If the Second Rome falls...

If the Second Rome falls…

…You can always return to the First one

A Eastern Roman Empire’s tale of exile in Italy
Prologue



Modern reconstruction of the siege of Constantinople in the Autumn of 717, when the Imperial supplies of Greek Fire where still high...

In 717 AD, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, was subject to a harsh siege by the Umayyad army leaded by Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, willing to take the most rich and important city of Europe and to gain a second foothold in Europe after Spain.

To lead the Byzantine forces was the new elected Emperor Leo III, of the Isauric dynasty. Leo counted on various factors to save the city: the reliability of the Theodosian walls, the disposal of the “Greek Fire” in adoption on the Roman galleys, and the support of the Bulgarians.

However, various problems made so the siege went farther than expected from the defenders: in the early winter of 717, harsh for the Arabs, provoked however into Constantinople a fire in its arsenals (attributed to the negligence of some soldiers which wanted to warm up themselves) which burned or damaged various weapons and most of the supplies of the Greek Fire, which prevented the Byzantines to wipe entirely the Umayyad navy (1); while the Bulgarians under the rule of their Khan Tervel hesitated to intervene asking for more and various concessions from Leo III, despite he was tied with promises of intervention after the stipulation of a treaty just made in 716 (2).

In the end however the Bulgarians arrived in the summer of 718, albeit in minor measure as expected, as Tervel gave his son part of his troops to secure the western borders of Bulgaria along the province of Moesia Inferior, which started at that time to be known as “Serbia” from the Slavic tribes here located. In fact Leo III conceded the Tzar the right to rule over that region (albeit as formally into the Eastern Roman Empire) in exchange of his intervention: the 15th of August of 718 the joint Byzantine-Bulgarian forces attacked the Arabs. The siege was broken forcing the Arabs to flee and return in Asia, mostly under the impetus of the Roman forces than the Bulgarian ones: however, as the Byzantines were forced to sustain the major effort of the assault, they pushed way further into the enemy lines.

The charge was leaded by Leo III in person, who pushed himself into the first lines; at that point a tragedy of unexpected proportions struck the Byzantine when a random Arab arrow hit the neck of the Emperor, who felt to his horse. Despite his guard brought him to the camp medics, they failed to save him so the thirty-third Eastern Emperor died (3).

Despite the 15th August became later the main national feast for the Empire, as the end of the siege was seen as a direct divine intervention under intromission of the Virgin Mary, however that day signed the start of the lowest period of the Empire: Leo managed to have in time a son, Constantine, born just in the first days of August by his wife Maria, which fifth of his name was promptly declared new Eastern Emperor in Hagia Sophia, but now the Byzantine were ruled by a council of regency serving an infant, while they lost a valiant commander and leader and at the doors of the “City of men’s desire” stood the Khan of the Bulgars (present at the ceremony of incoronation of Constantine V), which surely along with Kormeisy was more than intentioned to capitalize from the actual outcome of the battle of Constantinople, considering also the war was far from being over: albeit escaped from the Balkans, the Arabs still roamed into an Asia Minor in full disarray…

(1),(2): minor PODs
(3): main POD

A/N: As actually I'm rather sloppy with my Italy TL, I decided in the meanwhile to start this another project of mine. I didn't deny the original idea came from my roleplay in https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=294982, where I played an ERE established in Italy, but also for seeing other threads and maps ventilating about the possibility of a ERE resilience in the peninsula. Wanting to make this TL more plausible possible, it will not be probably a Byzantine/Roman wank, more an Italian one of sort across the middle ages (arriving to an alternative 1453 could be already a success for my narration). Reviews, suggestions and criticisms of sort are highly apreciated.
 
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Interesting, and critically original.
Just two remarks, that you may of course skip over :

- I'm not sure "Serbia" was used for a geographical place (even if it seems to be displaced to OTL Bulgaria there) before Constantine VII, in the Xth century.

- It may be unecessary, but don't forget that the Ducatus Romanus (both the popes and the Dukes of Rome, that may as well unite than fight each other) was growing more and more independent at this point.
A roman return to Rome, may proove uneasy with Exarchs, Dukes and Popes possibly finding there a common opponent.
If you read french, can I suggest you this study that focus on Byzantine Italy and specifically on DR.

Anyway, I'll look forwards to what happens next.
 
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Deleted member 67076

I'm really looking forward to this. I suppose Italy will retain its classical nature much longer here, and that the Lombards will be pushed back as the Byzantines put everything they've got into securing Italy.

And then there's the Ummayads. I can't see them holding all of Anatolia for too long, they're already overextended as is, and now they've added a hostile Greek population to the mix. Perhaps a Nicean empire esque state might arise during the Abbasid revolution?
 
Interesting, and critically original.
Just two remarks, that you may of course skip over :

- I'm not sure "Serbia" was used for a geographical place (even if it seems to be displaced to OTL Bulgaria there) before Constantine VII, in the Xth century.

- It may be unecessary, but don't forget that the Ducatus Romanus (both the popes and the Dukes of Rome, that may as well unite than fight each other) was growing more and more independent at this point.
A roman return to Rome, may proove uneasy with Exarchs, Dukes and Popes possibly finding there a common opponent.
If you read french, can I suggest you this study that focus on Byzantine Italy and specifically on DR.

Anyway, I'll look forwards to what happens next.

Interesting suggestions, surely they will help me a lot (albeit I don't read French), I already going to make some research about the Roman Duchy. About the issue of Serbia, I pointed that because I saw a map of 700 AD where said region was already occupied by "Serbian tribes", hence the land could probably already started to be called "land of the Serbians" so Serbia. Probably it is not properly historically exact for the moment, I can agree, it was more a point taken to make more simple and comprehensible the scenery.

Well, about the common opponent, there was only one in circulation in Italy at the time...

I'm really looking forward to this. I suppose Italy will retain its classical nature much longer here, and that the Lombards will be pushed back as the Byzantines put everything they've got into securing Italy.

And then there's the Ummayads. I can't see them holding all of Anatolia for too long, they're already overextended as is, and now they've added a hostile Greek population to the mix. Perhaps a Nicean empire esque state might arise during the Abbasid revolution?

Let's say Italy will receive a boost (also because of events coming) about the retaining of its classical nature, albeit it will be unclear yet if more towards a Latin preservation or a Greek consolidation. Heraclius OTL made the ERE Greek, the return of an Emperor in Italy will force the court to reutilize Latin or impose Greek, and in what measure? I have some ideas at the moment yet the cultural concepts will come later.
 
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Chapter one



The map of the Byzantine Empire in 718: a mere shell of its former glory...

The second half of August of 718 was quite tense in Constantinople, due to the vacuum of power generated by the death of Leo III. His wife Maria however managed to guarantee the throne to their son Constantine, as nobody in the Senate as in the rest of the city wanted to go against the scion of the saviour of the Second Rome, died gloriously on the battle; the court was compact behind the necessity to defeat definitely the Arabs and save the Anatolian Themes, which besides were the main source of income and manpower at the time for the Eastern Roman Empire.

Maria, charged as regent and recognized officially as Augusta, had however to deal with the Khan of Bulgaria Tervel, present in the city with a fairly strong army. There were many in Constantinople who thought that civilized and converted barbarian wanted to take all the advantage possible from an infant Emperor, supported by an army tired after an year of siege, to the point the voices of what happened in Ravenna in 476 was going to repeat became insistent and strong. Maria was well aware of those risks, but she had some cards at disposal: for first, Tervel wasn’t properly ingrained into the late Roman history so he didn’t exactly known the dynamics which brought Odoacer to depose Romulus Augustulos, plus he didn’t have charges inside the Byzantine Empire and he didn’t have the support of the local population; and she was rather reassured to notice the Khan perused the growth of his own Tzardom than to become Roman Emperor as well.

Tervel besides was more willing to retreat from Constantinople to promote aside his son Kormeisy the conquest of the province of Moesia and the subjugation of the Serbian tribes; but the Empress still needed his support to push definitely away the Arabs from Anatolia. So, Maria made a gamble with Tervel, offering to him if the Bulgarians accepts to fight with the Byzantines right to rule over lands in the Balkans de jure under the Empire, such as Epirus and part of Macedonia, allowing his "Tzardom" (Justinian II in 705 granted Tervel the title of Caesar, soon translated into "Tzar" by the Bulgarians, albeit at the time it wasn't yet a title used into that people and by their same ruler) to stretch towards the Adriatic and the Aegean Sea. The claim in truth remained quite vague, also due the fact Tervel didn’t know exactly the Greek and he needed a translator, so Maria managed somehow to manipulate the terms of the agreement more to her advantage, plus she offered lands which in truth weren’t controlled by the Empire but seized by minor barbarian tribes, but the offer appeared so tempting to Tervel he accepted in the end.

The gamble at the time worked well in favour of Maria: The Bulgarians were transported with a Byzantine army in Asia Minor and in the successive two years effectively recovered the occupied themes, forcing the Umayyad Caliphate to retreat and search peace terms. Secured Anatolia, Tervel didn’t have time to rest as during 719 the deposed Emperor Anastasius II, in exile in Thessalonica since 716, attempted with an army or to be more exact a militia to regain his throne, contacting for support the Bulgarian Khan’s son Kormeisy, but the latter decided to contact his father. Tervel decided to sell the information to the most powerful man of the Empire at the time, the Strategos of Armenia Artavasdos (latinized as Artabasdos). Artabasdos supported the rise of Leo III, overthrowing the Emperor Theodosius III which previously overthrow Anastasius: in 718 he didn’t attempted to reclaim the Imperial throne, but he tried to marry Maria to become co-regent and maybe even more, despite Leo promised to him the hand of his firstborn Anna. Naturally, a child of few years didn’t have in his eyes the same appeal of a Dowager Empress.

Maria however feared the eventual marriage (various courters pushed for it, vouching for a reinforcement of the rule of the Strategos), despite she recognized to keep appeased Artavasdos the most possible: with the excuse she had to wear the mourning for his dead husband still for a certain time, she postponed the eventual marriage until Constantine will be a little older, not after his sixth birthday; after that period of time, she will evaluate if marry him or anyway proposing still Anna as originally wanted by Leo III. In the meanwhile she appointed him Kouropalates (“Master of the Palace”), one of the highest honorary titles of the Empire at the time which made of him the second in command of the infant Basileus and Duke of the Theme of Opsikion, the most rich and populated of Anatolia, practically the ancient Bithynia; from then, he gradually took control of all the region, also due to the constant Arab raids which reinforced further his power.

In fact, realizing the conquest of Constantinople will be impossible without the control of Anatolia, the Umayyad Caliphate attempted to invade the eastern provinces of the Empire since 720, when they believed to have replenished their forces after the disaster of 718, but Artavasdos managed in the successive years to repeal those attacks, gaining popularity and consensus. At the same time, the skirmishes with the Arabs kept him busy for a while, and away from Constantinople.

Meanwhile, to counterweight the growing power of Artavasdos and securing her back and those of her children, she assured the control and the support of the Schola Palatina (the Elite Imperial Guard), quite impressed from the heroic death of Leo III, who started to gain fame of saint within the population.

Returning to 719, Anastasius raised his levies to march towards Constantinople, but Atravasdos and Tervel easily defeated and executed him. However, both were soon forced to return the first in Anatolia and the second in Bulgaria, because the infant Emperor and the Regent weren’t anymore in the Second Rome.

It happened in fact since the early winter of 718 a small breakout of smallpox spread in Constantinople (1), due to supposed various factors such as problems to restock the medicinal supplies of the city due to the partial blockades of the Arab ships in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean (even if the Byzantines retained a naval superiority, however without their supplies of Greek Fire they failed to wipe entirely the enemy navy), the difficulty to get rid of all the corpses around the city, and a general decrease of clean water (the Arabs damaged during the siege part of the hydraulic infrastructure outside the Theodosian walls). To avoid risks for herself and his son, Maria decided to pass the winter in a more healthy region; considering however quite dangerous to settle in Opsikion while the Arab menace was still present in Anatolia, she settled for Greece in the end. Plus, she gave her further time to postpone a reply over the growing requests of Tervel and Atravasdos by being away from Constantinople.

Avoiding Thessalonika, where the smallpox breakout could spread easily (plus at the time the territory of its Duchy was too small and exposed to the threat of Slavic tribes roaming in Macedonia), she went farther south; she selected originally Athens, but the site as for the plains of Attica was too exposed to Slavic raids as well, so her, Constantine V, Anna, the entire Schola Palatina and a relevant part of the Constantinopolitean court settled for the peninsula of Peloponnese and the city of Corinth, at the time protected by the impressive Hexamillion walls. But the Patriarch and a relevant part of the city Senate remained in the city.

Maria originally believed to return in Constantinople after the conclusion of the smallpox breakout, but a series of events forced her to gradually look away from East to turn instead towards West… to Italy.

(1) Invented PoD for narrative purposes.
 
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How far are you going with this?

BTW, you forgot to put the (3) in the narrative.

Ah, thanks for the point, already correct it.

Well, as I said before, the completation of the Middle Ages will be a first satisfying objective, albeit my first objective is to reach 800 AD for now. If the TL will manage to involve more me and other readers, who knows... Besides this could be respect to my Italy TL one where butterflies will rage progressively, so having more freedom in terms of narration could be the spring to push me to proceed further...

Go forth wayward son of Nova Roma

Nova Roma? Or more the Vetus Roma? :p
 
Chapter two​



A Byzantine icon of the Mid Eight Century. Ironically for the turbolent period, the modern historians stated the models of the time for the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus were Maria Isaurian and her son Constantine...

The period in Greece wasn’t wasted for the Isauric family: during 719, the Strategos of Hellas convinced Maria to launch an expedition to retrieve with the force the Western part of Peloponnese. The Greek Theme didn’t had much forces at disposal, being one of the less populated regions of the Empire, with no more than 2,000 soldiers: besides the protection of the Hexamillion was considered sufficient to safeguard the protection of Peloponnese as least, while Athens was constantly under menace at the point the Byzantine forces preferred to not waste resources to its defence. The once most glorious city of Greece became no more than a small village concentrated on the Acropolis.

The Byzantines could also count over the support of the Mardaites, a Syrian people tributary of the Empire forced to relocate under Justinian II in depopulated regions such as Greece after the fall of their lands to the Arabs; the campaign resulted no more than a military walk of few months, concluded with the liberation of Patras.

The campaign of Peloponnese was remembered for the presence of the infant Emperor and his mother following the Byzantine army: Maria in fact was rather suspicious to remain in Corinth without the Schola Palatina to protect the Imperial family, plus she believed by being on the trail of the soldiers, the latter will be more motivate to fight to prevent in case of defeat the capture or the death of Constantine V. From that moment it started to develop the myth of a “Maria the warrior” (more know as “the Iron Maiden”) leading the victorious imperial forces to the reconquest of the Empire; a pure legend, because the same Byzantine historians more near to that period such as Theopanes the Confessor confirmed the Dowager Empress never commanded an army, remaining always on the back lines into a tent with any comfort possible for the times, and a retinue of courters rather than soldiers.

But Maria had all what occurred in her history to become during the late Middle Ages a “Fable Queen” and a “Walking Saint” as well: the husband died the day of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin (having the same name of Christ’s mother helped as well in the collective imagination), forced to deal with only the use of her intellect with the Barbarians of the North and the traitors of the East to safeguard the throne of his son enough to allow him when adult to revenge all his enemies, despite the reality was quite different of course. But it was generally recognized that Maria more than Leo III was the real founder of the Isauric dynasty and the one which renewed the fortunes of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Returning to the liberation of Patras, it was a small and easy conquest, albeit vital for the Empire, on various levels. For first, because it was a first retrieval of a former territory since the previous period of turmoil and the Arab invasion, so the official Imperial propaganda reclaimed the victory of 717 as a principle of a Byzantine resurgence; between the Greeks, the popularity of Maria and Constantine V risen considerably, as the general hope was the Dowager Empress will launch soon a campaign for the liberation of Thessaly, Epirus and Macedonia in order to restore the Hellenic integrity.

Plus, there were economic and military advantages as well with the reconstruction of the Peloponnese. The most relevant was surely the liberation of Patras, which allowed the Imperials to have a safe harbour to better reach the Italian possessions, while the military forces of the Theme were more free to protect better Athens and Attica from Slavic raids, the Hexamillion slowly converted from a mere yet impressive defensive wall to a military operational base. Talking instead of the proper economy of Peloponnese, the conquest didn’t add valuable resources under the Imperial control: yet, the restored security allowed the slowing rebirth of the local agriculture and animal breeding. Few things, but at the time every resource available was vital for the Empire.

Encouraged by the victory in Peloponnese, which cost few lives to the Byzantines, Maria started to plan indeed the reconquest of Thessaly, asking even reinforcements from the Anatolian Themes: which arrived mostly from the Aegean ones, as the less exposed from the Arab menace.

The Dowager Empress however had a vital problem to solve: how to refill the Imperial coffers. The Empire, even with the victory of 718, was still on war, in Anatolia as in Italy as we tell more later: and the upkeep and the constant raise of troops drained money and resources in a moment when the Byzantines needed more to recovery and rebuild. Maria evaluated all the possible options, and after seeing, especially after the events in Sicily, it was impossible to impose further taxes to the peasants and the nobles as well, she start to look towards the ecclesiastic possessions: which she brought her to face the most relevant religious issue of the time: the dispute over the cult of the icons.

Since the IV century the Church started to question itself over the validity to represent Christ and other religious characters in icons and other type of representation, substantially dividing between the ones which believed it was a form of surviving idolatry and others which believed it was legal due to the incarnation of Christ. The latter seemed to become majority in the debate stating the adoration of the icons in truth was a religious archetype: the believer didn’t adore the object in itself but God, so avoiding the accusation of idolatry.

However, for the common people of the time, still ingrained over ancient Pagan beliefs, the icons soon assumed a thaumaturgic valence in the sense God and or the Saint on the icon were considered as a material executor of the eventual miracle or blessing, going beyond the concept of archetype; an interpretation near to the concept of idolatry which was quite despised by various Bishops of Asia Minor.

To worse the situation, the hostility towards the cult of the images was further ignited by the sect of the Paulicians, impressed by the aniconism of the Muslims as the latter reclaimed their moral superiority in strength of the fact they refused to represent God or their prophet in any form; consequently, they believed the disgraces of the Empire were attributed to a sort of Divine disfavour towards the Byzantines and to repair the wrong they were ready to destroy all the icons and the portraits of Christ and the Saints at their range (iconoclasm). They were reinforced in their beliefs when Leo Isauric, which supported the Paulicians, was crowned Emperor and then saved Constantinople at cost of his life. The contacts between the Isaurics and the Paulicians however ended with Leo III’s death, as Maria soon moved to Corinth with Constantine.

It wasn’t known exactly the real position of Maria towards the issue of the icons, she was probably in favour of the Paulicians, but she knew anyway to not have the strength to take position in favour or against the iconoclasm, and over her weighted the negative past of Theodora wife of Justinian which promoted actively Monophysism, with all the dreadful consequences for the Empire.

She took then a delaying decision which at the same time allowed her to gain money for the Imperial treasure for some years: evaluating the various icons in the Empire were under control of priests and monasteries which reclaimed quite high offers from the pilgrims, reinvesting the money to buy lands and proprieties, Maria enacted a decree to tax for a temporal period of fifteen years any not religious related possession of the Churches of the West and the East; she justified the move with the necessity the people and the nobility couldn’t afford to pay further taxes, pushing them to revolt in the end, while with the Arabs continuing to press in Anatolia, and the Lombards in Italy, it was time the clergy helped in the common struggle of the Empire as well.

Not that both the Latin and the Greek rite Churches appreciated the Imperial unilateral act, but in the end they accepted it as Maria accompanied the decree with various supportive moves, first and more important she implicitly recognized the right of the Church to possess temporal possessions, albeit it wasn’t yet clarified if only over private proprieties or also over the rule of territories; also she started to involve personalities into the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and within the Paulicians to start a discussion over the issue of the icons in preparation of a council to be hosted after the sixteenth year of life of Constantine V: Maria in fact confirmed to leave the regency after the August of 734 giving full decisional power to the son, and also in that light she settled the temporal taxation in a duration of fifteen years, so to end when Constantine reached adulthood. Maria believed in fact fifteen years will be considered sufficient to allow the Empire to recover by keeping enough a state of internal if not peace at least truce.

In relation of the issues of the icons and of the temporal taxation, Maria started a correspondence with the Pope of Rome, Gregory II, of the local noble family of the Sabellus. Gregory was surely a resourceful and skilled man: prior to his election in 715, he was the treasurer of the Holy See, then charged to the Papal Library, then he was diplomat in Constantinople at the time of Justinian II about the issues raised over the Quinisex Council, which enforced the general rules about the canon law of the Orthodox Churches, with the result to obtain from the Emperor the freedom for the Papacy to reject it without consequences.

Gregory II wasn’t certainly pleased over the decision of Maria to tax the ecclesiastic properties, but he appreciated she asked him directly to start a discussion over the issue of the icons for a negotiated solution: he was against the iconoclastic tendencies, but the infancy of Constantine and the neutrality of Maria over the matter created in him the possibility to attract the Isauric family towards his positions. Besides, he definitely accepted the decree over the temporal payment when he obtained a reduction of five years for the possessions of the Bishopric of Rome with the excuse he needed funds to complete the reparations of the damages caused by the flooding of the Tiber of 716, and to repair damaged sectors of the Aurelian walls as well. Gregory also tried to grant the same reduction for the Benedectine order to allow the faster reconstruction of the Abbey of Montecassino, but Maria initially refused stating the complex was under jurisdiction of the Lombard Duchy of Benevento at the time; to not appear greed, the Dowager Empress in the end agreed to concede a donation to the Order in terms of relics and books from Constantinople to be hosted in Montecassino.

In 720, Maria however was forced to renounce over her plans of recovery in Thessalia, as the loyalist Byzantine army in Sicily failed to restore order when in 718 the local Strategos rioted proclaiming a puppet Emperor, certain Basil Onomagoulos. Departing from Patras, the Byzantine armies reached Syracuse and from here crushed the revolt. Maria followed the army with Constantine and Anna as well, because when she ordered the mobilization of her army to Sicily she decided it could be a good opportunity to visit the Italian holdings and Rome, which for decades missed a visit of her Emperor.

The campaign of Sicily allowed Maria, aside to place a more loyal Strategos supported by various native officers (albeit not an expert in military matters, she recognized the necessity to reorganize the system of the Tagmata in Italy and her presence in the island allowed here to rebuild properly from zero the Sicilian militias) to reinforce the reasons of her decree over the temporal taxation of the ecclesiastic properties, allowing her at the same time a not excessive, but sufficient enough, reduction of the general tax levels across the Empire. The hesitation of Maria over the Sicilian insurgence however cost to the Empire the loss of Sardinia and Corsica to the Arab forces; not a particular loss for the Byzantines, but still an humiliation.

Maria was naturally intentioned to recover the islands, but she needed to have her back covered in Italy against the rampant King of the Lombards, Liutprand, who continued to promote raids and attempts to seize Imperial lands: and the only person of authority able to negotiate with him properly was Gregory II. So, after a stop in Naples to meet his Duke, Theodore, who reaffirmed his loyalty to the Imperial dynasty (he was a staunch anti-iconoclast, which brought Maria to doubt over the reasons of the Paulicians), along with her sons and their retinue, moved towards Rome…
 
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Quite the interesting update, especially about the managment of iconoclast crisis by Maria.

Some reflexions though : the loss of Corsica and Sardinia seems a bit important, would it be only because of the likely saracenic raids from these islands to western Italy including Rome as a possible target earlier than IOTL.

As for Rome, while the Lombards are going to pressure on the duchy borders quite soon, Gregorius isn't the only figure of authority : the Duke Basilius rules over DR and Napoli and seems to be as much relevant politically and more military.
(Note that the DR was largely autonomous at this point, with its own money, admittedly on byzantine standard, and non-appliance of imperial edicts).
 
Quite the interesting update, especially about the managment of iconoclast crisis by Maria.

Some reflexions though : the loss of Corsica and Sardinia seems a bit important, would it be only because of the likely saracenic raids from these islands to western Italy including Rome as a possible target earlier than IOTL.

As for Rome, while the Lombards are going to pressure on the duchy borders quite soon, Gregorius isn't the only figure of authority : the Duke Basilius rules over DR and Napoli and seems to be as much relevant politically and more military.
(Note that the DR was largely autonomous at this point, with its own money, admittedly on byzantine standard, and non-appliance of imperial edicts).

It was only a delay, as of course the issue of the icons was far from being solved. But with Leo III out of the game already, Constantine V as an infant and not necessarily brought to assume iconoclastic stances, and an Imperial court in Italy, the issue of iconoclasty will probably treated differently. Still, I want to remember aside from the Paulician there were also various Orthodox Bishops with an iconoclastic position in Asia Minor, so anyway I can tell whatever decision the Emperor will take, in Anatolia will not end well for the Empire...

Well, surely the loss of Sardinia and Corsica opens the path to the Arab raids in the Thyrrenian, but I pointed over the fact they were islands at the moment quite difficult to defend and supply and more a waste for the Empire. On a lighter side, also the Lombard coasts will be affected by Arab raids. It will be same in South Italy?

It's indeed true the Roman Duke was losing prestige at the time and the real main authority of Rome was the Pope, while Liutprand will be determined to make soon his moves regardless of the presence of the Roman Emperor, and Gregorius II is still on the fence between Byzantines and the Lombards, but with the Imperial presence, reinforced by the submission of Sicily, in Italy, surely the Italian Dukes, the Roman one as well, could be brought to say their own word in that delicate scenery...
 
Thanks for the details in TTL iconoclasm crisis.

On a lighter side, also the Lombard coasts will be affected by Arab raids. It will be same in South Italy?
They may were a waste administrativly, but poilitically and strategically they were quite valuable (it's why Byzantium never let mediterranean islands being losts to Arabs easily)

For Lombards, it's pretty much possible indeed, though the wealthiest western coastal towns are still mainly under Italo-Byzantine control (Rome, Naples, Sicily, etc.) at the exception of Ligurian and Tuscan coast.
Furthermore, concerted actions being not unheard of, not only Byzantine risk to suffer more, but to be a main focus (critically with a still important Umayyad navy ITTL)

surely the Italian Dukes, the Roman one as well, could be brought to say their own word in that delicate scenery...
It was quite my point actually : Italo-Roman dukes and rulers weren't really renowed for their loyalism, and had in many manners as much power if not more (as for military power) than the Pope. You'd probably end with a truel between Papacy, "Dukedom" and Emperors
(Not that I'm not really and sincerly interested on discovering how you make Emperors able to get the best of the situation, as I presume is your objective)
 
Thanks for the details in TTL iconoclasm crisis.

I felt obliged to do so, albeit I really summarize the issue hoping I was enough clear. As I said for the moment TTL the situation was freezed but later will return with more vigour.

They may were a waste administrativly, but poilitically and strategically they were quite valuable (it's why Byzantium never let mediterranean islands being losts to Arabs easily)

For Lombards, it's pretty much possible indeed, though the wealthiest western coastal towns are still mainly under Italo-Byzantine control (Rome, Naples, Sicily, etc.) at the exception of Ligurian and Tuscan coast.
Furthermore, concerted actions being not unheard of, not only Byzantine risk to suffer more, but to be a main focus (critically with a still important Umayyad navy ITTL)

Uhm yes but the Umayyad will have soon a more interesting target to face than to organize the raids immediately, albeit the Byzantines will not be caught entirely unprepared... I want to make clear in this period (and TTL), swap of lands from a side to another are quite frequent, so a gain in a certain point will or could be a loss to another point...

It was quite my point actually : Italo-Roman dukes and rulers weren't really renowed for their loyalism, and had in many manners as much power if not more (as for military power) than the Pope. You'd probably end with a truel between Papacy, "Dukedom" and Emperors
(Not that I'm not really and sincerly interested on discovering how you make Emperors able to get the best of the situation, as I presume is your objective)

Well I guess the Italian Dukes will have more spotlight TTL, the various Emperors will have their more and less favourable moments, while about the Papacy... rule n°1: no matter what, the Papacy always wins.

Interesting, I am looking forward to this.

Subscribed.

Thanks!
 
Chapter three

In the summer of 720, the Isauric dynasty entered in Rome, the Pope and the Duke of the city, Peter, to come towards them. It was an historical event for the Eternal City, hosting after many years of vacation an Emperor, albeit a small child. Rome as itself was a former shadow of its former glory, despite certain statements from historians of the 19th century about being reduced to a sort of small town within the Aurelian Walls were quite exaggerate. Surely the city paid the cost of two sacks and various occupation, the decline of its infrastructural system (especially of the acqueducts), the cyclical floods of the Tiber, the endemic plagues and the drop of the food supplies, which provoked a reduction of the overall population around 30,000 and 40,000 (with various swings during the years) units at the start of the eight century. Surely few thing respect to the estimated 300,000 people of Constantinople after the siege of 717-8, but nevertheless was for the European Middle Age still one of the most populated city of the continent.

Besides, in lieu of that visit, at the time Rome attracted various visitors from its surroundings and the entire Byzantine Italy, allowing the local population to make affairs (for example, it was attested from some historians of the time the Roman bartenders only to serve the Imperial soldiers following the Isauric retinue made gold affairs, not counting the brothels of the city, and so on); and albeit the visit was temporary, albeit quite long (not less of four months), still it left a great impression to the Romans, for example for the restoration of the chariot races in the Circus Maximus, suspended since the time of the Gothic wars after Totila left Rome. The stadium felt into decay and started to be used as sort of open quarry, but the Imperial visit stopped its spoliation; besides the Constantinopolean court loved the horse races and wanted during its permanence in Rome to assist to some of them. Anyway, the visit of 720 made so to save the Circus from its inevitable decline, also because Gregory II, seeing the influx of visitors the races gathered to Rome, in the end allowed the continuation of the races, albeit under certain conditions to ensure events such as the revolt of Nika will never happen in Rome. Anyway, the Imperial visit, supported by the presence of a rather strong army, was enough to start the reversal of the decline of Rome as after decades of abandon, the city started to feel more safe. Still, the perception at the time was however the presence of the Isauric family was limited to a certain period, in the end the Emperor and the dowager Empress returned to Constantinople with their retinue and their army, and things will have to return as usual, a belief shared across Byzantine Italy as well.

At the same time, Maria took interest to safeguard the complex of the Palatine, mostly in disarray but still accessible in some wings: enough to host the Imperial family for part of the time, albeit in the end the Dowager Empress was soon forced to search more habitable residences across the city (the Pope even offered then hospitality in the Lateran Palace), while the court meetings only rarely happened in the Aula Magna of the Flavian Palace, and usually in the Senatorial Curia: which was seen as a signal aside to others between the Romans the Isauric dynasty respect to other previous Emperors were more intentioned to protect the Eternal City, so reverting the general Byzantine strategy about keeping as priority the safeguard of Ravenna.

Surely, it pushed to that direction the Duke of Rome, intentioned to regain visibility and power in a territory where his authority was slowly eroded in favour of the Popes (plus Peter was already weakened of his own, as before he was forced to leave Rome because of a local revolt and was only reinstated through the intervention of the Esarchate), which gradually won the heart and the mind of the Romans with the money coming from the ecclesiastic properties; and for a city orphan of her emperor, the leader of the Latin Church was by far the most important person available. Rome besides always struggled to being a city which counted, the loss of the role of Imperial capital still burned in the local population, and her Bishops were the only people which allowed her to keep the relevance she wanted: also for this Gregory II was quite relieved at the time when the Imperial family returned to Naples, considered more suitable to host the court seeing at the time the difficulty to organize properly the Palatine.

However, during her permanence in Rome, Maria made various contacts with the local lords of Byzantine Italy, starting from the Esarch of the Pentarchate Scolastico (at the time the most powerful man of the Empire in Italy), who invited her to visit Ravenna: however, the Dowager Empress declined albeit graciously the invitation at the time, adding reason of safety to undertake a so long land voyage.

It is necessary to remember after the Gothic wars Italy was split in two between Byzantines and Lombards: which the first which retained control of the more populated and wealthy coastal regions, and the latter which occupied the majority of the territory. However, at the outcome of the conflicts, the Byzantines tricked the Lombards with the excuse to keep connected Ravenna and Rome, gaining control of a corridor passing through the Appennine ridge, which consequently split the Lombard possessions in two parts, the so called Longobardia Maior in the North, core of their Kingdom, and the Longobardia Minor in the South, formed by the two Dukes of Spoletum and Benevento.

Naturally, the issue of the “Byzantine Corridor” was the main issue of contrast between Lombards and Byzantines since the end of the Gothic wars, with the first wanting to connect the two sides of their Kingdom and the second wanting to preserve it. Consequently, both sides fought with skirmishes, raids and border lands to achieve their objective: for the Lombards, the fall of the corridor not only will allow them to unify their Kingdom but also to have the necessary bases to conquer Rome and Ravenna and become masters of entire Italy, for the Byzantines it was vital to resist in the hope the two Southern Duchies in the end will search independence from the North.

At the start of the eight century in Italy still prevailed the status quo followed the outcome of the Gothic wars; and the Byzantines started to see signal if not of secession at least of weariness to stay under the control of the North coming from Spoletum and Benevento; but the Arab conquests and then the siege of Constantinople however weakened the Italian Imperial positions, while in the Lombard kingdom started to rise the star of Liutprand, determined and ambitious.

In 720, Liutprand was quite intrigued by the presence of the Imperial family in Rome and initially thought of the possibility to siege the city and seize the entire territory, taking the Emperor and the Dowager Empress in hostage; but then he passed over the idea, as he was in good relations with the Pope and a siege of Rome will only irritated the clergy of his kingdom.

The Lombards in fact generally hesitated since their conversion to Latin Christianity to lay a finger over Rome due to the Papal presence: another reason which increased the Roman support towards their Bishops at expense of the Byzantine Duke; at the same time, the Romans were quite secretly pleased to hear about the various attempts of the Lombards to seize Ravenna without however success: contributing to generate further the rivalries between the two cities survived till today in agonistic competition.

Liutprand besides wasn’t either pleased to hear of the step of openings of the Dowager Empress with the Pope in regards of the issue of the icons; a forging of an eventual alliance between the Roman Emperors and the Popes will be the most detrimental obstacle to his plans. However, as he started to think how to attract Gregory II to his side and in a more stable way, soon when hearing of the Byzantine plans to retrieve Sardinia and Corsica, his volcanic mind arrived to develop a plan.

Sending his envoys to Rome, he expressed concern for the Arab occupation for the Thyrennian islands, as it left exposed to possible attacks the coasts of Tuscia and Liguria, which the Lombards hardly could prevent due to their scarce naval power. However, considering he had plenty of soldiers at disposal, and the Byzantine a strong fleet, he offered a possible cooperation to retake together the lost islands. Naturally, it was a cooperation which pretended a cost, and Liutprand asked at least Corsica as compensation.

Maria initially was tempted to refuse initially, but at the end she accepted for various reasons. For first, the Pope sided towards the offer of Liutprand, because a Lombard Corsica will allow him to establish a stable Latin rite clergy, even if later the Empire will recover the island, and he can’t deny the sudden Lombard-Byzantine cooperation could be useful to him to be the needle of the balance in Italy, mediating and at the same time gaining power and influence from both sides. The Dukes of Naples and Rome weren’t so pleased of the sudden offer of Liutprand, in part because they didn’t trust him and however even if the campaign in the West will be successful, however they will be recover only Sardinia: but Maria convinced them that at least the Imperial Dukes gained more time to prepare in case of Lombard attack, while Liutprand’s forces will made most of the work for them and part of his army will later be forced to garrison Corsica.

The campaign started in the Spring of 721 and ended few months later. The Lombard-Byzantine forces didn’t encountered relevant obstacles, because the Arab fleet was more concentrated to South to plan an invasion of Sicily and never expected the alliance between the two Italian factions against them. At the same time, the local garrisons on the coast were easily wiped easily, albeit the liberators (the locals openly embraced them, while exterminating the few which converted to Islam during the occupation) encountered some resistance into the inner regions; but nothing of extremely hard in the end.

It was a success, which Maria decided to celebrate with a (in truth small, given the Imperial resources at the time) triumph on the roads of Rome in the winter of the same year, which surely boosted the morale of the soldiers, of the Romans and the clergy: the only partially disappointed were the Dukes of Rome and Naples, because it was a so easy liberation which the Imperial army could handle alone without compromising too much with the Lombards. Anyway, the Thyrennian campaign made so to improve considerably the communications and the cooperation between the two Dukes, which in the last decades were more forced to fight on their own but now the presence of the Imperial family which moved periodically between Rome and Naples contributed to keep an active correspondence. The naval route saw an increment of traffic as well, albeit also the land route was revitalized as well: the main reason was the growing prestige of the recently rebuilt Abbey of Montecassino: despite the centre of the Benedectine power was now located between France and North Italy and the relics of their founder were scattered everywhere, still Montecassino was the still the first Abbey: and between Papal, Lombard and Byzantine donations, it was soon returning to be wealthy and powerful.

Surely, the Imperials started to look with major interest towards Montecassino and its surroundings, the valley of the Liri river and the nearby site of Capua: all under control of the Duchy of Benevento. It was a small area, but strategic and potentially rich, because for the Empire the restoration of their authority in that sector will allow it the direct connection between Rome and Naples plus to control a not less important access from Rome towards Benevento; however, it occurred a valid justification for a conflict the Byzantine couldn’t start and the Lombards weren’t interested to start yet. Liutprand in fact was occupied to establish the bases of his power in Corsica, and to travel between Liguria and Tuscia to promote the realization of a naval force, necessary to supply and protect the island.

As in Italy the Thyrrenian campaign settled a sort of peaceful yet unsettling stall between Byzantines and Lombards, things started to move in the Balkans in the meanwhile, with the death of the Khan Tervel and the inevitable succession of Kormeisy: which returned in Pliska, the capital the founder of the Bulgarian Empire Asparuh created when he settled his people in Moesia Superior, after signing a truce with the Serbians. Kormeisy in fact wasn’t patient as the father and was intentioned to reclaim what offered by Maria at the time of the intervention in Anatolia…
 
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Deleted member 67076

Now this is interesting. The Romans are tightening their grip on Italy while trying not to offend the Lomards as the Khan in Bulgaria makes his move.

Looks like Maria is walking a tightrope.
 
Chapter four​


The inside of the Church of San Salvatore in Spoleto: a protochristian basilica renovated by the Lombards in the VIII century and since them remained unchanged till today.

Kormeisy during the last years of rule of Tervel was busy to fight the Serbian tribes in Moesia Superior without relevant progress; he knew of an agreement between the Khan and the Byzantines over claims to other territories, but at the time he didn’t give importance. Returned in Pliska after making a peace with the Serbians, and elected new Khan by the chieftains of the Bulgarian tribes, however he took interest over the agreement and envisioned it. However the only available copies of the treaty in possession of the Bulgarians were only in Greek (the Bulgarians didn’t adopted yet a written language), Kormeisy on the par of the father badly knew that language, so needing translators, and even with the documents traduced the comprehension was limited and quite vague.

As the historians of the time surmised, Maria proposed to Tervel a vague control over lands “in” Macedonia, Epirus and Moesia without entering in the specific, recognizing an eventual access to the Adriatic and the Aegean seas but not explaining at what height. Wanting however to reclaim his rights someway and somehow, he made the only reasonable choice possible, sending messengers to Constantinople to seek a new contact with Maria. He was however disappointed when those messengers returned explaining him the Dowager Express was still in Italy, and required a quite long voyage by sea only to deliver her the Khan’s request.

Kormeisy in the meanwhile developed another strategy, turned to seek support into the Constantinopolean court; the Khan was aware of his strength and that of his people as Northern shield for the Second Rome and was determined to make the necessary pressures to obtain what he wanted. However, Kormeisy didn’t have a large array of interlocutors at disposal, with part of the Imperial retinue in Italy, and the strong man of the Empire, Artavasdos, was busy in Anatolia, neither he seemed intentioned to negotiate directly with Kormeisy, not only to usurp Imperial prerogatives which could made appear him in suspicion of insurrection, but also, al least in the opinion of the historians of the time, like Maria he wasn’t intentioned to give permission to the Bulgarians to occupy lands de jure of the Empire, despite not de facto in truth.

In the end, Kormeisy was forced to seek a contact with the most prestigious person in Constantinople, the Patriarch Germanus I. Albeit elected in 715 after a quite agitated youth (he was even castrated), Germanus was to be considered one of the more involved people in the rise of the Isauric Dynasty. For the few he knew of Leo III, he was in cordial relations with him, albeit he was quite worried about his aniconic tendencies; he developed then a more deep cooperation with Maria after the death of the husband, starting from the early baptize of Constantine V; in theory the infant should have baptized for the 25th December in occurrence with the Nativity of Christ, but the situation of emergency convinced him the infant Emperor needed immediately to be recognized into the community of the Christians.

Germanus hadn’t reasons at the time to be hostile towards Maria, especially when she agreed to his suggestion to create a major distance with the Paulicians, accepting a more official Christian education for Constantine, instilling in her the doubts over eventually becoming a second Theodora (the wife of Justinian which supported the Monophysism). He naturally hoped to forge Constantine as a good Greek rite Christian, but the smallpox breakout of Constantinople convinced Maria to settle temporally in Greece. Then there was the campaign for Patras, and then the intervention in Sicily, and so on. It was quite not pleasant for the patriarch seeing how the Imperial family stayed so long in Italy, missing the opportunity to eventually contribute to the education of the child Emperor, but between the Arab pressures and the Lombard machinations, Maria was more than justified to cure the Italian affairs.

Still, Constantinople started to fall in a sort of apathy. It was still the main cultural and economical centre of Mediterranean and Europe, the capital of the Roman Empire, but the palatine activities without the Imperial presence to coordinate them started to slow considerably; naturally the administrative machine was still functional without the presence of an Emperor, in some ways it was also convenient for the Imperial coffins not forced to maintain the lavish court (and the reduced, itinerant retinue of Maria and Constantine was less expensive as well, living in various moments of the kindness of the Pope or of the noble families of Naples), but at the same time the city hosted also less religious celebrations (or not with the usual splendour) or chariot races in the Hippodrome. Constantinople started to cry the return of his Emperor, and in his absence he looked more towards his Patriarch.

Albeit Germanus couldn’t take personal decisions over the requests of Kormeisy, he offered instead as intermediate between him and Maria; which for the Patriarch, it was a great occasion to introduce to the Khan and his court cultural elements of Greek nature and at the same time consolidating the expanding Orthodox Church of Bulgaria under the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The negotiations between Pliska and the mobile Imperial court lasted for another year, until Maria gave Kormeisy permission to reclaim formally for the Bulgarians the region of Macedonia, or to better say the Macedonian territories north of Thessalonica, as the Dowager Empress wanted for the Empire to restore a land connection between said city and Constantinople, at the time defecting. Maria remained instead more vague about the promised sea access to the Aegean Sea, which in her intention should have been west of Thessalonica; only that west of that city on the coast weren’t located relevant harbours, and were coastal areas quite near to Thessaly. For the modern historians, remaining vague over that particular claim later proved to be quite nefarious for the Empire, and so considered one of the main mistakes in Maria’s entire reign.

But Kormeisy was rather satisfied of the agreement reached, as Macedonia was considered by the Bulgarians an important territory to gain for Bulgaria, as it will be a crossroad between Moesia Inferior, Epirus, and Greece proper. Plus, to the same Khan was made soon present in Macedonia was present a minor Bulgarian presence: the so called “Bulgarians of Kuber”, from a nephew of Asparukh, which split from the main horde ending in those lands, remaining rather isolated from their people and attempting to coexist with the other Slavic tribes of the area. Those Bulgarians were also called Keramisians from the valley of Keramisia where they settled.

Tervel at the time of the war against the Arabs entered somehow in contact with them through the Byzantines, while Kormeisy wasn’t properly informed as busy to fight the Serbians: but now, the Khan had a more valid reason to conquest Macedonia, in order to unify the Bulgarian people. To reach Macedonia however he needed to conquest the valley of the Evros, where settled the tribe of the Dragovites which were the local power of the region. Kormeisy had various reasons to seek their submission, for first to secure the Bulgarian Southern borders, then to obtain a rather prosperous land such as the basin of the Evros, and the main settlement here located, the prestigious city of Philippoupolis. In the spring of 722, the Bulgarians, after receiving a denial from the Dragovites to become their vassals, started their campaign on the Evros valley; in that occasion, Gregorius arrived to bless the Khan and his troops in Adrianopolis, which the Empire agreed to concede the Bulgarians to transit it for their campaign. From that event (where Gregorius addressed Kormeisy as Caesar, which between the Bulgarians started to be contracted into “Tzar” or “Czar”), the relations between the rulers of Bulgaria and the Patriarchs of Constantinople grew exponentially.

Gregorius, which obtained great relevance with his role of mediator and of pacifier of the Bulgarians, however expected that Maria, after the liberation of Sardinia and Corsica, returned with Constantine in the Second Rome to conclude the negotiations with Kormeisy, but other events made so to keep the Isauric dynasty still in the Italian peninsula.

Between the Empire and the Lombard Kingdom remained opened some territorial contestations worsened by the fact Liutprand when hearing of the siege of Constantinople ordered the invasion of Central Italy: even the Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento attacked the Byzantine territories, but the Imperial reply was strong and not only keep the ground, but also repealed back the Lombards. Even if defeated, remained still some territories in Lombard hands the Duke of Spoleto especially, at the time Faroald II, wasn’t willing to return back, in part to not compromise the little he managed to gain and in part because albeit being a capable leader, Liutprand fatigued to impose his authority in Langobardia Minor. The prolonged separation deteriorated the ties between the two Lombard branches, and in the Southern Duchies slowly risen if not will of independence, at least of major autonomy, especially in economical nature: needed all the resources possible to ensure the necessary measures against the Byzantine, sending yearly tributes to Pavia, in a court which always failed so far to bring Italy under a single banner so relieving finally their stance of “perpetual siege” (towards them). Submission to Constantinople was unacceptable, but in Spoleto such as Benevento grew strong the belief if the pressures over the Byzantine corridor will cease, the Empire could eventually accept to normalize the relations with the Southern Lombards.

Liutprand was aware of the growing weariness of the Southern Duchies, considering that the one of Benevento was harshly expelled from Cuma by the Neapolitans, and as said before Spoleto wanted to enforce whatever gained so far, but between the occupation of Corsica and his forces still to recover from the conflict of 717, could only attempt to gain time: so he proposed eventually to Maria a marriage between his daughter and Constantine. But albeit the Pope was interested to promote the marriage to favour peace in Italy, Maria wasn’t convinced. It’s not that she wanted to use her dilatory tactics, but she heard news the girl in question had a frail health condition, and her mother wasn’t better. Liutprand didn’t have male sons and his heir was probably his brother, plus the Lombard ruler was in good conditions as well and probably could have outlasted his daughter.

About Liutprand, it wasn’t sure the exact reason why he wanted the marriage, but the main possible explanation was he wanted, even for some years, a friendly Empire to allow him to operate in Longobardia Minor and restore a royal authority which started to be more weak in the South. In fact, about Byzantine and Frank fonts of the period, the negotiations offered to the Imperial side the possibility to concede a paid and agreed transit of Lombard forces between the two Longobardias through the Imperial corridor.

The only opportunity about marry the daughter of the Lombard King for Constantine was her dowry, which to the Dowager’s intention was to be paid in money or lands; and considering the child was the only living one of Liutprand, it was expected a relevant payment in that sense. In that position, she was supported by the Dukes of Rome and Naples; they didn’t like the idea of a Lombard Roman Empress, but if it had to be then it was better to exploit the most possible from the deal; and if Liutprand in the end turned back in front of the Byzantine request, it was a good chance the already fragile cooperation between the two Italian sides could break in the end.

In fact, the more the Isauric dynasty remained in Italy, the better was with the local Duchies, as the court made so to drag resources from Anatolia to the peninsula to keep their standards and the force of the Imperial army at defence of the Emperor. It was still an Anatolian-Greek based force, but as Maria started to reorganize the Italian tagmata, slowly the numbers of Italian soldiers started to rise; while the officers of the Schola Palatina started to train native soldiers to let it enter in their elite division.

However, the more the Duchies of Rome and Naples started to regain authority and prestige, a sense of uncertainty was moving across the Esarchate of Ravenna. The latest Lombard raids proved the Pentapolis wasn’t the unconquerable wall as in the past (considering they arrived to Classes which practically was as the doors of Ravenna), the slow advance of the Po Delta was affecting the surroundings of the former Imperial capital weakening its natural defences, and above all the geopolitical centre of Italy was gradually shifting again to Rome. The Pentapolis of course remained loyal to the Empire but necessitated to be reassured by the Dowager Empress.

Maria finally accepted to travel to Ravenna in 722, being enough covered by the start of the negotiations with Liutprand over the marriage, and also because being in the main Adriatic harbour her correspondence with Constantinople will be a little more fasten; and considering there was also for her the pending issue with Artavasdos, she decided to remain with Constantine in Italy at least until his sixth birthday, so until 724: a news which didn’t see to be so largely appreciated in Constantinople. There were naturally concerns over the possible wedding with the daughter of Liutprand, considering it could be probably be arranged by the Pope of Rome so with the Latin rite, a move which certainly could be hardly be digested by the Orthodox Churches regardless of their positions over the issue of the icons. However Maria let it known she will respect in full the agreement between her dead husband and Artavasdos so he will marry in the end a member of the family, albeit it was still unclear it will be her or Anna.

That declaration reinforced the position of the Kouropalates, which by many was already seen as the apparent heir of Constantine. The Anatolian didn’t have so reasons to force still the hand, seeing how he was gaining support in the city; but his relations with Germanus remained rather correct, because the Patriarch was more wary of him especially when he entered in contact with various Bishops of Asia Minor and Paulician elements to discuss him about the issue of iconoclastism. Artavasdos wasn’t according to the fonts of the time aligned with one or another faction at the time, albeit if he was quite in contact with Leo III, he was probable to have a leaning stance against the icons.

However, as usual in the East the prolonged absence of the Imperial family was accepted, while the negotiations between Ravenna and Pavia (with the intermission of Rome) proceeded. The main point of debate remained the occupied lands still in hands of the Duchy of Spoleto, of which Maria requested the immediate return. Liutprand in the end caved in, sending an ultimatum to Faroald II to relinquish the contested lands.

The Duke caved as well, but his fold along with the Royal ultimatum eroded his popularity and prestige in his territory, giving to his son Thrasimund a chance to rise to power…

However, the Spoletine fold brought Lombards and Byzantines a reach an agreement of substance about the possible wedding to be held in Rome not until 728, when Constantine will be ten years old; Liutprand agreed to eventually cede some border areas, especially in the zone of the corridor, and both of the direction of Langobardia Maior and Minor: a decision which encountered further dissent in the Southern Lombard Duchies. But Liutprand didn’t have other available cards to play, especially when Maria started to open diplomatic channels with the most powerful man of the Kingdom of the Franks, the Major of the Palace Charles, son of Pepin of Herstal, who restored a fragmented Frank nation after a period of internal divisions and strife. Charles imposed over the Franks a child of Dagobert III, Theodoric IV, as King, but he was no more than a mere puppet on his hands.

Maria sent letters of congratulations towards Charles along with the official recognition of Theodoric as Frank King, along with the Pope as well. It was instead bad news for Theodoric, as a rejuvenated Frank Kingdom on his borders could put a relevant pressure on the Lombards especially if the Dowager Empress attempted to make a deal with him. But Maria didn’t have sufficient knowledge over the Franks in general, she had to rely mostly on the Papacy and the Latin Church in that direction, so at the time she didn’t push more than having cordial relations; and besides Charles wasn’t interested over the Italian affairs, looking more in direction of Germany at the time.

Anyway, with the deal sealed, Maria and Constantine returned to Rome to enjoy their supposed last months in Italy. But, during the first part of 724, things precipitated when Thrasimund of Spoleto deposed his father, reclaimed his title as second of his name, and then asked Liutprand to recognize his accession. The Lombard king refused enraged, as he couldn’t allow an usurpation in his lands, and consequently asked to Thrasimund to step down. The reply could be only negative from the other side, so the Duke of Spoleto started to rally his armies and to promote further a major autonomy from Pavia: not however independence, as there was a relevant part of Lombards which will never accept to break away from their northern brothers. Thrasimund appeased the internal opposition stating he didn’t want to break away from the Lombard Kingdom, but only to have a less tribute to pay and a major freedom in the internal activities of the Duchies. In the meanwhile, the Duchy of Benevento declared its neutrality in the growing crisis between Spoleto and the North; the Duke Romuald didn’t want to disregard the authority of his King, albeit he felt similar sentiment of autonomy from Pavia as well, but he feared sending an army in direction of the rebellious Duchy will left weakened border lands which could see a potential Byzantine aggression.

In all the growing mess into the Lombard domains, Maria postponed undefinitely eventual returns in Constantinople, and started to discuss of the current situation with the Dukes of Rome and Naples, and the Pope, the first ones wanting to immediately launch an assault against the Lombards, and Gregory II which wanted to promote a general pacification. As the respective sides started to heat against each other, in the end Maria opted for a general mobilization of the Imperial forces in Italy to protect its borders. The Empire will remain neutral in the quarrel between Liutprand and Thrasimund but it will not concede right of transit to both the Northern and the Southern Lombards, and any violation of that position from them will be regarded as an act of war.

Thrasimund was delighted to hear the Byzantine stance, because he believed to have secured his external front from Liutprand’s eventual attacks, so not only he deflected from his positions, but he started as emboldened to ask further concessions from his king.

Liutprand didn’t have much choices than to submit with the force the rebel vassal, even at cost to pass into Byzantine territory, so in the early Spring of 724 a Northern Lombard army, the king at its head, entered into the Imperial lands marching on the coast of the Trasimene Lake and pointing in direction of Perugia…
 
The Lombard-Byzantine cooperation is really the interesting twist, congratulations on that.

I would be tempted to think, however, that Maria would had a little more knowledge about Peppinid Francia, would it be only because of Arabo-Berbers raids in Gaul in 721 and 726 (Odon of Aquitaine was actually praised by the pope in his fight against the raid of 721).
 
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