How should a Byzantine commander go about taking Rome?

[Rebelscum777]

I would think waiting untill later in the campaign would be good, when all the catholic factions are probably beating on each other and too busy to respond when my mighty Roman army crushes the pope...

[Irishman]

I took the surrounding cities, then caused it to revolt (LOTS OF SPYS, Assassins (destroying order buildings) and priests.) Once it revolts, move in and take it.

Or you can take the city in one turn (if your powerfull) and get a ceasefire the same turn, then give them a settlement like caffa on the baltic and your set!

By paying them for the alliance again your no longer have the risk of a crusade.

[Dreadking]

Invade Italy with 3 stacks armies minimum.

1 to besiege Palermo, 1 to besiege Napes and the last to besiege Rome. Make sure they're good quality or you probably will suffer defeats. Papal Guard, Swiss Guards and Italian Spear Militia crush Byzantine Spearmen so go with Byzantine Infantry, Dismounted Lancers and Varadarotai preferrably.

[SIlver General65]

use the byz advantage of having a both western and eastern army keep that in mind when you make your army and bring lots of archers and range cavalry it will help pepper down the western style army then send in your inf basically the western part of your army but take put Venice and hungry before you go thinking about a Italian conquest 1st Hungary then Venice and use the city of Venice to take all of Italy don't worry about mongols or turks make stacks of boats and block overland passage between Europe and Asia and have balista towers in Constantinople and use Milan Genoa and Venice to be your western Europe power bases trust me byz don't need gunpowder but motars help during sieges

[Axe-Battler]

I would think waiting untill later in the campaign would be good, when all the catholic factions are probably beating on each other and too busy to respond when my mighty Roman army crushes the pope...

No way man, just kill the pope whenever you want to, I've never seen the other catholics ever help the pope when he was under attack.

As for how the byzantine empire would take rome, I would stay at peace with the papacy, then build a strong army, send them over to rome by ship, then siege it when I see no other armies around, the next turn auto resolve the assault and normally the ai wins the auto battles for ya lol.

[Lee1026]

It is easier then it sounds. Spam priests, and then convert all of the people in the area that you want to take. Throw a few spies into the city, and then wait for the city to rebel and then just take it before its real owners do.

For bonus points, do this while you bribe everyone around you to not attack you....

[AdmiringtheEnemyeh?]

It is easier then it sounds. Spam priests, and then convert all of the people in the area that you want to take. Throw a few spies into the city, and then wait for the city to rebel and then just take it before its real owners do.

For bonus points, do this while you bribe everyone around you to not attack you....

So the more spies you have the more unrest it creates? I thought after you have one spy in an enemy city more dont have an affect.

[big_feef]

Whenever I play the Byzantines, I always take Rome in the late game. By that time, I've usually secured all of Italy along with Sicily; and I've probably just hammered the Timurids and looking to expand into the Americas via Iberia. With Rome secured, I usually go on to recreate the great Roman Empire at it's height.

[Axe-Battler]

Whenever I play the Byzantines, I always take Rome in the late game. By that time, I've usually secured all of Italy along with Sicily; and I've probably just hammered the Timurids and looking to expand into the Americas via Iberia. With Rome secured, I usually go on to recreate the great Roman Empire at it's height.

I wish I was able to play through a campaign like that, I can normally not go past the 50th turn.

[trench]

Whenever I play the Byzantines, I always take Rome in the late game. By that time, I've usually secured all of Italy along with Sicily; and I've probably just hammered the Timurids and looking to expand into the Americas via Iberia. With Rome secured, I usually go on to recreate the great Roman Empire at it's height.

Exactly what I just did.

[Aristocrat]

Moved to battle planning...which also includes the planning of campaigns (but we were too lazy to add the word campaign to the title).

[Sher Khan]

Hope Sicily gets excommunicated, or better yet, get an alliance with the Papal states, land an army on Italy, and engage a Sicilian force while a Papal army of anysize is nearby to force an excommunication.

Attacking via Venice and Genoa is fine, but it brings you into contention with every other Catholic power in the area. Taking Sicily and Southern Italy not only gives you an island powerbase, but is easily accessible from Southern Greece for resupply. It's also easily defendable from one or two passes, and you need only bide your time to strike.

Once you do, simply field horse archer armies to wipe out powerful Papal stacks, have an elite stack lay siege to Rome, and have some good infantry armies hold and defend the passages from Northern Italy should Sicilian remnants, Italians, or HRE come knocking to help the pope. Keep a horse archer stack in as many wide fields as you can find and keep infantry stacks hiding in the woods and mountains. Rome will be yours, and there's nothing the Catholic separatists can do to stop the might of the Empire.