Prince Maurice Vatatzes
Autokrator of Komenia Maurice Vatatzes
The defender of the city of Komneia during the Yarmeza Siege of 21 A.E and the first Autokrator of the Principality of Komenia.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
A sturdy military man and a loyal servant of his troops, Maurice was well equipped both materially and physically for the tasks he was delt over the course of his life. He served well and in part due to his martial stature, he was able to inspire confidence in his citizens that he would be able to effectively lead them.
Apparel & Accessories
Maurice has many legends written about him and the relics he was able to acquire after the fall of Rasca. One legend that happens to be fact is Maurice's acquisition of the famed Imperial boots, the red boots initially worn by Emperor Cyrelius Kalarios and worn often by campaigning Emperors. Maurice is said to have killed the man who stole them from the imperial treasury and carried them with him to Komneia, only putting them on when he first led a defense of the walls against Turvil.
Maurice is also said to have saved the urns of Emperors Marian and Rursus with their ashes intact. This has provided a great boon to the prestige of Komniea and a sign of some legitimacy as they hold the remains of such legendary figures in their court.
Another relic saved by the prince is the main pieces of imperial regalia, this includes the red military cloak, a vast amount of the imperial robes, the coronation goblet, and famously the imperial diadem which he was crowned with after the parade down the main street of Komneia.
Maurice is also said to have saved the urns of Emperors Marian and Rursus with their ashes intact. This has provided a great boon to the prestige of Komniea and a sign of some legitimacy as they hold the remains of such legendary figures in their court.
Another relic saved by the prince is the main pieces of imperial regalia, this includes the red military cloak, a vast amount of the imperial robes, the coronation goblet, and famously the imperial diadem which he was crowned with after the parade down the main street of Komneia.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Maurice Vatatzes lived a storied life, born in the manner of so many in the ages of the late empire, amidst chaos and destruction as the Empire shrank and shrunk amidst constant attacks both foreign and domestic. Maurice was only a boy when Emperor Arno died but even he said himself that he felt a deep sense of sadness and fear upon word that the adored Emperor had been killed. Maurice's family was on the other side of the empire when word had reached them of the murder and Maurice himself cites this as the point when he desired to serve the state and fight for it as he joined the army as soon as he could. The army of the empire during the time of Maurice was vastly different in appearance and quality than the legions that conquered the world. The professional soldiers were now mostly recruited mercenaries who fought very little but soaked up their pay as warfare became a monetary issue more so than a geopolitical one. Maurice himself is even said to have commented on this in his court much later after he had secured Komenia.
"Would the old fathers not weep at the sight of their poor army".
"thus passes the glory of the world"
Maurice seems to have quickly made a name for himself due to his competence and brave actions in combat which won him acclamations by the men under him. While sources in this period are very vague, Maurice is commonly thought to have been among the relief army that came upon Rasca during its sacking. This was truly a shocking turn of events as in all the long history of the city, a foreign army had never taken the city. Again, sources dispute this but traditionally, Maurice is supposed to have led some of his more native-born soldiers east into Agrihenia where a buffer state was forming around the still surviving city and countryside of Komenia which had been founded some centuries ago during the years of the Principate. Before they set out, a majority of the soldiers had hesitations about setting out for Komenia as they had worried they would be seen as dishonorable deserters for abandoning Rasca to its fate. These men were spurred on by Maurice who seems to have made the point that they had practical worries and still had a duty to the state, no matter where its capital now lay. When Maurice and his men arrived in the city, they were greeted in the streets by citizens acclaiming them as heroes for their courage to attempt to relieve the dying capital.
Upon meeting with the leading Dux, Maurice was promoted as the captain of the reorganized Hyetoi guardsmen who were the now sole imperial guard left of the old Tagmatic units. Maurice served in this role for a time before he was dispatched to Mykra in order to attempt to enlist the help of some successor states there but to no avail. Upon receiving word of the unrest in the city, Maurice and his retainers quickly made their way back to the city where they had gotten word of the trouling news.
Dux Hebrius had been overthrown by a populist coup that had given the menacing Yarmeza Khan Turvil, the very same Turvil who had participated in the sacking of Rasca two decades prior, to attempt to take the city. Maurice arrived before the Khan could besiege the city and began his preparations for such an event. When the Khan of the Yarmeza arrived, Maurice had time to prepare an active defense of the city and the great siege of Komneia had begun. The siege of the city would last for nearly a full year and would see the power of the Yarmeza buckle as Komneia withstood the nearly 100,000-strong force the Khan commanded. After the stunning and miraculous victory, Maurice led a victory parade down the main street of the city, a day which also coincidentally happened to be the victorious commander's birthday. It was during this procession that Maurice was crowned "Autokrator", an imperial title and the Mykran word for Autocrator, but Maurice was also crowned as "Gens Porfýras" a title often given to legitimate imperial children through much of the empire's time. Being crowned Son of the Purple was an acclamation of Komenia's status as the only successor of the now dead empire and set the stage for the mindset of Komneia's people in relation to their old Rasennan past.
Now crowned the leader of the most powerful successor state of the former empire, Maurice would continually campaign around Agrihenia in order to secure his tenuous borders and keep his domestic policy promoting patriotic and religious causes in order to keep the populace from rising up while their ruler was away. In many ways, Maurice's stable first reign was the sole reason for the survival of the early Principality as had Komenia been without a ruler when Turvil arrived outside its walls, the city would have assuredly fallen. It would be under the banner of the family of Maurice that the Principality would bear the brunt of the cataclysmic next few centuries as warfare, plague, famine, and other calamities struck but did not break the state. With the groundwork of the state laid out by the first Prince, the elderly Maurice died in 36 A.E and was replaced by his capable son Theophilos who was beside his father when he went. In his final moments, Maurice is said to have uttered the now-famous Lakic phrase,
"sic transit gloria mundi"
Dux Hebrius had been overthrown by a populist coup that had given the menacing Yarmeza Khan Turvil, the very same Turvil who had participated in the sacking of Rasca two decades prior, to attempt to take the city. Maurice arrived before the Khan could besiege the city and began his preparations for such an event. When the Khan of the Yarmeza arrived, Maurice had time to prepare an active defense of the city and the great siege of Komneia had begun. The siege of the city would last for nearly a full year and would see the power of the Yarmeza buckle as Komneia withstood the nearly 100,000-strong force the Khan commanded. After the stunning and miraculous victory, Maurice led a victory parade down the main street of the city, a day which also coincidentally happened to be the victorious commander's birthday. It was during this procession that Maurice was crowned "Autokrator", an imperial title and the Mykran word for Autocrator, but Maurice was also crowned as "Gens Porfýras" a title often given to legitimate imperial children through much of the empire's time. Being crowned Son of the Purple was an acclamation of Komenia's status as the only successor of the now dead empire and set the stage for the mindset of Komneia's people in relation to their old Rasennan past.
Now crowned the leader of the most powerful successor state of the former empire, Maurice would continually campaign around Agrihenia in order to secure his tenuous borders and keep his domestic policy promoting patriotic and religious causes in order to keep the populace from rising up while their ruler was away. In many ways, Maurice's stable first reign was the sole reason for the survival of the early Principality as had Komenia been without a ruler when Turvil arrived outside its walls, the city would have assuredly fallen. It would be under the banner of the family of Maurice that the Principality would bear the brunt of the cataclysmic next few centuries as warfare, plague, famine, and other calamities struck but did not break the state. With the groundwork of the state laid out by the first Prince, the elderly Maurice died in 36 A.E and was replaced by his capable son Theophilos who was beside his father when he went. In his final moments, Maurice is said to have uttered the now-famous Lakic phrase,
"thus passes the glory of the world"
These words can be applied to the new world after the Prince's death as this new world would now bear the brunt of the apocalyptic days of the Dykairos as Maurice's passing symbolized the end of the classic imperial age. Some fervent cultists of deified heroes which have sprouted up more recently even date the new calendar at the death of Maurice mainly due to his preservation of imperial culture and for his prophetic final words.
Education
Military education and experience as theme soldier
Employment
Theme soldier in the last years of the Empire
Leader of the Hyetoi imperial guard
Defender of Komneia
Prince of Komneia
Leader of the Hyetoi imperial guard
Defender of Komneia
Prince of Komneia
Accomplishments & Achievements
Participation in the fall of Rasca
Successful defense of Komneia against the forces of Khan Turvil of the Yarmeza
Successful preservation of imperial customs and procedures
Preservation of the Rasennan state
Successful defense of Komneia against the forces of Khan Turvil of the Yarmeza
Successful preservation of imperial customs and procedures
Preservation of the Rasennan state
Intellectual Characteristics
Prudent and Calculating
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Rescue his beleaguered people and defend them from threats to their safety and sovereignty.
Virtues & Personality perks
Humble
Virtuous
Conscientious
Capable
Virtuous
Conscientious
Capable
Vices & Personality flaws
Cautious
Uninspired
Pessimistic
Uninspired
Pessimistic
Religions
Current Location
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Date of Birth
1st of Larce
Life
34 B.E
36 A.E
70 years old
Circumstances of Birth
Born the son of tenent farmers in the province of Agrihenia Prope
Birthplace
Larvia, Agrihenia Prope
Place of Death
Komneia, Agrihenia Prope
Family
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Dark Brown
Hair
Long, Curly, Brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tan
Height
5'11
Weight
200 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
"victoria aut mors"
"Victory or Death"
Belief/Deity
The Pankosima Ecclesia
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Lakic
Hasdinian
Founded Settlements
Character Prototype
Leo III
(The Great Siege of 21 A.E, Prince Maurice's defining act and a victory that secured Komneian survival from the onslaught of the marauding Yarmeza)
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