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Anyway as we all know my other tl ended in hilarious failure. Anyway this is my first real tl. Many of you must know who Stephan Dusan Tzar of Serbia is. He had conquered most of Greece and Serbia and claimed to be roman emperor. SO in this tl he manages to bribe the Venetians to lend him a fleet. Then he invades Roman Thrace and conquers it, and soon besieges Constantinople by land and sea. Then he bribes a gate captain who opens the gates for Dusan who storms into the capitol and becomes crowned Roman emperor. IMO Dusan Serbia is the only power at this time capable of withstanding both the west and the Ottomans. SO please enjoy this time-line and please be critical. So enjoy the greatness of Serbia.
A Serb on the roman throne
In the year of our lord 1348: Stephen Uros Dusan the Great Tzar of Serbia had recently conquered Thessaly from the Romans. Now he was contemplating what to do. He had recently taken the title of Emperor of the Romans but he had unfortunately no navy to speak of. He realized he needed a navy and so he turned to Genoa, he offered Genoa many pounds of gold in return for them providing him a navy and a promise to keep their commercial quarters at Galatia. The Genoese in need of money, and in dire financial situation agreed. So Dusanos was able to come up with a 40 ship Genoese mercenary fleet. With his ships finally gotten Dusanos turned his attention to Constantinople and invaded claiming to be the true emperor of the Romans, intent on overthrowing Kantakouzenos In Constantinople the Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos received the news with horror. The Romans were virtually defenseless. After going through a brutal civil war between John V Paleologos and John VI Kantakouzenos the resources, manpower, and gold in the Roman Empire were exhausted. John realized he was helpless against the Serb onslaught. The Roman navy was also next to nothing numbering a mere ten ships. So John turned to his allies Turks. The Sultan of the Turks Orchan realized this was an opportunity to gain a foothold in the Balkans and accepted John's offer and soon Ottoman force landed at Thessaly. Sadly the Turks would be destroyed. At the fierce battle of Thessaly the two sovereigns Dusanos and Orchan fought each other brilliantly. Both geniuses refused to give ground and soon the battle became a stalemate but then Orchan's troops who had been marching for miles were exhausted and the fresh Serbian troops were finally able to overwhelm the Ottomans at a great cost. However the battle ended with Turkic defeat. Orchan was slain on the field of battle and the 15000 Serbian defenders who suffered some 6000 losses decimated some 13000 Turks. It was said in legends that realizeing all hope was lost Orchan, refused to surrender and fought like a lion killing many Serbs but in the end Orchan was shot by arrows. Orchan was said to have roared and shook fear amongst the Serbs and when the great sultan fell his troops lost hope and fled. At the end of the battle the brave sultan was given a funeral fit for a king by Dusan who deeply respected this infidel.The Ottoman state was effectively thrown into chaos. With the sultan dead civil war between his sons Suleiman and Bayezid erupted. This civil war would last for two years and end with the Bayezid on the throne. Bayezid would be Dusan's greateast rival. The two would fight in the Ottoman-Romani wars for nearly a decade, he would be the only person Dusan would literally be fighting for his life. None struck more fear into Dusan than Bayezid.John VI meanwhile realized he was in deep trouble because with the Ottoman force destroyed, he had no army to speak off to defend Constantinople.
In 1349 Dusanos led a massive Serb army into Thrace. Numbering some 12000 the Serbians overwhelmed Roman Thrace. After a bitter siege Adrianople fell. Shortly thereafter Thessalonica succumbed to the Serbian fleet. Dusanos was now within 50 miles of the imperial capitol. In the city there was chaos, soon many had lost all hope. The great Serb invasion of Constantinople began. The Mercenary fleet breached the sea walls after harsh fighting. By the end of the siege nearly 30 of the mercinary ships would be destroyed. Meanwhile by land the Serbs laid siege to Constantinople. Unfortunately the cities defenses were too strong. Dusanos contemplated what to do. He then decided to use bribery. At one of the gates an envoy to the gatekeeper was sent. He was promised 15 pounds of gold if the gates were opened. The corrupt official soon agreed. Soon the gate was opened. This stunned the Emperor who saw the situation unfold with horror. The Serbian troops poured into the city. Soon the city fell. It was said the brave emperor John fought bravely and died a heroic death. Soon the gates opened and the victorious Serb Dusanos entered the city with pomp and splendor. The Serbian Patriarch became Patriarchy of Constantinople and in 1348 Dusanos was crowned Emperor Stephen Dusanos I Emperor of the Romans, King of Serbia, and King of Greece. Thus the Serb became emperor of the Romans. Dusanos was what many consider a great genius. He and his wife Helena of Bulgaria became the new rulers of the Romans. Dusanos now ruled a vast and mighty kingdom. The Paleologian remnants still held on to Morea however, and Athens and Achaia were under crusader control. But now Dusanos had a vast empire and was the strongest man in the Balkans next to the Hungarian king. Dusanos now turned to the Ottoman problem. Dusanos main goal was to destroy the infidels after becoming emperor. So in 1350 the new Serbian Emperor declared war on the Ottoman emirate.