1153: The Baltic Crusades draw to a close, with most of the former Pagan Baltic area burning. Several outside Kingdoms have intervened, including the Polish Kings. After the Saxons themselves, the Poles had done the most fighting of the pagans, seizing land near the Vistula and converting energetically. Despite all this, the true prize they really wanted, Gdansk, goes to an outside contender, King Knud of Denmark. The rest of Pomerania is under Brandenburgian control. The two duchies of Brandenburg and Saxony now wield an immense amount of power, especially so since they claim many of their conquests are outside the borders of the Holy Roman Empire and therefore do not owe any ties of vassalage to Emperor Conrad.
Imperial politics in general are getting more and more complicated. Although the Hohenstaufen rule as "Kings of Rome", their powerful vassals, especially the Habsburgs, Premyslids, Welfs, and Askaniens, meant that control over Germany is incredibly difficult. Friederich, Duke of Swabia and brother to Conrad, also poses as a major problem for the Hohenstaufen succession, because he wants his line elected in stead of his brother's. Conrad is really the only thing keeping the various powerhouses of the HRE away from each other's throats.
In Spain, the reconquista continues. Although several years ago the Portuguese had been unable to take Lisboa after an exhausting siege, they have now returned, this time with the help of several adventurous Castillians. After a 3 week siege, Lisboa falls, and after an aggressive sack the remaining Andalusi are deported to make room for Portuguese merchants and families.
Meanwhile, Alexios continues his war in Italy. Salerno falls to Rome, and most of the remaining army heads north to Neapolis (a decent chunk of the 18,000 Alexios brought with him have been left to garrison several key cities. Although Neapolis was already blockaded by a small papal-Italian army, they lacked the supplies and weapons to siege it for an extended period of time, and have to wait for the Romans before they can invest the city. Alexios places the extra Italian troops in auxiliary positions, making sure to maintain Roman control of the siege. This is viewed as a serious problem in Rome (the city, obviously). Whispers of dissent become increasingly loud, and Eugene decides to start doing something about it.
It starts in isolated incidents, passed off as raiders or deserters frustrated with the siege. Italian troops would raid Roman lines, burning supplies and killing troops. The attacks would then increase in rate until some sort of skirmish happened almost daily. One notable raid by some Italians burned part of the Roman baggage train, after that they took it a lot more seriously. After several nights of this most Roman soldiers could hardly sleep, having to stand alert in case of Italian raids. Some of these were actually from Neapolis, but the vast majority came from the catholic horde that always seemed to be replenishing.
The Pope does not officially condone any of this, of course. But the opportunity to bleed the Roman army is simply too good for the Catholics. As a large part of papal manpower can be gained from restless Christians looking to support the pope, the raids are ideal. In several cases, raiders are caught and tortured, admitting to working for the papal host, but upon being presented to the leaders of said host, Catholics always are able to point out how delusional such men are.
In order to respond to said raids, Alexios resorts to some unorthodox tactics. Every raider is now to be castrated (but not very cleanly- Isaakios remarks that "On the battlefield, we'll just have to make do") and then hung right outside Italian lines, which slows the rate of raids considerably. However, it does not stop them- several Roman soldiers, despite their discipline, have organized counter raids against the Papal host. In this case, they are never quite caught, but both sides know what is going on. Therefore, many Catholics are getting just as angry as the Romans were, which leads again to a new burst of raiding.
Eventually, it gets to the point where the two sides are in an undeclared skirmishing war outside of the gates of Neapolis, the siege practically forgotten as the bemused defenders are basically bystanders. However, it is unlikely to escalate more without the intervention of Alexios, who is technically allied with the pope and his smaller Italian friends.
But this attitude will quickly change. In August, papal gold and promises finally bear fruit. The Raskia, who were up until now client states of the empire, renounced this arrangement and invaded Macedonia. They have the support of the Kingdom of Hungary, who are providing them with coin, supplies and mercenaries. With most of the army in Italy or Eastern Anatolia, and most of the Italian campaign itself pulled from the Balkans, the Raskians are given free reign to set the Northern Balkans ablaze.
And others soon join them. The Duklja, another Serbian vassal of Rome, takes the opportunity to raid parts of Epirus and assert its own independence. But perhaps most importantly, a large Pecheneg horde, hailing from beyond the Danube, invades Bulgaria in a massive series of raids. They do not want to do anything but burn and steal, and their real target is Thrace.
Fortunately, the eastern frontier is strong and Anatolia does not experience an attack from any muslim powers. Also fortunate is the fact that the Bulgars do not take this opportunity to rebel either, as they now look to Rome for protection against the Pechenegs.
In Neapolis, Alexios realizes he has overstretched himself. He sends out peace feelers to William in Palermo, offering to cede many of his conquests and even offers an alliance against the Papal States. This is an offer William must think about; it calls for the loss of much of southern italy, up to (but not including) Salerno, a loss that would split his kingdom in two.
It is in September when the Normans arrive. After sailing from Palermo to the outskirts of Salerno, they had to march all the way up to Neapolis. Roman scouts, covering the area, mysteriously find nothing, and any would-be Italian scouts are kept for raiding and counter-raiding.
Thus when this army arrives, it causes something of a panic. The Italian forces are caught between besieged Neapolis, a Roman army of unknown intent, this new Norman army, and the sea. They decide to stay and fight, calling for help from their Roman armies.
The armies of Rome form up into battle stations, led by the Basileus. Once again, the Italians call for help, and in response, the army- does nothing. As the Papal-Italian army is torn to shreds, the Roman army sits impassively on a hill, watching without a sound. When the massacre is over and the remaining papal troops have either fled or surrendered, Alexios greets William and discusses the terms of peace.
Having arranged the whole treaty beforehand, of course, this is merely a formality. On September 17th, the two sovereigns agree to the treaty of Neapolis, which grants Rome mainland Italy south of Salerno, including Apulia and Bari. Also as part of the treaty, Alexios agrees to return any noble prisoners without ransom and to help the weakened Sicily if it is attacked.
In the end, this is the best either party can hope for. Although he is having problems back home, Alexios clearly has the upper hand in Italy, and William knows it. On the Roman side, Italy is not viewed as important enough to allow raiders to ravage the Balkans (indeed, the biggest reason Alexios invaded in the first place was the hope for a buffer zone to protect against future raids).
So the two part ways, Alexios east and William north. Alexios knows he must take care of the Serbs as soon as possible; the Pecheneg raiders are already withdrawing, having stolen from as far south as Adrianople and come close to the Queen of Cities itself. Raskia and Duklja have stuck around, however, and the Basileus marches forth to meet them. It is outside Epirus where the two forces clash.
Lines outside Epirus
Isaakios Komnenos was rather perturbed. It wasn't the Serbians or their Hungarian masters that unnerved him, they were just a nuisance. No, it was the snow that could be seen all over the ground. It's unnatural. I've never seen this much snow anywhere, let alone Epirus. He shivered, which annoyed him as well. One of the English mercenary officers, Henry, seemed to be laughing at his misfortune.
"It isn't supposed to be this damn cold."
The Briton grinned. "I told you, this nothing. You Greeks can't handle even a bit of frost. Maybe it's good for you if it's cold around here once in a while." His Greek was actually fairly good, although his accent was positively atrocious. Henry had been fighting in the Roman army for almost a decade, though, where knowledge in Greek is neccesary.
"It's not my fault I have don't hair over every part of my body," he retorted, surveying the battlefield. The Serbs seemed like they wanted to give them a fight, which would mean he'd have to spend even more time in this infernal cold.
He was currently waiting with several mercenary officers on the right wing, for the order to attack. Evidently, his brother was taking his sweet time in the center. Probably has purple furs. This snow is not natural.
Isaakios' relations with his brother had improved over the years. Although he had at first harbored Imperial ambitions (Along with everyone raised in The City, it seemed), Isaakios had always known it would be Alexios who gained the august throne. Isaakios was now thoroughly a soldier, not a politician, and he was fairly good at it as well. Of course, Alexios was the same way, but someone had to deal with the snakes within and without. Being a soldier prince carried most of the benefits of being Basileus, without all the responsibilities.
This was when the message finally arrived. A Greek boy, obviously a courier, ran up to the officers. "The Basileus says advance.", he panted. The boy was probably new to the battlefield, one of the many native Romans Alexios was trying to reincorporate into the army.
Isaakios grinned, he was now in his element. The battle had been planned, the stage set, and everything had been maneuvered correctly. It was time to fight. "Let's go kill some serbs. Those bastards are probably dressed warmly, too." This was greeted with a few growls of approval and a bit of muffled laughter, as the Roman army prepared to march inexorably forward once again.
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The battle outside Epirus is a grueling affair for both sides, but in the end Roman forces win out and trounce the rebellious serbs. Alexios is unable to press his advantage right away, as winter snows and scorched earth have blocked the advance into Serbia, turning a normally difficult journey into a logistical nightmare. The Roman army winters in Epirus, getting resupplied by Anatolia via the sea.
1154: Having spent the winter in Epirus, the weakened Roman army trounces the remaining Serbian resistance, annexing both states. The war had been costly to all sides involved, and cost the Romans their chance of reintegrating Southern Italy. It also served to destroy any goodwill the Catholic west and Orthodox East felt for each other, as both states view the other as treacherous. In Rome, for example, the Romans are hated more than the Sicilians, who only asked for a small tribute and the return of status quo borders, ever were. Relations between Buda and Constantinople are also fairly terrible. The only reason Hungary does not invade is they overestimate the strength of the depleted Roman army. This divide would only strengthen in the coming years, until it would finally reach its climax during the Great Invasion.
The Roman state cannot respond to all of its enemies. The Pecheneg raiders, although severely damaging to Bulgaria and Northern Greece, have by now withdrawn and the battered Roman army cannot pursue. Still, Rome does not forget their attacks.
Alexios is well aware that the army needs time to recover. Fortunately for him, there is still a massive manpower pool to draw from; the empire is not without loyal bodies. This also serves as a way to re-Hellenize the army, which had been about 3/4 foreign mercenaries prior to Apulia. the one glaring exception is Ceaseria, which hosts a permanent garrison of aprx. 6000 men and have earned the reputation "Defenders of Anatolia". In the following years, as the army recovers, Roman manpower will begin to make up roughly half of the army, although mercenaries still hold the highest positions and are generally considered more reliable.
Although relations have plummeted in the west, in the east, Rome relations have only gotten better. The Kingdom of Jerusalem, growing stronger off of French immigrants and pilgrims, is one place where relations are getting better. Manuel Komnenos, known for his admiration of Latin chivalry, had visited the Kingdom on a pilgrimage of his own while Alexios fought in the west. He makes an impression on the young ruler of Jerusalem, King Baldwin III. The Latin-Roman was also important economically; as the pilgrimage business was something the Romans in Antioch were hugely tied up in.
Along the rest of the Empire's eastern border stood vassals and allies. The Danishmends were certainly de facto independent, but they payed lip service to Rome and its prestige. Edessa also stood on the Empire's borders as the most exposed crusader state, but they too claimed vassalage under Rome, if only for protection. Along the Northeast, of course, stood the small but well put together Kingdom of Georgia, who had both an empress on the Imperial throne and a history of good relations with the empire.
But right now, what Roman needed was a period of recovery, and Alexios followed suit. One major reform he added during this time was to the Roman road network, in the hopes of improving logistics and transportation. It had the side effect of drastically improving roman trade and immigration to Central Anatolia, whose current inhabitants' loyalty is still questionable.
The biggest thing that happened this year was not in Rome, however, but in Germany. For Conrad, King of the Germans, was dead, and already the vultures had started to circle.
. But hopefully, this one will at least be a good one. It's hard to stand up to masterpieces on this site like An Age of Miracles, I admit, but I'm going to give it my best shot. 
