Andronicus II

The new Turkish Ghazi, Othman, is certainly proving to be a problem. Can I negotiate with him, I wonder?

Late summer 1302. I don’t know what to do. The Turks are sweeping through Byzantine territory everywhere.

27 July 1302. A Byzantine army has been defeated by Othman’s Turkish forces near Nicomedia. This could be disastrous.

Summer 1302. The Turks are on the move again in Anatolia. This Othman person is becoming a real problem.

Spring 1302. Disaster! My son Michael has been defeated by the Turks in Caria. He barely escaped with his life!

1300. I keep hearing about some Turkish tribes under an emir named Othman are real up-and-comers. I hope they aren’t trouble.

31 December 1299. This has been a really awful century for Byzantium. I really hope the next one is better.

Just so you all understand, Simonis will marry Stephen, but he’s agreed that she’ll live in a nursery for several more years.

Easter 1299. I’m taking my 5-year-old daughter Simonis to Thessalonica to marry Stephen Miliutin. He’s 40. This is…odd.

1299. Well, I’ve decided to give my daughter, Simonis, in marriage to Stephen Miliutin. She’s only five.

Unfortunately Stephen is still insisting that I send him a wife. There are no other relatives I have to marry…except my daughter!

Well, the Eudocia-Stephen match won’t happen. My sister simply refuses to marry a Serbian ruler. So much for that idea.

The Venetians have burned one of my personal galleys! They say it’s payback for the Galata incident last year. I’m incensed!

1297. A Venetian fleet has appeared. The Doge is demanding compensation for the fracas that occurred last summer. Outrage!

1297. I’ve offered Stephen Miliutin, the King of Serbia, my sister Eudocia’s hand in marriage. This is a masterstroke!

I need to secure Byzantium against the Serbians. Maybe I could do that with a marriage. What female relatives can I marry off?

There are also problems in Serbia. The new ruler, Stephen Miliutin, is allied with Charles II of Anjou. This worries me.

I certainly hope the Venetians and the Genoese can stop their fighting on our territory. Take it elsewhere, gentlemen.

Venetian ships are burning Greek houses in Galata. This is intolerable. I’m sending a few ships (I don’t have many left).