Imperium Constantinopolitanum Wiki

## Rise of the Latin Empire

Following the 4th Crusade in 1204, the Eastern Roman Empire was divided with the Crusaders carving out the Latin Empire in Greece and the former Byzantines being forced into Anatolia as the Empire of Nicaea. The remaining territories The Crusaders of the Latin Empire, under the House of Courtenay, would spend the following seventeen years under the reigns of Baldwin I, Henry I, Peter I, and Yolanda I consolidating their control over Greece and the Themes of Optimaton and Abydos in Asia Minor. The reign of Robert I from 1221 to 1228 would see the expansion of the Latin Empire into Asia Minor with most of the Theme of Samos, including the regional capital of Smyrna, being taken. Although further expansion proved difficult as the city of Nicaea itself remained a powerful stronghold. The following reigns of Co-Emperors Baldwin II of House Courtenay and John I of House Brienne would see the continued military success as the important city of Bursa fell in 1235 along with the acquisition of the western halves of Opsikion and Thracesion. With the death of John I in 1237, Baldwin II would reign as sole emperor until 1261 and face the greatest threat the Empire had yet known.

## Mongol Invasion of Anatolia

In 1241, the great Mongol Horde invaded Anatolia and brought down the wrath of the khan upon the peninsula. Both the Empire of Trebizond and the Sultanate of Rum were made tributaries of the great horde and the famous Georgian Empire was utterly destroyed. However, fortune was able to favor both the Latin and Nicaen Empires as the death of Ögedei Khan in late 1241 halted any further expansion of the Mongols into Asia Minor. Whilst preventing any expansion beyond the Empire of Nicaea, the Mongol distraction allowed time for the Latins to consolidate their gains and by 1245 hostilities continued as Baldwin II began another military campaign.

## The End of the Nicaean Empire

The campaigns of 1245, 1251, 1257, and 1263 would see major successes for the Latin Empire as further conquests as the rest of the Thracesion Theme, Bucellarian Theme, and most of the Opsikion Theme, with the exception of Nicaea itself, were acquired. This landlocked the Empire of Nicaea, sticking it between the hostile Latins and unstable Sultanate of Rum. By the death of Baldwin II of 1273, the power of the Nicaean Empire barely extended beyond the walls of Nicaea itself. The reign of Philip I would finally see the fall of Nicaea in 1280 after two earlier attempts in 1275 and 1278, bringing an end to the Byzantine Empire after 950 years of existence. The remainder of Philip I’s reign would see the consolidation of holdings within the Latin Empire as he was finally able to accomplish the Courtenay dream to be the sole claimant to the Eastern Roman Empire. Following Philip I’s death in 1283, his daughter Catherine I would become Roman Empress and in 1285 make the fateful decision of marrying Robert I, King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem, and Count of Provence and Forcalquier. This would begin the personal union between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Naples.

## The Golden Age

The court of Catherine I would be regarded as one of the finest in all of the High Middle Ages as the nearly 20 year period of peace following the fall of Nicaea saw great prosperity with the peaceful integration of Despotate of Epirus in 1293 being the high point of the era. However, this peace ended in 1299 as the fracturing Sultanate of Rum, which had been freed of the Mongol yoke prior, led to one Osman Ghazi attempting to carve out an empire in Anatolia. This led to the Byzantine-Ottoman war which lasted from 1299 to 1303. Early Ottoman successes occurred, peaking in 1302 with the Battle of Bapheus finally drawing in direct intervention from Constantinople. The war finally ended at the Battle of Dimbos as the 9,000 strong Roman-Naples force defeated the 5,000 strong Ottoman force along with the capture and execution of Osman and his family, causing the extinction of the Osmanoglu family. This war however once again drew attention to Asia Minor as Empress Catherine would spend the following years afterwards strengthening the defenses of the Empire in Anatolia to prevent an upstart Turkish force from ever threatening the Romans again. Following the death of Catherine I in 1307, the House of Courtenay came to an end with the House of Anjou-Naples taking control of the Eastern Romans. Philippus II, Emperor of the Romans, King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem, and Count of Provence and Forcalquier would oversee the height of the Imperium Constantinopolitanum’s Golden Age, reigning from 1307 to 1323. His reign would be spent consolidating all of his realms into one empire, ruling over a largely diverse and massive state with great effectiveness, truly binding all of the realms into one. His successor, Ioannes II, would reign from 1323 to 1353 and see a new era of expansion from the late 1320s to the early 1340s. The conquest of lands in southern Bulgaria and the acquisition of a treaty port in Crimea would occur during these expansions, acquiring lands that are owned by the Empire to this day. By 1346 however, the Golden Age of the Latins would come to an end with the arrival of the Black Death.

## The Plague

The outbreak of the Black Death of 1346 to 1352 would greatly reshape both the political and economic landscape of the Imperium Constantinopolitanum, as roughly 1/3rd of the Empire’s population would be decimated due to it. Following the end of the plague, and then the death of Ioannes II the following year, would see the empire enter a period of stagnation as attempts were made to rebuild. The emperor who oversaw this reconstruction of society, Robertus II, would use the strengthening of the commoners and weakening of the nobility that came from the plague’s aftermath to strengthen his own powerbase at the expense of the nobles. The main way was to focus on the lands directly owned by the crown in Provence and Naples, strengthening the once neglected territories. This policy would be continued by his successor, Philippus III, who reigned from 1378 to 1393. By the turn of the 15th century, the Imperium Constantinopolitanum would finally recover from the disastrous effects of the plague, yet another crisis would abound upon the horizon.

## Civil War

Following the death of Philippus III, his ten year old grandson Ludovicus I, who reigned from 1393 to 1395 would briefly reign as Emperor under a Regency until his death from smallpox. With the lack of a direct descendant of the d’Anjou Family, and the next King of Naples, Count of Provence & Forcalquier being Philippus’ infant second cousin twice removed Francis d’Anjou, a civil war would erupt amongst the Catholic nobility. The War of the Imperium Constantinopolitanum Succession would wage on from 1395 to 1425. As the personal union between the Latin Empire and the Kingdom of Naples broke down, the remaining d’Anjou family would flee back to their Italian and French holdings. With the d’Anjous would come many craftsmen, artisans, tradesmen, and innovators wishing to escape the chaos of the Succession War. These intellects, along with the old ideas of Antiquity being reinvigorated by those intellects saw the Renaissance occur in the Late 14th Century, starting in Naples. The War of the Imperium Constantinopolitanum Succession can be divided into three phases, the Catholic Phase which lasted from 1395 to 1417, the Orthodox Phase which lasted from 1417 to 1423, and the Great Restoration which lasted from 1423 to 1425. The Catholic Phase was amongst the Catholic upper nobility, the Dukes, Marquesses, and Counts that had ruled since the birth of the Latin Empire. These groups fought amongst themselves to claim Constantinople, as the city fell a total of 17 times with 17 different Emperors all from different families during the Catholic Phase. As the war waged on, the patience of the local Orthodox nobility, composed of Viscounts and Barons, grew more enraged as their overlords exploited them to fund the ongoing conflict. Finally, by 1417, the Orthodox nobility rose in rebellion against their Catholic overlords, motivated by both religious and economic hardships imposed on them for many generations and more recently by the war. This led to a constant struggle as the Catholics were pushed out of Bulgaria and Greece, forcing them to the Thracian Peninsula. By 1423, with rumors of a Orthodox Army threatening to march on Constantinople, the remaining Catholic nobility appealed to Philippus III d’Anjou, King of Naples, the brother of Francis, to come back and restore Anjou supremacy to the Imperium Constantinopolitanum. The following two years saw the Neapolitan-Catholic Army crush the Orthodox Forces. By 1425, Philippus III of Naples was crowned Philippus IV, Emperor of the Romans.

## Rebirth

The reign of Philippus IV from 1425 to 1445 would see multiple reforms to the old systems of the Byzantines that the Latins had adopted. The royal family’s name was changed from d’Anjou-Naples to Constantinopolitanus. A new decree of succession was also passed in which the Constantinopolitanus Family would be the only family able to stand for election as Emperor. The tradition of election mostly died out as well with each following Emperor being chosen by the Emperor that had preceded them. Whilst it wasn’t directly from father to son in all instances, it was the common practice. Finally, in order to prevent any future rebellion between the Orthodox Greeks and Catholic Latins, The Edict of Constantinople in 1430 was passed, giving all Orthodox Christians and same rights within the Empire as Catholic Christians. However the most important move by Philippus IV that was practiced by every succeeding Emperor was to heavily focus upon the lands of Naples, Provence, and Forcalquier. With the Kingdom of Naples remaining separate to the Latin Empire, but still unified under a personal union, allowed the Emperor, as King of Naples, to strengthen his lands and holdings in Italy and France. The Renaissance also enriched Naples, Provence, and Forcalquier, allowing them to properly compete with the provinces of the Balkans and in most instances outshine them. Since then, whenever a crisis has occurred or a great rival has attempted to unseat the Constantinopolitanus Family, the Neapolitan Army was able to rein in the chaos and bring forth order. Therefore, it has always been in the interest of the royal family to keep these lands a part of their holdings no matter the cost and that willpower would be tested in the upcoming Italian Wars.

## The Italian Wars

By 1454, Robertus III, who reigned from 1445 to 1470 entered the Latin Empire into the Italic League with the Papal States, Serene Republic of Venice, Duchy of Milan, and Republic of Florence. Masterminded by Lorenzo de’Medici, the League was to ensure that the borders of Italy would remain stable for the foreseeable future. Following Lorenzo’s death in 1492, the ambitious Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, would invite the French under Charles VIII of France to invade Provence and Naples in 1494. This led to the first phase of the Italian Wars, lasting from 1492 to 1498, in which France was able to secure Provence but was unable to break through Roman defenses around Naples. Eventually the Austrians were forced to get involved due to the French’s attacks against the northern Italian states that aligned themselves with the Romans to throw out the French. This led to the second phase, which lasted from 1498 to 1508, as France was forced to retreat out of Italy to Provence. The third phase would then begin in 1508 when bickering amongst the northern Italian states led to the War of the League of Cambrai which would last until 1516 and see Venice maintain its holdings in mainland Italy and France secure the Duchy of Milan. By 1519, the winds had once again shifted with Charles V Habsburg becoming Holy Roman Emperor along with owning the lands of the Archduchy of Austria, Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of Spain, and the Low Countries. This led to a rivalry between Francis I of France, who was now surrounded by the lands of Charles V and the fourth phase, 1521-1526 which saw a Roman-Imperial-Papal Army restore the Duchy of Milan and retake Provence. The next four phases of the Italian Wars, War of the League of Cognac, the Italian War of 1536, the Italian War of 1542-1546, and finally the Italian War of 1551-1559 would see the Imperium Constantinopolitanum take up a neutral stance following the Treaty of Toulon, which allowed French access through Provence in return for France recognising those lands and the lands of Naples as owned by the House of Constantinopolitanus. The outcome of the Italian Wars would see the foreign policy shift to one of general neutrality in European affairs as successive Roman Emperors continued to strengthen their holdings in Provence, Forcalquier, and Naples. This would mainly be seen in how the Imperium Constantinopolitanum refused to get involved in the many religious wars that dominated the late 1500s and early 1600s, especially the 30 Years War, which allowed the state to strengthen itself and maintain its surrounding buffer states as the rest of Europe was weakened by infighting.

## The Current Age

The year is now 1690 and the Eastern Roman Empire is ruled by Emperor Philippus IX. The Imperium Constantinopolitanum includes the territories of Provence, Naples, Greece, south-eastern Albania, Bulgaria, eastern Asia Minor, and the treaty port of Chersonesus. The Constantinopolitanus claims of Sicily and Sardinia have created great rivalry with the Spanish Habsburgs. The continued control of Provence has created another great rivalry with the Bourbons, especially as Louis XIV attempts to establish a great French kingdom. The old rivalry between the Holy Roman Empire with the Austrian Habsburgs continues as the Kingdom of Albania, Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Wallachia, and Kingdom of Moldova remain as proxy states for the Austrians and Romans to fight over. Finally, a new possible rival rises in the east as the Tsardom of Russia under Peter I has recently begun to expand into Crimea and as the last great Orthodox state stands as a threat to the Catholic Emperor’s rule over the Orthodox Greeks and Bulgarians in his empire. This has forced the Eastern Romans to rely upon the support of Poland-Lithuania as a staunch ally along with the northern Italian states and possible alliances with Protestant states in Germany and Britain. Time shall only tell if the Imperium Constantinopolitanum will continue to maintain its hegemony over its lands or fall to the might of its rivals, time shall only tell.