"He is quite possibly the most impressive figure I've ever met; akin to the Great Augustus in sheer character [1]. I feel humbled on this matter; as he speaks to me not as a supplicant, but a beloved friend," - Saint-King Louis IX's letter to his wife, Margaret of Provence, 1241.
1238 - Times were changing, the far-east wracked by a Horde none in the west truly understood--and in the west ambitious people had taken power, pushing the old to act in manners unforeseen. Frederick II had been an effective homebody since obtaining his Reichscrown; managing the gradual integration of his northern lands into one centralized domain ruled from Ravenna--as well as raising his children alongside his beloved wife Sophia Grypaina. This homebodying would be broken when Gregory IX, the Pope, cashed in every little chit and hint of influence he had [2] to press Frederick II on a potential 5th Crusade.
A 5th Crusade, as it stood, had been delayed by more things than one. Knights and Lords in Europe were simply busy; either fighting each other or dealing with internal strife from the efforts of both Philip II and Frederick II, in a vacuum of sorts. This was only broken, somewhat, when Innocent III used whatever clout he had left to call in the aid of several groups to aid the Reconquista. This state of affairs would simply decay on wards until Gregory IX, seeing the way the winds were blowing [3], pressed Frederick for an answer.
Looking around, and realizing that he had done all he could for his domain in a functional manner, Frederick would agree--and Gregory, alongside the various writers and poets of the West, would spread the word of a new 'Great Crusade', to wash away the sins of the previous, and retake the Holy Land for Christendom. In this vein the Holy Roman Emperor would begin writing to his brother-in-law, John III, asking that the Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans aid in the Crusade.
This writing was at first ignored by John, who could not bring himself to answer such an important notion. Had it been anyone else but the husband of his dear sister he would have, quite frankly, told them to shove it--yet this was Frederick, his friend and brother. John would only be pressed to answer when the day finally came that Boniface, his families by now age-old friend, simply dropped dead one March-day morning while preparing for Mass at the age of 87.
Boniface had been a great warrior in his younger years, fighting in the 4th Crusade and then aiding the Romans in retaking much of Anatolia--yet once that was all said and done he settled down to have a family, and nothing more. John could not help but see this as some sort of sign; a push by God Himself, telling the Emperor to step up and fight for once in his life.
In late March he would answer; giving permission for the Crusaders, that Frederick had the express duty of keeping in line, to land in Dyrrachium and take the refurbish Via Ignatia all the way to Constantinople. Frederick himself, before making the journey, would need to effectively fight his wife on one notion; the Emperor wanted to bring his now 12 year old son, Constantine, along on Crusade, and while he would succeed in finally getting her to agree; Sophia made it clear that if anything happened to the young Prince that she would personally see to it that Frederick would not have the 'tools' to seed another [4].
It was a considerable effort, as John relied in his brother Theodore's rebuild and retrained army to keep watch as the Crusaders passed--and on Frederick to organised the whole endeavour. Many of the core nobles in Frederick's retinue had been on this journey before alongside Frederick, so they knew to keep their men in line--but the French under Louis IX had not; and would begin to raid the countryside for supplies and such during the journey to Constantinople.
In a sign of his character, Louis immediately jumped into action himself; leading his personal retinue to crush these select few--having those who survived executed. As the King decreed; "None shall besmirch the territory of the Emperor John". In this, it simply bred simply into the idea, in the eyes of the Romans who populated the Balkans, that had been growing since the failure of the 4th Crusade; the Romans were superior to those who dared to harm them--and none dared now as they had failed before.
It was early April by the time the Crusaders arrived in Constantinople; met with the skilled administrative hand of John as he prepared for their arrival with just fanfare; showing off the unrivaled wealth and prosperity the Empire had collectively carved out. The Crusaders, numbering now a total of 20,000 men, would settle in to Constantinople in as respectful a manner as they could fairly muster for a half-month, as supplies and so on were collected and shifted around.
In this time the young Constantine, and the even younger Heraclius, would become firm friends; the jovial and lively mannerisms of Constantine seeming to--uniquely--mesh well with Heraclius' taciturn maturity. This was not the only friendship however, as in this time, the three major points of the Crusade; John, Frederick and Louis, would all become fast friends--although in his own memoirs Frederick would joking note that the friendship between John and Louis was one of an older brother leading a younger one--rather than the genuine bond held between John and Frederick.
In this time of preparation John had to come to terms with the fact that he planned to abandon his family for as long as this Crusade took--and while Theodore would promise, in letters, that he would rotate in and out of Constantinople regularly to look after his brother's family [5], John knew something permanent was needed. He would reach out to his now 65 year old mother to rise up once more and take the reigns of Constantinople while the Emperor was away. Maria was somewhat surprised at this, but when push came to it she agreed--skillfully rewiring the basics of the court in little time at all to bring the aged Patriarch Michael to the forefront again to aid her in this endeavour.
When things were firmly prepared in early May, the Crusader army, alone, numbering 29,000 or so soldiers and the like, was fully prepped for transportation. Several Roman nobles, notably Boniface's son Demetrios, would join in--as John took with him 6,500 [6] or so Lakonoi as his personal army; the various Roman nobles bringing small and functional retinues of their owm; bringing the number of 'Crusaders' up to around 40,000, give or take a few.
The crossing was quick and functional, as the Imperial Navy aided in it in the gap within their patrol shifts. The difference between European Rome, and Anatolian Rome, was night and day. Anatolia was a barely rebuilt place, and transportation took months of hard work--pushing along the coastline to maintain supply. Inadvertently however, the motions of the army naturally brought about the rebuilding/reworking of several sections of Anatolia just for them to pass--thus just by their presence they gave life to a 'desert made by Rome, in peace [7]'. This march, and Crusade, aside from it's 'grandiose' title of 'Great Crusade' is also simply titled, historically, as the King's Crusade [8], with the group reaching Cilicia in late July--in this time the Emperor John and the Queen Isabella striking up a noted friendship that would come into play down the line.
It would not be until late November, after crossing through Antioch--and almost causing an incident between its Prince Bohemond V, having succeeded his father Bohemond IV in 1233. This incident was predicated on John, offhandedly, mentioning the claims the Romans still had to Antioch, and how they were ironic; as Bohemond I himself had signed them, but his 'successors' had reneged on them. Such things brought Bohemond V to such anger that he even moved to strike the Emperor; only to be firmly pommeled by Frederick II with the hilt of Frederick's arming-sword before he even took the first step towards John. It was only the fact that Frederick II, a respected Catholic monarch, had interceded on John's behalf that Bohemond backed down.
This would prove to be the last major hiccup of the year, as the Crusaders marched down to Acre, the new capital of the Kingdom of Jersualem, and spent that December with the receptive and friendly King John of Brienne [9]; with the Christmas had there a simple and enjoyable one. The following year, and the next three after it, would be ones to remember.
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[1] Augustus was well-known to have periodic illnesses that almost killed him every year, yet he survived them to live well-into old age, and continued his efforts as first the heir of Caesar and then the Princeps of Rome. John would be seen as akin to this by Louis IX because John himself, unused to the climate of the Middle-East--as well as the campaigning life--would regularly get painfully sick, yet would continue to fight and lead as if it did not bother him at all.
[2] Successive Popes, from Innocent III all the way down to Gregory IX, had little prestige and greatness. This all tied down to the fact that the 4th Crusade failed horribly enough to crush the reputation of Innocent, which was only rebuilt somewhat by him calling in major aid for the Reconquista in Hispania. While Gregory's efforts here will garner the Papacy some more prestige, the implication of it effectively makes it clear that the Pope, and thus the Papacy, are looking to the Holy Roman Emperor for permission on major events... which would come to a unique conclusion in the late 14th century.
[3] Louis IX was a noted letterer, and regularly pushed Gregory IX, following the Pontiff's rise to the Papal Throne, to build a new Crusade. This would be one of the reasons Gregory would push for it with Frederick, as now there was genuine interest in it from a major Catholic monarch capable of providing real aid.
[4] The prevalence of castration in Roman circles is a bit of a scary notion within the West; as the Romans went about it in a seemingly nonchalant manner; regardless of the age or temperament of the boys subjected. Sophia herself was likely being edgeful, but Frederick was not one to test his wife on matters such as that.
[5] The 4 years taken by the 'Great Crusade' would firmly cement Theodore's influence over Heraclius. Heraclius' later greatness as Dragases is, rightfully, attributed to Theodore's guidance in these shaping years.
[6] It is by now customary to leave behind a force of 500 Lakonoi to defend Constantinople and the Imperial Dynasty.
[7] The saying; 'And the Romans make a desert, and call it peace,' is very much still used during this time period due to the state of Anatolia east of the coastline.
[8] In reference to the Prince's Crusade which was a formation led by nobles such as Bohemond during the 1st Crusade.
[9] The Latin Empire never existed, thus John never shifted titles to become its Emperor. This, coupled with the 5th Crusade happening latter--and the Holy Land being in a better state than OTL, John has retained his place as King of Jerusalem. His Dynasty will continue to rule Jerusalem for a while yet.
