Gamar Joba, you're listening to the history of Byzantium. My name is Roberto, and I'm

the host of the history of Sakharatvello, Georgia. We're located in the Caucasus mountain

region, right on the coast of the eastern Black Sea. With a long history of working with

and against the Romans, the Georgians are hard in people who love to eat, drink, and party.

We also have a whole slew of mythological figures such as Medea and Jason of the Argonotic

Fame. And historically, the Byzantines encountered people such as David of Tau, the Kingdom

of LaZica, and used Georgia as a sort of base against the Sassanids. You can find this wherever

you enjoy listening to podcasts, such as this one, on our website at historyofsakharatvello.com

or on Twitter at history underscore Georgia. Sakharatvello is spelled S-A-Q-A-R-T-V-E-L-O.

Now enjoy listening to the history of Byzantium.

Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium. Episode 236.

I make peace.

Last time we discussed Manoeuille's attempt to regain a foothold in Italy. Despite initial

success, his agents failed to dislodge the Normans of Sicily. Eventually the Romans were

forced to make peace and wait for a more advantageous situation to develop. With Italy quiet and

the Balkans quiet, Manoeuille could finally turn his attention back to Anatolia. And he

needed to, because Cyprus had just been raided by forces from Antioch and Celicia. It was

time to punish the Misscreance responsible and reassert Imperial Authority in the East.

As you know, Manoeuille's father, John Combinos, had spent the best years of his reign campaigning

in Anatolia. John had attempted to capture the Danish-Mend capital, he'd led punitive

raids against Iconium and he'd fought in and around Antioch. Manoeuille had grown up

in his father's army camps. He'd learnt to ride and fight in Anatolia. He became Emperor,

...