BYZANTIUM (Politeia ton Rhomaion)

[Razor]

As you know, Georgios, I mostly agree :-)

I've got even notes form Kalldelis:
"* idea of Byzantium as a rigid imperial theocracy is a construct of Western historians since the Enlightenment* in Romania the notion of divine kingship emerged as a way to disguise the inherent vulnerability of each regime
* the LEGITIMACY of the emperors was not predicated on an absolute right to the throne but ON the POPULARITY of individual emperors, whose grip on power was tenuous despite the stability of the imperial institution itself
* the rebellions were not aberrations, but an essential part of the functioning of the republican monarchy"

"And there should be a significant happiness bonus for the Emperor being present in the capital, and penalty for his absence." - if you'd write a script for such situation, I'd add it to the code. It must be possible (maybe easy?) since the EBII has it for the Ptolemaioi.

"And to further demonstrate the centrality of the capital, is there a mechanism to make the loss of Constantinople an instant faction destruction for the Byzantines? Probably not, but if this could be done, it would be worth investigating." - I don't think it'd be historical since after 1204 the Byzantines manged to survive without Polish for almost 60 years (not to mention the case of Trapezous)

" I'd therefore suggest that Byzantine generals should be considerably less loyal than those of other factions- for the Byzantine player, sending any general other than the Emperor and his closest confidantes out on campaign with large armies should be a serious risk." - this is reflected in the traits and will be even more when I get to reviewing the career system of the ERE. I've left it untouched yet and I don't know what's happening there.

I don't think that the loss of Constantinople should result in an instant and total desintegration of the Byzantine/Eastern Roman empire. What would be appropriate is a drop in public order throughout the empire and possibly rebellions. What you could do is downtune the public order of a few buildings and add a factionwide public order bonus to a building in Constantinople itself. When the Byzantines lose Constantinople, the other provinces don't receive the public order bonus from the building in Constantinople anymore and are more prone to rebellion.

A relatively easy way to do it is to decrease/delete the public order bonus of a government building in the regular building capability section and add a factionwide public order bonus in combination with a hidden resource named 'Constantinople' or whatever.

Anyway, just a thought...

[j.a.luna]

Sship developers, talking about romans i love see in the campaign map the echumenical patriarch of Constantinople as orthodox religious leader, but for be a little more inmersive and historical is possible give him black clothes for graphically differentiate it from the rest of the patriarchs??.
I think that is easy solve this modyfing his textures...this important figure always had black clothes. What do you think?
And for the great Iman if is possible make similar clothes but white clothes for the same issue( sometime ago i did a proposal for great imans and great caliph)

I leave here some images that can be helpful for this matter

[Lifthrasir]

Unless I'm blind the Imam is already in white clothes. Orthodox Patriarch will remain unchanged for now. Aesthetically, he looks better in his current version and he's easy to be recognized on the strat map.

Beside, I'm not convinced that the Orthodox Patriarches were in black during the medieval period. At least they weren't according to this pic (man in blue on the right):

[j.a.luna]

Unless I'm blind the Imam is already in white clothes. Orthodox Patriarch will remain unchanged for now. Aesthetically, he looks better in his current version and he's easy to be recognized on the strat map.

Beside, I'm not convinced that the Orthodox Patriarches were in black during the medieval period. At least they weren't according to this pic (man in blue on the right):

But you talk about the current sship Iman? Now each Iman of differents muslim factions have the faction colour... For example abbasid Iman have black clothes, Selyuk Empire have Iman with blue clothes... I did not see a special white great Iman...
In my opinion about patriarch yes, is easy to be recognized in the campaign map due to his different models respect orthodox bishops, but is the same model for all orthodox factions, so if the Pope have a special unique strat model for the catholics factions why not should have Echumenical Patriarch? For example now in sship you have the same model for all byzantine patriarchs including the echumenical patriarch, and the same model but different colours for serbian, georgian patriarch.
I think that give him a black colour or maybe different texture would be the best option to be recognized in the campaign map( like the pictures above), if not you will have that click about him for know his tittle in the event that there are more patriarchs, same case with Great Iman.

[officialdeo]

I have formulated a neat strategy to play as the Romans. Tried it several times with great success.

First, you need to understand that you are position-wise a mismanaged maritime sovereignty, yet ruled by military autocracy. Your real power lies in the dominance of trade over the East Mediterranean. Stop trying to be an all-conquering Romans of the antiquity. The economy has to be transformed to rely more on an healthy urban population. Construct buildings that give bonus to public health, thus lowering the chance of a plague occurring. Focus your resources on several economically vital, regional capitals so that eventually you can set the tax on highest level on those capitals, e.g. Thessalonica, Smyrna.

Second, secure the Danubian borders. Either set up a healthy trade partnership with Serbia, or vanquish it as soon as possible. Don't enter a prolonged war with a Christian power especially with the Turks right in front of your doorstep. Don't neglect those border provinces; you will need them to be strong enough to eventually withstand Hungarian and Italian skirmishes.

Third, and the most necessary for this strategy to work, reconquer Anatolia by the draining the Turks of their resources. If they conquer Caesarea, take that city but don't even try to hold it; it's a waste of your resources, let them waste theirs. Eventually the wealth gap between the two of you will be massive enough that the Turks will fall apart from economic exhaustion. Consolidate Anatolia by using the same approach in the first step. That means Sebasteia, Iconium, and Caesarea. Urbanise Caesarea, you don't really need that many castles since like I have said, you are not and should not play the Romans like a militaristic, feudal warlord. Cilicia will suffice to produce those Scoutatoi.

Fourth, after you have consolidated Anatolia, don't get ahead of yourself and try to do a Justinian or even Basil II reconquest. It's a waste of your resources for several reasons:

1. The Levant is very difficult to defend since there is no natural border nor choke points unless you take all the cities in one go. Which is not possible since Jerusalem will probably still exist at this point, thus angering the Latin world and risking a backstab on your Danubian borders. It is also the main target for Islamic jihads; you are not strong enough at this point to conquer all of the Levant, consolidate, and withstand jihads unless you use exploitative game mechanics or a pro gamer.
2. South Italy is somewhat easier to reconquer and consolidate, provided you manage to gain a stable foothold in Bari. Yet it will also anger the Latin world and risk prolonged skirmishes with the Latins; we have to think like a profit-seeking maritime sovereignty.

With those two points in mind, there is a great alternative. Naval invasion of Egypt. It has great economic potential, easily defensible borders as long as you secure the Sinai desert. Ally yourselves with Jerusalem, lend a hand to the Latins against Muslim powers while you try to reconquer and consolidate Egypt. You may afford several stacks now thanks to Egypt's economic potential.

Fifth. With the Balkans, Anatolia, and Egypt in your possession, as well as an healthy, urban-centric economy, you are free to reconquer North Africa up to Tunis. It provides you with great economic potential and secure borders for future skirmishes against the Moors and Sicilians. Once you are at this point, you should be ranking first in every category and feel that snowballing momentum. Hungary and Sicily will no longer be viable trading partners; they will stab you in the back. Be prepared to send punitive expeditions against their cities. You may try to reconquer Italy, but it's better to drain the Moors of their resources first by sending a raiding party. They can be a real pain if left unchecked, that is, Christian Spaniards do not manage to weaken the Moors at all.

[Lifthrasir]

But you talk about the current sship Iman? Now each Iman of differents muslim factions have the faction colour... For example abbasid Iman have black clothes, Selyuk Empire have Iman with blue clothes... I did not see a special white great Iman...
In my opinion about patriarch yes, is easy to be recognized in the campaign map due to his different models respect orthodox bishops, but is the same model for all orthodox factions, so if the Pope have a special unique strat model for the catholics factions why not should have Echumenical Patriarch? For example now in sship you have the same model for all byzantine patriarchs including the echumenical patriarch, and the same model but different colours for serbian, georgian patriarch.
I think that give him a black colour or maybe different texture would be the best option to be recognized in the campaign map( like the pictures above), if not you will have that click about him for know his tittle in the event that there are more patriarchs, same case with Great Iman.

I'm not so sure that the pope has a specific model
In any case, any stratmap character should be easily recognized by his faction affiliation, no matter his nature or rank. I see your point nevertheless and we'll see what can be done when time permitting. But for sure, patriarches won't be black.

[officialdeo]

By the way, is it just me who hardly if ever uses the cavalry units from the Roman roster? I tend to ditch them all except for Archontopoulai, because they have the best price-performance ratio until I can get my hands on Armenian cavalry and high era Western knights. In fact, in my strategy, I urbanise Anatolia exactly so I can afford a large garrison and those cavalrymen. I do note however that I use the latter as shock cavalry, although I don't spam them.

I don't know if this is historically even remotely plausible or just my powergaming.

[officialdeo]

Some highlights on the Roman roster.

1. Scoutatoi (Spearmen) is the backbone of any sane player's army. It's useful up until the best cavalry units of the game start appearing in high era.
2. Mourtatoi archers. The best unit in the roster, price-performance wise and will dominate your army composition until Gasmuli is available, and even then it still has its purposes. Spam them up to 5 units or more in a stack for maximum effect.
3. Castrophilakae is the general-purpose heavy infantry. Someone has to get down and dirty with those enemy spearmen, and this unit can be easily spammed with a healthy economy. Don't bother with Scoutatoi Swordsmen; that unit is just a poor man's Castrophilakae although it might be useful when the player loses too many urban centres and has to rely more on castles, but at the start of the game there is no benefit using it.
4. The only cavalry units worth using are Archontopoulai and Latinikon. They are useful as shock cavalry, until you can hire mercenaries comfortably without worrying about bankruptcy. Ditch everything else, even Kataphraktoi; they are too expensive for the gimmick they offer and don't give a lot of return on investment on the battlefield. I tested Kataphraktoi in a series of battles against other units, including other cavalry units. Even Mercenary Frankish Cavalry can beat them head-to-head and perform better in almost all tasks but tanking, so why bother.
Sure, Stratiotai is slightly better than Mailed Knights but for the purpose of shock cavalry, Archontopoulai is a more economical option at the start of the game. Also, Pronoiarii is a terrible investment; it is feudal, easily superseded by late era mercenary knights, and even performs worse than high era Imperial Knights for the gold they need. Save the gold for a stronger backbone.
5. High era Varangian Guards and Gasmuli, I spam them as many as I can once they become available. At this point though, the player should be swimming in an abundance of wealth, meaning spamming mercenaries like there is no tomorrow. These units+German knights+Roman meatshield = your high/late era army.
Edit:
6. It's embarrassing how I forgot to write Acontistae. This is a must especially when you want to soften the Bodyguards. I don't just use it for Eastern campaigns, it's also useful to have on the Danubian borders (hence I wrote to not neglect those provinces). Acritae is good but redundant IMO; my economic playstyle prefers cheap javelineers and spends the rest of the gold on true heavy infantry.

Notable mention is Siphonatores. Too gimmicky and situational, although powerful in certain defensive situations. I only train this unit when I want to have a chuckle, but it is useless in the grand scheme of the army.

Tl;dr, the Romans have all-round strong units in early and high era especially archers and heavy infantry units, although the performance diminishes going into late game compared to Western factions. Cavalry is competitive at the start, but there are better options and soon reduced to irrelevance in high and late game.

[Navajo Joe]

official Deo,

An interesting post, but I feel you have missed a unit that I always include in my ERE armies. The Acontistae, the Javelinmen, who sit behind my Scoutatoi Spearmen and pelt the AI Muslim Bodyguards when they come in range, which saves alot of my spearmen. Those bodyguards die quicker and the javelin very cheap unit.

Cheers
NJ

[officialdeo]

official Deo,

An interesting post, but I feel you have missed a unit that I always include in my ERE armies. The Acontistae, the Javelinmen, who sit behind my Scoutatoi Spearmen and pelt the AI Muslim Bodyguards when they come in range, which saves alot of my spearmen. Those bodyguards die quicker and the javelin very cheap unit.

Cheers
NJ

Whoops, sorry about that, I didn't even know why I missed that one since I spam it a lot too in early game. I guess I'm taking it for granted. It's basically one of the reasons CBUR was a breath of fresh air if I remember correctly. I'll make some edits, thanks.

[nikossaiz]

Hello everyone. After almost four years of ( no continuing ) moding i would like to present a complete preview of the upcoming ERE roster for the SSHIP.

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i was about to gave up on it long time ago, but part of nostalgia, part i found the SSHIP mod, and most of all how the devs are actually deticated on it i deside that i still wanted to be part of this community. i strongly believe that are many die hards and new players that are still playing the game, and i will definatelly find time to play the upcoming version of it so...

The roster composition is based on several sources ( saddly not all of them mentioned here, cant remember all )

books like

- warfare in late byzantium 1204/1453 by savvas kyriakidis
- the empire of manuel i komnenos 1143/1180 by paul magdalino
- byzantium at war 9th/12 century by the institute for byzantine research ( international symposium 4 )
- history of warfare "the development of the komnenian army 1081/1180 by john birkenmeier
- chronicle of morea (ofcourse )
- the byzantine wars by john Haldon
- the evolution of the medieval world 312/1500 by david nicholas
- all glukatze arbeler books
- the byzantines by Averil Cameron

monographs like

- byzantium vs islam 634/1461 by periklis deligiannis
- constantinople the first fall 1204 by gnomon publications ( now govostis publications )
- byzantine bulgarian wars by nikos giannopoulos
- myriokefallo 1176 by gnomon publications ( now govostis publications )
- the course to fall by periskopio publications
- the twilight of byzantium by periskopio publications
- crusades by dimitrios belezos
- the sword of islam on balkans by ektwr-evaggelos charatsis
- the byzantine army by dimitrios belezos

pictures that took inspiration and textures like

- warriors of antiquaty and medieval era by christos giannopoulos
- many many osprey books

now to the actual units. my intenttion was not to make a revonutionally different ere roster from what allready have seen in all these years but a more close to history, yet refreshing one. so, some units that were as i would like them to be are remained as they are on the current sship roster . so for the one i made, some ( models, part of models, textures ) were made by me, some were taken from several sources. All of them gave me the apropriate license or stayed publically that their work is open source.

again i may forgot someone (The sadiest of all is that the majority of those have loooong gone from moding scene ), please forgive me .

Raaka and gestir for model parts and textures
gemini sandy for model and textures
the last kingdom mod devs for models and textures ( i may not use anything in the end but they gave me permition kindly )
wudang_clown and strelac for models and textures ( the scoutatoi kite shields are the best
rusichi mod team for models and textures ( some of the best anyone can find for medieval 2 )
part of textures from Aura's_ME_Shields ( beautiful eastern designs )
byzantine_heavy_inf was the name for the base models i took for varangian guards. if someone remember the moder that made it please inform .
the total war forums for the tutorials and suggestions.

campaign timeframe introduction

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In April 1081, the gates of Kwnstantinople were opened to welcome the young Alexios Komninos. He was the last rebel against the old Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078-1081), whose rise to the throne was to end a long period of instability.

The state of the empire taken over by Alexios Komninos was gloomy. The Turks had reached the Propontis, the Pechenegs were sweeping the Danube regions, while from the west the Normans were threatening the very existence of the state. During his long reign, Alexius (1081-1118) fought on all fronts, not only keeping the empire alive but also leading a counterattack to recapture the vital territories, notably western Asia Minor, taking advantage of the presence of crusaders during the Crusade (1095-1099). This counterattack continued with undiminished intensity during the reign of John II Komninos(1118-1143) son and successor of Alexios. John proved to be quite capable. in 1122 he effectively defeated the Pechenegs, defeating them in the Battle of Verio and thereby eliminating a significant threat to the state. It proved equally effective against the Serbs, the Hungarians, in a series of battles that brought the Romans victorious.
John's attention had not escaped that the most serious threat to the empire was in the east, and the Seljuks of Iconium along with their Turkic allies. After a series of battles, he managed to halt Turkish advancement but without eliminating it. The Battle of the Myriokephalus in 1176 with his son Manuel I as emperor, would lead the empire to a new era of uncertainty.

The ERE roster

psiloi Acontistae & psiloi toxotaes

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in the komnenian armies psiloi ( literaly "thin" ) were usually of rus or slavic origin and were The true skirmish infantry, usually entirely unarmoured. This term included foot archers, javelineers and slingers, though archers were sometimes differentiated from the others in descriptions. The psiloi were clearly regarded as being quite separate from the peltastes. Such troops usually carried a small buckler for protection and would have had an auxiliary weapon, a sword or light axe, for use in a close combat situation. These missile troops could be deployed in open battle behind the protective ranks of the heavy infantry, or thrown forward to skirmish.The light troops were especially effective when deployed in an ambush, as at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir in 1177.

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contaratoi

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Their name is derived from the Greek word for spear (kontos or kontarion). Contaratoi are the basic militia infantry unit and They make up the majority of each province’s armed forces. while not untrained or unexperienced they are inferior compare to more professional and heavy units such as the Scoutatoi.

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Peltastes

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The type of infantryman called a peltast (peltastes) is far more heavily referenced in contemporary sources than the “spearman” or "contaratoi". Although the peltasts of Antiquity were light skirmish infantry armed with javelins, it would be unsafe to assume that the troops given this name in the Komnenian period were identical in function; indeed, Byzantine peltasts were sometimes described as “assault troops”. Komnenian peltasts appear to have been relatively lightly equipped soldiers ( lighter than scutatoi for sure ) capable of great battlefield mobility, who could skirmish but who were equally capable of close combat. Their arms may have included a shorter version of the kontarion spear which could be used as a heavy javelin and a sword. At Dyrrachion, for example, a large force of peltasts achieved the feat of driving off Norman cavalry. Peltasts were sometimes employed in a mutually supportive association with heavy cavalry.

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tagmata scoutatwn spear & sword

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deschenants of the roman legions, Greek and Roman units often took their names from the equipment they carried (e.g. hoplite is derived from the hoplon shield). In the Roman army the big, usually almond shaped shield was known as a scutus. In the Byzantine armies, the troops who carried those kind of shields were known as Scoutatoi. These were the standard line infantry of medieval Roman armies and in addition to their large shield, they were also armed with spears and/or swords. in the middle komnenian Era they consisted of veterans and experiensed sholdiers. the main unit size was drougos (δρούγος) numbered 1000 men

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symachika tagmata

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symachika ( or auxilliary ) tagmata were units formed from men of various nations that were obligated to romans or were allies to them. usually the term in history books refered to their cavalry counterparts that included the turkopols or the alans. The infantry tagmata were included mostly men from serbia, bulgaria, georgia and armenia. Just like the various ethnicities that fought for the romans in the komnenian period they used primary their one equipment with some roman elements over time of service.

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mourtatoi

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according to Pseudi-Kodinos mourtatoi was more of a title than a name of origin and mourtatoi ( mourtatos, singular ) were a palace guard devision that they fought on foot as archers and were commanded by the stratopedarches of the mourtatoi. The word mourtatoi itself ought to derive from the arabo-Turkish word "murtedd", "murtat" , meaning "Apostate" or "renegade" and it has generally been thought that the mourtatoi were therefore christianized Turks. However, mourtatoi ( murtati in latin ) are described by anonymous western authors as not merely christanized Turks, but products of mixed marriage between greeks and turks. It is not clear if they were a roman palace guard unit or even sholdiers who served the roman army specifically or took place in the crusader armies also. Mourtatos was an ethnic and religious designator, paralleling "gasmoulos" ( half greek and half latin ) and similar, though not identical to "tourkopolos".

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Varangian guard

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The Varangian Guard (Greek: Τάγμα των βαράγγων, Tagma ton Varangon) was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century. They are known for their win over the pechenegs during the komnenian era, as well as their last stand during the fall of constantinople to the latins on 1204. The members served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from northern Europe, including Norsemen from Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxons from England. The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions.

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The Rus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard. They were in Byzantine service from as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under Emperor Basil II in 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' by Vladimir I of Kiev. Vladimir, who had recently usurped power in Kiev with an army of Varangian warriors, sent 6,000 men to Basil as part of a military assistance agreement. Basil's distrust of the native Byzantine guardsmen, whose loyalties often shifted, with fatal consequences, as well as the proven loyalty of the Varangians, many of whom had previously served in Byzantium, led the Emperor to employ them as his personal guardsmen.


Immigrants from Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden kept a predominantly Norse cast to the organization until the late 11th century. According to the late Swedish historian Alf Henrikson in his book Svensk Historia (History of Sweden), the Scandinavian Varangian guardsmen were recognized by long hair, a red ruby set in the left ear and ornamented dragons sewn on their chainmail shirts. In these years, Swedish men left to enlist in the Byzantine Varangian Guard in such numbers that a medieval Swedish law, Vastgotalagen, from Vastergotland declared no one could inherit while staying in "Greece"—the then Scandinavian term for the Byzantine Empire—to stop the emigration, especially as two other European courts simultaneously also recruited Scandinavians:Kievan Rus' c. 980–1060 and London 1018–1066 (the ?ingali?).


Composed primarily of Norsemen and Rus for the first 100 years, the Guard began to see increased numbers of Anglo-Saxons after the Norman conquest of England. By the time of the Emperor Alexios Komnenos in the late 11th century, the Varangian Guard was largely recruited from Anglo-Saxons and "others who had suffered at the hands of the Vikings and their cousins the Normans".[This quote needs a citation] The Anglo-Saxons and other Germanic peoples shared with the Vikings a tradition of faithful (to death if necessary) oath-bound service, and the Norman invasion of England resulted in many fighting men who had lost their lands and former masters and were looking for positions elsewhere.

The Varangian Guard not only provided security for the Byzantine emperors, but also participated in many wars, often playing a decisive role, since they were usually deployed at critical moments of a battle. By the late 13th century, Varangians were mostly ethnically assimilated by the Byzantine Greeks, though the Guard remained in existence until at least mid-14th century. In 1400, there were still some people identifying themselves as "Varangians" in Constantinople.

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vestiaritai

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The vestiaritai appear in the mid-11th century, with the first known vestiarites, John Iberitzes, attested in 1049. As their name indicates, they had a connection to the imperial wardrobe and treasury, the vestiarion, probably initially raised as a guard detachment for it. From circa 1080 on, they were formally distinguished into two groups: the "inner" or "household" vestiaritai (eso or oikeioi vestiaritai), attached to the emperor's private treasury (the eso/oikeiakon vestiarion) under a megas primikerios, and the "outer" (exo vestiaritai) under a primikerios, who were probably under the public or state treasury (basilikon vestiarion). Gradually, they replaced various other groups of armed guards that the Byzantine emperors had employed inside Constantinople itself, such as the manglabitai or the pantheotai, and became the exclusive corps of the emperor's confidential agents. As the princess and historian Anna Komnene writes, they were the courtiers "closest" to the emperor. With the military crisis of the 1070s, they were also formed into a regular palace guard regiment, serving alongside the Varangian Guard in the Komnenian-era army.

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italian mercenaries

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italians almost always were a significant part of the komnenian roman army, ussualy served in the navy, but post 1204 and the fall of constantinople the later emperors employ them also as heavy infantry and in large numbers. A good example of this was the italians that got hired by the contender of the imperial throne Theodorus A' Laskari in nikaia of asia minor. These italian mercenaries were mail shirts, helmets that were quite common on the western christian army of the era ( early 1200 ) pavisse shields, many of them with cuted the bottom part in order to stand on the ground and made a standing shieldwall and the fearsome italian halberds, axes and hammers. 800 of these men were standed alongside 1200 romans, latins and turks on command of theodorus laskaris in antiocheia, against 20.000 seljuk turks, latin and romans under the command of the sultan of iconium, Chai chosru who supported alexius for the imperial throne. with direct orders of laskaris, all the italian mercenaries paint their shields with the "ΧΡ" symbol

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gasmuloi

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Gasmuli was a name that characterized the men of mixed origin, latin, usually italian from one side and greek from the other. The name itself delivered from the latin "mulus" that passed to greek language as moulos "μούλος" meaning bastard. Gasmuli had the reputation of being very skilled sailors and fearsome marines. They often took part in the city's defence as militia, often using crossbows a very common weapon used in italian fleets and the swords as their weaponry. late on the term gasmuli tended to discriped any sholdier that was lightly armored

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trapezuntine horse archers

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even though the art of horse archering had supplant within the roman natives and this role left for the nomadic tribes that served the empire, they were places in the asia minor and pontus that preserve this tradition. Trepizond in particular had long provide depentable horse archers and were a mix of georgian, roman and lazoi origin. They were described as warlike and although few in number they had a fearsome reputation. Trapezuntine horse archers become later on the backbone of the Empire of Trebizond (Greek: Βασίλειον τής Τραπεζούντας) a Byzantine Greek successor state of the Byzantine Empire founded in 1204 as a result of the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade and It is often known as "the last Greek Empire". in the komnenian army they propably had a role more like the Koursores and defensores, guarding the flanks of the army rather than the more mobile role of the lighter nomadic cavalry.

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latinika tagmata

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Latinika tagmata in general were the units made of Latin heavy cavalry and was recruited from the warriors and knights of Italy, France, The Low Countries, Germany and the Crusader States. Some Latin cavalrymen formed part of the regular soldiery of the empire and were supported by pay from the imperial treasury, or by pronoia grants, and were organised into formal regiments. Regular Latin 'knightly' heavy cavalry were part of the guard, with individual Latins or those of Western descent to be found in the imperial household, others were grouped into a formation later known as the latinikon. Alternatively, bands of mercenary knights were often hired for the duration of a particular campaign. The charge of the western knight was held in considerable awe by the Byzantines; Anna Komnene stated that "A mounted Kelt [an archaism for a Norman or Frank] is irresistible; he would bore his way through the walls of Babylon." The Latins’ equipment and tactics were identical to those of their regions of origin; though the appearance and equipment of such troops must have become progressively more Byzantine the longer they were in the emperor's employ. Some Latin soldiers, for example the Norman Roger son of Dagobert, became thoroughly integrated into Byzantine society. The descendants of such men, including the general Alexios Petraliphas and the naval commander Constantine Frangopoulos (“son-of-a-Frank”), often remained in military employ.[124] The son of the Norman knight Roger son of Dagobert, John Rogerios Dalassenos, married a daughter of John II, was made caesar and even made an unsuccessful bid for the imperial throne.The most well-known Latinikon were the Norman knights that entered the Empire’s service after the first Romano/Norman war in Italy. These Norman knights brought to the Byzantine army the concept of the shock cavalry charge, a tactic foreign to the Empire's forces up until this time. Many times found to be untrustworthy especially when the Empire fought against Catholic states, but they were one of the most reliable against Muslim enemies. In Byzantine service, they often adopted armour and weapon styles from the Roman armoury.

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tagmata kataphraktwn

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Katafraktoi constituted the revival of their Roman counterparts that had disappeared after the 6th century AD. They wear a "klivanion" made of metal plates that covered most of their body along with articulated armor on the arms and legs, and chainmail for the chest. A duvet was carried over the metal plates for the purpose of removing the possibility of overheating from direct sunlight. It is no coincidence that this type of armor was called "klivanion", a word derived from the ancient Greek term "klivanos", meaning "oven". even though at the beggining of the komnenian era they were of noticeably lesser quality than their western foes, during the middle komnenian era they had adapt the western battle style, charging in full instead of medium speed and with their spear underarm. after a few victorious battles they were comparable to the best western cavalry. They were known as vasilika tagmata or simply Tagmata. Three dagmata were the most famous, Macedonika, Thrakika and thessalika and named from their land of origin. Kataphraktoi were some of the heaviest armoured cavalry in history.

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stratiotes pronoiarioi

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The granting of pronoia (from eis pronoian - 'to administer'), beginning in the reign of Alexios I, was to become a notable element in the military infrastructure towards the end of the Komnenian period, though it became even more important subsequently. The pronoia was essentially the grant of rights to receive revenue from a particular area of land, a form of tax farming, and it was held in return for military obligations. Pronoia holders, whether native or of foreign origin, lived locally in their holding and collected their income at source, eliminating the cost of an unnecessary level of bureaucracy, also the pronoia ensured an income for the soldier whether or not he was on active campaign or on garrison duty. The pronoiar also had a direct interest in keeping his 'fief' productive and in defending the locality in which it was situated. The local people who worked the land under a pronoiar also rendered labour services, making the system semi-feudal, though the pronoia was not strictly hereditary. It is very probable that, like the landowning magnates, pronoiars had armed retinues and that the military service that this class provided was not limited to the pronoiar himself.Though Manuel I extended the provision of pronoia, payment of troops by cash remained the norm.

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vardariotes

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The exact origin and nature of the Vardariotai is uncertain. The name first appears in the tenth century, when a bishopric of the "Vardariotai or Tourkoi" is mentioned as subject to the diocese of Thessalonica. The mid-fourteenth century writer Pseudo-Kodinos calls them "Persians" by race (a typical Byzantine anachronism for "Turks"), and recalls that they were settled in the Vardar river valley by an unnamed Byzantine emperor of old. In both cases, however, "Turks" probably implies the Magyars, who were called "Tourkoi" by the Byzantines in the tenth–eleventh centuries. Hence it seems that the Vardariotai were Magyars resettled in Macedonia in the tenth century, and that they had become Christians by the end of that century.


By the twelfth century, the Vardariotai, their Magyar identity by now much diluted, were being recruited into the Byzantine army, and, at the latest during the latter part of the reign of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), they were formed into a distinct palace guard regiment

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oikeioi

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increasing importance during the family-centric Komnenian period were the men known as oikeioi (ο?κείοι, "those of the household"); when mobilized for war the oikeioi were the equivalent of the household knights of western kings and would have served as kataphraktoi ( very heavy cavalry, not to be confused with the tagmata ). These household troops would have included the emperor's personal retinue, his relatives and close associates, also accompanied by their immediate retinues, and the young aristocrats attached to the court. Many pronoiars, even of latin origin, were able to become part of the oikioi, elevated their status into "eugeneis" ( of high birth, noble ).The oikeioi given their social status, would have been equipped with the finest arms and armour and mounted on the highest quality war-horses available.

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the banners

each unit that had a formal stracture within the imperial army, like scutatoi, all the tagmata, auxillia and native as well as the guard units (vestiaritai, varangians ) have all their distinctive banner. since scutatoi were the evolution of the roman legionaries they have 8 different banners for each unit ( or drougos "ΔΡΟΥΓΟΣ" )

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the roster complete the implement of the allready existed units bellow

siphonatores

turkoploloi

alans

[Lifthrasir]

Very good presentation. Well done Mate

[j.a.luna]

Speechless... after all this time is an excellent work and so historical!!! Congratulations nikkosaiz! Wish play with romans in sship!

[officialdeo]

Damn, those cavalry units are fantastic. A shame I always disband them at the start of the game. I might try using them in custom battles for the sake of eye candy though.

[j.a.luna]

Little questions about this new roman unit roster:

1.all these units are also armour upgrades? I say with visual effects in the game

2. I supose that all these units will need balanced stats in proportion with current game and also remove old units in the ancient roman roster, for example kastrophilakae, saxon huskarls, pronoriai, archountopoloai and others...

3. In a future, do you think make more new units for factions that have similar roman culture? As for example bulgarian, serbian, georgian units...and maybe muslim factions( your mourtotai units are wonderful!)

Thanks for your hard work, this work improve still more Sship mod.

[nikossaiz]

thank you all for your kind words.

@j.a.luna 1) no as i said before they dont have all units upgrades. upgrades have only the scoutatoi sword/spear , peltastes and varangians ( to present the transition from an elite foreigner unit to an elite guard unit. the upgraded model should be the now existed sship model ) the other units are not supposed to have upgrades. at least so much to make them visible

2) yes they must be balanced and asigned accordigly to the proper building for recruitment. most units sub a similar tier unit so hopefully not revolutionary changes will have to be made. i made a list with the units that went out of the roster and are quite a lot. archontopoula / menaulatoi / latin handgunners / proniarioi and others i cant remember will be all free slots to be used for whatever unit and whatever faction we like. also alan cavalry and turkopoloi must become part of the basic ere roster.

3) i think kostic steped forward and took this task , he will do a fine work im sure

thank you, your many pm had its role in the completion of the roster

[Lifthrasir]

From my opinion, a way to show upgrades without too much work would be to play with the tone of the armors and helmets, starting darker (for lower quality) and becoming brighter with the upgrades (showing the increase of quality). That's accurate and visually shows the upgrade.
Anyway, the possible upgrades will have to be discussed internally first and, for sure, wiill be implemented with nikossaiz approval.

[kostic]

Bravo for this work ! I haven't played with the Byzantines yet but these are great units !
In a short time I intend to attack the Georgian units with the historical help of Kevhsur. As long as I have the time and the motivation, I would like to work on the visual aspect of this superb mod that is SSHIP.

[Tripledot]

Greek culture factions should have access to Monasteries as well, shouldn't they? Orthodox monasteries are just as, if not more famous than Catholic ones. The requirements for Monasteries would need to be reworked though, as they require a Catholic Church to build as prerequisite, even for non-Catholic factions. On a tangential note, I think with Monasteries existing in SSHIP, the bonus to education for Princesses ought to apply to Monasteries instead of (Catholic) Churches, and that Libraries should give a bonus as well. As of right now, there's no way to get an Anna Comnena style education for Byzantine princesses since they don't gain the EducatedWoman trait through any relevant buildings (only Catholics get that bonus). The final level of Monastery (Hospital) also ought to give a chance at gaining Medical Training, same as the Bimaristan.

[Giorgios]

Before starting a new SSHIP campaign, I've stripped out some of the ahistorical names from the Byzantines (for example, I know of nobody called "Magnentios" or "Ktenas" from the Byzantine period at all, names like "Iustinos" had dropped out of fashion by the eleventh century, and "Rogerios" is a Romaicisation of a Norman name, not a name any native born Roman would have). I've also changed some odd transliterations- "Efgenios" becomes "Eugenios", and "Vardas" becomes "Bardas", for example.

Files are attached if anybody would like to install them for their Byzantine campaigns!