come to enjoy the company of one, a girl only a few years older than himself named Irene. Despite the constant crude reminders from the soldiers of what they did with the camp followers, Ioannes hadn’t had the courage to sleep with Irene. His own experiences of sex with his wife Maria had been mechanical and unsatisfying, as though neither of them really wanted to do it, but now he wondered if he could do it with Irene and things would be different. All of these thoughts were shelved however when Aurelio returned a moment later with two young men and said, “Now get the emperor into his armor, and hurry!” The two men hurried into Ioannes’ tent while he slowly followed, swearing under his breath as he did so.

About half hour later a fully armored Ioannes was lead, again by Aurelio, to meet with Protostrator Giustiniani. Although Ioannes was in theory leading the men into battle, in reality he had given full command to Giustiniani, and had little desire to be present on the battlefield at all, much less command men to die for him. They soon arrived, and he was greeted by Giovanni himself, “Hail Basileus, are you ready for your first battle?” “About as ready as I should be I guess,” he replied nervously. “Excellent!” Giustiniani replied, “Because today is the day we bring that bastard Kantakuzene to justice!” Although he tried hard to hide it, Ioannes was quite taken aback by this, and Giustiniani must have noticed, because he then asked, “Did you have any questions about how we’re going to pull this off?” Unable to restrain his anxiety, Ioannes quickly asked, “Where am I going to be, and what do I have to do?” “Calm down lad,” said Giustiniani, “everything is the way I said it would be from the beginning. You will be in the rear of our formation, surrounded by my Italians, and all you have to do is sit on your horse and look out over the battlefield. If all goes well they will be broken by lunchtime. Does that answer your questions?” Ioannes nodded uncertainly, and Giustiniani replied, “Good. Now run along and find your horse, we’ll be starting soon.” Ioannes did so, and was soon ready at the rear of the formation.

The battle began a little before noon, and for the first hour all went according to plan. The battle was slow and Giustiniani’s strategy a bit overcautious and under effective, but his soldiers were better equipped and better trained on average, and the Turkish cavalrymen were doing an excellent job of pouring arrows into the rebel’s flank. All of a sudden the men around the emperor began shouting about horsemen coming from the east. As it turned out, a group of Epirote cavalry had managed to sneak around the flanks to the Roman rear. With nobody else around, Ioannes began shouting orders to the Latin Guard. “Turn around! Face the enemy Men!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. All around him men scrambled to get into position, and Ioannes felt proud despite his terror, at having given his first orders on the battlefield. Suddenly, the enemy cavalrymen, rather than charging into the Latin Guards staunch battle line as Ioannes had expected, began aiming crossbows at them. Panicked by this sudden change in tactics, Ioannes yelled “Charge!” as loudly as he could. Just a second later he felt a horrible pain in his leg, and looked down wide eyed to see a crossbow bolt buried deep in his thigh. Tears sprang to his eyes, and he began to cringe over and grind his teeth in pain. He hugged his mount’s neck tightly, as he quickly lost his grip on reality. As his vision faded and the pain dulled, the last thing he heard was one of the Latins screaming, “Basileus! Wake up Basileus!”

Ioannes awoke some time later. Immediately he felt an intense pain in his leg, even worse than it had been before. He tried to move to look at his leg, but found his arms to be restrained. The pain continued to grow worse, and Ioannes began screaming at the top of his lungs. After about a minute, he felt a sudden relief, and his arms were let loose. He immediately sat upright, and found himself in a large tent surrounded by several guards, a priest, and Protostrator Giustiniani. Then he felt something new on his leg and looked down to see a balding man in a bloody apron wrapping a cloth around his wounded leg. Looking at Giustiniani, Ioannes asked “Where am I? How did the battle go?” Giustiniani answered, “Sorry you had to wake up during that Basileus, I don’t imagine having someone rip a bolt out of a leg when you’re not even drunk is a pleasant experience. We’re back in camp, and we won the battle. Demetrios Kantakuzenos is dead, and we managed to take his son alive.” After taking a minute to comprehend this Ioannes asked, “Does that mean we’re going home now?” “Indeed it does Basileus,” Giustiniani replied, “Congratulations, you’ve just won your first battle. They only get easier after this.” Ioannes sighed with relief, and laid back down on the bed. It was over, and at the moment that was all that mattered to him.

His mind at ease, Ioannes once again began to think of Irene. A moment later the man bandaging Ioannes’ leg agitated his wound, and suddenly Ioannes had a worrying thought. Sitting upright again, he asked the man, “So how long does this thing take to heal? Will I be able to walk or, do other things, by tomorrow?” “Not likely my lord” he replied, “but give it a month and it’ll be like this whole thing never happened.” A whole month before he could sleep with Irene, Ioannes thought mournfully. Then he remembered that he would be back in Constantinople long before that time. “Shit,” he muttered as he settled down to get some sleep for the night.

The Battle of Kozani saw a total victory for the Imperial forces, who killed Demetrios Kantakuzanos, captured Manuel Kantakuzenos, and routed their forces utterly. Following the battle, Emperor Ioannes, who had been wounded during the fighting, was sent back to Constantinople to recover, while Protostrator Giovanni Giustiniani lead the remaining forces of the army against the Epirotes and Graitzas Palaiologos continued to retake the Morea. Without an army, it did not take long for virtually all of Epirus to surrender. Within months of its breaking from the Albanian league, Epirus finds itself under occupation by Eastern Roman forces. Giustiniani soon begins negotiations with the Epirote nobility. He offers many of them a chance to surrender their lands in exchange for lands of equal value in Thrace, which is still under populated after the Ottoman occupation, on the condition that they accept the emperor as their master and pay their full taxes on their new lands. With their only other option being a virtually futile resistance effort, the Epirote nobles almost unanimously accept. The annexation of Epirus raises a few eyebrows abroad, and frightens the remaining members of the Albanian League in particular, but as the Epirotes had no allies abroad and were openly anti-Catholic the reaction of the Italians and Hungarians is positive, so the Romans face no immediate foreign problems as a result.

Lastly, in Sweden, after months of plotting, Ivar Axelsson calls a gathering of the nobles of Sweden, and has himself crowned as the new King of Sweden on the 5th of December at the Stones of Mora. He quickly moves to secure and garrison Sweden’s towns and fortresses, and assembles a sizable force of mercenaries and Swedish militia to defend his kingdom. Meanwhile King Christian and the Danes claim the election to be invalid because only Swedes were present, while after King Christian’s changes a meeting of nobles from all three Scandinavian nations is supposed to elect a single monarch. Although they are unwilling to launch a full invasion in the winter, the Danes begin to prepare Norway and Scania to resist any offensive that the Swedes can come up with. As the year closes, Sweden once again seems set to play host to conflict over the fate of Scandinavia.

[thekingsguard]

Very nice update! Glad to see Ioannes survived his red badge of courage! May the Danes crush the upstart Swedes beneth thier boots!

[cimon]

Avitus,

It is a nice format and a good update;I have certain questions though:

1)What was the effect of Ioannis order to charge that cavalry?
(the question is very important for the prestige of the Emperor
and how those actions would be commented on after the event)
2) What happened after that charge regarding the flow of the battle
(in steps)?
3) Did Guistiniani made something unusual? and if not, is it obvious to you
that, according to your narrative,Giovanni Guistiniani is not the field commander
that the Empire needs at this junction and someone like Graitzas
Palaeologos who moved with initiative and versatility lacking from Guistiniani
could replace him?(promoveatur et amoveatur!=promote and dispense with)

4) What was happening during the years that nothing happened in the empire regarding army improvement? Byzantium is in the stage of recovery and it can counter numerical superiority with innovation and advancement.

Example:Ioannis is what? 14 years old? the servants put on a boy full armour,cumbersome and restricting the boy's movements;isn't it a natural reaction of this boy th think that firearms will relieve him of that weight?(which is also a problem for fully fledged soldiers).Or if not only firearms alone,something else?

[Avitus]

Cimon,
(1) The charge drove the Epirote cavalry away and killed and captured a few of them.

(2) Giustiniani was forced to pull his men back into a more defensive position while the Emperor was removed from the battlefield. Once that was done, the fighting continued as per usual, and with neither side being commanded by particularly imaginative commanders (I'm assuming Demetrios Kantakuzenos was not a great commander since he lost his war with Thomas and Demetrios Palaiologos, who were considered mediocre to start with) it continued as a slugging match until an arrow from one of the Turkish mercenaries found Demetrios' neck. Manuel tried to rally the men, but by that point everything was falling apart, and he eventually was surrounded and surrendered peacefully. After that the pursuit was relatively short, since Giustiniani didn't want to get too far from the camp and risk letting something happen to Ioannes, since almost any forseeable replacement emperor would at least remove him from power and more likely than not kill him.

(3) Yeah, Giustiniani is not a great field commander, but he can do about what one would expect him too, so since he had numerical superiority and better trained troops he won. Graitzas will definitely be given more important command stations following his heroic insubordination, since a resurgent nation can't always expect to have advantages like Giustiniani needs.

(4) That would be an interesting justification for moving towards firearms, so perhaps Ioannes will move in that direction (he's 15 now BTW). As for innovation, since Vlad took over the military has had considerably more access to money, and they've been putting allot of that money into buying and making more advanced armor and cannons. Unfortunately, at the time of this battle most of the artilery had been lost in Serbia, and although in the official treaty the Serbs were supposed to return the artillery along with the prisoners only a fraction of the cannons ever made it home in one piece.

[Alex1guy]

This is by far my favorite Byzantium timeline, I love you you managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for The Romans and I must say I love your writing style. It's plain and easy to read, while still being detailed and informative. Bravo!

[Avitus]

Alex1guy, now that is some high praise, and I do enjoy praise

Here, have an update!

1476

"The best way to fight is to have a group of allies so large and threatening that nobody would think to challenge you, nor to take revenge upon you for small injuries."-David I, Emperor of Trebizond, on the Anti-Ottoman Alliance

King Christian of the Kalmar Union wastes no time in attempting to put down the renewed Swedish rebellion. His forces are amassing on the border by late January, and soon begin a march north along the Eastern Shore of Sweden, intent on taking Stockholm and burying the Swedes once and for all. Ivar Axelsson for his part has not been idle. Knowing that the loyalty of the people will only be with him so long as he seems capable of protecting them from Christian’s wrath, Ivar has gathered the full might of his forces, around 24,000 men, including 18,000 militia and 6,000 professionals, to defend the town of Norrkoping.

Over the course of three days from February 21st-24th the area surrounding Norrkoping and to some extent the town itself plays host to near constant battle. Now often called the War of Norrkoping, each day the Danes attempted by use of cannons and sheer force of arms to break the Swedish defensive line, and each day they were held back from total victory. On the night of the third day the Swedes pulled back to the north to meet up with reinforcements. Realizing that things were unlikely to go better for him now that the Swedes had met with reinforcements, Christian chose to hold his ground at Norrkoping. In similar fashion, Ivar chose to withdraw all the way to the fortress at Nykoping, as he was unwilling to assault the Danes while they held a defensive position with their artillery. By the second week of March it became apparent that neither ruler intended to pursue the other, and King Christian decided to pull back to Scania and regroup his forces. Despite technically losing the battle at Norrkoping, and taking over twice as many casualties as the Danes, the Danish withdrawal saw Ivar Axelsson proclaimed a hero by the Swedes, and even today the three days from February 21st-24th are a time of celebration in much of Sweden. Despite this, Christian does not relinquish his claim, and continues to use the title of King of Sweden in courtly matters.

Towards the summer, Christian takes a new approach, by sending a small force not into Sweden, but Finland. With the Swedish defenses concentrated almost solely on Sweden proper, Finland is virtually defenseless. While Christian himself does not participate in the Finnish invasion, instead allowing his eldest son John to lead the relatively small (estimated to be fewer than 3,000), it will later be recognized as being quite significant to the later course of Scandinavian history. The first and instantly recognizable consequence is that the nobles of Sweden, many of whom held lands in Finland, no longer have access to these territories or the revenue from them. Because of this, they pressure King Ivar Axelsson to retake Finland, or at least negotiate a truce. As Christian will not accept anything short of the full return of Sweden to him, and to remove significant forces from Sweden would almost certainly be suicidal (assuming they even made it past the superior Danish fleet), Ivar ultimately decides against taking any action related to Finland, much to the annoyance of the affected nobility.

The second major consequence of the invasion of Finland was the Danish capture of Knut III, the eldest son of Charles II of Sweden who had been fled to Finland after the demise of Eric Axelsson, thus ending his brief stay on the Swedish throne. Although he could have been used as a puppet king under Ivar Axelsson, Ivar had felt that, firstly at age eleven there was a fair chance that the boy would soon be able to pose a threat to him, and secondly that his position was strong enough to claim the throne in person rather than through a puppet. He had been right at least on the first count, and now Prince John of Denmark had the boy taken to Denmark with the hope of using him as a rival claimant to Ivar Axelsson now that some of his popularity had eroded away. Though there were certainly Swedes who criticized Ivar for losing Finland, they were still by and large unwilling to abandon him after what they saw as an incredible feat in holding of the Danes at the Three Battles of Norrkoping especially not for a boy king under Danish influence. To king Christian it was just as well, as he still wanted to regain the throne himself, rather than through another man.

In Spain, the siege of Granada comes to its final conclusion in February, after holding out for 10 months under siege and resisting two large scale assaults. For all there valor, hunger and thirst are foes that the soldiers of Granada cannot fight off forever. Also detrimental, since his second failed attack (in late October of 1475) King Alfonso XII has been offering soldiers and civilians alike the chance to convert to Christianity and be allowed to go free without further penalty. Although Sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali and his supporters obviously did not allow people to go willingly, it proved to be virtually impossible to stop a small trickle of deserters from climbing over the fortress walls or otherwise escaping. By the time that the siege has made it into 1476 the moral of the soldiers of Granada has sunken to a near total low. Those few horses that have survived up to this point within the walls, including one belonging to the Sultan himself, are slaughtered and fed to the starving soldiers and citizens. On February 19th, the Emirate of Granada’s struggle for survival ends when Muhammad az-Zaghall, brother of Sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali and a noted commander in Granada, leads a group of soldiers into the Alhambra Palace, and there takes the Sultan prisoner, and demands that he come to terms with the Castilians, or be killed, whereupon Muhammad az-Zaghall would take over as sultan and negotiate a surrender anyways.

That same day, having obtained Sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali’s promise to negotiate, Muhammad az-Zaghall goes out to speak with the Castilians with the Sultan in tow. At first the Sultan refuses anything other than full restoration of his lands, despite his promise and the fact that such a demand is totally unrealistic by this point, but his disposition changes considerably when King Alfonso orders that the captured Boabdil, son of the Sultan, be brought forward, and places his life on the bargaining table. After some further negotiation and more than a bit of coercion it is finally agreed that all members of the ruling family of Granada, along with several hundred retainers, should be allowed to leave Iberia in exile. They are allowed a maximum of six months to arrange for transportation out of the area, but in that time they are to be carefully supervised and not allowed inside the former territory of the Emirate of Granada. Eventually, due to a tumultuous situation in North Africa, the remnants of the Nasirid Dynasty will relocate to the Ottoman Empire, after receiving a sympathetic letter from Sultan Orhan II. Granada itself is looted to some extent, but for King Alfonso the city’s riches are a meager prize compared to the glory of his “crusade”, and he puts a great deal of effort into converting the local population by both missionary means and force conversion.

In Trebizond, Emperor David I, having lived some 68 years, dies on May 29th. His influence has been heavily felt all over the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, as the man responsible for the anti-Ottoman alliance, and as one of the most powerful statesmen in the Eastern Roman Empire proper through his daughter the Empress Anna. While his position in Trebizond is secured by his adult son Basil, who becomes Emperor Basil II of Trebizond, his position internationally is not so easily taken. Despite controlling only a small corner of Anatolia and at times the Principality of Theodoro in the Crimea, Emperor David has seen great leaps forward for his nation through his alliance with the Ak Koyunlu and the Republic of Venice, the first of which has protected his land and even allowed him to retake Sinope, and the second of which has made Trebizond a wealthy city through increased trade following the Venetian acquisition of the Crimean colonies. His death leaves the entire anti-Ottoman alliance on unsure footing, and within weeks of hearing of his death Sultan Orhan II of the Ottomans begins to make preparations for war, his final destination as yet unknown.

In Constantinople, the news of David of Trebizond’s death is countered by the news that Empress Maria Dracula, the eighteen year old wife of Emperor Ioannes IX (himself being sixteen years of age), is pregnant. She will give birth to the couple’s first son on August 12th, and despite some initial concerns, both mother and child survive the ordeal in good health. With recent events being as they are, it comes as a surprise to no one when the child is named David, after his great grandfather the emperor of Trebizond. In addition to being the obvious heir of the Eastern Roman Empire, the child (and eventually his siblings) cements the union of the houses of Palaiologos and Draculesti, and thus Bulgaria’s place in the empire. As a further provision for ensuring the young David’s position, he is associated on the throne as Co-Emperor on October 3rd, technically becoming Emperor David I at a little over one month of age.

Besides this, Captain Graitzas Palaiologos, as a reward for his exemplary service during the Epirot Revolt, is promoted to Strategos (1), and given command of a standing army of 2,000 men, with the purpose of putting down any further revolts, riots, or rebellions in Epirus, as well as dealing with any local brigands and bandits. In addition to this, he is given the title of Dux of Epirus, and personal control of the town and fortress at Arta. As a precaution against later problems, his possession are not attached to a hereditary title other than Arta itself, with the hope being that the trouble in the region, of which there is no shortage so soon after its reconquest, will keep Graitzas too busy to do anything treacherous should he prove to be more ambitious than expected. Over the course of 1476 Graitzas faces and defeats several small scale uprisings, as well as at least two raids from across the Albanian League border that were most likely funded by some of the league members who were angry over the annexation of Epirus.

The rest of the year is relatively quiet. The Long War of Britain has a considerable lull, as the Lancatrians desperately try to reform some sort of defensive perimeter after the fall of Nottingham and the Trent River border, and the Yorkists attempt to replenish their numbers following the bloody assault on Nottingham the previous year (notably drawing heavily on the Irish natives for their reinforcements). In Venice, the earliest concept of the Sea Lion class warships is designed, based on earlier Portuguese Caravels, but made specifically with war in mind. The most notable advancement of the 1476 model is the use of gun ports for the first time in the Venetian navy. Although the ship will not prove to handle well enough until some changes are made to the hull, sail shape, and rigging around 1481, the basic design can be traced directly back to the 1476 blueprints, so the Sea Lion Battleship is often considered an invention of 1476.

(1) Strategos here is being used just to mean general, not as a position within the theme system, which is pretty much nonexistent now.

[cimon]

What ships are they? Galleases or early ships of the line?

Strategos is a very important rank;now he controls Epeirus which is equivelant to an old Theme and on a very strategic aerea which can decide
many things for the empire.

[thekingsguard]

Nice update! The Danes are one step closer to crushing Sweden, the Byzantines position continues to solidify, and the completion of the Reconquesta, years ahead of schedule! Looking forward to the next update!

[Tongera]

What areas are part of the Empire? I forgot.

[Fredrick II Barbarossa]

very interesting tl i never thought it possible that with such a late pod you can make byzantium survive without it becoming asb good work I guess miracles are indeed possible. Also what are the relations between trebizond and the ERE like will we get to see a union of the two in the future? Also good job showing what is happening in the rest of Europe at the time although i wonder what will happen now that Granada has fallen to Alfonso. Will their be a Muslim counterattack from mororoco? Also will the muslims and jews be treated the same way as in otl when grenada fell?

[Avitus]

cimon, something of a cross between a caravel and a galleon, but uniquely for Venice they are trying to go with dead minimal oar power to help increase fire power (since space used to house oarsmen is space better filled with guns).

And it is quite a promotion for Graitzas on paper, but at the same time it keeps him busy with local rabblerousers and angry Albanians.

thekingsguard, thanks! Scandinavia in this period is something that I, having had little knowledge of its history between the Vikings and the Reformation, am finding to be particularly interesting to research for TTL.

Tongera, It is pretty much modern Greece, plus European Turkey and Bulgaria, but without many of the Aegean islands, since Venice, Naxos, and the Hospitallers are all in the area.


Fredrick II Barbarossa, definitely some good luck, but it sounds less ASB if you think of it as a TL where the Ottomans have a succession civil war over Mehmed II, which is more or less what happened. Trebizond and the ERE have a kind of special relationship, where Trebizond helps to prop up the ERE's unstable government in exchange for having a large threatening looking friend and the promise of aid against the Ottomans. Morocco was pretty broken up at this point OTL, and assuming Portugal still wants their land I don't think that they're any better equipped to deal with it TTL than OTL so far. As for treatment, Alfonso is kindof a mixture between intelligence and talent, and overemotional and fanatical, but no matter what he ends up doing I can't see anything quite like the Spanish Inquisition happening after how the same concept worked for Vlad Dracula in Byzantium.

[Alex1guy]

Another excellent update.

Ativus, that project I told you about is well underway and the first part is actually completed. If you are interested (and play the game discussed) I would be happy to send you a teaser.