The Purple Resplendent - A Byzantine AAR

[Pirate Z]

THE PURPLE RESPLENDENT




A Byzantine AAR telling the story

Of the revival of the ancient Eastern Roman Empire

And the people involved in this momentous undertaking

_______________________________

And here it is -- my very own AAR. I've been planning to do one for quite some time, and finally I have gathered my courage and done so. See this as a placeholder post, the prologue will come in the next post; I have to finalize/check it first. Expect it later today though!

Scenario is 1337; patch is 1.04a; mods include new CoA's, better Muslim portraits, and new CoA frames.

Note: This AAR in no way aspires to be historical -- excepting, of course, equipment, locations, clothing, speak, behavior, etc. The characters, however, are subject to my own dramatization. If you'd like to know how, or even why, feel free to PM me.

Besides that, transliteration will be Latin as opposed to Greek. Use of names for cultures etc. will rest on the culture that the person speaking or thinking will come from ("Franks" or "Latins" when Greeks are referring to Westerners, for instance). Place names or names of buildings will either be translated into English or transliterated into Latin. The Byzantine Empire will usually be referred to as the "Roman Empire", but sometimes I will opt for "Byzantium" or "Byzantine(s)" if it suits the situation (for instance historical explanation), since it makes it clearer for the modern reader what is being talked about, even though the term itself wasn't applied to the place before the 19th century.

[Pirate Z]

Prologue



“There is nothing more conducive to the destruction of a nation, whether it be republic or monarchy, than the lack of men of wisdom or intellect. When a republic has many citizens, or a monarchy many ministers, of high quality it quickly recovers from those losses that are brought about by misfortune. When such men are lacking, it falls into the very depths of disgrace.”

John Cantacuzenus
to ambassadors from the Empress Irene

Byzantium. A name which had once inspired many things in the complex mind of men. Fear, awe, jealousy, hatred, love, piety—all were inspired by that single name.

But it no longer did, these days. No, Byzantium, what was that place? An empire only in name, a nation of schismatics, where corruption was normality and where a divided people squabbled over the last puny remnants of their greatness.

To say nothing of the enemies surrounding it. Once, to defy Byzantium was to invite certain defeat and humiliation. But now, its power was gone, its morale broken, its people unwilling to take up arms and defend themselves. Meanwhile, a great host of enemies surrounded it on all fronts, vying amongst each other for that prize of prizes, that pearl which so many men had desired for so long: Constantinople.

For that city, even languishing for so long in its seemingly inevitable decline, even believed to have now finally been abandoned by the Holy Virgin, its Savior, still inspired one thing: desire.

And it was that desire which threatened the Empire still. Impoverished, weakened and demoralized, its people had all but given up. Once stretching from the jibr al-Tariq – Gibraltar – as the Arabs called it, to the sapphire expanse of the Tigris, it was now limited to a humble stretch of land hugging the northeastern coast of the Aegean, at the mercy of Venetians, Genoese, the Serbians of Stephen Dushan, and—of course—the Turks, who had arrived in a great tide in Asia, driving refugees before them like so many wreckage from a storm surge.

How could it possibly survive? While its own power had diminished considerably, the enemies of Byzantium had never lessened in number. Now, they seemed closer than ever to their final goal. It seemed Byzantium got only the opposite of what it needed every single time – indeed; maybe the belief that the Holy Virgin and maybe even God himself had deserted the Empire was justified.

For when Byzantium needed unity, it got civil war. When it needed loyalty, it got dissension. When it needed strength, it got weakness. When it needed courage, it got cowardice. When it needed longevity, it got premature death. When it needed allies, it got enemies. When it needed wisdom, it got stupidity. Christ the Savior seemed to have turned his benevolence elsewhere.

But all these things would change. John was sure of it. As he stood in the ruins of the ancient Greek acropolis at the mouth of the Golden Horn, he could smell it in the air, taste it even. And it would be him that would direct this change, nurture it, see to it that it would come to full bloom.

He was only four, but he was an intelligent boy, and had learned to walk and talk earlier than most children of his age. He had been fascinated by the stories of his ancestors, the emperors Constantine, Heraclius, the Basils, Alexius Comnenus and his son, John the Beautiful, told to him by one of his attendants, a monk called Basil, who had been converted from following the False Prophet to the One True Faith. And he had taken to coming to the old imperial palace to breathe in the atmosphere as Basil told him of the great deeds of the Romans, how proud they had been, and how every time of deep crisis, when every soul in his good mind believed the empire to be at an end at long last, had been abated by a great man.

This January evening, with the cold already starting to overwhelm the warmth the rays of the sun brought, he looked out over the Golden Horn, behind him the derelict, abandoned palace which had housed all the great characters of Basil’s stories. The monk had gone to Mount Athos to meditate again for a few weeks, as he regularly did in the winter months, leaving John to contemplate alone, in silence, while his attendants waited nearby with strict orders not to approach into eyesight.

There was Galata, where the Genoese tried incessantly to bleed the Empire dry, and where the Venetians tried to wrest from them their valuable trade colony. There was the Golden Horn, its waters proving their name in the sunset of the same color, and where the small fleet of his father, Andronicus III, rested. There, too, were the empty docks of the various harbors of hè Polis, the City. Oh, how he wished to see the ships which were now in Galata’s harbor to come to Constantinople again, to make the wealth for which it was fabled tangible once more!

Yes, it would be him, John V, who would bring the Empire back to its former glory. It would be him who would stem the tide of the Turks. It would be him who would make Byzantium inspire once again. And it would be him who would be told of to children before all other saviors of the Empire!

[Nikolai]

Great start! *subscribes*

[Midgardmetal]

Consider me subscribed to this one as well!

[SecondReich]

Awesome to see a new Byzantium AAR. I never get tired of East Roman Empire stories.

But...if you're gonna start you better take it all the way. I want to see the whole map in Imperial purple.

[Fiftypence]

Excellent start, Pirate! Paint Europe purple.

[Paranoid Tsar]

Excellent start so far! You're actually making me sympathetic to Byzantium, which isn't easy to do.

Originally Posted by Pirate Z

For when Byzantium needed unity, it got civil war. When it needed loyalty, it got dissension. When it needed strength, it got weakness. When it needed courage, it got cowardice. When it needed longevity, it got premature death. When it needed allies, it got enemies. When it needed wisdom, it got stupidity. Christ the Savior seemed to have turned his benevolence elsewhere.

I really liked this paragraph. It's a nice series of contrasts and the final summary at the end really fits the tone well.

John V has his work cut out for him, no doubt about that. Looking forward to more!

[coz1]

Very nice start. I enjoyed your bits in Alhazen's AAR and if they are any indication, this should be quite good. Consider me subscribed.

[VILenin]

Yes! There can never be too many Byzantine AARs, IMHO. I've been wanting to do something about the late period of the empire, and now I don't have too. Good luck starting in 1337.

[A trooper]

Originally Posted by Vincent Julien

Following this closely.

As am i

[Pirate Z]

Prologue (cont.)

Cold spray hit George’s face like a whip, as the cold January wind made even the Bosporus unruly.

He looked over the bulwark of the small merchant ship, at the Asian coast. Home no longer to the Orthodox, but to Islam. To the Turk. And that Turk had taken possession of all of Asia, save for those cities he had not bothered to starve into submission.

He sighed, and turned around, resting his tired body against the sturdy wood of the bulwark. There it was—his destination. Constantinople—the City. Home of the representative of God on Earth—the isapostolos, the Equal of the Apostles, the Emperor of Rome.

He had never seen her before. And even in the state in which she was now, how beautiful she was!

Her mighty sea walls dared any foolish enough to try and take them on. Her myriad domes made a first-time visitor stare in awe. And even though they were virtually empty, her many harbors were a testimony to man’s ingenuity, and George’s imagination filled them with fat merchant pliers and sleek men-o-war.

“You there!” came the gruff brogue from across the poop deck. “Weren’t you the one that wanted to go to the Greeks’ city?”

It was the stocky captain of the ship. George found it hard to discern what nationality the man possessed. His looks suggested his being Slavic, but his Italian accent disagreed.

“Well? Don’t stand there staring misty-eyed at that effete pile of marble! Answer me, if you will!”

Offended at the man’s comment on the City, George put his hand on the pommel of his blade reflexively, “Yes. That was I. When are we going to arrive?”

“Oh, won’t take too long now. By the Lord, I think I haven’t visited Constantinople in a good decade or two! Oh well, it’ll make a welcome change from those grimy Genoese up in Galata, eh!”

George did not respond. As the captain ambled to the aft hollering orders, he thought of the nature of his assignment.

How would the people in the City react to the news? How would his superiors react?

Probably without much emotion, he thought wryly. No, the Romans had not paid much attention to Asia since they had recaptured the City almost eighty years ago. The Turks, fleeing from the Tartars much like his own people, had seen and taken the chance to overrun the Asian territories of the Empire.

Now they had overrun his home, as well. He wondered how his friends and family fared now that he was away as messenger. Then, the terrible implications of his task hit him.

How long, indeed, would Philadelphia last, if the Romans decided to focus on the West once more? What would happen to his family if the Karamanids succeeded where they had failed thirty-five years ago?

The shining light that seemed to emanate from the City dimmed.

[Pirate Z]

Nikolai, Midgardmetal, Vincent Julien, A trooper: Thanks! I'll strive to make this as interesting as possible, and to finish it.

SecondReich, Fiftypence: First we'll have to revive the Byzantines as they are; we'll have to see if we can revive their imperal ambition if it is already so hard to revive their spirit alone!

Paranoid Tsar: Wow, thanks. I sat there for a moment and thought to myself, "Wow, PT said that about my AAR! "

coz1: Thanks; this baby might contain a little surprise in relation to the d'Altamures, but I'm not quite sure yet about that.

VILenin: Yep, 1337 is a life-or-death situation for the Byzantines I suppose. Still, it is a lot easier than the AGCEEP 1419 scenario!

BTW, I've now upgraded to the latest beta patch.

[coz1]

George's vision is a clouded one indeed - the beauty of the city haunted by the failures of the past. But surely he will be pleased as things move forward, as I assume at some point Byzantium will fight to take Asia back.

[Midgardmetal]

Originally Posted by Pirate Z

1337 is a life-or-death situation for the Byzantines I suppose. Still, it is a lot easier than the AGCEEP 1419 scenario!

Are you going to go for minor Asian sultanates? You start with pretty decent manpower, and can roll over them with little effort - at least as long as you don't take on the Ottomans or the Germiyan right away, until you are ready to roll over them. In my game ("House of Palaiologos" AAR) I pretty much went for the throat, and stopped only after Karaman was annexed - but then I made an error of fighting Germiyan (I think it was them, allied to the Ottos) before replenishing my troops. I was still able to salvage the situation eventually, but it only delays my inevitable reconquest of Asia Minor by a year or so...

[BBBD]

Great effort Pirate Z, I have enjoy your posts on other threads, good to see you start your own AAR, I am sure it will be an award winner.

[Gil galad]

Looks interesting!
*subscribes*

[Fiftypence]

Marvellous.

Things certainly seem gloomy for the Byzantines, let's hope they can turn the situation in Asia around.

[SecondReich]

Great AAR. The Turks are gonna get theirs.

[Pirate Z]

Prologue (cont.)

Constantinople was quiet. The city slept the restless sleep belonging to those kept on their toes, and as such the great walls were not all that gave off a sign of activity in the darkness of the night.

One such source of light came from the Imperial Palace, located in the Blachernae quarter, where Theodosius’ walls gave way to a single great bastion which protected the Imperial quarters.

“So the Turk has decided to have another go, eh?” Santiago Rodriguez de la Cruz asked uncouthly in his average mastery of Greek.

The Greeks in the room—he was the only Spaniard present—shifted uneasily at the barbarian’s easy way of speaking in the presence of the Emperor.

“Yes, they did indeed,” Andronicus said, breaking the unease of silence, “What were the exact words of the messenger on this matter?” He spoke of the siege of the last inland outpost of the Romans in Asia as if it were nothing more than a simple financial transaction.

Santiago understood the intent of those words, “My Lord, pardon, but Philadelphia is hoping for your intervention. And the Muslim habit towards towns that resist is well known to us all, I fear.”

“What do you expect us to do, my Frankish friend?” John Cantacuzenus demanded. This barbarian was loud-mouthed to the point of offense considering he was nothing but a mercenary leader!

He agreed with Santiago, however—almost grudgingly. Yet what could the Empire do? The Emperor Andronicus had done much to reverse it, but the decades of his father’s rule had left the Romans in no position to campaign against the Turks. Philadelphia was isolated, alone, an island in a sea of Turks. The weak Imperial army was in no position to repeat Roger de Flor’s feats.

“Why, I expect us to go to the relief of the city, of course! The Karamanids are no Mamluks, milord, they will—”

“Sirs, good sirs—please,” Andronicus said tiredly, rubbing his temples, “This is no time to create a grudge. The fact remains that we have no means to come to the rescue of Philadelphia. It is unfortunate but true. Now, what is happening in Epirus, John?”

As he went over the various struggling factions and their sympathies in the ruin that remained of the Epirote Despotate, John saw, glancing at Santiago when the Emperor made a comment, that the Spaniard was not content in any way.

About halfway towards dawn, Santiago excused himself. Andronicus followed soon after.

“Samuel,” he uttered. A man dressed in the simple, drab clothing of a commoner stepped lightly out of the shadows of the room at the Grand Domestic’s beckoning. “Follow the Spaniard. See if he meets with the messenger and if so, report to me what they are doing.”

The man said nothing; he simply nodded and exited the room. Left alone, John sighed. He wished he could trust his konostaulos, the leader of the Latin soldiers in his army, who held an important part in the Empire’s defense—yet he couldn’t. He wouldn’t let a barbarian’s foreign notion of ‘chivalry’, as they seemed to call it, endanger the fragile borders of the state he had devoted his life to.

[Pirate Z]

coz1: Indeed, indeed. But I intend to roleplay this game a bit, abiding by the rules of realism set out by the historical situation (and not by the game, since ingame the Byzantines are markedly stronger in 1337 than they were in real life).

Midgardmetal: Mmyes, I have done that before; it was fun. But as I said above, I'm roleplaying this game to suit history, so retrieving imperial rule over Epirus is paramount at this moment. IRL, the Byzantines had no chance in hell to go campaigning in Asia Minor; the tagmata they could bring probably amounted to no more than 6000-7000 men together -- not the 20000 ingame -- opposed by the tens of thousands of men that the more powerful emirs could field.

BBBD, Gil galad: Thanks!

Fiftypence: Yep, the Byzantines really aren't having a swell walk in the park.

SecondReich: In due time