The Queen of Cities: A Byzantine AAR

[Specialist290]

A nice little overview of the world there. Surprised you didn't mention anything about the British Isles, though.

I've noticed that, since the latest patch, Hungary seems to be getting a disproportionate number of quick early-game conversions.

 

[RossN]

Volume II

Part One - Leon the Wise

An embassy between Constantinople and Damascus.​

Leon VI who now became Emperor had been governor of much of Sicily for many years. Upon hearing word of his father's death he and his wife Empress Oda and their three children took ship for Constantinople. Before he left the new Emperor appointed his bastard son Paschalis de Patros as Count of Messene and Panarmos[1]. Paschalis who was much like his father in kindness, temperance and bravery wept unashamedly to see his father and the two embraced before Leon sailed off. In his choice of governor Leon made his character clear for though he loved his son the Emperor was no fool and knew him to be a good man too.

Leon was at this time forty-one and already eleven years older than his own father had been when he had ascended the throne. In height he was quite an average man, though as with his predecessor he wore a long dark beard. His appearance was not striking, though his brown eyes at once clever and kindly impressed many who saw them and his voice was rich, not as strong as Basileios but smoother and more beautiful. In his youth there had been much suspicion that he had been the natural son of Michael III but over the years that view had faded. Leon did not greatly resemble Basileios but he resembled Michael the Drunkard not all in looks or in character. Perhaps most of all he took after Eudokia, his long departed mother.

Emperor Leon VI in 908.​

The new Emperor had five children. The eldest by far was Paschalis de Patros, the offspring of an amorous adventure with a serving maid in his youth whom Basileios had forced whom to recognise but whom Leon had grown to love. His second son Symeon by the Empress Oda was now heir and sadly lacked the many virtues Leon possessed. Oda herself was a Frankish princess who could be as kind as her husband but possessed a greedy and angry streak he did not and hated Paschalis with a passion. The marriage was not perhaps a happy one for it was whispered that Oda's tastes were not for men and certainly the Empress loved to surround herself with beautiful young female slaves.

Empress Oda in 908.​

Other than Paschalis Leon's most beloved child was his oldest daughter Maria who would go on to be married to the heir of the Hungarian crown. The Emperor saw the Hungarians as a great buffer against the warlike pagans of the north and trusted in God and his clever daughter to keep the Maygars strong and pious.

Leon was a man of simple pleasures, a lover of gardening with relatively little interest in study and philosophy. Many took this and his kindness as evidence of a simplicity of mind as well and in that they made a great error for the Emperor's mind was very sharp and subtle and he was ever an excellent judge of character. As a young man he had been a great zealot but on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem he had been shipwrecked and rescued by Arab sailors. That event had left him with both a strong yet mellower piety and a great tolerance of Muslims, of which there were many in Sicily. The prince, as he was then acquired a name for tolerance that would stand him in good stead with the Arab world later. His piety was the piety of the New Testament. When he visited his brother Prince Pamphillios he walked into the city barefoot, unwilling to enter the home of Saint Paul himself in a state of pomp. His one great luxury was a fondness for sports, above all horses. He played tyzkanion with more enthusiasm than skill as his friend Eusthios Agyros[2] wryly noted and he was a devoted fan of the races, thunderously cheering on the Blues whenever he visited the Hippodrome, which was as often as he could.

The new Emperor was no warrior and was intelligent enough to know it. Leaving command of his armies to brother Apollonios he concentrated on ruling and did such a good job that the people soon began to call him Phrónimos ('the Wise'). When horrible old Al-Mu'tazz the Cruel died in September 908 Leon swiftly wrote to the new Caliph Ramadan and was delighted to find in the young Caliph a kindred spirit for Ramadan was also famously tolerant of Christians, and he had heard the stories of how well Leon had treated his Muslim subjects in Sicily. Relations between Constantinople and Damascus blossomed as never before, opening up trade and pilgrimage routes. Later historians would point to this era of peace and tolerance as creating a cultural golden age in both the Arab and Roman worlds. The long established Christian communities of Syria now had their counterparts in the Muslims of Sicily and Asia Minor thriving under the rule of Leon the Wise.

Caliph Ramadan in 911.​

There was of course still war, and war against Muslims at that. Between 909 and 910 the Romans conquered the Arab held county of Melitine[3]. This however was not holy war, but war against a brigand Emirate that stood arrogantly aloof from the Caliph in Damascus and raided pilgrims on the road to Antioch and Jerusalem - and Mecca in one notorious case. The lord of Melitine, one Nurradin was even at war with his own sovereign the Marwanid Emir. No one mourned when the Roman Army led by Prince Apollonios conquered the city and installed the Orthodox cleric Isias as Metropolitan of Melitine. Leon, who had wept to hear of the mistreatment of the local Armenian Christians wrote to remind his brother than the Muslim commoners were to be respected in their property and safety. The Roman borders in Asia would be made safe and secure but by civilised means - and there would be no war with Damascus Leon vowed.

It was not Muslims that soon drew the attention of the Emperor but the entirely Christian Bulgarians, whose seemingly endless civil war was leaving the land between the Roman borders and the wasteland a field of blood. Leon was not a warlike man but he knew something would have to be done to restore peace and order.


[1] I had to give these counties to someone (Leon alas does not have great Stewardship.) Paschalis genuinely does have a lot of virtues and no major vices though.
[2] Yes the son of Doux Leon of Trebizond whom Basileios had poisoned. Clearly the sons have managed to forgive and forget the sins of the fathers!
[3] Another de jure war. I'm reluctant to push a Holy War with Leon on the throne; it would seem deeply out of character with his tolerance.

 

[RossN]

Henry v. Keiper: Well as I've said they are beginning to lose ground. Eventually the dynaties will settle down. I'm thinking Italy might actually be the emerging power to watch.

Specialist290: I'm suprised too; I expected the Hungarians to devour the Bulgarians wholesale. They did temporarily slip back to paganism but the new heir was Christain so they seem converted for good.

I'll take a closer look at the British Isles and edit it in.

 

[Specialist290]

Well, you're certainly moving quickly today

Cordial relations between an Emperor and a Caliph: That's surprising, but perhaps not totally unheard of. An amicable peace undoubtedly serves both realms well, though I'm sure there are quite a few zealots on both sides who must be beside themselves with righteous anger that their lieges would make such an "unholy" bargain.

On a domestic note, I imagine that Paschalis is going to become the focus of quite a bit of intrigue and strife within the walls of the imperial palace.

 

[volksmarschall]

Interestingly enough, since the court practices of the Abbasids and the Byzantines were exactly the same, just in different languages, the two sides would know exactly what's going on and their would be no foreign faux pas between the Greeks and Arabs.

I've always wished to be in the room during diplomatic envoys, just waiting for someone to quip, "hey, isn't that the same thing we do?" Oh, Leon has a nice beard too...

 

[DKM]

I sincerely hope the Karlings stay a major power in one realm, maybe two. I've always seen the Karling power stay forever or collapse entirely. I've never seen a time where there is a midway point with them losing power in some major powers and keeping power in others.

 

[Viden]

Time to bring democ... restore peace in Bulgaria!

 

[RossN]

Part Two - Wars & Weddings

The Romans besieging Belgrad.​

In 905 the Bulgarian monarch had died. His son and successor King[1] Boris II was a distasteful man; cruel, envious and arbitrary with only a streak of personal bravery to his credit. He quickly made enemies amongst the aristocrats. However even had been the most saintly of monarchs Bulgaria would still have faced trouble for the kingdom was full of ambitious men of royal blood. Within a year the new King was faced with not one but two rebellions led by two cousins. Vileslav, the grandson of the mighty Presian the last pagan ruler of the Bulgars was the champion of the Bulgar barons looking simply to reduce the power of the King. Sermon of Karvuna on the other hand was looking to claim the throne for himself as the grandson of Boris I. Faced with three mutually hostile factions Bulgaria collapsed into a seemingly permanent civil war.

Leon VI was naturally inclined to play the peacemaker but he was more than sharp enough to see the Bulgars would be unwilling to listen to him. For generations the Romans and Bulgars had been bitter foes and it was not so long ago that the Bulgars were invading Roman territory. Their kingdom had waned in strength over the last fifty years, losing territory to the Maygars and the Romans but in some respects that was more alarming. The Romans only had to look to Armenia to see the results of a state collapsing: a galaxy of warring bandit princes and an open road for foreign invaders. What if some pagan tribe followed the example of the Magyars and descended on the Danube?

Duchess Jovanka of Rascia was nineteen in 912 and the ruler of a rich and important domain. Her grandfather had been that Mutmir who had sworn fealty to Basileios and his descendants had stayed loyal. Jovanka and all her family were not Romans, though they were part of the Empire. They were Serbs. The Serbs, though sometimes they had warred with the Romans had been given lands by Emperor Heraclius nearly three centuries earlier. They hated the Bulgars and longed to regain the city of Belgrad. And they were not alone for Belgrad had been known as Singidunum and belonged to Rome, as Jovanka explained to the Emperor in a letter she wrote to him in late 911. Of course the Roman Emperor was no less versed in history than a quasi-barbarian princess but Leon knew and liked Jovanka, who was a good ruler and sympathised with her desires. He also had an altogether more militant letter from his own brother Bardas, the Count of Naissos. Bardas ruled the city were Constantine the Great himself had been born. Bardas reminded his older sibling that the city of Sofia, known as Serdica had been one of the first cities where Christianity had been recognised as the official faith, and that Constantine had called it 'my Rome'. With Naissos having been regained by the Romans only a few years before surely the time was right to regain Sofia? To aid his case Bardas sent old documents showing that the governor of Naissos (i.e. Badas) was legal ruler of Sofia.

Leon, who was far more genuine in his piety than his brother could recognise a self-serving argument when he saw but he was also deeply concerned what the collapse of Bulgaria would mean for Christians in the Danubian basin, and even the Bulgars were Christian of a sort. His own subjects certainly were and the thought of lawless principalities on his border filled him with horror. So he acted. The Bulgar Wars (912-914) saw the Romans besiege Belgrad and other cities held by Vileslav's faction, and then later take Sofia from Boris II. Actual fighting was relatively limited for the Bulgars had bled themselves dry in the civil wars and were in no shape to combat the superbly powerful Roman army. In the end Jovanka took Belgrad, Bardas took Sofia and the Bulgars continued to fight each other.

Prince Symeon in 913.​

The Emperor was not a natural warrior and even a successful war filled him with some unease but he was soon distracted by concerns closer to home. His ally and son-in-law King Tarkatzus of Hungary had died in June 912 after a brief and childless marriage to Leon's daughter Maria. The Emperor's son Symeon had come of age in December of the same year meaning both of his two most likely heirs were unmarried. Princess Maria was clever and had a remarkably keen mind, especially on military matters (had she been born male she would have been a great soldier emperor). She was naturally content with her place in life, very much the dutiful daughter but Leon had noticed that her own morality was arbitrary, that her love of military matters had left her shy (for she knew others saw it as unwomanly) and in consequence had no tact. Meanwhile Prince Symeon was a gifted administrator, and seemed to have a Midas touch when it came to making money. He was also charitable and brutally honest. There were other qualities that were less welcome however. He had a streak of cruelty and envy utterly foreign to his father and he was as arbitrary as his sister. He was also indifferent to the charms of women but greatly attracted to handsome young men.

Princess Maria in 914.​

Leon, aware of the natures of his legitimate son and eldest daughter was determined to keep them close at hand, hoping with time they would mature out of their foibles. Maria was married to Prince Karlos of Navarra, an uninspired and misguided warrior but kindly and who would not be put off by a wife who knew her Tacitus by heart. Prince Symeon married Eulalia Alfonsez, the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso of Asturias. A remarkably clever young woman trained in theology she was kind like Karlos, but had stronger internal resources including an ambitious streak and a willingness to bend the truth. Leon suspected such subtlety might be needed when Symeon took the throne.

The royal weddings of 914 brought a splash of colour to Constantinople, a mood that lasted well into the following year despite a brief war that saw Koloneia, the last of the 'brigand Emirates' brought into the Empire. Leon's relations with the Caliph were still very positive but the Kaysite Emir of Armenia was more hostile, and for the first time the Romans found themselves bordering an expanding Christian power: Georgia.

[1] Technically the Bulgar ruler was titled 'Prince' in the time of Basileios and 'Emperor' thereafter. I'm using 'King' for convience and also because Bulgaria is clearly a power in decline so adopting the imperial dignity seems unlikely!

 

[RossN]

Specialist290: I'm sure there are zealots on both sides. Still it is refreshing to play an out and out good character for once, even if it does limit my options.

As for intrigue and strife my legitimate heir might bring that on his own!

volksmarschall: That would be something. I'll see if I can add a series of letters between Constantinople and Damascus...

DKM: A very good point and I agree. Personally, even though it would cause me headaches a united Karling Kingdom of Italy would be interesting.

Viden: Heh, well I did bring peace to part of Bulgaria... by removing it from Bulgaria.

 

[Tufto]

Good job, an excellent AAR .

 

[Specialist290]

As for intrigue and strife my legitimate heir might bring that on his own!

Fortunately(?), he seems not to be too good at the "intrigue" bit His new wife, on the other hand, sounds like one worth keeping an eye on, as well as one not to turn your back to.

Also, glad to see that the pacification of the Empire's borders is proceeding well thus far.

 

[RossN]

Part Three - Defining the Frontiers

Roman soldiers occupying Theodosiopolis, 919.
​

Fifty years before no one could have predicted the rise of Georgia. This easternmost Christian kingdom had benefitted from the collapse of the Armenians and even more spectacular collapse of the Khazars. No longer confined in their traditional borders the Georgians had built their own empire along the eastern coast of the Euxine Sea from the Crimea to Trebizond.

The Romans were wary of the Georgians who might be Christian but had expanded ruthlessly. Eusthios Agyros, the Doux of Trebizond had watched in alarm as they annexed Theodosiopolis early in Leon's reign. Theodosiopolis had once been Roman, the key to the eastern borders of the Empire before it passed to Arab, then Armenian and now Georgian hands. More to the point for Eusthios the territory was historically part of Trebizond. The Emperor could appreciate these concerns but he was more worried about the borders as a whole. Early in his reign Leon had overseen the colonisation of Arabissus near Melitene. The city had been planned and started by Basileios but completed by Leon and he was using the experience to found a city of his own in Koloneia, to be called Eudokia after his mother[1]. This colony was mostly composed of veterans of the Bulgar wars encouraged to settle down in the war devastated east and Leon was anxious about Georgian raids, so at the end of February 916 he bowed to Eusthios's requests and his own fears and went to war with Georgia.

The Roman-Georgia War of 916 was mostly distinguished by the actions of the Caesar, Leon's brother Pamphillios who defeated the Georgians at Bukistsikhe in August. However for once the Romans had underestimated their man as the Georgian commander, Prince Samoeli staged a fighting retreat south west and ambushed the Roman rear guard at Koralla two week later, nearly wiping out the regiment which had been enroute to reinforce Pamphillios.

The battles of Bukistsikhe and Koralla, 916.​

Koralla was painful but it could not have decided the war. What did decide the war was the sudden rebellion of a Cicilian Greek turned Muslim by the name of Anthemios. Anthemios, with all the fervour of a convert had preached a heady brew of rebellion to his fellow believers still adapting to Roman rule, however tolerant. In September he and over three thousand followers marched on Adana. The Romans, stuck in a war with the Georgians could ill afford to reply. Fortunately Samoeli of all people came to their aid. The Georgian prince was very much the power behind the throne in Georgia, though notionally subservient to his thirteen year old nephew King Davit II. In November Samoeli staged a sudden coup, seizing the throne for himself and leaving the former boy-king just the Duchy of Kartli. King Samoeli was quick to agree to a temporary truce with the Romans as he solidified his position[2]. The truce would last for over thirteen months until 3rd January 918 when the Roman Army under the command of the brilliant eunuch general Sebastianos quickly overran Theodosiopolis. That war lasted until April 919 when Samoeli, fighting pagans to the north agreed to give up the county to the Romans and an uneasy peace settled between the two powers.

Meanwhile, after the initial shock Anthemios's rebellion had been crushed, as had an unrelated rebellion by a disgruntled Christian soldier named Serapion. The Emperor was now able to turn his attention to Europe where the Bulgarian tragicomedy had entered its final act. Boris II had finally won the civil war only to be killed fighting pagan raiders leaving the throne to his brother Monchil. In better times King Monchil would have been a formidable ruler, for he was strong and clever, an excellent soldier yet equipped to rule in peace. It was his misfortune to inherit a realm that was collapsing around his ears and had been fatally undermined by over a decade of civil war. Count Dragoman of Nikopolis, a former peasant who had seized control of Nicpolis ad Istrum appealed to Leon for aid, readily swearing loyalty. Anxious to recover as much as possible from the Bulgarian mess (and to ensure communication lines with his brother-in-law and ally King Móric of Hungary) the Emperor agreed. Monchil protested to Constantinople but was bluntly informed by the Emperor's envoys that '[he] existed at the Emperor's pleasure'. It was an uncharacteristically hard line for the normally mild mannered Leon to take but in truth the Romans had lost all fear of the heirs of Asparukh.

Perhaps the reason for Leon's unusual firmness lay in troubling events back Asia. Prince Pamphillios, one of the most gifted of Leon's brothers had become Caesar and Doux of Cilicia with his capital at Tarsos. Pamphillios was much like their father, a tall, strong man, darkly beard and hard eyed and he had inherited Basileios's gift for war. However he had overreached himself, starting a holy war for the tiny Emirate of Iskenderun only to find the Caliph himself had been drawn in. Defeated in battle and forced into a humiliating retreat he was only saved thanks to the diplomatic intervention of the Emperor who wrote to the Caliph personally and helped negotiate a peace. Pamphillios had to part with a great deal of gold and though the kindly Leon soon forgave him his reputation never recovered.

Iskenderun however remained a problem. Leon knew his brother well and he also knew that the city was a fine prize, affording dominance of the Syrian Gates. However he was unwilling to go to war with the Caliph. Fortunately a chance discovery in the Imperial archives by Eusthios Agyros (now Magistros) revealed that the last Bardunid Emir had left Iskenderun to the Emperor in his will. Historians ever since have suspected a forgery by Eusthios and there is some evidence the Emperor was sceptical but it did not prevent a short sharp war breaking out in January 920 and by late April the Romans were masters of Iskenderun, now renamed Alexandretta. The Caliph, who distrusted independent Emirs as much as he liked Leon sent his congratulations.

The last major act of this period, known by later historians as 'Defining the Frontiers' came in September of that same year as the Romans invaded Bulgaria with the intention of seizing Tyrnovo, the Bulgar capital. Helpless to resist King Monchil fled after some delustory fighting. Tyrnovo itself, sacked three times over the last two decades fell easily to the Romans and on 21st March 921 Monchil signed a treaty, ceding the city to the Romans.

The Roman invasion was not simply to gain ground or even revenge. Leon had realised that the dying Bulgar kingdom would by swept away by a pagan invasion from the north east and the best chance for Rome was to push the frontier onto the Danube.


[1] The City I constructed here (finished December 917) was originally called 'Gerjanis' but 'Eudokia' sounded more fitting and in character.
[2]Casus Beli no longer valid, but fortunately (?) the rebels gave me an in-universe reason to break off fighting.

 

[RossN]

Tufto: Thank you.

Specialist290: We'll see about the wife. Yes the border wars are going well. I'll try and talk more about internal matters next post!

 

[Henry v. Keiper]

Any updated pictures of the time region?

 

[RossN]

Any updated pictures of the time region?

Yes, coming next update.

 

[volksmarschall]

That's a stinging defeat there...

Per the reality of correspondences between the Byzantines and Arabs, the works of Hilal al-Sabi', a 10th and early 11th century bureaucrat and court historian, are still preserved. Many of his works have since been translated into English (I don't know a lick of Arabic, a major fault on my part as a professional I suppose since I often deal with that part of the world in my own writings and probably should have learned it instead of being dependent upon English, or German translations).

 

[RossN]

Part Four - Changing of the Guard

A mosaic of Christ from the monastery of Sestus, founded by Emperor Leon VI.
​

In September 922 the Iconoclasts, dormant for the entire of Leon's reign suddenly rose in Cilicia. They were crushed in months but it was a nasty shock and the always pious Emperor turned more towards religion. Early in his reign he had dispatched missionaries to the pagans of the north east with little success but now he was inspired to try again. After several false starts Bishop Gennadios of Xantheia was sent to preach to the Mordvins and the High Chief, whether genuinely inspired to hear the word of the Lord or fearful of offending the Emperor of the Romans permitted him to stay in his lands.

The following year saw the completion of the great monastery of Sestus and the cities of Ainos and Mosynopolis[1]. Constantinople was growing crowded and Leon viewed setting up colonies as a useful outlet for the teeming poor of the capital, though generally he preferred to settle them abroad, in newly won territory.

The festivities surrounding the settlement of Mosynopolis were the last public event the Emperor ever attended. A month later on 23rd June 923 he died after a brief illness, at the age of fifty six. His constitution had never been the equal of his father and after turning fifty he had grown frailer though his mind and spirit blazed as brightly as ever. His sole legitimate son Symeon swiftly ascended to the throne.

The late Emperor.
​

Leon had not been a great warrior like his father and his subjects had never regarded him with the same kind of awe. In his fifteen years on the throne he never personally led an army into a major battle; there were several wars and the Empire expanded in Asia and Europe but there was no equivalent of the Italian conquests of Basileios. Leon solidified the Roman presence rather than bringing great new territories under control. Above all he had striven successfully to avoid war with the Abbasid Caliphate. As an Emperor he felt that the Romans could not afford to start such a war while as a Christian he abhorred the bloodshed that would have followed. Perhaps the most pious Emperor in generations Leon's faith governed every moment of his life and if he perhaps grew less tolerant with age he remained always a kind and merciful man - even the despised and feared Iconoclasts were simply required to renounce their heresy and join monasteries rather than being tortured to death.

Perhaps his only real personal failing was a lack of faithfulness in his marriage, and all historians agree relations between Leon and Oda where never better than chilly with her own penchant for fair maidens. Otherwise he was kind and patient, moderate when it came to wine and food and preferring to dress plainly outside of public appearances. He took his role as protector of the Christians in Syria and Egypt very seriously and a desire to protect them and pilgrims had been the reason he had struck up correspondence with the Caliph, though a genuine friendship had grown up thereafter. War with Muslims though he might he had perhaps the best relations with the Arab world in centuries.

During Leon's reign the Roman Empire grew in wealth and population. Startling but brief and localised rebellions aside domestic life in the Empire was more stable than in centuries. With Sicily and Southern Italy recovered from the war and the menace of Muslim pirates vanquished trade blossomed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in ways unseen since the reign of Heraclius. The population boom, driven by the importation of cheap grain from Sicily and a commerce friendly Egypt saw Constantinople regain much of its former glory, so much so that the citizens were a seemingly bottomless resource for colonies.

Leon VI was not a Justinian but he was a good and a wise ruler and his people prospered under his rule. He won the respect and friendship of Damascus in the way soldiers like his brothers Pamphillios and Apollonios never would have. Fewer soldiers but far more citizens overall thronged the streets and the forum to see Leon's funeral. The day was so blisteringly hot that some, patiently waiting in the streets to pay their respects to the passing bier passed out in the heat, and the new Emperor Symeon, drowning in sweat in his heavy robes had to be swayed by fans constantly in the church to stay awake. He managed it though, for this was moment and all eyes were turned to him.

The Roman Empire in 923 AD.
​

[1] Respectively a Temple in Kaliopolis, a City in Adrianopolis and a City in Philippopolis.

 

[RossN]

volksmarschall: Thanks I will definitely have to check it out!

I'm far from a Byzantine expert, I'm afraid; I actually made up my mind to do a Byzantine AAR because I am reading through Steven Runciman's books on the Crusades where the Byzantines (admittedly from a later time period) turn up a lot.

 

[volksmarschall]

volksmarschall: Thanks I will definitely have to check it out!

I'm far from a Byzantine expert, I'm afraid; I actually made up my mind to do a Byzantine AAR because I am reading through Steven Runciman's books on the Crusades where the Byzantines (admittedly from a later time period) turn up a lot.

Haha, well, I write on them (and the Romans) professionally so, I naturally have stacks of books and articles both for keeping up with the latest trends in Roman and Byzantine historiography, of which I wrote my most recent paper upon, under review. (I'll probably end up with my PhD in the Classics). Currently editing a paper on the Mesopotamian origins of Byzantine symbolism, like the Double-Headed Eagle, the crescent moon and star (which was the real symbol of the Byzantine Empire, not the eagle, was only associated with the Palaiologoi Dynasty as a familial emblem) and how Sumerian iconography of the moon god Nanna (also Sin, or Nanna-Sin combining both variations; the latter is Semitic in origin) influenced early "Byzantine" Christian art, but I digress on the inaccuracy of icons in CK2 (all Muslim shields with the moon and star are wrong...)

---

Ah yes, the infamous mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, fortunately, some Byzantine artwork and icons survived the iconoclastic waves of terror! And well, due to my views on Justinian, I hope Leon VI never needs to be compared to him!

 

[Nikolai]

A RossN AAR! I'm happy to join the readership, a great tale so far.