Part 1; 1196-1198 - The Grypads Rise
"Let none say that God's Chosen People have not struggled; yet in His Wisdom, we endure through greatness held aloft by our Basileus," - Attributed to Mathew I Psenas, Patriarch of Constantinople, successor of George II, 1204.
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Hello everyone! I've had a timeline of this sort swirling around in my head for roughly 2 months now. In that time I've worked out a basis to work off of. The main point of divergence is that Alexios III is deposed in 1198 in response to his multiple failures (which will be specified during the timeline) by 'custom' characters; the brothers Romanos and Ioannes (John) Grypas--who are Anatolian Pronoia holders prior to Romanos obtaining the Purple. Hopefully the timeline will be interesting, and I'm more than open to criticism and suggestions!
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1196 - Over a year into his reign, Alexios III Angelos is threatened by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who demands 5,000 pounds of gold or the Romans will face invasion (This is due to a convoluted system of dynastic claims due to Henry VI gaining control of Alexios' daughter; Irene). The amount is, later, negotiated down to 1,600 pounds of gold--with Alexios III plundering the Imperial Tombs within the Church of the Holy Apostles as well as levying a heavy, and unpopular, tax known as the "Alamanikon", or "German Tax".
1197 - In Henry VI dies in September, with the gold effectively pocketed by Alexios III. Alexios' wife, the able, and willful, Empress Euphrosyne, attempts to sustain the court and Alexio's financial credit via her most able supporter, Vatatzes, who would be assassinated later on the Emperor's orders. To compound these issues the Empire is beset on all sides by Bulgarians, Vlachs and Seljuks; with the former two raiding as far as Greece and the latter essentially rolling up the entire east of the Empire. Alexios III further bankrupts the treasury, in a similar fashion to how he had when coronated, spending lavishly on his palace and its gardens in an attempt to make use of them for diplomacy. This fails. As a last ditched effort the Emperor gives more power to the Pronoia holders within the Empire; which, while it helps sustain the Roman's territories, leaves the Empire's authority massively weakened.
1198 - Empowered via the Emperor's grants to the Pronoia holders, the brothers Romanos and Ioannes (here after known as John for ease) Grypas, 26 and 22 respectively, begin collecting support against Alexios and his regime from those troops and those fellow Pronoia holders battered by the raids into the Empire the previous year. By July Romanos and John had gathered together enough of a force to viably threaten Constantinople, and thus Alexios, numbering roughly 9,000 men--over half of which had served with Romanos and John directly in Anatolia, the other half being drawn from the Grypas estates in Sakarya. On July 25th Romanos, in a mimic of old Roman traditions, is raised on the shields of his and John's combined men and declared Emperor. Romanos specifies, to all that can hear, that he rejects the title of Emperor of the Romans until he had captured Constantinople and received a true coronation. In his capacity as 'Emperor' though, Romanos declares his brother John as Sebastokrator, his right-hand and effective co-Emperor.
Romanos and John, knowing well the situations within Anatolia--and the threat the Seljuks pose to the territories of Rome, elect mutually for John to stay behind and lead the forces of Roman Anatolia while Romanos leads the collected 9,000 men to Constantinople. By this point, August of 1198, Roman Anatolia is effectively behind Romanos and John; considering what they've suffered at the hands of Alexios' own incompetence and later unwillingness to strike back against Turkish aggression. One of the notable allies of the Grypas would be Theodore Laskaris, who swore to uphold Anatolia alongside John. On the 15th of September Romanos and his forces reach the Hellespont, resupplying in Nicaea, before using a cobbled together fleet to pass across the Bosporus during the night of the 18th. Alexios III would wake up on the 19th of September to the news that 4,500 men, and a man claiming Imperium, were outside the Theodosian Walls.
Romanos and his men settle in for a Siege, preparing a fortress-site as the various other besiegers of Constantinople, throughout its history, had. All throughout the following days Romanos, and his men, offer those guarding the gates amnesty if they simply turn against the 'tyrant' Alexios III. Such attempts are shrugged off, considering the Theodosian Walls stand between them and Romanos. This was to continue on for a month, as Romanos was running out of time--fearing that reinforcements from the European half of the Empire had perhaps heard of his Siege by now.
On the 17th of October 1198 Constantinople would be put put under a firmer blockade by the makeshift fleet of Romanos, tightening the noose firmly around the cities neck. In an attempt to break the blockade several fireships are launched against the Grypas fleet; yet due to the bad status of these ships, all of them with worm-eaten hulls, several of these fireships fail to detonate on their targets, leaving the blockade mostly intact--yet it had given confidence to the defenders none the less. On the 20th, Alexios III has finally worked up the courage to lead a sally-forth of 17 divisions from the St. Romanus Gate.
Battle is commenced with rapid pace, as Romanos' veteran soldiers hold their ground, awaiting the clash between the two forces. Only, once Alexios III and his divisions have cleared the Theodosian Wall's range, for Romanos' 4,500 strong cavalry arm, detached during the night and hid throughout the entire Siege, to smash into the right flank of Alexios's forces. In due time, Alexios' nerve gives out and his sudden retreat alongside his personal guard causes a mass panic; sending the defenders scurrying back into the city. Nonetheless, the defenders have sustained 521 casualties, and Romanos' cavalry have suffered their own at 397. Alexios, when questioned on his cowardice, swore to fight the following day against Romanos and his forces--yet, during the night he and one of his daughters, Eirene, would attempt to escape across the Bosporus with 1,000 pounds of gold. They would be caught by men guarding the Seawalls, the resulting scuffle between these men and the Emperor trying to desert them, saw both Alexios and his daughter cut down and the gold stolen.
On the morning of the 21st, the forces loyal to the Patriarch George II play pragmatism, and open the gates for Romanos and his soldiers on the conditions that the claimant-Emperor hold his men back from looting; something upheld due to the respect the men hold for their commander (although it is noted that men from the garrison and members of Romanos' army almost came to blows on the path towards the Hagia Sophia). Midday, the 21st of October, Romanos would be crowned as Romanos V, Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans.
His work was only just beginning.
--
--
Hello everyone! I've had a timeline of this sort swirling around in my head for roughly 2 months now. In that time I've worked out a basis to work off of. The main point of divergence is that Alexios III is deposed in 1198 in response to his multiple failures (which will be specified during the timeline) by 'custom' characters; the brothers Romanos and Ioannes (John) Grypas--who are Anatolian Pronoia holders prior to Romanos obtaining the Purple. Hopefully the timeline will be interesting, and I'm more than open to criticism and suggestions!
--
1196 - Over a year into his reign, Alexios III Angelos is threatened by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who demands 5,000 pounds of gold or the Romans will face invasion (This is due to a convoluted system of dynastic claims due to Henry VI gaining control of Alexios' daughter; Irene). The amount is, later, negotiated down to 1,600 pounds of gold--with Alexios III plundering the Imperial Tombs within the Church of the Holy Apostles as well as levying a heavy, and unpopular, tax known as the "Alamanikon", or "German Tax".
1197 - In Henry VI dies in September, with the gold effectively pocketed by Alexios III. Alexios' wife, the able, and willful, Empress Euphrosyne, attempts to sustain the court and Alexio's financial credit via her most able supporter, Vatatzes, who would be assassinated later on the Emperor's orders. To compound these issues the Empire is beset on all sides by Bulgarians, Vlachs and Seljuks; with the former two raiding as far as Greece and the latter essentially rolling up the entire east of the Empire. Alexios III further bankrupts the treasury, in a similar fashion to how he had when coronated, spending lavishly on his palace and its gardens in an attempt to make use of them for diplomacy. This fails. As a last ditched effort the Emperor gives more power to the Pronoia holders within the Empire; which, while it helps sustain the Roman's territories, leaves the Empire's authority massively weakened.
1198 - Empowered via the Emperor's grants to the Pronoia holders, the brothers Romanos and Ioannes (here after known as John for ease) Grypas, 26 and 22 respectively, begin collecting support against Alexios and his regime from those troops and those fellow Pronoia holders battered by the raids into the Empire the previous year. By July Romanos and John had gathered together enough of a force to viably threaten Constantinople, and thus Alexios, numbering roughly 9,000 men--over half of which had served with Romanos and John directly in Anatolia, the other half being drawn from the Grypas estates in Sakarya. On July 25th Romanos, in a mimic of old Roman traditions, is raised on the shields of his and John's combined men and declared Emperor. Romanos specifies, to all that can hear, that he rejects the title of Emperor of the Romans until he had captured Constantinople and received a true coronation. In his capacity as 'Emperor' though, Romanos declares his brother John as Sebastokrator, his right-hand and effective co-Emperor.
Romanos and John, knowing well the situations within Anatolia--and the threat the Seljuks pose to the territories of Rome, elect mutually for John to stay behind and lead the forces of Roman Anatolia while Romanos leads the collected 9,000 men to Constantinople. By this point, August of 1198, Roman Anatolia is effectively behind Romanos and John; considering what they've suffered at the hands of Alexios' own incompetence and later unwillingness to strike back against Turkish aggression. One of the notable allies of the Grypas would be Theodore Laskaris, who swore to uphold Anatolia alongside John. On the 15th of September Romanos and his forces reach the Hellespont, resupplying in Nicaea, before using a cobbled together fleet to pass across the Bosporus during the night of the 18th. Alexios III would wake up on the 19th of September to the news that 4,500 men, and a man claiming Imperium, were outside the Theodosian Walls.
Romanos and his men settle in for a Siege, preparing a fortress-site as the various other besiegers of Constantinople, throughout its history, had. All throughout the following days Romanos, and his men, offer those guarding the gates amnesty if they simply turn against the 'tyrant' Alexios III. Such attempts are shrugged off, considering the Theodosian Walls stand between them and Romanos. This was to continue on for a month, as Romanos was running out of time--fearing that reinforcements from the European half of the Empire had perhaps heard of his Siege by now.
On the 17th of October 1198 Constantinople would be put put under a firmer blockade by the makeshift fleet of Romanos, tightening the noose firmly around the cities neck. In an attempt to break the blockade several fireships are launched against the Grypas fleet; yet due to the bad status of these ships, all of them with worm-eaten hulls, several of these fireships fail to detonate on their targets, leaving the blockade mostly intact--yet it had given confidence to the defenders none the less. On the 20th, Alexios III has finally worked up the courage to lead a sally-forth of 17 divisions from the St. Romanus Gate.
Battle is commenced with rapid pace, as Romanos' veteran soldiers hold their ground, awaiting the clash between the two forces. Only, once Alexios III and his divisions have cleared the Theodosian Wall's range, for Romanos' 4,500 strong cavalry arm, detached during the night and hid throughout the entire Siege, to smash into the right flank of Alexios's forces. In due time, Alexios' nerve gives out and his sudden retreat alongside his personal guard causes a mass panic; sending the defenders scurrying back into the city. Nonetheless, the defenders have sustained 521 casualties, and Romanos' cavalry have suffered their own at 397. Alexios, when questioned on his cowardice, swore to fight the following day against Romanos and his forces--yet, during the night he and one of his daughters, Eirene, would attempt to escape across the Bosporus with 1,000 pounds of gold. They would be caught by men guarding the Seawalls, the resulting scuffle between these men and the Emperor trying to desert them, saw both Alexios and his daughter cut down and the gold stolen.
On the morning of the 21st, the forces loyal to the Patriarch George II play pragmatism, and open the gates for Romanos and his soldiers on the conditions that the claimant-Emperor hold his men back from looting; something upheld due to the respect the men hold for their commander (although it is noted that men from the garrison and members of Romanos' army almost came to blows on the path towards the Hagia Sophia). Midday, the 21st of October, Romanos would be crowned as Romanos V, Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans.
His work was only just beginning.
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