A new version of Macbeth(Polanski) with Theophano playing the role of you know who...
Isaac's Empire 2.0
- Thread starter Basileus Giorgios
- Start date
You cannot speak about a 'second' or 'third' or 'n' Rennaissance,The Byzantine Rennaissance was one,like the Italian Rennaissanance was one,following their respective 'Dark Ages' that in Byzantium took place considerably earlier by few hundred years...and we cann't speak about a "part" of Rennaissance(cultural-philosophical),but of Rennaissance in its entirety like civilization as a whole not merely a part of it-Happy New Year.
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I would,if I knew how....I have never had time in my hands to deal with procedures on this sites...After sitting it out last year, I.E has re-entered the Turtledove Awards this year, and I must humbly ask for the electoral support my excellent readers. Let's bring home the gold for a third year.
1) This is not exactly a vassalage as it is applied in western Europe within the borders of the same country;the correct situation here is a tribute paying country,either in money or in kind(supplies,military support etc),
but still a foreign country,and, if that country was playing a two face political game,it is better to eliminate it, if it is military viable and strategically profitable.
2) The name of peninsula has been taken by the Haemus mountains and it is called(until now) The Haemus peninsula(or so my geography book said then) and the name Balcans runs parallel to it out of usage.
Much congratulations, Basileus. Keep this TL going! Love the first version, can't wait to see this one continue.
Well, just for you, metastasis_d, there's a new update coming in the next hour or so.
Chapter Six: The Triumph of Alexios Komnenos
Chapter Six: The Triumph of Alexios Komnenos
"That blessed Emperor brought me to the Ruling City as naught but a barbarian boy, and there he made me a Roman..."
The Life Story of Jordan of Aversa, written circa 1160.
"That blessed Emperor brought me to the Ruling City as naught but a barbarian boy, and there he made me a Roman..."
The Life Story of Jordan of Aversa, written circa 1160.
The breakup of the Empire of the Saljūq Turks in the Fertile Crescent is a long and complicated process that need not concern us here. Suffice it to say that, following the death of the Sultan Alb Arslān in 1066, the state had fatally lost its balance, and his successors were forced to spend most of their time in Persia, keeping an eye on various rivals from within the ruling dynasty. By 1085, Saljūq control over the primarily Arabic areas of Syria and Palestine was little more than a legal fiction, and three new Turkish dynasties had sprung up in the area, all ruled by ātābegs (i). The new states- the Salghurids of Jerusalem, the Ildenizids of Damascus and the Ahmadilids of Harran (ii), fought constantly, both against each other and the infidels of Rūm. For Alexios, these new raiding states were an alarming disturbance, and it was primarily against Harran that he campaigned between 1094 and 1097.
The return of the Emperor and his retinue to Constantinople in the summer of 1100 was a mournful occasion. Alexios himself was reported to be near inconsolable, and, according to the admittedly biased testimony of his own history, the only one who could console him was a young Norman boy by the name of Jordan of Aversa, who now enters our story for the first time. Jordan’s father, like Alexios’ son, had been killed at Savona, and the boy, who apparently reminded Alexios of his deceased son, was taken into the imperial retinue. Jordan, then aged ten years old, was treated “like the Emperor’s own child”, according to his later self. Of course, in his old age, Jordan had ample reason for claiming this, and it could be that the story is a tall tale. We simply do not know. What is clear, though, is that the Emperor was, as he had been following his wife’s death thirteen years previously, badly shaken. Not for the last time, control of the central government quickly devolved down onto the shoulders of the Parakoimomenos Basilios (iii), now in his early forties. Basilios had been close to the deceased prince Michael, as his tutor, but unlike Alexios, he was entirely free of paralysing depression. He moved swiftly. The Emperor’s youngest daughter Styliane, thus far unmarried, was quickly found a husband in the form of her elder cousin Manuel Komnenos, the Katepánō of Italy, whose own Lombard wife had conveniently died in childbirth (iv). To deny the Italians (v) too much power at court, the Parakoimomenos persuaded the Emperor to recall from exile his daughter Anna, and her husband, Basil Palaiologos, who was appointed to the influential position of Khartoularios tou Kanikleiou, the keeper of the Imperial Inkstand (vi).
With the court thus reshuffled, Basilios might have hoped to enjoy a period of ascendency, but it was to be denied to him, for Alexios recovered reasonably quickly from his period of mourning. Perhaps it was the influence of Jordan of Aversa, or, more likely, it was the presence at court of his grandchildren by Basil and Anna that eased the Emperor’s woes and convinced him that there was still hope for the future. Either way, by the end of 1102, the contemporary Arab geographer al-Sabti could report that Alexios was in “high spirits” and “eager to extend the dominion of his people”.
The object of the Emperor’s aggression was the Turkish states. With the Italian situation in the safe and competent hands of his nephew Stephen, Alexios felt free to turn to the Turks, but before he could do so, there were pressing local difficulties to do so. A planned expedition in 1104 had collapsed into acrimonious fighting between the Domestikos tēs Anatolēs (vii) Pantherios Skleros (viii) and Johannes, the exiled King of Ani, whose forebears had been settled in Cappadocia by the Emperor Constantine IX (ix). Pantherios, nicknamed “the leopard” by the Armenian exiles of central Anatolia, had apparently pushed Johannes too far with his insistence on harassing the Monophysite priests accompanying the Imperial army in a campaign against the Atabeg of Harran, with the result that the Armenian and his men had deserted the army, and retreated back to Caesarea before they had even left Edessa. It was an embarrassment for the Empire, made worse by the crushing defeat of the client Emir of Aleppo at the hands of the Atabeg of Harran later in the campaigning season, and the sack of the city.
Relations between Johannes and the Domestikos remained sour enough for Alexios to seriously consider demoting Skleros- it was only the realisation that to do so would mean replacing Skleros with his brother Isaac that kept the Domestikos in his office. Campaigning for the next three years was miserable, and marked by constant insubordination from the Armenians of the Tagmata, which reached its apogee in the autumn of 1107 with the betrayal of Edessa to the Turks the moment the Emperor and his armies had retreated to spend the winter in Cilicia. To make matters worse, the following year, the Turks managed to co-opt a number of Arab pirates, and with their support launched a surprisingly damaging raid on Cyprus. Something would have to be done.
Alexios moved quickly and decisively. Pantherios Skleros was demoted to Doux of Antioch (x) and replaced as Domestikos by a loyal Armenian, Bardanes of Mopsuestia, who had served under Stephen Komnenos in Sardinia. Furthermore, embassies were sent to the Fatimid Caliph in Egypt (xi), proposing a join attack on the Turks. The Egyptians, supported by the Imperial navy and ships from the Italian vassals, would attack the Turks in Palestine, while Alexios himself would personally lead an invasion to retake Edessa, and drive into Syria. The Caliph readily agreed, and the following year, the attack was launched.
Alexios met with the combined forces of the Atabegs of Damascus and Harran at Homs on the Orontes. The Turks attempted to break up the Imperial army, but, thanks to the skills (if we are to believe the writings of Jordan) of a picked band of Norman knights, their horse archers were cornered and massacred. The main body of the Imperial army held together under the Emperor, and then moved forward, to scatter the remainder of the Turkish force. The Atabeg of Damascus fought bravely but was eventually overcome and killed by a detachment of Englishmen (xii). His counterpart from Harran was forced to submit to Alexios, return Edessa, and agree to an annual tribute. With the Egyptians having successfully captured Gaza from the Turks of Jerusalem and neutered their power for the time being, Alexios found himself in the happy position of being the first Emperor to enjoy friendly (and, indeed, dominant) relations with all of the states of his borders since the time of Maurice. His reign would, it appeared, end in well-merited triumph.
There were still a few upsets along the way. In 1114, an uprising was mounted by a Greek general, Theodosios Melissenos, which provoked some alarm in the capital. Melissenos was able to mobilise a great deal of popular support in his province from an increasingly alienated peasantry, tired of paying high levels of taxation to support the expanded armies. Even as economic diversification increased, and urban populations grew, the taxation system remained conservative and based around leeching cash from the rural peasantry, the least politically powerful segment of society. The revolt, after managing to capture Thebes and Corinth, was defeated by Manuel Komnenos, but the problems would continue, and further rioting would break out in Thrace three years later. A static currency and an increasingly rapacious state hurt the rural poor badly while at the same time encouraging the abandonment of traditional practises in favour of movement from the country to the towns. A nettle would have to be grasped by a future administration and, already, the Parakoimomenos was putting his formidable mental power towards coming up with a solution. For now, though, peasants would have to wait. The Emperor Alexios was in steep decline.
Alexios had reached his sixtieth birthday in the spring of 1116 apparently a triumphant man, and had, Jordan tells us, spent an agreeable summer at a rural villa in Bithynia in the company of his only grandson, John, the son of Manuel and Styliane. Jordan, now a man in his mid-twenties, had apparently been appointed the young prince’s tutor, but warmly tells us that Alexios had accepted responsibility for his grandson’s education, lovingly informing John of the secrets of statecraft. In view of what happened later (xiii), of course, Jordan’s testimony about John Komnenos can be argued to be somewhat suspect, but the image he creates, of a doting grandfather, is an attractive one. The historian must surely hope that Jordan’s testimony is correct.
The Emperor caught a chill while returning to the City that autumn, and, by Christmas, it must have been apparent to all that he was not long for the world. Immediately, a quiet struggle began under the surface of court between Basil Palaiologos and Isaac Komnenos the Younger, who had swallowed repeated indignities from his Imperial brother to remain alive and healthy. Alexios himself would likely have preferred the throne to go to Basil than “the Italian” as he dismissively referred to his brother, but affairs were slipping out of his hands, as the Parakoimomenos moved onto the scene and decided, as he had done thirty years earlier, to back Isaac’s faction and deny Basil the throne. Even with Basilios’ intervention, though, both claimants enjoyed a degree of legitimacy and popular support. Alexios’ death, when it finally came, would bring interesting times down upon the Empire.
The Emperor lingered on through the summer of 1117, rarely rising from his bed, and spending much of the time delirious. Eventually, in a moment of lucidity, he decided enough was enough, and, with the support of Jordan and Basilios (xiv), hobbled into the nearby monastery of St. George (xv), neglecting to inform his predatory relatives save for Theodora, the youngest daughter of Basil and Anna, and a child not yet old enough to understand fully what was going on. At the monastery, he removed his Imperial insignia, and heard mass, before breathing his last in the hands of his trusted advisers and his five year old granddaughter. He had enjoyed a reign of spectacular success, and he died at peace, with his Empire at its strongest in centuries.
Alexios I Komnenos died on October 2nd, 1117. By October 3rd, a grand battle for the throne of that Empire had already begun.
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i. This is the Turkish term for local governors. The Atabegs of these western states, though, are only clients of the Sultan in theory. In practise, they are all but entirely independent.
ii. Names taken from various OTL Turkish dynasties of the twelfth century.
iii. If you recall, Basilios' career began as a philosophical tutor to Michael Komnenos. Basilios was himself taught by John Italos, a pupil of Michael Psellos, and thus the eunuch has a strong concern for the welfare of Michael's surviving sisters, who are, after all, the granddaughters of Psellos.
iv. Manuel's wife may have died, but not before delivering him two healthy children, a son and a daughter. This is something we'll return to.
v. Popular derogatory nickname in contemporary Constantinople for Isaac Komnenos the Younger and his sons.
vi. This was an important role because of its constant proximity to the Emperor's person. A century or so previously, Nikephoros Ouranos had become powerful thanks to holding this office under Basil II. The term itself is from a Latin root- the scarlet ink of the Emperor was kept in an inkwell shaped like a puppy- "Canicula", in Latin.
vii. The supreme commander of the Asian Tagmata.
viii. A nephew of the eleventh century rebel.
ix. A common practise of annexation in eleventh century Byzantium. Emperors would offer Armenian monarchs lands, commands, and titles in central Anatolia, in exchange for submitting. Given Anatolia was generally richer and more peaceful than Armenia, it is not too surprising that many Armenian monarchs took up the offer.
x. Of course, in itself, the Duchy of Antioch is a substantial prize. But for a former Domestic of the Schools, pretty much anything besides the throne itself can only be seen as a demotion.
xi. There is a long history of co-operation between Constantinople and Cairo under the Fatimids. It may even be that Egypt once more provided a grain dole to Constantinople from the middle of the eleventh century onward.
xii. England has been conquered as IOTL in IE 2.0, and the Saxon aristocracy has, as with OTL, increasingly gravitated to Constantinople.
xiii. More fun foreshadowing, here!
xiv. The beginnings of a fun little power-duo, here, all. Basilios and Jordan's alliance will dominate the new couple of updates.
xv. St George of Magnaura, on the eastern side of the hill of Constantinople's acropolis.
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Jesus. Only just realised that this update hasn't formatted properly and Google Chrome has decided, in its wisdom, to cut off the bottom half. Apologies to anyone who got confused. I'll try to sort it now...
All sorted now. If anyone would like to vote for IE as "Best Timeline" here, it'd be much appreciated. I know victory's likely to go to a 20th century U.S. based TL of some sort, but it'd be nice if IE could triumph in the pre-1900 category!
All sorted now. If anyone would like to vote for IE as "Best Timeline" here, it'd be much appreciated. I know victory's likely to go to a 20th century U.S. based TL of some sort, but it'd be nice if IE could triumph in the pre-1900 category!
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Excellent update, BG. I'm surprised that the Empire didn't move to retrieve at least parts of Syria - however, I'm guessing that all those Turks and Arabs would be a big nuisance to the Empire if they were residing within its boundaries, so it's probably better to leave them as tributaries for now.
random norman child introduced......gotta say, didn't see that coming at all.
Nice Update. Still epic as usual.
Nice Update. Still epic as usual.
Good update, BG!
The Empire is advancing in the Levant.
It is, though for now, it's more a process of consolidating and confirming hegemony, rather than an outright programme of annexation. As with 1.0, though, this will come in time.
Indeed it is. It's worth bearing in mind that there was a good century between about 950 and 1050 IOTL when the Empire could have annexed Syria, Palestine and northern Iraq without massive difficulty, but chose not to, in favour of maintaining cordial relations with Cairo and Baghdad, and concentrating on campaigning in Bulgaria and Italy. I think that this policy would likely continue for some time here, though, as I've said above, full scale annexation will follow eventually.
Jordan of Aversa will be an important figure in the next half-century. Think of him as a new Procopius, an intelligent and ambitious warrior turned historian. I look forward to introducing y'all to him further soon.
Very interesting update, lots of cool foreshadowing and politcking.
I'm interested in your reference to England; in IE 1.0 the Norman Conquest was much slower than OTL, though you seem to have retconned that. I wonder if that will be important later on. . . .
I'm interested in your reference to England; in IE 1.0 the Norman Conquest was much slower than OTL, though you seem to have retconned that. I wonder if that will be important later on. . . .
So Alexios left the matter of the successor to the throne open, didn't he?
His loudly pronounced opinion would have been extremely important. Maybe even decisive. He could have crowned his chosen successor before his death. Alexios could have forced the Empire to swear loyalty to Basil or something like that, you know.
Alexios definitely had periods of clear mind before his death as we see from the nature of his illness.
It doesn't seem as if he didn't care. Or did he want a bloody war of 'Romans against Romans' over his grave? That might make all the enemies of the Empire very happy and grateful to Alexios.
Now he looks like Alexander the Great before his death. Or even worse - Pyrrus, who as legend says wanted a fair fight among his sons for his kingdom after his death: 'let the strongest win'.
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed, good sir.
Actually, in 1.0, the Norman Conquest happened as IOTL. What happened, though, is with the Norman government's pre-occupation with French matters after the end of the twelfth century, a revolt back in England was provoked, which temporarily broke Norman-French power over Britain. I'll be exploring these themes further in this version.
Who knows what was going through the head of Alexios Komnenos. I'd presume the succession is in the hands of Jordan of Aversa, and, more importantly, the Parakoimomenos. We should remember that Basilios not only favours Isaac, he also has Anna Palaiologa with him as a hostage. But are the duo ruthless enough to seize a five year old girl to go on a standoff with her powerful father?
It shouldn't be forgotten, also, that Basil Palaiologos has had a lot of close contact with the Emperor, as is the nature of the job of Kanikleou. He could well pluck something out of the bag to change the game.
Whatever it was - he failed in one of the most important duties of the emperor: to make sure that after your death there wouldn't be a devastating civil war.
In cases like that - if you don't make a decision about your successor - you jeopardy thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) lives of your people.
My point is:
- if there would be a bloody struggle over the throne it is Alexios Komnenos who is to blame.
That might somehow overshadow his (most illustrious in other aspects) reign.