Burning Bishops and Degenerate Generals- A TL about the Near East

The Komnenid Restoration and Divison- A Near East TL that gets Byzantine

Now, I know what you might be saying- "another Byzantine Timeline? Really?" But the simple fact of the matter is, I still find Byzantine Timelines fun, even if they are done often. Besides, this TL won't just be focusing on the Greeks- We're also going through all the crusades and jihads for the holy land that are going on. The Romans are only going to be the first of many players in this deadly dance of war.

The PoD is in 1143, when Alexios Komnenos, first son of Emperor John II Komnenos, fails to catch an illness in 1143 A.D and survives to remain John's heir. He will be their in 1144 to stop his father from getting grazed by a poison arrow in Cilicia. And later, John will capture Antioch and bring it fully into the Empire, despite the protests of Raymond.
Now, why did I choose this PoD? As many of you will know, Manuel is chosen for some reason OTL as John's heir after Alexios' death, and his reign is pretty disastrous. He completely halts and then reverses the momentum his predecessors had begun, and bankrupts the empire on a bunch of ridiculous and expensive campaigns that all fail.
We know fairly little about Alexios, on the other hand, except that he was a lot like John. In fact, we don't even know for sure who he was married to, but for this TL, it's Kata of Georgia.

I was inspired by many things to make this TL, but I think the best TL I've read that has inspired me is probably an Age of Miracles: Revival of Rhomanion. Despite that, expect this thread to have elements of everything I've been influenced by, especially A Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings, and of course my own strange imagination.
It's going to be written in third person, in a style that will be a cross between narrative and informative. Basically, I'll dip in and out of narrative when it suits me and we'll see how it goes.

Anyways, here it is: The first part of the first chapter of Komnenid Restoration and Division: The story of a violent world. This is more of a teaser, things will get intense in the next part.

We begin our story in late June 1146, after the death of Emperor John II Komnenos the Beautiful:

Piety and Greatness

"They are kings born of kings and emperors, reformers of old customs and privileges, with whom the august throne and sceptre-bearing are a paternal acquisition, a matter of inheritance."- Theodore Prodromos, on the Emperors John and Alexios.


A mosaic of Alexios Komnenos at his coronation as co-emperor in 1122.

He supposed his father had died the best death he could. 59 was a good age,especially for a warrior like John, and he was beloved by all, even his enemies. Alexios did not worry for his father's soul, for it would surely find its way to heaven-rather, he worried for his father's legacy. The Latins had robbed him of what may have been his greatest conquest in Syria, but Alexios planned to set this right. Antioch was once again under Imperial control, and with God on his side, Anatolia and Syria would soon follow.

This, he had decided, would be his legacy: Alexios the restorer. It was not an impossible goal; His grandfather had begun the work, his father had continued it, and he would finish it. And so when John the Good finally met God, Alexios was not afraid to begin his rule. For John may be gone from this earth, but he would surely still guide Rome from heaven, as he had done from earth all his life.

The funeral was lavish and grandiose, but fitting for an Emperor. Tens of thousands from around the city came to honor their fallen emperor. Many remembered his kindness and generosity in giving charity and how he had ruled with a steady and just hand. Many prayers were offered to the heavens, and all in the city could agree that Rome could have no greater Emperor. When the purple casket was finally lain to rest in the Hagia Sophia, the loss was felt throughout the Empire.


Here, John Komnenos, on the left, is remembered alongside other great Emperors of Rome

Eventually, however, life went on, as did Imperial politics. Alexios did not want a succession problem. He began his reign by giving out much to the poor in charity, but also to the church and the army. This made many who had loved John love Alexios, but more importantly it assured a smooth succession for Alexios. Many "gifts" were handed out to key officials, and after he donated to the church and had a talk with the patriarch Leo, no one seemed willing to oppose his reign.

However, the fact that many could not oppose him did not mean that many did not want to oppose him. Some, such as Isaac Komnenos, John's third son, and John Dalassenos, husband to Alexios' twin Maria, had their own ambitions, however there was very little they could do for the moment. In fact, Dalassenos could not even tell his wife of his ambitions, for she was fiercely loyal to her brother.

But even though everything seemed right in the Queen of Cities, there was trouble elsewhere. King Roger of Sicily could gather his army at any moment in Southern Italy, and he was just waiting for a sign of weakness. Hungary grew restless and was eager to regain the territory in the Balkans the Romans controlled. Cuman tribesmen were a constant threat to Bulgaria and Thrace, although the Romans had learned to combat their like when fighting the Turks. Yet all these problems in the west were viewed only as a distraction by Alexios. Rome would have to take back their land in the east if they were to truly prosper. Yet Alexios had learned patience across many campaigns, so he decided to wait.

He did not have to wait long. ad-Din Zengi, the Imad of Mosul, had begun sieging Edessa, an Imperial vassal. In what seemed ironic to Alexios, the Latins had called on the Romans for help, and he was more than happy to oblige. And this time, Alexios knew, there would be no Raymond of Antioch to stop Rome.

Good start.

How far are you going with this?

Unknown said:

Good start.

How far are you going with this?

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I'm not entirely sure. It'll certainly at least be a few centuries, and perhaps even more. Like I said, I have the whole thing vaguely planned out until the 19th century, and there are quite a few events that I could end the series with.

If I had to give an estimate, I'd say this TL is lasting into the early-mid 15th century. But I'm not really worried about that right now. I want to see how the TL goes.

Because that was just a preview, I'm putting up part 2 of chapter 1 today. Don't expect this many updates every day, normally I'll put up a chapter (2-3 updates) a week.

September 2nd, 1146
He hated watch duty.
It wasn't fair, he had decided. Both of his older brothers had gotten to go to Edessa with Imad Zengi, but he had to stay behind. Now they would be reveling in glory and defeating christian heathens while he sat on a wall and stared at the night sand. It just wasn't fair.
He looked out into the horizon again, and unsurprisingly saw nothing. There was nothing left in this town but boys and old men and himself. Shahid Binyamin, the great defender of Aleppo from the desert sands. He smiled to himself and looked up at the moon. It was a quarter way between midnight and dawn, the end of his shift.
Just the thought of sleeping made him yawn and gravitate closer towards the watch tower. Inside was warmth and rest. It was nearly time.
But then he noticed something on the horizon, a mass of purple and brown was advancing forward, something large. Shahid had no idea what it was, but it couldn't be good. All of a sudden, the sleepiness was gone from his body as he stood alert and realized that he was not imagining this. Outside lay an army.
Frantically, he began shouting and ran towards the tower. He managed to wake everyone up and get the signal sounded. He rushed back to the walls where the army was much closer.
Bows were handed out as the few defenders of Aleppo tried to organize. This army was not supposed to be here, weren't the Greeks going to Edessa?
It no longer mattered. The defenders were outnumbered and unorganized. Shahid had a moment to decide that perhaps he didn't want glory so bad after all, then he was struck in the neck with an arrow.
He hated watch duty.

Alexios' attack on Aleppo took Zengi completely by surprise. Upon hearing of the Greeks involvement, he had moved as many available forces to Edessa as he could, with the intention of taking the city quickly. Of course, he was not so stupid as to leave Aleppo totally undefended (Shahid was exagerating with his "boys and old men" remark), but he did not strengthen it, focused as he was on his target.

After a 2 and a half month siege, Edessa fell on August 26th. It was subject to a sack, with special orders from ad-Din to "leave no Christians alive." There were not many christians in Edessa, but the sacking went out of control as sackings do, and nearly as many muslims died as Christians. Still, it succesfully accomplished the Imad's goal of clearing out the Christians.


A painting of the fall of edessa. It romanticizes the valiant efforts of the christians in the city as they fought to survive.

This, of course, enraged Greeks and Latins alike. Alexios, having reached Antioch with a force of 25,000 men, announced that "Zengi will not live to see next year". He was reinforced by a small force of Latins, and when he "marched for Edessa" he was at the head of an army of 30,000 men.

Zengi, with a force of around 17,000, believed the new Emperor was playing right into his hands. He fortified near the Euphraties and prepared for the Christians, hoping to crush the arrogant Greeks and foolish Latins for good.

This, however, did not go as planned. From the get go, Alexios had decided that Edessa would have to be sacrificed in order to achieve his goal of saving all the other christians in Syria. When he neared the Euphraties, Alexios turned around and marched hard for Aleppo, taking the city by storm. Compared to his counterpart, Alexios was rather mild to Aleppo, although he did execute and expel several "enemies of Rome".

Throughout October, Alexios would go on to capture several cities, until he controlled everything once held by Mosul East of the Euphraties. He would winter in Aleppo, being supplied by much of Outremer, Antioch and Cilicia as well as the land he had taken. Throughout fall and winter, Alexios would be reinforced by several more Latins, and his ranks would swell to an estimated 36,000.

As the effects of the fall of Edessa were felt throughout Western Europe, many felt that a second crusade should be declared. Alexios did everything he could to avoid this, as the last thing he needed was more latins in outremer. He even wrote to the Bishop of Rome, telling him that it was unnessecary. Still, a significant amount of pilgrims, mostly german and french, did move to the holy land and joined the army of Alexios, swelling his ranks further. These pilgrims sometimes brought their families with the intent to settle in the holy land, which they later did.

Imad Zengi was enraged, but he did not have long to yell curses at Alexios. On September 7th, he ordered the army to cross the river and engage the combined Roman-Latin forces, which was sure to not end well for the outnumbered and unprepared muslims. On September 8th, he failed to wake up. The official story was that he died in his sleep of "natural causes", however almost all historians put the blame squarely on Nur ad-Din, his second son. This theory makes sense as he was most definitely the one who gained the most following his father's death.


The new Imad was often protrayed as a bloodthirsty demon by western painters, but there are a few more accurate images of him.

The yound Imad would also live to see his brother die in similar mysterious circumstances and he assumed complete power of Mosul by January 1147. Although he hated Christians, he realized that this war with the Romans was one he could not win. None of his fellow muslims were coming to his aid; in fact, Damascus had sought an alliance with the Romans upon hearing of the capture of Aleppo. This was something Nur ad-Din planned to punish, but he could not do so while in such a war. He would sue for peace by march.

It was none too soon for Alexios. The Anatolian Turks, upon hearing of the Roman's distraction and war with fellow muslims, had increased their raiding tenfold. More importantly, supplies were running low as it was difficult for Outremer to support such a massive army. Despite these problems, however, the peace would favor the Romans greatly. It would also, ironically, strengthen Nur ad-Din, who managed to whip his people into a frenzy and set out onto one of the greatest series of conquests of his time.

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Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Criticisms?

Well done! I'm extremely interested in seeing where this goes. One minor nitpick - of John II's sons, you forgot Andronikos (younger than Alexios, older than Isaac) who died shortly after Alexios died IOTL? Is he still dead in TTL?

Otherwise, keep it up!

ByzantineLover said:

Well done! I'm extremely interested in seeing where this goes. One minor nitpick - of John II's sons, you forgot Andronikos (younger than Alexios, older than Isaac) who died shortly after Alexios died IOTL? Is he still dead in TTL?

Otherwise, keep it up!

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Actually, he died catching the exact same illness Alexios caught when he took Alexios' body home. It's rather strange.

Andronikos originally was going to play a much bigger role in the TL, but I cut it down a little when I went to edit.

On April 2nd, 1147, the treaty was signed. Nur as-Din agreed to respect all of Alexios' conquests, enlarging the empire greatly in Syria. Alexios let Edessa go and agreed to treat muslims in Syria with tolerance. The Imad also had to pay the Romans a small tribute and promise to not attack any Christians for a period of 10 years.

It was a massive win for Alexios, who marched his army back to Antioch victoriously. There, he would hold a triumph for all the Latins and Romans to see, celebrating the return of Syria to the Empire.

The Latins were not as enthused. Although he had beaten the muslims, Alexios had provided no noteworthy response to the destruction of Edessa, one of their own crusader states. This war had turned out to be a worst case scenario: A Latin Christian State was lost, and the treacherous Greeks had used this as an excuse to expand their borders. Although many were impressed by the triumph in Antioch, most had been thirsting for blood and glory, which they had gotten very little of.

Not all the Greeks were happy either. Manuel Komnenos, who had been looking forward to a major battle and enjoyed the Latin notions of Chivalry and Honor, was disgusted by his brother's behavior, though he hid it from his fellow Greeks. He would participate in a joust with several of the Westerners, and tell them of his complaints.

Manuel soon struck a friendship with Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem. They had much in common; both were young, energetic boys with little interest in ruling. They both had family members that overshadowed them (Melisende in the case of Baldwin, Alexios in the case of Manuel). After many conversations, they would walk away with high opinions of each other, with Baldwin even telling Manuel "It is too bad you are not Emperor of Rome instead of your brother." This remark struck home to Manuel, who began to wonder just what was so great about Alexios anyway.

There was also a diplomatic incident when Alexios wanted to make a journey to Jerusalem but Melisende, the regent, refused him. Similar excuses were made to him as were to his father, "the army was too large" and "we do not want to distract you from the Turks." Alexios soon realized that though he had won in Aleppo (or perhaps because he had won at Aleppo), he would find few friends among the Latins. After the way they had treated other Romans, he decided it would be better that way anyway.

Before Alexios was finally ready to return to Constantinople in May, tragedy struck. It seemed his brother and trusted adviser Andronikos, who had been left in charge of Constantinople, had died of a fever. Isaac, Alexios' less trusted brother, was now in charge there. This put Alexios into a bit of a panicked state, and he hurried home quickly with his army. In the end, there was no need to worry; Isaac graciously stepped aside and congratulated his brother. An even greater triumph was then held in Constantinople, with much celebration. Many said Alexios was truly an emperor worthy of the name Komnenoi.


A Roman triumph

Alexios, for his part, was not so ecstatic. Officially, he mourned his brother. But he was also trying to decide what he could do to Isaac. Why, Isaac? Why did you kill our brother? Do you want my throne that badly?

He supposed that he had no proof. There was the slightest chance that his younger brother was not responsible. Am I just being paranoid? But what if I am right? Will he kill my children, or my wife if unchecked? Alexios would from then on keep a much closer eye on Isaac, but not do anything yet.

Despite court troubles, however, the people of Rome were still jubilant. The triumph had been nothing short of glorious, and everywhere, new hope was felt. The Empire had not held so much power since before Manzikert, which was a time that nearly none could remember. To many, especially the younger generation, Rome was reaching a time of prestige and prosperity not held since the days of Justinian. And this, at least, was cause for celebration.

This seems like a good place to leave the people of Rome, on a high note. Now we will travel back East, to a people who have been beaten and battered, but not defeated in the slightest. These people will soon bathe the land with blood and fire and avenge all the wrongs they believe have been done to them.

Any suggestions on how I can improve and whatnot? I'll always take advice, and though I have tried to do a lot of research for this TL, I still don't claim to be a history expert.

Biden&Ceaser'12 said:

Actually, he died catching the exact same illness Alexios caught when he took Alexios' body home. It's rather strange.

Andronikos originally was going to play a much bigger role in the TL, but I cut it down a little when I went to edit.

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Interesting that he would expand east into Syria, leaving the gaping hole/running sore of Turks in Anatolia.

Also, letting the Arabs keep Edessa does seem like gratuitous irritation of the Latins.

Dathi THorfinnsson said:

Interesting that he would expand east into Syria, leaving the gaping hole/running sore of Turks in Anatolia.

Also, letting the Arabs keep Edessa does seem like gratuitous irritation of the Latins.

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It was an opportunistic conquest. Alexios is going to be trying to conquer the Turks as soon as he can and capture all of Anatolia in a big way. That's his plan at least, we'll see what happens.

As to your second point yes, it most certainly does. If you look at it from the Crusaders' point of view, alexios is giving them every reason to be angry. He abandons one of their own and expands at their expense, leaving a big muslim power undefeated on their borders. Then he shows off to them in Antioch, a city that his family "stole" from Raymond just a few years ago. This is sure to be a sore wound that the Greeks just rubbed salt all over. You can be sure there will be problems in the future.

I'm going to be gone this weekend, so no updates. That means this is my last one of the week.

In between chapters, I'm planning on having small sections where I discuss what other changes are going on around the world without going into massive detail. This is one of those asides. Tell me if you want me to continue doing them or not.

IOTL, The Second Crusade was in full swing by this point. Just the fact that it's not already shows massive changes to Europe and the Middle East. This will be one of these changes.

A quick aside: The Wendish Crusade

The holy land was still safe from muslim attacks, but many Christians, especially French and German, still felt the same crusading spirit. They wanted a target, and in May 1447, the Pope Eugenius gave them one in the baltic. Having been convinced by ambitious Saxons, he decided that clearing out pagans was just what Christendom needed right now.

The Crusade was mostly led by Danes and Germans, but many Swedes, Flemish and English also joined in (mostly out of a desire for plunder). The crusade would last for 2 years, and during this time almost all of Pomerania was attacked. The crusade was notably different from others, as its nature was much more brutal and less about spreading christianity. Although the goal of the crusade had been to convert pagans, the outcome was mostly bloodshed.

The primary benificaries of this mess was most definetly the Ottonian Dynasty, who gained land all the way up to the Oder and increased their power among the nobles of North Germany. The bishophric of Brandenburg was reestablished, mostly under Saxon control. Many in the Duchy of Pomerania were converted, by forceful means if neccesary.

In the end, however, the clear losers of the Crusades were the Slavic Pagans living in Pomerania. Many were killed, evicted or forced to convert, and the people could never really recover. Wars in the area would continue for decades against the Saxons, Danes, Swedes, and eventually Poles, in one of history's darker genocides.

OOC: The Crusaders were slightly more succesful with a little more support, but otherwise this is mostly OTL. The big importance of this post, though, is that it is marking the growing power of the Duchy of Saxony and all of the states in Northern Germany. The Habsburgs are still on the rise in the south, so this is going to be spelling the beginning of an interesting three-way struggle for dominance in the HRE.

Not a bad start - though there are a number of OTL occurrences that had they happened to the young Alexios or a surviving John instead of Manuel may have turned out rather differently:

-Cilicia: with John not dying so unexpectedly, does Thoros of Armenia escape Constantinople? And generally does that mean there is no Cilician insurrection as Manuel had to face? As that often divided his forces as he sent troops there to keep the Rupenid insurrection down, leaving him with less troops for anything else.

-Rum/Danishmend Civil War: John was facilitated in his eastern expeditions by a multi-sided Turkish civil war between the sons, brothers and son in law (Sultan Mas'ud of Ikonion) of Ghazi Gumushtekin Danishmend - does this play out exactly the same? OTL the death of John led to renewed raiding across the entire eastern frontier, leading to a necessary campaign that was more or less a repeat of Alexios' Philomelion campaign for Manuel to put them on the back foot again - he was even able to lay siege to Ikonion though wasnt able to take it due to much of his forces being sent against Raymond of Antioch contemporaneously, Mas'ud having reinforcements arrive from the north as well as the Sultan being free to operate outside the walls with Manuel's traitor cousin John Komnenos (now a Muslim, the son of John's brother Isaak), leading to a retreat and further campaigns around lake Pousgouse and the Rhyndakos and Maeander rivers to secure the frontier before Manuel was finally free to take his own initiative, though as it happened the Second Crusade then dropped in his lap so he wasnt able to make another attempt on Ikonion. With John living a few more years, did he capitalise on the civil war any more? As his final Turkish campaign to Lake Pousgouse puts him within striking distance of Ikonion, and so if Mas'ud hadnt taken out a few of his rivals and so had no reinforcements, or indeed if he was trapped inside the walls, taking Ikonion in 1144-5 had never been more likely - essentially what are the Turks doing while all your events are going on? As there would surely have been some response to John's death as OTL

- Georgia - OTL, Demetrios is considered a success for holding on to most of what David the Builder conquered - and arguably that was accomplished by alliance with John as they campaigned against the same Turkish polities simultaneously, and indeed Georgian ambassadors are noted as being the first to acclaim John as Emperor in 1118. Though Alexios II being married to Kata is debatable, assuming he was, is anything further coming of that alliance? As Demetrios had been a decent commander under his father so with weaker enemies could have continued his fathers work.

- John Axouch and Stephenos Kontestephanos - Axouch never really liked Manuel (there's a drunken incident where he denounces him a few years into Manuel's reign), but he was John's most trusted lieutenant - what is his relationship with Alexios II? Is he trusted to lead armies as he was under John? Stephanos Kontestephanos was John's other major general, subduing the Raskan Serbs and capturing Juraj while John fought the Hungarians and continuing to do good things for Manuel, though less so as he was seen again as one of John's men rather than Manuel's - is he still in the forefront under Alexios II?

- Does Manuel still marry Bertha-Eirene? It was being negotiated as John died OTL, but then Manuel tried to go back on it before being forced into it a few years in - does he do so earlier to better relations with the Germans? Also who does Alexios II's daughter Maria marry? OTL she marries the son of John Axouch under Manuel, but as Alexios' possible heir things may be quite different...

There's a number of other things to think about as you go along, but those are a handful - I admit I currently study the era so this is probably too much detail, but you wanted some feedback so enjoy, and I look forward to seeing what else you do with TTL

N.B. Also be careful with Byzantine years - they had new year in September so when they say 'winter of that year' some secondary literature corrects for the Byzantine year and others dont, makes cause and effect sometimes more difficult than it should be in establishing what happens in what order...

What this thread needs are some maps too to show the empires borders at the beginning and how much was reconquered in Syria.

Scorpius72 said:

What this thread needs are some maps too to show the empires borders at the beginning and how much was reconquered in Syria.

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Ask and you shall receive. I was holding off on adding a map until more changes were made, but here you go. I'm also still hoping that I can find a better map, as I can't seem to find a decent one that I wouldn't have to change everything in. So for now, it's going to be low quality but at least it's something:

Incarnadine97 said:

helpful comments and stuff

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Please do keep in mind that it has only been about 15 months since John died, and unlike Manuel, many of these possible enemies know that Alexios is not some inexperienced kid. He's in his late thirties at this point and has been co-emperor for many years- that's why some nearby Roman rivals aren't rushing to invade like Roger of Sicily did.

Now, John has built a careful network of alliances, particularily through marriage. Yes, Manuel still married (and sooner than OTL, before John's death), and relations with Germany are fairly good. Georgia is a firm Roman ally and supporter of Alexios.

Many of the people who were loyal to John and were tentative in supporting Manuel are fervently behind Alexios. He is John's undisputed heir, who has experience and all the positive traits an emperor is believed to need. That's why everything is going so well for him- there are little to no people willing to question Alexios just because of his close relationship with his father. John Axouch (not only John's best general, also basically his right hand man) is going to become a vital character in the following updates, as are several others- I don't want to give too much away, but I will go into a lot more detail later.

As for the Turks, well, most of the rest of Alexios' reign are going to be focused on two things: Decreasing familiar relations and war with the Turks. Again, I don't want to give away three chapters worth of material, so I'll talk about it later.

Also, about years (and other things)- I'm going to write the non-narrative parts as though I am a westerner from ITTL, so there will not be any confusion. It's better that I do that so I don't miss anything.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me! In fact, PM me. I'll be available most days, although this weekend I'm leaving for camping.

Oh Fuck yes! We've had a lack of Komnenoi timelines this year.

A Lit Fire

A Lit Fire-Part 1

"Nur ad-Din has already been defeated by the Greeks, now he has merely given me the chance to finish the job. Damascus is safe from this boy."- Mu'in ad-Din Unur, on Imad Zengi.

When Alexios left Antioch, he departed from a land filled with war and strife. Aleppo and Edessa had both been brutally sacked, along with several other towns in the area. The only army left was that of Nur-ad Din, who had to sort out both his losses and his conquests.

It was in this backdrop that the new Imad decided to expand his holdings. Many of his troops had been itching for a fight, and although they had been able to sack Edessa and defeat the Latins there, many wanted something more. So Nur ad-Din decided it was time to complete what his father had started: The conquest of Damascus.

You see, the Imad had received a change of heart on campaign over the winter. According to him, he had received some sort of vision that told him to conquer Syria and Outremer in the name of god. We cannot be sure of the validity of this claim, but it did manage to raise morale in his army and lay the foundations for later conquests.

According to him, the Christians, Latins and Greeks alike, would fall before the might of Islam. Before they could suceed against the heathens, however, they must first unite as many muslims as possible behind this common goal.

The biggest person that would be in the way of this was of course Mu'in ad-Din Unur, the ruler of Damascus. Known for his willingness to work with christians against fellow muslims (he had alliances with both Constantinople and Jerusalem), he was the perfect target for Zengi's jihad.

Their two armies would meet outside Damascus. Imad Unur hoped that his enemy's armies would be tired, underfed and low on morale. He was somewhat right, but Nur ad-Din also had a more manueverable and slightly larger force, and the armies of Damascus were hastily raised levies. During the battle, Mu'in was killed, struck down by God himself according to many on both sides of the battle (more likely he was hit by a lucky arrow from some of Zengi's mounted archers). The battle quickly turned into a rout, with Damascians surrendering in droves.

Contrary to what was expected, Nur ad-Din gave strict orders that no sacking was to take place. His army entered the city (somewhat) peacefully, as the residents looked on. He would then announce that Damascus would be the new capital of the Sultanate of Zengi, and gave a fiery speech denouncing Mu'in ad-Din Unur as a traitor and coward. He told everyone of his vision and how together they would drive the christians out of the Holy Land and destroy everything that they hold dear. By the end of it, many in the city became excited to join his army and seek riches and piety in fighting the Latins.

Nur ad-Din Zengi would then conquer most of the other lands held by Imad Unur, doubling the size of his realm. He would then seek an alliance with the Seljuks and Fatimids to the East and South, consolidating his realm as he went. In just a few months, he had revitalized his realm and realized the first part of his dream.

Needless to say, this worried the Latins in Jerusalem. In 1148, they now had another massive hostile muslim power right next door. Many argued on what to do, with options varying wildly between invading to calling for a new crusade to appeasing this new threat. However, nothing was decided upon, mostly because of the growing rivalry between Baldwin, the King, and his mother Melisende, the regent. In the end, nothing major was done, and this inaction would be something Christendom would soon regret.

The Tale of Two Brothers

The tale of Two Brothers-Part 1

The Roman Empire had weathered many storms in the past century, from Manzikert on. They had been forced to fight enemies on all sides, from Normans to Arabs, and had been successful. From Antioch to Epirus, Rome stood strong, but there was still one place in Anatolia where Roman rule was rejected: The Sultanate of Rum.

The moslem Turks in the area had arrogantly taken the title of "Rome" after they devastated Anatolia many years ago, after that black day on the fields of Manzikert. However, things have changed. Rome controls their heartland of Western Anatolia once again, and while the eternal empire has grown stronger, the Turks have weakened themselves. A civil war between power hungry claimants (about which Rome knew all too well) had left the central plateau of Anatolia weak and ravaged, just waiting for Roman rule to return.

All this and more Alexios Komnenos saw and recognized as he began his reign. However, wary of too rapid action and paranoid of his brother Isaac, he had decided to hold back for the time being. The army was trained and ready, but there was no opportunity to attack because of the constant threat posed by enemies both within and outside of Rome (at least, as perceived by Alexios).

However, in 1154, two things happened that changed this line of thinking. The first was the death of Roger II of Sicily due to an unidentified illness. The Norman King was mourned by many and succeeded by his eldest son Roger III, who then had to deal with his brother William. Although there was no immediate war, tensions and political maneuvering made any potential invasion of Greece a non-issue.

The second thing was a major Turkish raid of Attaleia in Southern Anatolia that finally forced Alexios' hand. With cries of revenge and conquest, Alexios would soon assemble two armies. One, numbering 15,000, was to be led by John Axouch, Alexios' most trusted advisor and great friend. Isaac would go with the army as well, which Alexios hoped would be enough to keep him under control. The other, numbering 22,000, was commanded by Alexios himself, continuing his father's tradition of an emperor living in the army tent.

The goal was clear: Take Iconium and prevent any future raids from taking place on Western Anatolia. The army of Alexios would assault through Dorylaem, heading straight for Ancyra and then Iconium. Meanwhile, John Axouch's army would head through Southern Anatolia to reach the same target. Both would arrive at the city at similar times, in theory.

That Alexios was able to raise such a massive force in a few months time speaks volumes of the sheer amount of manpower and resources commanded by Rome during the end of the Komnenoian Restoration. Kilij Arslan, the major power in Western Rum, was only able to raise an army of near 12,000 (exact figures are unknown). Still, even looking at the campaign merely through numbers, the results are surprising, to say the least.

The Sultan Kilij Arslan was in a difficult situation, but nevertheless he performed bravely and well for what he had to work with. Forced to make a choice, he decided to attack the smaller army coming from the south, in the hopes that with his flanks secure he could successfully defend at least Iconium. And so it was that he made for the pass of Myriokephalon in the spring of 1155, with the goal of intercepting and defeating the Roman army of similar size.

The plan was a classic ambush, but the experienced general Axouch would not fall for such a trick. Scouting reported the plan, so instead of marching to their deaths, Axouch chose to stop and try to draw the Turks out of the pass and into the nearby plains of Philomelion.

At this point, Sultan Arslan was out of any good options. He could return to Iconium, but Alexios' army had already reached Ancyra and sacked the city, meaning they would be there soon to lay siege to Iconium, a siege he could not win. His other option, which he ended up choosing, was to attack at Philomelion and roll the dice, in the hopes that he could win a decisive victory and somehow ward off the Romans.

The two armies engaged one the 17th of April. At first, the battle seemed to be going fairly evenly. Both sides suffered casualties, but held the line. However, things soon took a turn for the worse for the Romans, when John Axouch was struck by a stray arrow and trampled by his horse. The center of the Roman lines began to collapse, and a Turkish victory seemed certain.

It would have been if not for Isaac Komnenos. The son of John Komnenos forced the Romans to hold, and then push forward. The Turks had overextended themselves in breaking through the Roman lines, and now enemies fell on them from all sides. Isaac himself was said to be in the thick of things, leading the charge on his stallion Justinian. According to a romanticized version of the battle, Isaac killed Kilij Arslan in personal combat, though Isaac never claimed such a thing.

Regardless, the brink of defeat suddenly turned into a decisive victory for Rome. Most of the Turkish army was slaughtered or captured, with most ending up being sold into slavery. The few that escaped wandered back to Eastern Anatolia, as Iconium was no longer a safe option. John Axouch, despite all expectations, managed to survive his wounds and was returned to Constantinople. Due to physical injuries, he was never able to walk again.

Isaac, now in command of a battle-hardened army, hastened to Iconium. His siege engines were still intact, and the city was nearly defenseless, so it fell after a quick siege. The city was then subjected to looting, with thousands more Turks dying as the Roman army enjoyed their victory.

Alexios handled the news with grace and dignity, but on the inside, he was slowly simmering. Isaac Komnenos was supposed to have waited for the Emperor to arrive before he took the city. Now his brother would be known for this great victory, and not him. This drove the young emperor further into paranoia; he now began to worry that his own army would betray him. Although he was exaggerating the danger, it was true that Isaac did pose a real threat, as any victim of a powerful general could tell you.

The end result, however, was a great victory for Rome. Iconium, Ancyra, and much of Central Anatolia had been captured, and directly annexed back into Rome. The remaining Turks in Eastern Anatolia were still locked in bitter infighting, and Alexios planned to subjugate them as time went on.

When Isaac and Alexios returned to Constantinople, they were greeted by cheering crowds and a grand triumph. To the annoyance of Alexios, Isaac was treated with just as much reverance in the celebrations as his older brother, paving the way for even more hostility between the two.

Finally, in 1158, one last problem that Alexios had was rectified. He had loved his wife Kata and even confided with her his suspicions of Isaac, but she had so far been unable to give him a son. At last Kata gave birth to a baby boy, whom they named John. Alexios, ever wary of his brother, proclaimed that John would be his one true heir. He planned to crown him as co-emperor when the child reached his teens.

The Komnenoi dynasty was by now too thoroughly trusted and loved to be easily usurped. No, the only way the Empire could see a civil war would be between two members of the Komnenoi family. For now, the tale of Two Brothers remains incomplete.

So... what do you think? I'm excited to dive into the real meat of this TL, now that Rome is expanding well and civil war stands on the horizon. I've decided to start focusing more on the Roman/Byzantine aspects of the TL, although Syria and Jerusalem will still be important.

Any problems with realism? I'd like to keep this TL as plausible as possible, but I don't know everything- If there's anything I mess up on, please point it out. Historical consistency is important.

Hi, I am a first time commentor, but I have greatly enjoyed your TL so far.
I so much enjoy this period of time and this is such a well-drafted story.
Concerning the realism I have a few notes for your consideration:

A) Alexios was born ca 1106, which means that he would be 52 at 1158 when he had his first son. His wife would probably be in her late 40s so this does not seem so feasible. Maybe if his son was born in the early 1140s around the time he took the throne.

B) BTW Alexios' brother Andronicos had already two sons named John (born ca 1128) and Alexios (born ca 1136), the latter of whom gained infamy as Protosebastos, lover of Empress Maria of Antioch and acting regent after OTL Manuel's death.

C) John Axouch was about the same age as the Emperor John so in 1158 he would be almost 70 years old, too old to take the field if not dead. His son Alexios was married to TTL Emperor Alexios' daughter.

D) Meanwhile where is Manuel? What he's up to?

Please dont make Alexios too much paranoid about his brother. A man of his quality should fare better.