The Fallen Eagle: A Byzantine Empire AAR

After the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Empire remained much as it had before the war started. In addition to the war granting the Empire very little in the way of actual gains, it had also kept the Imperial Treasury emptied throughout the conflict. Precious few economic reforms had taken place during his father’s war filled reign, however inflation was kept low by the constant spending.
Mikhael XI Palaiologos was eager to begin improving the Empire’s economy once more, for both the good of the Empire as a whole, and to win the support of the common people by giving them more of what they needed the most, bread, fish and cheap cloth.

While the commoners had always been extremely reverent and respectful of the Emperor, Mikhael knew that maintaining this loyalty amongst them was essential in order to maintain his absolute authority. While the majority of the bourgeoisie were still supporters of the Emperor‘s absolute power, a growing minority were beginning to oppose him rather vocally at times, going as far as to surround the palace.
As his father had, Mikhael knew that he could not simply put such displays down as he would a revolt, as it could easily inflame the other burghers and in the end weaken his support further.

Mikhael was determined not to lose the absolute power that he considered to be his divine right. He surrounded himself with men who knew were loyal to him and to the throne, and sought their advise on how to deal with issue constantly.
Mikhael himself was an extremely capable ruler, well learned and educated, and with a natural affinity for international politics and economic planning. He understood the changing situation in Europe; even most ‘Absolute Monarchies’ had some form of legislative assembly that would gather periodically to discuss important issues and even enact laws, they had for centuries in fact.

Mikhael knew the history of such assemblies as well. Indeed, it was the Roman Republic’s Senate that was the inspiration of such gatherings. However, the Roman Senate effectively came to the end in the later part of the 1st millennium AD, though the office of Senator persisted centuries after as an honorary title that could be bought by anyone. After the fall and recapture of Constantinople however, even this had ended. Since then, the Emperor had ruled the Empire without any such legislative assembly, only occasionally relying on the Megas Doux, or ‘Mega Duke’ to aide him in his rule. But even this ended in the later 15th century under the brutal rule of Andreas I (1469 - 1475).

Since then, the Emperor’s power had been one of, if not the most singular and absolute in all of Europe. This was only further reinforced during the reign of Zoe II (1604 - 1620), in which the Dynatoi, the Aristocracy of the Empire, were heavily reined in by the Empress after a series of bloody revolts against her.
After this, the succeeding Emperors had ruled without question, their authority absolute and without limit. It was a form of Absolutism that easily rivaled Louis XIV’s own. Mikhael XI found himself faced with the prospect of losing the power that his predecessors had worked so diligently to gain for the throne, a power that was often won amidst a river of blood.

The Emperor knew he couldn’t simply do away with the burghers who opposed him however, their numbers being too great. Even though those who opposed him were still a minority, they were a sizable one, making up an estimated 30% of the Bourgeoisie within the mainland Empire. As long as they were close to Constantinople, the Emperor knew they would remain a threat to the power of the Imperial throne.
The Emperor thus decided that in order for him to keep his power secure, he would need to first minimize this threat. In the 17th century, Constantinople had amassed a sizable overseas Empire, stretching from the Caribbean to Indonesia.
On November 7th, 1714, Emperor Mikhael had colonial charters and relocation orders issued to over 10,000 Bourgeoisie across the Empire. Many of the wealthier ones were given governorships all across the Empire’s colonies, while others were given missions to colonize various untouched regions, while the majority were simply relocated with a fair deal of compensation.

By the beginning of June, 1716, this relocation had been mostly complete, the Emperor employing many military transports in an effort to speed the process.
Though there were many protests from those whom had to be forced to leave, they were forced by the military to comply. While he had sent the most vocal and dangerous of the Bourgeoisie to the colonies, the majority of the opposition still remained, their numbers being far too great to make relocating them feasible.
Indeed, their numbers within the Empire were quite high. Nearly 20% of the Empire’s population were Bourgeoisie, making their support integral in maintaining his authority.

While the relocation had weakened those opposed to the Emperor’s absolute authority, it had by no means defeated them. The Emperor therefore decided to grant them one of their requests, but on his own terms.
On August 17th, 1717, Emperor Mikhael XI Palaiologos established the ‘Aytokratoriko Koinoboylio’, the Imperial Parliament. The Imperial Parliament, based roughly on the British model, but with its own unique structure, at its creation consisted of nearly 800 members in the Chamber of Representatives. It represented the entire mainland Empire, stretching across Italy, the Balkans, Anatolia, the middle east excluding Arabia and Persia and the entire northern coast of Africa up to the modern Moroccan border.

The Empire’s estimated mainland population at this time was roughly 60 - 65 million, though some estimates place it as high as 70 million. The roughly 800 members of the Chamber of Representatives represented a equal number of constituencies across the Empire, however the majority of these, located in either the Slavic regions of the Balkans or the Arabic regions of the Middle East/Northern Africa, did not represent the native people there, but instead only represented the small Greek, Turkish and Italian populations living in the regions. The Copts of Egypt were also permitted to vote in the elections.

Out of these people only those wealthy enough to be considered ‘Bourgeoisie’ were permitted to vote, so what this meant was that in an Empire with a population of 65 million, only about 7 - 8 million were voting. However this was still considered a sophisticated system by that days standard, and was a better electoral system than most Kingdoms had. The Imperial Parliament was bicameral, with a Chamber of Representatives (Epimelitirio ton Antiprosopon) acting as the lower chamber of parliament, while the Imperial Senate, made up almost exclusively of the most powerful landed Dynatoi in the Empire, constituted the upper chamber, which held roughly 2,000 members.

Mikhael XI knew that such a large assembly of individuals would require a considerably large space to properly accommodate them. So on October, 1713, he began the construction of one of the most monumental and epic works of early modern architecture. It was finally completed in July of 1717, after nearly 4 years of construction. Emperor Mikhael XI chose for this new work the name Agora Nymfon, for both the grandeur and beauty of its construction and for its Bourgeoisie roots.
The Agora Nymfon stood over 100 feet tall, rivaling the Hagia Sophia which sat a distance away, well in view of the new building. It was a domed structure like the Hagia Sophia, but secular in its design and architecture. Along its walls were podiums, on which stood 8 foot tall marble statues of the Roman Emperors from Mikhael VIII, the first Palaiologid Emperor, to the current Emperor, Mikhael XI.

The crest of the Palaiologid family, the double eagle, sat on the front of the roof of the structure, clear to all who entered. Inside, it was adorned yet more fascinating architecture, ranging from great works of art to the elaborate sculptures that adorned its ceiling. At the center of its main room was the parliament itself, with increasingly elevated seats moving from the center of the room to the back.
Near the back of the room, elevated above all the rest, was the Emperor’s throne, as to never let the supremacy of the Emperor’s authority be forgotten. The Agora Nymfon was one of the greatest works of architecture of its era, and a testament to the Empire’s prosperity during Mikhael XI’s reign.

However despite the grandiose work that had been attributed to them, the new found parliament of the Empire was in practice almost completely powerless. Absolute Authority still rested with the Emperor, and only he could call and dismiss parliament. Most modern historians agree that Mikhael’s reasons for establishing the parliament and for the construction of the Agora Nymfon was not out of a belief in the parliamentary system, but rather, merely as a way to calm his opposition.
After the ‘relocation’ of most of his strongest opposition to the colonies, the parliament was his last step to sedate the Burghers who opposed his absolute authority. As even if the parliament was in practice powerless, its mere existence soothed their tensions a great deal.

Emperor Mikhael opened parliament for the first time on November 21st, 1717, following the first parliamentary elections for the lower chamber. In addition to the opening of parliament, the Emperor formally chose a standard national flag for the Empire. Before this period, many different flags had been used to represent the Roman Empire. Mikhael XI chose a Golden Double-headed Eagle in front of a white cross, against a blue background as the Empire’s flag. This was significant, as the double headed Eagle was the symbol of the Palaiologid Dynasty. It asserted their right alone to rule over the Empire. Finally, standing tall above the members of the Chamber of Representatives, he delivered a rousing speech to them, which ended in great applause…

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The echoing halls of the Agora Nymfon glistened with the rays of the sun that poured in through its many windows. On this, the morning of November 21st, 1717, the elected members of the Imperial Parliament came together for the first time.
On his throne the Emperor sat, presiding over the newly opened parliament. Its members each occupied a seat, starting from the center of the room and stretching to the back of the room with ever increasing elevation. However, there were many empty seats further back, while the seats closer to the center of the room were mostly full.
This was part of the Agora Nymfon’s design. While the lower chamber of parliament currently consisted of 850 members roughly, the Emperor realized that as the population grew, so would number of ministers. The Agora Nymfon’s parliamentary hall could thus seat over 4,000 ministers if need be, truly displaying the grandeur and vision of its design.

Standing, the Emperor calmly walked forward, as flower petals were sprinkled in front of him by two young girls. Arriving at the podium, the Emperor calmly raised his hands to quiet and conversations that were going on between the ministers.
“Long ago, in the times of our ancient forefathers, existed an assembly of great men. These men stood beside the Emperors of their day, representing the will of the Roman people, and acting as valuable and trusted advisors to these early rulers.” The Emperor glanced around the room briefly, noting the ministers reactions.

“An Emperor should rule in the Name of God first, as it was He who in His Divine Wisdom, granted the right to rule to his Vicar on Earth. But he should also rule according to the needs of his people, whom bare the consequences of his decisions. He should rule with the goals of bringing them prosperity, glory and security.” He clenched his fist as he said these three words, his voice echoing through the hall.

“While an Emperor may rule his Empire, it is the people that make it. Without them there is no country, no Empire to rule. And so to them I give this parliament, reviving a lost tradition of the Empire. From this day forth, this parliament shall act as the voice of the people, and I shall always consider its advise with the utmost care and seriousness. With this assembly, we are reconnecting with our ancient past, a past that has shaped the world! And now together, we shall shape the future as well!” Mikahel XI rose his hands into the air.

“Long live the Roman Empire!” He finished as applause filled the Agora Nymfon, the ministers standing after his speech. While Mikhael XI did not intend to rule with anyone’s help, the illusion of such would serve his cause well…


Europe and the Roman Empire at 1718, note the Empire extends further west along the African coast, but was unable to get it all in the pic.


The new national flag of the Empire

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Well there you go. Hope you enjoyed that update. Also, I try and keep Europe as historical as would be reasonable in this universe, so if anyone sees any inaccuracies please feel free to point them out.

The War of the Spanish Succession was, besides its length, known for being both the height and start of many great commander’s careers. Men like Eugene of Savoy, Claude de Villars, the Duke of Vendome, Duke of Thessaloniki Alexandros Beliarious and John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough all fought in this war, pitting their genius on the battlefield against one another. However, while most of these men’s significant military careers were at their end, one notable general, Georgios Curcuas, Count of Malta, was just beginning his.

His victories during the later part of the War of the Spanish Succession were instrumental in driving France from Italy, and his personal bravery had helped push the allies to victory at Malplaquet in spite of the horrendous casualties suffered there.
Though he, along with Grand Domestic Alexandros Beliarious were outraged by their orders from Constantinople instructing them to hold their forces back during the last stages of the war, Curcuas remained loyal to the Emperor.
When Alexandros Beliarious was on his deathbed in 1715, he had written a letter to Constantinople, asking the Emperor to make Curcuas, who was still in his early 30s, his successor upon his passing. When he passed away in September, the Emperor honored his wishes, gifting him with the rank of Grand Domestic, as well as awarding his county of Malta the new status of Duchy.

Though he was originally a member of the Bourgeoisie before being awarded nobility by Emperor Konstantinos XV, he remained staunchly loyal to the Emperor, refusing to side with those opposed to his absolutism when approached by them.
He wrote in his memoirs that he considered the vow he took to his Emperor and Empire to be sacred, and that he believed there to be no greater dishonor than to break ones vows to their liege. He aided in the Emperor in relocating many burghers to the Empire’s colonies, often being made to drag some to their waiting transports by force of arms.

Though he regretted not being able to bring his Empire a decisive victory in the war, he enjoyed the peaceful period afterwards. In 1713 he married the Countess of Lesbos, who bore him a son the next year. When the Agora Nymfon finished construction in 1717, he was given a seat as a Senator within the Imperial Senate.
Being both the Duke of Malta and Count of Lesbos, as well as the Grand Domestic made him an extremely prominent member of the Senate. Though his rapid rise from a Bourgeoisie of minimal importance to one of the most powerful Dynatoi in the Empire made his peers jealous of him, the Duke of Malta was not deterred by this.

When a revolt broke out on the Empire’s Malaysian colonies in 1718, the Grand Domestic replaced the current commander of the region with his long time friend Adrianos Mauropus, in hopes that he would be able to suppress the native insurrection. He arrived in Johor later that year, organizing an army of 3,000 men to put down the revolt. Under his command the outnumbered but far better equipped army crushed the native rebels besieging Brunei, restoring order to the colony.



After his victory, the Grand Domestic gave him permanent command of the wealthy colony. While this brought accusations of Curcuas awarding his personal friends above others from his opposition, Adrianos proved to be a good choice, as he successfully put down several other revolts that broke out in the colony, and overall improved the efficiency of the Empire’s exploitation of the territory.

Curcuas also frequently met with the Emperor to discuss the state of the military. The Grand Domestic was notably concerned about what he saw as the Empire not using its full potential in war. He believed that the Empire should have been able to, with its large population and wealth of resources, raise a far larger army than the other powers during the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Emperor felt that the Grand Domestic overlooked the economic concerns of raising such armies, and the adverse affect it could have on the production of the Empire, as it would take hundreds of thousands of men away from running the refineries that produced the Empire’s wine and sugar, not to mention harming the Empire’s grain production.

The demand for grain in the Empire was far higher than in any other European state, yet most of it was domestically produced. The Emperor was highly disdainful of the possibility of having to import essential goods from the other powers.
However, despite this disagreement on the state of the military, the Emperor and the Grand Domestic generally had a good relationship, with Curcuas staunchly supporting him against his opposition in both the Imperial Senate and Chamber of Representatives. Though the parliament was powerless, the Emperor still wished to minimize his opposition within it, often relying on supportive ministers and senators to destroy the political careers of those who opposed his authority.

Despite his relatively young age, the military grew to highly respect the Grand Domestic and his natural genius on the battlefield. Though his reforms to the military were slow due to opposition from some of the old nobility, he did manage to improve many facets of the Imperial Army during his early years.

The peace the Empire had enjoyed since the end of the previous war was interrupted in 1721 however, when the Russian Tsar, known today as “Peter the Great” began referring to himself as “Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias”.
While this was a great insult to the Emperor in Constantinople, the worst part was that it freed the Russian Sovereign from his obedience to the Russian Church. Considering his previous actions against them, it seemed very likely that he would attempt to drive the Church into Heterodoxy. For Emperor Mikhael XI, this was too much. He ordered his Grand Domestic, the Duke of Malta, to lead an army to the Crimea as a warning to Peter.



The Emperor then dispatched his foreign minister to St. Petersberg, who arrived in October. He threatened Peter with war if he did not revoke his newly proclaimed title and return to being merely the Tsar of Russia.
However Peter was not impressed, having just won his war against Sweden and feeling confident in his own powerful Empire. He told the Greek foreign minister that if Mikhael wanted his title, he could come and take it from him.
Mikhael XI was allegedly enraged when he received his Russian counterparts boast, and against his Grand Domestic’s advise, declared war on Russia.

The Duke of Malta thought it unwise to go to war with Russia, especially just as winter approached. He had heard much about the severity of the Russian winters, and believed that it could potentially lead to a disaster for the Imperial Army.
However, loyal to his Emperor to a fault, he assembled an army 90,000 men and marched into the Russian Crimea, ready to face whatever hardships awaited he and his men…

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There you go. Read and reply.

Battle for Crimea​

Following the harsh exchange between the two Orthodox Emperors, Grand Domestic Georgios Curcuas had marched out of Theodosia with an army of roughly 90,000 men and 110 cannon. Though concerned about the coming winter, he refused to go against Emperor Mikhael XI’s orders, even at his commander’s protests.
The winter snow had yet to fall, and Grand Domestic Curcuas was eager to win a decisive victory before late December when it would begin to fall. Quickly capturing the town Saky without opposition, Curcuas pressed his army onward, marching them in some cases day and night, hoping to take as many strategic points as possible before the Russian Army arrived in order to better exploit the resources of the region better during winter.

On November 13th the port city of Eupatoria fell to the Roman army, giving Curcuas control of most of the Crimean coast. The Russian Imperial Army had not expected such a swift and rapid attack by the Grand Domestic, and so were unable to prevent the valuable port from falling into their enemy’s hands.
On November 19th however, a large Russian army of over 100,000 men entered into the Crimea, determined to push Curcuas out. These two large army’s however were restricted by the relatively small Crimean peninsula, thus preventing an immediate decisive encounter between them.

Instead, Russian general Mikhail Golitsyn instructed his men to construct a series of fortifications stretching from coast to coast near the site of the modern city of Dzhankoy. His intention was to wait until the Russian winter began, as he knew that even with supplies coming from the sea, the Greek army would be in far worse supply than his own. Grand Domestic Curcuas, though apparently privy to what his foe was trying to do, found it difficult to decide on a course of action, as simply attacking the Russian fortifications head-on could result in heavy casualties, which would make the coming winter all the worse on his men’s morale and strength.

However, waiting was even less of an option. He knew that Golitsyn had the numerical advantage, and had soldiers who were use to the cold of winter. If he were to wait, they would surely attack when the snow began to fall.
Man per man, the Roman army was superior to their Russian foes. Their soldiers were far better trained, and somewhat better equipped as well. Grand Domestic Curcuas wished to exploit these advantages to their fullest in order to defeat their enemy’s superior numbers on their own turf.


Initial positions of the two armies. Dark Green represents Russian territory, Blue Byzantine. Red blocks are Roman, Brown are Russian. Light blue are Roman reserves while orange are Russia's.

He drew up a battle plan that he hoped would exploit his army’s advantages in training and discipline, and minimize the Russians numerical advantage. The Russian fortification was still relatively light, as it had to stretch across the Crimea and they had had little time to construct it, so it was hardly impregnable.
In light of this, Curcuas decided he would open his attack with a massive assault on the Russian’s left wing. He would be sending almost all of his leftmost divisions against them, while moving only a single unit of reserves forward to cover their advance.


First stage of Curcuas' plan.

On November 29th the Duke of Malta ordered the assault to begin. Early in morning his troops began their advance under the cover of the Roman cannon. Over 30,000 Greek troops were involved in the assault, against a concentrated Russian force of roughly 15,000. The Roman troops quickly began pouring through the makeshift fortifications, pressing the outnumbered and outgunned Russians back.
General Golitsyn was reported to have laughed when he first received word of Curcuas rash attack, thinking him mad. The Russian General ordered his western-most reserves to reinforce the leftwing and hold the line. The strong attack against the Russian left had actually weakened the Roman’s centre, leaving it highly vulnerable. Almost half of the centre divisions had been committed to the assault, leaving a relatively small number of men to guard the crucial centre.

Seemingly tasting victory, Golitsyn ordered his remaining reserve divisions as well as his own centre to launch a full scale assault against the weakened Roman centre. The attack was both quick and brutal, the outnumbered Greek centre being assaulted with the full force of the Russian army. Though the remaining western reserves were shifted to attempt to hold the line against the Russians, the Roman troops continued to just barely hold out against the relentless onslaught.


Russian counterattack

Unknown to Golitsyn however, this had all been part of the Duke of Malta’s plan. Though he had seemingly left his center open to attack, this was only a ploy in order to make the Russian’s commit all of their reserves into trying to breach their line.
The Russians now no longer had any reserves left, as though they had outnumbered the Romans, Golitsyn had divided his reserves into two larger units, while Curcuas had split his into four relatively small, but more mobile ones.
With all of his foe’s reserves now pinned down, Curcuas ordered the eastern part of his army to attack a concentrated section of the Russian rightwing. He committed all of his eastern reserves into the assault as well, giving the Romans the numerical advantage.


Final stage of Grand Domestic's plan.

Against the powerful and concentrated Roman assault, the Russian right began to crumble. With his reserves already deeply committed to both the centre and to the left, Golitsyn found it incredibly difficult to pull them out in order to reinforce the collapsing line in the east. Finally, the Roman attack completely breached the eastern part of the Russian fortifications, smashing the remaining divisions not already in retreat.
With his eastern flank destroyed, Golitsyn’s troops morale plummeted, as the eastern Roman divisions circled around and attacked the already engaged Russian centre. Fearing capture, Golitsyn discarded his officers uniform and donned a regular soldiers. He quickly fled into Ukraine as the Romans overwhelmed the Russian army, assisted by local serfs in his escape.

Other than the few lucky stragglers, most of the Russian army was surrounded and captured. Moving forward to block off the narrow land bridge between Crimea and the Ukraine, the Roman army forced the Russians to lay down their arms.
The prisoners were soon sent to Constantinople, where they were paraded through the streets to the cheers of the populace. All of Crimea had fallen into the hands of the Roman Empire in the opening months of the war, a humiliating defeat for the Russian Empire. However the Russian army was far from defeated. While the loss of the Crimean army was indeed a painful and embarrassing loss, it caused the Russian Emperor to realize the seriousness of the war he was now involved in. He used the massive population of his Empire to assemble a new army, and ordered Golitsyn to retake the Crimea at all costs.

Peter himself was close to taking personal command of his army after Golitsyn’s failure, but the old soldier pleaded with the Emperor for another chance, reminding him of the brutal efficiency with which he handled the Finns in the Great Northern War.
Winter soon began, but with the Crimea securely under Roman control, supplies were sufficient to prevent heavy attrition, and the Roman army fortified itself there until Spring. The Russian army stood on the other side of the land bridge to Crimea, awaiting for the Roman’s inevitable attack once the winter snow had thawed.


Positions of the two armies at the end of the year.

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There you go. Hope you enjoyed that. Expect more soon, I'm on a roll. PS: Yeah, I know the maps are kind of makeshift, but they get the point across.

Well, some of them are events I grabbed from aberration which give your cores on newly gained regions after a while. The others I add myself once I've held the the territory for like a hundred to two hundred years.

Usually I only go a couple of years ahead of my AAR in my game.

M4 Emperior said:

AAR is supa. Yh... from who u have the flag/shieldset?

Click to expand...

I had someone make them for me in the flag thread in the EU2 modifications section. I'll give them to you if you PM me your e-mail.

Following the Roman victory in the Crimea, the Greek army under Grand Domestic Georgios Curcuas settled in for the winter, well supplied by sea and by the peninsula’s resources. Their position in Crimea was solid, with the narrow land bridge connecting it to Russia being protected by hastily built, but sturdy fortifications.
For the winter at least, it appeared that neither Empire would be able to go on the offensive against the other. However, Russian general Mikhail Golitsyn had decided it would be foolhardy to wait till spring, when the Greeks would surely renew their attack.

He knew however that it would likely be a costly and futile effort to attempt to the breach the Roman fortifications in the Crimea, so he instead turned his attention to the Caucasus. Only around 40,000 Roman troops had been sent to protect the area, which was far larger than the Crimea.
Knowing that Constantinople would not expect a large attack by them in the winter, Golitsyn assembled an army of 60,000 men in Russia, and placed them under the command of a young and aspiring commander named Semen Soltikov.


The Caucasus, prior to the Russian invasion

Despite the chill of winter, the men of the Russian army were far more use to the cold than their foe, and were better equipped to deal with it as well. Though one wouldn’t say it was comfortable for them to fight in winter, they were certainly able to do so.
On January 12th, Soltikov attacked the Roman fortress of Kutaisi, the fortress falling after only one day of intense bombardment by the Russian cannon. After taking the strategically important fortress, which had guarded a pass in the Caucasian mountains, he marched forward, looting any villages in his path for supplies.

The Caucasian army under Dynatoi Dabatenus Lampenos, quickly marched in the direction of the Russian army, attempting to head them off before they could enter the lower Caucasus. The two armies met on January 24th near the town of Kazak, in northern Azerbaijan. The Russian army was roughly 60,000 men strong, while the Roman army only had roughly 40,000 men.
Worse yet, the Roman general, Dabatenus Lampenos, was appointed by the Grand Domestic against his better judgment due to pressure from his fellow Dynatoi in the Imperial Senate. He had asked the Emperor to overrule them, but Mikhael XI rejected his request, not wishing to weaken the Dynatoi too much, as he hoped they would come into conflict with the Bourgeoisie in the lower chamber, keeping both too embroiled in their struggles against one another to oppose his authority.

Dabatenus could be considered something of an armchair general. He had never served in any military position that placed him within danger before; he tended to remain in his command tent, dictating orders to his commanders while relying completely on reports from his scouts to come up with his strategy.
He would also constantly overrule the tactical advise of his more seasoned or experienced commanders, who knew the terrain better than himself, and would often come up with extravagant plans that were almost impossible to carry out with the days relatively primitive communication technologies.

Combined with his enemy’s numerical superiority and his own Greek soldier’s poor tolerance for the Caucasian winter, this put the Imperial army at a great disadvantage. Despite being in their own territory, the Imperial army faired poorly against their Russian adversaries. Freezing in the unfamiliar cold, the soldiers were slow in firing their muskets, as well as sluggish when it came to melee encounters.
While the Russians suffered from the cold as well, they were far better adapted to the conditions than their Mediterranean counterparts, and were able to maintain their notorious aggressiveness in battle.

On top of this, General Dabatenus’ strategy was overly complicated, confusing his commanders, and requiring impossible feats of speed from his gallopers. This lead to the Russians, using a more simplified an efficient plan of attack, outmaneuvering the Roman army, and smashing their center with a strong bayonet charge.
The Russian cavalry, arguably the only cavalry in Europe, excluding Poland’s, capable of standing toe to toe with the Romans following this ran down the rest of the Roman army who broke into a disorganized rout following the center’s collapse. The Battle of Kazak ended in a humiliating and crushing defeat for the Empire.

General Dabatenus was captured and sent to Saint Petersburg, where he would remain until the end of the war when his family paid to have him returned, the Emperor not interested in even negotiating the “fool’s” release.
Following this defeat by the Russians, Grand Domestic Curcuas quickly sent orders to Anatolia for another army to be assembled when word reached him. The defeat itself was disastrous, almost the entire Roman army had been annihilated or captured, in part due to death in the freezing cold once they had been scattered and separated.
Curcuas was now tempted to take command of the army assembling in Anatolia, but feared leaving his troops in the Crimea, which would mean a delay in his planned spring offensive.

Emperor Mikhael was determined not to make this a defensive war, as many of the Empire’s people were still bitter about the long and mostly non-beneficial war not even 10 years prior. He gave Curcuas permission to assign whomever he felt could best lead the Anatolian army to victory, but demanded he remain in Crimea to continue his planned attack. Following these orders, Curcuas appointed the young but talented Eustratios Asidenos. He had managed to impress the Grand Domestic, being appointed as his Center Commander the previous year.
Promoting him to General, he sent him to Anatolia to take command of the new legion that had been raised there.


Caucasus after Russian victory at the Battle of Kazak

The war between the Roman and Russian Empire’s went beyond a clash of arms however. In early 1722, Emperor Mikhael XI Palaiologos, together with the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Rome and Alexandria, officially anathemized Emperor Peter Alexeyevich Romanov.
This rocked the Orthodox world, as Peter, when word reached him of his excommunication, similarly with his appointed “Holy Synod” anathemized the Emperor in Constantinople in response. The original Anathemization by Mikhael XI was brought on by Peter’s persecution of the original Patriarch of Moscow, driving his traditional teachings into heterodoxy in Russia.

This placed the tensions between the Emperors at an all time high. Many in the Empire at this point feared that this event could possibly lead to a second great Schism, if something were not done to prevent it…

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There you go. Read and reply.