Romania Ascendant, Chapter 2: Emperor Baldwin II, Part 1

Despite the death of the founding emperor, the holy war in Rum persisted.

Following such a harrowing defeat, the military advisors leading the young emperor signed a hasty white peace to preserve order.

Taking advantage of the instability in Romania, the Duke of Savoy declares war to claim the county of Monferrato, an inheritance taken by the King of Thessalonika.

With his advisors seeing no point in another bloody and costly war, a curt letter is sent to the duke informing him of his lordship over his new county.

Barely a year since assuming the imperial throne, Giovani finally reached majority. He was a prodigally bright young man, a hard worker, and a bit of an agoraphobe.

Upon reaching 16, he is married to his betrothed, Princess Sibylle of Jerusalem. The two are married in Constantinople, with King Jehan in attendance. This cemented an alliance between the crusader kings.

Although a little odd in manner, Giovani has nothing but a bright future ahead of him.

In the following June, Giovani was officially crowned under God as the Emperor of the Imperium Romaniae. He chose to adopt the name of his father, earning his title as Emperor Baldwin II.

The ceremony was one of little fanfare, with few vassals, clergy, and family present.

Having little interest in conquest or in the company of others, Emperor Baldwin authorized a royal writ beginning the construction of the Imperial Observatory of Constantinople.

He largely took to himself, spending time reading and writing in the palace.

In the spring of 1226, a minor tragedy befell Emperor Baldwin. Although a political marriage of opportunity, Empress Sibylle died during childbirth. Due to the lack of political connection to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the alliance to King Jehan de Lusignan broke down.

To continue the alliance of crusader kings, Baldwin marries Princess Marcelline, the eldest child of King Jehan, in June.

After a few years of peace, King Jehan calls upon Emperor Baldwin to aid in his holy war against the muslim Ayyubid dynasty. Baldwin reluctantly agrees, sending minimal troops to Armenia Minor. The entire engagement was a colossal failure, and a reminder of the Ayyubid hegemony in the middle east.

As the years went on, Emperor Baldwin II continued to work and expand the Imperial Observatory. Initially established with the intent of observing the heavens, evidence was later discovered of the Earth being in constant circular motion, rather than having the universe revolve around it.

Sensibly worried of persecution due to such heretical beliefs, he keeps his papers hidden in the imperial library. The Observatory would continue to be a center for astronomical research, and would be influential for the official recognition of heliocentric theory in the 15th century.

In early 1233, Empress Marcelline died giving birth to a stillborn son. The death shakes the court in Constantinople. As tragic as the death is, the political situation is heating up. Rumors are abound, due to being the second Jerusalemite princess dead in Constantinople. From homosexuality to retribution to being an omen of the young empires fall, marrying another would be political suicide.

After an appropriate mourning period, Emperor Baldwin decides to marry Zoe, a Greek duchess under Seljuk rule. The imperial court holds its breath for a suitable heir.

In the following year, the marshal and generals had repeatedly advised Emperor Baldwin to strike at the Turks to bridge the two rulerships. A preemptive strike in anticipation of the union, the entirety of Paphlagonia is sieged and occupied swiftly and almost bloodlessly.

With no major battles, Sultan Kilij III surrenders the region to avoid any potential loss of life.

Conceived during the war, and born after it, Princess Philippa is born. With her birth, uniting the two realms is official, following the death of Zoe.

However, a lack of suitable male heir has left some stirrings still in the court, raising the question of continued imperial rule.

To be continued in Part 2...