CHAPTER 123: CHAPTER 123 – INTERLUDE: THE LETTER TO CONSTANTINOPLE

Constantinople,1180

The bronze doors of the Palace of Blachernae opened with ceremonial flourish as the eunuch chamberlain led a small procession of scribes and secretaries into the Imperial audience chamber. At the far end, beneath a soaring mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Emperor Alexios II Komnenos sat upon the throne. Still a boy of barely twelve, he was flanked by his mother, Empress Maria of Antioch, and by the towering figure of Andronikos Komnenos, the de facto ruler in all but name.

The court was tense with factional whispering and rival ambitions, but this morning all attention turned toward a scroll wrapped in white silk and sealed in golden wax with the insignia of Jerusalem—the Cross of Godfrey.

The herald stepped forward.

"By leave of His Majesty Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, a message to the Emperor of the Romans."

Andronikos raised an eyebrow. The seal was unbroken. A eunuch presented it to the Empress, who carefully opened the scroll. With no official patriarch present, she cleared her throat and began reading aloud.

"To His Imperial Majesty Alexios, heir of the Komnenoi and shield of Christendom,

Peace in Christ be upon you. I write you not as a rival king, but as a son of the Church and brother in arms to your late father. May the wisdom of your forebears guide you through the storm that now surrounds your throne."

Andronikos leaned forward in his chair. Maria’s voice remained steady.

"By now you have heard that Damascus is taken, Aleppo has fallen, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem has marched deep into Syria. The war with Salah ad-Din turns, and the Eastern Cross stands higher than ever before.

But I write to you not only to speak of victories, but of Antioch."

A stir swept through the court. Several bishops exchanged glances. Even the boy-emperor leaned forward.

"The regency of the Principality has fallen to me by necessity and blood, as Raymond of Antioch, grandson of your Empress, is yet a child. With the death of Prince Bohemond and the disarray of his court, I have taken the boy under my protection and placed him in Damascus for safekeeping and education."

"I do not do this lightly. The blood of the Hautevilles flows through him, but so too does the will of the Crusader kings. And yet, I know your Empire still holds nominal claims to Antioch, and you may think my actions presumptuous."

Maria paused briefly before continuing.

"I tell you plainly: I do not mean to steal what is yours. But I ask you to see what is true: year by year, the Sultanate of Rum gnaws at your eastern provinces. The themes of Anatolia fall one by one, and the Armenians of Cilicia do not obey you. Edessa is gone. Antioch will fall next if left to its own chaos."

"But under Jerusalem, it may yet be preserved—for the boy’s sake, for the Church, and for Christendom."

The court grew still.

"I propose this: let Antioch remain nominally under the joint protection of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Roman Empire, with Raymond as its prince and heir. I shall serve as his regent until he comes of age. And in return for your assent—peaceful assent—I shall offer you that which you now lack: weapons and machines of war."

Andronikos narrowed his eyes. Several generals in the court looked up from their places.

"I offer you weighted trebuchets modeled after those that broke Damascus. I offer the stormracks we used to scale the Saracen walls—compact towers with rolling bases and hinged bridges.I offer you improved crossbows—double-spanned with metal cams—crafted by our Genoese engineers, and pikes forged with steel heads from Acre’s smiths that held against Mamluk charges in open field.You lack the time and materials to develop these alone. I will sell them to you directly, not at the price of gold, but at the price of peace."

"In return, you shall recognize the de facto reality: that Antioch is now under my stewardship until Raymond’s majority, and that his domain belongs in Christian hands, not left exposed to Rum or Saladin."

"Let this be our agreement: we secure Antioch now—together. And in doing so, we keep the last bridge between your Empire and the Levant open. Delay, and the Turks will take it in a decade. Perhaps sooner."

"May the Lord who watches over East and West bless your decision."—Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem, Defender of the Holy Sepulchre

The chamber fell into contemplative silence as Maria of Antioch lowered the letter.

Andronikos, face unreadable, finally spoke.

"He knows our condition too well," he muttered. "He speaks truths we do not like to hear. But they are truths nonetheless."

The Empress turned to her son. "Antioch is his in all but name. Better we approve and reap the benefit, than resist and lose both friendship and influence."

A Greek general nodded. "If he can hold Syria, and Antioch with it, then we will have a stable buffer against Rum."

"And if he provides these weapons?" asked a senator. "We might reclaim Iconium itself."

Andronikos smirked. "If he sends us stormracks and siege engines that can bring down city walls like Damascus, I care little who holds Antioch—so long as it is not a Turk."

He turned back toward the imperial throne.

"Draft a response," he ordered. "We shall accept his regency... for now. And we shall ask for machines enough to arm the frontier."

Maria gave a satisfied nod. "So Antioch finds peace at last."