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1169 A.D. - Maria of Antioch, wife of Emperor Manuel I of the Roman Empire, gives birth to a stillborn son (POD). Amidst this tragic event, the Emperor's determination is settled upon ensuring the succession for his adopted heir, Bela Arpad, scion of the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Hungary. Baptized into the Orthodox faith as Alexios, the new Bela-Alexios has his standing in the Imperial court further cemented by marriage to Manuel's daughter, Maria Komnene, the Emperor's eldest daughter from his first marriage to Bertha of Sulzbach.
1172 A.D. - Stephan III, King of Hungary, dies without heir. The succession is thus left in doubt, with Bela Alexios being the eldest surviving brother and thus having the strongest claim. Bela and Manuel briefly entertain the idea of forcing through Bela's claim, thus creating a future personal union between Hungary and the Empire, but the difficulties in managing such a vast realm and the religious divide between Catholic Hungarians and the Orthodox Romans makes such appear more trouble than its worth. Instead, the Romans decide upon backing the claim of Bela's younger brother, Geza, in exchange for Hungary becoming a client state of the Empire. A joint host of Romans led by Bela and Geza's supporters arrive in Buda, sufficiently cowing the Hungarian nobility into accepting Geza as the new King. To cement the alliance, Geza (Who takes the royal name of Geza III) is wed to Manuel's bastard daughter, Euphrosyne. In lieu of the traditional monetary dowry, the Romans concede the former Duchy of Bela-Alexios, consisting of Dalmatia and Croatia, to the new King; in tandem, the Hungarians are required to sign an agreement to forever foreswear territorial ambitions against the Roman Empire.
1176 A.D. - The Anatolian Crusade, as Manuel's last great campaign is later called, commences as the ageing Emperor embarks upon one last major effort against the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia. At the advisement of Bela-Alexios, the Emperor elects to campaign upon the Plain of Philomenion, catching the Sultanate of Rum by surprise and successfully sacking Ánkyra. This forces Sultan Kilij Arslan II into a pitched battle of political necessity, which the larger Roman army under the Emperor himself is able to win after a two day struggle. Capitalizing upon their victory, the Romans advance directly upon Konya, while the Sultan retreats to Kayseri with his demoralized army while awaiting reinforcements from the Danishmends. With no prospect of the Sultan saving them the same fate that befell Ánkyra, a coalition of the remaining local elites surrender the city onto the Emperor. It is promptly renamed Iconium and many of its Mosques are turned into Churches, in some cases this being a restoration of their Pre-Manizkert states. The Roman army goes into winter quarters within the newly liberated city, while the Emperor sets about the process of reintegrating the reconquests back into Imperial administration.
1177 A.D. - With the arrival of Spring, the Roman army resumes campaigning. The Danishmends have now reinforced the Sultanate's Armies, enabling the Sultan to put up a much more effective resistance that is able to stalemate the Romans, who are already being forced to contend with operating on a long logistical tether. Manuel ultimately accepts an embassy from the Sultan, resulting in a new treaty being struck between the two states. The Sultanate of Rum concedes the conquered cities of Ankyra and Iconium, effectively the Western halve of its realm, to the Romans, who are also able to end the policy of subsidies to the Turks; the end of Turkish raids by parties beholden to the Sultan being another stipulation of the treaty.
The Romans begin the trek back to Constantinople, leaving behind soldiers to garrison the fortifications and cities of their reclaimed territories. Manuel and Bela-Alexios are treated, meanwhile, to a Triumph in the Imperial capital upon their return. This goes far in helping to establish the popular legitimacy of Bela Alexios to the throne among the Roman citizenry. Equally important, however, is that the victory in this conflict and its emulation of the Crusading doctrine of the Latins helps to establish it as concept in the Orthodox context, whereas before it was more controversial among the scholars and theologians of the Empire.
1183 A.D. - Manuel I Komnenos, Emperor of the Romans, dies peacefully in his sleep at the age of 66. Bela Alexios, according to the will of Manuel, is crowned as Alexios II, Emperor of the Romans. Although the initial turnover in power is peaceful, the new Emperor does soon start to find issues in his reign in the form of the New Aristocracy, which is dominated by the wider Komnenian family clan and which many members are less than pleased as one not of their own blood being chosen over their own. Although Alexios is popular with the Army and common citizenry for his feats, the Church too is skeptical, given Alexios was originally a Catholic of the Latin Rite; it is all too easy for Komnenian dissenters such as Andronikos Komnenos-a first cousin to the recently deceased Manuel-to gain the support of the Patriarch. Factions began to form, as the Imperial institutions start to grind to a halt. Thankfully for the reconquests in Anatolia, the Turks are unable to capitalize on this due to their own internal struggles; the Sultanate of Rum has collapsed into civil war, following the assassination of Kilij Arslan II in 1182 over the fallout from the Anatolian Crusade.
1185 A.D. - The stirring of unrest in Bulgaria over taxation policy prompts Emperor Alexios to handle the petition of the protesting nobles directly, taking with him a Roman host as escort and, ultimately wisely, his wife and his children (by now two sons and a daughter). While the Emperor is able to resolve the Bulgarian troubles to mutual satisfaction, thus cementing continued Imperial rule in the region, the Anti-Alexios Komnenos faction within Constantinople chooses his absence in the city to strike, with the aid of the Church. Andronikos is crowned as the first of his name and immediately sets out attempting to purge Pro-Alexios figures in the city; the slaughter of Latin merchants within the city commences, in particular seeing thousands of Venetian merchants and their families killed by Greek mobs. Komnenian forces loyal to the new Emperor are also declared in much of Greece and some areas of Anatolia, but for the most part the latter region and the main Roman Empire remain loyal to Alexios.
Upon notification of the coup and usurpation, Alexios immediately marches on the city with his host with the intention of laying siege to it, although this proves short lived as Pro-Alexios partisans among the common citizenry are able to open several gates into the city for his army to swarm through. Andronikos and most of his new court are forces to escape by ship to Thessaloniki, re-establishing his court there and assembling a new army to his banner. The First Komnenian Civil War thus begins in earnest, as two opposing armies begin to form.
1186 A.D. - After spending the winter receiving reinforcements from Anatolia and purging supporters of Andronikos within the city (Including replacing the Patriarch with a more loyal figure), Alexios leaves his wife in control before departing for Macedonia with his Army. The rebel city is soon put to siege after brisk skirmishing fails to dissuade the advance of Alexios, with unexpected aid arriving from the Republic of Venice, enraged by the slaughter of its citizens by Andronikos. The arrival of the Venetian Navy, in tandem with loyalist units of the Roman Navy, cut off all prospect of supply to the new surrounded rebels. Elsewhere, detachments of the loyalist Army under trusted officers eliminate rebel positions within both Anatolia and Greece, helping to consolidate the resumption of the authority of Alexios throughout the Empire. Late in the year, as winter begins to set in and as the defenders are by now weakened from starvation, Alexios orders a direct result on the rebel city, which is taken by storm and the rebels almost killed to a man by the vengeful and now surely rightful, Emperor's forces. Andronikos himself is captured and ultimately executed, under the personal supervision of Alexios.
1187 A.D. - After wintering in Macedonia, the Army is preparing to return to its posts and the Emperor to Constantinople when news is received that the Serbians have revolted, seeking to take advantage of the chaos to the South to re-establish their formal independence. Alexios duly marches north, while sending dispatches to his brother, Geza II of Hungary, who likewise mobilizes his own forces and begins raiding into the self proclaimed Serbian state, tying down numerous soldiers, allowing Alexios to meet a reduced Serbian army in battle before Niskar, which he wins decisively. In no mood for mercy and eager to send a message to any further would be revolters, the Emperor has much of the disloyal Serbian aristocracy executed and the local Church purged; the latter is largely re-filled with ethnic Romans and brought more directly under the control of the (new) Patriarch of Constantinople. Loyalist officers of Alexios are rewarded with the lands of the now dead Serbian nobles, while the Hungarians are likewise allowed to keep their loot gained from their raids as repayment for their service. Large numbers of Serbian peasants are also displaced to the Anatolian plateau, in order to help with the Roman efforts there to solidify their control of their reconquests of the past decade.
Finished, and with peace restored throughout the Empire, the Emperor returns to Constantinople finally after two years of civil war. While victorious, the costs of the civil war have served to drain the treasure and deplete the Imperial armies, which enables the Seljuk Turks-finally recovering from their defeat from Manuel and following civil war, to resume raiding efforts. For now, they are still too weak to break out into the Anatolian coasts as they did before, the new network of Roman fortifications on the plateau serving to prevent such an incursion, but their raids due serve to undue much of the progress made in the past decade in asserting Imperial administration in the region. Likewise, the loss of much of the extended Komnenian clan has left Imperial institutions at large in disorder, which focuses the attention of Alexios upon matters within the city instead of being able to take to the field to oversee efforts to curtail the new Turkish threat.
The strategic situation becomes more in flux when news is received of the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin's forces and the response across Europe to such a fate quickly becomes apparent to the Emperor and his court that winter: a new Christian Crusade against the Saracens is coming...
1172 A.D. - Stephan III, King of Hungary, dies without heir. The succession is thus left in doubt, with Bela Alexios being the eldest surviving brother and thus having the strongest claim. Bela and Manuel briefly entertain the idea of forcing through Bela's claim, thus creating a future personal union between Hungary and the Empire, but the difficulties in managing such a vast realm and the religious divide between Catholic Hungarians and the Orthodox Romans makes such appear more trouble than its worth. Instead, the Romans decide upon backing the claim of Bela's younger brother, Geza, in exchange for Hungary becoming a client state of the Empire. A joint host of Romans led by Bela and Geza's supporters arrive in Buda, sufficiently cowing the Hungarian nobility into accepting Geza as the new King. To cement the alliance, Geza (Who takes the royal name of Geza III) is wed to Manuel's bastard daughter, Euphrosyne. In lieu of the traditional monetary dowry, the Romans concede the former Duchy of Bela-Alexios, consisting of Dalmatia and Croatia, to the new King; in tandem, the Hungarians are required to sign an agreement to forever foreswear territorial ambitions against the Roman Empire.
1176 A.D. - The Anatolian Crusade, as Manuel's last great campaign is later called, commences as the ageing Emperor embarks upon one last major effort against the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia. At the advisement of Bela-Alexios, the Emperor elects to campaign upon the Plain of Philomenion, catching the Sultanate of Rum by surprise and successfully sacking Ánkyra. This forces Sultan Kilij Arslan II into a pitched battle of political necessity, which the larger Roman army under the Emperor himself is able to win after a two day struggle. Capitalizing upon their victory, the Romans advance directly upon Konya, while the Sultan retreats to Kayseri with his demoralized army while awaiting reinforcements from the Danishmends. With no prospect of the Sultan saving them the same fate that befell Ánkyra, a coalition of the remaining local elites surrender the city onto the Emperor. It is promptly renamed Iconium and many of its Mosques are turned into Churches, in some cases this being a restoration of their Pre-Manizkert states. The Roman army goes into winter quarters within the newly liberated city, while the Emperor sets about the process of reintegrating the reconquests back into Imperial administration.
1177 A.D. - With the arrival of Spring, the Roman army resumes campaigning. The Danishmends have now reinforced the Sultanate's Armies, enabling the Sultan to put up a much more effective resistance that is able to stalemate the Romans, who are already being forced to contend with operating on a long logistical tether. Manuel ultimately accepts an embassy from the Sultan, resulting in a new treaty being struck between the two states. The Sultanate of Rum concedes the conquered cities of Ankyra and Iconium, effectively the Western halve of its realm, to the Romans, who are also able to end the policy of subsidies to the Turks; the end of Turkish raids by parties beholden to the Sultan being another stipulation of the treaty.
The Romans begin the trek back to Constantinople, leaving behind soldiers to garrison the fortifications and cities of their reclaimed territories. Manuel and Bela-Alexios are treated, meanwhile, to a Triumph in the Imperial capital upon their return. This goes far in helping to establish the popular legitimacy of Bela Alexios to the throne among the Roman citizenry. Equally important, however, is that the victory in this conflict and its emulation of the Crusading doctrine of the Latins helps to establish it as concept in the Orthodox context, whereas before it was more controversial among the scholars and theologians of the Empire.
1183 A.D. - Manuel I Komnenos, Emperor of the Romans, dies peacefully in his sleep at the age of 66. Bela Alexios, according to the will of Manuel, is crowned as Alexios II, Emperor of the Romans. Although the initial turnover in power is peaceful, the new Emperor does soon start to find issues in his reign in the form of the New Aristocracy, which is dominated by the wider Komnenian family clan and which many members are less than pleased as one not of their own blood being chosen over their own. Although Alexios is popular with the Army and common citizenry for his feats, the Church too is skeptical, given Alexios was originally a Catholic of the Latin Rite; it is all too easy for Komnenian dissenters such as Andronikos Komnenos-a first cousin to the recently deceased Manuel-to gain the support of the Patriarch. Factions began to form, as the Imperial institutions start to grind to a halt. Thankfully for the reconquests in Anatolia, the Turks are unable to capitalize on this due to their own internal struggles; the Sultanate of Rum has collapsed into civil war, following the assassination of Kilij Arslan II in 1182 over the fallout from the Anatolian Crusade.
1185 A.D. - The stirring of unrest in Bulgaria over taxation policy prompts Emperor Alexios to handle the petition of the protesting nobles directly, taking with him a Roman host as escort and, ultimately wisely, his wife and his children (by now two sons and a daughter). While the Emperor is able to resolve the Bulgarian troubles to mutual satisfaction, thus cementing continued Imperial rule in the region, the Anti-Alexios Komnenos faction within Constantinople chooses his absence in the city to strike, with the aid of the Church. Andronikos is crowned as the first of his name and immediately sets out attempting to purge Pro-Alexios figures in the city; the slaughter of Latin merchants within the city commences, in particular seeing thousands of Venetian merchants and their families killed by Greek mobs. Komnenian forces loyal to the new Emperor are also declared in much of Greece and some areas of Anatolia, but for the most part the latter region and the main Roman Empire remain loyal to Alexios.
Upon notification of the coup and usurpation, Alexios immediately marches on the city with his host with the intention of laying siege to it, although this proves short lived as Pro-Alexios partisans among the common citizenry are able to open several gates into the city for his army to swarm through. Andronikos and most of his new court are forces to escape by ship to Thessaloniki, re-establishing his court there and assembling a new army to his banner. The First Komnenian Civil War thus begins in earnest, as two opposing armies begin to form.
1186 A.D. - After spending the winter receiving reinforcements from Anatolia and purging supporters of Andronikos within the city (Including replacing the Patriarch with a more loyal figure), Alexios leaves his wife in control before departing for Macedonia with his Army. The rebel city is soon put to siege after brisk skirmishing fails to dissuade the advance of Alexios, with unexpected aid arriving from the Republic of Venice, enraged by the slaughter of its citizens by Andronikos. The arrival of the Venetian Navy, in tandem with loyalist units of the Roman Navy, cut off all prospect of supply to the new surrounded rebels. Elsewhere, detachments of the loyalist Army under trusted officers eliminate rebel positions within both Anatolia and Greece, helping to consolidate the resumption of the authority of Alexios throughout the Empire. Late in the year, as winter begins to set in and as the defenders are by now weakened from starvation, Alexios orders a direct result on the rebel city, which is taken by storm and the rebels almost killed to a man by the vengeful and now surely rightful, Emperor's forces. Andronikos himself is captured and ultimately executed, under the personal supervision of Alexios.
1187 A.D. - After wintering in Macedonia, the Army is preparing to return to its posts and the Emperor to Constantinople when news is received that the Serbians have revolted, seeking to take advantage of the chaos to the South to re-establish their formal independence. Alexios duly marches north, while sending dispatches to his brother, Geza II of Hungary, who likewise mobilizes his own forces and begins raiding into the self proclaimed Serbian state, tying down numerous soldiers, allowing Alexios to meet a reduced Serbian army in battle before Niskar, which he wins decisively. In no mood for mercy and eager to send a message to any further would be revolters, the Emperor has much of the disloyal Serbian aristocracy executed and the local Church purged; the latter is largely re-filled with ethnic Romans and brought more directly under the control of the (new) Patriarch of Constantinople. Loyalist officers of Alexios are rewarded with the lands of the now dead Serbian nobles, while the Hungarians are likewise allowed to keep their loot gained from their raids as repayment for their service. Large numbers of Serbian peasants are also displaced to the Anatolian plateau, in order to help with the Roman efforts there to solidify their control of their reconquests of the past decade.
Finished, and with peace restored throughout the Empire, the Emperor returns to Constantinople finally after two years of civil war. While victorious, the costs of the civil war have served to drain the treasure and deplete the Imperial armies, which enables the Seljuk Turks-finally recovering from their defeat from Manuel and following civil war, to resume raiding efforts. For now, they are still too weak to break out into the Anatolian coasts as they did before, the new network of Roman fortifications on the plateau serving to prevent such an incursion, but their raids due serve to undue much of the progress made in the past decade in asserting Imperial administration in the region. Likewise, the loss of much of the extended Komnenian clan has left Imperial institutions at large in disorder, which focuses the attention of Alexios upon matters within the city instead of being able to take to the field to oversee efforts to curtail the new Turkish threat.
The strategic situation becomes more in flux when news is received of the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin's forces and the response across Europe to such a fate quickly becomes apparent to the Emperor and his court that winter: a new Christian Crusade against the Saracens is coming...
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