Rome AARisen - a Byzantine AAR

Okay, long reply list this time! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week.

Plushie - Well, here's the tally as I have it:

- Bagrat Komnenos assassinated
- Anteminos Katzamourdes assassinated
- Pope Innocent III murdered
- Agnes de Beaumont assassinated
- Manuel killed
- Anteminos Komnenos killed
- Rodrigo Jimenez

So in terms of names, the body count stands at seven. I am not counting the assassins who died "on the job" in this total (at least two were killed), nor am I counting all the distant scions of the Jimenez clan who were knocked off in various parts of Spain. I also did not count Lope de Normandie, as I did not make his fate explicit (he may, or may not, have been knocked off). In terms of overall deaths, yes, we're in the realm of ten so far...

AlexanderPrimus - In many ways, Mehtar is what Nikolaios was afraid of becoming - someone so beholden to his emotional ties to someone (Ioannis in Nik's case) that he makes a whole series of foolish mistakes and errors. As for Rodrigo, the man went down in flames... literally. *bah dum ching*

Milites - Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned - save a woman who's been betrayed and had her eldest son murdered. I don't think Drogo knows what kind of avalanche he might have set off...

Nikolai - Sophie is, indeed, in Spain. Alot will depend on how well she can help guide the leaderless Exarchates in the face of the coming storm. Thomas has struck hard, but not nearly as hard as the sound of imperial armies marching across Hispania...

The_Archduke - Yes, he grand scheme is now open to the public. She wanted to off Heraklios and Thomas, so her hand trained son Anteminos could take the crown with Mommy Dearest as the Regent. Now, she's left with emotionally damaged Thomas Jr. As for Mehtar, he's disappearing from the tale for a little bit, but he will have a HUGE role to play later on...

phargle - First, thank you for the critique! I like suggestions! Oh, I cheated alot. I definitely have been using the femme fatale cliche quite a bit (read, too much XD) lately, so you definitely have a fair point. It's fun to write, though... and I promise you that soon (soon being sometime before the end of the year) I will introduce a female character that is decidedly NOT of that genre, but one I think people will like nonetheless. The basic idea of how Rodrigo would die was easy to come up with (nothing is a more fitting end for a playboy than going out a la Rockefeller ), but AP in a brainstorm with me came up with the idea of Rodrigo's last vengeance, taking his assassin with him. That little piece of brilliance was all his idea! Once the idea was in my head, the scene just flowed - I wrote that whole thing in probably the space of thirty minutes or so.

Fulcrumvale - Things are rapidly headed towards an enormous BOOM of one kind or another. And keep in mind... last we checked, Genghis was moving about 16 years ahead of schedule...

canonized - Rodrigo was definitely a treat of a character to write. He wasn't all that strange - his character comes from a type of persona we all know from some friend or acquaintance - the guy that goes through life breezily, filled with women and money, hardly trying yet seemingly always successful. In Rodrigo's case, his vices came back to haunt him...

asd21593 - Yay, I left someone speechless!

Qorten - I've never experienced it, but I'm assuming going by fire is probably one of the worst ways to die, though she'd probably not feel herself burning. The smoke would sear her lungs first (dad was a fireman, so I know way to much about the mechanics of fire inside buildings from his stories).

Leviathan07 - Basil didn't neglect any of his sons - he just didn't know what to do with them. In fact, he gave both David and Thomas equal responsibility. It's just in his unhinged state, that's what Thomas thinks was going on. If any good could come out of it, at least for a little bit Thomas Jr. is going to be well treated...

...and yes, David would have made a much better Basilieus, but Romanion got Thomas instead...

Enewald - We're going to get caught up with Alexios shortly. I think Alexios fans will be very interested in something that is likely two updates (or two updates and an interim) away... right now Spain is rudderless. You have four exarchs, and among those Alexios is clearly the most powerful. Galicia itself is rudderless - there's no Jimenez left to take the Exarchate title...

DarthJF - You get a bad pun point! Sophie is definitely the last standing of her generation. All of the youngins are now running around, prepared to give and receive poison, with agents and assassins spread through many courts. She comes from a time when that wasn't the norm - though the rate at which various factions are chucking assassins about, I doubt there will be many trained in the art of the silent kill in a few years time at this rate...

Ksim3000 - I don't know if she'd pull a full Hajnal and try to kill both Thomas'. Thomas Jr. is her only son left, and she needs a son on the throne if she wants to be Regent. She's definitely out for Thomas' blood though, and if she can get to him, Drogo is a dead man. The question is, can she get to him?

VladAntlerkov - I'd say its more "enjoying himself" before/during/after making someone's plans go awry.

Avarri - Thomas is definitely a one man wrecking crew, as the survivors in southern Germany and Rome would attest. There's always the chance Christina's plans could go awry, and Heraklios could land on the throne. I haven't revealed quite yet how much or how little she has him wrapped around her little finger...

Carach - (To jump into the Mehtar arguments) I'd almost argue that in Mehtar's eyes, banishment might be even worse than death. He's dedicated his whole life and soul to Thomas, basically, and now he's getting denied the one thing he's wanted all this time - to be near Thomas.

Servius Magnus - Something tells me Thomas isn't the man you want reuniting an Empire. Thomas' vision of "reunification" includes a great deal of scorched earth, looted villages, and dead peasants.

Avalanchemike - :rofl: Now, if Mehtar killed both Thomas' and Heraklios, the throne would devolve to Alexios. If Alexios was dead, then the throne would be tossed amidst all the various Komnenid clans. Koutsos had a few children, they'd likely have the closest claim, but there would be a general bloodbath...

4th Dimension - Point. I'm working on a special update for all the milestones at once, and also since we've finally reached the 13th Century! It'll be a status update on the rest of Europe, along with some of the very interesting happenings, such as:

1) What happens when Knytlings and Magnussons clash.
2) Germany goes boom, part 87
3) The Rus' did what? and
4) When Scotsmen attack!

Dimmimar - Patron Saint of Walruses? *confused*




My holiday break went well until this morning, when I found out a very close family friend who has basically been a grandmother to me passed away early this morning. She was 92, and she led a full and exciting life, but right now that's only a little consolation. I'll likely be driving home for the funeral sometime next week, so the next update will be delayed until I get back - next weekend at the earliest. My goal is to have the World of 1200 Interim up by then...

Thank you all for your kind words... they mean alot, and they've been helpful during this time. I'd also like to thank you all for sticking things out this long - 100k views, 2,000 posts are all amazing numbers, and they're due mostly to my amazing readers. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Thank you very much for your support, kindness, and ideas.

So, to keep my promise from earlier, I've gone ahead and prepared an interim of how the world looks on January 1st, 1200, with special focus on areas outside of Romanion to give everyone a better idea of how things are turning out elsewhere in Europe...


The European world that awoke on January 1st, 1200 was fundamentally different from that which had awoken fifty years before. While some empires had grown immensely, others now teeter on the brink of collapse. New powers have arisen, old threats remain, and many scores have yet to be settled.

As a whole, the polarization of the European continent is shifting – where once in the 12th century the primary divide had been between East and West, Latin and Orthodoxy, the religious divide has now shifted into one that is North-South. Even before Emperor Thomas’ conquest of northern Italy, the southern part of the peninsula, with long existing ties to the Greek speaking Empire, had slowly reverted back to the religious ways of the East. In contrast, the north remains vehemently, even violently Latin in rites and custom. Spain under the Exarchates is another hodgepodge. With their more limited resources, the Exarchates had adopted more or less a policy of tolerance for the Iberian mixture of faiths – Latin Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and of course the Orthodoxy of the Exarchate lords themselves.

The dominant Christian power in the region is still the Roman Empire, rapidly approaching its namesake and ancestor in size and glory. Constantinople, cut off from ancient links to the lucrative Indian Ocean trading world by the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th and 8th centuries, has now reconnected with this enormously wealthy network of goods. Spices from Indonesia, fine porcelain from China and a host of other wares now flow into Europe, the gates of trade firmly in the hands of the Greek overlords of Egypt and the now bustling port of Alexandria. Once threatening to become a backwater, the great port city now is the second greatest in the Empire, with almost 200,000 souls within her confines. Only Constantinople, with a population now approaching 350,000, is greater.




The cold, foggy lands of Northwestern Europe have seen many changes over the past fifty years. England is titularly ruled by Louis Capet, but real power is exercised by Louis’ aged father, the dreaded Drogo II Capet of France. Drogo’s demands on the English barons, many of whom are of Norman descent and speak French as their language of court, have so far been light. The few lords that have resisted, such as the Duke of Somerset, have been stripped of their lands.

In the Gaelic lands of the British Isles, things have changed immensely. Wales finally united under the control of the Prince of Gwynedd, Llewyn ap Gruffyd, who now rules as King of the Welsh with claims to the ancient, long forgotten title of King of the Britons. Across the Irish Sea, the Emerald Isle is split much as before between the Kings of Leinster, Munster and Connaught. However, a new power is taking shape further north. With the focus on England and France further southern on Spain and the Romans, the Scots have slowly amassed a formidable amount of power. Scotland, under the powerful Dunkeld dynasty, now controls the northern third of Ireland. Additionally, the nominally independent Bishopric of Durham lies under the protection of King Peter II Dunkeld.

Even further north, across the cold gray expanse of the North Atlantic, lies the island vassals of the Norwegian crown. These lands are of little importance to the rest of Europe, though tales tell of Vikings who sailed far past Iceland, to lands known as Greenland and Vinland. Most Europeans view these claims as dubious at best.

Further south, Germany, once the center of the mighty Western Empire, is now a realm wracked by revolt. At present, Gottfried von Franken’s holdings have lost the Duchies of Pest, Ruthenia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Carinthia, as well as Upper and Lower Lorraine. The loss of the Lorraines as well as Saxony is the most telling – all three realms are mulling not just staying out of von Franken control, but kneeling before Drogo Capet, creating a Greater (and far more dangerous) Frankish Empire.



Many things in the Old Lands of the North have changed little since the days of Harald Hardrada. Great Jarls still rule much of the rugged coastline, and winter’s cold still bites deep. Pagan of all colors still hold lands in Finland, and the old ways have died hard along the Baltic coasts and deep into the Norwegian fjords. Norway herself continues to rule a large and powerful kingdom, whose eyes are more focused on the wider realm of the Atlantic than on the European heartland.

However, amongst the contests of Kings in the far north, change has slowly come. The winner in Scandanavia the past fifty years has been Sweden. Under the leadership of Magnus III, the Swedes have grown from being a mere backwater of Europe to a regional power in their own right. Magnus was quick to seize Muslim lands in Spain, taking both sections of the northwest coast as well as Majorca for the Swedish crown. Added to this has been her gains against the Danes in an ongoing conflict. From 1184-1189, the conflict seemed to have no decisive outcome in sight – the Swedes controlled the waves, the Danes had a far larger army, including Scandanavia’s first knightly core.

Aarhus changed all of that.

On September 9th, 1192, old Magnus the Sly managed to smuggle a large force of housecarls and thane infantry across the Skagerrak, landing just outside of the Danish town of Aarhus, ancestral seat of the Kings of Denmark. Resorting to pillaging tactics used by their forefathers, the Swedes took the city by surprise storm, looted and pillaged. Amongst all the relics and stores seized, by far the most important was the destruction of the stables for 150 knights scattered throughout the town. Without these mounts, the Danish mounted wing was desperately weak – a flaw that allowed the Swedes to permanently land on Jutland four years later.

As of 1200, the Swedes hold the northern half of the Jutland peninsula, and threaten to cut off Sjaelland. King Knud IV is now in desperate straits, and there is open talk of abandoning the homeland for pastures far to the south and east long since settled by his cousins…



Much has changed in fifty years in Eastern Europe. The Kingdom of the ‘Rus, once seemingly tottering despite the best efforts of outside forces to keep it together, has morphed into a powerful giant. The long and stable reign of Vassili One-Eyed, later known as the Conqueror, has made the ‘Rus into a powerful, respected, even feared force. When Basil Megaloprepis launched his punitive campaign against the Cuman in 1189, Vassili Rurikovich took note. The following year, when the Cumans were still reeling from their Abkhazian disaster, the ‘Rus invaded with an unheard of army of over 40,000. The Cumans disintegrated in the face of such a vast and powerful force, and now reside in lands past the Volga.

The One-Eyed launched several other campaigns as well, crushing pagan revolts in Livonia and Lithuania, and launching a devastating campaign against the Poles in 1194. Polish King Wladyslaw’s army was almost destroyed to a man at the Battle of the Niemen, and the Polish kingdom literally shattered. A rump state of Poland rules from Krakow, but numerous vassalages have broken away and are now independent under the nominal protection of the Kor’ol of the Rus. The largest of these, the Archbishopric of Mazovia, is arguably as powerful as the child Polish King, Stanislaw.

Latin Europe’s response to this Orthodox incursion, like that of the Romans in Italy, was fractured and haphazard at best. A small army dispatched from the Margarve of Brandenburg sailed up the Baltic and seized a few lands near Lake Ladoga, and the Order of the Teutonic Knights seized the pagan lands of Prussia in order to spread the True Faith amongst the heathen and push back the schismatic, but to no avail.

Vassili’s power is immense. Now on the throne for 16 years, it appears that the Rus are solid, strong and ready to march into a new century as a powerful, unified kingdom. There are even whispers that the One Eyed has sent petitions to Constantinople, asking to be granted a title of Basilieus in the eyes of the Roman court. Such a request would be unprecedented, and would likely ruffle the feathers of as sensitive a monarch as Emperor Thomas.

However, to the south, the chinks in the Russian armor are beginning to show. Despite his unequaled power and prestige, Vassili’s power can stretch only so far amongst the wide rivers and dense forests of Russia. In the south, just as in Poland, the Rus are fostering small statelets instead of attempting to rule outright. The Princes of Pereslavyl, once renegades from the control of the Kor’ol, are now one of two groups the Rus play off one another in order to keep power in the south.

The other player in this game of treachery is perhaps most interesting. In the steppe of Southern Russia the small Danish settlements set up by King Christian in the 1150s are now, under pressure from Pereslavyl, coalescing into states in their own right. With the inability of the Rus to exercise outright control, the refusal of the Romans to move further north, and the destruction of the Cumans, the Danes have slipped into the void, and used their locations on the Dneister and Dnepr rivers to become wealthy and powerful through tolls. The largest of these states, which controls the former city of Pereslavyl itself (now renamed Havigræs), is rapidly becoming not just the premier Danish state in southern Russia, but also the strongest Danish state in the world (with the seemingly inevitable collapse of the Old Kingdom in the north).

These Sons of Denmark no longer see themselves as kin to their distant relatives. They have taken up the horse as their neighbors once did, becoming as proficient with the bow as with the heavy bearded axe. Yet their warlike ways have not vanished. In only 1198, the Jarls marched on the city of Chernigov, crushing the Prince of Pereslavyl’s armies with a mix of Rus/steppe cavalry attacks and a heavy force of Varangian-like huscarls. Their mother tongue remains the same so far, and they have given their lands a new name – Sortmark, land of the Black Earth.



Here, in the south, lies most of the focus of European politicking for the past fifty years. Spain, once an emerald in the crown of Islam, is now divided into four Exarchates that are nominally independent though they titularly answer to the Emperor in Constantinople. Snuggled between these realms and the Roman Empire proper lay the conquests of the late Hugh Capet, brother to King Drogo, who answered the Papal call to Crusade in Spain by invading and seizing unprotected Algeria. The nobility of Algeria are notorious for their corruptibility, as well as their taking on local habits and customs at the expense of their Christian faith. Banditry and revolts make this a dangerous place for a Christian to tread outside of the well fortified coastal cities.

Along the borders of France, tensions remain high as Roman and French interests clash. Caught between these is the rather strong Archbishopric of Provence, currently the shelter for the College of Cardinals who, a year before, finally elected the Bishop of Nice as Pope Honorius III. The eyes of much of the Latin faithful have been focused on Nice, hoping that this new Pope can save the Church, and save Europe from itself.

Within the Exarchates themselves, the loss of Hyperexarch Rodrigo Jimenez and his clan has yet to reverberate within Galicia. Already, wolves in Barcelona and Basiliopolis are claiming that Tarraconensis and Lusitania should divide the lands among themselves, while as usual, the reticent and cautious Romanos Thrakesios has refused to allow Baetica to intervene. Rising tensions with Constantinople mean that Lusitania and Mauretania especially are on a war footing. It seems only a matter of time before the Mediterranean becomes a sea of woe.

Interestingly, in the center of the storm of the Exarchates lies what is perhaps the one loyal, peaceful part of Gottfried von Franken's scattered empire - the Duchy of Toledo. Part of the spoils of the Spanish Crusade taken by Emperor Heinrich VI, Toledo has been comparatively quiet - of course local Muslim-Christian clashes are prevalent, but nothing like the war and deprivation ravaging Germany proper. There is open talk that if the von Frankens need to flee their homeland, Toledo might be the ideal place to settle.