Imperator Ioannis Isaurian III

Ioannis Isaurian is the fourth Emperor of the Isaurian line, he is the son of Athanasius and Alayne Isaurian.

He is the first Calradic Emperor to convert to core makerism.

Early Life
Ioannis was born amidst a time of chaos and disorganization, in Almaros, he was famously held by his Grandfather after birth who proclaimed him to be the future of the Empire.

As merely a toddler, his Grandfather was killed by his own son, Athanasius who later became the Basileus, but alas his reign is short lived, as the Velucans march on Calradica and execute Athanasius for revenge. This left Ioannis alone with his regents and his rivachen mother, Alayne. He was brought up by these regents, and co ruled with with his Alayne, who quickly took advantage of her position and planned to eventually completely take control of the Empire.

At the age of eleven he took on studies in Dhirim, being the guest of the des Jardins; he formed a semi friendship with the Dhirimite prince, Robert, during this time he also learned the Dhirimite language; he would remember this time fondly and as a period of quiet in his otherwise unruly and chaotic life.

At the age of fourteen Alayne’s insanity had peaked and she ordered for her son to be blinded and for him to rot in a dungeon, thankfully he was saved in the nick of time by his loyal generals and friends, Nikephoros and Darius. The liberation of Ioannis sparked a civil war, that led to thousands of deaths, and to the eventual siege of Almaros at the hands of Ioannis and those loyal to him. At the door of the palace in Almaros they find Alayne looking out from the keep as she stood outside of it. Ioannis sees his mother and orders his soldiers to attack her. They mob her and as she hysterically screams Ioannis looks at the scene, unsure of what he’s feeling, regardless he knows he will never forget this.

Ioannis' Rulership
A year later in 1241 Ioannis marches onto yet another war against the Khergits, he succeeded in conquering Malayurg and he even marched further to the walls of Tulga, but his men were too tired, and he returned home. In 1243 Ioannis made the historic decision to convert to Core Makerism, hoping to gain support against the Khergits, thus the Council of Almaros was summoned which led to a great deal of revolts in the town proper, which had to be put down. Now in his 30's he finds himself in a desperate war to hold off the Khergits, and he calls upon the Pope for help, who sends Robert des Jardin's armies to assist in the war. Ioannis and Robert reunite in Almaros after many years, initially they do not even recognize each other, but not because of their appearance, but because they are merely husks of who they were Twentythree years ago. They share details about their lives and form a pseudo friendship, Ioannis is hopeful togheter they can save the Empire. They march onto Narra in its defense, where they’re greeted by 6000 Khergits, Ioannis is first in the line of defense, his footmen fight hard but lose many men, taking many with them, until at last the Dhirimite knights charge in to slaughter the Khergit forces.