BYZANTIUM (Politeia ton Rhomaion)

[Slaytaninc]

I was going to ask why Trebizond was removed from Byzantium but a quick Wikipedia search tells me we can blame this guy: Constantine Gabras

[Jurand of Cracow]

@Giorgios: I actually have request to you. Could you draft a somehow pertinent description of the Roman universities? There're two edicts of Teodosius II from 425 AD, then recalled by Justinian, and then in 9th and 11th centuries. This could constitute basis for such a description, I don't have much more insight in how it looked like in Basileia in the times of (Latin) High Middle Ages.

Georgios,
a further request: if you could write at some point a description for the aqueduct - both for the Greek culture (Byzantines, Serbs, Georgians), but also for the others (may be different for different cultures, but may the the same for all others (NE, EE, ME, SE).

{aqueduct_of_valens}Agōgós tou hýdatos{aqueduct_of_valens_desc}The great aqueduct of Constantinople was founded by Emperor Valens in the 4th century. It takes water from the distance of over 100 km. It provides the City with a constant supply of fresh water thus enabling sustaining a huge population numbers, higher than any other city in the High Middle ages.
{aqueduct_of_valens_desc_short}The Aqueduct of Valence provides clean water to the Polis.

[Giorgios]

So, schools.

I can't remember how many schools there are in the building tree of the SSHIP- is it two, or three? I seem to remember it's two. So, I'd suggest they be retitled...

1. Didaskaleion- for the small school.
2. Pandidakterion- for the University.

If it's a three building chain, my suggestion would be...

1. Ekpaideutērion for the small school.
2. Didaskaleion ton Nomon (school of law) for the second school.
3. Pandikaterion for the University.

For the school description, I lift it largely from this article.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The educational system of Romanίa derives, unsurprisingly, directly from the Hellenistic and Roman past. During primary schooling, students were initiated in reading and writing, while secondary schooling deepened their knowledge.

The period from 650-800 was something of an intellectual dark age for the Romans, but even then, basic literary education continued. From the ninth century onwards, and most spectacularly from the eleventh century, the full classical educational syllabus returned.

As in ancient Rome, teaching was supervised by the grammarian. Primary education was usually conducted in courtyards of monasteries or churches (as many of the teachers were from the clergy) while secondary education was conducted in buildings in town centres. Whilst higher level education was only for the elite, some basic education in reading and writing was probably available to a much larger segment of the population. Schools were private and parents who wanted their children to receive a good (or even average) education had to pay tuition fees (misthos or siteresion). Both boys and girls could and did receive a basic education.

The basic educational texts of Romanίa provide the core of what classical literature survives to the present day. Principal textbooks were the Iliad and nine tragedies: Persians, Prometheus Bound, and Seven Against Thebes by Aischylos, Ajax, Electra and Oedipus the King by Sophokles, and Hecuba, Orestes, and Phoenician Women by Euripides. Three comedies from Aristophanes (The Frogs, Wealth and The Clouds) and Pindar, Theokritos, Demosthenes, Aischines, Xenophon, Psalms of David and poems of Gregory Nazianzos were also part of the curriculum. Pupils would also be educated in classical mathematics, astronomy, music and geometry.

And for the University description...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Higher education in the Roman world seems to have largely disappeared during the so-called Byzantine Dark Ages of the seventh and eighth centuries, but began to slowly revive after 800, and exploded in popularity in the eleventh century, particularly thanks to the patronage of the Emperors Konstantinos VII Porphyrogenitos (913-959) and Konstantinos IX Monomakhos (1042-1055).

Under Konstantinos IX, a small circle of scholars - of whom the most important was one Konstantinos (later Mikhail) Psellos - led the way in the revival of higher education in the so called "University" of Constantinople. Here, elite young men could study Roman law and ancient Hellenic philosophy. The ancient Hellenistic and Roman art of imperial panegyric was revived by Psellos and his friends, and by the twelfth century had become a standard part of court life. The heads of these new schools were given court titles and salaries, further enhancing their prestige.

Nonetheless, the construction of a University can bring problems. So many rich young men with an elite education can cause friction with the local population, especially when strange ideas of being "Hellenes" rather than Romans are aired.

Historical footnote: Higher literary education continued to boom even as the political power of Constantinople collapsed over the period of the SSHIP. It is from these elite literary classes that the slow revival of a Hellenic identity began in the twelfth century- although it cannot be stressed enough that the majority identity of Greek speakers well past the end of the SSHIP continued to be as Romaic speaking Romans. Popular Hellenism was to be a product of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

[Giorgios]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

A quick few thoughts on the 1132 starting position of the Byzantines based on this extract of Treadgold's "A History of the Byzantine State and Society".

Ioannes II Komnenos had subjected the Serbs in 1127, so perhaps they should start off as allied to Byzantium, but with otherwise poor relations, and keen to revolt to regain their autonomy?

Meanwhile, in Asia Minor, Sinope should probably be in the hands of a rebel army with a mixture of Byzantine and Turkish troops. Perhaps Ioannes can be located in that province with a large army ready to put down the rebellion, as he did in autumn of that year?

There was a limited Byzantine presence in western Cilicia in the 1130s, though the area was yet to be properly brought back under control. Perhaps this could be represented by a small stack in the province?

Finally, the rebel Isaakios Komnenos could perhaps be portrayed as a Byzantine general with very low (0?) loyalty somewhere in Asia Minor on the borders with the Turks?

[Jurand of Cracow]

There're two chains:
- School, University, Great University.
- Library, Great Library.

I'm planning to fuse them into one chain so we'd have:
School, School with Library, University, Great University

so for the Greeks it would be:
Didaskaleion - Didaskaleion ton Nomon - Pandikaterion - ?

[Giorgios]

There're two chains:
- School, University, Great University.
- Library, Great Library.

I'm planning to fuse them into one chain so we'd have:
School, School with Library, University, Great University

so for the Greeks it would be:
Didaskaleion - Didaskaleion ton Nomon - Pandikaterion - ?

How about.

1. House of the Grammatikos
2. Didaskaleion
3. Didaskaleion ton Nomon
4. Pandikaterion

I'll come up with descriptions for points 1 and 3 soon!

[Giorgios]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

A quick few thoughts on the 1132 starting position of the Byzantines based on this extract of Treadgold's "A History of the Byzantine State and Society".

Ioannes II Komnenos had subjected the Serbs in 1127, so perhaps they should start off as allied to Byzantium, but with otherwise poor relations, and keen to revolt to regain their autonomy?

Meanwhile, in Asia Minor, Sinope should probably be in the hands of a rebel army with a mixture of Byzantine and Turkish troops. Perhaps Ioannes can be located in that province with a large army ready to put down the rebellion, as he did in autumn of that year?

There was a limited Byzantine presence in western Cilicia in the 1130s, though the area was yet to be properly brought back under control. Perhaps this could be represented by a small stack in the province?

Finally, the rebel Isaakios Komnenos could perhaps be portrayed as a Byzantine general with very low (0?) loyalty somewhere in Asia Minor on the borders with the Turks?

A further thought on this.

Treadgold makes the point, and I've seen it made elsewhere, that the roving bands of Turkomans in Anatolia didn't really settle down until the peninsula was fully consolidated by the Ottomans. I wonder therefore is it possible to script a situation for the Byzantines and Turks that until one faction controls all settlements in Anatolia (perhaps excepting Nikaia and Trapezounta), large rebel stacks of Turkish horse archers will regularly spawn in both Byzantine and Turkish territory? I think something similar exists for Pergamon vis a vis the Galatians in EBII.

[Jurand of Cracow]

Treadgold makes the point, and I've seen it made elsewhere, that the roving bands of Turkomans in Anatolia didn't really settle down until the peninsula was fully consolidated by the Ottomans. I wonder therefore is it possible to script a situation for the Byzantines and Turks that until one faction controls all settlements in Anatolia (perhaps excepting Nikaia and Trapezounta), large rebel stacks of Turkish horse archers will regularly spawn in both Byzantine and Turkish territory? I think something similar exists for Pergamon vis a vis the Galatians in EBII.

Possible, to be considered. For the moment, there's a new support script for the Rum:

   ;======================================================================================================    ;------- Turcoman Help for Rum  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    ;======================================================================================================
    ; by JoC 2020
    
    ;====================================================================================================== Turcoman Help for Rum
    ; the goal is to make the life of Byzantium more difficult early game (when it matters)
    ; script is a replica of William Wallace script
    ; it does not have a time limit - it may 
    ; script simplyfied january 2021, commented lines can be removed if no problem arise. --- Belovèse


    ; declare_counter turcoman_rum_uprising_spawned
    ; set_counter turcoman_rum_uprising_spawned 0


    ; monitor_event FactionTurnStart FactionType rum
        ; and I_NumberOfSettlements rum < 2
        ; and I_NumberOfSettlements rum > 0
        ; and I_CompareCounter turcoman_rum_uprising_spawned = 0


        ; set_counter turcoman_rum_uprising_spawned 1
        ; log_counter turcoman_rum_uprising_spawned


        ; terminate_monitor
    ; end_monitor


    monitor_event PreFactionTurnStart FactionType rum
        and I_NumberOfSettlements rum < 2
        ; and I_NumberOfSettlements rum > 0
        ; and I_CompareCounter turcoman_rum_uprising_spawned = 1
        
        log --- Script start : Turcoman help for Rum
        if RandomPercent > 80
            log ------ spawn Orhan Arslan
            spawn_army
                faction rum
                character    Orhan Arslan, named character, age 35, x 307, y 123, family
                traits LoyaltyStarter 1 , MilitaryInclination 1 , Military_Edu 3 , GoodCommander 2 , ReligionStarter 1 , Royal_Blood_Rum_Turkish 1 , BiologicalSon 1 , Handsome 6 , Intelligent 8 
                    unit    ME Bodyguard                exp 3 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 7 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 7 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 4 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 4 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 1 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 1 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 7 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 4 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0                
            end
        end_if


        if RandomPercent > 60
            log ------ spawn Ahmed Arslan
            spawn_army
                faction rum
                character    Ahmed Arslan, named character, age 25, x 306, y 123, family
                traits LoyaltyStarter 1 , MilitaryInclination 1 , Military_Edu 2 , GoodCommander 1 , ReligionStarter 1 , Royal_Blood_Rum_Turkish 1 , BiologicalSon 1 , Handsome 4 , Intelligent 6 
                    unit    ME Bodyguard                exp 3 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 7 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 4 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 1 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Fari Horse Archers            exp 4 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Dismounted Fari Archers        exp 4 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Dismounted Fari Archers        exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Archers                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0        
                    unit    Turkish Archers                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
            end
        end_if


        if RandomPercent > 40
            log ------ spawn Fakih Arslan
            spawn_army
                faction rum
                character    Fakih Arslan, named character, age 20, x 306, y 124, family
                traits LoyaltyStarter 1 , MilitaryInclination 1 , Military_Edu 1 , Austere 1 , ReligionStarter 1 , Royal_Blood_Rum_Turkish 1 , BiologicalSon 1 , Handsome 4 , Intelligent 6 
                    unit    ME Bodyguard                exp 1 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 4 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 1 armour 1 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkomans                    exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Horse Archers        exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Fari Horse Archers            exp 7 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Fari Horse Archers            exp 4 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Fari Horse Archers            exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Dismounted Fari Archers        exp 7 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Dismounted Fari Archers        exp 4 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Dismounted Fari Archers        exp 1 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
                    unit    Turkish Archers                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0        
                    unit    Turkish Archers                exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0    
            end
        end_if
        
        historic_event TURCOMAN_HELP_FOR_RUM


        log ------ set diplomatic stances
        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = byzantium
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum byzantium war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = zengid
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum zengid war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = jerusalem
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum jerusalem war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = georgia
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum georgia war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = abbasid
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum abbasid war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = mongols
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum mongols war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = turks
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum turks war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = kievan_rus
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum kievan_rus war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = cumans
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum cumans war
        end_if


        if I_SettlementOwner Konya = serbia
            console_command diplomatic_stance rum serbia war
        end_if
        
        log ------ Script end
        terminate_monitor
    end_monitor

[Jurand of Cracow]

Interesting article about the symbol of late Byzantium.
" in spite of the common belief that the two-headed eagle was used as the official flag of the Byzantine Empire, there is absolutely no shred of evidence to support that! The single- and double-headed eagles both appear from around the middle 12th century onward in the decoration of buildings built by members of the imperial family of the Komnenoi, such as the single-headed eagle from the Theotokos Kosmosoteira at Pherrai, western Thrace, commissioned by the sebastokrator Isaakios Komnenos in 1152"

How about.

1. House of the Grammatikos
2. Didaskaleion
3. Didaskaleion ton Nomon
4. Pandikaterion

I'll come up with descriptions for points 1 and 3 soon!

I wonder to what extend the EBII names for the Koinon Hellonon would be pertinent also in the Middle Ages?




However, in another test, Manuel CoAed as "Ugly"

[j.a.luna]

Some historicals images about my favorite medieval faction in sship and medieval 2, byzantines or Eastern Roman Empire.
It is my personal collection about medieval armies and here there are a lot of images about my favourite unit, the kathafractoi or cataphracts.
Now i think that Nikkosaiz units are pretty accurate and historical for s. XII-XIV and i wish see them in the upcoming new release...

Enjoy with this romans pictures!

[kostic]

Nikossaiz's units are already very good, but as I said, I would like to improve this faction later with horses on the "marka" model.


And then there are differences in upgrades that are not visible which are damage, especially for the Contaratoi. I could probably do something ...

[j.a.luna]

Nikossaiz's units are already very good, but as I said, I would like to improve this faction later with horses on the "marka" model.


And then there are differences in upgrades that are not visible which are damage, especially for the Contaratoi. I could probably do something ...

Perfect kostic, i agree with you. I prefer see the "little" differences in upgrades armours, is more inmersive and sure that with your great work improve still more Nikkosaiz units.

[Megas_Doux7]

Love these new units and can't wait to use them in future versions of SSHIP, random question, I've noticed in versions of SSHIP, the Scholarii, despite being an elite, rare heavy cavalry unit, seem have been nerfed quite a bit since 0.92 and 0.96, in the past they were my best hope to field heavy cav against the western factions into the late era, but now they seem weaker than (for example) Gendarmes. I've noticed in the latest EDU that they AP mace attack is now only a 4, vs values of 6-7 for similar cavalry such as Mamaluk/Ghulam units. Any explanation for these changes? Thanks all for this amazing submod and community!

[kostic]

I did not touch the statistics. I just know that for version 097 there was a lot of balancing work on Jurand of Cracow's part.

[Jurand of Cracow]

I haven't touched any fighiting stats of units either for 097 or 098. The thing that's been changed in a few dozens of units were only 1. prices, 2. names, 3. descriptions.
What's been changed is that parameter for efficiency of charges for any unit: hit-melee-ratio lowered to 1.75.

[j.a.luna]

Regarding restricting the Byzantines, I think there's fundamentally here a bit of a misunderstanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Empire, which didn't (certainly before 1204) really resemble any other Christian kingdom in how it operated.

Legitimacy, in Romanía, depended on primarily on the acclamation of the populace of Constantinople, not on blood, military ability, or whatever- this is a direct continuation of the republican pretences of Augustus, where the Emperor derived his power from the consent of the Roman people. The "Crown" for Byzantium should therefore be granted to the holder of the imperial capital, but with certain conditions.

Firstly, no Emperor, aside from Justinian, ever survived serious popular discontent in the capital. I'd therefore suggest that, should happiness in Constantinople ever dip below 100%, the Crown title would become in doubt. This would then spark provincial revolts- for these, see below. And there should be a significant happiness bonus for the Emperor being present in the capital, and penalty for his absence. And to further demonstrate the centrality of the capital, is there a mechanism to make the loss of Constantinople an instant faction destruction for the Byzantines? Probably not, but if this could be done, it would be worth investigating.

Romanía's direct descent from the old Roman Republic meant that, theoretically, any capable man could become the most important in the state, and this led to plenty of generals being more than capable of revolt throughout imperial history. This changed slightly in the Komnenian period, where revolts did tend to be family affairs, but I'd argue this is probably down to the sheer size of the extended Komnenian family. I'd therefore suggest that Byzantine generals should be considerably less loyal than those of other factions- for the Byzantine player, sending any general other than the Emperor and his closest confidantes out on campaign with large armies should be a serious risk. And this, of course, provides serious risks of its own- without the Emperor residing in the capital, the happiness penalties start to bite.

Sship team, about "byzantines", Is there some ideas for their peculiar mode of government, its constant civil wars and betrayals and palace intrigues that did so much damage to the Empire, some way to reflect it in the game and make it even more special and different from a simple feudal kingdom.

[Jurand of Cracow]

Sship team, about "byzantines", Is there some ideas for their peculiar mode of government, its constant civil wars and betrayals and palace intrigues that did so much damage to the Empire, some way to reflect it in the game and make it even more special and different from a simple feudal kingdom.

Ideas galore but no time to implement them

[Megas_Doux7]

I haven't touched any fighiting stats of units either for 097 or 098. The thing that's been changed in a few dozens of units were only 1. prices, 2. names, 3. descriptions.
What's been changed is that parameter for efficiency of charges for any unit: hit-melee-ratio lowered to 1.75.

Thanks! I just had noticed in unit tests that the Boyars/Heavy Boyars and Gendarmes defeat the Scholarii now, which was not the case in previous versions, they also have lower morale and secondary weapon attack than similar units now, just was curious if it was a deliberate choice to move the Romans away from heavy cavalry orientation!

[nikossaiz]

And then there are differences in upgrades that are not visible which are damage, especially for the Contaratoi. I could probably do something ...

i am on the opinion that some ( especially low tier ) units shouldnt have the ability to upgrade, otherwise would loose their historical mass role. For instanse, i dont believe any soldier on the contaratoi role had something more than a leather lorikion, a helmet and at best a kite shield through all the medieval period. ( remember, we allready have scoutatoi for their professional part ) other than that, pehaps the ability for the player to change units roles and make them hevier whith a "what if" scenarios would enchased the sanbox feeling. or to make them more usufull later on the campaign. anyway keep it up! As for the byzantine state , the main administrative differnece from the other kingdoms was that was more a "state" than a "feoudal kingdom" perce.

[j.a.luna]

Hi guys, I have here some suggestions regarding the Byzantine unit roster that I have been seeing in the beta version of August 0.98.


There are some inconsistencies regarding the unit roster proposed by nikkosaiz and some replaces of units that I think should be recruited in other more unique places as well as in different times of the game. Here are my proposals for these days playing with the Eastern Roman Empire:


THE ROMAN UNIT ROSTER FROM NIKKOSAIZ: https://www.twcenter.net/forums/show...homaion)/page2

NIKKOSAIZ TEXT: " yes they must be balanced and asigned accordigly to the proper building for recruitment. most units sub a similar tier unit so hopefully not revolutionary changes will have to be made. i made a list with the units that went out of the roster and are quite a lot. archontopoula / latin handgunners / proniarioi and others i cant remember will be all free slots to be used for whatever unit and whatever faction we like. also alan cavalry and turkopoloi must become part of the basic ere roster."

1.Symachika_tagmata should be recruitable as mercenaries in hetairiae recruitment (composed of Bulgarians, Serbs, Armenians ...), they replace kastrophilakae.

"symachika ( or auxilliary ) tagmata were units formed from men of various nations that were obligated to romans or were allies to them. usually the term in history books refered to their cavalry counterparts that included the turkopols or the alans. The infantry tagmata were included mostly men from serbia, bulgaria, georgia and armenia. Just like the various ethnicities that fought for the romans in the komnenian period they used primary their one equipment with some roman elements over time of service."

2. Varangian guard should be recruitable only in Constantinople (imperial palace) at the beginning of the game.

"The Varangian Guard (Greek: Τάγμα των βαράγγων, Tagma ton Varangon) was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century. They are known for their win over the pechenegs during the komnenian era, as well as their last stand during the fall of constantinople to the latins on 1204. The members served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from northern Europe, including Norsemen from Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxons from England. The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions."

3.Saxon huskarl should be called anglosaxon huskarl and they would be replaced by the varangian guard, perhaps they could be recruited as mercenaries.

4.Archontoupoulai i supposse that they would no longer be part of the Byzantine roster, according to nikkosaiz. +1 FREE SLOT

5.Acontistae should be called Psiloi Acontistae


6.Acontistae could be a available also in cities as militia (contaratoi, acontistae and psiloi toxotae) MILITIA MEN

7.Scoutotai spearmen and scoutotai swordmen should have both SHIELD WALL ability and good morale, good stamina (same unit, late professional), this would mean their professionalism and Roman tactics, like the "fulcum" used by the Byzantines.

8.Tagmata katapraktoi should be recruitable only in Constantinople, not in mercenary barracks, maybe in IMPERIAL PALACE, also this would make Constantinople a very important city to maintain due to the availability of elite TAGMATA troops (katapraktoi, varangian guard and siphonatores) , make again imperial/tagma barracks as a last level of barracks for byzantines only in Constantinople??

9.Siphonatores should be recruitable only in Constantinople (alchemist lab) and SECRET GREEK FIRE, only this secret greek fire was kept as a treasure in Constantinople, maybe the same thing for recruit greek fire dromon,
maybe make a unique alchemist lab last evel in contantinople for hire siphonatores and greek fire???

10.Trapezuntine Horse archers should be recruitable only in Trebizond, Pontus and Asia Minor (regional units)

11.Remove completely peasant infantry (appear in custom battles)

12.Add turkopoles, dismounted turkopoles and alan cavalry (aldari druzhina and alani units) as mercenaries for byzantines in the building of mercenary barraks( hetaraiea recruitment), (nikkosaiz proposal).

13.Menaulatoi pikemen should add in barracks for cities and castles, at the beginning of the game or maybe in 1200 for tomake up for his mighty army a little, byzantine army had menaulatoi(pikemen) on vanguard formation, skoutatoi and behind toxotai and peltastes.

14.Vestiaritai guard palace only recruitable in Constantinople (imperial palace)

15.Gasmouli crossbowmen could be available for Byzantines after the 4 crusade (1204), recuitable in archerys and also in city barracks. For italian mercenaries with little poleaxes and halberds maybe in 1300/1350..

16.Exist 2 types of pronoiarii models in custom battles (early and late), remove one model and another FREE SLOT

17.Pronoiarii should be called stratiotes pronoiarii (nikossaiz roster)

18.Remove mounted acritae, according to nikkosaiz acritae units no longer existed at that time. Acritae javelinmen now is removed (mounted version still NO, now existing in the game as ancient unit roster in castles)

19.Review of stats, pictures and abilities for the Byzantine roster (there are mixed units from the previous unit roster)


I hope I am not too demanding with all these proposals but I think they are appropriate for the game and historical, I hope you can give me your opinions on this topic.


Many thanks to the sship team for their effort on the mod.