The Empire Strikes Back - a Byzantine Megacampaign (Part 1)

[Idhrendur]

This was Konstantinos X of the Empire.*

Clubfooted, arbitrary, gluttonous, lustful, and zealous, he was not what you would consider the best of Emperors. In fact, after rising to rule the empire, he had succeeded mostly in cripling the military and losing land. By the time the Seljuks invaded, things were bad.

Even fools see sense sometimes. Konstantinos began saving money to begin rebuilding the army. He worked to convince the court to raise taxes on cities.

And he raised the levies of the Empire. When most of the army had gather in Teluch, skilled commanders were set in charge, and the army moved to seize Seljuk lands. Christians, even heretic ones, would be freed of their heathen overlords for a time.

This angered Sultan Arp Aslan I, who stopped besieging christian lands, and instead marched to stop the Empire's army.

This did not work out well for him.

As more christians were freed from the heathen yoke, the Seljuks brought in reinforcements. The Roman army was outnumbered so Konstantinos, who had learned to be honest (even to himself), hired some mercenaries to round out the Roman army.

The combined Roman forces attacked the combined Seljuk forces.

And bested them.

Holding were recaptured, and the fleeing army was pursued. And after several months, it was completely destroyed.

And soon thereafter, the Seljuks agreed to peace.

*"Just the Empire. It's understandable. There's no need for elaborate names when there's only one game in town." - Avernum II

 

[Idhrendur]

The Seljuk invasion defeated, Konstantinos began to march the armies home. While he did so, the dukes of the Empire presented an ultimatum, weakening his power. Recognizing that the Empire must remain united to stand against the heathens and the heretics (and that the dukes could raise more men than he), the Emperor acceded to their demand. But when other dukes demanded to be released from their bonds to the Empire, Konstantinos refused them. After all, a shattered Empire was a weakened Empire. And he could raise more men than they could.

But various malcontents flocked to the rebel banner. Recognizing the need for more men, Konstantinos established a retinue of cataphracts.

While men were recruited, he sent the army to attack rebels in the east. Many forces were smashed, many holdings captured. And eventually, Konstanios had more men under arms than did Count Petrislav, the rebel leader. Konstantios sent the army to meet them. To goad the rebels to attack, the army began recapturing territory from the rebels.

The plan to goad the rebels army to attack failed, but enough territory was recaptured that the rebels agreed to a 'white peace'. One that landed the rebel leader in the dungeon. This was a quite satisfactory outcome.

 

[Idhrendur]

Konstantinos had just defeated a rebellion in the Empire, itself launched just after a Seljuk invasion had been turned back.

Konstantinos allowed the levies to return to their homes, and pondered what might come next. The Fatimids might decide to strike. Though the Seljuks were facing a nasty civil war, leaving their western territories ripe for the picking.

However, the manpower of the Empire was depleted. Konstantinos decided to give it time to replenish before he took action. During this time his third son, Andronikos, came of age. He was swiftly married to Princess Emma, sister to the King of France.

By the time the levies were restored (and a new unit of cataphracts raised), the Seljuk civil war had ended. Konstantinos considered where he might restore the light of true Christendom.

Wars were declared and armies raised and sent overseas. In but a few months, the heathens had been driven out.

The lands were apportioned out, with Andronikos being given overall control of the newly-formed Duchy of Sicily.

In 1076, Prince Konstantios, Heir to the Empire, came of age.

A suitable wife was found for him, and he was given control of the barony of Blachernae. This would give him the opportunity to practice ruling, but was close enough to Constantinople that he still moved in the centres of power.

The next winter, after raising yet another unit of cataphracts, Konstantinos again looked for weakened heathens. And saw that the Fatimids were in a civil war. This was an opportunity that could not be missed.

 

[Idhrendur]

Emperor Konstantinos X took advantage of a Fatamid civil war to regain parts of the Patriarchy of Jerusalem.

He brought overwhelming force to bear against Fatamid rebels, and the occasional Fatimid force. But during the midst of the war, Prince Andronikos died of old battle-wounds, leaving his infant son in charge of Sicily.

Despite his sorrow, Konstantinos persevered in the war, and before long, he had reclaimed much for the Empire.

While soldiers traveled home and lords took hold of their newly-assigned holdings, Konstaninos enacted a long-planned plot to take the county of Kalioplolis for himself.

There was a spot of fighting to finish the deed, but it was of small matter. He again tried raising the taxes on cities, that first civil war having ended the earlier push. He was an established enough leader that this was a matter of great ease.

That goal accomplished, he held a grand tournament to celebrate his many victories. There was tragedy: three major injuries from the tournament and an unnecessary duel that left another knight nearly dead. But all agreed that the tournament was glorious!

Some time later, fights between supporters of different chariot racing teams become riots. While Konstantios could have sent in the Varangian Guard, but this seemed unnecessarily cruel to him. He let the city militia put down the riots. They succeeded without too much loss of life.

The years flew by. In November 1081, Konstantios noticed that the Emir in control of Jerusalem was in a civil war against the Fatimids. He promptly declared war.

 

[Idhrendur]

Konstantinos X gathered his armies and sent them to the Levant. The lands rebelling against the Fatimids could not stand before Konstantinos' forces. But neither could they stand against the Fatimid armies. While Acre fell the the Empire, Jerusalem fell to the Fatimids. Konstantios attempted a simulatenous strike on the main Fatimid army from two of his forces.

It was a great success.

The Empire's armies were quickly able to conquer Jerusalem and all nearby holdings for themselves. As soon as they had, the Emir surrendured.

The Empire had reclaimed the Duchy of Jerusalem, and had seized lands from some minor rulers in Syria who had also been rebelling against the Fatimids.

The lands were distributed, the armies sent home. The Patriarchy of Jerusalem restored to its authority.

Time passed. The armies recovered. More cataphracts were recruited. And the last county on Sicily not held by the Empire came under the control of Tripoltania. Konstantinos knew to not waste the opportunity.

Victory was swift and overwhelming.

The county was given to the duke of Sicily. When the armies had recovered, Konstantios declared war to recover Napoli from the heathens.

The Zirid Sultinate was a weak one, so Konstantios sent only his own forces. Sure enough, the Zirids were quickly driven to surrender. Once the cataphracts were recovered, Konstantinos declared war against the Pechengs.

And in the midst of this war, he received a grave injury, one that led to his death.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Emperor Konstantinos X. He was born in 1006 and began ruling the Empire in 1059.

Early in his reign, he nearly led the Empire into complete disaster, earning himself the epithat of 'Ill-Ruler'. But he eventually began to rule sensibly. His accomplishments included:

Establishing a core force of cataphracts for the Empire.

Expanding his family's personal holdings.

Increasing taxes on the cities.

Expanding the reach of the Empire via holy wars against heathens.

Correcting the heresies of many of in Anatolia.

And increasing the value of new learning in the Empire.

However, he never succeeded in saving much money. He truly was an indulgent wastrel.

On October 8, 1085, he died and was succeeded by his third son, Konstantios III.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Emperor Konstantios III. He had become Emperor on October 8, 1085.

Like his father before him, he was zealous. He was also humble, though prone to great anger. When he inherited the throne, his father's war against the Pechenegs was still raging. But it was quickly finished. While the armies recovered, Konstantios focused on his court, including resisting temptation.

Allowing the armies to recover was fortunate, for the Fatimids declared war. During the war, Empress Sophia bore a daughter, the first child of Konstanios to be born in the purple. Little Anastasia was first in line for the throne.

The war itself was going well. One army in the north gathered and began seizing isolated Fatimids territories,

while a second army in the south devastated Fatimid holdings.

As a large Fatimid army appeared in the vicinity of Jerusalem, and the northern army prepared to move to avoid it. But the Fatimid force inexplicably moved south after conquering a bare minimum of territory. The northern army quickly moved to reclaim it. Meanwhile, the southern army had conquered much, but consumption in Alexandria had been devastating to their numbers. And then the Fatimid army arrived before them. They prepared to retreat to their ships, but not before they had conquered everything they could.

The armies used the fleet to avoid the Fatimid force, which seemed content to march off into conquered territory. They began sieging the Nile delta, and failed to notice the Fatimid army (now itself devastated by consumption) had turned back. Battle was joined.

The Fatimid's drive to battle resulted in disaster for them. Their army was defeated.

The fleeing men were followed and beaten again and again. This was too much for the Caliph, who surrendered on 8 September 1087.

The reparations from the war were enough to satisfy Konstantios' ambition to save wealth (a goal his father had never achieved, but Konstantios was a much better steward of his possessions). But he was furious! Heathens had dared to attack the greatest stronghold of true orthodox Christianity! While he returned the armies home to recover, he plotted his revenge.

 

[Idhrendur]

Emperor Konstantios III had beaten back an attack by the Fatimids. During the Triumph (a small one to honor the soldiers, Konstantios was humble about his own role), Konstatios was fuming. That heathens would attack the bastion of true Christianity infuriated him. While the Cataphracts recovered, he stirred up the peoples. He explained how the heathens were misled and far from God, wicked in their sin, but eagerly waiting to be adopted into the family of God and redeemed. He described how their leaders had failed them, and how Christian leaders must be set in place (the old leaders being severely punished, of course). The people were moved by this, and eager to go to war. Later historians would refer to these wars as the Χριστιανός ρυπαρός υιοθεσία (XRW) - The Christian Adoption of the Wicked. Though the bodies recovered from Konstantios' dungeons after his death would make them wonder as to the actual motivations behind the wars. Several of the bodies had displayed signs of torture, and many of the prisoners had languished for decades.

While the armies prepared, Empress Sophia bore Konstantios a son. He was named Konstantinos after so many Emperors before. Being born in the purple, he was heir, ahead of all his other siblings.

On Christ's Mass, 1088, Kostantios began the campaign against the Fatimids. He conquered Ascalon, Damascus, and Sinai in three swift wars.

On break from campaigning, he married his sister to the King of Leon, who asked him to help in a war against heathens in Iberia. Konstantios agreed to help, and sent the cataphracts to Iberia.

While they were away, there was a large explosion in the docks on Constantinople. Konstantios opened an investigation and discovered the explosion was from the stocks of Greek fire, and that the formula for creating more had been lost. It seemed that pirates had stolen the formula for the Greek fire. Konstantios sent in a fleet to regain it. The fleet captured the wife of the pirate leader, and soon enough, a letter proposing an exchange was found nailed to the palace gate. Furious at the pirate leader, Konstantios used the exchange as an opportunity to ambush him. The exchange was straightforward, the formula was recovered, but the ambush failed. This was a disappointing conclusion to the affair.

Konstantios used this time away from the campaigns to study St. Augustine's confessions, becoming more knowledgeable in the process.

Now, Konstantios was a humble man, and he disliked to see pride in others. Basileios Kometopoulos, the Duke of Armenia, was proud and greedy and held the county of Karin, which was not a part of his duchy. Konstantios arranged a conspiracy against him to take the county of Karin. The Duke refused to just give up the county, so Konstantios declared war. Before the war was over, the Duke had died and his son had inherited the county. Konstantios still took it for his own.

A few peasant revolts were but a minor distraction compared to the Iberian war, the pirates, and the Armenian Humbling. In late 1094, the cataphracts were again positioned against Fatimid lands.

 

[Idhrendur]

Konstantios had waged a solid campaign of revenge against the Fatimids before he was distracted by a minor series of other wars.

His anger was not yet assauged, so in 1094 he began another series of wars. He conquered Damietta, Cairo, Aswan, Syria, Aleppo, Tripoli, Alexandria, Oultrejordain, and Bethlehem. When all of that was finally complete, he claimed the title 'King of Egypt' for himself, usurping it from the Fatimid Sultan. The Sultan was so diminished in rank that most of his vassals matched him. They no longer swore fealty to him. The Fatimid kingdom was shattered, the family itself driven into the deserts of Arabia. In July of 1107, Konstantios' revenge was complete.

In the course of his revenge against the Fatimids, Konstantios had restored several of the Patriarchs to their positions.

When his armies had recovered from the series of wars, he realized that he could end the Great Schism. The pride of the Patriarch of Rome had split Christendom, but this could be resolved. Konstantios declared war. The errant Patriarch's armies were quickly smashed, his lands overrun. A new Patriarch was set in place.

And Konstantios sent word all over Christendom that the Great Schism was ended.

Not all people agreed, some heretics remained loyal to the Pope, who continued to reside in Rome. But the vast majority did.

Konstantios spent his remaining years warring against bordering kingdoms that had refused to return to orthodoxy and aiding allies in their wars. During a war in Croatia, several finger were cut from his hand. The wound eventually became infected, and in Anno Dominae 1112, Konstantios III went to be with the Lord.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Emperor Konstantios III. He was born in 1060 and began ruling the Empire in 1085.

He was well known for two accomplishments:
The XRW - a campaign of wars that reclaimed the Levant and Egypt for Christiandom and drove the Fatimids into Arabia,

and the end of the Great Schism, after he had restored the five Patriarchs.

On June 2, 1112, he died and was succeded by his second son, Konstantinos XI.

Not long after his death, he was cannonized as a saint.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Konstantinos XI of the Empire. He ascended to the throne in 1112.

Kind, charitable, and craven, he spent his reign internally strengthening the Empire. His kindness led him to two immediate acts:
Many people that had languished in his father's dungeons for years were released.

He sought a series of reforms within the Empire that would send disputes to his courts. His vassals would no longer settle issues on the battlefield.

Primarily, his reign was known for the universities he founded throughout his holdings, the influx of population to baronies and church lands, the loosening of taxes on cities, and the massive increase in the size of the Cataphracts.

Finally, on 9 September 1163, he died and was succeeded by Konstantinos XII, his third son.

 

[Idhrendur]

I promised a religion map. This is what Europe looks like 50 years after the Great Schism has ended.

I think it's portentous of things to come, though I'm not entirely sure how it'll all shake out. Also, I think it's clear why I'm not too upset at the way 1.08 nerfed the Imperial Reconquest CB. Holy wars work just as well on the whole.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Konstantinos XII of the Empire. He ascended to the throne in 1163.

Greedy and zealous, he was eager to expand his holdings, especially at the expense of heretics and heathens. He began his reign by raising taxes on cities.

A swift war against Croatia followed. The county of Hum was quickly seized.

And then, while the Cataphracts were in transport to the Italian peninsula, Komitas I, the Despot of Egypt, demanded independence. Konstantios refused such an absurd claim, and soon the despot declared war. The dukes of Antioch and Latium joined him.

The forces and lands of the duke of Antioch were swiftly overrun. Half of Sinai was conquered, and an Egyptian army forced back, then pursued deep into Egyptian territory.

Now, during the reign of Konstantios XI, the Kings of Egypt had conquered several northern Italian lands. While a third imperial army was besieging the lands of the Duke of Laitum, Komitas raised an army large enough to smash the imperial one in Italy, plus a second that besieged Constantinople. The imperial army redeployed via sea and moved to defend Constantinople. Soon, tens of thousands of men were fighting before the City of Man's Desire. The Egyptian army was driven back, pursued, completely scattered.

But news came of a large fleet sailing up the Aegean sea. The imperial army moved across the sea of Marmara to Kyzikos, where they waited for reports of the force they would soon face. Soon enough they heard. The new Egyptian army was half again their size. The larger of the armies in Antioch sailed back. The combined imperial armies smashed the Egyptian army, fifty thousand men fighting before the Golden Gate. Again the Egyptian army was driven back. One imperial army pursued them, the other set sail for Italy, to see what could be done.

The army in Italy saw that the Egyptian army was towards the south, and somewhat larger. So they began sieging holdings in the north. Meanwhile, the army in Greece pursued and completely defeated the Egyptian army there. They noted the passing of a third (much smaller) fleet in the Aegean, and began beating back a third attack on Constantinople. The third attack, merely 500 men, was beaten back. The army set sail for Egypt.

The army in Italy received word that the Egyptian army had begun marching in their direction. They continued sieging holdings, while preparing to use their fleet to maneuver around the approaching army. They now had the numerical edge, but thought to take advantage of the opportunity to reclaim lost holdings.

A slow dance of sieges and reseiges ensued in Italy, while the armies in Egypt swiftly conquered any holding weak enough to fall to assault. Eventually, the war was won by anyone's standard. The King of Egypt agreed to a peace where he was imprisoned. His kingdom was stripped from him, leaving him only the duchy of Pisa.

While the levies were sent home and the cataphracts sailed back to Constantinople, Konstantinos considered the future of the Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt. His children had perished before he took the throne, victims of a vicious sibling rivalry. And his wife was well beyond childbearing years, though he adored her still. He had no heirs, and his titles would fall to unsuitable bloodlines within his family upon his death if nothing changed.

 

[Idhrendur]

Konstantios XII pondered the succession in the Empire. Both his children had died, and his wife was past childbearing years. Some of his advisers recommended that for the good of the Empire, he should divorce his wife and marry a younger woman. A few suggested darker methods. But he was kind and honest, and in love with his wife. He refused all such options. Other advisers recommended changing the succession laws of the Empire. At the very least, they urged, bring the Egyptian succession laws in line with the Imperial ones. But Konstantinos had ruled neither Egypt nor the Empire long enough for any such reforms to be made. For now, he would have to wait and see what to do.

Konstantinos spent the intervening years fighting beside his allies in several wars. By the time these wars were finished, he had gained sufficient control of the Egyptian court. First, he held a grand tournament to celebrate his reign.

Tragically, his beloved wife died as the tournament began. His advisors worked swiftly to find a suitable bride.

Before the end of the tournament, Konstantinos has slipped into a deep depression, and neglected to make the political changes he had planned. He agreed to a marriage so that his advisors would leave him be, but he did not consumate it.

Instead, he avoided the court, warring against heretic neighbors.

But the fighting was not enough to distract his mind, and on 17 May 1177, he died of depression.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Konstantinos XII of the Empire. He ascended to the throne in 1163.

His reign was known mostly for the attempted breakaway of the Kingdom of Egypt. He won that war handily.

He also fought a few minor wars in Croatia, reclaiming land from Catholics.

He died of depression in 1177 after the death of his beloved wife. He was succeeded by his half-brother Makarios I.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Makarios I of the Empire. He took the throne on 17 May 1177.

Slothful, proud, cruel, prone to outburts of anger, and lacking the ability to steward his large demesne, he was not well-loved. He quickly distributed holding to his vassals, gave a baltic province to the King of Sweden [via edit], and ended Konstantinos XII's last war.

Before long, Komitas I of Pisa (previously King of Egypt, the same king that had sought independence from Konstantinos XII) declared that he should be Emperor. Makarios sent an angry reply to the contrary. Komitas I was again at war with the rest of the Empire. A great many vassals joined him.

Makarios raised the levies of the entire Empire. As they organized into armies, more and more vassals joined against him. Soon, most of the Empire was with the pretender to the throne.

The loyal forces eventually organized into three armies: the Grecian army, the Levantine army, and the Wallachian army. They sieged all nearby territories, seeking to weaken the opposition wherever they could.

The Greecian army found itself frequently beating back attempted sieges of Constantinople. Fortunately, the defenses had been greatly improved since the last time it was sieged, and this was an easy task.

However, a massive army soon marched in that direction. Markarios sent the greater part of the Grecian army (all that could fit on the available boats) on an attack towards the heart of the rebellion: Pisa.

The remaining imperial armies tried to retreat, but Were caught by the approaching armies and defeated.

The Grecian armies succeded in conquring the duke's lands, but his armies in turn conquered parts of Markarios' holdings. The greater part of the Grecian Army sailed back (they had gained some recruits, and would no longer all fit on the boats that had brought them over).

They swiftly reclaimed Markarios' lost holdings, and Komitas surrendured in 1179. The opposing rulers were all placed in Markarios' dungeon, and he considered what he would do with them.

 

[Idhrendur]

Makarios I had defeated a major rebellion. Now he faced the question of what to do with the rebel leaders.

Makarios was not a forgiving man. No, he was prone to anger instead. He revoked over fifty titles from the rebels. The prisoners themselves were left to live out the rest of their days in the dungeons. Those who objected were thrown in the oubliette. As for the titles, in most cases, he distributed the lands to more loyal vassals. But much of the coast of Greece he kept for himself.

And in the east, there was a terrible choice: return control of Mesopotamia and Armenia to rebels, or give control to Armenians. He took a third option, conquering more of the de jure territory in the duchies, granting it to new rulers, and placing them in charge of the duchy.

Between campaigns, Makarios ordered the Duke of Pisa, leader of the rebellion, castrated. A few months later, he would die from these wounds.

The second campaign, for the remainder of the Duchy of Armenia, was sure to be much larger, as it was against the Aydin Sultanate, rulers of Persia.

But it was swiftly won, and again, the lands given to a new ruler, who was then set in charge of the duchy.

Being slothful, Makarios did nothing of note until 1183, when he began to feel restless enough to overcome his slothful nature.

 

[Idhrendur]

Makarios I had fought off a major rebellion, punished the leaders, and fought two minor wars to finish the work of properly distributing the lands taken from the rebels. When all this was finished, he tried to rest, but found himself restless. Apparently he had learned to not be so slothful. So he sent the Cataphracts north, to actually assist allies in their wars.

For a few years, Makarios funded the replenishment of the Cataphracts from the spoils taken in his allies' wars. But with his help, they were all won. Seeing that Croatia was fighting a civil war, he moved the Catapracts into position for an old Imperial pasttime: taking lands from Catholics.

Sicily and Venice aided Makarios' enemies in that first war, and so Venice was attacked next.

The so-called Holy Roman Empire rallied to the defense of the Catholics in Venice, surely to no avail.

However, in the midst of this war, the Duke of Jerusalem tried to fabricate a claim on the county of Hebron. When he was discovered, he fled arrest and started a war to resist.

The local dukes were called to put him down, and they did so handily.

However, the HRE was able to land a surprisingly large army on the island of Venice, utterly crushing the Cataphracts. Makarios saw no choice but to sign a white peace. [I am an idiot who doesn't know when to retreat. Ugh!]

Makarios began building a new Imperial Army…

 

[Idhrendur]

Makarios had just lost what should have been an easy war against Venice when the Cataphracts were met by a vastly larger HRE force and completely scattered.

While he started to rebuild a retinue, a faction demanded independence. Crushed in confidence, Makarios agreed. [I must have misclicked just before I saved for the night. Still, some adversity is good].

Bards and minstrels in the lands were soon singing songs of the danger of the Muslims to the East. When Makarios offered the dukes vassaldom, they readily agreed, not knowing that he was the source of these songs. But the King of Egypt did not agree to become a vassal again. Worse still, several counties outside of Egypt proper belonged to either he or his vassals.

Worse again, while Makarios rebuilt his forces, the overlooked duchy of Pisa was attached by the germans and overrun. The duke's holdings were reduced to the county of Siena, yet he still refused to again become a vassal.

Makarios foresaw that the Italian peninsula would become an eventual battleground between the germans and the Empire. He realized he could not wait for his forces to be rebuilt before he claimed more of it.

But depression at his setbacks took their toll: Makarios died at the age of 43.

 

[Idhrendur]

This was Makarios I of the Empire. He ascended to the Imperial throne in 1177.

He was not a great ruler. He less ruled his vassals as much as bullied them into doing what he wanted. As a result, his reign was not a good one for the Empire.

It was known best for a mass rebellion, led by the former King of Egypt, who had rebelled previously. Nearly every vassal joined the war. It was won by a bold stroke at the heart of the rebellion.

The rebels were severely punished: stripped of their titles and left to die in the dungeons. Except for the leader, who was castrated. He died of his wounds within a few months.

Makarios' reign was also known for a disastrous war against Venice. What should have been an easy conquest led to the complete destruction of the Cataphracts.

After this loss, Makarios died of depression in 1189, and was succeeded by Konstantinos XIII, aged 9.