"...Grandson of rebellious Ekaterine and dispossessed of his native Vidin through his father’s incompetence, this man bore anger at the world in his heart to the dying day. Wealthy and intelligent, he schemed his way into Emperor Andrew’s confidence and then into becoming heir through marrying his daughter. His greatest talent was for intrigue and assassination, a vital skill that removed opponent after opponent, both his own and that of the Empire. His greatest coup was the slaying of the outrightly hostile Berke Khan and all his preferred successors, fatally undermining the Muslim faction of the Blue Horde’s court. Nogai Khan, a secret ally of Boris, became the power behind the throne and he and his sons maintained rule through several young and pliable Khans, leaving the Greeks unmolest