1301:
Spring:
Mahmud Ghazan and Ioannes Komnenos cross the Rumite border with eight tumens. Mesut tries to challenges them at Konya on April 26 with 35,000 men. As great a strategist as Mesut was, he is overwhelmed by sheer force-of-numbers and the Rumites break and flee with 25,000 Turkish and 14,000 Mongolian dead. Mesut is thrown from his horse and knocked out, waking up in an Ilkhanate prison, sans his left arm. Ghazan continues west.
Survivors of the catastrophe flee west across the border, and on 5 May news of the invading Mongolian horde arrives in Konstantinopolis. Alexios raises the Thrakion, Optimatoi and Opsikion and marches south, bound and determined to stop the Illkhan. The Roman force numbers 24,000.
Ghazan marches northwest from Konya, but is stopped on the road north on 1 May at the fortress town of Akshehir. A lieutenant of Mesut named Osman and 4,000 men were holed up in the fortress, too large a force for the Ilkhan to leave in his rear. Ghazan lays siege to the city that day, but after four days grows impatient, leading six tumens north and leaving the siege to his younger brother Oljaitu-Nikolya. However, as Ghazan’s cavalry ride between Akshehir and the nearby eponymous lake, Orhan, Mesut’s second son, and the remains of the Rumite army attack the besieging force. Oljaitu-Nikolya breaks the siege to pursue the Rumites, and whilst he is distracted Osman launches a sally. With the famous cry of “İleri baylar! Ölümden korkanlar iki kez ölecek, ama korkmayanlar yok olmayacak!” (lit. Forward, gentlemen! Those who are afraid of death will die twice, but those who are not afraid will not perish!) the Turks charge into Ghazan’s rear, slaughtering the unprepared horsemen. Three other tumens swing around and encircle Osman, slaughtering the Turks to the man. When the dead are counted, over 18,000 Mongolians had been killed in the surprise attack and all of the Turks had been killed, but Osman’s body was never recovered. Ghazan orders a halt to the day’s march to recuperate, and Oljaitu-Nikolya rejoins the main army. The Ilkhanate army resumes marching on 7 May, but moves much slower as Ghazan engages in scorched earth tactics as retribution for guerilla attacks.
Alexios and his mounted infantry arrive outside the border town of Nikopolis on the 17th of May, and begin establishing defensive works as news of the large Mongolian approaching from the southeast was brought in daily by waves of fleeing Turkish civillians. On the morning of the 21st of May, Ghazan’s army appears before the walls of Nikopolis. Alexios leads his men out onto the plain, armor glistening in the Anatolian sun as they spread out into a thin silver line. Mongolian cannons roar to life, sending shot and shell whistling through the air. In response, the guns of Nikopolis open up, pounding the Mongolian lines with an inferno of Greek fire. The Iranian horses shy and spook, throwing men across the field. Mongolians scramble to throw sand over the fires, and as their lines are confused and men are dismounted the Romans charge, sprinting across the barren ground screaming war cries. The two lines slam into each other, blades and arrows flying as the men hack each other to pieces. The Romans push forward and the Mongols give, fleeing backwards. And then, on the left flank, two Armenian auxiliaries collide, then both turn and retreat rather than fight their countrymen. The Roman left flags, and starts to pull back as the retreat starts, but the Mongolian right rallies as they start to sweep around the Roman flank. The rest of the Roman army sees this and begins to run. Alexios watches as his men turn and run. He sweeps his helmet off his head and throws it to the ground, screaming profanities into the sky. He sees a shadow flicker in the corner of his eye and then everything goes black.
The Battle of Nikopolis is a major Roman loss, with 12,000 Roman dead and 4,000 captured. The Mongolians lose only 8,000 men. Alexios is one of the captured, but is spared by Ghazan in exchange for giving Ioannes II Trapezous back. Spared from execution, but not from imprisonment. Ghazan had marched west with the intention of punishing the Rumites for selecting a Sultan without his approval and Alexios for sniping Trapezous. With both secured, he retreats to deal with rebels in Khorasan. Ghazan releases most of his Roman prisoners, after showing them the very much alive Alexios.
As news of the defeat at Nikopolis and the capture of the Basileus spreads throughout the empire, chaos spreads in its wake. Alexios had left instructions for a regency council to rule if he fell in battle before Theodores’ age of majority, but what should be done now, when he was gone but still alive? In theory Caterine, Planoudes, Metaxes and Akropolites were to share power, but Akropolites and Metaxes were both extremely anti-Latin and hated Caterine, but she was the Dowager Basileia and mother to the heir of the throne. To add to the confusion, on 2 June Konstantinos Palaiologos escaped the Stoudion and fled into Thrake, where he started to form a Restorationist army.
On 9 June Caterine and Mouzalon are booted from the Palace and set themselves up in Blakharnae, taking Theodore but leaving Sabbas in the Palace. During the night of 9-10 June Sebastianos Kourkouas talks the guards at his cell into letting him out. He then rides cross town to the house of the minor noble Andronikos Raoul, in the Vlanga district. Raoul is a fairly quiet man, a veteran of the Turkish Wars, but more importantly is Alexios’ brother-in-law by his elder sister Sofia. One of their sons, Ioannes, bears a strong resemblance to Alexios’ dead son Mikhael. Kourkouas and the Raouls then rush to the Forum where Kourkouas gives a rousing speech to the morning crowd saying that he had Alexios’ firstborn and rightful emperor with him, and leads a mob to the Hagia Sophia. The mob demands that Ioannes and Sebastianos Kourkouas be crowned as co-emperors, but Athanasios refuses. Kourkouas then threatens to “accidently” set fire to the church, and in a hurried ceremony they are crowned as Ioannes V and Alexios VII, whom I will continue to call Kourkouas because fuck him.
The co-emperors then lead their mob towards the Palace of Botaneiates. Namejs, the head of the Hetaerian Guards suddenly decides that the walls of Galata look really insecure and commandeers a fishing boat to the other side of the Golden Horn to reinforce them, leaving the Hetaerians to slowly slip away into the crowded city. The mob storms the Palace and kills Metaxes and Akropolites. Their heads are paraded through the streets and the Basileia and Planoudes both wisely flee, Planoudes being smuggled out of the city in a barrel on a Pisan trader and Caterine riding out of the Blakharnae Gate and into Thrake. By noon on 10 June, Kourkouas is the undisputed emperor in Konstantinopolis.
Caterine rides north from the city, presumably attempting to reach the Genoese trade port at Saint George on the Danube, and from there to safety in Italy. But on 14 June she is stopped by a group of Restorationists. Upon realizing that they had the Basileia Dowager in their possession, the rebels convey her to Konstantinos Palaiologos. The two agree to a marriage of convenience on 19 June, and two days later the governor of Adrianople throws open the gates to them, and on 22 June Konstantinos Palaiologos is crowned as Konstantinos XII in Adrianople. The revanchist army marches south.
On 18 June, news of the defeat at Nikopolis arrives in Thessalonika and reaches the ears of Nikolaos Glabas. Nikolaos sees this as a glorious opportunity for a power grab and has himself crowned as Nikolaos II at Mount Athos on 24 June.
Summer:
Nikolaos II marches east at the head of 10,000 foot and 6,000 cavalry, cities along his route throwing open their gates as he passes. When he arrives at Kavala on 17 July, however, he is refused as the city paid homage to Konstantinos XII. Nikolaos takes the city by force and slaughters the entire city before continuing his march east. However, Konstantinos begins shadowing his army from 22 July, harassing it as it marched and just generally being a pain in the ass to Nikolaos.
Alexios VII learns of Nikolaos’ rival claim and raises an army of 8,000 infantry and 3,000 horse and marches east to meet him. The two armies meet at Tzirallon on 6 August. The Glabasids have the numerical advantage but are exhausted after weeks of Konstantinist raids, and ends in a draw with 5,000 Glabasid and 4,000 Alexist dead. Nikolaos and Alexios meet in person after the battle and hash out an agreement where Nikolaos is given the title of Exarch and given control over everything west of Strymon and Neothrakia. Nikolaos abdicates his title and marches west. Thus ends the second of the eight emperors of 1301. Glory f*cking hallelujah.
Alexios then marches north in an attempt to retake Adrianople, Konstantinist raids harassing him all the time. However, on 11 August, the Alexists are ambushed at Alpiya by 6,000 Konstantinists and annihilated, with less than 2,000 Alexists surviving, Alexios VII not among them. Konstantinos XII marches south-east and arrives outside Konstantinopolis on 26 August. The gates are opened within an hour and Konstantinos XII sweeps into the city, executing Ioannes V on 27 August. Thus ends numbers 3 and 4 out of 8.
You know what, fuck it. I’m tired, it’s after midnight and I have work tomorrow. Konstantinos XII crowns Theodore as his co-emperor Theodore III on 31 August. Alexios Kallergis then declares himself Alexios VIII and his fleet storms the capital on 21 September, killing Konstantinos XII. 5 of 8. Ioannes of Trapezous then declares himself emperor and reconquers Trapezous, then marches west. Nikephoros defeats Ioannes VI and kills him on 9 October. 6 of 8. Nikephoros then marches west and overthrows Alexios VIII on 14 November. 7 and 8 of 8, Nikephoros IV and Theodore III finish out the year. Oy Vey, and good fucking night.
Alexios VI: --- 21 May/10 June
Alexios VII: 10 June --- 11 August
Ioannes V: 10 June ---27 August
Konstantinos XII: 22 June --- 21 September
Nikolaos II: 24 June --- 6 August
Theodore III: 31 August ----
Alexios VIII: 21 September --- 14 November
Ioannes VI: 26 September --- 9 October
Nikephoros IV: 14 November ---