Although there was much work to do on the Anatolian plateau yet, Alexios II had greatly improved the position of the Romans' in the east during the Third Crusade and during the 1190s. The walls of Ikonion were strong, and the city itself was garrisoned and held by a strong force of Romans, Germans and Hungarians under a Doux through the rest of the "Magyar's" reign. Alexios himself had also finished the campaigning season of 1190 fortifying some of the smaller towns the Romano-German army had captured - such as Philomelion and Amorion - in the same manner, repairing damaged walls and keeps in the process. Alexios, like John II and Manuel before him, relied on a programme of rapid castle building in order to frustrate the nomads and secure the over.
Following the death of the aged Sultan Kiliji Arslan II in 1192 in his new capital at Kayseri, his son's continued their squabbles over the various statelets of Anatolia. Things were looking brighter for ever for the Romans due to the emergence of separate Turkish states - one at Ancyra, another at Sivas and yet another at Kayseri (all ruled by different son's of the late Sultan). Finally, in 1194 Alexios re-captured Anycra, which had rebelled against his rule after being briefly captured by Roman troops in 1190. Exhausted by war (Turkish forces had suffered heavy losses in pitched battles in 1176, 1178 and 1190) and riven with civil strife, the remaining sons of Kiliji Arslan concluded a peace with Alexios in 1195, the next year.
The German Emperor Henry VI, meanwhile, proved to be even more of a potential menace than his father the Barbarossa. Having pressed his claims to The Kingdom of Sicily and the communes of the Lombard League (who had lost Roman support following the treaty concluded between Alexios and Barbarossa in 1190), Henry had established his rule over much of Italy, and had established Hohenstaufen rule over Palermo itself in 1194 following the death of Tancred of Lecce, the last "Norman" king in the Regno. Although The Germans had assisted the Romans and Hungarians in defeating the Seljuqs in 1190, they still coveted the same imperial powers that Alexios II held.
Something had to give between the "Magyar" and Henry VI...
More coming next concerning the Empire, Richard the Lionheart/ the Angevin Empire and the HRE!
Following the death of the aged Sultan Kiliji Arslan II in 1192 in his new capital at Kayseri, his son's continued their squabbles over the various statelets of Anatolia. Things were looking brighter for ever for the Romans due to the emergence of separate Turkish states - one at Ancyra, another at Sivas and yet another at Kayseri (all ruled by different son's of the late Sultan). Finally, in 1194 Alexios re-captured Anycra, which had rebelled against his rule after being briefly captured by Roman troops in 1190. Exhausted by war (Turkish forces had suffered heavy losses in pitched battles in 1176, 1178 and 1190) and riven with civil strife, the remaining sons of Kiliji Arslan concluded a peace with Alexios in 1195, the next year.
The German Emperor Henry VI, meanwhile, proved to be even more of a potential menace than his father the Barbarossa. Having pressed his claims to The Kingdom of Sicily and the communes of the Lombard League (who had lost Roman support following the treaty concluded between Alexios and Barbarossa in 1190), Henry had established his rule over much of Italy, and had established Hohenstaufen rule over Palermo itself in 1194 following the death of Tancred of Lecce, the last "Norman" king in the Regno. Although The Germans had assisted the Romans and Hungarians in defeating the Seljuqs in 1190, they still coveted the same imperial powers that Alexios II held.
Something had to give between the "Magyar" and Henry VI...
More coming next concerning the Empire, Richard the Lionheart/ the Angevin Empire and the HRE!