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Romanorum Imperator Augustus
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  • Europa Universalis III
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A History Of The Roman Empire
by Spyridon Antonovich

Constantinople.jpg

Table Of Contents​
Prologue
Manuel II: Part One
Manuel II: Part Two
Manuel II: Part Three
Manuel II: Part Four
Andronikos V: Part One
Andronikos V: Part Two


List Of Roman Emperors​
1. Augustus 27BC-14AD
2. Tiberius 14-37
3. Caligula 37-41
4. Claudius 41-54
5. Nero 54-68
6. Galba 68-69
7. Otho 69
8. Vitellius 69
9. Vespasian 69-79
10. Titus 79-81
11. Domitian 81-96
12. Nerva 96-98
13. Trajan 98-117
14. Hadrian 117-138
15. Antoninus Pius 138-161
16. Lucius Verus 161-169
17. Marcus Aurelius 161-180
18. Commodus 180-192
19. Pertinax 193
20. Didius Julianus 193
21. Septimius Severus 193-211
22. Caracalla 211-217
23. Macrinus 217-218
24. Elagabalus 218-222
25. Alexander Severus 222-235
26. Maximinius Thrax 235-238
27. Gordian I 238
28. Gordian II 238
29. Pupienus Maximus 238
30. Balbinus 238
31. Gordian III 238-244
32. Philip The Arab 244-249
33. Decius 249-251
34. Hostilian 251
35. Trebonianus Gallus 251-253
36. Aemilianus 253
37. Valerian 253-260
38. Gallienus 260-268
39. Claudius Gothicus 268-270
40. Quintillus 270
41. Aurelian 270-275
42. Tacitus 275-276
43. Florianus 276
44. Probus 276-282
45. Carus 282-283
46. Numerian 283-284
47. Carinus 283-285
48. Diocletian/Maximian 285-305
49. Constantius I Chlorus 305-306
50. Constantine I The Great 306-337
51. Constantius II 337-361
52. Julian 361-363
53. Jovian 363-364
54. Valentinian I 364-375
55. Valens 375-378
56. Gratian 378-379
57. Theodosius I 379-395
58. Arcadius 395-408
59. Theodosius II 408-450
60. Pulcheria 450-453
61. Marcian 453-457
62. Leo I 457-474
63. Leo II 474
64. Zeno 474-475
65. Basiliscus 475-476
66. Zeno 476-491
67. Anastasius I 491-518
68. Justin I 518-527
69. Justinian I The Great 527-565
70. Justin II 565-578
71. Tiberius II Constantine 578-582
72. Maurice 582-602
73. Phocas 602-610
74. Herakleios 610-641
75. Constantine III 641
76. Heraklonas 641
77. Constans II 641-668
78. Constantine IV 668-685
79. Justinian II 685-711
80. Philipikos 711-713
81. Anastasios II 713-718
82. Theodosios III 715-717
83. Leo III The Isaurian 717-741
84. Constantine V 741-775
85. Leo IV The Khazar 775-780
86. Constantine VI 780-797
87. Irene Of Athens 797-802
88. Nikephoros I 802-811
89. Stavriakos 811-812
90. Michael I Rangabe 812-813
91. Leo V The Armenian 813-820
92. Michael II 820-829
93. Theophilus 829-842
94. Theodora 842-855
95. Michael III 855-867
96. Basil I The Macedonian 867-886
97. Leo VI The Wise 886-912
98. Alexander 912-913
99. Constantine VII 913-959
100. Romanos II 959-963
101. Nikephoros II Phokas 963-969
102. John I Tzimiskes 969-976
103. Basil II 976-1025
104. Constantine VIII 1025-1028
105. Zoe 1028-1050
106. Constantine IX 1050-1055
107. Theodora 1055-1056
108. Michael VI 1056-1057
109. Isaac I Komnenos 1057-1059
110. Constantine X Doukas 1059-1067
111. Romanos IV Diogenes 1067-1071
112. Michael VII 1071-1078
113. Nikephoros III 1078-1081
114. Alexios I Komnenos 1081-1118
115. John II Komnenos 1118-1143
116. Manuel I Komnenos 1143-1180
117. Alexios II Komnenos 1180-1183
118. Andronikos I Komnenos1183-1185
119. Isaac II Angelos 1185-1195
120. Alexios III Angelos 1195-1203
121. Isaac II Angelos 1203-1204
122. Alexios IV Angelos 1204
123. Nikolaos Kanabos 1204
124. Alexios V Doukas 1204
125. Constantine Laskaris 1204-1205
126. Theodore I Laskaris 1205-1221
127. John III Doukas 1221-1254
128. Theodore II Laskaris 1254-1258
129. John IV Laskaris 1258-1261
130. Michael VIII Palaiologos 1261-1282
131. Andronikos II Palaiologos 1282-1328
132. Andronikos III Palaiologos 1328-1342
133. John V Palaiologos 1341-1347
134. John VI Kantakouzenos 1347-1354
135. John V Palaiologos 1354-1376
136. Andronikos IV Palaiologos 1376-1379
137. John V Palaiologos 1379-1390
138. John VI Palaiologos 1390
139. John V Palaiologos 1390-1391
140. Manuel II Palaiologos 1391-1424
141. Andronikos V Palaiologos 1424-
 
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Author's Note

Well, here goes. I finally think I'm ready to begin writing a new AAR. I'll appreciate your comments, no matter how mundane, and they'll be very motivating to me. I'm kinda nervous that I'll lose the motivation for this, so your comments might help keep my motivation at the level it is at now. It should also be noted that for the first time, I am actually playing the game at the same time as I am writing the AAR. Therefore, I can hopefully keep my interest in the long run. Before this, I usually played the game while taking screenshots and wrote the AAR once the game was completed. But this time, I can actually take advice, allow the readers to chose things, etc. This AAR will be written just like a history book. The "author" is not my real name, or anyone else's as far as I know, but is just a fictional Greek-Russian historian writing in the present about the Byzantine Empire. Anyway, I'll stop rambling and get to writing the prologue.

Please read and enjoy!​
 
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Prologue​

Welcome again, to the fourth volume of “A History Of The Roman Empire,” a rather grand undertaking chronicling the history of an empire known by many names. The title of this book refers to the empire’s official name However, it has also been called the “Byzantine Empire” by some, “Romania” by others, the “Eastern Empire”, and the “Orthodox Empire” by some nations. This empire in question is officially known as the “The Orthodox Empire Of The Eastern Romans” shortened to the “Roman Empire.” This was its original identity.

As explained in Volume III, the empire was originally an offshoot of the Roman Empire. As the Roman Empire fell apart in the 4th and 5th centuries, it split into two distinct empires, the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire. The West fell in 476, however, the East remained and struggled for survival for centuries. Although it continued to be a distinctly Roman empire for centuries, by the 8th and 9th centuries, its language was undoubtedly Greek, as was its culture. It was for this reason that it began to be called the “Greek Empire” in Western Europe. While the inhabitants of the empire originally rejected the name, they began to warm up to the name and accept it as an alternate name by the 15th and 16th centuries, although in official documents and such, it is still referred to by its original and quite lengthy name. Despite this, this book will continue to refer to the empire as the Roman Empire.

Now that we have the often controversial name issue settled, we can focus on where we left off in our history of the Roman Empire. We last left the Roman Empire in a terrible state. It had been reduced to just a shell of its former self, left with only the city of Constantinople and the Morea. It was surrounded by enemies and was ruled by weak emperors. But all this was about to change.

Volume I ended with the death of Emperor John V, who was so weak in stature, that he followed the orders of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and demolished the newly built walls of Constantinople. He was succeeded by his son, Manuel II Palaiologos. Manuel II had a rather different character than his father. He was a military general at heart and his goals were not just for his crumbling empire to survive, but to completely through off the yolk of the Ottomans and re-conquer all of it’s lost land. So, as soon as he ascended the throne in 1391, he got to work on building a series of alliances with the states that would be most beneficial to the empire’s progress, the Italian city states.

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A depiction of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos in his later years

Remembering the success the empire felt during the Crusades, he also swallowed his Orthodox pride and called upon the Pope to urge Catholic nations to help stop the Ottoman menace. He even himself embarked on a tour of Europe, from 1392 to 1397, visiting various capitals, building relations and loose alliances, and gaining promises of military aid for the next inevitable war with the Turks. His work was so successful, that by 1399, he had gained alliances with Venice, Genoa, Naples, Hungary, and Austria. All of these nations were not interested in helping the Romans, but rather in eradicating the Ottomans from Europe. In return for their help, Manuel II promised never to expand westward beyond Serbia. As soon as these promises and alliances had been secured, thousands of knights and foot soldiers from all the aforementioned Catholic nations began pouring into Constantinople. Since they had to arrive by sea, obviously not being able to cross Ottoman territory, the complete forces from all these nations were only settled in Constantinople by the spring of 1401.

Officially, these warriors were mercenaries for the Romans, as the Catholics did not want an official outright war with the Ottomans. Nevertheless, together with Roman forces and the local Orthodox Christian rebels that would inevitably join with the army in the event of an offensive, the total amount of men ready for war with the Turks was about 35,000. And in addition to manpower, Catholic nations even helped the Romans along financially, as Western capital filled imperial coffers, giving the Romans enough wealth to supply this vast army for years to come. And so, at the dawn of the 15th century, the once crumbling Roman Empire was filled with Latin troops and wealth, and was ready to strike at the Turkish giant.

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A map of the situation as of 1401, with the Roman Empire and her unofficial allies, more accurately "providers" in green, and the Ottoman Empire, who was at war with the Timurid Empire at the time, in red
 
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He's back again. *cheering* I've sent you an PM, but I guess you won't need my advices any longer. However, good luck and count me in as aregular reader (and hopefully commenter as well).

edit: 35,000 soldiers? Man you already have a juggernaut as your pet? I guess after the first Greek-Ottoman War you will control ... a lot more provinces. (I was going to say all ottoman provinces on european soil, but the ai would never settle for such a peace.)
 
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It is good to see you back at writing AARs again. Now smash those Ottomans good ;D
 
Enewald: :rofl: No, I've had EU3 for about 2 years now. It was CK that I didn't (and still don't) have.

Jman47: Good to have you reading!

Treppe: Well, I'm still not that great of an EU3 player, so I need some heavy backstory (excuses) to make the game more realistic (cheat). Unfair it may seem, but EU3 can get a bit unrealistic, especially in regards to peace treaties and AI stubbornness. Hope my minimized cheating doesn't detract readers. Any cheating that will take place will be realistic (giving myself a little extra cash to simulate Latin investments flowing into Constantinople, hiring a lot of mercenaries to simulate Catholic troops coming to Constantinople, etc.)

Milites: Thanks!
 
Glorious! Even for a relative beginner in EU3 terms, the Greeks are a potent force. Never underestimate the power of the noble Greek Patriot Rebel, scourge of Latin and Turk alike! You can literally take every Greek province in under ten years with a few well-placed rebel-fundings and a large navy of galleys. Note: if you have more galleys than they do, the Ottomans will almost never challenge your navy, allowing you to run rampant in Romania* and take back your homeland!

What a fun country for EU3...and always the best for alt-history.

* You know which one I mean!
 
Manuel II: Part One​

Emperor Manuel II officially declared war on the Ottoman Empire on April 9th 1401. Immediately, Roman-commanded armies of Catholic mercenaries marched out of Constantinople and began the invasion of Ottoman Europe. Meanwhile, a strong force of Italian and Roman ships blocked off the Sea of Marmara and prevented any Ottoman forces in Asia from crossing over the Bosporus or the Dardanelles. Not that there was a chance that Ottoman armies would cross the Sea anyway. You see, Manuel II had chosen a good date to attack, as the Turks were already losing a war in Asia Minor against the Timurids. As would later be shown, the Timurids were so overpowering the Turks in Asia, that at one point they occupied the entirety of the Asian Aegean Coast.

So it is not surprising that the Romans got off to a good start. Without reinforcements and supplies being able to cross the Roman-Italian naval blockade, the Turkish forces in Europe were left on their own in a territory that heavily supported the empire. So, when Manuel Gabras and the First Army of Thrace encountered the Turkish garrison of Burgas on Friday the 13th, 1401, both sides knew who the victor would be. Manuel Gabras was an aristocratic man from Constantinople, who had enough military training for two men. So it may not be that surprising that he was easily able to surround the unorganized and outnumbered Turkish force and massacre them. Gabras easily secured the high ground and rained down arrows on the 613 man Turkish force for about a half hour, as the Turks tried to charge the Romans repeatedly. Finally, when the force was wittled down to less than 200, Gabras ordered his Roman cataphracts and Latin knights to charge, finally ending the slaughter. Within 2 hours, all of the 613 Turks were dead, and not a single imperial soldier had been killed, though that claim is sometimes disputed. Nevertheless, this devastating defeat of a small Turkish force lifted imperial morale and gave the Romans confidence that the Turks could be beaten.

byzss3_by_OJR123321.jpg

The massacre that took place at Burgas caused Friday the 13th to be feared by Turks, and especially European Muslims.

As siege was laid to the so-far captured areas and towns, the Second Army of Thrace, under Elpidios Paraspondylos, a farmer’s son from the Morea, marched into northern Bulgaria. They faced relatively little opposition from any Ottoman forces until November 4th 1401, when the 6000 man army was met by a force of 1000 Turks. The two armies met at Pleven, and the Turks soon realized that they had unfortunately massively underestimated the numbers of the imperial army. So, like Burgas, Paraspondylos was able to surround the Turkish force. But, unlike Burgas, this force had better trained cavalry than the one at Burgas. So, when Paraspondylos launched a barrage of arrows, the armored Turkish horsemen were relatively well defended. So Elpidios was forced to order an early cavalry charge that caused about 150 casualties on the Roman side, however, the charge combined with infantry assaults and well aimed archery to completely wipe out another Ottoman army.

byzss4_by_OJR123321.jpg

One factor in the Roman victory at Pleven was the fact that many Bulgarian Orthodox men attacked the Turks from the rear, and later joined the imperial army.

During this entire time, the seas were being manned by the imperial fleet, therefore Ottoman supplies could not reach their European troops. But this important blockade was almost broken when a fleet of 40 Ottoman galleys sailed into the Bosporus and met a force of 14 large imperial ships, most of which were Italian mercenaries, on February 9th 1405. Over the past 4 years, Roman troops had run rampant throughout the Balkans, sieging every Ottoman fortress, and taking them. Each capture was usually followed by a massacre of the Turkish population. By 1405, much of the Turkish and Muslim population of the Balkans had been wiped out. However, they were in very few numbers to begin with, so its not that surprising that a major war could have virtually wiped them out.

Back to the situation on February 9th, the Ottoman galleys had somehow managed to break through the Roman sea defenses and enter the Bosporus. But while the Ottomans had an advantage in numbers, the Romans had an advantage in skill and size, for their ships were much larger. Using their ship size and the infamous Roman fire to their advantage, the imperial sailors managed to form a wedge in between the Ottoman lines, envelop one side, and sink 20 Ottoman galleys, all as the civilians of Constantinople watched from the harbors of the City. The operation ended up being devastating for the Ottomans, and wiped out half of an entire fleet, while no Roman ships had been sunk.

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This fanciful painting depicts the Battle of the Bosporus, however it inaccurately depicts the sails of the ships. It is likely that most of the ships had sails depicting the seals of their Italian hometowns, and not grand yellow double headed eagles.

Elsewhere, on March 5th 1405, the city of Janina finally fell to the Romans after a year long siege. The siege had lasted through a very harsh Epirote winter, and therefore caused heavy casualties on both the besieged and the besiegers. Finally, as the snow melted and the disease faded away, the Romans could resume operations. They broke through the walls of the Ottoman fortress on March 3rd, and fought their way through the streets, with local help, and were finally able to penetrate the very center of the citadel and raise the imperial banner over the city on March 5th, to jubilant celebrations of the populace.

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On March 6th, the Ottoman prisoners were paraded through the streets, as the populace threw their waste at them.

In late 1405 and 1406, an invasion of Asia Minor was being planned by Manuel II. Sultan Bayezid I had recently died, leaving the Ottoman Empire to a regency council, and the Turks had already been weakened by the war with the Timurids. With the Balkans secured, Maneul II felt his empire was ready to move beyond the original goals of the war and invade Anatolia. So in the spring of 1406, a Roman force of 12,000 men crossed the Dardanelles. The Ottomans had been devastated more by the war with the Timurids than by the war with the Romans, so when the massive Roman army arrived in Anatolia, they found little military resistance. So they marched at a leisurely pace, crushing whatever poor excuses for Turkish garrisons lay in their way. By August of 1406, they had reached their goal, the great harbor fortress of Smyrna. Once they had laid siege upon the walls, the imperial navy moved into the area, and blockaded the harbor of the city. The outnumbered Ottoman garrison was doomed from the beginning. But somehow, they had managed to pack enough provisions in the city to last them an entire year. And it did indeed last them a year. The great walls of Smyrna were not broken by the relatively non-violent siege of the Romans until August of 1407. Roman soldiers spotted the Virgin Mary hovering above the walls, and this was taken as the signal to attack. The imperial army surged forth, broke through the walls, and captured the city, all within 24 hours.

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The vision of the Theotokos upon the walls of Smyrna became legendary, and was later used to prove the superiority of Christianity to Islam.

With Smyrna captured, all of the Ottoman Balkans, and all of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor was in Roman hands. The Ottomans, without a sultan and a sufficient army, were desperate for peace. They had no other option, aside from total annexation. So in late January of 1408, an Ottoman envoy arrived in Constantinople, and offered Manuel II an astonishingly lucrative peace deal. The Romans were to receive the entirety of all Ottoman European possessions. This was the ultimate goal of the war, so Manuel II eagerly accepted the offer, but not after feigning decline and forcing the envoy to humiliate himself and beg. Nevertheless, on February 3rd 1408, peace was officially signed in Constantinople. The peace deal had given the Romans a new lease on life, and catapulted them to regional dominance once more. Despite this massive land gain, the Roman Empire was far from being free of problems.

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A map of the area after the Treaty of the Golden Horn, the name comes from the fact that it was actually signed aboard a neutral merchant ship
 
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Where did you get money to raise an army of 12k?
And where did those 14 ships come! :eek:

I thought Byzantine fleet had been rotting since the beginning of Palailogoi. :p
Although several of them tried to create a new fleet, only fail one after one...

Total annexation being the other choice?
Why didn't you annex them? :mad::rolleyes:

Looks like those 'battles' were rather bloodless.
The enemy kept surrendering without a fight... :D

Furthermore, Manuels skills are awful.

PS, this small scale mockery is just expressing my love for Byzantium and Byzantine AARs. :cool:
 
I suspect that there's a hefty price tag attached to all this help.

I'd like to know how you got all these forces in game, though ;)
 
Enewald: Ahem, some alt-twentyone help to get things moving :D

In the naval battle, I actually had 3 ships, the Turks had 4, two of which I sunk. But, being a reader of my past AARs, I'm sure you know of my fondness for editing the numbers for added t3h 3p1cn355. :p

Total annexation wasn't a choice, since I didn't occupy every Ottoman province, and the Ottomans weren't a one province nation. Like I said, my AARs are usually loosely based on the game and often add interesting out of game ideas.

As for Manuel II's stats, those were his stats at the very beginning of the game, they improved a lot as soon as the game got started.

Jman47: Indeed, but much of the empire's future will be up to you ;)

Pirate Z: Yes, and that will be explained in the next update. Like I said to Enewald, those forces were simply recruited mercenaries in game, with fancy explanations in the AAR. :p
 
You're just like a Byzantine author I'm currently reading.
He be Michael Psellus. :D
A good book.
And quite entertaining also, when one gets to know how he tends to tale some facts and leaves other ones out.
And keeps constantly glorifying his friends while endangering the foes.
 
Manuel II: Part Two​

As explained beforehand, the vast majority of imperial forces in the First Roman-Ottoman War were Italian mercenaries. So it is not surprising that the Romans had a rather big problem on their hands after the war had ended. About 25,000 foreign soldiers were on their soil, now demanding their pay. While before the war, Latin capital had flowed into Constantinople, much of it had been spent frivolously and by 1408, over three quarters of it was gone. When the Latins realized that they would not be paid the amount that they had been expecting, they began to pillage much of the Bulgaria, the area they were stationed in. The few Roman troops that had been deployed, marched off to Bulgaria, but were repeatedly pushed back.

The Latins were so successful in Bulgaria, that they managed to plant the seeds of a Bulgarian independence movement, reminding the locals of the former Bulgarian Empire, a nation that had once been a scourge of the Roman Empire. With a growing resentment of Roman rule in Bulgaria, the stability of the empire was threatened. After being satisfied with their pillaging, most of the Italian mercenaries recklessly marched home with their loot. But they left in their wake a revolt fueled by Bulgarian nationalism and some remaining mercenaries, so Manuel Gabras took control of the small ethnically Roman army, and laid a thinly lined siege to Bulgaria. But with winter looming on the horizon, Gabras recognized that he had to make a move, so he engaged the Bulgarian rebels on September 6th 1408.

The Bulgarians under their rebel leader, who was a distant relative of the former Bulgarian imperial line, Krasimir Peyachevich, numbered around 6,000 men, most of whom were Latin veterans of the Roman-Ottoman War. The Romans numbered 5,000 men, which at the time was the entirety of the imperial army, not counting city garrisons. Therefore, the battle that was about to take place was critical to empire’s very survival. Defeat would mean annihilation for the entire army of the empire, and would let Peyachevich run wild throughout the Balkans. But the Romans had an advantage with their highly trained 3,000 cataphracts.

Outside Sofia, Gabras immediately seized the high ground, cutting a swathe through the rebel lines with his cataphracts. From the high ground, imperial archers rained down arrows upon the Bulgarians, decimating them. Peyachevich soon realized the desperateness of the situation and ordered a full scale charge up the hill. But without proper organization, the rebel cavalry was behind the infantry in the charge. So, in the heat and fury of battle, the Bulgarian steeds charged headlong up the hill, trampling rebel infantry in their way. By the time the Bulgarians reached the Romans, they were tired and decimated, and so, when fighting ensued, were massacred even more, but not until they had inflicted heavy casualties upon the Roman cavalry as well.

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Manuel Gabras brutally executed the rebel prisoners he captured outside Sofia, a massacre that would remain in the Bulgarian psyche for years

But the Bulgarian rebellion was not over yet. Throughout the winter, the Bulgarians marched toward the newly gained frontier province of Silistria. Gabras felt that the winter would inflict heavy enough casualties, so he did not pursue until February of 1409. On February 19th, he engaged Krasimir for the second time. This time, the Romans easily defeated the fatigued, cold, hungry, and disease ridden Bulgarians. With a few cataphract charges and encirclements, the Bulgarians were completely massacred and Krasimir was captured. He was tortured until he revealed every detailed he knew about the rebellion, its organizers, and how it was funded. This confession would be key to the empire’s future.

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The Bulgarian army was so destroyed in Silistria, that only Peyachevich and a few of his official guards survived

It was revealed that in addition to the Italian mercenaries fighting alongside the Bulgarians, secret Italian envoys had been funding the Bulgarian rebels since 1407. When news reached Manuel II, he was infuriated. But it is not surprising that the Italian city states tried to sabotage the Romans. The Italians felt that the empire had gained too much out of the war, and saw an opportunity to destabilize it in a time of weakness. But thanks to Gabras’ cunning and the skilled cataphract cavalry, they were thwarted. But the defeat of the Bulgarians was not enough for Manuel II. It was bad enough that the Italians controlled key regions of Greece, but their funding of a rebellion in imperial territory pushed them over the edge, not even their help in the Ottoman war could convince Manuel II to not declare war. So Manuel II made preparations, enforced en masse recruitment across the Balkans, and war was declared in November of 1411.
 
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You know, the game would be more challenging if you would adjust the rebels a bit.
It's too easy when the rebels don't reinforce nor assault. :(

Btw, it's historically wrong to talk about Greeks.
They're ROMANS!!! :mad: