The Roman Army is in theory led by the Roman Emperor as the commander-in-chief, but the actual powers are delegated to a military officer known as the Grand Domestic (Mέγας Δομέστικος-Mégas Doméstikos). Immediately below him are the commanders of the distinct theaters of war (θέατρα-théatra), each led by a commander known simply as a Domestic (Δομέστικος-Doméstikos). The old Domestic of the East (Δομέστικος της Ανατολής, Domestikos tis Anatolís ), leading Asia Minor and the Levantine territories of the empire, and the Domestic of the West (Δομέστικος της Δύσης-Domestikos tis Dýsis), commanding over the empire's Balkan territories and Taurica, have been supplemented by the Domestic of Africa (Δομέστικος της Αφρικής-Domestikos tis Afrikís), nominally in charge of the three Roman Exarchates in Africa (with his powers slightly limited by the relative autonomy of these provinces), and by the very controversial Domestic of Italy (Δομέστικος της Ιταλίας-Domestikos tis Italías), who commands the Eastern Roman forces in the Western Empire. Subordinated to them are the forces of each theme, under the command of that theme's Strategos, and in times of war, the Domestics take over command of their respective theaters of war, reuniting the forces of each theme into larger groups. The theoretical organization is as follows, although it should be noted that the actual numbers can vary significantly based on the forces of each theater or of the individual themes. It should also be noted that although they share the same name, the Romans make a difference between a Strategos of a theme, and a Strategos commanding an army in the field.
Name | Personnel | Subordinate units | Officer in command |
Théatra | ~ | ~multiple Sóma Stratoú | Domestikos |
Sóma Stratoú | ~160,000 | ~2 Themata | Protostrategos |
Stratevma | ~80,000 | ~2 Legeonai | Strategos |
Legeona | ~40,000 | ~2 Tagmata | Legatos |
Tagma | ~20,000 | ~2 Menarchiai | Katepánō |
Menarchia | ~9,600 | ~4 Tourmai | Menarches |
Tourma | ~2,400 | ~6 Droungoi | Tourmarches |
Droungos | ~400 | ~2 Banda | Droungarios |
Bandon | ~200 | ~2 Kentarchiai | Komes |
Kentarchia | ~100 | ~2 Pentekentarchiai | Kentarches |
Pentekentarchia | ~50 | ~5 Kontoubernia | Pentekontarches |
Kontoubernion | ~10 | N/A | Dekarchos |
Varangian Guard
Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων
The Varangian Guard (Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων - Tágma tōn Varángōn) is an elite unit of the Roman Army, having been created in the 10th century, under Emperor Basil II. The Varangians are different from the rest of the units of the Roman Army, as their ranks are mostly formed by foreigners. The Guard was created at the height of the Viking Age, with its first members being provided by the Nordic warriors of the Kievan Rus. The Nordic warriors quickly proved their loyalty, and their battle prowess became a legend. The Guard is no longer formed only by men of Nordic heritage, nor is it formed only by Germanic people, as it was during the late 11th century, but the Varangians are still worthy of their heritage. Like in the days of old, the "axe bearing foreigners" are some of the best warriors under the command of the Romans, more than able to clash directly with any elite units foolish enough to challenge the Roman Empire.
Like in the days of old, the Varangians are only recruited from among foreigners, though, the Romans normally avoid recruiting their guards from neighboring countries. In order to join the Guard, potential members must meet really strict physical, moral, and psychological requirements. They must pass a series of tough tests, and they must prove their willingness to fight and to die in the Guard. Of course, they must also pass a complete background check, and an unofficial requirement is to be recommended by a veteran member or officer of the guard, and of course, to be approved by the Emperor himself. As such, the Varangians are pretty much handpicked, the best, of the best. Before they actually join the Guard though, they must take part in extensive training sessions. The Varangians must be able to fight anywhere, and at any time, as a conventional army unit, armed with rifles, but also in unconventional situations and in close quarters combat. They are also trained to perform bodyguard, ceremonial and police duties.
The Varangians mainly serve as the Emperor's personal bodyguards, swearing an oath of loyalty to him. They perform ceremonial duties as retainers and acclaimers and they also perform some police duties, especially in cases of treason and conspiracy. Their loyalty is in most cases, unquestionable. They are united by a bond of brotherhood as members of the Guard, by their heritage, their status, and by their oath of loyalty to the Roman Emperor. The Varangians are extremely well paid, and they enjoy a sense of prestige that can rarely be found somewhere else. The idea of the Varangians betraying their Emperor is often unthinkable, simply because there would be nothing they could gain out of it. On the contrary, the assassination of an Emperor would be a disaster for the guard, and the loyalty of the Varangians was crucial in the establishment of the hereditary monarchy under the Palaiologos dynasty. When a Roman Emperor dies of a natural death, the Varangians have the unique right of running to the imperial treasury and taking as much gold and as many gems as they could carry, a procedure that is still known by its Old Norse name of "palace pillaging" (polutasvarf). This special privilege allows many of the Varangians to return to their home as rich men, only serving to further strengthen their loyalty.
The Varangians are easily recognizable not only because of their foreign origin. It's a tradition for most of the Varangians to have long hair, and all of them wear red rubies in their left ears. Their ceremonial uniforms are decorated and ornamented with dragons sewn on their shirts and tunics. Their Guard is organized as a tagma unit, commanded by a trusted, native Roman officer known as the Akolouthos (Aκόλουθος|"follower, attendant"). The unit itself is traditionally divided into two. The Hetaireia (Ἑταιρεία-the Company), formed by those Varangians known as the Companions (Εταίροι), is the part of the Varangian Guard directly responsible for guarding the Emperor and the members of the imperial family, led by an officer known as the Hetaeriarch (ἑταιρειάρχης - hetaireiarchēs) The Warriors (Πολεμιστές-Polemistés) are those Varangians which are used directly on the battlefield when needed, led by an officer known as the Domestikos of the Warriors (Δομέστικος των Πολεμιστών - Domestikos ton Polemistón)
Palatine Schools
Σχολαί Παλατιναι
Scholae Palatinae
The Palatine Schools (Σχολαί Παλατιναι-Scholaí Palatinai|Scholae Palatinae) are an elite unit of the Roman Army. Even if they have lost their role as the main guards of the Roman Emperor in the 10th century, this elite unit, with its origins during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great continues to exist and to persevere, as one of the best and proudest parts of the Roman military. Much like the Varangians, the Scholarians (Σχολάριοι - Scholarioi|Scholares) are among the best trained and equipped units of the Roman military. Formed by native Romans, the Schools are used as guards in Constantinople and other big cities, but also as elite units deployed during the critical moments of a battle. The entire unit is organized as a tagma, with each individual school being organized as a tourma, though, it should be noted that the Schools do not follow the exact same organization in terms of numbers as the regular army.
The Scholai are led by an officer known as the Great Domestic of the Schools (Μέγας Δμέστικος τῶν Σχολῶν- Mégas Domestikos tōn Scholōn). He is helped by two subordinate officers, the Domestic of the East (Δομεστικος [τον Σξηολον] τες Ανατολεσ-Domestikos [tōn Scholōn tēs] Anatolēs) and the Domestic of the West (Δομεστικος [τον Σξηολον] τες Δψσεσοσ - Domestikos [tōn Scholōn tēs] Dyseōs), one responsible for the Schools operating in Europe, the other one for the Schools operating in Asia and Africa. As it might be obvious due to the unit's name, this elite guard is divided between multiple so called "schools", each of them with its own origin, emblem, history, and name.
- The Exkoubitoi or Exkoubitores (Excubiti|Ἐξκούβιτοι, "the Sentinels"). Established by Emperor Leo I, the currently serve a role similar to the Varangian Companions. They guard the Emperor, the members of the imperial family. During times of war, they have the honor of guarding the Emperor's camps. The School of the Exkoubitoi is led by the Domestic of the Excubitors (Δομέστικος τῶν Eξκουβίτων/Eξκουβιτόρων - Domestikos tōn Exkoubitōn/Exkoubitorōn).
- The Vigla (Βίγλα, "guard watch") another one of the Schools. Smaller in terms of the numbers of its members, it has the honor of guarding the imperial palaces. They are led by the Droungarios of the Watch (Δρουγγάριος τῆς βίγλης/βίγλας, Droungarios tēs Viglēs/Viglas).
- The Hikanatoi (Ἱκανάτοι|"the Able Ones") are a specialized unit of the schools, mostly used for covert and guerrilla operations. Not much is known about their unit, but they are led by the Domestic of the Hikanatoi (Δομέστικος τῶν Ἱκανάτοι - Domestikos tōn Hikanatoi)
- Teichistai (Τειχισταί) or the Schole tōn Teicheōn (Σχολή τῶν Τειχέων|" School of the Walls"), are another really old unit. They started as the regiment of the Schools manning the Walls of Constantinople, and they have evolved to become an elite unit specialized in defensive operations, like protecting forts and defending rivers and mountain passes. They are also one of the only elite units of the Empire seriously specialized in urban warfare.
- The Optimatoi (Ὀπτιμάτοι|"the best"), are an unit of the Schools specialized in an amphibious warfare of sorts. Their reorientation started with their deployment in the Aegean Islands, in order to fight the more aggressive Vandal raids that were threatening to break through in an attempt to reach Constantinople. From there on, the unit was re-purposed in order to closely mimic the raiding tactics of others.
- The Immortals (Ἀθάνατοι - Athanatoi) are an elite cavalry unit, created in the 10th century. Probably inspired by the old Immortal Guard of the Persian Empire, today they are used as an elite unit of dragoons.
- The Archontopouloi ( Ἀρχοντόπουλοι|"sons of the Archons") is the smallest of the Schools. It is most often considered to be a palace officer-training corps, and it is formed by orphans of Roman officers and soldiers who have died in battle. The orphans are taken by the state from when they are little, with the agreement of their remaining guardian of course, and they are trained and indoctrinated, turned into a loyal unit that is often described as fanatic.
National Goals: Protect the Empire by any means, strengthen the Roman military, defend the Suez Canal, create new alliances with other powers, accelerate the development of the Empire's Oriental provinces, expand into the Horn of Africa.
National Issues: A heavy and and often cumbersome bureaucracy and administration, tensions between the aristocracy and the general population, a general desire for more modernization conflicting with the conservatism of the government, conflicts with some the neighbors, a navy that might not necessarily match the empire's ambitious foreign policy, religious tensions between Orthodox Christians, Oriental Christians, and Muslims, a resistance against Hellenization in certain parts of Africa and of the Middle East, differences between more developed regions and those who are still underdeveloped, and a geographical and regional position that is a double edged blade.
National Figures of Interest:
- Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos
- Prince Konstantinos Palaiologos, current Despot of Morea, younger brother of Emperor Michael
- Prince Manuel Palaiologos, Despot of Trebizond, youngest brother of Emperor Michael
- Princess Sophia Palaiologos, twin sister of Emperor Michael
- Princess Maria Palaiologos, younger sister of Emperor Michael
- Princess Anastasia Palaiologos, youngest sister of Emperor Michael
- Alexandros Kantakouzenos, Grand Logothete and Hypatos
- Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus VI of Constantinople
National Ambition/Aspirations: A series of reforms meant to strengthen the Empire and to avoid the fall of its autocratic system, creating trade relations with the Oriental nations, improving the Empire's diplomacy.
Rival: Kingdom of the Vandals, Bulgaria (will be slayed)
RP Sample: I'm Thrace
History :
The long and glorious history of the Eastern Roman Empire begins of course, in the year of our Lord 284, when the Roman Emperor Diocletian divided the once mighty Empire into two. Rome was weak and sick.. in order to survive and to persevere, it had to shed its filthy pagan origins, and to be reborn. The rebirth of Rome truly began with the reign of Constantine the Great. Roman Emperor and Saint, protector of Christianity, savior of the Empire..he founded the New Rome a city that would reach and surpass the glory of the Eternal City.. the Queen of Cities. Constantinople. While the Western Empire continued to rot and to decade, and while the Old Rome was sacked by the Vandals..the righteous looked East. Majorian was the last competent Emperor of the old Western Empire, and while the the West was broken, again and again, the East continued to grow even stronger. Considering that the Vandals were threatening their African possessions, the Emperors of Constantinople firstly forced Majorian to attack those barbarians, an attack which ended in failure. A final, desperate attempt was made, but a joint Roman force was utterly defeated in the Battle of Cap Bon. The Roman war efforts against the Vandals ended in 470, as the West was breathing its last.
And when the Western Empire fell to the filthy barbarian known as Odoacer, Emperor Zeno knew that the time had come. With the death of Julius Nepos, and the abdication of Romulus Augustulus, the West had no Augustus.. and when he received the imperial insignia of the West, Zeno declared himself Emperor of both the West and the East. The Roman Empire was reborn that day. Unfortunately, the Romans were unable to take back Italy on their own, so Zeno negotiated with the Ostrogoths under Theodoric, who was sent to crush Odoacer as the magister militum per Italiam. While the Italian Peninsula was still nominally under Roman rule, any dreams of restoration had to wait. The one who would restore the Empire to its older glory had to be someone else. The Leonid dynasty soon died, with the energetic reformer known as Anastasius I as its last member. The Justinian Dynasty followed.
Oh, Justinian the Great, another Emperor and Saint, Restitutor Orbis... the Restorer of the World. Justinian assumed the throne in 527, with a dream to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory. The Eastern Empire signed a peace with its eternal enemy Babylon in 523, and with the help of his wife Theodora, the eunuch Narses, and the generals Belisarius and Mundus, the Emperor used the Blue faction against the Green faction in order to bring an end to the Nika Riots. In 533, the Romans started their long campaign of reconquering the West. This reconquest began with the Roman attack on Vandal Africa under the command of the great general Belisarius. Taking advantage of the overthrowing of the friendly King Hilderic by his fanatic cousin Gelimer, the Romans invaded the Kingdom of the Vandals in order to bring Hilderic back on the throne. After a short and glorious campaign, the forces of Gelimer were crushed in the Battle of Ad Decimum, with Belisarius entering triumphantly in the ancient city of Carthage. With Africa mostly secured, the Romans turned towards Italy, the former heart of the Empire, where internal struggle had left the Ostrogothic Kingdom weakened. In 535, the Romans took back Sicily, before landing in Italy proper, but due to Gothic resistance, the war was prolonged. The Roman expedition would have probably been defeated if not for the genius of Belisarius. On the bring of defeat, the Ostrogoths offered Belisarius the title of Emperor of the West, but Belisarius fooled them, remaining loyal. Rome, Naples, and Ravenna were all conquered, and the Italian peninsula was brought back under Roman control. Perhaps influenced by Theodora, perhaps by the Patriarch or by the Pope, Justinian decided to reward Belisarius by making him his junior emperor, the Caesar of the West. Imperial rule in Italy was strengthened, and a Athanaglid, a Visigothic noble from Hispania, called for the Empire's help against the Visigothic King, leading to the reconquest of a small slice of Hispania's coast. With that, the Empire was truly reborn. Roman troops, led by Belisarius and his son, managed to crush the Lombard-Saxon force that was threatening to invade Italy, keeping it under Imperial rule. Eventually, both Belisarius and Justinian died, bringing their new empire on the brink of destruction.
Justin II and Tiberius II were both mediocre Emperors, losing bits and pieces of Roman territory. Their successor however, Maurice, was an extremely competent general Emperor, energetic and aggressive. He stopped the decline, intervening against Babylon, pushing the Avars and the Slavs back over the Danube. But this was not going to last. Maurice was murdered by the usurper Phocas, and the Babylonians pushed into Anatolia. A civil war soon started, led by Heraclius the Elder. Nicetas invaded Egypt, and after taking over Cyptus and Syria, Heraclius the Younger sailed to Constantinople with an icon affixed to the prow of his ship, managing to rally the citizens of the capital against the tyrant. Heraclius personally killed and beheaded Phocas, before the usurper's body was mutilated, paraded through the streets of Constantinople, and burned. The Babylonians soon advanced against the Levant, taking over Damascus and Jerusalem, taking the True Cross to Babylon. The counterattack of Heraclius took the form of a holy war, with an acheiropoietos image of Jesus Christ being carried as a military standard. Constantinople was saved from an Avar siege by Patriarch Sergius and what was claimed to be an intervention by the Virgin Mary, which allowed the Emperor to focus on the Baylonians. The enemy forces were destroyed at Nineveh in 627, and a peace treaty was signed. All captives and Christian relics were returned, while the borders were restored. The True Cross was taken to Constantinople, and placed high atop the altar of Hagia Sophia. Heraclius planned to return it to Jerusalem, and the Romans all expected their Emperor to lead them into a new age of glory. But the clouds of war were gathering at the Empire's borders. The Arabs had arrived.
The war with the Babylonians had exhausted both empires, but the Roman forces in the Orient were still strong. The Battle of Ajnadayn ended indecisively, with the Romans managing to withdraw with most of their forces. Damascus and Jerusalem were both besieged, and Heraclius quickly gathered all his available forces, perhaps also receiving help from Babylon. Heraclius closely prepared this offensive, with the Muslim forces geographically divided, the Romans tried to exploit this situation, and to fight the enemy forces one by one, concentrating large forces against each of the Muslim armies before they would be able to consolidate their troops. In 636, leaving Antioch under the command of Theodore Trithyrius and Vahan, the Roman forces pushed through Syria. Having been unable to find out about the plans of the Roman forces, the Arab forces continued to remain divided. The Romans managed to avoid a decisive battle, as the forces of Theodore crushed the forces of Yazid near Damascus. Before the Arab commanders managed to realize the danger, the forces of Vahan fought and destroyed the Muslim forces in Emesa, while a third army, led by Heraclius' son Constantine, managed to inflict serious damage to the forces of Shurahbil in Kordan. The remains of the Muslim forces withdrew towards the besieged Jerusalem, where Khalid ibn al-Walid tried to draw the Roman forces into a situation where the Arabs would be able overcome their numerical disadvantage. Their armies clashed near Jerusalem, but the arrival of a force led personally by Heraclius took Khalid by surprise. Enraged, and unwilling to lose all his achievements because of this barbarian invasion, Heraclius managed to overcome his fear of the open sea, and to lead a force that had landed at Tyre, before it moved south, never found by the Muslims. The forces of Islam were surrounded, but Khalid led a final counterattack that allowed some of them to break through. Jerusalem was saved, but the Roman forces were exhausted, and weakened by internal tensions. The effort made by Heraclius in this battle was too much for his old age, and the Emperor died a few weeks later, in Jerusalem. With his death, the Roman Empire was unable to stop the Arab forces from storming Egypt and expanding into Africa, and civil war for succession fought between the sons of Heraclius threatened everything that the Romans had fought for. Constantine died of turbeculosis, and the regency of Martina for Heraklonas was weak and corrupt, allowing the Muslim forces to push again, defeating the Roman forces near Jerusalem and sacking the city, before pushing towards Syria. As Heraklonas was overthrown by the general Valentinus, the empire was reduced to its Balkan posessions and Asia Minor, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Salvation came through the system of the themata, a military-administrative reorganization around the army groups in Asia Minor, which allowed it to keep the Arabs at bay. In the Balkans, the weakened Roman lines were unable to stop the invasion of the Slavs, spearheaded by the Bulgars and the Khazars. In 680, Roman forces sent to take care of the Slavs were defeated, and Constantine IV signed a treaty with the Bulgar khan, creating the Bulgarian state that would threaten the Empire for centuries to come. Expeditions in 688 under Justinian II managed to strengthen imperial rule in Thrace, Macedonia, and Epirus, stopping the Slavs from advancing even further and saving Greece from further damage. Conflicts with the urban aristocracy however brought the reign of the Heraclian dynasty to an end. The Twenty Years' Anarchy followed, but neither the Slavs nor the Arabs were able to properly take advantage of it, and in 717, the Isaurian Dynasty was established by Leo III. A naval siege of Constantinople was stopped with the help of the Greek Fire and of the Bulgars, However, the Empire soon had to face a crisis, starting the Iconoclast Wars.
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The reforms of Michael III, from 842 to 886 A.D. set the ground for the Macedonian Renaissance, which officially began with the establishment of the Macedonian Dynasty by the energetic and aggressive Emperor Basil I. Good financial policies increased the gold reserves of the Empire, while the iconoclast movement was breathing its last, declining, suppressed by the Emperors who were promoting religious unity. The themata system was perfected, and the legislative, cultural, and economic situation continued to improve, while the support of the Emperors for the iconodule cause turned the Church once again into a great supporter of imperial rule. The powers of the aristocracy were weakened. The threat of the Bulgarians was great, as Tsar Simeon I had defeated the Roman forces in 896, and by 912, Constantinople itself was threatened, with the Romans being forced to grant Simeon the crown of Basileus of Bulgaria, with the young Empror Constantine VII being forced to marry one of the daughters of Simeon. A great imperial expedition was then defeated, and the Bulgarians pushed into Greece, but the death of Simeon weakened the Bulgars. Emperor Basil II then fought back, in a twenty years long war, a systematic conquest of Bulgaria was brought to an end, with the Slavs being massacred, assimilated and converted, their population pushed out of the cities, colonists were brought from Asia Minor, and the Bulgarian army was definitively crushed in the Battle of Kleidon. Legends say that from the Bulgarian survivors, 99 out of every 100 soldiers were blinded, with the remaining hundredth man left with one eye as to lead his comrades home. The last Bulgarian Tsar, Samuil, is said to have died of heart attack after seeing the remains of his army. Bulgaria surrendered, being defeated and deleted from history. The Danube frontier was permanently restored.
Basil II, unfortunately, never planned his succession, and his death weakened the Empire. The professional army created by the Macedonian emperors was difficult to maintain, and the economy of the empire declined. Unlike in real life however, the native forces were never replaced by mercenaries. The Great Schism still happened in 1054, as an outbursts of all the tensions between Rome and Constantinople. The Seljuk Turks, crossed into Armenia in 1067. The new emperor, Romanos Diogenes, utterly crushed the Seljuk forces in 1071 in the Battle of Manzikert. Sultan Alp Arslan was captured and burned alive. However, Romanos died a few years earlier, his death creating a short civil war which culminated with the establishment of the Komnenian dynasty. Under Alexios the Great, the Romans managed to end the threat of the Turks once and for all. Alexios was one the first Eastern Emperors of his age to actually realize that reconciliation with Rome was necessary for the survival of both sides of the Roman Empire, as they were equally threatened by the presence of the Normans in Southern Italy and the western coasts of Greece, so the forces of Rome and Constantinople fought together against the external threat. This created some trust, and personal efforts by Alexios managed to soften the blow of the recent Schism. After a personal visit of Alexios in Rome, the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch decided to nullify the anathemas of 1054, effectively ending the schism, and bringing the churches back together, at least from a political point of view. The split in the Church along doctrinal, theological, linguistic and geographical lines was however never going to healed, as proven even today by the followers of the Catholic, Latin rite, and by the followers of the Orthodox, Greek rite. One church with two heads, as many say even today. Regardless, a new alliance was created, and with the help of Italy and of the Papacy, Alexios started to consolidate Roman claims in the Middle East, starting the era of the crusades. By the end of the life of this great emperor, Syria had been recovered, and the forces of the First Crusade and of the Romans besieged and conquered Jerusalem, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the crusade. The crusaders were the first to push through the city's walls, starting to kill the civilian population, to pillage and to burn, and the Roman soldiers that followed them tried to stop the foreign crusaders from destroying everything, leading to skirmishes which nearly led to a new battle between the two forces, until the Roman commanders and the crusade's leaders managed to control their soldiers. But by the end of it, most of Jerusalem ended up in ruins, its population massacred without mercy. Roman forces however managed to gain control of the place where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre once stood, leading to further tensions between the "Latins" and the Romans.
In terms of prosperity and expansion, the Komnenian period was a true rebirth. The close relation with the Italians and the other Westerners led to Roman art, culture, knowledge being spread towards the West, while various Western ideas and customs were also brought to the Empire. The death of this great Emperor however cut the personal relations between Rome and Constantinople, planting the seeds for what was to come.
1180 marked the final decline of the Komnenoi, as the Frankish regency of the young Alexios II Komnenos was incredibly unpopular. Andronikos I, a grandson of Alexios I, launched a revolt, overthrowing him, killing Alexios II, massacring many Latins in Constantinople, which broke the relations between the two sides of the Empire. The reign of Andronikos began with a strong campaign against corruption, which earned him the support of the peasantry, but his fight against the nobility earned him many enemies. Andronikos was never overthrown like in real life, and as such, the Komnenoi survived for a little longer, with his son, Manuel Komnenos, as the next Emperor. A mediocre leader, Manuel was unable to do anything significant towards repairing the relations with Rome, and after his death, he was followed by his younger brother, Alexios III, a son of Andronikos with the Western princess Agnes. Alexios was a much better leader than his predecessor, and his few reforms attempted to strengthen the empire. However, in the last years of his reign, Manuel had been manipulated by Alexios Angelos. Angelos married a daughter of Manuel, hereby gaining a vague claim at the throne, all in the hope of stopping Alexios Komnenos, who was perceived as a Western puppet, from taking the throne. The plot of the Angeloi failed, but Alexios III was merciful, the mistake that would end his life.
From 1198 to 1204, the Fourth Crusade was planned pretty much just like in real life, with the objective of taking Egypt. The Crusade was spearheaded by Venice, and instead of paying the Venetians, the crusaders agreed to help them establish Venice's rule again in the Christian port of Zara. The Pope was reluctant to intervene in the affairs of this crusade, and as such, it continued. Alexios Angelos however, having been sent into exile, was seeking for aid in order to press his claim to the throne. Angelos offered to put the Ecumenical Patriarchy under the control of the Pope, to play the crusaders 200,000 silver marks, and to join the crusade against Egypt. The Pope tried to stop this plan, but his letter arrived after the crusaders had left Zara. Alexios III was not expecting the crusaders to be hostile, so the city was unprepared. Alexios III was murdered in front of the gates of Constantinople, after the crusaders had deceived him to leave the walls in order to take part in a ceremony. Along with loyal Roman troops, Alexios Angelos took over the city, while the crusaders awaited their payment along the walls. Angelos was crowned as Alexios IV, killing the wife of the previous emperor, but the young daughter of Alexios III, Princess Eirene, was hidden in a monastery inside the city by Komnenoi supporters. Before a civil war could even properly start, tensions rose sharply between the crusaders and the Romans. In a coup d'etat against Alexios, yet another Alexios, Doukas this time, started a revolt in the city, his men murdering every foreigner and Latin they could find. Alexios IV was murdered in front of the Hagia Sophia, and the crusaders attacked the city. Alexios Doukas was then murdered by someone else, and the imperial throne was left open, in the Thirty Years' Anarchy that had just started. A young noble called Michael Palaiologos, born earlier in this timeline, was in the city when the chaos started, and the young officer mobilized the remaining forces against the crusaders. Using burning ships and Greek fire, the garrison of Constantinople managed to burn parts of the Venetian fleet, forcing it to withdraw. The remaining crusades managed to break into the city through an opened gate, although historians debate to this day whether the gate had been damaged in the fighting or intentionally let open by an ally of the crusaders inside the city. As soon as they properly entered the city however, the crusaders abandoned any sort of organized form of fighting, looting and raiding, killing and raping, even going so far as to attack and burn churches inside the city, and to rape the nuns serving in them. In the disaster which would become known as the Sack of Constantinople, the crusaders caused great damage but were unable to take over the city, being pushed back and then hunted to the last man by the garrison. Barely just remaining in control, Michael Palaiologos managed to pacify the city over the next few weeks, secretly saving as much innocent, Latin civilians as possible, ferrying them from Galata towards the other side of the Bosphorus.
Led by the remains of the Venetian forces, the crusaders caused chaos in Macedonia, sacking and burning the city of Thessaloniki, creating their own states, including a so called Latin Empire which claimed the Eastern imperial position. Venetian forces took over parts of the Aegean islands, over Morea and parts of Epirus, while other crusaders created a small state in Thrace after they took Adrianople through trickery. Meanwhile, in Asia Minor, a Doukas pretender claimed the throne, and the remaining Angeloi did the same, creating a state with the capital in Mytilene. In Trebizond, another alleged Komnenoi claimed the imperial mantle. Isaac Komenos had a short reign in Cyprus before being assassinated, and the Muslim forces started new offensive in the Levant. Everything seemed to be lost. But Michael, hailed as the savior of Constantinople, was there to take control. The Palaiologoi was crowned as Emperor by the Ecumenical Patriarch in early 1205, acclaimed by the people of Constantinople, by the army and by the senate, marrying Princess Eirene in order to solidify his claim to the throne. At the same time, the Senate awarded him the honorary title of Soter (Σωτήρ), the Savior, a title which would remain the epithet of all Palaiologoi monarchs from that point onward. The new Emperor was young and aggressive, calling the native Roman population to fight against the vilified crusaders. In a swift move, Michael attacked Adrianople, taking it after some of the inhabitants opened one of the smaller gates. The captured crusaders were executed, but before he was able to move on to Macedonia, the Doukas pretender attacked the loyal city of Nicaea. Michael crossed the Bosporus, reaching Asia Minor, defeating the pretender in the Battle of Nicaea.. With the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the entire Angeloi family from Mytilene, Michael was able to retake the entire theme of Thrace, including its Asian lands.
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For the next thirty years, for most of his reign, Michael managed to wage successful wars against most of his enemies, alternating campaigns between Europe and Asia. The death of the Doukas pretender 10 years later brought an end to the rebellions in Asia Minor, and the region was pacified. With a lot more strength than before, the Romans defeated the crusaders in the Battle near Mount Chortiatis, pushing into Macedonia and Greece. The death of Michael in 1235 found the core territories of the empire back under Constantinople's rule. His status as a hero and a saint greatly improved the prestige of the Palaiologoi, and a series of extremely successful emperors managed to properly create a proper hereditary legitimacy for the succession to the imperial throne, hereby creating the Palaiologos dynasty.
The chaos of the Thirty Years' Anarchy and the wars between the Romans and the Crusaders weakened the overall Christian position in the Middle East, and the Muslims under the Ayyubid Caliphate of Saladin had already crushed most of the crusader states and brought most of Palestine and Syria back under Muslim control. Internal issues after Saladin's death stopped the Caliphate from trying to push into Anatolia, but soon after the death of Michael Palaiologos and the succession of his son, Andronikos, to the imperial throne, three centuries of Roman-Ayyubid Wars began in their earnest. The reign of Andronikos and of his immediate successors were generally defensive, as the Romans did what Romans do best - protect their borders and gather their forces. The two greatest accomplishments of the reign of Andronikos were the reorganization of the themata system, which finished his father's military reforms, and his economic reforms which kickstarted an economic recovery that the East Romans so desperately needed. The son of Andronikos, Gregorios, recreated the beleagured Roman Navy from scratch, and the new Palaiologan navy managed to crush the Venetian Navy in the Sea or Marmara and later in the Aegean Sea, ending the Venetian dominance of those seas permanently, and leading to the eventual reconquest of Crete and Cyprus.
Gregorios was followed by his own son, the 13 year old Ioannes, who was assassinated by a relative with Cuman origins, Syrgiannes Palaiologos who took over the imperial throne and led in a reign full of corruption and debauchery, severely weakening the imperial government.
And when the Western Empire fell to the filthy barbarian known as Odoacer, Emperor Zeno knew that the time had come. With the death of Julius Nepos, and the abdication of Romulus Augustulus, the West had no Augustus.. and when he received the imperial insignia of the West, Zeno declared himself Emperor of both the West and the East. The Roman Empire was reborn that day. Unfortunately, the Romans were unable to take back Italy on their own, so Zeno negotiated with the Ostrogoths under Theodoric, who was sent to crush Odoacer as the magister militum per Italiam. While the Italian Peninsula was still nominally under Roman rule, any dreams of restoration had to wait. The one who would restore the Empire to its older glory had to be someone else. The Leonid dynasty soon died, with the energetic reformer known as Anastasius I as its last member. The Justinian Dynasty followed.
Oh, Justinian the Great, another Emperor and Saint, Restitutor Orbis... the Restorer of the World. Justinian assumed the throne in 527, with a dream to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory. The Eastern Empire signed a peace with its eternal enemy Babylon in 523, and with the help of his wife Theodora, the eunuch Narses, and the generals Belisarius and Mundus, the Emperor used the Blue faction against the Green faction in order to bring an end to the Nika Riots. In 533, the Romans started their long campaign of reconquering the West. This reconquest began with the Roman attack on Vandal Africa under the command of the great general Belisarius. Taking advantage of the overthrowing of the friendly King Hilderic by his fanatic cousin Gelimer, the Romans invaded the Kingdom of the Vandals in order to bring Hilderic back on the throne. After a short and glorious campaign, the forces of Gelimer were crushed in the Battle of Ad Decimum, with Belisarius entering triumphantly in the ancient city of Carthage. With Africa mostly secured, the Romans turned towards Italy, the former heart of the Empire, where internal struggle had left the Ostrogothic Kingdom weakened. In 535, the Romans took back Sicily, before landing in Italy proper, but due to Gothic resistance, the war was prolonged. The Roman expedition would have probably been defeated if not for the genius of Belisarius. On the bring of defeat, the Ostrogoths offered Belisarius the title of Emperor of the West, but Belisarius fooled them, remaining loyal. Rome, Naples, and Ravenna were all conquered, and the Italian peninsula was brought back under Roman control. Perhaps influenced by Theodora, perhaps by the Patriarch or by the Pope, Justinian decided to reward Belisarius by making him his junior emperor, the Caesar of the West. Imperial rule in Italy was strengthened, and a Athanaglid, a Visigothic noble from Hispania, called for the Empire's help against the Visigothic King, leading to the reconquest of a small slice of Hispania's coast. With that, the Empire was truly reborn. Roman troops, led by Belisarius and his son, managed to crush the Lombard-Saxon force that was threatening to invade Italy, keeping it under Imperial rule. Eventually, both Belisarius and Justinian died, bringing their new empire on the brink of destruction.
Justin II and Tiberius II were both mediocre Emperors, losing bits and pieces of Roman territory. Their successor however, Maurice, was an extremely competent general Emperor, energetic and aggressive. He stopped the decline, intervening against Babylon, pushing the Avars and the Slavs back over the Danube. But this was not going to last. Maurice was murdered by the usurper Phocas, and the Babylonians pushed into Anatolia. A civil war soon started, led by Heraclius the Elder. Nicetas invaded Egypt, and after taking over Cyptus and Syria, Heraclius the Younger sailed to Constantinople with an icon affixed to the prow of his ship, managing to rally the citizens of the capital against the tyrant. Heraclius personally killed and beheaded Phocas, before the usurper's body was mutilated, paraded through the streets of Constantinople, and burned. The Babylonians soon advanced against the Levant, taking over Damascus and Jerusalem, taking the True Cross to Babylon. The counterattack of Heraclius took the form of a holy war, with an acheiropoietos image of Jesus Christ being carried as a military standard. Constantinople was saved from an Avar siege by Patriarch Sergius and what was claimed to be an intervention by the Virgin Mary, which allowed the Emperor to focus on the Baylonians. The enemy forces were destroyed at Nineveh in 627, and a peace treaty was signed. All captives and Christian relics were returned, while the borders were restored. The True Cross was taken to Constantinople, and placed high atop the altar of Hagia Sophia. Heraclius planned to return it to Jerusalem, and the Romans all expected their Emperor to lead them into a new age of glory. But the clouds of war were gathering at the Empire's borders. The Arabs had arrived.
The war with the Babylonians had exhausted both empires, but the Roman forces in the Orient were still strong. The Battle of Ajnadayn ended indecisively, with the Romans managing to withdraw with most of their forces. Damascus and Jerusalem were both besieged, and Heraclius quickly gathered all his available forces, perhaps also receiving help from Babylon. Heraclius closely prepared this offensive, with the Muslim forces geographically divided, the Romans tried to exploit this situation, and to fight the enemy forces one by one, concentrating large forces against each of the Muslim armies before they would be able to consolidate their troops. In 636, leaving Antioch under the command of Theodore Trithyrius and Vahan, the Roman forces pushed through Syria. Having been unable to find out about the plans of the Roman forces, the Arab forces continued to remain divided. The Romans managed to avoid a decisive battle, as the forces of Theodore crushed the forces of Yazid near Damascus. Before the Arab commanders managed to realize the danger, the forces of Vahan fought and destroyed the Muslim forces in Emesa, while a third army, led by Heraclius' son Constantine, managed to inflict serious damage to the forces of Shurahbil in Kordan. The remains of the Muslim forces withdrew towards the besieged Jerusalem, where Khalid ibn al-Walid tried to draw the Roman forces into a situation where the Arabs would be able overcome their numerical disadvantage. Their armies clashed near Jerusalem, but the arrival of a force led personally by Heraclius took Khalid by surprise. Enraged, and unwilling to lose all his achievements because of this barbarian invasion, Heraclius managed to overcome his fear of the open sea, and to lead a force that had landed at Tyre, before it moved south, never found by the Muslims. The forces of Islam were surrounded, but Khalid led a final counterattack that allowed some of them to break through. Jerusalem was saved, but the Roman forces were exhausted, and weakened by internal tensions. The effort made by Heraclius in this battle was too much for his old age, and the Emperor died a few weeks later, in Jerusalem. With his death, the Roman Empire was unable to stop the Arab forces from storming Egypt and expanding into Africa, and civil war for succession fought between the sons of Heraclius threatened everything that the Romans had fought for. Constantine died of turbeculosis, and the regency of Martina for Heraklonas was weak and corrupt, allowing the Muslim forces to push again, defeating the Roman forces near Jerusalem and sacking the city, before pushing towards Syria. As Heraklonas was overthrown by the general Valentinus, the empire was reduced to its Balkan posessions and Asia Minor, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Salvation came through the system of the themata, a military-administrative reorganization around the army groups in Asia Minor, which allowed it to keep the Arabs at bay. In the Balkans, the weakened Roman lines were unable to stop the invasion of the Slavs, spearheaded by the Bulgars and the Khazars. In 680, Roman forces sent to take care of the Slavs were defeated, and Constantine IV signed a treaty with the Bulgar khan, creating the Bulgarian state that would threaten the Empire for centuries to come. Expeditions in 688 under Justinian II managed to strengthen imperial rule in Thrace, Macedonia, and Epirus, stopping the Slavs from advancing even further and saving Greece from further damage. Conflicts with the urban aristocracy however brought the reign of the Heraclian dynasty to an end. The Twenty Years' Anarchy followed, but neither the Slavs nor the Arabs were able to properly take advantage of it, and in 717, the Isaurian Dynasty was established by Leo III. A naval siege of Constantinople was stopped with the help of the Greek Fire and of the Bulgars, However, the Empire soon had to face a crisis, starting the Iconoclast Wars.
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The reforms of Michael III, from 842 to 886 A.D. set the ground for the Macedonian Renaissance, which officially began with the establishment of the Macedonian Dynasty by the energetic and aggressive Emperor Basil I. Good financial policies increased the gold reserves of the Empire, while the iconoclast movement was breathing its last, declining, suppressed by the Emperors who were promoting religious unity. The themata system was perfected, and the legislative, cultural, and economic situation continued to improve, while the support of the Emperors for the iconodule cause turned the Church once again into a great supporter of imperial rule. The powers of the aristocracy were weakened. The threat of the Bulgarians was great, as Tsar Simeon I had defeated the Roman forces in 896, and by 912, Constantinople itself was threatened, with the Romans being forced to grant Simeon the crown of Basileus of Bulgaria, with the young Empror Constantine VII being forced to marry one of the daughters of Simeon. A great imperial expedition was then defeated, and the Bulgarians pushed into Greece, but the death of Simeon weakened the Bulgars. Emperor Basil II then fought back, in a twenty years long war, a systematic conquest of Bulgaria was brought to an end, with the Slavs being massacred, assimilated and converted, their population pushed out of the cities, colonists were brought from Asia Minor, and the Bulgarian army was definitively crushed in the Battle of Kleidon. Legends say that from the Bulgarian survivors, 99 out of every 100 soldiers were blinded, with the remaining hundredth man left with one eye as to lead his comrades home. The last Bulgarian Tsar, Samuil, is said to have died of heart attack after seeing the remains of his army. Bulgaria surrendered, being defeated and deleted from history. The Danube frontier was permanently restored.
Basil II, unfortunately, never planned his succession, and his death weakened the Empire. The professional army created by the Macedonian emperors was difficult to maintain, and the economy of the empire declined. Unlike in real life however, the native forces were never replaced by mercenaries. The Great Schism still happened in 1054, as an outbursts of all the tensions between Rome and Constantinople. The Seljuk Turks, crossed into Armenia in 1067. The new emperor, Romanos Diogenes, utterly crushed the Seljuk forces in 1071 in the Battle of Manzikert. Sultan Alp Arslan was captured and burned alive. However, Romanos died a few years earlier, his death creating a short civil war which culminated with the establishment of the Komnenian dynasty. Under Alexios the Great, the Romans managed to end the threat of the Turks once and for all. Alexios was one the first Eastern Emperors of his age to actually realize that reconciliation with Rome was necessary for the survival of both sides of the Roman Empire, as they were equally threatened by the presence of the Normans in Southern Italy and the western coasts of Greece, so the forces of Rome and Constantinople fought together against the external threat. This created some trust, and personal efforts by Alexios managed to soften the blow of the recent Schism. After a personal visit of Alexios in Rome, the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch decided to nullify the anathemas of 1054, effectively ending the schism, and bringing the churches back together, at least from a political point of view. The split in the Church along doctrinal, theological, linguistic and geographical lines was however never going to healed, as proven even today by the followers of the Catholic, Latin rite, and by the followers of the Orthodox, Greek rite. One church with two heads, as many say even today. Regardless, a new alliance was created, and with the help of Italy and of the Papacy, Alexios started to consolidate Roman claims in the Middle East, starting the era of the crusades. By the end of the life of this great emperor, Syria had been recovered, and the forces of the First Crusade and of the Romans besieged and conquered Jerusalem, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the crusade. The crusaders were the first to push through the city's walls, starting to kill the civilian population, to pillage and to burn, and the Roman soldiers that followed them tried to stop the foreign crusaders from destroying everything, leading to skirmishes which nearly led to a new battle between the two forces, until the Roman commanders and the crusade's leaders managed to control their soldiers. But by the end of it, most of Jerusalem ended up in ruins, its population massacred without mercy. Roman forces however managed to gain control of the place where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre once stood, leading to further tensions between the "Latins" and the Romans.
In terms of prosperity and expansion, the Komnenian period was a true rebirth. The close relation with the Italians and the other Westerners led to Roman art, culture, knowledge being spread towards the West, while various Western ideas and customs were also brought to the Empire. The death of this great Emperor however cut the personal relations between Rome and Constantinople, planting the seeds for what was to come.
1180 marked the final decline of the Komnenoi, as the Frankish regency of the young Alexios II Komnenos was incredibly unpopular. Andronikos I, a grandson of Alexios I, launched a revolt, overthrowing him, killing Alexios II, massacring many Latins in Constantinople, which broke the relations between the two sides of the Empire. The reign of Andronikos began with a strong campaign against corruption, which earned him the support of the peasantry, but his fight against the nobility earned him many enemies. Andronikos was never overthrown like in real life, and as such, the Komnenoi survived for a little longer, with his son, Manuel Komnenos, as the next Emperor. A mediocre leader, Manuel was unable to do anything significant towards repairing the relations with Rome, and after his death, he was followed by his younger brother, Alexios III, a son of Andronikos with the Western princess Agnes. Alexios was a much better leader than his predecessor, and his few reforms attempted to strengthen the empire. However, in the last years of his reign, Manuel had been manipulated by Alexios Angelos. Angelos married a daughter of Manuel, hereby gaining a vague claim at the throne, all in the hope of stopping Alexios Komnenos, who was perceived as a Western puppet, from taking the throne. The plot of the Angeloi failed, but Alexios III was merciful, the mistake that would end his life.
From 1198 to 1204, the Fourth Crusade was planned pretty much just like in real life, with the objective of taking Egypt. The Crusade was spearheaded by Venice, and instead of paying the Venetians, the crusaders agreed to help them establish Venice's rule again in the Christian port of Zara. The Pope was reluctant to intervene in the affairs of this crusade, and as such, it continued. Alexios Angelos however, having been sent into exile, was seeking for aid in order to press his claim to the throne. Angelos offered to put the Ecumenical Patriarchy under the control of the Pope, to play the crusaders 200,000 silver marks, and to join the crusade against Egypt. The Pope tried to stop this plan, but his letter arrived after the crusaders had left Zara. Alexios III was not expecting the crusaders to be hostile, so the city was unprepared. Alexios III was murdered in front of the gates of Constantinople, after the crusaders had deceived him to leave the walls in order to take part in a ceremony. Along with loyal Roman troops, Alexios Angelos took over the city, while the crusaders awaited their payment along the walls. Angelos was crowned as Alexios IV, killing the wife of the previous emperor, but the young daughter of Alexios III, Princess Eirene, was hidden in a monastery inside the city by Komnenoi supporters. Before a civil war could even properly start, tensions rose sharply between the crusaders and the Romans. In a coup d'etat against Alexios, yet another Alexios, Doukas this time, started a revolt in the city, his men murdering every foreigner and Latin they could find. Alexios IV was murdered in front of the Hagia Sophia, and the crusaders attacked the city. Alexios Doukas was then murdered by someone else, and the imperial throne was left open, in the Thirty Years' Anarchy that had just started. A young noble called Michael Palaiologos, born earlier in this timeline, was in the city when the chaos started, and the young officer mobilized the remaining forces against the crusaders. Using burning ships and Greek fire, the garrison of Constantinople managed to burn parts of the Venetian fleet, forcing it to withdraw. The remaining crusades managed to break into the city through an opened gate, although historians debate to this day whether the gate had been damaged in the fighting or intentionally let open by an ally of the crusaders inside the city. As soon as they properly entered the city however, the crusaders abandoned any sort of organized form of fighting, looting and raiding, killing and raping, even going so far as to attack and burn churches inside the city, and to rape the nuns serving in them. In the disaster which would become known as the Sack of Constantinople, the crusaders caused great damage but were unable to take over the city, being pushed back and then hunted to the last man by the garrison. Barely just remaining in control, Michael Palaiologos managed to pacify the city over the next few weeks, secretly saving as much innocent, Latin civilians as possible, ferrying them from Galata towards the other side of the Bosphorus.
Led by the remains of the Venetian forces, the crusaders caused chaos in Macedonia, sacking and burning the city of Thessaloniki, creating their own states, including a so called Latin Empire which claimed the Eastern imperial position. Venetian forces took over parts of the Aegean islands, over Morea and parts of Epirus, while other crusaders created a small state in Thrace after they took Adrianople through trickery. Meanwhile, in Asia Minor, a Doukas pretender claimed the throne, and the remaining Angeloi did the same, creating a state with the capital in Mytilene. In Trebizond, another alleged Komnenoi claimed the imperial mantle. Isaac Komenos had a short reign in Cyprus before being assassinated, and the Muslim forces started new offensive in the Levant. Everything seemed to be lost. But Michael, hailed as the savior of Constantinople, was there to take control. The Palaiologoi was crowned as Emperor by the Ecumenical Patriarch in early 1205, acclaimed by the people of Constantinople, by the army and by the senate, marrying Princess Eirene in order to solidify his claim to the throne. At the same time, the Senate awarded him the honorary title of Soter (Σωτήρ), the Savior, a title which would remain the epithet of all Palaiologoi monarchs from that point onward. The new Emperor was young and aggressive, calling the native Roman population to fight against the vilified crusaders. In a swift move, Michael attacked Adrianople, taking it after some of the inhabitants opened one of the smaller gates. The captured crusaders were executed, but before he was able to move on to Macedonia, the Doukas pretender attacked the loyal city of Nicaea. Michael crossed the Bosporus, reaching Asia Minor, defeating the pretender in the Battle of Nicaea.. With the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the entire Angeloi family from Mytilene, Michael was able to retake the entire theme of Thrace, including its Asian lands.
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For the next thirty years, for most of his reign, Michael managed to wage successful wars against most of his enemies, alternating campaigns between Europe and Asia. The death of the Doukas pretender 10 years later brought an end to the rebellions in Asia Minor, and the region was pacified. With a lot more strength than before, the Romans defeated the crusaders in the Battle near Mount Chortiatis, pushing into Macedonia and Greece. The death of Michael in 1235 found the core territories of the empire back under Constantinople's rule. His status as a hero and a saint greatly improved the prestige of the Palaiologoi, and a series of extremely successful emperors managed to properly create a proper hereditary legitimacy for the succession to the imperial throne, hereby creating the Palaiologos dynasty.
The chaos of the Thirty Years' Anarchy and the wars between the Romans and the Crusaders weakened the overall Christian position in the Middle East, and the Muslims under the Ayyubid Caliphate of Saladin had already crushed most of the crusader states and brought most of Palestine and Syria back under Muslim control. Internal issues after Saladin's death stopped the Caliphate from trying to push into Anatolia, but soon after the death of Michael Palaiologos and the succession of his son, Andronikos, to the imperial throne, three centuries of Roman-Ayyubid Wars began in their earnest. The reign of Andronikos and of his immediate successors were generally defensive, as the Romans did what Romans do best - protect their borders and gather their forces. The two greatest accomplishments of the reign of Andronikos were the reorganization of the themata system, which finished his father's military reforms, and his economic reforms which kickstarted an economic recovery that the East Romans so desperately needed. The son of Andronikos, Gregorios, recreated the beleagured Roman Navy from scratch, and the new Palaiologan navy managed to crush the Venetian Navy in the Sea or Marmara and later in the Aegean Sea, ending the Venetian dominance of those seas permanently, and leading to the eventual reconquest of Crete and Cyprus.
Gregorios was followed by his own son, the 13 year old Ioannes, who was assassinated by a relative with Cuman origins, Syrgiannes Palaiologos who took over the imperial throne and led in a reign full of corruption and debauchery, severely weakening the imperial government.
#AltDiv (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)
