An Age of Miracles: The Revival of Rhomanion

[Arrix85]

How fast can the Imperial arsenal build ship? It's gonna be crucial to have a sizeable advantage against the Venetians (Romans should already have it, but considering the losses against the Aragonese, it should not be that big at the moment).

A large fleet will also be important against the Neapolitans, to threaten Naples itself (which would be very nervous about the restoration of "magna graecia"). I don't really see Julius stay put after the Romans take Venice and Romagna. The chapter in the book of Demetrios Megas is gonna come true (partially it already did, with the Black Day, but...)?

edit: read the article on the Venetian arsenal on wikipedia, just the idea of something like that (not true, 50% larger) in the hands of a power like the Roman empire.... awesome. ITTL Costantinople arsenal will have the same impact in military science?

[Evilprodigy]

Originally Posted by Arrix85

How fast can the Imperial arsenal build ship? It's gonna be crucial to have a sizeable advantage against the Venetians (Romans should already have it, but considering the losses against the Aragonese, it should not be that big at the moment).

A large fleet will also be important against the Neapolitans, to threaten Naples itself (which would be very nervous about the restoration of "magna graecia"). I don't really see Julius stay put after the Romans take Venice and Romagna. The chapter in the book of Demetrios Megas is gonna come true (partially it already did, with the Black Day, but...)?

edit: read the article on the Venetian arsenal on wikipedia, just the idea of something like that (not true, 50% larger) in the hands of a power like the Roman empire.... awesome. ITTL Costantinople arsenal will have the same impact in military science?

The Ottomans built an Arsenal in Constantinople after they took the city and it could build them a ship a day given the scale of it.
I am not saying that it would take one day to build a ship from scratch but they would have several ships being built at different stages that it ensured that there would be a boat going out of their Arsenal at least once a day, but then again these are Galleys, they are small vessels, not the larger ones that will become dominant in Naval warfare soon.
I would put that at a ship a month once it gets to the stage with the "Rate" ships (First rate, Second rate, etc.)

[JackExpo]

Originally Posted by Basileus444

"The early years of Andreas I Komnenos are undoubtedly some of the best known years in Roman history. One only needs to look at popular culture to realize that. In the past forty years seven movies, over five dozen books, both historical and fictional, and The Komnenoi, a program that has become a cultural icon, have been set in that time. While much of that has to do the Little Megas' military career, there is also a significant air of mystery regarding his turbulent personal life, especially regarding the events of late 1465 and early 1466. History is silent on what exactly occurred then. While frustrating for the historian, those months have proven to be a fertile ground for speculation, fiction, and intrigue."-Excerpt from Empire of Blood and Gold: A History of the Second Komnenid Dynasty

Based on the quote used at the beginning of the last update, it seems like Kristina's machinations are never discovered by anyone, or at least are never fully understood, and hopefully do not lead to any problems of succession, though I'm sure those are coming for other reasons.

Not to jump too far ahead, but is the fact that Maria was murdered (rather than died in childbirth) ever revealed to, or found out by, the general public? I could see it being used to whip up anger against Venice, but the Black Day is probably providing all the war fever they would ever need.

[Basileus444]

Arrix85: For the most part, I've got at least little snippets for Russia (big snippet here), Hungary, France-England, and Lotharingia. And there will be at least one, maybe two, from Julius' POV.

At the beginning of the next update Andreas places an order for 250 ships to be ready in three years, which the Arsenal can do. Although all but ten are galleys or unarmed transports.

Tyg: I haven't mentioned anything regarding either (didn't even think about the first). I'll stick in a bit on each in the next update. But Andreas is taking care of Prince Nazim's family.

JackExpo: It will be grand, for certain. And welcome to the thread.

Maria's death remains a secret because it reflects badly on Imperial security, because that's two Empresses the Venetians have succeeding in poisoning. The Black Day provides more than enough war fervor.

Derekc2: The Hungarians promoted themselves in the late 1450s with the approval of the Avignon Papacy. Roman Catholic countries don't recognize the new title, but Orthodox countries do (for good relations). I'll stick in some stuff on both Russia and Hungary in the next update.

Dragos Cel Mare: Nothing much to report there, save that Brihan of Merawi's first appearance is at the end of the coming update.

Ze Kaisar: Basically I rated all three leaders on two things, military skills and statemanship (how good are they are building up cohesive states and alliances). Military is first, statesmanship is second.

Timur I: 10, 4
Shah Rukh: 6, 9 (did a good job of exploiting internal rivalries and actually convinced a good portion of his empire to join him more or less voluntarily)
Timur II: 8, 7

Admittedly this system makes Timur I look bad, but he didn't have the advantages they did of the state system he did begin and the prestige of being descended from Timur the Great.

Theophano and her kids are still around. The children are being raised in the palace (since they are Andreas') but they aren't included in the succession.

eliphas8: Creative madness is always fun.

Sidheach: Milan, Hungary, and Rhomania partitioned Venice between them, and the first two have already taken their cuts. If either grabs Venice itself before the Romans do, Andreas will be very, very mad.

Ostost: Thanks. I like rivalries to be more shades-of-grey than black and white. It makes things more realistic and interesting.

Evilprodigy: The Imperial Arsenal is similar. Galleys in a few days, transports in a week or two, purxiphoi more like three weeks. Ships of the line would be five or six weeks once they come around.

[Arrix85]

In your mind how much Vlad and Andreas know how much the conquest of Venice will get the empire entangled more and more in Italy, far beyond the "restoration of Magna graecia" (which would involve only the kingdom of Naples)?

I know that the expansionist seek to restore imperial control over the "core territories", which sound to me like a tailored thing (since Gallia or Hispania are not included), but the saying "be careful what you wish for" has its reasons.

I ask, because revenge is a powerful thing and if the Romans are not prepared for the aftermath it could get very messy (and if the end of the Middle Ages in Europe is in the middle of the 70's, and involves the romans...)

[Basileus444]

Originally Posted by Arrix85

In your mind how much Vlad and Andreas know how much the conquest of Venice will get the empire entangled more and more in Italy, far beyond the "restoration of Magna graecia" (which would involve only the kingdom of Naples)?

I know that the expansionist seek to restore imperial control over the "core territories", which sound to me like a tailored thing (since Gallia or Hispania are not included), but the saying "be careful what you wish for" has its reasons.

I ask, because revenge is a powerful thing and if the Romans are not prepared for the aftermath it could get very messy (and if the end of the Middle Ages in Europe is in the middle of the 70's, and involves the romans...)

Regarding Italy, neither Vlad nor Andreas has made much plans except for the 'how are we going to Venice and how are we going to organize the new province?' The only real prep the Romans have made for getting more involved in Italy has been the continual improvement of relations with both Ancona and Urbino, but they're both lightweights even amongst Italian polities. Although the conquest of just the Venetian lagoon wouldn't involve the Romans very much in Italy. But if the Romans take Ravenna too, that's a different story especially since it's no longer a seaport.

As for the 'core territories' the emphasis now is on core. The expansionists would find it really neat if Hispania was retaken. But Egypt is a much better earlier target. Right now they're looking at the Empire of Justinian, not Trajan.


Lateran Palace, April 3, 1466:

His back hurt. That was nothing new, but that fact did not dull the pain. He heard the patter of Alessandro’s feet in the chamber; time for breakfast. Strawberries, my favorite. “Come help me get dressed, Alessandro, please,” he said.

“Of course, your Holiness.” A second later Alessandro pulled aside the bed curtains, causing Pope Julius I to blink in the sudden brightness. “My apologies, Holiness.”

“Oh, stop being so apologetic,” Julius muttered as Alessandro helped him sit up. “You’re just doing your job. No need to be sorry.”

Julius unbuttoned his nightshirt, Alessandro pulling it off, his face blank. That was why Julius kept Alessandro as his manservant. He hated new help. When they saw him, his back, the result was always unpleasant.

To say his back was scarred was not true. His back was a scar. Not a single patch of skin was not covered in scar tissues, scars atop scars atop scars, a mass of serrated ridges crisscrossing the flesh. Not the back of a man, but of that of some foul beast. Alessandro had asked how many there were. Julius had replied that he’d lost count after the five hundredth lash. It had been a miracle he had survived those months on Cyprus.

He was dressed now, and started walking slowly to his chair. Alessandro walked beside him, but he did not help. Julius did not want it. As the sun touched his wrinkled skin, he could feel it, see it all over again.

The hot Cypriot sun beating down on him mercilessly from a cloudless sky, stands of sugar stretching to the horizon, and a young man tied to a tree, his back to the jeering crowd. It was bleeding. “Seven, eight,” the Greek overseer said. The whip cracked twice more, the bits of jagged metal stuck in the leather gouging out the man’s flesh, his flesh. A mirror was set next to him so he could see the carving of his body.

He sat down in the chair, and took a bite of strawberry, a driblet of juice running down his chin. “Fourteen, fifteen,” the overseer said. He wiped away the juice. A moment later a piece of bread with honey was in his mouth. Another sweet thing to go with the taste of blood. “Twenty two, twenty three.” On that stroke he had bit his tongue so hard that it bled to keep from screaming. The bread was gone. Now for another strawberry. “Twenty nine.” Then he had screamed, a wave of bloody spittle flying from his mouth. A piece of cheese now to go with the last strawberry. “Thirty five.” Breakfast was gone. “Forty.” The man’s body was limp now, held up only by the ropes strapping him to the tree, but he was still conscious.

Alessandro took the dishes away as Julius laid his head back on the chair headrest and closed his eyes. He was so tired. He just wanted to rest. But he couldn’t. “Your Holiness?” Alessandro said. Julius opened his eyes. “The archbishop of Canterbury is here to see you. He has an appointment.”

“Yes, of course. Show him in.” He had been little more than a boy then, his only crimes the desire to defend his people and city and bad luck. He had not been a boy when the Romans were through with him. But then, he had not exactly been a man either by that point. The archbishop entered the chamber. No, no time to rest now. Not until justice is done. Then, only then. And perhaps, maybe, his back would finally stop hurting.

Julius I, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church

[eliphas8]

Huh, now that I see things from his perspective I actually like Julius a buch more than I used to.

[Dragos Cel Mare]

That's the idea. Again, Cycle of Revenge.

[Mathalamus]

i still have no sympathy for him. he is the roman pope, and not deserving of respect.

[Avitus]

Julius is a good character, and I honestly like him, but there is always a problem when someone limits themselves in such a debilitating way as Julius has with his revenge. He is a man of worth, but by limiting himself he has isolated himself from a large number of potential support bases, ultimately to the detriment of both the Roman Church and the Venetian Republic. In his early years he had plenty of opportunity to pull the Romans into his camp in the schism, to consolidate Italy, or to make gains in Iberia, but his single minded focus on destroying the Romans has removed all of these possibilities, and worse still has shattered his prestige.

Still, I can't help but pull for having the Pope in Rome, as a matter of tradition and homage to the capital of the western empire. Maybe we can get a more Gregory-esque figure in St. Peters chair next, since the Roman Papacy is hardly too far gone to remain important yet, but something needs to be done to root out corruption. Incidentally, what have Julius' policies been with regards to appointing bishops and cardinals? Has he been promoting friends and supporters, or has he kept merit as a primary candidacy criteria?

[Evilprodigy]

I want to know which Catholic nations support Avignon and which ones support Rome.

[frozenpredator]

interesting insight to the past of Julius, and good to see that it ain't just sunshine and rainbows in the empire

[Arrix85]

I find Julius understandable, but he's not likable. It's a wonder he even managed to get to his current position, costant pain can drive a man into madness, no surprise he's hellbent on revenge. Poor Roman Church he managed to become its leader.

[thekingsguard]

I want to know what the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury have to talk about.

[paulojn]

One of the best timelines I ever read , but I ask if a portuguese or west powers expansion to the Atlantic and Southern Africa do lead to a change in strategic thinking of Rhomanion Empire?

[Arrix85]

Originally Posted by paulojn

One of the best timelines I ever read , but I ask if a portuguese or west powers expansion to the Atlantic and Southern Africa do lead to a change in strategic thinking of Rhomanion Empire?

The need of an access to the Red Sea is gonna become quite important, unless they intend to do nothing about the diminished trade.

While right now the Empire is looking west, is gonna have to look south -south-east (if I'm not wrong looking from Costantinople ).

[Basileus444]

eliphas8: That was the idea, since Julius does have a legitimate grievance with the Romans.

Dragos Cel Mare: Pretty much. Julius and Andreas actually have a lot in common. Both had traumatic events happen to them at a young age (although Julius was a young adult) that scarred them, causing them to be obsessed with revenge.

Mathalamus: I don't like Julius either as he is now. But the young man who was brutally tortured on Cyprus I do feel sorry for.

Avitus: Julius could have made a great Pope, but as you pointed out, his goal in life is to break the Romans. And because of that, corruption has been allowed to flourish. Julius appoints people largely on how well they support his anti-Roman policies, not merit, which is why some territories are starting to flip to Avignon.

Evilprodigy: Avignon-Portugal, Castile, Aragon, Arles, Norway-Scotland, Sweden and Finland, Denmark, Hungary, and Apulia (to be joined by one more in the next update). Rome is everybody else.

frozenpredator: I felt I was in serious danger of turning Julius into a cartoon villain, and to avoid that was the point of this scene.

Arrix85: Not likeable, but understandable. That was exactly what I was aiming for. I think the best villains are those, even if you disagree with them, that you can at least understand where they're coming from.

thekingsguard: It has to do with Rhomania.

paulojn: Thanks. Portuguese expansion into the Indian Ocean would get a major Roman response. But until they round the Cape of Good Hope, the Romans won't do anything. Until that point, the Portuguese aren't remotely close to anything regarding Roman interests, and are too far away for Constantinople to do something anyway. Also while Roman purxiphoi have more firepower, Portuguese purxiphoi handle the Atlantic a lot better.

[Basileus444]

"Never get between a Russian and his sugar,"-Roman proverb

1466 continued:
Three weeks after the two ceremonies, another is held at the Imperial Arsenal when its first purxiphos is completed, a twenty four gunner christed Basileia Helena. Orders are placed for no less than ten more like her, along with a hundred galleys and one hundred and fifty troop and horse transports, to be ready for action by spring 1469.

Meanwhile Andreas orders the Imperial navy out on constant maneuvers in the Black Sea practicing a new exercise, an amphibious landing supported by offshore bombardment from the fleet. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of monores mounting only a few light pieces, as with their short draft they are able to operate in shallow environments such as lagoons.

At the same time the army reforms continue, with Andreas much more actively participating. A surprising but welcome source of ideas is Andronikos Angelos, one of the two eikosarchoi that are Andreas’ chief bodyguards now that most of Manuel’s time is taken up commanding a tourma of Athanatoi.

Andronikos Angelos. He is a new kind of Roman officer, a breed that does not remember the War of the Five Emperors or the Dragon, but one that has been born and raised in the era of gunpowder. Andronikos has already demonstrated significant skill with the weaponry in the Athanatoi exercises and is certain to rise high in the Roman army. For not only does he enjoy the favor of the Emperor, but due to his position as Kristina's chief agent in Constantinople while she was in Buda, he is the only one besides the Empress to know who really murdered Maria.

One major change is the creation of a new formation, the kentarchia (known in English as the century) and commanded by a kentarchos, designed by Andreas and Andronikos. Andreas is becoming concerned about how well elite heavy cavalry had performed against skutatoi, particularly at Kosovo Polje where Serbian knights killed his father.

The kentarchia marks the first widespread use of the pike, which before had been rejected as its wielders could not maneuver rapidly on a battlefield and would be highly vulnerable to missile fire, particularly horse archers. Thus the formations are intended only for use in Europe, not Asia.

The core of the formation is eighty sarissoforoi, pike-bearers. There is a deliberate classical connection drawn to the Macedonian sarissa of Alexandros Megas, although the ones used by the Romans are 15.5 feet long, not 18 in order to make the troops less unwieldy. These men are not drawn from the tagmata, but are instead militia troops who are given six months of regular training, and then have monthly reviews, often with the local tagma soldiers. Besides the sarissa, they are protected by a helmet and leather lamellar, and also equipped with a dirk.

They are supported by twenty mauroi, who are also militiamen, trained in the same manner and at the same time as the sarissoforoi. However these are different than the professional mauroi who are trained and equipped to charge into melee after discharging their shot. The professional mauroi are akrites with handguns; the kentarchia mauroi are much more akin to toxotai, lightly equipped and trained as skirmishers. They are to provide the sarissoforoi with a screen and to lay down missile fire to disrupt enemy formations in preparation for the sarissa assault.

Together the hundred militiamen make up the hundred that is the basis for the name kentarchia. However the formation is also to be supported by regular troops. The kentarchos is not a militia soldier, but a professional officer. Also in battle the kentarchia is to be supported by two skutatoi brazoi (twenty men squads with an officer each for a total of forty two skutatoi) drawn from the tagmata. In the training exercises skutatoi brazoi are drilled alongside the militia so they are capable of supporting them in battle. The skutatoi act as flank and rear guards and provide a more mobile melee component capable of supporting distressed mauroi and outflanking enemy units pinned by the press of pike.

These militia troops are trained in the full expectation of them being used on offensive campaigns. Their weapons are provided free of charge by the government (although they are responsible for maintaining them to pre-set standards) and they are paid for the days they spend drilling. On campaign they are also to receive the same wages as skutatoi, including the active-duty bonus.

A total of ten kentarchiai are created in the initial order, drawing from urban militias across Roman Europe. Three from Constantinople, two from Thessaloniki, two from Dyrrachium, two from Bari, and one from Taras (Taranto).

The second major reform has to do with upper-level army command structure. The tagma-theme system did not provide any sort of chain of command beyond the tagma strategoi, and Andreas is determined to rectify that, considering how rare it is now that tagma operate alone on a battlefield. His promotion of Vlad to Megas Domestikos was the first step.

Vlad is now the senior commander of all combat soldiers. If he is in the field, he outranks any and all strategoi, and reports directly to the Emperor. Under him are the new offices of Domestikos tou Dutikou (Domestic of the West-meaning Europe and including the Crimea) and Domestikos tou Anatolikou (Domestic of the East-all Asian troops). They command all strategoi located in their assigned regions and report to the Megas Domestikos. Then there are the regular strategoi, who command not only their tagma but also all kentarchia, banda (professional troops that are not part of a regular tagma, composed of mauroi, turkopouloi, and akrites used as advance border guards), and allagions (city militias).

However only combat troops report to the Megas Domestikos. The Stratopedarchos (Quartermaster General), Strategos ton Archiatron (Surgeon General), Primmikerios ton Skholeion (Director of the Schools-the War and Artillery Schools), and the Ploiarchos tou Poliorkies (Master of Sieges-Commander of the Imperial artillery train which contains the Empire’s heavy guns, the tagma trains only have light pieces) all report directly to the Emperor.

The navy is organized on a similar basis. The naval equivalent to Megas Domestikos is the Megas Doux, who commands the Strategos of the Imperial fleet as well as the droungarioi of the Bari, Chandax (Candia), Trebizond, and Antioch squadrons. Also under him is the Strategos ton Tessarakontarion (General of the Marines, named after the old Macedonian unit). The Primmikerios tes Oplostasio (Director of the Arsenal) on the other hand reports to the Emperor. His is a very important position as he not only oversees this important naval facility, but also is responsible for the construction, refitting, repairing, and supplying of the entire navy. As a result, his pay and staff is actually larger than that of the Megas Doux.

But besides the reforms, all is quiet in the Empire until December, when two special events occur. The first is minor except as an opportunity for court gossip, when a female medical student is allowed to dine with the Imperial family. Her name is Talibe; she and Andreas had met in a basement in Smyrna. She is the eldest daughter of ‘Prince’ Nazim.

Because of the actions of her father, Theodoros and then Andreas had ensured that their whole family was cared for, including the university expenses when Talibe had decided to go into medicine. Her special interest is actually dentistry, a field which is starting to draw attention in medical circles, particularly after Cretan and Sicilian production begins to enlarge the already sizeable quantity of sugar in the Roman diet (despite its very high value as an export, at least two-thirds of Roman sugar is consumed by Roman citizens).

The second is more usual and actually quite familiar to the Imperial court, but still very momentous. Empress Kristina is with child.

1467: In Rhomania it is quiet, even in the Blachernae Palace. Although Theophano remains in Constantinople as Andreas’ mistress, he does not touch her during Kristina’s pregnancy. According to rumor, that is because Kristina had joked that ‘Roman women are the world’s best poisoners’. Despite her condition, the Empress oversees the destruction of a Lotharingian spy ring in the city.

That the spy ring is caught is due to the new form of torture invented, a joint creation by Andreas, Kristina, and Zoe. One of its members had been caught copying Roman pay records (which could be used to determine the current strength of formations). He had been suspended from the ceiling with ropes tied to his wrists and told that if he did not confess, worse would follow. He was then left in the dark while horrific screams poured in from adjacent chambers. After an hour, he broke down, not realizing that the screams had come from people paid to do just that.

The same method is used to hunt down the remaining members of the cell, all of whom are tortured in the same manner and confess. As they are all Roman citizens and therefore traitors to the state, Andreas is not inclined to show mercy. All sixteen members are hung. Four months later Kristina gives birth to her and Andreas’ first legitimate child, a son. He is named Theodoros.

In contrast, all of Asia is astir. In the Ferghana, the brutal slugging match continues as Mahmud throws men at Jahangir in a futile effort to halt his brother’s advance. Then in June Mahmud himself is slain, killed by his brother-in-law Babur. The men are eager to be led by a man far more capable than their former master, so Babur has little difficulty imposing himself as regent for Mahmud’s three-year-old heir Mirza, who is also Babur’s nephew. Now in command of the Timurid armies, Babur strikes at the Tieh weak point, their supply lines, and at the same time encourages revolt in Urumqi. Jahangir’s offensive grinds to a halt.

But with the earlier casualties, Babur does not have military forces to spare for other fronts. Peace is formally made with Kashmir in August, recognizing the Swati state’s independence, although all Timurid captives and booty taken in the earlier offensive remain in Timurid hands.

It also means that he can do nothing when Russian armies cross the Volga in force to attack the Khanate of Perm. The Russian archontes lead the way, the heavy horse archers cutting a swath in the Permese light horse. Yet although the Khanate’s power center is in the north, with Kazan now acting as the capital, the Russian offensive is concentrated in the south in the lands just northeast of the Caspian Sea.

The reason for that is the Ukraine. The region has grown immensely since the fall of the Blue Horde thirty years earlier. Draconovsk, its chief city, now has a population of almost eleven thousand. The primary basis of the Ukrainian economy is the grain trade, which is sent south along the Don and Dniepr rivers to the Black Sea and on to feed the cities of Rhomania. While low profit, it is a dependable and immense business.

Also important is the trade northward from Rhomania to Russia. The bulk of the Roman exports are silk, sugar, and jewelry, most of which is intended for the Russian market but a sizeable minority is shipped on to Scandinavia. As a result Novgorod is booming, reaching a population of 60,000 in 1465.

In addition to the north-south trade is the eastern Volga-Don route, through which an increasing number of Silk Road products are sent. Despite the Timurid-Tieh war, trade still continues on that thoroughfare, even if less than in times of peace. It is this trade, most of which ends up in the fabulously wealthy Genoese colony of Tana at the Don river mouth to go on to Rhomania and the west, that is the reason for Draconovsk’s position as Russia’s sixth largest city. It has also had the side effect of lessening Trebizond’s importance as a trade center, bringing its earlier rapid growth to a halt, but the city still thrives as a shipbuilding center. It is on Trebizondian ships that most Ukrainian products, including those of the Don-Volga, are shipped out.

It is these incredibly strong trade ties between the two greatest Orthodox powers (Rhomania and Russia are each other’s largest trading partner-the value of Roman imports to Genoa, its second largest trading partner, is 80% of Russia’s, Arles, the third, is 50%) that ensure good relations between the two states, even if those between the dynasties are fouled. In fact there are many in the Novgorodian veche who believe that in the event of a war with the Romans, the Ukraine would actually side with the Empire.

Another effect of the trade ties is increasing Roman influence on the Russians. Knowledge of Greek is considered essential for Russians involved in diplomacy, and many Romans had traveled north to offer their services as tutors. Russian students too have become frequent at Roman universities, and in 1464 an University of Kiev is founded on the Roman model, although at its start it was only half the size of the University of Bari, Rhomania’s smallest, and three-fifths of its faculty were Romans.

The Russian advance is hotly but ineffectually harried, with distance and disease the main hindrance. Because of the need to keep an eye on the Bonde in Finland, who have recently forged marriage ties with the King of Denmark, Megas Rigas Nikolai settles for only a limited land grab, with the main goal being to secure the Don-Volga trade route from any possible Tatar interference.

When the smoke clears, the lightning, four-month campaign has moved the Russian border to the Yaik (Ural) River, from its mouth all the way to where the Chogan joins it. At that confluence a border fort is set up, given the name of Yaitsk after the larger river (same location as modern OTL Oral, Kazakhstan). Out of the four thousand Russian casualties, less than an eighth were caused by enemy action. The vast majority were from accidents, supply issues, and an outbreak of dysentery.

1468: In February Emperor Ladislaus dies in Buda. With his successor Andrew IV ‘Arpad’ only six (almost seven) years of age and his mother in Constantinople, the regent is the voivode of Transylvania, Janos Arpad, Ladislaus’ nephew through his younger brother. Eager to secure his position, he arranges papal dispensation and then has Andrew bethrothed to his first cousin, Janos’ youngest daughter Sara, nine years old.

Another way Janos secures his position is the creation of a new type of army unit. It is a full-time mercenary contingent, made up of professional soldiers who exist solely to make war. Although composed of a mix of foreign and local mercenaries, it is heavily inspired by the Roman army and made up of supporting infantry, light and heavy cavalry, and artillery units. Eight thousand strong at its inception, fifteen hundred of them are equipped with handguns, with half of them trained to fight like Roman tagma mauroi. Their wages come from the taxes levied on Hungarian copper and silver mines, both of which have been extremely productive in recent years. Because of the distinctive black armbands the soldiers wear, Janos’ creation becomes known as the Black Army of Hungary.

At the same time King Henry IV of France and England institutes the creation of a handgun militia throughout his French domains. As these are just peasant levies who drill with their weapons three weeks out of the year (after an initial two-month drill period), they are only good for ranged combat, not melee like tagmatic or Black Army mauroi. The main reason for this reform is that Henry is desirous of lessening his requirement of English troops, as Parliament has little interest in an Arletian war.

In fact Parliament would prefer a war with Lotharingia. King Philippe I has been making things difficult for Flemish merchants in his effort to consolidate his hold over the Low Countries and their overpowerful burgher classes. That has been damaging the English wool trade, a vital pillar of the English economy. Henry’s failure to make his close friend stop is also another major English grievance against their monarch.

Lotharingia’s army does not have the professionalism of its Arletian or Bernese neighbors. Its once effective artillery arm has been allowed to dwindle after the end of the Ninety Years War, with most of its stock sold off to the Danes and Norwegians and its gunmasters departed to greener pastures.

Its cavalry on the other hand shines. The Lotharingian court in Dijon is considered the most prestigious in Europe, famous for holding great pageants, feasts, and jousts (paid from the wealth of the Low Countries), a center of chivalric tales and courtly love. Here Philippe makes regular proclamations that one day he ‘will dine and drink in the Blachernae, and call that palace my own’. Andreas’ response is that if ‘that Burgundian fool does not curb his tongue, I will cut it out’.

Also at this time the term ‘Byzantine Empire’ is coined by a Lotharingian scholar to distinguish between the ‘true’ Roman Empire, the Empire of Caesar and Trajan, from the current state centered around Constantinople.

Lotharingian cavalry, because of the high acclaim of its chivalry and its frequent jousts is viewed by most to be the finest in Christendom (a claim that is met with contemptuous scorn by Russian archontes, Polish knights, and Roman kataphraktoi). The infantry, on the other hand, are a mishmash of peasant levies. The only good infantry are German zweihanders, mercenaries from the Palatine and Alsace, and increasingly Swiss pikemen.

Although the Swiss provide Lotharingia with a good (albeit expensive) source of infantry, it also has the effect of driving the Bernese League into the Arletian camp. It is a move that starting in 1468 does not need any help. Charles I is dead, and his son Louis now rules in Marseille. And at his side sits the first Habsburg Queen of Arles. She had converted to the Avignon faith upon her marriage, and on her accession to the throne her family does so as well, causing a ripple effect that before long as caused the entire Bernese League, which is on bad terms with its Roman Catholic neighbors, to transfer their ecclesiastical allegiance to Avignon.

But as kings and armies and Emperors stir in Europe, something far more innocuous, something far more unimpressive, and something far more dangerous is moving in Africa. The years since the Battle of Soba have not been kind to Ethiopia, despite the assistance of the numerous Roman artisans now living in the country. Casualties among the Axumos had been high in that battle, making Ethiopia vulnerable to renewed threats all along its borders.

While the Shilluk migration had been effectively trounced, now the Oromo, the ones who had originally driven the Shilluk north, are moving into the Sennar. More numerous and organized than the Shilluk, they face an Ethiopia whose greatest weapon against this kind of foe, the cavalry of the Ethiopian Royal Guard, was largely destroyed at Soba. To the southeast, the Somalis have regrouped and resumed raiding the frontier, joined by ghazis from Arabia and the Kilwa Sultanate. All of these raids and the damage caused by them mean that Ethiopia, for all its increasing technical sophistication, has been unable to replenish its manpower reserves.

But fortune is fickle. With one hand she takes, and with another she gives. As a young woman enters the streets of Gonder, the new permanent Ethiopian capital, the winds begin to change. Rhomania’s age of miracles is long since past. But for Ethiopia, it is about to begin.

* * *

Gonder, March 18, 1469:

Yonas stretched his arm and looked over at his fellow guard, Dawit. “I’m bored.”

“I am too. Wait, maybe not.” He gestured toward a figure walking towards them, a tall, young woman, alone. That was unusual.

She stopped in front of them, looking at Yonas. “I am here to see the negusa nagast.” Yohannes I was holding open court today, allowing petitioners to come in without an appointment. It had been a sudden whim of his, not announced well beforehand, so they hadn’t been very busy yet.

“And you are?”

“Brihan of Merawi.”

“And why are you here?”

“Because all is not well in Ethiopia.”

“Uh, huh.” He wasn’t paying much attention to what she said. He was distracted by Dawit’s impish grin. Since she was talking with Yonas, he would be the one to pat her down for weapons. Brihan’s eyes darted over to the grin. “And who sent you?”

Brihan’s eyes locked onto Yonas. He could feel his back stiffening under that gaze. It was as if she was peering through him, into his soul, and it had been found wanting.

Then she spoke, one word. “God.”

End Part 8: The Boy Emperor

Begin Part 9: The End of the Middle Ages

[CobiWann]

Originally Posted by Basileus444

Then she spoke, one word. “God.”

Yeah, what was that about a Crusade not being fatal?

[Xavier]

*looks suspiciously at Basileus* Did I just see an Ethiopian Jeanne d'Arc?

And I'm not sure what good 80 pikemen are on a battlefield, they work best in large masses, so having only thousand of them, spread out over the empire...eh, not sure.