Dang
@Basileus444, you already have a huge burden in planning and mapping out the 17th century to modern times, its probably gonna be really hard to partake in another project while you're are at it, do you plan to put the current story in hiatus to focus on reworking the 1st parts of the story? You have a schedule for this?
My plan is for the main focus to remain the regular TL. So far I’ve been doing 3 regular updates a month and then 1 special update per month exclusively for Megas Kyr patrons. I’d like to keep that schedule, just that now the special update for Megas Kyr will now exclusively be sections of
Not the End: A History of the Empire under the Laskarids rather than the mix it was earlier.
The first Komnenoi gets more attentinon that the Laskarid? That's really interesting to hear given that the Laskarid's literally brought the Empire back from the brink. It's obvious that Theodoros II and Alexios I probably get all the attention but who else in the 2 dynasties gets coverage? And when will Theodoros II get his TV show TTL?
That mainly has to do with the prominence of the Second Komnenoi. They’re very much the Roman version of the Tudors hogging all the public attention, and the First Komnenoi because of their familial connection get a boost. The Laskarids were much more prominent in the historical mind prior to 1635, but as the Empire enters a “post-Laskarid” phase their significance has dwindled.
Manuel I Komnenos comes in for a lot of attention, but with mixed reviews. Andronikos I is a…character. For the Laskarids, Theodoros II comes in for a lot of praise, while his father Ioannes III is also a saint (IOTL he’s St Ioannes the Merciful). Anna I is getting more attention lately too.
There’s a pitch at Sinope Studios for a movie about Theodoros II and the Nobles’ Revolt, but it’s competing for one about the 717 siege of Constantinople. If I had to choose I’d go for the 717 one since I’d love to see the debut of liquid fire on the big screen.
In comparison, that year's "Cannonball Classic" between Imperial Constantinople and FC Trebizond "only" drew 29 million viewers despite being the retirement game of IC legend Christos Ronalditos.
Ronalditos was a big fan of the show. I loved that bit where he plays an aide to Giorgios Laskaris and is promptly killed by a cannonball.
Looking forward to these special updates! Didn’t realise there was such much OTL on the early Laskarid period, Wikipedia is sorely lacking.
It’s hard to get sources on the post-1204 period. There were several books I would’ve like to have gotten but I’m not shelling out $60+ for a single book.
What would have been the series finale? Ioannes VI’s abdication would be the official end of the dynasty, but Alexeia I’s last stand would be ending with a bang.
Will follow this with interest!
The crowning of the Triumvirate should work. It marked the end of the endless wars and the start of the recovery under the Fifth Empire, and coincided with Lady Theodora (the last Komnenos with a good dynastic tie to the last proper Komnenoi on the Imperial Throne) formally relinquishing her claims and giving it to the Drakids. A fitting conclusion to the time of the Komnenoi.
The penultimate season finale was the death of Alexeia I. The final season was the Time of Troubles as seen through the eyes of Theodora Komnena. The final scene is the coronation of Helena I Drakina, but in the last moments the camera pans from Helena I to her right, where stands Theodora.
Instead of Despotates they should be reformed back into something akin to the Roman Dominate System that Diocletian implemented. This worked well for the Empire until the Arabs invaded. I see this as more of the natural course than an EU type thingy. A tight federal Empire was basically what the late Antiquity Empire essentially was. There were Praetorian Prefects, Diocese run by Vicars, Provincial Governors, and then the local government. Voting power is ridiculous for the Romans especially since the Senate has been so far removed from power for so long. The collective memory of Venice and the Old Republic's failure would make such as system seem ridiculous to the average Roman. This idea would be anachronism for the Romans of this era. They've been an absolute monarchy for nearly 2,000 years and have survived as one of the oldest continuous states in the history of man rivaled by only China in this regard.
Are ttl's Lotharingian's basically a successful Burgundy that managed to unify into an actual Kingdom?
This is something that the Romans took so long to realize. This almost happened under Maurice and Anastasius I. The Roman Persians wars if seen as a continuous struggle would be 742 years of conflict. Maybe instead of the 100 Years War, people will be studying the 750 Years war between the Romans and Persians.
How exactly is Heraclius and Maurice remembered by the Romans? How come there has been no Heraclius II? How is the legacy of Augustus taught in Rhomania? Is there a tv show like ROME that depicts the rise of the Empire? What kind of role does the Orthodox Church play in Byzantine Society?
This is kind of funny since Ancient Greece is considered one of the foundations of Western Civiliation. And Ethiopia is one of the oldest civilizations in history. Who exactly do the Romans think are Latins? Are they the Romance speaking peoples of the post Roman Kingdoms in Western Europe?
How Frenchified is England? France historically was wealthier and had a larger population. The King and the nobles were Norman’s who spoke French as well. So is the center of power in England-France in France due to its larger population and resources?
The “Roman EU” idea was an analogy I thought of literally as I was typing up the response, so it’s not even remotely close to being fully-thought-out or set in stone.
One thing that is set in stone is that any kind of Roman popular vote will be subjected to some level of educational requirement. The grounds would be that in any field, one must show a certain level of education to be allowed to practice in said field, whether that’s being a professional welder or a professional physician. Why would government be any different?
Lotharingia was originally a Burgundy-made-good, although as
@HanEmpire pointed out, the Low Countries are becoming much more dominate (the current King is Albrecht III), with large parts, including the original Burgundy, now part of the Triple Monarchy.
Maurice is viewed as a real person whose life was an ancient Greek tragedy. Herakleios is viewed very highly as the savior of the Empire from the Persians, with his defeats at Arab hands blamed on general Imperial exhaustion and old age, although many will agree that it would’ve been better for him if he’d died a few years earlier than he did.
There was a Herakleios II, Andreas I’s successor. Because of his bad health, questionable religious opinions, and his father being an impossible act to follow, in historical memory he’s not well regarded. But Odysseus’ son is a Herakleios, and he’ll be Herakleios III.
Augustus is viewed as the savior of the Roman state, creating a stable empire to replace a fractious, corrupt, and broken republic.
The Orthodox Church is still a very major force in Roman society. The Church is a major landowner; mention was made a few updates back of villages that have their landlord being a monastery. The Patriarch of Constantinople is the senior figure on the “Imperial Cabinet”. Many clergy are important patrons of culture and science, participating in creation themselves in some cases. The two key elements of being considered Roman is Orthodox belief and Greek-speaking.
Well, the Latins were willing even IOTL to deny the Byzantines’ Roman heritage. Why not be consistent and deny them their Greek heritage too? The argument would be by denying a true connection between ancient and modern Greeks (something *6th century Slavic invasions* something *Turkish interbreeding*). If one jumps back to the early 1400s, there are repeated instances where the Latins portray the Romans as Turks (OOC reason was so I could use Ottoman pictures for the Romans).
Latin, in Roman parlance, is a lazy shorthand for Catholics and the TTL-equivalents of Protestants (Bohmanists, Anabaptists, etc.) which they view as derived from Catholicism.
I’ll be getting more into the layout of the Triple Monarchy in an upcoming update.
man i finished reading the timeline binge reading it , i still love it by the way good work
Thank you. Glad you’re enjoying it.
A daunting task in rewriting the early Laskarids part Basileus, but one I have enjoyed reading so far, I've been meaning to get to studying the Byzantine empire more than the usual stuff I read in wikipedia, so reading parts of OTL here have broadened my horizon. You'd think we'd get a Byzantine show in our time especially with all the political backstabbing that occurred. But I suppose the West isn't ready for such a thing yet, no matter how many are seem interested in this tragic remnant of the Roman Empire.
Yeah, I don’t see a Byzantine show airing in the West anytime soon. Most still have never heard of it, ‘byzantine’ is an insult, and even on this site people will still deny the Byzantines’ Roman identity, even though the “Byzantines” never called themselves that; they called themselves Roman.
I’m really enjoying the re-write, it adds so much detail.
Thank you.
The next part of
Not the End: The Empire Under the Laskarids has been posted for Megas Kyr patrons on my Patreon page. It’s still mostly OTL, covering the period from 1222-46, but some divergences are starting to appear (make sure to read the footnotes). It concludes with the arrival of the Mongols, the formation of the pivotal alliance between the Houses of Hohenstaufen and Vatatzes/Laskaris, and the watershed year of 1246, considered by Roman historians ITTL to be the start of the Age of Miracles proper.