A History of Byzantium

[VILenin]

canonized: Which marriage? If you mean Thomas and Theodora's marriage, I wouldn't call it a failure it just didn't have the hoped for effect. That doesn't mean it won't be significant later on. And if you meant the marriage to Helene then I would probably use the adjective "disaster" instead.

General_BT: The greatest chllange for any ruler is how to protect and guide their country after they've died. Theophilos' wasn't able to do so and Byzantium will face the consequences.

Lord Valentine: Yup, a thorny succession coming up and it will definitely wreak havoc. Thanks for commenting! Nice to hear from you again.

crusaderknight: Theophilos' death will be left ambiguous, so you can draw your own conclusions as to its nature. Unfortunately, your hopes as the Thomas and Eustathios cooperating are about to be dashed.

RGB: Yes, perhaps too convenient?

stnylan: As you'll see, a three-way power struggle is developing with general chaos tossed in.

Draco Rexus: I've got quite a suspcious bunch of readers! What's so improbable about an "accident" like that? There's some shadow boxing to be done first before the actual fighting starts, so place your bets and enjoy the match.


I'll be posting the next update in a minute but before I do I wanted to say that the character of Manuel Komnenos is inspired wholly (read: stolen) from General_BT's character of the same name, from his excellent Rome AARisen. If you haven't read it already go and check it out!

 

[VILenin]

Chapter XIV

Chapter XIV: The War of the Komnenoi

The nature of Byzantine politics being what they were, many immediately suspected that the death of Theophilos had been somehow contrived; after all, Theophilos had spent considerable time riding horses and thus for him to fall victim to such an accident seemed unlikely. Nothing could be proven but the three claimants to the throne were quick to suspect the others of being involved. Theophilos’ two surviving sons were the obvious candidates for the throne and each possessed their own advantages. Thomas was the elder son, held land and title of his own, and had the greater prestige. Eustathios on the other hand was a successful general with troops loyal to him, was currently located in Constantinople and had a very formidable wife. Helene had continued to rise quickly in the court, carving a place for herself in the hierarchy of the Empire. Along the way she had acquired the rank of nobilissima as well as a reputation for cunning and ambition. Many a noble kept a wary eye trained on this young woman who seemed determined to create for herself a grand destiny. In fact off all the members of the Imperial extended family there was only one who was more feared.

Manuel Comnenus was the inheritor to all the lands of influence of his father Kosmas (who had predeceased his nephew by several years) and thus the leader of the Anatolian faction, which chose this moment to assert its own claims to the throne. His vast personal holdings combined with the support of many of the dynatoi (such as still remained; the fortunes of “the powerful” had declined markedly under the Komnenoi, eclipsed by the power of the Imperial family itself) formed a powerful base to operate from and ensured that his bid would be taken seriously. What truly made Manuel so dangerous, however, was his personality, which was of a distinctly sinister nature. A masterful planner, he possessed something akin to genius; a fact which was sadly undermined by an inclination towards ruthlessness and duplicity which grew stronger as his life went on. It was Manuel who struck terror in the heart’s of friend and foe alike, whose name was spoken in hushed tones, and whose agents were reputed to be lurking in every shadow. In the years after his father’s death we see the first references to Manuel as Arachnos, “the Spider,” from contemporary historians.

As it happened, Manuel was also in Constantinople at the time of Theophilos’ death (coincidence? Perhaps not. No less than four Greek chroniclers are quick to point to this as proof of Manuel’s complicity though, it must be pointed out, they are all writing from the less clear, albeit safer, vantage point of after his own death). He wasted no time in throwing his hat into the ring by declaring by adopting the title of Sebastokrator, which he rather dubiously “inherited” from his father, and thus claiming a right to the diadem by both rank and birth. This created an uneasy impasse amongst the three claimants since none alone could make their claim good. Thomas with his legitimacy, Eustathios with his soldiers, and Manuel with his influence, each needed something another had. So a compromise was reached. As Thomas rushed back to the Capital following his father’s death he found that he had come too late; his two rivals had already come to an accord and cut him out. Manuel was crowned basielus and then in turn appointed Eustathios as his megas domestikos. This unholy alliance seems to have been primarily orchestrated between Manuel and Helene, who was a more imposing figure than her husband in Constantinople, and it was she who convinced her husband to go along with it. Here we see the most harmful example yet of the Eustathios’ hatred for his older brother, driving him to swallow his own pride and accept another’s rule not for the good of the Empire but to spite Thomas.

 

[phargle]

As it happened, Manuel was also in Constantinople at the time of Theophilos’ death (coincidence? Perhaps not. No less than four Greek chroniclers are quick to point to this as proof of Manuel’s complicity though, it must be pointed out, they are all writing from the less clear, albeit safer, vantage point of after his own death). He wasted no time in throwing his hat into the ring by declaring by adopting the title of Sebastokrator, which he rather dubiously “inherited” from his father, and thus claiming a right to the diadem by both rank and birth. This created an uneasy impasse amongst the three claimants since none alone could make their claim good. Thomas with his legitimacy, Eustathios with his soldiers, and Manuel with his influence, each needed something another had. So a compromise was reached. As Thomas rushed back to the Capital following his father’s death he found that he had come too late; his two rivals had already come to an accord and cut him out. Manuel was crowned basielus and then in turn appointed Eustathios as his megas domestikos. This unholy alliance seems to have been primarily orchestrated between Manuel and Helene, who was a more imposing figure than her husband in Constantinople, and it was she who convinced her husband to go along with it. Here we see the most harmful example yet of the Eustathios’ hatred for his older brother, driving him to swallow his own pride and accept another’s rule not for the good of the Empire but to spite Thomas.

Next, on Days of our Byzantine Lives. . .

I am not sure what I love more. The mad scramble, or the incomprehensibly byzantine titles. Sebastokrator? A German born out of wedlock? All I know for sure is that any excuse to use the word scramble is a good excuse.

 

[canonized]

phargle said it best ; a scramble indeed . This seems like the dangerous outcroppings of a rocky civil war followed by a tyranny the Empire has not yet seen .

 

[stnylan]

Interesting twist - the inheritnace of the title given dubious legitimacy by the changes that Theophilous allowed in his last years. A first sign perhaps of the degredation that will bring?

 

[timetogetaway]

I have not read all the way up to the current update (just got to Chapter X (iii) ) but I have to say:.... Wow. This is very, very, very well written and gripping and even more so believable.

Only regret I have is that I did not read this AAR before I started my own (because I am now kicking myself rather hard).

 

[Lord Valentine]

I really can't imagine that Tomas will be so easily beaten. So far this coup was far to bloodless to be truly byzantine!
Anyway am I the only one to think that the characterization of Manuel Comnenus very much resembles the one of the Manuel in General_BT's AAR? If that is the case Tomas will truly need the help of all saints in heaven to succeed (or even just survive).

~Lord Valentine~

 

[General_BT]

I noticed this in CK Byzantine AARs... a Manuel always crops up, and he always tends to have bastardly characteristics - its like the game is hardcoded to make them angry people.

If this Manuel is like Manuel, son of Basil, Thomas shouldn't have any problem - but your description makes him sound like my AAR's Manuel Arachnos... if that's the case, woe unto Thomas, woe unto Thomas indeed...

 

[VILenin]

Alright, I'm back from another long hiatus. Unfortunately, I've come to the decision that continuing this AAR is not a realistic prospect. I came back to post for two reasons. First of, I wanted to thank everybody for reading and figured I owed to you all to let you know what's happened. Second, I'd also like to bring an element of conclusion by at least sketching out what parts of the story I'd had sketched out and where I saw the Empire going. I'll probably post that in the next day or so.

Anyway, thanks again for reading and hopefully I'll be starting a new project here in AARland sometime soon.

 

[unmerged(59077)]

Awwww....

....well, I wanna see the maps, at least. Maps are always good.

 

[crusaderknight]

Sad news indeed. This AAR will be sorely missed. But, I understand. Thankyou for all the good times this AAR provided! Keep up the good work, VILenin!