The Reign of Manuel III Paleologus (1512-1531)
When Constantine XIII died he didn’t leave the Empire heirless, he had a son. Manuel III was not a very healthy man and during his reign he would be plagued by fits of disease and weakness. Luckily he was incredibly smart and a shrewd diplomat, like his father he desired to reunite the Empire and drive away the Turks.
Feeding the Empire: a tale of economic growth (1512-1522)
The first ten years of Manuel’s reign were spend improving the economy of the empire, all newly conquered territories were appointed a tax collector. Thanks to Manuel’s skills and good governing politics trade flourished and the trading centre in Constantinople became the largest in Europe, only surpassed by Delhi. Manuel equipped the army with early versions of the pistol and enlarged the army. Infantry and cavalry was trained and foundries all over the country were constructing massive cannons. It was during the reign of Manuel that the reformation took place, horrified with the idea of a state-church Manuel forbade the practising of the protestant faith in ‘all lands of the Empire, near the Empire or ever trod on by men of the Empire. Let it be known that these heretics shall have no place within our borders or wherever we go.’ (Manuel’s speech to the assembled nobility during the festival of the Holy Ascension 1515). Not was Manuel hated by all protestants he also came into conflict when the Austrian Karl V was crowned Emperor. Manuel claimed: ‘To call this barbaric upstart an Emperor is an insult to the title. Emperors should only rule in countries with a long tradition and ancient culture. While our ancestors were building gigantic aqueducts and theatres their ancestors sat in hut picking their noses and hitting their wives. Those so-called Austrian nobles have less nobility than our lowliest beggar.’ To insult the Austrians he had a beggar out of the slumps washed, dressed up and promoted him to Ambassador of Austria.
While Manuel was having his fun picking on the Austrians he did manage to guide the Byzantine Empire into the early Baroque era.
Expanding to the South: crossing the Mediterranean (1522-1526)
In the year 1522 the Turkish alliance expired and many muslim countries found themselves without allies, this was the moment Manuel had been waiting for. He had several large armies and a big fleet, all commanded by able commanders. Seizing the fact that the countries were isolated he declared war on a country that was totally unprepared for an Byzantine invasion, the Hafsid Empire. Troops landed in Tunis and Cyrenica, noth cities fell and the two armies marched to Tripolitania. The small Byzantin army was ambushed by a large army and had to retreat for the superior numbers and the better knowledge of the terrain that the enemy possessed. A hectic war ensued with troops retreating and advancing, cities changing sides and sieges being broken. Tunis fell to the Hafsid but the Byzantins captured Tripolitania. At the same time fleets engaged each other for the coast of the Hafsid Empire, the Byzantins using their newly constructed galleons and the Hafsid using their knowledge of the local waters. The Hafsid fleet managed to escape and a small invasion force landed in Ragusa, they were beaten of the shores by an army commanded by Manuel himself.
In 1526 Tunis fell after a difficult siege and the Hafsid Empire was now part of the Byzantine Empire. The Empire gained the provinces of Tunis, Cyrenica, Tripolitania and Quatara, a fleet of 12 ships and 18.000 experienced soldiers. Manuel travelled to Tunis and visited the ruins of ancient Carthage, it is told that the Emperor wept.
A faithful accident and a bloodless war (1527-1531)
After his conquest of the Hafsid Empire Manuel returned to improving the life of his subjects: appointing tax collectors and judges. Slowly time passed but then a small incident had large results. The King of Walachia was, like most of his people, an avid hunter. He had hunted all animals that lived in his small kingdom: from rabbits to deer and big black bears. When he had killed on of every kind he started to get bored, a king should not repeat himself by killing the same kin of animals twice. When the king heard that a large white tiger was roaming the forest he gathered his family, his friends and advisors and started the hunt. The tiger belonged to a group of gypsies who had used them in their show, but one day the tiger escaped. He had suffered such bad treatment while travelling trough the country that he had acquired a blind hate for everything human. The king had the hunt of his life, never had it been this exciting. Sadly the tiger was smarter and the king, his family and all his advisors suffered death at his claws. The country was now leaderless. Manuel heard this story and travelled Walachia offered the commander of the Walachian army a large domain in Macedonia and could now call himself Emperor of Byzantium, Serbia and Walachia.
When Manuel returned from his trip to Walachia a messenger of George awaited him, his lord had declared war on the Crimeans. The resulting war was called the war of no blood, the only action Byzantium saw was the sinking of 2 Crimean galleys for the coast of Thrace. After a few short battles Georgia paid a small ransom to Crimea and peace returned.
The Empire grew stronger and stronger, Manuel however got weaker. He retreated to his palace outside the city and died as sick old man, heirless.
Manuel III Paleologus has an important place in the Byzantin history, he created the first Byzantin presence in North-Africa since 800 years and made the economy expand. He is remembered for his many humorous speeches and outspoken opinions.
