Byzantium AAR: Alexiad and beyond

[REDrake]

The former Eastern Roman Empire has fallen into hard times. After the battle of Manzikert in 1071, a battle which proved to be a disaster for byzantines, the empire lost many of its territories in Asia Minor. In the West the italian states of Venice and Sicily are getting stronger and they look eagerly towards the empire in an attempt to gain our riches.
For now, a new emperor and a new dynasty, Komnenus, are on the throne of Constantinopolis. Can he be the savior and the leader who would lead Byzantium to what it once was?


His son, John, is young but already displays skills as leader on the battlefield and strong firm moral personality.


There is also Anna, his sister an educated woman, who would serve as an diplomatic edge in the years to come. The 2 younger sibling, Andronicus and Isaac are too little, for now.
There are also 2 generals faithful to emperor Alexius, Nikephoros Melissenos governor of Nicaea and Georgios Palaeologos, governor of Thesaloniki.

First things to be taken care of are restoration of economy and regaining control over territories lost in the previous years. Luckily in Asia Minor many settlements are not officially under the rule of the Seljuks, even though they are still under turkish leadership. Those could be taken without leading to direct confrontation with Seljuks. In Balkans there are also settlements lost in the past years that need to be gained back and the rebels suppressed.
The year is 1080.

Prince John Comnenus gathers some troops from Nicaea and moves south towards Smyrna, a lost stronghold of the empire. At the same time Georgios Palaeologos moves with his small army towards Albania in an attempt to capture that region before Sicily or Venice.
The next year, 1081, John assaults the castle of Smyrna. The odds are favorable:


and the victory is complete.


In the year 1082 Georgios Palaeologos is laying siege on Durazzo with some slav mercenaries hired and 2 horse archer unit sent from Corinth.

Another victory and a new region is added to the empire.
At the same time, a new development, Crete is under a rebellion. Venice has lost that region and their general left the island with his army. Perhaps his oppressive rule came to an end.
Seljuks have also sent a delegation to negotiate a trade agreement. There are some conditions they must make do however. Fortunately they accept them.

Armenians are also approached by a diplomat and an alliance with them is signed. With both countries threaten by turks is going to be beneficial in the future.
After the conquest of Durazzo, the city is renamed to its proper name of Dyrrachium. Georgios only leaves one slavish mercenaries unit in the city and moves with all his army north towards Skopia. The capture of Macedonia is a top priority.
It comes in the next year

In the same year, Anna reached Hungary and established relations with them. Their princess Pioska is also a fine catch and a possible future empress if she can be married with Prince John.
The year 1084 however, brings an seljuk army advancing towards Nicaea. Nikephoros has only little time to recruit some armenian archers and receive some militias from Constantinopolis before the turks siege the city. War with turks has started.

The year is not entirely hard however, John and Pioska are now married. Anna is starting the voyage towards Albania. Georgios, a very capable general, will make a suitable husband for her.

After a year of siege, turks are launching an assault on Nicaea. However, the defenders hold on the walls when their ladders are set:

In the other part however, the turks gain control of a section of the wall and even the gate. However swift intervention of the general's bodyguard, makes them crowd in the gate. Soon some of the turks are pushed back and the retreat turns into a total rout.

The general and his army is chasing the turks across the field and almost all of them are captured or killed.
A clear victory with only 12 men escaping. The prisoners are summarily executed, for daring such an attack.


The battle was won, the turkish army is destroyed, but that siege caused by economy to go bankrupt. Is going to take some time to recover.
An army is sent from Corinth and Athens to capture Lepanto. It succeeds.
The following years are focused on economic recovery. Anna marries Georgios Palaeologos. There are also children born in their family and in that of John. Another John (Ioannes) is going to be probably the future imperial heir. An alliance with Venice is also established, we need to have that flank secured.
In 1088, John is assaulting Laodiceea. Instead of going for the gate, the ram attacks an exposed section of the walls and the troops pour through it.

The victory is costly however, many men are dead or wounded.


The next year John embarks with a small army, due to losses at Laodiceea lands in Rhodos and lays siege on the city.

Another victory. John is turning into a real capable leader on the battlefield.

In the year 1090 an attempt to gain a truce with turks fails. Our diplomats also sign an alliance with the Pope. This should ensure no crusade is called upon byzantine lands. Emperor Alexius with an army moves towards Bulgaria in attempt to capture Sofia.
In the east however, the former byzantine city of Trebizond rebels against Georgians and reunites with the empire.

This leads to an unexpected war with Georgia. A war that neither side want or need. A diplomatic solution must be reached, so a diplomat is sent by sea towards Trebizond.
In the year 1092, Andronicus, the second son of Alexius comes to age. He's a sickly boy, but with great agricultural capabilities. He's not going to be of much use on the battlefield, but hopefully he might be a good governor.

Alexius starts the siege of Sofia. At the same time, a diplomatic solution is reached with Georgia. Trebizond remains in byzantine hands and a new alliance is signed. They too are at war with Turks.

More to be continued...

[IZob]

Looks like someone is having fun. Nice start btw and a good job on the story telling to. Thankyou for posting the pictures aswell, Its alot easier to follow and keeps your campagin interesting. This is giving me a erge to play the campagin but untill then I'll be fowling this. Gives some good visual feedback.

[REDrake]

Thanks, I will. It is for certain one of the best campaigns with byzantines I've played so far. However, the next update is going to be probably in a week or so. Tomorrow, I'm leaving the city and I'm not getting back until Friday. Seljulks might just have to wait until then to be squished.

[irishron]

Keep it up. I'm enjoying this.

[REDrake]

Next part is going to be even better. Especially after the offensive against turks began, "coincidentally" at the same time with a crusade launched by pope against Damascus (a turkish city). I played yesterday evening until year 1105 and the rule of John Comnenus proves to be beneficial for the empire. His son is also a great general and he married a french princess, who happened to have walked into my territory just in time. Most likely, I'm going to write the next part (along with more screens) Saturday. Right now I'm not on the computer I use for games.

[REDrake]

Part 2 is here...

The year is 1092. Emperor Alexius is finally ready to assault Sofia.

The bulgarian rebels put up a good fight, but they were no match for the byzantine troops, so Sofia was occupied and renamed Serdika.

As soon as the town was conquered, Emperor Alexius ordered that a castle be built. It is vitally needed in the northern part of the Balkans.
Next year, the third son of the emperor, Isaac comes to age. He's a rather good boy and pious.

He's sent to Adrianopolis to get clerical education before going to Constantinopolis to be educated in courtly manners.
Emperor Alexius is heading back to capitol.
In the mean time, Prince John is assembling an army at Smyrna with the intention of attacking Iconium. Word has come that Seljuk turks are now in a civil war. Iconium is ruled by a governor who no longer recognizes the sultan as his leader. Also, the rebelious turks are gaining strength. The sultan and his son are isolated at Caesarea with only a small fraction of their once mighty army. The moment sounds good to take back byzantine lands.
In the year 1097, the wait is finally over, John takes his army in the turkish lands, destroying 2 turkish small armies patrolling the border. However, soon an rebel army is spotted close to Nicaea so Prince John decides to clear it first. In the same year, his first born son comes to age, Ioannes. With such a great father he can only be great man if God will allow him. For now he takes clerical education at Nicaea

The next year, Prince John finally launches his army at Iconium and the siege starts.
It is a siege that lasts until the year 1100, when a night assault is finally ordered.

The initial phase of the attack goes well, byzantine troops gaining the walls and gates. The turkish defenders retreat towards the center of the city.

However, the impetuous byzantine troops soon fall into a trap as several balistas reveal themselves to be placed on the main street. They cause massive damage and for a moment the attack is halted. However, Prince John along with Frankish knights strike from the side and destroy the balistas along with their crews.

Soon the center of the city is reached and turks prepare for a last stand.

And finally, victory, the city is in byzantine hands.

Prince John orders that turkish houses be sacked, but without any general massacre.
The same year, at Dyrrachium, the first son of Georgios Palaelogos comes to age, Theotokios. However, he's an incredibly corrupt coward. He even scorns his own father.

He's sent to Corinth to gain some knight education, but the Emperor would never approve his manners. If he would die in the service of the empire then it might be beneficial for all.
However, at Constantinopolis, the daughter of Prince John is finally adult. Theodora is a fine princess and she will make a fine wife for any general.


And a fine suitor comes right the next year. Nikephoros of Drachova a good general who distinguished himself during the fight for Iconium. A marriage is soon arranged in the same city.

Prince John leaves Iconium with a small force because one last small Seljuk army was spotted close to Nicaea. The battle is won, however due to rocky terrain more than a third of the enemies escape. At the same time, his son Ioannes is a graduate by being knighted in addition to court and clergy educations. As a first step of his knighthood he receives the orders of capturing the village of Amastra, held by an army of rebels turks. His army is assembled at Nicaea, but at the same time 2 units of balistas are sent ahead by sea.
In the year 1102, Ioannes is ready to attack Amastra.

The rebels are hard to dispatch however. Even without any walls the defend the center of the village ferociously, byzantine cavalry is sent to draw the out.

It succeeds. Some of the rebels come from the sides, but balistas keep them pinned long enough for the infantry to finish them off. Then an all out assault on the center is launched and Amastra is captured.

Ioannes doesn't stay in the village, but leaves with most of the cavalry, leaving behind the infantry with the balistas. He also orders that a castle be built in Amastra.
He heads towards Smyrna, where an army is assembling for a future invasion of Crete.
The same year, Andronicus Comnenus with an army from Serdika captures Bucharest. Also, his brother Isaac becomes governor of Athens.

The year 1103 brings dire news. Emperor Alexius died of old age. The new Emperor, John enters Constantinopolis. In the second part of the year, a french princess, Pauline Capet arrives at Skopia trying to sign a trade agreement with the Empire. This leads to a better development, as she is asked to marry Prince Ioannes and a French-Byzantine alliance is signed.

In the year 1104, Nikephoros of Drachova is taking the army out of Iconium and he's heading for Caesarea.
In 1105, the second son of Emperor John, comes to age. Kyriakos is a good and pious general, who will hopefully become a good governor in the years to come.

In the second part of the same year, Caesarea is attacked. The Seljuk Sultan unfortunately left the castle and he's at a short distance south. However, Caesarea is defended by his son Prince Mustafa. The assault goes well, despite the strong walls and battlements.

Soon the entry is gained and byzantine infantry move along the main road towards the main castle.

And attempt of the turkish horse archers to delay them is however stopped in a bloody side maneuver of the byzantine heavy cavalry.

Even Prince Mustafa dies in the following cavalcade.
The battle is won and Caesarea is in byzantine hands

The sultan was not among the defenders, but the luck runs out anyway. His army is destroyed by armenians and he dies. With the capture of Iconium and Caesarea, the military operations reached their initial goals. For now a diplomat is dispatched towards the new capitol of Seljuks at Yerevan, to sign a possible cease-fire.

In the year 1106, Prince Ioannes launches the invasion of Crete. The city of Iraklion is sieged and the assaulted.

The cretan rebels are incredibly well motivated however. Their lancers attack from the side without even waiting for the byzantine ram to touch the gates. Only intervention of Prince Ioannes himself saves the army from an unexpected defeat.


The battle is won, but Prince Ioannes was wounded and his life saved by valiant knight who becomes his bodyguard.


He doesn't stay in Iraklion but sails for Greece, heading for Corinth.

To be continued...

[REDrake]

The year is 1107. The Byzantine Empire is now the largest state in Europe. A diplomat is traveling to Seljuks to see if now they are willing to make peace. Especially since the Second Crusade in huge in proportion. It's target is the Seljuks city of Damascus and it is composed of all Catholic nations except for England, Sweden and Scotland. In sight of such great armies, Emperor John forbids them from traveling through byzantine lands by blocking the straits towards Asia Minor. Thus they are forced to take the long road north of Black Sea.

In the year 1108 the diplomat finally signs a peace treaty with Seljuks. The conditions are harsh. In addition to a sum of 2000 denari Seljuks must also cede control of Malazgirt (Manzikert) to Byzantines.
At the same time an army led by emperor's second son Isaac and the not-so-good Theotokios Palaeologos is heading towards Belgrade. With the recent Venetian expansion in Illyria, Serbia is in danger of falling too. That would jeopardize Byzantine interests in that area. Poland captures Moldova and they send an diplomat to sign an alliance. It is accepted. They will ensure the Empire is not attacked from the north by russians or cumans.

The next year the siege and the assault of Belgrade is under way:

At first byzantines are gaining the field, the siege tower, the ladders and battering ram helps them to get inside the castle.

However, this soon changes as Serbian cavalry charges into their ranks

The attack is almost stopped. On the walls serbs are giving a heavy resistance and on the field the generals themselves have to intervene with their cavalry to restore the situation. The serbian cavalry is destroyed, however Theotokios is killed and Isaac wounded. For most of the battle byzantine heavy cavalry is disabled. Byzantines suffer massive casualties on the walls, were the serbian infantry continues to resist. More than half of the byzantine army is lost, dead or wounded.
Eventually, the archer cavalry captures the castle and the serbian morale falters. They offer to surrender and their offer is accepted. The battle ends with heavy casualties on both sides.


Serbia is now a byzantine province, even with such heavy casualties.

In the year 1111 Poland is the first crusader army to reach Damascus. The city is captured. In the same year an egyptian army lands in the low defended island of Cyprus. The city of Nicosia would have been lost, however by sheer luck, in the same year Portugal crusaders who failed to capture Damascus attack Tripoli. The egyptian army withdraws, but the lesson is learned. An army is assembled in Rhodos and sent to reinforce Cyprus.
At the same time Kyriakos Comnenus, emperor's third son, leads an army to capture Phanagoria in the Kerch region. He takes the balistas from Amastra with him.
In 1112 Phanagoria is attacked and taken. The locals posed little resistance.


In the same year, increasing naval activity from Sicily is seen on the albanian coast. To reinforce the region, armies are sent from the newly constructed fortress of Corinth towards Skopia and Lepanto.

To be continued...

[REDrake]

The year 1113. The naval activity of Sicily increased, however, byzantine lands were not their target. Sicily makes a surprise attack against Venetian at Ragusa. The castle is captured and war rages on in the italian peninsula.
Nothing important happens in the next few years. The empire is at peace and is get organized. In the mean time in Europe, changes are taking place. Sicily and Venice fight on with neither side getting anywhere. A great alliance between France, Scotland and Ireland brought England to their knees. Even London fell to Scotish forces in 1115. France is the largest nation in the western Europe and the second after Byzantine Empire.

In the year 1116 Prince Ioannes with his army lays siege on the city of Temezvar. In the previous year that city won a battle against an army of Hungary.

Due to a spy infiltrated in the city, the gates are thrown wide open and the byzantine troops march in.

However, this is not as easy as it looks like. Rebel armies are coming from sides trying to outflank the byzantines. On the right side, the horse archers are keeping them at bay and force them to retreat.

On the left flank, Prince Ioannes himself charges and defeats the magyar horsemen.

On the center, in the city itself, the infantry has a hard time dispatching the magyar infantry and their heavy cavalry.
Eventually however, with both flanks crushed, the center of the city is attacked from 3 sides and the battle is won.


While retaining the title of Count of Temzvar, Ioannes does not stay in the city. Leaving behind a strong garison he takes his army to Sofia to resupply and reinforce his units.
In the year 1118, an egyptian fleet blockades the port of Nicosia. It carries a large army equipped with catapults. However, a byzantine fleet is close by, with troops sent from Rhodos to reinforce the island. The ensuing naval battle is byzantine victory and the egyptian army is lost on the sea. The war begins with Egypt. For now it is a static war with only naval engagements. Egypt also crushes Portugal and retakes Tripolii.
An army begins to assemble at Iconium under the leadership of Basil Comnenus one of Andronicus Comnenus sons. Unfortunately, for him, his father Andronicus is now afflicted with leprosy. Basil gathers a small army with some spear militias and merchant cavalry but relying mostly on hired mercenaries. The intention is to make a daring raid on Acre and either capture it or more likely take it and demolish all of its buildings and then abandon it.
In the year 1119 an armenian fleet aids the byzantines in a naval battle next to Tripolii. Armenia is now at war with Egypt. Their attempt to capture Tripolii however is met with a defeat.
In the year 1120, the son of Ioannes, Ermanes comes to age.

In the year 1121, Basil Comnenus lands near Acre after a small detour to Nicosia to gather more mercenaries. However, the sight of a virtually undefended Jerusalem (only a general with his bodyguard) makes the city a much more tempting target.

Before an egyptian army manages to arrive to reinforce the city, Basil and his men attack and capture the city of Jerusalem.

With the capture of the city of Jerusalem a new prospect arises. Reclaiming the holy lands for the byzantines would be a great feat. An army assembles at the capitol. It will be led by Ermanes Comnenus who just finished his education, in addition to byzantine infantry and trebizond archers it will be made of the the Prince Ioannes army. He no longer needs it since he took the governorship of Nicaea. It is an elite army with veterans from countless battles in the Balkans. The army marches first to Iconium where it is met by more veteran units from Caesarea and then embarks on a fleet recruited especially for this.
In the year 1126 It lands near Acre and is reinforced from Jerusalem with trebuchets. It then proceeds on attacking the city.

At first, the city is only attacked with artillery fire. No move is made for a direct assault.

This forces the enemy to try and come out and fight but the massive archer superiority leaves them no choice but to retreat.

At long last the artillery fire is stopped before attacking infantry can move on the city. The city looks terrible. Many of its defenders died on the crumbling walls.

The infantry has no problems getting inside.

After a hard battle the egyptian general is captured and the city is captured. The general is released, for both chivalrous reasons (he fought well) and strategic reasons (he's totally incompetent when it comes to leading men in battle).

Only leaving a few units behind to guard the city, Ermanes marches with his army on Tripolii. It is defended by Sultan Nasser himself with an army of elite units. Not many in numbers but very hardy and they have their own trebuchets.

At first the battle starts with a duel between the trebuchets. One egyptian trebuchet is destroyed but the other retreats in the center of the city. Also the egyptian infantry retreats from the gate. The byzantine trebuchets smash the gate open and the infantry attacks. Soon the egyptians counter-attack the sultan himself leading them. Now there is heavy battle on the main street next to the destroyed trebuchet.

The battle rages on. The byzantine cavalry also engages in battle, but they are slowly push back. Horse archers draw swords and engage too.The forces are evenly matched as the duel between trebuchets continues.


Ermanes and his bodyguards along with the Frankish knights charge on in attempt to reach the Sultan and end his threat once and for all.
Piles of bodies are now everywhere but still the carnage continues.

Finally the Sultan is killed and the morale of his army falters.

The egyptians are crushed as they retreat and their trebuchet is destroyed too.
Thanks to Ermanes skills many wounded are brought back from death claws. Only 60 of them died.


With the capture of Acre and Tripolii the initial objective of the campaign is met. A diplomat is sent to see if egyptians are willing to make peace. At the same time, egyptian fleet is utterly wiped out in the Mediterranean Sea and their ports of Gaza, Damietta and Alexandria are blocked.
In the next year Pope launches a campaign against the city of Cairo.

The Egyptians refuse any peace, so Ermanes attacks the egyptian capitol of Gaza.
His trebuchets open the first gates and the infantry troops march on fast inside before the egyptians can recover.

The battle begins and finally some egyptians flee. This is the moment that the cavalry was waiting for. Before the inner gate can close they attack the fleeing troops entering the inner courtyard.

Meanwhile, the infantry suffers many casualties, but they manage to rout the enemy, but with the gates now in byzantine hands they have no chance of escaping. They are crushed and the battle moves to courtyard where the egyptian general fights to the death.

Ermanes is wounded but the battle is won.

The egyptian capitol moves to Cairo, however Ermanes and his army are weary. Too many casualties. The campaign for now stops.
The next year brings a sad event. Emperor John the Just dies at Constatinopolis.

Now Emperor Ioannes takes the crown and Ermanes is the Prince heir. A suitable princess should be found in the near future for him. For now in sight of byzantine diplomats there are only 2 and not very good due to their age. There is another princess close for a spy to see, a spanish princess of the same age with Ermanes (22) and with good potential. It remains to be seen if she's the future empress.

To be continued...

[REDrake]

The year is 1129. Emperor Ioannes the Just is crowned in the capitol. His son, Prince Ermanes prepares for a final push in Egypt alongside the arriving crusaders from Venice, Sweden, Holy Roman Empire, Sicily, France, Spain and Ireland. On the other side, the arabs are preparing too. 3 huge armies are gathering in defense of Egypt.
The search for a princess for Ermanes didn't go quite well. The spanish princess proves to be more interested in other princesses than a prince. She is without a doubt not suited to be the next empress. However, a better princess is found. Elizabeth Canmore from Scotland is a good and intelligent woman. Even though she's 4 years older than Ermanes a marriage is arranged.
In the year 1131, as the Venice crusaders are defeated near Damietta, Ermanes lands with his army close to the now almost defenseless city and launches the night assault.

The battle begins with the trebuchets destroying the walls of the city and before morning Damietta is in Byzantine hands.


The city is fortified and Ermanes awaits his next opportunity, now that a foothold in Egypt is gained.
The next year, however brings disastrous results for the crusaders. One after the other the crusading armies are destroyed by egyptians. The last remaining crusaders, under the banner of the Holy Roman Empire, manage to capture the city of Cairo, thus completing the crusade, but the next year (1133) they are defeated and Cairo is once again in egyptian hands. Ermanes is forced to adopt a defensive status in the conquered lands. A peace treaty is also signed with Egypt. They have to pay a tribute of 1000 denari for the next 5 years to the empire.
However, in 1132 another development arises. The war between Venice and Sicily escalates as Sicily blockades the port of Lepanto. Byzantine Empire and Sicily are now at war. Unfortunately, Sicily is allied with the Pope. While no outright war is between Pope and Byzantines, their alliance is shattered and the relations drop.
Xenos Comnenus, the brother of the emperor is in Albania however with his army. He has to recruit some mercenary galleys and he lands in Apulia in the year 1134. He quickly notices that a fleet of sicilian troops moves to retake Ragusa from Venice and the city of Brindisi is low defended. Only the sicilian king Simon and a small unit of militias are there. An easy catch for Xenos and his army.

King Simon dies and Brindisi is now in Xenos's hands.

For the next few years the war is mostly naval. Sicilian fleet is very big, so 3 byzantine fleets are dispatched from Greece to deal with them.
Genoa also attacks Sicily.
In the year 1139, a plague erupts in Brindisi. Forced to face disaster with his men ravaged by the deadly plague, Xenos makes a daring move. He only leaves a skeleton army to guard Brindisi and he moves along with the newly arrived bombards against the sicilian capitol of Naples.


The bombards open the way into the city

And then the infantry moves in

This allows a quick victory without a prolonged siege.

In the same year Sicily captures the castle of Ragusa as 2 venetian armies land near Cosenza. With no venetian armies close by, the emperor's uncle, also named Xenos Comnenus, the governor of Albania gathers an army along with bombards and veteran units from Macedonia and prepares for an attack on Ragusa.
The next years, the venetians and Sicily battle one another near Cosenza neither of them gaining anything. A second byzantine army is assembled near Sofia and is sent towards Albania. It is led by Evanghelos, emperor's brother and Alexios Limas an adopted son of Isaac Comnenus.
In the year 1142 Xenos launches the assault on Ragusa. It is heavily defended with lots of siege weapons.

It's position also favors the defenders but the bombards change the situation radically

The entry is gained in the castle

and the bloody battle begins on the streets.

Xenos and his cavalry attacks from sides trying to outflank the main body of the sicilian army and take out the siege weapons. However he is intercepted and he has no choice but to face the whole army of Sicily.

Soon however the infantry arrives on the scene and caught between 2 groups the sicilian give away and run.

The next resistance point is next to the siege weapons which are used as a barricade.

Another bloody fight begins as the defenders resist next to now abandoned weapons.

Finally, the byzantine army manages to crush the sicilians and the center of the castle is gained

Victory but a bloody one. Ragusa is now in Byzantines hands and Sicily lost one of their 2 main armies.


The next year another situation arises. In the far east, mongols arrived. They attacked the cumans and are now about to capture their capitol of Tana.

An army led by emperor's brother Myristikos is gathered near Nicaea and prepares to sail for Phanagoria.
In the year 1145 Evanghelos and Alexios Limas land near Cosenza. Due to the battles in the region Sicily is severely weaken.
Byzantine army faces 4 armies on the battlefield, however each comes separately.

It is a mistake which is quickly fructified and the armies are attacked one by one


The elite norman knights are the best Sicily has to offer, however even they are unable to resist the byzantine charge.

Finally a victory is won and the sicilian army in southern Italy is no more.

Next the army turns on Cosenza. It is defended by remains of the previous battle and a small army comes from the north as reinforcements.

They too are no match and quickly the city is gained.

The remains of the sicilian army are destroyed by Alexios Limas with aid from venetians. Sicily is totally exhausted and with her 2 main armies destroyed it has lost the capacity to resist. A peace treaty is asked and they gain it. However, in addition to 2000 denari they must also cede control of Messina and Tunis to Byzantines. Alexios Limas takes control of Messina.
In the year 1147 Tunis rebels and is lost however. In the same year Georgia and Armenia attack the Seljuks. The war goes bad for turks. Yerevan is captured by Georgians.
Meanwhile, the war with Mongols begins. Mongols captured the city of Tana and the castle of Sarkel. Myristikos heads for Sarkel but there are 2 mongol armies blocking his way.


The battle begins with byzantine horse archers harassing the mongols as the other units prepare for a charge.


NOTE: Due to an accidental deletion of the screenshots, I don't have the results of several of the battles that followed against mongols

The battle is won decisively and the remains of the mongol armies retreat to Sarkel. Myristikos attacks the castle too and another victory is won. The khan himself dies in the battle.
Meanwhile, Kyriakos with his army leaves Phanagoria and attacks Tana. The skeleton army mongols use to defend the city are no match for his army and Tana is captured too. For now, mongols are nowhere to be seen. They might be reconsidering their expansion against Byzantines. An alliance with Cumans is also signed. They are now reduced to only the province of Crimeea, but they still have an army near Caspian Sea.
In the year 1149, Pope excomunicates France and calls for a crusade against Poitiers. An odd development, but due the fact that France alliance with Byzantines is dissolved, a new alliance with Pope is signed. Also Nikephoros of Drachova leads his army out Caesarea and prepares to declare war on Seljuks. With the recent armenian-georgian offensive they have fallen at hard times.

The next year, Emperor's grandson Alexios comes to age. Another future emperor with a good skills.

In the year 1151 before Nikephoros can declare war on Seljuks, their sultan is killed by armenians in a battle next to Manzikert. The Seljuk state is destroyed.

All that is left to Nikephoros is to attack the former Seljuk city of Diarbekr and take it.



In the south however, egyptians begin the war against byzantines. An egyptian army lays siege on the castle of Gaza.

To be continued...

[irishron]

I see you're still having fun. Good read.

[REDrake]

And almost no bugs...

[REDrake]

The year is 1152. An egyptian army lays siege on Gaza. However, they retreat and try to link up with another army coming from the east. Thus the army from Gaza, leaves the castle and led only by a captain engage the egyptians on the battlefield.

Egyptians have siege weapons, so all infantry runs up to close the distance between themselves and the enemy. On the sides the cavalry tries to outflank the enemy and attack the siege weapons. Several projectile do hit the advancing byzantine infantry, but the attack does not stop.

Soon the siege weapons are destroyed and the cavalry now turns on the infantry. Attacked from two sides, the egyptians disperse. They are utterly destroyed.


As a consequence of this crushing victory, the captain is adopted by Isaac Comnenus (emperor's uncle). His name is Nikephoros Palaeologos. Also, princess Stania Comnenus begins her voyage to Gaza. She will be given in marriage to Nikephoros to ensure further his loyalty. Good generals are a must in the holy lands. Basil Comnenus is old and blind, Eramanes left for Nicaea and one other adopted general Demetrios Elesbaam (married with another princess Eudokia) is still assembling his army next to Serdika before heading for Egypt.
The next year England finally succumbs to the irish-scottish alliance. Ireland and Scotland also dissolve their alliance and fight against one another. France is reduced to the city of Angers.

In 1155, Nikephoros Palaelogos with his army engages a second egyptian army at the border. There are 2 other armies advancing, but this one is the closest.

The egyptians have an overwhelming number of siege weapons. They kill many infantry soldiers as the cavalry rushes in an attempt to stop them.

Then as the infantry engages the egyptians a large cavalry cavalcade ensues, the egyptian siege weapons are destroyed. The morale of the egyptians falters. The battle is won but there are heavy casualties.

The byzantine army is in no way fit for another such battles. Nikephoros retreat to Gaza. Luckily, the other 2 egyptian army also have no wish to attack. They retreat near Cairo.
The next year another leader dies. Emperor Ioannes the Just joins his predecessors. The new emperor is Ermanes the Chivalrous. His heir is prince Alexios.
In 1157 France is destroyed. They lost all provinces. Scotland engulfs the whole Britain. A war breaks out between Papal States and Spain. The search for a princess for Alexios leads to almost no viable results. As such, a marriage is arranged with a princess from Poland, not a very good princess but suitable enough. Jedwiga is the future empress.
In 1158, Demetrios Elesbaam lands with his army in Egypt and lays siege upon the city of Alexandria. The sultan himself is in the city.

With trebuchets leading the siege the gates soon fall.

Soon the battle is on. The streets see heavy fight. The sultan charges with his guard but the attack cannot be stopped.

Soon he dies and the egyptians begin to be pushed back

However they start to use their siege weapons directly on the streets. Many byzantines die, but the attack continues.

The egyptian reinforcements arrive and they too are met head on

The arab halberds engage in battle. They are an elite unit. However, they are too few. They are soon overwhelmed.

The battle reaches the center of the city where the last arabs resist.

Victory and the city carrying the name of the most famous greek general is once again in Byzantine hands.

In the same year, Xenos Comnenus has to deal with a large and strong rebel army next to Naples. He leaves the city with half of his army and meets them on the battlefield.

Cavalry flanks the enemy while infantry advances and the bombards fire their guns at the enemy.


While the infantry is the anvil, cavalry is the hammer. It crushes the flank of the enemy and they are soon routed. Some flee for their lives and escape. Most do not.


In the year 1159, Basil Comnenus even though is old and blind leads his army from Jerusalem against the egyptian village of Bosra.

The attack begins with horse archers from egyptians harassing the byzantines however they cannot be stopped. The infantry advances while the cavalry hits from the sides. Basil dies a noble death at the head of his troops but the attack does not stop.


Soon the village falls. Egypt has just lost all of their provinces in the east.

With the fall of Bosra, Demetrios and Nikephoros begin the final military operation against Egypt. Their armies advance on Cairo. First Nikephoros, a skilled night fighter, comes against the army east of Cairo. It has a lot of siege weapons, but a night attack should reduce them to rubble.

The egyptian trebuchets cause massive damage to byzantines but the attack is under way.

Soon the siege weapons are destroyed and the egyptians flee the battlefield.

Very few escape the night attack.

Nikephoros begins the siege of Cairo.
At the same time from the west Demetrios attacks the army west of Cairo. It is day, but a very heavy rain makes the battle difficult.


Even so, the infantry advances while the artilleries for the two armies fire at one another. The egyptian trebuchets are destroyed. However, from sides egyptian archers come and also destroy the byzantine trebuchets.

However due to overwhelming cavalry superiority, arabs are soon routed.

Victory is won, but with heavy casualties, especially archers and siege weapons.

With the loss of trebuchets, Nikephoros has only one option, to prepare siege towers and ladders for the assault of Cairo. The siege begins. Demetrios with his army heads for the city of Siwa.
It lasts for 2 years. In 1163 The capitol of Cairo is finally attacked. In the mean time from Damietta bombards have arrived.

With siege towers and ladders the walls are assaulted as bombards attack the main gate.


The battle begins on the walls. One siege tower is half destroyed by enemy ballistas, but they manage to land their troops.

Soon the walls are in byzantine hands. The last arab troops rush on to confront them.

But they too are destroyed. In the end, Cairo is captured.

At the gates of the city of Persepolis, Alexander the Great said to his soldiers, "The city is yours, do what you want with it". Nikephoros said the same thing. Almost half of the city's population was put to the sword. One of the ringleaders of the sacking, proved unparalleled cruelty. Nikephoros took Vlad Tepes as his advisor.

The next year, Demetrios reached Siwa after a long and slow march through the desert. Siwa was only defended by the new sultan.

He's no match for Demetrios and his army. He dies and none of his troops even consider surrendering. They fight to the last.

Siwa is taken and Demetrios leaves a few troops there to guard the city and proceeds south towards the last egyptian province, Dongola. One egyptian diplomat arrives at Cairo asking for term for a cease-fire. There are no terms, as there will be no cease-fire.
In the year 1166, he reaches the village. It is defended by the prince heir. The sultan is nowhere to be seen. Even so, Demetrios assaults the village. The egyptian prince heir only has sudanese tribesmen to guard the village.

The horse archers attack the prince's guard and draw them out of the village. The foolish prince takes the bait.

As such he's attacked by Demetrios and his cavalry.

he's taken prisoner and the assault against the village begins.

Sudanese tribesmen fight bravely, but they are not experienced or equipped enough to resist.

The last egyptian province falls. Dongola with its rich gold mines are now in byzantine hands.

Egyptians are utterly destroyed.


To be continued...

[REDrake]

Due to unforeseen events as in bugs regarding events like Black Death, this AAR will be stopped. I might start anew with byzantines at a later date.

[IZob]

Dam, oh well life go's on. Atleast thats another bug biting the dust. I would love to do a AAR of my own but my regmod isnt working untill I clear a few errors.

[REDrake]

I did manage to finish the campaign but after the Black Death event I stopped taking screenshots and many battles were auto-resolved so I get faster to the end. The thing is, now I am no longer able to play M2TW. Too many things in the real life keep me occupied. I am tempted to try another campaign perhaps with France or Poland, but it will have to wait a few weeks.

[irishron]

I am up to 1184 with out a crash. We'll see what happens. My playing/modding time is about to take a hit. With the weather getting better, real world problems are bout to take over. Anybody want to help replace a fence that should have been replaced five years ago? How about paint a house?

[REDrake]

My campaign ended in 1185 AD with the capture of Rome. As for bugs, other the mentioned one with Black Death only the scurvyatsea plagued my game. Hopefully by removing scurvy completely I fixed that. Scurvy was not a realistic trait anyway. I highly doubt anyone in medieval times spent 6 months at sea.

[REDrake]

Got some free time on my hands and I am going to restart the AAR for byzantines. Expect an update tomorrow.