Romanos Syneres of Bulgaria, Second Orthodox King
With the death of Matthaios, Bulgaria was ready to accept her next king. Romanos was believed to turn the tide from the beginings of Bulgaria.
They thought wrong. Even with him being overwieght, he was definitely a ladies man. When he went on campains, and between his wife's pregnancies, he cheated. He had several bastard sons. (If you want to see them all, tell me and i'll do it.)
The Patriarch of Constantinople
Even with the cheating, he was a devout christan. When the patriarch ordered war on the Seljuks, Bulgaria was eager to raise the flag of Bulgaria over Seljuk cties. That was never the case.
With the fall of Constantinople to the Seljuks in 1099, the war with the Seljuks hit the Byzantines hard at home. There capital had been captured by the evil muslims. This was catastrophic for the Orthodox world. However the Pope launched no crusade, he wanted to liberate Jerusalem, but that changed.
The Fall of Rome, Again!
The Fatimids had moved on to the Papacy, and captued Rome. So the crusade was redirected to liberate Rome. Romanos felt the world was imploding, but hopes were high still.
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Sofia, Bulgaria
1st Council of Sofia
"My liege, Constantinopolis has fallen to the muslims, as well as Rome. This is destroying the Christan world," said one duke.
"Agreed, the muslims are taking this war to a whole new level," stated a priest.
We must turn to God, what have we done wrong!" cried Constantine Syneres, heir to the throne.
Romanos held up his hand in silence.
"We cannot turn to God, he is wreaking his vengence for all three sites in muslim hands. Now man must step up to liberate these places. Christans muct caste down past hatreds if we are to combat this threat. However that will never happen as long as the patriarch and the pope exist. I propose a plan called Slavic Supremacy. This plan shall take in countries under our wing and and use there forces to combat Islam. Bulgaria will not rest until Islam is utterly crushed and converted."
People then stood up and clapped for a hour, of course they were all Slavic.
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The first target was Croatia, a land plagued by muslims and rebels alike. (A title easy to claim!) First the Bulgarians assisted in the rebellion. Then the purging of the muslims, then the take over. It was quick, easy and in 5 years. This added more soldiers to the ranks of the Slavs.
But before they new it, Croatia
was really plagued.
This new diease halted many plans of Romanos. However this didn't hinder from a combined assault on Constantinopolis. However the battle was lost, and the Bulgarians litterally bought peace from the Seljuks. To fast though, in 1124, at around fifty years old, Romanos died peacefully. With a uncertain future ahead. Would Islam be combated, will Constantinopolis be Orthodox once again, or will the Europe begin the retreat at Islam's feet?
