Rome AARisen - a Byzantine AAR

Carlstadt Boy - Things get worse, if you can believe it...

4th Dimension - Oh, not that many! Just the Chrysokomnenoi, Aiguptokomnenoi, Komnenoedessoi, Mavrokomnenoi, Ankyrakomnenoi, Makrinokomnenoi, Lofokomnenoi... the list goes on. Though in all seriousness, it makes sense. Part of the issue was the family had a rather decent number of surviving progeny, but they also were the most powerful family in the Christian world... everyone WANTED to marry into their ranks. And keep in mind that as much as two-thirds of these "Komnenoi" were not descended from Alexios/Demetrios' branch--there were already two preexisting branches of Komnenoi (one of which, the Antiocheans, did breed like rabbits), who spread their genes (and the family name) far and wide as well...

MajorStoffer - Not many at this point who can't trace some kind of distant lineage. Of course 300 years have gone by, which is part of the reason the blood is spread everywhere. There's also, within Romanion, a distinct lack of competition... after every early civil war in which the non-Komnenoi took part, a good deal of them got purged/blinded/exiled. Indeed, 1216 was perhaps the last major civil war sparked by people of distinctly non-Komnenid blood. From that point on, Komnenoi (or distant cousins thereof) filled most of the princely seats, and things spread from there.

TC Pilot - Timur isn't done yet, believe it or not...

asd21593 - I do believe that future historians will mark 1362 as the end of the "Fifth Empire," and the start of something different... the "Shadow Empire?" The "Age of the East?" Or perhaps the new Dark Ages, from their Romano-centric eyes?

humancalculator - Once all the history books are done, I am going to be posting a series of maps of the world in 1399, as well as (I hope) a series of regnal summaries, so you'll have maps to your heart's content!

Zzzzz... - A very distant one. The family name by this point is no longer Komnenos, however (though ibn Khaldun, writing for a Greek speaking audience, would insist on rendering it as Komnenos-Borijigin or vice versa to enforce the family's dual imperial claims). The Timurids in this world actually refer to themselves as the House of Gok Rum, literally "Blue Romans," once again, an allusion to their Roman, as well as Mongol (referencing the blue Mongol imperial banner) claims. I'd imagine in any EU3 conversion, that is how the family name would appear as well.

RedRoman - Welcome to the story! I do think writing the fall, if I had enough time before CK2, would have been gut-wrenching and difficult. I would have tried my best, however. Once this is all done, I'll also include a summary of what happened in-game during this time period as well.

BraidsMAmma - Well, the Faraud flag wasn't really specified, though I am sure with his imperial claims Timur is likely flying both the Komnenid two headed eagle, and the Mongol white eagle on blue... so partially true...

vadermath - Your Balkans question gets answered in the next ibn Khaldun section.

cezar87 - Timur is a rare Komnenos, in that he isn't blinded by the glitz and glitter of the Queen of Cities--instead he wants to make his home, his capital, the new Center of the World, and literally leaving Konstantinopolis a monstrous cluster of half-empty buildings filled with more ghosts than people, stripped bare of decoration--a skeleton, something like what became of Rome during the Dark Ages...

sarevok2 - I confirmed a while back that Andronikos was suffering from a mix of porphyria (a lack of a certain enzyme in the blood), and bipolar disorder. Incidentally, abd-Hinnawi's treatments accidentally fixed both these conditions-drinking pigs blood, in effect, artifically injected the missing enzymes into Andronikos, while the cannabis lessened (but didn't completely do away with) the mood swings associated with bipolarism. If poor Andie had access to modern medicine, he'd have to take pills for the rest of his life, but he likely would have been a fully functional, and likely formidable emperor.

Vesimir - Timur sees it as the future, and rest assured, he has plans to do the the Far East what he just finished doing to the West...

Nikolai -When writing this, I sat back and wondered "How would I write this story if I was a sanctimonious bastard who was being paid tons of cash to write a chronicle of my patron's grandfather?" Then I wrote it. Incidentally, the real ibn Khaldun was far from this--I took some liberties with the character.

To my dearest reader,

It is with humble reflection on the most momentous of events that have taken place that submit this rushed, hurried transcript. I fear my father, whose talents with paint I can scarcely match with my pen, would find fault and pass judgment on this insignificant work. I can only hope I do him, as well as my tutors and those illustrious men who trained me in the art of writing and clerksmanship that I have done them honor and pride.

It is my sincere hope that I have also done the immense events of the past fifty years a service in my chronicle. I have been aided by the grandsons of the late Despotes Thrakesioskomnenos, who have both financed my scribbles of late, as well as provided helpful information. It is to them, and the memory of their late grandfather, that I dedicate this study of the Roman Empire in the West. Our tale begins with the succession of the Basil the Magnificent in 1189. Basil left his realm divided amongst his heirs—his sons Heraklios and Thomas, and his grandson Alexios, from his eldest but late son David. Thomas, an unscrupulous and greedy ruler…

…it was Agrigento that forever severed Spain and the West from the rule of Konstantinopolis.
However, Emperor Alexios II did not live long to cherish his victory. An old man, he fell ill with dropsy in the spring of 1343. His condition worsened, despite the best efforts of doctors, and he died on March 1st, 1344, a beloved and sorely missed monarch. For his securing the independence of Iberia, he is known amongst the people there as Alexios the Great. To the ungrateful eastern mind, I am told he is called Alexios the Iberia, or Alexios the Traitor, such is the vindictiveness that runs deep in the spirit of Romans from the East.

With Alexios’ death, there began a contest for power between Alexios’ anointed heir, his second son Thomas, and Zenobios Komnenos, son of Leo, Basilieus in Karthagion and the largest vassal to the Throne in Cordoba. I am told Zenobios crudely put forth his name as Alexios’ true heir by right of might, but the Spanish nobility would not believe such nonsense, and fully backed the son of their beloved ruler. In thanks, Thomas raised the six greatest to the rank of Despotes, and appointed them viceroys to the parts of his realm. Infuriated by their refusal to crown him Emperor, Zenobios declared Karthagion whole and free, as well as named himself Megas Komnenos and made plans for war.
However, these plans came for naught, for Thomas IV, with the Despotes, formed a great and mighty army and marched on Algiers. With the rightful Emperor flew the banners of Galicia, under Ioannes Thrakesiokomnenos, Tarraconensis, under Konstantinos Bataczes, Baetica, under Basil Kantakouzenos, and even Lusitania, under the Simon de Normandie. Only Mauretania sent few troops, as her soldiers were deemed worthy of only garrison duty. Against this vast and lordly host, the false Emperor Zenobios could but muster a paltry number of sellswords. His small host was swept aside, and it seemed that Thomas would unite the realms of the West under his glorious banner, until the pestilence came.


A disease, great a foul, covered the land. It displayed its fury thus—great black buboes formed in the armpits and nethers of men and women alike, and carried them away in agony by the cartful. Fully one half of Thomas’ army perished from the malignancy, including the young, vigorous Emperor himself, on May 16th, 1351. Thomas was much beloved by his people during his short rule, and many of the grandchild of Lord Thrakesiokomnenos wonder what might have happened had the young lord remained alive and on the throne. No doubt he would have taken Karthagion, and perhaps gone further east, saving the entirety of the Roman world from the chaos and calamity that has fallen across its broad shoulders.

Now unto the stage comes Ioannes Thrakesiokomnenos. He was a Prince of the theme of Asturias, raised to Despotes of Galicia by Thomas, a man he regarded as his greatest friend. Thrakesiokomnenos was, it has been told to me, of broad shoulder and great height, with golden locks and eyes as blue as the sky. His frame was filled with muscle from training as a man of war, and his mind was sharp and keen. Only men of such great stature and mental fortitude are prepared to change history, and the Iberians were fortunate that Thrakesiokomnenos appeared when God ordained.

On the death of the Emperor, Thrakesiokomnenos organized the remains of the army, and led it back to Iberia in good order. As the disease had also struck the soldiers of Zenobios, the false ruler was unable to follow up with a pursuit. On his return, Thrakesiokomnenos discovered the land under false, even ignorant misrule. With the death of the Emperor and his son Gabriel II but a youth, the Regency had fallen to the wife of the late Emperor, Empress Maud, daughter of the King of Burgundy. Maud was a flippant and foolish woman, inclined to dancing and merriment, not the grim necessities of rule. In an effort to finance her exorbitant lifestyle, she freely raided from the imperial treasury, and then levied the most heinous taxes against the nobles and the people in the midst of their misery.

Thrakesiokomnenos could not stand by and watch such horrors happen. He aroused the people and the nobility to anger, and with his army marched on Cordoba and forced Empress Maud to abandon her false Regency. In their wisdom, the nobility of Iberia and Mauretania declared Thrakesiokomnenos Regent in her stead—the beginning of 40 years of wise and just governance. Thrakesiokomnenos continued the wise policies of Thomas IV in the name of the young Gabriel, increasing the power of the imperial viceroys, while streamlining tax and legal codes.


However, Maud’s influence on her young son ran deep. Gabriel II grew to be stooped, thin of shoulder, without his father’s steel or his grandfather’s spine. When the young Gabriel reached his majority in 1367, he was a rash youth, full of vim, vigor, but little sense and even less regard for the welfare of his people. On hearing news of the sudden death of Zenobios Komnenos, and the difficulties Anastasios Komnenos had establishing control over his brother’s lands, Gabriel immediately wanted to make war, in the name of his father’s memory. However, Thrakesiokomnenos knew the will of the people was not up for war, or its ruinous effect on the treasury and the lifeblood of youth in the nation. It is most fortunate that Thrakesiokomnenos had the support of Mother Church in his opinion. Together, the two quietly shunted Gabriel to a monastery the following year, where he could spent the rest of his days learning the Christian values of peace, charity, and love for thy neighbor.


In Gabriel’s place was raised his younger brother, Konstantinos, a most peaceable and quiet child, known for his gentleness, kindness, and his willingness to listen to the wise counsel of Ioannis Thrakesiokomnenos. The first such counsel was the counsel of peace, for evil men did conspire against Cordoba within Iberia, and Thrakesiokomnenos deemed these men more of a threat than a distracted and tenuous Anastasios in Italy. Thus, he sent legations to Sicily, with an offer of peace. The two parties negotiated, nad came to a compromise whereby the Principality of Algiers would be made an independent state between their spheres, while Konstantinos XII would recognize Anastasios III as lawful ruler of Italy, Karthagion and the East, and Anastasios would recognized Konstantinos as lawful ruler of Mauretania, Iberia and the West. The treaty was signed in Karthagion in 1372, and for his efforts, the great Ioannes Thrakesiokomnenos was named Megaslogothetes and Viceroy of Iberia, to speak in all matters with the voice and power of Emperor Konstantinos himself…

MajorStoffer - Well, as of when we last saw it was. The first part of Froissart covers up until roughly 1368, so there are 31 years left for things to happen in the Spanish Empire. Froissart's final section (the final regular update to the AAR) will explain what happens in the West after this. As for the Palaiologi, they're probably still around, long since merged into one of the Komneno-x families that are running amok.

RGB - Well, in the West Thrakesiokomnenos did what Albrecht never managed to do--sit a puppet fully on the throne, without challenge or question, and rule from behind the scenes. There's 31 years left in the West, so we'll have to see how he does. Meanwhile... yes, someone had to see Konstantinopolis for what it was... a siren, calling men to their doom. Timur has far grander plans for his realm than simply moving his capital west...

Unrepentant One - Chances are it would've ended up far more stable than you will soon find out... and please, after the story is done, keep posting comments as you catch up! I will still reply to them, even after all the maps, regnal summaries and tidying up is finished!

humancalculator - Tangentially, yes. However, most of the 1399 information on them is going to come from the map updates... they're going to get one of their own.

Zzzzz... - Or so numerous the Empire couldn't support their scavenging... take your pick! lol And yes, the final update (barring an emergency) will be coming tomorrow night. I have the text for it done already, I just need to do the graphics!

JackTheRipper21 - I don't know... if people really want to, I might do one last narrative update on what happened to Theodoros if I have time... (what I think happened to him at least lol) And yes, Andronikos unfortunately taught all his children too well it seems like...

RedRoman - Oh, Konstantinopolis was just a warm up for our Sidirios... and I wouldn't go so far to say that the Komnenoi are powerless now... look at the name of the puppetmaster in the West--Thrakesiokomnenos? The Komnenoi are so widespread that it hardly matters who is master and who is puppet, chances are both are descendents of Komnenoi...conquest by lack of trousers!

vadermath - Easily. They just have to hold it together. The West has been a part of the Empire for 200 years, but there are still rifts between the more rural north and the more urban south, between the various layers of Latins in the north and the Andalusian and Greek speakers of the south. It's a unified realm for now, but it's by no means homogenous...

Panjer - As you'll soon see, Anastasios is quite determined...





The following are the words of Abu Zayd ibn Khaldun…

…On Lord Timur’s capture of Konstantinopolis, he immediately set to work righting the wrongs in that tortured city. He immediately defrocked and stripped the Patriarch of Konstantinopolis, a creature appointed by the vile Anastasios, and raised up Theodoros Mavrodukas, a righteous and holy man. Mavrodukas then crowned my Lord Timur Megas Komnenos, as well as Lord of the Ister and the Nile, King of Syria, Jerusalem, Egypt, Croatia, and Serbia. In addition to these titles, Timur declared himself Shahjahan, or Lord of the World. The illustrious Timur was clever enough to know to rule these lands he would be forced to stay in Konstantinopolis, and his beloved Samarkand called to him. So, he sent for the son of Petros Komnenos, Isaakios, who had fled to Egypt after his father’s defeat, and offered him the title Basilieus to rule Konstantinopolis in Timur’s name. Isaakios agreed, but like all the men of the blood of Andronikos, his word was a good as the bite of a viper.


Anastasios, his minions defeated, retreated to Italy, and there conspired with dark and duplicitous men to murder his own brother Zenobios. A mysterious fire in Karthagion carried away Zenobios and his entire family, soon after the the would be lord had survived an assault by the armies of Thomas, Emperor of the Romans in the West. Without any issue, his lands devolved to the hands of Anastasios, who promptly filled the air with false promises and vile lies offering contrition for his base acts. He bribed the greedy Patriarch of Karthagion with lands in Italy, including Benevento, a land of grapes and honey I am told. However, other churchmen stood true and firm—both Santiago, as well as Patriarch Mavrodukas decried Anastasios as the Antichrist he was, and declared all true Christians should oppose him.

With Isaakios seated in Konstantinopolis as Basilieus and viceroy, as well as a great and mighty host under Hamid Barsai left behind to secure his holdings, Lord Timur set out to secure the southern reaches of his domain. In 1364, he marched on the Levant, receiving the supplications of the Logothetes ton Mousolmanoi, and raising that man to the title Despotes of the Levant, as well as a Vizier within the Imperial Court. In 1365, the Aionite Princes of Egypt also knelt, and in his magnanimity the Shahjahan allowed them to keep their rank and title, and even appointed them Viziers of the West, with orders to secure the African coast in the Shahjahan’s name. Thus consolidating and setting the lands of his realm to rights, Shahjahan Timur returned to Samarkand in 1368 with all the riches of Konstantinopolis, in worldly, spiritual, and intellectual ways.

However, all was not right in the West. The Romans always have been a ruthless people, known to renege on their word or cut down a friend at a moment’s notice. This is the most likely reason why the Persians still have a saying – “Trust what your donkey says more than you trust a Roman.” Isaakios Komnenos sought to convince Patriarch Mavrodukas to crown him Megas Komnenos, but the Patriarch, a loyal man despite his ancestry, refused. Bereft of money or soldiers, the treacherous Isaakios turned to Zenobios Komnenodukas, the Prince of Tarnovo, a great warrior and leader of men.


Komnenodukas bears mentioning. Many sources say he was the son of a sellsword and a prostitute, while others say he was borne of a witch. I do not ascribe any truth to these rumors—they are the types of thing the common peasant would believe, not an educated man. Komnenodukas was, to the best of my knowledge, the bastard of a great and noble family who, through ability and unbridled ambition, rose to be named a Prince of the realm by the hand of Anastasios. Eager to keep his lands Komnenodukas led a deputation from Greece and the lands of the Ister, kneeling to the Shahjahan and promising him eternal loyalty.

Like all men of Roman blood, however, Komnenodukas’ heart turned to treachery. He conspired with the unscrupulous Isaakios II and the equally treasonous Balkan lords, who did bring their armies into Konstantinopolis and drove out the loyal men of Barsai. Komnenodukas’ success found him more duplicitous men to follow his banner, and by 1374 his men had secured the entirety of Greece and the Balkans for their lord and master… who was not the self-proclaimed Emperor Isaakios, whose rightful due had finally come forth.

As all treasonous men, Isaakios was suspicious, and ordered the arrest of Komnenodukas that same year. However, he had lost the trust of his army, who were now men of Komnenodukas. Instead of arresting their paymaster, then men arrested their unlawful Emperor. Faced with the betrayal, Komnenodukas ordered Isaakios blinded, and named his brother Michael to the throne, to reign as Michael VIII. Michael’s constitution was weak, his mental fortitude even weaker, which proved useful to Komenodukas’ plans.


However, greedy eyes abroad noticed the commotion in the empty Queen of Cities. Anastasios had regained his footing in Italy, and bolstered with levies from his brother’s lands, as well as a treaty with the Western Emperor Konstantinos XII, Anastasios landed in Dyrrachion, a place he deemed lucky due to his previous success there. Faced with such provocation, Komnenodukas was forced to muster his armies and march west in 1378. Both men fielded brittle and ill-led forces, and both were bent on glory or death, much to the detriment of their soldiers. Anastasios moved with ghastly haste, and by 1379 had taken Thessalonike.

It was on July 7th that year I am told, that Komnenodukas army of 15,000 met Anastasios’ larger force of 20,000 near the town of Kavala. For the martial minded, I shall include the following: Komnenodukas’ army was mostly thematakoi and levies, from his provinces and those of his fellow conspirators, while Anastasios’ had a few of the Perso-Italian nobility, many levies, as well as sellswords. The battle was roughly handled by both sides, with a score of blunders according to eyewitnesses. Nonethelesss, Anastasios emerged from the crucible of war triumphant once more, while Komnenodukas was killed. As for the hapless Michael, he and his family were captured at Adrianopolis, and castrated and blinded. The nobility who backed Komnenodukas were shattered in an afternoon—those that were no killed fled with their families into the lands of the Hungarians.


It was thus that Anastasios III reentered Konstantinopolis once again, and began a fearful campaign of revenge amongst the survivors in the city. The poor populace had only just begun to recover from the previous siege brought on by the Shahjahan, when Anastasios’ fearful vengeance fell upon them. I have heard from reputable men that no less than 10,000 were executed on that fearful man’s orders, while scores of thousands were violated in the most hideous ways by his loathsome armies. Patriarch Mavrokomnenos refused to place the crown on Anastasios’ head and was arrested and condemned as a Persian heretic, while the Antichrist did appoint a minion of his own to the office.

In the face of such brutality, the people and the nobility did justly want to rise in arms. With the nobility of the Balkans broken or now Anastasios’ men, it was left to the great lords of Anatolia to try to pull the Crown of Caesars from the mud. As one, they did call to the Shahjahan, and begged him to march West once more to destroy the usurper once and for all. However, my Lord Timur was already on campaign in the lands of China. He did promise them that he would march West forthwith, with a great and mighty host, to set their affairs aright and destroy Anastasios once and for all.

Sadly, the Lord had other plans for Timur. While conducting a winter march across the Gobi desert in February of 1384, the Shahjahan caught a chill which turned into a fever. Despite the efforts the best medicuses available, including myself, the Lord saw fit to call Sidirios Megas, known as Timur Borzog in Farsi, home to Paradise. It is an eternal shame to my name that I was unable to do more for the mortal body of the greatest lord the world has ever known, but I am comforted that his immortal soul is safely in Paradise, where he joins a thousand angels in continuous praise of God. Thus passed the Shahkhan of Faraud, Khan of the Blue, White and Chagatai Hordes, Shahanshah of Persia and Megas Komnenos of the Roman Empire.

After the death of the Shahjahan, by his will his great realm was divided between his two beloved sons. The valiant Pir Shan Gok Rum was granted Faraud, as well as the titles Khan of the Blue, White, and Chagatai Hordes, as well as Dominion over the East, while his younger brother Miran Shah Gok Rum was granted Persia, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Dominion of the West. The two brothers, on hearing of their father’s death, promptly pledged to come to each other’s aid and defense, and concluded an alliance in 1385.


With the return of Timur’s armies from India in 1386, Miran Shah was eager to fulfill his father’s promise to aid the Romans of Anatolia, as well as prove his right to rule. He called forth his banners, and men from Hormuz to Baghdad answered his call. He levied onerous and mighty taxes, issued coin, and collected trade dues. His coffers filled, he raised a vast and mighty host, and in 1386, he marched to Anatolia.

The crafty Anastasios knew of the size and power of Miran Shah’s host, and refused to give him battle. His army had suffered the loss of many men at Kavala and was occupied with putting down rebellions against his harsh and ruthless rule. Instead of an army, Anastasios had spent the better part of six years building a fleet, which he used to harass and raid the Anatolian shoreline. Miran Shah attempted repeatedly to catch Anastasios’ raiders, but as the Danes say, “Don’t use a hammer to strike a fly.” Miran Shah’s host did far more damage to Anatolia than it did to Anastasios, eating many a farmer out of hearth and home, and laying waste to the countryside with its vast supply of empty stomachs. It was thus that Miran Shah was forced to quit Anatolia in disgrace in 1391. His sons, unwilling to let time drop power into their laps, instead opted to use the knife. Miran Shah was murdered in Isfahan in 1392, without leaving his realm to any one heir.


The warfare amongst brothers has been brutal and violent, yet all three have managed to stake out their own realm—Khalil, the eldest, holds sway in the Caucasus with his capital at Shirvan. His realm is large, but mountainous, and has few people and small wealth. Babur, the second eldest, has seized Mesopotamia, and holds sway from Baghdad to Mosul. The third, Mirza, has been the most successful by far, having taken Isfahan by surprise and now holding all of Persia under his dominion. The realms of the Arabian coast have fallen away under the dominion of a relative of the dreadful Eirene, a man named Adrianos Komnenos. All three brothers appealed to my lord Pir Shah for support, but the Lord did move my master, and Pir Shah did march forth to put affairs to right, and one by one brought his nephews to heel as vassals. By the sword did he force peace amongst them, though I have heard they were very wroth by it. Peace and true lordship was restored to the West, save the lands of Egypt and Anatolia, who fell into their own ways.


In return for his cowardy and callous conduct, fate did not have kindess in store for Anastasios Komnenos either. While Anastasios raided and harassed Miran, men from Iberia convinced his brother David, whom Anastasios had left as a viceroy in Sicily, to rebel against him. David was further assisted by the powerful Godwinson family from Karthagion, and together they raised a great and mighty host. Filled with wrath and with Miran in retreat, Anastasios took his armies and fleet and sailed West, after crowning his son and heir Michael IX and leaving the young man to rule Konstantinopolis in his absence.

Anastasios’ host landed at Messina in 1393, and quickly laid waste to the rebellious island. David, defeated in the field, fled to Karthagion, where Lord Edmund Godwinson revealed their ill-intent by confining him to the palace. They then landed a great host of their own levies with reinforcements from Spain, and gave battle to the evil Anastasios on the slopes of Mount Etna. The contest was hard fought, but the Lord knows those who fight for His cause, and Anastasios was overthrown. In defeat, Anastasios sped ahead of his army to the walls of Siracusa, where he holed up in hope of reinforcement. However, a fleet from Spain, sent by Ioannes Thrakesiokomnenos, arrived outside the city and blocked Anastasios’ ships from bringing supplies. Thus was Anastasios trapped in Sicily.


In the East, the Emperor’s leaving had prompted the Anatolian lords, furious at Miran Shah for abandoning them, to take matters into their own hands. Georgios Komnenoangelos, Prince of Ikonion and recognized Despotes of Anatolia, began to gather the men of the region to his banner, in an effort to overthrow the son of the hated Anastasios. While the region was poor, good and many men, lacking in work or prospects, joined the call, with the promise of loot from the empty halls of Konstantinopolis.

Michael IX did hear of these preparations, and seeing the weak and woeful state of the city’s defenses, he sent forth an embassy to the Princes Chrysokomnenos of Antioch, offering them the title King of Syria should they march on Komnenoangelos in the Emperor’s name. However, Prince Simon was true to his Roman blood, and instead of marching to Michael’s aid, lent the force of his arms to that of Komnenoangelos. The two marched on Konstantinopolis in 1395. Michael then made an appeal to the ‘new men’ his father had raised in the Balkans, but they pled poverty and agreed to help only for generous stipends the crown did not have. Thus did Chrysokomnenos and Komnenoangelos cross the Marmara, and lay siege to Konstantinopolis in 1396.

Michael was tragically of a different stock than his loathsome father, tall and true of bearing, by all accounts a loyal and just man. If he had ruled under different circumstances, perhaps the fate of the West might have turned out different. Instead, he was thrust into an unenviable position, and did his best to do honor by his honorless father. For two years, he held the city, despite a lack of men and materials. It was only when word came from Siracusa that his father had perished in an outbreak of the plague several months before that Michael abandoned hope of resistance. On January 4th, 1399, Michael surrendered, and with his family was shorn, tonsured, and sent to exile at Mount Athos.


Komnenoangelos and Chrysokomnenos jointly declared a Regency and that the Throne of Caesars was vacant, however neither party could agree on who to name to the throne as a replacement. Chrysokomnenos wished to raise his cousin, Ignatios Komnenoedessa, to the throne, while Komnenoangelos thought himself, a great-grandson of Andronikos Apokathistos, fit for the position. The two sides fell upon each other, and blood ran full into the streets. I am told that the men of the Balkans, appointed by Anastasios, refuse to abide by any candidate named by either party, but have yet to name one of their own. Thus, the Throne of Caesars remains vacant to this day, a sad state for such an illustrious seat.


We are almost done! One more history book update to come tomorrow, and the tale will be complete! Don't fear, however. I have a series of maps showign the world in 1399, all drawn on blank makes from EU3, to share with everyone before it's all complete. If I have time, I'll also include the final regnal summaries as well...