The Holy Roman Empire Squared - A history blog AAR

[quicksabre]

Post 2: The Reign of Helene
Holy⁰ Roman¹ Empire⁰

History
Helene is now widely considered one of the greatest monarchs of the Resurgence. From her inauguration on December 2, 1422 at the age of only 15, she was an able administrator and, surprisingly for a woman of her time, a capable military strategist and innovator. In 1423 she declared her intention to drive the Turks completely from Anatolia and declared war on Kastamon, Mentese, and the Ottomans that November. Her stunning success against a coalition of half the Muslim world paved the way for the ‘Guardian Edict’ of 1427, in which she declared that the Romans were the guardians of the Christian world, protecting their fellows from the Arabs, Mongols, and Turks who would threaten their borders. Their failure of that mandate in the previous centuries was due, according to the Edict, to Western interference. As a guarantee of Western non-intervention in wars against the Heathens, Helene announced that southern Italy was to be returned to Byzantine jurisdiction. The local population would receive the same rights as Greeks under the ‘Greek People’s Decree’. Few in the west took the decree seriously, even as Roman armies occupied Naples. (Successful reconquest wars against the remaining Muslim states in Anatolia, plus a successful ‘southern Italy’ mission granting cores on most of Naples’ provinces; also Defender of the Faith to role play)

Image: A young Helene depicted holding a Cross, representing her defense of Christianity under the 'Guardian Edict'.

Helene then began her reign-long foreign policy of defensive and preemptive wars against the Mamelukes, Persians, and Mongols, and her internal policy of promoting the arts and sciences. Throughout her 66-year reign, Helene fought 12 wars against the various Muslim states, expanding her realm to include elements of the Near East, Egypt, and Crimea, and recreating the Christian Caucasian kingdoms of Georgia and Armenia. Meanwhile, she sponsored a Byzantine renaissance that produced the some of the greatest art, music, and poetry of the 15th century. After her death, the aftermath of this renaissance would lay the foundations of a process that would shake the very foundations of history. (Almost constant war in the north, east, and south, several innovative moves; captured the holy land, Egypt, released and vassalized Christian Georgia and Armania; patron of the arts NI)

The most immediately significant event of Helene’s reign, however, was the conquest of Rome. In 1441, she gave a rousing speech in Constantinople about the failure of the Roman Church. In order to save the Christian world, unification was the only way forward. On June 1, war was declared on the Papal State. Only Tuscany, Sicily and England joined the Pope’s desperate appeals for aid. In 15 months, General Herakles Laskaris occupied all of the Papal territories and Helene annexed them to the Roman Empire. The war lasted another year, but only one more major battle was fought, in which Laskaris crushed the Sicilian army. Peace was signed several months later, and the West was finally forced to acknowledge the Byzantine resurgence. (Successful conquest of Rome mission; mentioned because Rome will play a key role in coming events, and because I find this mission particularly implausible and didn’t want to shirk it).

Image: Byzantium halfway through Helene's reign, after the conquest of Rome but before the conquest of the Holy Land and Alexandria. Portraits of her cabinet are also visible, including the grandson of Andronikos Psellos.

 

[quicksabre]

Always wanted to see this done in an AAR. Good luck.

Thanks, hope you enjoy!

 

[Ashantai]

This looks great! Together our Empires will rule the world forever!

 

[NeoAC]

Way to go!

I really look forward to your claim of the Western Roman Empire, AKA Holy Roman Empire.

 

[quicksabre]

This looks great! Together our Empires will rule the world forever!

Great to have you on board! And yes, the mighty purple will rule every universe in AARland!

Way to go!

I really look forward to your claim of the Western Roman Empire, AKA Holy Roman Empire.

Thanks! Yes, so do I. That will be an exciting time.

 

[Malurous]

Solid going, it's looking like the foundation of the rejuvenated Empire was set during Helene's reign.

I was indeed, the 'Ghost Knight'. I only recently took it out of my signature, in fact, when I finally decided that 3 years was enough time to be a character in a completed aar. Good times.

Indeed they were, that AAR was a major reason I finally became active on these forums. My character sat on my sig for two years or so as well, but then it got kinda full.

 

[quicksabre]

Solid going, it's looking like the foundation of the rejuvenated Empire was set during Helene's reign.



Indeed they were, that AAR was a major reason I finally became active on these forums. My character sat on my sig for two years or so as well, but then it got kinda full.

Indeed it was. Had I not been following the ludicrous path outlined in the OP, that would have been the end of serious hassles for the Roman Empire.
That is funny, your AAR was one of the main reasons *I* became active on these forums as well!

I've tried to keep these updates short because they are text-heavy. This one is a bit longer than the last few and I don't have any more pics than usual, but it deals with some very important events and I am happy with the writing so hopefully it is enjoyable anyway. Also it has a map. Everyone loves maps!


Post 2: Reign of Helene

Legend
Helene’s was a golden age of prestige and power set between the decline of the previous centuries and the chaos of the Great Conversions to come. Her successful crusades, her defiance of the Catholic world, and her conversion of vast swaths of Muslim and Catholic territory to Orthodoxy made her exceptionally popular among her people, while her emphasis on innovation and art created a lasting legacy.

Image: Bust of the Empress Helene.

The biggest unanswered question of her reign is her barely contested invasion of Italy and her successful conquest of Rome. The generally accepted historical explanations are the success of the Guardian Edict, which came at a time of Catholic preoccupation. The authority of the Holy Roman Emperor was undermined by constant power shifts while other powerful Catholic states were similarly distracted. The Kingdom of France was being repeatedly beaten down by England and the Duchy of Burgundy, while Castille and Portugal were too busy with their crusades against the Barbary Pirates to interfere in Italian affairs. England, it is argued, was the only state capable of intervening in any meaningful way, and she was unable to send a sufficiently large expeditionary force to defend Italian Catholics.

Image: The conquest of Rome

It is an explanation that works on a certain level but lacks the nuances that one might expect from such enormously important events, and so people turn to myth. Contemporary myths, many of which were immortalized in the songs and poems of Helene’s artists, tended to revolve around Helene’s and Laskaris’ divine inspiration, diplomatically and militaristically, and the divine intervention associated with the very successful conversion attempts throughout Italy, with the notable exception of Rome. However, after the Great Conversion, the Orthodox overtones of these stories, and the implications that Orthodox superiority was primarily responsible for Byzantine success, were unacceptable to the Roman royalty. In place of these standard myths came a fascinating feat of mental gymnastics involving minor players manipulating events and Laskaris as something of an oblivious pawn. These include the legend of Orestes, a diplomat who became the puppet master behind Laskaris’ success, and Logos, a soldier at the siege of Naples. In Italy, Logos realized the error of his people’s ways and converted to Catholicism, although he continued to serve because he felt that the unification of Byzantine rule with Italian Catholicism was essential to defeat the heathens that still threatened the Empire's eastern borders. Following Napes’ surrender, he abandoned the army and gathered the most devout Catholics in Byzantine Italy and moved to Rome, where they plotted the conversion of the Empire while the sullied neighbors they left behind converted at the Heretics’ command.

Surprising as it is that the Empire was able to reconquer Rome without interference, it is less surprising that they managed to hold it with relatively little resistance from foreign powers. There were three interrelated factors that protected the Romans' Italian ambitions. First was economic. The Roman navy swept the Eastern Mediterranean of pirates and brought most ports of call under the jurisdiction of a single administration. This combined with the generally good treatment of foreign Catholics within the borders of the Empire enhanced economic opportunity for Christian traders. As the Romans conquered the Holy Land and Egypt these opportunities only grew.

Image: Map showing the expansion of the Empire under Helene. Due to this expansion, new opportunities opened to Christian merchants especially in Alexandria and the Levant. Also significant was expanded trade in southern Anatolia, Syria, and the Crimea.

The second factor was the Roman treatment of Catholics. Although missions were set up throughout the Italian territories, including Rome, Catholics were generally treated well throughout the Empire. This was especially true of foreign Catholics, who were allowed to make pilgrimages to Rome and later Jerusalem and the Holy Land while enjoying the full privileges of what Renaissance poets would call 'Greek hospitality'. In short, these two factors meant that life for a typical European, whether they were a duke or a peasant or a merchant, was usually at least as good or even better than it had been prior to the resurgence. At this point it would have taken an explicit Papal order to generate the coalition necessary to drive the Greeks from Rome.

That Papal order was not forthcoming for a very simple reason - fear. Following the conquest of Rome the Pope had been extracted from the city by the Knights of St John. He set up a 'temporary' Vatican on the Knight stronghold of Malta. Although he made several appeals to bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire, none of the Bishops were willing to forfeit their power to the Pope and Emperor himself was wary of too much Papal interference within his already fractured realm. Thus the 'temporary' seat became permanent and the Roman Navy, while not operating in force quite so far west, was a threat that the Catholics on Malta felt keenly. The combined navies of Castille, Aragon, Portugal, and the Itallian states, while powerful, were unable to guarantee the safety of the Vatican against a concerted Byzantine effort and the call to retake Rome never came.

 

[Memento Mori]

Very interesting development I am most anxious to find out how will "the great conversion" happen and what will be the alleged course of action of Orestes and Logos which will allow it to take place

Also Malta seems to be the ideal seat for the Pope, as far as symbolism ("splendid isolation" and last seat of crusaders) and cartographic aesthetics are concerned. I guess in this universe the Knights of St. John will take the role of the Swiss Guard, who also saved the Pope during the historical sack of Rome by the Spanish

Edit: I nearly forgot - ideal for the time being, as in a couple of centuries the Pope will seat in a more... prestigious place

 

[Ashantai]

Helene has performed great things! Nicely done map and descriptions. You've moved quite fast to seize all this territory, and turfed the Pope out of Rome as well! Congrats!

 

[quicksabre]

Very interesting development I am most anxious to find out how will "the great conversion" happen and what will be the alleged course of action of Orestes and Logos which will allow it to take place

Also Malta seems to be the ideal seat for the Pope, as far as symbolism ("splendid isolation" and last seat of crusaders) and cartographic aesthetics are concerned. I guess in this universe the Knights of St. John will take the role of the Swiss Guard, who also saved the Pope during the historical sack of Rome by the Spanish

Edit: I nearly forgot - ideal for the time being, as in a couple of centuries the Pope will seat in a more... prestigious place

Well, the conversion itself will be an event mandated by an enlightened emperor... after all, Helene has set a precedent for Constantinople's rulers being big supporters of the arts and you have to give the guy with the paycheck SOME credit But our friends will make a reappearance, for sure!

As for the seat of the pope, yes, after I took Rome the Knights became the Pope. I wanted to tie that into the story somehow and I think in many ways it actually worked very well, as you say. But he will return to Rome, eventually! Actually, as we move into a historical period with which I am more familiar I hope to be able to add a little bit of nuance to that return...

Helene has performed great things! Nicely done map and descriptions. You've moved quite fast to seize all this territory, and turfed the Pope out of Rome as well! Congrats!

It is pretty easy to move quickly as Byzantium - even without immortal time travelers sitting behind the throne So many cores and lots of great missions! Also, thanks for the kind word about the map. I know it isn't up to the quality of many historical AARs (Chris Taylor, Merrick Chance', etc), but it took me over an hour to make and I am quite fond of it. I wanted to actually include 'new trade routes' directly on the map, but I realized my historical knowledge there just isn't up to snuff.


A quick question to anyone reading - What do you think of the format, with two posts to describe one time period? Originally I had planned to make them a single post, but I was worried about the length or text compared to relatively few pictures and almost no screenshots. The first part of the next section is written (and even includes TWO screenshots; although I don't have any other images lined up yet), but I can wait combine it with the second half or merge the two together if readers think it would be more effective.

 

[Merrick Chance']

Up to the quality? I'm always concerned about the quality of the maps I make, and I'm always surprised by the amount of time that it takes to make a good, clean map. How'd you make yours, by chance?

edit: I agree with how ridiculously fast you can move as Byzantium. Even in MM I was able to control a good portion of northeastern Anatolia and all of Greece by 1500. It's ridiculous.

And given a bit of experience, I'd say that one screenshot per 2-3 paragraphs is ideal. You don't have to go for it, but when I started reading AARs I was always turned off by the huge text/pictures ratio that, say, your average Vicky1 AAR had

 

[Memento Mori]

This format is great, 2 posts per 1 time period are quite unique and fun to read, besides, if you break up the posts, you will post them more often

 

[quicksabre]

Up to the quality? I'm always concerned about the quality of the maps I make, and I'm always surprised by the amount of time that it takes to make a good, clean map. How'd you make yours, by chance?

edit: I agree with how ridiculously fast you can move as Byzantium. Even in MM I was able to control a good portion of northeastern Anatolia and all of Greece by 1500. It's ridiculous.

And given a bit of experience, I'd say that one screenshot per 2-3 paragraphs is ideal. You don't have to go for it, but when I started reading AARs I was always turned off by the huge text/pictures ratio that, say, your average Vicky1 AAR had

Thanks for the advice! Yes, your maps are generally very good, it is clear you put a lot of time into them.
I used Photoshop to make my map, over a template I found online. It is actually the only graphics program I know how to use besides Kid Pix, having gone 15 years without needing to make fancy graphics until I needed to produce dozens of images and maps for my thesis. I suspect it is not the most efficient program to use, but it works. On another note, the best and easiest maps I've made were hand drafted with a good pen or an ultra-fine tipped sharpie and a light box. You can trace a cluttered map leaving only the parts of it you want, scan it, and then digitally touch up the clean map. I would have used that to make maps for the AAR if I had access to a scanner for my personal use.

This format is great, 2 posts per 1 time period are quite unique and fun to read, besides, if you break up the posts, you will post them more often

OK, cool. I was actually inspired for the two-post format by Ashanti (and I think I have seen it once or twice elsewhere) posting the end result of his game in the first post. Since I haven't finished the game yet I couldn't do that, but I liked the idea of showing where we were going and then how we got there - especially if we are to assume that readers are from this timeline and are thus at least vaguely familiar with the history I am presenting.

Post 3 The Great Conversion
Holy⁰ Roman¹ Empire⁰

History
Helene’s Heir, Manuel III, was crowned on July 24th, 1489, at the age of 66. In the first five years of his reign Manuel overthrew the placidity of Helene’s reign and began widespread societal reform. His stated goal was to restructure society to promote scientific advance and the importation of new ideas from the Western Renaissance. In this he was largely successful but he also threw the nation into shock, and tens of thousands of citizens from across the Empire, used to the ways and privileges of Manuel’s predecessors, rebelled. Particularly galling to the traditionally conservative aristocracy and peasantry was the centralization of production and infrastructure, forcing them to put the latest technologies to use while subsidizing their development. The Orthodox Church also resisted what they saw as Catholic influence in his scientific reforms, and people across the Empire accused Manuel of abandoning his Greek heritage in favor of Italian culture. For two years the Emperor and his generals suppressed the populace of Anatolia, Greece, and the Near East before he finally set his sights on Italy. (Westernized, then played rebel-pong while Catholic Zealots occupied Rome)

Image: Following Manuel III's reforms, the Empire was plunged into chaos. Rebellions sprung up throughout Imperial territory and revenues plummeted as roads and other infrastructure became increasingly unsafe. Image also depicts the makeup of the Roman Army units.

The Italian garrisons were facing two major uprisings when Manuel arrived, the first was a nationalist movement based in the south, while the second was a Catholic uprising that had occupied Rome and was pushing south. When Manuel landed he rallied his armies to defeat the nationalists in a decisive battle on May 28th, 1496. Their routed army fled to Rome where the leaders of the Catholic movement agreed to an uneasy alliance to defend the city. The united Rebels were able to field almost 30,000 soldiers, while the Romans had only 18,000. Manuel and his armies arrived outside of Rome On July 1st. After some initial maneuvering, the armies met outside of Rome near the town of Frascati on July 9th. Manuel attempted to assault the strong Rebel center but was forced back repeatedly. A Nationalist counterattack to the Roman left flank was barely beaten back but, with all their reserves committed, it was clear that the Roman line was caving. Suddenly, the entire Rebel left, made up of the catholic contingent, turned right and engaged the Nationalist formations. In the ensuing confusion the Nationalists were thoroughly routed and resistance in Italy was put to an end. Behind the Byzantine lines, Manuel knelt beneath an ad hoc crucifix, and at sunset called on all of his soldiers to join him in his conversion to Catholocism. (Beat the nationalists who retreated into a single stack with the Catholics. Engaged the combined Italian rebels, almost lost, surrendered to the giant stack of Catholic rebels, who disappeared and allowed me to smash the battered nationalists).

Image: Religious majorities throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Prior to the conversion, Rome and the formerly Genoese Crimea were the only Imperial provinces still loyal to the Pope. The Catholic rebellion in Italy was able to take control of Naples before the battle of Frascati.

On his return to Rome Manuel mandated that the maintenance of the Catholic Church in the Empire the highest priority of the state. The realm, still smarting from the reforms of the first half of the decade, collapsed into chaos. Orthodox rebels rose throughout the kingdom, while full-scale conversion efforts were undertaken. The court converted almost immediately, and Manuel’s infant heir, Andreas, was given a strict catholic upbringing. Constantinople itself quickly followed suit, and by 1500 it was estimated that Catholics were the majority in the city. Manuel died in 1503 leaving a regency to rule for the 9-year-old Andreas. The regents themselves were carefully selected for their devotion to Catholicism, so neither they nor Andreas reversed course, and in fact both would strengthen the conversion efforts. Foreign policy was decidedly pacifist as the monarchy desperately attempted to restore order to the Empire. Massive public works projects were undertaken, and the coffers that Helene had so carefully made sure to keep full were emptied. (I took the divine supremacy national idea; big stab hit, loads of rebels, lucky early conversion at Constantinople with one of my 5 saved missionaries; I had to move narrowminded and use the national idea slot to get more because converting to Catholic cost me the conquest of Rome bonus. Thankfully I still had the Jerusalem bonus, and stab restoration and conversions were well underway by the 1500s; lost several thousand ducats in the first two decades or so, having to pay for full maintenance and hardly collecting any revenue; eventually had to mint more than I wanted to but did not have to take out a loan).

 

[Ashantai]

It still seems so...wrong...to see Byzantium go Catholic. Wrong I say!

But, all in a good cause I'm sure! Converting all your realm is certainly going to be...fun? Hmm, maybe not the best word there!

 

[Memento Mori]

Ah, the tension! From a dramatic perspective, this was a masterpiece! The Roman Emperor converted during a battle, and where? In Rome, of course! I can imagine the outnumbered Roman army desperately holding their lines, when suddenly a gigantic cross is raised, the Emperor kneels below it... and most of the enemies join the surprised legions! The battle turns 180 degrees, and the enemies are pursued, having a final stand in front of the Old St. Peter's Basilica, where they are crushed by the charge of cataphracts, led by the Emperor himself. The emperor then dismounts, goes to the building and a mass is held by the Catholic bishop of Rome, where he is baptised and te deum is played on the organs.

If it looked this way, it would not be surprising if much of the army converted too, and as the army and the army was an important institution in Byzantium, it would be less surprising for the conversion of the Empire to be successful.

 

[Deus Eversor]

so you control both rome and hoyl land.... then why is still that zero above "holy" and not two?
also, you are again an empire so now you should have one above the "empire"...

wait... CONVERTED?!!?!? ARE YOU MAD, I HOPE YOU ABOMINATION AND A FAKE OF BIZANTIUM WILL FAIL...
nah im just joking

 

[quicksabre]

It still seems so...wrong...to see Byzantium go Catholic. Wrong I say!

But, all in a good cause I'm sure! Converting all your realm is certainly going to be...fun? Hmm, maybe not the best word there!

Nope, not fun, especially since I had just westernized, I was very innovative so missionaries were hard to come by at first. I had originally planned on waiting, but the opportunity to promote the story, as Memento Mori points out, was too good to pass up.

Ah, the tension! From a dramatic perspective, this was a masterpiece! The Roman Emperor converted during a battle, and where? In Rome, of course! I can imagine the outnumbered Roman army desperately holding their lines, when suddenly a gigantic cross is raised, the Emperor kneels below it... and most of the enemies join the surprised legions! The battle turns 180 degrees, and the enemies are pursued, having a final stand in front of the Old St. Peter's Basilica, where they are crushed by the charge of cataphracts, led by the Emperor himself. The emperor then dismounts, goes to the building and a mass is held by the Catholic bishop of Rome, where he is baptised and te deum is played on the organs.

If it looked this way, it would not be surprising if much of the army converted too, and as the army and the army was an important institution in Byzantium, it would be less surprising for the conversion of the Empire to be successful.

Thanks! As you can see from my last screenshot, I was trying to convert all of my provinces for RP reasons. It was a real stroke of luck that Rome never converted. The only other option was Kaffa, and can you imagine how lame it would have been for the spiritual fate of the Empire to be decided in the Crimea? I love your version of the battle, much better than the one I am writing, so I am tempted to take out my version and leave yours as cannonical... But it doesn't quite work (since the Catholics controlled the city of Rome), so instead consider it an official 'Legend of the Great Conversion', and I will have my writer reference it

so you control both rome and hoyl land.... then why is still that zero above "holy" and not two?
also, you are again an empire so now you should have one above the "empire"...

wait... CONVERTED?!!?!? ARE YOU MAD, I HOPE YOU ABOMINATION AND A FAKE OF BIZANTIUM WILL FAIL...
nah im just joking

I am following Momento Mori's progression quoted in the first post. He says I don't get a notch towards 'Holy' until I become the Pope, and I don't get one for Empire until I am elected protector of the Western Empire (which shouldn't be too long now!). Kind of agree, tho, seems like a bunch of western elitism! (Just kidding, MM, I love your challenge)



It will probably be a couple of days or even a week before I am able to post another update, sorry about that!

 

[Deus Eversor]

ok but you got the holy land and restored bizantium, thats enought to have 1 of everything

 

[quicksabre]

ok but you got the holy land and restored bizantium, thats enought to have 1 of everything

OK, forget 2 of everything, the challenge is now to get *6* of everything!!!! I'll take a point of holiness for each in-game holy city (Rome, Jerusalem, Mecca), plus 1 for winning the Curia. I'll take a point of Empire for saving the Empire, for establishing a colonial empire, for reforming the borders of old Rome, and one more for conquering all of Charlemagne's empire. For Rome I'll keep the point I started with, add one for Mare Nostrum, one for moving the capital to Rome, one for making Rome Greek (so that my dominant culture is also the culture of my capital), and uh, two more for something.

OK, that started out as a joke but now I'm tempted...

 

[Deus Eversor]

i even actually took it for serious
well yeah, points for holy, for holy cities, points for rome for reconstructing shapes of rome (bizantium + rome + hre), points for empire for ampires: (alexandrean, roman and colonial)

thats actually to the third power (three is indeed a devine number!)


edit: ok, but how to define colonial empire? lets say, that you either: control entire continent(easy to take as a core part of your state) or just smaller but on every continent (ok too)