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#441
July 11th, 2012, 10:08 PM
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#442
July 11th, 2012, 10:15 PM
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#443
July 11th, 2012, 10:16 PM
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CLINCH THE FIST!
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#444
July 15th, 2012, 10:15 AM
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To whet your appetite for the next update, here's a small treat. I wrote this to help Elfwine to write English history in the IE universe. Now his other commitments have prevented him from doing this, I thought I may as well publish it. Not very detailed, but hey. Enjoy!
1066- Edward the Confessor dies on schedule, nominating as his heir not Harold Godwinson but his teenage nephew Edgar. The regime of Edgar is shaky, though, and is badly damaged by a severe defeat suffered at the hands of Harald Hardraada, who captures York before marching south to London. In panic, Edgar’s regime turns to the Normans, who enter the country and defeat Hardraada at the Battle of Hertford. Edgar is forced to marry William’s daughter Cecilia. 1070- Cecilia gives birth to a son, Robert. 1072- English rebellion in East Anglia breaks out, with the support of Sweyn of Denmark. This is defeated, and the last remaining English barons at court are removed by William, who is now in effective control of the realm. 1073- Edgar dies in mysterious circumstances, to be succeeded by his son Robert. William remains regent for his grandson. 1077- William’s two eldest sons, Robert and Richard, take part in a major offensive against Byzantine positions in southern Italy. Both are killed early in 1078 in the disastrous raid on Thessalonica. The administration of England is left in the hands of the Queen Dowager Cecilia, while William makes war on the King of France. 1080- William sacks Paris, but is unable to consolidate his gains and is soon driven out by King Philip I. 1081- At the Treaty of Caen, King Robert of England is betrothed in marriage to Emeline, the daughter of the King of France. William the Conqueror is now linked by blood to both the French and English monarchies. 1084- William attempts to return to England, but is overwhelmed by a storm at sea. The Duchy of Normandy passes to his eldest surviving son, William Rufus, who defeats and kills his younger brother Henry in battle for the Duchy to become his father’s last surviving son. 1085- Queen Dowager Cecilia dies, and William Rufus crosses to England to assert his authority over his teenage nephew Robert, who is brought back to Normandy as an effective prisoner. 1089- In a reversal of fortune, William Rufus is himself captured and held hostage by the Duke of Anjou. Robert escapes from Normandy and returns to London. A second revolt in East Anglia is summarily crushed, but he is unable to prevent the Scots from asserting authority over much of Northumbria. 1091- Robert’s eldest son Richard is born. 1092- William Rufus is ransomed, but is forced to feudally submit to his nephew in London. Queen Emeline provides King Robert with a daughter, Agatha. 1095- King Robert’s second son, William, is born. 1097- French invasion of Normandy breaks the alliance between England and the Capetians. William Rufus, with English reinforcements, routs the French army. 1101- King Robert suffers a sharp defeat at the hands of the Scots. The Anglo-Scottish frontier is fixed along the Rivers Ribble and Aire. 1103- Battle of Preston ends in an English victory but King Robert is killed fighting. William Rufus quickly seizes the opportunity to emulate his father, and, in a reversal of the expected feudal role, becomes dominant over the young King Richard of England. A posthumous daughter, Adela, is born to the deceased king Robert. 1104- Richard is forced to marry Matilda, the only daughter of William Rufus, and a woman some ten years his senior. 1108- A civil war breaks out amongst the Normans, encouraged by the French, with Queen Dowager Emeline using her second son William as a tool against William Rufus. Matilda gives birth to King Richard’s son Robert. 1109- William Rufus defeats the forces of Queen Emeline, and she and William flee to Scotland. William Rufus himself, though, is executed by his great nephew Richard, who also forces his wife Matilda into a convent and proclaims himself Duke of Normandy. 1111- After a protracted siege, Caen falls to the French and Richard’s control is mostly restricted to the Contentin peninsula. Further erosion of the position is prevented by a skilful defence provided by Edward of Winchester, a native English commander. 1112- William is proclaimed Earl of Northumbria by the Scots, with his seat at Durham. 1117- Robert is made Duke of Normandy as heir to the throne, with the Isle of Wight added to his holdings. 1119- King Richard begins four years solid campaigning to subdue the peoples of Wales. This ends with the southern western areas annexed to England, but little more. 1124- Edward of Winchester defeats an attempted Cornish uprising and then transfers the fight to Brittany. 1126- Large parts of Brittany are forced to submit to the English crown. Edward himself, though, suffers execution, a victim of King Richard’s murderous paranoia. 1129- Robert, Duke of Normandy and heir of King Richard is imprisoned at Winchester. 1132- King Richard executes two more high-flying barons, who have been supported by his brother William from Durham. His kingdom is becoming ever more centralised upon his royal person. 1133- First recruitment of a sort of professional army by King Richard. 1139- Using this new model army, Richard raids deep into Northumbria, and sacks York and several other cities. William’s second son Henry is killed. The main prize for King Richard though is the capture of his mother, the aged Queen Emeline, who is brought back to London and decapitated. 1141- Richard engages in one final Welsh campaign, which is brutally successful, with a large part of the north coast of Wales annexed to England. His son Robert escapes from a twelve year captivity. 1142- While marching on Robert, Richard falls ill and dies at the age of fifty-one. Robert is able to quickly be crowned King of England, though it takes several years for Richard’s war machine to fully accept him. 1143- Robert II intervenes on the French side in a war with the Occitanian nobles. Though the French King is defeated, Robert is able to profit from the war, by marrying a French princess, Bertha, and regaining much of Normandy. 1145- Birth of Matilda to Queen Bertha. 1148- William of Northumbria launches another invasion of England, which is fairly successful. Birth of Henry to Queen Bertha. 1149- An attempted revolt against King Robert, who is away on the continent, is only put down with some difficulty.
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#445
July 15th, 2012, 11:12 AM
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Bloody Hell. Well, that's about right. Bloody indeed.
Not exactly the most sane of Kings, is he? Was the plan for England in this new Edition to be similar to what it was in the first edition of this wonderful universe. Gallic Empire, United England-France.
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"The choices of one shape the futures of all"
"Even the smallest decision can change the course of the future and enforce radical change"
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#446
July 16th, 2012, 12:47 PM
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Well thats different to say the least. Wonder how it will eventually end up.
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#447
July 16th, 2012, 01:27 PM
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Yes, that's the plan, though we'll get there rather a via different route to that of IE 1.0.
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#448
July 28th, 2012, 01:41 PM
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New chapter finished. To be published shortly.
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#450
July 28th, 2012, 04:11 PM
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Chapter Eight: Out with the Old "I, Basilios, servant of Emperors, place my tomb at my Palace of the Ox. I served the Empire without rest, and so, reader, reward my exertions with your prayers" Inscription on the tomb of the Parakoimomenos Basilios John II Komnenos[1] had already been the power behind his father’s throne for over a decade before he came to the throne at the age of forty eight. The contrast between Manuel and Isaac II was marked. Whereas they had been large, domineering men, John was a slight figure, who spoke in a distinctly quiet voice and whose eyes, we are told[2], would often fill with tears at a particularly moving sermon. Any traces of the roughness of the “Italians” were nowhere to be seen in the figure of the new Emperor. Instead, John seemed to resemble closely his other grandfather, Alexios Komnenos, whom had doted on him as an infant. It need not have been a bad prognosis. John II had inherited much from his illustrious relatives; military talent, theological vigour, and an unusual, penetrating intelligence. Amongst the highly cultured courtiers of Constantinople, men raised by the Parakoimomenos Basilios, the death of John’s father Manuel must have seemed like a relief. But Basilios did not have long to savour this new reign of bookish intellectualism. Up until the death of Manuel Komnenos he had remained active and energetic, imperiously dismissing the attempts by a younger protégé of his named Andronikos of Lakonia[3] to increase his own power. Time, though, could not be held off forever, even by the most permanent feature of the Imperial court. For Basilios had now long since passed his ninetieth birthday. He was magnificently, almost imposingly ancient, a landmark of court life who seemed as ancient as the Imperial Palace itself. Basilios, by 1152, was certainly the last man in a position of power in Constantinople to remember the days of the first Isaac Komnenos- he may even have been the last subject of that Isaac’s great-great-nephew to have been born in an age before the House of Komnenos had even come to supreme power. It could not go on. For the first months of John’s reign, the eunuch was as indispensable as ever, organising the coronation of John’s wife Theodora of Hungary[4], and his son George, and so bringing the entire family onto the Imperial throne. Rumblings of discontent from Jordan of Aversa’s men in Antioch were dealt with promptly by Basilios, whose old alliance with the Norman generalissimo continued to hold firm into the new reign. It was while drafting a letter to Jordan in November 1152 that time finally caught up with the Parakoimomenos. According to his aghast personal secretary, a rather pallid young man by the name of David Bringas[5], the great eunuch had collapsed at his desk, sending bottles of outrageously expensive ink spilling across the marble floor of Basilios’ luxuriant palace. Frantic attempts to wake the old man eventually met with success, but the Parakoimomenos was now a broken man. Bound to bed, he quickly divested himself of his great offices of state, and hobbled off to monastic confinement, joining there the half forgotten figure of Theodosios Komnenos, John’s half-brother by Manuel’s second marriage[6]. By January 1153, Basilios was dead. With him died the balance of power that had for so long kept the House of Komnenos in power unchallenged. Almost immediately, rumours began to circulate around Constantinople that Theodosios, despite his age and obscurity, was considering making a play for power; an outrageous rumour to be sure, and one that the bastardised monk was quick to dispute, but it continued to rumble. Basilios’ replacement as John’s most senior minister, a nobleman named David Angelos[7], attempted to restore calm by pointing out that Theodosios’ mother Yvantia had been a Lombard barbarian, but as things turned out this was wounding to the Emperor in more than one way. First, doubts were immediately cast onto the legitimacy of John II, the product of a dubious marriage between cousins. And more dangerously still, they opened the door to a new possibility. If someone like Theodosios could be considered a semi-legitimate monarch but still a “barbarian”, then it meant the path could potentially be clear to an altogether more threatening opponent. At Antioch, Jordan of Aversa lurked ominously, at the head of a superbly drilled army of thousands upon thousands of men, men who were more often than not hostile to the imperial pretensions of John Komnenos[8]. What began to emerge over the fevered summer of 1154 was an elaborate conspiracy theory, developed above all by John’s powerful Empress Theodora, who was not herself immune from accusations of barbarism[9]. According to Theodora, Basilios had in his dying days involved Theodosios in a fiendish plot, involving the old monk seizing the throne at the head of the armies of Jordan of Aversa, and accepting the hand in marriage of Jordan’s beloved daughter Pulcheria. The new regime would then promptly engage in an orgy of violence against what Theodora considered the legitimate ruling elite of Constantinople. The bad old days of provincial soldiers swaggering about the capital would be restored, and any veneer the Komnenoi had kept up of civilian pretensions would be swept away for good[10]. As a piece of stage management, it worked wonders. The Empress found herself feted in the street by the ever-xenophobic Byzantines[11], and the marriage of her son George to Anastasia Angelina, (daughter of the same David Angelos who had caused much of the trouble in the first place) was a triumphant occasion that did much to silence the whispering campaign against John. Still, Jordan could not be ignored forever. The Domestikos himself sent a number of furious letters to Constantinople, demanding that the allegations against his good name be withdrawn, but these only served to inflame the situation still further[12]. John, under the influence of his wife, now started to indicate to David Angelos and others (notably Philotheos of Thebes) that Jordan’s term in military authority in the East was to be brought to an end soon. For the army of the East, all this rumbling was deeply damaging to morale, and, sure enough, early in 1155, consequences were felt. Smbat, prince of Syunik[13], who had been placed on the throne as an infant by Manuel Komnenos twenty years earlier had survived a terrifying childhood to become a fearsome warlord, and, understandably, no friend of the Empire. An attempted invasion of Syunik by the Saljūq Sultan of Baghdad[14] in 1153 had been breezily defeated with astonishingly heavy Muslim casualties. The Sultan Maḥmūd[15], impressed by the Armenian prince, opted not to continue his war, but to assimilate young Smbat by friendship, sending the Armenians gold and men to build up their army. In 1154, Armenian raids began over the fertile Imperial territories of the upper Euphrates. Late in the year, an army caught Melitene unawares, and was able to extract huge amounts of ransom booty from the terrified city[16]. Jordan of Aversa, despite the threatening noises coming from Constantinople, immediately despatched an army of perhaps 10,000 men[17] to deal with the problem. The Armenians, though, were tired of retreating. As the Imperial army approached their position around the town of Chozanon[18], Smbat’s men opted to set the stage for a devastating ambush. In open battle, the disciplined soldiers of the Tagmata had no real rivals, but, caught in rough terrain and unawares by a mixed force of light infantry and Turkish cavalry, they stood no chance. A chaotic retreat was called, led by Andreas Skleros[19], but still, the casualties were every bit as crippling as they had been for the Turks two years earlier. Harried all the way by horse archers, less than a fifth of Jordan’s army made it back to safety in one piece. Jordan’s perilous position desperately required conclusive victory at Chozanon. The defeat, even if it was caused by factors well outside of his control, sent him sliding towards the edge. Andreas Skleros, that heroic commander who had brought back the remnants of the Imperial army found himself detained at Melitene en-route to Antioch by the young George Komnenos, who had sped to the East at all haste as soon as the news of the defeat had reached Constantinople[20]. Jordan, meanwhile, found himself isolated and friendless in Antioch, as his junior officers and eunuchs deserted him one by one. In the end, it was his new son-in-law[21] Constantine Nafpliotis who informed the Norman that the game was up. The Emperor John, who had advanced to Ikonion, was inclined to mercy for the “crimes” of his Domestikos. Jordan, accompanied by his fearsome Armenian wife Miriam of Kars, was stripped of his rank and titles, and retired in disgrace to a small portion of his estates in Sicily. The rest were forcibly confiscated and passed on to Pulcheria, adding through her to the already considerable portfolio of the House of Nafpliotis[22]. A new settlement was now hammered out in the East. Andreas Skleros, who had feared for his life, was instead made godfather to the newborn son of George Komnenos (in the event, the child died within a few weeks) and set up as Doux of Antioch, holding in actual fact many of the powers of the Domestikos of the East, an office entrusted by the Komnenoi to the ever present nonentity Constantine Nafpliotis[23]. A rare period of calm descended upon the East, with Smbat of Syunik being granted a generous tribute. To celebrate the moment, Constantine chose to call his daughter “Eirene”, after the peace. In time, of course, the baby girl would decisively eclipse her feeble father. The blood of the tragically wronged Jordan of Aversa flowed in her veins, and, soon enough, the Norman’s granddaughter would have her revenge on the House of Komnenos[24]. __________________________________________________ [1] Obviously not OTL’s John II Komnenos. [2] Mostly by Jordan of Aversa. [3] Lakonia is the region around Sparta in the Peloponnese, probably the richest area of Byzantine Greece. [4] The daughter of King Solomon II, Theodora was born as Erzsébet (Elizabeth) and sent to Constantinople in 1131, at the age of seventeen, to marry John Komnenos as part of the peace treaty after the Serbian war discussed in the previous chapter. [5] A name from IE 1.0. Perhaps this is just a coincidence? [6] Manuel’s second wife and Theodosios’ mother, was a Lombard lady called Yvantia. She died in childbirth in 1100. [7] The rise to power of the OTL House of Angelos was wrapped up with the success of Alexios Komnenos- their founder, Constantine, married Alexios’ daughter Theodora. Here, I’m assuming they still succeed, but later than IOTL. [8] John’s provocative behaviour in the East in the early 1140s has not been forgotten by the largely Monophysite armies under Jordan’s command. [9] She is after all, horror of horrors, the descendent of steppe nomads. [10] A bit hypocritical, as the Komnenoi are themselves at heart “provincial soldiers” and Theodora is of course even worse, but that’s medieval politics. Anyway, the regime of John II is very “civilian”, at least at this stage. [11] This is the only strictly legitimate use of the term “Byzantine”, for the inhabitants of Constantinople. These were the only inhabitants of the Empire who called themselves Byzantine. [12] Jordan is unable to resist being rather... threatening. The claim that Alexios Komnenos viewed him as a son is trotted out, which doesn’t please John, as the Emperor identifies very closely with his grandfather. [13] See Chapter Eight. [14] After the doldrums of the later eleventh and early twelfth centuries, the Saljūqs have been able to consolidate Mesopotamia and Iran, and are now eyeing expansion again. [15] A very effective ruler who’s ruled his empire for the past twenty years with all the pomp and grandeur of a Sasanian king of kings. [16] This was quite common- rather than going to the trouble of capturing and sacking a city, invading armies would simply demand treasure from it. See, for example, the treatment of Edessa at the hands of John Kourkouas in 944. [17] Numbers are difficult to estimate. 10,000 men is probably a good guess for a large-ish Byzantine army in the field in our period. [18] Modern Hozat, in Turkey. [19] Last of an illustrious line, the noble name will die with Andreas. [20] George really has moved very, very quickly. Then again, Andreas Skleros’ progress has been burdened by his battered rump of an army. [21] Jordan married Pulcheria to Nafpliotis as soon as he heard the accusations against his daughter, thinking that marrying her to a man favoured by the Komnenoi would protect her. By and large, the gambit works. [22] They’re now amongst the Empire’s largest landowning families. [23] Nafpliotis too is busy living the good life on his favourite estates in Thrace to actually command. [24] And how!
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
Last edited by Basileus Giorgios; July 30th, 2012 at 06:44 PM..
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#452
July 28th, 2012, 04:45 PM
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#453
July 28th, 2012, 05:18 PM
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Great update, wonderfully formatted. Always love these, too:
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#454
July 28th, 2012, 07:37 PM
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had a preponderance of cavalry and always defeated the Arabs and Turks in the open,since there are great open spaces and the Byzantines were accustomed to fighting in the open.
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#455
July 29th, 2012, 05:02 PM
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It's a typical defeat of a heavily armed, primarily infantry army, at the hands of light and fast moving enemy men in rugged terrain. The main commander of the army, one of Jordan's deputies, is killed in the opening stages of the battle, and morale is in any case low thanks to political unrest coming from the Bosphoros. Andreas Skleros is able to manage some sort of fighting retreat, but really, it's one of the worst defeats the Empire's suffered in the East for generations, as can be seen from the exceptionally favourable peace tribute given to Smbat. Constantinople paying tribute to an Armenian princeling is quite shocking. In terms of raw casualties, Chozanon is probably a worse defeat than OTL's Manzikert was, actually. That said, there are still other large Imperial armies in Anatolia to hold the situation, and John II Komnenos is (now) a much more secure Emperor than Romanos IV ever was. As for your comments, Cimon, remember that this isn't the Komnenid army of OTL. The army that's developed ITTL has much less Turkish influence, for example, in a world where the Turks have never entered Anatolia in any great numbers. It's still an army well suited to scaring off large armies from Persia or Hungary, but not so good at fighting small, raiding bands. Especially when caught in an ambush. Further comments?
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#456
July 29th, 2012, 09:16 PM
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Good update, BG!
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My stories _________________________________________________ Quote:
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#457
July 29th, 2012, 10:46 PM
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Isaac's Empire 2.0 Timeline and Wiki. Updated 28th March. Quote:
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#458
July 29th, 2012, 11:09 PM
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Good update. I wasn't expecting an Armenian warlord, but I like it. Much different than the typical Turkish warband.
That said, this confused me. Quote:
But other than that, nice work.
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An Age of Miracles: The Revival of Rhomanion The Revival of Rhomaion Up to Part 11, 1502-1516 The Keys of Heaven
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#459
July 30th, 2012, 12:20 AM
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Out of curiosity, since you said there would be some differences in this timeline and since i didn't read the other timeline, i have several questions:
1. Would Nationalism happen in this timeline? If it does, how badly could it affect the empire and other countries? 2. What is the demographics of the empire at this time? Total population etc? 3. What would be considered the homeland of the Turkish people, since they didn't settle in Anatolia? 4. How much of the natural population in the Balkans (Serbs, Albanians, Bulgarians etc) and people in the Middle East (Syrians, Armenians etc) will assimilate into Greeks? 5. Would the Greek Empire still be considered the rightful heirs of the Roman Empire and be proper Romans? The reason is that Greeks don't speak Latin and they are based in the Balkans and Anatolia, while the Romans were Latin and based in the Italian Peninsula. That is all the questions for all and thanks for any answers.
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#460
July 30th, 2012, 10:25 AM
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Probably there are certain things I don't know about AH so please correct me if I am wrong: 1) I understand that when a TTL begins (timewise) anything before it is status quo ante and it changes only if it is changed TTL. 2) The adaptation of the Byzantine army to the Eastern conditions of fighting and the subsequent increase of cavalry,not only in numbers but in formation and equipment and ditto in tactics had started in order to face the easterners mainly Persians,for example,in Tricamarum(point of ad decimum) the tactical inversion of the Byzantine catafracts broke the back of the Vandals and gave the victory to Byzantines;so the point of change in the composition of the army had started much earlier and not due to the appearance of the Turks,and it is well known that the Byzantine infantry had only a static role in the army and it was never the army in itself;please correct any errors in perception that I have made,for which I apologise beforehand
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