History of Romanland

[KaiserWilhelmI]

History of Romanland in the Early Modern period

The Romans are people of sea and rock:
Whenever one generation goes, another replaces it.
Alas, they will be with you to the end of time
-A Muslim prophecy

Table of Contents
​

Prologue - Saint Ioannes the Merciful

Part I: The Four Brothers

Chapter I: The Council of Florence
Chapter II: Triumph of the Despot
Chapter III: The Eleventh Hour
Chapter IV: The Red Apple
Chapter V: The Peaceful Exit
Chapter VI: The Rebel and The Lawgiver
Chapter VII: Imperial Execution
Chapter VIII: Last of the Old Breed

Part II: The Lion and the Dragon

Chapter IX: The Persian Prince
Chapter X: Leskovac
Chapter XI: Darius and Alexander
Chapter XII: The March Degree
Chapter XIII: The Great Turkish War part I: Kallipolis
Chapter XIV: The Great Turkish War part II: the Liberator
Chapter XV: Empire of the Romans
Chapter XVI: Battle of Khalkedon

Part III: On the cusp of a New World

Chapter XVII: The Bean Counter
Chapter XVIII: The Successor
Chapter XIX: Many Years!
Chapter XX: Justinian and Theodora reborn
Chapter XXI: Grand Tour, Militant Pope, and the Wrath of God
Chapter XXII: Wallachia and the White City
Chapter XXIII: The Sixth Council, and Albania

Part IV: Struggle for Empire

Chapter XXIV: The Anabasis of Ioannes part I: the Young Tatar

Extras

Family Tree 1405-1505

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Emperors of the Romans

1424-1448 Ioannes VIII Laskaris

1448-1462 Konstantinos XI Dragases Laskaris

1462-1463 Demetrios Laskaris (with brother Thomas)

1463-1468 Thomas I Laskaris (with brother Demetrios until 1463, with son Andreas 1467)

1468-1477 Andreas Laskaris (with brother Manuel III 1476)

1477-1489 Manuel III Laskaris

1489-1496 Basileios III Argyros (senior co-ruler with Thomas II)

1496-1505 Thomas II Laskaris

1505-1520 Isaakios III Notaras (with wife Katarina, and sons Theodoros 1505 and Ioannes 1506)

1505- Katarina Laskarina (with husband Isaakios III and sons, see above, with grandson Konstantinos 1520)

​

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Prologue: Saint Ioannes the Merciful

O Θεός βοηθεί του Ρωμαίους
May God help the Romans

​

In 1204 AD, the City of Constantine was breached for the first time in its history. A tidal wave of cruelty and ignorance hit New Rome in the form of a western army, who looked to plunder its ancient riches, and conquer the land of the Romans for themselves.

At a crucial moment, the basileus, whose duty was it to defend the Roman polity, lost his nerve and fled like a coward. The conquerors took the City, and raped it for thirty years.

“The beautiful City of Constantine, the common delight and boast of all nations, was consumed and blackened by fire, captured by force, and hollowed out of its wealth by these random western nations.”
-Niketas Choniates, History​

The Romans were exiled from their City, an event which would later be compared to the Babylonian captivity of the Israelites. But they were not defeated.

In the east, at the city of Nicea, Theodoros Laskaris was acclaimed emperor and autocrat of the Romans.

Laskaris was the son-in-law of the deposed emperor Alexios III Angelos, who after fleeing Constantinople, had drifted around, even being captured by the Latins and sent to Northern Italy, before finding his way into the court of sultan Kaykushraw I, managing to secure his support in exchange for territorial concessions.

These plans were foiled by Theodoros, who defeated the Seljuk army at the battle of Antioch on the Meander in 1211. Latin mercenaries in Roman service were annihilated, but tide turned when the sultan decided to seek out his rival, and engage him in personal combat. In the ensuing duel, Theodoros prevailed by cutting down the sultan's horse and decapitated Kaykushraw in a single swing of his sabre, ending the Seljuk threat.

Following the battle, Theodoros gave 20,000 silver coins to the Turks to be distributed at the sultan’s funeral as alms. Peace between Romanía and the Turks reigned for an unprecedented fifty years. Alexios III was imprisoned indefinitely, and died at Hyakinthos monastery at Nikaia

The emperor then turned his attention to the Komnenoi rebels, who had seized the prosperous city of Trebizond, he concluded a treaty with the new sultan, Kaykaus I, and together they invaded the Trapezuntine territory. The Romans captured Heraclea Pontica and Amastris, with very little resistance, whilst the Seljuks seized Alexios Komnenos and the important city of Sinope on the Black Sea coast, forcing Trebizond to pay tribute and cutting it from the Roman world.

Theodoros I died in 1221 and is remembered as the first of the "Three Good Emperors" of that period.

A dynastic conflict followed Theodoros' death because his late wife, Anna Komnene Angelina, had given him only three daughters. The emperor’s two brothers, Alexios and Isaakios, and his son-in-law, Ioannes Doukas Batatzes, all claimed the throne. The brief conflict ended with Batatzes' victory; Theodoros's brothers were blinded, and disappear from history.

Ioannes III, called Batatzes, though he did not officially use that name, was one of the most capable Roman rulers. After his death, he became venerated as St. Ioannes Batatzes the Merciful Basileus, Autocrat of the Romans and "equal to the Apostles". The only other emperor to be so honoured was Constantine the Great himself.

Internally, Ioannes's long reign was one of the most creditable in history, witnessing the careful development of the internal prosperity and economy of his realm, and encouraging justice and charity and a cultural blossoming. Despite expensive campaigns to restore Roman unity, he lowered taxes, encouraged agriculture, built schools, libraries, churches, monasteries, hospitals, and homes for the old or the poor. Literature and art prospered under him, and he took steps to ensure the harmonious coexistence of the State with the Church.

By the 1230s, Nikaia had steadily expanded its territories. Latins were pushed out of Anatolia and Batatzes campaigned in Thrace, even taking Adrianople from the Latins, before losing it to Epirus. Sometime around 1230, the Nikaian fleet had taken the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Kos and accepted the submission of Rhodes, which had been taken by a native Roman dynasty, the Gabalas family, who were allowed to maintain control of the island as a vassal of the emperor. This kind of semi-feudal contract would have been unthinkable to any Roman ruler before 1204.

Following these successes, Batatzes began to prepare for an assault on Constantinople itself. In order for this massive undertaking to succeed, he needed foreign allies to prevent western powers from interfering.

The emperor turned to Bulgaria, where he found a willing ally in Ivan Asen. Nikaia recognized him as a fellow basileus, and Asen gave his daughter Helene in marriage to Batatzes’ son Theodoros II Laskaris. The bishop of Tarnovo was also recognized as an autocephalous patriarch, a concession that broke Bulgaria’s relationship with Rome, and brought it back into the Orthodox sphere. A similar concession had been made in 1219 to the archbishop of Serbia.

In 1235 the long awaited moment had finally arrived. Roman and Bulgarian armies surrounded Constantinople from land and sea, with the Roman fleet led by Gabalas, the lord of Rhodes. The Latin regime sent out a cry for help, and the Italian republics responded with reinforcements in the form of a powerful fleet of Venetian, Genoan and Pisan ships, commanded by the Frankish “prince of Achaia”, but then, a surprising turn of events changed the fortunes of war.

The fleet stopped to resupply at Latin controlled Lemnos, where it was surprised by a Roman pirate from the Peloponnese, by the name of Demetrios, who managed to seize a sizable portion of the fleet without a fight, by simply boarding the lightly guarded vessels. This was a humiliating defeat for the Italians, whose weakened naval force was defeated by Gabalas once they reached the Bosporus.

With the defeat of the fleet, the Latin position in Constantinople weakened rapidly. Native Romans became restless, and on one clear night some of the City’s inhabitants managed to open a small, lightly guarded gate, and alert the Nikaians. Batatzes immediately sent troops to enter the city, without alerting his Bulgarian allies.

The Latins panicked at the sight of the advancing Romans, and most fled without a fight. The 65-year-old Latin emperor Jean de Brienne woke up to find his regime crumbling before his eyes. All hope was clearly lost, and he fled the palace, eventually escaping on a Venetian galley that managed to evade the blockade. His fellow emperor, eighteen-year-old Baldwin Courtenay, would not be so lucky. He was captured by Roman troops, “wearing nothing but his night-gown, and clasping his jeweled crown.”

Ivan Asen of Bulgaria woke up to the news that the City had been taken.

“By divine providence, Constantinople again became subject to the basileus of the Romans.”
-Georgios Akropolites, Annals​

Ioannes III Batatzes entered the City on August 15th, on the Dormition of the Mother of God, the second most important celebration of the Orthodox calendar. Imperial insignia of the Latin emperors had already been delivered to him, and they were carried after him in the procession. He walked with his family (including the very unhappy Ivan Asen) behind the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, the City’s most important palladium (protective image).

There were no massacres, fires, looting or raping. Latins who remained in the City were allowed to remain there in peace, and Romans who had worked for them were not punished. It was a time of celebration, not vengeance.

A new age dawned for the Romans. Some compared Batatzes to Alexios I Komnenos, and even hailed him as the “New Constantine”. But his achievements did not long outlive him. No one celebrating on the street that day could have predicted that the Roman people would soon face the toughest challenges of their entire history.

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Chapter I: The Council of Florence

A figure in Benozzo Gozzoli's 1459 Journey of the Magi is assumed to portray Ioannes VIII Laskaris.​

In 1235, Ioannes III Batatzes, saint and basileus, reclaimed Constantinople from the western nations. 210 years later, his triumphal entry into the Queen City was but a distant memory. Before that, Romans had everything but the City, now they had the City, but nothing else. From the walls of Theodosios, the standards of the house of Osman flew as far as the eye could see. The most dangerous enemy the Romans had ever faced was close to its ultimate goal.

Ioannes VIII Laskaris sits on the throne of a derelict nation, having succeeded his father Manuel II in 1425. So far, it has not been a happy reign.

The emperor had succeeded to the throne at the age of thirty-three, and had governed beside his father for ten years, and was thus well-prepared for his role. Ioannes was the eldest of eight sons of Manuel II. Three of his brothers would later rule as emperors, and this era is often called the “Age of Four Brothers”

Perhaps no other emperor had inherited a situation as hopeless as the one faced by Ioannes VIII. His father had appealed to nearly every European state for aid, but to no avail.

By the end of the 14th century, Ottoman Turks had destroyed or subjugated Romania's European rivals, Serbia and Bulgaria, but Constantinople still stood defiant. The latest attempt to conquer the city had failed in 1422, but the secondary capitals, so recently regained due to the Ottoman interregnum, were lost again. Great Nicomedia in 1425 and brave Thessaloniki in 1432, after a 10-year siege.

Loss of Macedonia had severed the land connection between Hellas and Constantinople, and the local government structure had all but collapsed. Imperial provinces became semi-independent, forcing the emperor to appoint his own relatives as governors to maintain their loyalty.

The latest crusade against the Ottomans ended in disaster at the battle of Nikopolis in 1396, and the west had lost interest in dying for the “schismatic Greeks”. Ioannes knew well the power of the Turks. He himself had led the defence of Constantinople in 1422, and knew that though the city was saved, some say by the Blessed Virgin herself, it was only a matter of time before the luck of Romans would run out.

Santa Maria del Fiore as it appeared few years after completion​

The emperor turned his desperate gaze towards the bishop of Rome, in an attempt to finally unite the churches, like many of his predecessors had tried to do several times before, hoping that submission would finally bring aid from the West.

The origin of the Great Schism might seem simple. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Roman East and Latin West preceded the formal split that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the pentarchy.

Opinions were strong and unyielding on both sides, and the pope made it clear that help would not come, unless his authority over the whole church was recognized by Constantinople.

Ioannes decided to pursue the union, because in his opinion it was the only way to save the state. For his people, it was not as simple, and support for the union was low. This did not bother the emperor, who told the bishops that they would have to choose either “the Papal tiara, or the Turkish turban”

The council of Ferrara began in April 1438. Ioannes VIII took part in 1439, after the council had moved to Florence, and finally signed a papal bull with pope Eugene IV, declaring the unification of the eastern and western churches.

Despite the Roman delegation’s readiness to truly negotiate, debate and discuss a settlement, the Latin church was only interested in complete submission of Constantinople to elder Rome. In the end, the emperor essentially accepted all western demands. (The papacy revealingly called it the “reduction of the Greeks”)

Ioannes later told his brother that he had severely pressured the bishops, as the Turkish noose around Constantinople was tightening every day.

Some Eastern bishops signed because of sincere conviction, such as Isidore of Kyiv, who subsequently suffered greatly for it. Only one attending eastern bishop refused to accept the union, Markos of Ephesus, who became the leader of opposition back in Byzantium; the Serbian patriarch did not even attend the council. The Russian Orthodox Church, upon learning of the union, angrily rejected it and ousted any prelate who was even remotely sympathetic to it, declaring itself autocephalous (i.e., autonomous).

There were severe riots in Constantinople, as the news spread. On his return to the capital in February 1440, the emperor and the so-called “union bishops” found themselves to be in the minority. The court continued as if nothing had happened.

The council of Florence would prove a failure, like all others before it. While attempts to reconcile the churches were sincere on both sides, their opinions were too uncompromising to make any kind of progress. Eventually, everyone was anxious to declare the council a success and end it. (The papal supremacy was affirmed vaguely “without prejudice to the rights of the eastern patriarchs”, which, in the end, meant nothing.)

The union was celebrated with a liturgy in Latin at the newly inaugurated cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Its dome was wider and much taller than that of Hagia Sophia. In the past, Romans had at least had their cultural superiority, now this was being lost as well. The pope refused to allow a parallel celebration of the Orthodox liturgy, a humiliation which was not forgotten. On their way home, the Orthodox delegation celebrated liturgy at San Marco in Venice. They did not commemorate the pope, and omitted the filioque.

By the late 1440s, Ioannes was plagued by ill health. Only a year after the church union, his brother Demetrios rebelled and declared himself emperor with Turkish backing. Ioannes called his other brother Konstantinos to oversee the defence of the City, and he defeated the rebels before the Theodosian walls.

Difficult years and ever-increasing levels of stress weakened the emperor, who left the defence of Romania to his younger brothers. Soon, all eyes will turn towards the Bulgarian town of Varna, and the emperor's younger brother will move against the Turks.

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Chapter II: Triumph of the Despot

Władysław III at the battle of Varna
​

In 1442 the young king of Poland, Władysław III, had acquired the crown of Hungary, and began preparations for a crusade against the Turks. The attack would begin in October 1443, whilst the sultan's soldiers were at home, overseeing the harvest.

The so-called “long campaign” managed to liberate many cities during the winter of 1443-1444. Even though the Christians were defeated at the battle of Zlatitsa, they had managed to break Turkish power all across the Balkans before their retreat. Old sultan Murad desired peace, and negotiated with the Christians. A ten-year truce was signed in August 1444. Murad abdicated the throne in favour of his twelve-year old son, Mehmet, and retired to his studies.

The young king, however, had no intention of stopping his “holy war”. The papal legate, cardinal Julian Cesarini, encouraged him to attack despite the truce.

The following campaign was later known as the crusade of Varna.

The western army poured into Bulgaria. Hungarians, Poles, Germans, Slavs and Italians had all come to fight under the banner of Christ, but they numbered less than 30 000.

At Constantinople, emperor Ioannes remained cautious. Sultan Mehmet had been forced to recall his father, after his grand vizier made it clear that a twelve-year old shouldn’t lead the army. Murad II was an experienced warlord, and marched with 60 000 men. The broken truce agreement was attached to a spear and carried before the army.

In Hellas, despot Konstantinos Laskaris decided to act on his own, and gathered an army with his younger brother despot Thomas, governor of Hellas. Together, the brothers managed to raise an army of 20 000 native Romans, Albanians and Slavs, supplemented with 4 000 Italian and German mercenaries, recruited partially with Genoan loan money. Gathering this force was a major achievement, it was nearly the same size as the crusader force in Varna, and certainly the largest Roman army in a hundred years.

Konstantinos advanced into Macedonia. Resistance was minor at this stage, since the Turks had only small garrisons in the area. Thessaloniki, the provincial capital, was put under siege. The small Ottoman garrison could not hope to hold the city for long, but then news arrived from Varna.

The crusaders had advanced near the city of Varna, where they became trapped between the Black Sea, lake Varna, the steep wooded slopes of the Franga plateau and the enemy. Cardinal Cesarini proposed a defence using the wagon fort tactics of the Hussites until the arrival of the Christian fleet. Croatian and Czech commanders backed him, but the young Władysław and his Hungarian commander John Hunyadi rejected defensive tactics. Hunyadi declared: "To escape is impossible, to surrender is unthinkable. Let us fight with bravery and honour our arms." Władysław agreed and gave him command of the army.

The battle became a slaughter for both sides, but eventually the battered Christian lines were shattered. The 20-year-old king of Poland and Hungary died after a glorious, yet ill-advised, cavalry charge. He was killed right in front of the sultan’s tent while the army broke and fled. Ironically, Hunyadi was one of the few Christian commanders to safely escape the field. Cardinal Cesarini was among the dead, as were several leading Hungarian nobles. Turkish casualties were so high, that it took three days for sultan Murad to realize he had won the battle.

In Macedonia, Konstantinos realized the seriousness of the defeat after meeting Serbian deserters, who had fought on the Ottoman side. With a heavy heart, the despot abandoned his siege and withdrew south, hoping to meet the Turks on his terms.

The open plains of Thessaly favoured the larger, more cavalry oriented force of the Turks, so many officers recommended retreating to the Hexamilion wall, an old fortification defending the narrow isthmus of Corinth. The wall had been recently repaired under Manuel II, but was weak against modern gunpowder weapons. Despot Konstantinos refused this plan, because it would have meant abandoning Hellas and its capital, Thebes. Instead, he decided to retreat towards the bay of Maliakos, and the scene of ancient glory, the hot gates of Thermopylae.

Since the days of the Persian wars and the last stand of the Greeks under Leonidas of Sparta, the pass had widened into a floodplain, but it was still narrow for a large force, and the flanks of the Roman army were well protected by the sea on one side and mountains on the other. This pass was still the only major route from Thessaly into central Hellas, and Konstantinos was determined to hold it. He ordered the construction of field fortifications in order to shield his men from the Turkish firearms, this would prove a wise decision.

Sultan Murad crossed the border in early spring 1445, after having recovered from the battle of Varna. A smaller army blockaded Constantinople, though it lacked numbers to conduct an effective siege. The crusading fleet had anchored at Constantinople after having failed to reinforce their army in time, and assisted the Romans in dealing with Turkish ships, preventing a full blockade.

Murad arrived before Thermopylae on the 8th of April 1445, and and was surprised to find his enemy there. No Roman force had stood against the Turks on open ground in over a hundred years. Previous defeats had driven the Romans to adopt a defensive strategy focused on holding key fortresses, but it had failed to prevent Turkish conquests.

On the morning of April 9th, Konstantinos bathed in the hot springs, took part in an ecumenical mass with the other soldiers, put on his armour and mounted his horse.

“This day shall decide the fate of our fatherland!! Today, by God's grace, we shall conquer an empire, or be remembered as the last legion!”

The fifth battle of Thermopylae has become a Romanian national myth. It is seen as the battle that turned the tide, but the truth is that it was an extremely bloody struggle for very little gain, and like the last stand of Leonidas, mainly served to inspire the Romans to stand against their enemies, and fight for their nation.

Wave after wave of Ottoman infantry charged the Roman phalanx, but the battle line remained steady. The Turks eventually turned and retreated, creating gaps in their lines. Murad had expected the Romans to fight in the manner of the westerners, who usually counterattacked as soon as the enemy showed any weakness, but Konstantinos held his forces in place, for he knew very well the tactic of feigned retreat.

Finally, the sultan ordered his Janissaries to advance, supported by the sipahi cavalry. They succeeded in pushing the defenders back, but their onslaught was stopped by German mercenaries in heavy armour. The Turks retreated after considerable losses, as sultan Murad saw that the battle could not be won in one day and his artillery, which had not succeeded in making much difference during the battle, was running low on ammunition.

At sunset, Konstantinos thanked God and the Blessed Virgin, but knew that this was not the end.

On the second day, the Turks opened hostilities with a flanking manoeuvre from the sea, using boats they had built during the night. The rising sun revealed their plans to the Romans, and Konstantinos sent forces to defend the beach. His army now had to fight on two sides, and the second day proved bloodier than the first. Eventually, the Romans had no choice but to abandon the beaches, and retreat further into the pass.

When dusk fell on the field, the Turks had advanced steadily, but at great cost. Konstantinos knew that an enemy fleet carrying reinforcements could arrive at any moment, and reports told him of Turkish irregulars advancing in the mountain paths. Unlike the Spartan king, the despot decided to save his army, and retreated from the pass after dark.

The battle ended in a costly Ottoman victory. Konstantinos’ determined stand had won him great fame and respect in the army, in Romania, and all across Europe.

As Murad was celebrating victory, he learned that his vassal, the Serbian despot Durad Brankovic had crossed the border with 16 000 men, ignoring the fact that his daughter was one of Murad’s wives. The sultan was further enraged to learn that the Serbs had joined forces with the Albanian warlord Skanderbeg, another former vassal of Murad’s, and a brilliant commander, who had won several battles against overwhelming numbers.

Once his reinforcements arrived, Murad ordered some of them to head north, he also ordered his vizier to end the blockade of Constantinople, and march against the Serbs. The Turks rested at the town of Lamia, gathering their strength for a few days. Thousands had died in Thermopylae, and most of the reinforcements were now marching north, yet the old warlord was undaunted.

Konstantinos did not rest. After retreating from Thermopylae, he marched to Thebes, where he was joined by his brother Thomas, and his force of 4 000 men, previously left behind to guard the province. The despots now had roughly 20 000 men, but Murad still had some 40 000 at his command.

Konstantinos saw no other choice than to retreat behind the Hexamilion wall. He knew that the wall would be a weak defence against Turkish cannons, but he had a plan.

The Romans had a few weeks to prepare for battle, as Murad moved slowly, looting and pillaging the countryside. Athens was burned to the ground, but Thebes surrendered, and was spared.

As the Turks approached the isthmus of Corinth, the crusader fleet, which had finally left Constantinople, anchored at the Venetian controlled harbour of Napflio. There, 800 Genoese soldiers offered their services to the Romans, who gladly accepted their powerful crossbows and eight light cannons.

Upon arriving at the wall, Murad was unimpressed, and ordered his artillery to destroy the structure. Roman soldiers offered light resistance, but fled as the wall crumbled. Their retreat was planned, Konstantinos had placed his main force at the ancient citadel of Akrocorinth. A long siege awaited any enemy, who wished to take this great stone monolith, fortified with triple walls like Constantinople herself, and with its own secure water supply, it hadn’t fallen to any foreign invader since Alaric the Goth in 396 AD.

The Turks had to build their siege camps under constant cannon fire from the fortress above. Turkish guns tried to answer, pounding the walls originally built under Justinian I, but no cannon could shatter the great rock of Corinth.

Murad had walked into a trap. Konstantinos himself had retreated into the hills, taking a large force of Vlachs, native Peloponnesian infantry and light horse with him, leaving his brother in charge of the fortress. The siege of Corinth lasted four gruelling months. Ottoman forces were depleted through careful sorties and guerilla attacks. The Turks responded by sending raiding parties across the peninsula, but many of these were ambushed on the road. Eventually Murad, weakened by illness, had to return to Thebes, leaving the siege to his generals.

Seeing the sultan’s banner and his elite Kapikulu Sipahi-cavalry leave the field, Konstantinos decided to finally attack the Turkish camp in a classic pincer movement, shattering the enemy between himself and the Acrocorinth. Over 15 000 were slain or captured.

Romans followed their enemy to Thebes, and surrounded the Turkish forces arrayed outside the city. Siege guns abandoned at Corinth were turned against their masters.

Meanwhile, the Serbian-Albanian army had been defeated in northern Macedonia. Skandenberg had escaped back to his mountainous homeland, and continued to challenge the Turks until his death in 1468. The vizier then turned his army south in an attempt to save the sultan, but could not march fast enough.

The showdown at Thebes lasted two days. Murad threatened to burn the city and slaughter its inhabitants. The two despots knew that they did not have the forces to win a prolonged war. Konstantinos wanted to fight and defeat the sultan, but Thomas, wishing to spare his capital, urged his brother to negotiate. He did, and peace was agreed.

Konstantinos had achieved a remarkable victory against a foe who had never before been defeated. The fertile plains of Thessaly were restored to the Romans. The sultan recognized Konstantinos as his brother’s successor and in return, Romania would continue to pay tribute.

Romania and the surrounding powers in 1445​

Murad marched what remained of his army back to Edirne. Konstantinos returned to the capital as a hero. Emperor Ioannes embraced his brother, despite the fact that he had acted against his orders, and made him Caesar, an honorary title at this point, but one still held in high regard. A service of thanksgiving was held at Hagia Sophia, but it was boycotted by many anti-unionists.

Despite his rising popularity, the despot did not stay in the capital for long. He returned to his seat at Monemvasia. For the next two years, he focused on his duties as the governor of Morea.

In 1448, the second-oldest Laskaris brother, Theodore, died of the plague at his seat in Selymbria, the emperor followed him just two months later at the age of fifty-five.

Ioannes VIII Laskaris had ruled Romania for 23 bleak years. His legacy was made in Florence.

Ioannes’s desire to reconcile the churches was probably genuine, but he failed to see just how much his people would resist it. In a time when unity of the state should have been the government's primary concern, the emperor introduced more division in hopes that help would come from the outside. His memory is undoubtedly overshadowed by those of his learned father, and victorious brother.

Ioannes had been married three times, and all of his wives had died without giving him any children. Anti-unionists took this as proof that God had abandoned the emperor. He was succeeded by his brother Konstantinos, the victorious despot.

 

[Chac1]

This is an interesting alt-history. It's dropping faster than I can keep up but I certainly enjoyed the prologue... now on to the rest. Thanks for this and good luck with this AAR.

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

This is an interesting alt-history. It's dropping faster than I can keep up but I certainly enjoyed the prologue... now on to the rest. Thanks for this and good luck with this AAR.

Thank you and welcome. Heh, I decided to drop several chapters at once to get the story going, but the "rate of fire" is going to go down from now. This is a big project for me, and has been in my head for several years now. I have over 70 pages of text, and I've just reached the 1520s. Hopefully this will go on for quite some time.

 

[Nikolai]

Thank you and welcome. Heh, I decided to drop several chapters at once to get the story going, but the "rate of fire" is going to go down from now. This is a big project for me, and has been in my head for several years now. I have over 70 pages of text, and I've just reached the 1520s. Hopefully this will go on for quite some time.

Lovely, just lovely! Eagerly anticipating the next chapter, as this was a great read so far.

 

[stnylan]

The Romans may yet have a thing or two to teach the Turk about being Eternal

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Chapter III: The Eleventh Hour

Sultan Murad II practicing archery
​

In 1432, a Burgundian spy, Bertrandon de la Broquière observed the “despot of Morea” practising a cavalry game in the Hippodrome: flinging their hats into the air, they shot them with their bows, “One of the talents they have learned from the Turks.”

Konstantinos Dragases Laskaris was born in 1405 as the third son of emperor Manuel II and Helena Dragaš, from whom he took his second last name. Ioannes VIII appointed him governor of Morea with a title of despot in 1428, when he was twenty-three years old, initially ruling together with his older brother Theodoros, who left Morea for Selymbria in 1438, after a dispute regarding the line of succession.

The fourth brother, Demetrios, was a staunch anti-unionist, and as we might recall, had already attempted to take power with Turkish backing. He was at the emperor's deathbed, unlike Konstantinos, and attempted to seize power in the City.

This second coup attempt failed because of Helena Dragas, Demetrios’ mother. The empress was a respected figure in the City. She claimed the position of regent, and managed to delay her younger son until Konstantinos arrived. In order to prevent his brother from plotting in Constantinople, Konstantinos made him the new governor of Morea. This would keep him away from the capital, but also gave him control of the wealthiest land still left under Roman rule.

In the year 1393 emperor Manuel II had divided his remaining territories into two provinces, and appointed trusted friends and relatives to govern them.

The province of Hellas included central Greece and the plains of Thessaly, with its capital located in Thebes, the centre of imperial silk production. At the time of Konstantinos' accession, Thessaly had just been recovered, but Hellas was the weaker of the two provinces, suffering from near continuous Turkish raids. It remained heavily fortified, and with its presence guarded the Peloponnese.

​

Morea was the medieval name of the Peloponnese peninsula, and is often considered to have been the “cradle of salvation”. Its remote location kept it safe from harm and allowed it to grow and prosper despite difficult times. By the 1420s, the governor of Morea was the most important official in Romania. The palace of the despots is located in Mystras near ancient Sparta. Other major settlements included Corinth and Patras, where the governors also lived from time to time. Konstantinos liked to divide his time between these three cities, and travelled extensively around his province.

The peninsula had experienced a sudden population explosion as a result of constant Balkan invasions, which caused many Roman and Slavic refugees to flee there. Trade flourished, although the best harbours were under Venetian control, giving them considerable influence in the Aegean trade. (The Venetian ducat, or “coin of the Doge” was rapidly becoming the most appreciated currency in the Mediterranean.)

Morea had also become a centre of culture, and is today regarded as one of the birthplaces of the renaissance. Poets, writers, philosophers and other artists met at the Despots palace, discussing and debating about the masters of antiquity. Konstantinos, however, had little time for poetry. He was a soldier first and foremost, and to him Morea represented hope.

A new cultural movement was also rising in Morea. The Hellenists wished to leave behind the nation’s “decadent” Roman identity, and create a new state, to be ruled by the “emperor of the Hellenes”, the heir of the great Alexander. There were even some radicals, who secretly wished to restore the worship of the old Hellenic gods, but they were persecuted, and many were exiled or even killed. Neoplatonist thinker Gemisthos Plethon was among the exiled, and later contributed greatly to the Italian renaissance.

Konstantinos sometimes flirted with the Hellenist movement. Like them, he was interested in creating a true national army to replace the expensive and often unreliable foreign mercenaries that the state was forced to employ. However, there is no doubt that he considered himself a Roman, like the grand majority of his people. Ultimately, the Hellenists were a tiny movement of learned men, and never succeeded in getting any support from the masses.

The Achaean regiment, founded by despot Konstantinos in 1441 as his personal guard, is the sole remnant of his attempted reforms, and remains the oldest active unit of the Romanian army.

When Ioannes VIII died in 1448, Konstantinos was at Mystras. The new emperor was proclaimed and blessed (but not crowned) by the Metropolitan bishop of Corinth at the modest chapel of the Despots palace. This was perhaps a political move, for Konstantinos now avoided hosting a large unionist coronation at the Hagia Sophia. The anti-unionists avoided the imperial cathedral, calling it a “corrupted temple of heretics”.

Upon his accession, Konstantinos was unmarried and childless. His first marriage had been with one Theodora Tocco in 1428, daughter of the so-called "lord of Epirus". Her father was defeated by the Romans at the Battle of the Echinades in 1427. He had to withdraw from the parts of Elis under his control and relinquish his hereditary claims to Corinth and Megara. The agreement was sealed with the marriage of Theodora and Konstantinos, but she died in November 1429 while giving birth to a stillborn daughter. Konstantinos remained unmarried for eleven years, before his brother arranged for him to marry Anna of Lusignan, daughter of the Latin king of Cyprus. Once again, the marriage lasted for only a year, and just like Theodora, Anna died during childbirth. Anti-unionists took it as a sign that Konstantinos was cursed by God, just like his brother.

The new emperor thus faced opposition from both home and abroad, and he sought to end internal opposition first, for the Turks were stirring under a new sultan.

Victory at Corinth and the advantageous peace of Thebes were minor triumphs. Final victory against the Turks seemed a distant goal. Sultan Murad had recognized Konstantinos as emperor, but would have preferred to see the anti-unionist Demetrios on the throne. In 1448 the sultan annihilated another Hungarian-led crusader army at the second battle of Kosovo, ending hopes for any significant military aid to Romanía.

Konstantinos thus continued his father’s and brother’s policy of sending emissaries to the west. At home, he tried to find peace between the supporters and opponents of the church union by opening a forum, where the two sides could discuss and debate. Ultimately, he was criticised by both sides, as he did nothing to enforce the union, but did not abandon it either. The emperor was personally liked by almost everyone, but had little skill in politics.

The anti-unionists opposed the unionist patriarch Gregory, Konstantinos’ ally. The emperor was not a fanatical supporter of the union, and merely viewed it as necessary for the state’s survival. The anti-unionists found this argument to be baseless and materialistic, believing that help would be more likely to come through trust in God than a western crusading campaign. Priests who opposed the union declined to honour the emperor in their prayers, and there were riots in Constantinople. Konstantinos, like his brother before him, had vastly underestimated the resistance the union faced from the people and the clergy.

In 1450 the tension in ecclesiastical circles grew so tense that Gregory left his post for Rome. He was cordially received by Pope Nicholas V. Pro-unionists in Romania continued to consider him the legitimate patriarch of Constantinople until his death in 1459. Anti-unionists largely ignored him, eroding the prestige and authority of the patriarchal office and eventually strengthening imperial control over the church in Constantinople.

On 25 November 1452, the Ottomans sank a Venetian trading ship with cannon fire from the new Rumelihisarı castle, an event which captured the minds of the Romans and united them in fear and panic. As a result, the anti-unionist cause gradually died down, for the time being. On 12 December, a Catholic liturgy commemorating the names of the Pope and Patriarch Gregory III was held in the Hagia Sophia by cardinal Isidore of Kyiv. Konstantinos and his court were present, as were many citizens. (By some accounts, nearly all the city’s inhabitants attended the service.)

Winds of war would soon blow across the Aegean, as young Mehmed II assumed the throne, and made plans for the final conquest of New Rome.

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Lovely, just lovely! Eagerly anticipating the next chapter, as this was a great read so far.

Thank you and welcome!

The Romans may yet have a thing or two to teach the Turk about being Eternal

Indeed. They have lasted for a millennium. Let's see if their fortunes continue.

 

[Nikolai]

Winds of war would soon blow across the Aegean, as young Mehmed II assumed the throne, and made plans for the final conquest of New Rome.

Mehmed is a skilled warrior, with a strong army and state behind him. The stakes are high. Good luck in the war!

 

[stnylan]

The moment of truth is rapidly approaching

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Chapter IV: The Red Apple

​

At the beginning of the 1450s, old sultan Murad was tired of war. Following his victory at Kosovo in 1448, the sultan invaded and vassalized Wallachia. In 1450, he had attempted to reconquer Albania and destroy their hero Skanderbeg, but lost over 30 000 men during the campaign, and fled the country. He died in Edirne the following year, and was succeeded by his ambitious and energetic nineteen-year old son Mehmet, who wished to finally conquer the Romans, and become the “Kayser-i Rûm”

The new sultan devoted himself to strengthening the Ottoman navy and made preparations for an attack on Constantinople. In the narrow Bosphorus Straits, the fortress Anadoluhisarı had been built by his great-grandfather Bayezid I on the Asian side; Mehmed erected an even stronger fortress called Rumelihisarı on the European side, and thus gained complete control of the strait. The sultan proceeded to levy a toll on ships passing within reach of their cannon. A Venetian vessel ignoring signals to stop was sunk with a single shot and all the surviving sailors beheaded, except for the captain, who was impaled and mounted as a human scarecrow as a warning.

Mehmed proved wise and a thorough ruler. In 1451, he attacked the Karamanids and pushed them from the territory claimed by both states. Then the sultan renewed peace treaties with Venice and Hungary, while also returning some border territories to the Serbs as a gesture of good will. This was done in order to isolate Constantinople, and prepare for the conquest.

By 1453, it became clear that Mehmet was ready to wipe out the Roman state. The emperor, aided by his brother, oversaw the defensive preparations, and then secretly departed the city with the help of the Venetians, leaving despot Thomas in charge.

On the ninth of April 1453 Mehmet arrived before the Theodosian walls with 70 cannon and an army over 80 000 strong. His fleet of 140 ships completed the blockade.

Thomas Laskaris commanded a garrison of 15 000 Romans and 4 000 foreigners, mostly Italians. The naval force, commanded by the megas doux Loukas Notaras, was composed of 19 Roman, 8 Venetian, 6 Genoese, 2 French and a single Aragonese ship, for a total of 36 vessels.

Mehmet II also sent an army under Turahan Bey to pillage the Roman provinces in Greece in order to prevent aid from reaching the capital, but this army was utterly surprised by the appearance of a Roman force under the emperor himself, whose 26 0000 men forced the enemy to retreat towards Macedonia.

Turahan Bey then moved to prevent Konstantinos from reaching the capital, but the enemy was nowhere to be seen. The Roman army marched north, appearing before the city of Arta, which surrendered after just three days. All of Epirus was liberated from Turkish control in just two weeks. 3 000 local Epirotes joined the army, and Konstantinos marched to meet with Lazar Brankovic, son of the Serbian despot, who brought to him an additional 4 000 men. Lazar later married Helena Laskarina, the eldest child of despot Thomas.

At this point, Turahan Bey finally decided to go on the offensive in order to find the Romans, but it was the emperor, who found him first.

At the battle of Edessa in central Macedonia, the Turkish army was ambushed and routed. This was the first time in 200 years that the Turks had been decisively defeated by a Roman force on an open field.

The victorious emperor once again decided against marching to Constantinople. Trusting the might of his capital's defences, he instead laid siege to Thessaloniki.

​

At the Queen City, fighting had been furious. Mehmed's massive cannons fired on the walls for weeks, but due to their imprecision and extremely slow rate of fire, the Romans were able to repair most of the damage after each shot, mitigating the effect of the Ottoman artillery.

This did not concern the crafty sultan. Mehmed had ordered the construction of a road of greased logs across Galata on the north side of the Golden Horn and dragged his ships over the hill, directly into the Golden Horn on 22 April, bypassing the chain barrier protecting the gulf. This action seriously threatened the flow of supplies from Genoese ships from the nominally neutral colony of Pera. An attempt was made to destroy enemy ships already in the Golden Horn using fire ships, but the Ottomans forced the Christians to retreat with many casualties.
With the failure of their attack on the Ottoman vessels, the defenders were forced to disperse part of their forces to defend the sea walls along the Golden Horn.

On land, the Ottoman army had made several frontal assaults on the walls, but they were costly failures. After these inconclusive attacks, they sought to break through the walls by constructing tunnels to mine them from mid-May to 25 May. Many of the sappers were miners of Serbian origin. A German engineer, who came with the Genoese contingent, had counter-mines dug, allowing Roman troops to enter and kill the miners. All tunnels were eventually destroyed.

Around this time, Mehmed had a final council with his senior officers. Here he encountered some resistance; one of his Viziers, the veteran Halil Pasha, asked him to abandon the siege in the face of recent adversity, and march against the emperor. Zagan Pasha, however, insisted on an immediate attack. Believing that the Christian defences were already weakened sufficiently. Mehmed decided to follow the advice of the latter pasha and overpower the walls by sheer force.

Preparations for the final assault began in the evening of 26 May and continued to the next day. Finally, the Ottomans mobilized their manpower for a general offensive.

On the Roman side, a Genoese fleet of 12 ships and 900 fighting men reached the Capital on 27 May, smashing through the Turkish blockade and killing Mehmet’s Bulgarian admiral Suleiman Baltoghlu. The City was informed of Konstantinos’ recent victories, and morale was considerably improved.

The final attack began shortly after midnight on Tuesday 29 May. The Christian troops of the Ottoman Empire attacked first, followed by successive waves of the irregular azaps, who were poorly trained and equipped, and Anatolian Turkmen forces who focused on a section of the damaged Blachernae walls in the north-west part of the city. Turkmen mercenaries managed to breach this section of walls and entered the city, but they were just as quickly pushed back by the Venetian defenders. Finally, the last wave, consisting of elite Janissaries, attacked the city walls. The Genoese general in charge of the defenders on land, Ioannes Justinian (Giovanni Giustiniani), was grievously wounded during the attack, but stayed in his post, and died fighting.

Eventually the Varangian guard, only 250 strong, charged the breach on the Genoese positions, and pushed the Janissaries over the walls. The Venetians were aided at the Blachernae by Roman marines (Tzakones), and the walls remained in Christian hands.

The assault had failed.

As a final insult, the megas doux Notaras, strengthened by the new Genoese ships, destroyed the Ottoman fleet in the Golden horn, capturing five Turkish ships.

Mehmet had no choice but to retreat, and end the siege after one month, three weeks and three days. His casualties had risen to over 35 000, the defenders had lost 7 000 men.

Konstantinos had taken a risk, and it paid off handsomely. Thessaloniki surrendered the day before Mehmed retreated from the capital. The emperor stayed in the city for a few days, rejoicing as the news of victory came from Constantinople. He then marched against the Ottoman capital of Edirne at the beginning of April.

Mehmed’s army had been exhausted by the siege, but he soon received reinforcements from Anatolia, and moved against the Roman emperor. The following battle of Chandras was indecisive. Neither force was strong enough to rout the opposing side, as a result, both armies disengaged at sunset and withdrew.

After the battle, the sultan was worried that more European aid could arrive before he could achieve victory, and according to reports, his position as sultan was already being questioned in Anatolia. On the Roman side, emperor Konstantinos realized that he did not possess the necessary forces to take Edirne. He requested an armistice, and negotiations for peace began soon after.

Roman Macedonia after the peace of 1454​

Most of Epirus, as well as central Macedonia with Thessaloniki, were restored to the Romans. It was a mighty victory. The emperor’s parade in the capital was the first such celebration since the second triumph of Ioannes III Doukas Batatzes in 1246. Among the trophies displayed was one of Mehmet's huge bombards, abandoned after the siege, it was later melted down and recast as a modest victory column.

The Romans had weathered yet another storm and emerged victorious, but the sky was still dark. For now, the emperor could celebrate with his people. Hellas and Morea had been well and truly secured by the liberation of Macedonia and Epirus, and the army had gained some much-needed confidence.

At Edirne, Mehmed became furious and vengeful. His resolve was unshaken, and he would remain an ardent enemy of Romania for the rest of his life.

 

[The Number 9]

Great AAR so far. And I'm glad the Romans have resisted the Ottomans because it means we will have some more updates.

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Chapter V: The Peaceful Exit

The Siege of Belgrade, 1456​

Following his great victory over the Turks, the emperor Konstantinos wasted no time in organizing the liberated territories. Epirus was re-established as a province, and Konstantinos made his cousin Demetrios Laskaris Palaiologos its governor, though northern parts of the historic region remained under Turkish rule. Macedonia was given to a certain Theophilos Laskaris, a more distant relative of the emperor, who was a known grammarian, humanist, and mathematician.

Provincial administration was not the only thing the emperor had to organize once Romania was again at peace, for he had a wedding to plan. The Queen City prepared for the arrival of her new empress.

Maria Bagration was a Georgian princess, who arrived in Constantinople only a few months after the siege. Turkish siege camps were still there as the Georgian party made their way into the battered city.

The wedding ceremony itself was quick and relatively simple, conducted at the chapel of the imperial palace at Blachernae. The groom was forty-eight-years old, the bride only seventeen.

The new empress and her Georgian courtiers were zealous orthodox Christians, who soon became the centre of resistance against the union of Florence. The anti-unionist cause was further strengthened, when in 1454 the empress gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Katerina Porphyrogenita Laskarina. She was considered a gift from God for successively defending Romania without western aid. (The anti-unionists conveniently forgot that thousands of Latins had fought and died with the Romans.)

Religious unity that had reigned when the city was facing certain doom had faded away once victory celebrations were over. People of the newly liberated areas joined the anti-unionist cause. Governor Theopilos Laskaris wrote to the emperor that “the people of Thessalonica resist the union more than they resisted the Turks.”

Romania had been victorious, but was still fragile. One missed step could lead to utter destruction. Internally, the union of churches threatened to tear the state apart, while external enemies looked for any weakness.

The Italian republics of Venice and Genoa controlled the Aegean trade and ruled territories all over Romania. The Venetian quarter in Constantinople was wealthier than the City itself, and the Genovese controlled a large colony on the opposite side of the Golden Horn.

And then there were the Turks. When Alp Arslan first invaded Romania in 1068, hardly anyone would have believed that almost 400 years later the Romans would still fight to defend their lands from his successors.

Sultan Mehmet felt humiliated and insulted by his failure to conquer Constantinople. The Serbs under the newly crowned Lazar Brankovic and the Hungarians, who had come under the rule of Matthias Corvinus, son of the heroic general Ioannes Hunyadi, now felt that they could resist the Turks. Mehmet proved them wrong. In the late 1450s, he defeated both the Serbs and Hungarians, but his attempted conquest of Hungary was halted at the failed siege of Belgrade in 1456, nevertheless Mehmet would conquer most of Bosnia in the 1460s. Turkish bandits and irregulars would constantly raid Croatia, and occasionally reached as far as Venetian Friuli.

Emperor Konstantinos could only watch as the Ottoman borders expanded. His last years as emperor were as difficult as his first, but he did find happiness, and hope was rekindled under his reign. He adored his daughter Katerina, who was quickly growing into a bright and lively child, and his nephews Andreas and Manuel, sons of despot Thomas. Konstantinos’ and his wife would not be blessed with a second child. The empress' second pregnancy was difficult, ending in stillbirth, and her third resulted in a baby girl who lived for only two days. After these trials, she refused to get pregnant again.

The emperor's relationship with his young wife was cordial, but not particularly warm. Many in the court (mostly unionists) were worried of the Georgian influence. In 1460 the empress's father, king George VIII, sent 200 Georgian warriors to guard the City. Many resisted these “eastern barbarians”, but the emperor welcomed any reinforcements that were loyal to his family.

The army at this time was almost non-existent. In addition to the Georgians, Constantinople was guarded by 300 Varangians, and the 1500 strong Paramonai city guard. The rest of the army was composed of the garrisons of the fortresses that the state was forced to maintain, strengthened during wartime by conscripted peasants, many of whom had combat experience and were required by law to train with bows and spears. Romans living near the borders often organized ad hoc guerilla units known as the Akritai to defend against Turkish raids and to raid their lands in return. Konstantinos had attempted to create regular field units, but chronic lack of funds made this impossible.

Development of the navy was somewhat more successful. The megas doux Loukas Notaras had funded the reconstruction of the navy partially from his own pockets, which made him one of the most influential men in Romania and the Aegean Sea. Because of him, the emperor could boast a fleet of 20 large galleys and over 60 smaller vessels. A tiny force compared to days of glory, but it meant that the Turks or Latin powers could no longer rule the Bosporus with impunity.

In the end, the emperor would run out of time before he could do all he set out to do for his country. Konstantinos suddenly fell ill, and by late September 1462 it became clear that the emperor’s life was coming to an end.

Death struggles of Roman emperors were just another ritual in the never-ending circle of court protocol. Courtiers, members of the clergy, government officials and members of the imperial family gathered in the palace. Everyone was positioned according to their station, with those of the highest rank around the emperor’s bed. All were dressed in their official uniforms, their colours, shapes and accessories tightly sanctioned by protocol and law. Empress Maria was dressed in her full regalia, and even the eight-year-old Katherine had an exact place as a purple-born princess.

Holding the emperor’s hand was his brother Demetrios, who, after three failed rebellions, was finally about to achieve his dream. With him were his two nephews, Manuel and Andreas, their father Thomas was still on his way from Thebes.

Crucifixion Icon Sinai, 12th century
​

Konstantinos XI Dragases Laskaris died on the last day of September 1462, at the age of fifty-seven. He had ruled for 14 decisive years.

There is no doubt that he was a great emperor. His territorial conquests may not look that impressive on the maps, but they gave the nation twenty years of relative peace. It was this break, the first in centuries, that allowed the Romans to finally breathe freely for a time, and recover their strength. He also restored to the nation its confidence. No longer would they cover in fear and beg foreigners for scraps. Only the Romans could help Romania. It was their land, their people, their blood.

This spiritual recovery was Konstantinos’ greatest achievement, and earned him a place as one of the great emperors of history, but his time was now over.

The new emperor was divisive, and untrustworthy. When the late emperor closed his eyes for the last time, Demetrios’ young nephew Manuel turned to him and asked; “What happens now, uncle?”

The answer was murder and war. Both all too familiar to the beleaguered Romans.

 

[Nikolai]

The answer was murder and war. Both all too familiar to the beleaguered Romans.

Hopefully with better long term effects than previous instances...

 

[stnylan]

Konstantinos helped Rome weather a great storm, the great storm of his day. He could not be asked to do more.

It is to his apparently murderous heirs to make good that legacy

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Chapter VI: The Rebel and The Lawgiver

The Family of Manuel II c. 1404, note Ioannes VIII on the left depicted as co-emperor compared to his brothers Theodoros and Andronikos
Konstantinos, Demetrios and Thomas were still little children at the time

The Rebel​

Demetrios Laskaris was overshadowed by his older brothers at a young age. Ioannes was loved by their father Manuel II, and Konstantinos was the favourite of their mother Helena.

At fifteen, he was appointed governor of several Aegean islands, but the overambitious teenager refused to accept such a minor posting, and fled to the court of king Sigismund of Germany and Hungary. Demetrios seems to have returned to Constantinople by 1427, but the years in Sigismund’s vibrant court did nothing to turn him towards the west, rather he started appearing as a staunch Orthodox, and began to oppose any western alliance, perhaps because Sigismund refused to help him in his quest for the throne.

In his absence, Demetrios’ father had died, and his brother Ioannes was now emperor. At the age of twenty, he now agreed to become the governor of the island of Lemnos, a small, but productive island that served as the City’s main supplier of grain. The young despot, however, was not interested in farming. His sights were set on Constantinople.

Emperor Ioannes travelled to Italy in 1438 in order to negotiate a church union with the Latins. Suspecting treachery, Demetrios was ordered to accompany his brother. This mistrust was justified, as Demetrios had already opened negotiations with sultan Murad.

At the church council, Demetrios fervently opposed any attempt of reconciliation, and for this he gained some popularity back home, and anti-unionist forces would gather around him for a while. It was fortunate for Ioannes and Konstantinos, that Demetrios lacked decisiveness, often acting impulsively and without a plan, and thus garnered little trust.

By 1442 he had exchanged Lemnos for Selymbria, which was much closer to the capital. There he gathered a small army, and marched against Constantinople. In his declaration, he claimed to have come to save the true church from papal oppression. His ragtag army of zealous peasants and Turkish mercenaries were defeated by Konstantinos before the walls of the City.

The rebel prince was imprisoned, but only for a short time. Selymbria was given to the second brother, Theodore, whose death in 1448 meant that Demetrios was one step closer to the throne. The death of emperor Ioannes just a few months later provided his brother a new opportunity to seize power, but this second coup attempt was ended by his mother Helena, who reserved the right to act as regent until Konstantinos’ arrival. Demetrios then agreed to kneel before his brother and recognised him as his emperor.

Konstantinos decided to send his troublesome brother away from the capital, and appointed him governor of Morea, although the garrison of the great fortress of Corinth was transferred to the youngest brother Thomas, governor of Hellas, who had been faithful to his imperial brothers.

Perhaps surprisingly, Demetrios seemed to have been content ruling the wealthy province as his private domain. By the Turkish war of 1454, he seems to have regained some trust, as he was appointed temporary governor of Hellas, whilst Thomas led the defence of Constantinople and Konstantinos marched with the field army.

In 1458 the three brothers signed an agreement, where it was agreed that after Konstantinos’ death, Demetrios and Thomas would rule together, and that Andreas, Thomas’ oldest son, would eventually succeed them.

It is unlikely that Demetrios signed the agreement willingly, perhaps he saw it as the only way to gain power, and he intended to overturn it once he sat on the throne, in any case he had no sons to succeed him.

Demetrios was married twice. His first wife, Zoe Kantakouzena, had died in 1436. His second wife, Theodora Asenina, gave birth to a healthy girl, Helena, Demetrios later offered her as wife to his nephew Andreas (who was ten years her junior), but cousin marriage was frowned upon by the church, and Thomas was less than enthusiastic about the match. Helena was later married to Vlad III Drăculea, prince of Wallachia, also known as “the impaler”.

In 1463, with the death of emperor Konstantinos, the arrangement signed by the three brothers went into effect, and Thomas Laskaris became junior emperor to his elder brother.

The Lawgiver
​

The youngest son of emperor Manuel II was born in 1409. He first entered history when he was appointed governor of the province of Hellas in 1428, at the age of nineteen. Well liked by his subjects, Thomas had the diplomatic mind of his father Manuel, and although he lacked the charisma of Konstantinos or the passion of Demetrios, he became a respected figure.

Thomas had been close with his two imperial brothers, but the relationship with Demetrios was more complicated. The elder brother was envious of Thomas’ position as governor of a major province. Demetrios had to wait for almost twenty years to get a similar position. Still, it seems the two were able to work together. As governors of Hellas and Morea, the brothers strengthened local industries and commerce, trying to undermine Italian power in the region. Corinth in particular grew during their time.

In 1430 Thomas married Katherine Komenodoukaina. This union contributed much to the internal stability of the realm, as the bride's family were wealthy landowners, with many connections.

The newly-weds secured the future of the Laskaris dynasty by producing two sons and two girls. Their eldest child, Helena, married Lazar Branković, despot of Serbia, the second daughter, Zoe, married James II Poitiers-Lusignan, the Latin king of Cyprus who had overthrown his half-sister Charlotte with the backing of the Mamluks of Egypt. Charlotte herself was the granddaughter of Theodore Laskaris, son of Manuel II, and thus Zoe's first cousin once removed.

Zoe’s life would be far more interesting than that of her elder sister. The last crusader kingdom was ruled by a Frankish dynasty, but effectively controlled by Genoese merchants. Venice wanted to take control of the island, so their agents had James and the pregnant Zoe poisoned less than a year after their wedding, with the intention of seizing control once they were dead.

James died, but Zoe miraculously survived, and would deliver a healthy baby boy, named James in his father’s memory. The Venetians then sent a navy to install the deposed queen Charlotte on the throne, but this attack was repulsed by Zoe, who had declared herself regent of her infant son, to whom she gave birth while giving orders to her soldiers. She was also trusted by the island's native Romans, who hadn’t been governed by one of their own since the English king Richard “Coeur de Lion” had conquered Cyprus in 1191.

Here we must leave Zoe and get back to her father.

The military career of despot Thomas began under his brother Konstantinos during the Crusade of Varna, where he proved a talented organizer, masterfully managing the army’s retreat to Corinth after the defeat at Thermopylae. The loss of his domains in Hellas and the sack of Athens shocked Thomas deeply.

At the battle of Corinth, Konstantinos named his brother commander of the fortress of Acrocorinth, which he held until Konstantinos defeated the Turkish army. Thomas then marched with his brother to Thebes and witnessed the end of the war, after which he resumed his duties as governor of Hellas. Peace saw the return of Thessaly, which was added to the province of Hellas. Liberation of Thessaloniki moved the border away from Hellas. This meant increased stability, trade and prosperity. Though the despot resented continuing Italian dominance in trade, mainly the Venetian colonies in Nafplio and Nafpaktos (called Lepanto by the Latins) which drew in most of the Aegean commerce.

After the war, extensive efforts were made to fortify the province so that the army would no longer need to abandon it to the enemy. The despot repaired and upgraded the fortresses of Lamia near Thermopylae and Amfissa in Phocis. The mighty Kadmea, the acropolis of Thebes, was also rebuilt under Thomas, and is now considered one of the most beautiful castles in Hellas.

Athens, burned by Murad after his victory at Thermopylae, mirroring the actions of the Persian king Xerxes, was ruined and its surviving inhabitants moved to Thebes. Monetary problems prevented its reconstruction. It would take almost two centuries before the “flower of Hellas” would blossom once more.

On the 17th of January 1453, despoina Katherine gave birth to a healthy son, Andreas. This momentous occasion was overshadowed by the growing threat of Mehmet II, who prepared to assault the City.

Two years later, on the 2nd of January 1455, a second son was born. Manuel, named after his grandfather, was born small and fragile, but would grow into a strong and happy child.

Mehmet’s siege of Constantinople was a pivotal moment in Roman history. Thomas led the defence of the city of Byzas, and his personal bravery earned him the respect of the people. After the end of the war, Thomas and his family returned to Thebes.

Emperor Konstantinos ruled in peace for the rest of his life, and at his death in 1462, the 53-year-old Thomas ascended the throne together with his older brother. He left Hellas for Constantinople, and never again returned to the land he had ruled for nearly thirty-three years.

Two emperors now occupied the throne, but was it big enough for the both of them?

 

[KaiserWilhelmI]

Hopefully with better long term effects than previous instances...

You know what they say: The imperial office is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

Konstantinos helped Rome weather a great storm, the great storm of his day. He could not be asked to do more.

It is to his apparently murderous heirs to make good that legacy

It is always the succession that messes things up, isn't it.

 

[stnylan]

Two emperors now occupied the throne, but was it big enough for the both of them?

Given Roman History, recent and ancient, the answer is clearly: absolutely not!