[RFC DoC] A story of Byzantium

[Lone Wolf]

Alexios' attempt at transferring his Cataphracts to Egypt was unsuccessful, since his fleet lost the naval battle of Alexandria versus the rebels. However, rebel Alexandria started its own civil war - the patricians, higher merchants of the city started to clash versus the middle merchants. This allowed the Imperial troops from loyal Kairo to take the city.

However, while the Imperial troops were fighting in Egypt, the Turks defeated the troops of Byzantine independent governor of Hierusalem, capturing the city. Alexios would not be able to regain Mesopotamia.

Then Alexios defeated the Russian warlord of Thebes, regaining control of Egypt. That resulted in a war with the Russian Grand Duke, who during this war assumed the title of "Tzar" - Russian bastardization of "Caesar" to further insult Byzantium. Also, he incited the Turks to attack Byzantium again, promising the Turks Russian "protection".

In 1352, Alexios was succeeded by his son, Ioannes.

Ioannes crowned by Christ. A special "coronation" silver issue.

The Byzantines were not the only enemies The Russians had. The German Empire, apparently, had their own problems with the Slavs.

Turkish siege of Constantinople was done with Cannons - a new military invention. However, thr Turks failed to take the great city, and the Byzantines went on the offensive.

When the German Emperor recaptured Asperon (a city which the Germans called Weisenburg in their barbarian tounge), he agreed to return in to Byzantium in exchange for the hand of Ioannes' daughter.

In 1393 - the year of Ioannes' death - Byzantine armies again appeared in Asia Minor.

Ioannes was succeeded by his son, who was named in honor of his grandfather.

Alexios II

He managed to disperse the Turks further, however, in the course of his campaign his troops fell into ambush and were defeated.

After this Byzantium and the Turkish Emirate signed a peace treaty. Byzantium regained Western Asia Minor, but other Turkish areas remained in the hands of the Emir.

Byzantium in 1433

 

[christos200]

Great update.

 

[strijder20]

Great update.

The truth, the truth, and nothing but the truth.

 

[Alexius08]

Spanish Ethiopia and French Arabia, all in the Middle Ages? Looks like something for the OMG Look What happened thread in the RFC forum.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Spanish Ethiopia and French Arabia, all in the Middle Ages? Looks like something for the OMG Look What happened thread in the RFC forum.

I gave them Open Borders, which they used to conduct minor "crusades" against independents.

 

[Lone Wolf]

And the story continues.

In 1442, Alexios II died, succeeded by his son, Petros. Petros seemed to be a humble and calm man, but there was a strain of harsh pragmatism in his character.

Petros (r. 1442-87)

Petros was immediately faced with wars on two fronts. The French king attacked and took southern Italy, and a rather weird romantic story involving a Turkish prince running away from his father and marrying a young Greek woman of high standing resulted in another war with Turkey and Russian Czar, the so-called "True Roman Emperor and Protector of Turks".

Petros decided to give South Italy away. The North Italian cities, formally subject to him, were strong enough to defend, but not strong enough to go on the offensive against the French. And French garrison in Rome was quite large.

So, he decided to focus on the Turks. German troops in the North protected the Balkans from Russian invaders.

The harshness of Petros' government was revealed, as he ordered the Coptic peasants in Egypt to work overdue for defence of the Empire.

While Byzantine troops invaded the Holy Land, Turks invaded Asia Minor yet again.

In the end, the Byzantines succeeded in reconquering Jerusalem, but the Turks managed to overcome the Asia Minor defences.

Since Petros was not sure that he'll be able to hold Jerusalem against the Turks, he decided to sign peace with them so far. Both conquests made during the war remained in hands of their respective states.

He also signed peace with the French, recognizing their ownership of Naples.

The way Petros treated Egypt and north Africa provoked a couple of rebellions, which were crushed.

At the end of his life, Petros arranged a wedding between a Byzantine princess and a Spanish prince.

He was succeeded by his son Andronikos.

Andronikos (r. 1487-1528). During that time, it again became fashionable for Emperors to appear in Consular uniforms.

In 1505, the Iranians overthrew their Turkish overlords.

Meanwhile, as a part of a broader cultural Renaissance in Mediterranean, a philosopher by the name of Stephanos Alexandrinos refounded the old Academy in Athens.

Every time the Germans attack the Russians, they are scared of Russian colds and withdraw. Truly, the lands of that Russian barbarian are as inhospitable as he is himself. Meanwhile,
war was again declared on the Turks.

Under the double pressure of both Iranian rebels and Byzantine forces, Turkish emirate collapsed into a bunch of quarrelling statelets. It was easy for Byzantine army to recapture Antiocheia.

 

[hoplitejoe]

Russia claim Moscow is the new Rome. Burn them

 

[sonoskay]

very good story i hope it keeps going

 

[christos200]

Great story!!

 

[trexeric]

SUB POST! Great story!!!

 

[heitorcccp]

GREAT! Great history so far!!

Congrats for that, keep up the good work! Subbed!

 

[Princeof Persia]

Very good.

 

[Lone Wolf]

However, Mesopotamia was captured by the Persians.

In the year 1547, an embassy from China reached Constantinople. While the Byzantines didn't like the Chinese manners - these strange people stupidly considered everyone else to be uncivilized barbarians - some trade agreements were signed.

A year later, Byzantium captured Tebriz, which was renamed Alexandropolis, in the name of the reigning emperor.

Alexandros.

The Reformation strikes. After that, all my Christian cities receive the Protestant religion in addition to whatever else was present there. I think it's a bug.

In 1603, the Persian Shah declared war. Learned men in Constantinople ruminated on the Roman-Persian wars and cycles of history.

The Shah attacked Jordan, but then, surprisingly, withdrew.

Meanwhile, a learned mind named Michael Psellos of Alexandria started to challenge Aristotelian physics.

The Shah attacked Alexandropolis -

But was beaten back.

After the Byzantines captured Mesopotamia, the scared Shah agreed to a "perpetual alliance" with the Emperor.

But while Byzantium was strengthened in the East, it was slightly weakened in the West. It reclaimed Sicily, but lost the sovereignty over North Italian cities that were absorbed by France.

 

[christos200]

Great update. Try to colonise america or india.

 

[hoplitejoe]

Do you have a different font to normal or am I going crazy?

 

[strijder20]

Do you have a different font to normal or am I going crazy?

It's the same font. You are not going crazy, though.

Spoiler :

You already are

 

[Lone Wolf]

A small updare.

(To the Hellenophiles: My Fallmerayer avatar theme is indended to be sarcastic).

In 1721, the German Emperor gave Asperon back to the Empire, while his subjects were busy inventing new artforms of ice blocks in the Scandinavian tundra. As one Byzantine intellectual remarked, "These Latin westerns value their strange and eccentric innovations, but we value our ancient heritage of Hellas and Rome, and our religion, the truth of which relies on revelations from God and the wisdom of the Church Fathers".

In 1725, Michael Mangaphlas, a certain provincial magnate, revolted against the Empire with the help of remaining unassimilated Turkish-speaking population.

It was difficult for the Emperor to overcome him, since his armies were quite professional. In fact, if Mangaphlas concentrated his forces, he probably could have captured Constantinople, that was defended only by cannons on its approaches, and an obsolete tagmata army of swordsmen. But his lack of daring resulted in defeat.

In fact, after all the Classicism of previous centuries, the beginning of 18th century saw a certain Christian revival in the Empire. The people, disappointed in secular humanistic values, turned to the Orthodox Church again. While this produced many theological achievements, in particular Niketas Choniates' works on the nature of God's justice in the world, it resulted in Byzantium's scientific progress being slightly slower then the Western one.

While Mangaphlas was finally defeated, the Russians captured the holdings of his Caucasian allies.

 

[mayor]

wait..what? why is the Turkish capital called Philadelphia?

 

[NinjaCow64]

wait..what? why is the Turkish capital called Philadelphia?

Yes, I would like to know this as well.

 

[christos200]

1) I like the update.

2)

The race of the Hellenes has been wiped out in Europe. Physical beauty, intellectual brilliance, innate harmony and simplicity, art, competition, city, village, the splendour of column and temple — indeed, even the name has disappeared from the surface of the Greek continent.... Not the slightest drop of undiluted Hellenic blood flows in the veins of the Christian population of present-day Greece.

We greeks have the blood of the ancient greeks. Even the events on ancient and modern greek history are almost the same. Leonidas with 300 spartans fought against 800.000 persians and papaflesas fought with 300 soldiers at 1825 against 15.000 turks.