Board Thread:Timeline Discussions/@comment-25205072-20150422083509/@comment-5435873-20150812191522

The Timeline:

==Europe==

Alexios II Komnenos ascends the throne under the regency of empress maria I, however many greek lords resent the rule of empress maria for latin leanings. In response, Andronikos I tried to seize the throne but is betrayed by his muslim contingent who massacred his forces leaving the rest of the rebellion to be crushed. This was all due to the efforts of Isaac Angelos (who is then renamed a Komnenos) and goes on a military campaign against the sultanate of Rum seizing much of Rum territories and preventing the Sultanate of Rum from seizing power in anatolia ever again. When Alexios rose absolute power, he ordered Maria to be executed under the guidance of Isaac Angelos and soon tasked Isaac to retake anatolia from the turks. Under Isaac, this was an astounding success retaking nearly all anatolian territory. He was proclaimed heir in the case that Alexios II died and was named a legitimate member of the Komnenos family. Soon after at the age of 20 Alexios II died leaving Isaac II Komnenos as emperor. His first order of business was the crusaders. Emperor Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire requested access and money for the third crusade. Although initially denying it, seeing the benefits of the latins under Manuel I rule, proceeded to allow further venetian trading in the Byzantine empire creating more income for the empire and warming relations with the Venetians. His first internal challenge came from Andronikos I who proclaimed himself king of cyprus after Isaac's ascension to the throne. (In ATL Isaac is a more effective ruler mending relations with the church and recapturing all of anatolian territory lost after Manzikert in 1071). After defeating Andronikos, who was killed in a peasant uprising due to his inefficient administration. Isaac II made decision to join the crusades to recapture anatolian territory further mending church relations. Isaac's decision was quite shocking as this was the first time a byzantine emperor decided to participate in a crusade, The crusade was an astounding success, recapturing all lost territory and bringing the komnenian restoration to full frutation. He however, evacuated much of west balkan territory deeming it undefendable. This allowed Isaac II to recapture all of anatolian territory during the third crusade.

==Islamic World==

The Umayyad, lose power in the east and the Abbasids take over, however they fail to capture Carthage (Tunis), due to the remaining Umayyad family members did not pay amnesty to the Abbasid caliphate (in OTL they were massacred), they retreat to Tunis and prepare to prevent further Abbasid expansion into islamic spain and Mauretania. They won at the battle of gabes in Umayyad Tunisia in 761 where Umayyad caliphate used heavy infantry hired from Christian Spain and managed to stop Abbasid cavalry from outflanking the line of mercenaries while cavalry under the command of Abd al-Rahman I managed to out flank the Abbasid infantry leading to the collapse and slaughter of the Abbasid army preventing the Abbasid Caliphate from mounting any other attack on the Umayyad due to the Alid revolution. However luck turns for the worst for the Umayyad caliphate and the Almohad (a minor group of nobles who were responsible for much of Umayyad administration), rebelled in 1119 and in 1121 captured Tunis and taking lands west of Tunis and eventually capturing Ayyubid Cyrenaica in 1197 in synch with byzantine offensives and in 1201, (but were eventually defeated at the battle of El Salloum halting their eastward expansion) they captured all of Umayyad north african territories but Tetouan, which remained a Umayyad exclave until 1400 when Umayyad recaptured much of its north african territories with the help of the byzantines (who were playing the Umayyads against the Almohad). Under the firm support of the Byzantines, the Umayyad caliphate went into a golden age lasting till 1621 when the Ottomans sought to expand into their territory

==The Far East==

At this point, east asia began to see the Mongols as a threat, conquering and annexing any territory they could find. The Caliph of Baghdad heard news of the impending threat, and began alerting the other Caliphates. The Song Empire also gained insight of this, but was able to do little. The Mongols were able to capture large portions of north Song, but were easily stopped by a pan Arab-Song alliance.

==Europe==

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">In 1206 Isaac II died leaving his son Alexios IV "the great" as emperor. Although Alexios IV's uncle (Alexios III) brought a small army to the walls of Constantinople, eventually Alexios III was cut down by his own troops and pledged loyalty to Alexios IV. Alexios IV like his father was a military genius, and finished the conquest of anatolia finishing of the weak and enfeebled seljuk sultanate of rum in 1241 when the threat of the mongols came. Eventually in 1242, when Alexios IV died, he proclaimed his brother Manuel II to succeed him. However his brother John Komnenos (Angelos) proclaimed himself emperor at took control of Trebizond and the surrounding region. Manuel, aged 39 at the time had no clear successor. After the defeat of the empire of Trebizond, Michael VIII palaiologos proclaimed himself emperor in 1259, which at the time was relatively bloodless. Under michael VIII, he began a massive expansion into lost territories in the crimea and then in sicily creating 3 enclaves along the coast. It was soon followed up by a campaign to capture southern italy however was killed. He was succeeded by his son Andronikos II "The Norman Slayer" Palaiologos in 1282. He continued his father's campaign and captured the rest of sicily as well as destroy the kingdom sicily and incorporated its lands into the byzantine empire restoring the dream of Basil II of a strong byzantine empire. He also finished reconquering crimean territory. In 1328 Androniko II's realm stretched from sicily to armenia. After his death, Constantine XI ascended towards the throne. His brother Andronikos III, had a strong claim to the throne but was deemed to incapable of ruling so his father had Constantine XI. Under Constantine XI, he finally brought the venetians to its knees re-controlling trade in the bosphorus and capturing the vassal territory of the republic of ragusa bringing it into the fold

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Constantine XI reign was short ruling for only for 5 years and leaving the throne for his brother Manuel III, under Manuel III began a 300 year byzantine enlightenment focusing on internally rather than foreign affairs. This was continued by Manuel III's son John III Palaiologos "the merchant" where he ascended the throne in 1350. Under John III, he created a maritime empire overtaking Venice in trade. However, the republic of Genoa sought to fill the vacuum of past venetian dominance, and declared war on the Byzantines in 1352. Here the Byzantines used their famous greek fire defeating the genoan fleet and then burning the rest of their navy at anchor in Corsica. John III reign was relatively peaceful for the byzantine empire and ushered an age of isolation from European politics often avoiding politics against the papacy. John III isolation brought cultural progress throughout the empire reversing the turkification of Anatolia. John III quietly died in 1378 knowing that the byzantine empire would continue to preserve the roman empire under the greeks

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Andronikos III was crowned emperor in 1379 at a time when the Byzantine empire split into smaller empires wrestling for control for the throne. Andronikos III was the second son of John III and was deemed more capable than his older brother John IV the "Nicene" due to his unpredictable violent nature. He was proclaimed heir by John III when John was just about to die. This enraged John's eldest son John IV and Andronikos had to flee for his life. The empire was split up into 4 parts with the 5th part revolting against byzantine rule, thus starting “The War of The Five Empires”.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Andronikos III ruled Most of greece, the tiniest slice of western Anatolia, the crimea and all of Southern italy and sicily. He had the numerical disadvantage however he took with him the navy as well as the varangian guard. He also has the backings of the Papal states,the holy roman empire and the english crown.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Andronikos cousin Basil III "the Athenian" ruled over southern greece from Athens. Basil intended to stay neutral all though he seems to lean to Andronikos due to John IV's violent encounters with Basil III.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">John IV rules the so called Byzantine empire not by right but by force. Although he technically ruled from Constantinople, being raised in Nicea, he resides mostly in Nicea. His violent rule has had profound effects on the populace, the royal court and foreign emissaries. He slaughter the latins in 1381 is very ultra nationalistic in terms of his foreign policy. He is currently locked in a semi-cold war with his rival, Michael IX, bastard son of John III.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Ivan <span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Calibri;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Shishman <span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">ruler of the breakaway second "bulgarian" empire was intent on ruling a free bulgarian empire. However by 1380, most of bulgaria was cultural Byzantine rather than bulgarian. It is currently buckling under the Nicene invasion, however in 1383 managed to destroy much of the Nicaean army in Thracia depriving it of any offensive push.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Alexios V rules the pitiful Empire of Cyprus. Uncle of Andronikos III decided to create his own maritime empire taking small chunks of land off the coast of southern anatolia and taking the important city of Antioch. It lies under threat of invasion from the crusader states and the emirate of aleppo.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Michael IX rules the empire of Trebizond. Bastard son of John III he sought to claim his own destiny by ruling the second empire of trebizond. The empire of Trebizond although particularly weak, won a major victory against the Ottomans seizing lands south as well as capturing much of the west coast of Georgia. This prevented any muslim caliphates from seizing lands under Byzantine successor states.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">==The Far East==

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Soon, the Pan Arab-Song front was able to hold back the Mongols from the south, while the Byzantines and the Kievan Rus make a laughing-stock of it in the east. Finally, a series of Peasant rebellions led by Zhu Yuan Zhang, cause the empire to disintegrate from within. This results in a premature collapse of the Mongol Empire, which, not only worsens religious tensions in Asia, but also annuls the creation of the Mughal Empire. Song tries to claim northern China for itself, however, as a counter attack, Zhu establishes the Ming dynasty, which in turn, causes another warring states period.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">==Europe==

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Andronikos III sought an alliance with Basil III "The Athenian". Basil III had most of the greek troops stationed in Thessaloniki giving Basil III the leverage he needed to negotiate. Although previously approached by John "The Nicene", John IV was rejected and Basil III allied himself with Andronikos III. However he was assassinated in 1381 however rather than seizing the throne himself, Basil III proclaimed that Andronikos III's son Andronikos IV would claim the throne. During this time, the empire of Trebizond seized lands from the Ottomans and the empire of cyprus seized lands from the emirate of Aleppo. Andronikos IV rather than sitting idly like his uncle John IV, he proceeded reclaim land. Basil III and Andronikos IV moved the Varangian guard secretly and sailed the fleet up to Bursa and in 1384 managed to seize the Empire of Bulgaria and Ivan <span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Calibri;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Shishman <span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> was killed by greek fire in a last ditch attempt to hold on to the legacy of Bulgaria at the siege of Sofia. With Bulgaria secured, Basil III moved his army from Thessaloniki to Hadrianople at put it within striking distance of Constantinople. However the walls of constantinople were well defended and John IV was preparing to reinforce his depleted army in Thracia.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Andronikos IV's force prepare to strike Constantinople and reclaim the rest of the Byzantine empire. However Constantinople wasn't an easy city to capture. Constantinople had survived the Hunnic hordes and the Arab invasion and it could survive for months. Another problem which faced Andronikos IV was that much of his naval power was fighting the empire of Cyprus, and most of his army under his cousin, Basil IV, who was Basil "the Athenian" son was fighting in Asia minor where they gaining significant amounts of land preventing trade from reaching the Nicene Empire. However lucked turned his way when the Venetians under Antonio Venier, pledged his support in order to have trade rights. Andronikos IV's father and his grandfathers had pursued a policy towards the Venetians hoping to improve the relations with the Venetians that had been damaged by Konstantinos XI and Andronikos IV wasn't about to give decades of warm Venetian relations. With the firm support of the Venetians, they began to siege Constantinople.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Basil III's army sat outside the walls of Constantinople. Unknown to John IV, Andronikos IV and Antonio Venier had loaded Venetian galleys with Venetian mercenaries and the Varangian Guard. Most of the trade routes towards Constantinople were blocked by Byzantine Galleys armed with Greek Fire. Breaking the blockade would be suicide. Andronikos planned to lead a small detachment of Basil IV's soldiers to blockade on the other side of the strait of Bosphorus. John IV was unable to reinforce Thracia and this allowed the Venetian mercenaries and the Varangian guard to sneak into the port at night. The next day John IV woke to the sound of fighting. The Varangian Guard had massacred the entire garrison and Basil "the Athenian" had his troops pour into the city. John IV barely escaped with his life and retreated to Sinope and then when it was captured by Trebizond soldiers, to Ancyra. Much of the siege's success was credited to both Andronikos IV and Basil III, Basil III managed to slip past many of John IV main army in Thracia (Although much of his army was barely able to conduct offensive movements so it lacked the necessary numbers although still posed a relative threat). It cut off a majority of the forces stationed in Thracia and many just fled and returned to their homes.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Simultaneously, Basil IV seized much of Asia minor as well as Alexios V seizing all of the southern coast of Anatolia preventing trade for the Nicene empire. John IV however in the east managed to cut of a majority of Michael IX's force at Caesarea. But by 1400, John IV was trapped in SInope and finally killed in 1395 during an assault from Varangian guard.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The fall of Constantinople came as a shock to John IV. However that didn't stop him to recapture Constantinople. On january the 6th 1389 John IV brought all his forces from the east to face Andronikos IV and his army. At Nicea, Basil "The Athenian" rode out with the majority of the forces however this would be the last time would ride out. Andronikos and Basil IV bypassed John's army to threatened Ancyra. Andronikos went with a small detachment force outflank John's reserve and destroy the baggage train. With hearing this John IV ignored his generals warnings and proceeded with the attacks regardless of the near annihilation of his reserve force. Basil "The Athenian" moved his Infantry of his Vanguard to advance on John's army however John's vanguard of cavalry completely annihilated the vanguard leaving only 7500 men remaining in Basil's army. Luck turned for the better even as Andronikos’ combined army now numbering 15,000 men was no match for John's army now at 25,000 men due to the destruction of his reserve. However unbeknownst to John, Andronikos IV's 2500 men that had massacred the reserve of John's force mainly comprised of heavy cavalry and infantry were hiding in the hills.The attack would of seemed suicide but Andronikos being the military genius he is, used the weather to his advantage. He left the a small contingent of his force on the hills, using the fog and loud noises making it seem like Andronikos’' army was more large in number and drew out a majority of John's heavy infantry, much to the dismay of John's generals dismay. with the heavy infantry gone Andronikos IV and Basil "The Athenian" annihilated the rest of John's now weakened army. Hearing that Basil IV now named "The Deceiver" was laying siege to his capital, he moved his heavy infantry and the remainder of his army away back to Ancyra. However again John IV was tricked once again as Basil IV slipped away leaving local levies besieging the castle. Basil "The deciever" then used Venetian Infantry which that had been stationed in Hercleia and move them to face John's amry numbering a more reasonable amount of 17,500, which the Venetians used their rearguard to harass John's army while the Venetians found a more reasonable place to make a stand however, John's rearguard suprised the Venetians. Facing near death, Antonio Venier requested immediate assitance from the byzantines, however the Byzantines already had a plan, Basil III and Andronikos marched their remaining army numbering 10,000 went to join Antonio while Basil IV split up his army numbering 5000 and annhilated their cavalry and scouts giving John's army no intelligence at all. While the main byzantine army fought, the venetian's out flanked John's army, and Basil "The Deciever" converged his army and attacked from the rear of John's army facing near annhilation, John and 2000 troops managed to escape with the rest of his army being massacred. The battle ended in an astounding victory however, Basil III, "The Athenian" was slain however, by holding up John IV, "The Nicean", it allowed his son to annilhilate the rest

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">With the destrution of most of the Nicene army, John IV retreated to Ancyra with Andronikos IV hot on his trail. However Basil IV beat him to it and had to retreat. John IV had only 5000 troops left, barely enough to face a combined now 30 000 Byzantine Venetian army. Andronikos and his most trusted general Demetrios went to take the Anatolian south coast from Alexios V. Alexios V had initial success in 1379 capturing the coast of southern anatolia and gaining from support from the lords of Antioch and the Doux (duke) of antioch. During the relatively neutral period, The empire of cyprus, grew from maritime trade filling the vacuum during the succession crisis. However with the success of Andronikos IV and the re opening of trade to Venice and Genoa and with the new alliance with the Venetians, more trade opened up for the Venetians which in turn threatened trade for the Empire of Cyprus. Soon in 1387, Cyprus began to openly challenge Andronikos IV however Andronikos lacked the necessary resources to combat Alexios however Basil IV only could send small detachments from his army and only managed to capture the smaller islands near Rhodes however Basil IV managed to capture Rhodes in 1388 after the capturing the surronding coast owned by Alexios. WIth Andronikos succesfuly defeating the Nicene empire, he could focus on taking cyprus. After the siege of Sinope, Andronikos IV had succesfully taken most of territorial Cyprus territory leaving only Cyprus and Antioch. With the capture of Seleukia, the Cyprus navy could no longer mount attacks on Byzantine shipping. With the might of Cyprus gone, Andronikos IV succesfully stormed Antioch while Demetrios took Cyprus. With the elimination of Cyprus, all that was left was the Second Trebizond Empire. During the fall of the Nicene empire, Trebizond seized as much territroy as possible before Andronikos could strike against them. During the war with Nicea, much of Trebizond's manpower was destroyed by John IV "The Nicene" during the fall of Caesarea and lacked the manpower to go to war with Andronikos. However, Trebizond still posed a major threat to the Byzantine throne. Michael IX was the bastard son of John III and uncle to Andronikos IV. He was still a threat to the throne and was still eligible for the throne. Andronikos, "the conqueror" as he was called decided to strike first. He sent Basil IV to capture Koloneia while he took the bulk of his army to crush the 15,000 strong Trebizond. Andronikos knew that Michael IX would try to outwit him so he sent a detachment force of 10,000 men to ambush his forces and harass them. While the bulk of his forces numbering 20,000 prepared to divert Michael's army. Andronikos knew that Sebastea was weak but also was a perfect city to pivot towards Trebizond held Mesopotamia. As his forces moved to the city, he was ambushed by Michael's full strength which had received 3000 hired mercenaries. Demetrios was nowhere to be seen and it was assumed that he died in the encounter against Michael. All seemed lost but Michael had received word that Koloneia had been captured by Basil IV putting him within striking distance of Trebizond. Michael successfully withdrew his army to Trebizond, and prepared to retake Koloneia. However when he arrived, Basil "The deceiver" Unsurprisingly was nowhere to be seen. He moved his army out of the city leaving a new garrison behind before setting out. But this time Andronikos left the bulk of his army with Basil IV making his forces number to 25,000 while he took 10,000 men to capture Koloneia and then Trebizond. Basil successfully destroyed Michaels now 18,000 strong army and only 1000 of his riders managed to make to Trebizond. 1 year later in 1409 he surrendered and was executed for treason. The last holdout of Michael IX's men in Manzinkert managed to last until 1410 when the city was stormed and sacked as with that ended the last great dynastic struggle for the Byzantine Empire.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Basileus Basil IV became emperor in 1419, began reconstruction of most of the empire as well as consolidating power within Anatolia. With the kingdom of Georgia almost destroyed, Konstantine I, brother-in-law to Basil IV, swore fealty to the Byzantine empire in return he would become Despots of Georgia. Much of Georgia had been conquered by Michael IX, destroying the relations between georgia and the byzantines. Although Andronikos IV offered his daughter in marriage to the Konstantine I, it did little to mend relations. Constantine I, with most of his kingdom on the brink of collapse and facing possible invasion from hostile tribes in the north, swore fealty to Basil IV in 1421.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">==Islamic World==

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Defeated after the Abbasid take over, the Umayyad retreats to corduba and established their control from there, which is further undermined by the rise of the Almohad empire based in Tunis. However finding an unlikely alliance with the byzantines (By the 1400s more religiously tolerant and playing the muslim nations against each other) and defeat the Almohads at the battle of carthage. They continue as a north african empire against the spanish christian nations, attempting to take over their last territories in spain (granada). They are fighting the mamluks for control of egypt until the Ottoman takeover in 1453, defeating the mamluks and seljuks combined and taking Damascus in 1443 and 10 years later, Alexandria. After a period of decline in the 1700s, and then the scramble for africa, the Umayyad caliphate are defeated against the french but reform into the Umayyad republic.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">After the Almohads begin capturing key Umayyad territories, the Caliph and his family are relocated to Syria, and begin rallying support against the Almohads. Some caliphates support the Caliph of Cordoba, whereas, some caliphates don't. After several assassination attempts on the Caliph of Cordoba, the Islamic Caliphates begin declaring war on each other. As Catholic Europe begins securing major victories over the weakened Islamic World, various families, such as the Borgias, begin gaining early power within the Vatican.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Once a lowly Seljuq noble house in the Seljuq sultanate of Rum, the Ottomans retreated eastwards after the fall of Rum. However their fortune turned as the crusader states, most notably the county of Tripoli and the Kingdom of Jerusalem were beginning to falter after their support began to erode from europe as all eyes turned to the war in hispania. After the capture of Damascus in 1443, Ottomans turned their eyes to the fertile lands of egypt where they captured the Mamluk capital of Cairo sending them into exile into the Byzantine Empire and then to the Umayyad caliphate until their return in 1813 after the byzantine capture of Alexandria. However from the 1700s, began a slow decline for the empire. As the Byzantine empire and the Seljuk Sultanate slowly strangled the Ottomans, more and more territory fell into the hands of hostile foreigners. After its fall in the great war (1914-1923), it was established into the Ottoman republic. However the rivalry between the Ottomans and seljuks continues to this day.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Seljuk empire is one of the most prosperous of nations as it benefited from Byzantine trade after hostilities ceased when the the sultanate of Rum was deposed. It once stood as the greatest islamic empire in the middle ages nearly destroying the Byzantine empire. However hostilities between the Fatimids and then the Mamluks prompted the rise of the Ottomans who originally were a lowly Rum noble family and soon took over all of the levant, saudi arabia and much of north africa. Its power eroded from the mongol takeover )who eventually just were absorbed into the empire) weakened it. By the 1700s however, the Byzantines soon began to open relations with the Seljuks and benefiting from trade, began to retake most of it persian territory although they were unable to recapture baghdad in the great war. Today it stands as one of the great middle eastern powers rivalling the byzantine empire

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">With the rise of the Byzantines, it also saw a rival power grow south of them. The Ottomans took the advantage of a weakened duchy of edessa and Emirate of Aleppo began to seize lands neighbouring them. Although the Ottomans failed to completely destroy the two nations, they managed to dislodge the nations, preventing them from being a threat. However Mehmed I died in the failed siege of Edessa. With the death of their sultan, it only seemed likely that the Ottoman throne would be up for grabs. However, his son Murad II, managed to seize the throne before civil war would erupt. Murad II respecting byzantine power, avoided them and instead went on an ambitious plan to capture Seljuk lands. Using Byzantine Mercenaries, the invasion began with raiders capturing key forts along the Seljuk border. With the Seljuks battling the Timurs, Seljuks lands seemed ripe for the taking. He managed to capture immediately south of him. However the Seljuks managed to muster an army to challenge the Ottomans. This would be Murad II's greatest challenge. However he had the advantage of hired Byzantine heavy cavalry and infantry. He first used his horse archers to harass seljuk infantry and cavalry. To his expectation he led the cavalry away from the protection of the infantry. Soon the Mercenaries cut down the light and weak Seljuk Cavalry showing that byzantine technology far outmatched Seljuk. After the massacre of the Cavalry he sent his light infantry and archers to advance on the flanks while the Byzantine heavy infantry held the centre. He positioned his heavy Cataphracts in the hills while his horse archers harassed the Seljuk infantry. As soon as the Seljuk army tried to counter attack, the cataphracts charged into the rear of the Seljuk army crushing the rest of the Cavalry and cutting off retreat. The battle was decisive victory and the Seljuks sued for peace the following year in 1425 effectively ending Seljuk dominance in the middle east.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">==Europe==

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">At this point, the muslims seem nearing the peak of their grasp on the middle east. With a stronger Byzantine, and less troops and resources in the Crusader States, there would be a whole load of mistrust between Western Europe and The Byzantine Empire. At this point, the crusades might become less of a Christians vs Muslims to a Catholics vs Orthodox. As a result, the Papal States would start convincing the rest of Western Europe to start thinking for themselves, in an attempt to get people to denounce the Orthodox Church. However, this would only allow people to further see the corruption of the Catholic Church, however, none are brave enough to actively speak out.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Jan Hus begins to voice his concerns about the Catholic Church’s dominance over christianity. As he begins gaining popularity, the Vatican declares him an enemy of the faith, and proceeds to excommunicate him. This causes outrage within the Vatican, followed by the excommunication of various priests and bishops, furthering his support from the west.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Basil IV seeing the power of the ottomans used this to his advantage. While striking a favourable trade deal for both Byzantium and the Ottoman Sultanate, he secretly funded the ottomans to strike against the coastal crusader states, while the Byzantines would send mercenaries to raid and pillage the remaining crusader states. By 1429 in the last year of Basil IV's successful reign, both Murad II and Basil IV successfully reduced the crusader states to small enclaves with the exception of county of Tripoli. With the death of Basil IV, he ruled for just 10 years but he managed to consolidate Byzantium into a regional power. For the next few years, Byzantium achieve a renaissance under the rules of Konstantinos XII, Basil V, Michael X, Manuel VIII, Manuel IX and Konstantinos XIII. Under these emperors, they helped the Ottomans conquer more territory against the Seljuks and helped capture Edessa in 1430, Aleppo in 1446, Jerusalem in 1453, the kingdom of Tyre in 1460 and the County of Tripoli in 1461. The greek renaissance ended in 1520 at the death of Konstantinos XIII, and his successor Manuel X "the great" began the colonisation of Kouva and Pouerto Riko (Cuba and Puerto Rico, note they were discovered by Castilian explorer Christopher Columbus in a brief Iberian union before disintegrating in 1550) <span style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#3a3a3a;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">