The diary of Basileus Konstantinos V 'the Bold' Isauros of the Byzantine Empire

January 1st, 769
New year, new me. Quite literally. I don't know what got into me, but it's like some otherworldly force took me over. My mind turns to gold and to war. My eyes look East towards the heretic muslims.
The breaking of the Umayyad caliphate has created opportunities, but I feel the Caliph Al-Mansir Abbasid wields too large a host. For now.
I feel the Roman blood running through me, I feel Alexander the Great's blood running through me. I know I will not complete this vision I have in my lifetime. I shall instruct my son, Leon, to continue my work.
My first order of business is to crush Emir Hassan, so I fully control Anatolia. Next, I shall take on these heathens in Bulgaria.

January 16th, 770
My campaign to the East was thwarted by an uprising in the West. I quickly dispatched of them, and blinded the fool that thought he could challenge me. Sadly, this led to the fall of Ikonion to the hands of this muslim scum.
After liberating the castle from its invaders, I set forth to help the Seleucians in their struggle. It was here, in the battle of the Seleucian Fields, that I came face to face with my opponent.
Though I am his senior by almost 15 years, he was easily bested. He yielded, and his capture ended the war early, saving many lives. I shall give these newly acquired lands to Christopher, my second son.
Though he is still young, He has to learn to wield power. I expect him and his descendants to hold Anatolia for me and mine.
I cannot attack him right now, seeing we have a truce for the next ten years, I sincerely hope he doesn't have an unfortunate accident. So now my eyes turn toward the Bulgarian heretics.

April 23th, 773
My assault on the Bulgarians proved more difficult than anticipated. While I outnumbered this so-called king, he called in the support of his tribesmen. Nonetheless, I managed to win some battles against this heathen, even slaying two of his commanders myself. I hope my vassals won't mind too much me using their troops.
But not all news is bad news. I have heard that someone poisoned Emir Hassan. What a tragedy... And some of my vassals have died, returning me their ducal titles. An opportunity to give more of my kin lands, at the risk of upsetting my other vassals.

February 25th, 774
Woe! My son and heir has died! His consumption got the better of him, and finally took his life today. The electors took this as a chance to pick someone else, but I assured them of Christopher's competence by appointing him my despot and designated regent.

June 9th, 774
I have seized Adrianopolis and its lands from the bulgarian horde, and a new opportuniy arises. A civil war has broken out, giving me a chance to take Karvuna and its lands from these heretics. But first, I must deal with the revolt in Sicily.
The march there and back again will be long, but it will also give me ample time to strengthen my numbers, and rally more men to take out these threats to the establishment.

May 1st, 776
My campaign in Bulgaria is going well. During this time, one of my wards asked me some interesting questions regarding God and our faith. I feel I cannot fully commit to Iconoclasm. In fact, I think I will renounce it. It may bring some strife in the short run, but I feel it will be for the better in the long run. But first, I must end this campaign.

August 2nd, 777
I have taken Karvuna for myself. This peace with the Bulgarians means I must once again turn my eyes to other lands. Perhaps I will take on the Serbs. Maybe I'll head East again, and take more lands from the Addanids. Or I might take on my tributary Epirus.

March 7th, 778
The wars I have waged have scarred me. Not outwards, but inwards. I cannot stand the touch of people. When they greet me with a hug, I fear they may strangle me. When they pat me on the back, I fear they'll be holding a knife. When they shake my hand, I expect to get stabbed.
These fears don't stop with my courtiers and vassals, but even extend to my family and wife. I fear I may never be close to anyone again.
And if that wasn't enough, I have received news that one of my vassals is plotting against me. I fear this will not end unless I have unlanded him.

August 26th, 783
I have been campaigning to reconquer the holy lands of our sacred faith for almost one and a half year now; Our sieges have been succesful, and our battles few. I could force the outnumbered muslims into a fight before the gates of Antioch.
It was during this fight that I found a bewildered commander in the midst of the fray. Apparently the muslims will even use blind people as commanders. How do they expect to win if they are that foolish is beyond me.

September 1st, 786
My life is nearing its end. I have turned 68 today. I will end this war to claim Tripoli, and spend the final years trying to solidify my second son as my heir. I may extend my empire some more, but never will I lead my troops into battle again.

June 26th, 792
I will die today. I can feel it. Luckily the electors were wise (and rich) enough to realize my now oldest son is a better leader. I hope he can continue the path I have set us on.

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The idea of this play-through is to combine the Greek empire at its largest, and the Roman empire at its largest. That is, Take the lands that rightfully belong to Rome, reform the Roman Empire, probably mend the schism in the meantime, and then head east to add the lands Alexander the Great conquered as well.

I started as Basileus Konstantinos V Isauros of the Byzantine Empire, that is in the 769 start. The other DLC (besides Charlemagne, obviously) is The Old Gods and Legacy of Rome. To make things more interesting, I'm making it an Ironman run as well (just so I can get some achievements in as well). The largest change I made was removing defensive pacts, I can't remember the other rules I changed. And I'm too lazy to check.

Depending on the popularity of this post, others may follow, telling the tale of the Isauros family. Right now, his second son (because Leon decided to kick the bucket) has been elected, and is currently ruling as the emperor.

If you've got any more questions, shoot away.