If Manuel were to know how he would be commented on in later generations, he would probably just smile helplessly and then accept it calmly. After all, he did have the wild idea of forcibly changing the demographic composition of the peninsula through this action. But now, all of that was nothing compared to Manuel's urgent recall—
Upon receiving Manuel's urgent summons, Posadas immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed to Mangup. He arrived the next morning and was immediately summoned by Manuel. After calling him to the temporary palace, Manuel dismissed all his attendants, leaving only Posadas and himself present. No one knew what the two of them discussed that day, but according to the guards stationed outside the room, they could clearly hear very loud scolding.
Regardless, that afternoon, Posadas was immediately suspended from his duties, and the leadership of the "Tauris Re-Baptism Campaign" was soon transferred to Balin, who had already converted to orthodox. Incidentally, after converting to orthodox, Balin's name was changed from Mustafa to Christo.
Although the person in charge of the operation changed, this large-scale forced conversion campaign had not yet stopped. In fact, it was not until half a year later that Manuel declared the operation a complete success. At this point, the large-scale persecution of the Muslim Tatars on the peninsula was officially brought to an end. This also meant that even under Balin's rule, small-scale massacres were still common. After all, among nomads, different tribes would smash each other's heads when fighting for pastures and cities. For example, the Shirin, whom Manuel allowed Balin to deal with as he pleased, were completely absorbed by the Balin Tribe, and the Shirin Family, which once held sway on the peninsula, was utterly destroyed.
Under normal circumstances, the Shirin Family, with its connections, might have been barely saved by other large and small forces. But in the chaotic atmosphere intentionally created by Manuel for nearly a month, their plight was completely ignored. This was also why Manuel dealt with those Jewish creditors before starting this operation. After all, in the face of the slaughter and chaos sweeping the entire peninsula, who would pay attention to the fate of these people? Even the mysterious disappearance of their entire family was completely swallowed up, like a drop of water in a torrent.
Not long after he recalled Posadas, the envoy from Constantinople finally arrived in Mangup, delivering the Ecumenical Patriarch's personal letter and John VIII's private message to Theodore.
"Excellent," Manuel couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh after temporarily bidding farewell to the Constantinople envoy and dismissing the others. "It seems the coronation can begin soon."
As Manuel had just implied, Ecumenical Patriarch Joseph II not only approved the request to elevate the Principality of Theodore to the Bosphorus Despotate but also praised them extensively in the letter, even to the point of being cloying. This made Manuel both pleasantly surprised and quite pleased. John VIII's private message was that while he would provide support to Manuel, he also hoped that his Brother-in-law would become a staunch ally of the empire, especially in helping when the Ottoman Empire infringed upon the empire.
Manuel, of course, readily agreed on the surface, although privately he questioned whether a Principality with only a small circle around the Black Sea could offer Constantinople any meaningful help other than falling into a tiger's mouth.
Having received the theological endorsement from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, Manuel prepared to hold the long-rehearsed elevation of the Principality and his formal coronation ceremony in early June. Yes, he had secretly begun preparing for this coronation ceremony even before the civil war started, determined to elevate the Principality to the rank of a Kingdom, regardless of Constantinople's response.
However, since Constantinople had given such a favorable response and verbally supported them, Manuel proceeded with his original plan. That evening, thinking of this, Manuel quickly recalled the amethyst that Barbara had given him for his 18th birthday; it was now being carved by professional craftsmen to become the most dazzling gem on the future crown.
The days leading up to the coronation were unremarkable, filled with mundane affairs. The only thing worth mentioning was that in mid-May, Manuel personally received the newly finished crown; and he also invited the Constantinople envoy to stay, asking him to witness his coronation on behalf of the Emperor and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
The day of the elevation and coronation ceremony quickly arrived. On June 1st, Manuel, dressed in magnificent ceremonial attire, specifically inquired about the attendees from Gregory Giunio, who was in charge of the guests, before heading to the Hagia Sophia Monastery in Mangup.
"My father truly won't be crowned with me?" Manuel confirmed with some sadness.
"Yes, Your Highness. His Highness the Prince said that this coronation ceremony should belong to you alone. The civil war has taken quite a toll on the old man," Giunio replied with regret.
"Alright." Manuel shook his head regretfully. "Are there any other notable attendees?"
"Trabzon only sent Maria, Your Highness's sister. It seems they are quite displeased that we bypassed Trabzon for the elevation. After all, even the Golden Horde, which was in a very tense situation due to the civil war, sent five Darhkans here."
"To be honest, Trabzon's displeasure was expected. But Muhammad Khan of the Golden Horde actually sent five Darhkans to attend my coronation ceremony? We carried out a massacre on a peninsula where Tatars have lived for generations. They must be forced by the current situation and don't want to make enemies." Manuel was somewhat surprised, yet also nodded thoughtfully.
"Perhaps the Nogai people around the Caspian Sea and the Volga Bulgaria are restless again?" Giunio mused.
That's right, in official history, the Kazan Khanate would become independent in another five or six years, although it's unknown what kind of butterfly effect the demise of the Crimean Khanate would cause now. Manuel waved his hand, signaling that there was no need to discuss this topic further.
After concluding his discussion with Giunio about the attendees, Manuel fully immersed himself in the ceremony. At noon that day, surrounded by countless people, the highly anticipated protagonist, accompanied by his wife, finally arrived at the Hagia Sophia Church in Mangup.
Manuel, who appeared before everyone at this moment, was dressed in a classic pure blue-purple Greek-style ceremonial robe, much like royal coronations of old. To avoid suspicion, he did not add intricate patterns to it, nor did he wrap a golden loros embroidered cloth, which only Roman emperors could wear at coronation ceremonies, around it. Instead, he wore a silk sea-blue comb-plume ① with a strong classical flavor. His lower body was covered by gray-white silk trousers, completely hidden by the robe, and on his feet, he wore a pair of men's shoes adorned with gold-inlaid leather and rubies.
Barbara's attire was similar to his, as one of the major characteristics of East Rome coronation garments was the striking resemblance between male and female clothing. However, due to Barbara's special status as a Constantinople royal, her blue-purple ceremonial robe was wrapped with a light purple loros instead of the comb-plume.
Facing their future monarch, the common people outside the church cheered from the bottom of their hearts, while the guests, nobles, and clergy inside the church, whether sincerely or not, all rose and prayed loudly to the Holy Father for their soon-to-be-crowned Caesar Manuel. Yes, Caesar; to highlight his unique status, Manuel ultimately chose "Caesar" as his monarchical title before the ceremony. Because while "Caesar" in greek merely meant something similar to "King," in Gothic, a close relative of German, "Caesar" symbolized "Emperor."
After an orderly yet intricate elevation ceremony, the Principality of Theodore was officially elevated to the Bosphorus Despotate. After nearly an hour of preliminary proceedings, Metropolitan Oulophin of Kherson finally placed the crown, symbolizing the throne, on the head of the already excited Manuel, and solemnly proclaimed his title to everyone present:
"By the grace of God, the glorious Despotic Monarch, Caesar of the Bosphorus, Lord of all Tauris, Despot of Cherson, and the hereditary, unchangeable heir, monarch, and lord of all lands to the north, south, east, and west. Protector of all Eastern Orthodox and Romans in the Black Sea coastal regions."
On June 1, 1432, the Principality of Theodore was elevated to the Bosphorus Despotate, and Manuel Gavras was officially crowned Caesar of the Bosphorus, at the age of 20.