A New Alexiad: Tarkhaneiotes Triumphant
- Thread starter Eparkhos
- Start date
They're not the best, but it's a pretty good idea, I like it.
1307
Eparkhos
Banned
1307:
Winter:
Reliable news of Samuil II’s death arrives back in Tarnovo in mid-January, resulting in the elevation of Ignat, Samuil and Alejsi’s first cousin. Ignat takes the regnal name of Simeon II. The news of Samuil’s death at the hands of a Roman army leads to an uprising in Wallachia. The Wallachian voivodes elect one of their own, Iancu de Tîrgoviște, as Grand Prince of Românească.
Spring:
Alexios begins preparing for an invasion of Bulgaria. He designates the three provinces closest to the Bulgarian frontier for the operation:
· The Oghurikon, with a total strength of 4,000 foot and 2,000 cavalry in the pre-Nikephorean style. Capital at Traiditza (Sofia), commanded by Mikhael Philanthropenos, Alexios’ maternal uncle.
· The Paristrion, with a total strength of 2,000 foot and 3,000 horse, reinforced by 5,000 infantry from Paphlagonia, all pre-Nikephorian. Capital at Mesembria, commanded by Konstantinos Palaiologos, the second son of Andronikos II.
(Konstantinos had governed the province since 1294; He had kept his position by swearing fealty to Alexios and turning over Palaiologian revanchists who approached him for a coup)
· The Neothrakion, with a total strength of 5,000 pre-Nikephorian, commanded by Nikephoros Strategopoulos. Capital at Philipopolis.
In April he transfers 5,000 men from the Paphlagonian highlands by ship to Mesembria.
In May he reaches out to Stefan Milutin and proposes a betrothal between the now 11-year old Despotes Theodoros and the 13-year old Jelena Nemanijic, Milutin’s granddaughter. Milutin, seeing this as an out from his trapped-in-a-vice-of-enemies predicament, practically tripping over himself to agree. The wedding is set for 1310, and the Serbian lands south of the Drin River are given to the Empire as a dowry.
Summer:
Pietro Gradenigo, the Doge of Venice, approaches Alexios and offers to sell him the Ionian Islands (Kerkyra, Zakynthos & Kephalonia) and the Cretan Fortresses for 50,000 hyperpyron. The Basileus agrees on the spot, as the Romans already had ~40,000 hyperpyron sitting around waiting to be melted down, and the mint in Argyropolis still had some of the old casts.
Venice, her treasuries dried by almost a decade of deficits, military campaigns against the rising power of Ragusa and massive funds embezzled to pay Pisan and Anconan traders for opium, was nearly broke in 1306. And as always in Medieval Europe, Venice’s neighbors could smell weakness. In early 1306 Duke Matteo of Milan, King Albert of Germany, King Wenceslaus-Vaclav and the Venetian exile Bajamonte Tiepolo met at Albert’s capital in Wien, and agreed to divide Venice between them, with Wenceslaus-Vaclav taking Istria, Matteo taking the Venetian borderlands and Albert and Bajamonte splitting the remaining land north-south between them. The Venetians had lost a series of battles, and needed the hyperpyron to hire mercenaries for one last campaign. Unfortunately for that nest of traitors, it failed, and by 1308 the Republic of Venice was finished.
On another Italian note, Clement V’s move to Avignon had opened a power vacuum in the northern Papal States. This resulted in many neighboring city-states (especially Bologna, San Marino and Ancona) slowly creeping onto Papal lands and absorbing it.
Fall:
Patriarch Arsenios II dies in Konstantinopolis on 30 September. Invitations for a Church council are sent out.
Sancia of Aragon gives birth to a son, who is named Ioannes, in mid-October.
Winter:
Reliable news of Samuil II’s death arrives back in Tarnovo in mid-January, resulting in the elevation of Ignat, Samuil and Alejsi’s first cousin. Ignat takes the regnal name of Simeon II. The news of Samuil’s death at the hands of a Roman army leads to an uprising in Wallachia. The Wallachian voivodes elect one of their own, Iancu de Tîrgoviște, as Grand Prince of Românească.
Spring:
Alexios begins preparing for an invasion of Bulgaria. He designates the three provinces closest to the Bulgarian frontier for the operation:
· The Oghurikon, with a total strength of 4,000 foot and 2,000 cavalry in the pre-Nikephorean style. Capital at Traiditza (Sofia), commanded by Mikhael Philanthropenos, Alexios’ maternal uncle.
· The Paristrion, with a total strength of 2,000 foot and 3,000 horse, reinforced by 5,000 infantry from Paphlagonia, all pre-Nikephorian. Capital at Mesembria, commanded by Konstantinos Palaiologos, the second son of Andronikos II.
(Konstantinos had governed the province since 1294; He had kept his position by swearing fealty to Alexios and turning over Palaiologian revanchists who approached him for a coup)
· The Neothrakion, with a total strength of 5,000 pre-Nikephorian, commanded by Nikephoros Strategopoulos. Capital at Philipopolis.
In April he transfers 5,000 men from the Paphlagonian highlands by ship to Mesembria.
In May he reaches out to Stefan Milutin and proposes a betrothal between the now 11-year old Despotes Theodoros and the 13-year old Jelena Nemanijic, Milutin’s granddaughter. Milutin, seeing this as an out from his trapped-in-a-vice-of-enemies predicament, practically tripping over himself to agree. The wedding is set for 1310, and the Serbian lands south of the Drin River are given to the Empire as a dowry.
Summer:
Pietro Gradenigo, the Doge of Venice, approaches Alexios and offers to sell him the Ionian Islands (Kerkyra, Zakynthos & Kephalonia) and the Cretan Fortresses for 50,000 hyperpyron. The Basileus agrees on the spot, as the Romans already had ~40,000 hyperpyron sitting around waiting to be melted down, and the mint in Argyropolis still had some of the old casts.
Venice, her treasuries dried by almost a decade of deficits, military campaigns against the rising power of Ragusa and massive funds embezzled to pay Pisan and Anconan traders for opium, was nearly broke in 1306. And as always in Medieval Europe, Venice’s neighbors could smell weakness. In early 1306 Duke Matteo of Milan, King Albert of Germany, King Wenceslaus-Vaclav and the Venetian exile Bajamonte Tiepolo met at Albert’s capital in Wien, and agreed to divide Venice between them, with Wenceslaus-Vaclav taking Istria, Matteo taking the Venetian borderlands and Albert and Bajamonte splitting the remaining land north-south between them. The Venetians had lost a series of battles, and needed the hyperpyron to hire mercenaries for one last campaign. Unfortunately for that nest of traitors, it failed, and by 1308 the Republic of Venice was finished.
On another Italian note, Clement V’s move to Avignon had opened a power vacuum in the northern Papal States. This resulted in many neighboring city-states (especially Bologna, San Marino and Ancona) slowly creeping onto Papal lands and absorbing it.
Fall:
Patriarch Arsenios II dies in Konstantinopolis on 30 September. Invitations for a Church council are sent out.
Sancia of Aragon gives birth to a son, who is named Ioannes, in mid-October.
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Oh snap! Alexios Bulgaroktonos intensifies. Tsar Samuel II spinning in his grave intensifies. Laughter in Basil II intensifes.
But on a more serious note, Alexios should be dubbed the second Bulgar Slayer. What's the name of the ruling dynasty? What are the demographics of Anatolia around this period? How much of it was Turkish and how much was Greek/Armenian? How populated are the Balkans during this period?
Eparkhos
Banned
Well, he's not going to be a second Bulgaroktonos, mostly because the Romans are still teetering on the edge of bankruptcy (Alexios had pointedly ignored Plaoudes' and of Frei's protests against his Morean campaign) and there is a much cheaper solution, which is essentially a Ctrl+C-Ctrl+V of what Manouel did up in Halychia:
- Invade Bulgaria and kill/incapacitate Simeon II
- Force Asen and Nikephoros Enophalamos (Nikephoros IV, Nikephoros the One-Eyed) to disinherit Manouel and adopt, say, Alexios Raoul instead
- Install Sofiya Asen as Tsarina
- Profit! I mean think about it, jut keep the Nemanijics stable and friendly, and by the next generation your Balkan troubles will be over!
Rhomaion's total population in 1310 was ~5 million people.
The population of Anatolia in 1310 is about 4,000,000 (Four million). Of that, about 2,000,000 (2 million) are Roman (Greek/Armanj), about 1,500,000 (1.5 million) are Turkish and the remaining ~500,000 are a hodgepodge of Armenians, Latins, Jews, Mongolians, Arabs, Goths, Georgians and Romani (Gypsies).
The population of Haemica* in 1310 is about 3 million. Most are Roman (see above), but there are signifigant minorities of Bulgarians in the Oghurikon and Paristrion, and the Upper Axios valley is referred to as 'Lesser Serbia'. That said, the Balkan Albanians are just beginning to emerge as an ethnic group, and western Euboia has become a refuge for Lombard hold-outs.
*The Balkans refers to the geographic region. Haemica refers specifically to the Roman areas.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think he means what is the ruling dynasty of Rhomania.
Eparkhos
Banned
Oh, in that case it's the Tarkhaneiotes dynasty. Well, actually it should be Lesser Tarkhaneiotes dynasty, as the ruling Tarkhaneiotes family is descended from the minor Mongolian khan Targhan (?-1215), as opposed to the Greater Tarkhaneiotes dynasty, which was a native Roman family that had existed since the 10th century.
The Nikephorean reforms were undertaken by the Emperor Nikephoros (r. 1301-1304) to combat the Bulgarians. Its primary feature was an early volley fire system. However, after he was deposed by Alexios the program was mostly dropped.
Yes. It's that light orange bit between Florence and Ancona.
1308
Eparkhos
Banned
1308:
Winter:
The Church Synod elects Alejsi Krycek, the Bishop of Varna, as Patriarch Nikolaos V on 28 January, whom I’m going to call Krycek as to avoid confusion with Nikolaos Glabas. The next day, Krycek issues a bull stating that due to some tiny error in Arsenios II’s papers regarding Alexios’ penance after marrying Sancia of Aragon the whole thing was worthless. As such, the new penance is to not lead an army in the field for three years, because, third wife and all.
Alexios’ initial reaction is to KILL THE BLASPHEMOUS, SIMONIOUS MOTHERBLEEPER AND ALL OF CONSPIRATORS, but Sancia and Planoudes calm him down before he does something stupid and he spends the next few days sulking in the palace. Instead of bringing over an additional 5,000 Trapezuntines to act as a reserve in that year’s campaigns, he instead orders Demetrios Bryennios, the governor of the Optimatoi, to raise his army and cross into Europe as a reserve. Bryennios was a vainglorious man, always eager to add proverbial feathers to his cap and prone to rushing unprepared into battle, but Alexios had little choice as he was the only commander available for the spring push.
Spring:
The invasion of Bulgaria begins. Mikhael Philanthropenos decamps Traiditza on April 14, following the Isikos River north through the Haemus. Riding with him is the now eight-year old Despotes Sabbas. The Oghurikon encounters little resistance as it marches, and lays siege to Vidin on May 7 without having fought once.
Palaiologos’ campaign is similar. He leaves Mesembria on 29 March and advances due north-west across the Bulgarian plains to the fortress of Cherven, which he finds unguarded and stripped of supplies on 17 April. He occupies it and continues the march north to the Danube where he links up with Iancu. Their combined force, 20,000 strong, marches on Tarnovo, arriving outside the city on 16 May. The Bulgarian capital is unguarded, but otherwise seems intact. The city is garrisoned and the army camps outside its walls.
Strategopoulos and the Neothrakion cross the Haemus in early April and march due north against the fortress of Pleven. On 21 April, Strategopoulos set up siegeworks around the fortress of Hisarya, about twenty miles south of Pleven. On the 23rd, Simeon II and 3,000 infantry storm the camp in a night attack and slaughter most of the Neothrakion, with less than a thousand Romans escaping in the chaos. Simeon then disappears back into the Danubian lowlands, leaving the remains of the Neothrakion to flee back south.
The survivors of the Battle of Hisarya arrive at the Optimatoi camp at Anevsko on 1 May. Bryennios, seeing an opportunity to end the war right there, abandons Anevsko and marches north, seeking decisive battle with the Bulgarians. Instead, a week after he leaves on the 3rd Simeon and his “army” take the fortress and demolish it via undermining before moving west along the Haemus. On the 11th of May, the same day that Bryennios reaches Pleven, Simeon crashes through Trajan’s Gates and dismisses his army, riding west with a small bodyguard to the fortress of Bansko. There he lin ks up with 4,000 Armanj cavalry and turns south towards Thessalonika.
Vidin falls on 18 May after an eleven-day siege and Philanthropenos reverses his position and marches south, intending to re-garrison Trajan’s Gates and prevent another Bulgarian army from crossing the Haemus. The Romans retake the pass in early June.
The Tsar and his new force marches south raiding along the Struma valley, however, his scouts fail badly and on 18 June he is cornered against the Aegean by Nikolaos Glabas, 6,000 cavalry and 6,000 infantry.
Summer:
News of Simeon II’s trapping arrives in Konstantinopolis in early July, resulting in Alexios forcing Patriarch Nikolaos V (at literal sword point) to crown Sofiya Asen as Tsarina of Bulgaria on 4 July. Preparations for a triumph celebrating Glabas and Palaiologos and starring Simeon as a prisoner begin. But on 9 July a messenger rides into the city through the Golden Gate and deliver to Alexios a message from Glabas.
As you may remember from 1301, Glabas had been given all land west of the Strymon and Neothrakion in exchange for surrendering his claim to the throne. However, after Alexios had retaken the throne in late 1304, Glabas’ domain had been cut down. The new borders of his territory were the Axios in the east and the Aliakmon in the south. But now that he had Simeon II as a bargaining chip, he was pushing for his territory to be expanded to the Strymonas in the east and the Salambaras in the south. This was insane, because the lion’s share of the empire’s gold mines were in the territory between the Axios and the Strymonas.
Negotiations between Thessalonika and Konstantinopolis continue on over the summer whilst the Romans continue to take Bulgarian cities. Palaiologos conquers the Black Sea coast by the end of August, whilst Bryennios and Philanthropenos continue campaigning.
Fall:
An agreement between Glabas and Alexios is reached in October. The central government will retain control of the Khalkidhiki, sans the western coast, whilst Thessalonika gains control of the aforementioned borders and receives the title of Exarch.
Simeon II is turned over to the Papioi, but whilst being transported to Konstantinopolis his ship sinks and he escapes, disappearing into the Haemus.
Winter:
The Church Synod elects Alejsi Krycek, the Bishop of Varna, as Patriarch Nikolaos V on 28 January, whom I’m going to call Krycek as to avoid confusion with Nikolaos Glabas. The next day, Krycek issues a bull stating that due to some tiny error in Arsenios II’s papers regarding Alexios’ penance after marrying Sancia of Aragon the whole thing was worthless. As such, the new penance is to not lead an army in the field for three years, because, third wife and all.
Alexios’ initial reaction is to KILL THE BLASPHEMOUS, SIMONIOUS MOTHERBLEEPER AND ALL OF CONSPIRATORS, but Sancia and Planoudes calm him down before he does something stupid and he spends the next few days sulking in the palace. Instead of bringing over an additional 5,000 Trapezuntines to act as a reserve in that year’s campaigns, he instead orders Demetrios Bryennios, the governor of the Optimatoi, to raise his army and cross into Europe as a reserve. Bryennios was a vainglorious man, always eager to add proverbial feathers to his cap and prone to rushing unprepared into battle, but Alexios had little choice as he was the only commander available for the spring push.
Spring:
The invasion of Bulgaria begins. Mikhael Philanthropenos decamps Traiditza on April 14, following the Isikos River north through the Haemus. Riding with him is the now eight-year old Despotes Sabbas. The Oghurikon encounters little resistance as it marches, and lays siege to Vidin on May 7 without having fought once.
Palaiologos’ campaign is similar. He leaves Mesembria on 29 March and advances due north-west across the Bulgarian plains to the fortress of Cherven, which he finds unguarded and stripped of supplies on 17 April. He occupies it and continues the march north to the Danube where he links up with Iancu. Their combined force, 20,000 strong, marches on Tarnovo, arriving outside the city on 16 May. The Bulgarian capital is unguarded, but otherwise seems intact. The city is garrisoned and the army camps outside its walls.
Strategopoulos and the Neothrakion cross the Haemus in early April and march due north against the fortress of Pleven. On 21 April, Strategopoulos set up siegeworks around the fortress of Hisarya, about twenty miles south of Pleven. On the 23rd, Simeon II and 3,000 infantry storm the camp in a night attack and slaughter most of the Neothrakion, with less than a thousand Romans escaping in the chaos. Simeon then disappears back into the Danubian lowlands, leaving the remains of the Neothrakion to flee back south.
The survivors of the Battle of Hisarya arrive at the Optimatoi camp at Anevsko on 1 May. Bryennios, seeing an opportunity to end the war right there, abandons Anevsko and marches north, seeking decisive battle with the Bulgarians. Instead, a week after he leaves on the 3rd Simeon and his “army” take the fortress and demolish it via undermining before moving west along the Haemus. On the 11th of May, the same day that Bryennios reaches Pleven, Simeon crashes through Trajan’s Gates and dismisses his army, riding west with a small bodyguard to the fortress of Bansko. There he lin ks up with 4,000 Armanj cavalry and turns south towards Thessalonika.
Vidin falls on 18 May after an eleven-day siege and Philanthropenos reverses his position and marches south, intending to re-garrison Trajan’s Gates and prevent another Bulgarian army from crossing the Haemus. The Romans retake the pass in early June.
The Tsar and his new force marches south raiding along the Struma valley, however, his scouts fail badly and on 18 June he is cornered against the Aegean by Nikolaos Glabas, 6,000 cavalry and 6,000 infantry.
Summer:
News of Simeon II’s trapping arrives in Konstantinopolis in early July, resulting in Alexios forcing Patriarch Nikolaos V (at literal sword point) to crown Sofiya Asen as Tsarina of Bulgaria on 4 July. Preparations for a triumph celebrating Glabas and Palaiologos and starring Simeon as a prisoner begin. But on 9 July a messenger rides into the city through the Golden Gate and deliver to Alexios a message from Glabas.
As you may remember from 1301, Glabas had been given all land west of the Strymon and Neothrakion in exchange for surrendering his claim to the throne. However, after Alexios had retaken the throne in late 1304, Glabas’ domain had been cut down. The new borders of his territory were the Axios in the east and the Aliakmon in the south. But now that he had Simeon II as a bargaining chip, he was pushing for his territory to be expanded to the Strymonas in the east and the Salambaras in the south. This was insane, because the lion’s share of the empire’s gold mines were in the territory between the Axios and the Strymonas.
Negotiations between Thessalonika and Konstantinopolis continue on over the summer whilst the Romans continue to take Bulgarian cities. Palaiologos conquers the Black Sea coast by the end of August, whilst Bryennios and Philanthropenos continue campaigning.
Fall:
An agreement between Glabas and Alexios is reached in October. The central government will retain control of the Khalkidhiki, sans the western coast, whilst Thessalonika gains control of the aforementioned borders and receives the title of Exarch.
Simeon II is turned over to the Papioi, but whilst being transported to Konstantinopolis his ship sinks and he escapes, disappearing into the Haemus.
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Will the HRE ever regain Switzerland? It just makes the borders look so nice.
Damn! Swiss geography is great. Savoy looks like it can be diced up though, it’s a literal blob. France doesn’t like blobs.
1309
Eparkhos
Banned
1309
Winter:
In February, Patriarch Nikolaos delivers a sermon criticizing the entire population of Konstantinopolis for living in a city founded by an unbaptized man. A drunken mob attempts to storm the Agia Sophia and lynch him that night. Alexios and Despotes Theodoros both refuse to authorize the Imperial Guards to defend the church, resulting in the eleven-year old Despotes Sabbas being shaken awake and asked to authorize the guards to keep the mob from tearing the Patriarch limb from limb. He agrees, and not only authorizes it but leads one of the Turkish contingents of the guard in person. The mob is dispersed, but Sabbas’ usage of the Turkish Guard will become important later.
On 7 March, a young Turkish sailor, Abdülkadir of Sinope, stages a mutiny on one of the merchant ships travelling between Trapezous and Kherson. He sails to Mesembria and storms it whilst Palaiologos is in Tarnovo.
Speaking of Palaiologos, on 19 March a fight breaks out in the ranks between the Wallachians and the Romans. Iancu and the Wallachian officers join in the fight, resulting in a full-blown battle in the camp. The Romans are forced to retreat inside Tarnovo, resulting in a siege.
Spring:
Alexios finishes his penance then rides north to take command of Philanthropenos’ army in Traiditza. He arrives in the city on 4 April and marches east, combing the Haemus for Simeon. In late April they find Simeon holed up in the fortress of Stipon. Alexios sets down for a siege, but on 1 May a rider from Mesembria arrives in the camp and asks the emperor to send an army to retake the city. He passes the messenger on to Palaiologos, but the rider returns on the eighth with several arrow-holes in his cloak. Alexios mutters something rude under his breath and decamps Stipon, leaving 500 men behind to continue the siege while he marches to relieve Palaiologos.
Simeon and his men attempt to breakout on the 11th, but the attempt fails and the Romans are able to counterattack into the city. Simeon jumps off of the walls…
…and lands in a well. He hauls himself over the rim and crawls away with a broken hand and leg. He’s taken in by a local peasant woman, Desislava, and nursed back to health.
Alexios and his army arrives outside of Tarnovo on May 16th. Iancu had dug a defensive trench behind his lines and when the Romans attempt to assault the Wallachians they are repulsed and Alexios sets up another round of siege works behind the Wallachians. On 28 May Alexios again tries to storm the Wallachian lines but fails. The Romans settle in for a long siege.
Summer:
In early July, Alexios offers Iancu safe passage back to Wallachia. The voivode, knowing that even if he takes Tarnovo he will be besieged without hope of relief, agrees and withdraws. Alexios then turns and marches east against Mesembria. Abdülkadir evacuates the port on 23 July and flees up the coast to Varna, which he takes in a night attack. When the emperor arrives in Mesembria the locals give him the name of the pirate.
Gazi Çelebi.
Alexios refortifies the city and marches south, eager to retire for the year as the Roman treasury was strained by the expense of keeping so many men in the field. He arrives in Konstantinopolis on August 9 after dismissing most of the army. The next day Nikolaos V publically denounces him as a coward. The large chunk of the city’s population that had served directly under him at some point in the last fifteen years riots, and Sabbas has to lead out the Turkish Guard to keep the Patriarch from being lynched again.
On 12 August Sancia gives birth to another son, Isaakios. He is baptized in the Agia Irene as the Patriarch refuses the Imperial family access to the Agia Sophia.
Autumn:
Gazi Çelebi attacks Kherson and burns it to the ground on 24 September. Alexios dispatches Nikephoros Bryennios to retake the city, but his fleet is ambushed and destroyed whilst sailing across the Black Sea. The Imperial Navy sets sail from Konstantinopolis, but is unable to find the Gazi. While the Navy is searching for him, Gazi runs the Bosporos at the dead of night and begins raiding the Marmara. The Nikomedian fleet wighs anchor and pursues, forcing him to flee into the Aegean.
Winter:
In February, Patriarch Nikolaos delivers a sermon criticizing the entire population of Konstantinopolis for living in a city founded by an unbaptized man. A drunken mob attempts to storm the Agia Sophia and lynch him that night. Alexios and Despotes Theodoros both refuse to authorize the Imperial Guards to defend the church, resulting in the eleven-year old Despotes Sabbas being shaken awake and asked to authorize the guards to keep the mob from tearing the Patriarch limb from limb. He agrees, and not only authorizes it but leads one of the Turkish contingents of the guard in person. The mob is dispersed, but Sabbas’ usage of the Turkish Guard will become important later.
On 7 March, a young Turkish sailor, Abdülkadir of Sinope, stages a mutiny on one of the merchant ships travelling between Trapezous and Kherson. He sails to Mesembria and storms it whilst Palaiologos is in Tarnovo.
Speaking of Palaiologos, on 19 March a fight breaks out in the ranks between the Wallachians and the Romans. Iancu and the Wallachian officers join in the fight, resulting in a full-blown battle in the camp. The Romans are forced to retreat inside Tarnovo, resulting in a siege.
Spring:
Alexios finishes his penance then rides north to take command of Philanthropenos’ army in Traiditza. He arrives in the city on 4 April and marches east, combing the Haemus for Simeon. In late April they find Simeon holed up in the fortress of Stipon. Alexios sets down for a siege, but on 1 May a rider from Mesembria arrives in the camp and asks the emperor to send an army to retake the city. He passes the messenger on to Palaiologos, but the rider returns on the eighth with several arrow-holes in his cloak. Alexios mutters something rude under his breath and decamps Stipon, leaving 500 men behind to continue the siege while he marches to relieve Palaiologos.
Simeon and his men attempt to breakout on the 11th, but the attempt fails and the Romans are able to counterattack into the city. Simeon jumps off of the walls…
…and lands in a well. He hauls himself over the rim and crawls away with a broken hand and leg. He’s taken in by a local peasant woman, Desislava, and nursed back to health.
Alexios and his army arrives outside of Tarnovo on May 16th. Iancu had dug a defensive trench behind his lines and when the Romans attempt to assault the Wallachians they are repulsed and Alexios sets up another round of siege works behind the Wallachians. On 28 May Alexios again tries to storm the Wallachian lines but fails. The Romans settle in for a long siege.
Summer:
In early July, Alexios offers Iancu safe passage back to Wallachia. The voivode, knowing that even if he takes Tarnovo he will be besieged without hope of relief, agrees and withdraws. Alexios then turns and marches east against Mesembria. Abdülkadir evacuates the port on 23 July and flees up the coast to Varna, which he takes in a night attack. When the emperor arrives in Mesembria the locals give him the name of the pirate.
Gazi Çelebi.
Alexios refortifies the city and marches south, eager to retire for the year as the Roman treasury was strained by the expense of keeping so many men in the field. He arrives in Konstantinopolis on August 9 after dismissing most of the army. The next day Nikolaos V publically denounces him as a coward. The large chunk of the city’s population that had served directly under him at some point in the last fifteen years riots, and Sabbas has to lead out the Turkish Guard to keep the Patriarch from being lynched again.
On 12 August Sancia gives birth to another son, Isaakios. He is baptized in the Agia Irene as the Patriarch refuses the Imperial family access to the Agia Sophia.
Autumn:
Gazi Çelebi attacks Kherson and burns it to the ground on 24 September. Alexios dispatches Nikephoros Bryennios to retake the city, but his fleet is ambushed and destroyed whilst sailing across the Black Sea. The Imperial Navy sets sail from Konstantinopolis, but is unable to find the Gazi. While the Navy is searching for him, Gazi runs the Bosporos at the dead of night and begins raiding the Marmara. The Nikomedian fleet wighs anchor and pursues, forcing him to flee into the Aegean.
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What exactly is going on with this vassal state in the middle of the Haemic part of the Empire? It looks dangerously close to revolt and an independence grab.