The Eagle of the East, Rhomania: An Eastern Roman Timeline (1196 - 1245)

[Averious]

I suppose you have good reason to believe that anyone choosing to read a late-Roman TL would already know what a "Pronoia" is. This is not my area of enthusiasm generally but I do think I've picked up some fair knowledge of the Eastern Roman system over the decades, and I had not heard of the term or forgot it if I had.

For general information of others as ignorant as I was until looking it up today, I suppose the Wikipedia page is reasonably useful.

My takeaway is that the person holding this grant, the pronoeir, is basically granted the right to tax-farm the grant; the term "pronoia", meaning "forethought " literally, can mean the territory (or apparently other revenue sources could be granted), the value estimated of the grant, or the actual revenue stream produced. In Latin the corresponding term for each pronoearios would be "curator." The class of persons (I don't know if any were ever women, but institutions such as monasteries could hold the office) is pronoetes; the persons included in the grant to tax are "paroikoi." (Am I right in thinking that word relates to the English word "parishoners" in etymology? As in "parochial"?)

This is not the same as west European feudalism in many respects. The Pronoeir may tax their paroikoi and keep part of the revenue, forwarding the rest on to the Imperial treasury, but they have no authority to say draft any paroikoi to military service, nor does the granting of a Pronoia to a Pronoeir create any feudal obligation for the latter to provide military service in person or sending any specified troops. At least until the final generations of the empire OTL, the office is not hereditary (though if granted to an institution, obviously it would be perpetuated until either than body was extinguished or the Emperor revoked it). Indeed the grant is revocable.

Per the article:



From that I infer that each Pronoia grant was pretty much ad hoc, though I would guess in a particular time frame a grant to a particular category of candidate was closely equivalent to such a grant to another recipient in a similar status. But the precise terms in each praktika might be wildly at odds with those in another, granted to a person of higher or lower status or in a different time frame when the negotiating position of the Emperor was different, stronger or weaker.

The key point I think is that the Emperor could revoke them, so in terms of useful aid to the Empire, an Emperor was in a position to make sure they contributed a reasonable amount. I don't know if the praktika generally put upper limits on the power of the Pronoiar to extort from their parikoi, but if not obviously two practical limits would exist--one, extreme rapacity would drive the parikoi into revolt in sheer desperation, also somewhat less extreme extortions could visibly break the ability of the parikoi to yield sustainably, so prudence would tend to set an upper limit, versus the desperation or relaxation of a particular situation. Two, the Emperor overseeing it all could get wind of extremism in this matter--aside from the astute desire to maintain loyalty and morale among subjects, and a reputation for justice for Imperial institutions, an Emperor might well suspect the purpose of squeezing the parakoi is to build up a war chest in a bid for the purple or perhaps secession as a splinter state.

At the other end of the scale, I presume the Treasury expected a certain revenue, probably often or maybe always stipulated in the praktika granting this Pronoia, and failure to forward that amount in full would bring down suspicious and angry inquiries and investigation pronto. Perhaps such inquisitions would be satisfied to see specific hardships such as plagues or famines plainly smiting the region and forbear in such hard years, but the Pronoiar would be best advised to send in the expected revenue at whatever cost, to maintain the good will of the Emperor and his court and avoid hostile scrutiny.

The bit about the lack of any inherent military obligation of the Pronoies to serve themselves or provide specific levies inherently suggests the Empire maintained direct fidelity of sworn officers and troops to the Emperor himself.

OTOH, I would expect that Emperors often did tell Pronoiar that they were in fact drafted, probably on an officer level of course, and bloody well would provided some levies of a thousand or so as auxiliaries. The Pronoiar is not bound to obey but then, the Emperor grants and rescinds at personal pleasure, so the option is practically to either comply or rebel. Presumably any troops raised this way are folded into the regular ranks, with something of a watchful eye on inexperienced or questionably loyal Pronoies and factoring the greenness or indiscipline of suddenly drafted levy troops--either in practice deploying them as auxiliaries, or with them folded into regular bodies, generals and sergeants are on the lookout for substandard behavior.

Also, this smacks of actual feudalism to me:

Around this same time, it is my impression the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem reversed this--the King, Baldwin or his heirs, controlled all tax collection, and granted his knights fixed salaries he doled out to them from the collective revenues. (I don't know if the knights just had specific salaries granted them generically, or if on paper each one was collecting from specified tracts of territory the kingdom was parceled out into, but either way, I believe they had no direct control of the process of taking and keeping the revenue. However unlike Pronoies, these knights did pass their claims and obligations on to their heirs in a hereditary fashion).

As a practical matter, the KoJ's knights resided in big cities, not dispersed over the countryside as in the Pronoia system.

Per the article, on the whole it was a good thing for the Empire the Pronoies were dispersed to their rustic or distant bailiwicks: on the downside, they could and sometimes did plot disloyalty and organize locally for various kinds of subversion, but the fact their power centers were far from the capital was more benefit than the decentralized potential for rebellion was cost.

As with feudalism, dispersing and devolving much bureaucratic burden to self-interested Pronoies would also mean the wealth of the Empire in a logistic sense was dispersed as well, meaning Imperial forces thrown upon some threatened zone could be supported with resources largely at hand, including raising local auxiliaries; in peacful periods regular imperial forces could be dispersed to provide stiff resistance against surprise attacks, then others pour in from the region and eventually whole Empire.

So I infer anyway.

The main issues that lay with the Pronoia is that functionally they draw funds and resources away from the Imperial Treasury due to the fact that these are given over as effective payment to an important family or individual. While the Empire still, in functionality, owns the land/taxes given out this isn't often the case as precedents were set during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos which saw them gradually become hereditary, and held by the 'elites' of the Empire.

When used in proper practice they are fundamentally similar to the Thematic System in that they are designated resources given to an individual to rule/manage during their lifetime before reverting back to the Imperial Treasury/Dynasty upon the death of the holder. This was the case during the reigns of Alexios I Komnenos and John II Komnenos; both being uniquely skilled rulers and administrators who kept the usage of the Pronoia in check.

Manuel I Komnenos on the other hand was heavily inspired by the west, and its feudal values, so its hardly a wonder that under his tenure is the first we see of the feudalization of the Empire that would continue to rot out the internals of the Empire during the mismanagement of the Angeloi.

Notably, the Laskarids were able to uniquely pull the system back into function in an Alexios/John fashion, but the following Palaiologos dynasty would bring about the further downfall, and feudalization of the Empire by legally making them inheritable.

Inherently, within the timeframe of this TL, the Empire is in drastic need of a reform--likely to a system similar to the older Thematic System, to ensure that the destabilization that had allowed Romanos V to take power doesn't reoccur; as while Romanos is a capable and energetic Basileus it is not a done-deal that anyone who replicates his rise to fame will be as 'worthy' as he is.

 

[Averious]

"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.
--
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.
--

 

[Averious]

"I endeavour to learn, and plan, for every battle and war ahead of us. I refuse to be schooled again," Attributed, semi-historically, to the Emperor Basil II 'the Bulgarslayer'.

1198 - Following his successful coronation Romanos was left with much on his plate. Functionally he was usurper, lacking legitimacy in the eyes of several members of both the court and Empire--something he refused to let continue for long. Even aside from that issues in the capital would need his attention; namely the imprisonment of Isaac II Angelos, the brother of Alexios III who was blinded and imprisoned on said Alexios' orders when he forcibly took control--alongside Alexios' widow Euphrosyne. The solutions to both were rather simple, although Romanos had to outright deny Euphrosyne's attempts to offer herself up in marriage to him--since, while he in his own way respected her political prowess, her domineering tendencies ran against his nature. On the 23rd of October Isaac II was released, and treated well for the day, but by the end of it both he and the Widow-Empress would be stripped of their vestments and spread out amongst the Aegean Islands in a church exile as a monk and nun respectively. The court would be purged of the remaining rot of the Angeloi, the officials and internal bureaucracies refilled by men of skill drawn from the Grypas estates in Anatolia, Sakarya. By Christmas 1198 Romanos had a firm grasp on the Imperial Court, yet this would not be enough forever.


1199 - A large letter campaign is undertaken by Romanos, who sends hundreds of letters across the Empire to connect with the various Pronoia holders, alongside the soldiers within the Empire. The letters he receives back horrify him as he begins to truly understand the degeneration the Empire was under; it's armies in Europe growing weaker and less-skilled even while raided by the Bulgarians under Tsar Kaloyan. To his relief though, his efforts in Anatolia have borne fruit; with John and Theodore notably working together to defend the Empire's eastern-flank from Seljuk raids into Bithynium; notably forming a friendship after Theodore apparently took the head off of a mounted Turk before he could cut down John. It is clear to Romanos that he made the right choice leaving the east in the hands of the two, as while they are only in their 20's they've already proven able and willing to lead in Romanos' name. On the 11th of January 1199, Romanos resurrects the functionally dead office of Hypatos (equivalent to the old Roman Consulship), giving it to Theodore in honour of his loyalty and achievements.

In order to sure up his north-western flank, Romanos writes to Stefan II of Raska, a Prince of Serbia married to Eudokia Angelos; daughter of Alexios III. Stefan had been a firm ally of the Empire, given the court title of Sebastokrator and its accompanying salaries, yet now that he had taken control Romanos had to reevaluate the situation. Stefan was instead offered the position of Sebastos, a position given to firm friends and allies of the Imperial Household, alongside a generous donative of the salaries he missed out on while Constantinople was under siege--in combination of the salary given to the Sebastos. The only condition was that Stefan refrain from the use of his wife as a vector to attack the Empire via claim, as the Holy Roman Empire had attempted. Due to factors happening in Serbia, namely rising tensions with Hungary and proddings from the Papacy for Serbia to shift itself back under the Catholic banner, Stefan is happy for the cash, and the confirmation of a sort of alliance with the Romans--yet it is clear that once the issues that plague him and his people are over that such a relationship might change. These letters are concluded on the 21st of January.

On the 25th of January, Romanos would awake to news of further Bulgarian raids under Kaloyan as far in as Thessaloniki, the Second City of the Empire. It was clear to Romanos that such a relationship, continued wars against the Bulgarians and Romans, would be untenable if he was to pull the Empire back together. First however, he had to play his choices right, and he had one in mind. The Komnenoi had survived their loss of the throne under Andronikos I Komnenos, with the two grandsons of Andronikos; Alexios and David Komnenos, while young being already noted as able administrators and warriors. On the 3rd of February, after much lettering, the two brothers would be transplanted further into Anatolia; given their supposed ancestral home of Kastra Komnenon in Paphlagonia--forming further support for Romanos within Anatolia, with the notice that the two would fight alongside John and Theodore in their efforts to uphold the Empire. Romanos, even now, noted Alexios' maturity and skill with writing in the letters given back and forth.

The true purpose behind playing 'nice' with the Komnenoi however was a push for legitimacy. Maria Komnene, daughter of Andronikos himself, would be drawn out of hiding on the 9th of February. She was a woman of wit, while also charitable and patient, a good match for Romanos. The two would hit it off shortly after her arrival at the Imperial Court in Constantinople and in the following week, on the 16th of February, the two would be wed as Emperor and Empress of the Romans in order to ensure closer ties between the current Imperial Grypas, and the former Imperial Komnenoi. The two would spend the next near-two-months together, Maria proving an able study in military matters, much to the surprise of Romanos, with the two working out a plan of action against the Bulgarian raids--and forming a closer bond.

On the 1st of April, after much planning, Romanos would leave Constantinople in the hands of his wife, her status as a Komnenoi--combined with her general nature--leaving her well-position to hold down the fort for her husband while he went out to deal with Kayolan and his Bulgarians. Romanos would leave with roughly 8,000 men, all of them the veterans who'd served with him in Anatolia and during the Siege of Constantinople--the army moving at a managed pace as Romanos fettered out scouts across the Haemus to ensure he would not walk into a trap as several Emperor's before him had. It was standard policy in Anatolia, the management of scouts--with who controlled the most information generally being the victor between the constant Roman-Seljuk tug of war.

Such standard policy would bare fruit on the 3rd of April, as Romanos would receive news of Kayolan's raid, and sack, of the city of Strumica, leaving the area laden with loot and prisoners. With further calculations, and scouting, Romanos would be left with a number that put him at a disadvantage; Kayolan had roughly 7,000 Bulgarians and 3,000 Cuman allies. If Romanos wanted to inflict damage he had to, now, while they were slowed by their pillage. If he failed, and lost his army, the Empire's west would effectively be without a functional army--as those 'soldiers' who were not his own in the West weren't up to par with the task at hand. He had to win this.

On the 5th of April arrows would come down from the side-pass hills against Kayolan and his forces as they passed through the Kyustendil area--with Romanos having dismounted most of his Turcopole horsearchers to act as skilled bowmen against the passing Bulgar-Cuman army. This army didn't break however, Kayolan's sheer presence and ability to rally them forming them into a cohesive force as they pushed to get out of the ambush zone; many still falling to the arrows of the Romans in the hills. This cohesive force would be met suddenly by a smashing blow, as the bulk of Romanos' force, numbering roughly 5,000, would crash into the side of Kayolan's forces after appearing, as if at God's Own Will, from the eastern passage of Kyustendil--crumpling the Bulgar-Cuman lines inwards as the veteran soldiers of Anatolia took to the heavy work of beating down the hardy forces before them. Several times Romanos and Kayolan themselves would apparently come to blows as the tide of battle brought them and their retinues together, and pulled them apart, again and again. Within an hour of fighting the core of the Bulgar-Cuman force was able to force their way out, Kayolan leading them away back into more firmly held Bulgaria. Over 6,000 men had died all together, with Romanos loosing just under half of that--a sure blow to his forces. Yet, he'd obtained victory--with Kayolan and his forces forced to leave behind their spoils and prisoners. In a moment of temperance, while his soldiers were dividing up the loot, Romanos gave his 'share' to the prisoners taken by Kayolan--before having them escorted home by a contingent of Turcopoles on horseback.

The battle, known thereafter as the Battle of the Pass, would leave Romanos with roughly a thousand Bulgarian-Cuman prisoners. As a move to open diplomacy, the Emperor let the Bulgarians go to rejoin their Tsar--yet he kept the Cumans under arrest. They would later be resettled in Anatolia; along the Mysian-Dorylaeum border, proving a valid investment as they would aid the forces in Anatolia greatly in holding the lands in years to come. In the following lull, Romanos would be able to push the borders back up to the near-Haemus by retaking Pernik in Kyustendil and Serdica in Sredets within a half-months effort--forced to leave behind roughly 3,000 of his Anatolian veterans to hold the land taken. Romanos, after inspecting the lands taken, would move to return to Constantinople; but not before pulling several of the unused Tagma in Roman Europe to his banner. He had plans for them.

On the 21st of April the Emperor would return to Constantinople in triumph, enamoring many with the first true military victory since the death of Manuel I Komnenos roughly two decades prior. Romanos had firmly cemented his reputation as legitimate in the eyes of many, yet even now he knew things were utterly precarious--as any wrong move would see everything he'd worked for in the last 2 years turned to dust.

 

[Averious]

"Information is Victory," - the maxim used by Romanos V Grypas throughout his life.

1199 - Romanos V, upon returning to Constantinople, and indulging in his triumph, by now had a unique view on the Empire and its situation. He had fought in Anatolia, and now Europe--and was even further informed by his previous letter campaigns of the state of the Empire. It was a hollowed out husk, held together as if by God's Own Grace, and even that seemed to be fading. In comparison to this mess Romanos' own victories seemed paltry nothingness.

He knew he needed to reform the Empire, and to do that would require some bitter pills to be swallowed. The Pronoia system was a hamper on the Empire, drawing away land and revenue from the treasury and gradually pulling out the guts of the Empire until it was naught but a spent carcass surrounded by always-hovering vultures. The system had worked during the reign of the Komnenoi because their efforts to turn the Empire into a dynastic project kept a tight leash on it, lessening the issues to near nothingness. The Angeloi however had botched the job, horrifically, giving more and more power to the Pronoia holders to the point that Romanos and John, former Pronoia holders themselves, had been able to take the throne. In a classic case of; "Lets not let it happen twice," Romanos knew the system had to be done away with. But that would come in time.

The first of the bitter pills to be swallowed was the outright destruction of dozens of palaces, and the like along the Bosporus--not even the Blachernae Palace in Constantinople was spared; Romanos having a particular disdain for the structure following its habitation by the Angeloi--as well as its general position in the City of the World's Desire. Each of these palaces are reduced down to their foundations, with the stone and fittings carted off back to Constantinople for use in specified projects. Much of the nobility that had once lived in such palaces had been purged during Romanos' first few months--but those that remained were in no real position to strike out at the Emperor considering his current position. Within the next 2 months, by the 25th of June, these palaces were naught but recollected resources.

For the first time in over a century the Imperial residence was moved back to the Grand Palace of Constantinople; the former Seat of Constantine himself. It was in large disrepair, many sections having fallen into disuse and others entirely collapsed. Roughly a 6th of the materials gathered were used to renovate the palace to livability; but uniquely the Emperor ordered it be done tastefully; having an inherent asceticism due to his time in Anatolia. What resulted from this was the start of the later known White Palace, with the areas functionally rubble being essentially disused permanently. When the palace's new boundaries were drawn on the 3rd of July it was roughly 3/4's it's previous size.

The other remaining materials drawn from the various palaces were put to use refurbishing the Queen of Cities, as the Hagia Sophia itself was graced with further silver fittings, and the Forum's of Constantine and Theodosius refurbished with new stone. Out of this was still a sizable tally of metals; notably gold, which remained. This would play into Romanos' next phase of planning; rebuilding the coinage system.

The Komnenoi had managed to resurrect the Empire's financial stability via the use of a complex rework of the economy, part of which was a rework of the coinage. This system, as it stood at the time of the Komnenoi, was a vital position to get back to--as the idiocies of the Angeloi had debased the economy to near ruin. Romanos' following policy, aided by his wife Maria's own skilled mind for functional numbers, would see coinage recalled across the Empire and melted down. The first new Hyperpyron were struck, uniquely bearing the visages of both Romanos and Maria together, on the 29th of August 1199; accommodated by revalued silver (Aspron) and copper (Stamenon) coins.

It would take several years for this new coinage method to aid in the economy, but Romanos intended to ensure it did. The Christmas of 1199 was celebrated well within the Grand Palace.

1200 - On the dawn of the 13th century, the Empire was at a point of both crumbling, and reforming. The eastern front against the Seljuks was held by the forces led by the collective, and skilled, leaderships of John Grypas, Theodore Laskaris, and Alexios and David Komnenos--yet a particularly bloody Seljuk raid managed to push as far as Nicaea on the 2nd of February of 1200, bringing to Romanos' mind that Anatolia was in need of firm aid.

Yet, in the west, the Bulgarians and their Vlach allies would continue to raid into Roman Europe--notably being unable to shove the borders back considering the troops Romanos had left behind to guard the reconquered land south of the Haemus--these troops led by a rising-star officer John Klephos. The entire war between the Romans and Vlach-Bulgarians was a rebellion, of sorts. Following Basil II's annexation of Bulgaria the Bulgarians, and Vlachs that lived within as well, were slowly Romanizing--efforts under the Komnenoi speeding up the process (namely under John II). Yet, the Bulgarians and Vlachs had still held onto their character by the time Isaac II Angelos came to power, the Emperor having deposed Andronikos I Komnenos, levying a heavy tax burden on the Empire--namely those north of the Haemus. It was Isaac's failure to play diplomat, and his utter mishandling of the Bulgarian-Vlach representatives that resulted in the declaration of rebellion by Kayolan's forebears roughly 15 years ago.

In Romanos' mind the Empire had no future north of the Haemus, Greece, Thrace and Anatolia were to be what the Empire held--a view he held due to himself being of Anatolian birth, while also being able to see a larger perspective than most. On the 19th of February the Tsar Kayolan would receive a letter from the Emperor of the Romans--one that had a drastic effect on the future of the Balkans, and the Empire.

The two people were to come to peace, with Romanos acknowledging Kayolan's title as Tsar of the Bulgarians and Vlachs, as well as his sovereignty. To add to this, Constantinople would release primacy over Bulgaria; allowing it to once more declare it's own Patriarch and manage its own religious affairs (although this wasn't anything new, as even under Constantinople the Bulgarians retained functional autonomy). To sweeten the pot, the Emperor offered 5,000 Hyperpyron (drawn from his own accumulated wealth, effectively emptying his personal treasury). In return? The Bulgarians and Vlachs were to return to the north of the Haemus, and the Empire's borders would level out based on the mountains; Sofia being the major border city between the two (Romanos going to great lengths to stress that the Bulgarians should keep it). In effect, the Empire would gain back the surrounding areas of the old Thracian and Macedonian Thema from Basil II's era. This was to be combined with a 15 year truce between the two, and a formal apology for the mistreatment under Isaac II--alongside the decommissioned lead seal of the Angeloi.

Kayolan accepted, after much deliberation, due to several reasons. The war with the Romans hadn't gone anywhere viable, and aside from that his efforts to get recognition from the west, in the form of being crowned under the recognition of the Pope in Rome, Innocent III, had fallen through as Innocent--while receptive--had taken his time with the movements and seemed unwilling to offer the Bulgarian a title above 'King'. Romanos on the other hand was effectively offering everything Kayolan wanted--on top of 15 years to get his state in order. It was an opportunity he could not pass up; especially since it came from an Emperor he'd grown to respect after his defeat at the Battle of the Passes, and Romanos' following clemency to his Bulgarian prisoners.

Thus, on the 28th of February Romanos would receive back the acceptance, and breathe a sigh of relief. Only, this relief wasn't to last long--as he was quickly informed, within the week, of a small-scale revolt by the Tagma troops he'd left stationed in Prilep who stood against his seemingly generous terms. It was a moment of peace however when Romanos would find out, the following day, that John Klephos had taken it upon himself to put it down--and had succeeded, proving his loyalty.

The revolt had shown to Romanos that he couldn't rest on his laurels forever, he had to cement his legitimacy with further action. This was put to action, as Romanos learnt that his wife Maria was pregnant with their firstborn child--likely conceived during their time together upon his return from the Battle of the Pass (as she appeared five months pregnant). On the 15th of April 1200, after viable preparations, Romanos V would embark with roughly 10,000 men (6,000 of which were his loyal, veteran Anatolian troops--the others being drawn from the Tagma in Europe that could be viably drawn away), once more leaving Constantinople in the capable hands of his wife as he moved to join his brother, and friends, in Anatolia.

He would ensure the stabilization of the east, and the furthering of the borders. Failure was not an option.

 

[Averious]

A map I’ve drawn of the borders of the current TTL;

 

[Averious]

"Follow the standard, do not out run it. Stand firm, stand righteous. Bring us victory, and help us, O God," - a passage from the Strategikon of Maurice on a Roman pre-battle cant.

1200 - Romanos, and his force of roughly 10,000 men, would embark across the Bosporus on a transport fleet, taking roughly 2 days for everyone to get across. The fleet of the Empire at this point stood at roughly 70 galleys, and near the same amount of transport ships, a considerable increase considering the state the fleet had been in during the Angeloi. Thankfully for the Empire, Romanos had taken control before the Empire had firmly decline fully within its navy. Romanos intended to end the relations the Empire held with the Venetians once he returned from Anatolia--yet he did not know how long his efforts would take.

Romanos and his forces would be met in Nicaea by Alexios Komnenos, and a small elite retinue of Turcopoles, on the 17th of April. It was the first time the two had met in person; the two men getting on well as they found they shared similar views on how to rule. It wasn't along before Romanos was informed of the situation in Anatolia.

Functionally Anatolia had been a hotbed since 1196, following the various raids under Suleiman II Selcuklar, the Sultan of Rum, which had seen Alexios III empower the Pronoia holders, and put the Grypas family--and thus the Empire--on its current path. In the Taurus Mountains the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia had broken away from the Orthodox Church and had communed with Rome; turning more and more Latin as its leader, Prince Levon II, moved to model himself and his nation off the Crusader States in the Holy Land--having notably aided the 3rd Crusade with supplies and the like. In an effort to push his greatness forwards Levon had dug out a sizable chunk of former Cappadocia; Tyana, from the backside of the Seljuks--all the while expanding eastward after the now deceased, and legendary, Saladin had abandoned forts outside of the Taurus.

Due to the fact that Suleiman had been stonewalled from further major raids, save a few exceptions, the Sultan had turned his vengeful gaze on the Armenians, and had begun his assaults on them around the same time as Romanos had arrived in Anatolia. The Grypas scouts well-informed them of the on-going bouts between the Turks and Armenians. The Emperor, and his Empire, would not get a better time to drive their blades through the Turks backside and regain the lands lost before the stabilization of the Empire under the efforts of John, Theodore and the Komnenoi brothers.

After much preparation (including the building of viable siege engines), Romanos and his forces, alongside Alexios, would make the trek from Nicaea to Sakarya, meeting up with his brother, Theodore and David Komnenos. The group took a half-day to get caught up, and plan. Romanos and Theodore would take the 10,000 men, alongside some Cuman Turcopoles drawn from the former prisoners settled in Anatolia after the Battle of the Pass, and push the boundaries of the Empire into Dorylaeum, and upper Phrygia. John and Alexios on the other hand would take their roughly equal number of veteran troops, each of them having faced Turkish raids for a near half-decade or more, to take Pisidia and lower Phrygia. David opted to stay behind to hold down the frontline with the various militia of the area--most of them men he'd trained himself.

On the 20th of April the forces would depart from Sakarya. They would not see each other again for over a month.
--
Romanos' and Theodore's army

The men under Romanos and Theodore would keep a measured pace, always making use of the scout network that had been built up in Anatolia in order to ensure they avoided ambushes; the Battle of Myriokephalon always in the back of Romanos' mind as he endeavoured to be a better general, and Emperor, than Manuel I had been in Anatolia. It would take another 4 days before the army reached any settlements worth note; the trek increased considering the fact that Romanos and Theodore made sure the army avoided undefendable passes and the like to avoid being ambushed, or taken by surprise at all. On the 24th of April they could come upon Kotyaion, a barely defended 'city' that was closer to a functional hamlet than a defensible location.

The army would push through Koyaion, Romanos and Theodore ordering the sacking the city for 3 days, thoroughly tearing it apart. Yet, Romanos showed surprising anger when he found that several soldiers under his command had raped both women and girls. His command that followed; the castration and imprisonment of those men responsible, would set the tone for his soldiers. Never again would they act thoroughly unchristian while under his command. To ensure the city was not built up into a defensible location in the rear, Romanos had the surviving population pushed to settle in Sakarya, within the Empire, many of their belongings being returned, before Romanos and company marched on.

It would be another half-month of constant campaigning, destroying settlement after settlement along the border, before deporting the population into the Empire--a practice that was becoming standardized by Romanos, before they finally came upon the walls of Dorylaeum. The city was famous for two reasons, neither of them well-fitting in the mind of Romanos; Crusade. The city was in semi-disrepair, the well-built fortifications from Manuel's day having since fallen into major disrepair as the Seljuks hadn't needed to maintain them on account of the Empire's lacking offensive capabilities during the Angeloi period.

Such a thing would prove itself detrimental, as after two days of managed bombardment of the east-walls by counter-weight trebuchets would see large section of the wall opened up, and the populous subjected to the same, standardized, happens as the others in the area. Romanos and Theodore would leave behind a garrison of 600 men, staying behind long enough (4 days) to see the walls brought back up to functionality--and to press the populous westward to be settled as the others before them.

In 22 days the Empire had reclaimed a large chunk of territory, yet Theodore and Romanos both knew that there needed to be a functional front pressed--the two splitting up the collected army into halves before marching onward to clear a functional new border. In Romanos' mind everything had to be accounted for, including the counter-attack of Suleiman II, which he expected any day now. On the 16th May 1200 the area surrounding Dorylaeum had been pacified--yet, something had begun to flower in the mind of Romanos. He'd seen how measured, and duteous the young Turks had been in the villages he'd forcibly taken the populations from--an idea coming to mind that would forever change the Empire's army.
--
John and Alexios' army

John and Alexios, in contrast to Romanos and Theodore, functioned on an action by action basis. The two men, and their collective 7,000 man force, were always on the move--always energetic. They had faith in their ability to face all that come before them, yet did not neglect the use of the Anatolian scouts to plot a functional way through the conditions of lower Phrygia and Pisida, which have notably less settlements and more fortresses considering its proximity to the Seljuk capital of Konya. It is such a proximity that sees harder conditions for the John and Alexios alongside their soldiers.

It takes the pair and their forces roughly 15 days to break the fortress of Baris with their siege equipment; loosing 357 men taking it. They would not get a chance to leave it, as on the 5th of May the army gets warnings from the scouts.

The Turks are coming.

By now Suleiman had well-heard of the Roman incursions, detaching a force of 12,000 Turkmen under the command of the loyal Tugrul Turel , one of his many officers. It had taken the forces under Tugrul roughly 4 days, at full speed, to come bearing down on the captured Baris. The fortress itself was still in ruins, unusable as a defensive structure, forcing John and Alexios to think on the fly. By the scouts accounts they had a day, at most.

The two ordered the men to dig trenches against the breaches in Baris' walls, these would need to be held by the infantry while the horsearchers dismounted, as they had at the Battle of the Pass, to fire from the battlements. The work was barely done by the time the beat of the hooves, and the fanning of the dust, hit the scene on the early morning of the 6th of May.

What would follow was the costly Battle Baris, as both John and Alexios had to channel Bohemond in their efforts; rallying their respective infantries on either side of the battered fortress to hold the line during what would become a hours long bombardment of arrows. Thousands died, as even with their shields raised high--and the protection from the trenches and battlement-holding horsearchers--the sheer volume of fire proved too much for many.

Alexios would be maimed by an arrow to the leg while providing leadership to his section of men, the arrow would leave him lame in his right leg. Had this been it, the last shift of the tide in this battle, the Romans would have lost--yet, as if by chance, Tugrel was caught in the eye by an arrow--likely fired by a Romanized Turkmen--and sent flying from his horse.

The Turkish forces would hold on for another hour, attempting to push at and break the Roman's lines--even as the panic of the loss of Tugrel filled their ranks. It would be John's sudden and coordinated speartip charge, at the head of his entire contingent, that would break the Turks--sending them fleeing.

The Battle of Baris was costly, 4,000 Romans lay dead--and Alexios was maimed, yet the Empire held the lands of Pisidia and lower Phrygia--and had cut down a skilled officer of Suleiman's forces. The battle, as seemed common in this Anatolian campaign, would be remembered--and would impact Rome forever more.
--
By the 16th of May effective control over the goal areas of Anatolia had been achieved, but it was a pyrrhic victory at best, with thousands of skilled Romans dying and the area taken being devastated by the efforts of the Romans. Yet, despite that it was a brilliant campaign, overall the first major victory against the Turks since Manuel I Komnenos had attempted to face them and had largely failed.

Yet, even still, it would need to be seen if the Empire could hold onto the new lands taken at all, or would Suleiman II--who had just concluded a functional peace with Levon II that saw the return of Tyana (after battering Tarsus for a near month)--destroy the control the Romans had achieved on his return?

 

[Averious]

"Justice is the firm and continuous desire to render unto everyone what is his due," - Justinian I, 'the Great'.

As this timeline has grown over a day of writing, I'm amazed by the response I've received. A part of me though the work I'd put into it would simply be ignored, but I'm glad this is not the case. Thank you all for reading!

This section of the TL will be inherently written like the first post, as the scale of the following battles in Anatolia that will take up the next near-year require a more stepped back approach. However! The following TL will be another in-depth look at the current courtly status of Romanos V's capable wife, Maria Komnene, and her struggles in upholding her husbands authority while he is away on campaign.
--
1200 - May - Romanos, and his allies, spread out across the newly claimed territories of the Empire, are forced to think fast; with new Tagma drawn forwards from the now back-ranking sections of Roman Anatolia; such as Nicaea, Nikomedia, and Mysia. Roughly 10,000 men are pulled up; depleting western Anatolia, with obvious connotations... if Romanos and his allies lose then Anatolia might be rolled all the way back to the sea, as these are the last of the trained and viable fighters in all of Roman western Anatolia. Of these 10,000, 6,000 are sent to reinforce John, who has to lead alone following Alexios Komnenos departing for Kastra Komnenon to heal, and meet up with his brother.

Those remaining 4,000 are combined with a further 1,000 from Theodore's personal retinue, as the new territory is broken up into three functional zones; built via scouting the surrounding area. John, the greatest general of the three, would lead his 7,000 men against the incursion of Suleiman II himself (as the Sultan was moving towards Pisidia in order to ensure the safety of his capital at Konya). Theodore would hold the least defendable, yet also least likely to be attacked, Phrygia with his host of 5,000 men. Romanos himself would hold the harder, decimated territory of Dorylaeum with his, by now, 9,200 men; since there were sightings of significant Turkish force coming from Ancyra towards Dorylaeum.

By the 21st of May, the Romans are as ready as they can be... and the forces of the Sultanate have converged on them.
-
Romanos V Grypas

The morning of the 21st was windy, with a thick cloud coverage within the area. It was likely to rain. Yet Romanos had heard the tales from the scouts; a force of near 11,000 Turks had been hastily rallied from within the domains of Ancyra and Charsianon, most of which were semi-trained infantry levies--as most of the skilled horsemen had gone with Suleiman II to deal with Armenia (a sizable chunk of which being destroyed by John and Alexios at the Battle Baris). With Romanos was elements of the Varangian Guard, despite its diminished nature since the Angeloi had taken power, making up roughly 2,000 of his 9,200 strong force. Among this number was also 500 settled Cumans, those former prisoners Romanos had relocated to Anatolia, who uniquely wielded large and rather impressive cleavers (most having become butchers due to their former nomadic lifestyle).

The Emperor knew he couldn't face the Turks coming after him in a pitched battle, instead he opted to draw them into a fight they couldn't win--a thought on the fly, as the weather began to turn horrid--and rain began to pour across the defended area.

The 11,000 Turks were led by Bey Masud, half-brother of Suleiman II himself. Masud was a craven man, obvious by his tendency to spend most raiding seasons within the safety of his estate in Ancyra. Yet now, the man had worked up the courage to muster all his functional soldiers--a move to impress his brother and earn favour. Masud had a plan of his own; knowing of a unique valley that led along the right-side rivers of the Dorylaeum area. He and his men would march through this valley, later known as the Valley of Rust, in order to come up around Dorylaeum and push into it's flanks before the Romans would have time to react.

This would prove to be a mistake.

'Information is Victory,'--that was Romanos' maxim, and, it's tenants had led to the creation and firm progress of the scouts Romanos was, by now, famous for using. They'd found the passage, and had caught the movements of Masud's forces as the rain began to pick up. They'd walked into a trap.

Arrows, and then large rocks, would begin to pound on the Turks trapped within the soon muddy valley--the Cumans breaking out from cover behind the lesser hills of the valley; their cleavers proving their worth as they hacked whole-heads off of the horses of the Turks just as well as they took limbs. Then Romanos committed his Varangians; the skilled axemen crashing into the now compact and quickly panicking left-flank of Masud's forces. It would turn into a blood bath, as arrows and large rocks continued to rain down on the right-flank--Masud himself was decapitated by a Cuman cleaverman, his head taken as a trophy. That spot, covered in mud, would be the death of roughly 7,000 Turks--many simply sinking into the mud and drowning.

It would take a full hour, before the Turkish officer Tekin organized a breakout, managing to save a battered force of near 5,000 Turks with a skilled breakout. They would be harassed by Turcopoles a further distance, before the chase was given up.

The Rust Valley Massacre, as it would later be known, would be one of Romanos' notable crowning achievements--effectively shredding most of the easily-levied Turkish forces in north-central Anatolia, and killing one of Suleiman's own brothers.

How did the valley get its name? Romanos ordered the Turkish bodies left there, to decay in the mud, their armour would remain; forming a pit of rust that would deter anyone else from trying a similar movement. Romanos' battlefield magnum opus.
--
End of Pt1.

 

[Averious]

"I am forced to force those whom I do not wish to force," Isaac I Komnenos, the Alexiad.
--
John Grypas

The lands of Pisidia formed a functional basin of unique communities--with trade flourishing due to its proximity to Konya, the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, yet by now--due to the near constant fighting between the Romans and Seljuks; as well as the destructive policies under Romanos and John that were enacted against the land, the area was desolated and depopulated.

John knew that he had to be proactive to destroy Suleiman II's army, and the general moral of the Turkish peoples that could possibly contribute to the loss of the taken territories down the line. Thus, with his forces allocated to him, 7,000 (after the filling of major garrisons in the taken lands of Pisidia) veteran Anatolian soldiers, he moved to press Suleiman II into a major battle.

Suleiman was no fool, he'd by now heard of the major victories won by the Romans as they took the territory they now held, and against his officer Tugrul and the forces he'd sent to crush John previously. He would not face them near a defensive structure where his cavalry would be unable to do viable damage against the Romans, thus he intended to press a firm battle against the Romans with his roughly 15,000 strong force.

Throughout the movement of the Turks into the Roman held lands of Pisidia Suleiman had been forcing John further and further back into the taken lands; outright avoiding siege warfare for now due to the fact that his army had shed its siege equipment to more quickly pursue the Romans--and because Suleiman would not risk his forces being bogged down in territory that was no longer theirs.

John had to think fast, knowing that he had to find an advantageous position to force the Turks that were at his rear into a definitive battle. On the 23rd of May, after 2 days of backpedaling, he found his location. Lake Burdur had been home to a prosperous trading community that had been annexed by Kilij Arslan II; becoming more viable due to its proximity to Konya. This community had been thoroughly depopulated by the efforts of John and Alexios, and was now the perfect spot for a battle due to the nature of the terrain--which would force the Turks to take a westward position due to the eastward positioning of the lake-slopes.

Trenches were dug, to force the Turks to commit to a surrounding tactic, and John ordered his men to form a functional shield wall as they had at Baris; breaking his forces up into three lines, the first two split into curved formations of shield-holding troops while the third would be functionally meshed in to hide their major presence.

Dust would be kicked up, as Suleiman and his forces broke-ground on their ride. 15,000 horsemen, a terrifying thing to the unprepared. But, John and his men were prepared.

The Sultan pressed for a measured approach, his men circling the Romans, again and again, pelting the men with arrows in an event likened to the first Battle of Dorylaeum--John's constant cants holding his men's resolve as the bill began to tick up as it had at Baris. Yet the Turks, after an hour of this, moved to tighten the noose of their formation to crush the Romans with the sheer force of their arrows.

Then John acted.

On his command the frontlines opened up--and he led a charge of his third, hidden, line of 3,000 spearmen. This charge burst a wide hole in the Turkish noose, shattering their cohesion and sending them into broken formations left, and right. Such a move was met with darts, dozens of them, as John's first two lines opened up with salvo after salvo of the metal rods; a move taken directly from the Strategikon of Maurice.

Suleiman was still alive though, rushing forwards with his personal retinue to batter John and his spearmen. In response, John gave the signal to his first two lines--who broke the current formation and crashed forwards with their large kiteshields; battering into the confused left and right remains of the Turkish noose.

The mass confusion caused Suleiman to misjudge the terrain as he and his retinue charged, the ground having become broken and uneven due to the trench-works and the circular riding of his forces, quickly turning into a dust-bowl. The Sultan would be thrown from his horse, as its legs were shattered by jutting rocks hidden in the the swirling dust of the battle. He was unceremoniously cut down by the charging front lines, and his men were sent to into route. John and his men had paid dearly with the lives of roughly 3,500 Romans.

Functionally, what would be known as the Battle of Burdur, would not be as staggering a loss in terms of Turkish manpower as the Rust Valley Massacre, as only 2,000 Turks had been killed, yet the psychological effects it had on those that had face the Romans was itself staggering. This, when combined with the powerstruggle that was to follow within the Sultanate between Suleiman's son, Kilij Arslan III, and brother Kaykhusraw I, would see the Sultanate unable--and unwilling--to contest the lands taken by the Romans.

Although, not all was as 'great' and cheery as it seemed. Combined, the entire campaign had cost the lives of roughly 10,000 trained Romans, and had gained naught but ravaged lands. Yet, the prospect was still attractive as it functioned as the first real check to Seljuk aggression in roughly 20 years, and had broken the Turks ability to face the Romans for a while yet.

 

[Averious]

"For my own part, I adhere to the maxim of antiquity; that the throne is a glorious sepulchre," - Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian I 'the Great'

1200 - May - Maria Komnene was a woman of several traits, the best of them being a noticeable patience--especially considering the fact that she had to effectively run the government while her husband was away campaigning in Anatolia for roughly a month now; the longest period she'd been asked to run the government in his name. She was exposed to continued prodding by several members of the court, namely those from Roman Europe, as the courtiers drawn from Anatolia were almost all from the Grypas estates in Sakarya and thus kept a measured and quiet air about them as Romanos V himself did.

While Romanos was able to 'win' glories in Anatolia, alongside his friends and brother, Maria earned her own via her actions in Constantinople--often going out alongside the Patriarch George II to give things such as bread and wine to the poor, as well as attending every service called within the Hagia Sophia. It was remarked, by some, that she was the embodiment of the Hodegetria, the Icon of the Virgin Mary who was seen as the 'Patron-Saint' and Guardian of the Queen of Cities.

Through these actions she, and George II, would from a close friendship and bond--with the Patriarch forming a vital pillar of support for the new Imperial Regime, considering it was his pragmatism that had seen Romanos able to enter the city and be crowned as Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans. But the Patriarch was getting older now, and while still able to complete his duties as the head of the Orthodox faith in the Empire it was looking likely he wouldn't live past the next half-decade.

George himself was candid on the matter, noting that he intended to push forward a viable successor to his position to Romanos once he undoubtedly returned to be present for the birth of their firstborn child--a prospect that was becoming evermore looming as Maria was showing herself to be roughly 6 months pregnant, with the notion that she'd soon be bed-bound.

Georges noted suggestion for his successor would be Mathew Psenas, a notable Monk who worked within the Church of the Holy Apostles; noted for being one of the few to protest Alexios III's looting of the Imperial Tombs for valuables--as well as being the one noted to have put the tombs back in order when Romanos had been declared Emperor. Like George he was a well-known pragmatist, but also pious; a good choice for the Patriarchate.

Maria would meet with Mathew on the 24th of May, the two forming a firm relationship based on the continued perpetuation of the current Imperial Regime; Mathew uniquely noting that he would stand by Romanos' seemingly vital policies--well-knowing the knife's edge the Empire balanced on. These three, the two churchmen, and the Empress, would form a fundamental pillar of support for Romanos while he was away from the capital; ensuring the people were ready and waiting for their by now beloved Emperor to return.

As an added note, Maria would further push the spreading of the revalued coinage, following the precedent that Romanos had set and making use of the recollected resources of the torn down palaces to strike hundreds of thousands of coins and fill the Empire with a revalued internal money system.
--

 

[Averious]

With the major events of this section of the TL wrapping up I've decided to return to a more basic TL formula considering the fact that I now have less time on my hands to work on it; at least at this stage--due to the exams being written by my students here in South Africa.

Sorry for the long wait; work caught up with me!
--
"You will spread your coin for the people; for you dynatoi seem to have forgotten you are Roman. Let the tax remind you," - Basil II 'the Bulgarslayer'; attributed.

1200 - May to December - Following the death of Suleiman II during the Battle of Burdur the Sultanate of Rum erupts into chaos as the military returns home following their psychologically damaging defeat. In order to sow more chaos, Romanos V orders that Kaykhusraw; the brother of the now dead Suleiman II, be ejected from his hiding in Constantinople--causing a dynastic dispute as Kaykhusraw refused to acknowledge his nephew, the newly crowned Kilij Arslan III. The army supported Kaykhusraw, but the 'nobility' supported Kilij; giving him access to a huge core of skilled cavalrymen. In order to ensure a steady internal war, both Kilij and Kaykhusraw conduct separate peace's with Romanos and Rome; utter status quo. Romanos, and Rome, would hold onto the taken lands--and not interfere in any way with the ongoing Seljuk Civil War. No prisoners, or money, would change hands. This treaty would become official only after Romanos and his allies had secured Roman Anatolia, and returned to Constantinople in Triumph for Christmas 1200; the 6,709 year of the Roman Calendar.

1201 - The Seljuk Civil War would prove to be a drawn out endeavour; as the young Kilij proved himself uniquely capable of administrative capacities; allowing him to continue facing his uncle on more or less equal footing. It was a grinding attrition that saw fortresses destroyed and rebuilt in an odd mimic of the Komnenoi-Seljuk relationship. Within Rome however great changes were taking place. Now that Romanos was able to take a breath and look upon the Empire more firmly; his economic reforms were beginning to bear fruit, but he knew that the new additions being plugged into the Imperial System would cause further issues. The Emperor would spend the entire year effectively fine tuning the basics of the new economy with functional decrees; although the nobility could easily see that it was building up to something. Such a notion would be proven correct when in November of 1201 the wealthy landowners of the Empire would be hit with a refurbished 'Allelengyon', or 'Mutual Security'. The Allelengyon was a law devised by Basil II, a man ahead of his time who understood that the wealthy landowners needed to be curbed; whether they be Churchmen or Magnates. The new Allelengyon was functionally altered to both include the increased state of the Church, and the uniqueness of the remaining Pronoia holders. While the landholders in Anatolia handled the news well; considering they well-understood what was at stake due to their position, those in Roman Europe were much less pleased--their power already tampered with by Romanos when he took power and purged the corrupt members of the Imperial Court. Near Christmas of his 3rd year of reigning the Emperor was given news of a conspiracy laid against him by a few notable European landowners; and while it was quickly crushed by the loyal John Klephos, it was an obvious sign of things to come. At least though, it had allowed Romanos to clear the board of further unwilling landowners. To cap off the year, the reconstruction efforts of Romanos began to bear fruit much like the economy, as the fleet began to regrow in size under the skilled efforts of the Anatolian-born shipmaster; Bardas Isandos. Although, an incident where an important supplier was found to be embezzling both resources and gold verses the navy occurred; with Romanos seeing to it that the man was quite brutally, in full view of the city, drowned in a bucket following the end of the Christmas celebrations.

1202 - The skilled military and administrative force that was Al-Adil, brother to Saladin himself, had by 1202 reformed the power-base and territories of his great sibling; fully encircling the weakening Crusader States of the Levant. It was within the year that Al-Adil began to clench his fist over these states, although the aid of the battered Cilicia helps them hold out for now. Such a state of affairs only compounded the Pope, Innocent II's word on the matter; the Bishop of Rome having called for a Crusade against the 'Great Enemy' since 1198 (having seen little if any success in calling it in considering Europe's preoccupation; namely the Germans who still refuted Papal power, and the English-French wars). A Crusade of sorts had been in swing since 1199, with efforts made to contact Venice for ships in 1200, but it only came into full swing within the early-year of 1202. By October, what Crusaders had been roused (mostly from France) would arrive in Venice; with their force being roughly 3 times smaller than anticipated at around 12,000 men (4,000 cavalry, 8,000 infantry). The effect this had on the Venetian economy would have been disastrous; as they'd build 3 times the ships needed for the voyage and had needed to call away thousands of their own people to sail these ships; this being compounded by the fact that the Crusaders didn't have enough funds to pay for it all--even after making themselves utterly impoverished. To counter act this, the old and blind, yet cunning, Doge of Venice; Enrico Dandolo, devised a plan to use the the Crusaders as one would a club in re-securing dominance of the Adriatic. Many Crusaders refused, including Simon de Montfort, and broke off to go about the Crusade on their own as being used as a 'club' by Venice would see them disobeying the Papacy and attacking fellow Christians. Regardless of this, throughout the rest of the year crushing the various coastal cities of the Adriatic and thoroughly wounding the army of King Emeric of Hungary when the King attempted to stop it. On the 24th of November, 1202, the main target of the attacks, Zara, was taken; with the sack so vicious and greedy that the Venetians and Crusaders even fought over spoils; with the cities defenses being torn down following an agreement amongst the leaders to winter there while they thought up their next moves.

Innocent II, when he heard of the brutality of the sack, excommunicated everyone involved. But, this news was never relayed to the Crusaders by their leadership; who kept it back to hold the Crusade together. They were running out of money, and options--and yet, the following year, they would have a target.
--

 

[Averious]

"They call me Toíchos, the 'Wall'. For what? I held the wall as any man did that day," - Romanos V Gryphas.

1203 - The Crusaders, and Venetians, wintering in Zara had little left to do in the area but continue on their way to the Crusade--yet they lacked the resources and funds to go about it due to the near year-long attacks they undertook in the Adriatic. Even added to that, their number had dropped by roughly a 1,000 men due to combined battlefield losses and regular army-shedding. Such losses had been replenished by late-arriving Crusaders in excess of roughly 500 men (Now at 12,500, or so), but the writing was on the wall. If the Crusaders and Venetians failed to move now, they would die as an unmoving shark would. Interestingly though, around this time Innocent II would rescind his excommunication of the Crusaders themselves, regarding them as coerced by the Venetians; leaving the Venetians themselves excommunicated. This information was kept from the non-Venetian members of the Crusade by the cunning of Enrico Dandolo; who had the messenger's letter funneled directly into the hands of his personal aid.

Their saving grace would appear, when, in January of 1203 following their wintering at Zara they would receive a letter from a unique source. Alexios Angelos, the nephew of the Emperor Romanos V has deposed to take power. Alexios had been sent fleeing from the Empire into the territory of the HRE, following his father Isaac II's deposition by Alexios III--later migrating to the Republics of the Adriatic. By now Alexios had his fat fingers on the pulse of the area, and made a deal; the Crusader and Venice would be given tens of thousands of hyperpyron (roughly 20,000) and further aid in their Crusade against the Ayyubids of the Egyptian Caliphate, the submission of Rome to the papacy, and continued payments and military support if they were to defeat and depose Romanos V in favour of him.

His words rung even more firm in that he could claim that Romanos was a true usurper, as he was of an alien dynasty to the Angeloi that had usurped him previously. As if to add the cherry on top Alexios noted that the people of the Empire would side with him against Romanos, using reports of the ire the Roman European nobility felt towards Romanos' economizing to back up his supposed claim. Enrico himself was a firm pusher of this, and his word rung the loudest verses the Crusaders who were still functionally indebted to the Venetians, as well as relying on them for transport--yet it is odd that Enrico himself would do as such; considering his previous ambassador status to Constantinople; meaning he should have known the politics of the Empire well-enough to know it was lies at best. Regardless of this though, the Latin Massacre, fresh in the minds of many--namely Enrico who had been supposedly blinded during it--helped press many of the Crusaders over the line; with Boniface of Montferrat bribing many to go along with it from his personal coffers. There were those that refused though; namely Renaud of Montmirail, a French noblemen who took his entire retinue and moved on to Syria to aid the Crusader states.

Within April the decision was reached; and the entire force took to ship on their mission to Constantinople. When the papacy heard of this Innocent III was incensed; ordering that no more attacks were to be taken against Christians save for if they inherently caused issues with the Crusade; yet crucially he failed to denounce the 'expedition' to Constantinople itself.

By May the Latins had arrived (which is what I'll call them for now, since constantly writing Venetians and Crusaders is gonna get irritating), laying anchor at Dyrrachium to the greetings of traitorous Roman nobles. What would follow was a massive gathering of disgruntled European Roman nobility and their retinues within the southern Balkans; lighting the fires of rebellion and invasion against the Emperor of Rome.

The Latins and traitors had to march fast, lest Romanos be able to secure the support of his loyal troops and allies in Anatolia; with the combined force marching at a fast pace across the past-prime Via Ignatia. They would be halted at the environs near Thessaloniki by John Klephos, ever loyal to his friend Romanos. Klephos inspired the loyalty of his men, and the general people of European Rome--as he was considered a hero for helping to hold back the Bulgars and continuing to uphold the taxis (order) of the area.

The notion was firm; Klephos would not allow them to pass, no matter how much the traitors attempted to bribe him; with his fiery words and presence inspiring a good chunk of the traitorous retinues to turn-coat and join the dynamic general. It was an untenable position; and a skirmish between two retinues of the Latin-Traitor and Klephos camps forced their hands.

On the 29th of May a brutal battle was fought against the two sides; Klephos' dynamic leadership pushing the tide further and further; yet Boniface and Louis of Blois continued to hold the central line for over an hour as the hardened troops of Romans crashed against them. It was down to a final charge by Klephos; the armoured horsemen of Rome crunching into the off-center mass of the Latin-Traitor forces with success looming on the horizon... only to fall as Klephos was caught in the back of the head by the maceblow of a ride-passing French Knight; crushing the back of his skull and sending his horse ridding off with his corpse.

What followed was a route; as Klephos' skilled lieutenants barely managed to hold together the Roman force of roughly 8,000 (over 3,000 having died by this point, verses the Latin-Traitor's own roughly similar numbers). Notably Nikephoros Rekavae and Michael Antilos; both of whom rallied the Romans and pulled a functionally orderly retreat. It was a disaster; the most skilled general Romanos had in Europe was dead; and his army was on the retreat.

And to cap it all of Kaloyan, the Tsar of Bulgaria that had accepted a rather functional treaty with Romanos in 1200, broke said treaty. He began leading raids past the undefended Haemus following Klephos' march-away to deal with the Latin-Traitors. Such a thing would force a decision on Nikephoros and Michael. The two would split up; with Nikephoros taking 2,000 men, and the recovered body of Klephos, to Constantinople to warn the Emperor--meanwhile Michael would take the remaining 6,000 to run-off Kaloyan and his forces.

The Battle of Thessaloniki, as it was known, would prove decisive in the moments to come; as the death of their hero, Klephos made sure that the European Roman populous refused to aid the Crusaders--making their acquisition of supplies harder and forcing their hand in pushing towards Constantinople with haste. On this end though, Michael would prove himself a skilled defender--effectively playing chicken with Kaloyan; keeping the Tsar from being able to do major damage to Rome while it was occupied with the forces of the Latin-Traitors.

On the 9th of June, 1203, Nikephoros would reach New Rome--and his reception was one of quiet. Romanos was notably silent upon hearing the news of his friends death; only remarking two words to the Patriarch George II; 'Bury him,"--with the only light in Romanos' eyes within that day being his beloved wife Maria and his now year old son; Little John (nicknamed as such to differentiate from his namesake; his uncle 'Big' John, the Sebastokrator). By the 10th of June though Romanos was into high-gear; energetically preparing for a siege of the City of the World's desire as more and more reports rolled in of the encroaching, and more and more desperate, Crusaders.

They would arrive on the 15th of June, a force of roughly 9,500--their supplies dwindling as the Venetian navy was skillfully skirmished with by Romanos' noted Shipmaster Bardas Isandos. There would be no massive fleet to aid the Crusaders; as roughly half of the fleet made it through Isandos' efforts. While the supplies they brought upon their arrival in Thrace aided the Crusaders, and gave them time, they dared not push against Constantinoples reborn fleet, at least not yet.

What would follow would be the most bloody siege in Constantinople's history; and Romanos' greatest challenge.

 

[Averious]

"This Icon, oh Icon, of our Virgin, represents New Rome; the City of the World's Desire. As long as I hold it I shall not fall, I shall not scamper, for God is with His Chosen People," - Prayed mutterings of Romanos V Gryphas upon the Hodegetria of the Virgin Mary.

July, 1203 - The Latin-Traitors were not a united force; that much was made quite obvious roughly 3 days after they set camp outside the imposing Theodosian Walls. The fleet that had managed to arrive past the Shipmaster Bardas' skirmishing attempts was simply too small to viably be used as the Crusaders had intended in encircling the city. Thus, a decision was reached by the prodding of several members of the Crusader faction; namely Baldwin and Louis, in that a count be taken and if there were extra ships, those that weren't needed to transport the Latins should they need to flee, be broken down for further siege equipment; as they were to be forced to settle in for a supposedly long siege.

Dandolo, and his Venetian retinue, refused at first--but as talks of enhanced spoils by Alexios Angelos became louder it was eventually agreed that roughly 10 ships would be torn apart for scraps to use to build towers and low-tier fortifications. Such a thing caused an issue in the camp in that several sailors were now left without a ship to manage; and were thus conscripted by their Venetian brethren into basic soldiers.

It is unclear how it started, perhaps an off-hand remark, or a physical bump here and there--but it is clear what triggered a fight within the camp. One of the French Knights made an off the cuff remark on how the 'Greeks' were holding their ground within Constantinople better than expected--as the world knew the 'Greeks' as cowards and web-weavers. The Traitor Romans quickly began an altercation, which eventually spiraled out of control when one of them took a swing at Baldwin; although the Count of Flanders was far too quick and tore out the man's throat with a riposte from his blade. The whole camp descended into chaos that could be heard from the Walls by the defenders, and was quickly relayed back to Romanos.

By morning the Traitor Romans were driven from the camp, with Alexios Angelos being killed in the confusion. The Latins hadn't lost many men, roughly 28, but they'd killed over 60 of their allies and driven a further 200 to retreat. They'd also, irritatingly, killed their sole reason for being there. From here is where the talks of partitioning the Empire began--and Venice wanted a massive chunk of it (namely Southern Greece and the various islands of the Empire) as compensation for the continued mess that was this Crusade.

This was a boon for Romanos, as it bought him time to draw together a new unit within the city that had been in the works since the reconquest of lands in Anatolia. At the center of this new unit was Andronikos Romanos, formerly Aksay Bayrak, a young converted Turk who had taken Romanos' first name as his new last name upon his conversion. Andronikos had united with him several other young Turks who would convert to the One True God, and take on Roman names and culture; forming the basis of Romanos' Lakonoi--named for the homeland of the long-gone Spartans. They would be a new elite Household Guard of converted Turks that would supplement the dwindling Varangians; and perhaps even replace them later. Andronikos was a loyal, and capable, commander for the Lakonoi--seeing Romanos as a father of sorts; this aiding in the collection of the Lakonoi and Varangians together for what Romanos saw was coming.

Without any other options, and time running out, the Latins pushed their objectives heavily. A bombardment of the Theodosian Walls would begin, continuing for over a week as they sought out the destruction of the garrison. The Walls held, and the garrison pulled back between bursts of trebuchet fire, and back in to pose a threat to anyone trying to pull up the towers. More than one innocent pack animal was killed trying to draw the towers. Regardless though, losses for the Romans were beginning to mount, and Baldwin, Louis and Boniface successfully pushed for a firm attack on the Walls on the 29th of July, 1203.

It was a bloody affair, as the towers were forcibly pushed up by hundreds of the conscripted sailors, many dying to the arrow fire of the defenders even as the trebuchets kept firing. Soon the Crusaders would break up onto the outer Walls, and begin pressing against the defenders with a force only managed by the zealous 'defenders' of Christ.

Romanos had broken up his forces, taking command of his Varangians and Lakonoi on the more heavily assaulted western section of the Walls; leaving the garrison to Nikephoros on the eastern section of the Walls.

Nikephoros used a basic, yet well-timed, system of shifting his 2 ranks between each other; the spears and shields fighting back against the Crusaders as they pushed on the eastern Walls--although notably Nikephoros kept back a group of roughly 100 men that were equipped with well-sharpened hatchets that could come in at a moments notice to hack away at any Crusader who managed to push past the shield-and-spear line Nikephoros had cooked up.

Romanos' lot was a lot tougher, as Baldwin himself and his elite retinue converged on the western section of the Walls. Baldwin had surmised that only Romanos himself would wield the Hodegetria--proven when the purple cloak of the armoured Romanos was seen by Baldwin for the first time as he and his men pushed in via the towers. Baldwin well-knew of the reputation of the Hodegetria, and what it would mean for the 'Greeks' if it was taken by the Crusaders.

The Emperor was at a disadvantage, wielding his blade in one hand and the Hodegetria in the other, yet the fact that he was flanked by his loyal Household troops proved a defining factor. Yet, it wasn't long before the Emperor of the Romans, and the Count of Flanders, squared-off even as the battle raged around them. It was a quick affair; yet not an easy one. Romanos was impaled through the side by Baldwin, the Count attempting to pull the pole of the Hodegetria from Romanos' weakening grasp.

Yet the Emperor tightened his grasp, and pulled Baldwin closer; smashing the Count's face in against his helmeted head--before pushing him from the Walls. It is said that Baldwin cried out for God before his body smashed against the ground beneath the Theodosian Walls.

This display broke the Crusaders, who were quickly forced off the Walls by the Romans. Over 5,000 people had died, roughly 3,000 Crusaders and 2,000 Romans. But the Siege of Constantinople was effectively over, even as the wounded Emperor was carried back to the Great Palace to be tended, by an inspired soldiery. He'd earned his epithet; Toíchos, the 'Wall'.

 

[Averious]

"Many call us traitors, and heretics, for our efforts against the Greeks. They're right, purely because if it had succeeded the sheer daring of the event would have proven it correct; but it failed. We failed. Thus, it is wrong," - Boniface of Montferrat, later titled as Stratigos of Normandia, on the failings of the Siege of Constantinople.

August, 1203 - The Siege of Constantinople had been an unmitigated disaster for the Latins, with thousands dying on the Theodosian Walls--and even the noted Crusader Baldwin being killed by the Emperor of the Romans himself. The situation had been worse from even before the Siege, as Louis of Blois had caught a fever the night before the first bombardments commenced--and with the death of Baldwin there were only two functional centers of power for the entire Latin base; Dandolo himself and Boniface of Montferrat.

Boniface had been the original leader of the Crusade; until Dandolo had usurped him following the debt owed to Venice. Boniface was popular; a skilled soldier and orator--alongside having noted connections with the Roman nobility of Constantinople (at least until Romanos purged it following his ascension)--this popularity skyrocketing post-Siege when Boniface had been the one to see the writing on the Walls, literally; successfully leading those who remained on the Walls on a safe retreat. Such popularity would prove notable, as Boniface began exercising more power against Dandolo--trying to pressure the aged Doge to aid the Crusaders in heading to Egypt to make up for their clearly God-hated plan of assaulting the City of the World's Desire.

Dandolo refused--with he and his Venetians boarding their ships in a hurry and fleeing the scene on the night of the 9th of August, leaving the Crusaders behind and pushing out of the Aegean with the aid of their skirmished half-fleet before the noose was tightened. Shipmaster Bardas would patrol the Aegean firmly following this, considering the fact that Dandolo and his Venetians escaped as his greatest failure. Dandolo himself would die due to a sudden chill on the voyage back to Venice, notably remarking in fear that he was bound for Hell due to his excommunication.

Boniface was forced to face facts, and offered up himself and his remaining 4,000 or so Crusaders to the Emperor's judgement; notably ignoring the newly fever-free Louis' demands that they march south and try and charter ships to leave, due to the fact that Boniface feared they'd be attacked by the Bulgars invading Rome, or simply crushed by the weight of lacking supplies.

Romanos himself had been severely wounded, bedridden for over a week, before he could hobble himself to his feet to attend to Imperial matters. The Emperor would be able to attend to Imperial matters properly in time, but he'd never fight again as he once had; the damage was too great. The last great blow of this time being the death of the Patriarch George II, who lingered on long enough to see for himself that Romanos survived--before passing on peacefully in his sleep on the 17th of August 1203. He would be succeeded by Mathew I, the late-middle-aged third pillar of the Empress Maria's Three Pillars from when Romanos was still on heavy Campaign. It would be Mathew who held a large ceremony for the victory against the Latins in the Hagia Sophia, championing the Emperor in his wielding of the Hodegetria on the Walls--noting that it was the Emperor who acted as God's divine leader against the 'Traitorous Franks'. Said Emperor would shock many with his following actions against the Crusaders.

Romanos was merciful, marching out with his now 4,000 strong bodyguard of Lakonoi and Varangians, alongside 2,000 troops from the garrison. With them they carried food, supplying the weakening Crusaders while Boniface and Romanos spoke. The two sparked up a respect, and later friendship, despite it all over the following two week talks--haggling out a deal that could be beneficial to them all.

The Crusaders were Persona Non Grata in the west, especially with Innocent III being forced to play damage control against the failed expedition against the Romans. Romanos offered them a simple thing; they would enroll in the Empire's army, be ferried across the Bosphorus, and crush the frontier of the Seljuks to reclaim land for Rome. In return for this they would be settled in the Empire, given salaries--and ultimately lives to live for themselves when all was said and done.

Boniface was forced to accept this, after much thought and haggling--the hardest challenge for the Crusader being convincing Louis of Blois to accept this deal; a hard task, but Louis eventually relented. By the 2nd of September the deal was finalized with the signing of the Metánoias Órkos, or 'Repentance Oath', which affirmed the loyalty of the Crusaders, now Imperial Soldiers, to Rome, Romanos, and his descendants.

The world itself was changed notably by the fact that the Crusade would live on in infamy for its failings; with Al-Adil crushing the forces that arrived in Syria and Egypt firmly enough to prevent major territorial losses--and over 6,000 Crusaders dying due to misguided Christian v Christian battles and notions. The Crusades only saving grace being that those who survived, and remained in the Crusader States, provided a much needed backbone to the formerly dwindling forces of Antioch and Jerusalem. Innocent III's legacy was noticeably tarnished, with Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV using this to his favour in crushing Philip of Swabia--the Kaiser (used to differentiate between the Roman Emperor and Holy Roman Emperor) marching down through Italy following his victory; forcibly dissolving the Leagues set up by Innocent III, before forcing Innocent himself to crown him as the true Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day of 1203.

The stage was set for something unique, in that with the constant wars in the West picking up pace between Philip and Otto suddenly being cut short there was a more 'dedicated' infighting between minor lords and their rivals. To the East? At least for Rome it now had two problems on its hands; the ending of Kaloyan's invasion and the use of the Crusaders as they were intended; a hammer of God, to crush the infighting Seljuks. The 1204th year would prove to be an intriguing one indeed.

 

[Averious]

"When I took the title I failed to realize just how much it would weigh on me, and how hard the Romans would weigh in on it," - Kaloyan 'the Romanslayer'.

1204 - The distraction offered to the Bulgars by the sudden attack of the Crusaders on Rome proved to be too great a thing to resist for the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan. The Tsar broke the amicable treaty made between himself and Romanos nearly a half-decade ago and began an invasion of the Empire; hoping to take back the territories taken from him in the previous 'war'.

Such thoughts only got louder and grander as he was met with little resistance following Klephos' death at the hands of the Latin-Traitors a near-year gone. Throughout late 1203 Kaloyan raided the Empire, being forced away from the true major cities by the skilled former lieutenant of Klephos, Michael, as the Siege of Constantinople drew on--and then ended. The Bulgarian Tsar had done significant damage to the countryside of the Empire and had even rolled back the borders as far as Thessaloniki in the south-western Balkans; well-past the Haemus. In this time he'd taken on the title of 'the Romanslayer', mocking Basil II's own moniker and setting it true with the brutal murders and captures of several Romans.

Upon the end of the Siege of Constantinople, and the induction of the Crusaders into the Roman fold, Michael was met with a new unit of troops and a letter from the Emperor. Romanos had resurrected an office defunct since 840, the Praetorian Prefecture. During the period of the 'United Empire' [1], following the loss of the West, the Praetorian Prefect essentially became the commander of one of the two halves of the remaining Empire, the Prefect of the West in the Balkans, and the Prefect of the East in far east Anatolia, Syria and Egypt. Such an office was needed, at least in a mimic-degree, now. Michael was bestowed the title of Prefect of the West, the whole Praetorian aspect dropped for a simplistic title, effectively making him commander of all the troops available to him to crush Kaloyan and retake the lands stolen from Rome.

The troops that had arrived with the letter were the Lakonoi, the Christian Turks who had been turned into elite troops through dedicated training and Christianization, under the leadership of the loyal and near-silent Andronikos Romanos. They would prove a decisive factor in the coming battles; as Michael rallied his force of now, roughly, 10,000 to face off against Kaloyan's own 13,000 strong force of blooded warriors.

Throughout the first quarter of 1204 the Romans and Bulgars skirmished, as Kaloyan refused to get bogged down in a true battle against the Romans after what happened at the Battle of the Pass that near half-decade ago, such an affair naturally resulting in the lines of battle drifting further and further north as Kaloyan was forced to give up the territory he could not viably hold onto without fighting. This would end in April, as the Tsar finally set himself firmly on the note that he had to crush the Romans then to ensure his conquests--and force Romanos to an even more beneficial peace for himself and his state.

It would be on the fields of Skopje that the battle would commence, with the Romans and Bulgars playing chicken for almost a full day before finally settling on a site for their confrontation. It would be the moment that Kaloyan would regret his new title, as while the battle had gone well at the onset; with Michael being forced to ride along his lines to keep his men from breaking at the constant efforts of Kaloyan's cavalry--yet when the Lakonoi joined the battle in earnest any cheers of victory died in the throats of the Bulgars; as the Turks brutalized the Bulgar cavalry in an almost mechanical, ungodly manner, their skilled arrowfire tearing holes in the cavalry lines, before these Lakonoi dismounted and brutalized the Bulgarian infantry with the fear-inducing cleavers they were uniquely equipped with; sheering off limbs at worst and cutting large and deep gashes at least.

It was a total route, as the Bulgars under Kaloyan's command outright refused to face the Lakonoi again--with Michael and his forces pursuing them well-past the Haemus by May of 1204. By this point the army Kaloyan had put together had fractured, over 3,000 being captured and another 2,000 or so being dead. On the 19th of May Romanos would receive Kaloyan's response; a note for peace.

Kaloyan was willing to leave the Romans alone, and pay back the 20,000 Hyperpyron Romanos had given him in 1200 for peace, as well as give up any claims on the lands he'd just attacked. Romanos was blunt in his follow up letter; Kaloyan and his Bulgarian state would give up all territory just-post the Haemus, giving the Romans firm control over the entire mountain range (although again this stopped short of taking Sofiya from the Bulgars)--and the entire area of Burgas, known to the Romans as Pyrgos, would be returned. Too add insult to injury, the Bulgars would release every Roman prisoner taken, while the Romans would keep the Bulgar prisoners they'd taken as 'payment' for the lives lost to the murders committed under Kaloyan and his men that had earned the Tsar his 'title' of 'the Romanslayer'. This would be firmed up by 10 year long treaty this time, as Kaloyan had shown himself unable to deal with a 15 year one.

It is said that Kaloyan's response spat on Romanos, and his Empire, as well as his Lakonoi as; 'Godless wolves'. Yet, the Tsar agreed to the terms, and was forced to settle in with his lot.

On the 3rd of June Michael, Prefect of the West, would be enveloped in a triumph in Constantinople, bringing with him the Bulgarian prisoners taken, riding side by side in the front-chariot with the near-healed Emperor himself. This would prove a massive coup for Romanos and his efforts, as well as firming up the loyalty of the inducted Latins as they were ferried across the Bosphorus at least to be led by John the Sebastokrator in July 1204.

These prisoners would prove useful, as they would be settled in the lands taken in Anatolia, firming up Roman control with the skill the Bulgars had in farming and carpentry.
--
[1] This refers to the Empire following Zeno's legal dissolution of the West, making the East the 'entire' Empire. There was no other Rome, and it was one 'united' Empire again, legally speaking.

 

[Averious]

Its been a half-month since my last update (work caught up with me). In whatever free time I had up until this point I've put into various projects; this one included.

So, as a bit of an interesting 'update' of sorts, I'm going to go into the next 3 generations of the Grypas Dynasty and their most notable members (I've worked on a family tree going as far as 1434, with the death of the male line around 1307 and the continuation of the new male line after a Macedonian-style 'hiatus' for 21 years (1307-1328).)

At the top of the list we have someone obvious;

• Romanos V himself; the progenitor of the 'Imperial' Grypas line. If I was to boil him down to his inspirations it'd be Alexios I Komnenos and Basil II Macedonian; with Romanos embodying Alexios' skilled efforts to restore Imperial Power and Prestige through skilled diplomacy, campaigning and sheer will--and the one part of Basil II that people seem to disregard; he was 'boring'. Historically Basil II's reign cuts out heavily following the Civil War during his early reign; this is due to the fact that he was skilled enough as an Emperor that the historians simply didn't have much to write about in the way of mishaps or major efforts; it was mundane normality save the short, yearly, campaigning Basil II took against the Bulgars--with the histories only picking back up when Basil began to crush the Bulgarians. This is the idea I had for Romanos; an energetic entranceway that gives way into a 'peaceful' period of 10-15 years near the end where there isn't much to write about. His reign is, roughly, 31 years long in total; with his shrewd wife, Maria Komnene living well-past Romanos' own end.
  
  
• John III is Romanos' first-born child, being 'Born in the Purple' within the Birthing Chambers of the Great Palace. He very much embodies knowledge over brutality; which is an interesting direction I thought of taking him in considering the fact that Romanos as a father tried to embody both, but John only took to the one. John is the classic 'Great, but not Peak' Emperor; with his younger brother, Theodore doing most of the heavy lifting militarily for the Empire and his younger sister, Sophia serving as the bridge of diplomacy. It is during John III's reign that the Empire's Senate would begin to be slowly empowered to accommodate the Astithematic System created by Romanos, and utterly fine-tuned by John.
  
  
• Dragases I (named for our OTL Constantine XI's middle name) is an example of a 'Peak' military Emperor; having being tutored by his uncle Theodore rather than his always micromanaging, and thus busy, father. Dragases would take the throne following a minor period of instability where the Doukas family would attempt to worm its way back into power; with Dragases forced to rely on his uncle and aunt for support during his first half-decade (Theodore notably marrying the kind and humble Maria Doukaina, which would produce the second line of the family that would eventually gain the throne when the original line died out with Dragases). Dragases would then take the reigns, and crush the last vestiges of noble power in order to rally the nation behind him to take all of Anatolia. He would be a cunning, and downright brutal, Emperor--effectively putting in the deathblows of Turkish Anatolia. Behind all this though he was deeply emotional, lacking the urgency to divorce his wife Maria after they failed to conceive any children in what would be a 60 year marriage. To fight off issues of succession he would end up adopting Michael Grypas Laskaris, grandson of Theodore, as his heir in his last 5 years--but this would not come to pass functionally as by the time Dragases died Michael was only 5 years old; putting a 'hiatus' to Grypas power for the next 20 years.
  
  
• Michael VIII; the 20 year 'hiatus' would be through, first, Alexios IV Laskaris, husband of Michael's mother Theodora Grypas, and later Andronikos II Palaiologos--Theodora's second husband. Both Emperor's were competent, with Andronikos II notably firmly cementing Roman Anatolia through skilled policing and rebuilding edicts. However, throughout all this Michael was mostly sidelined as a tool of power by the two Emperors; only able to later grasp at power due to his education under his mother, who wanted to return the Grypads to the throne. This would become a reality when the 25 year old Michael VIII took the vestiges of power from his dying step-father in 1328. Due to his upbringing Michael was regularly underestimated during his early reign--with plots surfacing regularly within his first decade. He would earn his epitaph; "Psithyristís", or "Whisperer" through the quick and sudden ends to these plots by the disappearances of their conspirators. Michael's measured, almost cynical demeanor, would see Roman power cement over it's effective 'Known World' peak; holding the Southern Balkans, South Crimea, Anatolia and northern Syria--as well as having vassals such as a reborn Armenia, and the Ottoman-Turkish Emirate of Aleppo (later known as Ottoman Sultanate of Syria).
  
  Following Michael VIII's reign are some events I've planned out, but in effect the Empire will retain relations with its vassals, in one way or another, as far as I can get the timeline to go. Added to this, the Empire won't ever extend to its Pre-Islamic borders in sheer scope, but making use of vassals is never out of the question.
  
  But, as a little breadcrumb, what we'd consider today as the Suez Canal will have a part to play in Roman efforts in the 16th to 17th centuries.

 

[Averious]

Asithema is a portmanteau of the Greek words for Urban Theme, it encompasses the idea that Romanos had for it at its inception; to dilute the power of the nobility by giving it to the people, and keeping said people in check through a managed systems of checks and balances that rebuilt the economy and army.

Here is the map of the Astithema of the Balkans, circa Romanos' death (which hasn't happened yet and is a decent while's away);

As a description for each;

Constantinople; I think this one is fairly obvious; it's the capital 'province' of the Empire--with enough sway in West and East to be the central point of the whole Empire. It's built around the major cities of Constantinople, Adrianople, Nicaea and Nicomedia and can muster an impressive Synomata (levy) force by itself. While the whole Empire is considered the property of the Emperor, the Astithema of Constantinople herself--the province of the Queen of Cities--is considered the God-Given Jewel housed in the Imperial Crown.

Normandia; In basic terms it's Greek for 'Normanland' (which I found rather amusing in its simplicity). Its the area that the surviving Imperial Crusaders would settle in, at the forceful edict of Romanos; with these Frankish peoples dubbing themselves as 'Normans' to differentiate themselves from their Frankish 'cousins' to the west. It was founded when Boniface of Montferrat converted to Orthodoxy following the victories against the Turks in the Campaigns of the 1205's-1206's, and was gifted the then Astithema of Strymon; becoming its Governor and later Dux. In a ceremony in its capital of Trajanople (Traianoupolis), Romanos and Boniface would swear an eternal oath to each other, through their families, with Romanos redubbing Strymon as Normandia. It effectively, through this, becomes the home of the loyal Greco-Frankish minority in the Empire known as the Normandos, or simply Normans.

Voulgas; The central 'hub' of Bulgarian culture in the Empire, Voulgas is one of 3 large buffer Astithema that press right up against the Haemus; acting as large wall-blocs to deter invasion. It's a large producer of grains and fish, as its skilled Bulgar population has access to 'black' soil and good coastline to produce for the Empire. These Bulgars have been under the Empire's control for roughly a century and a half, and noticeable Romanization has occurred; resulting in Kaloyan, in a letter to Romanos in the 1209, calling them 'Romagos' in a disparaging 'tone'. Much of the areas most fertile zones were taken by Romanos from Kaloyan and Bulgaria following the Prefect of the West, Michael, defeating Kaloyan and his forces in the Battle of Skopje.

Macedonia; Often called the 'Second Province of the Empire', in a semi-cheeky manner, Macedonia itself holds the vital cities of Thessaloniki--the beautiful Second City of the Empire and Macedonia's capital--and Kastoria, which is the foundation of a long line of fortresses built through edicts by the Grypads as a 'last line' should the Haemus be broken through. Macedonia itself produces hardy native soldiers due to its mountainous climate. It would become the first major province to 'join' the Senate in 1238 when John III ratified its governors Senatorial Status.

Ohrid; An important area historically for Romanos, and his descendants, Ohrid was where Kaloyan of Bulgaria broke through during the reign of the Angeloi, and terrorized the Empire. It would, fittingly, be the area were Kaloyan would be defeated twice; breaking his will to attempt conquest south of the Haemus; giving rise to Romanos' first hints of legitimacy as well as giving 'stars' to notable generals such as Klephos and Michael. Ohrid itself is also a bastion of non-Romanized Bulgars, as historically the Greek Orthodox clergy of the area championed Slavonic Orthodoxy and its teachings over Greek Orthodoxy. The capital of the Ohrid region is Ohrid itself.

Dyrrachium; An important province through sheer functionality, Dyrrachium is named for its capital of the same name--also called Durres by the natives--and is the starting point of the Via Ignatia road network that crisscrosses the Balkans. It is a major trading zone between the Empire and the Italian and Illyrian areas; being a point throughout history for major events such as Caesar's Civil War, and the Norman Invasion led by Robert and his son Bohemond during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos. It's mountainous terrain, and skilled warrior natives, make for a good militarized zone that feeds the Empire skilled troops and building supplies. In recent years there has been a call to redub it Alvania, after the population.

Hellas; The 'homeland' of the Greeks, those not content to be Roman, Hellas is an important cultural and economic area of the Empire in terms of naval operations; having many efficient shipyards in the Demetrias area that funnel into the Aegean Sea. The capital of the area is the growing city of Glifa that sits centrally between the Thessalia and Attica regions. Glifa became a major city due to Romanos' reliance on it for the production and management of the Demetrias shipyards as well as its noted coastal-local for trading. Functionally, Glifa outstrips the backwater of Athens as a major city in population and production (as, historically, Athens was a tiny backwater during the Roman Period all the way up until Greece as we know it was founded and Athens was made into the capital we know it as today). Functionally, besides ships and trade, Hellas produces well-liked wine within the Empire; however foreigners still claim it contains disgusting ingredients such as pitch and resin.

Morea; The 'Land of Silk', Morea as an area was once the largest producer of Silk in the west following its settling in Corinth. This declined following the Norman theft of supplies and manpower to Sicily. However, the various wars and squabbling between the HRE and its states would see this industry destroyed; and with the Empire's changing fortunes Corinth is once more the largest producer of worth-price Silk outside of China--as far as anyone knows in the west. The capital of Morea is Corinth itself, but functionally the actual administrative capital is Nikli in the Acadia region due to its central location.

Epirus; An important area to the Roman peoples for what it represents as the homeland of Pyrrhus of Eprius, Epirus has always been a region with more autonomy and 'fire' than the others near it. Its a rather simple region though, a land of histories, culture and well... mountains. It has a few major population centers, such as the populous and important Arta which also acts as its capital. In recent years there has been an attempt by the Strategos' to build a base of knowledge and learning in Arta, as well as Ioannina to the north through school and university projects. Aside from this, Epirus is a major player in Ionian and Adriatic Seas; being charged with policing Venetian efforts especially--as well as acting as a deterrent to Sicily; who's area has a history of invading the Empire through the Normans two-time attempts.

Krete; Formed around its namesake, the Island of Krete, or Crete, by Romanos--the Astithema of Krete is a vital naval Astithema that holds the southern-to-central Aegean Islands under is sway, and is charged with protecting the Empire from incursions into the Aegean. Krete itself is a major naval center, as well as the site of an important victory against Islam by Nikephoros II Phokas. Its capital is the port city of Heraklion; a major trading and military hub that effectively controls all southern Aegean trade. Notably the first Strategos of Krete was the famed Shipmaster, Bardas Isandos; who's efforts during the 4th Crusade and its aftermath events aided in the recovery of much of the Empire's military strength. His friendship with Romanos V Grypas, and his insistence on the "Xýlinos Toíchos", or "Wooden Wall" doctrine saw to it that the Empire's naval might was reclaimed.

 

[Averious]

While working on the posts that I've worked out today the whole timeline of Dragases that I'd worked out seemed to come to life for me; and while I'm working on the next installment in the current timeline I've got this energy, I suppose, to 'gush' on about Dragases I Grypas; the 3rd Emperor of the Grypad line and grandson of Romanos V Grypas.

Dragases as a character, at least for me, came about because I didn't want an utterly clear line of succession, with him breaking the male line by being unable to bring himself to remarry after he and his wife failed to conceive children in their long 60 year marriage. I also wanted a true warrior who could face off against the Seljuks, and Mongols, and be remembered for it. He's in many ways a reference to Basil II and Nikephoros II Phokas; a general who struck fear into his enemies after years of hard lessons that allowed him to get to that point. You don't get to be the 'Bulgarslayer,' and 'Pale Death of the Saracens' without such hard lessons.

Dragases is known by two epitaphs by his enemies; as "the Axe" by the Seljuks--in reference to his blunt yet utter efficient way of warfare that hacked away at their possessions in Anatolia. His other? That is from the Mongols; in which he's simply called "Whitebeard"--as when the Mongols truly arrive to threaten the Middle East and Anatolia he's an aged warrior with pure white features, something that strikes a cord with the Mongols and their ideals.

In Christian circles, especially in the Empire and those remaining groups in the Middle East, they look upon the title of "Whitebeard" in a manner of reverence; as white is the colour of piety and thus God's Favour. In many ways he represents the 'Voice' of the Empire as it lashes out at long last at the greatest enemies its known since the incursions of Islam.

I think what truly inspired me with his character, in the way I've envisioned it, is a quote--and if you can get where it came from without Google you get a cookie;

"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer."

 

[Averious]

"Lenience the Insult, Piety the Sin. We have been bested, and yet allowed quarter; is this not proof of God's Will?" - Pietro Ziani, 42nd Doge of Venice.

1204 - Following the victories against Kaloyan, and the ending of hostilities between the Bulgars and Romans--as well as the beginnings of what would come to be known as the 'Hammerblow' in Anatolia--events in the Adriatic would occur with notice. Following the death of Enrico Dandolo from a chill during his flight back to Venice on the conclusion of the disaster that was the Siege of Constantinople, the Venetian Council would see that Pietro Ziani was placed as the new Doge in August of 1204; the noted son of the 'planner' Doge Sebastian Ziani, and a rich member of the Venetian upperclass.

Ziani was a skilled thinker, and saw the hurdles coming for him and his people a mile away following his election. His efforts themselves were firmly rooted in repentance; looking to please the 'Greeks' and regain the favour of Innocent III. This was attempted through various letter campaigns to the still healing Emperor Romanos V, as well as the Patriarch of Constantinople at this time; Mathew I in the late August period of 1204. Romanos and Mathew were of one mind in the matter; Venice was not a problem that could be dealt with now--and would only be a distraction. The response from the Romans was simple; the Golden Bull put into place by Alexios I Komnenos was null and void; the Venetians would firmly lose their merchant quarters in Constantinople--which would be reclaimed by the state--and their tolls would be reformed into a 5% toll (which while still lower than the standard 10% placed on most other trading peoples, was still a bitter pill to swallow). This would become the first major Golden Bull Romanos would put into place himself, but not the last.

Ziani was surprised by this; expecting the Romans to be blunt and attempt to utterly curb the Venetian peoples; possibly even forcing them into vassalage. Instead, the Romans had 'chastised' them. The mixture of piety and pragmatism, obvious in the handling of the matter, irked Ziani--as the crumbling Empire described by Dandolo was clearly dead and buried before the Siege of Constantinople if such a measure was taken.

In a letter--which arrived in late September of 1204-- would arrive in the city of Rome, addressed to Innocent III, co-signed between Romanos and Mathew. The Empire would ask that the Pope, in his capacity as the effective head of Western Christianity, rescind his excommunication of the Venetian people. The letter was simple in that, pious in dealings and manner--as the Romans had other things to handle. Innocent, surprised by this turn of events, jumped at this chance to regain his footing following the debacle of the 4th Crusade as well as the humiliation suffered at the hands of Otto IV. In a large word-campaign Innocent III would remove the excommunication of the Venetian people, save those who directly led those Crusaders against the 'Greeks'. In such a manner, the Pope earned both the 'happy' gaze of Venice and Constantinople, a chit he would attempt to cash in later.

On the 3rd of October 1204, an interesting letter would arrive for Romanos, written by his brother John in Anatolia. The namesake of his son had not even seen his nephew, or his own brother, in essentially 2 years; constantly campaigning in the name of Romanos and the Empire. Romanos had awarded his brother the title of Sebastokrator, one created by Alexios I Komnenos himself for his own brother Isaac, to show how important John was to him.

John was an utter pragmatist, and inherently cared little for political or economic power; he wanted to lead men in battle--that is what pleased him. It was thus, after the whole affair with several members of the European Roman nobility siding with the Latins during the invasion, that John renounced his title--wanting to assure fidelity and family ties to the brother he loved so much; in turn only asking for the inverse of what Michael, the Prefect of the West, had received; effective command over the Eastern Armies.

Romanos was surprised by this; this notion further deepening the bond between the siblings even at this distance. In turn, Romanos gave his brother what he asked for, creating him as Prefect of the East--and specifying that he pick his senior staff. To add to this, Romanos sent his brother an icon of the Virgin Mary, a mimic of the greatest icon itself in Constantinople, to carry into battle.

John himself, upon receiving these things on the 14th of October, while prepping his forces for war would remark to his close friend Theodore Laskaris--who was also himself a friend of Romanos--how family was important above all else. Theodore was placed as his second-in-command, with Boniface notably being given what was effectively 3rd position within the Anatolian army as John had measured him up in the previous months of preparations; and he trusted the man he saw.

The near-half-year period would follow onwards, ending following Christmas of 1204--as supplies were gathered, siege engines were built, and men were drilled. All together the Army of the East numbered roughly 13,000 men--including the roughly 4,000 Crusaders who'd joined the army. The battles against the Seljuks previously, such as John's final battle against the now dead Suleiman II, had depleted much of the base that had allowed them an effective 'conquest' army. It had taken this long, roughly 2 years, to rebuild a force of near-equal strength. In contrast, despite of--and due to--the Seljuk Civil War, the Turks could uphold an army of roughly 15,000 when put together, but functionally this was fragmented between the two claimants; the surprisingly skilled but young Kilij Arslan III, and the tried and tested Kaykhusraw I. Kaykhusraw had the larger army, of roughly 8,000 men--but Arslan had the more trained and well-organized force.

Following the Christmas Celebrations, just before the new year, John and his forces would march--pressing right into the ongoing Civil War, but they would not face down Turks until the new year itself.

1205 - Kaykhusraw was dangerous. He was a skilled general, but one with big ambitions that did not match his status as a disputed ruler. Upon the news that the Romans had begun invading, told to him through the wary population of central Anatolia as he passed through to gather supplies for his next campaign against his entrenched nephew, who had built a new Seljuk 'capital' in Tzamandos. Kaykhusraw saw this as the perfect opportunity to gain what he had always envisioned for his people; a port in the Mediterranean.

He measured that, were he to attack and take Attalea, the Romans would be too busy pressing eastward to be able to stop him. He would prove wrong in this; as Romanos' scout network--a thing built through years of hard fighting with the Turks even before he'd become Emperor, and vital to his previous victory against them--would continue to function; allowing John to be informed of this ongoing event.

Riding south, the Romans barely managed to catch Kaykhusraw in the back around the town of Mistheia, as he had attempted to cross through the territory taken by John in the previous Roman invasion. The coming battles, at least the first 3--over a period of 2 weeks--would mean little, as Kaykhusraw would always skillfully pull back before any major losses were gained. What did happen in this time though, that he did not expect, was the gradual fusion of the morals of the former Crusaders and their Roman fellows in the Army of the East.

Through these battles, and the ordeals they had to face in them, the Romans and Crusaders effectively became one--a simple force of fellow Romans. It was Louis of Blois that proved the most ardent convert; becoming an avid friend of John and Theodore when the two had shifted gears during the 2nd battle to relieve him and his embattled fellow knights.

On the 18th of January, 1205, the Romans and Turks would come to blows firmly--as John had forced them against Lake Karalis (Beyşehir). In the coming battle, blood was firmly spilt, as the Romans and Turks crashed against each other; the unique capabilities of the mounted knights of the Crusaders--alongside their infantry--proving decisive in the battle as it forced Kaykhusraw onto the backfoot. In turn, the Turks pressed in as only they knew; offering a hail of arrows that the Crusaders themselves were no longer used to, as they had not fought the Turks as a group for over a century.

The decisive moment came when Kaykusraw himself broke through the lines with his personal retinue; beating John from his horse with a maceblow to the Prefect's chest, his shield being crumpled by the blow before it connected with his chest. The moment dizzied him, yet he still held onto the Icon of the Virgin Mary as Kaykusraw prepared to kill the brother of the Emperor. It was only through the intervention of Louis of Blois, leading a contingent of mounted knights to John's aid from the left, that saw John spared. As it was, sadly, when Louis leaned down to pull John up onto his own horse he was caught in the neck by a heavy blow from the recollected Kaykusraw--crushing his windpipe. As Louis fell from his horse, choking for air, John tore a dart from his broken shield and drove it through Kaykusraw's left eye through a close-range throw.

The death of the disputed Sultan quickly broke the Turks, as one of Louis' knights decapitated his corpse; placing the Turks head on his lance--displaying it with the dart embedded inside for all to see.

It was not a pretty endeavour, but without Kaykusraw's leadership for a rival claim, and thus forced to retreat, Arslan found himself met with an extra 6,500 or so troops who'd survived the Battle of Karalis. The effects of such a thing were great though; as without a center of gravity to uphold the center of Anatolia for the Turks it was viciously attacked by John and his surviving force of 12,000 or so men.

By October of 1205, despite Arslan's best efforts (as he was forced to contend with rebuilding his supplylines around a larger army; as well as his own fear of facing the Romans head on himself after two Sultans had been killed in combat against them within the last decade alone), Ankyra, Pessinos and Laranda, alongside their territories, had fallen. All that remained was Konya--the now former capital of the Sultanate since Arslan had officially moved it to Tzamandos following his uncle's death.

In a brutal siege that lasted the next month, dragged on by the intermittent aid of the battered Turks to the east, the army of John was reduced down further to 10,000--in a collective cumulative set of damages from the whole year. While reinforcements were being trained by his skilled Anatolian sub-officers back in the Grypas estates in Sakarya, they would be a while's yet from ready.

It would be a fluke, a lucky hit by a counterweight trebuchet that brought down a tower's weakest corner, that saw the city finally taken.

Of the land taken, the toll was similar, the Mosques were sacked and stripped down--those Turks who could be identified were either brutally killed or had their children taken to be trained as Lakonoi. Those Muslim Romans who were found however were offered one chance; reconvert or die. By this point many of these Romans had been under the Seljuks for over a century, and had preferred their tax system and Tribalistic Islam to the Orthodoxy of Nova Roma. Many, enough to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the Army of the East--especially the Roman leadership of John and Theodore--would be executed for staying true to Allah.

As November came to an end, Arslan was at a knife's-edge. While he was a skilled logistical mind he was only tested in battle against his fellow Turks--and the moral breaking news that a second Sultan had died to the Romans in the last decade was its own debacle. However, in the east of Anatolia the Turkish presence was truly strong, and conquests made against Cilicia by his predecessors--as well as Arslan's own minor conquests of lands to the east, such as Harput, from break-away governors from the Ayyubids--fed his state further.

The young Sultan though, in his usual way of thought, couldn't help but note that his people were being pushed eastward. He was not sure if he could hold onto his Anatolian land. It was quite possible, if push came to shove, that he'd need to dispatch with his eastern Turkish neighbour, Taron, for the survival of his people and crown.

 

[Averious]

Due to the chaos of the Angeloi's reign, as well as Romanos' effective purges of much of the upperclass of the Empire during his first 3 years in power (added to by the functional dissolvement of the Pronoia), very few 'major' families are left in the Roman sphere; as many have been replaced in their capacities as landholders and people of importance by bureaucrats by 1205, 7 years into Romanos' reign.

Notably however, the roster is still expanding, as events such as the introduction of Latin nobles and warriors into the Empire--as well as 'newmen' making their mark. As it stands, the most notable 'major' families in the Empire in this time period are;

House Grypas - Founded by an Armenian mercenary who served New Rome in the 11th century under Basil II, the Grypads were named for the Griffon, a mighty beast with the reality of an eagle and the courage of a lion. For much of their history they would serve as minor landholders in Anatolia, aiding the Komnenoi and later Angeloi in retaining power in their purview region of Sakarya; having become Pronoia holders during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos. They would gain further privileges during Alexios III's attempts to hold onto Anatolia from Turkish raids; using this power base to raise a rebellion and quickly crush the Angeloi before taking power. The founder of the Imperial Household is Romanos V Grypas.

House Komnenos - Founded by Manuel Komnenos, a soldier and general during the reign of Basil II. It would be risen to an Imperial House by Isaac I Komnenos, son of Manuel and would fully retain power for the next century following the great Alexios I Komnenos' rise to the Imperial Purple. The Komnenoi produced premiere Emperor's such as Alexios I and John II, as well as saving the Empire from collapse following the disaster of the Seljuk Invasion. They are currently led by the maimed Alexios Komnenos, Dux of Komnenon and friend of Romanos and John Grypas, but most of the day to day operations are run by his brother, David Komnenos.

House Laskaris - A House built up over time, the Laskarids started out as simple peasants but eventually, through skilled trading and military endeavours, rose to become a major Pronoia family in Anatolia following Alexios III's need for more 'bodies' against the Turks. They retain marriage ties to the Komnenoi, being proud of his heritage. The family would gain further power due to its friendship with the Grypads, with the current head Theodore Komnenos Laskaris serving several command positions under the Sebastokrator, later Prefect of the East, John Grypas. Theodore Komnenos Laskaris would be named Godfather of Romanos V Grypas' 3rd born child, Theodore Grypas.

House Gabras - A family known for their suitability, the Gabrads is well-known for attempts at rebellion, as well as their tenure as a family of import within the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. However, by the time Romanos V took power they'd migrated back into the Empire to serve as skilled administrators, but their prestige has fallen low as of late; with the use of 'servant adoption' acting as one of the principle ways to keep their family name and possessions alive. Their current head is Michael Gabras, who ingratiated himself with Romanos V by proving himself a skilled hand with economics--although he is notably kept in check by Romanos' shrewd wife Maria Komnene.

House Raoul - A family formed by exiled Normans, its founding history is a confusion of different claimants and motives; but what is true is that the first major member of the Household, Humbert Raoul, served as a skilled councilor to Alexios I Komnenos. While they've been Romanized throughout their centuries of service, the main branch itself still makes an effort to retain their 'Norman' identity; having notably migrated to Normandia when it was effectively formed for Boniface of Montferrat. They're a major military family, producing skilled officers for the armies of the Romans, however their secondary branch in Constantinople is noted for its scholarly practices. The current head is Roger Raoul, Domestikos of Boniface.

House Doukas - Noted as shrewd generals, and traitors, the Doukas 'clan' as they are often called are one of the few families in the Empire that remain that have a detailed history going back before Basil II took to the throne. Due to their history, and the affects of Romanos' 'purges' following his own coronation, the Doukai are a very small family in the modern era--having been forced to denounce many 'second name' Doukai such as the Komnenos Doukas claimants when they rose against Romanos with the Latins during the Crusader invasion of 1203. They would regain some favour when Alexios Doukas fought on the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople during the Siege of Constantinople in 1203, despite his age. Alexios Doukas was given the title of Captain of the Constantinople Garrison following this, and while currently head of the family he is an old man of 65 years, making it likely that his son Constantine Doukas will take the reigns of the family soon.

House Vatatzes - Able soldiers with a pension for kindness and piety, the Vatatzes family have close ties to the Grypads, Laskarids and Komnenoi as a minor soldiering family in Anatolia that helped hold together much of the frontier as Romanos moved to take the throne. Their current head, Basil Vatatzes, is a noted sympathizer of Bulgarian efforts, but his loyalties to Romanos and New Rome itself see him serve as a bridge between the Romans and Bulgarians from his estates in Adrianople, while his active son John Vatatzes serves on the frontlines in Anatolia.

House Bloua - Formed by the young son of Louis of Blois, Theobald, the name 'Bloua' is the Greco-Romanized version of his original name. The 17 year old Frenchman would arrive in Constantinople just before his father left with his fellow Crusaders to fight in Anatolia alongside the Romans, being left fatherless and listless following Louis' death defending John Grypas at the Battle of Karalis. To return the efforts of Louis back, John campaigned successfully for Theobald to be given titles in the Empire--with the young noble being gifted lands in what would become Normandia and becoming one of the focal points of the new Greco-'Norman' culture of the area once Boniface was named its Dux. The current head is thus Theobald Bloua.

House Trainos - Formed following the foundation of Normandia by the then Boniface of Montferrat; following a falling out between him and his eldest son William of Montferrat; who took Boniface's lands and titles when the news of reached the west that these Crusaders would join New Rome. Boniface effectively cut ties with his eldest son, and old 'sinful' life following his conversion to Orthodoxy--marrying the former Roman Empress, and now divorcee of the tonsured Isaac II Angelos, Margaret of Hungary. The name comes from the Frankish tradition of naming ones House after their premiere lands, with Trajanople being the seat of his power as Dux of Normandia Boniface effectively took on the last name of 'Trajan' for his new Household. Boniface Trainos is the current head.

 

[Averious]

What is unique about this map is that its essentially only the map of the Empire's holdings in Anatolia for a period of 56 years; which coincides with the reign of 2 Emperors (Romanos and his son John III)--which verses the previous Astithema map which will remain unchanged for the entire 13th Century period.

The Anatolia shown here, following the victories of Rome against the Turks in the 'Hammerblow' period of 1205-1206, is effectively the greatest extent of the Empire until Dragases I begins his 'final effort' against the Turks and Armenians in Eastern Anatolia in his 5th year of Emperorship, at the age of 30, in 1261. The borders won't change much if at all due to the fact that Romanos hunkers down to rebuild the Empire's new gains and deal with the various disparities--and his successor, John III isn't a military in any capacity Emperor--instead focusing on improving the law, economy and beginning to 'rebuild' the Roman identity in order to crush the Hellenic one that had begun to rise after the fall of Anatolia after Manzikert.

Also, 100th post!

So, for all intents and purposes, this will be your map for the next 56 years;

As a description for each (not including those already described in the previous map)

Opsikion - A name with a storied history, the Opsikion Thema itself was one of the original Thema that the Empire was divided into following the losses the Empire suffered against the early Rashidun Caliphate--and was one of the principle locations for powerful generals to rebel from until the Thema were cut down in size to be more accommodating to New Rome's needs. As it stands the Opsikion that currently populates western Anatolia is a different beast to its previous incarnations, and lacks Nicaea as an important city as it is now a part of the Astithema of Constantinople. Instead, the Opsikion's capital is at the growing coastal settlement of Cizica on the Marmara--which is the most used transitional point between Europe and Asia for the Empire's armies. Opsikion is thus a semi-demilitarized province; because while it has enough soldiers levied to functionally defend itself it can never truly match the forces of its surrounding neighbour Astithema; instead its designed as a hub of military activity for troops to funnel into, get equipped and supplied, before marching off into Anatolia. Such an existence is only possible because the Opsikion holds much of the wealthy Western Anatolian coast cities, as well as good land to produce grain for quick resupplies.

Samos - A naval Astithema like Krete, Samos was designed as the final line of 'naval' defense against possible invasion in the Aegean and has multiple ports in Western Anatolia for producing ships of various makes. The main difference between Samos and Krete however is that Samos--like the Opsikion--is a supply point between the various other major military operations in the Aegean, although unlike the Opsikion it has its own considerable navy, and land-based military. The capital is, funnily enough, not Samos itself but the important port city of Smyrna--which has a unique position as one of the most functional and defensible ports in the Aegean.

Bithynia - One of the oldest names used in Anatolia for a given region, Bithynia as an Asithema holds very little of its historic territory--and is instead a fortified point from which Anatolia can be reclaimed should the reconquests fall through. Romanos designed it for this redundancy based around its capital, the important port city of Heraclea Pontica, but it is to also work on concert with the Komnenon Asithema to ensure the continued presence of Romans in Anatolia; because as long as such a thing is upheld Rome will never truly lose Anatolia. It is a major trading hub between the various Black Sea ports--although not as noted as Sinope in Komnenon. Militarily the area is heavily fortified and purposefully kept desolate at its edges to ensure it is hard to take. Bithynia includes the Grypas estates, which is still owned by the Imperial House of Grypas.

Komnenon - An area roughly prescribing to what was once Paphlagonia, Komnenon is a fortified Astithema held by House Komnenos in the name of the Emperor and Empire from its capital of Kastra Komnenon. Its mountainous terrain makes it uniquely positioned for defense--and its major port city of Sinope provides a steady stream of funds to keep its levies one of the most well-equipped in the Empire. However, its size is tailored to ensure that the Komnenoi never have the chance to build an army large enough to threaten the capital of Constantinople, or attempt to retake the throne. Komnenon, alongside Bithynia, are the effective hard points that serve as a functional base to retake Anatolia from if the reconquests are lost.

Anatolikon - One of three large effective occupation zones, alongside the Bukellarion and Iconia, the Anatolikon was the first major region to be reclaimed from the Turks--and is unique in that it was the sight of the death of Seljuk Sultan Suleiman II during his great defeat at the hands of John Grypas. The Anatolikon is a semi-desolate lands due to the efforts of the Romans during its recapture; with dozens of minor towns and cities put to the torch as well as the massive destruction of the outer regions put into place to make it hard for any Turkish resistance to form. Following Romanos' Lakonoi formation the area's Turkish population would begin to migrate eastward to escape the conscription of their children into the new Imperial Household Guard. The upside, as much as one can be found, is that through the desolation and constant marching the standard practice of clearing and rebuilding old roads has taken place--leaving the Anatolikon an area easily crisscrossed by the Roman armies; which aided in the reconquest of what is now the Iconia Asithema. From its capital of the noted city of Dorylaeum, several plans have been drawn up for rebuilding efforts of the large swath of territory.

Attalaeon - Named for the city of Attaleia, it's capital, the Attalaeon is a major trading Astithema that was formed in order to protect New Rome's trade interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is noted as the region where the disputed Sultan of the Seljuks Kaykusraw was killed in battle against the Roman Army of the East; his death effectively serving as the catalyst point for much of the reconquest of Central Anatolia from the Turks. Attalaeon's militarized position as a naval and land-based power in southern Anatolia is seen, often, as a direct threat to both the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia--even if Romanos is publicly peaceful on the matter it is clear that those areas would be the next targets of expansion should New Rome hold a vice-grip on Eastern Anatolia in the near future.

Bukellarion - Like the Opsikion, the Bukellarion is named for an original Thematic province; however unlike the Opsikion it largely keeps its original purpose as a fully militarized province in its Astithema form; and even keeps its historic capital of Ankyra. Functionally though, the Bukellarion--like the Anatolikon and Iconia are functionally desolate and heavily militarized to keep the populations of the area in check; because these areas had once formed the core of the Seljuk Sultanate previously. There is regular brutality; with the Roman troops in the area running the rounds of the Asithema, in a rather darkly skillful manner, crushing the Turkish and Islamic identities of the peoples there--many of which arrived following their flight from the captured Anatolikon just a few years prior. This bed of peoples is a fertile recruiting ground for the Lakonoi--which helped swell its number to that of the old Varangian Guard; 5,000 men. The gradual destruction of the areas resources, and the flight of its people even further east is effectively setting up an area of Status Quo--as the remaining areas of the Seljuk Sultanate are getting more and more bodies into the centralized areas of its new Eastern Anatolian core. To ensure that the Turks can never set up shop in this area again Romanos ordered the brutal destruction of the Central Steppe of Anatolia which had allowed the Turks to so easily settle in and outbreed the population of the area during the Turkish invasions in the 11th century.

Iconia - Named for the important city of Iconium, which is also its capital, Iconia was once the core province of the Seljuk Sultanate; this was until the first Roman reconquest efforts in which the Sultanate was split in two between West and East--which would allow it to survive when the West was effectively destroyed and conquered by New Rome in a unique mimic of the destruction of the Western Roman Empire and the survival of the East. Iconia mimics Bukellarion in many ways, as the areas of Central Steppe that it encompasses are destroyed further and further as the days go on--however unlike those unwilling to continue living in the Bukellarion, those in Iconia have no easy route out--as to their east is the hostile Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. This has forced those living in Iconia to either 'get with the program' or die; leaving a brutal existence in an area that was ravaged by the sieges and battles that occurred upon the death of Kaykusraw.

Chaldia - A name used for the longest time, Chaldia is unique in that its one of two old Thematic provinces that has been left effectively unchanged in borders--and capital, which is still the powerful port city of Trebizond. Uniquely however, Chaldia is also the only old Thematic province to also attempt to break away previously under the Gabras family; as well as being uniquely defensible due to its southern mountains. To combat its flaws, and build up its strengths, Trebizond itself has a unique trade charter within the Empire's cities on the Black Sea--and acts as a trading hub between Georgia and other Kingdoms/States in the area; as well as being unique in that its government is shifted in and out every 5 years to ensure that they have enough time to learn and solve problems but not enough to build a stable powerbase to rebel or become independent. Chaldia is the Empire's 'frontier' in Anatolia; and has many refurbished forts along its mountains to ensure that the landlocked Seljuks don't have the capacity to take it from the Romans. The area contributes a large percentage of the overall 'GDP' of the Empire.

Cherson - A 'colonial' area of the Empire, Cherson is unique in its demographics and terrain; being the area that most of the integral ingredients for Greek Fire are drawn from as well as being a bastion of the surviving 'Gothic' culture. Much like Chaldia, Cherson is built on its nearby mountains--which are northward and form its border with the rest of the Crimea. Also like Chaldia is the fact that in its conversion to an Astithema its remained largely unchanged--although its ruling body is now made up of Romanized Crimean Goths; notably the skilled general Theolon of Cherson. To ensure it doesn't break away it is also handicapped similarly to Chaldia--however its government is effectively made up of many major cities leaders that report directly to the Imperial Bureaucracy; such a thing breeding a need for the Empire's guidance into the population of the Crimean 'colony'. The Gothic population has been growing in the last half-decade, as Theolon of Cherson has been at the forefront of leading colonization efforts of the unclaimed areas; as Cherson is essentially just major cities on the coast and major forts in the mountains; leaving a large open space in its 'interior' for new colonies to be formed. Due to its position it contributes massively to the Black Sea trade of the Empire--and is often called the 'Little Jewel' of the Black Sea in literature written in this era.