Prince John (Age 26 Faction Heir) - Command 5, Dread/Chivalry 0, Loyalty 5, Piety 3.Emperor Alexius (Age 45 Faction Leader) - Command 8, Dread/Chivalry 0, Authority 2, Piety 3.Nicosia (Wooden Castle) - Mustering Hall.
Good heavy cavalry and missile cavalry, capable archers. The Byzantine legacy is long and predominantly proud, but unless the Emperor can turn things around in a hurry, it is a legacy that will soon end. If the Byzantine Empire is to once again become the dominant power of the east, then it will first need to reclaim its heartlands wholly before encroaching upon the borders of another power. It is a true irony that Constantinople may now have to appease Rome after becoming the new capital of the Roman Empire centuries ago. There is significant risk that the lords of the west will consider the lands of Orthodox Christianity to be fair game unless the Pope decrees otherwise. To make matters worse, general corruption, chaos, and dissent has lead to some of the other provinces closer to home to rebel.Īrguably, the greatest threat to Byzantium lies in its independence from Rome. The latter of these two losses was the worst defeat the Empire had suffered in its entire history. To the west, the Normans have taken southern Italy, and in the east the Turks have moved into Asia Minor after their decisive and terrible victory at Manzikert. The outer regions of the empire have been slipping from the Emperor's grasp for decades now. The differences between the thinking in Byzantium and the west were most profoundly highlighted with the Great Schism, the division of Christendom.ĭespite boasting the world's trade capital and home of Orthodox Christianity in Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire is well past its zenith and is now in steady decline. In fact, it is their reverence of the old ways that has brought the empire to a point of stagnation, in a world that has gradually kept moving on. Despite retaining the civilized ways of the Roman legacy, the Byzantines have done little to further it. Militarily, she begins the campaign in a reasonably capable position, but with a clear and immediate threat as Alaric leads his Visigoth armies into Roman-held Thracia and Macedonia… mere regions away from Constantinople itself.Byzantium is the shadow that remains of the old Roman Empire. While the Western Roman Empire ails and withers, the Eastern Roman Empire is an economic powerhouse, and reaps the benefits of this through treasury interest and trade tariffs. However, the young Emperor Arcadius will have to negotiate barbarian threats, court intrigues, and the ever-present Sassanid menace to ensure that the last light of the Roman Empire continues to burn. The East has safely weathered the storm of barbarian migration, often by diverting them into the West.
As a result, new trade networks and fiscal reforms fill its coffers, all run by a centralised bureaucracy and a powerful state church. The new administrative centre at Constantinople has allowed the Eastern Romans to replace the antiquated systems throttling the economy and enfeebling Rome’s Emperors.