The narrative begins with the Empire of Rhomania (Eastern Rome) in a deeply stagnant state during the 11th century. Far removed from its golden age, the empire suffered under the reign of Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos. The army was depleted, the day-to-day affairs of the realm were managed by civil aristocrats, and even imperial lands were being seized by these elites. Defense depended heavily on mercenaries, while the empire faced persistent threats from the Normans in Italy, the Bulgars, and the "wolf" in the east, the Seljuk Turks, who raided Roman hinterlands. Furthermore, the relationship between Constantinople and Rome had disintegrated, culminating in the Great Schism in 1054.

The fortunes of the empire began to shift with Romanos IV Diogenes, who ascended the throne in 1068, resolved to prevent the empire’s ruin. Diogenes first focused on internal consolidation by restoring military aristocrats, such as the Skleros and Byrennios families, to power, creating a crucial counterbalance against the powerful Doukai faction. The Doukai, who viewed the "soldier-emperor" with disdain, were systematically opposed. After surviving a near-fatal incident, Diogenes successfully used the situation to dismantle the Doukai, resulting in the exile of key figure Andronikos Doukas to Bari in 1070. With his internal control cemented, Diogenes turned his attention to securing the eastern frontier.

Diogenes soon faced the formidable Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert on August 26, 1071. The battle began under unfavorable conditions, with Turkic mercenaries deserting and Diogenes learning too late that he had weakened his main force by splitting it. The fighting was disorganized for the Romans, and Seljuk horsemen caused a massacre, nearly breaking the Roman lines completely and almost capturing Diogenes. However, the detached Roman army, commanded by Joseph Tarchaneiotes, force-marched and arrived just in time to attack the Seljuk rear, saving the Emperor and preventing total Roman destruction. While a military victory was debatable, the encounter halted the relentless Seljuk advance westward. Diogenes dedicated the remainder of his rule to defending Rome’s eastern hinterlands, establishing the principle that securing the east was paramount to securing Rome itself. This virtue was generally maintained by his successors, and the cessation of constant raiding followed the definitive fall of the Seljuks in the late 12th century.

The subsequent absence of external threats led many emperors to become complacent, repeating past errors. The 13th century became an era of cosmopolitan focus, with Constantinople entering a new golden age as a hub for arts and learning. This resurgence was violently interrupted in the mid-13th century by the arrival of the Mongols, whom the Roman Emperor Nikephoros II Aristenos foolishly dismissed as "Asiatic brutes". The first major clash near Paiperte on June 23, 1265, resulted in a total disaster for Rome; the disorganized Roman army was decimated by the incessant attacks of the Mongol archers. Aristenos barely escaped with his life. The immediate consequences were devastating: the Mongols raided most of Anatolia, and the Magyars seized Illyria, reducing Rome to a rump state focused on its core territories: Constantinople, Greece, Macedon, and the western reaches of Anatolia.

For much of the 14th century, Rome persisted in this diminished, decadent form, viewing itself as the "Venice of the east" focused on trade rather than empire. However, the collapse of the Mongol Ilkhanate in the 1360s left Anatolia fragmented, providing an opportunity for reconquest. Emperor Alexios V Tarchaneiotes seized the chance, leading military campaigns that successfully reclaimed vast territories, increasing Rome’s reach as far east as Batumi and south to northern Syria by 1410. His successor, Emperor Alexandros I Rhomaiogenes, aimed to continue this expansion, pivoting his focus toward Europe by invading Bulgaria in 1413.

The eastern threat quickly returned, however, with the rise of Boru Noyan and his Persian empire. Noyan invaded Anatolia but was successfully repelled by Rhomaiogenes at Patnos in 1422. Noyan's sudden death in 1423 led his successor, Emperor Malik, to prioritize internal consolidation, relieving the pressure on the east. By the 1430s, Rome had fully annexed Bulgaria and forced Serbia into vassalage. With its historical territories secured and major threats absent, Rome subsequently entered a long period of self-imposed isolation and stagnation, focusing inward and viewing the struggles of Western Europe as distant and irrelevant. As the 16th century commenced, the old Roman Empire was firmly established in a "hibernation," awaiting an awakening.