Rhōmanía Regnant: A Byzantine TL

Yes, it's that time again - time for a Byzantowank!

0. The Dogs of War, Unleashed

The Second Battle of Philomelion was a major Seljuk defeat, and a strategic victory for the Empire of Rhōmanía. It took place in 1176, after the Seljuk ruler, Kilij Arslan II, broke his treaty with Basileus Manuel I, refusing to hand over territory he had recently conquered. An immense army was gathered at Lopadion by the Basileus, comprising forces from the far-off Kingdom of Hungary, Rhōmanía itself and the Principality of Antioch. Soon, Manuel reached the pass of Myriokephalon, but in a moment of wisdom declined to press the attack, instead drawing Arslan's forces into the nearby plain of Philomelion[1].

The disposition of the Rhomaoi force was approximatly 35,000 men - an immense force in those times. The Seljuks numbered about 24,000, approximately 11,000 less than Manuel's army. The battle began with a massive Seljuk assault, comprising most of the army, on Manuel's right wing, but the Rhomaoi soldiers held fast and pinned down Arslan's host. The Seljuks continued their assault throughout the day, but the bulk of Manuel's army wheeled round, hitting the already-engaged Seljuks in the flank. Knowing the situation was bad, Arslan ordered a general retreat, but the order was forgotten in the chaos of battle, and in any case a lucky arrow hit him in the eye, killing him instantly, shortly afterward. The Seljuks began a chaotic rout, but approximately 15,000 men of Arslan's host (at least according to contemporary Rhomaoi sources) were killed in the confusion of the battle. Whatever the actual numbers may have been, after the battle the Seljuk commanders chose to recoup their losses and not attempt an ambush on Manuel's forces as they took the fortress of Myriokephalon and pressed toward Iconium.

The Siege of Iconium[2] that followed lasted six months, as the Romans bombarded the walls with their siege engines and starved the defenders out. At the last, in early 1177 the city fell to Manuel's armies. The population was massacred - approximately every tenth inhabitant of the city was killed in the slaughter. But more than any slaughter, the fall of Iconium, the Seljuk Capital, marked a great step forward in Rhōmanía's efforts to reclaim Anatolia. The Seljuks made various efforts, all failures, to reclaim the city until 1179, when they agreed to a treaty which saw them lose control of Iconium and the surrounding region. However, Rhōmanía had not seen the end of war, as the following centuries would prove[3]...

[1] Our POD, folks.
[2] ITTL Manuel didn't lose his siege-engines, therefore he can attack Iconium.
[3] :cool:
 
This is a good start. I'm pleased to see use of the term "Rhomania" continues to spread through AH.com. I've even contrived to get it used in a major Medieval II Total War mod!

Anyway, onto the TL itself. Your POD seems reasonable and moderate, so no issues there. I'm not sure about the Seljuk retreat being all that chaotic though- their warfare was pretty mobile anyway. Then again, I'm no expert on Anatolian Turks, so if by the 1170s they were using more cumbersome armies, I'm happy to take your word for it.

A massacre of the population of Konya seems excessive too- the Rhomanians didn't tend to go for that sort of brutality, though it's not unheard of. Generally, though, they'd simply occupy cities, with only a relatively limited sack.

Good job though- I look forward to see where you go with this. It's worth remembering that central Anatolia has been pretty thoroughly "Turkified" by this point, with the Greek population having largely re-located to the coasts, and the river valleys of the west. Constantinople's efforts at repopulation should be interesting to see.
 
True but I still like Andronikos more than Alexius.:p Too bad he became batshit insane during his latter reign:( zhe had potentiol to be one hell of an emperor.

Maybe have Andronicus as a regent for Alexius, best of both worlds.

Andronicus after all is his (Alexius's) father's age, even if he's a vigorous sixty-something, he's going to kick off sooner or latter.

Interesting timeline so far, Tzeentch, but not much to comment on besides what BG said.

Here's a good OTL map site: http://rbedrosian.com/Maps/maps.html
 
Always wanted to see a well-done victory at Myriokephalon. (BG's done Manzikert). This will be followed.
 
I. Kingdom of Heaven

Manuel was to reign until his death in 1181 [1], from an unidentified illness. His son Alexios II was only twelve years old at the time, and as such Andronikos Komnenos, a nephew of John II, was named as Alexios' regent, grudgingly putting up with this state of affairs. For four years Andronikos handled the affairs of state, while Alexios grew into a man. When the time came Andronikos left the regency due to a severe illness, leaving Alexios as Emperor and master of the state. In the popular Rhomaoi imagination Alexios is best remembered as a mediocrity and mere competent, who held the Empire together but did not take daring risks or engage much in offensive warfare. Still, compared to Eliphas the Mad, self-declared Messiah-Emperor of the early 15th Century [2], or the run of incompetents whose various failures led to the creation of the Germanotta-Angelos dynasty out of a union of two Rhomaoi and Italian noble houses in the 18th Century [3], Alexios II definitely looks favourable.

In 1189, the Third Crusade began [4]. The armies of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire moved through Rhomaoi territory to reclaim the Holy Land, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem in particular, from Muslim forces. These objectives met with failure. The armies of the German Emperor Barbarossa left for home with their leader drowned in a river in Armenia. The English King Richard Coeur de Lion managed to recover some coastal territories, but declined to press on Jerusalem due to a pressing lack of supplies. However, in one of the last battles of the war, Saladin was killed. His death led to the fragmentation and division of his territories, giving the weak Crusader kingdoms some degree of breathing space. The failure to reclaim Jerusalem led to the call for a Fourth Crusade in 1205, however it would be focussed on Egypt and have only minor effect on Rhōmanía or the Levant.

[1] One year later than OTL.
[2] Some hints at the future...
[3] Mwahahaha!
[4] Just as in OTL
 
Last edited:
Good update, but a short one. There's nothing much to say. Just one thing: would Andronikos be willing to give up his regency? Why not having him die of old age just as Alexius is ready to take the throne? Or maybe a sickness forces him to step down?
 
Good update, but a short one. There's nothing much to say. Just one thing: would Andronikos be willing to give up his regency? Why not having him die of old age just as Alexius is ready to take the throne? Or maybe a sickness forces him to step down?

This, I can't see Andronikos stepping down the regency. I think he'd have to be forced to do so, either by Alexios and his allies, or by illness or some other factor outside of his control.

Also, I think you may be downplaying the impact of the Third Crusade here- the Byzantines would certainly take a real interest in what's going on, and, ITTL, are much better placed to capitalise on the changes in Anatolia.
 
The recapture of Iconium will give Byzantium control of the plains right up to the Taurus mountains, right up to Armenian Cicilia. This will have massive effects in Outremer, most probably the Crusader Kingdoms will swear fealty to Byzantium due to it's extreme proximity, like they did whenever the Byz Emperor showed up in person. With a decent sized Byz army in the area ready to both enforce fealty as well as reinforce any defensive campaign against Saladin I doubt the Horns of Hattin will occur as OTL. But even if it did the Byz reaction will be very different and I doubt Barbarossas transit through the empire etc will go as IOTL, he won't have to fight during his march for starters.
 
The recapture of Iconium will give Byzantium control of the plains right up to the Taurus mountains, right up to Armenian Cicilia. This will have massive effects in Outremer, most probably the Crusader Kingdoms will swear fealty to Byzantium due to it's extreme proximity, like they did whenever the Byz Emperor showed up in person. With a decent sized Byz army in the area ready to both enforce fealty as well as reinforce any defensive campaign against Saladin I doubt the Horns of Hattin will occur as OTL. But even if it did the Byz reaction will be very different and I doubt Barbarossas transit through the empire etc will go as IOTL, he won't have to fight during his march for starters.

On the other hand, the Byzantines do have a fair amount on their plate, so dealing with the Levant up until Saladin's campaign might be distinctly secondary.

But that has to be addressed in its own way.
 
True, but sitting on the far side of the Taurus makes it far easier to intervene with local forces perhaps propped up by an Imperial detachment than it is when sitting within OTL borders.
 
True, but sitting on the far side of the Taurus makes it far easier to intervene with local forces perhaps propped up by an Imperial detachment than it is when sitting within OTL borders.

Agreed. If one wants them not intervening, one has to have something happening - for instance how my timeline Alexius is busy tackling the fact the state has too many problems and the KoJ is left to look after itself until 1190.

Of course, that's without seizing Iconium - just strengthening the Empire in the northeast (relative to the Sultanate of Rum).

Still, something like that could work.
 
Top