I know that there have been alot of outstanding "Byzantine" TLs on here lately (Orient Yourself Correctly rocks), but I had a fascinating idea for Alexios I to recapture much of Anatolia and Antioch by his death in 1118 and was wondering if it was plausible. First, I would have a POD where Alexios relieves the Crusaders at Antioch in 1098 instead of turning back with his army when he was halfway thru the march. Alexios would re-establish Roman control in Antioch and Cilicia with relative ease (aided by Raymond of Toulouse supporting Alexios' territorial claims) and would have given his Empire a strategic foothold in the Levant.
From there on out, Alexios will not focus upon depopulating the Anatolian plateau of its Christian inhabitants (as he did during his campaigns in the region OTL) but will garrison places along the route between his two prizes; Nicaea and Antioch. This would leave the interior somwhat less "Turkish" that it was OTL following his death.
Finally, I would have Alexios take advantage of the manpower and chaos of the Crusade of 1101 to capture Iconium at this juncture, before the Seljuqs had fully recovered from their setbacks in the wake of the crusades. Alexios, joining the 1101 Crusaders of Walter of Nevers with his field army, would likely end up with Anycra and Iconium held by Roman garrisons and a more secure land route to Antioch and thus Jerusalem.
Obviously John II and his successors in such a TL would still have to reduce the Danishmends of Eastern Anatolia, a task that would take much time. But Alexios, by relieving Antioch in 1098, would have left the later Komnenoi in a far better position to assert their control over the entirety of Anatolia and to absorb the Seljuqs on the peninsula. I had written 4 chapters of this TL (thru 1130 AD and John II) but was wondering if the noble minds of this forum thought that this chain of events was plausible enough.
Thanks for any feedback, this site has been such an amazing resource for my historical interests and research into the 12th and 13th centuries!
From there on out, Alexios will not focus upon depopulating the Anatolian plateau of its Christian inhabitants (as he did during his campaigns in the region OTL) but will garrison places along the route between his two prizes; Nicaea and Antioch. This would leave the interior somwhat less "Turkish" that it was OTL following his death.
Finally, I would have Alexios take advantage of the manpower and chaos of the Crusade of 1101 to capture Iconium at this juncture, before the Seljuqs had fully recovered from their setbacks in the wake of the crusades. Alexios, joining the 1101 Crusaders of Walter of Nevers with his field army, would likely end up with Anycra and Iconium held by Roman garrisons and a more secure land route to Antioch and thus Jerusalem.
Obviously John II and his successors in such a TL would still have to reduce the Danishmends of Eastern Anatolia, a task that would take much time. But Alexios, by relieving Antioch in 1098, would have left the later Komnenoi in a far better position to assert their control over the entirety of Anatolia and to absorb the Seljuqs on the peninsula. I had written 4 chapters of this TL (thru 1130 AD and John II) but was wondering if the noble minds of this forum thought that this chain of events was plausible enough.
Thanks for any feedback, this site has been such an amazing resource for my historical interests and research into the 12th and 13th centuries!