Talk:Konig des Menschen Chapter IV (Map Game)/@comment-26044830-20190626223920

Central Roman Empire (official) | Roma Centrum (unofficial) | Byzantium (contemporary name)

 * Government: Semi-decentralised Imperial Monarchy
 * Emperors:
 * Alexios (r. 858-884) (b. 832-884)
 * Justinian IV (r. 884) (b. 856-884)
 * Constantine IV (r. 884-) (b. 858) <- Younger brother of Justinian IV
 * Military: 370,000 in total. Again, the numbers have been raised in stakes (though many are unsure if the Mesopotamian front would hold), maintenance has started to take a grip for the first time with more people being in the army to work on multiple fronts (the limit I believe is going to be 400,000 next turn). Morale has slightly dropped since an attempt to seize and plunder Constantinople was made by the barbarians of the north, but the luck came with Greek fire, allowing the Central Roman Empire to remain integral in its structure still. The major goals are now to drive the Varangians out of the Central Roman Empire, hopefully once again convincing that they should get out of the Empire in exchange for whatever they want and to still hold lines against the Hassanids in case they invade.
 * Economy: The turn of the 9th century is that the Central Roman Empire is now crippled in trade following the Varangian siege of Constantinople with some of the riches being looted. The north has become frequently plundered by raiders comprising primarily of Norsemen and so merchants of the Central Roman Empire have been extremely cautious and have infrequently traded up with the north, if they want to risk their own lives at stake to negotiate. For now, thanks to a non-aggression pact, trade has finally been restored to the east to alleviate this but it might not last that long.
 * Demographics: (Does not include Nabatea, Naples and Orientia)
 * Population: 26,320,000 (approximate)
 * Constantinople: 600,000
 * Large cities: 2,620,000
 * Small settlements: 6,000,000
 * Rural areas: 17,100,000
 * Religion: 55% Orthodox Christian (no schism yet I think), 10% Roman Catholic, 10% Folk Christian, 1% Zoroastrian, 12% Neo-Hellenism, 0.5% Judaism, 11.5% Other
 * Culture: 29% Greek, 5.5% Armenian, 7% Illyrian, 10% Thracian, 5.5% Assyrian, 0.5% Jewish/Israelite, 20% Egyptian, 6% Escosian, 1.5% Persian, 15% Other
 * Diplomacy:
 * Varangians: Get out of our own realm or we will send in more troops to fight at the north. But if you wish to negotiate, you can come to a disclosed location gladly and we can discuss something, but do not plunder and raid Constantinople again. (Sidenote: I'm thinking of the Varangian Guard being established but that might be very unlikely considering ITTL the Varangians are much more violent)
 * Escosia: 5,000 men remain in the front, the rest will be withdrawn as the Avars have been significantly weaken. Once the western Avars stabilise and no longer deem to be a threat, we will pull out the remaining troops.
 * Tartary: We will give you 20,000 men to the front.
 * Naples: We will give you 15,000 men should you conquer north. (Not known to them: There is skepticism within the Roman council of nobles and advisors whether this would mean that they might break away once they take over the entirely of Italy; except the Papacy of course)
 * Events:
 * Preparing for Defence (rinse and repeat): A network of fortresses are continued to be built as a fallback line and troops are being routinely enlisted and conscripted, all trained for the inevitable battle that comes forward. Numbers have been raised up to historical levels since the war with the Iranian Empire. The Assyrians, which they are the closest ally to the Central Romans, are the buffer state for what comes next. But it is vital to send thousands of troops there, along with support and trade of resources to ensure that they could never get pass the Fertile Crescent. It is best for them to support them in the most vital way, as they were a historical ally and backstabbing them won't lead to them winning the war at the time. As the Romans feared, if they break through, then the fall would come forward. In total, 230,000 Roman men (along with approximately ~70,000 to ~100,000 extra men from Central Roman allies and its subjects) are in the front in the case that 700,000+ troops that are predicted come here.
 * The New Threat: It is thought that the Avars would retreat, but no. White, tall men, wearing helmets and animal skins have come to take naval superiority over the Euxine Sea (Black Sea), they aren't even the Avars, they were the Norsemen and soon they were coined as the Varangians in the late 9th century by Greek and Frankish scholars. They come to raid and take the riches of the Roman Empire back to their own homes. Not only they are simple fishermen, smiths or farmers, they are brutal warriors. Constantinople narrowly survived its fall thanks to a lucky weapon that the Central Roman Empire had gotten around with. However, Constantinople became unsafe as the Varangians may continue to plunder and ransack the city of gold, silver and valuables vital of the Roman history, which led to the city's slow decline, with an extra 50,000 moving away. But, Emperor Alexios and later Constantine IV sought to retaliate and began ramping up ship production for the first time since the war against Atlas and loading triremes, galleys and quadriremes with Greek fire, where all of the archers would load their bows with the ingredient. 40,000 men begin their campaign to retake Istrus, Tomis and Pygros from the Varangians, with 20,000 of them being allocated to Tartary to begin their reconquest against the Avars and Varangians. Fearing that the recipe of the Greek fire might be stolen during the raid of Constantinople, Constantine IV proposed that any of its secrets would be burnt and only be knowledgeable to select scholars that Constantine trusts (so that it could be passed down only by verbal means) once the Varangians are expelled, hopefully within his lifetime.
 * Death of a Six-Hour Emperor: When Alexios died on 4th April 884, his eldest son Justinian succeeded as the Emperor. But this would be recognised as one of the shortest reigns in Central Roman history as he already contracted smallpox few days ago and soon after, six hours later, he was dead. Emperor Justinian didn't have any sons, so the line of succession goes to his younger brother Constantine IV, who sought diplomatic means but would use brute force against those who refuse to negotiate, just like his father and not like Justinian IV who was a strongman and a commander for about three years.
 * The Mourning of the Lord: A scripture was written by a Byzantine sadist Saul Theodosios on 893 saying that "God is dead and that there is no hope for the Roman Empire". He got burnt on a stake for committing blasphemy when writing it on leather by blatantly saying "God is dead", although his works weren't actually banned and instead his works were forgotten until the late 19th century when some person would rediscover it.