eastern european eagle

Chapter 115 The Sunset of the Roman Empire

In Constantinople, both laborers and bureaucrats were worried. They were afraid that the castle would be breached by these heretics, and they would all become slaves by then.

The same is true for Manuel. He doesn't know where to ask for reinforcements.He wanted to send someone to the Ottoman sultan to ask for peace, but was refused.

"What to do, what to do?" Manuel paced back and forth in the palace. Because of lack of financial resources, the Constantinople palace has been in disrepair for a long time, and cracks began to appear in some places, but they were blocked by the portrait.

His queen was pregnant, his younger brother was in Wallachia, and there was no reliable person around him, so he was the only one left to worry.

"Your Majesty, only Wallachia can save the empire now," said the attendant beside him.

"I also know, but they have already signed a peace treaty with Ottoman, unless the empire can give them something more attractive."

But what can the Roman Empire have for Wallachia? It has already been given to a despot, so is it possible to give it to the co-emperor?
At this time, the more he thought about it, the more he was afraid. He felt that Wallachia might become a country like Serbia.Decades ago, their monarch Dushan crowned himself the emperor of Serbia and the Romans, and ruled two-thirds of the Balkan Peninsula at his peak. This is really a lingering fear.

Manuel was 44 years old at this time, and he hadn't rested since he ascended the throne in 1391, and he was busy encircling the empire every day.Over the years, his hair has turned white.

"Could it be that God doesn't favor the empire?", he said sadly.

At this time, the sun was setting, and the setting sun elongated the emperor's shadow, and Manuel sighed in the setting sun, not only mourning for himself, but also for the empire.

The bells of the Hagia Sophia rang, and this city of longing in the world with a population of less than [-] sighed, while Galata, separated from it by a strait, was not in the mood at all, where luxury and music were available, and the dangers outside were completely unknown. It has nothing to do with them.

Near the Golden Horn Bay, there was a huge crowd of people in front of a stall, including intellectuals, artists, businessmen, and even some civilians.There is no other reason, that is, you can buy a boat ticket to Constanta here.

The Genoese merchants were also keenly aware of this, so they opened the route from Constantinople to Constanta and Varna, because these places are safe.And those who have extra money will naturally choose a boat ticket, they don't want to bury their lives here.

How to evaluate the Genoese, in a few words: Genoese are nothing more than selfish businessmen, "These selfish businessmen only want to make themselves the last to be eaten", of course they are not willing to take this risk.To put it more bluntly, during the process of the growing strength of the Ottoman Empire and the decline of the Roman Empire, many Genoese operating in the Near East were "fanatic pro-Turkish factions", so that "no one is more servile than the Genoese How could they sacrifice their commercial interests to serve Rome?

John V tried to meet with the Pope, and counted on the Pope's help.The Pope of Rome still regards himself as the sole leader of Christianity. Unless the Orthodox church and believers convert to Catholicism, he is only expressing sympathy or pity for the plight of Constantinople.In desperation, John V brought a large number of followers, including the Archbishop of Constantinople, to Italy by boat, and the first stop was Venice.John V actually compares himself to the heir of Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire.He was cheered along the way in Venice and all over Italy. It never occurred to him that this was just a courtesy, and the Italians along the way came to watch the Byzantine Empire's procession more out of curiosity, because whether it was the Byzantine Emperor or the attendants Their attire, such as long robes, long sleeves, and their long beards, made ordinary Italians feel weird and ridiculous.

Although the Roman Empire was already very impoverished, the emperor and a large number of entourages stayed in Italy for so long, hunting and dancing never stopped.Not only that, the Roman Empire at that time was also far behind in industrial technology compared with the Italian city republics.Constantinople still uses traditional manual techniques, while in Italy, great progress has been made in both ironmaking technology, shipbuilding technology, sawing technology, and waterwheel technology.At that time, the Greek priest who had lived in Rome for many years was worried about this, and wrote to Basilius, asking him to send young people here to learn technology as soon as possible.But the Roman emperor and his ministers and entourage stayed in Italy for a long time, but they didn't care about these at all, and they didn't want to understand the technological gap between Rome and Italy.

After returning from the westward journey, John V’s self-consolation is one thing, but the pious Christians who believe in the Orthodox Church are another feeling. Many Constantine who still remember the atrocities committed by the Western European army during the Fourth Crusade The citizens of Dinburgh have even more unusual feelings.The nobles talked a lot, and the officers were aggrieved.They were dissatisfied with John V's kneeling to the Holy See. They believed that the kings and princes of Western European countries had always harbored ill intentions towards the empire. The Ottoman Empire also did not want to become a colony of Western Europe.Even believers in Constantinople are reluctant to go to Sophia Cathedral to worship, because the church adopts the mass ceremony of the Western Church.Orthodox clergy no longer pray for John V.John V and the Westernization of the palace way of life also caused a lot of discussion.

The crisis in Constantinople was as it had been in the past.Although the city walls here have been strengthened, the defense relies on foreign mercenaries, and a mercenary army composed of Turks also took on the task of guarding.

The harm of mercenaries is very great, take the Catalan Legion as an example.Andronikos II had promised them high salaries when he invited them to fight against the Ottomans, but he couldn't pay them all afterwards, and these rebellious mercenaries took over the territory.They even established an independent country in the Peloponnese Peninsula within the Byzantine Empire, ruled the occupied areas, expropriated, and issued orders.

This isn't the only example of foreign mercenaries ruling the late Roman Empire.And these foreign mercenaries, who were undisciplined and often in collusion with the invading foreign enemies, robbed property in the cities and both looted and kidnapped people in the countryside, thus further attacking Roman industrialists and yeomen.Even if these mercenaries did not rob property or take people into captivity, the urban and rural residents of the Roman Empire had long borne heavy burdens in order to supply these troops.

At this point, there was no hope for the city, and they could only watch helplessly as the Ottomans besieged them without any help.Either stay here, or be wiped out.

(End of this chapter)