Basileia tôn Rhōmaiōn - Prologue

BASILEIA TÔN RHŌMAIŌN

PROLOGUE

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"Ne puero gladium."

"Don't give a child a sword."

~Latin proverb.

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Author's Note: If you're reading this, firstly, welcome. This is an AAR (or after action report) for the grand strategy game Crusader Kings II, as told from the perspective of the Byzantine Empire. If you're wondering where all the grand strategy is, you'll have to wait for the first part to be put up. This here is to give you some basic information on the state of the Byzantine Empire at the beginning of this campaign, as well as some background on the Basileus, or Emperor, of the Byzantines at the beginning of 867: Basil I, or Basil the Macedonian. With that said, let's recap the history that led to the downfall of Michael III and his Amorian dynasty, and the rise of Basil and his Macedonian dynasty.

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Emperor Michael III, Basileus of the Roman Empire

So, let's head back to 836 CE real quick. There's this guy named Basil. He's a Macedonian peasant who doesn't really have that much significant background to him (though there are reports he's a direct descendant of the Parthian and Achaemenid dynasties of Persia, which considered how much trouble their later Sassanid descendants gave Byzantium is just joyfully ironic.) This all changes when he gets a gig protecting a relative of the Emperor, Michael III, and a woman named Danielis bestows a freaking huge fortune on him. Then, to make things even better, the Emperor himself takes notice of Basil when he demonstrates his abilities as a horse tamer and wins a wrestling match against a Bulgarian champion. Michael III is so impressed that he grants Basil the title of parakoimōmenos, which bestows Basil with the role of the Emperor's companion, confidant and bodyguard. 

Skipping ahead a bit to 865 CE, Basil ends up divorcing his wife on the Emperor's orders and marrying Michael III's favorite lover, Eudokia Ingerina. Then, in a most brilliant move, Basil convinced the Emperor that his uncle, Caesar Bardas, was plotting against him, and the Emperor gave Basil permission to murder the guy. In 866 CE, Michael III named Basil caesar, and later that year, he named Basil co-emperor. That's not to say this arrangement was all sunshine and roses. Michael III really liked Eudokia, and he often gave her a pretty decent tumble, which proved... problematic because this was before effective contraceptives were really a big thing, and unfortunately lots of sex means you're going to run the risk of an accidental pregnancy. Eudokia got pregnant with Michael's kid... without Basil knowing about it. Oops. Oh, and to make matters worse, that same kid in our timeline would later get to be Emperor. Lovely.

However, the straw that really broke the camel's back was when the Emperor began favoring another courtier, a dude named Basiliskianos. Fearing he was losing the Emperor's favor and Basiliskianos would replace Basil as co-emperor (and possibly as retaliation for the whole "screwing his wife" thing) Basil organized an assassination of Michael III and Basiliskianos in September 867. Being co-emperor already, Basil became Basil I and was christened as the ruling basileus of the Empire.

That brings us right around to... January 867. Yeah, for some reason, Basil gets to be the Emperor of Byzantium in January 867. Don't ask, it's video game logic. Basil currently has control over much of eastern Anatolia, Greece, a little bit of the Balkans, the southern half of Cyprus, and a couple of Italian holdings. Right now, Basil's gotta focus on growing his economy, securing his hold over his more "at risk" provinces (read: Sicily and Italy) and try his damnedest to make sure his subjects don't rise up against him. Tune in next time when Basil tries to do just that, and hopefully he doesn't totally fail.

The Byzantine Empire, 867 CE

Special thanks to Iaredios for helping me research Basil I's rise to power.