A History of the Romans, From the Reclamation of Constantinople to the Present Day:
In the year 1261, almost by accident, a small Nicaean army was able to sneak into Constantinople directly under the nose of the Latins, driving them out of the city in the process. Thus, the Roman Empire was restored with the Palaiologos family at the helm, after the underaged John Laskaris had been blinded and packed off to a monastery. The restored empire’s territory consisted primarily of Thrace, Macedonia, and Western Anatolia, along with the new additions of the southern Peloponnese and some of the Aegean Islands that were regained during the reign of Michael VIII (1261-1282).
The Roman Empire under Michael VIII
While Michael lived, these borders were able to last. However, upon his death his far less capable son Andronikos (1282-1328) took control of the Empire, leading to a long, difficult reign ahead. The first Palaiologoi emperor had focused mainly on the Balkans during his tenure, correctly judging the Latins and Crusaders to be a much more existential threat at the time. However, this consequently led to a neglect of the Anatolian frontier against the Turks, which was a problem Andronikos now had to deal with in full. His first solution was to rely on the competent generalship of Alexios Philanthropenos and John Tarchaneiotes. They initially were successful, however, the former rebelled at the instigation of the local population (leading to him getting replaced by Tarchaneiotes) and the latter was imprisoned after he was accused of plotting a revolt himself. Ultimately, their gains were only temporary, and by the year 1300 the situation in Anatolia had deteriorated significantly.
Asia Minor ca. 1300 AD
Seemingly unable to trust any of his generals, Andronikos sent his son and co-emperor Michael at the head of a large but poorly disciplined army to deal with the Turks, which disintegrated upon the first sight of combat. After re-forming a much smaller force, Michael was again defeated at the Battle of Bapheus by the rising Ottoman Beylik, which left Roman Anatolia practically defenseless for a time. Now desperate, Andronikos was forced to resort to hiring mercenaries from afar, which led to the introduction of the Catalan Company to the region in 1305.
The Catalans and their leader Roger de Flor in Constantinople
The Catalans were wildly successful, repeatedly defeating Turkish forces far larger than their own and fighting their way all the way to the Taurus Mountains in southeastern Anatolia. However, their upkeep was expensive and difficult to maintain, and they had a tendency to treat the local Roman population poorly whenever they’d “liberate” a town (they even tried to hang some local governors for alleged cowardness against the Turks). To try and mitigate this, either Andronikos or Michael (it is unknown to this day who made the call) had the Company’s leader Roger de Flor and over a thousand Catalan mercenaries assassinated at a feast, in what has come to be known as the “Massacre at Adrianople”. The Catalan revenge was furious and unrelenting, with them going on a 3-year rampage across the Empire’s territories in Greece before finally conquering and settling in the Duchy of Athens. In the wake of all this devastation, Andronikos would continue to rule a weakening state that was hemorrhaging money and territory to all of its neighbors.
Perhaps even more concerning for the aging emperor, though, was his domestic problems. In 1320 Andronikos’ grandson, also named Andronikos, accidentally killed his brother over a lover’s quarrel. The younger Andronikos’ father, the co-emperor Michael, reportedly died of heartbreak upon hearing of the death of one of his own children. A tragedy by any definition of the word, and as a result of this the emperor disowned his grandson, cutting him off from the Imperial succession. Naturally, this upset the younger Andronikos, who fled the capital and revolted against the emperor. What followed was an on-again-off-again civil war that lasted for 7 years, the end result of which being the emperor Andronikos’ forced abdication and his grandson taking the reigns as Andronikos III. In the process, the Empire’s position in Anatolia deteriorated even further, with the city of Prusa falling to the Ottomans, who established it as their new capital.
Emperor Andronikos III
Upon his coronation as emperor, Andronikos had to immediately shift his attention to Anatolia, as the Ottomans were now besieging the old Byzantine capital of Nicaea, where the Laskarid emperors had set up their court in exile while the Latins occupied Constantinople. The emperor set out with a small army of 4,000 alongside his friend John Kantakouzenos in a campaign to try and lift the siege, but this ended in disaster when his force was routed at the Battle of Pelekanon near Nikomedia in 1329. With that defeat, the rest of Roman Anatolia would be left to its fate, and the last major city in the region (the aforementioned Nikomedia) would fall by 1337.
The Ottoman Sultanate as it stands today
In the Balkans and the Aegean Andronikos experienced a larger degree of success. Through his diplomatic and military efforts he was able to achieve the submission of the breakaway state of Thessaly, which had been a thorn in the Empire’s side for decades. He also was able to conquer the Latin-held islands of Lesbos, Chios, and Phocaea, all of which acted as important naval bases in the Aegean if nothing else. Some concessions had to be made against the Serbs in the west, and an attempt to invade Bulgarian Thrace ended poorly, but overall Andronikos had managed to stabilize his state’s positioning on the European side, allowing for a potential recovery should the conditions be right.
What remains of the Roman Empire
While the losses in Anatolia hurt, the Ottomans have now hit a wall in the form of the Sea of Marmara, and as long as they are kept from crossing it then Rome’s remaining territories should be safe from Turkish incursions. On top of this, the Beyliks of Asia Minor are disunited, and if Andronikos plays his hand correctly then it is not too late to stage a reconquest and restore the borders of Michael VIII, at the very least. Likewise, in the Balkans the Despotate of Epirus is weak, and would be a natural next step after taking Thessaly. The Latin Principalities in southern Greece have sworn allegiance to larger kingdoms in Italy for protection, but it might be possible to attack them while their overlords are distracted with wars on the other side of the Adriatic and re-integrate them into the orbit of Constantinople. Will Andronikos be able to save his empire from the seemingly inevitable collapse that looms ahead? Can the Roman Empire once again become a dominant power in the Mediterranean?
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Hey everyone, and welcome to my first ever AAR for a Paradox game (or any game, for that matter)! I don't post on here often, mostly just lurking in the various CK3 news and speculation threads, but I've always loved seeing others make their games come to life through their own AAR threads and wanted to give it a try myself. Now, why have I chosen the Byzantines in 1337, specifically? Well, I'm a huge Byzantophile (for lack of a better term), so I wanted to play as the Byzantine Empire. However, they're pretty powerful in most starts, and I knew that people would find it boring if I just made a strong state stronger. So, I settled on Byzantium during the reign of Andronikos III, which is when a lot of historians of the Empire consider it to be the last time it was in any kind of salvageable state. Other starts I considered doing were as Crusader Edessa in the 1120s or the independent realm in Antioch that exists during the Alexiad start date. Now, a couple of things to note before I wrap things up:
First, I have turned off ironman, because I want to be able to switch to the new emperor should my dynasty fall out of power. I realize that some may see this as cheating, but I'd like to be able to incorporate the rise and fall of dynasties into this playthrough, something that will likely happen often due to the Imperial method of succession. I just feel like it's better for storytelling purposes to constantly follow whoever is emperor, as opposed to rigidly sticking to one dynasty and ensuring that only they hold power throughout the remaining lifespan of the Empire. Don't get me wrong, I will still try and stick to whatever makes sense for that specific emperor when it comes to determining succession, I won't just automatically back whoever is the most popular and competent candidate. I do want this to be an AAR that follows the state rather than the dynasty, however.
Second, there will be some inconsistencies in regard to the in-game John Kantakouzenos when compared to the real-life one. In real life, John was a close friend of Andronikos', and had no Imperial ambitions whatsoever until after his friend's death, when Kantakouzenos was overthrown as regent of the new underaged emperor John V by his mother Anna of Savoy and the current Patriarch of Constantinople. In the game, however, not only does he have the ambitious trait, but he also controls a massive amount of land within the Empire, making him a powerful vassal and practically guaranteeing that he'll revolt and try and become emperor himself. This could easily have been mitigated by just making Kantakouzenos and Andronikos III friends like they were historically, but the game doesn't have them as such and I'm too lazy to go in and change that myself, so in this playthrough he will come off as much more ambitious than he historically was.
Lastly, on the topic of how frequently this will be updated, I'd like to try and get out at least one entry a week. That isn't a hard guarantee, so if I fail to meet that requirement it doesn't mean that I've given up the AAR, but it is a goal that I'm going to attempt to match whenever possible. I'm super excited to get this started with, and I hope you all are too! I'll see you all in the next update!
In the year 1261, almost by accident, a small Nicaean army was able to sneak into Constantinople directly under the nose of the Latins, driving them out of the city in the process. Thus, the Roman Empire was restored with the Palaiologos family at the helm, after the underaged John Laskaris had been blinded and packed off to a monastery. The restored empire’s territory consisted primarily of Thrace, Macedonia, and Western Anatolia, along with the new additions of the southern Peloponnese and some of the Aegean Islands that were regained during the reign of Michael VIII (1261-1282).
The Roman Empire under Michael VIII
While Michael lived, these borders were able to last. However, upon his death his far less capable son Andronikos (1282-1328) took control of the Empire, leading to a long, difficult reign ahead. The first Palaiologoi emperor had focused mainly on the Balkans during his tenure, correctly judging the Latins and Crusaders to be a much more existential threat at the time. However, this consequently led to a neglect of the Anatolian frontier against the Turks, which was a problem Andronikos now had to deal with in full. His first solution was to rely on the competent generalship of Alexios Philanthropenos and John Tarchaneiotes. They initially were successful, however, the former rebelled at the instigation of the local population (leading to him getting replaced by Tarchaneiotes) and the latter was imprisoned after he was accused of plotting a revolt himself. Ultimately, their gains were only temporary, and by the year 1300 the situation in Anatolia had deteriorated significantly.
Asia Minor ca. 1300 AD
Seemingly unable to trust any of his generals, Andronikos sent his son and co-emperor Michael at the head of a large but poorly disciplined army to deal with the Turks, which disintegrated upon the first sight of combat. After re-forming a much smaller force, Michael was again defeated at the Battle of Bapheus by the rising Ottoman Beylik, which left Roman Anatolia practically defenseless for a time. Now desperate, Andronikos was forced to resort to hiring mercenaries from afar, which led to the introduction of the Catalan Company to the region in 1305.
The Catalans and their leader Roger de Flor in Constantinople
The Catalans were wildly successful, repeatedly defeating Turkish forces far larger than their own and fighting their way all the way to the Taurus Mountains in southeastern Anatolia. However, their upkeep was expensive and difficult to maintain, and they had a tendency to treat the local Roman population poorly whenever they’d “liberate” a town (they even tried to hang some local governors for alleged cowardness against the Turks). To try and mitigate this, either Andronikos or Michael (it is unknown to this day who made the call) had the Company’s leader Roger de Flor and over a thousand Catalan mercenaries assassinated at a feast, in what has come to be known as the “Massacre at Adrianople”. The Catalan revenge was furious and unrelenting, with them going on a 3-year rampage across the Empire’s territories in Greece before finally conquering and settling in the Duchy of Athens. In the wake of all this devastation, Andronikos would continue to rule a weakening state that was hemorrhaging money and territory to all of its neighbors.
Perhaps even more concerning for the aging emperor, though, was his domestic problems. In 1320 Andronikos’ grandson, also named Andronikos, accidentally killed his brother over a lover’s quarrel. The younger Andronikos’ father, the co-emperor Michael, reportedly died of heartbreak upon hearing of the death of one of his own children. A tragedy by any definition of the word, and as a result of this the emperor disowned his grandson, cutting him off from the Imperial succession. Naturally, this upset the younger Andronikos, who fled the capital and revolted against the emperor. What followed was an on-again-off-again civil war that lasted for 7 years, the end result of which being the emperor Andronikos’ forced abdication and his grandson taking the reigns as Andronikos III. In the process, the Empire’s position in Anatolia deteriorated even further, with the city of Prusa falling to the Ottomans, who established it as their new capital.
Emperor Andronikos III
Upon his coronation as emperor, Andronikos had to immediately shift his attention to Anatolia, as the Ottomans were now besieging the old Byzantine capital of Nicaea, where the Laskarid emperors had set up their court in exile while the Latins occupied Constantinople. The emperor set out with a small army of 4,000 alongside his friend John Kantakouzenos in a campaign to try and lift the siege, but this ended in disaster when his force was routed at the Battle of Pelekanon near Nikomedia in 1329. With that defeat, the rest of Roman Anatolia would be left to its fate, and the last major city in the region (the aforementioned Nikomedia) would fall by 1337.
The Ottoman Sultanate as it stands today
In the Balkans and the Aegean Andronikos experienced a larger degree of success. Through his diplomatic and military efforts he was able to achieve the submission of the breakaway state of Thessaly, which had been a thorn in the Empire’s side for decades. He also was able to conquer the Latin-held islands of Lesbos, Chios, and Phocaea, all of which acted as important naval bases in the Aegean if nothing else. Some concessions had to be made against the Serbs in the west, and an attempt to invade Bulgarian Thrace ended poorly, but overall Andronikos had managed to stabilize his state’s positioning on the European side, allowing for a potential recovery should the conditions be right.
What remains of the Roman Empire
While the losses in Anatolia hurt, the Ottomans have now hit a wall in the form of the Sea of Marmara, and as long as they are kept from crossing it then Rome’s remaining territories should be safe from Turkish incursions. On top of this, the Beyliks of Asia Minor are disunited, and if Andronikos plays his hand correctly then it is not too late to stage a reconquest and restore the borders of Michael VIII, at the very least. Likewise, in the Balkans the Despotate of Epirus is weak, and would be a natural next step after taking Thessaly. The Latin Principalities in southern Greece have sworn allegiance to larger kingdoms in Italy for protection, but it might be possible to attack them while their overlords are distracted with wars on the other side of the Adriatic and re-integrate them into the orbit of Constantinople. Will Andronikos be able to save his empire from the seemingly inevitable collapse that looms ahead? Can the Roman Empire once again become a dominant power in the Mediterranean?
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Hey everyone, and welcome to my first ever AAR for a Paradox game (or any game, for that matter)! I don't post on here often, mostly just lurking in the various CK3 news and speculation threads, but I've always loved seeing others make their games come to life through their own AAR threads and wanted to give it a try myself. Now, why have I chosen the Byzantines in 1337, specifically? Well, I'm a huge Byzantophile (for lack of a better term), so I wanted to play as the Byzantine Empire. However, they're pretty powerful in most starts, and I knew that people would find it boring if I just made a strong state stronger. So, I settled on Byzantium during the reign of Andronikos III, which is when a lot of historians of the Empire consider it to be the last time it was in any kind of salvageable state. Other starts I considered doing were as Crusader Edessa in the 1120s or the independent realm in Antioch that exists during the Alexiad start date. Now, a couple of things to note before I wrap things up:
First, I have turned off ironman, because I want to be able to switch to the new emperor should my dynasty fall out of power. I realize that some may see this as cheating, but I'd like to be able to incorporate the rise and fall of dynasties into this playthrough, something that will likely happen often due to the Imperial method of succession. I just feel like it's better for storytelling purposes to constantly follow whoever is emperor, as opposed to rigidly sticking to one dynasty and ensuring that only they hold power throughout the remaining lifespan of the Empire. Don't get me wrong, I will still try and stick to whatever makes sense for that specific emperor when it comes to determining succession, I won't just automatically back whoever is the most popular and competent candidate. I do want this to be an AAR that follows the state rather than the dynasty, however.
Second, there will be some inconsistencies in regard to the in-game John Kantakouzenos when compared to the real-life one. In real life, John was a close friend of Andronikos', and had no Imperial ambitions whatsoever until after his friend's death, when Kantakouzenos was overthrown as regent of the new underaged emperor John V by his mother Anna of Savoy and the current Patriarch of Constantinople. In the game, however, not only does he have the ambitious trait, but he also controls a massive amount of land within the Empire, making him a powerful vassal and practically guaranteeing that he'll revolt and try and become emperor himself. This could easily have been mitigated by just making Kantakouzenos and Andronikos III friends like they were historically, but the game doesn't have them as such and I'm too lazy to go in and change that myself, so in this playthrough he will come off as much more ambitious than he historically was.
Lastly, on the topic of how frequently this will be updated, I'd like to try and get out at least one entry a week. That isn't a hard guarantee, so if I fail to meet that requirement it doesn't mean that I've given up the AAR, but it is a goal that I'm going to attempt to match whenever possible. I'm super excited to get this started with, and I hope you all are too! I'll see you all in the next update!
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