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Authors Note
This is my first real TL, and I've seen others do ones so I think I'm more prepared now. I'm trying to make the Angelos dynasty actually go well, as like Alexios III's grandson becomes one of the greatest Roman Emperor's of all time (Like Basil II)
"For days on end the 'crusaders' had been besieging the city. The Emperor was done with it. Alexios Angelos wanted to be remembered as a hero, not a coward. He marched his troops down the main street of Constantinople, towards the front gates. Triumphantly he stood there on his horse. He had thousands of men at his command. He thought of fleeing. But no. Cowards flee. Alexios ordered the men to open the gates. That was the last battle of the failed of the Catholic Churches failed crusade, which endangered the empires stability and it's safety against the increasing powers in the West. Alexios then enjoyed the splendours of his reign. After the expulsion of the Venetians from Roman lands, Alexios and his armies looked towards their immediate threat. The Turks." An excerpt from the book, the Reign of the Angelos (1421, Manuel Akropolites)
October 23rd, 1204
I rode my horse slowly along the river bank. For the first time in years, we will finally be able to cross this river and say that we proudly own both sides. At the moment that isn't the case. The Turks have been raiding the borders lately. The Emperor has called for an invasion. Not that quickly. I wanted to spend time on my break before I have to go back over the other side of that river and kill some Turks. I am still haunted by the nightmares of that fateful night in Chalcedon. The cries of my sisters. The agony of my brothers. That was the day I feared would return to me. The day I lost my honour.
I climb the hill to be greeted by a familiar site. The marching of newly bred troops from Nicaea. The city was now home to the largest military recruitment numbers that we had seen in decades. It had constantly been buffered by the Seljuks and wanted revenge for the lives they had lost. The Roman armies of the past weren't trained in a day, but they defeated all in a day. I reach a small inn. It is owned by an elderly couple who seem to of lost all knowledge of the outside world. Keeping inside their inn I would think, hiding from the menaces around the corner. They were lovely and noted how fit I was. They didn't seem to think I was a professional soldier. The rags I wear tell a different story to my own.
"In the final days of the Angelos dynasty, Constantinople once again saw it's darkest hour. The Bulgars invaded Thrace. We were unprepared. The walls of the city held, but the citizens were not pleased with the once heroic emperor. They saw to Theodore Laskaris, a claimant of the title, to become the new emperor. Raising armies of thousands to take the grand city. Theodore sided with the Bulgarian Tsar paying him a few tons of gold to keep him away for good. When Theodore reached the gates, his followers opened them for him, where he gladly blinded Alexios and sent him to a monastery in Nicaea. In March 1216, Theodore was crowned as Roman Emperor." An excerpt from the book, the Reign of the Angelos (1421, Manuel Akropolites)