Times of hard choices an SS early campaign AAR! [Archive]

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AnthoniusII

03-09-2009, 22:52

The idea behind this AAR is to help the players that wish to start a "byzantine" campaign,to feal the atmosphear of those dangerus times and learn as much as possible about the medieval Roman world via the Empire's actions and units!
Armed forces were a mirror of the medieval Roman society and through them we will discover the advandages and disadvandages of that Empire which could become a world dominator as easy as to disapear from the earth!

AAR in detail...
Mod:Stainless Steel 6.1.
Submods:Basileia ton Romaion,Master Zumas Stone forts for SS 6.1,Agart's new castles v1.0,Argent User's Real horses v1.0.
Campaign:Early.
Dificulty: Very Hard/Very Hard.

Episode 1...First actions of a new Emperor...

Time is 1080ad...For about 8 years or less the Empire lost almost all Asia Minor and some of the european provinces!
Turks and Turkomans are responsible for the 1st and traitors for the rest!
A new Emperor has come to throne...His name is Alexius Komnenos!
https://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1167/aar1kq1.jpg
It is a time for hard choices for him and whole Empire!
Turks reached the shores of Vosporus and took Nikaea but...
The west end of Via Egnatia (Durazzo)is lost and from time to time Normans or Venetians are about to attack it!
No time to have all fronts open...Something must be done!
Princess Anna as the most trusted person of the Emperor is about to
"stop" the Turkish agression via trade agreements...Turks do not seam to interest to attack Constantinople....for now!
https://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6346/aar2me7.jpg
The reason becomes obius...
Smyrna rebeled...It an opportunity for the empire to recapture part od Asia Minor!!!
The Emperor sent all his ellite units that he has in his disposal risking the Constantinople's defence!
The army arives Smyrna the last time before Turks but the imperial forces(almost all cavalry units)has to seige the city for a long time risking a direct engagement with the superior Turks!
https://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7987/aar3fq1.jpg
What is going to happen?

Run...........

Smyrna's guarisson surrended with out prevend any resistance...
The Emperor now saw that he had his main forces untouched and unharmed...It was the perfect moment to expand to the north where some local rullers revolted just before he came to throne...
He had to to recover the northern line of defence that so many centuries protected the Empire from northern invadors!
But he had to moove fast...
Venetians may were in war with both Hungarians (for the Belgrade region)and Germans (for the middle Italy)but they came first and occupied Durazzo keeping the west and of Via Egnatia for them selvs!
While the Roman reinforcements landed out side Thessalonike Hungarians beseiged Sofia and Venetians were outside of Scopia walls...

https://img221.imageshack.us/img221/640/aar4ye1.jpg

Time was crusial...
That time Kievans offered trade rights and Germans offered not only trade agreements but also an allience!
This option could benefit the Empire in times to come!
Small armed parties were discovered too close to Arta region making the Emperor feal nervous becouse he knew that even under the trade agreements Venetian were ambitius and sniky bloody merceants!
A seljuck spy was captured in Constantinople but the Emperor did not want to provoke Seljucks...at least not yet!
In a turn of luck both the hungarian and venetian armed forces forced to withdraw giving the Empire's forces the opportunity to advance!
Sofia felt with a direct asault but Scopia were besieged by the Heir himself following the standard prosidure of medieval Romans to avoid have many casualties!

https://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2263/aar5ah8.jpg

The counsil of nobles ordered the Dux of Cyprus to take Adana as soon as possible but the Templars gone there first!That expantion of those "barbarian" westerns too close to the island forced the Emperor to reinforce the region with the troops from Rhodes!

https://img169.imageshack.us/img169/8379/aar8bb4.jpg

The castle of Rhodes was from a long time ago transformed in a town inorder to give a boost to the Empire's trade income...

Competition for the northern balcans has just begin....

To be continued...

AnthoniusII

03-09-2009, 23:02

Delimas....

1114-1117 The 1st Roman-Venetian conflict...
Despite that the war lasted 3 years no agression acts have been made making the peace efforts much easier!
The Roman diplomacy though made several trade agreements with most of the central and south european states...
The thinking behind this act was simple...
A faction would think twice to start hostillities if it had money to loose!

Right after the end of the Roman-Venetian conflict the 1st (after many years)Roman-Seljuck one began!
A sudden naval raid open the hostillities!

https://img150.imageshack.us/img150/210/aar6pm7.jpg

The 1st delima the Emperor had was to risk to withdraw some of the west forces that were stationed in Scopia to defend the Empire against future Venetian agression!
He deside to do so after the counsil's promise of a financial reward if the castle of Canakale would be part of the Empire again!!
Ussing the Via Egnatia the the west army united with the capital's one and besieged CANAKALE!

https://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9485/aar7yd6.jpg

The luck was on Roman side!Only the local ruller of the castle was defending it making the asualt easy and with out losses!!!
It was no time for extended seige this time...
The castle fell and the Roman armies reinforced by some of the Smyrna ones gone strait to Nikaea!
But another ennemy showed up!

https://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1685/aar9bl8.jpg

The desision of the Emperor to ingrease the forces in the Nicosia castle would be prooven corect!Those Fatimids would feal the might of the Roman defenders soon!
The battle was vissius with the Fatimids to have the uper hand 'couse of their number superiority!

https://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7536/aar10qa6.jpg

But the javelings and the arrows of the defenders plus the braveness of the Dux of Nicosia who faught outside the walls with his personal gaurds won the battle...!!!!

News came fast like lightning to the Seljuck ears and sent their abbasador to ask for a seasfire...
Another major delima!What the Emperor should do?
Continue the war with Seljucks?
Use those forces against the Fatimids?
If he would choose the 1st choise he might envolve with forces he had no info for!Seljucks began war against the Khwresmians and a second front would be dificult for them to keep..but...There is always that "but" in the Emperor's thaughts!
The solution came with another request from the counsil of nobles!
Raid the port of Alexadria they said...
Why not only to raid the port and not also take the city?
Fatimids wont expect such an invation even the presence of the Hungarians in Cairo after the last successfull crusade!
So the 2nd choise would be...But...
The eastern forces that would remain behind would be to small for a successfull defence incase of a Seljuck invasion!

The Emperor took the risk!It was a time of delimas and "hard choises"!

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Time of choices...

To provoke or not to provoke...the Venetians!
Oh god of luck and opportunities!!!Durazzo revolted against those merceants!Great opportunity or open the door to a new Venetian conflict?
"Time to risk" the Emperor thaught and ordered the west army to attack!
And so the Roman forces attacked Durazzo under the eyes of a huge Venetian army !The rebelions were too few to resist and the result was that the west end of Via Egnatia was under the Roman rullership once again!

https://img253.imageshack.us/img253/694/aar11mq6.jpg

The main advandage was the increace of the trade income but the same time the relations between the Romans and the Venetians get into an other base!

Meanwhile the invasion army that was sent to attack Alexandria came accross with the Fatimid fleet!But the provincial Roman fleet of "South Aegean" was right on time and defeated Fatimids!
The "mission" was to "close" the Alexandrian port for some years but when the Romans landed saw with a great surprice that Fatimid armies started to gather around the city!
The Roman general beseiged the city which had only a unit of defenders!
A second Fatimid army stayed close but with no intention to interfear without any reinforcements!

https://img253.imageshack.us/img253/4319/aar12yg2.jpg

The Roman general had a new delima...Should he wait new Fatimid forces to gather and make a major battle with them or...should he asault the city now that had not serius defending forces?
He choosed the second choice and attacked the city almost without any losses!!....making the Emperor who lost the counsil's reward in units furrius!

https://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5294/aar13cw2.jpg

Now the delima was once more for the Emperor!
Should he destroy the city by looting and go to the next one and get the Fatimid empire back to "stone' age or should he use the city for an organisted and slow expansion to the former imperial lands?

The choice would affect the whole middle east for a long time...
But that choice had to be taken NOW!

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The fisrt Fatimid attempt to recapture Alexandria!

Just one year after the fall of Alexandria in Roman hands,Fatimids gathered a large army from the near by regions of theirs to recapture the city and to prevent any farther expantion of the Romans!

Once more those "children" people use to call "Archontopulla" did not wait the ennemy to reach the walls and charged!

https://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4489/aar14kb8.jpg

Scholarii felt ofended!They follow their charge to restore their fame!
The result was that only the battering ram remained intacked!
Archontopulla and Scholarii withdraw to the edges of the walls giving their turn to turcomans!
The rest of the infantry units took their position behind the city gate!
The order was clear!
"Do not make even a step back and let the boiling oil do the rest"!
And so they did!!!

https://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8739/aar15yx0.jpg

Arrows from all sides,boiling oil and the tide formations of the Romans braught the disaster to the Fatimids!Outsid the walls every Fatimid unit that tried to reform got on the lances of Archontopulla and Scholarii!
The Roman general ordered the counter attack and the result was...

https://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4404/aar16ag1.jpg

The 1st battle defending Alexandria was over!It was obius that many would follow!

Near Constantinople the Roman people saw in the east coast of Bosporus the Selhucks to build a stone fort!

https://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1883/aar17du4.jpg

Was it a sign of "defence" by the Seljucks or a preparation for an invasion?

Political reforms...

Right after the fall of Alexandria and the loss of the "reward' the Emperor tried to degrease the rights of the "senate"!
He desided to bring back the thematical separation of the Empire!
The new themas were:
1: Thracian thema with Constantinople and Andrianople.
2: Macedonian thema with Thessalonike,Scopia and Sofia.
3: Heperoton thema with Arta and Durazzo.
4: Thema of Hellas with Corinth and Athens.
5: Kiviraeoton thema with Kanakkale and Smyrna.
6: South Aegean thema with Iraclion.
7: Thema of Cherson(krimaia region).
8: Thema of Cyprus(cyprus island).
9: Exarchate of Alexandria...

The Emperor ordered that:
"Strategos is the Ultimate ruller of each thema by the authority Emperor gives him"!
That caused the "political' aristocracy anger against the Emperor but they desided to postone any hostile action because people loved him after the return of the Empire to the "grain" lands empire lost centuries ago!
By the orders of the Emperor each thema would develop specific settlements according to the "thema's"possition in the Empire!
Themas near posible war fronts had to develop castles first and themas away from war fronts had to develop the cities to help the financial development of the Empire...
Crete should develop it's ports inorder to provide fleets capable to keep the naval roads in the east mediteranean open!

The results of those political changes will be vissual in the close future...

To be continued...

AnthoniusII

03-10-2009, 10:01

A cronicle of peace...

Right after the end of the Roman naval raid in the port of Damietta the Emperor felt that in the end of his life should give peace to his subjects as his final present to them!
So in 1158 he offered Fatimidis seasfire and trade rights that were accepted with plesure...
In fact besides the Roman qonquest of Alexandria and the small Fatimid guarissons of Damietta and Cairo,several large fatimid armies were spoted around the Alexandria's borders!Fatimids on the other side lost three generals in two attacks against Alexandria and needed time to regroup!
The sucrifice of the Exarch of Alexandria did not gone waste!
A new Exarch was on his way to the city...
But the the old Emperor died in 1159 without to complete his final task!
His son Ioannes became the new Emperor...

https://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1137/aar18eb1.jpg

Nobles requested that he should continue the Empire's expansion as sson as possible and gave him 3 units of Scholarii as reward!
But the new Emperor was a man of peace and not a man of war and had gain the people's love!That was the reason that the poppulation of Thessalonike refused to let him leave the city and go to Constantinople that now had no governor at all!
It was now time of peace and when Cumans came to Gafa to offer trade rights but only with regular tribute he used those money to buy their allience also!
But the new Emperor did not stop his steps to peace...
At 1164ad he made peace with Normans after centuries of conflicts!
The same year he made a step to peace with Seljucks also via a trade agreement...
Will those steps to peace help the Empire to development and prosperity?
The new Emperor hopes so...

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Ioannes the builder...

The Emperor recieved by his subjects the nick name "The builder"...
After the last hostilities in Alexandria and the allience with the fatimids there was a long peace time that gave the Empire the right time to develop!Ports,cities,castles were growing fast and whole income gone to the people's prosperity!
Around Alexandria Fatimids established a defencive line with forts and armies...

https://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8836/aar19mv0.jpg

The Roman Emperor did not even interfear to the Cairo's rebelion in order not to cause any damage to the Roman/Fatimid relations...

But as always all good things come to an end some day...
Nikaea revolted against the Seljucks but the Nikaean land owners did not wish to rejoin the Roman Empire...Aristocracy found a perfect way to press the Emperor to retake the city...The Emperor this time could not argue...After all it was empire's land for centuries and the people asked not to loose this opportunity!
He had no choice...
Risking the Roman/Seljuck relations and leaving Kanakkale and Constantinople with almost no forces he (the Emperor)invaded Nikaea!
He was asking a bloodless seiging hoping that the rebelions would reconsider their position and surrender!

https://img223.imageshack.us/img223/9353/aar20cq0.jpg

The year that started the seige of Nikaea was 1185ad!
That year was ment to be one of the worst in the Empire's life!
Bulgars have revolted against their "fother" again...

https://img512.imageshack.us/img512/968/rebelionus8.jpg

The castles of Scopia,Sofia and Adrianople were under seige...
There was no army left in west balcans to react to the rebelion!
Time was crusial...
The Emperor attacked Nikaea-he could not wait any more...
But the day Nikaea was falling Sofia-the center of the northern Roman defence line was also falling to Bulgarian hands...

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3851/aar21mf2.jpg

In the Battle of Scopia Romans lost almost all their defenders(only 25 men left)but they hold!
The Roman armies needed a regroup for a while...but aristocracy (senate)and people demanded the return of Sofia back to the Empire...
The 1st step was to brake the Adrianople's seige...
Bulgarians seamed to avoid a "real" open ground battle and broke the seige...

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4145/aar22ph4.jpg

Romans pursuited them to the nearest hills...Murtatoi and Scholarii were the troops that gave a dificult but important victory to Roman arms!
The casualties were huge and the army needed new time to regroup!
People were near a rebelion...
Was the "Builder" a coward?
Year was 1200 when the imperial armies started their march to recapture Sofia back to Roman hands...
Peter the Bulgarian rebel leader had a large and expirient army in his disposal!
The siege started the next year ...

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7358/aar23kz9.jpg

but...after a while...bad news came!

https://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7541/aar29ec9.jpg

There was no time to waste...Sofia had to fall fast what ever the cost would be!Capital and the Emperor needed help!
The old Roman general took his position in two sides of the castle and attacked...

The resistance was hard...

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4828/aar24tv9.jpg

But after a battle on the walls and gates with heavy loses for the Romans the victory came!

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5098/aar25en6.jpg

But it was too late!
Western europeans made one of the worst crimes against an other cristian state...

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7448/aar28fw9.jpg

The seige of Constantinople began!!!!!!!

https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5683/aar26pv3.jpg

The year of shame was 1204!!

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The battle of Constantinople...
Luck or help from God?

No reinforcements in sight...
Venetians developted their two armies in opposite sides of the city in order to attack at the same time!
Now all hopes rellied on GOD!
The asault began...
From east...

https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/788/aar30ia4.jpg

and west...

https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/5584/aar31mn9.jpg

Exarch of the city was responcible to defend the east gate and walls and the Emperor deployed his troops behind the "Golden Gate"...

The Emperor knew that he has to keep the ennemies away from the walls as much time as possible!
In the east part Exarch faught also outside the walls to prevend Venetians to have multiple asualting points on the walls knowing the he has not enough troops to cover much of the walls!
Venetians managed to have ladders on the walls in only one point!
Spatharii tou Vasileos plus one unit of Castrophilakae were the only defenders in that area!
Meanwhile in the west side Emperor fell in fight causing falling of morale of almost all troops near by...
Venetians and their allies managed to capture the city's walls in both sides!
Exarch ordered the remains of the defenders to gather in to the city's center for the last fight!

https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2381/aar32ps3.jpg

But...the Venetians did not entered the city to finish their work!
Instad they retreated and accepted a peace offer the next year!

https://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9804/aar33du6.jpg

People claimed that they saw The Mother Of God on the city's walls forcing Venetians to stop!

None is sure about that claim but the fact was that the city was safe once again!!!

It was time for the new Emperor(the former Dux of Cherson)to secure his frontiers again..
He ordered one of the remaining generals to open the main roads to west from the rebels and thievs!

How long this peace will last?

To be continued....

AnthoniusII

03-10-2009, 14:43

1206-1236 30 YEARS OF PEACE...

https://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4854/aar34rb9.jpg

In this time the frontiers did not change...
The Empire had alliences with almost all eastern neibourns!
Trade and peace gave a real boost to the Empire's poppulation growth!
But aristocracy became furrius with the Emperor when he dared to marrie an english princess...The heir followed him by marring a lithuanian one!!!
All great aristocratic fammilies needed a reason to act against this non royal blood fammily that rulled the Empire...
But the "political" changes in the world made the Emperor nervus about the Empire's future...
All around the empire's frontiers millitary mooves by the other states were spoted...
Seljucks,Kummans,Hungarians and Fatimids fortified their borders with lines of stone forts...
The previus emperors were focusing in the trade development and the castles were small in size and abillities the same time that all the other states seamed to gathering forces for war...
The Empire left the allience with Kummans for Novgorod but also left the allience with Novgorod in Lithuanian's shake(what a woman can do to a man)!!!
The Emperor knowing that he has not a advanced army asked from the latin merceants that had trade blocks in the Empire's cities to contibute in atleast the cities defences...Latin merceants agreed and formed millitia volundear units to serv in cities defences or as expiriented crews or marrines in the imperial navy!!!
Gasmuloi became a reality..........

Emperor continued to see the gathering storm that was around his borders but he had to make some "hard choices"!

Whould he wait the storm to strike on him or he would expand...
If he would deside to expand the question was...where?

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Up and down in Anatolia...

The Emperor's delima was ended when news came to him about the fall of Iconium to the State of Templars...He sent right away a diplomat to see how the cituation was in central anatolia...The same time he hired an assasin just in case....In any case!
The Emperor's abbasador reach Iconium and made allience with map info sharing,agreement to help the emperor to his final desision!
Templars were expanded to south /east anatolia and holded the heart of it the city of Iconium...Their armies were huge and very expiriented!

War is policy with other ways...
The Emperor sent his assasin to Iconium region...
The assasin killed one Templar general and two templar captains but in the next years he ended the life of a Seljuck general and two seljuck captains leading the poppulation of Sinope to revolt against Seljucks!

https://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5634/aar39mw4.jpg

The opportunity was great!
The Emperor gathered his troops outside the walls of Nikaea and attacked to the seljuck border fort that were heavily defended...
Seljucks tried to brake the seige...

https://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5918/aar38qp1.jpg

But the Emperor won that battle with many losses and forced to sent back some of his units to regroup!

When the units returned Emperor left the fort with a small gaurisson and marched to Ankara...He needed great speed to prevent a new templar expansion!The same time a second Roman army from the province of Cherson(Gafa)attacked Trepzon to prevent Seljucks to recapture the rebel now town of Sinope!The castle was nearly undefended and the Roman attack was too easy!

Meanwhile bad news came to Emperor's ears!The Templars demanded from him to end his allience with Fatimids....
Alexandria was the 2nd richest city of the empire and a war with Fatimids would create huge dangers for it!And..so...he prefared to stay with the Fatimids side!
After that Templars landed to Cyprus but remained in a distance when they saw the size of Nicosia's guarisson!

When the Emperor left the former turkish fort for Ankara turkish forces that were hided in the near forests beseiged the fort lead by the best Seljuck general!

https://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6195/aar40cl4.jpg

The defenders sent a messager to the Emperor to return back and help them but he was already outside the Ankara's walls!
The fort felt and none defender remained allive!They all were heros and felt in to the battle but the fort was in Seljuck hands once again cutting the conection bettween the Emperor's army and his base(Nikaea)...
The battle of Ankara was about to begin...

https://img527.imageshack.us/img527/3306/aar41pm1.jpg

There was no turning back option...Romans had to win or die all in this battle...Seljucks have acted wisely and lead the Roman army to a battle that would either lead them to a glorius victory or a well set trap...

The result was a glorius victory for Roman arms!!!

https://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4756/aar42ku4.jpg

Caesarea was next!!!But it would not be easy...Templars were no longer allies and had large armies in central anatolia...

Emperor had two choices...
To stay in Ankara and restore the conection with Nikaea..
To march straight to Caesarea risking a reaction of Templars....
The Emperor choosed the 2nd choice and marched straight to Caesarea to take it back under Roman rullership!
When he crossed the river found Seljucks to wait him and to try to surround him!!!

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9687/aar44fk7.jpg

He had to fight...His advisors advised him to retreat back of the northen side of the river and wait the Seljucks there!Byt the Emperor was to proud to retreat!After all he had a lot of muslim mrecenaries with him...how they would fight if they would see him to retreat before the 1st dificult situation?
And he stayed and he won a glorius battle ....

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6637/aar45gy1.jpg

But he had a lot of losses both in native and mercenary troops...
The same time a young Seljuck general became adult and he organised Caesareas defence hoping that aid would come soon...
Again the Emperor's advisors told him that this was the right time to retreat and regroup...
But the Emperor did not want to loose this opportunity and seiged the fortress hiring new mercenaries right where he was!!!

Meanwhile the Dux of Trapzon sent any "civilian" kind of troops he had in his disposal but inforced them with Norman mercenary knights (Latinicon)that came to the Emperor's army to fight muslims!!! to Sinope!!!

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1816/aar43mg7.jpg

Thenext year new turkish forces were shown west of the Emperor's army trying to brake the seige of Ceasarea!
Then the 2nd battle began but the result thanks to the superiority of the Roman and Armenian heavy cavalry changed the way of the battle!

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/218/aar46fx5.jpg

Caesarea fell...!!!Right on time to become a citadell!The first one for the Romans!

South of the Ankara region is the city of Iconium...It suposed that the Templars had the city...But the local Roman ruller build a watch tower to "control" templars moovements but what he saw scared him!!!

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/8959/aar47to6.jpg

The city was under Seljuck control AGAIN!!!!
Emperor ordered his generals to take the city once and for all!
But it was not ment to be alive to see the fall of Iconium becouse he died the next year while the seige of Iconium lasted 10 long years!!!
The next emperor(the old and expiriened exarch of Alexandria) died a year after before he sees Constantinople again!
Catepano of Corinth became the new Emperor....
His first acts were to sent a new Exarch to Alexandria becouse Fatimids seamed to act with strange ways around the city...
HE needed info...becouse info is crusial for future mooves!
And he paid 15000 golden coins (hyperpeera)to Fatimids and Khwresmians in order to buy the map...Info gives many advandages!!!
Templars seamed to have expand their state north to east anatolia and turks even northern...
After 10 long years Iconium surrendered !The next year the Romans agreed a seasfire and new trade agreement with Seljucks the same year that Mongols became allies with seljucks too!!!

NOW the Empire looked as a solid state and was one of the richest too!
The Aegean sea gave the Empire the financial boost it needed to suport the new wars and the settlements development!

The problem was that the west army the guarded the Empire was inexpirient and small in size...Emperor hoped that they wouldn't need to fight....

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The Roman-Templars conflict....
Or how money can not buy anything...

After the fall of Iconium the Empire had a trade and poppulation boost...
The weak point of the anatolia's defence was that Adana was under the rulle of the Templars...The seasfire between Romans and Seljucks closed the eastern war front for a while...
Senate (the political aristocracy)demended that Adana had to be part of the Empire and the Millitary counsil had the same opinion inorder to seal the eastern fronts with the line Trapzon-Caesarea-Adana...
The Emperor thought that he could convince Templars to sell Adana in a high price but the Fatimid-Templars war and the fall of Tortossa made Adana extrimly valuable to Templars...
The delima remained for the Roman Emperor...
Adana...war or peace?

War!!!
A huge Roman army crossed the high mountains and seiged Adana for about 9 years!!!

https://img509.imageshack.us/img509/174/aar48dr0.jpg

Templars could not react to this moovement becouse the city of Antioch fell to Fatimid hands too!

The same time the roman diplomats baught maps,trade agreements,even alliences with plenty of money that was available in high number by the trade all around the world!
Info once again was crusial for the Emperor to know how things are going in around his empire...
He desided to build a fort between Durazzo and Arta in the location that was known as Servia!There he put a number of heavy cavalry units as a reaction force to any invading army from the north or north west!
He needed to be sure that his "friends" could see this force and postpone any attepts for invasion!

The fall of Adana after a battle that the templers tried to brake the siege showed the Emperor that he needed new type of warriors...
Now he had large farms and he gave them to new land owners to help them become a new type of heavy cavalry adding the fighting style of the latin knights!Pronoiars were born...
His horsearchers had to be replaced by new warriors too...so he hired skilled steppe warriors from all around the eastern world...Scithicon was here once more!!!

Emperor thaught that instad of a full size war he could elliminate the Templars nobility by highly aimed mooves!
He sent his legendary assasin to Diabaqir to kill the Grandmaster that was there...That old man (the assasin) copleted his work besides hia past age!!!
The next moove was the ellimination of the new Grandmaster and his Heir that were in Cyprus....

https://img509.imageshack.us/img509/3227/aar49qm2.jpg

Both of those nobles died in battle but Templars seamed to have many nobles more!
The next stage of the Roman-Templars conflict was about to begin...

To be continued...

AnthoniusII

03-11-2009, 21:56

The Roman-Templars conflict....II

The Emperor sent a new army full of cavalry units to to take with a sudden attack Diabaqir...He beileved that the Templars wouldn't keep a large quarisson becouse the castle (citadel in fact)lied away from the Templar's war fronts...
Fro 1st time the emperor's new troops would take part in a major battle...both Pronoiars and Scithicon side by side with highly expiriented Turkomans and Armenians...
But...outside the castle's walls he found Templar troops that were about to be sent to war fronts....
The Roman general beseiged the castle...

https://img509.imageshack.us/img509/6178/aar50dn0.jpg

A battle began and the result was ...

https://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5513/aar51bv5.jpg

But after the battle new templar forces hunted Romans down to the coast of Antioch where the Fatimid local ruler help them to avoid cature by the Templars!!!

That army with only 1/10 of the starting number returned to Caesarea to regroup and start a new campaign the years after...

Meanwhile the Fatimids diplomats seamed nervus infront of Romans and the Emperor sent money to the Exarch of Alexandria to inforce his defencive forces!
Were them sighns of a new war?

That was the time Plaque came to Europe and Asia spreding death every where...
Alexandria and Cairo were the only cities that did not affected by it!!!
12 Generals and thousands of troops and civilians died in almost 10 years it lasted...
But the amount of money the empire had allowed the Emperor to continue the state's
and army's development....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second battle of Diyarbakir...

After the army's regroup in Caesarea a new Roman army marched against Diarbaqir once again...
This time half of the army was infantry units!
When the Roman army reached the castle's walls and start their seige Templars came out with two armies to fight!

https://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2152/aar53ux3.jpg

The battle had three fases!!!
At the first Roman general deployed his troops simetrical on the top of a small hill with Murtatoi at the ends of the formation and his spearmen in the middle of it!
The first templar army did not want to wait reinforcements and attacked
but it was an easy fight for Romans...

The main force of Templars remained out of range refusing to attack the hill Romans were on!The Roman general sent his horse archers to provoke his opponets to hunt them down...

https://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4469/aar54zz0.jpg

But even when the horsearchers withdrawn becouse they had no more arrows Templars refused to march!!!
The Roman general still waited...

https://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1277/aar55gb9.jpg

Templar captain knew that he could rely on his heavy troops if Romans would come in open space...
The Roman general knew that to leave the hill may was a great mistake but he had to end the battle and take the castle unharmed...
And so ...he marched to fight Templars in open space...
Templars used their mounted knights and their heavy infantry to brake the Roman formation...In the begining even the most expirient Pronoiarii could not equaly fight the mounted Templar knights...Varangians tried to hold the line as much they could...Victory came by Scithicon units that charged Templars from behend the same time that the Roman general's life was in danger!!!

Victory came and it was glorius

https://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7818/aar56gf1.jpg

but Romans reilised that exept heavy cavalry they needed new heavy infantry...Maybe now that the German Empire did not exist,
German foot knights would agree to fight for a new ruller!!
Alamani were here again!!!

Meanwhile Normans landed north of Arta claiming that they pursuited Venetians....

https://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9901/aar52gk9.jpg

"We will see"thaught the Emperor and sent new troops to Servia fort just in case...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank God there is always a diplomat!
Or how lessons of war must be learned at the right time!

The delimas the Emperor had this time where in short...
1: Normans have landed in the west shores of the Empire...
Should he try to recapture the old hellenic and roman lands of south Italy?
2: Edessa fell to Roman hands in the east but Templars had atleast one more Citadel souther forcing the Romans to be in allert all the time...
3: Fatimids mooved large armies to their northern borders by the exuce of their was with Templars but in all around the Roman lands have spoted Fatimid diplomats and spies!

"What can i do?"thaught the Roman Emperor and saw what army reservs had in his disposal!
Normans when thet saw the Roman preparations Northern of Arta came and asked a new trade agreement trying to prevend a Roman invasion in south Italy!

https://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9122/aar57lt2.jpg

After that and under the cost of those armies Emperor desided to attack Fatimids from the lands of The Exarchate of Alexandria!
And ...the fleets and armies sailed to Alexandria!
The next year Normans thaught that it was the perfect time to raid the Roman ports and prepare an invasion!!!

https://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9236/aar58tb1.jpg

Meanwhile to the east Romans desided to attack to the nearest Templar castle (the citadel of Quarisiya) to prevend a new Templar invasion against Edessa...They (the Romans) deployed a full stack army with the best units they could deploy...

https://img523.imageshack.us/img523/6108/aar59qg8.jpg

The batlle was one of the bloodiest ever but also was a disaster for Romans that forced to retreat in Fatimid lands to save their lives!!!
Templars countered attacked to the city of Edessa becouse their armies were realy intacted!!!
The savior was the nearest Roman diplomat that offered Templars a seafire(with a small "gift" afcourse)and Edessa was saved!!!

The same time the Roman generals the were heading to Alexandria(just before they land there)received the Emperor's new orders!
They had to attack to Sicily itself!
First target Syracuse...The desision was rather easy...
Normans prepared for an asault to Hepeirus region,so their armies should be gathered around Barri!
And so the Romans landed south of Syracuse!!!

https://img523.imageshack.us/img523/5549/aar60ti5.jpg

The city was indeed almost undefended and Romans captured the city easily but the Roman punishment to the inhabitands was cruel!!!

https://img523.imageshack.us/img523/7405/aar61sk1.jpg

Palermo had the same end ...the same time that the Roman fleets sealed the pass between Sicily and Italy!!!
Normans indeed landed in west shores of the empire and beseiged Durazzo...The Roman army the was stationed in Servia fort deployed for battle to help the city's gaurisson to brake that seige!!!

The Roman attacking army had both the "past" and the "present" of the units such expirient Scholarii and unexpirient Alamani and Varangians!!!

https://img523.imageshack.us/img523/5664/aar64jx6.jpg

Normans were wihdrawed on a hill having too many arbalesters and heavy crossbowmen in their disposal!
The city defenders(Roman millitias)had a lot of Gasmuli but the rest of their units were unarmored millitias and "defencive" heavy troops!
The Roman General that had the battle comand ordered the city millitias to stay in range beleiving that his Varangs,Alamani and Scolarii would have an easy afternoon!
But...the opposite happened!Norman bolts and the Norman foot knights with their battle expirience destroyed both Roman armies...

https://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7163/aar65pz3.jpg

The city of Durazzo was without any defenders and Normans all they had to do was simply enter the city!!!!!!!!

But...what a fortune the Roman ambassador that was in Barri saved the day,the city and the war!!!
A new seafire agreed giving two new regions in Sicily island to the Empire...
Templars after the seafire captured all the former Seljuck regions that the last years were under local rebel rullers and expanded their state and the lenght of the common Templar-Roman borders...

Peace came again but lessons had to be learned and FAST!!!

To be continued....

AnthoniusII

03-12-2009, 15:37

The Roman-Fatimid conflict...

New delimas the Emperor had for the new expantion of the Empire...
Should he continue the war with Normans?
Or he could now expand his territories to middle east?
Fatimids acted strange but officialy were allies and for a long time...
From the other hand the expantion to middle east was a priority for every Roman Emperor and the restoration of Heraclius's Empire again!
First the Emperor had to test the Fatimids intentions...
He oofered a large amound of money to "buy"the Fatimids map but they uncovered their intentions in the agreement they wanted to make!

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4643/aar66qw0.jpg

The Emperor made allience with his old ennemies the Templars to gain some time in his expantion to Fatimid lands!
Templars continued to try to recapture Jerusalem and their war with Fatimids seamed endless!

The Emperor ordered the one of the two Sicilian armies of his ti inforce the "thematic" army of the Exarch of Alexandria and sent a young general to take the comand of a second army that already gathered there!

After a long journey from Sicily to Alexandria the "new" army and the new generals landed outside the Alexandria's walls!!!

The plan was simple...
Two armies would attack from the north and other two from the south!!
Objectives...The cities of Cairo,Antioch and the castles of Damieta,Allepo!!
And the asault began as planed...
From the north....

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9975/aar67tf7.jpg

And south...

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7339/aar68bf1.jpg

In the south the "sicelian"army the general Ioannes Kalameteros was leading could not reach Cairo at the primary march and the general thought that he could defend the cairo's bridge easily...
But he "forgot" to things!
First that his army was an open field one full of cavalry units and the second that the Fatimids gathered their best units around their capital to defend it!
Fatimids also used large amounts a horsemen and for the 1st time against Romans the famous Khassaki!!

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7250/aar69zl7.jpg

The battle was a real disaster for the Roman arms!!!!

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9765/aar70xa7.jpg

Leaving the south road to Alexandria wide open!!!!

The other three goals were successfull !!Antioch,Aleppo and Damieta fell to Roman hands but now they had to fight against the mightiest of the empires!!!
Once again a diplomat saved the day!!!
It seamed that Teplars were more dangerus ennemy for Fatimids that time and they agreed a seasfire with trade agreement with Romans!

How much longer diplomacy will save bad or risky moovments of nobles or the Emperor?
The world was dangerus with large empires that did not exist anymore... Germans,Seljucks,Castile and Leon and others!
Even the Polish reached the Empire's north frontiers capturing Belgrdade from Venetians...

Could the Roman empire survive in such a dangerus world?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only one will remain...

Emperor sent a diplomat to check the Polish intentions...
Polands were polite but refused to talk about map info or allience...
That was strange...Polish had to be a superpower to manage to get so much south!!!
The ambassador informed the Emperor that Polish had a large amount of handgunner units in their armies...

https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/3654/aar71wx6.jpg

Such units the Romans beleived that they were useless...
But now under the new infos Emperor called once again the latin merceants to provide him such weapons and even such units...
Latin merceants used expiriend to firearms naval crews and developed a new millitia unit to protect their interests in Roman cities once more!
Latin Handgunners were part of the Roman armies!!!

Mean while an extencive spy net of the Romans reveiled that were Romans had failed Fatimids succeded!
The castle of Quarisya was under Fatimid occupation!!!!

https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8346/aar72tf9.jpg

But the next year it was Fatimids turn to be offencive and they attacked
Allepo!!

https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7231/aar73ux1.jpg

"Only one must remain" thought the Roman Emperor!!
"Now or never" he said to his counsil of nobles!!
He ordered a new invasion to Fatimid lands!!!
To the south Cairo was under Roman seige and another second army beseiged the nearest fort to prevent it's defenders to help the city!

https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1635/aar74st9.jpg

The same year Diadochos(Heir)Ephemios came from Cyprus and receiving reinforcements from Antioch attacked Tortossa!!

https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4426/aar75ir1.jpg

What would happen after only God knew....

Tortossa and Cairo fell to Romans and two new Romans armies intruded the Damascus land but their generals did not had good info about the Fatimid forces of the region!
The second roman army and the smallest of the two tried to attack Damascus but...

https://img396.imageshack.us/img396/3533/aar76sb6.jpg

Fatimidis reacted with the speed of a lightning and traped romans!
The Roman general tried to avoid the battle but the best he could do was to change the battlefield location...
He tried to defend in a small vilage near Damascus against 4 Fatimid armies!!!

https://img396.imageshack.us/img396/2527/aar77yr3.jpg

He managed to defend against the 1st three armies in the narrow streets of the village but when the 4th and biggest Fatimid apeared there was no hope left fir a win!!!
None of those roman soldiers saw the light of the sun again....

Meanwhile at the south a new roman general arrived from Constantinople to take charge of a new offencive attempt from south to north in the Fatimid heartlands...Gaza,Jerusaleem etc!!
But...he came accross with the invading fatimid forces that marched to recapture their former lands...

https://img396.imageshack.us/img396/4555/aar78hc4.jpg

A delima came to Roman general's mind...
Should he attack or defend against those Fatimids?
If he defend his position was any chance to let Fatimids to come around him and seige a city?....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like on a chessboard...

Romans sufaired a new major defeat in the battle for Acre!!!
Survivors managed to get back to safety but...

https://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5021/aar79xv9.jpg

Situation became kind of complicated after the new Roman defeat north of Jerusalem...Emperor desided to sent two young generals to the Alexandria region to take over the "new" roman armies for a new asault!!
They had one of the most powerfull and expiriend Scholarri unit to take over the Khassaki threat!

Fatimids tried to surpise the Romans in the Cairo region using their fleets to get two large armies across the sea!
But the extencive spy network of the Romans spoted them before they got behind the Roman lines...
Romans the best they could do back then was to close the northern mountain exit and leave the rest to Cairo defenders...

https://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1606/aar80to8.jpg

Fatimids made their moove...
But in a chess game (or war)turn passes to the opponet too...
And Romans made their moovents next year by a double attack!

https://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1687/aar81xp9.jpg

In this"game" only one will remain...
Romans prepared for epic battles that would affect their future to the middle east regions...

The "game" seamed to have a lot of episodes before end.....

Hunting gosts in to the desert...

"Oh my god " The Roman general cried when his scouts report him that the ennemy desapeared and there was no sign of them!!!
Two new spies entered the south region to find out were Fatimid armies hinding!!!
They found them even southern outside of Luxor castle!
It was obius that they wanted to lead Romans to desert open fields to use
better their heavy cavalry...

https://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7019/aar82nq5.jpg

Pieces moove on to the chessboard...

Romans try to reach the nearest bridges and high grounds...

https://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8243/aar83eg9.jpg

North Romans find Gaza unguarded and attack!!!

https://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3378/aar85vr2.jpg

The same time Romans invade the Damascus region to prevend Fatimids to sent reinforcements to Gaza!!

https://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7365/aar84le3.jpg

Fatimids reacted by trying to cross the luxor bridge but found Romans waiting for them...
In the Damascus region 3 major Fatimid armies attack the two Roman ones and force them to retreat!But bad news came to Sultans ears...
Gazawas no longer a Fatimid castle and Romans were just a brith away from Jerusalem!!!!
It seamed that Sultan wanted time to regroup and offered seasfire to Romans plus trade agreements...
Romans seamed that lost an opportunity but that seafire came the right moment!
Templars dared to betray the Emperor!!!
The Roman heir leading an army took the road to Edessa to meat Templars!
the same time Romans were still in allert in the roman-fatimid borders becouse new fatimid armies were spoted...
Venetians and Polish acted strangely the last years but the Emperor had a quiq reaction farce on his northern borders...
But...it was not time for another warfront....

To be continued...

AnthoniusII

03-13-2009, 16:27

Only one will remain...Part II
The Templars turn!

After the last Roman-Fatimid seafire and the withdraw of the Roman forces from Damascus region the Roman heir found Templars in "Uper Messopotamia"and won them 1st time in open field for ages...
The roman losses were vast and the heir had to wait for fresh troops once again..Despite that the cavalry had a major role to the last win he choosed to advance with an army almost of infantry...
The Roman Heir was determented to finish with the Templar problem once and for all and before Fatimids strike again!!
So he beseiged Mosul one of the last two settlements of the Templars!!!

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/1738/aar86xp5.jpg

Meanwhile the Emperor sent another small at the begining army to attack
Yerevan in order to finish with the problem with the name called Templars!
His mistake was that ordered the profesional units the stationed in Kiutaisi to join that force!!!

But the Grandmaster of the Templars had other plans...
If he could not expand to south he could do so in the north!
Kiutaisi was his primary goal...He waited the small part of the romans to get away from the city and he attacked...

https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/529/aar90xv8.jpg

Romans defended the city with curage and the Grandmaster fell in to the battle but those heavy and almost undefeatable dismounted knights left none alive of the city's defenders!!!!
Kiutaisi was lost!!!!

The battle of Damascus...

Fatimid spies comfirmed that the Roman Heir was in Mosul seiging the city!
They beleived that this was the right time to attack!
They already had two major armies gatherings,the first around Aqaba with 4 armies and the second around Luxor with 4 armies also!
Another army that was stationed out side of Gaza seiged the castle opening the game"war-seasfire-war" between Romans and Fatimids again!
But the Fatimid "inteligence"missed the major Roman army that stationed north of Damascus!!!
The Roman general of that army knew that time was everything...
For the first time Romans used bombards to avoid delay with a seige!
The city was left with a strong but still small guarisson!
The opportunity was great to be left!!!

Bombards smashed the city's gates...

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/5006/aar87fj9.jpg

The Roman general ordered his infantry units to attack in waves..
The 1st wave was of Varangians

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8412/aar88np8.jpg

followed by the rest of the infantry and the cavalry at last!
Fatimids waited in the central plaza to avoid losses from the bombardment
but they tried to close the gate when they saw the Roman assault!
Varangians faught them in the narrow streets of the city but the final hit was from the Latin knights that came behind them...

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/5486/aar89cs0.jpg

Damascus was in Roman hands!!!
Fatimids seamed to be surprised by the fall of Damascus and accepted
a new roman propossal for a seasfire!!!!

Meanwhile the small roman force that came near Yerevan saw two medium
size templar armies...
The Roman general took the risk and without wait his reinforcements attacked the Tempalrs!!

https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7022/aar91up5.jpg

It was the 2nd Roman victory in open field against the Templars!!!!
Now Templars had two settlements hundreds of miles away one of the other and Romans beseiged one of them!!!

Only one must remain in middle east and Templars seamed the they were the 1st to removed!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only one will remain...Part III
The Templars end!

With all the Templars nobles gathered in Mosul that battle would be the most crusial for their existance!!!
The only available reinforcements came to help the besieged nobles the same time that supllies were ending in the Roman camp!

https://img357.imageshack.us/img357/5069/aar92vy8.jpg

The battle was epic but the Templar nobles and their horsemen fell on the byzantine field fortifications and istandly killed!!
All 4 of them...
The rest of the templar army fuaght well until the last noble of theirs killed in battle!The rest of the battle was a actual massacre!!!
The Templars existed NO MORE after that dark day for catholics!
News came to west europe like a thunder shoking all of them!

Romans knew that their extended lines could not be easily defended and for that reason they plundered Mosul and Yerevan to finance their war and gave those settlements to their allies the Khwrasmians!!
The Roman Heir left Mosul to Allepo to regroup once more!
Fatimids were too dangerus to continue exist...
The Total War in middle east didn't end with the extintion of the Templars!
Romans prepared them selvs for the final war....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only one will remain...Part IV
The start of the Fatimid domination?

As the Emperor and his Heir suspected the Fatimids started hostilities once again from both east and south beseiging Gaza again!!

The Exarch of Alexandria ordered his inferior generals to attack to the gathered Fatimid forces east of Cairo...

https://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1834/aar93mb1.jpg

There were two offencive by the Roman battles and Fatimids not only won
but massacred almost all Roman "thematic" forces...
The Fatimid horsemen have proven unstopable breaking any kind of defence formation of the Romans!!
After the loss of 75% of the gathered Roman forces Fatimids found Cairo undefended and attacked...

https://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1411/aar94up2.jpg

They sacked the city and afterwards they mooved to seige Alexandria!
Romans retreated north to guard the bridges but they thaught that Cairo
was left unguarded and turned back found them selvs surrounded by supperior Fatimid forces once again...
The times were crusial for the Exarchate's survival...
The war in the Exarchate worked as bate for Fatimids living only basic defencive forces in the north!!!
The Roman heir saw the new situation and invaded with three new armies
that followed by a smaller 4th one!

Jerusalem and Kerak were ander Roman attack!

https://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9929/aar95fz5.jpg

With the battle for Jerusalem to be the most important for that stage of war!!!

The two defeats in a row by the Fatimids worked negative on the roman soldiers morale...A major victory was needed!!

To be continued...

AnthoniusII

03-15-2009, 15:46

The undefeatable Fatimids...

The northern Roman invasion in to the Jerusalem's region forced Fatimids to gather almost all their troops east...
Exept one small but expirient force that have been given the task to take back Alexandria...
In Alexandria the Exarch had build canon towers after some advices from the latin merceants thar saw such sructures in europe via their trade!
Canon towers were the solution for the small guarisson of the city...
No Fatimid ever reached the city's walls!!!

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5061/aar96aq6.jpg

The same time Fatimid reinforcements came to assist the Jerusalem defenders and attacked the Roman armies after the withdrall of the new Emperor...

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2896/aar97ad5.jpg

The battle was one of the most epic between Fatimids and Romans but once again Fatimids proved that the much more expirient troops of theirs gave them the absolut supperiority...
Defeat came natural for Romans!!

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3695/aar98sb1.jpg

Souther an other Roman army beseiged Aqaba but soon realised that was facing 3 Fatimid armies...
Two of them attacked ...

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1231/aar99ex7.jpg

Romans defended their position successfully against the 1st army but when the 2nd arrived the Roman troops lost their morale!!!
Those Royal Mamluks and Khasaki seamed to be imortall against any roman tactic or weapon!!!
The Roman general retreated to Kerak to regroup...
The result was that the Roman Emperor left alone north of Jerusalem against many Fatimid armies!!!
Situation was crusial when Fatimids attacked him from both sides!!

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/759/aar100hx1.jpg

Who knows if he will manage to survive!!!!

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Like waves smashing on rocks!
Or how defence was the best choice...

The Emperor was traped on the shores of Jordan river defending the near bridge!
Fatimids attacked him from both east and west!!!
The Emperor realised that he had fortified the wrong side of the river but after a quick victory on the smallest fatimid army crossed the bridge and took defensive formation on the east shore of the river...
After a long time victory came for Roman arms once again...

https://img339.imageshack.us/img339/4104/aar101bb1.jpg

A fourth fatimid army convinced the romans would not defend the bridge after those losses tried to attack...
The result was the same as the previus battle...
Fatimids saw surpriced that after so many victories could not brake through the roman defences and bring the stradegic bridge under their control!If the Romans continued to hold that bridge they could attack Jerusalem any time!!
Their best troops felt on the bridge but that isue had to come to an end!
Meanwhile the Emperor received fresh troops and sent the units the sufaired casualties to regroup!
Fatimids were convinced that their heavy and expiriened troops would teach a lesson to the Roman Emperor and attacked with two fresh armies of theirs!!!
The victory changed sides many times before stops to Roman one!!

https://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3278/aar102bp5.jpg

After that battle Emperor had no troops to hold that bridge but a new and fresh Roman army came and took his possition in order for his regroup...
After a year he returned!!!

https://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9158/aar103si5.jpg

Fatimids would play their last cards but also the roman counsil of nobles asked the Emperor to take Jerusalem becouse terrible news came to their ears!!!

https://img376.imageshack.us/img376/3319/aar27ap2.jpg

Even their most trusted allies Khwresmians followed their spiritual leaders call!!!
The same time mongols marched also against Constantinople joining the jihad!
But also Venetians and Polish acted strangely the last years...

The Roman-Fatimid war had to finish quiqly!!!But first Jerusalem should become Roman again to unite the northern and western middle east roman provinces!

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They shouldn't pass !

While the Emperor beseiged Jerusalem waiting reinforcements Fatimids gathered two large armies and a small one and attacked to the Roman army that holded the Jordan river!
Victory changed sides many times but the roman soldiers lost their curage just the moment that victory seamed theirs!!!
A scream came to the air...
They passed!!!

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8366/aar106lx6.jpg

Situation became once more dificult for the Emperor that died that year!
The new Emperor was in europe provinces and had other major problems to deal!But the new Emperor was an openminded man and gave the order to his generals to add cannons to their walls as soon as possible!

Muslims arrived before the Constantinople's walls giving to the city's poppulation a sight to remember!!!

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9908/aar105wa6.jpg

The same time that the Jordan river battle took place another Roman army beseiged once more Aqaba!

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9804/aar104mi9.jpg

But unfortunatly after the Jordan river victory Fatimids came and and an other defeat came to Romans!!!
After the recent victories Romans seamed to have the uper hand but now...
Kiutaisi defended successfully against the Kwharesmians but the Emperor seamed to forget to sent fresh troops for a future defence!

Soon exept Kwharesmians arrived two jihad armies of the Mongols and another two of Fatimids!!!
Fatimids attacked the border fort the guarissoned the dunab passes but soon they became beseiged by the Roman reaction force that stationed near!
Kwharesmians attacked Conatntinople ...

https://img524.imageshack.us/img524/3346/aar107sr6.jpg

but they crushed infront the huge walls of the city!!!

The Dux of Kerak now was in command of the two armies of the Romans that beseiged Jerusaleem...
HE braught cannons and attacked the city before Fatimids that broke the Aqaba seige return!
A coordination mistake forced the Roman units to enter the battle in small numbers giving the Fatimids the right time for better defence!
The Roman losses were huge but....

https://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3914/aar62uy4.jpg

The city of Crist was Roman AGAIN!!!!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh those cannons!!

Fatimids asked seasfire from the new Emperor but he refused!
He wanted to end with them once and for all!
But Fatimids were still dangerus like a hearted annimal in a cage!
So they desided to attack to Gaza in order to have another citadel
near to Jerusaleem...
The last years the Roman Emperors desided to adopt those war tools that called cannons and add them to cities and castles fortifications!
War does not allows mistakes and conservative point of view!
Fatimids did not prepair them selvs for such an act despites the Alexandria
incidence!

Fatimids deploied there army away the cannon range and had a varity of rams,seige towers and most dengerus of all ladders!!
When the battle started the permanent cavalry unit that there was in every settlement attacked first on the ladders and then...

https://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2082/aar108cj6.jpg

Cannons did the rest!!!

https://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2633/aar109ix0.jpg

Meanwhile the Kwharesmians attacked Edessa that the cannon towers hadn't finished yet...
Again the cavalry unit lead the attackers to use only the battering rams and then waited!
The guarisson prepaired for defence right after the castle's gate!

https://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2484/aar110ce3.jpg

When the boiling oil did it's job Stratiotae asaulted to the retreating units
to prevent their come back to the battle!!

https://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4527/aar111cj5.jpg

Victory.....

https://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2424/aar112yb8.jpg

To the north one of the Fatimid jihad armies surrented to the Romans but
around Constantinople one more Fatimid and two Mongolian ones remained
ready to asault!!!
Polish and Venetians still act strangely making the Roman Emperor more nervus...
The Fatimid-Roman conflict must take an end but the way that must be done will be an other hard choice for the Roman Emperor...

To be continued.......

Prince Cobra

03-15-2009, 23:58

Fantastic AAR. I should have noticed earlier it's on the Eastern Roman Empire.

Mighty Lord of the Christians, the taxes in Bulgaria are high and people are getting poorer and poorer. I bring this problem to you, oh, almighty Emperor of the Romans and I rely on your wisdom as a deputy of our Lord on the earth to decrease them!

~;) :tongue: Joke

Nice!

AnthoniusII

03-16-2009, 17:27

AnthoniusII

03-16-2009, 17:38

Oh those cannons! Part II
Or the Mongol asault on Constantinople!

Fatimids found them selvs gathered around Aqaba...
Their jihad against Constantinople had failed...
It seamed that the 3 Fatimid armies and the 2 Roman ones would fight
a battle that would determinate the future of their sultanate or the future
of the Roman presence in middle east...

Meanwhile the Roman reaction force got in an ambush of Mongols outside
Constantinople and destroyed!
The Roman Emperor sent an emissary to the Fatimid Sultan and offered
seasfire that have been accepted with releif by the Sultan!!!
The Roman armies left the Aqaba region but stayed in the near borders
just in case Fatimids would change their desision!
News travel fast and when Kwharesmians fount out about the new
Fatimid-Roman pact they too offered seasfire and a new trade agreement!
Long lasted wars with those two opponets costed the Empire huge amounts of money almost a dept!

Mongols where the last that continued the Jihad!!!
They still had two armies in the Constantinople's countryside and they
already had destroy the reinforcement forces!
The city seamed an easy target in their eyes!

https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/8905/aar116bn6.jpg

The asault began at night to make the defence of the city harder for the defenders!

The city walls looked impresive...

https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9493/aar117ws6.jpg

Romans sent as usually cavalry units to attack tsome of the units to
delay their asualt speed...
But Mongols did not seam to hurry!
Romans saw the huge bombard with terror!!!
There was only one solution..attack to the bombard it self no matter
the human losses!If the walls would fell the 2nd Mongol army would benefit and would attack through it!
Pronoiarii asaulted the Mongol formation again and again...

https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1556/aar118nr8.jpg

Finally after some attacks and with the help of the city's wall cannons
most of the rams and the bombard was destroyed...

https://img55.imageshack.us/img55/3281/aar119do9.jpg

The rest was easy...
Finally after the end of the battle the countryside before the city's walls
looked like this!

https://img55.imageshack.us/img55/5564/aar121ix2.jpg

The second Mongol army found refuge in a ship trying to escape but
the Roman fleet that guarded the shores sent it to the deep!!
No Mongol survived to tell what happend to his fellow countrymen!!

Polish still acted strangelly and some agents of their were spoted to the north balcan borders...
The Emperor orded two new generals to take posts in west balcans
to prepare an efective defence...
South Italy seamed a nice target...but now it belonged to Venetians...
Roman spies found out that the remainig Normans have regained some north african regions from the Crown of Aragon that was the greatest
(with the Roman empire)state in west europe!!!
Normans became the modern Vandals...

Maybe a new Belisarius would be needed soon...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Defeats on the east wins on the west!

Peace period was short between Romans and Fatimids...
Fatimids saw Roman withdrawal as a sighn of weakenss and attacked
Kerak...

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7217/aar122hf6.jpg

Roman reaction was fast and the two Roman armies attacked Aqaba...

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9081/aar123qy7.jpg

The Fatimid Heir (an exelent,almost legentary-10 stars-general)broke the Kerak seige and came to Aqaba's assistance...
He attacked to the Roman in separated battles...
First he attacked to the nearest Roman army with the participation of another army ...
The Roman general choosed a small hill to defend...

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1830/aar124wp2.jpg

But the Fatimids came also from behind and slautered his men!!!!

Then the Fatimid Heir ordered the gaurisson of Aqaba to try to brake the seige...

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2002/aar125mz7.jpg

The same time that he would reinforce them ...
The Roman general despite the lack of expirience managed to get his troops inside the city,almost eliminate the city's defenders and to hold his position against the Fatimid Heir's army counter attacks...
The norrow streets of the city was full of blood and dead bodies...
And the battle continued ...

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2979/aar126bn8.jpg

...until the first light of the next day came!!A draw...

https://img408.imageshack.us/img408/3722/aar127co8.jpg

...but two fatimid nobles lost their lives and the Roman army could retreat
with no new dangers...
Fatimids besieged Gaza and Kerak once more the same time that Romans
came to Beggali (the western city of Fatimids)and took the city...
Half of the north african shore was under Roman control...
Wasn't this a good sighn or what?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heraclius's Empire again....

The Roman Emperor found out that Fatimids were not the dangerus threat
they used to be and desided to come after a dream all Roman Emperors had before him!
To restore Heraclius's Empire (the date he died)once again!!!
To do that he had to expand to Ragussa and south Italy...
Those regions belonged to Venice now but the opportunity seamed exelent!
He ordered to his armies to advance and the two armies beseiged Barri...

https://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1567/aar128wy1.jpg

And Ragussa the same time!
Both castles were undefended becouse Venetians desided to expand to central europe with great success...
Soon after venetian abassadors offered seasfire and the Roman Emperor axepted it!
Campania and Sicely with the vast greek poppulations were under the protection of the Emperor...

In the east Fatimids relied in their previus wins chalenged Romans before the walls of Aqaba...
After a huge battle and a successfull asault the Fatimid armies defeated and Aqaba(and Sina region)were under Roman rullership!!!!

The dream had been completed...

https://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1066/aar129ey4.jpg

Heraclius's Empire was a reality after almost 900 years!!!
The world was in the midle of great changes and new chalenges
but the Empire seamed undefeatable and stable!
East mediteranean was a roman lake again giving a huge financial boost
via the sea trade!!
But through the Roman history the Empire had both good and bad days...

https://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9241/aar130jg7.jpg

The Roman Emperor selebrated that victory against time and Constantinople hosted the greatest rullers of the earth for the needed time for them to realise that against the Romans only defeat was an option!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday morning....

Anthony woke up after a long time sleep late in Sunday morning...
He opened his room's windows...Weather was exelent but....
Things seamed so diferent but also so familiar....
Where was the Roman glory?
Oh i overslept he thought...all those were just a dream...
A nice and wonderfull dream!
Constantinople did not actualy celebrate the Roman reqonquista dream...
A wonderfull dream it was...nothing more.......................................

The End