1220-1224
Episode Five
"A CHANGING WORLD"
Basileus Belisarios Palaiologos didn't lose any time upon taking the throne of his father. Fully aware of the current conditions of Hungary, divided over religion an in state of war against the Cuman Khanate, he quickly sent a messanger to Budapest, capital of the Magyar Kingdom, offering his direct help against the barbarian lords of the steppes. He offered his hand not only to a neighbor, or an Orthodox brother in need, but also a friend, and most important of all, family. Sure, a victory against heathens would probably give King Arpad the needed support against the Catholic fanatics that demanded his convertion, and allegiance, to the Pope in Rome, but that was only a side effect. Before any response arrived from the north, Belisarios himself was mustering his troops in Constantinople, without asking help from the Exarchs and their local armies, ready to lead his men on the battlefield.
He would also get some support for his recently started reign, but that was also a side effect. In the end, slaying heathens and barbarians was mostly usual business than political maneuvers.
But to be honest, Belisarios felt free to intervene in Hungary's war because his most pressing subject was already in motion: "King" Mtstislav of Chernigov had to die. That was the only way Belisarios' mother would finally be free to come back to Constantinople and spend her last days accompanied by family. Feeling no remorse for one of the men that had participated on dismembering his childhood, a plot to kill the Rurikid sovereign was already getting form thanks to the new Spy Master, or Mistikos, of the Empire; a shady man who answered only to the name of Manrike, without any family known.
Who knows, maybe Belisarios could go to Chernigov, in person, to search for his mother after the war in the steppes was over. The simple image of it brought a smile to the face of the young emperor, imagining the hands of Fevronia touching his cheeks as she did when he was no more than a child. For now though, he had to concentrate on the upcoming battles... after all, Hungary was losing ground with every passing day.
The Cuman-Hungarian Dnieper War
As Belisarios landed in the previosly hungarian town of Odessa, he found nothing. An empty terrain, populated only by grass and some feeble ruins. Wanting to have a base of operations, he quickly ordened a fort to be built near the bay, both to hold the territory and to enable an easy landing of reinforcements, if needed.
The explorers' reports were worrying, as hordes of barbarians had been seen in the north. Organized and in great numbers, these horse lords greatly surpased the christian soldiers. As this was mostly a personal campaign, and not one involving the entire Empire, Belisarios wasn't willing to request many reinforcements. He had to win alone, showing Rome and himself that he was capable of such things.
But then, as another fort was getting built on Olvia by the Imperial Army, a huge cloud of dust appeared in the horizon. The Cuman Khagan wasn't going to let his enemies merge forces, and so the Roman Armies seemed to be an interesting target.
Staying near the river and the sea, the forces of the Basileus knew there were in disadvantage. The hordes were on their element, in the vast and plain steppes. Not even numbers were on its favor, but Belisarios didn't have time to retreat: his reinforcements were coming, and if they didn't manage to hold until their arrival, the new force would arrive only to face destruction.
Three days would Belisarios' army hold in the improvised fort against the incessant shot of arrows, raising the shields like the Legions of old, with the Imperial Banner on top of the half build watchtower. Using turns to rotate shields, and let brothers-in-arms rest enough to keep fighting, the brave Roman soldier ignored every provocation to attack, protecting the fort and his Emperor, who was fighting side by side with them.
Without any Themata to assit them, the Tagma Palaiologoi faced the enemy alone. Moving as one, feeling the wounds of the other as theirs, the Imperial Elite fought hard and brave, having little pause thanks to the relentless Cuman attacks. Belisarios, back in the battlefield -where he felt much more confortable-, coulnd't stop: the battle... no, his soldiers needed him. There was no time to rest as his men were holding the barbarians at bay, while his explorers were alert on any sign of the navy. The watchtower had to be protected, as was the only thing that revealed the Roman position from the distance. The Basileus, wearing nothing more than a purple cape as Imperial regalia, felt proud of such demostration of discipline. He had no idea who to thank for it, maybe it was God? His father, the saint? Or something else? A young soldier, right to his side, had a different answer.
At the third dawn of the siege, after multiple skirmishes, the Cumands decided to charge. Such mistake would be hard to forget, as soon the Imperial Navy would appear on the ocean, bringing over the Dromons another ten thousand men willing to fight for Christedom and his Emperor. Without being able to use their hit and run tactics as they were in the middle of the battle, roman swords and cataphracts charged against the trapped light calvary of the steppes, destroying more than half of the Cuman forces.
Such victory, even without Hungarian intervention, seemed to cause problems back in the Khagan's court. As King Arpad took back the lands west of the Dnieper river, he would see the Khanate's troops... going back to their side of the Dnieper? Confusion struck the Hungarian troops in their rally to join the Roman forces, eventually learning about the defeat at Olvia.
Yes, it was a good victory, but would it be enough? The lands of Cumania stretched from the ruins of Kiev to the far eastern steppes of...
What?
The Khagan had decided...
What?
Together, the Great King of Hungary and the Roman Emperor got a strage notification few days later, when they were ready to cross the Dnieper and take the offensive. It seems that, in the middle of the battle, the Khagan of Cumania...
Both rulers look at the other, perplexed.
The Khagan of Cumania had decided to convert to Orthodox Christianity after, supposely, have seen the image of Virgin Mary over the armies of Byzantium, guiding them to glory. He affirms that the voice of a woman appeared from nothing, manifesting on his head and using the siluette of a certain nun he met in the past, offered him an opportunity for redemtion and eternal life: in exchange, he had to lead his people away from paganism, and make them join as brothers to Christedom.
Along side the letter of surrender and, ehem, apologies, the Khagan of the now "Christian" Cuman Khanate had sent two hundred of his best horses as a token of good will, and invitations to both Constantinople and Budapest to discuss matters of the faith.
The only thing he asked from them was to send capable priests back to his court to begin the preparation of the new Cuman clergy. As so, the entire Khanate decided to be put under the Ecumenical Patriach's authority until they could get their own Patriach of the steppes.
At that point, what else could they do? They waited for some days, just in case this was some kind of ruse, but nothing. The two hundred horses arrived, and King Arpad insisted that Belisarios should take them, as the Empire had won not only the battle in combat, but... in soul as well.
Would this convertion stop the Cuman incursions into Hungary and the Black Sea? No one was sure... but at least, the Khagan of Cumania seemed a weird but kind-of trustworthy man; after all, not so few years ago the previous Khan, Cilbu, had struck a non-agression pact with Basileus Helias in other weird circumstances. Strangely enough, both rulers seemed to show signs of possesion according to some traveling monks, claims that were never confirmed.
- Well, another anti-climatic shift of events brought you by CK2 -
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Meanwhile, far beyond Egypt, the old rivals of the Empire had secured a vital point for trade in the Red Sea, menacing now the forgotten Christian kingdom of Abyssinia. The now grown up Ahmed II had managed to stop the continued rebellions on the Seljuk Sultanate, and managed to expand further any possible intervention of their enemies, like Byzantium, Jerusalem, or even the Fatimid Caliphate.
Coming back to the capital, Basileus Belisarios had decided to give some use to the simple existence of his broter, Lazaros, and send him as an marriage offer to the 15 years old Queen of Jerusalem. While Lazaros almost doubled the age of the young Queen, the fact that a matrilineal marriage was accepted turned on the curiosity of the Outremer nobility. Few weeks later, back in the Imperial Throne, word would come back with an affirmative answer, and so Lazaros would leave for the Holy Land... and stop being a nuisance as a claimant.
Other letters came with the Outremer response, but this time containing a much sadder event; Agathe Palaiologos, the third oldest child between Fevronia and Saint Leandros, had just been found dead in... strange circumstances, back in the now Toloussan duchy of Transjurania. While Belisarios and Agathe never were very close, he couln't stop thinking about his family and how everything could have ended if his father had lived a couple years more.
Death seemed common in the west, as disgrace had taken over the throne in Tolousse; Philippe de Bourgogne, known as the Legendary, had died leaving behind a long trail of conquest and bloodshed. Now his son, Centule, looked even more capable than Philippe. God only could know what was the destiny of the old France and Hispania.
- No idea from where he got all that money though -
- An Antipapal war seemed like a good place to start -
On 1222, Basileus Belisarios decided it was a good moment to start a little campaign, this one directed to Georgia; after all, someone had to fulfill the promises of Basileus Helias. Leaving the Themas as support if needed, the elite core of the Roman Army was shipped in Constantinople and landed on Guria. The main goal was to take the former capital of the Georgian Kingdom, and cutoff any Seljuk attempts to take over whatever remained of Rum.
Even when the Seljuk Sultanate dared to invervene in the war in favor of their Rumite brothers, the war was already won. Quick sieges, assaults, and minor battles were enough to break the will of Rum, who decided to surrender before the great armies of the East could clash.
- Soon after, the new territories would be granted to the last of the Bagratoini -
Victorius, the elite troops of the Empire started the march back home. No great battles were fought, but victory nonetheless.
The convertion in the north was gone, as quickly and strange as happened in the first place. Khagan Bonek died, leaving the throne empty for another pagan to take over. Truly, this didn't surprise anyone.
And, at the same time, Ahmad II declared war on Jerusalem, as Queen Ase had just agreed with a Non-Agression pact with the Empire and not a full alliance. Belisarios thought on intervening anyway, but maybe a defeat would remember Jerusalem how much they needed its Roman allies.
But as Belisarios decided to not call his armies to help Jerusalem, a strong discussion erupted between the Basileus and Anthe Palaiologos, member of the many cadet branches of the Imperial Dynasty. She didn't care about the authority of the Emperor, specially when he showed no desire to honor the historic alliance with Jerusalem, a holy kingdom not only for the Catholics, but for every Christian. Belisarios tried to explain how the relations between the two realms had grow cold, and that he could not move any finger if Queen Asa didn't ask for his help. Still, Anthe would not listen, overstretching her rights as member of the Palaiologoi, and tried to expose the Emperor as an heretic and traitor to the future of the Empire, as Jerusalem had proved a vital ally against the Infidel.
The court was in silence, without words at this exchange of words. The fact that Belisarios was still paying attention to her wasn't something the high officers of the Empire aproved, but the boldness of that woman was something unseen in ages. Then, a new voice joined the discussion: Basilissa Eudokia, appearing at the side of his husband. Both Belisarios and Anthe became quiet, watching as Eudokia's hand rised and demanded absolute silence in the room.
"My dear, are you sure of the words you are spitting from your mouth? Such beautiful lips, but words so muddy, so strange... nor proper of a lady like you. Or is it that they are not really yours? I ask you, one more time, are you sure of the fallacies you so freely say about my, no, our Emperor?"
Belisarios, knowing his wife, felt how she was behind something. He let her continue, aproving her intervention. Anthe, not intimidated, saw Eudokia talking directly to her as even more recognition; she climbed up one ladder of the the Throne, and interpreted the silence of the court as them paying full atention to her words.
"You are a disgrace for your father, Basileus Belisarios. He, who stood by Christ and Jerusalem at their darkest hours against the Infidel, would feel shame of seeing you sitting idle while the destiny of Jerusalem, and the Empire, lies in the fate of the holiest city of all!"
Belisarios, feeling deeply insulted for such perfidious words against a topic that was so delicate for him, he suddenly got up, ready to order the arrest of Anthe before all the court. But, in the last second, exactly when his index finger pointed at Anthe, the soft hand of Eudokia landed on his arm. In a quick exchange of looks, Belisarios nodded to his wife.
"You don't dissapoint me, Anthe Palaiologina. I'm sure that carrying the Imperial Name along yours makes you all brave and sure about your status inside the Empire, but you'll see: people like him, sitting on that throne, are the ones that makes possible such privilege. Still, that's not enough to understand this behaviour... until you see this."
Then, with the other hand, Eudokia throwed to Anthe's feets a golden cross, with a thin string that turned it into a some sort of amulet. Anthe's eyes got wide open, seeing how one of her most precious -and secret- possesions was made public. She quickly bent down to pick the cross up, and hold it between her hands. Now she was exposed, not knowing how the Empress had found the secret.
"Darling, please, you know it was quite easy" Eudokia said, going down some steps. "You don't start making quarrels with the Emperor without getting noticed and investigated, so do not give me that scared look". The Empress finally stopped in front of Anthe, taking one of her hands and opening to see the golden cross again before Anthe backed off. "A golden cross. Have you been dealing with the Pope, Anthe? What has his people offered you to be his ears and eyes in Constantinople? Are you really a citizen worried about the future of this Empire, or just a discret catholict convert trying to intervene in behalf of your new leaders?"
Anthe said no word, feeling trapped by the still quiet court.
"Now, dear, stop with such nonsense and let's talk tomorrow, in a more comfortable place. There is no need for you to fall into the games of the Latins. Retreat from the court, rest, and think about today." Anthe would then run off the court, dissapearing behind the doors. While the image of the Emperor had received a strong blow of authority, the Empress had showed her influence and power inside the high spheres of the Empire.
After such tense moments, a messanger would arrive to the court, bringing disturbing news: Great Hungary had declared war against the Holy Roman Empire, trying to conquer the entirety of Bavaria. The political infighting in the Germanic realm after the defeats against Tolousse had severely weakened their forces, something that Great King Arpad wanted to exploit.
But, at long last, word came from Chernigov. Finally, the plot against Mstislav was ready to strike!
Sadly, it wouldn't work out well. While none of the conspirators got discovered, time wasn't something they could waste with Fevronia being so old.
While the news about the plot weren't very motivating, strange words, whispers and message started to arrive from the West. Contact with Italy and the Italian Republics had been quiet, even silent, for the lasts months, but with fewer merchants coming to Constantinople every week, and many almost fleeing from Galata. "What was going on?", Belisarios asked, to his Mystikos. He didn't have a good response to that question, but at least was the truth.
- Weirdly enough, the first letter of support came from the Pontic Steppes -
Distracted for the failure to recover his mother, Belisarios had realized that he had lost valuable time to organize a defense, and most important of all, to demand an explanation. Rome was too far to send messangers, and Greater Hungary was in the middle of a war against the Holy Roman Empire, leaving Constantinople without any major allies and only few days to react. Belisarios, in a quick visit to Hagia Sophia, gave thanks to God for letting him learn about the coming war before the treacherous crusaders were at his doors.
Why was all this happening? Weren't the relations between East and West better than ever? They had fought infidels as Christians, not as divided Orthodox and Catholics! How...?
Anthe. She was the answer, said the Imperial Mystikos. She had fled to the West, convinced the Feudal lords and the Italian Republics about Belisarios' treason to Christedom by not helping Jerusalem at its our of need. "But why the hell are they attacking us and not helping Jerusalem instead!", the Emperor demanded a logical response, but the Spy Master just shrugged. "The West has become increasingly fanatic, and fanatics don't really meditate their actions... even against allies. The Pope has not agreed with this agression, but that's not enough to stop them".
Belisarios sighed. He always thought the greatest challege of his life would come from Persia, or Egypt... not from old Rome itself. He, resigned, called for his war council: If it was a Crusade what they wanted, they would get one that would remind them forever why the Roman Empire had lasted thousands of years.
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Empress Eudokia observed The City from one of the Great Palace's balconies, with her gaze fixed in the West. This was her fault, she said to herself; she was too kind, too forgiving to creatures like Anthe, who deserved to be squashed under a commoner's boot. Now... Now all the Empire was facing the abyss, and only a little push would be enough to send them all down. The consequences of her acts haunted Eudokia, as she had played with her prey and now it came back to bite back, with the strenght of hundreds of thousands men.
Still, she was not going to delve into desperation. Yes, she had grown confident, comfortable as the Empress, thinking that there was nothing else to do with the major goal accomplished. Oh, how fool she felt now, with the vultures flying over the Theodosian Walls. There wasn't time to waste as the enemies of the Empire, and her family, were expecting for a single moment of weakness to strike. Plans had to be made, backup options in case everything went wrong; Eudokia trusted her husband, but war and battle were chaotic and even the best warriors fell for less than an unexpected stab through the heart.
With that in mind, she called some trusted friends and reunited her children: none should fall to the depravations of the West. And, if the worst happened, they would be the ones continuing the fight of their fathers. As the Imperial Princes left the docks of Constantinople, from the balcony Eudokia followed with her eyes a discrete Dromon sailing East. Then, an unexpected feeling of terror went through her spine: something wasn't right. She looked over the Bosphorus, in a direction far beyond Nikomedeia: black clouds were gathering in the horizon.
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- Christedom in war with itself. Every day we stray further from God -
...
As brothers and sisters in faith waged war against each other in Europe, a new menace was rising in the far east. A man, called by the name of Temujin, had managed to unite all of the Mongol clans, and now his sight was set on the western steppes, China... and the world.
May all people tremble before the great Mongol Horde.
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Sorry for the delay! I intended to get to 1230, but suddenly a lot of things started to happen!
Fourth Crusade and Mongols, go figure what's going to happen now on Europe. This is the first time that happens to me, and oh boii (hehe, Imperator joke there) the entirety of Western Europe is coming against the Empire! I mostly worried about the Toloussan armies, since they can field an equal size army as Belisarios, but then you have to add all of the little kings and dukes that are joining too. After all, it may be that our new Basileus isn't going to be a great conqueror, but a defender of the imperial integrity.
The Mongols are the wild card, I guess. I'm worried that the consolidation of Cumania as the dominant power of the steppes is going to make it even easier for the mongols to just advance over there and replace them. Well, its surviving time!
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