As the Komnenoi World Turns S2 E4
Aug. 8th, 2012 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
transemacabreAlexios Vranas, a wizened military veteran "short in stature", but gifted with intelligence and cunning, as Niketas Choniates tells us, had commandeered the army Isaakios II had sent him to fight the rebellious Vlakhs and Bulgars. He now marched on Constantinople, determined to liberate Constantinople from Isaakios II and liberate Isaakios II from his life.
Isaakios II cunningly responded by having a full-on panic attack. He surrounded himself with "the monks who go barefoot and crouch on the ground and... those who live on pillars, suspended above the earth", and prayed ardently for salvation from his foes. "Signs from God", sunspots and meteors seen in the skies, further terrified Isaakios II and his populace.
Conrad of Montferrat, who had only just married Isaakios' sister Theodora, was forced to confront him and talk him into fortifying the city and raising another army to take on Vranas. With Conrad dragging him around by his shirt collar, Isaakios tore his ransacked palace apart looking for money to fund an army. He found some silver vessels in the treasury, dug spare change from between his couch cushions, and got a loan from his cousin Manuel Kamytzes, and so was able to outfit his soldiers with weapons and helmets and crap.
Now, Manuel Kamytzes hated Vranas' guts for reasons that Choniates doesn't really explain. His mother was Isaakios II's aunt Maria Angelina, and his father had been Konstantinos Kamytzes, former governor of Cyprus, who's "wretched and horrible and unnatural" deeds while governor brought plagues and famines to that island, according to the sainted Neophytos the Recluse. The Kamytzai clan was something of a johnny-come-lately to the Byzantine aristocracy; like the Axoukh family, it had been founded by a Turk who defected to Byzantium during the reign of Alexios I and became Hellenized.
Isaakios and Manuel's uncle, the the sebastokrator Ioannes Angelos Doukas, was sweating bullets. His son had just married Alexios Vranas' daughter right before Vranas' revolt, and he knew his nephew was watching him suspiciously for any sign that he secretly supported Vranas. He publically placed himself and all members of his immediate family under a dreadful curse if any of them should consider defecting and joining Vranas.
As Vranas' forces approached the city, Isaakios II responded. The city gates were thrown open, and Isaakios' troops poured forth, led by three commanders: Manuel Kamytzes, Conrad of Montferrat, and Isaakios II himself. Conrad's forces attacked first, slamming into Vranas' army with heavy cavalry. Vranas' troops broke and ran, and as he tried to rally them, Vranas charged at Conrad himself. His weapon glanced harmlessly off Conrad's shoulder, and this brought him in close enough for Conrad to knock Vranas off his horse.
Vranas begged for his life, but Conrad replied, "Do not be afraid! Nothing more unpleasant will happen than your head being cut off." And this was done.
Konstantinos Stethatos, the astrologer who had prophesied that Vranas would enter the city in triumph, was also killed in the battle. Choniates points out that perhaps his prediction was not in error, as Vranas' severed head was paraded through Constantinople on a pike, and therefore might be said to have entered the city in a triumph.
Isaakios II celebrated his victory with a grand banquet and threw open the palace doors so the common people could approach and partake. During the banquet Vranas' head was brought to him, and Isaakios II merrily kicked it about like a ball.
After Alexios Vranas' defeat, the joy of the common people turned into all-out chaos. The mob descended upon the peasantry outside the city gates, who were believed to have allied themselves with Vranas. Their homes were torched with Greek fire, and those who escaped were murdered, assaulted, or pursued nearly unto death by the mob. Isaakios II sent nobles to calm the rampaging mob, but even as the attacks on the peasants died down, a new riot erupted, this time against the Latins. The Byzantines attacked the Latins "like a rushing torrent", only to find the Latins ready for them. Barricading the streets leading to their neighborhoods, the Latins donned their coats of mail and stood ready for the onslaught.
The drunken rabble of Constantinople smashed against the barricades, were speared or pierced with arrows, and finally driven back. Isaakios II and his nobles interceded once again, and calmed down the mob.
Despite his victory over Vranas, it's not like Isaakios II could breathe easy. There was still the little problem of the ferocious, rebellious, howling Vlakh and Bulgar barbarians -- remember them? The ones Alexios Vranas had been sent to defeat in the first damn place? Yeah, they didn't disappear or anything. They were still out there. Immediately after defeating Alexios Vranas, Isaakios II marched out to take them on. He wanted Conrad of Montferrat to accompany him, but Conrad was tired of Byzantine politics, or his wife Theodora, or perhaps he sought glory elsewhere, for he set sail for the Crusader States instead 1.
The Byzantine army plowed their way into hostile territory, taking on the combined Vlakh-Bulgar-Kuman forces several times, but unable to make much progress due to the enemy's fast-moving, manueverable light cavalry. While attempting to retreat, Isaakios' army was ambushed on a narrow mountain pass and he narrowly escaped with his life.
The Vlakhs, Bulgars, and Kumans ran wild all that winter, but the following spring, in 1188, the Byzantines were back again. This time, Isaakios managed to capture Asen's wife, but Asen's younger brother Kaloyan took her place as a hostage.
Shortly thereafter, the German army of the Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa began to make its way into Byzantine territory on its way to join the Third Crusade. Barbarossa, so-called because of his red beard, was a man past sixty. He had visited Constantinople in 1147 in the company of his uncle, Emperor Konrad III, as they embarked on the Second Crusade. His army was reputedly huge, and reports of it terrified Saladin and the other Muslim lords of the Crusaders States.
According to Ibn al-Athir, Isaakios II sent word to Saladin 2, assuring him that he would not allow Barbarossa pass through his lands. Whatever the truth of this, Isaakios II had resolved to cause Barbarossa as much grief as possible. The reason for this was a prophecy of Dositheos.
A priest named Dositheos was one of Isaakios II's oldest and dearest friends. He had prophesied many years before that one day Isaakios II would come to power, and as luck or fate would have it, he turned out to right, and Isaakios held him in awe for it. Dositheos was the best sort of friend, because he told Isaakios everything he wanted to hear. He prophecied that Barbarossa did not truly intend to march onto Palestine, but that he planned to conquer Constantinople itself. Isaakios resolved to thwart, starve, and weaken Barbarossa's army by any means necessary. Niketas describes Isaakios brandishing arrows, bragging that he was going to shoot Germans himself when they approached Constantinople.
Isaakios II sent his uncle, Alexios Angelos, as his ambassador to Barbarossa, only to lead the German army into an ambush. The Germans were harassed by Greek attackers all the way through Bulgaria to Sofia, which they found empty and forlorn. Isaakios II had emptied Sofia of its market and people, leaving the Germans with nothing to buy, and had blocked the roads with fallen trees and rocks. Undaunted, the German army plowed on.
Sensing an opportunity, Asen and Kaloyan's brother Teodor, now called himself Kalopeter ("handsome Peter") sent a courteous letter to Barbarossa, requesting an alliance. Barbarossa politely refused. He still wanted to deal with Isaakios as a host, not as an enemy. The Germans arrived at Philippopolis, which had also been emptied of all its inhabitants, goods, and food. There a pompous letter arrived from Isaakios, refusing to allow the Germans to move through his lands and also, bizarrely, predicting that Barbarossa would die before Easter. Word also arrived that the German envoys had been captured and thrown into prison. Infuriated, the Germans pillaged towns, villages, and castles, wrecking such destruction that Isaakios quickly offered to make nice.
The Germans didn't trust him, and continued breaking shit and punching faces, all while Isaakios was nigh powerless to stop them. They even burnt Philippopolis and a couple of other cities to the ground, purely out of revenge for their treatment. So Isaakios sent some valuable hostages as a show of good faith 3 and agreed to allow the Germans safe passage through Greek territory, as if they hadn't been making their way through just fine.
1. Conrad arrived in Tyre and delivered that city from Saladin's forces, eventually becoming a major player in the Crusader States and marrying Queen Isabella of Jerusalem. He was stabbed to death by an assassin in 1192, possibly on the orders of Richard the Lionhearted.
2. Isaakios II's brother, Alexios Angelos, was at that time still living at Saladin's court, where he'd fled to escape Andronikos I.
3. These hostages included his cousin Mikhael, the illegitimate son of Ioannes Angelos Doukas; Mikhael, the son of Alexios Angelos the ambassador; and Alexios, son of Manuel Kamytzes.
Isaakios II cunningly responded by having a full-on panic attack. He surrounded himself with "the monks who go barefoot and crouch on the ground and... those who live on pillars, suspended above the earth", and prayed ardently for salvation from his foes. "Signs from God", sunspots and meteors seen in the skies, further terrified Isaakios II and his populace.
Conrad of Montferrat, who had only just married Isaakios' sister Theodora, was forced to confront him and talk him into fortifying the city and raising another army to take on Vranas. With Conrad dragging him around by his shirt collar, Isaakios tore his ransacked palace apart looking for money to fund an army. He found some silver vessels in the treasury, dug spare change from between his couch cushions, and got a loan from his cousin Manuel Kamytzes, and so was able to outfit his soldiers with weapons and helmets and crap.
Now, Manuel Kamytzes hated Vranas' guts for reasons that Choniates doesn't really explain. His mother was Isaakios II's aunt Maria Angelina, and his father had been Konstantinos Kamytzes, former governor of Cyprus, who's "wretched and horrible and unnatural" deeds while governor brought plagues and famines to that island, according to the sainted Neophytos the Recluse. The Kamytzai clan was something of a johnny-come-lately to the Byzantine aristocracy; like the Axoukh family, it had been founded by a Turk who defected to Byzantium during the reign of Alexios I and became Hellenized.
Isaakios and Manuel's uncle, the the sebastokrator Ioannes Angelos Doukas, was sweating bullets. His son had just married Alexios Vranas' daughter right before Vranas' revolt, and he knew his nephew was watching him suspiciously for any sign that he secretly supported Vranas. He publically placed himself and all members of his immediate family under a dreadful curse if any of them should consider defecting and joining Vranas.
As Vranas' forces approached the city, Isaakios II responded. The city gates were thrown open, and Isaakios' troops poured forth, led by three commanders: Manuel Kamytzes, Conrad of Montferrat, and Isaakios II himself. Conrad's forces attacked first, slamming into Vranas' army with heavy cavalry. Vranas' troops broke and ran, and as he tried to rally them, Vranas charged at Conrad himself. His weapon glanced harmlessly off Conrad's shoulder, and this brought him in close enough for Conrad to knock Vranas off his horse.
Vranas begged for his life, but Conrad replied, "Do not be afraid! Nothing more unpleasant will happen than your head being cut off." And this was done.
Konstantinos Stethatos, the astrologer who had prophesied that Vranas would enter the city in triumph, was also killed in the battle. Choniates points out that perhaps his prediction was not in error, as Vranas' severed head was paraded through Constantinople on a pike, and therefore might be said to have entered the city in a triumph.
Isaakios II celebrated his victory with a grand banquet and threw open the palace doors so the common people could approach and partake. During the banquet Vranas' head was brought to him, and Isaakios II merrily kicked it about like a ball.
After Alexios Vranas' defeat, the joy of the common people turned into all-out chaos. The mob descended upon the peasantry outside the city gates, who were believed to have allied themselves with Vranas. Their homes were torched with Greek fire, and those who escaped were murdered, assaulted, or pursued nearly unto death by the mob. Isaakios II sent nobles to calm the rampaging mob, but even as the attacks on the peasants died down, a new riot erupted, this time against the Latins. The Byzantines attacked the Latins "like a rushing torrent", only to find the Latins ready for them. Barricading the streets leading to their neighborhoods, the Latins donned their coats of mail and stood ready for the onslaught.
The drunken rabble of Constantinople smashed against the barricades, were speared or pierced with arrows, and finally driven back. Isaakios II and his nobles interceded once again, and calmed down the mob.
Despite his victory over Vranas, it's not like Isaakios II could breathe easy. There was still the little problem of the ferocious, rebellious, howling Vlakh and Bulgar barbarians -- remember them? The ones Alexios Vranas had been sent to defeat in the first damn place? Yeah, they didn't disappear or anything. They were still out there. Immediately after defeating Alexios Vranas, Isaakios II marched out to take them on. He wanted Conrad of Montferrat to accompany him, but Conrad was tired of Byzantine politics, or his wife Theodora, or perhaps he sought glory elsewhere, for he set sail for the Crusader States instead 1.
The Byzantine army plowed their way into hostile territory, taking on the combined Vlakh-Bulgar-Kuman forces several times, but unable to make much progress due to the enemy's fast-moving, manueverable light cavalry. While attempting to retreat, Isaakios' army was ambushed on a narrow mountain pass and he narrowly escaped with his life.
The Vlakhs, Bulgars, and Kumans ran wild all that winter, but the following spring, in 1188, the Byzantines were back again. This time, Isaakios managed to capture Asen's wife, but Asen's younger brother Kaloyan took her place as a hostage.
Shortly thereafter, the German army of the Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa began to make its way into Byzantine territory on its way to join the Third Crusade. Barbarossa, so-called because of his red beard, was a man past sixty. He had visited Constantinople in 1147 in the company of his uncle, Emperor Konrad III, as they embarked on the Second Crusade. His army was reputedly huge, and reports of it terrified Saladin and the other Muslim lords of the Crusaders States.
According to Ibn al-Athir, Isaakios II sent word to Saladin 2, assuring him that he would not allow Barbarossa pass through his lands. Whatever the truth of this, Isaakios II had resolved to cause Barbarossa as much grief as possible. The reason for this was a prophecy of Dositheos.
A priest named Dositheos was one of Isaakios II's oldest and dearest friends. He had prophesied many years before that one day Isaakios II would come to power, and as luck or fate would have it, he turned out to right, and Isaakios held him in awe for it. Dositheos was the best sort of friend, because he told Isaakios everything he wanted to hear. He prophecied that Barbarossa did not truly intend to march onto Palestine, but that he planned to conquer Constantinople itself. Isaakios resolved to thwart, starve, and weaken Barbarossa's army by any means necessary. Niketas describes Isaakios brandishing arrows, bragging that he was going to shoot Germans himself when they approached Constantinople.
Isaakios II sent his uncle, Alexios Angelos, as his ambassador to Barbarossa, only to lead the German army into an ambush. The Germans were harassed by Greek attackers all the way through Bulgaria to Sofia, which they found empty and forlorn. Isaakios II had emptied Sofia of its market and people, leaving the Germans with nothing to buy, and had blocked the roads with fallen trees and rocks. Undaunted, the German army plowed on.
Sensing an opportunity, Asen and Kaloyan's brother Teodor, now called himself Kalopeter ("handsome Peter") sent a courteous letter to Barbarossa, requesting an alliance. Barbarossa politely refused. He still wanted to deal with Isaakios as a host, not as an enemy. The Germans arrived at Philippopolis, which had also been emptied of all its inhabitants, goods, and food. There a pompous letter arrived from Isaakios, refusing to allow the Germans to move through his lands and also, bizarrely, predicting that Barbarossa would die before Easter. Word also arrived that the German envoys had been captured and thrown into prison. Infuriated, the Germans pillaged towns, villages, and castles, wrecking such destruction that Isaakios quickly offered to make nice.
The Germans didn't trust him, and continued breaking shit and punching faces, all while Isaakios was nigh powerless to stop them. They even burnt Philippopolis and a couple of other cities to the ground, purely out of revenge for their treatment. So Isaakios sent some valuable hostages as a show of good faith 3 and agreed to allow the Germans safe passage through Greek territory, as if they hadn't been making their way through just fine.
1. Conrad arrived in Tyre and delivered that city from Saladin's forces, eventually becoming a major player in the Crusader States and marrying Queen Isabella of Jerusalem. He was stabbed to death by an assassin in 1192, possibly on the orders of Richard the Lionhearted.
2. Isaakios II's brother, Alexios Angelos, was at that time still living at Saladin's court, where he'd fled to escape Andronikos I.
3. These hostages included his cousin Mikhael, the illegitimate son of Ioannes Angelos Doukas; Mikhael, the son of Alexios Angelos the ambassador; and Alexios, son of Manuel Kamytzes.
