novelraw Chapter 749 54: Chronicle of Rome
Chapter 749 54: Chronicle of Rome
The Genoese of Galata have submitted.
It was no surprise to Losa, nor did it provoke much resistance from the Genoese, as he had proven that in the face of foreign threats, he was the one who could truly protect his subjects.
This city, though smaller in population compared to Constantinople, at its peak monopolized the Empire's customs privileges, yielding profits ten times greater than Constantinople.
Of course, this figure seems formidable, but in reality, the Empress of these numerous cities, after losing commercial interests and the support of its body, could hardly collect taxes, which accounts for this terrifying ratio.
The Ottoman envoys soon arrived at the court, not just from one faction, but three, one after the other, all seeking the Emperor's coronation and support.
Though the Emperor could not help them, he could surely hinder their affairs.
Just as when Constantine XI ascended the throne, seeking Mahmud II's recognition. Mahmud II could choose someone who might not firmly hold the Roman Emperor's position, but if he wished otherwise, that person would certainly not secure the throne.
This was a chain of suspicion.
Even those unwilling to bow to the pagan Emperor might worry that other competitors would actively seek the Emperor's assistance, for this Emperor possessed a Dragon Knight capable of slaying Mahmud II.
The once weak and precarious Roman Emperor had now become a high arbiter, a Damocles' sword suspended over everyone's head.
Unfortunately, the three factions did not receive recognition from the Roman Emperor.
That night, Losa personally crowned Orhan at the Saint Sophia Cathedral, conferring upon him the title of King of the Ottomans, granting him governance over central Anatolia, and bestowing upon him the freedom to expand his territory eastward.
The western coastal areas of Asia Minor are home to many Greeks. This part of the territory was once the core land of the Nicaea Empire, and its recovery can provide Rome with abundant troops; the Ottomans also rose from there.
This region naturally could not be governed through indirect rule but had to be directly administered, and in Losa's eyes, its importance surpassed even the Slav settlements in the Northern Balkans.
Nicaea, relying on a corner of the western Asia Minor coast, could recover Constantinople and rebuild Rome, also indirectly demonstrating the importance of Asia Minor to Rome.
Though compared to this, Losa felt the so-called "Latin Empire" commercial profits had been drained by the Venetians, and taxes were unimprovable due to weak central authority, deeply rooted church and local forces, numerous hereditary lords, and tax-exempt church domains were present.
Fiscal issues are always the most direct manifestation of a dynasty's decline.
Having subdued the Genoese of Galata and indirectly gaining a fighting army through Orhan, with troops and money at hand, the game was ninety-nine percent resolved, and what remained was to bide time.
After taking a stroll around Constantinople, Losa confidently chose to manage it.
In 1453, Roman Emperor Constantine Dragașes Palaiologos successfully defeated the Turkic army besieging Constantinople, slaying the Ottoman King Mahmud II, leading to Ottoman fragmentation.
In the same year, the Roman Emperor recovered the Thrace Province and established a new noble system centered on military merit-based land distribution.
In July 1454, Rome advanced into Thessaloniki, where General Giovanni Giustiniani slew the Ottoman warlords ruling the city. The once impoverished and hungry Greek populace faced the long-awaited Double-headed Eagle Banner, cheering and lining the streets in welcome. They had endured the brutal pillage of Crusaders and heretics, and upon the Double-headed Eagle Banner's return to Thessaloniki, they rose in rebellion against the heretic rule.
In the same year, the Roman army continued southwards, recovering Epirus and Athens.
The Duke of Morea, the Emperor's brother Dimitri, refused to provide supplies to the Roman army and opposed them at the walls of Corinth. Ironically, the Emperor merely dispatched Lady Vivian the Dragon Knight, who flew overhead on the Red-Black Dragon, compelling the Duke of Morea Dimitri to be bound and sent to the front lines by his guards.
Thus, except for the Aegean Islands, Crete Island, and Rhodes Island, the Greece Region was fully restored and triumphant.
In 1455, Orhan, claiming the legitimate heir status of the Ottoman Family, received substantial support from local powers in Asia Minor, establishing his reign. Amidst Rome's brief respite, the opportunity was seized to advance into Asia Minor.
In 1456, the Roman and Ottoman allied forces defeated the Mamluk, Karaman, and Ottoman warlord coalition, recovering the central-western and coastal regions of Asia Minor. The newly crowned Ottoman King Orhan publicly pledged allegiance to the Emperor once more, denounced as a traitor by the Mamluk King of the Burji Dynasty, who, seizing the chance, annexed Karaman and Dulcardier territories in eastern Asia Minor, confronting Orhan near the Taurus Mountain and Mount Ararat.
In the same year, the Roman Empire initiated a series of measures to restore production in Anatolia, reinstating the military district system. The old nobles whose interests were shaken supported Orhan in starting a rebellion, but Orhan firmly sided with the Emperor. Within just half a year, he had suppressed the rebellion, leaving bodies piled high and blood flowing like rivers. For a time, the local forces and foreign powers in Anatolia were terrified, not daring to make any movements.
In the year 1457, Rome, citing the Burji Dynasty's support of the rebels, demanded the Burji Dynasty cede territory in Anatolia and ensure the smooth passage for pilgrims, which the Burji Dynasty flatly refused.
War rekindled between Rome and the Mamluks.
In the year 1459, led by the Emperor, the Roman Empire's army regained Jerusalem, severing the Burji Dynasty's reach into Egypt and triumphantly restoring the Levant.
Former Bishop Aeneas, who personally witnessed the defense of Constantinople, now Pope Pius II, praised the Emperor as the "Protector of the Holy Sepulchre," "Restorer and Guardian of the Holy Land," and "Pagan Slayer." He also openly declared his support for Rome in the conflict between Rome and the Genoese over the Aegean Islands, demanding that the Genoese agree to Rome's request for repurchase of the islands.
In the year 1460, the Roman Empire regained the Aegean Islands. The headquarters of the Hospital Knight Order on Rhodes Island was relocated to Constantinople, theoretically returning the governance of the islands to Rome, but still managed by the Knight Order.
In the year 1466, the Lusignan Royal Family in Cyprus fell into extinction and turmoil. Rome seized the opportunity to regain Cyprus Island, which provoked strong protests from the Venetians, causing relations between the two sides to plunge to freezing point.
In the year 1467, the Venetians once again sided with the heretics in Egypt, sparking a trade war against Rome. Rome declared war on the Venetians for collusion with heretics and in February of the following year, defeated the fleets of Venice and Egypt in the Aegean Sea.
The Venetians ceded Crete Island and territories along the Balkan coast as the price for exiting the war.
In the same year, the Roman army crossed the Sinai Peninsula, defeating the Egyptian army in the Nile Delta region.
In the year 1468, Rome conquered Cairo, capturing the last king of the Burji Dynasty, triumphantly restoring Egypt.
In the year 1474, Emperor Constantine XI sponsored a young navigator, Christopher Columbus, born in the city of Galata in the Roman Empire. He set sail with three ships: the Nicaea, Constantine, and Viviana, passing through the Gibraltar Strait.
In the year 1475, the increasingly forgotten young navigator Columbus successfully returned to Constantinople and presented his "great" discovery to the Emperor at Brahna Palace.
This marked the gradual appearance of a new world named "Eleusis" (Paradise) by the Emperor, coming into view for the people.
In the year 1472, the Roman Emperor sent envoys to form an agreement with Lady Isabella, the sister of King Enrique IV, the inept heir of the Kingdom of Castile, who was residing in the Aragon Court. They dispatched Orhan to capture coastal cities of the Kingdom of Granada and established a foothold there.
In late 1474, after the death of King Enrique IV of Castile, Lady Isabella promptly went to Segovia for the coronation ceremony and appointed her husband, Crown Prince Fernando of Aragon, as her Co-King.
In early 1475, the opposing nobles who refused to accept Queen Isabella's rule supported King Alfonso of Portugal's niece, Juana, the daughter of "Enrique IV," as monarch, and the Castile succession war broke out. The two sides clashed in Seville, and in a crucial moment, Queen Isabella persuaded the Roman general Giovanni Giustiniani stationed in Granada to intervene in the conflict.
Renamed the "Evil Wolf" Flag Corps, the Latin Mercenaries fought bravely this time, thoroughly washing away the bad reputation of Latin Mercenaries, defeating the "rebel" forces from the flank, and capturing Prince João of Portugal, who was commanding the troops.
In the year 1477, Rome assisted Queen Isabella in suppressing the rebellion, thus ending the prolonged Castilian succession war. A new emerging kingdom spanning Iberia and the Apennine Peninsula, with Castile and Aragon as two cores, formed an alliance with another ancient empire spanning the Balkans and Anatolia. The two parties agreed to jointly divide Mediterranean dominance.
In the year 1479, Rome assembled a large-scale fleet to land in Tunis in North Africa from the sea.
The long-lost "African Province" returned to the embrace of the empire, which opened Rome's route to the new world without obstruction.
...
In the year 1486, the eighty-year-old Roman Emperor Constantine XI passed away suddenly at Brahna Palace. The same year, Viviana, the Candle Knight, who had accompanied the Emperor for his entire life and was almost regarded as the sovereign of the empire, disappeared without a trace, leaving the world with a new romantic legend.
Having no children and never married, the Emperor left behind meager possessions. This Emperor, who led a life of poverty and saved the crumbling Rome, caused countless citizens to faint from grief as his coffin passed through the avenue.
The Governor of Anatolia, Co-Emperor of Rome, Orhan Osmanoglu succeeded to the Emperor's position.
At the accession ceremony, he said with deep sorrow that he was taking over a crumbling and broken kingdom, but leaving behind an unprecedented great nation spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and Eleusis.
Many stubbornly insisted that the Emperor did not die but was taken away by an angel and transformed into a marble statue, saying that when Rome is again in crisis, the Emperor will return like lightning, riding a mare with white legs, once again saving the nation.