If the Romans are to survive against Europe they have to be much more technologically advanced then any Muslim nation.
Our Fractured Crown: An Eastern Roman Timeline
- Thread starter Averious
- Start date
I'm not sure I follow. We don't know how advanced 18th-19th century Egypt or other Muslims nations will be in this timeline, so why does the Empire have to be "more advanced" than them?
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I could say the exact opposite. If the Romans ally themselves with the Hapsburgs they don't have a threat from the west and they focus inwards, due to certain conflicts that may rise, and in the east. Now the Ottomans OTL were the epitome of advanced till the 17th century where they lost at Vienna and yet still they managed in that same war to regain Serbia. That is 3.5 centuries away from ITTL and who knows how things go?
To me an active Roman threat combined with an active Persian one would push the Ottomans to better quality troops. They might as well control the Levant and Egypt themselves and gain a lot of manpower from there. Also having a smaller state would help with centralization and communication to strike at enemies faster and not starting a campaign from Constantinople giving their enemies plenty of time to prepare.
Now going even further to the 18th century. What makes you believe that the Romans wouldn't be OTL Ottomans and decay at that time?
On the topic of Europe Hungary would have agitated for Serbia which would be a piece that the Romans and Hungarians would want to be their own. The reason why I don't think they would ally is that Hungary isn't going to be in any danger when the Romans are attacked, and the Romans and Hungarians worship different sects of Christianity, which means Hungary will be nipping at the empire when bad times come. Plus, no alliance lasts for ~500 years without permanent interests. Hungary and the Roman empire won't have things that interest them in this alliance. Maybe in the 1100s where the Hungarians and Romans almost had a personal union.
en.m.wikipedia.org
The ottomans were advanced till the 1700s as you said, but at the end the Muslims generally can't successfully industrialize due to (I think) different cultures (which make them prioritise different things like the Christians prioritising the study of science to understand god while the Muslims prioritized reading the Quran to understand Allah) and the necessity to industrialize and have an intelligista that can create new inventions.
I think Islamic countries would be able to catch up momentarily but be unable to actually fully industrialize due to the Romans going to control the various Islamic countries via soft power means rather than direct conquest, meaning only a few wars would be fought when the borders are the Taurus mountains and the Armenian Highlands. The Islamic countries' propensity to have slave soldiers didn't help with the army tech front in the long run, and in general the people and the powerful weren't receptive of new ideas and tech.
Tl:dr: the siege of Baghdad murdered science in Islam, and Persia and mesopotamia are prone to large empires that enforce orthodoxy that benefits the state: ie blind faith to religion.
PS: I hope Artemius and Demetrios become popular because i like them. They're cool.
Béla III of Hungary - Wikipedia
The ottomans were advanced till the 1700s as you said, but at the end the Muslims generally can't successfully industrialize due to (I think) different cultures (which make them prioritise different things like the Christians prioritising the study of science to understand god while the Muslims prioritized reading the Quran to understand Allah) and the necessity to industrialize and have an intelligista that can create new inventions.
I think Islamic countries would be able to catch up momentarily but be unable to actually fully industrialize due to the Romans going to control the various Islamic countries via soft power means rather than direct conquest, meaning only a few wars would be fought when the borders are the Taurus mountains and the Armenian Highlands. The Islamic countries' propensity to have slave soldiers didn't help with the army tech front in the long run, and in general the people and the powerful weren't receptive of new ideas and tech.
Tl:dr: the siege of Baghdad murdered science in Islam, and Persia and mesopotamia are prone to large empires that enforce orthodoxy that benefits the state: ie blind faith to religion.
PS: I hope Artemius and Demetrios become popular because i like them. They're cool.
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Well neither Russia or Poland did industrialize till way later so this point is a bit weird.
Please，don't make this timeline （which had been very good so far ）a ridiculous Byzantine wank like Age of Miracles(I know it's popular here，but……)
The Byzantines really no longer had chance for neither Italy nor Egypt with a 14th century Pod.
They were already behind the West in every possible aspect，and they had been expelled from Levante for 700 years.
Nothing，nothing save divine intervention could make them THE Midterranean Power again.
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I just said that for the Romans to conquer Naples they have to have specific circumstances and that they get somewhat lucky. They have to stomp Venice as that would be a stocking point for the Romans. Conquering Egypt really depends on the other European powers not the Romans as it'd be the era of colonisation when the Romans do any conquering in the middle East/Egypt. I'd think it's hard for the Romans to control the Balkans well enough for them to conquer Naples fully, and the pope will have a hissy fit over it. I think gaining Sicily would be very possible if the Romans play their cards right tho. I think the Romans would be gunning for control over the East med and maybe the central med.
I think the Hungarians and the ottomans in mesopotamia would limit the Romans expansion, but they're not going to push past the Armenian Highlands.
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Carter I'm Yog
Banned
They'd probably attempt to, but how are they going to find the money and men to supply a better-quality army?
Sicily won't be more possible than Naples，they are both on the western side of Italian Peninsula.
If the Byzantines could really get some territory in Italy，it would most probably Apulia on the eastern side，bordering Adriatic Sea，which they held for the longest time (quite reasonably ) before 12the century.
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Personally I think we should treat ittl Romans like otl Italians except that they're better at fighting land battles due to Hungary's existence. Otl Greece had to have a good navy due to its geography even when ruled by the ottomans, and I just don't see how they wouldn't do so ittl. Plus they would have pressure to industrialize as Hungary would be marching it's armies against the Roman empire every time the empire falters while any industrialised power would be pressuring the empire with their naval capacity every time they fight wars. These factors force the empire to industrialise and keep up with the other major powers. The empire is besieged from all sides if they don't keep up and innovate. That's why I think they'll do so and let them have the capability to conquer the far East and Egypt by the 19th century.
When I was talking about Naples, I was talking about the kingdom of Naples. I think they would just likely be able to hold places that otl have griko minorities. I also said sicily as they're in an island and if the Romans have a string of bases at the foot of Italy they could hold onto Sicily.
Ps: would like to see an italy that doesn't unite and a Burgundy that survives since the tl is still at the 1300s. Personally gotta throw in Scandinavia colonising North America and the Japanese colonising the west coast as the pod is that far back. No Spanish colonisation too? Ittl they would be busy fighting the Romans. Personally I think you should think about it, but only in broad strokes as writing things outside the main focus can be annoying.
I don't like too many "butterflies" totally unrelated to the main PoD.
Especially niche things like Vinland or independent Burgundy (which didn't yet exist ittl).
The Spanish WERE fighting a long and great war with the Ottomans in 16th century OTL，which didn't stop them from colonizing the New World. I don't think the Byzantines could be any stronger than OTL Ottomans in 15the century.
You are probably right, but I do feel the need that at this POD, they have more population, a stronger economy and a better strategic situation than the Ottomans and look what they ended up doing.
(As I tend to do, I ended up typing a small essay. The tl:dr is that other empires, namely the Ottomans have started from humbler positions to do what you say is impossible. The Age of Miracles is titled that for a reason, but I do get really tired of overly simplistic determinism on what is meant to be an alternate history board.)
Of course it is hardly that simplistic, the Ottomans had a deceptively large pool of manpower in the form of ghazis from other parts of the Islamic world, but I would argue that the key is dynamic leadership and the weakness of the surrounding powers.
Also, I would point out that it was Roman thinkers fleeing the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire that helped to spark the Renaissance. Of course again it isn't that simple, there were plenty of native Italian thinkers, artists etc and the great growth of that period was largely facilitated by the massive economic growth in Italy, but give the Romans some credit.
At the end of the day, even at this low point, the Romans have a gargantuan intellectual foundation to build off of, to reference in reconstructing an administration leaps and bounds beyond their regional peers. Their primary problems in this period are a critical lack of stability, with civil wars sapping their resources and ravaging the already administration that the Crusaders were to kind as to do their level best to burn to the ground. The second is demographic, again largely due to lack of political stability and physical security, not to mention Constantinople's being a shadow of it's former self, though still on of the best placed and largest cities in the Christian world at this point. Finally strategically, they sit on prime real estate that literally all of their neighbors want a piece of.
On the plus side: other than what I've already mentioned, none of their neighbors are particularly strong yet in their own rights. No single neighbor can bring truly overwhelming force alone, and it appears that for once they are actually on reasonably friendly terms with Bulgaria, which largely secures one front for them for the foreseeable future.
In addition, the Romans are not entirely hopeless on the manpower front either. Historically groups such as the Cumans would be settled within the Empire's diminished borders and provide by all accounts a critical shot in the arm of both farmers for depopulated areas and military manpower for relatively little actual cash cost. I believe that group was about 10,000 and while that number likely includes noncombatants, even an extra 1,000 skilled cavalry is a serious boon to the field army. The point being that the empire can still integrate and make good use of disparate peoples to improve it's military standing even if the old institution of Romanization is a bit past it's prime.
Finally, if the Romans are able to improve their security situation, they can claw back the privileges of the Italian traders on the Bosporus. This is largely a long term project and relies on political stability to make it happen. Once they do manage to accomplish this, and secure reasonable tolls on the trade through the straits, and restore the competitiveness of their own merchants, they will have restored a critical strength of Constantinople as a city sitting astride one of the most lucrative trade choke points in the Mediterranean world. The population of Constantinople will rise again with it's prosperity and more importantly, the Emperor will have a vital income stream restored to him that will allow him to pay for more of just about everything. Again only possible with time and stability.
They have more population sure but less combat ready one , as you mention below. Weaker military infrastructure, more corruption and heavy taxes on the peasants which results in more revolts. They have being chocked out of regional trade as well something the Ottomans didn't worry to much.
This is the main drawback here and you are right on them. They can't defeat either of their neighbors 1v1 on a war with confidence and that is a huge difference from the Ottomans who did so repeatedly. Of course they would not have to face any Crusade really.
Except Hungary of course.
To me the the systemic problems of the state would take a long time to fix without looking at any large enemy invasion like a Dusan Serbia or a betrayal by Bulgaria to support the noble so they can bump down the Romans and keep the status quo. Also both the Italian Republics see the Aegean as their turf and would pounce at any chance to destroy Roman prospects , see OTL Genoa. All of those problems the Ottomans had not.
Don't get me wrong though, the Romans can to a lot of things just their accession would be slower than OTL Ottomans by a big margin.
Certainly this is a major issue. One that largely requires some stability and a bit of breathing room in terms of foreign threats to truly address.
This is arguably the simplest one to solve. Once you can find the money for it in this time period military reforms are pretty straight-forward and they certainly have some military manuals lying around that can keep them from having to reinvent the wheel until gunpowder comes into its own. Even then Phokas' works are a valid foundation I would argue until the end of Pike and Shot. But yeah the major obstacles are finding men, money and leadership, which can be done in a generation rather than a century.
Well Hungary is a little distant. As long as Serbia still stands they aren't quite so existential. Certainly though as long as Hungary isn't getting eaten alive by their own nobles they can tip the balance of power whichever way they choose. I wouldn't call them natural allies, but as long as Serbia exists they have a mutual enemy.
The one weird advantage they do sort of have is that the institutions and nobility of the Empire is so badly ravaged that at this point, there's not as much as there would be at other time periods standing in the way of reform. Still not easy or unopposed. But somewhat more straightforward than it would otherwise be.
Part 1; 1330, January to May - A Matter of Letters
"I'm surprised to find that the pen itself is just as enjoyable an activity, under the right circumstances, as the sword," - Andronikos III Palaiologos.
January - March
Much of January was spent cleaning up collected reports from across the remaining lands of the Empire; namely the fact that the colder than average winter that was expected to continue into February had resulted in shortfalls of food north around east Macedon and west Thrace; shortfalls John and Andronikos had to effectively beg and barter to cover from supplies within the capital; many merchants needing a commission to be willing to aid in the distribution of food southward from Constantinople.
As the winter continued an inescapable notion was forced on the Emperor. Many of the men that had died in the battles in Anatolia had been younger than usual--considering Andronikos had drawn them from the surrounding population of Thrace with specific criteria. There were thus many orphans around the ages of 12-14, something that had to be addressed if the population of the area was to be maintained.
With the aid of John as well as Anna, Andronikos set up a basic aid package for dozens of families. The Emperor was glad that some headway had been made on the economy by John--otherwise this wouldn't have been possible, and there would have been discontent.
What was decided however, to offset the aid packages, was that the sons of slightly stronger stock were to be raised in court [1]. Andronikos himself knew he needed officers and loyal future soldiers if he was going to improve the mess that was the army.
It was by mid-March, as winter was ending, that most of these boys had come to settle in Constantinople proper--the deurbanized areas of the outer city being marked out as areas to house them; Andronikos seeing an opportunity to rebuild areas of the city had fallen into ruin by giving them over to new families that would have a vested interest in maintaining them.
April
One thing that could no longer be ignored was the state of the forces Andronikos had at his disposal now. After the campaign in Anatolia his Hikanatoi had been reduced down to roughly half strength--most of that half having remained in Constantinople. Over 2,000 men had gone to Anatolia, 800 had come back. The system he'd devised clearly didn't work as intended, and thus it needed to be modified.
The Emperor's first action was to disband the Hikanatoi as a body unto itself, instead simply making their entire number the official Army of the Romans, the Allagion [2]; the forces directly controlled by the Emperor.
The 10th droungos of the Hikanatoi and its commander however, were broken off, and officially turned into the reformed city-guard of Constantinople. This was a move to allow Andronikos to march out with his full Allagion and be secure in the knowledge that his capital had some trained defenders alongside the militiamen that could be drawn from the population in times of crisis. This city guard would have its headquarters within the palace-turned-fortress of Antiochos--a former church residence converted by John while Andronikos was in Anatolia.
These actions left him with a force of roughly 2,400 soldiers left directly under his command--a number he was not happy with. In this he began recruitment efforts; making an effort to expand the range of his recruitment out of Thrace and into eastern Macedon--relying on the fact that several men there were likely looking for work considering the short-term famine that still gripped the area from winter.
Andronikos left the recruitment and training of the Allagion to his chosen Domestic, Theodore, a veteran from his campaign in Anatolia. By the end of April the body of the Allagion was beginning to take form, as it was carved up into the functional historic-based formation of Bandon and akin.
Also at April's end was the clear fact that Anna of Savoy was pregnant--with the factors considered it was likely that conception occurred during her time in Anatolia tending to Andronikos [3].
May
Andronikos had carved out May specifically for diplomatic relations; having decided to take this move in order to make appearances as well as take weight off of his administration. The efforts made during May required the prestige only Andronikos could measure.
The first overtures the Emperor made were to the Komnenoi of Trebizond; a breakaway state of the Empire that had existed since just before the shattering of the Empire by the 4th Crusade. The Komnenoi were an influential family in the history of the Romans--and were themselves now very influential in the Black Sea trade. Their position, as well as their heritage, left them uniquely able to understand the Roman position.
Andronikos himself found it rather amusing that he was writing to an Emperor that held his exact same name and numerical designation, another Andronikos III. The Emperor of the Romans made an effort to tread the line between dominance and friendship with Trebizond in his letters; pressing for closer ties both militarily and trade-wise.
Relying on Genoese routes, the Emperor was reliably able to communicate with the other Andronikos roughly once a week through ship travel; once more finding himself thankful for the gradually increasing size and power of the Imperial Navy as it provided additional protection. In this Andronikos made sure to pay the needed tolls to the Genoese--lessening the tensions between the Republic and the Empire.
The response he received was enjoyable, as the elder Andronikos seemed rather pleased with the fact that the Romans were making an effort to reconnect with their cousins across Anatolia. Agreements were struck and decided, with the Romans agreeing to send more trade eastward to Theodoro and Trebizond itself while Trebizond would extend its fleet operations slightly more westward to undermine the Turkish beyliks as well as the Genoese.
Coming away from this interaction, the Emperor noted the fact that the elder Andronikos measured his words in a manner that made it clear that Trebizond was an independent state from Rome--and not one to be taken lightly. Not that this mattered much, the Romans were in no position to even think of threatening one of the few non-hostile states within their range [3].
Things closer to home however couldn't be ignored anymore though.
Artemios, in his position as Doux Anatoli, had begun to send in gradual reports, as well as on-again-off-again requests for supplies. The Anatolian front, while stabilized, regularly dealt with Turkish raids from other beyliks [4] and was thus continuously kept in a militarized state. Artemios himself relied on a system tried and tested by the first Komnenoi; using forts and other such impediments, as well as fast-acting cavalry patrols, to keep the area of the Duchy protected [5].
The letters that really drew Andronikos' attention at this time were from Michael III of Bulgaria. The boisterous Emperor of the Bulgarians had sent them as a courtesy to Andronikos; keeping the Emperor of the Romans informed on the goings on of the Bulgarian-Serbian tensions, as well as warning Andronikos about the fact that he was going to be mustering troops for efforts against Serbia in June.
Combining the words of Michael with the reports his border cities and forts gave him, Andronikos had a clear picture of Serbia's growing aggression, and made note to Michael that he hoped the best for the Tsar's efforts in June and beyond. Added was the fact that Andronikos planned to get involved himself--likely the following year, once he was sure of the position of the Empire and its forces.
Michael's follow up letters, coming in slow and steady at first but slowing to a major crawl now that he was moving to join his forming army, made it clear that he hoped to work alongside Andronikos when the time was right--and even invited the fellow Emperor to Tarnovo for a feast; after all, the Emperor's sister was his wife--once there had been success against the Serbs.
Little did Andronikos know that while he would be in Tarnovo in the coming months, it would not be for a feast.
[1] This was a policy used by Alexios I Komnenos--with the Emperor affectively drawing in the orphaned youth of the aristocracy and soldiery to create an officer class that would eventually come to aid the Empire during the reign of his son John II. However, many were killed during Alexios' campaigns in the Balkans and Anatolia.
[2] The term Allagion, or Allagia, refers to what were the effective 'standing-army' units the Pronoiar. The term came to supplant 'Tagma' as the name used for the Emperor's Army in general.
[3] John V is conceived and born earlier than he was in OTL.
[4] Trebizond would remain an independent state, as well as an important ally, until the late 15th century.
[5] Orhan spent much of the 10 year truce skillfully funneling his people down a path of eastward conquest. Very few raids from Ottoman lands ever reached Roman Anatolia due to Orhans efforts; unwittingly growing the respect the Romans had for the Ottomans and their policies.
[6] By the time of Artemios' death the 'Duchy of Nicaea', which lorded over most of Roman Anatolia at this time save a few select cities run directly by Constantinople, was a militarized and fortified place; having formed a hard core that was hard to dislodge. This would serve as a vital bedrock for John V and his campaigns.
January - March
Much of January was spent cleaning up collected reports from across the remaining lands of the Empire; namely the fact that the colder than average winter that was expected to continue into February had resulted in shortfalls of food north around east Macedon and west Thrace; shortfalls John and Andronikos had to effectively beg and barter to cover from supplies within the capital; many merchants needing a commission to be willing to aid in the distribution of food southward from Constantinople.
As the winter continued an inescapable notion was forced on the Emperor. Many of the men that had died in the battles in Anatolia had been younger than usual--considering Andronikos had drawn them from the surrounding population of Thrace with specific criteria. There were thus many orphans around the ages of 12-14, something that had to be addressed if the population of the area was to be maintained.
With the aid of John as well as Anna, Andronikos set up a basic aid package for dozens of families. The Emperor was glad that some headway had been made on the economy by John--otherwise this wouldn't have been possible, and there would have been discontent.
What was decided however, to offset the aid packages, was that the sons of slightly stronger stock were to be raised in court [1]. Andronikos himself knew he needed officers and loyal future soldiers if he was going to improve the mess that was the army.
It was by mid-March, as winter was ending, that most of these boys had come to settle in Constantinople proper--the deurbanized areas of the outer city being marked out as areas to house them; Andronikos seeing an opportunity to rebuild areas of the city had fallen into ruin by giving them over to new families that would have a vested interest in maintaining them.
April
One thing that could no longer be ignored was the state of the forces Andronikos had at his disposal now. After the campaign in Anatolia his Hikanatoi had been reduced down to roughly half strength--most of that half having remained in Constantinople. Over 2,000 men had gone to Anatolia, 800 had come back. The system he'd devised clearly didn't work as intended, and thus it needed to be modified.
The Emperor's first action was to disband the Hikanatoi as a body unto itself, instead simply making their entire number the official Army of the Romans, the Allagion [2]; the forces directly controlled by the Emperor.
The 10th droungos of the Hikanatoi and its commander however, were broken off, and officially turned into the reformed city-guard of Constantinople. This was a move to allow Andronikos to march out with his full Allagion and be secure in the knowledge that his capital had some trained defenders alongside the militiamen that could be drawn from the population in times of crisis. This city guard would have its headquarters within the palace-turned-fortress of Antiochos--a former church residence converted by John while Andronikos was in Anatolia.
These actions left him with a force of roughly 2,400 soldiers left directly under his command--a number he was not happy with. In this he began recruitment efforts; making an effort to expand the range of his recruitment out of Thrace and into eastern Macedon--relying on the fact that several men there were likely looking for work considering the short-term famine that still gripped the area from winter.
Andronikos left the recruitment and training of the Allagion to his chosen Domestic, Theodore, a veteran from his campaign in Anatolia. By the end of April the body of the Allagion was beginning to take form, as it was carved up into the functional historic-based formation of Bandon and akin.
Also at April's end was the clear fact that Anna of Savoy was pregnant--with the factors considered it was likely that conception occurred during her time in Anatolia tending to Andronikos [3].
May
Andronikos had carved out May specifically for diplomatic relations; having decided to take this move in order to make appearances as well as take weight off of his administration. The efforts made during May required the prestige only Andronikos could measure.
The first overtures the Emperor made were to the Komnenoi of Trebizond; a breakaway state of the Empire that had existed since just before the shattering of the Empire by the 4th Crusade. The Komnenoi were an influential family in the history of the Romans--and were themselves now very influential in the Black Sea trade. Their position, as well as their heritage, left them uniquely able to understand the Roman position.
Andronikos himself found it rather amusing that he was writing to an Emperor that held his exact same name and numerical designation, another Andronikos III. The Emperor of the Romans made an effort to tread the line between dominance and friendship with Trebizond in his letters; pressing for closer ties both militarily and trade-wise.
Relying on Genoese routes, the Emperor was reliably able to communicate with the other Andronikos roughly once a week through ship travel; once more finding himself thankful for the gradually increasing size and power of the Imperial Navy as it provided additional protection. In this Andronikos made sure to pay the needed tolls to the Genoese--lessening the tensions between the Republic and the Empire.
The response he received was enjoyable, as the elder Andronikos seemed rather pleased with the fact that the Romans were making an effort to reconnect with their cousins across Anatolia. Agreements were struck and decided, with the Romans agreeing to send more trade eastward to Theodoro and Trebizond itself while Trebizond would extend its fleet operations slightly more westward to undermine the Turkish beyliks as well as the Genoese.
Coming away from this interaction, the Emperor noted the fact that the elder Andronikos measured his words in a manner that made it clear that Trebizond was an independent state from Rome--and not one to be taken lightly. Not that this mattered much, the Romans were in no position to even think of threatening one of the few non-hostile states within their range [3].
Things closer to home however couldn't be ignored anymore though.
Artemios, in his position as Doux Anatoli, had begun to send in gradual reports, as well as on-again-off-again requests for supplies. The Anatolian front, while stabilized, regularly dealt with Turkish raids from other beyliks [4] and was thus continuously kept in a militarized state. Artemios himself relied on a system tried and tested by the first Komnenoi; using forts and other such impediments, as well as fast-acting cavalry patrols, to keep the area of the Duchy protected [5].
The letters that really drew Andronikos' attention at this time were from Michael III of Bulgaria. The boisterous Emperor of the Bulgarians had sent them as a courtesy to Andronikos; keeping the Emperor of the Romans informed on the goings on of the Bulgarian-Serbian tensions, as well as warning Andronikos about the fact that he was going to be mustering troops for efforts against Serbia in June.
Combining the words of Michael with the reports his border cities and forts gave him, Andronikos had a clear picture of Serbia's growing aggression, and made note to Michael that he hoped the best for the Tsar's efforts in June and beyond. Added was the fact that Andronikos planned to get involved himself--likely the following year, once he was sure of the position of the Empire and its forces.
Michael's follow up letters, coming in slow and steady at first but slowing to a major crawl now that he was moving to join his forming army, made it clear that he hoped to work alongside Andronikos when the time was right--and even invited the fellow Emperor to Tarnovo for a feast; after all, the Emperor's sister was his wife--once there had been success against the Serbs.
Little did Andronikos know that while he would be in Tarnovo in the coming months, it would not be for a feast.
[1] This was a policy used by Alexios I Komnenos--with the Emperor affectively drawing in the orphaned youth of the aristocracy and soldiery to create an officer class that would eventually come to aid the Empire during the reign of his son John II. However, many were killed during Alexios' campaigns in the Balkans and Anatolia.
[2] The term Allagion, or Allagia, refers to what were the effective 'standing-army' units the Pronoiar. The term came to supplant 'Tagma' as the name used for the Emperor's Army in general.
[3] John V is conceived and born earlier than he was in OTL.
[4] Trebizond would remain an independent state, as well as an important ally, until the late 15th century.
[5] Orhan spent much of the 10 year truce skillfully funneling his people down a path of eastward conquest. Very few raids from Ottoman lands ever reached Roman Anatolia due to Orhans efforts; unwittingly growing the respect the Romans had for the Ottomans and their policies.
[6] By the time of Artemios' death the 'Duchy of Nicaea', which lorded over most of Roman Anatolia at this time save a few select cities run directly by Constantinople, was a militarized and fortified place; having formed a hard core that was hard to dislodge. This would serve as a vital bedrock for John V and his campaigns.
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So will the Serbians succeed in routing the Bulgarian forces/killing the tsar or does Michael betray Andronikos and the Romans? It's nice that the Romans and trebizuntines are allies of each other now: Trebizond doesn't have strategic depth tho, and when the 10 year truce is over trebizond will have to weather more turkic raids. Why do the trebizuntines not be an ally of the Romans in the 1500s? Do the two countries combine or do the trebizuntines try to get out of the Romans influence? Also, will the Bulgarians become part of the Roman empire by personal union or conquest?
Vinland already died by now; if anything the Nordic peoples would be trying to find Vinland if they rediscover North America. Burgundy as a duchy exists in some form in the 1300s, but the French are becoming more centralised: is it possible for the French to be less centralised, considering the British will try to take over it?
I personally think that having different trade patterns in the med would cause such differences.
On the point of the Spanish: they still haven't finished the reconquista by the 1300s, and as a result the future (1500s) isn't determined yet. Will the Spanish have the same luck that lets them conquer both the Aztecs and Incas, considering their circumstances would be different due to the existence of the empire of Rhomaion?
Granada is all that’s left of Islamic Iberia, Rhomani being more successful might fasten Granada demise faster with the potential to inspire new crusades into the Maghreb.
Spain could possibly be not formed at all.
This Byzantine'(which by 1453 could at most become a decent medium power)s impact on Mediterranean trade would not cause any meaningful difference to the Hundred Years War.
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