Basileia Rhomaion (Hail Byzantium)

The Byzantine Empire is the remnants of the roman empire and has survived into the 21st century. It had survived the storm of Arab and Turk invasions and has thrived ever since Isaac II began the Byzantine reconquests reversing the effects of the Turkification of Anatolia.

Origins
The Byzantine empire originated in the old Roman Empire. It was formed a de-facto in 285 CE and in 294 CE a de-jure. Its capital originally in Nicomedia under Diocletian however in 324 CE Constantine had abolished the system of Tetrachy under Diocletian and established his capital in the former city of Byzantium, which the empire gets its name from.

Division of the Empire
After the death of Jovian, the empire was divided on his death, to which the Valentinian Dynasty took over and divided into two empires. it was briefly reunited under Theodosius I however after his death, the empire was split never to be reunited again

The loss of the west
While the east prospered, the west fell into anarchy. Multiple usurpers claimed the throne in the west however with an increasing reliance on the foreign mercenaries, the city of Rome finally fell in 476 CE with the imperial purple being sent to Constantinople to show that there would be no longer rule in the west. However there were some remnant territories survived. the domain of Soisson survived until the frankish king annexed into his territory, the Western Roman Empire in Dalmatia survived until 480 CE when the last emperor in the west Julius Nepos was assassinated, and the roman moor kings survived until the Byzantines reconquered North Africa, their territories being reincorporated into the Byzantine empire as the Exarchate of North Africa.

Justinian's reconquests
Justinian was the son of a farmer, and had secured himself as emperor of the east in 527 CE. After surviving the Nika Riots, he planned to reconquer the west and restore the Roman Empire in Rome. He sent his most accomplished general Belasarius, who had defeated the Persians at the battle of Dara. Belasarius successfully subdued the Kingdom of the Vandals, and then went to seized Italia from the goths, however Justinian's dreams would only hinder the empire's ability to defend itself.



Arab invasions
However Justinian's reconquests had overstretched the empire. After emperor Heraclius had successfully defeated the Sassanids, the Rashidun Caliphate quickly filled the vacuum of the two weakened states successfully conquering most of Sassanid territory and most of Byzantine territory. During the 7th and 9th century, Byzantine lands were constantly raided and nearly buckled the weight of the Arab Caliphates, however the light of rome would not die so soon...

Bulgar invasions and the fall of the Bulgarian Empire
With the Arabs swallowing up Byzantine territory, the bulgars took the advantage of the failing Byzantine Empire and established the Bulgarian Empire in the balkans. They took most of the Balkans except for territories in Morea, Thessaloniki and Thrace. However the Byzantines managed to push them back in the late 900s prompting the end of the Bulgarian culture and the assimilation into Byzantine Greek culture, the empire finally fell in the early 11th century in 1018 following Basil II victory.

Byzantine resurgence
Following the 20 years anarchy, the Makedonian basilieus' started to recapture territory for the Byzantine Empire. This began with campaigns against the declining Abbasid caliphate reclaiming Antioch, Crete, and Cyprus from the Arabs. Then under Basil II, the greatest of the Makedon dynasty, he conquered all of Bulgaria restoring much of the Byzantine empire. However like Justinian before him, he left the coffers of the empire empty and for his successor to pick up the pieces...

The Seljuks, the crusades, and Alexios I
With the Normans retaking Byzantine Sicilian territory, and the Seljuks bearing on the Byzantines in Anatolia after the defeat of the Romans in Manzinkert, it was only a matter of time before the glory of Rome would fade from existence. However a energetic new emperor Alexios I, began what is known as the Komnenion Resurgence. Asking for latin support in Rome, Alexios I managed to co-ordinate a crusade with Pope Urban II to the holy, with the Crusaders keeping the Seljuks busy, Alexios managed to recapture much territory lost by the Seljuks.

Komnenoi
After Alexios, his successors tried to restore much of the territory, despite John II having little success, but good fortune was furthered by Manuel Komnenos, who campaigned in the west securing territory in Serbia and gaining land from the Seljuks, however later in life, he tried to capture Sicily from the Normans. However he is regarded as one of the many great Komnenoi.

Isaac II's triumph
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 dies in 1189 CE 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, he 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. 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 fruition. 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. Isaac II's success was partly due to his handling of the Latins and the conspiring nobles. The Byzantine bureaucracy before the war of 5 emperors was relatively unstable and many emperors had met their end from usurpation. However Isaac II by a miracle managed to stop conspiring nobles from ending Alexios II, prevented Alexios' mother from destroying the empire, stopped Andronikos I from seizing the throne and successfully pushed back the Seljuks without jeopardising the Byzantine Treasury.

Alexios IV, Manuel II and the Trebizond Empire
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 II was deemed incapable by many, however he managed to defeat an invasion from the Seljuks in 1247 and prevented an incursion by Crusaders. However by 1258, the Trebizond Empire was putting a stain in Manuel's credibility and was about to fall victim to court intrigue. He and Michael VIII Palaiologos, his trusted advisor set out with 20,000 men to end the Trebizond Empire under John Komnenos. Manuel had arrived on the field supported by an extra 3000 Turkish mercenaries facing of John who surprisingly could muster 26,000 men from the Trebizond Empire. Manuel marched out as it seemed by John, to attack headlong into the strong Trebizond infantry with bulk of his forces however there were no cavalry to be seen. And Manuel had only 1000 Turkish infantry. It seemed John was destined to win and finally claim the Byzantine throne. But out of nowhere 8000 cavalry drove into the weak parts of John's Army. Manuel then moved the rest of his mean into the demoralised enemy crushing them and John barely escaped with 10,000 of his mean. The victory was a miracle, and soon Manuel II was given more support. However, Manuel II contracted a disease that proved to be fatal. He left no successor and left Byzantium on a knife's edge.

Michael VIII Palaiologos Ascension and campaigns in Sicily
EDITING

Michael VIII ascended the throne after the Komnenos-Angelos line was extinguished after