Yes... Maybe I will correct that later.
In 1206 his wife Olga died in childbearing, and he married Theodora, daughter of the duke of Alexandria, who in 1207 gave him his second son, Petros. During these years he was busy overseeing the serbian reconstruction and asserting his still contested authority. He brought back the town of Byzantion to his former splendor, and Greece to the kingdom, but acknowledged the end of Serbian hegemony in Eastern Mediterranean Sea, where christian states had now durably replaced the levantine emirates.
Instead he turned his eyes to northern Africa, where the emirate of Cyrenaica had made important progress against the Templar Order founded by his father. Surrounded by heathens, Humbert Khoury, count of Jerba, was asking the catholic royalty for help, and despite the wounds he had recieved against rebellious vassals, Zeno answered his call.
Although the dry african air considerably alleviated the bad cough that had shaken him for years, yet he commanded most of the campaign from the safety of Djerba, leaving his marshal Roger and Count Humbert lead his armies in battle. The expedition was as successful as his ancestors', and soon he was ruling over a large zone in Africa, having made Humbert duke of Tripolitania.
Astime went by however Zeno grew defiant and unforgiving, demanding ever more tax from his subjects and punishing every crime with extreme severity. He kept at the foot of his throne a pack of lions and tigers, and would feed them hands chopped from thieves and corpses taken from the gallows, which were always plentiful.
Once a merchant appealed to him, claiming to have been scammed by an other. He listened to their reasons for one hour, but suddenly found both the accuser's complaints and the defendant's plea aggravating and had both of them thrown to his beasts.
Another time, having eaten a dish too hot, he ordered the cook to be drowned in scalding-hot water. He would have his servants whipped when they were too noisy, and blinded when they happened to cast an insolent look at him. From the serving girls especially he suffered no slight and often saw to their punishment himself.
But the real extent of his appeared in the way he dealt with orthodox, who were still numerous on the shores of the Black Sea. Not only had he atrociously killed anyone who confessed the faith of his former wife ; the mere suspicion of a village harboring schismatics was enough for him to torch him to the ground. The inhabitants of Garlaz eventuall revolted against his rules, and he stormed the city which was plundered for three days, his soldiers tormenting children and elders alike with red-hot irons to force them to convert before finally throwing them inside the port of Galaz, were they were unable to climb the pier and slowly drowned.
He also embezzled some Church's funds, for which he was condemned by the
catholic bishops.
In 1206 his wife Olga died in childbearing, and he married Theodora, daughter of the duke of Alexandria, who in 1207 gave him his second son, Petros. During these years he was busy overseeing the serbian reconstruction and asserting his still contested authority. He brought back the town of Byzantion to his former splendor, and Greece to the kingdom, but acknowledged the end of Serbian hegemony in Eastern Mediterranean Sea, where christian states had now durably replaced the levantine emirates.
Instead he turned his eyes to northern Africa, where the emirate of Cyrenaica had made important progress against the Templar Order founded by his father. Surrounded by heathens, Humbert Khoury, count of Jerba, was asking the catholic royalty for help, and despite the wounds he had recieved against rebellious vassals, Zeno answered his call.
Although the dry african air considerably alleviated the bad cough that had shaken him for years, yet he commanded most of the campaign from the safety of Djerba, leaving his marshal Roger and Count Humbert lead his armies in battle. The expedition was as successful as his ancestors', and soon he was ruling over a large zone in Africa, having made Humbert duke of Tripolitania.
Astime went by however Zeno grew defiant and unforgiving, demanding ever more tax from his subjects and punishing every crime with extreme severity. He kept at the foot of his throne a pack of lions and tigers, and would feed them hands chopped from thieves and corpses taken from the gallows, which were always plentiful.
Once a merchant appealed to him, claiming to have been scammed by an other. He listened to their reasons for one hour, but suddenly found both the accuser's complaints and the defendant's plea aggravating and had both of them thrown to his beasts.
Another time, having eaten a dish too hot, he ordered the cook to be drowned in scalding-hot water. He would have his servants whipped when they were too noisy, and blinded when they happened to cast an insolent look at him. From the serving girls especially he suffered no slight and often saw to their punishment himself.
But the real extent of his appeared in the way he dealt with orthodox, who were still numerous on the shores of the Black Sea. Not only had he atrociously killed anyone who confessed the faith of his former wife ; the mere suspicion of a village harboring schismatics was enough for him to torch him to the ground. The inhabitants of Garlaz eventuall revolted against his rules, and he stormed the city which was plundered for three days, his soldiers tormenting children and elders alike with red-hot irons to force them to convert before finally throwing them inside the port of Galaz, were they were unable to climb the pier and slowly drowned.
He also embezzled some Church's funds, for which he was condemned by the
catholic bishops.