User:Emperor of Trebizond

History of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, founded in April 1204, was one of three Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire. However, the creation of the Empire of Trebizond was not directly related to the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, rather it had broken away from the Byzantine Empire a few weeks prior to that event. Geographically, the Empire of Trebizond never consisted of much more than the southern coast of the Black Sea. Its demographic legacy endured for several centuries after the Ottoman conquest in 1461, and a substantial number of Greek Orthodox inhabitants (called Pontic Greeks) remained in the area until the early 20th century.

Trebizond was the longest surviving of the Byzantine successor states. A pretender to the Byzantine throne seized Trebizond, an important port on the southern coast of the Black Sea, with Georgian troops during the Fourth Crusade against Constantinople. Trebizond reconciled with Byzantium after the Greeks recaptured the capital city from the Norman Crusaders.

In 1453, the Turkish Ottoman Empire annexed Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire crumbled. The fall of Byzantine-controlled Mistra (in Greece) was but an aftershock. The Turks went on to wipe out many of the surrounding states, defeating the Serbs, Hungarians, Slavs, and Greeks, as well as forcing Trebizond and the Crusader Knights of St. John (Who controlled Rhodes) to submission. A Turkish fleet tried to capture Trebizond, but without success. The Turks also attacked the city itself, and, although repulsed by the Greeks, managed to exact a heavy ransom from the emperor. Trebizond's later history was marked by naval struggles against the Italians who dominated the Black Sea, having defied the Byzantines and Turks alike for control of the trade routes.

Trebizond made steady alliances with Georgia, Armenia, the Timurids, and many of the other Eastern states. It maintained a level of wealth due to its strategic trade location. In 1461, the Emperor David of Trebizond demanded a removal of tribute being paid to the Ottoman Turks. David was a poor ruler, having abused most of Trebizond's valuable alliances. In retaliation, the Turks marched north and neutralized Georgia, as well as the emir of Sinope. They then marched to Trebizond itself. The Greeks were ill-prepared for a drawn out siege, and Trebizond's garrison consisted of fewer than 4,000 troops. David surrendered, and Trebizond peacefully fell to the Turks. The emperor eventually moved to Constantinople, where he spent much of the rest of his life.

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 * Eastern Turkish Wasteland (1983: Doomsday)
 * Romulus Augustus (Western Roman Glory)
 * Sultanate of Turkey (1983: Doomsday)

Created Articles of Special Note

 * Second Empire of Trabzon (1983: Doomsday)
 * Empire of Trebizond (Byzantine Gunpowder)
 * Battle of Arcadiopolis (Byzantine Gunpowder)
 * Zeno I (Western Roman Glory)
 * State of Elazig (1983: Doomsday)
 * PRMDS (1983: Doomsday)
 * Khazars (Byzantine Khazaria)
 * Republic of Genoa (Byzantine Khazaria)

Plans

 * An independent and rebellious Libyan Duchy wedged between Greece and Sicily that soon becomes extinct?
 * European Wasteland Analysis and Research Agency? EWARA?
 * Upload maps for Explorers Map Game
 * Finish article on World without Supernatural Intervention (For Southwriter)
 * Work on EoT timeline.
 * Possible new timelines planned:
 * Rome for the Byzantines!
 * Empire of Jerusalem
 * Empire of the Hospitallers

New Timelines?

 * Byzantium Survives: 1453--Constantine XI does not become emperor until after his younger brother, which is approved upon the Byzantines by the Turkish sultan. The younger brother, Demetrius, has a passive Turkish policy but is an aggressive fighter in battle. He wins the 1453 siege of Constantinople but takes a bullet meant for the Italian commander Giovanni Giustiniani in the fighting. The sultan is forced to withdraw his troops to keep his promise to his advisors that he would withdraw if the final assault fails. He hangs the Turks who convinced him to attack the city, and the court is soon dominated by those pressing for a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium thus goes on to linger for several more centuries. The Greeks also eventually gain aid from Western Europe and outlast the Ottoman Empire's golden age.


 * Slavic Truimph--The Slavs remain firmly entrenched in Belarus, instead of migrating south into the Balkans. They thus form several petty kingdoms that manage to resist most conquests or reemerge after being suppressed. The Slavic states go on to become advanced civilizations in Northeastern Europe, gaining heavy influence from Byzantium further south the way the Byzantines influenced Russia. The Slavs remain in Belarus until modern day, when a united Slav nation is finally formed.


 * Byzantine Khazaria--The Byzantines conclude a peace treaty with the Turks after the Battle of Manzikert, focusing instead on absorbing the northern Black Sea area and turning back waves of new Asiatic Barbarians such as the Mongols, the Khazars, and the Cumans.


 * Trapezuntine Triumph--The Empire of Trebizond as a world superpower.

Possible Adoption?

 * The Knights Resurgent