It would have been particularly pleasing if they also managed to take the bones of St. Peter or the Crown of Thorns from Rome as well.
-
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O STAVROS NIKÀ! The empire prevails! Though with the mutilation of the bishop of Rome probably shattered any hopes of reconciliation for both Catholics and Orthodox forever. No matter, it is good to see the Hungarians being good allies, if you intend to make the West pay for their foolishness I would suggest helping them out. Also that Gambargin art was a nice touch, I see you're a man of culture as well 
Not a moment of respite for the empire in these tumultuous times. But a moment to prove martial superiority.
The Crusaders' false zeal drove them to make pretty horrendous mistakes, and the empire fully took advantage. Attacking across a strait. Reinforcing losing battles in the centre (I know that one personally each time I don't merge a stack before squashing revolts. Damn, that can get nasty. As the Catholics proved here.) All moves contributing to the Crusaders' coming defeat, it seems.
The Crusaders' false zeal drove them to make pretty horrendous mistakes, and the empire fully took advantage. Attacking across a strait. Reinforcing losing battles in the centre (I know that one personally each time I don't merge a stack before squashing revolts. Damn, that can get nasty. As the Catholics proved here.) All moves contributing to the Crusaders' coming defeat, it seems.
One day, all relics of Christedom will be reunited. One day.
Without the Fourth Crusade to doom the Empire to its destruction, who knows what the future may hold? The danger of desintegration is gone, the worst case scenario is...
Hmh. Now that I think about it, losing Anatolia and Armenia again would be devastating. At least its not Constantinople, I guess.
O STAVROS NIKÀ! The empire prevails! Though with the mutilation of the bishop of Rome probably shattered any hopes of reconciliation for both Catholics and Orthodox forever. No matter, it is good to see the Hungarians being good allies, if you intend to make the West pay for their foolishness I would suggest helping them out. Also that Gambargin art was a nice touch, I see you're a man of culture as well
Haha! The light of Roman Civilization stands as a beacon of hope in the middle of a world gone mad! Hungary and the Empire are quite a good duo, specially against the western powers. And be sure the West will pay; after all, Constantinople will need to recover the Western Isles abandoned during the Crusade. War with Tolousse, Genoa and Pisa is inevitable.
While the situation was pretty infuriating, Basileus Belisarios did not want such thing; the Pope had condemned the crusaders, excommunicating most of them for attacking Constantinople while Jerusalem was fighting a Seljuk invasion. Now, their cause got legitimized by the tragic end of the Holy Father. Expect no help from the West... or worse!
Coordination, discipline and resilience. Taking advantage of the terrain definitely won the Crusade. Blocking the Italy-Epirus route forced them to walk through Hungary or use boats, which made their hundred of thousands of troops suffer to attrition and to walk back a lot once I defeated their stacks! Catholic Europe fought bravely, but nothing can beat the Roman armies...! Or, well, the warscore I got by taking Rome.
___________________________________
Next episode will come this weekend, so watch out for the end of the First Roman Total War! Thanks for reading and commenting NABAAR, see you soon here or in your AARs!
A really nice read this! With the East and West at odds now, it might be time to reconsider Roman policy towards the Kingdom of Napels. Connecting the 2 Roman outposts in the boot would grant more bufferspace in case of a future Crusade aiming a ending the Schism in the Wests favour
Episode 8 - "War and Loss" (1227-1233)
1227 - 1233
Episode Eight
- By Simulyaton -
____________________
"WAR AND LOSS"
____________________
With the Crusader army at Phillipolis rising a white flag, demoralized with the news coming from Rome, victory was assured on the West. Bells all over the Aegean and Asia Minor announced the defeat of the Pope's zealous barbarians, and their retreat back to their petty kingdoms built over the ruins of the old Empire.
Having resisted the biggest clash between two different types of Christianity, Christedom lied divided. Catholicism was defeated, and the Orthodox Church of Constatinople had also managed to strengthen its hold over Hungary, fueling new hopes about the future all over the The City. But, as the Barbaric West had been pushed back, the Muslim East had used the Fourth Crusade as an excuse to intervene and invade Syria and Anatolia.
Still, Belisarios knew that even if the fight wasn't over, his Empire needed a boost in morale, something that could maintain the populace mobilized for war. After all, the victory against the Crusaders wasn't without its cost in lives and territories.
The now fully independent Italian Republics, together with the duchies of Fiorenze, Milano, and Modena, were the real victors of the failed crusade. The Hungarian Invasion of Austria, the Crusade, and the sheer incompetence of current Emperor Georg Dunin had been enough to let all of Italy be freed from German rule. While the peninsula was nominally still vassal of the Germanic Emperor, no one really cared about any order coming from over the Alps.
But disaster at the Crusade, a campaign where Emperor Centule of Tolousse had invested ten of thousands of men and uncountable wealth, had recently sparkled the First Toloussan Civil War. Interestingly enough, most of the revolt came from the French half of the realm, while Hispania mainly supported the Centule, son of Philippe. Not few feared, and others claimed, for a partition of a country too big to manage for a single man, or family.
With the Imperial Fleet overwhelmed and called back to the Aegean, the Republics had seized the Western Isles from the Exarchate of Sicily: The Balearic Islands and Corsica were now under the Genoese, and Pisa controlled the entirety of Sardinia. Sicily was the westernmost post of Constantinople, severely limiting the imperial influence in the Western Mediterranean, but at least that was less sea to cover and more navy to focus on the Fatimid Caliphate.
The Empire had to recover before coming back to the West. For one day, Constantinople would cheer its heroes against the Catholic Onslaught.
As armies crossed the Golden Gate of the Theodosian Walls, the Basileus and Basilissa were leading the march through the city before finishing the Triumph at the Hippodrome, holding their hands in front of an ecstatic public. Following them, the Sicilian Thema, conquerors of Rome and punishers of the heretic Pope. Then, the Adriatic Thema, famous defenders of Avlona, the Shield of Greece, to whom the people threw flowers and gifts in their path. Many more followed, all greeted as heroes of the Empire.
Such celebrations would not last, though, as when the final prayer at the Hippodrome ended, the armies were directed towards the docks: Anatolia had to be saved again from the sword of the Infidel.
With direct support of the Karabisianoi, the reorganized army was divided in two; two would march directly to the heart of the peninsula, striking at the enemy's forces besieging the local fortress of Amorion. The other half would march to Tarsos and destroy the armies holding the Taurus mountains, blocking the entrance and pushing back the invader to Syria.
The Imperial iron would soon find its enemies, and strike with force.
Surprised to see the full push of the Roman troops fighting the Jihads through Anatolia, the Shia and Sunni began to retreat, trying to consolidate their conquests. Basileus Belisarios wasn't going to accept that, and its Themas, still divided, were deployed to two fronts: The Armenian frontier, where they would finally crush the last of the Rum Sultanate, and the Syrian border, in a more defensive fashion, as Queen Asa of Jerusalem still waged war against the Seljuks.
- Hungarian forces were also sent to defend the Antiochian Theme -
- The current warscore. After the Fourth Crusade, I dismissed
my levies and declared war against Rum and the Seljuks -
Hiding away on the fortress of Mokvi, Sultan Togay -last of those who disrespectfully called themselves "Rumites" after Manzikert- waited for the troops of Belisarios to arrive. There, without any compasion, he would be executed and the remains of his realm given to King Ber Bagrationi of Georgia. finally restoring most of the old Kingdom.
Tbisili would receive that year a generous gift from the Imperial Treasury, hoping to restore the city and its churches to their former selves before the devastation brought by the Turks.
But even as Rum had been annhiliated, war still raged on the border. With the muslim troops retreating, and a series of easily won battles, Anatolia, Armenia and Syria were firmly back in Roman hands.
News would quickly arrive from Jerusalem, as the Roman offensive on Georgian soil had surprised the Seljuk Sultanate. With neither side winning, Queen Asa demanded a white peace, an offer that Sultan Ahmad II could not refuse as Constantinople's troops were getting dangerously closer to Azerbaijan, next to Persian lands and core of his power.
The trauma of his defeat in Nisibin still haunted him, and if he showed incompetence by losing even more land to the Greeks his rule could be questioned by his men.
As the eastern borders were restored, a messanger arrived at Belisarios' camp in Edessa. This time, he didn't carry any good news about victories, but a disgrace.
Dear sister Euphemia Palaiologos, Queen of Greater Hungary, had died on her sleep.
This struck Belisarios harshly, as the Basileus didn't want to leave his tent for days. He had just recovered his mother, which he had only seen once, after the Triumph, but somehow destiny always found a way to keep those who he loved away. Euphemia, sister, friend, and maybe even more mother to him than Fevronia, was gone.
After all, he was the youngest one of his siblings. Belisarios, still grieving, finally opened his tent and marched with his troops, this time much quieter than before. Death seemed to be something common these days, and he couldn't stop thinking who would be next.
At least something good would happen the next days: Sultan Ahmad II sent an offer of peace, letting Basileus Belisarios keep all of their gains in Georgia in exchange of peace. Belisarios simply accepted, without any celebration.
Enemies of the Empire would quickly start to fall apart, one by one, as the final battle of the Shia Jihad happened in Margat, near Tortosa, where the Fatimids weren't able to hold the Roman march to stop them once again.
With the Fatimids finally defeated, only the Sunni threat remained, even if it was the weakest one. Almost none of their leaders had joined their Caliph, a man without influence inside the Seljuk Sultanate, so there weren't big battles to expect of victories to celebrate. With that situation, Belisarios decided to go back to Constantinople, leaving the Armenian Exarch in charge of the local defenses.
When Belisarios reached the city of Ikonion, another devastating letter arrived to his hands: His brother, Lazaros, the one with whom he had grown and become a man, had died of poor health. The weather in Jerusalem seemed to be much more dry than in the coasts of the Marmara Sea, and so he died without giving any heir to Queen Asa. Even if Lazaros proved to be useless for the entirety of his life, Belisarios still loved him, and his mourning only got worse.
Queen Asa would not accept any other new wedding offer. Somehow it seemed that she had learned to love Lazaros, and wanted to mourn him for a long time.
Eventually, on September 14, all wars would be over. This time there wasn't a big clash, or a dramactic event that would shatter the bonds between civilizations, but only a silent and quiet descent to peace.
Truly, the Sunni efforts to take Armenia could be summarized in one word: Pathetic.
Another Triumph would be organized at the capital, this time without an Emperor to lead it. Troops would march to the Hippodrome, but even the public wasn't that cheering this time. Now, with the war over and the big battles behind, an exhausted Empire realized their new position in the world.
Their links with the West, shattered. Fewer merchants arrived every day, and the Silk Road's goods started to prefer the Outremer route through Jerusalem. The Western Isles, where many had investments and trade posts with Hispania and France, were lost to the greedy Italian Republics. Some regions of Anatolia had been devastated once again, and the Eastern border had been seemed to be vulnerable after the Restoration. While Hungary was a loyal ally of the Church and the Empire, the death of Queen Euphemia Palaiologos had inevitably weakened the bonds between the two nations. Jerusalem had forgotten about the alliance with Constantinople, feeling strong enough to survive on their own, and having survived a Seljuk invasion by their own certainly proved their point.
Belisarios would look from one of the Great Palace's balconies, holding a poetry book with his hand, before going back to his mother's room, where she spent most of her time. Fevronia had an strange condition, not a disease but a general weakness contracted back in Chernigov. The Court Physician said that there was no cure and that, having lived to be 74 years old, Fevronia was the oldest person he had ever met. She didn't have much time left, though.
There, sitting at the end of her bed, Belisarios would spend entire days telling stories to his mother, always with a mild smile on his face. While both were grieving by the loss of Lazaros and Euphemia, they were together at long last. The Basileus would formally present his family, with a serene Basilissa Eudokia presenting one by one their five proud children, bringing tears to Fevronia's eyes: After all those years. she was finally at home.
The Empire had just started to recover from Crusades and Jihads. From Sicily to Anatolia, families were brought together by loss, starting to rebuild their lives. Refugees from the Western Isles found refuge in Sicily, and the Georgian Diaspora was over, with thousands moving back to the lands of their ancestors. The Imperial Fleet had been relocated to the Eastern Mediterranean, where the Muslim raids had completely stopped thanks to Jerusalem attacking Egypt, giving the Empire a moment to catch its breath.
_____________________________________________________________________
After eight years of Total War, Rome was at peace.
With all threats neutralized, who else would dare to defy Constantinople?
The Empire had secured at least one other century of existence.
All their known world's rivals defeated, standing strong like the times of old!
The light of Rome shined from the Queen of Cities as a beacon of hope...
Like a lighthouse next to an indomitable storm.
__________________________________________________________________
STATE OF THE WORLD
1233 AD
_____________
Episode Eight
- By Simulyaton -
____________________
"WAR AND LOSS"
____________________
With the Crusader army at Phillipolis rising a white flag, demoralized with the news coming from Rome, victory was assured on the West. Bells all over the Aegean and Asia Minor announced the defeat of the Pope's zealous barbarians, and their retreat back to their petty kingdoms built over the ruins of the old Empire.
Having resisted the biggest clash between two different types of Christianity, Christedom lied divided. Catholicism was defeated, and the Orthodox Church of Constatinople had also managed to strengthen its hold over Hungary, fueling new hopes about the future all over the The City. But, as the Barbaric West had been pushed back, the Muslim East had used the Fourth Crusade as an excuse to intervene and invade Syria and Anatolia.
Still, Belisarios knew that even if the fight wasn't over, his Empire needed a boost in morale, something that could maintain the populace mobilized for war. After all, the victory against the Crusaders wasn't without its cost in lives and territories.
The now fully independent Italian Republics, together with the duchies of Fiorenze, Milano, and Modena, were the real victors of the failed crusade. The Hungarian Invasion of Austria, the Crusade, and the sheer incompetence of current Emperor Georg Dunin had been enough to let all of Italy be freed from German rule. While the peninsula was nominally still vassal of the Germanic Emperor, no one really cared about any order coming from over the Alps.
But disaster at the Crusade, a campaign where Emperor Centule of Tolousse had invested ten of thousands of men and uncountable wealth, had recently sparkled the First Toloussan Civil War. Interestingly enough, most of the revolt came from the French half of the realm, while Hispania mainly supported the Centule, son of Philippe. Not few feared, and others claimed, for a partition of a country too big to manage for a single man, or family.
With the Imperial Fleet overwhelmed and called back to the Aegean, the Republics had seized the Western Isles from the Exarchate of Sicily: The Balearic Islands and Corsica were now under the Genoese, and Pisa controlled the entirety of Sardinia. Sicily was the westernmost post of Constantinople, severely limiting the imperial influence in the Western Mediterranean, but at least that was less sea to cover and more navy to focus on the Fatimid Caliphate.
The Empire had to recover before coming back to the West. For one day, Constantinople would cheer its heroes against the Catholic Onslaught.
As armies crossed the Golden Gate of the Theodosian Walls, the Basileus and Basilissa were leading the march through the city before finishing the Triumph at the Hippodrome, holding their hands in front of an ecstatic public. Following them, the Sicilian Thema, conquerors of Rome and punishers of the heretic Pope. Then, the Adriatic Thema, famous defenders of Avlona, the Shield of Greece, to whom the people threw flowers and gifts in their path. Many more followed, all greeted as heroes of the Empire.
Such celebrations would not last, though, as when the final prayer at the Hippodrome ended, the armies were directed towards the docks: Anatolia had to be saved again from the sword of the Infidel.
With direct support of the Karabisianoi, the reorganized army was divided in two; two would march directly to the heart of the peninsula, striking at the enemy's forces besieging the local fortress of Amorion. The other half would march to Tarsos and destroy the armies holding the Taurus mountains, blocking the entrance and pushing back the invader to Syria.
The Imperial iron would soon find its enemies, and strike with force.
Surprised to see the full push of the Roman troops fighting the Jihads through Anatolia, the Shia and Sunni began to retreat, trying to consolidate their conquests. Basileus Belisarios wasn't going to accept that, and its Themas, still divided, were deployed to two fronts: The Armenian frontier, where they would finally crush the last of the Rum Sultanate, and the Syrian border, in a more defensive fashion, as Queen Asa of Jerusalem still waged war against the Seljuks.
- Hungarian forces were also sent to defend the Antiochian Theme -
- The current warscore. After the Fourth Crusade, I dismissed
my levies and declared war against Rum and the Seljuks -
Hiding away on the fortress of Mokvi, Sultan Togay -last of those who disrespectfully called themselves "Rumites" after Manzikert- waited for the troops of Belisarios to arrive. There, without any compasion, he would be executed and the remains of his realm given to King Ber Bagrationi of Georgia. finally restoring most of the old Kingdom.
Tbisili would receive that year a generous gift from the Imperial Treasury, hoping to restore the city and its churches to their former selves before the devastation brought by the Turks.
But even as Rum had been annhiliated, war still raged on the border. With the muslim troops retreating, and a series of easily won battles, Anatolia, Armenia and Syria were firmly back in Roman hands.
News would quickly arrive from Jerusalem, as the Roman offensive on Georgian soil had surprised the Seljuk Sultanate. With neither side winning, Queen Asa demanded a white peace, an offer that Sultan Ahmad II could not refuse as Constantinople's troops were getting dangerously closer to Azerbaijan, next to Persian lands and core of his power.
The trauma of his defeat in Nisibin still haunted him, and if he showed incompetence by losing even more land to the Greeks his rule could be questioned by his men.
As the eastern borders were restored, a messanger arrived at Belisarios' camp in Edessa. This time, he didn't carry any good news about victories, but a disgrace.
Dear sister Euphemia Palaiologos, Queen of Greater Hungary, had died on her sleep.
This struck Belisarios harshly, as the Basileus didn't want to leave his tent for days. He had just recovered his mother, which he had only seen once, after the Triumph, but somehow destiny always found a way to keep those who he loved away. Euphemia, sister, friend, and maybe even more mother to him than Fevronia, was gone.
After all, he was the youngest one of his siblings. Belisarios, still grieving, finally opened his tent and marched with his troops, this time much quieter than before. Death seemed to be something common these days, and he couldn't stop thinking who would be next.
At least something good would happen the next days: Sultan Ahmad II sent an offer of peace, letting Basileus Belisarios keep all of their gains in Georgia in exchange of peace. Belisarios simply accepted, without any celebration.
Enemies of the Empire would quickly start to fall apart, one by one, as the final battle of the Shia Jihad happened in Margat, near Tortosa, where the Fatimids weren't able to hold the Roman march to stop them once again.
With the Fatimids finally defeated, only the Sunni threat remained, even if it was the weakest one. Almost none of their leaders had joined their Caliph, a man without influence inside the Seljuk Sultanate, so there weren't big battles to expect of victories to celebrate. With that situation, Belisarios decided to go back to Constantinople, leaving the Armenian Exarch in charge of the local defenses.
When Belisarios reached the city of Ikonion, another devastating letter arrived to his hands: His brother, Lazaros, the one with whom he had grown and become a man, had died of poor health. The weather in Jerusalem seemed to be much more dry than in the coasts of the Marmara Sea, and so he died without giving any heir to Queen Asa. Even if Lazaros proved to be useless for the entirety of his life, Belisarios still loved him, and his mourning only got worse.
Queen Asa would not accept any other new wedding offer. Somehow it seemed that she had learned to love Lazaros, and wanted to mourn him for a long time.
Eventually, on September 14, all wars would be over. This time there wasn't a big clash, or a dramactic event that would shatter the bonds between civilizations, but only a silent and quiet descent to peace.
Truly, the Sunni efforts to take Armenia could be summarized in one word: Pathetic.
Another Triumph would be organized at the capital, this time without an Emperor to lead it. Troops would march to the Hippodrome, but even the public wasn't that cheering this time. Now, with the war over and the big battles behind, an exhausted Empire realized their new position in the world.
Their links with the West, shattered. Fewer merchants arrived every day, and the Silk Road's goods started to prefer the Outremer route through Jerusalem. The Western Isles, where many had investments and trade posts with Hispania and France, were lost to the greedy Italian Republics. Some regions of Anatolia had been devastated once again, and the Eastern border had been seemed to be vulnerable after the Restoration. While Hungary was a loyal ally of the Church and the Empire, the death of Queen Euphemia Palaiologos had inevitably weakened the bonds between the two nations. Jerusalem had forgotten about the alliance with Constantinople, feeling strong enough to survive on their own, and having survived a Seljuk invasion by their own certainly proved their point.
Belisarios would look from one of the Great Palace's balconies, holding a poetry book with his hand, before going back to his mother's room, where she spent most of her time. Fevronia had an strange condition, not a disease but a general weakness contracted back in Chernigov. The Court Physician said that there was no cure and that, having lived to be 74 years old, Fevronia was the oldest person he had ever met. She didn't have much time left, though.
There, sitting at the end of her bed, Belisarios would spend entire days telling stories to his mother, always with a mild smile on his face. While both were grieving by the loss of Lazaros and Euphemia, they were together at long last. The Basileus would formally present his family, with a serene Basilissa Eudokia presenting one by one their five proud children, bringing tears to Fevronia's eyes: After all those years. she was finally at home.
The Empire had just started to recover from Crusades and Jihads. From Sicily to Anatolia, families were brought together by loss, starting to rebuild their lives. Refugees from the Western Isles found refuge in Sicily, and the Georgian Diaspora was over, with thousands moving back to the lands of their ancestors. The Imperial Fleet had been relocated to the Eastern Mediterranean, where the Muslim raids had completely stopped thanks to Jerusalem attacking Egypt, giving the Empire a moment to catch its breath.
_____________________________________________________________________
After eight years of Total War, Rome was at peace.
With all threats neutralized, who else would dare to defy Constantinople?
The Empire had secured at least one other century of existence.
All their known world's rivals defeated, standing strong like the times of old!
The light of Rome shined from the Queen of Cities as a beacon of hope...
Like a lighthouse next to an indomitable storm.
__________________________________________________________________
STATE OF THE WORLD
1233 AD
_____________
Oof! This was a busy week! In contrast, this was a boring war! Come on, Caliphs, I expected more resistance. I guess that, if we compare fighting all of Europe at once v/s the Fatimids and some minor Sunni emirs, there wasn't much to ask for. Still, it was a long war on the East, its a shame that it took too much and nothing of interest happened.
... well, nothing on the Empire's surroundings *Looks over Cumania...*
But that's for the next episode! Sorry if this one is short, but besides the deaths and Jihads there wasn't much to write about. I spent some time making Italy independent and giving them their own Kingdom tier titles, so they could stay independent more easily! I may change some colors in the future, though.
At least after this EP Byzantium is in one piece...! Kind of.
Thanks for reading!
... well, nothing on the Empire's surroundings *Looks over Cumania...*
But that's for the next episode! Sorry if this one is short, but besides the deaths and Jihads there wasn't much to write about. I spent some time making Italy independent and giving them their own Kingdom tier titles, so they could stay independent more easily! I may change some colors in the future, though.
At least after this EP Byzantium is in one piece...! Kind of.
Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
Byzantium survived the war!Yay!
But a storm is coming from the East.The Mongols are coming...
But a storm is coming from the East.The Mongols are coming...
Glory to the Basileus! Truly did he live up to his namesake, though it's sad to see family pass on, hopefully it is but a setback. Grim tidings indeed are on the horizon if Temujin's horde finally come knocking. Hopefully the Basileus is still at helm by then, the Empire's gonna need to recover after all that war.
As Europe begins to dream again, a nightmare is about to awaken terror in the hearts of men.
Temujin is coming.
Temujin is coming.
Weathered the storm, but will they have enough time to prepare the next inevitable onslaught?
I think that now the Germans were expelled from Italy, the time has come for a new Belisarius to reclaim rome and the whole peninsula
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I just caught up with the latest chapter.. Frankly, this looks like a lull before a bigger storm.
Compared to the Crusade, the Jihads were no threat and actually enabled expansion for the empire. It looks like the only Muslims to actually pose a threat are the Seljuks - as long as they aren't busy elsewhere.
Now that the Italians have achieved their goals (in some way), the threat of another crusade may be averted for good though. The threatened position of Jerusalem, even more so without marriage ties to Constantinople, should direct the papal attention elsewhere, when there is no Italian influence aiming against the empire.
Now that the Italians have achieved their goals (in some way), the threat of another crusade may be averted for good though. The threatened position of Jerusalem, even more so without marriage ties to Constantinople, should direct the papal attention elsewhere, when there is no Italian influence aiming against the empire.
Episode 9 - "Great Legends" (1233-1238)
1233 - 1238
Episode Nine
______________________
GREAT LEGENDS
________________
The year was 1234. On January, Basileus Belisarios demanded a complete report on the current state of the Empire. With peace finally achieved, the Great Palace had the responsability to coordinate the reconstruction efforts.
The newly reborn kingdom of Georgia was the region that needed the most resources, specially after their first king in a century, King Ber Bagrationi, had recently died, leaving his young daughter at the front of a ruined realm. As Queen Sanatha rose to the throne, her main objective was to conserve the Bagrationi dynasty; it was not only because of her family, but the name was a symbol and practically a synonym of Georgia. Without them, her kingdom would probably become one more of the Roman provinces.
While she was very grateful with Constantinople's help and financial support, she did not wanted to see her people forget their costumes and traditions. After all, their were proud, and even after the fall of the kingdom they had endured. While she and her successors were under oath of eternal loyalty to the Basileus, Georgia would keep their status as Kingdom, an ally inside the Empire's borders.
Fully aware of this situation, Belisarios took a look at his treasury; to be honest, it was almost empty. Having the army raised for eight uninterrupted years, paying mercenaries and supporting those suffering for the war had used 90% of the Empire's treasure. But even as resources were limited, Georgia needed to be completely restructured to be compatible with the Imperial Roads, and their people undoubtedly had suffered the most. Two ships loaded with gold, wood, grain and engineers were sent to the ports of Guria, where they would be administered by the Queen's council.
- And so, my monetary reserves went down to 122g -
Overseeing the reconstruction of the fortresses along the Danube, and the slow but secure construction of a bastion of defense in Belgrade -after all, most of the Crusades came from that route-, Belisarios Palaiologos called some merchants, engineers and administrators to help him rebuild the damaged infrastructure. There was an especial subject that worried the Basileus: After so much war, the cities in Anatolia had become deserted, mostly ruins of the old great centers of trade and administration they once were. Constantinople had received thousands of Anatolian citizens, refugees after a century of warfare, but now that the situation had stabilized and the failed Jihads had proved the Empire's firm hold over Asia Minor, plans had to be made to recover the heart of the Eastern Rome.
Names like Ancyra, Smyrna, Dorylaeum, Attaleia, Iconium, Tarsus, Caesarea, Trapezeus and Sinope were put over the table as the future great cities of Anatolia, along with a new set of roads that would directly connect Anatolia back to Nikomedeia on the West, and Antioch in the East. A smaller road would lead to Georgia, but that wasn't the priority, as the Caucasus seemed well protected, and the turmoil over the Khanate of Cumania -specially after a new conversion to the Orthodoxy and an unknown war- had distracted the horse lords enough to not pay attention to them. After all, there was an entire mountain range that divided and sheltered the region.
But as the reconstruction took place on every province touched by the Total War, an activity that managed to distract Belisarios from his family's losses, he got a new report from the Theme of Antioch: The Exarch had died, and the Emperor needed to name a new one on his stead. The problem was that, whoever wrote that message, didn't realize the Exarch of Antioch was Belisarios' brother, Markos Palaiologos.
Already depressed, Belisarios went back to his room, only leaving it to see his bedridden mother. While the Imperial bureaucracy managed the reconstruction, the Basileus spent his time writing poems, for himself, his wife and children, brothers, sisters, and mother. Soon, somehow, these poems would see the light, and the public would start reading and reciting Belisarios' poems on the streets. The words of an Emperor, as great as legend but human as his citizens, one suffering from the loss of his family as much as the rest of the Empire. Truly, the Basileus was the reflection of the state of Rome, and Rome of the Basileus: capable of suffering, but standing strong against the foe.
With poems and songs, the name of Belisarios became a common word in every Roman home. Tales of his battles, his military genius, and fervor to protect the Roman Civilization were widespread, reaching far beyond its borders. The figure of the Basileus could be feared and hated on the West, but none could question his image, fairly won through wars against the world.
The legend of Belisarios didn't give much hope to the Cumanian Khanate, though. Thinking that converting to Christianity would mean some kind of foreign support, Khagan Blush "the Bane of Perm" Thocomer had been baptized but got no crown, neither from Constantinople or Rome. An impopular movement, dividing his support base among the lesser khans under his banner, having convinced half of them to convert as well. Such division came at the worst time possible.
Descending from the far eastern steppes, the Mongol Horde had sacked and burned everything on its path. The northern silk route, completely disrrupted, was empty and dead. Then, withouth further notice, ten of thousands of horses invaded Cumania, one wave after another. The now christian Khagan asked for help, but few even wanted to hear the words of what seemed to be a "practical christian". Only Chernigov, one of the last Rus realms, offerend his help, but nothing could be done against the power of Temujin.
Few months later Saray, the Khanate's capital, was engulfed by flames, and the surviving Cumans fleeing west of the Volga river, the temporary border between Christedom and the Steppes' Rage. The Empire, focused on its recovering, had little clue about what was coming.
In the South, Queen Asa of Jerusalem observed the Shia Jihad against Constantinople, and after winning the Seljuk Invasion, she quickly moved her armies to Egypt: This was an opportunity Jerusalem couldn't throw away, as its survival depended of two fronts: the Imperial north, and Shia Egypt. Crossing the Sinai peninsula, the Outremer forces arrived in Egypt, bringing the cross and sword to the Nile. Soon, Egypt ended up crippled, beign invaded by minor Outermer lords and the Christian Sultanate of Morocco.
- The Partition of the Fatimid Caliphate, part one -
Queen Asa would not stop there, and once her armies were victorious, she sent a message all over her kingdom. Any piece of information about the Hashashin would be generously payed by the throne. Sooner than later, Queen Asa herself was besieging the last Hashashin stronghold and would disperse the infamous sect, this time for good.
Instead, in Constantinople a great game of strategy had taken place in the Great Palace. After a meeting with every single Exarch, Belisarios invited them all to a session of "Warlords", a simulation of war. After an improvised tournament, Belisarios would end up winning using an historical strategy; Cannae. While not many were instructed in history, fewer were surprised that the Basileus ended up winning. Maybe there was no doubt of this strategy genius, or no one wanted to win against the current Basileus.
A couple of weeks later, a grand ceremony was held in Hagia Sophia, honoring the fallen soldiers and officers, with special mention of Prince Gennadios and Exarch Polykarpos of Epirus. Wives and mothers from all the Empire were invited to honor their fallen husbands and sons, a necessary action to heal the wounds of Byzantium after the devastating war. But, as Basileus and Basilissa appeared at the Cathedral, they felt the rage and sorrow of all those women and children, looking for the responsable of their loss and finding it on their Emperors. This sight would not leave the mind of Belisarios, who already endured a hard depression. Bad dreams haunted him at night, seeing those eyes full of fury.
That, until one day Belisarios said enough. He couldn't live with regret, specially knowing that he was, directly or not, responsable for thousands of deaths but also the one that kept the Empire in one piece. There was no time to waste on such thoughts, after all, people died every day. One way or another, he was always going to be guilty of something, and someone would want him dead. The life of an Emperor, he guessed.
The next months would not be better. The Imperial Republic of Cherson, enjoying their special status inside the Empire, always had influence inside the Imperial Court, and now they were insisting on getting an interview with the Basileus' Council. The merchants, who controlled all of the Black Sea's trade, demanded explanations of why the silk route -one of their main sources of income- was void of any traveler. As the Sakellarios rolled his eyes, he said that explanations were many: italian merchants prioritizing the Jerusalemite routes, and maybe even boycotting the Roman ones. Maybe Cumania was having another war with itself, or their supposed conversion was getting resistance from their populace, who really knew?
But then, everything was interrupted when a messanger arrived: "Movement in the Seljuk border!" he warned. Everyone present opened their eyes, thinking that another invasion of Armenia had begun, but no. This time, the Seljuks were marching East...
For the first time, the Empire's attention started believing the strange rumors about this savage horde, worse than the Seljuks in every way. These supposed "Mongols" were being described as the Huns, this time being led by someone called "Genghis Khan" or something like that instead of an Attila. Their momentum seemed unstoppable, and their were pushing and absorbing more and more tribes once they expanded West. Stories even said that the Mongols were invading the mythical Sinae, an Empire as big as classical Rome, something that could seem silly for some before Manzikert; the horse lords were not a joke, everyone knew that now.
Still, as mythical that it could be, Sinae existed. There were records, although lost in the Imperial Archives, about embassies sent to the Far East, and letters exchanged between the sovereigns of the two grandest empires of this world. The Palaiologan Dynasty, focused on the Reconquest of Anatolia and stability, had not sent any explorer or merchant to bring word from the counter-Rome, and this was the first new they got from them in centuries. Sinae, under the Song dynasty, wasn't interested on the matters of Daqin, or Fulin as they called Rome; after all, they weren't so powerful as before.
Curious about the news of this new menace, and the situation of the Seljuks and Sinae but still not convinced, Belisarios spent more time outside of the Palace. Wrinting new poems in his garden gave him some fresh air, suddenly deciding to help the gardener, a citizen that never expected to exchange word with the sovereign of Constantinople. There, between notes, words, simple conversations, and some plant watering, Belisarios started to feel better, renewed.
Maybe the garden was a metaphor for the Empire? Some plants had to die to let new ones take their place, growing over a richer soil thanks to its predecessor. With water, well taken care soil, and a permanent tending, the gardens of the Great Palace were greener than before. Basileus Belisarios thanked the good gardener, raised his payment, and decided to take back the reins of goverment.
Hearing about the death of Emperor Centule of Tolousse, a controversial ruler but without a doubt a powerful one after crushing revolt after revolt, he sent a delegation to the West, offering to restore relations between the two powers after the "unfortunate" clash between West and East. In exchange, the young heir could marry one of the daughters of Belisarios, Barbara Palaiologos, to cement the good will between the two of them.
Young Emperior Helia quickly accepted.
Finally, on June 10 of 1236, the long wait would end. Fevronia of Smolensk, wife and mother of Emperors, would die peacefully on her bed, surrounded with their loved ones. Basileus Belisarios would read one last poem to her before saying good bye, this time with a smile in his face instead of tears. He had been lucky to see his mother after so much time, and even more to have her at his side for some extra years: truly, the Lord was generous.
She would be quietly buried after a private ceremony, with the Ecumenical Patriach doing the rites. A good woman, victim of time and mood of past emperors since her husband's death, had passed away.
If Belisarios learnt something with this journey about death, reunions, and funerals, was that family mattered. As the son of a Saint, he knew that from his teenage years.
But what about before that?
What about before Nikephoros the Just, the first Palaiologos recored in History?
What about the blood he shared with the ancient past?
A general order was sent to the Library of Constantinople, the last of the Great Libraries of the past. Half of the scholars there were put to study every detail, every sign of history of the Palaiologan dynasty before they rose to the throne. Not much could be found, but a young monk brought a strange but interesting possibility to Belisarios: Considering the region where the Palaiologos were born, and how their ancestors had moved mainly through Greece and Anatolia, they could surely be linked to one of the old families before the Roman Empire -after all, such noble blood had to descend from another equally noble-. Maybe one of the Diadochi? Or maybe...
More pressing news interrupted the quiet but busy library. A league for independence had declared war to the Khan of Cumania... and Genghis Khan had declared war on them as well.
After so much time and rumors, the Mongols were coming to the Empire. The League would quickly desintegrate in fear, and the Khagan of Cumania demand for peace agains the Mongols. Genghis Khan, laughing, accepted, and moved his armies to the East, dealing with the surviving realms of Central Asia.
Belisarios had no choice but abandon his quest for the history of his family, at least for one day. He quickly dispatched spies and explorers to the north, scouting to see if these "Mongols" really represented a threat. Then, he would come back to the library, and read books and scrolls along side the scholars.
As his search became more complicated, Belisarios began to question the need for this quest. Was it necessary? No, no really, he admited. But still, he was the Emperor, and the Empire was recovering by itself. There were no immediate threats, and he was personally responsable of taking the Empire into this new century. Why couldn't he do one thing he wanted? Lord, his Mother had died, and even if he had faced that fact in a serene way, he still needed some distraction to not think much on that. Depression wasn't the way, and he was convince about that.
The best soldiers of the Empire were assembled in a single company, and scholars and agents of the Bureau of Secrets were called for this mission: Alexander's remains had to be found. And it would.
Such decisions, and waste of resources began to cause unrest not only in the Council, but in the Queen of Cities too. From one moment to another, what seemed to be a capable and serious Basileus was seen as a madman, with people in the streets openly questioning the authority of the Palaiologos. Still, many remembered that he was the one who defended them, who saved them, who protected the Empire.
In reality, the death of his mother and siblings had struck him hard, and now that he turned 40, and then 41, he saw how his life was fleeing away. Belisarios needed something to be distracted, to feel that he was part of something greater, that... in one way, he would be immortal at the eyes of History.
Belisarios' image began to quickly deteriorate all over the Empire. Exarchs started to not obey direct orders from the Great Palace, as the Imperial Authority had quickly lost almost all respect. The poems were, admitely, weird at the beginning, but most of them were really good so the populace and the Imperial Administration admited it as the Emperor's hobby. Then, the garden, but at least that was confined inside the Great Palace. But now this insensate search for Alexander the Great's body? What kind of foolish quest was that?
Then, even the Ecumenical Patriach condemned, though quietly, the fact that an unknown body had been desecrated from its ancient tumb and brought into the Great Palace. This seemed more the doing of a bandit sacking tombs of kings! Maybe that was the body of a pagan, or infidel, but whatever examinations they were doing scratched the line of heresy.
Until, of course, all of them and the most impotant citizens of Constantinople were called to the Hippodrome. Soon, the world would see the truth.
The Palaiologoi were, without a doubt, sons of Alexander the Great, or at least thats what an army of scholars affirmed . Truth is that, according to newfound documents in the Library of Constantinople -some of them recovered from the burning ruins of the Library of Alexandria- Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great, was in fact not killed by the Diadochi Cassander, as the officer commanded to accomplish that mission, Glaucias, wanted to defend Alexander's legacy and helped the mother and boy escape the citadel of Amphipolis while tricking Cassander about their fate.
Free, but unable to reclaim his destiny, Alexander IV and his descendants would live west of Macedon, finally settling on Epirus, where they would grow to become local nobility, completely forgetting their ascendancy. Then, a millennium after that, they would adopt the name of "Palaiologos", and eventually take a throne befitting their blood.
But that wasn't enough for Belisarios and his ambition, no. He would go on, in front of his Palaiologoi bethren, and announce the birth of a new dynasty, one that would take the name of Alexander as an offering to past and future glories. His name -now Belisarios Argead- wasn't a coincidence, he said in front of thousands, promising the rebirth of the Empire, and a new age for Constantinople.
As a Palaiologos Basileus had rose to speak to his people, now Emperor Belisarius, first of his dynasty, went down the stairs as the public clapped in euphoria. But, as he faded into the Varangian Guard, the faces of the Palaiologoi turned red, full of fury and hatred against the one that dared to take the throne out of their name. Had victory against Crusaders and Muslims affected his mind? Was he another of those mad Emperors of Old Rome? Or was he so weak, that the death of some members of his family had ruined his common sense?
Treacherous whispers expanded through the city, each Palaiologoi thinking on their next move: After all, a Palaiologos had ruled Constantinople for the entirety of the XII century.
Why should the XIII be different?
______________________Episode Nine
______________________
GREAT LEGENDS
________________
The year was 1234. On January, Basileus Belisarios demanded a complete report on the current state of the Empire. With peace finally achieved, the Great Palace had the responsability to coordinate the reconstruction efforts.
The newly reborn kingdom of Georgia was the region that needed the most resources, specially after their first king in a century, King Ber Bagrationi, had recently died, leaving his young daughter at the front of a ruined realm. As Queen Sanatha rose to the throne, her main objective was to conserve the Bagrationi dynasty; it was not only because of her family, but the name was a symbol and practically a synonym of Georgia. Without them, her kingdom would probably become one more of the Roman provinces.
While she was very grateful with Constantinople's help and financial support, she did not wanted to see her people forget their costumes and traditions. After all, their were proud, and even after the fall of the kingdom they had endured. While she and her successors were under oath of eternal loyalty to the Basileus, Georgia would keep their status as Kingdom, an ally inside the Empire's borders.
Fully aware of this situation, Belisarios took a look at his treasury; to be honest, it was almost empty. Having the army raised for eight uninterrupted years, paying mercenaries and supporting those suffering for the war had used 90% of the Empire's treasure. But even as resources were limited, Georgia needed to be completely restructured to be compatible with the Imperial Roads, and their people undoubtedly had suffered the most. Two ships loaded with gold, wood, grain and engineers were sent to the ports of Guria, where they would be administered by the Queen's council.
- And so, my monetary reserves went down to 122g -
Overseeing the reconstruction of the fortresses along the Danube, and the slow but secure construction of a bastion of defense in Belgrade -after all, most of the Crusades came from that route-, Belisarios Palaiologos called some merchants, engineers and administrators to help him rebuild the damaged infrastructure. There was an especial subject that worried the Basileus: After so much war, the cities in Anatolia had become deserted, mostly ruins of the old great centers of trade and administration they once were. Constantinople had received thousands of Anatolian citizens, refugees after a century of warfare, but now that the situation had stabilized and the failed Jihads had proved the Empire's firm hold over Asia Minor, plans had to be made to recover the heart of the Eastern Rome.
Names like Ancyra, Smyrna, Dorylaeum, Attaleia, Iconium, Tarsus, Caesarea, Trapezeus and Sinope were put over the table as the future great cities of Anatolia, along with a new set of roads that would directly connect Anatolia back to Nikomedeia on the West, and Antioch in the East. A smaller road would lead to Georgia, but that wasn't the priority, as the Caucasus seemed well protected, and the turmoil over the Khanate of Cumania -specially after a new conversion to the Orthodoxy and an unknown war- had distracted the horse lords enough to not pay attention to them. After all, there was an entire mountain range that divided and sheltered the region.
But as the reconstruction took place on every province touched by the Total War, an activity that managed to distract Belisarios from his family's losses, he got a new report from the Theme of Antioch: The Exarch had died, and the Emperor needed to name a new one on his stead. The problem was that, whoever wrote that message, didn't realize the Exarch of Antioch was Belisarios' brother, Markos Palaiologos.
Already depressed, Belisarios went back to his room, only leaving it to see his bedridden mother. While the Imperial bureaucracy managed the reconstruction, the Basileus spent his time writing poems, for himself, his wife and children, brothers, sisters, and mother. Soon, somehow, these poems would see the light, and the public would start reading and reciting Belisarios' poems on the streets. The words of an Emperor, as great as legend but human as his citizens, one suffering from the loss of his family as much as the rest of the Empire. Truly, the Basileus was the reflection of the state of Rome, and Rome of the Basileus: capable of suffering, but standing strong against the foe.
With poems and songs, the name of Belisarios became a common word in every Roman home. Tales of his battles, his military genius, and fervor to protect the Roman Civilization were widespread, reaching far beyond its borders. The figure of the Basileus could be feared and hated on the West, but none could question his image, fairly won through wars against the world.
The legend of Belisarios didn't give much hope to the Cumanian Khanate, though. Thinking that converting to Christianity would mean some kind of foreign support, Khagan Blush "the Bane of Perm" Thocomer had been baptized but got no crown, neither from Constantinople or Rome. An impopular movement, dividing his support base among the lesser khans under his banner, having convinced half of them to convert as well. Such division came at the worst time possible.
Descending from the far eastern steppes, the Mongol Horde had sacked and burned everything on its path. The northern silk route, completely disrrupted, was empty and dead. Then, withouth further notice, ten of thousands of horses invaded Cumania, one wave after another. The now christian Khagan asked for help, but few even wanted to hear the words of what seemed to be a "practical christian". Only Chernigov, one of the last Rus realms, offerend his help, but nothing could be done against the power of Temujin.
Few months later Saray, the Khanate's capital, was engulfed by flames, and the surviving Cumans fleeing west of the Volga river, the temporary border between Christedom and the Steppes' Rage. The Empire, focused on its recovering, had little clue about what was coming.
In the South, Queen Asa of Jerusalem observed the Shia Jihad against Constantinople, and after winning the Seljuk Invasion, she quickly moved her armies to Egypt: This was an opportunity Jerusalem couldn't throw away, as its survival depended of two fronts: the Imperial north, and Shia Egypt. Crossing the Sinai peninsula, the Outremer forces arrived in Egypt, bringing the cross and sword to the Nile. Soon, Egypt ended up crippled, beign invaded by minor Outermer lords and the Christian Sultanate of Morocco.
- The Partition of the Fatimid Caliphate, part one -
Queen Asa would not stop there, and once her armies were victorious, she sent a message all over her kingdom. Any piece of information about the Hashashin would be generously payed by the throne. Sooner than later, Queen Asa herself was besieging the last Hashashin stronghold and would disperse the infamous sect, this time for good.
Instead, in Constantinople a great game of strategy had taken place in the Great Palace. After a meeting with every single Exarch, Belisarios invited them all to a session of "Warlords", a simulation of war. After an improvised tournament, Belisarios would end up winning using an historical strategy; Cannae. While not many were instructed in history, fewer were surprised that the Basileus ended up winning. Maybe there was no doubt of this strategy genius, or no one wanted to win against the current Basileus.
A couple of weeks later, a grand ceremony was held in Hagia Sophia, honoring the fallen soldiers and officers, with special mention of Prince Gennadios and Exarch Polykarpos of Epirus. Wives and mothers from all the Empire were invited to honor their fallen husbands and sons, a necessary action to heal the wounds of Byzantium after the devastating war. But, as Basileus and Basilissa appeared at the Cathedral, they felt the rage and sorrow of all those women and children, looking for the responsable of their loss and finding it on their Emperors. This sight would not leave the mind of Belisarios, who already endured a hard depression. Bad dreams haunted him at night, seeing those eyes full of fury.
That, until one day Belisarios said enough. He couldn't live with regret, specially knowing that he was, directly or not, responsable for thousands of deaths but also the one that kept the Empire in one piece. There was no time to waste on such thoughts, after all, people died every day. One way or another, he was always going to be guilty of something, and someone would want him dead. The life of an Emperor, he guessed.
The next months would not be better. The Imperial Republic of Cherson, enjoying their special status inside the Empire, always had influence inside the Imperial Court, and now they were insisting on getting an interview with the Basileus' Council. The merchants, who controlled all of the Black Sea's trade, demanded explanations of why the silk route -one of their main sources of income- was void of any traveler. As the Sakellarios rolled his eyes, he said that explanations were many: italian merchants prioritizing the Jerusalemite routes, and maybe even boycotting the Roman ones. Maybe Cumania was having another war with itself, or their supposed conversion was getting resistance from their populace, who really knew?
But then, everything was interrupted when a messanger arrived: "Movement in the Seljuk border!" he warned. Everyone present opened their eyes, thinking that another invasion of Armenia had begun, but no. This time, the Seljuks were marching East...
For the first time, the Empire's attention started believing the strange rumors about this savage horde, worse than the Seljuks in every way. These supposed "Mongols" were being described as the Huns, this time being led by someone called "Genghis Khan" or something like that instead of an Attila. Their momentum seemed unstoppable, and their were pushing and absorbing more and more tribes once they expanded West. Stories even said that the Mongols were invading the mythical Sinae, an Empire as big as classical Rome, something that could seem silly for some before Manzikert; the horse lords were not a joke, everyone knew that now.
Still, as mythical that it could be, Sinae existed. There were records, although lost in the Imperial Archives, about embassies sent to the Far East, and letters exchanged between the sovereigns of the two grandest empires of this world. The Palaiologan Dynasty, focused on the Reconquest of Anatolia and stability, had not sent any explorer or merchant to bring word from the counter-Rome, and this was the first new they got from them in centuries. Sinae, under the Song dynasty, wasn't interested on the matters of Daqin, or Fulin as they called Rome; after all, they weren't so powerful as before.
Curious about the news of this new menace, and the situation of the Seljuks and Sinae but still not convinced, Belisarios spent more time outside of the Palace. Wrinting new poems in his garden gave him some fresh air, suddenly deciding to help the gardener, a citizen that never expected to exchange word with the sovereign of Constantinople. There, between notes, words, simple conversations, and some plant watering, Belisarios started to feel better, renewed.
Maybe the garden was a metaphor for the Empire? Some plants had to die to let new ones take their place, growing over a richer soil thanks to its predecessor. With water, well taken care soil, and a permanent tending, the gardens of the Great Palace were greener than before. Basileus Belisarios thanked the good gardener, raised his payment, and decided to take back the reins of goverment.
Hearing about the death of Emperor Centule of Tolousse, a controversial ruler but without a doubt a powerful one after crushing revolt after revolt, he sent a delegation to the West, offering to restore relations between the two powers after the "unfortunate" clash between West and East. In exchange, the young heir could marry one of the daughters of Belisarios, Barbara Palaiologos, to cement the good will between the two of them.
Young Emperior Helia quickly accepted.
Finally, on June 10 of 1236, the long wait would end. Fevronia of Smolensk, wife and mother of Emperors, would die peacefully on her bed, surrounded with their loved ones. Basileus Belisarios would read one last poem to her before saying good bye, this time with a smile in his face instead of tears. He had been lucky to see his mother after so much time, and even more to have her at his side for some extra years: truly, the Lord was generous.
She would be quietly buried after a private ceremony, with the Ecumenical Patriach doing the rites. A good woman, victim of time and mood of past emperors since her husband's death, had passed away.
If Belisarios learnt something with this journey about death, reunions, and funerals, was that family mattered. As the son of a Saint, he knew that from his teenage years.
But what about before that?
What about before Nikephoros the Just, the first Palaiologos recored in History?
What about the blood he shared with the ancient past?
A general order was sent to the Library of Constantinople, the last of the Great Libraries of the past. Half of the scholars there were put to study every detail, every sign of history of the Palaiologan dynasty before they rose to the throne. Not much could be found, but a young monk brought a strange but interesting possibility to Belisarios: Considering the region where the Palaiologos were born, and how their ancestors had moved mainly through Greece and Anatolia, they could surely be linked to one of the old families before the Roman Empire -after all, such noble blood had to descend from another equally noble-. Maybe one of the Diadochi? Or maybe...
More pressing news interrupted the quiet but busy library. A league for independence had declared war to the Khan of Cumania... and Genghis Khan had declared war on them as well.
After so much time and rumors, the Mongols were coming to the Empire. The League would quickly desintegrate in fear, and the Khagan of Cumania demand for peace agains the Mongols. Genghis Khan, laughing, accepted, and moved his armies to the East, dealing with the surviving realms of Central Asia.
Belisarios had no choice but abandon his quest for the history of his family, at least for one day. He quickly dispatched spies and explorers to the north, scouting to see if these "Mongols" really represented a threat. Then, he would come back to the library, and read books and scrolls along side the scholars.
As his search became more complicated, Belisarios began to question the need for this quest. Was it necessary? No, no really, he admited. But still, he was the Emperor, and the Empire was recovering by itself. There were no immediate threats, and he was personally responsable of taking the Empire into this new century. Why couldn't he do one thing he wanted? Lord, his Mother had died, and even if he had faced that fact in a serene way, he still needed some distraction to not think much on that. Depression wasn't the way, and he was convince about that.
The best soldiers of the Empire were assembled in a single company, and scholars and agents of the Bureau of Secrets were called for this mission: Alexander's remains had to be found. And it would.
Such decisions, and waste of resources began to cause unrest not only in the Council, but in the Queen of Cities too. From one moment to another, what seemed to be a capable and serious Basileus was seen as a madman, with people in the streets openly questioning the authority of the Palaiologos. Still, many remembered that he was the one who defended them, who saved them, who protected the Empire.
In reality, the death of his mother and siblings had struck him hard, and now that he turned 40, and then 41, he saw how his life was fleeing away. Belisarios needed something to be distracted, to feel that he was part of something greater, that... in one way, he would be immortal at the eyes of History.
Belisarios' image began to quickly deteriorate all over the Empire. Exarchs started to not obey direct orders from the Great Palace, as the Imperial Authority had quickly lost almost all respect. The poems were, admitely, weird at the beginning, but most of them were really good so the populace and the Imperial Administration admited it as the Emperor's hobby. Then, the garden, but at least that was confined inside the Great Palace. But now this insensate search for Alexander the Great's body? What kind of foolish quest was that?
Then, even the Ecumenical Patriach condemned, though quietly, the fact that an unknown body had been desecrated from its ancient tumb and brought into the Great Palace. This seemed more the doing of a bandit sacking tombs of kings! Maybe that was the body of a pagan, or infidel, but whatever examinations they were doing scratched the line of heresy.
Until, of course, all of them and the most impotant citizens of Constantinople were called to the Hippodrome. Soon, the world would see the truth.
The Palaiologoi were, without a doubt, sons of Alexander the Great, or at least thats what an army of scholars affirmed . Truth is that, according to newfound documents in the Library of Constantinople -some of them recovered from the burning ruins of the Library of Alexandria- Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great, was in fact not killed by the Diadochi Cassander, as the officer commanded to accomplish that mission, Glaucias, wanted to defend Alexander's legacy and helped the mother and boy escape the citadel of Amphipolis while tricking Cassander about their fate.
Free, but unable to reclaim his destiny, Alexander IV and his descendants would live west of Macedon, finally settling on Epirus, where they would grow to become local nobility, completely forgetting their ascendancy. Then, a millennium after that, they would adopt the name of "Palaiologos", and eventually take a throne befitting their blood.
But that wasn't enough for Belisarios and his ambition, no. He would go on, in front of his Palaiologoi bethren, and announce the birth of a new dynasty, one that would take the name of Alexander as an offering to past and future glories. His name -now Belisarios Argead- wasn't a coincidence, he said in front of thousands, promising the rebirth of the Empire, and a new age for Constantinople.
As a Palaiologos Basileus had rose to speak to his people, now Emperor Belisarius, first of his dynasty, went down the stairs as the public clapped in euphoria. But, as he faded into the Varangian Guard, the faces of the Palaiologoi turned red, full of fury and hatred against the one that dared to take the throne out of their name. Had victory against Crusaders and Muslims affected his mind? Was he another of those mad Emperors of Old Rome? Or was he so weak, that the death of some members of his family had ruined his common sense?
Treacherous whispers expanded through the city, each Palaiologoi thinking on their next move: After all, a Palaiologos had ruled Constantinople for the entirety of the XII century.
Why should the XIII be different?
Here it is! Episode Nine and a major shift for the story! Good bye, Palaiologos, hi... ahm, not sure. I was thinking to call this dynasty the "Belisarius" family, to, well, rememorate the great general, set some expectations, and make it obvious that Belisarios Palaiologos was the one founding it.
If you have any other suggestions for the Dynasty's name, please comment it below! And if you support any other suggestion, click the "Approve" button to let me see it. Thanks for reading!
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