1231 - Part of what had made the Empire so stable was the recreation of the 'Prefect' title for each half of the Empire. Alone, the title could be deadly, but the complex network of loyalties that each Astithematic army held--as well as the picking of loyal and skilled Generals to hold the position, had allowed the Empire to uphold its eastern and western fronts with minimal issues for most of Romanos' reign.
During most of said reign two Generals, Michael and Nikephoros--the latter having fought alongside Romanos at the Latin Siege of Constantinople--had upheld the Empire's position in the Balkans. Both had been proteges of John Klephos, the skilled General who had protected New Rome from the Bulgarians for a time before being killed on the outset of the Latin invasion of the Empire. Since that time Michael had been serving as Prefect of the West, while Nikephoros had been his second-in-command.
The partnership worked well for 20 years; however Nikephoros' sudden death from a fever a week after his friend, the Emperor Romanos, had put undue strain on Michael--even though he did not admit it. In early February of 1231 though, John III was greeted with the news that the Prefect of the West had nearly died from a stroke and had taken monastic vows in order to remove himself from a position he felt unworthy of now. This would prove to be a problem, as before John himself could react to the news there was further news that there had been recent raids by unaffiliated Bulgarians.
Kaloyan, the Tsar of Bulgaria and legendary 'Romanslayer', was unfit to rule. He had been left a broken man following his failure to properly deal with the breakaway Vlach state (a state that was gradually become more and more prosperous through trade with Rome, Hungary and the Cumans)--this compounded by the following false-start of a planned Serbian invasion. He had been put back together somewhat by the birth of his son Kaliman; however when his wife died of a chill in 1226, and then the 4 year old Kaliman in 1229 (he had drowned by accident in a well), the Tsar was left more broken than anyone had ever thought possible. Throughout the rest of 1229, and the following 2 years, the 58 year old Kaloyan was been unable--and unwilling--to handle his realm; Bulgaria gradually fracturing internally as the nobles began to plot against each other; the neglected peasantry going about various activities that damaged the country such as burning the houses of rival families.
In early February, Boril Asen, nephew to Kaloyan, urged his uncle to assign him as heir and then co-ruler to bring stability to their Empire. Kaloyan however was unmoved, waving off Boril, before going into a full on tirade on how his 'titles' and 'duties' weighed down on him, in front of everyone in the court, the action angering Boril to the point where the Bulgarian Prince smashed the aged Tsar's head into the table--breaking his neck. Boril would then declare himself, loudly, to the shocked court as Tsar and demand fealty. What would follow was a bloodbath, as everyone drew their weapons and the whole thing devolved into an all-out brawl as the various nobles and their retinue fought for the deceased Tsar's crown in the cramped hall.
Boril's retinue, the more elite of the lot, managed to extract him from the hall before he was killed. In the span of a single moment of anger the efforts of peace and stability that had been contributed to by Romanos himself had ended up fracturing Bulgaria into rival claimant nobility who fought over territory left and right. If Romanos had still been alive the Empire might have lost another pillar and chair.
Always on the ball however, John saw a simple solution to the matter; he would elevate his brother to the rank of Prefect of the West as he didn't trust himself to be able to lead troops in battle; he was a bureaucrat, not a warrior. Theodore for his part was eager to get onto the field, leaving Constantinople in late February to take control of the core Western Army, however he needed a second-in-command he could trust to delegate tasks to. Manuel Kanatakouzenos was chosen for this task, as he had grown up in the Balkans--his eastern duties being shifted to the eccentric John Komnenos.
While Theodore and Manuel evaluated their troops in the west, and prepped them for a series of efforts against the Bulgarian raiders, John himself got to work on his own passion project; Romanitas. John himself, as a scholarly body, had quickly found himself in love with the Greco-Roman culture of the Middle-Empire; the time of Justinian and Heraclius--the Emperor endeavoured to begin a cultural renaissance within the Empire, wanting to be the 'equal' of Justinian the Great himself.
It was a gradual effort, as John moved to collect his own 'Justinianic Council'; tapping the noted lawman Hristos Stratas for the most ambitious project in the Empire's recent history; they would reintegrate the Corpus Juris Civilis. The Corpus itself had been cutdown several times throughout the history of the Empire as the times had dictated--but looking through any logs made by the Emperors, such as Leo VI, who had modified and released new lawbooks, the theme was always one of viewing the Corpus as the truest form of Roman law, and that to return to it one day should be the end goal of the Empire's law efforts.
Hristos himself was a well-known cynic; sharp of wit and tongue, and easily made enemies with his blatantly snarky remarks--yet he was the man for the job; quickly organizing a commission of 32 other lawmen (although only after he'd been sufficiently paid by John). The work began in earnest by May of 1231, around the time the Empress Theodora began showing signs of being pregnant.
In concert with the efforts of Hristos, Theodore and Manuel handled the raider issues with firmness--although it began slow at first, as the two had to phase out several of the older members of the army (although many stayed on at reduced salaries as respected camp managers, or become trainers for the next generation of soldiers) and replace them with semi-trained recruits from the Astithematic Levies. Once this had been handled though, the two made their moves--cutting off several minor raids that had broken through the Haemus well-before the Romans knew anything about what was going on; these groups being handled brutally by the Romans on the outset in an attempt to send a message to any further raids that they were not welcome.
This didn't deter the Bulgarians forever however, as by June Bulgaria had deteriorated to the point that large groups of civilians began to raid the Empire in an attempt to secure wealth for themselves and their families. These groups were the hardest to route out and deal with; as they lacked the general movement 'patterns' of trained, or even semi-trained, Bulgarian troops. It would take until late October to firmly crush what seemed to be the last of the raids--with the amount resulting in a large number of prisoners that were gradually transferred across to Anatolia--as was now customary with Bulgarian prisoners. With this over Theodore and Manuel settled in along the Haemus with a watchful peace.
By mid-November the refurbished Corpus Juris Civilis had been completed, and firmly test-read by a plethora of Imperial lawyers and low-level lawmen for quality assurance. The large collection of laws, and functionalities, alongside the accompanying 'Institutes' and other sub-volumes, would seem alien to the modern Romans at first; referencing a bygone age of names and events--although much of the chaff, such as laws referencing long-lost provinces such as Egypt, were minimized accordingly. The mere fact that it existed provided John with must prestige--and the enforced use of the work through the Chrysobull of 1231 would see the beginnings of 'Romanitas' (the idea of being Roman) spread throughout the corners of the Empire; firmly crushing the idea of a 'Hellenic' identity in its tracks--a thing that had been in decline for the past 20 years as different groups were integrated into the Empire; dehomogenizing it and forcing the Roman 'identity' to the forefront as the only way for people to connect with each other.
As if to add to the occasion, on the 30th of November the son of John and Theodora would be born... premature. The infant was born at least 7 weeks early, lacking size and strength. The birth had almost killed the frail Theodora and had left the two parents with a perpetually crying babe who seemed unlikely to survive the week let alone the year. Throughout December the child failed to sleep right, and kept the palace awake with his cries and needs--the event forcing Theodore himself to come back to Constantinople to console his brother and sister-in-law; the wagging tongues going as far as the now 37 year old Frederick II, who wrote rushed letters to his brother-in-law inquiring if he wished his sister to return to Constantinople for family matters.
On the 26th of December, the morning after the 7 day Christmas celebrations, the palace was finally quiet. John was sure his son had perished in the night, walking with a lonesome quietness to the crib of his Purple-born child. What he found was a taciturn, but very-much alive babe--the cold-blue eyes looking up at him saw the Emperor know at once that his son would live. He would be named Heraclius during his baptism the following day.
Although, history would know him by a much different name.