At the Gates of St Romanus - A timeline by tubendo

Chapter 1: Under the Angelos
Victory at Constantinople

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War Flag of the Byzantine Empire

The siege of Constantinople was well underway. Although the great city had been sieged countless times and never taken, this time it was different. They were facing the Latins, the followers of the Patriarch of Rome. Emperor Alexios III since his coronation had been nothing but an selfish greedy idiot, wasting the treasury built up by the Komnenos dynasty that was almost depleted. This man was no weakling though. He pulled up an army of 7000, marching to the St Romanus gates to face his enemy. Outnumbering them, but his mood and morale was not at its greatest, but he still marched on. He thought of turning back and fleeing, saving himself and his fortunes, or save his empire and his city. This was no cowards game, this was the sport of kings, and he was going to win this match against all odds.

So with his 17 divisions he opened the grand gates and charged on the shocked enemy. Until then it had seemed like his troops had given in to despair. The charge of his battalion was gracious and agile, hitting the enemy so quickly the flanks didn't have a chance to decide their fates. Nearly 1000 crusaders were killed within the first hour and the remaining 2500 either fled or continued to fight out for the next 3 hours. Most of the Frankish cavalry survived and fled to the newly established Venetian hold in Chalcedon. The cavarly the main threat as only days before had they destroyed an army of 500. As the day drew to a close, the Emperor stood over the battlefield feeling a sign of relief. But the war wasn't over.

Alexios returned to the city and the next day he had a council with all the strategos present. The Venetians were still sieging from Golden Horn and the Varagians were tired from the long battles. He decided to start throwing the burning corpses of dead animals onto the Venetian ships to deter them, while his forces secure the ports and more troops across the Bophrous undetected, of course this involved them to go on a days trip around the small sea to Chalcedon. Although this plan partially failed it saw to that messengers were sent to Nicaea, Smyra and the rest of Asia Minor requesting their levies help free Chalcedon. The troops that did land built a small fortress on what would become a large town near Chalcedon.

After the Megas Doux of the Empire, Michael Stryphnos died in escape from Venetian forces so then Alexios elected Theodore Laskaris to become his new Megas Doux as they had family ties. Theodore launched the remaining levys from Asia Minor (except for the border defenders against the Sultanate of Rum), and on the 12th of August an assualt on Chalcedon was initiated. The attack was weak at first and quickly turned sour after the Frankish cavarly killed triple their numbers in a sally forth. The Crusaders had no reinforcements so the battle was against the minor garrison of the city plus the remaining Crusaders. Ladders allowed some troops to get in and signal the navy to attack. This gave them enough time to burn some of the Venetian ships that were ported and took out most of the cornered knights. The entire council of leaders including Boniface of Monferrat and Alexios IV escaped. Although the escape of the Emperors new found enemies was eminent, the Emperor had bigger problems than the ruddy Latins. Romans were always the sons of Mars. The sons of war.

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An artists depiction of the siege of Constantinople
 
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So Alecios the IV is an competent(ish) ruler ITTL so far where as OTL he was the emporer that lost the Empire. So what caused his change in character ITTL?
 
Boniface's Kingdom
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Election of Boniface of Montferrat as the leader of the 4th Crusade

On the 12th of August 1203, Boniface of Montferrat and his crusaders arrived in Thessaloniki, and begun to siege the city. A number of battles took place between the crusaders and the garrison over the next 2 months until Venetian forces broke the walls down and took the city. Boniface then was appointed as the King of Macedonia, although disapproved by his client, Alexios. The armed forces quickly lifted from the peasantry allowed Boniface to start to assert his control in Macedonia. The city of Philippi was next and was half burnt to the ground before their garrison fled the city. By the time that Philippi had fallen to the crusaders, Alexios had already tailed the army along the Thracian coast and prepared to destroy the puny army. Boniface took up arms and sought out to construct a camp near Thessalonica, and surprise Alexios when he begins to siege.

The plan didn't work for Boniface, as his peasant forces rose up and killed many of his loyal crusaders before they had a chance to flee the camps. The peasants marched back into Thessalonica, declaring themselves "loyal to the emperor, and the emperor only". The troops of Alexios were joined by Theodore's navy at the port of the reincorporated city and marched together to Philippi. Back in Phillipi much of Boniface's smaller force had already decided to flee down to the coast back to the Venetian ships, so Boniface was left with his disloyal peasantry, whom had started to revolt and kill his remaining troops. He blocked himself in a large property and prepared his garrison to fight.

The Byzantine navy, although still weak, had ground support to help them in the battle of Thessalonica, where the Byzantine navy was outnumbered 1/5 and had to use archers from the ground and their mythical Greek fire to save the port from capture. Although the navy lost around half its ships, Theodore Laskaris' brother Constantine, heading the navy temporarily at the time, proved to be a valiant leader and led to the retreat of Venetian forces to their rally point with the fleeing crusaders. The navy of Venice although superior, was not focused on destroying the navy, but saving their clients, by preventing the Byzantines sending a force to their rally point. Clever indeed, and their plan still succeeded.

Boniface had already decided to abandon Philippi by the time Alexios and Theodore arrived. He and his army quickly fled down the hills and arrived at their sea camp, around 20kms west of Thessalonica. The Venetians quickly boarded the survivors and sailed off immediately, heading into the Aegean, as Boniface suggested taking the Aegean islands for the crusade could allow Venice to control all trade between the Mediterranean states and the Crimea, Bulgaria, Cumania and Georgia.

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Byzantine galleys were essential to the success of Byzantium in the 4th Crusade
 
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So Alecios the IV is an competent(ish) ruler ITTL so far where as OTL he was the emporer that lost the Empire. So what caused his change in character ITTL?

He had a literal change of heart and decided to be brave for once.
 
Bigger problems
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Flag of the 4th Crusaders, used as the flag of Crusader Macedonia and Naxos

The Byzantine navy quickly trailed Boniface's force who landed on the island of Naxos on the 3rd of November. Much of Boniface's force had been depleted and rounded up the islands garrison and took all their weapons and armor, killing and enslaving the garrison, and forcing them to construct larger fortifications on the island. The battle of Naxos was a massive failure for the succeeding Byzantines, as the Venetian navy almost destroyed their force on arrival. The rest of the fleet fled to the city of Athens, around a week later, with Theodore going back to Constantinople to discuss matters with the Emperor.

The Emperor on the other hand, had bigger problems. The people of the empire declared the Angelos dynasty incompetent which lead to Alexios Komenenos declaring himself Emperor Alexios I of the Empire of Trebizond. He quickly and decisively won the peoples word and raised armies all throughout Byzantine Anatolia, quickly claiming the cities of Nicaea and Sinop from the rule of Alexios III. Theodore returned to the city of Constantinople on the 12th of December quickly taking alol the soldiers he could to prepare for battle with the rebel leader. This new civil war would not be tolerated and Theodore was sure he would come out of the battle a hero.

Emperor Alexios along with Theodore prepared to stop the Komnenos before the crusaders decide to strike again. Their large army sailed across the Sea of Marmara to the port of Abydos where most of the troops of Asia Minor had already gathered. The armies merged under the supreme charge of Alexios and headed towards Nicaea where the petty leader of Trebizond was said to of been. Suprisingly, the armies were heading straight towards each other. Alexios Angelos had over 8,000 troops from Thrace and Asia Minor, while Alexios Komnenos had around 5,000 mixed cavalry and peasant troops. While Alexios Angelos had a dispersed group of strategos at hand, Alexios Komnenos had only his family members to lead his army. Obviously, with the lack of advantages, the Trebizondians lost and fled to siege the city of Nicomedia, the key defense point of the Asian side of Constantinople.

Theodore returned to Abydos with a smaller army and sailed to Chalcedon and warned the aristocrats in the city of the impending siege and called them to fight. Many accepted and they set off on foot by the 26th of December towards Nicomedia. The armed force was strong and reached Nicomedia by the 2nd of January, joining the defenders in the siege against the forces of Alexios I of Trebizond. The army of the emperor on the other hand, had begun to siege the city of Nicaea. Overall, the problems of the emperor were greater than ever. The queen of cities and his seat on the throne of Rhomanion were challenged.

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Emperor Alexios III Angelos
 
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A Divided Empire
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Megas Doux and future Emperor, Theodore Laskaris I

The Byzantine Empire was rapidly breaking apart in a three way civil war. The crusaders and their claimant, Alexios Angelos (nephew of the Emperor), Alexios Komnenos, attempting to reclaim the throne from those who stole it, and the shrinking official Empire, headed by Emperor Alexios III. This all lead to the battle of Nicomedia, taking place on the 2nd of February 1204. The Byzantines had cooked up two massive forces, a cavalry army headed by the noble families and Theodore Laskaris, and the imperial army of Constantinople, which numbered in the thousands. They collided from a hillside charge, suprising the sieging Trebizondians, signalling Theodore and his noble cavalry quickly exited the main gate of the city and flanked the enemy from behind.

Alexios Komnenos escaped from the battle with his cavalry and headed back to Nicaea, attempting to raise larger armies throughout Anatolia, while the massive forces of the Emperor diluted, preparing for the new war with the Crusaders on Naxos. Boniface and Alexios had persued the goal of controlling the islands of the Aegean. Alexios decided to siege the city of Athens, which by late March, only remained as the Acropolis, the most well defended area in the city. Theodore and the navy broke threw a blockade near the Attican coast, and landed at the port of Mystras before heading north to the city of Cornith on the 12th of April. The Emperor resided his forces in Asia Minor, defeating many small skirmishes with the Trebizondians in the Bithynian highlands. He personally went to the island of Lesbos which was under siege by Alexios IV, attempting to gain a foothold towards the capital, where the Emperor burnt most of the island in exchange for its safe position within the Empire.

Theodore's arrival at Cornith lead to the repair and partial reconstruction of the Hexamilion, the largest wall defense system within the empire, not including the great walls of Constantinople. He begun to March towards Athens, battling the personal army of Boniface at the ancient city of Thebes. Theodore was not victorious, since the Crusaders had received reinforcements from Venice and was forced to return back behind the Hexamilion, attempting to lift and train all the men he could to finish the Crusader threat. Meanwhile Alexios Komnenos launched a large fleet which landed near Nicomedia, commencing the second siege, the strategos near Nicaea were redirected but were eventually victorious in saving the city, but the Trebizondian navy still was at large, passing threw Constantinople and breaking the Imperial blockade, forcing the capitals navy to repair in Abydos while Alexios Komenenos prepared to take all of Anatolia.

The city of Constantinople was still free and well defended but its Asian defense cities of Nicomedia and Abydos were under threat from new sieving parties. The emperor himself returned to Abydos and oversaw the reconstruction of his new navy, advised by Theodore, to lift the morale of his forces. Theodore himself on the other hand was in a completely different situation. He managed to rebuild his army, but Athens had already fallen, and the Venetians truly now had control of the Aegean, making the only land route between Morea and mainland Byzantine Greece was in the narrow passage near Thebes, which was at the time, loosely controlled by Boniface. The Byzantine levies in Thessaly and Eprius had already assessed the matter and were gathering in Larissa to prep for the campaign ahead of them. But inside those armies, were nobles, and those nobles wanted power.

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Flag of the Empire of Trebizond
 
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Hope from Laskaris
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The Varangian Guard were bribed by Theodore Laskaris to slaughter Alexios III

The armies of Emperor Alexios continued to batter back the Latins and the Komnenos, but their emperor had already shown his incompetence. The emmunical patriarch, John X Kamteros fearing the catastrophe ahead for Christendom in the east sent diplomats to Theodore Laskaris, to declare the emperor incompetent and calling him to seat of Emperor of Rome. Theodore immediately accepted this honor and begun to plot against his liege, but first decided to try and destroy his enemies in the Aegean.

The Emperor on the other hand had sent his personal navy to blockade Constantinople while he sorted out his dire losses in Asia Minor, as only the cities of Nicomedia, Abydos, Smyrna, Miletus and Ephesus remained under his control, while the largest city Nicaea was now deep within the grasp of petty Emperor Alexios of Trebizond. He now had control of most of the Anatolian highlands and had battered back a small Seljuk force at Antioch on the Meander. With the Turks to worry about, the situation was falling out of hand.

Theodore and his fellow generals set out on the 2nd of May and quickly took the ancient city of Thebes from the hands of Boniface who quickly knew his forces were no match to the entire Byzantine force limit of Greece. The armies quickly merged around Athens and sent a diplomat offering a treaty if they surrender the city, Boniface decided not to and called upon the tired Venetian navy to the coast of Attica where they launched all their soldiers upon the great force of Laskaris, with Boniface launching a sally forth at the same time. The Latin's were most defiantly defeated as they were extremely outnumbered and outmatched by the guerrilla tactics of the Greek peasantry beneath them. The city of Athens fell into chaos and the gates were opened on the 27th of May. On the first day of June it was declared that all of mainland Greece belong to the Byzantine Empire.

Then on the 14th of June when the tide was high, the Byzantine fleet arrived back at Abydos where Emperor Alexios continued to plot new attacks on the fleeting Komnenos. Theodore rejoined his brothers and enjoyed a feast celebrating their victory against the Latins, although still failing in the invasion against the claimant Komnenid. He then bribed the Varangian guard to kill Alexios that night, as requested by the holy patriarch. They killed him swiftly and sent his body to the camp of Theodore's army outside the city, where Theodore quickly shouted to his brethren that the reign of the Angelos was over and that he would go to Constantinople for his crowning. And that is how the reign of the puny Angelos ended in the beginning of the glory of the Laskaris!

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The Hellespont was one of the most important positions to secure in the Byzantine Civil War of 1204
 
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Chapter 2: Savior of an Empire
Beating back the storm
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The Byzantine Empire, Empire of Trebizond and Kingdom of Naxos at the crowning of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris

Theodore Laskaris was crowned on the 17th of June in the Hagia Sofia, Constatinople by Ecumenical Patriarch John X Kamteros, claimed by the patriarch to be the greatest hope for the continuity of the true Christianity in the East. Boniface of Montferrat was angered by this crowning as now they had another more worthy and genuine emperor to depose, instead of the incompetent uncle of their client, Alexios III Angelos. Emperor Theodore immediately begun his reign by sending all his lifted troops to Nicaea. Alexios Komnenos was already dealing with an upscaling war with Seljuk sultan, Suleiman II, which had already ended up with the loss of Dorylaeum, a contended city on the Anatolian borderlands. Seljuk forces met with Byzantine at the city of Pergamon on the 2nd of July, both attempting to seize it from the Trebizondians. Theodore decided there was not enough room into Anatolia for two powers and decided to attack the army, able to defeat them with one swift swipe.

Alexios Komnenos saw his weakness and withdrew his forces from southern Anatolia and decided to move his armies to Mysia to take Abydos and subsequently the Hellespont. Emperor Theodore could see this new attack coming and forged a small blockade around the city and nearby cities including Dardanus and Callipolis. Alexios arrived at the coast on the 5th of July and moved his small armies around the coastal cities, attempting to seize the ships in the area. Now with some Aegean coast to dock his navy, the formerly marauding fleet that had scourged the Aegean for months, returned to dock with their leader who ordered an attack on the queen of cities, to distract Byzantine forces long enough for him to cross into Thrace. Genius but daring, his plan succeeded and by the end of July Abdyos and Callipolis had fallen to his armies, both partially razed. The claimant to the throne, Alexios Angelos returned to Anatolia with a large Venetian fleet, which had been equipped to blockade the Hellespont and cease all Mediterranean trade to Constantinople. This fleet had shook the Trebizondian hold on the straits but were unable to completely subdue the region. Imperial forces arrived from Thrace and Asia Minor and used the pincer tactic to destroy the Trebizondian armies and retake the cities throughout August. The new distractions from the puny and desperate crusaders had finally had an affect on the charge of the Komnenid behemoth.

Boniface of Montferrat, self declared King of Naxos, landed on the island of Crete, seeking a better grasp of the Aegean. This was responded by aByzantine levies in Greece setting sail from Corinth, sailing around Morea to the sea of Crete, where the great battle of Crete occured, played out on land and sea, Theodores misguided strategos still managed to pull off a small victory, before the island was left with a larger garrison because the Venetian navy had forced a Byzantine retreat. With Crete almost assured to be inder Bonifaces rule by the end of October. But before the island was out of Theodores grasp, he had the chance to destroy the Komnenos and their petty realm once and for all.

The Sultan of Rum had already taken Sinop after a brief siege and skirmish with the forces of Alexios, his armies and state had been weakendd enough for the Byzantine Empire to restretch its grasp over Anatolia. The emperor had already retaken the Hellespont completely and arrived back at the target city of Nicaea. He quickly surronded the patrol force and headed straight into dismantling the morale and defense of the enemy. Unlike just surrendering a week or two into the siege, like most of the other cities had, Nicaea was the diamond jewel on the crown of Trebizond and wasn't going to be given up. The siege officially began on the 12th of September when the siege camps were set and Emperor Theeodore order the attack of any attempted escapes. Unlikely, the Seljuk Sultan had arrived on the 19th, and was angered he was not first to snatch the jewel. He proceded by going to battle with Theodore personally and forced a temporary Byzantine retreat and the establishment of a Seljuk siege camp. Byzantine forces then mustered back at Nicomedia and on the 2nd of October, went back to battle and successfully won using a large back swipe using their overgrown flanks. Finally the Seljuk, Trebizondian and Crusader threats had been temporarily neutralized, Emperor Theodore could focus on less wartime problems.

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The flag of the Seljuk Dynasty
 
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Loving this so far. Though it appears some of the last update was cut off because it stops mid sentence. Great start.

I was half done but had to stop. Now the new part is complete. Thanks for the support. Everyone seems to love my Byzantine timelines (except for my ASB Komnenos taking control of the Ottoman Empire timeline). Also my next part will be posted tommorow. Hope ya all excited.
 
The War for Asia Minor
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The Seljuk Turks had the most impressive soldiers in the East at the time

Imperial forces had defeated Alexios Megas Komnenos and his army at Nicaea, and had finally secured the defeat of his petty rebellion. But Alexios had a strike of luck. The Seljuks had already regrouped their defeated army and were ready to conquer all that was in their path. Because of this Theodore sent a diplomat to Trabzon to try for a ceasefire, which was granted as the petty emperor was still dealing with Seljuk armies terrorizing Pontus. The grand army of Suleiman II had already grouped at Dorylaeum, and immediately head to the newly gained Nicaea. The armies met just south of Nicaea, with the Turks quickly flanking the imperial army. Before long, the army had already head into retreat back to the city. The Seljuks celebrated this victory with the burning and pillaging of the nearby countryside and the construction of a small bronze monument, dedicated to the Sultan himself. Suleiman quickly turned to siege Nicaea while new Byzantine forces mustered from Greece and the Aegean, grouping at Pergamon on the 18th of October.

Theodore and his forces all joined on the 21st of October at Nicaea, where the greatest battle of the Seljuk-Byzantine War of 1204, where over 7,000 soldiers died collaboratively, before both armies retreated because of severe loss of morale and leaders. Nearly half of the Byzantine army that existed in 1204 took part in the battle, making it one of the largest Byzantine battles in history. The main loss in the battle was the emperors brother, Constantine, who was a respected general after his victories in the war that destroyed the short lived Kingdom of Macedonia. Theodore grieved for his brothers death and proceeded to send his body to be put in a tomb in Constantinople. The army quickly left the city and trailed Suleimans army to Dorylaeum, arriving on the 6th of November, sieging the city. The Turks, well aware of the advance of Theodore's army, had already pulled troops from Ankara westward which ambushed the force only a week into the siege, forcing the army to flee back to Pergamon.

While the war in Anatolia escalated, Crete fell to the army of Boniface in late September and Isaac Angelos was rescued by an incursion by Venetian spies, returned to see his son in Naxos. Boniface reinstated his ideas and returned to mainland Greece with a large force that just arrived from Italy. The army landed in Attica on the 8th of November and quickly returned to Athens, where the army that had conquered it months before still remained. The Venetian navy supported in blockading the region. The military responded by building large fortifications around the Acropolis and nearby cities, including Megara and Thebes. These plans proved successful and the armies clashed many times until Boniface successfully conquered the cities of Marathon and Phyle, allowing Boniface to establish a port in which his troops could land in Greece. After this point, Theodore now recognized the small threat of Boniface and the pretender to the throne could actually turn out as a huge problem. By the end of November, Boniface had taken all of Attica but the fortresses within Megara, Thebes and Athens.

Theodore, mainly ignoring the petty threats of the Crusaders, finally issued another attack on Dorylaeum, after the failure of his last attempt. The army set on the 1st of December and arrived in Dorylaeum on the 12th. His army was greeted by a massive Seljuk force but he was backed by all his forces from Anatolia, coming in from all sides. Surrounding the Turks he quickly made siege on the gates and attempted to kill the army inside by sending burning corpses to bring horror and disease to the cities large garrison. This succeeded and on the 2nd of January 1205, Suleiman had enough wits to order a large scale sally-forth, which initally came with success, pushing Byzantine forces out far enough to create openings for supplies to enter the city, but this all turned back in on them when the imperial cavalry all at once entered the gates and took the city from inside out, forcing Suleiman to flee back to Ankara, to regroup and plan more attacks against his growing adversary.

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Alexios Angelos (son of Emperor Isaac II Angelos), claimant to the throne of the Byzantine Empire
 
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The Peace of Ankara
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The mosques were the centre of Turkish and Islamic life, and that is why they were targeted by the Byzantines

Theodore I Laskaris had built the Byzantine Empire back to something it could stand down from. A worthy foe for any invader, his large armies crushed their adversaries in their wake. That is how he managed to make the first great success against the Seljuks since the times of the Komnenos. His restoration had only begun but was threatened by the rising coalition against his ideas for a restored Macedonian size Byzantium, which could instill fear in Europe and the Near East. Quickly did Theodore chase down the Turkish armies into the Anatolian highlands, where the next great battle of the war against the tide was initiated, the battle of Ankara (on the 22nd of January, 1205), where the Byzantines had already marched into central and core Seljuk territories, raiding the countryside and restoring their Christian churches. The still remaining Greek Christians in Anatolian welcomed Theodore and his armies and allowed for new garrisons and forts to be settled in central Anatolia.

The problematic crusaders still attempted to gain land in Greece and were able to break the Hexamillon in late January and flooded into Morea, sieging the city of Nafplio as quickly as the Venetians had time to muster there. With the attack of Morea underway, their naval blockade was undermined by a Byzantine task force which landed back on the island of Crete where the newly formed Army of Crete which quickly landed in Chania and took the crusader knights present hostage and held them up for ransom. Boniface returned to Crete to offer a deal while his brothers carved out new domains in Morea. The city of Mystras, the provisional capital of Achaea, was besieged by Crusader forces sometime in late February before the naval force of Eprius reached the city and stormed the Crusader camps, capturing one of their leaders Louis I, Count of Blois, who was sent to the prison in Dyrrachium where he awaited trial by the leader of the Epriote forces, Manuel Laskaris (Theodores eldest brother) who had gained control of the army after the first landing at Athens. Manuel and his army crossed Morea within days and arrived back at Cornith on the 4th of March, which had been under siege by the armies of Constantine Laskaris, attempting to sezie back the extremely important naval position they had lost to Bonifaces wave of conquest.

The city of Cornith had already suffered a massive blow after a fire burnt down much of the city in attempts to crush Greek rebels. The Byzantine warlords quickly started to reconstruct the Hexamillon and rebuild the razed commercial district of the city which was now replaced with refuge camps, fleeing the battlefields of Athens. Athens was already up in the fires of war as barricades layered the edges of the Attican peninsula as the Byzantine armies skirmishes grew closer to the key city. Boniface himself was struck up in Nafplio with the Venetian navy calling him back to Crete to fight of the vigoursly expanding Byzantine Army of Crete. Many crusader lives had been lost and once the Turks had begged for mercy, the Byzantines took their attention on a round swing back to Greece.

Back in Pontus, the army of Theodore had arrived at Sinop where they planned a new attack directly on Trabzon. The siege of Sinop was long and gory enough already so the Emperor left a large enough force and trekked along the southern Black Sea coast. Trabzon was already growing in power because of its new trade power focusing on transfering the wealth of Persia and Egypt to the Rus, who had agreed to their ambitious plan on rethroning Emperor Theodore. The Rus, broken down into smaller loosly tied states, had sent an army from Kiev to Bessembria, which initiated small Rus-Pechneg conflicts but by mid-1205 they had sent their armies on the Trebizondian fleet to Sinop to intercept the Byzantine army. The Rus amassed an army of around 8,000 which could beat back an average Byzantine army around 2,000 troops less. This was because of the armies lack of cavalry, because only the noblity from Rus had horses at their expense. The armies of Theodore and Russian king Mstistlavich met at Cotyora on the 15th of May 1205.

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The soldiers of 'Rus were a mix between the barbarous of the Slavic pagans and the traditional Byzantine military
 
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Fall of Trabzon and Athens
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Byzantine soldiers were worn out from the civil war, conflicts with the Turks, and the Crusader invaders

The civil war of 1204-5 had already reached its apex, the battle of Cotyora, where the village was overrun by Byzantine cavalry, where they intercepted the army of Mstistlavich, which itself was heading to siege Sinop. Once the army had been located, the Russian army headed towards the village, being notified of Imperial presence and reached there by noon. This was where the main part of battle occurred, involving much of the peasantry of Cotyora fighting off the Russians. Eventually the Russians were forced to retreat to Trabzon, wearing the Trebizondian hold on the coast.

Theodore himself, oversaw the battle and quickly rode with his men, tailing the Russian army to the castle of Kordyle where the Russians located themselves within the fortress. The next day (16th of May 1205), the main Byzantine army bypassed the fort and encroached the walls of Trabzon which was only a few kilometers away. The Russians pulled out when the main army passed and defeated the small escort army headed by Theodore's son in law, John Doukas Vatatzes who was captured by Mstitlavich, and was heavily beaten by the Russian officers. Imperial forces finally had enough power to keep a full siege and attempted to sway the people by throwing in flaming corpses, giving the people a reason to revolt and demand the surrender of the city. This went far enough to the peasantry, headed by a rich pro-Byzantine nobleman, to attack the pretenders fortress at the port of Trabzon, which forced Alexios and his family to set sail from the city to Sevastapol, leaving the city defenseless and allowing the peasants to open the gates of the city and welcome their great Emperor Theodore into the city. The rest of Trebizond quickly began to fall into dissaray and by the 1st of July 1205, all of Trebizond had defected to the their glorious suzerain, the Byzantine Empire.

After Alexios' safe landing in Sevastapol, he offered peace with the Byzantines, who he would grant all of their occupied territories, all of his own treasury, numbering in the thousands of ducats, but allow him to keep the Crimea as his personal, independent domain. He would also relinquish all claims on the throne of the Byzantine Empire, being distantly related to the last Komnenid Emperors prior to the crowning of Isaac II Angelos. The Kievan Russians, still wanting more power in the Black Sea trade, sent most of their navy to Sevastapol to try and indimidate a tax on ships coming from Constantinople and Azov. Their king, or Grand Prince (not recognised as kings because of their position as Eastern Orthodox followers), Msistlavich left Kordyle on the 2nd of July, formally ending the Kiev-Komnenos presence in Anatolia, and also left the half-dead body of John Vatatzes in the castle who was sent to recover in Nicaea but died on the 15th of July from sustained injuries (an infected wound in his torso from being stabbed while riding his horse).

Finally, Theodores first and foremost problem could now be solved. He could eradicate the Angelos line and destroy the petty Latins in the Aegean. On the 19th of July, his fleet left port at Abydos after consulting peace treaties with Msistlavich. The Imperial navy battled with the Venetian navy at the battle of Chios and the third great battle of Attica, finally pushing the blockade aside and landing nearby Athens, preparing to take the challenged city. Down south, Manuel had already encountered Boniface in a skirmish outside Napflio. Who would of belived it could become the last Latin holdout in Greece. By mid-1205, the Army of Chania had successfully broken the walls of Herkalia and proclaimed full suzerainty of the island, although the Venetians remained to maurader the waters.

Theodore broke the walls of Athens on the 2nd of September and charged into the city. By his own account he claims that this happened: "As walls of the ancient city crumbled, the imperial flag I bestow was stamped into the top of the acropolis before I clipped Alexios Angelos the younger on the forehead before killing the poor bastard with one swift move of a pike, ending his petty families control over my great country. I belive that his death will finish that Lombard rat Boniface as well." After these events, Attica was swiftly retaken and Napflio and Crusaders within were forced to flee or be captured. With Louis and Alexios both presumed executed, the Crusaders saw no idea but to surrender and return to Venice. Doge Enrico Dandolo had died a week before due to a severe fever and left the Venetians in disarray. The Venetian navy packed up and returned to Zara, where fresh supplies could help the weak Crusaders. Boniface chose to remain on Naxos until his untimely death a few months later when the navy arrived and almost razed the entire island, killing nost if not all of the remaining Crusaders. This marked the end of the 4th Crusade and Pope Innocent was horrified with the mess the Venetians had made, already excommunicating Enrico Dandolo before his death (this was a black stain on the reputation of Venice among all christian countries). This was only the beginning. The beginning of a better Empire. A Roman Empire.

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Pope Innocent III was angered by the 4th Crusade but still agreed to a cause of reunificatiin of the churches
 
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Chapter 3: Storm of the Balkans
Finality of the Fourth Crusade
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The Byzantine Empire, Empire of Crimea and Seljuk Sultanate of Rum at the fall of Naxos

On the 13th of November 1205, after many battles and the death of over 200 Crusaders, the island of Naxos returned to the rule of the Emperor. Theodore moved his campaigning military plans to Ragusa, a small republic on the Dalmatian coast, holding enough wealth and a good enough position to make an offensive on Venice. The Venetians had retreated back to Zara where their navy was reorganised and the crusaders were forced to depart, forcing the remaining crusaders to establish a village outside of Zara, where they would work and live until the Venetian navy was prepared to make a new offensive. Pope Innocent III had already seen the carnage played out over Greece and Constantinople and sent a small Papal escort ship from Romagna to meet with the now-head of the crusaders, Baldwin of Flanders. He sought to return home with their loot, while the Venetians sought to take the loot as their pay for chauferring them around the Aegean. The Popes diplomat offered them a trip back to Rome where their respected brothers would be waiting to take them home. Baldwin agreed to this, as he had gained a massive amount of gold through the sieges of Cornith, Napflio and Athens.​

The Byzantine navy had all but returned to their posts in defending the Aegean and Sea of Mamara, with their leader, Constantine Laskaris, residing back in Constantinople awaiting orders from his younger brother and Emperor, Theodore I Laskaris. On the topic of the imperial family, Theodores first son, Nikolaos Laskaris was already deemed by the nobility as the heir to the Empire but Manuel and Constantine already contested this heirloom and idealised themselves taking power. Constantine beat his older brother to the chase and asked Theodore, if on his untimely death, he would become the Emperor. Theodore accepted this, as he had come to like his brothers personality and ideals the most out of all his siblings.​

Throughout the new reign of the Laskaris dynasty, which had already been much approved, the economy of the empire regrew expontentally, and by the end of 1205, they already had regrown the treasury to its mass before the reign of Alexios III Angelos. With the economy on good terms again, many people who had fled Constantinople and Thrace in the wake of the Fourth Crusade had returned and the population had gone up and down around 3,000 in 3 years. Byzantium had now been left as a greater power house in the near east and her expansion warned the Ayyubids of a Greek crusade in future that was probable to occur to them.

Byzantine armies were prepared by the 3rd of March 1206 and proceeded to sail to Dyrrachium, their launching point for an invasion of the city of Ragusa, a key trading centre on the Dalmatian coast, which was loosely controlled by Venice. The navy arrived at Dyrrachium on the 14th of April and with the orders of Megas Doux Constantine Laskaris, set off for Ragusa, arriving outside the city within a week. Theodore offered the King of Raska a hefty sum of ducats for allowing his armies to March through his territory to Ragusa, which the King agreed to. The armies arrived at Ragusa on the 23rd of April and the initial battle begun. The Emperor himself oversaw his armies attack and was able to boost their morale enough to allow a storming of the outskirts battlements which he turned into his siege camp. The naval battle was not as easy and led to obvious large losses for both sides, with a retreat ordered by both fleets.​

The Byzantine armies were able to break the Venetian defenses on the 12th of May and took most of the poorer parts of the city while the merchants and their Magistrate were able to escape the city with much of its finances. The cities small garrison surrendered the next day and the city was given partial autonomy under the government of the Principality of Ragusa. The city was already restored with much of the emperors wealth was poured into the restoration of the city. Their prince, unknown by name to history, requested that the emperor unite Dalmatia under the princes rule so he could gain the wealth mainly controlled by Venice. The emperor already had this idea and went straight to it, sending Manuel and Constantine to Zara with their armies to siege. This was only the beginning of the second period of the Fourth Crusade, better known as the Byzantine conquest of Dalmatia.

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The flag of the Principality of Ragusa, which was the re-adoption of the flag of the former Republic of Ragusa
 
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March for Zara
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The flag of the Most Serene Republic of Venice

Venetian naval forces had dominated the Adriatic since the Byzantine Empire was ravaged after the Battle of Manzikert. Their Doge, Enrico Dandolo had life grudge on the Byzantines, and in the 4th crusade, attempted to destroy his enemies. Sadly for him, he failed, the new great Emperor Theodore I had plans for the old Italian. In vengeance, the Byzantine navy sailed rapidly to the Dalmatian coast after their recovery and conquered the city of Ragusa in a flash, leaving an opening for a land attack of Zadar, the key Venetian hold on the Dalmatian coast.
 
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