Byzantine Empire (Battle of Manzikert)

Byzantium, also known as Greece, and known as Rome or Hellas to its citizens, is a constitutional republic in

OTL's Greece, Anatolia Macedonia, southern Albania, and southern Bulgaria.

Aftermath
Alp Arslan, the commander of the Turkish Army during Manzikert, sneaked into the Byzantine Empire during the Seljuk Civil War (1074-1081/1086) and riled up the local populations of the East. Arslan aquired a large peasant empire, encircling Lake Van and heading for Manzikert. On June, 1073, the Seljuks met the Byzantines at Manzikert. The Turks won the first day of the battle, as the Byzantine forces were sweltering in the blistering heat, which was magnified with their metal armor. However, reinforcements arrived consisting of mainly Calvary and Horse Crossbowmen. The Turks, unprepared, were driven back to the Seljuk boarder, just 88 miles (141 kilometers) north of Tabriz. At the Battle of Nakhchivous (Nakhchivan in OTL), the Byzantines won decisively, and massacred the Turkish forces. Many fled south and settled Tabriz. Arslan was captured fleeing into his homeland, and was executed later that day.

The First Offensive
In 1074, the Kingdom of Apulia invaded Byzantine Apulia, and swiftly occupied the colony. The Byzantines assembled a force of 150 Dromons and 200 Transport ships containing 1,000 troops. Emperor Constantine XI Commander Maximus Gavalas and Admiral Constantine Lambrakous traveled across the Adriatic, and disembarked on Lecce. The Byzantines were humiliated, and limped their way back with 80 men and 20 ships. They were in pursuit by the Apulians, and the mighty Byzantine Dromons were obliterated. The Apulians invaded the Byzantine homeland, marching to Arta, where the Byzantine forces replenished their number, and promptly defeated a 1,200 man strong army.

Second Offensive
The Byzantines assembled a 6,000 strong army, with 500 Transport and 600 Dromons. Apulian merchants initially sailing to Venice, reported of foreign ships coming, with suggestions varying, but many said that they were Byzantine. Apulia was being invaded by the Holy Roman Empire during the First Offensive, so the Apulian navy was hesitant to dispatch forces in the Adriatic. 100 ships were sent East, but upon sighting the Byzantine fleets, they swiftly surrendered. The Byzantines disembarked near Polignano a Mare, 21 miles (33 kilometers) south of Bari. Polignano a Mare was swiftly captured. Constantine XI marched up to Bari, and put the city under siege from the middle of May 1075 to late September, before the Byzantines, weary that the siege would extend to the winter, starved the city, gluttonously eating food on seized transport vessels, wagons, and carts.

On November 4th, the Byzantines heard that the Apulian forces were down, and stormed the city. Dromons fired Greek fire into the Seaside gates of Bari, and the Byzantines were closing in on all sides. On November 6th, the Apulians surrendered.

Later, on the 7th, the Apulians capitulated. The Peace of Mesembria made Apulia cede the southern part of kingdom. The central part of the Country was made a vassal. The northern part was spared. The Apulians tried to negotiate for Byzantine intervention in what became known as the First Southern war, but the HRE hated the Venetians, and were a potential ally against Venice, Byzantium's greatest rival. So the Byzantines declined, much to the dismay of the Apulians.

12th century
In 1087, after crushing a rebellion in Armenia, Constantine XI became sick, which modern scientists say was probably due to Yellow Fever. For the next decade and a half, his health rapidly deteriorated.

On September 8th, Constantine XI the Conquer died. Alexios I took power, marking the end of the Doukid Dynasty, and the retaking of the throne by the Komnenid royal family.

Guelphs and Ghibellines
In 1142, Northern Apulia was taken by the House of Welf, causing another war between it and the Holy Roman Empire. The Byzantines were again fighting in Eastern Anatolia crushing rebellions consisting largely of Khorasan mercenaries led by Mohammed Selçuk, and so didn't get involved in what became known as the House of Welfs' War.

In 1144, Emperor Manuel I traveled to Rome to negotiate Peace after the decisive Battle of Vasto, where the Apulians successfully fended off Holy Roman forces from their capital. The status quo was returned.

While Manuel sailed home, Venetian pirates raided his three ships. The Mármaro Ploío, Manuel I's ship, was sunk. The two Byzantine Dromons fired on the eight ships, sunk two ships, and the Venetians withdrew.

Second Italian War
Tensions rose between Byzantium and Venice after the Adriatic incident war. Apulia singed an alliance with Venice during the conference of Vasto. In 1050, on the Croatian coast, a skirmish between the Byzantine and Venetian army and navy occurred, and war ensued. Apulia joined in on the fun, as well as the Papacy. The Holy Roman Empire and Genoa joined Byzantium's side. In the Adriatic, the Venetians dominated the sea, preventing Byzantine forces from being shipped to Southern Apulia. After a decade of war, peace was established with the Peace of Antioch.

Third Italian War
Hungary invaded Venice in 1182, resulting in another Papal coalition forming. In 1192, after two years of stalemates, the Peace of Trebizond ended the war.

Fourth Italian War
In 1197, Isaac II of the Angelid Dynasty died suddenly without a heir, leading to a succession crisis that evolved into civil war. In 1199, the Venetians took advantage of the unrest in Byzantium and invaded the Croatian coast to take as much land as possible. Hungary invaded in 1200, resulting in a three year long war that destroyed Hungary's government, and caused its own civil war. The Doukids took power once again in the Byzantine Empire.

Fifth Italian War
In 1214, the Byzantines invaded Apulia, before being repelled by a Papal Coalition. Central Apulia was ceded to Apulia.

Internal Dynastic Crises
Nikephorous IV took power in 1203, but many within the Byzantine government thought that Doukid rule was an issue. Rumors spread that Isaac II wrote that Theodore I Laskaris would succeed him. In 1204, a letter was found near a tree in the Palace's library, confirming the rumor. Nikephorous IV was detained by 4 members of the Royal guard, and locked him in the cities prison. More Royal Guards joined their side and Romanous Alexopoulos, a Byzantine Bureaucrat, declared himself Romanous XII. He attempted to give Theodore I the thronr, but he declined. Nikephorous IV later escaped, assassinating Romanous XII.

Tension was still high, especially in 1218,when Nikephorus IV died. He had no heir, and only had one child, Marie I Doukas. Many opposed female rule, and a brief civil war ensued, with a stalemate occurring. The Peace of Constantinople gave the Laskarids power, but gave Marie I control of Armenia and Chersonesos (Byzantine Crimea).

Sixth Italian War
In 1245, transport ships were cursing men across the Adriatic, landing in Lecce. The Byzantines tried occupying Apulia, and were successful, seizing Apulia and Sicily. The Byzantines marched north, attacking the Papacy, but with the Aragonese arriving near Rome, and with the last Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty dying in 1250, the Byzantines were pushed out. The Peace of Fredricksburg gave Apulia to Byzantium. The powers unite to fight against the Mongols.

The Mongol Invasions
In 1242, the Mongols crossed across the Danube River, taking much of the Bulgarian coast.