Caesar Biden
Banned
Byzantium can recover Anatolia up until 1204, really, at which point it would take a series of miracles.
What you need to do is have them take Iconium and the center of the Sultanate of Rum, which is quite the problem.... as long as richer Syria is around, Central Anatolia will always take second priority. This is true of almost all Komnenid rulers, including Alexios, John, AND Manuel. Antioch in particular held huge importance to them, as both a cultural and economic center.
Still, an invasion of Central Anatolia with the intention of annexation is pretty likely at some point, you just have to make sure it's not too late. Around the time of the death of John, the Turks in Anatolia were especially weak, having fought a large civil war and not really having any one leader to effectively unite them (Sure, Iconium was de jure the power, but you had rulers in Sivas or elsewhere who didn't really care). By time of Myriocephalon, this had changed, and the Roman state had grown weaker at the same time thanks to Manuel's policies.
I think the failings of Manuel have already been discussed. Yet, there were so many problems in Rome that would need decisive action to go away- namely the growing power of the nobility. Giving the Roman Empire some pretext to invade Central Anatolia will make outside threats diminish, but you have to deal with problems inwardly as well if you want Rome to actually recover from Manzikert.
What you need to do is have them take Iconium and the center of the Sultanate of Rum, which is quite the problem.... as long as richer Syria is around, Central Anatolia will always take second priority. This is true of almost all Komnenid rulers, including Alexios, John, AND Manuel. Antioch in particular held huge importance to them, as both a cultural and economic center.
Still, an invasion of Central Anatolia with the intention of annexation is pretty likely at some point, you just have to make sure it's not too late. Around the time of the death of John, the Turks in Anatolia were especially weak, having fought a large civil war and not really having any one leader to effectively unite them (Sure, Iconium was de jure the power, but you had rulers in Sivas or elsewhere who didn't really care). By time of Myriocephalon, this had changed, and the Roman state had grown weaker at the same time thanks to Manuel's policies.
I think the failings of Manuel have already been discussed. Yet, there were so many problems in Rome that would need decisive action to go away- namely the growing power of the nobility. Giving the Roman Empire some pretext to invade Central Anatolia will make outside threats diminish, but you have to deal with problems inwardly as well if you want Rome to actually recover from Manzikert.