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!

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!

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!

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...



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!



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!



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...