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The revival of Hellas: A Byzantine Unification AAR
Beginning the XIII century, it took place the Fourth Crusade. Called for liberate the Holy Land from the hands of the Heathens, the Catholics ended up attacking and razing the Byzantine Empire. It was divided between the Orthodox Empire of Nicaea, in Anatolia, and the Latin, who took Greece. The Greek spent decades under the Frankish rule, which was slowly defeated by the Byzantines.
This AAR takes place in an alternative scenario, ten years after the Fourth Crusade, when Ioannikios, the son of a dead Byzantine’s general, takes Achaea with the popular support and attempts for liberating the Greek People, with the underlying wish of unify the Byzantine Empire and restore the glory of the Orthodox Faith.
-This AAR is being played with the Greek Kingdoms Mod
-The character of the player has been modified in the savegame for the roleplay
-I'm not used to English literature, so writing an AAR in English is hard for me. I hope this turns out well...
Oppression, plot, raised swords. The Latin came without advice and invaded their brothers of faith, and the Greek People found themselves betrayed. There was nothing they could do without their emperor, since he had died and the remains of the Byzantine Empire were by the command of the son-in-law of their monarch. Byzantium was lost, and they could do nothing but to resist in Anatolia, between the sea and the swords of Heathens and invaders.
Whispers of conspiracy were heard, and winds of revolution hit the Byzantium walls. The years passed while the Greek waited for their emperor to be liberated, without reply. The hope of the people was slowly disappearing… But in the darkness, some old Byzantine nobles still used to plan their regret. But they were not warriors; never hold a sword, nor never fought a war. That’s why they survived, after all. For their sake, a local priest told them about a boy, the son of a general dead in the last war, and who belonged to the dynasty of Commenos, who ruled the empire centuries before. The noblemen put their attention in the boy when they saw him to fight. It was in his blood. He was a warrior. And he was the relative of an ancient Empress. They saw on him their last hope, and started to spread his name: Ioannikios would liberate the Greek people. There wasn’t much time left until Ioannikios arrived to the court of the Duke.
In the Age of the Lord of 1214, the Duke of Epirus declared war on the Latin Empire, and the young Commenos presented himself in the court of the Duke of Achaia with all the soldiers of the peninsula. The Duke of Achaia abdicated instead, and the war for the Achaean liberation started.
Instead, the Achaean army was soon united. No protests, no revolts. The liberator that the people had been waiting for had arrived. The swords were unsheathed and the spears pointed towards Constantinople. But Ioannikos prowess in battle was still untested, and the best warriors in the army wondered If his acts would match his looks. It seemed that the Latin's priority was to defeat Epyrus - the Greek had been waiting for a great French army, but it seemed that the french thought that 5000 soldiers would be more than enough. The victory was more of a symbol than an actual setback to the latins, but that was exactly what the soldiers and the common people needed, their hearts now filled with hope.
But the ensuing celebration soon linked with another one. It seemed that the remains of the old byzantine empire were now in war with the latin empire... Latins in Epyrus. Byzantines coming into Greece. 'There's one and only one thing we can do', said Ioannikios after hearing the news. The galleys were boarded, and soon their oddysey began. The fleet was directed to the capital of the old Empire.
With favorable winds that the priests took as a signal from God, they arrived at Byzantium. The land of Thrake, the Nea Roma Constantinopolis. Giant walls that had remained unconquered for almost a thousand years - but they weren't unconquerable, and so it had been proved by the Latin a short time ago. Hard titan of stone, the Achaian army never knew what would be waiting for them at the following day. Even if they weren't in the heat of the war that was being fought between the two empires, the Achaeans suffered all the same. Soon, Epyrus would fall, and their old emperor soon proved that he wasn't worthy of his name; he signed peace with the Latins, leaving the Achaeans alone agaisnt the Catholics. Surprise attacks and poisoned water would make the Greek start thinking of the Latins as the embodiment of the Devil itself. But at the end. After four long years. The beast, the rock deity fell.
You got me at a loss. I thought the Duke there is a Komnenos heir that was made the Duke by the previous Latin Duke, and he just declared his independence from the Latin Emperor?
No, the previous Latin Duke was French and replaced in the savegame file by the Greek one (Commenos is not even a dinasty in the game, or at least not in that date), for making the history. Anyway, it is slightly harder to play as a Greek when most of your vassals are of a foreing culture (the island in the west declared war on me once and again). My character had no family at the start of the game, so his heir was his liege - until he stopped being it.
