Table of Contents
Eparkhos
Banned
T H E U N D Y I N G E M P I R E
a timeline by Eparkhos
In the void left by the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, the exiled scions of the Komnenos Dynasty were able to stage a victorious return to their homeland, establishing the Trapezuntine Empire. In the years after, the Pontic Empire and the House of Megalokomnenos both withered under constant foreign assault. However, the exiled Alexandros has returned from exile like his forefathers, determined to resurrect his realm’s fortunes and raise it to new heights. The rebirth of Rome has begun….
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Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1204-1446)a timeline by Eparkhos
In the void left by the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, the exiled scions of the Komnenos Dynasty were able to stage a victorious return to their homeland, establishing the Trapezuntine Empire. In the years after, the Pontic Empire and the House of Megalokomnenos both withered under constant foreign assault. However, the exiled Alexandros has returned from exile like his forefathers, determined to resurrect his realm’s fortunes and raise it to new heights. The rebirth of Rome has begun….
Ioannes IV of Trapezous, a patricidal but buffoonish ruler, attempted to intercept a raid in force on Trapezous’ eastern territories and was utterly routed, being forced to ride into the sea to escape his pursuers. This defeat alerts his exiled brother, Alexandros I, to the weakness of the realm and with the help of the Genoese he overthrows Ioannes in 1450. Over the following years, Alexandros overhauled the Trapezuntine state and army in preparation for war with the Ottomans, reshaping the Empire in his image. Thankfully, before the Turks attack a coalition of Latin crusaders savage the Sublime Porte, leading to the collapse of Ottoman Europe and the subsequent loss of Ottoman Anatolia to the Karamanids. Alexandros I died in 1465, leaving a disputed succession.
After his death, Alexandros’ sons, Alexios and Sabbas, struggled over the throne. Sabbas succeeded in seizing the capital, and forced Alexios to flee to the fortress of Kapnanion, to which he then laid siege. In 1466, Alexios sallies out as his Kartvelian (Georgian) allies arrive to support him, but in the ensuing battle both he and Sabbas are killed.
The throne passes to Alexios’ underage son, Alexandros II, with his Kartvelian mother, Keteon, as regent. After a contentious period of sole regency, she remarries to one of Sabbas’ lieutenants, Alexios Mgeli, to secure the support of the military. Keteon and Mgeli rule for the next decade, conquering several adjacent territories and resisting the advances of the Chandarid Turks.
In 1475, Alexandros II took the throne in his own right. He conquers southern Crimea, Paphlagonia and is given the city of Vatoume in exchange for supporting the king of Kartvelia against a usurper. In 1482, he declared war against the Ottomans in conjunction with the Venetians, only for them to abandon him. The Turks lay siege to Trapezous herself, but are unable to take it and are ravaged by the winter and disease. The Trapezuntines and Kartvelians are together able to repulse them. Alexandros creates a network of alliances to protect Trapezous, overseeing an era of prosperity and domestic quiet. A decade on, the Trapezuntines assist the Kartvelians in driving back a Mongol horde. By the time of his abdication, Alexandros had presided over two decades of peace and internal growth, but he essentially ignored his own family to do so. In 1506, he suffered a nervous breakdown and abdicated.
The throne passed to a distant cousin, Nikephoros, as the princes Alexios and Romanos were psychotic and barely functioning, respectively. Nikephoros was a kind but not especially competent ruler, and he allowed Alexios to make a deal with Anastasia Katsarina, a powerful courtier, under his nose. In 1507 he was assassinated.
Alexios V was a deranged and tyrannical ruler. In a brief conflict with the Samtskheotes, he annexed a good bit of land, but this only made him more paranoid about foreign and domestic threats. Over his seven years in power, he would have hundreds murdered and hundreds more imprisoned or sold into slavery. Finally, he was assassinated by Katsarina, but before the fatal wound ended him he purged the court and most of the army of any suspected traitors. He was succeeded by his only son, the underage David.
David’s first two years on the throne were tumultuous, as a rotating cast of would-be regents fought for control. Eventually, the megas doux Loukas Ratetas took the regency, ruling competently and honorably in the name of his ward. During the regency, the Greeks of Bithynia revolted against the Ottomans, and with Trapezuntine help the Turks were driven out from much of the country, and the resurrected Empire of Nikaia united in personal union with Trapezous. At Ratetas’ death, David smoothly began to rule in his own right.
In 1525, a Mongol horde shattered the combined might of Trapezous and Kartvelia at Ananuri. All of eastern Georgia fell under Mongol rule, but with Trapezuntine help the west was able to hold out under the leadership of Mamia Dadiani, who David considered to be his ally. Shortly afterwards, the Rûmites invaded under the sultan Kadir, but after several years of warfare they were repulsed. The Qutlughid Persian Empire, whom the Trapezuntines were nominally vassals of, took interest and invaded Rûm as well, but Kadir managed to evade Qutlughid armies and nearly take their capital before he was crushed. Because the Trapezuntines hadn’t aided him but the Kartvelians had, Shah Arslan helped Dadiani drive out the Mongols, and they turned against David, reducing several of the border territories.. Insulted and betrayed, David plans a war of revenge, seeking out new allies and new ways of fighting.
After his death, Alexandros’ sons, Alexios and Sabbas, struggled over the throne. Sabbas succeeded in seizing the capital, and forced Alexios to flee to the fortress of Kapnanion, to which he then laid siege. In 1466, Alexios sallies out as his Kartvelian (Georgian) allies arrive to support him, but in the ensuing battle both he and Sabbas are killed.
The throne passes to Alexios’ underage son, Alexandros II, with his Kartvelian mother, Keteon, as regent. After a contentious period of sole regency, she remarries to one of Sabbas’ lieutenants, Alexios Mgeli, to secure the support of the military. Keteon and Mgeli rule for the next decade, conquering several adjacent territories and resisting the advances of the Chandarid Turks.
In 1475, Alexandros II took the throne in his own right. He conquers southern Crimea, Paphlagonia and is given the city of Vatoume in exchange for supporting the king of Kartvelia against a usurper. In 1482, he declared war against the Ottomans in conjunction with the Venetians, only for them to abandon him. The Turks lay siege to Trapezous herself, but are unable to take it and are ravaged by the winter and disease. The Trapezuntines and Kartvelians are together able to repulse them. Alexandros creates a network of alliances to protect Trapezous, overseeing an era of prosperity and domestic quiet. A decade on, the Trapezuntines assist the Kartvelians in driving back a Mongol horde. By the time of his abdication, Alexandros had presided over two decades of peace and internal growth, but he essentially ignored his own family to do so. In 1506, he suffered a nervous breakdown and abdicated.
The throne passed to a distant cousin, Nikephoros, as the princes Alexios and Romanos were psychotic and barely functioning, respectively. Nikephoros was a kind but not especially competent ruler, and he allowed Alexios to make a deal with Anastasia Katsarina, a powerful courtier, under his nose. In 1507 he was assassinated.
Alexios V was a deranged and tyrannical ruler. In a brief conflict with the Samtskheotes, he annexed a good bit of land, but this only made him more paranoid about foreign and domestic threats. Over his seven years in power, he would have hundreds murdered and hundreds more imprisoned or sold into slavery. Finally, he was assassinated by Katsarina, but before the fatal wound ended him he purged the court and most of the army of any suspected traitors. He was succeeded by his only son, the underage David.
David’s first two years on the throne were tumultuous, as a rotating cast of would-be regents fought for control. Eventually, the megas doux Loukas Ratetas took the regency, ruling competently and honorably in the name of his ward. During the regency, the Greeks of Bithynia revolted against the Ottomans, and with Trapezuntine help the Turks were driven out from much of the country, and the resurrected Empire of Nikaia united in personal union with Trapezous. At Ratetas’ death, David smoothly began to rule in his own right.
In 1525, a Mongol horde shattered the combined might of Trapezous and Kartvelia at Ananuri. All of eastern Georgia fell under Mongol rule, but with Trapezuntine help the west was able to hold out under the leadership of Mamia Dadiani, who David considered to be his ally. Shortly afterwards, the Rûmites invaded under the sultan Kadir, but after several years of warfare they were repulsed. The Qutlughid Persian Empire, whom the Trapezuntines were nominally vassals of, took interest and invaded Rûm as well, but Kadir managed to evade Qutlughid armies and nearly take their capital before he was crushed. Because the Trapezuntines hadn’t aided him but the Kartvelians had, Shah Arslan helped Dadiani drive out the Mongols, and they turned against David, reducing several of the border territories.. Insulted and betrayed, David plans a war of revenge, seeking out new allies and new ways of fighting.
Part I: The Battle of Kapnanion........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1447-1449)
Part II: Hail, the Conquering Prince Comes!....................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1449-1450)
Part III: The Alexandrian Army..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1450-1459)
Part IV: Keeping the Trebizond..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1450-1459)
Part V: War of the First Holy League................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1459-1462)
The Balkans After the Treaty of Haskovo....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1462)
Part VI: An Old Tiger...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1460-1465)
Part VII: Succession........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1465)
Part VIII: The Brother's War...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1465-1466)
Part IX: The Struggle for Regency.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1466-1467)
Part X: Fish of Bronze.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1467-1468)
Part XI: Counterstrike....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1468)
Part XII: Administering an Empire....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1468-1473)
Part XIII: A Matter of Faith.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1469-1476)
Part XIV: Aftokrator, Aftokephalos?.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1474-1476)
Part XV: The Paphlagonian War.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1475-1478)
Part XVI: The War of the Three Alexanders....................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1477-1482)
Part XVII: Coming to Brasil................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1478-1481)
Part XVIII: Notaras' War....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1477-1482)
Anatolia and the Surrounding Regions.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1484)
Part XIX: Protas Nikas........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1481-1484)
Part XX: Siege......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1484-1485)
Part XXI: A Brief Interlude.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1484-1485)
Part XXII: Union (Fields of Saint Eugenios).....................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1485-1487)
Part XXIII: Recovery...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1486-1495)
Part XXIV: The Spider's Web.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1486-1495)
Part XXV: Gog and Magog................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1495-1497)
Part XXVI: Oak and Ash and Thorn.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................(1481-1500)
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