A phoenix rises from the ashes the rebirth of a glorious empire v3.0

Well the first two short attempts failed miserably. This time here is my third attempt. Hope it is more plausible.:D
Chapter I:

In the year 1262 Michael VIII Paleologos became emperor of the Romans. However the once mighty empire was but a mere shadow of its former self. Beset by Turks to the east, the Slavs of Bulgaria and Serbia to the north, the Sicilians and the Latins to the west and in Greece, the situation of the empire was indeed very bleak and hopeless. Michael realized he needed allies. He decided to gain the support of Hungary. On July of 1262 the ERE forged an alliance with the kingdom of Hungary. This was twofold, one it would counter the Slavic threat to the north, and two it would provide the Romans with an ally in the West. For Hungary It meant easier chance to establish control in Croatia and the eastern Balkans.
Next Michael engineered an alliance between Abaqua Khan of the Il-khanite by marrying Maria to the great Khan. The iikhan would help to keep the Turkic beyliks in check.
Michael knew the empire couldn’t face threats from all sides. Thus he decided to focus on one region at a time.
The Pope of Rome Urban IV had encouraged the west to take up arms against the Romans. He wanted the schism to end. But he had one enemy, HRE Manfried.
Manfried had always been a longtime enemy of Michael but in 1263 Michael sent envoys to Manfried. He argued that both sides had a lot in common. Although the two had been enemies both faced a common threat, the Pope of Rome. Michael promised to revoke all Roman claims in Sicily and recognize Manfried as the true Western Roman emperor. Manfried at this time had been wary of the increasing power of Charles, agreed. Thus peace was gained in the west temporarily. With the alliance between the HRE and the Roman Empire the Venetians did not dare try any invasions of the Romans The Pope, was outraged that his plans had been foiled.

Meanwhile Michael VIII paid 100 pounds of gold to Manfried in return for selling the province of Athens. Manfried accepted the deal, because with 100 pounds he could easily continue to fund his costly wars against the Papacy. However this act led to a great depletion of resources in the Roman treasury. Michael decided that the Roman generals were weak, so he personally led an army of 5000 Seljuk mercenaries and 10000 Roman troops to conquer Thessaly and Epirus. Epirus had been under the rule of the despot Michael II. Michael and his
brother John launched a two-fronted assault on Epirus. The Venetians intervened in favor of the epirots and declared war. Sadly the Venetians suffered a crushing defeat at the battle of Settepozi in the gulf of Naupolia the Venetian fleet was crushed by the Genoeans.
In 1264 at the battle of Makry Plagy the Epirot forces were destroyed. Unfortunately even with all the successes the Roman treasury was draining. Michael soon launched the final invasion. In 1264 after fierce fighting Epirus fell to the Romans and the despot Michael was killed. Epirus was completely looted and sacked for gold. With the gold taken from Epirus Michael paid off the Turks. You see the Turks had fought for no pay so far and were contemplating on withdrawing their services but Michael promised them that once the campaign is over he would pay them with money. Thus the Turkish soldiers did not defect. Michael fought through harsh terrain as he battled the forces of the Epirot Michael II. Epirus harsh terrain made it difficult to conquer. However as luck would have it Michael II was killed by a poisoned arrow in battle. His wife Theodora of arta became despotess. But she was the daughter of John petraliphs the governor of thessaly which was under Roman rule. Thus in an ingenious move Petraliphs convinced her daughter to crown hm despot. Once he became despot he surrendered to Michael VIII suzeranity. He was made the Megas Domesticos of the West and soon petraliphs would be one of Johns greateast advisors.
With Epirus crushed Michael turned his attention to Thessaly. Michael II bastard son John took power in Thessaly, Petraliph was overthrown effectivly because he was a man hated by the populace who welcomed John. Michael wanted Thessaly back, so with his army he marched upon Thessaly. In the ensuing fighting John was killed. With his death Thessaly fell and was sacked by the Romans.
Meanwhile Charles of Anjou launched an invasion of Napoli at the urging of the pope. This invasion failed. At the battle of Calabria Manfred’s forces crushed Charles forces and Charles himself was killed in the battle. Charles invasion had failed and Manfried retained Sicily and Napoli. The Pope of Rome was stunned at the blow and realized his hope of a union between West and east under western terms had fallen apart.
While Michael was out campaigning the tartars of Southern Russia with the Bulgars launched a fierce invasion in 1264. You see the near east Mongol empire faced off against its two major rivals the Mamelukes and the golden horde. Due to its alliance with the Romans the Golden horde grew furious. So in 1264 the southern Tatars allied with Bulgaria launched a fierce attack. Unfortunately this attack failed miserably. At the battle for Thrace Alexius decisively defeated the
combined Bulgarian-Tatar army. The conqueror of Constantinople. Also the Kingdom of Hungary true to its word declared war on Bulgaria. The Bulgarians were decimated. Unfortunately Hungary suffered heavy losses against the Mongols. A white peace was then announced in 1265

Michael had by 1267 taken most of Greece under his control. Due to his ingenious use of diplomacy Michael
averted a potential union between the west and east churches. He also managed to check the Slavs in the Balkans. Plus he formed alliances with the Iikhanite allowing him to secure a powerful ally in the east. Michael was a brilliant diplomat. Although Rome was in a terrible position, he managed to bring the phoenix back from the ashes. A lot of work still needed to be done, but for now Michael could focus on consolidation.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In otl Byzantium faced multiple wars on multiple fronts. This was a very foolish move by Michael. In this Tl Michael decides to focus on one region at a time.
Otl the Romans initially won superb victories against the Epirots but unfortunately for Michael due to the multiple fronted wars on all sides the empires treasury was drained. Matters were made worse because of the 5k Turkish mercenaries. These mercenaries received no pay and in otl defected to the franks. This Tl they are promised loot from Epirus and thus stay to help the Romans. Unlike otl Michael takes a very active role in campaigning. Although his generals were horrible Michael himself was an adept commander.
In OTL Manfried had fallout with the pope but the relations between him and Rome were horrible. In this Tl Michael exploits the rift between the HRE and papacy and is thus able to secure an alliance.
In Otl at Settepozi the Genoa fleet was crushed. In this Tl Venice suffers that fate. Thus Michel does not view Genoa as weak and still keeps the alliance between the two countries.
Otl due to the civil war in Bulgaria Romans invaded. However this was disastrous. In this Tl that does not happen.
Otl due to good relations with the Iikhan the southern tatars allied with Bulgaria and actually invaded the Byzantines in 1264. In this Tl they are defeated and due to the alliance with Hungary, Hungary intervenes in Bulgaria. Thus although Hungary suffers losses against Mongols due to its victories against Bulgaria white peace is secured.
In otl in 1280s Michael II son establishes a renegade government in Thessally that crushes the Romans. In this Tl he is the one crushed albeit much earlier.
Due to alliance with Iikhan the Turks don’t dare try to invade Roman territory in fear of an Iikhanite invasion of their beylik.

Anyway this is much more plausible then before. This I actually researched. My source comes from the book History of the Byzantine State by George Ostrogorsky in his chapter on Michael VIII. Thus most of what I have written is plausible.
 
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Not owning a copy of Ostrogorsky I can't say much here at the moment. Seems better than the previous two, but...
 
Chapter II



Before we continue with the history of the Roman Empire one must look at its internal structure. For centuries the Romans greatest asset was the centralized power of the government. However after the death of Basil the crown and the nobility fought for supremacy. After the disastrous reign of Andronikos Komnenos, the Roman aristocracy finally triumphed. The peasants were brutally taxed and much of the populace feared the tax farmers. Meanwhile the civil nobility lived in decadence and opulence. Another problem was that before the Romans could recover because they kept their most important peace of land, Anatolia. With most of Anatolia lost in the east Michael faced a desperate position of weakness surrounded by resurgent Slavs and the greatest threat of all the Sicilians. For years the HRE and the ERE competed for the Holy Roman crown. Under Conrad III the alliance was very successful but with Fredrick I Barbarossa the two great empires focused on outmaneuvering each other in Italy than focus on Sicily. Michael needed peace in the west. Another problem was that the Republic of Venice had exclusive trading rights, likewise with Genoa. The Roman Empire was out competed by the western merchants who had complete control of Roman economy. Michael knew this must end but realized for now he had to deal with it. He soon installed John Paleologos as Co Emperor of the west. You see Michael needed to focus on reconquest of the east. Michael realized he needed the support of the nobility. For years feudalism had been kept in check, but now Michael realized he had no choice. In 1268 Michael called together a meeting with the nobility of the empire. In the meeting he promised to cede central power and enter into feudal contracts with the Aristocracy in return for them pledging their armies to him, and pooling their money to give to the treasury for war funds. The nobility eager for the power accepted the deal. Michael with a heavy sigh signed the feudal contract of 1268, the Emperor was like a European king, his nobility had a lot more power and the Romans were decentralized, feudalism was at last introduced in the Roman empire.
The next problem was the currency. Michael debased its value even more. He soon put much less gold and declared that a Hyperphon would be approximately worth two silver coins. Although this caused turmoil in the economy it was necessary to curb inflation.


In 1269 Michael called together the support of the aristocrats. Soon many nobles pledged their armies to him. In this way Michael was able to come up with a force of 15k Roman regular. He also received some 10k Mongols from the Iikhan Abaqa. Michael now had an army of 25k. He convinced Abaqa to lend him support to partition Anatolia among them. Due to his alliances with Hungary and the HRE the Romans had a very secure position in the west. Michael launched the invasion of Anatolia. What followed was the destruction of the minor Turkic Beyliks. The Mongols invaded the Turkic realms causing chaos and destruction. / Trapped in a two front war many of the Turks were destroyed. With the 25k army made up of Mongol horse archers Michael won a string of victories which allowed him to retake Melitle and the Romans advanced as far as Smyria. However it was impossible for the Romans to make inroads but they succeeded in conquering the coast of Asia Minor. Soon afterward Michael consolidated his grip.
In 1280 the Iikhan Abaqa died and his son Tekuder became Khan. Tekuder was a Nestorian Christian. He married Irene Paleologina in 1280, and at her urging declared aNestorianism as the national re legion but the other relegions would still enjoy their full rights. Michael was relieved completely. He had the Anatolian coast under his control, here he raised Taxes and soon awarded fiefs to his nobility. In 1281 Michael VIII died.
Historians agree Michael did what was best for the empire. Unfortunately the Romans by this point were highly decentralized. Michael knew that the nobility now had immense power but he could do little. It was virtually impossible to combat ones nobility, so Michael gave up. It was a necessity for the time being due to the empire life in jeopardy.
Michael is credited for beign a briliant negotiater, securing alliances with Hungary, Ilkhanite, and the HRE. The Romans greatest threat of Sicily was no more, and the slavs were in check due to Hungary wathcing the Romans western borders. Manfried had succeeded in consolidating his grip. The reason the Romans and HRE managed to reestablish good relations as because Michael recognized Manfried as the Western Roman Emperor. Although Michael did not mean his words, he had to gain the support of the HRE while it was still strong. Michael understood that he had to give up title of emperor of the west in order to ensure his empires survival. It was a terrible prestige blow to the empire but in the end it was what saved the empire in the west. The Hungarians also were close allies with Michael. He had managed to stabilize the economy and retake the coast but it came at a very high price.
[FONT=&quot]In 1283 Andronikos Paleologos was crowned Andronikos II. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Andronikos would be an emperor who was cautious. Instead of expanding his empire under Andronikos the empire was improved internally. He decided to consolidate his grip on Asia Minor rather than to expand.[/FONT]
 
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Please properly space your paragraphs, it makes things much easier to read.

In the year 1262 Michael VIII Paleologos became emperor of the Romans. However the once mighty empire was but a mere shadow of its former self. Beset by Turks to the east, the Slavs of Bulgaria and Serbia to the north, the Sicilians and the Latins to the west and in Greece, the situation of the empire was indeed very bleak and hopeless. Michael realized he needed allies. He decided to gain the support of Hungary. On July of 1262 the ERE forged an alliance with the kingdom of Hungary. This was twofold, one it would counter the Slavic threat to the north, and two it would provide the Romans with an ally in the West. For Hungary It meant easier chance to establish control in Croatia and the eastern Balkans.
This seems like a relatively smart move- what exactly does this allegiance involve? I'm guessing the Hungarians will want quite a bit from it, since the Papacy was never particuarly happy with the idea of the fall of the Latin Empire and the restoration of Greek rule. (Post 1204, I think the term "Greek" rather than "Roman" is possibly more appropriate for the succesor states).

Next Michael engineered an alliance between Abaqua Khan of the Iikhanite by marrying Maria to the great Khan. The iikhan would help to keep the Turkic beyliks in check.
Who is this Maria? Michael's daughter, sister, cousin? Please clarify.

The Pope of Rome Urban IV had encouraged the west to take up arms against the Romans. He wanted the schism to end. But he had one enemy, Manfried.
Clarify who Manfried is, you can't just randomly state these characters and expect your readership to know who they are. Also, shouldn't the West be capitalised? Furthermore, Papal hostility towards the Greeks in this period was not so much due to a desire to end the Great Schism, but more due to the fact that they had toppled what the Papacy regarded as the legitimate Eastern Roman Empire.

Manfried had always been a longtime enemy of Michael but in 1263 Michael sent envoys to Manfried. He argued that both sides had a lot in common. Although the two had been enemies both faced a common threat, the Pope of Rome. Michael promised to revoke all Roman claims in Sicily and recognize Manfried as the true Western Roman emperor. Manfried at this time had been wary of the increasing power of Charles, agreed. Thus peace was gained in the west temporarily. With the alliance between the HRE and the Roman Empire the Venetians did not dare try any invasions of the Romans The Pope, was outraged that his plans had been foiled.
I know very little about European politics of the thirteenth century, I assume this Manfried character is Holy Roman Emperor? "Charles" is presumably the Angevin King of Sicily? You must, must, must clarify and explain, it simply doesn't work to expect your readership to have done all the research that you have.

Regarding the paragraph itself, I think Manfried would want rather more from Michael than just a giving up of long dead claims and recognition. I suspect the Western Emperor will want men and money, things that Michael will be hard pressed to deliver. It's doable, but Michael will have to find the cash from somewhere, and this could well cause trouble.

Meanwhile Michael VIII paid 100 pounds of gold to Manfried in return for selling the province of Athens. Manfried accepted the deal, because with 100 pounds he could easily continue to fund his costly wars against the Papacy. However this act led to a great depletion of resources in the Roman treasury.
Oh okay, you've just answered the question I raised above, so this sounds reasonable. Is Athens under Byzantine rule at the time though? I have a feeling it's a Crusader state, so perhaps Michael's better to sell the Morea?

Michael decided that the Roman generals were weak, so he personally led an army of 5k Seljuk mercenaries and 10k Roman troops to conquer Thessaly and Epirus. Epirus had been under the rule of the despot Michael II. Michael and his brother John launched a two-fronted assault on Epirus. The Venetians intervened in favor of the epirots and declared war. Sadly the Venetians suffered a crushing defeat at the battle of settepozi in the gulf of Naupolia the Venetian fleet was crushed by the Genoans.
Don't abbreviate like this, say 5000 and 10,000. In any case, these numbers do appear to be rather high, probably forces of around 2500 and 5000 are more plausible for the 1260s. You've forgotten an awful lot of capitalisation, it should be Despot, Epirotes, Settepozi, and Gulf of Naupolia.

You neglect to explain why the Genoese have randomly got involved. The peoples are called Genoese, by the way, not Genoans. A brief explanation of how the Venetian fleet was so badly defeated would probably be for the best.

In 1264 at the battle of Makry Plagy the Epirot forces were destroyed. Unfortunately even with all the successes the Roman treasury was draining. Michael soon launched the final invasion. In 1264 after fierce fighting Epirus fell to the Romans and the despot Michael was killed. Epirus was completely looted and sacked for gold. With the gold taken from Epirus Michael paid off the Turks. You see the Turks had fought for no pay so far and were contemplating on withdrawing their services but Michael promised them that once the campaign is over he would pay them with money. Thus the Turkish soldiers did not defect.
Sounds reasonable, but, again, you need to explain exactly how all this happens, and stop the handwaving. A campaign in Epirus is going to mostly be fought in difficult terrain, and, while the Emperor can win it, you can't just handwave and say that this and that happened, explanations are needed. Where is this Makry Plagy place? Finally, considering the Epirotes are fellow Greeks, Michael seems to be behaving very brutally here, and I wonder if the region will be a source of trouble for the Palaiologoi in future...

With Epirus crushed Michael turned his attention to Thessaly. Michael II bastard son John took power in Thessaly. Michael wanted Thessaly back, so with his army he marched upon Thessaly. In the ensuing fighting John was killed. With his death Thessaly fell and was sacked by the Romans.
Meanwhile Charles of Anjou launched an invasion of Napoli at the urging of the pope. This invasion failed. At the battle of Calabria Manfred’s forces crushed Charles forces and Charles himself was killed in the battle. Charles invasion had failed and Manfried retained Sicily and Napoli. The Pope of Rome was stunned at the blow and realized his hope of a union between West and east under western terms had fallen apart.
You're overusing the verb "crushed" here, and, again, handwaving. Clarity, clarity, catchy reader!

While Michael was out campaigning the tartars of Southern Russia with the Bulgars launched a fierce invasion in 1264. You see the near east Mongol empire faced off against its two major rivals the mamelukes and the golden horde. Due to its alliance with the Romans the Golden horde grew furious. So in 1264 the southern Tatars allied with Bulgaria launched a fierce attack. Unfortunately this attack failed miserably. At the battle for Thrace Alexius decisively defeated the combined Bulgarian-Tatar army. The conqueror of Constantinople. Also the Kingdom of Hungary true to its word declared war on Bulgaria. The Bulgarians were decimated. Unfortunately Hungary suffered heavy losses against the Mongols. A white peace was then announced in 1265
1264 seems an implausibly busy year, I'd stretch this stuff out over at least four or five campaigning seasons. Who is this Alexius? "You See" doesn't really work, it sounds patronising to my ears, though that could just be me. Either way, your capitalisation is inconsistent and weird at best- it should be Golden Horde, not golden horde or Golden horde.

Michael had by 1267 taken most of Greece under his control. Due to his ingenious use of diplomacy Michael averted a potential union between the west and east churches. He also managed to check the Slavs in the Balkans. Plus he formed alliances with the Iikhanite allowing him to secure a powerful ally in the east. Michael was a brilliant diplomat. Although Rome was in a terrible position, he managed to bring the phoenix back from the ashes. A lot of work still needed to be done, but for now Michael could focus on consolidation.
Surely "Western and Eastern". It's "Il-Khanate", not "Iikhanite".

Overall, a much better effort than your first two, but there are still significant errors that need ironing out, with the storyline, as well as your punctuation and spelling.
 
Please properly space your paragraphs, it makes things much easier to read.


This seems like a relatively smart move- what exactly does this allegiance involve? I'm guessing the Hungarians will want quite a bit from it, since the Papacy was never particuarly happy with the idea of the fall of the Latin Empire and the restoration of Greek rule. (Post 1204, I think the term "Greek" rather than "Roman" is possibly more appropriate for the succesor states).


Who is this Maria? Michael's daughter, sister, cousin? Please clarify.



Clarify who Manfried is, you can't just randomly state these characters and expect your readership to know who they are. Also, shouldn't the West be capitalised? Furthermore, Papal hostility towards the Greeks in this period was not so much due to a desire to end the Great Schism, but more due to the fact that they had toppled what the Papacy regarded as the legitimate Eastern Roman Empire.


I know very little about European politics of the thirteenth century, I assume this Manfried character is Holy Roman Emperor? "Charles" is presumably the Angevin King of Sicily? You must, must, must clarify and explain, it simply doesn't work to expect your readership to have done all the research that you have.

Regarding the paragraph itself, I think Manfried would want rather more from Michael than just a giving up of long dead claims and recognition. I suspect the Western Emperor will want men and money, things that Michael will be hard pressed
to deliver. It's doable, but Michael will have to find the cash from somewhere, and this could well cause trouble.


Oh okay, you've just answered the question I raised above, so this sounds reasonable. Is Athens under Byzantine rule at the time though? I have a feeling it's a Crusader state, so perhaps Michael's better to sell the Morea?


Don't abbreviate like this, say 5000 and 10,000. In any case, these numbers do appear to be rather high, probably forces of around 2500 and 5000 are more plausible for the 1260s. You've forgotten an awful lot of capitalisation, it should be Despot, Epirotes, Settepozi, and Gulf of Naupolia.

You neglect to explain why the Genoese have randomly got involved. The peoples are called Genoese, by the way, not Genoans. A brief explanation of how the Venetian fleet was so badly defeated would probably be for the best.



Sounds reasonable, but, again, you need to explain exactly how all this happens, and stop the handwaving. A campaign in Epirus is going to mostly be fought in difficult terrain, and, while the Emperor can win it, you can't just handwave and say that this and that happened, explanations are needed. Where is this Makry Plagy place? Finally, considering the Epirotes are fellow Greeks, Michael seems to be behaving very brutally here, and I wonder if the region will be a source of trouble
for the Palaiologoi in future...


You're overusing the verb "crushed" here, and, again, handwaving. Clarity, clarity, catchy reader!


1264 seems an implausibly busy year, I'd stretch this stuff out over at least four or five campaigning seasons. Who is this Alexius? "You See" doesn't really work, it sounds patronising to my ears, though that could just be me. Either way, your capitalisation is inconsistent and weird at best- it should be Golden Horde, not golden horde or Golden horde.



Surely "Western and Eastern". It's "Il-Khanate", not "Iikhanite".

Overall, a much better effort than your first two, but there are still significant errors that need ironing out, with the storyline, as well as your punctuation and spelling.
Alright time to answer your concerns, Maria is the paleologina who was married to Abaqua Khan in Otl.
alexius is Alexius Strategoupolos guy who conquered Constantinople.
Sorry about grammar errors will fix.
The forces are not large. In otl The despot of Korea was able to gather a force of 25k mercinaries.


Athens is actually under the rule of Sicily which at this time was under the control of Manfried. Basically Michael bought Athens from Manfried.
About the forces they are actual forces, in otl Michael enlisted a mercinary army of some 5000 Turks to fight Epirus. However because they were underpaid they defected.
Genoese were not randomly involved, in fact what happened was Michael wanted to end venetian dominance so he took the aid of Genoese in otl. However the Genoese were so completely destroyed by Venezia that Michael thought it to be a waste of time to remain allies with Genoa and reverted back to an alliance with Venice. In fact the Genoese played a very important role from the start of this war.

About my petty mistakes, I will fix them and elaborate on your points, expect a edit in a few hours;)
Also check out the second part of my tl BG.
 
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Nice effort, but as BG said, it needs some polishing. There are also several factual mistakes here and there that cause some big holes: for instance, Michael VIII became emperor in 1259, not in 1262, Makryplagi was in the Peloponnese, and the battle was fought against the Achaeans, not the Epirotes... BTW, Achaea, the major Latin state in Greece, is completely absent in your story. On his policies, Michael was, if anything, a champion of the aristocracy, and not likely to even try to limit their rights and influence. Historically, he also rather neglected Anatolia in favour of Europe. On the other hand, if he was so successful in recovering Greece ITTL, and with no threat of an invasion from the West, there is no real motive for him to cede more power to the magnates in order to get troops, seeing as he did not make such a move when he was in far more dire straits IOTL... Finally, the Genoese at this time were also habitually defeated by the Venetians at sea, so an alternate outcome to OTL's battle of Settepozzi needs some extra explaining. I'd suggest that, in addition to Ostrogorsky, you read some more books that treat the period in more detail, such as those by Geanakoplos, Bartusis and Donald Nicol.
 
Nice effort, but as BG said, it needs some polishing. There are also several factual mistakes here and there that cause some big holes: for instance, Michael VIII became emperor in 1259, not in 1262, Makryplagi was in the Peloponnese, and the battle was fought against the Achaeans, not the Epirotes... BTW, Achaea, the major Latin state in Greece, is completely absent in your story. On his policies, Michael was, if anything, a champion of the aristocracy, and not likely to even try to limit their rights and influence. Historically, he also rather neglected Anatolia in favour of Europe. On the other hand, if he was so successful in recovering Greece ITTL, and with no threat of an invasion from the West, there is no real motive for him to cede more power to the magnates in order to get troops, seeing as he did not make such a move when he was in far more dire straits IOTL... Finally, the Genoese at this time were also habitually defeated by the Venetians at sea, so an alternate outcome to OTL's battle of Settepozzi needs some extra explaining
. I'd suggest that, in addition to Ostrogorsky, you read some more books that treat the period in more detail, such as those by Geanakoplos, Bartusis and Donald Nicol.[/QUOT
umm... Michael did not attempt to limit aristocracy if you read he actually increased it's power.

I know Michael was emperor in 1259 but my tl started in 1262. I did not say 1259 because my tl starts two years after his coronation.

About Makry plagi true it was fought against achiae but achaie had Epirot support. Also achae already suffered heavily before my
POD when it fought with the roman province of Mistra. In this tl I did not mention it because I felt no need to mention it when it had no real part to play for now. It is not like Achaie will act when the HRe is allied with the Romans, Manfried control s Sicily and Venice has just lost. Thus I felt no need to include them in the story for now.

About his polocies you see he had just fought a series of wars and now the treasury lay bankrupt and the turks are invading your provinces and you've just fought an exausting war with little troops left... You need support. So Michael turned to the
aristocracy for money and soldiers because with europe secure he could focus on beating back the Turks and recovering Anatolia.
About genoa at Settepozi they were completly destroyed but in this tl the battle goes differently because the genoese are far more careful and much better equipped. The wars beetween Genoa and Venice could have easily gone in genoas favour because they were basically on par with each other.
 
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Chapter III

Update guys hope you enjoy. Be sure to tell me what you think.:)

Andronicos II became Roman emperor in 1283. Although Michael had successfully secured a stable foothold for the Roman emperors, the Roman state was still in a mess. One could say Andronicos became emperor at one of the empires most crucial moments. Under Michael Roman foreign policy increasingly decreased with the West. Instead Andronikos decided to gamble, he was willing to leave his Balkan possessions undefended should it give him the manpower to secure Anatolia. Methodically he began plans with his generals of the reconquest of Anatolia. For now Andronikos was willing to leave the Balkans if it would help him secure Anatolia. He realized the true source of the Romans power laid in Anatolia not the Balkans. He built many roads and encouraged hostels for the poor, church run orphanages for the weak and the needy; he was a man who built many roads throughout the empire.


In 1284 Andronikos passed the conscription act of 1284, during times of war, most Roman men aged 18-45 would take up arms and join the army. They would be drafted into the army. Essentially he instituted a draft. However he made a clause, which stated that if a man was willing to pay lots of money to fund the wars then he does not need to serve. What this effectively did is allowed the nobility to escape from war in return for them giving money to support the state. Effectively the poor would be mass conscripted and in order to pay them Andronikos would use money from the aristocracy. Many consider him a very crafty old man.



He turned his attention to the east. Michael had virtually instituted a plunder and loot economy temporarily. The Roman treasury was soon running out of cash and Andronikos needed money. He decided the time as right to destroy the sultanates of Kastamon, pervanae, and Isfandiar.


In 1285 the Roman Empire declared war upon these three sultanates. All three had been fighting for dominance and were in a greatly weakened position. Andronikos invoked the conscription and soon drafted 10000 men from Anatolia and the Balkans. He also received many pounds of gold in total from the Roman aristocracy who wished to not fight in this war. Andronikos himself personally led the 10000-man army on the invasion.


In 1286 the Roman Empire invaded Isfandar. The rough terrain made it difficult for the Romans too move but after hiring some 5000 Turkmen mercenaries the Romans bribed some of the locals to give them knowledge of the terrain. Soon the capitol city of Isfandar was besieged and by August of 1286 Isfandar had fallen to the Roman Empire. Shortly afterwards Pervane put up a valiant fight but in a secret deal signed with the Kingdom of trebizond the Roman empire and trebizond would partion Pervanae. SO with Trebizond troops invading from its eastern front Parvane crumbled. Finally Kastamon remained. Kastamon lay in some of the harshest terrain of the east. For over a year the Roman army fought bitterly through rough terrain as it face a huge amount of opposition, One Roman was to have remarked that his time “ In the land of hell” was a place “ Where death was common”. But finally thanks to superior numbers the Romans sacked the capitol city of Kastamon and then looted the whole area for 2 weeks taking plunder and loot. Then they annexed the three sultanates. In this manner the three sultanates were incorporated into the Roman Empire.


However on fatal flaw was in Andronicos plan. By attacking the east with everything he had the Province of Thessalonica and Macedonia were virtually defenseless in the west. In fact the west had little to no defense except in the despot of Morea under John Paleologos at the town of Mistra.



This would prove to be Andronikos most fatal mistake. By putting his trust in the west Andronikos would suffer terribly.
 
Chapter IV

The Three warrior emperors: Andronikos, Michael Paleologos and Andronikos Paleologos part 1:


Many consider Andronikos to be a revival of the Great Nikephros Phokas. For you see being a very pious man, Andronikos looked toward the east more than the west. In his eyes the wars against the Turks were necessary, he knew of the great glories of the past. And wanted to recreate a strong Roman power. Unlike Nikephros Andronikos did not believe it was a major necessity to spread Christianity through Turkish lands. He would send missionaries but being realistic he adopted a policy of keeping the Turkish rulers as rulers of the lands but instead they would become his vassals. Pledging allegiance forever to the Roman throne. In order to make sure they kept their words these sultans would send their eldest sons to the Roman court of Constantinople as prisoners. Lest they should get out of line. (IN the court the sons would be brought up with Roman ideals and become “Good Romans”, in this way Andronikos could keep the Turkish beyliks in check.)
In a brilliant campaign lasting from 1284-1286 an army of some 16k conscripts Andronikos won a string of victories. He soon ordered massive taxes to be taken. He was a man who was incredibly gifted in the art of warfare. His forces swept like lightning as the Roman forces brought an end to the Sultanate of Karaman. Andronikos decisively destroyed the Sultan at the battle of Karaman. The, sultan Abu Nasir Mohhamid was forced into a vassal status by the Romans. You see Andronikos was smart. He knew that control over these provinces would be tedious at best, so he decided to create a string of Turkish vassal states in Anatolia. This way the government would not have to deal with the pain of revolts. All they do would be too keep the sultans in check. Next he turned to the sultanate of Iconium. Calling forth his Turkish vassals aid he soon marched with an army of some 20k on the Sultanate of Rum in 1287. The Sultanate of Rum was in chaos; it was recovering from disastrous civil wars. Meanwhile Tekuder Khan of the Ilkhanite soon formed a secret agreement with the Romans. They would partition the sultanate of Rum between the two. Tekuder soon peaced a treaty with the Mamelukes and launched an invasion with some 50k men. The Sultanate of Rum crumbled. Meanwhile Andronikos took the capitol of Ikonium after a bitter siege. The Sultan Muhhamid surrendered. He ceded the eastern territories to the Ilkhanite and the rump sultanate became a vassal of the Romans in 1290. Muhammad sent his son to Roman court in Constantinople and became a subject of the Emperor Andronikos.



In the west the Kingdom of Bulgaria under Tsar Ivanylov who had become Tsar recently saw the growing Roman power with Alarm. The Romans had conquered a massive swathe of territory in Anatolia. The Situation was deteriorating. Meanwhile Hungaro-Roman relations were at an all time high. Like Manuel, Andronikos kept a policy of support to the Hungarians.
Andronikos returned to Constantinople as a hero. Many praised him for his victory. However the aging Andronikos was getting old. Due to years of war he was no longer a joyful youth, he was grim, gruff, and very un emperor like. He was however treated as a hero He had successfully retaken most of Anatolia. He had brought most of the Beyliks under Roman control. His eastward policy was a success. However he was not well liked either. Although many respected him, many despised his taxes. Under his reign heavy
The Roman populace had collected taxes. But aside from unrest little else happened.
In 1293 Andronikos had consolidated his grip on the Turkish beys whose sons were sent to the capitol city to learn under the Romans. These sons were taught to always follow the Romans. They would lead happy lives. In this way many of the younger boys were brainwashed by Roman teaching to support the Romans. For the next three years Andronikos reduced the taxes. He betrothed his young son Michael to the daughter of Manfred’s youngest daughter recently born named Alice. In this way the two empires grew closer. Andronikos visited the Imperial capitol and went on great hunting trips with Manfred. Likewise Manfred was treated richly in Constantinople. Trade boomed between the two empires. Due to his close knit alliance with the HRE the Venetians could do little to interfere with the Romans.


In 1296 Andronikos turned his attention to Bulgaria. The Tsar of Bulgaria had become a nuisance. With the newly acquired territories in Anatolia Andronikos recovered the source of Roman manpower. Taxes were once again heavily created and in 1297 with a secret agreement with Hungary. The two allies decided to partion Bulgaria. All lands above Vidin would go to Hungary, Vidin and the Romans would take all lands below. Thus the deal was struck and in `1297 Hungary declared war upon the Bulgarians and invaded. Meanwhile Andronikos drew upon his manpower from Anatolia and created an army of some 20000 and marched toward Vidin (plus because of his Turkish vassals the non Muslim subjects paid taxes not to the sultan but to the Roman state). The Tsar Ivanylov was shocked. The Hungarians decimated Bulgarian forces with ease, while the Romans struck a lightning campaign. Unable to cope with a two front war Roman troops besieged the capitol of Bulgaria Vidin. In 1298 after being starved the city surrendered. The Tsar Ivanylov was captured. But

Andronikos did not kill him. Hungary took its provinces from Bulgaria and the rump Bulgaria would be kept by Ivanylov but Ivanylov would be a vassal of the Roman Empire. Ivanylov soon sent his son t Constantinople. Bulgaria was finally silenced. Andronikos returned in 1305 a hero.



He soon stepped down from the throne and let his son Michael IX Paleologos become Emperor. Andronikos retired to a monastery 1306.Michael would be an emperor similar to his father. In fact he would surpass his father. Under Michael the Romans would once again experience a revival. Under his reign the Romans would once again emerge as a powerful phoenix. Many credit the Paleologians to being the key to revive the Empire. Was it not for the three warrior emperors during the Romans greatest and most dire hour? The Romans would have been vanquished. Many parallels are made between Andronikos II, Michael IX, and Andronikos III Paleologos to the warrior emperors of Nikephoros Phokas, John Tzmiches, and Basil II of Macedonia. Like them the three warrior emperors saved the Roman Empire. Unlike them the roman military would never be the best. Under them the Roman theme system would never be used. Sadly such a system would not exist under the paleologians. Instead the Paleologians would create a string of vassals and let the vassal’s rule. Unlike the three warrior emperors the Paleologians would decentralize the Roman state, whereas the other three warrior emperors tried to centralize it.

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