AIMA: A tale of Rome's third millenium, rebooted.

Some updates from around the world of AIMA

I: 1180-1190 AD: William II "the Good" of Sicily attacks Egypt on two occasions with support from the Roman fleet (ITTL he does not invade Rhomania and sack Thessaloniki in 1185 due to the strength of Bela-Alexios' position.

II: 1172-1210 AD: Bela-Alexios' brother, Geza III Arpad, reigns as King of Hungary and rules in alliance with the Empire. Bosnia, Croatia and Dalmatia are returned by Alexios II to the Hungarian crown in exchange for assistance against the Serbian principalities of Rascia. This alliance plays a huge role in keeping the peace in the Balkans and strengthens Alexios' hand in his Anatolian wars and his management of the 3rd Crusade.

More to come don't worry!
 
AIMA Final Cut

I'm redoing this TL and am going to present the opening chapters in this thread with changes made from the original in bold. Let me know if you like it!


AIMA: A saga of Rome’s Third Millenium, a counter-factual historical epic inspired by BG’s Issacs’ Empire, Elfwines’ The Eagle of the Bosporus and the Komneian dynasty of the Eastern Roman Empire.


The Setting and PODs:

AIMA is a tale of the Empire of the East—that of Constantinople—that neither falls to crusaders in 1204 nor loses its position of central importance in the Mediterranean world as a whole. The timeframe will be set from 1176 AD to 1453 AD, a year remembered in this yarn as one of great change for three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia. The dynasties present shall be the Komnenoi, their immediate successors the Megas Komnenoi and the famed Palaiologoi, the dynasty that reclaims past glories and re-solidifies Constantinople’s claim to be the sole seat of the Roman Empire in a divided Mediterranean World wracked by Holy War, Mongol Hordes, the Black Death and Antipopes. One POD shall be allowed in the opening setting: A: Manual I Komnenos will have no biological son and will leave the Empire to his son in law Bela-Alexios II, husband to his purple-born daughter Maria Komnena.

The Empire that Alexios II inherits faces great challenges yet also possesses enormous potential, the end of Manuel’s reign see’s a victory over Turkish raiders in Anatolia at the battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir in 1178 while in the west the writ of the Basileus still extends over the entirety of the Balkans, including Serbia. ITTL the Battle of Myriokephalon still occurs in 1176, but Alexios II, then serving as Megas Domestikos, distinguishes himself in the battle (much as Manuel I did at John II's failed siege of Niskar) and defeats the Turks in the years 1177-1180, heartening his war weary father in law. Though Myriokephalon was certainly a disappointment, Bela-Alexios, at the head of the Roman armies, has maintained the Anatolian frontiers and is looking for revenge against the Sultan of Ikonion...

Bela-Alexios faces threats from all sides, however, and must take advantage of his blood relations to both the Komnenoi and Arpad dynasties to secure the legacy of his father in law and continue the reconquista of Anatolia inaugurated by the first crusade a century before. On Christmas day, 1180 AD, the Empire stands at a great turning point in its storied history. First though, Alexios must secure his own ascension against internal enemies.
 
The Anatolian frontier in 1180.

Bela-Alexios, ever since his elevation to the status of Kaisar and heir presumptive of the Roman Empire, had often campaigned alongside his father-law in his various Anatolian adventures. During the campaign of Myriokephalon in 1176, Bela Alexios commanded the rearguard of the imperial army and (due in no small part to his personal valor) drove the Turks from the mountain pass in which the imperial baggage and siege trains were trapped. Though the imperial forces had lost their opportunity to capture Ikonion itself, the battle was by no means a decisive Turkish victory, and from the historical sources it is apparent that the Seljuqs suffered heavy casualties. Still, with his siege train destroyed and his Antiochene allies slaughtered, Manuel accepted peace terms with Kiliji Arslan II and withdrew into Roman territory with the bulk of his army.

Bela-Alexios, whose exploits in the unfortunate battle had been the sole bright spot of the affair for the Romans, was given overall command of the imperial army by his father in law, (after the failure of 1176 Manuel seemed content to allow his heir to lead the Roman forces against the Seljuqs). As the strongest Megas Domestikos since John Axouch, Bela Alexios made rapid progress in strengthening the Roman position. Though Manuel had torn down his new fortress of Soubalaum, that of Dorylaeum remained. Kiliji Arslan, angered at Manuel's failure to pull down the fortifications, sent an army into Roman territory with the goal of pillaging all of the Thrakesion Theme of Western Anatolia.

This Turkish army, however, was annihilated at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir while on its return journey through the passes of the Meander Valley (and close to the site of the inconclusive Battle of Myriokephalion a year before). Under the command of Bela-Alexios and another skilled Roman general, John Komnenos Vatatzes, the imperial forces laid an ambush for the Turks while they were encumbered with the booty they had collected on their razzia. Thus, just a year after Manuel's apparent defeat, the forces of the Sultan of Ikonion suffered a far greater blow at the hands of his heir - virtually the entire Seljuq force was wiped out in the ambush.

Similar Turkish offensives against the Roman border fortresses of Dorylaeum and Klaudiopolis were also repulsed and thus, by 1179, the Sultan was forced to accept peace terms that stipulated the continued Roman presence at Dorylaeum. Weakened by his defeats at the hand of Bela-Alexios and worried about further Roman offensives, the Sultan saw few other options. Thus, by the death of Manuel I and the coronation of Alexios II in 1180, the Anatolian frontier had once again become the primary focus of Roman military operations. Despite the failure of the expedition of 1176, the new Basileus, strengthened by his Hungarian alliance on his western flank, looked to launch annual campaigns against the Seljuqs with a focus and consistency lacking under his father in law.
 
The Empire in 1180:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Byzantine_Empire_1180-nl.svg


Map_Byzantine_Empire_1180-nl.svg
 
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