Byzantium: A Phoenix Rising

[Mettermrck]

Another good update, CSL. I can see how this'll eventually meld into the EU2 game as the empire shrinks.

[Sir Humphrey]

Another update of pure class.

[Darks63]

most excellent i await part 2 of manuel

[CSL_GG]

Originally Posted by Darks63

most excellent i await part 2 of manuel

What the funeral?

[CSL_GG]

Prologue – Part VI


The Adrian Gate

The Angelid Dynasty – Part IV

Alexius IV

With the death of Manuel II Angelus, the city was thrown into chaos in only a few short hours. The Hungarians and their allies were only a few days from the capital and to many the death of their Emperor seemed a portent of doom. Thousands who had been resolute in their claims to stay within the city during the worst of it now attempted to escape across the Bosporus and into Asia Minor, only to find the docks swamped with others seeking the same goal. Soon enough grievances over who could escape exploded into open violence and a series of intense riots began in several quarters along the Golden Horn. What members of the aristocracy that remained within the city were themselves desperate to leave the city in short order and using their ample means attempted to put down the revolts with mercenary formations. This plan however backfired wildly as the pathetically small groups of soldiers were slaughtered by the citizens of Constantinople.

Rioting would reign uncontrolled around the Golden Horn

With the attempted suppression of the revolts near the Golden Horn, the populace on a whole became hostile to the aristocracy. Both the Blue and Greens, which had begun to become moribund over the last few decades, were revived in force by the attrition of thousands of eager recruits. Now under pressure both from within the city and from outside of it, the noble families of the Empire looked for one thing to save them – the successor of Manuel II Angelus.

The question of succession had itself been raging ever since the death of Manuel over half a week earlier, but in the chaos surrounding the death of the Emperor – no claimant had been put forward. The aristocracy itself was sharply divided into three camps as the days went on and three names eventually were put forward to lead the Empire. The half-brother of Manuel II, Alexius Angelus was the most prominent, and his camp was the largest, however two more men had been mentioned as being potential replacements for Manuel II, even before his death. These men were Alexius Ducas and Theodore Lascaris.

Alexius Ducas was to have the smallest, but most vocal group of supporters – undeniably due to his public and well established efforts at strengthening the Theodosian Walls in the few weeks before King Emeric was to camp outside of the city. Nicknamed Murtzouphlos, or “bushy eyebrows” by the common rabble on the streets, due to his uncommonly shaggy and pronounced pair of eyebrows, he was nonetheless an imposing figure – perhaps due more to his strict work effort and attitude then any single physical trait. By no means was Ducas a physical specimen such as Basil I, but his strengths were to lay in areas of more mental significance. During the days following the death of Manuel II, Ducas continued to improve the Theodosian Walls with all due haste and when the riots erupted near the Golden Horn, he was to personally appeal to the rioters to stop their quarreling and help defend the city. Though this appeal converted little in the way of numbers, he was considerably more popular in the days that followed then other members of the cities noble families.

A later depiction of Alexius “Murtzouphlos” Ducas

With a base of support slightly larger then Alexius Ducas was the young Theodore Lascaris. At the time of Manuel's death, he was but only twenty-four years old and many contemporary historians would attest to his boyish looks, apparently focusing on his noticeable lack of facial hair. (He would grow an impressive beard in due time) Despite his outward appearances, the face which Theodore presented, masked a keen intellect, which if truth be told was to serve him well throughout his life. Unlike his fellow claimant – Alexius Ducas – he had not served upon the land walls at all, instead only recently entering the capital from the nearby thema of Bithynia. During the reign of Manuel II, he had been granted the title of Strategos, a task which he apparently had shown a great aptitude at. When news of the Hungarian victory around Adrianople reached him, he returned to the capital at once – only to find Manuel on his very deathbed. Reportedly he had been one of the last persons to see the sick and dying Emperor alive, of which he quoted Manuel II to warn that his half-brother should never be allowed to put on the Imperial diadem.

Theodore Lascaris

The second son of Isaac II and half-brother of Manuel II however was the man who had begun to receive the most support within the city. Alexius Angelus, who had been imprisoned by his uncle only a few years previously, was by now the apparent successor of Manuel II. The character of Alexius Angelus however could be summed up in only a few words – stupid, lazy, and potentially insane. Time spent in the dungeons underneath the city had apparently by the turn of the century, made Alexius one of the least intelligent and witless men in the city. Easily led, the chance of him becoming Emperor was most dangerous due to the fact that nearly anyone could persuade him to their views on almost any subject. While during the lead up to the siege of the city by King Emeric, the other two prominent claimants were busy in the process of defending the city – Alexius Angelus could be found almost exclusively in the Bucoleon Palace, surrendering himself to the most deadly of debauchery and sins. Due to his vacillating manner, one could have assumed that during a potential prolonged siege of their city, the aristocracy would have wisely avoided his promotion to basileus, however it seems that no such qualms were noted with many in the aristocracy.

Alexius Angelus, half-brother of Emperor Manuel II

The fact that the majority of the most influential citizens in the city would chose to support such a weak willed character speaks well of how long they thought the siege would last and how well the walls would hold up. Much work as has been said, had been put into the Theodosian Walls in the last years of Manuel's reign and they were at there strongest point in the previous two centuries after his death. Nonetheless, the city had not seen such a large and determined host for hundreds of years – and certainly not one with a large assortment of well made siege weaponry. Undoubtedly most of the nobles who were to support Alexius in his bid for the diadem, assured themselves that the current crisis would quickly pass and that the new Angelid emperor would be easily led. Bribery – which had largely disappeared during the reign of Manuel II – it was hoped would return in full force with a new Angelid ruler.

Faced with such overwhelming support, both Theodore Lascaris and Alexius Ducas would quietly remove themselves from any talk of becoming basileus only six days after the death of Manuel II. Such is the way it should have been in any case, and a week after the death of the previous Emperor – Alexius Angelus was to be named the basileus and receive the Imperial diadem from the Patriarch of Constantinople. Donning the purple cloak and boots which came with the diadem, Alexius IV was every bit the image of an Emperor as could be expected, yet during the crisis which was fast approaching its zenith, he was not the man to rule the Empire. Thankfully for the city and indeed the Empire itself, Alexius IV would have the unfortunate luck to rule for only four days before he was disposed by Alexius Ducas.

Artists would depict that advance of the Hungarian army as laying waste to the common Byzantine citizens

The reasons behind the coup of the new Emperor were obviously numerous and due to the rapid disillusionment experienced by the men who had supported his bid for the title of basileus. It seems as though contrary to taking the slightest interest in the defense of the city, he once again threw himself into the debauchery he had become so well known for. Interesting as this fact is, it could not have contributed much to the rapid change of attitudes which occurred only four days into his reign. Instead it must have been caused by the appearance only two days into his reign of the Hungarian army on the outskirts of the city. Reports of its appearances state that the horizon itself was blocked by the sheer weight of numbers presented by King Emeric – more alarming however was the ranks of siege weapons he brought with him.

King Emeric however knew that such a large force (as many as one hundred thousand men), could not remain camped outside the city for a long duration which would be required to starve out the city. Such a tactic was itself rendered moot when one considers that with a friendly Asiatic coastline, the city itself could remain well fed throughout any Hungarian siege. Emeric, thus was to sent several delegates into the city with proposals to end the conflict. These were presented to Alexius IV himself and were if truth be told, exceedingly harsh. In exchange for removing himself from Byzantine soil, Emeric was to demand a yearly tribute of over five thousand pounds of goal – as well he demanded to be granted the title of basileus, in essence proclaiming himself equal to the Emperor. Such a thought was to revile any right thinking Byzantine citizen, however to everyone's shock Alexius IV agreed without contention to all of Emeric's demands.

Alexius IV was to be eliminated in the Bucoleon Palace

Both the aristocracy and the common citizens were outraged over the treaty and within hours both Alexius Ducas and Theodore Lascaris had agreed to overthrow the last Angelid ruler and install themselves as co-Emperors. The fate of Alexius was sealed and due to the disgusting attitude of Alexius IV, no mercy could be given. Accordingly his death was particularly brutal and occurred at the hands of Alexius Ducas, who according to eyewitnesses – killed Alexius by forcing a knife through his left eye.

The Angelid dynasty had reached its end.

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Historical Notes / Historical Fleshing / Post Notes

Well the big thing in this update is the end of the Angelid dynasty. In reality it went like this....

Isaac II (1185 - 1195)
Alexius III (1195 - 1203)
Isaac II & Alexius IV (1203 - 1204)
Alexius V (1204)

...I know Alexius V is from the Ducas family, but it seems he's generally lumped in with them. In this history we've got the following...

Isaac II (1185 - 1195)
Alexius III (1195 - 1197)
Manuel II (1197 - 1199)
Alexius IV (1199)

...what were the big changes though? Well Isaac II didn't die in 1195 and was only blinded by his brother, eventually coming back to rule with his son. Alexius III in reality ruled much longer and was only put out by the Fourth Crusade, which as we know doesn't happen to go to Constantinople in this timeline. Manuel II too is a largely imanginary figure (though we'll get many of those post-1453). Alexius IV got the short end of the stick, but I felt like keeping his reign short.

Compared to the real Angelid dynasty this streak of mostly bad luck - three Emperors killed while wearing the purple - along with the complete emptying of the Imperial treasury until Manuel II comes along, makes the Angelids probably worse in this timeline then in reality. In Anatolia it can been seen that losses are going to be taken to the Seljuk Turks, but worse problems are likely to be seen in the Balkans - though that can wait for another update.

In regards to our two new co-Emperors, they were both important historical figures. Alexius V Ducas was shortly Emperor of Byzantium during the height of the Fourth Crusade and he defended Constaninople against the Crusaders and Venetians. Just like in my chronicle he did work exceedingly hard at building up the walls of the city against its besiegers. Theodore Lascaris is another story - I don't really know what he would have been doing around 1199 in the regular timeline, but seeing as he was in his mid-twenties at the time, I included him to flesh out the chapter and add some possibilities.

Also this is the sixth update in only four days, pretty damned good I think.

[Keravnos]

A real historical account. Congrats. However

The Obelisk of Hippadroma

is either the Obelisk of Hippodromus
or the Obelisk of Hippodromos (the greek spelling). It is an amazing AAR you 're writing, please keep it up.

[Mettermrck]

Another well-written update, sir. It's fascinating reading about this 'mad-capped' dynasty of yours. What's next?

[CSL_GG]

Originally Posted by Mettermrck

Another well-written update, sir. It's fascinating reading about this 'mad-capped' dynasty of yours. What's next?

Regicide, lots and lots of regicide!

[CSL_GG]

Prologue – Part VII


The Chora Monastery

The Siege of Constantinople – Part I

With the death of Alexius IV, the last of the Angelid rulers had been deposed. Over the course of fourteen years the four members of the dynasty had laid the Empire low – the treasury had been all but emptied, so much so that several times Alexius III had entertained the idea of stripping the Hagia Sophia of its most precious artifacts simply to meet Imperial expenses. Though the short reign of Manuel II brought back the confidence of many within the state, his reign was far too short to salvage the reputation of his family. Territorially the nation had also suffered extreme setbacks, particularly in the Balkans where Serbia was to gain its independence after a long struggle in the reign of Isaac II. In Anatolia and the surrounding area the Seljuk Turks continued their endless advance, taking Antioch from the Byzantines in 1192, then continuing to drive headlong until they neared Cappadocia. The conflagration which began during the last months of Manuel's life however was the have far more important considerations for the Empire – Hungary under Emeric was to strip the Empire of a considerable portion of the Balkans, including the Dalmatian coastline. The Serbs, anxious to be in on the spoils also were to join the fray on the Hungarian side, going so far as to put Dyrrachium under siege and taking much of northern Albania. Further to the east, the Bulgarians, anxious to strike back at the Empire which had insulted it so in the previous decades, sent several large armies to capture the Dobrudja. Laying waste to several cities in the area including Dristra and Marcianople, the Bulgarians joined with Emeric on his long march towards Constantinople.

That army which had coalesced out of separate goals now threatened to storm the city, past the seemingly impregnable Theodosian Walls. The new Co-Emperors – Theodore Lascaris and Alexius Ducas – knowing that the climax of the war was quickly approaching redoubled their efforts at improving the defenses of the city and its walls. King Emeric who had only a day before received the delightful news that Alexius IV had accepted his offer was rudely awakened from the thought of an easy siege when the body of the disposed Emperor was hung from the city walls. In a rage it appeared to the Hungarian monarch that the common citizens had viciously mutilated the former Emperor and the knife which had killed him was still lodged in his skull. With thoughts of an easy victory now gone, Emeric ordered his troops to begin the assault.

The Theodosian Walls had been greatly enhanced by Alexius Ducas

Work upon the Theodosian Walls the past few weeks by Alexius Ducas were now vindicated – sections which had been nearly crumbling after the disuse in the Angelid years was now remarkably well established. All along the kilometers of walls, holes had been plugged and in the more important sections Ducas had managed to build the wall even higher then it had been beforehand, particularly around the Golden and Adrian Gates. Only in one area was Ducas to not have time to improve upon – that area around the Gate of Xylokerkos. Located near the only significant dent in the city walls, it was assumed that due to its overlapping coverage, no large scale improvements would be needed upon the wall. That is – until the Hungarian army appeared upon the horizon – in an instant it became clear to all that with the large amount of siege weapons available to the Hungarians, the dilapidated section of the wall was an ever looming threat. Ducas immediately stripped most of the wall to begin reconstruction, but time was not with him.

Areas around the Xylokerkos Gate would become the focal point of the siege

King Emeric seeing this, ordered his first assaults to concentrate heavily upon that section of the walls and before their very eyes the few thousand men which had been relegated to man the walls were to witness the combined might of Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria charging headlong against them. Ducas, who was ever the the valiant soldier, joined his men at the peak of the first assault upon the ramparts of the Xylokerkos Gate and with the purple cape of the basileus beckoning them onwards, the men manning the walls fought with an almost inhuman ferocity, taking no quarter with any Magyar, Serb, or Bulgar that made it onto the walls. Their success at repulsing the first assault was due more to the preparations of Alexius Ducas then any fighting spirit however as the moat which had been filled between the first and second set of walls held in check the vast horde of soldiers attempting to enter the city. Emeric was now presented with the challenge of overcoming the seemingly uncrossable moat which protected the entirety of the land walls.

The solution to this problem was presented quickly by a Hungarian named Urban shortly after the defeat of the first assault. Begging to see the King on the basis of making a way to breech the moat, he was eventually allowed to enter the Kings chambers. The demonstration he presented to Emeric was apparently convincing as by the next day, he had devoted nearly his entire army to undertaking the efforts proposed by Urban. Hundreds were employed digging tunnels towards the land walls, while thousands more began to scour the local countryside attempting to locate several obscure resources – including sal petrae. Securing what resources he needed around a week later Urban set to work creating the miracle he had promised Emeric, but not without several explosive disasters in which several of his assistants were killed. Nonetheless he continued to work diligently on the creation of a large amount of gunpowder and with the tunnels now reaching underneath the first set of walls it was to time to test whether his miracle would indeed produce results.

Hungarian sources claim that at least one hundred pounds of primitive gunpowder were brought to the end of the tunnels that had been so carefully made over the proceeding weeks. Urban, standing next to King Emeric when the explosion was set to explode was positively jubilant, explaining that in one fell swoop the walls of Theodosius would crumble against the mighty explosion which was to follow. Unknown to him the workers sent to move the gunpowder into position had failed in their task miserably – killing themselves and blowing up all of the gunpowder made so far. The explosion was admittedly large and did indeed damage a small section of the wall, but it was not the miracle Urban had promised. King Emeric, enraged that so much time had been wasted turned upon the poor chemist and declared that he was to be executed – his life however was spared when one of the workers who had survived informed them of the accident and Urban was given a reprieve. A second tunnel was to be dug and this time – accident or not – the fate of Urban would lay in the success of his plan.

Hungarian tunnel units would place dozens of pounds of explosives under the Theodosian Walls

The Byzantines had seen all of this happening however and the mysterious destruction of a part of their wall proved to be alarming to everyone. Alexius Ducas was particularly shaken – after all the work he had put into the walls, the Hungarians had destroyed a section of them in an instant, and they could seemingly strike again at any second. Though the though occurred to him to commission counter-tunneling, the moat itself disbarred this idea and as another week past, the defenders were to watch helplessly as the Hungarians quickly commissioned a second tunnel. Knowing that a second explosion and assault were not far in coming, Alexius was to receive his own Urban in the form of a common soldier who recommended using jars of Greek Fire as primitive hand grenades to be dropped from the ramparts against any enemies below. A marvelous idea, Ducas ordered the construction of several hundred of these weapons as he awaited the inevitable second explosion.

Such an explosion was to arrive a week and a half after the first. Originally Urban had promised a second attempt only four days after the first, but he was to push this back on the pretense of making more of the substance many common soldiers were already calling sorcery. All told, when he the second attempt was put into motion over fire hundred pounds of the primitive gunpowder had been made and transported – this time by Urban himself – into the tunnels and underneath the Walls of Theodosius. The subsequent explosion was described by later historians as it ”god himself had struck at the walls of Constantinople”. Just like Urban had promised, as the ash and smoke of the explosion cleared a hole in the first wall had been cleared nearly fifty feet across – the moat and wall had been destroyed and the city lay like a ripe apple in front of King Emeric.

With a section of the land wall destroyed in the explosion, a second assault could commence

The second assault began.

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Historical Notes / Historical Fleshing / Post Notes

Well where should I begin. It seems my prologue is once again spiralling out of control, but that should clear up as soon as the siege is done. In regards to the siege i've placed special importance this post on two things - the improvements by Alexius Ducas and the Hungarian named Urban. I'll discuss Urban first.

I got the idea for Urban from the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The man who made the cannons for the Ottomans was a Hungarian named Urban and I simply decided to pay homage to him as a wall of getting the Hungarians past the Theodosian Walls and it seems to have worked - but will he have much to offer King Emeric after this exploit? Perhaps.

Secondly Alexius Ducas, he as i've stated before was instrumental in the defense of the city during the Fourth Crusade and here he acts no differently, though he is now co-Emperor we didn't see his partner this post, but he'll be here next time, along with the reason he didn't make an appearance.

Why did I select the Xylokerkos Gate for where the Hungarians would assault? Well pure chance, though a search of google and a brief scan tips me that the Ottomans may have gotten into the city via this way in 1453 - which if true is a coincidence on my part. Also the opening image, the Monastery of Chora is placed quite close to that Gate.

Well the second part of this little sub-chapter should be coming soon.

[Mettermrck]

Interesting use of a precursor Urban, I see. I like how the Empire is laid low so far, though I suspect the result will be something different than the traditional 1419 game. Well done so far!

[BBBD]

Excellent AAR, I wonder if you will start with the single province?

I love Bzy AARs, I think if they had more money at the start they could have been contenders.

[CSL_GG]

Update tonight will be a little late as I work to 11:30 EST

[CSL_GG]

Prologue – Part VIII


The Cemberlitas

The Siege of Constantinople – Part II

In an instant the plans so carefully laid by the Emperor Alexius V had been smashed to ruin, like the walls that laid in front of his eyes. Within only a few minutes the water which had previously presented a large problem towards scaling the Theodosian Walls was removed almost entirely. Along the walls and near the Xylokerkos Gate, the defenders – demoralized to a man – viewed with contempt as thousands of Hungarian soldiers rushed into the still smoldering gap and put up their first ladders.

Sources that survive tell us that the battle which followed was particularly brutal – perhaps the most inhuman affair ever seen in a siege of that city – hundreds on each side were undoubtedly killed that day, with many thousands others injured. Those primitive grenades which the Byzantines had devised were used to devastating effect when they were throw atop the heads of those men attempting to scale the high walls in front of them. Greek Fire it must be said was a fearsome weapon, water it was said could not even stop it from burning and the only way many men that day survived was by urinating on their fellow soldiers. Without such means, soldiers would die as the Fire burned itself down to their bones. For the Byzantines all was going well even with a large section of the wall being destroyed in the initial explosion – confidence that had been lost was regained as what attempts the Hungarians made were time and again repulsed.

Alexius V "Murtzouphlos" Ducas

Alexius V it can be said was at the time upon the Xylokerkos Gate, fighting with his troops. Time and again his personal bodyguard of Varangians attempted to persuade Murtzouphlos to return to safety – but each time he refused. All would have been well had he agreed to heed their caution or simply moved to a different location on the land walls. Instead with his distinct purple cape and boots he was an open target to any Hungarian who looked for glory – many of which did. In an unlucky chance, the Emperor was to be hit with an errant arrow, the blow itself was probably not fatal – however it unbalanced him and before anyone could steady him, he was to fall from the walls into the dense mass of Hungarians below, thought never to be seen alive again. Amid the confusion, many of the men milling below did not notice their good luck – the distinct Imperial vestments being hid from them for several minutes. All of this changed when members of the Varangian Guard were to enter the fray directly by way of an ill-used door on the ground level. While they had seen the Emperor fall, many still believed him to be alive, and even if he wasn't they desired to bring his body back to the city where it would receive a proper burial.

A soldier of the Varangian Guard

The appearance of the dozens of axe wielding Scandinavians at once put much of the Hungarian army into panic. Looking upwards to any threats, many of them did not see the ground level threat until it was too late. The effectiveness of the Imperial bodyguard was instantly shown as within minutes they had carved a path through the Hungarians towards where several men had seen Murtzouphlos land. While Serbians and Bulgarians had previously been told of the ferocity of the Scandinavians, no such warning had apparently been issued to the Hungarian foot soldiers and their short blades and leather armor proved little protection to the sheer ferocity behind each swing of a Varangian axe. The appearance of the Imperial Guard had alerted the Hungarians to the fact that the Emperor was now in their midst and even as the Varangians came nearer, they searched in vain for Alexius V. Unable to find them and with a large amount of Byzantines bearing down on them, what remained of the Hungarian assault was forced to pull away from the walls and out of the gap. Only a few hours later would the Varangians find Alexius “Murtzouphlos” Ducas – barely breathing and white as a corpse. Knowing his time was at an end, they carried their Emperor back into the city – past the thousands of already mourning soldiers and into the Hagia Sophia where he was given the last rites and promptly died.

The Hagia Sophia, where Alexius V was to die

The reign of Alexius V had been short indeed - less then a month - but in that small amount of time, he had become well loved by both his soldiers and the common citizens. Soldiers had become enamored with him as he himself shared their hardships atop the battlements and personally took part in the strengthening of the walls. Such cannot be said of his co-Emperor, Theodore Lascaris who during the same time had left the capital on the pretense of rallying more troops in Anatolia. Though he returned three days before the death of Alexius V, the soldiers and citizens already distrusted him for leaving the city during its most formative crisis. Beforehand they had already begun to dislike him, but now that he was seen to abandon them, he was nearly reviled – but that was to shortly change.

King Emeric had by now seen the disastrous cost attributed with attempting to storm the cities walls. Well over seven thousand men were to die in the three days they tried to storm the gap and the walls after it, scores more were to be injured. An unmitigated disaster, he briefly flirted with the idea of placing more gunpowder under the walls – only to be told by Urban that the remaining portions of the moat precluded such an attempt. With winter fast approaching and Venice making troubling motions on the Dalmatian coast, it was clear that the siege could go on no longer.

The Venetians were to pose a problem for Hungary as the siege ended

While Theodore I was to be called the man who lifted the siege, he did nothing to do as such and though the common citizens loved him for soon vastly subsidizing the price of bread, the soldiers always remembered who had saved the city – Alexius Murtzouphlos. But Alexius V was dead, and Theodore I was still alive – ready to start his own Lascaris dynasty.

[Mettermrck]

Now to see what the long-term fallout from this siege is...

[Darks63]

nice update as usual

[BBBD]

A brave man dies and a coward is proclaimed a hero.

Such is the whim of the masses

[CSL_GG]

Next update will come tommorow night.

[CSL_GG]

Prologue – Part IX


Aqueduct of Valens

Theodore I Lascaris

With the lifting of the siege and the removal of tens of thousands of Slavic soldiers from the doorsteps of Constantinople, Theodore I Lascaris could get down to the dirty business of beginning his reign as sole Emperor. One at this time in the story must look at the Byzantine Empire as it existed when King Emeric returned to Hungary to deal with a growing Venetian threat. Since 1180, the Empire had contracted significantly – all territory remaining in Crimea had been lost. Antioch, one of the most important cities in the Empire had fallen to the Seljuk Turks. Several Themes such as Cappadocia, Cilicia, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Armeniakon, Anatolikon, and Galatia had either fallen totally to the Turks or were in the process of doing so. Most of the work regaining territory lost after the disaster at Manzikert by the Comnenid dynasty, had been all but undone by the following Angelus rulers. Of the three great islands the Byzantines controlled in 1180, only Crete and Rhodes were to remain in their hands when Theodore I was crowned as the sole Emperor – Cyprus had been lost during the Third Crusade and was at the time in the hands of Amalric of Lusignan. While the losses in Anatolia were to prove the most drastic for the Empire, larger losses had been provoked in the Balkans were the whole of the Dalmatian coastline, along with Serbia and the Dobrudja had been lost.

Byzantine territory in 1204

Militarily the Byzantine Empire had suffered grievously since the death of Manuel I Comnenus, though it had been briefly honed again by Manuel II Angelus. Still, even after the siege of Constantinople, the military was in shambles and many of its soldiers were to fight with scythes and other ramshackle instruments of war while on the ramparts. Alexius V had done his best to fix this by having the blacksmiths of the city craft several thousand swords, armor pieces, and pikes – yet this was only a temporary stop gap for the problem. Though Alexius V was undoubtedly keen upon the idea of rejuvenating the professionalism of the armed forces to a level not seen since the days of Basilios II Bulgaroktonos (Eng. Basil II “the Bulgar Slayer”), his attempts at this were cut short before they bore real fruit. Had Alexius V lived perhaps another twenty years and become sole ruler the subsequent history of the Byzantine state would have been happier then it was to become. This is not to deride the contributions of Theodore I Lascaris however, though he was absent from the city during most of the siege, he was to prove following the death of his co-Emperor to be a loyal friend to the military establishment. Events out of his control however which might have been better handled by Alexius Ducas were however to hamstring his efforts at holding what the Empire had, much less regaining lost territory.

In contrast to the former Emperors since at least Manuel Comnenus nearly twenty years before hand, Theodore Lascaris was to prove to be a competent administrator when it came to affairs of the state. Over the course of his twenty three year reign Theodore I was to prove to be the cork upon which the decay of the Empire was largely stopped – though admittedly this was to be only temporary. The seemingly easy way at which he also was to stop the advances of King Emeric after his coronation as sole Emperor was a testament to his guile and slyness in which he conducted diplomacy – seemingly offering rich spoils, while keeping his real hand concealed until it was needed. More then that, in regards to military matters he was to prove at least the equal of Manuel II Angelus in dealing with external threats to the Empire. This was to come in handy due to the fact that what military forces remained in the Empire were ramshackle and nearly demoralized after such a show of force by the Byzantines Balkan neighbors.

Seljuk Turks were to pose the most grave threat to the Empire during the reign of Theodore Lascaris

Of the Imperial coffers, much has been said – nevertheless the defense needed to protect the capital in its more dire straights had depleted what had been left of the surplus managed by Manuel II. Feeling as though the Empire itself was in dire straights after the treaty with King Emeric, Theodore I began to do three things. The first was to confiscate as much Church property as needed on the pretense that it was needed to safe guard the Empire – a privilege only used twice in the history of the Byzantine Empire, not since Alexius I Comnenus and before him Heraclius. While this had been offered to Heraclius willingly by the Patriarch, such was not the case for either Alexius I or Theodore I – however it was at the time out of the hands of the Patriarch who could only grumble. Secondly, Theodore I was to raise the levels of taxation drastically, both on the citizens of the state and in regards to trade tariffs through Constantinople. To this issue both the civilian populace and the traders – many from Venice and Genoa – were to complain loudly of. To satisfy the demands of the civilians within Constantinople, Theodore Lascaris brought about the most novel of ideas – he would return the practice of free bread within the city walls, an idea which had floundered since the movement of the Imperial capital to Constantinople during the reign of Constantine the Great. Though this right was to be removed swiftly in a few years time – it was a most astute move by the new Emperor and earned him much goodwill within the city, even after the taxation woes to which Theodore had also managed to deflect upon a lesser known court eunuch. Managing to sooth the tempers of both the Venetians and Genoese was to prove a far harder task however, a diplomatic solution composed of extending their privileges within the city and granting them preferred status in the Empire was to quickly glaze over the problem. Thirdly, Theodore Lascaris was to continue in the footsteps of several of his predecessors by attempting to curb the influence of many of the noble families which had largely profited by way of bribery during the reign of the Angelid dynasty. As such by the end of the first decade of the thirteenth century, the Imperial treasury had been all but restored to its former glory.

In regards to the fortunes of war, it was to be seen in that Theodore Lascaris was every bit a champion as many of his forbearer's such as Alexius V, Manuel II, and even Manuel I. During the siege of Constantinople by King Emeric and his assorted horde of Hungarians, Serbs, and Bulgars, he had not been seen within the walls – instead he was to deal with an assortment of problems plaguing the Empire in Anatolia. The first of which was a minor rebellion under the leadership of a certain John Thorakides – though he was but a minor threat in comparison to King Emeric, he was nevertheless crushed by Lascaris and his eyes put out. Following this small rebellion, Lascaris traveled north to Nicaea where he had to divert to the frontier regions past Attaleia to deal with several large incursions by Seljuk Turks. As it was, while he was dealing with such a threat, the paupers in Constantinople were to call him a traitor and a coward in full view of Imperial soldiers – a fact many of them took long to forget. Nevertheless upon removing from the Balkan hordes from the walls of the city his absence from the city was quickly forgotten – probably due to the stories his own troops brought with them.

Theodore Lascaris was to bring Serbia back under the control of the Byzantine Empire

In the more then two decades in which he was to occupy the throne of Byzantium and reign as Emperor, several wars would grip the Empire and as such it would know widespread peace for only three of the years he was on the throne. Shunning much of the pomp and circus associated with holding the office of Emperor and preferring spartan comforts to the lazy relaxation of an Imperial palace, Theodore Lascaris was perhaps the man best suited to keeping the Empire intact during the initial decades of the thirteenth century. The enemies which surrounded the Empire were numerous – to the east lay the vast Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, centered as it was in central Anatolia it was perhaps the most dangerous threat to the Empire and pointed like a dagger towards Constantinople. Likewise in the Balkans, Theodore Lascaris was to negotiate a minefield of enemies centered around not only Serbia and Hungary, but also Bulgaria, Croatia and rising ethnic disturbances in Wallachia. Should they have attack at the same time during the formative years of his reign, Lascaris would have been almost powerless to stop any of their advances, however he was to prove ever the opportunist – playing his opponents off each other better then any Emperor since Basil II. Never it was seen did open warfare begin in both Anatolia and the Balkans during his rule and by early in the new century his military reforms which had revitalized and crafted a professional army had put Serbia back under Byzantine suzerainty and the Bulgars had been forced into paying a yearly tribute. Hungary, which had posed such a dreadful problem to the Empire during the dying days of the twelfth century was quickly reduced to internal bickering after the early death of King Emeric in 1204. Succeeded by his son Ladislaus III, his reign was short and he was replaced with King Andrew II – such a turn of events was an incredible boon to Theodore I. Only in Anatolia did the Sultanate of Rum pose a real and continuing threat to the Empire, and it was here that the most effort by Theodore Lascaris was shed. Due to such determined effort by the time of his death in 1222, little to no noticeable changes had been made to the map of Anatolia since his reign began.

John III Ducas Vatatzes

Despite his attempts at having a male heir however, it was not to be – his wife Anna Angelina was to have two daughters but bore no fruit in regards to a replacement upon his death. Knowing his choice of successor would either save the nation or doom it to a quick slaughter he was to choose one of the ablest soldiers Byzantium had seen in decades and would not see again in some time – John Vatatzes, and though he was to suffer and die from his bouts of epilepsy – he was perhaps to be the most important man in Byzantine history since Alexius I Comnenus.

[Sir Humphrey]

I love this AAR. It hgrows ever more interesting.

[Darks63]

i dont know why but byzantine is so interesting. great aar though will u be watching the hbo series rome this saturday CSL_GG