[M2TW AAR] Imperator Svrrectvm [Book II : The Place in Time]
Prelude...
1100 Anno Domini.
The Empire of the Greeks. Imperial Rome.
Alexios I has not sent aid for assistance from Papal Rome; it is a time line unknown to anyone reading this now.
The Empire of the Greeks is still ravaged and weakened to the core, or so would many Westerners and Muslims alike believe.
It has been twenty years since the loss of Anatolia and Armenia to the marauding Seljuk, the invaders from the Asian Steppe to the East. At that time, Imperial Rome had never been so weakened and on the verge of extinction. However, times of change have started to take place. Under the influence of one man Rome is resurgent. Whether it was divine intervention or divine euphoria that had been the guide to the resurrection... it has only just begun.
To begin twenty years prior, the Empire was already on the brink of total decay. Civil wars capitalized on the dismay found in Kōnstantinoupolis, the greatest gem of Eastern Christianity. The Emperor, although tyrannical in his actions, was a pious warrior who believed in the visage of the Christ here on Earth. Within a month of his ascension, he began a complete reorganization of the themes that had held the Eastern Romans together for centuries. It was said by his closest companions that he had revelations of the Lord in his palace chambers. Each time a vision came, the Emperor would shortly there after lock his person in his bed chambers, not to be disturbed. He would reemerge hours later with a countenance glowing of determination and blood thirst. The sight, one Varangian guard reminisced, was the look of a wolf glaring at prey.
Alexios was the only one who could understand his otherworldly visits by our Lord and revealed none of what was "said" to his advisers. This bore obvious consequences in the sacking of many key political figures, causing distrust in the Emperor early on. However, his bold actions would bring about a renewal in the faith of Greko-Romano supremacy and the way of Roman dominance over the land. In the Emperor's situation, actions would have to speak louder then words... and they did. His first daring command was to pull all Roman soldiers out of the Italian homelands and begin a campaign of plunder on the way back to the great Thessalian stronghold in Greece. Thousands of troops landed outside of the Italian-held city of Dhyracchium, destroying its defensive walls and sacking the core of the city. The troops returned to central Greece, filled with gold and glory alike, and formed a veteran army led by the Emperor and his allies. Within only five years, the new Roman Imperial Army and barbarian mercenaries of the Cumans had conquered all territory leading up to and including Sofia, the last trace of Bulgarian and Pecheneg might throughout the land. Another force, lead by the Imperial Heir, helped recapture strategic cities and strongholds throughout Anatolia. Soon, the Turk-held cities of Nicaea, Prusa, Abydus, Ephesus and Smyrna had been reclaimed through a campaign of Roman might and mobility.
"Blood and honour," were the calls of victory.
However, fighting for Anatolia was no meager task, for there were Seljuks blocking the way. For each step taken east, they took one west. These converts to Islam had swept up through the heartland of Mesopotamia, carving out a swath of land to call their own. After Manzikert, the Turkomen became the great enemy of Orthodox Christianity, more so than the heretical ideologists of Papal Rome. However, the Seljuks were not the only harbingers of despair for Alexios. Kōnstantinoupolis had only but look to the Compass Rose to find an enemy of Imperial Rome.
To the far southeast, the Fatamids have grown in strength, through numbers and through Empire. Two hundred years ago, the mighty Roman armies were even at the gates of Jerusalem itself! How the mighty had fallen, for decades, nay, two centuries of in-fighting and the squandering of imperial reserves on decadent desires and bribing had bankrupted and all but annihilated the Roman Imperium, even before the Turk menace. The last bastion of Roman influence in the land lay on Cyprus and the fortifications in Nicosia. No one has heard how the stronghold has fared for over two years... now its fate is uncertain. Even though taxes flow from the island to the Imperial coffers, it is uncertain who wields control over the inhabitants.
Even though the Fatamid and Seljuk bitterly fight over Lord and land, they do have one agreement. To them, the sign of Rum...
روم
...was to be destroyed at all costs, for the sake of Allah.
To the west lay the cities of Southern Italy, held time and time again by Roman Emperors and their vassals. The Normans, upstart knights from lands in Northern France, had now completed their conquest of Aengland and Sicily. These were considered bastardized versions of proper Christians, believed to masquerade under the banner of our Lord simply for plunder and fortune. The Normans now controlled Neapolis and Panormus, along with the whole of Sicily and Southern Italy, bordering Rome. It is only a matter of time before the Normans begin to re-imagine the conquests of Ancient Rome and set their sights on Greece.
Finally, to the north, lay a tribe of ancient warriors. It was barbarous enough that the Magyars now had a kingdom of their own, but that the church would solemnly recognize it as a "Christian" nation? Blasphemy! The Hungarian lords have started centralizing their power by conquering neighboring territories once ruled by Bulgarian aristocrats. A clash with these people is imminent, for the Magyars are believed to hold Hunnic blood in their veins... and the Hun will not forget an old enemy such as Rome.
Kiev is the only ally of Imperial Rome. Even though the ties are close, our two disparate leaders have mutually conflicting agendas. Kiev is a bustling hub of Russian, Slavic and Varangian denizens, but it lacks too little military strength to be considered a warrior-state. This Principality has given up the ways of war to the ways of diplomacy... a mistake foolish beyond reason.
Change is inevitable and the times call for much change. Alexios now commands the greatest military might the Imperium has seen in almost an epoch. Even though our hearts are broken, our eyes are blind and our skin is scarred, our bodies continue to fight as we are now of one mind.
This is the story of Imperial Resurgence.
Let there be light...
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Zenith Darksea
