[Bellum Crucis] HISTORIA RHOMAIKE - Chapter Twenty-Six

[Lord_Imrahil]

I would like a chapter about the byzantine army, if you have time to write it. I probably know more about them than most, but still do not think I know everything you would take about.

The great fort wall of Asia Minor, against a what was once a nomadic tribe and tries to conquer an empire ;-)

I like how this mod gives you a lot a challenges to face. At least the east should be easier to defend and might fill the coffers for a reconquest.

[Alwyn]

I almost missed your latest chapter, since it was the last post on page 4 of your thread (at least, on my computer). I'm glad that I found it, because I enjoyed reading it. This sounds like a particularly challenging and enjoyable campaign, especially when you are using insights from Edward Luttwak's writing on Byzantine strategy.

[Roman Heritage]

I like how this mod gives you a lot a challenges to face. At least the east should be easier to defend and might fill the coffers for a reconquest.

This sounds like a particularly challenging and enjoyable campaign, especially when you are using insights from Edward Luttwak's writing on Byzantine strategy.

I'm glad my misfortunes were appreciated indeed, there's a lot of challenges in there - some owing to Byzantium's position as a crossroad between East and West, some owing to the mod's financial system and diplomatic system, some owing to my house rules and roleplaying - which have considerably slowed down the pace of my campaign. I've just realized that, since I began this AAR, I've lost more regions than I've conquered, and I've often had to resort to diplomacy to contain potential enemies - and this never occurred to me before. The eventual recovery of the East would indeed be a great helping hand, for it would contemporaneously shelter my core settlements, and provide with much needed resources (Northern Anatolian coastal settlements are fairly rich due to agriculture, mining resources, trade routes and facilities, and their large taxable base, this being the very reason why the Komnenian Emperors focussed on the recovery and retaining of the coasts, rather than take on the Seljuks inhabiting the poorer, pastoral Anatolian plateau).

I would like a chapter about the byzantine army, if you have time to write it. I probably know more about them than most, but still do not think I know everything you would take about.

This taken into consideration, I may soon write a small appendix about the Bellum Crucis byzantine army - that is, I will talk mainly about the true organization of the Komnenian military, but I will have to take into consideration the fictional developments that have occurred in my campaign - to the OT, and maybe at the end of a soon to be coming chapter - not the next one, but the one which will follow - which is likely to focus on similar stuff.

Hava a nice day all!

[Roman Heritage]

Here's your new, though rather short, update. Hope you guys enjoy it!
By the way, this chapter is completed by a short guide on our fictional Palaiologan age army, which I also added to the OT so that it can easily be accessed to whenever needed. Have a nice read!

CHAPTER TWENTYFIVE - Of Manouil's latest years of reign, and his abdication (1225-1226 AD)

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After the death of Kantakouzenos in battle, Koten proceeded to clean Boulgaria and Paristriou of what little remained of Greek military presence, storming Sardika and recovering former Boulgarian capital, Pliska, before returning to Tarnovon, where he seized Branas' palace as his own; there he held a Council of local clergymen, pressing for a leader be elected amongst them and the independent Patriarchate of Boulgaria be restored. Then, from the very hands of Basil I, the man they elected, he received the Crown of Wallachia and Boulgaria, effectively founding the Second Bulgarian Empire.




"...all this brought great shame and grief into the Palace, where Manouil, who had previously marched into Charadene at the head of the army, had hastly returned along with his sons, the Porphyrogennetoi Alexios and Nikephoros; (...) the Basileus was indeed filled with sorrow by news of Kantakouzenos' and many other valiant men's death on the battlefield, and would spend his days secluded into his apartments, muttering in low voice how the wicked and cruel land of Paristriou had spoiled him, in succession, first of his brother, than of a good friend of his and a proud servant to the Throne, and than of his own Imperial honour and prestige, as Koten had claimed the Crown of Emperor of Wallachia as his own, and ruled uncontested where Roman law had been enforced but a mere year before..."




Seeing his lifetime goal to firmly retain the Danubian frontier into Roman hands utterly vanish after decades of struggle was too much for the ageing Emperor to bear. Demoralized, if not outright depressed, Manuel resorted to diplomacy in order to leave a better legacy to his sons and would be heirs, sending his Megas Logothethes Demetrios Briennios and former Megas Domestikos Nikephoros Angelo-Doukas to Tarnovon, in order to struck a peace-deal with the Bulgarian Tzar before any further loss could occur in the Roman districts of Makedonia and Thrake, which now laid almost defenseless in front of Cumano-Vlach raids.


This was eventually reached, with the recognization of Koten as foederatus and philorhomaios, formally a subordinate ruler and vassal to the Emperor, but in truth empty form as Koten openly defied Constantinople's authority and claimed the title of Emperor of the Vlachs and Boulgarians as his own; what really convinced Koten to strike a peace deal with the Romans were his ambitions against Hungary, where the death of the last Arpàd ruler, Kalman II, had sparked a period of civil war which truly marked one of the lowest points of Magyar history, with half the country invaded by the German Emperor Henry IV of Saxony, and the other half under threat by Cuman and Vlach raids.




Then, and only then, on 1st December 1226, Manuel II Komneno-Palaiologos formerly resigned the throne and took vows as a monk - the first Emperor to voluntarily do so since Michael VII Doukas' abdication, one century and a half before. He had ruled for a quarter of a century, with mixed results: through his marriage with Zoe Komnena-Doukaina, he inherited from John III an Empire which, though an impression of power and might, had illuded its neighbours - and itself - of a return to the golden age of Manuel I Komnenos, and led it through twentyfive years of hardships, internal dissent, invasions and rebellions before finally surrendering in front of personal failure. Had Manuel reigned in happier times, he might have accomplished a lot more than preserving the core of the Basileia - itself a great accomplishment, given the ever worsening conditions of the army and the administration - and exploiting its still to be respected political and economic power to bribe foreign powers such as Venice and the German Emperors to fight alongside him; yet, he had guaranteed the Empire's survival through times of intense hardships, allowing his sons to lead its recovery against all odds.

The Roman Empire in 1226 AD. Losses have incurred in both the Balkans and Anatolia, with Charadene lost to the Seljuks and Boulgaria emerging as an independent State led by Tzar Koten. Noteworthy is the state of the various Serbian zupanates as a buffer between Hungary and Rhomania, Cuman infiltrations in Eastern Carpathia and the Taman paeninsula, and Crusader expansion into the Nile Delta with the seizure of Damietta.

LIST OF TITLES AND KNOWN HOLDERS

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Megas Doux
- Unknown holders

Megas Domestikos
- Simeon Kontostephanos the Blind (tenure 1220-1232 AD)

Megas Logothethes
- Demetrios Briennios (tenure 1219-1232 AD)

Ecoumenical Patriarch of Konstantinopoulis
- Germanus II (tenure 1223–1240 AD)

ABOUT THE IMPERIAL ARMY

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The following is meant to be a guide to Bellum Crucis' byzantine army. First of all, let me begin with a disclaimer: as Bellum Crucis is a modification for an essentially sandbox game, and so, essentially, the player is left with the freedom to take his choices as he wishes also concerning military matters, this is not meant to be a guide to the Komnenian, and later Palaiologan army - though my armies are largely inspired on the former model. For all those interested in the matter, I dare to suggest Birkenmeier's "The Development of the Komnenian Army", an excellent piece on the subject.
PS: the list is meant to be constantly updated as the campaign progresses.


INTRODUCTION

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Since the VIIth Century, the fundamental entity on which Eastern Roman military relied was the so-called thematic system, introduced by Emperor Eraklios' successors as a mean to improve the State's military in the face of Arab aggression. According to the thematic system, the Empire was split in a number of regions - 33 at its height in the late 900's - each ruled by a Strategos who combined in his person civil and military responsabilities. Such themes were garrisoned and defended by military colonists who served into the army in return for allotments of land and lower taxes. Border regions were instead called Doukates, as they were led not by a Strategos but rather by a regional commander called Doux: these were the Doukate of Vaspurakan, Armenia, Antioch and Chaldia.


This system, purely defensive in its organization, did not fit with the renewal of Byzantine expansionism in the late 800's; following the reforms of Emperor Nikephoros Phokas, thematic armies were subordinated to the tagmata, the capital's forces, which included regiments as diverse as the various Varrangoi, Scholarii Kataphraktoi, the Hikanatoi and so on. It was at the head of such large, permanent and professional armies which the warrior-Emperors of the late 900's and early 1000's - Nikephoros Phokas himself, John Tzimisces, Basil II Bulgaroctonos - led the Empire to its apogee.


All of this, however, was cause of incredibly large State expenses. Basil's mediocre successors curbed military expenses, leading to the disruption of the thematic armies and an increasingly important role of mercenaries in the tagmata and the army in general. This was the kind of military which faced the Seljuks in 1071, and was defeated at Mantzikert.


Following Mantzikert, the Komnenian Emperors - Alexios I, John II and Manuel I Komnenos, the latter being the Emperor whose reign is depicted in the first chapters of this AAR - reformed the army from scratch. The core of the army was formed by the Basileus' oikeioi, members of the nobility and his extended family, followed by their retainers, fighting as heavy cavalry. Alongside them, fought the regiments of the Imperial Guard, and indigenous units recruited through what remained of the thematic system - which more or less survived, keeping its administrative and bureaucratic raison d'etre but with provincial forces' importance diminished. Mercenaries, nonetheless, remained an important component of the army, serving both in the Guard regiments, or on occasional basis. The army which the Komnenian Emperors fielded - and which form the basis of the in-game byzantine army - were professional, large, well drilled and trained, and an instrumental tool in what came to be known as the Komnenian Restoration.


Units or statements marked with an * are fictional, or introduced in my Roman army as a result of in-game events.

GUARD UNITS

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Throughout all of the Empire's history, sovereigns had been escorted and protected, in battlefield as in their Great Palace, by picked regiments of various ethnicity - mercenaries playing a prominent role since the inception of such corps. These Guard units are now listed in order of their prominence and seniority.


Oikeioi: these are not specifically members of the Palace Guards, but rather, under the Komnenian Emperors, a heavy cavalry unit escorting the Basileus into battle, made up of members of his extended family connection, and their armed retainers. Serving as cataphracts - fully armoured riders, mounted on armoured horses - these men went into battle with armour and weapons of the finest quality: they usually wore klivanioi and lorikioi, meaning scale or mail armour, sometimes combined with a bambakion - padded armour which could also be worn alone by lesser troops, or a surcoat. Their defensive equipment was completed by a kite-shield, while offensive equipment consisted in a kontos, a long spear designed for charging, swords and, eventually, maces. Their horses were armoured, too, as they wore scale or mail armour on their forequarters, neck and head; for a long time after the deafeat of Mantzikert and the ensuing civil war, these were the only cataphract forces deployed by the Empire.


Varrangoi: the Varangian Guard, established under the reign of Basil II from a regiment of 'Rus soldiers sent him by his brother-in-law Vladimir the Great of Kiev, is perhaps the most famous unit to have served under the Byzantine Emperors. Made up of Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Scandinavians and Russians, these foot warriors carried their distinctive two-handed axes and were entrusted with the safety of the Emperor and his family both at home and on campaign. By the reign of Manuel I Komnenos (1143-1180's) they had access to the best byzantine armour, wearing lavishly decorated scale armour, helms of both Roman and Russian style, shields painted with religious or geometric motifs - which they carried on their shoulders - and wearing swords as their side weapon. They were famous for their scandalously high wages, and for them being utterly loyal to the Emperor, fighting to the death if necessary - but keen enough to swear oaths to their new master as soon as their previous one was dead.


Vardariotai: as the Varangians, these men served the Emperor both in the Palace, as security staff during ceremonies, and on the field of battle, as lightly armoured horse archers: they were, after all, drawn from those Magyars whom had been settled in the Vardar Valley in Makedonia by the VIIIth Century Emperors. Established as a regiment during the latter part of Manuel I Komnenos' reign, they rode to battle on fast ponies, carrying composite bows and sabres, and wearing black or dark red silk robes. They proved their valour in many occasion, most relevantly in the 1225 AD Battle of the Shipka Pass*, when they all fell in meleè against Vlach and Bulgarian forces rather than whitdrawing from the field of battle.

ETHNIC "ROMAN" UNITS: INFANTRY

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"Ethnic" Roman infantry forces were raised by Komnenian Emperors, and their successors, on the basis of the strateia and pronoia systems. These were, basically, the remnants of the old thematic system: soldiers were granted plot of lands or reliable sources of income (such as taxation rights) in exchange for them fighting in the Empire's armies, or helping fund the Basileus' campaigns with money with which to raise mercenary forces. According to the size of the plot of land, or the value of the granted source of income - which, anyway, was not hereditary: the Basileus ultimately retained ownership of these assets - they would serve as more or less heavily armoured footmen; all of them, however, were efficiently trained and formed a reliable force, the very core of the Byzantine army, which Emperors such as John III Komneno-Doukas and his nephew Alexios III Palaiologos tried to preserve with their reforms*.


Psiloi: lightly armoured troops, serving either as javelinmen or bowmen. Despite their humble looks - their defensive equipment consisting of woolen or cotton clothes, a buckler shield and, in the best of cases, steel helmets of simple design - they are quite useful on broken ground, making them a valuable resource in border skirmishes and as support troops.


Stratiotai: being "holders of a strateia" these farmer-soldiers form the mainstay of provincial forces, serving as lightly armoured spearmen. They marched into battle wearing bambakion padded armour, steel helmets of simple design or turbans, kite shields and spears; their relatively light equipment allowed them high mobility, making them useful on broken ground as well as on flatter battlefields. They form the bulk of those garrisons employed in border stone castles, from which they can either sally out against enemy raiding parties, or slow down enemy advance.


Skoutatoi: these are heavily armoured infantrymen, made up from those who hold bigger strateias or pronoias, and as such rich enough to buy heavier and more effective armour than their poorer comrades. Their defensive equipment consisting in mail, scale or reinforced padded armour, helmets and kite-shields, they are the Basileia's armies' workhorses, well trained and armed with long and sturdy spears called kontarioi, and swords of the spathion or paramerion type, meaning straight or curved swords.

ETHNIC "ROMAN" UNITS: CAVALRY

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As with the infantry, Roman citizens were enlisted in the army's cavalry branch in exchange for the granting of strateias and pronoias; these "middle-class" soldiers, however, shared duty as cavalry forces with lesser nobles and the aristocracy's armed retainers, being organized in different units and classes according to their equipment and their role on the battlefield. These units are listed from the lightest to the heaviest.


Prokoursatores: lightly armoured cavalrymen, these men perform scouting and patrolling duties. They are armed with helmets, buckler shield, padded armour and long spears, and are particularly useful to chase down fleeing enemies, threaten enemy missile forces, and lure enemies into ambushes. They are also armed with paramerioi sabres should they be forced to fight, and javelins to fulfill their skirmishing duties.


Pronoiarioi: the holders of pronoias were often rich enough to serve either as lancers, or as mounted archers. Whatever their active role on the battlefield, they were compelled by Imperial laws to wear either klibanion or lorikion armour - scale or mail armour -, helmets of good quality, and a shield, either a kite-shield for lancers, or a buckler for the hippotoxotai. Lancers were, obviously, armed with a kontos - a charging spear - while hippotoxotai were to be skilled in the use of the composite bow; all of them wore, as sidearms, swords or sabres.


Kavallarioi: richer pronoiarioi and lesser noblemen served as heavily armoured cavalry, though not as heavily as the cataphracts of the Imperial oikos. Beginning with the reign of Manuel I Komnenos, byzantine nobility came to be greatly influenced by Western chivalric traditions such as jousting; as a result, these men came to fight in a style closer to that of the so-called Latins. Wearing mail or scale armour, helmets of the finest quality and strips of mail which protected their faces, these men rode into battle on top of fine steeds and fought as their Western brethens.

MERCENARIES

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During the Komnenian period, hiring mercenaries to fill in the roles left vacant by regular troops, or to bolster the army's numbers in occasion of certain campaigns, remained a valuable strategy. Service in the ranks of the prestigious Byzantine army attracted men from every corner of the known world, to serve in the most desparate of roles, and in varying numbers. These units are then listed according to their ethnicity and religion.


LATIN AND FRANKISH MERCENARIES


Italian Sailors: not really a mercenary force, but rather a force conscripted in times of dire need. Venetian, Pisan, Genoese and Amalfitan merchants residing on Imperial territory could occasionally be summoned either to serve in the Imperial fleet, or to act as a militia force, armed with whatever they could afford.


Latinikoi: a collective name given to those Westerners serving as heavy cavalry forces. Hailing from France, Norman Southern Italy, Langobardia (Northern Italy) and the Levantine Latin Kingdoms of Jerusalem, Tripoli and Antioch, these men are by far the most appreciated mercenaries in Byzantium's service, apart from the Varangians; Anna Komnena, daughter of Emperor Alexios and author of the Alexiad, described the Western knight as "irresistible; he would bore his way through the walls of Babylon".


Nemitzoi/Alamanoi: these are mercenary troops, hailing from the Kingdoms of Western Europe and more commonly from the so-called Holy Roman Empire - which Rhomaioi referred to as Kingdom of Alamannia, Kingdom of the Germans. Armed with heavy kite shields, mail armour, steel helmets of various sorts and offensive weapons such as swords and maces, they were quite useful both mounted and on foot.


SKYTHIAN, BALKANIC AND RUSSIAN MERCENARIES


Alanoi: Christian Orthodox people of skilled riders living on the Northern side of the Caucasus, the Alans were much praised as some of the best light cavalrymen to have ever rode on this Earth. They wore padded or brigandine armour, used shields of various forms, and protected their heads with characteristic hats: their main weapon was a charging spear lighter than the kontos, but longer.


Bulgarian and Vlach mercenaries: much appreciated by the byzantine military, these skilled warriors fought for the Empire both before and after the rise of the Second Bulgarian Tzardom following Koten's uprise in the 1220's*. Serving as either skirmishing troops or as heavier armoured spearmen, they were renowned for their sturdiness, and fighting skills which were best applied in wooded or montainous ground.


Crimean Goths: hailing from Chersonesos, these are the remnants of those Goths who did not flee westward under the pressure of Attila's Huns in the Vth Century. They fought on foot, wearing scale armour, large round shields, plumed helmets, axes and swords: they had such an outstanding reputation as fighters that they were often hired to serve in Cherson's garrison, and sometimes on offensive campaigns such as John Kantakouzenos' Anatolic campaign of 1233-1235 AD*.


Skithinkoi: a collective name given to those Cuman, Pecheneg and, more broadly, "Skythians" from the steppe, serving as mercenary light cavalry forces in Roman service. They rode into battle on swift and sturdy ponies, and comprised both lightly armoured troops - wearing little to no armour, partial brigandine armour in the best of cases - and heavier troops, scale armour being worn both by the rider and his steed. Whatever their armour, they were all skilled in the use of the Skythian composite bow, and used secondary offensive weapons such as spears, sabres and maces.


EASTERNERS


Armenians and Georgians: the Kingdom of Armenia had been the first to officially embrace Christianity as its State religion, in Late Antiquity. Since then, Armenia had always been the matter of contentious between Eastern Rome and its neighbours, from the Sassanid Persians, to the Arab Caliphate and the Seljuks; as such, Armenian forces had always played a prominent role in Roman armies, Armenia being one of the main recruiting grounds of the IXth-XIth Century Byzantium. People of the Caucasus had been known to Byzantium to field the cream of archer, cavalry and infantry forces: they are a resource not to be underestimated.


Tourkopouloi: meaning "Turks' sons", these men are the inevitable product of the Seljuk invasion of Anatolia, and Byzantine influence on the region. These Christianized Turks, first enlisted under Alexios I Komnenos, served in the Emperor's armies as mounted archers and skirmishing cavalry, and in the ranks of the Military Orders of Levantine Outremer as auxiliary troops.


Turkish mercenaries: following the battle of Mantzikert, Seljuk conquest of Anatolia was undertaken by a number of clans and tribes of Turkoman ancestry, which soon found their way into Byzantine service first as garrison troops - something which hastened the fall of Anatolia - and then as mercenaries in the decade-long civil war which then brought Alexios I Komnenos to the throne. Being muslims, on the contrary of their blood-related Tourkopouloi comrades, their use as mercenaries was seen with suspicion by Alexios' successor John II, but it was resumed by Manuel I Komnenos as a result of his early reign's entente with Sultan Kilij Arslan II and continued well into Palaiologan era*.

[Lord_Imrahil]

Good update. With the borders more or less secure an ambitious Emperor could think about an expedition to regain Alexandria and the rich province Aegyptus, as the crusaders are pushing against the local rules, so that the local troops would not at full strength and have to fight at multiple fronts. Afterwards the latin Kingdom in the Levante would serve as a buffer to the against the east of Aegyptus.

I really like the map and hope to see more of them in further updates. Who is currently controlling Tunis and Sardinia and who is the light green in Baku?

The army guide is really great. Having played Stainless steel as the Byzantine makes it easier, as many units are similar. Thank you for the afford to make it.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

No doubt Manuel would consider that a disappointing end to his reign, even though it's much better than it could have been. I very much like his dignified retreat to a monastery - that's a nice touch.

[Roman Heritage]

No doubt Manuel would consider that a disappointing end to his reign, even though it's much better than it could have been. I very much like his dignified retreat to a monastery - that's a nice touch.

Glad you appreciated it, Caillagh. You see, having set high hopes myself on Manuel at the onset of his reign in 1202 AD, and having struggled to retain control of Boulgaria after the bitter conflict with the Hungarians, I too felt deluded and disappointed with the consequences of Koten's uprise - by the way, the resurgent Bulgarians are simply the westernmost pronges of the Cuman confederation, which I decided to roleplay as a rebirth of the Bulgarian State, as it historically happened in the 1180s.

Good update. With the borders more or less secure an ambitious Emperor could think about an expedition to regain Alexandria and the rich province Aegyptus, as the crusaders are pushing against the local rules, so that the local troops would not at full strength and have to fight at multiple fronts.

That's a plan I myself mused with, as it didn't feel so outlandish an idea as it would seem - Manuel I Komnenos himself wasted considerable resources in an effort to regain Egypt, based on the same premises; such effort, however, failed and merely set up the stage for the rise of Salah-ed-Din and, ultimately, the downfall of the Latin Levant. Quite ironic, isn't it?

Currently, however, I'm being distracted by matters closer home - and, if I may add a little spoiler, somebody beat me in time concerning Egypt If you're patient enough, this matter should be contemplated in what it's likely to be the thirtieth, or thirtyfirst chapter.

The army guide is really great. Having played Stainless steel as the Byzantine makes it easier, as many units are similar. Thank you for the afford to make it.

Thank you for the appreciation, Lord Imrahil! Yes, SS' CBUR and Bellum Crucis' byzantine rosters are quite similar, though I feel some of Stainless Steel's units are sorely missed in this mod - the acritae, being a versatile medium, javelin-throwing infantry, would have been really useful in the guerrilla warfare I'm constantly facing in the easternmost outskirts of the Empire, and lighter akontistae don't quite full the role. Everything else is great, though: one of the reasons I'm really concerned with the struggle for Anatolia's coastline is securing a base from which to recover the inner plateau, which resources would be fundamental for the revival of some units such as cataphracts!

I really like the map and hope to see more of them in further updates. Who is currently controlling Tunis and Sardinia and who is the light green in Baku?

I always thought of maps such as these as ideal to portray the situation at the end of a sovereign's rule, or at particularly important historical "milestone" dates, but I may consider posting them more often - perhaps even including one to the OT showing the current chapter's geopolitical situation all over the map. Would it be a good idea?

By the way, to answer your questions, its is the Almohads. They are truly a force to be reckoned with in the West, having wrestled Northern Africa from the Normans - who at the start date had some colonies in Tripolitania - and Corsica and Sardinia from Pisa and Genoa. In the Iberian paeninsula, they have forced the Kings of Portugal, Castile, Lèon and Aragon to submit as their vassals: their triumph could not possibly be greater.

For what concerns the East, grey stands for the Abbasid Caliphate, and light green and light brown stand for two historically existing factions, currently absorbed in the Seljuk sphere of influence - which I'm, however, roleplaying as independent sovereignties to add flavour. Light brown stands for the Shah-Armen, the Turkic rulers of Armenia, while light green stands for the Shahaddids, Eldiguzids and other Azeri dinasties which historically formed a buffer between the Seljuks of Rum and their kinsmen in Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Edit: also wanted to warn you all that this, and other excellent AARs, are competing in the current MAARC. Votations are opened!

[Beavertronius]

Really impressed with the amount of research that has gone into this! Congrats on your win

[Alwyn]

I agree with Lord_Imrahil and Caillagh that this is an enjoyable update and also agree with Beavertronius that your research into the Byzantine army is impressive. I like the idea of a sandbox Byzantine campaign in which you can make whichever choices you wish.

[Roman Heritage]

Let me thank all you readers for your appreciation and feedback, and the TWC staff for my recent ex-aequo first place in the latest MAARC. Thanks for everyone who voted, and on a larger note, to all those who keep on reading this AAR!

It's been a while since I last updated this, and let me apologize by presenting you our twenty-sixth chapter


CHAPTER TWENTYSIX - Of Alexios' rise to the throne, and Kontostephanos' reforms (1227-1231 AD)

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With Manuel's abdication, the throne passed onto his and Empress Zoe's then twenty years-old son, Alexios Porphyrogennetos Palaiologos, third of his name. According to Argyros, who followed his liegemaster Manuel into his monkish confinement in the Pantokrator Monastery, and there died in 1245 AD at the ripe age of ninety, Alexios III Palaiologos was



"...a handsome, inspiring youth, his skin and eyes amber of colour (...) whose cunning mind had been well educated in all those matters which befit of an Emperor; he was, indeed, a master of rhetorics and fluent in both Latin and Arabic, which he had been taught by Hyeronimus, a clergymen of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This same clergyman also instructed him in matters of the spirit, though later on his pupil would care little about orthodoxy and liturgies, willingly submitting to his Imperial religious duties but refusing to be entangled in disputes concerning the Faith and its dogmas, rather looking at the Church as a means to an end. (...) (He was) a fine rider and a capable swordsman, excellently trained in military matters along with his brothers, the Porphyrogennetoi Nikephoros and Andronikos, by no less than Kontostephanos the Blind himself, whose teachings he valued as much as his father's."




This is one of the most interesting quotes from Argyros' memories: Alexios III Palaiologos is indeed described as a worthy successor to his father Manuel, talented and cultured, but through this description not only does Argyros shed another light on the personality of the new Emperor - who, to his father's talents, added a cunning mind and an ambition which resembled his omonymous forefather, Alexios I Komnenos' - but also reveals Kontostephanos' influence in the education of the Palaiologos' offspring. This small excerpt indeed helps us gain a better understanding of the new Basileus' personality, and of the three key factors behind the Imperial resurgence which characterized Alexios III's reign.




First and foremost, relationships between the new generation of Palaiologoi - Maria, Alexios, Nikephoros and Andronikos - were exceptionally stable, when confronted with the bitter resentment and envy which had characterized kinship ties in the Komnenian period - Emperor Manuel I and his cousin Andronikos Komnenos being the foremost examples. Alexios' three siblings generally agreed and supported their brother the Emperor's policies and decisions; whenever a mediation was needed, furthermore, it was achieved through the good offices of Basilissa Zoe Komnena-Doukaina, who refused to follow her husband to monastic confinement and fully embraced politics, even outshadowing her daughter-in-law Empress Syele in court life; she is indeed often credited with the following quote,


"...it is far more rewarding to be mother of an Emperor, than being wife of another; for an Emperor is subject to none but God and his mother"



which no doubt has a kernel of truth, for she remarkably came to wield more power as mother Empress than as Empress in her own and her husband's right, becoming even more powerful and influent than the rightful Basilissa and Augusta, Alexios' wife Syele Hohenstaufen, her nephew through the marriage of Manuel II Palaiologos' sister, Eirene Palaiologina, and former German Emperor Michael I.


A second key factor resides in the very education of the Palaiologoi brothers, and the atmosphere in which they had grown. They had all been taught military matters by the Megas Domestikos, a war hero, son of a war hero, whose knowledge of Seljuk, Hungarian and steppe warfare was undisputed, and all of them had been brought by their father on campaign in the much disputed Armeniacs' theme in two occasions, in 1220 and 1224 AD. As such, Manuel's sons had sufficient knowledge of the Empire 's military and its neighbours' military habits, and all which concerned the Anatolic possessions of the Empire, including its economic, social and religious conditions - which would help them understand the nature of the Roman army's crysis and undertake measures against it.



A third, and often overlooked factor, lies in the codification and transmission of such invaluable military knowledge through Kontostephanos' military treatise, the Sylloge Taktikos. Byzantine military culture had produced a long series of worthy treatises, from the VIth Century Strategikon of Maurikios, to the Xth Century Pracepta Militaria; the Sylloge tied itself to such illustrious tradition, which had strangely not continued, it would seem, under the military Emperors of the Komnenian period. This, and Kontostephanos' habit of surrounding himself with promising young members of the Roman elite to serve as his aids, brought new stimuli to Eastern Roman military culture and allowed for the rise of a new generation of well-prepared, young and ambitious officers, of which the foremost example was the soon to be revealed as formidable John Kantakouzenos, son of Alexios, the war hero who had fallen against the Bulgarians at the Shipka Pass.




All of these were the necessary premises for what was to follow. No sooner had Alexios been crowned Emperor in Hagia Sophia by Patriarch Germanos II along with his German wife Syele Hohenstaufen, that reformation of the Empire's economic and military begun. In the period between 1227 and 1231 AD, Alexios III and his allies - chiefly, Megas Logothethes Demetrios Briennios, Megas Domestikos Simeon Kontostephanos, the Porphyrogennetoi Nikephoros and Andronikos, and kaisar Stephanos Makrodoukas-Palaiologos, husband of Maria Porphyrogenneta Palaiologina and Doux of Amaseia in the Armeniacs - issued and enforced a number of chrysobulls by means of which they sought to enforce an agrarian reform and redemensionate in the process the power of the dynatoi, the landed aristocracy of Anatolia, which enormous estates were effectively choking on the small landowners which constituted the army's backbone.


This was not achieved without opposition. A few aristocratic families, such as the Gabrai, the Apoukakoi and the Tzimiskoi staged a failed plot against the Palaiologoi, and were effectively ruined by the Basileus' merciless reaction: the ringleaders were all exiled or executed, while the greater part of the personalities involved - and it must have been quite a sizeable number - were forgiven in exchange for their support of the reform, and their compliance to the chrysobulls. The large estates of renowned families such as the Kantakouzenoi, the Angelo-Doukai, the Arbantenoi and so on were in fact diminished through acquisition rather than compulsion. But where did the enormous quantities of required money come from?




"...and while the powerful dynatoi, impressed by the downfall of such renowned houses such as that of Gabras, Apoukakos and many others, complied to the Basileus' orders and asked for some sums of gold be given them to compensate the loss of the revenues of said lands, happened that, during their customary visits to the Emperor's Great Palace, the representatives of those various Latin communities residing into the City asked for the Emperor to grant them a token of his friendship, for there were tensions between those from Genoa and those from Venice, and each sought to deprive the other of those considerable revenues coming from their trade within and through Rhomania; and the cunning Basileus, who was at the time in need of gold to enforce his chrysobulls, asked both Latin proxenoi (Consuls) by which means would they reward him of his friendship, if he ever chose to pick their side. To this, the Genoese offered slaves, furs and all kind of goods which they collected through their emporion in Cherson, and but a little amount of gold, for they as a people are much fond of gold and would surrender whatever good rather than coins; but the Venetians offered money, in such large quantities as to fill large amounts of coffers, and silks of the finest qualities..."




Alexios' alliance with the Venetians paid off: according to the terms of a chrysobull which he granted in 1229 AD, Venetian headquarters in Constantinople were enlarged at the expense of the Genoese community, Venetian ships and crews could occasionally be enlisted in the Empire's service, and large numbers of Venetian emporioi were to be established in Pontic coastal cities, where, due to continuous warfare, foreign capital would provide concrete help in reconstituting the disrupted trade infrastracture; furthermore, Venetian gold was then used to placate the incensed dynatoi for their land losses. Redistribution of said land then followed, on the general criteria of doubling the size of the smallest plots of land found to be held by provincial stratiotai and pronoiarioi, in order to provide better means of subsistance and income to the small landowners, which incomes were instrumental for the acquisition and mantenance of armour, weapons and, in the case of the pronoiarioi, horses, with which to serve into the army; poorest communities were even allowed to group their funds together in order to arm a fixed amount of soldiers. The process, which is now known as the Kontostephanean reform, would be instrumental in the strenghtening of those classes on which the Empire's military relied, but would however also leave a major strain on Alexios' relationship with the Genoese and the aristocracy, which would remain tense and unstable for the rest of his reign - collapsing after his death.

LIST OF TITLES AND KNOWN HOLDERS

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Megas Doux
- Unknown holders


Megas Domestikos
- Simeon Kontostephanos the Blind (tenure 1220-1232 AD)


Megas Logothethes
- Demetrios Briennios (tenure 1219-1232 AD)

Ecoumenical Patriarch of Konstantinopoulis
- Germanus II (tenure 1223–1240 AD)

[theSilentKiller]

As always, authentic and great chapters! Especially authentic, everything sounds like it actually happened! Awaiting the next chapter with anticipation!

[Alwyn]

I agree with theSilentKiller! It sounds like the expertise of the older generation - from Zoe Komnena-Doukaina to the war hero, the Megas Domestikos (through his teaching of Manuel's sons and through his military treatise) will benefit the next generation of leaders and commanders.