by Marcuse » Tue Jul 04, 2017 8:59 pm
The Roman Empire is reborn!
My war against Sicily was, in truth almost over. Their lone fortress; Bari, was undermanned and fell as soon as my troops landed there. In short order my forces were investing Naples, to end the Sicilian menace once and for all. The Papacy had declared against me, but appeared reticent to actually do anything to stop me. The youngest daughter of the Norman house came to me with terms, ceasefire. The recently anointed Strategos of Bari proposed new terms: vassalage. Intimidated by my newfound might, they relented, and Naples remained under their control and my protection. They immediately declared against the Moors, which caused an awkward situation for me, forced to choose between my overlord and the overlordship I had just arranged. I chose to risk it and back the Sicilians, figuring if they do end up conquering the Moors, it was only to my benefit. As it happened, I managed to keep my peace with them and my rule over Naples.
The next target was obvious: Rome. But how? The Papal armies, swollen as they were from long, aimless recruitment were formidable. My forces were also formidable, but scattered. The solution was to invest Ancona to the North (a Venetian possession), and draw the Papal armies into the field. My navy stood ready to deliver crack troops from Palermo to the Roman shore, and as expected, they denuded their capital of troops in order to pursue me. After some back and forth, I was the new ruler in Rome, and the true heir of the Holy Roman Empire mantle.
Then came long years of siege, by the Papacy (now installed at Pisa) and the HRE whose ire had been piqued by my sacrilegious conquest of the supreme seat of Catholicism. It was a time of constant war, and desperate counter attacks. Bologna was too strongly held for me to storm, so I took the chance to do the same to Pisa as I had Rome. On the second attempt, it worked, and the Papacy, while it still existed, had lost a Supreme Pontiff in battle and become stateless.
At this point, while my trust rating was still at "very untrustworthy", factions began to react to the speed and strength of my conquests. Aragon and Portugal were convinced to lay down their arms against me, and more importantly, Castile sought alliance while the Turks sought peace and trade. This, along with my possession of Rome, turned my economy into a powerhouse. I still remained under the nominal dominion of the Fatimids, but they were distant and fading in power as the East tore itself apart between Seljuk, Mongol and Arab. I had long wrested off the Moorish chains, but their opinion of me fell as I sought alliance among the Catholic powers. My long term plan will bring Africa under my sway before long. My diplomatic envoys discovered surprising details about the fate of Northern Europe: the French crown had been almost entirely subdued, hiding in the single castle at Toulouse. overthrowing them was the HRE, who had also destroyed Denmark entire, and the English. The English crown was in crisis, having lost all but Ireland and the South coast of England to the Scots.
But in the short term, I had eyes only for Venice. The city herself had ceased to be their capital a while ago, with the Doge residing in either Ragusa or Arta. I bypassed HRE Bologna by sea and took the city with speed. The reaction was immediate and fierce. Strong detachments from across Venetian lands were thrown headlong at the city of canals, only to be thwarted by the strong garrison I had included. But my actions were more deliberate than just the capture of a single populous and prosperous city. The Greek possessions had become unruly and were lightly garrisoned. Moving away from the armies tearing their way North, I swiped the fortress at Corinth and the breadbasket city of Athens from them. Neither region was in good condition, with Athens subject to a plague of heretical thought that made me wonder whether it might have been better to leave it. Trapezunite rebels overthrew the outlander Mongols I had sold the castle to in order to better distract the Seljuks and it returned to my rule, though in a perilous position once again.
By the end of my charge, the power of Sicily, the Papacy and the Venetians had suffered damage. My strength had brought me new allies and peace with factions who before had been implacable foes. The march continues.