Part 5:
Augusthenes Hikesphoros, Basileus of the Nicene Empire, had spent his entire career desperately hoping that a war against the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum could be avoided. It was simply not to be. The last 20 years for the Nicenes and Augusthenes had seen so many young men dying on the field of battle in major wars. This would serve to be the ultimate test, however, as the Seljuks, now lead by the son of Augusthenes' friend Kilij Arslan III, would invade Trebizond itself. Duty-bound to protect his tributaries, and to protect fellow heirs of Rome itself, Augusthenes entered the war against the Sultanate. For his entire life, he had always had the advantage in terms of numbers and strategy... now, he was facing an overwhelming enemy that he wasn't sure he could defeat.
Augusthenes' army, 15.7k strong, ventured into Trebizondian lands by February of 1232 C.E. There would be a second army to meet up with the main army, that of the mercenary group known as the Pecheneg Band. Together, they would move upon the army of Rum, now 20k strong. This upcoming battle would be the one to decide the fate of both nations. Defeat for the Nicene Empire would be a devastating and possibly fatal blow to the reign of Augusthenes, who had never lost a battle he was involved with. The Emperor would lead the army against the Sultanate and on October 2nd, 1233 C.E. Both armies clashed like great titans. In the Battle of Rizaion, Augusthenes' army claimed victory over the Muslims. In his journal, the emperor himself mentioned the enormity of importance this battle entailed.
"In other wars, I had been fighting for prestige and for glory. This war entails much more. For the first time in my long life, this is not a war for glory. This is a war for the safety of the future. Victory here will weaken the Seljuk state and open up our armies to conquer our ancestral lands. This is a war for survival."
- Augusthenes Hikesphoros, 1233 C.E.
This victory proved to embolden Augusthenes's Alliance, as King Geraud of Jerusalem declared a Holy War for the rest of Muslim-held Jerusalem, bringing Augusthenes into yet another front. In the second major battle of the Trebizondian front, the Battle of Chaldea, Augusthenes massacred the Seljuk army, decimating their numbers, which had shrunk from 16k men to a mere 11k, further downwards to 7k. Augusthenes then split his army in half and moved one half towards Jerusalem, to aid Geraud. This second army arrived in Jerusalem by October 1234 C.E., engaging the enemy in battle in November.
During this war, Augusthenes' second-born son and living heir, Kallinikos of Lesbos, had come of age (16). The emperor saw his son and heir as something special, a man who could potentially bring the Empire to greater heights than thought possible. Kallinikos was according to sources, had an equal talent for administration as he did war (adopted obviously from his father). Augusthenes saw fit to place Kallinikos in charge of the Jerusalemite front, which ended months later in March 1235 C.E. By December of 1235 C.E., the Trebizondian front had ended, with glorious victory for the Nicene Alliance.
Finally, perhaps finally, Augusthenes could rest easy, with the realm finally in peace. Augusthenes returned to Constantinople, to a great ovation as a peace-bringer and restorer of Roman virtues within the city. The Seljuks were weakened, Jerusalem, the city itself, was in the hands of Christians, and the Latin Empire to the West was a ghost of what it once was. The following years after all the wars was marked by a period of relative prosperity for the Nicene Empire. With the Seljuks licking their wounds, and the Bulgarians having forced Baudouin to pay tribute, it appeared that all enemies of Augusthenes would not bother him for the rest of his life. In a dispatch to his father, Kallinikos of Lesbos wrote:
"... It would appear that all your conquests and warring had produced such great effects for the region of the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Levant. The Eastern Meditteranean is, due to your efforts, safe at last; succeeding you will be the most difficult measure that I must experience in my lifetime. What you have done for this Empire will continue long after my own reign."
- Kallinikos of Lesbos, 1236 C.E.
Additional positive news for the Nicene Empire came in the form of a great Seljuk civil war, from which the rebels were funded by Venice, who also sought to break free from the financial hold created by the Sultanate of Rum. Something felt off with Augusthenes though... all the years of war seemed to have worn on him, and he became quicker to drink and lustful activity to dull the imagery of war that supposedly plagued him. In February 1237 C.E., Augusthenes Hikesphoros's wife, Basilissa Rikissa, passed away after 30 long years of marriage. Augusthenes mourned the death of his beloved wife for months after the fact but knew that it was time to marry anew, despite his advanced age. His new bride would be a young Nubian princess named Theophania Azim. According to documents, they married on the 2nd of September, 1237 C.E.
Some years later a grand tournament was held in honor of Augusthenes becoming 70 years old in the Summer of 1240 C.E., which also coincided with his 37th year as Basileus of the Nicene Empire. The tournament would see a man by the name of Rorgon of Lesbos victorious in this great and glorious tournament. Also during this time, Augusthenes' fourth son, Phillipos Hikesphoros, was born. According to rumors and anecdotal evidence, it was supposed that a blazing streak of light in the night sky (most likely a comet or meteor) had fallen the night it was announced that Basilissa Theophania was pregnant. Augusthenes, a deeply religious man, heeded this as an omen that this son would strive for greatness.
It would be a truly peaceful period of time that would come crashing down in March of 1242 C.E., as the Christiano-Muslim tension would start anew. The Principality of Antioch, and their liege, Prince Petros, would declare war on the Emirate of Halab. Though this would have been a minor war all things considered, the Muslims had learned from the Great Nicene War and would make allies with other distrustful nations. The Sultanate of Rum, having taken the time after the war with the Nicene Empire to regroup their forces, joined this war on behalf of their allies. Though their numbers were no longer as threatening as they were before, it was still a threat to the people of Antioch, which Augusthenes and his army was duty-bound to protect by law. Once again, a great conflagration made by minor issues was made into another great war... as the circle of life in Augusthenes' reign continues. However, Augusthenes was simply in too poor of health to truly lead the armies, leaving it to his son Kallinikos of Lesbos.
It doesn't come easy for the heirs of Rome.