So since I forgot to leave notes, and nothing really stands out stands out, Basileus Belisarios II died and was succeeded by his son Isidoros II.
Isidoros shared his father's cruelty but, unlike his father, it would not define his rule. Isidoros came to be known for his insistence on justice, and crime fell within the Empire. The pirates in the eastern Mediterranean Sea were all but eliminated, while raiders from the steppes and Scandinavia rarely reached the Empire's heartland. Isidoros' rule was also marked by an aggressive expansion into Africa and Egypt. In Arabia, the Abbasid's had lost and regained the Arabian Empire, but were then subject to a revolt by the supposed Shia Caliph. The Sultanate of Arabia had been lost to Shiites and the Abbasid quickly lost control over the Sunni Caliphate to the Umayyad's in Hispania. Despite these setbacks, the Abbasid's maintained a firm foothold in Egypt and would prove to be a consistent thorn in the Isidoros side.
Although the Umayyad's had regained control of the Caliphate their dominance would not last. The third Umayyad to hold the title, Suleyman II, was known to lead a decadent lifestyle, and when he refused to fix his ways an uprising occurred to depose him. The revolt, led by the charismatic Ma'n, was successful in deposing Suleyman and as a result members of the Umayyad dynasty were also punished. In the end, the Umayyad's would retreat to Maurentia to form their own Sultanate separate from the Caliph, and they would remain relatively unopposed for the next two centuries. Caliph Ma'n would found the dynasty of Man, and his son Balashk the Great would cement the dynasties control over Hispania, Aquitaine, and Africa. In 908 Basileus Isidoros II called for a holy war to liberate the province of Cyrenacia and restore it to "Roman" rule. Caliph Balashk would lead a valiant defense of the province but his resolve would not last. Resigned to defeat, Balashk became ill and would die on 23 May, 910. Balashk's son, Abdallah, would rally the armies of Hispania for six more years before finally surrendering to Isidoros on May28, 916.
Isidoros would continue to expand in both Egypt and Africa finally culminating in the conquest of Tunis in 937. In 939, Abdallah's son, Adfuns, would call for a jihad against the Byzantine Empire with the intent of reclaiming the territory lost by his father. Now in his sixties, Basileus Isidoros II took command of the legions of Greece and set sail for Tunis. By 940, Adfuns would contract consumption and would consequently die at the age of twenty-nine. His son, Isma'il, would continue the jihad and in January of 941 his forces came close to capturing Isidoros in the battle of Annaba. During the battle, Isidoros found himself separated from the main body of his army and even from his personal bodyguard. Even at his advanced age, Isidoros proved to be a formidable fighter and he was able to stay alive long enough for the Varangian guard to reunite with the Basileus. Once reunited with his guard, Isidoros would personally lead the charge that finally shattered the Caliph's army.
By 942 Isidoros' age finally started to catch up to him. Against the advice of his generals, Isidoros continued to personally lead the defense of Africa. On 23 September, 942, a small force had landed in Cyrenicia were they quickly caused enough havoc to force Isidoros to redirect the main bulk of his force to deal with them. During the battle of Senoussi, Isidoros received a wound to his shield arm which would later lead to an infection. Despite the odds, Isidoros would recover from the infection, but he would continue to be bothered by his wound for the rest of his life. By 944 Isidoros would once again find himself separated from his troops, and once again he would manage to survive. However, his luck would not continue as in the very next battle he received another blow to his shield arm rendering it useless. Despite his considerable injuries, Isidoros would continue to lead his troops until 19 August, 945 where he would never reawaken. Isidoros' comatose body was brought back to Constaninope and his son, Kyrillos, would become regent. Within a year, the beloved Basileus Belisarios II finally died leaving Kyrillos to finally bring an end to the Jihad.
With the end of the Jihad, Kyrillos found himself beset by enemies. Sensing a weakness, Kyrillos' younger brother and Exarch of Africa and Sicily would stage an unsuccessful rebellion to lower Crown Authority. Unfortunately, Kyrillos would rule for eight years before dying of illness. Kyrillos' young son Pelagios would ascend to the throne at the age of ten, and would quickly find himself powerless. Within the year, the young Pelagios would be forced to give almost full autonomy to his vassals which almost brought Isauros rule. Pelagios managed to bring the entirety of Egypt into the Empire, and would arrange a marriage with the German queen Ursula of Italy. Unfortunately, Pelagios would only father daughters with Ursula, and rumors would start circulating that his firstborn daugheter, Zenobia, was not his.
Pelagios firstborn daughter was named after his beloved mother. However, due to the rumors doubting her parentage, Princess Zenobia was targeted by assassination by the Empress Dowager Zenobia which led to a disfiguring scar on the Princess' right cheek. As punishment, the Empress Dowager was forced to take the vows and exiled to a nunnery in Antioch. After the assassination attempt the princess was never the same. She took to tormenting other children except for her sisters, and had been caught by Captain Anders of the Varrangian guard torturing rats. When Pelagios was informed of his daughters behavior he refused to address it and dismissed Captain Anders from duty. This would turn out to be a mistake...
Within a year of coming of age, Zenobia would become the first ruling Basilissa of the Byzantine Empire in centuries. On 20 February, 988 Basileus Pelagios' body was found near one of the towers at the Imperial Palace. Princess Zenobia asserted that her father had been distraught over the state of the Empire and had jumped to his death. However, this was not the only story. Some of the servants reported that Princess Zenobia had asked her father to meet her at one of the Palace's balconies prior to his death. They also claimed to hear an argument between the Princess and her father prior to his death, but these same servants also mysteriously disappeared before they could be questioned further. Without any other proof, Zenobia ascended to her father's throne, but she would quickly be challenged. Within her first year of her reign, Zenobia successfully crushed two rebellions staged by her vassals. After surrendering, the instigators were castrated and blinded, and this would be a technique that would define Basilissa Zenobia's reign.
When Zenobia was informed that her husband, Belisarios, had cheated on her Belisarios and his lover were quickly tossed into jail. Belisarios was castrated and blinded, while his lover was blinded before the marriage was annulled and both were tossed onto the streets. Zenobia would also set a plan into motion that would see her mother, Queen Ursula of Italy, murdered, but before the plan go be set into motion Ursula lost the Kingdom before going into hiding. With the Kingdom of Italy out of her grasp, Zenobia would turn her attentions to other matters, primarily the restoration of the Roman Empire.
Within twelve years of taking the throne, Zenobia had managed to reclaim most of the old Imperial borders leading to the official reformation of the Roman Empire.
It wasn't long before Empress Zenobia found herself involved in the fighting in central Europe. The Sunni Caliph had managed to claim great swathes of territory in Aquitaine, Germany, and the Empire of Francia, and the Caliph was well on his way in conquering the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Bavarian King urged Empress Zenobia into entering the war for Alemannia, but this would prove to be a costly mistake. As the Empress' legions were marching to the county of Ulm, they were ambushed and obliterated by the Caliph's forces leading to the loss of Alemannia, and eventually to all of Bavaria.
Ten years later in 1013, the Empress was surprised to learn that one of her kinsmen had seized the Empire of Francia from the Karlings, and she was dragged into a rebellion challenging Belisarios Isauros' rule. It was at this very moment where both the Sunni and Shia Caliphs launched into action. The Shia Caliph called for a Jihad on Jerusalem, while the Sunni caliph called for the third Jihad for Africa. For five years a bloody war was fought on two fronts by the newly reformed Roman Empire. The legions of Africa, Egypt, Jerusalem, Anatolia, Italy, and Sicily were all obliterated by the invading forces and the Roman Empire came dangerously close to defeat. As a response, Empress Zenobia took command of a legion in Africa, and began impaling the captured enemies. By 1018 the westernmost provinces of Africa were littered with the impaled bodies of the invaders. After a series of lost battles, the Sunni Caliph finally offered a peace treaty in order to secure the release of heir. In response, the Empress accepted the terms of the peace agreement and released the Caliph's son. This allowed the Empress to redirect her legions in defense of Jerusalem, and in 1019 the Shia Caliph also requested peace.
With her enemies weakened, the most dangerous woman in all of Europe began planning to restore the full borders of the Roman Empire...if she can manage to stay alive long enough...
![[/spoiler]](http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/422566032111128818/0B44D9EA32EE1FC7EE625A4188A9602EC534ADE2/)
