1304:
Winter:
Alejsi crosses the Haemus for the winter raiding season in Late January with 9,000 horse archers. Nikephoros raises 4,000 New Model Soldiers from the Optimatoi and marches to challenge the Tsar. The two armies encounter each other outside of the small city of Saranta in Paleothrake on 3 March.
Nikephoros’ men dig in between two small lakes, the various trenches aligning with the ranks. Alejsi splits his army in half, sending 4,000 cavalry to swing around the Roman flank. The rest of the Bulgarian army charges at the Roman forces, and as they come into range the Romans open up with volley fire, scything down the oncoming cavalry as they come within deadly range. Alejsi himself is hit, knocked from his saddle by an arquebus round to the shoulder. His standard-bearer is killed and his banner falls, leading to a Bulgarian route. As the cavalry fall back the dust plumes from the encircling force come into the view and the Romans reverse positions, facing towards the oncoming force. The Bulgarians reach the front line but are cut to shreds by spears and axes. The Bulgarians route again, leaving 7,000 dead. Tsar Alejsi is captured and thrown in the Skholai.
Summer:
Mesut’s son Orhan approaches Nikephoros and asks to negotiate a truce. The various ghazis that had been exiled from the reconquered land had set up shop in the central plateau. Their initial presence was rather quiet, but after Mesut’s capture they had begun to agitate against Orhan’s regency. The young prince wanted to secure peace on the frontier before he attacked the militants. Nikephoros agreed, and the Treaty of Smyrna of 1304 was signed on 29 June, giving the Romans the small strip of coastal land between Trapezous and Paphlagonia and beginning a ten-year truce between the two states.
Nikephoros’ new treasurer, a Latin convert named Glenn of Frei, stumbles upon Alexios’ old hoard of rhomanisma and recommends that the numismatic reform be completed by the creation of a new silver and copper coins to keep the value of the rhomanisma above the hyperpyron. And so in August the argyronisma silver coin, valued at 10 to the rhomanisma and weighing 4 grams, and the chalkonisma copper coin, valued at 10 to the argyronisma and weighing 2 grams. All previously issued coins are declared null and worthless, but the government would reimburse anyone who turned over their old coins with their value in the new coins. Surprisingly, it goes off fairly well, with approximately 2/3 of all previous coins taken in by the treasury.
Ghazan dies childless in Tabriz on 11 August, leading to a succession crisis in the Ilkhanate between his brothers Oljaitu-Nikolya and Timur. In the chaos Mesut and Alexios both escape, fleeing to the Cathedral of Tabriz. The Bishop is Gregorios Khoniades, Alexios’ former tutor, and he arranges for their passage back to Anatolia.
Fall:
Alexios arrives back in the Empire in Trapezous and rides west, the Trapezuntine and Paphlagonian armies joining him along the way. Nikephoros is dethroned in a palace coup on 8 November, but is allowed to live on in the capital, minus an eye, as a sebastos. Alexios VI resumes his reign on 13 November, with Theodore III as his junior emperor.