(This is an AAR as the Roman Empire in the Mongolian Empire scenario (0.23 beta with 1.07 Feb. 7 beta ) I hope you enjoy it.)
Part the First, in which War is made on the pagan Petchenegs and the Normans of Sicily
My name is unimportant. I’m just a Roman bureaucrat in this, the Year of Our Lord 1150, just one more in a long line reaching back, to before Constantine I founded his new capital on the site of ancient Byzantium, before Gaius Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, indeed before Brutus overthrew the Tarquin kings. Remove me, and ten thousand more are ready to take my place.
I was hired in January, 1150, when His Imperial Majesty, Manuel, Emperor of the Romans, etc., etc., decreed an increase in the Imperial Service.(1) My first task was to arrange for the feast commemorating the new alliance with Wallachia and the vassal states of Serbia and Zeta. Shortly afterwards, I was summoned into the Imperial presence. “It is Our will that Trabzond remain part of Our realm in five years time. See to it that this is published throughout our Empire. After We celebrate Our marriage to the sister-in-law of Our good friend, Conrad, King of the Germans(2), We are leaving for Dobrudja, to make war on the Petchenegs. Their presence on Our borders offends Us.”
After the emperor left with the army, Coutess Beatrice of Edessa visited the palace. “My husband the Count is in the hands of the Infidel Ayyubids, who have also overrun our lands. If the Emperor would be so kind as to provide the funds needed for the ransom, I will sign over to him our claim to the county.” I sent off a query to His Majesty, with the notation that due to the state of the treasury, we would need to take a loan. It came back marked “Approved.”(3)
The Emperor was back before Christmas. “We have decided to allow the Petchenegs to continue their miserable existence after they ceded their claims to Crimea, Bujak and Moldova to Us. The continued raiding of Our realm by the Norman kings of the Two Sicilies offends us. After We put down the latest unrest in Corfu, We intend to punish them.”(4,5)
Well, it took him a while to chase the last rebel out of the mountains of Corfu, but in December of 1152 he was ready, and I sent the declaration of war he’d previously had prepared to King Roger in Palermo. The schismatic in Rome foolishly decided to support his Norman ally, while our allies supported us – Zeta eagerly, Serbia and Wallachia with some reluctance. This war took a while longer, but in September of 1055 the Pope surrendered most of his so-called Donation of Constantine to Constantine’s true heir, and by the end of 1056 the King of Sicily had his realm reduced to the western half of that island plus the tiny island of Malta.(6)
(1) Increased centralization
(2) Event: The Two Emperors
(3) Event: Emperor Manuel and the Countess Beatrice
(4) Event: The struggle for Southern Italy
(5) Event: A revolt!
(6) Papal States surrenders Marche, Romagna & 55d; Sicily surrenders Napoli, Apulia & Messina.
Part the First, in which War is made on the pagan Petchenegs and the Normans of Sicily
My name is unimportant. I’m just a Roman bureaucrat in this, the Year of Our Lord 1150, just one more in a long line reaching back, to before Constantine I founded his new capital on the site of ancient Byzantium, before Gaius Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, indeed before Brutus overthrew the Tarquin kings. Remove me, and ten thousand more are ready to take my place.
I was hired in January, 1150, when His Imperial Majesty, Manuel, Emperor of the Romans, etc., etc., decreed an increase in the Imperial Service.(1) My first task was to arrange for the feast commemorating the new alliance with Wallachia and the vassal states of Serbia and Zeta. Shortly afterwards, I was summoned into the Imperial presence. “It is Our will that Trabzond remain part of Our realm in five years time. See to it that this is published throughout our Empire. After We celebrate Our marriage to the sister-in-law of Our good friend, Conrad, King of the Germans(2), We are leaving for Dobrudja, to make war on the Petchenegs. Their presence on Our borders offends Us.”
After the emperor left with the army, Coutess Beatrice of Edessa visited the palace. “My husband the Count is in the hands of the Infidel Ayyubids, who have also overrun our lands. If the Emperor would be so kind as to provide the funds needed for the ransom, I will sign over to him our claim to the county.” I sent off a query to His Majesty, with the notation that due to the state of the treasury, we would need to take a loan. It came back marked “Approved.”(3)
The Emperor was back before Christmas. “We have decided to allow the Petchenegs to continue their miserable existence after they ceded their claims to Crimea, Bujak and Moldova to Us. The continued raiding of Our realm by the Norman kings of the Two Sicilies offends us. After We put down the latest unrest in Corfu, We intend to punish them.”(4,5)
Well, it took him a while to chase the last rebel out of the mountains of Corfu, but in December of 1152 he was ready, and I sent the declaration of war he’d previously had prepared to King Roger in Palermo. The schismatic in Rome foolishly decided to support his Norman ally, while our allies supported us – Zeta eagerly, Serbia and Wallachia with some reluctance. This war took a while longer, but in September of 1055 the Pope surrendered most of his so-called Donation of Constantine to Constantine’s true heir, and by the end of 1056 the King of Sicily had his realm reduced to the western half of that island plus the tiny island of Malta.(6)
(1) Increased centralization
(2) Event: The Two Emperors
(3) Event: Emperor Manuel and the Countess Beatrice
(4) Event: The struggle for Southern Italy
(5) Event: A revolt!
(6) Papal States surrenders Marche, Romagna & 55d; Sicily surrenders Napoli, Apulia & Messina.
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