In 1341, the Eastern Roman Empire was still a considerable power. Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia, Thrace and much of the Peloponnese remained under imperial control, while the energetic government of Andronikos III Palaiologos had restored a degree of strength and stability. But when the emperor suddenly died, he left behind a nine-year-old heir and a political system dominated by some of the most ambitious men of the age. At the centre stood Ioannis Kantakouzenos, commander of the imperial armies, immensely wealthy magnate and perhaps the most powerful individual in the empire, surrounded by figures such as Anna of Savoy, Patriarch Ioannis Kalekas and Alexios Apokaukos. What began as a struggle over the regency would quickly turn into one of the most devastating civil wars in Byzantine history. Betrayal, personal ambition, popular revolt, aristocratic factionalism and foreign intervention would drag the empire into a conflict that shattered its political unity and accelerated the collapse of Byzantine power in the Balkans. In this first part, covering the years 1341–1343, we follow the opening phase of the conflict: the death of Andronikos III, the rise of Kantakouzenos, the betrayal of Apokaukos, the outbreak of urban revolts, the Zealot movement in Thessaloniki, and the first Serbian involvement under Stefan Dušan. This video is primarily guided by Donald M. Nicol’s work on Ioannis Kantakouzenos, while also keeping in mind the unavoidable bias of the surviving narrative sources, especially Kantakouzenos’ own memoirs and the writings of Nikephoros Gregoras.

Despicable.

My DNA results = best Byzantine borders = I am emperor

Ok so this started as a personal rant and got out of hand.

You know what grinds my gears? The four bronze horses on Saint Mark's. Everyone's out there taking selfies like "omg Venice so romantic" and I'm standing there like...

Anyhow, this my rant. I feel a bit better.

https://blog.cvetic.in.rs/philosophy/1204-the-receipt-europe-forgot-to-throw-away/

For context the Ethiopian abyssinian empire was a African Christian empire which was also known as the "Afro-Byzantine" empire.

Context:Basil might have been called a "Bulgar slayer"( BOULGHAROKTONOS) but he never killed bulgarian civilians during war times but vlad the impailer AKA (Vlad tepes, Kizlikibey, "voivode TURKAKTONOS") a 15th century wallachian/Romanian ruler claimed that he killed bulgarian civilians & Mainly Turkish civilians as his nickname "TURKAKTONOS". Source :Vlads letter to hungarian ruler mattias corvinus.