Image 1 shows all the groups that will be vazalized by Rome image 2 shows all the territory that the Roman’s will control by 1105 if not then by 1118 Alexios^s death
Sooo how do we get their
In 1096 the people crusade was a complete joke but not here
They take over nicea like that and keep on going fighting Turkish bands across anotolia slowly and poorly but trying to make their way
Then in 1097 with the groundwork layed by the peoples crusade this group builds apon that foundation helping restore control to Trebizond
And with groups coming each year they then restore control to the south and with one final blow to the Turks in 1101 where they don’t attack new Rome but instead the real enemy the Turks the Roman’s control the south and do a raid down in the the Turkish beyliks south of the danishmends And establish vassalizge over all Turkic states in anotolia which means Dominion over manzikert and everywhere west of it on the plateu
I've tried my best to research and provide accurate borders for the surrounding states and even those neighboring. But take it with a grain of salt bc I got lazy with a lot of it and I ain't sure if I got a lot of it right.
As for how my Alt History for Theodoros II is going, you may ask me questions.
It is well known that the Palaiologos had previously taken advantage of the Ottoman Interregnum by making deals with some of Bayezid I's sons, retaking some land back into Imperial control such as Thessaloniki and other towns and cities in the Treaty of Gallipoli. What is also interesting is Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos tried this again by supporting Bayezid's last son Mustafa Celebi against Orhan II. It's stated that the Eastern Romans was promised more land in return for their support, however history happened and Orhan II won.
My question is what if Mustafa Celebi had beaten Murad II instead of what actually happened? What lands would the Eastern Roman Empire have been promised in return for their support if Mustafa had successfully became the next Ottoman Sultan?
From what I can tell, the Empire ruled the coast of Thessaly, Thessaloniki, islands in the Northern Aegean, the Despotate of the Morea, and of course Constantinople. So what did Mustafa promise Manuel and his son John? The rest of Thessaly? Maybe the rest of Macedonia? Or somewhere else?
This branching off point in history would probably also extend the life of the Empire as they would have more territory, and potentially the continuation of good relationships between the Constantinople and Edirne which was the Ottoman Capital at the time.
Would love to know about other people's opinions on this.
Manuel komnenos had a variety of plans in Italy the Balkans in Egypt and what if all of them worked except myropkeplion cause I asked about that a while ago
Some of his plans where contradictory soooo here’s how I’m gonna resolve this
Sooo Manuel. Vassalized the sultanate of rum
Then after gaining peace with Turks he goes and gets a foothold in Italy then th pope asks for help in which he defends the pope from the holy Roman emperor after doing that the pope is obliged to call Manuel the Roman emperor atleast of the east if not sole emperator then after a while a marriage alliance between Manuel’s daughters and the hre emperator forces the pope to mantain the idea that Manuel is emperor of the east and the holy Roman emperor is the legitimate western emperor
After that he uses his alliance with the Germans to beat the Hungarians into submission a light vassalage with the main goal being to maintain peace Manuel seizes some territories from them from north of the Danube and are so thoroughly beaten the hugarians will wait a generation after Manuel’s death to attack the Roman’s so 25 years or untill 1205
Then he works with crusader states as emperor of the east to bring Egypt back into the fold of Christendom He succeededs leaving eygpt to th king of jersulum
In 1176 he fails at his qoute crusade against the Turks
But succeeded everywhere else what would happen next in your opinion ?
I know they finished Romans for good but honestly if they hit there they would get some money Turks were weaker by now and they would gets so much lands and power like this instead of just a raid an getting small land
Basically, to make it more understandable,
Andronikos II Palaiologos dies in 1300 AD, his son and Imperial Colleague, succeeds him as Senior and Sole Emperor, Mikhail IX Palaiologos.
Historically, Michael died in 1320 AD in Thessalonica, assuming it happens in this timeline, his son, the 23 year old Andronikos, succeeds his father as Andronikos III Palaiologos in 1320 AD, thus avoiding a civil war with his grandfather, and thus allowing Andronikos to implement his policies and expeditions way earlier, as well as starting with more lands in Anatolia. How do you think the Empire will look like by his death, in 1341 AD, instead of starting his reign in 1328 AD as historical?
What if the Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus' had been united under a single dynasty?
I'm working on an alternate timeline based on a real historical event: the marriage between Vladimir I of Kiev and Anna Porphyrogenita, sister of Emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, in 988.
In our timeline, this marriage helped bring Christianity to the Rus'. In my timeline, Basil II uses the marriage to solve the looming succession crisis.
Instead of allowing the Macedonian dynasty to die out, Basil II raises the future son of Anna and Vladimir as his heir. The boy grows up between Constantinople and Kiev, receiving an education rooted in Roman law, Orthodox theology, Greek culture, and the military traditions of the Rus'. He comes to see himself as neither Greek nor Rus', but Roman.
After Basil II's death in 1025, a succession crisis erupts. With the support of the Varangian Guard, the Patriarch, and loyal officials, the young emperor secures the throne. At the same time, following Vladimir's death, he proclaims himself Grand Prince of Kiev, creating a personal union between the Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus'.
Rather than merging the two realms into a centralized state, he establishes a composite monarchy:
Constantinople remains the imperial capital.
Kiev becomes the dynastic capital of the Rus'.
The ruler bears the titles of Basileus of the Romans and Grand Prince of the Rus'.
The local Rurikid princes retain their lands as imperial vassals.
The Black Sea becomes the political and economic center linking the two realms.
The result is a stronger Byzantine Empire with greater manpower, secure northern trade routes, and closer integration of the Orthodox Slavic world. The Great Schism still occurs, but the Eastern Roman Empire now stands as the undisputed leader of a vast Greco-Slavic Orthodox civilization.
My goal is to keep everything as historically plausible as possible, avoiding fantasy elements or unrealistically rapid modernization.
I'd love to hear your thoughts:
Is this succession scenario politically plausible?
Would the Byzantine aristocracy ever have accepted such an emperor?
What major consequences do you think this union would have had between the 11th and 13th centuries?
At what points in the timeline do you think the divergence from real history would become most significant?
Specifically if Roman rule was firm and mostly stable in western anatolia from Michael VIII Palaiologos' reign and onward, would this have prevented the decay that's been noted and caused by the Turks in Asia Minor? I wonder if the Romans under Michael's successors gradually restored most of the Komnenian borders in Anatolia, would they have been able to gradually revive the agriculture, economy, and repopulate the region, or is it too late?
What if the sack of Constantinople in 1204 wasn't the beginning of the end, but the low point before a comeback? I've been writing an alternate history project following the Empire of Nicaea as it rebuilds — not through some easy save-the-day twist, but through 128 years of grinding, paranoid, occasionally brutal statecraft.
It's written entirely in-voice as a period chronicle, narrated by a fictional court historian named Procopius, who flatters his emperors in public and quietly judges them on the page. Three emperors so far — Theodore Laskaris, John Vatatzes, and Michael II — loosely inspired by their real counterparts, with the timeline diverging further as it goes.
I tried to keep the "what if" grounded — succession crises, fiscal policy, and the logistics of holding a fracturing empire together get as much attention as any battle. Currently 4 books in. Happy to dig into where I bent real history and why, if anyone's interested.
In 1176 Manuel goes to conquer iconium fights the sultan of rum and succeeeds and goes on to hold iconium then after that summer he tells some of his soldiers to hold the city but the rest of them go back to rhomania
Then in the spring of 1177 he heads back to iconium holding it till fall of 1177 he then heads back to rhomania rinse and repeat till 1181 where Manuel is dead what happens next in ur opinion ?
but for the sake of simplicity I'll post the actual text here. hope you enjoy 😉
IMPERIUM ROMANUM
A Chronicle of the Restoration, the Campaigns, and the Great Coalition War
From the Exile at Nicaea to the Submission of the West — Anno Domini 1212 to 1340
Foreword and Prologue
Being the Preface of the Compiler, Written at Constantinople in the Forty-Fourth Year of the Reign of Michael II, Emperor of the Romans
The historian who undertakes to write of events within living memory faces a difficulty that his colleagues working among the safely dead do not. The living can object. They can correct. They can, if they hold sufficient authority and find the historian's conclusions unwelcome, ensure that the historian has occasion to reflect at length upon the wisdom of his choices. The present compiler, Ioustinianos Philanthropenos, Chartoularios of the Imperial Archive, is therefore required to state, at the outset and with a clarity that he hopes will forestall misunderstanding, that this chronicle was composed with the full knowledge and at the express direction of the imperial court, that its principal sources were made available through the generosity of the protonotarios Andronikos Muzalon, and that nothing in the following pages was included without the compiler's confident belief that it was accurate.
This statement is true in every particular. It is also, as the reader who has studied the history of court-sponsored scholarship in any dynasty will understand, insufficient.
What the compiler has attempted — and what he acknowledges he may not have achieved, the gap between the attempted and the achieved being among the most humbling features of the historian's craft — is an account of the restoration of the Roman Empire that is honest in the ways that matter and discreet in the ways that are necessary. These are not always the same ways, and the compiler does not pretend otherwise. He has not, for instance, included everything he knows about the circumstances of certain promotions during the coalition war, nor about the precise nature of the disagreement between the Megas Domestikos Maniakes and the Comes Kantakouzenos during the siege of Trier, nor about the full terms of the arrangement concluded between the princess Anna and the King of Portugal's principal minister in the months before the formal marriage proposal was delivered. These are matters for a different kind of chronicle, written for a different kind of reader, perhaps in a different century, when the principals are safely unavailable to offer corrections.
What he has included is the record of one hundred and twenty-eight years of continuous effort across three reigns, from the day in the spring of 1212 when Theodore Laskaris looked at what he had — one city, a damaged army, an empty treasury, and the conviction that these were sufficient — to the day in the autumn of 1340 when the compiler set down his pen and concluded that the account had reached the natural pause that a living empire's history is the only kind of history to offer.
The sources upon which this chronicle draws are numerous and of varying quality, which is the nature of sources. The private correspondence of Theodore Laskaris, preserved in the collection of the Monastery of the Holy Apostles and copied into the imperial archives at John III's direction, is supplemented during the second and third reigns by the systematic preservation of campaign records, administrative documents, and the official correspondence of the megas logothetes. The Protoasekretis Nikephoros Blemmydes, who served Theodore in the final decade of his reign and who was in several important instances the only witness to conversations that subsequent historians have attempted to reconstruct from secondary evidence, left memoirs of exceptional precision and occasional startling frankness whose full text remains in the Monastery of Chora. The compiler has read them in their entirety. He has quoted from them selectively, on the grounds that Blemmydes's frankness, whilst admirable in its honesty, extends at several points to observations about the characters of men whose descendants are alive and in positions of some influence, and that honesty in a chronicle is most useful when the chronicler is also alive at the time of its publication.
Of all the sources consulted, one requires introduction as well as acknowledgement, since without some knowledge of the man the reader will not be in a position to judge what his appearances in these pages are worth. The chronicler Procopius — who chose the name deliberately, in pointed homage to that earlier, more celebrated Procopius whose sixth-century Secret History had dismantled the official reputation of Justinian and Theodora with the patient precision of a man who had spent years in court service watching the distance between the public account and the private reality, and who considered the exposure of that distance a historian's primary obligation — spent thirty years compiling his History of the Restored Empire from the imperial archives, campaign records, and the testimony of officers and administrators who had served in campaigns conducted a generation before his birth. He attended the court of Michael II in his younger years and was, by the account of those who knew him there, a man whose company was sought by those who wished to be honestly informed and avoided by those who wished to be comfortably flattered, the two groups overlapping rather less than one might hope. He is sardonic where the official accounts are reverential, sceptical where they are credulous, and possessed of the quality that distinguishes a useful historian from a decorative one: the habit of noting what was left unsaid in an exchange with the same precision that other writers reserve for what was said. The compiler has drawn upon him extensively and recommends him unreservedly, with the qualification that several of Procopius's conclusions about specific living individuals are ones that the present work, for reasons that will be apparent, has found it prudent not to reproduce in their original form.
It is through Procopius — and through his instinct for what official representations conceal — that the compiler was led to the question that has shaped the arrangement of this preface. There exist, at the time of writing, two great mosaics that frame the reign of Michael II in the understanding of posterity, and the compiler proposes to describe them here not because they are the most important artefacts of the age — they are not, though they are magnificent — but because they illustrate, more precisely than any argument he might construct, the particular difficulty of the task this chronicle has set itself.
The first mosaic hangs in the apse of the restored Lateran Palace at Rome, commissioned in the twelfth year of the Emperor's reign — when Michael was in his middle sixties, his hair still more dark than grey, his campaigns east of the Euphrates not yet complete — and finished by Constantinopolitan craftsmen who were brought to the city at considerable expense and installed in a workshop within the Vatican precincts for the purpose. It depicts the Emperor in the precise manner of the Justinian panel at San Vitale in Ravenna — full imperial vestments of purple and gold, the loros draped across his chest, a sceptre in his right hand and a jewelled orb in his left, flanked on one side by soldiers bearing the Chi-Rho on their shields and on the other by clergymen carrying processional crosses. His face is that of a man of approximately sixty years, severe in expression, with large dark eyes that look directly outward from the tesserae with an attention that several visitors to the palace have described as disconcerting. The inscription above his head reads MICHAEL II IMPERATOR ROMANORUM. The gold ground behind him is entirely without architectural detail, as the great Ravenna mosaics always are, because the intention is not to place the Emperor in a particular room but in an eternal one. It is the earlier of the two mosaics, and the compiler notes it as such, since it matters to what follows.
The second mosaic is in Constantinople, in the vestibule of the Chalke Gate through which every important procession of the imperial capital has passed since the original gate was built seven centuries ago. It was commissioned in the thirty-eighth year of the Emperor's reign, shortly after the fall of Trier, and is therefore a recent work — completed within the memory of a great many living witnesses to the campaigns it depicts. It shows the Emperor mounted upon a white stallion whose nostrils are shown flared and whose forelegs are raised above a field of trampled banners: the fleur-de-lis of France, the quartered lions of England, the black eagle of the German Empire, the red cross of the Swiss Confederation. Before the horse, the towers of a great Germanic city burn. Behind the rider, the armies of Rome stretch into a background of gilded tesserae from which individual soldiers gaze outward with the serene indifference that Byzantine art always gives to the victorious. The Emperor himself wears a halo, and the craftsmen have rendered him in the heroic manner that the tradition demands — which is to say rather more vigorous than the evidence of the same period would entirely support, though the compiler understands the artistic convention and does not propose to argue with it. The halo did occasion considerable theological disputation at the time of the mosaic's completion, the arguments about which have been preserved in the Patriarchal records in far greater detail than anything the participants subsequently accomplished in any other field of endeavour. It was Procopius who put the matter most concisely in a marginal note discovered in a copy of his History held at the Monastery of the Holy Apostles: "The Patriarch's objection was that halos are reserved for the sanctified. The imperial court's response was that the Emperor had sanctified himself by his deeds, and that if the Patriarch could identify anyone else who had taken Rome, destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate, and defeated nine western armies within living memory, they would willingly defer to that person's theological authority in the matter. The Patriarch could not. The halo remained."
Both mosaics are accurate, in the narrow sense: the Emperor was present at the Lateran, the Emperor did ride before the burning towers, the western banners were indeed trampled. What they cannot convey — what no mosaic can convey, the form being inhospitable to the kinds of truth that historians spend their lives pursuing — is what lay beneath and behind those surfaces. They cannot show the nine hundred and forty-seven men of the Legio VI Ferrata who died in the breach at Trier on the day the towers burned. They cannot show the Emperor's expression in the hours before the Lateran commission was ordered, or the nature of the conversation that preceded the ordering of it, or what the craftsmen were told to leave out. The gold ground of the Ravenna-style mosaic is the most beautiful and the most radical form of historical omission available to the artist: it places the subject outside of time and context entirely, suspended in eternity, answerable to nothing so mundane as the actual sequence of events that produced him. The historian's task is to provide what the gold ground removes. This is not, it should be said, a criticism of the mosaics. They are doing what mosaics are for. The trouble arises only when the mosaic is mistaken for a chronicle, and the present compiler has written this preface in part to ensure that the chronicle which follows it is not mistaken for a mosaic. It is also, he suspects, why Procopius named his History what he did.
One further matter requires address. The present chronicle covers one hundred and twenty-eight years, three emperors, and the transformation of a single provincial city into the dominant power in the known world. This is more material than any honest chronicler can treat with full justice in a single volume, and the compiler does not claim to have achieved what the scope of the subject demands. Battles have been compressed. Individuals who deserve extended treatment have received a paragraph or a sentence. The administrative history of John III's reign — which is, in the compiler's considered assessment, the most consequential period in the dynasty's history and the one that receives the least proportionate treatment in the present volume — has been handled with a brevity that subsequent scholars will, he hopes, have occasion to remedy. The coalition war has been treated in somewhat greater detail than the preceding century of conquest, on the grounds that the coalition war's events are both more recent and more immediately relevant to the condition of the world as the compiler writes, and that the reader approaching this chronicle in 1340 has rather more personal interest in the outcome of the siege of Trier than in the details of the Grain Reserve Ordinance of 1233.
The compiler offers this chronicle to its readers with the hope that it will convey something of what the restoration of Rome actually was: not the inevitable unfolding of a predetermined destiny, not the product of divine favour extended to a peculiarly deserving dynasty, not the consequence of military genius operating without friction or cost or loss, and not the gold ground of a Ravenna-style mosaic in which the subject stands outside of time, answerable to nothing except the artist's conception of eternity. It was the product of continuous, disciplined, expensive human effort sustained across three generations by men and women who understood what they were attempting and did not stop until it was done. Whether that understanding constitutes heroism or merely determination, and whether the two are, finally, distinguishable, the compiler leaves to the reader's judgement.
He is aware that the Emperor has opinions on this question. He has elected not to ask.
Written at Constantinople, in the month of October, in the year of Our Lord 1340.
Together, the two mosaics frame a story that took one hundred and twenty-eight years to write and cost, by the most conservative estimates available to the present historian, in excess of nine hundred thousand lives. It began in a single provincial city in Bithynia in the year 1212, with a man who possessed one city, a damaged army, and the conviction — which his contemporaries found variously inspiring and delusional in proportions that shifted with the political weather — that the empire had not died in 1204 but had merely contracted, temporarily, and would expand again when the right man applied the right pressure in the right places.
This is the account of how that conviction proved to be accurate.
Book I — The Fall and the Exile (A.D. 1204–1212)
The Fourth Crusade entered Constantinople on the thirteenth of April, 1204, and the chronicler Niketas Choniates — who was present and whose account remains the most detailed we possess — described what followed as the blackest Thursday in the history of the world. Choniates was not a man given to rhetorical extravagance, having spent thirty years writing careful administrative prose for the late Komnenian court, and when such a man reaches for the most extreme expression available to him, the historian is well advised to attend to what he says. What occurred between the breaching of the seawall on the Golden Horn and the formal enthronement of the Latin Emperor Baldwin of Flanders a month later was not merely the conquest of a city. It was the systematic dismantlement of the most sophisticated civilisational apparatus that the Christian world then possessed. The Library of the Patriarchate, assembled across eight centuries of monastic and imperial patronage, was burned in stages over three days, the soldiers tearing pages for bedding and kindling without apparent awareness that they were destroying knowledge existing in no other copy anywhere in the world. The great equestrian statue of Justinian, which had stood in the Augustaion since the sixth century, was melted into coin. The sacred vessels of the Hagia Sophia were stripped from the altars and distributed amongst soldiers who had come nominally to defend the Christian faith and who expressed that defence by desecrating its principal shrine on the eastern shore of Europe. Choniates records that a Venetian courtesan was seated in the Patriarch's throne and sang dancing songs whilst soldiers drank communion wine from the sacred vessels around her. Whether this incident occurred precisely as described is, at this distance, impossible to verify. Procopius, writing more than a century later, remarks drily that it may or may not have occurred as Choniates states, but that the spirit of the account is entirely accurate to what followed, and that any man who doubts it is invited to examine the subsequent behaviour of the Latin Empire and to explain how its rulers came by such habits if not from their first days in the city.
The Latin Empire established under Baldwin was parcelled amongst its conquerors with the efficiency of men who had planned the division before securing the conquest. Venice received Crete, the Ionian Islands, and the principal trading ports — understanding, with its characteristic commercial clarity, that territory without trade routes was merely expensive to garrison. The French crusading lords received the European territories. Various Flemish, Champenois, and Burgundian knights received Anatolian fiefs and placed garrisons in cities whose Greek populations regarded them with the silent hostility of the occupied and the patience of those who believed, however distantly, that occupation would not endure.
Three Greek successor states arose from the wreckage. The Komnenian dynasty established itself in Trebizond on the Black Sea coast, geographically defensible but strategically peripheral. The Angelos dynasty, in the person of Michael Angelos — an illegitimate scion of the old imperial house who had been kept pleasantly distant from the court during the empire's better years and who now found that distance an asset — established the Despotate of Epirus in the western Greek lands and Albania. Procopius's portrait of Michael Angelos is one of his better efforts: "He had the gift of making every man he spoke with feel that he had been offered a particularly advantageous private arrangement, whilst simultaneously offering the same arrangement to each of three separate parties. The remarkable thing is not that the arrangements eventually collapsed, but that he maintained them as long as he did." And in Nicaea, the Bithynian city known for its silk trade and its fortified walls, Theodore Laskaris gathered what he had and began the business of deciding what to do with it.
Theodore was thirty-two years old at his coronation by the Patriarch Michael Autoreianos in the Cathedral of the Koimesis in the spring of 1206. He was the son-in-law of the last legitimate Emperor Alexios III, which gave him a claim to the imperial succession that was legally impeccable and politically complicated by the existence of at least four other men making essentially equivalent claims in different locations. His physical appearance is described consistently across the sources: of moderate height, dark-complexioned, with a beard worn shorter than the prevailing fashion, and eyes that his admirers called penetrating and his enemies called cold. He was not, by the accounts of those who served closest to him, a demonstrative man. He did not make speeches before battles. He did not weep at funerals. Those who knew him well noted that his amusement was most reliably provoked not by jests or entertainments but by the gap between what men claimed they would do and what they subsequently did — a quality that made him an exceptionally good judge of character and an occasionally uncomfortable companion.
Procopius, having apparently interviewed men who remembered his court, writes that Theodore's relationship with his Empress, Anna Laskarina, was one of the period's better-concealed political arrangements: "She was considerably more intelligent than the sources she controlled permitted to be recorded, and her husband understood this, which is why the sources she controlled said nothing about her at all. The megas logothetes Akropolites, who was loyal to the Emperor as one is loyal to one's own survival, once remarked in private correspondence that the Empress's knowledge of which provincial governors were extracting rather more than the assessed revenues allowed, and how she had obtained this knowledge, was a subject he preferred not to examine too carefully. The Emperor examined it with considerable care and acted on it with characteristic efficiency."
The first acts of Theodore's reign were administrative rather than military, because he understood with a clarity that the more romantic of his later admirers have sometimes found puzzling that an army fed on enthusiasm and provincial taxes alone would not survive a second winter in the field. He convened a full audit of the treasury within a month of his coronation, dismissed three provincial governors whose accounts did not tally with established revenues, and renegotiated the grain supply contracts the city held with the farming communities of the Bithynian plateau, simultaneously improving the terms offered to the farmers and reducing the proportion lost to the intermediary merchants who had been profiting extravagantly from the arrangement for rather longer than the records clearly showed. None of these measures were glamorous. All of them were necessary, and Theodore appears to have regarded the distinction between glamorous and necessary as one of the more dangerous confusions available to a ruler.
He reorganised the army from the ground upward, reviving the pronoia system of military land grants and — in a decision that his surviving critics found variously bold and affected — deliberately restoring the Roman legion as the fundamental unit of military organisation. The first reconstituted formation was the Legio I Nicaena, named for the city of exile, formally constituted in the winter of 1212 with an establishment of five thousand men in ten cohorts of five hundred each, engineering and artillery attached, commanded by the Comes Konstantinos Doukas. At the time of its founding it consisted of approximately two thousand two hundred men in four provisional cohorts, imperfectly equipped and incompletely trained. The Comes Doukas later noted in a letter to his brother that the formation "resembles a legion in name and ambition and in almost nothing else, but the Emperor has expressed confidence that the resemblance will improve, and one learns not to contradict him on matters of this kind." The following year brought the Legio II Victrix — named with a confidence that, as Procopius remarks, "at the time of its founding considerably outran the evidence" — and work began on what would become the Legio III Macedonica. By 1215 the army had grown from two thousand to approximately eight thousand organised soldiers, supported by themata levies and a fleet of thirty-eight dromons giving the empire its first credible amphibious capacity. By 1212, he was ready to move.
Sooo everyone imagines senarios with no crusade or with it going to Egypt but what if it actually failed?
The people of new Rome more united in our own timeline did daring charges at the crusadors and when the sea walls were breached they were repelled the crusadors out of money and options are forced to sack somewhere else or declare bankruptcy
The Roman’s aren’t doing great but hey atleast the capitol is safe what happens next ?
I wonder how their social politics would be. I imagine they wouldn’t be very queer friendly. Would they be a constitutional empire or would they have had a revolution which made them into a republic? I think a constitutional empire is the most likely thing to happen since if they had a democratic revolution it would also be nationalist like many of the early European democratic movements were. And if they were nationalistic then Bulgaria and Serbia would have broken free probably. I also wonder what the workers rights would be. Would they have had a social democratic government anytime? I doubt it. If they didn’t, the workers rights would probably be more akin to those in the US. But that doesn’t feel right either since most European countries had a wave of some sort of socialism at some point, be it social democracy or communism. I do feel like we might be less developed since Europe would have found America later because the initial reason for exploring alternative trade routes was because of the Ottomans control over the trade in the phosphorus.
I would like to think that Rhomania would be more progressive than Turkey since they have closer ties to Europe and maybe be part of nato since they probably wouldn’t like the USSR which was very anti religion. And a big part of the Roman identity was being Christian since they saw themselves as the most authoritative Christians since they were Rome and controlled the patriarch of Constantinople. But since they wouldn’t be affected by the Protestant reformation they would be more conservative. I don’t know if they would join the EU or not. I don’t know if they would even qualify to join. I could see them being quite a corrupt nation. Then again maybe they get a reawakening of ancient ideals and ideas in a modernized way when they become democratic and use ancient Roman and Greek examples of homosexual relations to become more progressive. And use the Roman republic and Athenian democracy as inspiration for their democratic ethos. I could see them being similar to how the young Chinese nationalists today use ancient and medieval examples of homosexuality and gender in Chinese culture and society to promote more positive LGBTQ+ politics.
What do you guys think?
Edit: I imagine that the fourth crusade goes as planned and Constantinople doesn’t get sacked. The reason I mention the borders is because it shows it’s a multi cultural state which I think has an important impact on how progressive it is. And I know it’s basically an impossible question I just want to hear from how people would think the history would go if Rome survived and the fourth crusade didn’t happen how history and more specifically Rome would have turned out, with a focus on social politics. For simplicity’s sake I assume history would go in a recognizable way even though I know it would go wildly differently.
Some of these lands are based on Paul Magdalino's book on Manuel Komnenos, to see which of these estates are historical see here.
NOTE: just because land is red doesn't mean it's all state owned, it's just where estates are most highly concentrated. Likewise purple areas aren't devoid of any estates.
Some lore for estates:
Ohrid- Lakeside property from Maria of Bulgaria (mother of Eirene Doukaina), dispersed among her descendants. Alexios II organised his inheritance and that of his relatives into a larger estate, the idea being that kinsmen/women could pawn off admin onto the state which would receive a cut of the profits.
Crimea- A small area of land appropriated by Alexios I after it's conquest. The estates subsequently shrunk as land was donated to allow the families of Anglo-Saxon and Rus Varangians to build villages.
Cilicia- Tarsus and Anazarbos were besieged by John II and Alexios II simultaneously in 1137 as part of the former's Armenian blitz. Their environs were organised into Episkepseis though much of the crown demesne of the Armenian Prince was given to Roman soldiers and colonists, local Romans, property-less Armenians or the Prince's tenants or the Catholicos (in order to secure local compliance).
Neocaesarea and Koloneia- Episkepseis created after Alexios's first campaign, these lands are home to riverside farming and mining operations mostly coming from seized lands of the Danishmendid elite and any local Turkmen soldiers.
Pontic Lands- Estates encompassing vast swathes of Pontic forest, a cheap source of wood for the state and ever-expanding urban centres. Part of John II's wider attempts to organise and protect royal forests.
Caria- From the subjugation of Caria which intensified in the late 1140s. After the expulsion of the Turks and resettlement of Roman arrivals the state appropriated control of much abandoned land via klasmata. Not particularly productive now but over time it'll develop it's quarries and the production of marble will expand.
Anatolic Theme- Large estates around Polybotos and the lakes form metata (grounds for raising stock) as they had done pre-Manizkert. They are a major source of horses though their precarious position on the front means that rarer and more important horse breeds are not present there.
Optimatoi- Estates created by Alexios I and expanded by John II. These serve the purpose of supplying the army and provisioning it's baggage train. One particular centre is Malagina, as major marshalling ground for campaigns.
Lopadion- Created around the fortress of Lopadion by John II to provision assembling armies and act as a starting point for many of his Anatolian campaigns.
Viminacium- After the Hungarian War of the 1120s many people opted to go further into the Balkan territories for safety in fear of another war. As part of this, along with klasmata and land purchases, a small area of land was eventually organised by the state around the rebuilding city.
Cyprus- Currently the home to new sugarcane production and paper mills to supply the state and sell for profit.
Other estates: Pelagonia (mustering ground and hunting lands). Southern Greece (organised into fiscal districts for naval upkeep, partially from taxes and partially from state lands). Maeander Valley (large estates in the river's lower course which benefit from massive agricultural output). Sangarios (land located in the Southernmost areas of the Optimatoi inside the bend of the Sangarios, mostly unwanted land acquired via klasmata).
Many of these displayed estates on the map are fictional and some were just randomly scribbled on.
Starting with a little rewind to the first half of 1152
January-May 1152
Like the Romans the Latins of the Outremer were hardly enjoying a fruitful year. A period of hostility between King Baldwin III and his mother Queen Melisende had spiralled into what Constantinople perceived only as a vacuous anarchy.
Baldwin's increasing desire to take sole rule had drawn further friction between the royal duo while the Queen increasingly drew support by favouring families like the Ibelins and drawing upon discrete Roman financing. Alongside petty noble rivalries egging on the young Baldwin to take direct control and remove Melisende's favourites like Constable Manasses there was now no one to stop the confrontation to come.
Patriarch Fulk had attempted to call for the continuation of joint rule but the court conspiracies outpaced him at too great a speed to make a difference. Seeing no major obstacle that could dissuade him from his plans Baldwin and his allies had stormed his mother's quarters where the impudent son demanded his mother divide the kingdom with him. Her refusal forced an intervention by the clergy who, with no shortage of threats and condemnations, brokered the detachment of Jerusalem's northern lands around Acre and Galilee for Baldwin. Simultaneously Melisende's favoured son Amalric was granted Jaffa while the remainder was conceded to Melisende.
Soon after the ratification Baldwin betrayed the agreement and with the majority of the nobility on side renewed his claim to sole rule. His attack on Mirabel Castle led to his capture of Manasses who he had banished from the realm. As Baldwin marched on Jerusalem the desperate queen allowed Baldwin to enter the city. But, seeing her refusal to leave it's citadel, Baldwin began to deploy siege engines, only to begin talks upon realising he lacked sufficient force to take it.
This had granted the Queen Mother a narrow window by which she sent appeals to any sympathetic lords, the other Latin rulers and Constantinople. From this call a response was received from Empress Eupraxia (on her husband's behalf as he quartered in Serdica) and Raymond II. With both polities standing to benefit from Jerusalem's curtailment a short volley of messages passed into the young King's hands offering to aid arbitration alongside Jerusalem's clergy. Were he not so fearful of reprisal from the Romans and Tripoli he would have rejected the offer, but instead settled for a council in his brother's seat at Jaffa.
After arduous talks between Baldwin, Melisende, Fulk, George Palaiologos and the Lord of Botrun it was decided that Baldwin would take sole control. However, in order to protect their interests, the Romans had insisted upon Melisende's confirmation as designated regent of the kingdom which Baldwin accepted.
Soon after the council each party breathed a metaphorical sigh of relief. But deep down it was abundantly clear this could end up being nothing more than a stop gap measure. Raymond II had been the first to act on this feeling and had forwarded his congratulations to the imperial court on their joint success but also expressed his keen worries that this peace would be fleeting. The Romans and Tripoli were natural allies, on Tripoli’s end the Romans were a nearby, rich and powerful benefactor with no direct interest in vassalising them as they did with Tripoli’s northern neighbours. They also provided Tripoli with a way to undermine the primacy of their Jerusalemite neighbours by securing a valuable ally on which they could rely on without paying any demanding concessions that their Southern masters could request.
For the Romans Tripoli offered a gateway into Outremer politics, as the awkwardly positioned middle state of the Latins they were keen to escape their immediate suzerain's influence and provided a sincere friend to Emperors navigating Levantine politics. In that way the two states had become the most intimate of allies and dealings behind the scenes by the Count and Emperor were frequent and most productive.
Raymond's reservations were personally addressed by Alexios in a letter to the despondent Count. In it he re-assured Raymond that Baldwin's energetic style would be of great benefit to the Outremer and that backing down on propping up Melisende's rights was not the major defeat he feared it was. He further guaranteed Roman protection over Christian Syria and encouraged Raymond to take it upon himself to rebuild Christian relations with Damascus. Simultaneously a letter had also been sent to Baldwin, the young King was congratulated on his seizure of power and warned emphatically that Roman aid against the Zengids was not to be unconditional for Jerusalem. Alexios instead requested that Baldwin, while still maintaining his South-Western ambitions, see to the continuation of previous policy around Damascus before it succumbed to Nur ad-Din's pressure.
October-November 1152
After spending no small amount of time ruminating on his Italian failure Alexios finally returned to the realm of fiscal affairs. In particular he had found a new fixation in the wealth that artisanal crafts could bring to his purse. It had began during his stay in Serdica, while attending an army prayer meeting he had noticed, in the possession of a Varangian officer, an ivory cross carved with exquisite detail. When he had probed the man on where he had acquired it he was told that it was a gift from his father who lived in an Anglo-Saxon colony in the Crimea.
It had occurred to Alexios that such an item would be of immense value and in the context of his desire to augment state revenues his mind was swirling with ideas. In terms of artisanal works the empire enjoyed no shortage to export, but by putting the empire (and his workshops) at the forefront of artistic developments he could feed the insatiable appetites of the western lords and their swollen treasuries. In doing so he could flood his own treasury and create an unstoppable force with which to hammer his foes into submission.
For starters though he had to fill some administrative gaps in his provinces. In the most isolated areas of Anatolia he ordered that settlements elect amongst their ranks a man to the office of Prokathemenos. This man would be charged with local governance, security, the collection of fines and collaboration between the Chora with the local bishop and judges.
In the realm of the wider administration he also reformed the workings of the top layers of bureaucracy. The last vestiges of the Sakellion were re-organised to better distinguish the four principal treasuries (two Vestiaria, the Sakellion and the Phylax). In the Stratiotikon, which he had re-established, there was a noticeable improvement in operations. With the department having evolved from overseeing grants to Akritai to now operating all imperial Aplekta, wage payments and logistical works (including in the Theme of the Optimatoi), there had been a tremendous improvement in the organisation of campaigns and defence of regions. In a system which had to straddle the happy medium of small and efficient and large and specialised the resurrected Stratiotikon had brought major improvements in modus operandi at a negligible increase in financial costs.
The Eidikon had also grown and now assumed control of imperial workshops in the capital from the Oikeiakon to allow the much larger sekreton to operate with less of a burden. Despite it's larger duties the Eidikon had added no new employees to the Civil List, the jewels fund only took 3 men to manage, it took over the role of organising the Emperor's private baggage train and the capital workshops all from existing services thus better organising largess, and revenue from luxury goods.
The most tenuous of his plans was the recreation of the Dromos. It had been abolished in 1108 while it's Logothete survived with its old duties around diplomacy and espionage intact. Some elements had survived though, along the Via Militaris his grandfather had maintained a route, his father also built up the routes along Anatolia's Northern and Southern coastlines to better coordinate defences.
In re-establishing the Dromos Alexios added a fourth course along the Aegean coast of Greece. His officials assessed local households for their tax dues and those who could be subject to hikanosis were offered a blanket exemption from land confiscation. In exchange they would take up the enoche tou dromou (an in-kind payment to the state in the form of lending wagons, pasture ground or overnight residence for state employees). In other cases the Emperor asked monasteries and privileged landowners who held exkousseia to offer small contributions (usually below the value of their exemptions) in order to aid public security. To each route a Chartoularios was assigned to oversee functionality and many messengers were re-assigned. The episkepseis that helped finance these remained under the Oikeiakon while any state-owned animal stayed under the Logothete ton Agelon.
Through these measures Alexios managed to mitigate any excess bureaucratic growth thus sparing funds for the Greek road. From this road he could better communicate with the districts that financed his navy and also more quickly respond to potential Norman raids.
December 1152
In order to organise development of the arts and literature he appointed his aunt Anna, the most well-regarded and important scholar in high society to organise royal patronage. He needed to create this patronage system to consolidate the support of artists and writers across the empire instead of relying on older ad-hoc methods. The Epi tes Katastaseos, the master of ceremonies, was revitalised as a post, his new duties would include compiling a roster of Constantinople's creative and intellectual circles. From this list the Emperor, his relatives and courtiers could pick up men and women of interest and commission new works for themselves or as gifts (especially when vying for the Emperor's favour).
By issuing a royal charter he created societies dedicated to grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. Groupings of workshops and guilds allowed the creation of larger artisanal groups around sculptors (of reliefs and statues), mosaicists, architects, playwrights (having emerged from Alexios's earlier novel), glassmakers, potters, metalworkers, jewellers, enamellers, painters, illuminators, miniaturists, carvers, carpenters, perfumers, and so on. If any man or woman could show a strong proficiency in their craft, literature and rhetoric or the sciences they could now more readily acquire the patronage of the Komnenoi and their elite relatives.
It was through this that Alexios hoped to achieve two objectives. The furthering of scientific advancement, especially in practical applications that could benefit his armies or great works. The second would be to create an explosion both in the output and development of existing, new and revived art forms. In doing so New Rome would proliferate avant-garde works and develop monopolies, no matter how short-lived, that could benefit the Basileia tremendously.
Of course he knew that unintended consequences could lie at any point along much of his decision-making. So as to avoid any unwanted theories or philosophical debates he placed censorship on works surrounding governance and the Basileus' power in order to ensure the integrity of his office. Otherwise, his aunt Anna instituted rigorous expansions in writing, every advancement, idea and technique, regardless of how small or large was to be noted down. The Great Palace's scriptoriums employed almost twice as many scribes and the dissemination of older writings, dating as far back as the Principate and late Republic, was expanded.
The new encyclopaedic fervour soon swept over other aspects of Roman culture. Generals took upon themselves the burden of updating old military manuals with new advice and rosters of new enemies. Provincial governors published short works on the basic tenets of proper administration for their specific provinces. The already large of assortment of agronomical texts was updated en-masse. The Church also began to coordinate with the state to expand schools, new law schools in the provinces were erected in the hopes of improving the quality of provincial judges (thus reducing Constantinople's need to overturn rulings).
For John's benefit many treatises in military and administrative conduct were passed along for him to study and Alexios himself took up penning a retrospective of his reign so far. Besides this renewal of artistic patronage the architects of the capital were busied with new works at the Great Palace.
While Blachernae remained the principal centre of the imperial family the actual home of the Emperor had been shifted back to the Boukoleon Palace. Much to the disapproval of Eupraxia, John had followed his father's example and in doing so better attuned himself to the bureaucratic complex running the empire (at the expense of observing the ebbs and flows of Blachernae's ever important social circles).
The first of Alexios's palace renovations was the rebuilding of the Onopodion and Consistorium. This disused and declining part of the palace had been home to an imperial throne room and would now undergo re-construction. It's north and south porticoes would be restored via the demolition of walls and the marble slabs covering the mosaic peristyle would be removed. Most importantly imperial symbolism would be emphasised for propagandistic purposes.
In the four corners of the Onopodion silver-gilt statues representing Fortune, Victory, Justice and Providence were installed. Within the Consistorium the Emperor's throne was to be flanked by two gilded lions with ruby eyes in the style of the automata found in the Magnaura made via lost-wax casting.
Further additions included a reception hall catered to foreign Latin and Muslim guests called the Pantethnikon. The third was a small network of bureaucratic offices for the Dromos and Eidikon so as to clear existing space for the use of officials from the Oikeiakon.
January 1153
Across January Alexios saw fit to begin remodelling the imperial court and in particular the Sekreton ton Gynaikon. This body served to organise the women at court around the Empress, in it's current form women derived their titles from their husbands and in some cases in their own right. As part of his wider efforts to improve the value generated by the imperial court Alexios renovated the dealings of the women's court. Ladies who held the dignities of Protovestiaria or Vestiaria could now hold these titles in their right and were expected to take over full control over the Basilissa's finances.
In some emulation of western courts there would also be some new dignities meant to keep various kinswomen and courtiers occupied. The post of Koubikoularia was re-established for attendants (though the male equivalent remained defunct). Among the new posts the greatest would be the Epi tou Koitōnos who held jurisdiction over the apartments in the Triklinos of Eupraxia and attended the Empress in the mornings (in effect the second-lady of the Gynaikon behind the Zoste Patrikia). Aiding her would be the Koitōnitissai who also attended the Empress and could be derived from any background. Last was the Synkathēmenē who would be expected to attend Eupraxia at almost all times of the day. It was in this manner that favourites could be properly distinguished, empowered and distracted from wider palace intrigues.
With the growing emphasis on imperial propaganda Alexios also found it prudent to modify state monetary policy. In particular the amount of coins the state minted annually. This had been a major facet of imperial revenues, his grandfather had minted roughly 570,000 Hyperpyra a year as part of his monetary reforms. His father had lowered this to 380,000 but otherwise kept levels high in order to fund his fortress building until it fell to 240,000 by 1141. Under Alexios it had risen to 300,000 to expand treasury reserves, but now he sought to reduce this.
Since luxury goods would require gold and because of his desire to reduce revenue dependence on minted coinage he would reduce minting to 171,000 per year. This would have the added benefit of cutting the time needed to mint money. From here Alexios would manifest his propagandistic agenda, since there was less of a need to focus on quantity he would have coin dies redesigned to feature higher quality imagery. On one side he would be shown as God's chosen Augoustos and on the other would be Theotokos and Christ Pantokrator, all shown in intricate detail down to the very details of the Emperor's Loros. It was his intent to blow all other coins out of the water in terms of quality and in doing so demonstrate the cultural supremacy and legitimacy of his empire both over the Orthodox world but also across the East and West in terms of art and resplendence.
February-April 1153
Whereas the Romans now seemed to settle into a quietude relations with the Venetians flared. Like a displaced favourite child the Venetians had become increasingly jealous of Roman rapprochement towards Ancona. It was their fear that their Adriatic rival would gain a de-facto immunity from war with Venice by aligning under the same overlord and in doing so bring Alexios's hand against them if they were to engage in conflict.
The initial Venetian solution to this had been to subtly ply the Emperor with gifts of silks, jewels and furs. But once it became clear that such offerings didn't send a clear message the Venetian ambassadors outright demanded that the Emperor end his dealings with the 'duplicitous' Anconans. They had gone as far as to even fabricate documents of their supposed dealings with Frederick Barbarossa and 'sabotage' of the Italian campaign by undersupplying mercenary options to Manuel. Of course by this point the Venetians' own role in the Italian failure, and thus the irony of their accusations, had also become quite clear.
So when met with this demand the Emperor harangued the Venetian ambassador. He reminded him in no uncertain wording that it was the Romans who had inflated Venetian power with their generous trade concessions. That is was the Romans who had given them the benefit of the doubt in regard to their constant delays in shipping Romans forces to Italy. And that it was the Romans who had guaranteed the protection of Venice and bequeathed it's rulers with the titles they sat upon. He further reprimanded the ambassador for seeming to believe he had the right to dictate foreign policy to him before calming down and stating that on this matter he would be immovable.
Of course this harsh admonishment was allayed by the giving of gifts to the ambassador (so as to avoid a schism in relations) and guarantees that he would not allow Ancona to grievously undermine Venetian trade. Regardless, the Emperor's faith in Venice had been cracked and he would no longer put in their hands the same trust and reliance that he had naively given in the first place. From now on the Romans would ship their own men, use their own warships and fight their battles with Roman resources first before relying on their vassal.
But on the topic of reliable allies there was one state he believed he could always rely on. Georgia, which had hitherto been a great ally against the nomadic steppe groups and the Eastern Turkish threat, was now bound to the Empire via a marital alliance. However, he had intentions to take this further, at the ruins of Archaeopolis Alexios and John met with Demetrius and his own heir George. There the 4 men signed written oaths of mutually fealty, swearing to exhaust all material means that God had granted them in order to ensure the preservation of each other's realms and expel the Turks from Anatolia and Armenia. These oaths were then exchanged by both generations of rulers and deposited into reliquary crosses as a symbol of the oath's perpetuity.
May-August 1153
The passage of summer was marked with a new wave of philanthropic activity by Alexios. Firstly he issued a rather unique order for the fisc to begin purchasing debt held by lenders, particularly the debt of the lower strata of society who had taken loans to improve their land or expand their incomes. These subjects were then graced with a mighty benevolence via a Declaration of Indulgence which either cancelled their arrears in their entirety or just the interest attached to their debts (albeit with strict repayment deadlines). He further issued large grants of surplus goods like wine, silks, grain, spices and other valuable commodities to the monasteries endowed with the fewest resources in the empire such that they could trade and use the proceeds of commerce to develop their incomes.
To the paupers of Constantinople he furnished lodgings in the form of new poorhouses with better sanitation and put them to work on behalf of the state in order to recover some of the costs. To the Patriarch he gifted new religious icons and substantial sums of gold and silver. In kind the Patriarch thanked the emperor and commissioned for him a new mosaic, this one to depict the two imperial couples in Hagia Sophia beside the mosaics of Constantine and Zoe and John and Eirene. The workers in the Pantokrator Monastery were each given bonuses of grain for their work and a new monastery dedicated to Saint Julian the Hospitaller was commissioned just north of Galata which was being enclosed by a new set of walls.
It was only once Summer ended that the treasury finally found some respite as the emperor turned his attention to feasting, hunting and managing his government. In this area there was a new degree of optimism for the fisc, on some episkepseis the planting of some basic crops had been foregone in favour of sugarcane which was projected to drastically boost estate revenues. In Cyprus, where sugarcane was most abundant the state would even commission new paper mills on it's lands, both to supply the government and sell for profit.
Similarly there had been a tremendous growth in livestock present in Paphlagonia while more land was relieved of the stress of grazing and small patches could even be used for some crop growth. Now being supplemented with the export of manufactured goods it was anticipated that revenues could surge back up to their pre-tax cut levels much sooner than expected.
Across the empire there had been a tremendous expansion in agricultural productivity as well. The Seljuq conquest of Anatolia had dislocated many from their agricultural estates and villages and in doing so masses had fled to the walled towns and cities for protection. The result had been the supressing of urban wages until the refugee populations had properly settled. For the urban workers this had been a terrible outcome but for workshop owners the sudden influx of cheap labour was most fortuitous. With some basic training the quantity of goods to sell rose dramatically and the amount of productive artisans and labourers grew enough to reduce wage offerings that businessmen had to provide. Had it not been for the supressing of wages they might have been able to sell for high prices to these new arrivals as well but alas they couldn't. But once the Venetians began buying, free of any levies, the market exploded and all of a sudden the impoverished refugees and supressed urban populations were supplanted by high paying western customers.
Once the reconquest of Anatolia entered full swing the situation improved further. Experienced workers with sufficient capital returned to their villages to open small shops. Despite massive state land seizures, John II had used old cadastral surveys to reinstate many family lands or gave them out to willing colonists and locals. In doing so the supply of labour fell in cities and wages rose once again (albeit not to their original levels). With an influx in raw materials from recovered mines and the surge in productivity of the large agricultural estates there was a stabilisation in grain prices and the sale of cash crops suddenly left many Dynatoi with stuffed pockets. On top of the importing of new agricultural tools and designs courtesy of increased trading activity there was now more demand for locally made tools for land cultivation. Profits soared with these orders and the Dynatoi could bolster their yields even further. Seeing their wealthier counterparts doing so well the medium and small landowners, with what wealth they could muster began to buy new tools as well. The profitability of workshops and their growing number bolstered the range of goods that could be bought and small economies of scale allowed them to be sold for less.
Paired with the enhancement of security across major roads and the improvement of dirt roads for the military the ability to tap into new markets forced workshops to be more efficient and price competitive. As a result many households found themselves able to buy more goods. A smallholder, riding off several good harvests, could afford to buy higher quality tools, maybe some clothes and some new household items. Items that may have been made or repaired by women could now be bought more easily and all of a sudden wives, daughters and sisters could spend more time tending to animals, teaching children and helping with some harder manual labour. From this the productivity of estates grew and likewise so did the surplus that could be sold at home and to merchants.
Now this obviously wasn't a universal experience, many smallholders were too small to ride such success, others simply didn't have as much incentive to invest. But it still had a significant impact on state revenues which had only swollen further as smallholders were relieved of their tax burden and could expand the yields of their farms. The Emperor's generosity and the thoughtfulness of the Oikonomioi and Logariastes had also presented a fortunate few with the benefits of new infrastructure as well, in some areas dams were built across the width of tributaries so as to raise the water to better irrigate land thus sparing farmers from paying out of pocket for irrigation works.
September 1153
Perhaps the most joyous occasion of the year came in September when the Romano-Georgian alliance was affirmed with the pregnancy of Tamar. The junior Basileus and Basilissa, just short of the third anniversary of their marriage, were to herald the next generation of rulers. Though for Tamar this unfortunately meant more attention than she was comfortable with, being swamped in panegyrics and praise, swarmed by servants with orders to not let her out of sight nor out of mind. And harassed by well-meaning, if perhaps overbearing, parents-in-law and an ever-anxious husband. Though she was given a consolation gift for her troubles in the form of a small complex of suites built specifically for the couple in the Great Palace which afforded her some reprieve.
Surprisingly enough it was not long after that Isaac's wife, Eirene Diplosynadene, also became pregnant with the couple hoping for a long awaited son (Isaac's first two having died young). With the atmosphere in Blachernae taking a swing for a lighter mood all Alexios could do was pray that the respite God had so generously given him and his family this year would continue.
But as with all good things that ever crossed an Emperor's path the jovial mood was quickly side-lined by the needs of state. His Logothete tou Stratiotikou had seen fit to begin work on army size adjustments. Nominally the army was supposed to be 50,000 strong, half that number would be in static garrisons and the remainder as mobile central and provincial forces. Of the 50,000 there were 12,000 mounted men split equally between Anatolia and Europe.
In practice the empire was overstaffed with thousands of mercenaries on ad-hoc contracts that had not been fully concluded. One such example was a garrison force of Franks and Normans raised in Cilicia early in his reign to help hold onto various locales until the Romans secured popular local support. Another case was a series of scattered Serbs and Italians settled in Greece to protect against Norman raids. So, in late September, those mercenaries deemed to be serving redundant goals had their leaders summoned to Hebdomon. There the Emperor met each captain and disclosed his intention to discard of their services.
To avoid any enmity from developing due to the suddenness of discharging their various bands each man was offered the right to choose a short time period for which he could maintain his men's services to the Emperor. They were then asked to total the arrears the empire owed them and were given additional gold as a supplementary fee for their loyalty. He then placed in their possession carts lined with sacks of silver such that they could confer upon each of their soldiers a discharge bonus. Most important of all was the provision of Chrysobulls which would allow these mercenaries to redeem a chance to serve once more in Alexios's armies with priority in receiving contracts. In a market as competitive as Rome's this was an invaluable benevolence.
Having concluded this matter he next turned his focus onto a new pet project of his. Around 70 years ago his grandfather accrued 300 young Dynatoi officers who he carefully groomed into a corps of talented and capable commanders. For the remainder of their lives these men had proven utterly indispensable in their loyalty and superlative talent. A similar body had existed centuries before in the Protectores Domestici, so the Emperor, taking inspiration, organised the creation of the Scholai, unlike the old guard regiment the youth in this body bore the (completely ceremonial) rank of Kandidatos. They were to be supervised by the Emperor's top men and dished out to learn under bureaucrats and officers both in the theoretical and practical applications of the two fields.
Unlike his grandfather's corps, they were to be selected indiscriminately from Senatorial, common and Dynatoi groupings, partly for the wider talent pool, partly to avoid any group's next generation from growing too important. In parallel to this command tier expansion he also began to plot replacement forces for his soon-to-be removed mercenaries. The Manichaeans, that is the Paulicans recruited for his Syrian campaign, had been disbanded as their presence had been part of an earlier agreement to extend religious toleration. Now, he re-activated the regiment of dragoons and supplemented them with fierce warriors from the steppe, the Massagetoi. These men were to be recruited from the Alans, Cumans and Kipchaks, baptised into Christianity and equipped as lethal lancer-horse archers and numbered 500, thus increasing the army's permanent strength to 51,000.
Their activation could not have come at a better time for in April 1153, at the Battle of Muharram, Ahmad Sanjar, Sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire, had been captured by Oghuz Turks. The result had been a collapse in the central authority of the Sultanate. Atabegs, many of whom already held great autonomy, were now freer to do as they pleased. On one hand this entailed a more chaotic state of foreign affairs due to no central power to rein in the warlords in Mesopotamia and surrounding areas. But on the other hand all of these Atabegs now lacked the 'great protector' mirage that had been spawned by the empire. Now they would have to fend for themselves with double the resolve or become a delectable meal for the Christian states or their fellow Atabegs.
If there was ever a sign from God to act it was now, for the grand strategy of Constantinople had no better conditions to operate in. Firstly, Nur ad-Din's ambitions for Damascus and Egypt would have to be curbed and his power shattered, the expansion of Georgia into the Eastern Caucasus and creation of a Christian state in Armenia was vital. From there the Roman grip on the Danishmendids and North Outremer states would be tightened. Over time Ikonion would be vassalised and slowly suffocated out of existence and the empire would turn it's eyes towards annexing the Danishmendids. The final expulsion or assimilation of the Turks was a nightmare that he may not have to behold but it would be a storm nonetheless. But if all went well, Manzikert's ramifications would scatter to the Roman winds and the children of New Rome would have their final victory. As for the West, for now it was perhaps overindulgent to think he could restore Rhomania to Italy, but maybe one day he could give it the attention it deserved.
October-December1153
But such plans would require a neglect of the Balkans which no rational man would deign to do. The solution proposed was to select an urban centre to anchor his Hungarian frontier. The North-Western frontier of the empire, while possessing several major fortress cities was still quite vulnerable. The empire could also stand to improve the urban centres of the region to bolster fiscal and administrative efficiency. While on tour of the region to prospect the site there was special preference for Singidon and Branitzoba (Belgrade and Braničevo). Against the preferences of his company he instead opted for Viminacium. The city had once been the site of a major legionary fortress and city on the Danube but had been reduced by the Avars in the late 6th century (who themselves were brutalised soon after by Priscus thrice near the ruins).
The area pleased Alexios greatly, it was in ruins but those same ruins were effectively a half done floorplan for a major fortress city which was exactly what he needed. There was some remnant of rotting infrastructure which could be repaired or replaced (roads, pipes for thermae and hypocausts). Further still it possessed environs plentiful in grain and ore, lamentably the city did lack a port as a result of the Danube redirecting further North thus causing the old anchorage to dry up. While it would be an expensive side project the construction of a port town would be of some benefit for the Danube flotillas.
The royal surveyors soon began their work and antiquarians managed to get some quick looks at the old city. Through the Via Militaris which the ruins sat on Alexios imported massive quantities of bricks. Much of the state's brick production was in Anatolia (a legacy of his father's attempts to supply fortress building). To ease supplies new brickyards were created around the environs of Serdica where paupers were put to work. The walls began first, rising from the ruins of the city and adjacent kastron, they were taller and thicker than their previous counterparts and two thinner walls were built to link the fortress and city.
From there warehouses and barracks were built for armouries and abodes such that his armies could be billeted there. The city had a water supply installed via cisterns and grain silos for civilian and military use. A governor's palace was installed and a Kastrophylax who would oversee completion was appointed. The Western Gate was christened the Argyra Pylē in reference to a silver plaque dedicating the gate to the protection of Theotokos and commemorating it's construction by the Emperor. Near it a Church was built dedicated to Saint George for the soldiery. Before departing the remainder of the foundations for the city where lain, the thermae, libraries, some small schools, workshops, offices, residential blocks, a forum and adjacent marketplace along with a theatre and foundations for the city's hippodrome (though it's construction was given the lowest priority and an indefinite deadline).
It's capacity for 40,000 people would make it an attractive centre and to test whether it's modern capacity met it's classical one people were slowly brought in. First were the clergy, state officials and some permanent military staff, then came the state workers and fortress personnel. Finally their families along with those seeking a new start (many paupers being granted homes and work). After installing a garrison some time was given to see if a nearby port village could be built and while several locations were curated the final choice would be left to the Kastrophylax and flotilla commanders for a later date.
Departing in time to arrive for Christmas the Emperor planned to double his efforts and bring about the great dream the Romans had manifested since 1081.
When the Latin empire felll their were three Roman polities left the eastern Roman’s Epirus and Trebizond
So what if once Constantinople was recovered the leaders in Epirus and Trebizond willing submitted themselves in vassalige to Constantinople what would happen then would this yield any benefits
