If the Second Rome falls...
- Thread starter RyuDrago
- Start date
As I am now again free from my stage, I am working on the next chapter, which should arrive in short time. But I delayed so far the prosecution of the TL also for some blocks to how proceed into the story.
Chapter thirteen
Aistulf worked in the last years to consolidate again the Royal authority in Langobardia Maior, succeeding only in part. His dynasty, albeit weakened by three decades of defeat and the loss of Langobardia Minor, preserved enough prestige and authority, also because the Lombard duchies recognized the necessity to keep in power the house of Ansprand and avoid a civil war from which only the Empire could gain profit; nevertheless, it didn’t stop them to attempt to gain more power and authority. Aistulf however resisted to the pressures to nominate a “master of palace” as in Francia or in the Roman Empire, not wanting to end like the Merovingian dynasty, at its last breath.
In 750, the son of Charles Martel, Pepin, known as “the Short”, was the uncontested de facto ruler of the Franks, but started to desiderate the title his father didn’t arrive to reclaim, the one of King. Surely, the official ruler, Childeric III, was nothing more than a larva (not only metaphorically), while Pepin, strong of various military successes in Germany, and an able administrator and diplomat as well, had a great support behind him. Still, he hesitated to make the decisive step not wanting to pass as usurper, recognizing he needed an important support: that of the Latin Church. Pepin was thinking to obtain the support of the Roman Emperor as well, but he didn’t know how to relation properly with Constantine, who was son of an usurper (despite the current Basileus attempted to promote an ideal portrait of the father as he was forced by the necessity of the time – the Arab menace on Constantinople – to reclaim the title of Emperor), but a recognized successor as well, and surely not extremely attracted to support an eventual usurper in Gaul, even when he was clear to Rome said region was lost to any Imperial claim becoming gradually “Francia”.
Still, the Merovingian rulers governed so far their kingdom on the basis of three recognitions: the traditional one coming from their people, the ecclesiastic one in vigour since the conversion of the Franks to Christianity, and a juridical one coming from the Roman Imperial recognition since they became a sedentary people in a former Imperial territory. In fact, the three main barbarian Western European kingdoms (of the Franks, of the Visigoths, and the one of Italy, founded by Odoacer but then ruled by the Ostrogoths) conquered and ruled the Western Roman territories, but those conquests were regardless sanctioned by the Roman Emperors; plus the barbarian rulers never contested the superior grade of the Emperors respect to their titles, as was still undeniable the moral and cultural authority emanated by them.
Anyway, at the edge of their power, the Merovingians obtained all the three types of recognition but with the time preserved only the juridical one in 750; Pepin had the one coming from his people, he had part of the ecclesiastic recognition (the one coming from the Frank clergy), but he still missed the recognition from the Pope and the Emperor.
Pepin decided to win the support of both Pope (at the time still Zachary) and Emperor through the card of the religious devotion: through his bastard brother, Remigius, he obtained from the abbot of the monastery of Floriacum in the Loire, more common today as Fleury, the restitution of the corpse of Saint Benedict to Montecassino, gaining consensus and popularity across Italy and within the Benedectine order and naturally in the Lateran halls. At the same time, he established a more stable contact with the two Roman courts (the Imperial and the Papal) through the intercession of his brother Charlesmann, which in 747 abandoned after a life of battles and violence his role as co-ruler in Francia in favour of Pepin taking the Benedectine votes in the same Montecassino.
Even if the relations between the Frank and the Imperial courts became more warm, still remained problems on the horizon, such as the debate about the Filioque and the Agostinian theology, as the clergy of Latin rite over the Alps wasn’t entirely convinced about the validity of the conception of the doctrine of the Cappadocian fathers. The Council of Corinth had at the time the merit to make more clearance into the Frank clergy in the sense it allowed it to enter in contact with the lines of thought of the Greek theologians of the time of the first Councils, yet the spread of their writings remained excessively limited in Western Europe. Plus, some ecclesiastic circles weren’t entirely sold about the Greek concept of “monarchy of the Father” believing more correct the definition “monarchy of the Son”, neither to consider fallible the doctrine of Augustine. Still, the discussion which was going in France didn’t have a political connotation in the sense the Franks didn’t use the “Filioque” in anti-Byzantine opposition, so also for this the issue was still largely avoided both by the Patriarchates of Rome and Constantinople: besides the bishops and the theologians of the Greek rite were more dragged by the Iconoclastic issue at the time while the Latin rite participants where convinced by the Papal diplomats to not push further the question while invited to study better the Eastern theological scripts.
Pepin wasn’t interested in theological issues either, so he remained neutral if not disinterested in the issue; but unfortunately, the Lombards weren’t so intentioned to drop the question, as it was a sort of open match for Imperial Italy for them,in order to mark their cultural difference and their survival as well. In fact the brief Romanization tentative of Rachis irked further his people, not intentioned to being assimilated by the Empire as the Gepids and the Ostrogoths before them, considering also how the Byzantines regained ground in Italy at a worrying pace. The fall of Longobardia Minor didn’t assure either a normalization between the two Italian sides, as too much blood in two centuries was shed from both sides to accept to coexist peacefully under the theorem of “Two Italies” which was the local Church’s position or at least of part of it. Besides, now the Imperials felt for the first time the definitive recovery of Italy on their hands while the Lombards started to be unsure over the fact to be strongest Italian faction anymore.
Aistulf felt the necessity to improve the position of his kingdom, at cost to break the treaty of Sutri; at the same time he tried to seek an agreement with Pepin, without success. In fact, the Frank master of palace was intentioned to obtain the legitimacy necessary from Zachary and Constantine for reclaiming the throne, and he wasn’t interested to involve himself in Italy considering the German territories east of the Rhein were far to be consolidated and a there was to keep an eye over the fluid situation in Islamic Spain due to the war between Omayyads and Abbasids. Still, the Lombard king wasn’t demoralized, considering at least the Franks will remain neutral.
In 751, Pepin obtained what he wanted: keeping in isolation Childeric III a delegation composed by Frank nobles and bishops arrived in the Eternal City to question the Pope if King should be the one who inherited the title by blood or the one which retained the effective power, hence Zachary gave the latter reply.
According to the various fonts of the time, Zachary justified his reply on the basis of the principle of Roman Imperial succession, considering even the various dynasties ruling the Empire obtained the title behind the Senatorial recognition before the blood inheritance, and according to the Imperial tradition of the second century (since at those times recognized as the apex of the same nation), the power had to be assigned “to the best person”. The Pope so relied upon the Roman tradition to give Pepin the most stable platform possible to reclaim the throne, and at the same time to carve for himself and his successors an authority not necessarily tied to the same Imperial power.
Pepin however obtained also the juridical recognition from Constantine, always thanks to Zachary. It wasn’t difficult for the Pope to convince the Emperor of all the benefits to have a friendly Francia, especially in anti-Lombard key. The Bishop of Rome in fact started to grow more cold towards Aistulf from the moment he started to attract the North Italian clergy on his side while the influence of Rome was slipping. The Lombard King in fact gave new concessions and tithes to the local clergy, but he made so those concessions were still considered Lombard territories despite administrated by the various bishops, having the use but not the property: in that way, those bishops were free to keep all the money they acquired without necessarily sent a part to it to Rome. Zachary attempted to raise a protest sensing the Lombard king was corrupting clerks only to keep them to his rule while the concession of Sutri by Liutprand created a precedent, but Aistulf countered the concession from Lombard side wasn’t anymore valid from the moment the donation was integrated into Imperial territory and the Pope of the time regulated the property its possessions with the Mother Empress Maria: hence, he considered himself free to donate territories to local clergy but not necessarily recognizing its possession from the Patriarchate so the Bishopric of Rome.
Anyway, Constantine, albeit not buying the “farce” (so it was called into the Imperial court the Frank visit to the Pope and their discussion in a phrase attributed to him by an historian of the time) happened in Lateran, above all because he felt Zachary abused of his role, nevertheless he agreed to give Pepin the juridical recognition he requested; the Emperor in fact was starting to gather his troops as he was recently informed of the new Anatolian intervention, and he didn’t want an hostile France during his absence, plus he feared refusing a recognition while the Pope instead granted risked to reduce his authority towards the barbarian kingdoms at full advantage of Zachary and to the bishops of Rome in general.
Pepin so could put in act his plan, dethroning Childeric forcing him to take the votes and spend the rest of his life in a monastery, and in November of 751 was crowned king of the Franks, so starting the Carolingian dynasty. Naturally, as first act of reign he abolished the title of master of palace, converging its functions into the rejuvenated royal authority. Of course, his power was far from being secure, as the German populations attempted to disengage themselves adding as excuse with the change of dynasty they considered themselves free from their oath of submission, while the Arabs of Spain were stirring trouble in Septimania while his half-brother, Gryphon, attempted to raise a revolt: but generally, the Franks remained compact behind Pepin.
At the start of 752, Zachary died, while Constantine was in Brindisi. Aistulf was convinced, with the charismatic bishop died and the Emperor going to depart towards Anatolia, to contest the treaty of Sutri and plan the invasion of Central Italy. Under analysis of the past Lombard failures, the Lombard King was convinced it was useless to concentrate his efforts upon Ravenna as Rome returned gradually to become the main centre of the Empire in the peninsula, while at the same time it was considered a rather detractive decision to spare the Eternal City only because it was the seat of the Patriarch of Latin Rite and of Italy: hence, he decided to focus his efforts to march straight in direction of Latium, as the eventual conquest of Rome could give a great blow to the Imperial rule across the peninsula. Aistulf obtained the support of his dukes, above all of Desiderius, newly appointed Duke of Tuscia, region where the main Lombard forces started to gather. Aistulf was determined to launch his attack after news of the departure of Constantine from Italy arrived to him.
Aistulf, even if he wasn’t so delighted of the idea because in the end was an ulterior stab to his authority, restored the integrity of the Duchy of Tuscia to allow Desiderius to better organize the local forces, and also to better reply to eventual aggressions from the Imperial Duchies.
Still, his intentions somehow leaked and started to spread around Italy, considering it couldn’t pass unobserved a relevant movement of troops inside Langobardia Maior, arriving to the ears of the new Pope Stephen II before the Emperor, located still in Brindisi; from Rome, messengers were sent to Lucca, capital of the Duchy and personal fief of Desiderius where Aistulf settled temporally his court.
Lucca was a rather strategic site: positioned in the North-West part of Tuscia, the city was a crossroad between the valley of Carfaniana, antechamber of Liguria protected by the Apuan Alps, the Western Tuscan-Emilian ridge (more safe for the Lombard transits in the area respect to the Eastern part menaced by the duchies of Ravenna and Perugia), and the fertile Arno Valley. Plus, it beneficiated of the near presence of the harbour of Pisa, which along the Ligurian cities of Luni and Genova were the main ports in hand of the Lombards, considering in the Italian North-East Aquileia couldn’t stand the competition of the harbours of the Duchy of Venetia (even despite the hatred between the same Imperial settlements in the region), it was the conjunction node between the Roman Cassia and the Aurelia ways, and it was near the town of Carrara centre of the most important and valued marble caves of Italy. Lastly, it was a relevant religious site, enforced by the presence of a cross with painted a Christ it was said painted by Saint Nicodemus and so claimed to be the most ancient and true image of Jesus. Controlling Lucca mean at the time control over entire Tuscia and its internal routes.
Anyway, Aistulf decided to start his march when it was clear the information started to leak out and he will not cave nothing from Stephen II; he decided personally to lead the bulk of his forces towards Rome while to Desiderius was given the duty to remain in the back lines to raise additional troops and prepare a second offensive which should be directed towards Perugia. Arriving however to the Tuscia-Latium border, he found some obstacles because of the defensive positions realized by the Roman Duchy, albeit he managed to overcome them as weren’t still completed despite the Imperial effort to hold the line.
So Aistulf arrived at the doors of Rome, taking the necessary measures to put the Eternal city under siege: process rather hard with a defensive perimeter such as the Aurelian walls. Besides the Lombards didn’t have the necessary siege instruments to take by assault the walls, despite the Roman garrison was quite inferior to the attackers (about 5,000 defenders against 30,000 aggressors), so the Lombard King preferred to close the land accesses putting squads in front the various doors of the city, while keeping the bulk of his forces in the Eastern side. In fact, Aistulf believed to put under pressure the Roman population barring the path to Saint Peter’s basilica, which was outside the walls and so without defences aside the near Castle Saint Angel; at the same time, he wanted to keep his army in a more favourable ground in case of arrival of Imperial reinforcements, hoping with an open ground battle to defeat them and then give a definitive blow to the Roman resistance.
But the Romans decided to resist, as Stephen II was rather offended by the Lombard “occupation” of Saint Peter (naturally the attackers didn’t violate the basilica, but they opposed all the attempts of the local clergy to make their own religious offices into), while the same Roman clergy managed to impose the calm about a scared population about a possible “sack” in case of conquest of the city: respect to the Visigoths or the Vandals, the Lombards due to their Christian faith will surely respect Rome and their inhabitants avoiding massacres.
Aistulf kept Rome under siege for almost three months, until the arrival of Constantine. The Emperor was in Brindisium when he was informed of the Lombard march, so he decided to renounce to intervene in Anatolia to repeal the invasion. However, during his march to north, he was slowed by a series of riots started by the Southern Lombards in the Duchies of Benevento and Spoleto, raising the flag of rebellion hoping for a liberation of Longobardia Minor. But other Southern Lombards were resigned to their fate, other instead moved north to join Aistulf’s forces, and anyway the rebellion was scattered and without capable leaders, so the insurgence in the end was quelled. But Constantine was forced to leave behind a strong garrison in South Italy, while other forces remained in East Sicily to keep in check the Arabs.
At the news of the arrival of Constantine, Aistulf partially left the siege on Rome gathering his forces to the Western bank. Constantine entered in the city through the Porta Latina as coming from the Latin way, after visiting Cassino. The Emperor attempted initially to search a peace of compromise: in fact the Emperor was quite worried of the situation in Anatolia not less than Italy, as before he left Brindisium he received news the armies of Michael Melissenos, above all for scarcity of supplies, struggled to restore order while the ones behind Niketas were more successful on the border, but it seemed they didn’t felt urgency to give relief to the strategos of Anatolikon. In fact Anna had informers in Italy which gave her news over the plans of the brother to get rid of her, Nikephoros and Niketas, and passed on the latter those informations. Naturally, the Esarch of Anatolia wasn’t intentioned to step down, and worked to put Micheal in crescent difficulty so to force the Strategos to rely upon him; all while was still intentioned to grab Eudokia from Constantine. The Emperor felt something was wrong also from delays and issues in the mail system which Niketa’s agents contributed to distress; considering the war in Italy occupied him in full, Constantine in the end was forced to keep the actual status quo in Anatolia and he couldn’t take decisive steps to remove from the power equation his sister and her son-in-law.
Naturally, Aistulf pretended impossible concessions, also to force Constantine to refuse and engage battle. In the June of 752, the Emperor accepted to engage battle with an army of about 12,000 soldiers, part of them elite troops from the Schola Palatina, an enemy force of about 28,000 Lombards. Constantine knew well he was in numerical inferiority, but he decided to attack nevertheless because he heard new reinforcements were arriving for Aistulf, his own were still far, so he feared to remain trapped in Rome if the Lombard King decided to resume the siege with a more large army. The battle took place on the Western side of the Tiber, Constantine taking the surprise effect as instead to attack from Castel Saint Angel as expected, he made a sortie from the quarter of Trans Tiber, more known today as Trastevere. The Imperials, better trained, inflicted about 8,000 deaths to the Lombards, but lost 3,000 soldiers as well, a quarter of the offensive force actually in hand to Constantine.
However, despite keeping the numerical superiority, Aistulf decided to retreat in the occupied part of Latium, to reorganize his troops. Constantine in the meanwhile, leaving his army in Rome, moved to Naples with Leo to follow personally a campaign of recruitment in Campania, despite evil voices said he decided to leave the Eternal City to not risk to be trapped into a new siege, as in theory the victory didn’t break it entirely. Still, more than Campania it was Rome and its surroundings to provide him the necessary manpower to fill his ranks, and quite willingly: despite the city in forty years saw only a small increment (estimated over the 40,000 souls but still less of 50,000), there were many the male Romans which decided to fight for the Empire, to save their city and for sense of pride.
The war proceeded with alternate results for two years, until in 754 Ravenna felt in Lombard hands, as the Lombards at that point knew well the weakness of the site, while the city not being anymore the centre of Imperial Italy became less relevant respect to other more strategic cities as Ancona and Rimini, as for much of the territory of the Duchy of Perugia as well, as the strategy of gradual conquest seemed to pay for the aggressors. But the Imperials were far from being defeated, as new reinforcements started to arrive from a rather pacified South Italy. Still, Constantine was unable to advance north as Aistulf was unable to proceed south; both refusing to seek a peace agreement.
But the table started to turn in favour of the Imperials when the Papal envoys started to request an intervention from the Franks. Pepin in fact got rid in the meanwhile of all of his internal enemies and ruled over a peaceful and powerful Francia. The Frank king was thinking to use his valuable assets at disposal to expand the influence of his country, when the request of help coming from Rome arrived. Pepin had obligations towards the Papacy and the Empire for his coronation, plus he was intrigued over the idea to become the “arbiter” of the Italian peninsula, not wanting a local power to prevail on the other, so he started to gather troops for the invasion of the North-west region of Langobardia Major.
The Lombards didn’t expect the Frank attack from north, so their weak positions on the Alps were easily taken at the time: Pepin then marched in direction of Pavia, the Lombard capital. Desiderius at the time was in Lombard Venetia, to keep at bay the Venetian Byzantine Duke to prevent the occupation of Aquileia, but he interrupted his operations in the sector to save the city. A battle took place in the September of 755 and saw a Lombard victory, despite of measure; Pepin lost various men, but so Desiderius as well, and anyway the Franks hold still great part of the region of Piedmont, where new reinforcements started to arrive from Francia and Germania. Pepin’s army was numerically superior, but it was unprepared to fight into Italian soil, whereas the Lombards had knowledge of the territory, plus the defenders were advantaged by the incoming winter which stopped the military operations.
Desiderius and the Northern dukes, not wanting to jeopardize further their relations with the Franks, however were intentioned to open peace negotiations, which could allow Langobardia to came out enough harmless against the Franks and to gain something with the Byzantines: but Aistulf, which believed to have still the upper hand with the latter, was emboldened by the victory of Pavia, and hoped a decisive victory in the Southern front could push Constantine towards better peace terms. Plus, he believed the invitation of Desiderius and the dukes to start peace negotiations was a signal of weakness from their side, hence he felt enough reassured about a reprise of his authority.
So the Lombard King decided to push his forces into Umbria, managing to take Perugia, and then turning in direction of Rome, where Constantine in the previous months regained the lost ground reaching the borders of Tuscia, but the news of the fall of the Central Italian city forced him to face directly Aistulf. A direct engagement took place in early October outside the town of Narni: the Lombard troops were rather skilled but tired from the long campaign and failed to hold for long the impetus of the Imperial forces, this time being the superior one numerically, and were forced to retreat.
To the victory contributed the detachments of the former “Constantinopolitean” Schola Palatina, and now considered “Roman” as established into the Castrum Pretorium, under direct Imperial command, which started more to be composed by native elements, so Italics and Greeks and Anatolians established permanently in the peninsula. Constantine however was convinced of the necessity to reform the Imperial army entirely after the conflict proved readjustments were necessaries to perform an offensive campaign and not staying in permanent defensive stance.
Unable to counter the Imperial counteroffensive, Aistulf agreed to peace terms. The treaty, discussed during 756 in Lucca between Imperial, Lombard, Papal and Frank delegates, didn’t see cession of territories, also because the Lombard king gradually evacuated Umbria and Romagna as the Frank King did the same in Piedmont, but forced the Lombards to grant a series of concessions, giving the Holy See property of the donations to the local clergy (recognized still as the user of said concessions) on the path of the Donation of Sutri, financial compensations to the Byzantines and demobilization of part of their military asset, plus other commercial advantages to the Franks into their territories. Aistulf and his Dukes were in rather short terms after the treaty, as the latter were quite irritated over the royal decision to throw the possibility of a more favourable negotiation to pursue the Imperial defeat, but if there were thoughts of a coup they were never realized, as the king died towards the end of 756 falling from his horse.
The Dukes elected then Desiderius, which found himself in the duty to preserve what remained of the Lombard power and to remain in balance between the Franks in the North and the Imperials in the South. But he managed for almost two decades to keep the Kingdom in peace, despite the matrimonial policy he decided soon to pursue to conciliate himself with the Franks was later the antechamber of the definitive Lombard ruin…
As for the Empire, Constantine hardly could consider himself as a winner, despite the invasion was in the end repealed and could claim his victory at Narni was the one which concluded the war: aside from the fact the Imperial forces were still weak to march North (and the Venetians failed to take Aquileia, forced to retreat to the fortified site of Grado, actual patriarchal seat of the Italian North-east), now in the Italian panorama entered suddenly the Frank kingdom, intentioned to say its own word over the affairs of the peninsula: and certainly, Pepin didn’t want an Italy unified behind the Lombard or the Byzantine banner, and also for this he pushed in order both sides didn’t gain new territories, while favouring most the Papal claims to enforce that third player: even if defeated at Pavia, he obtained regardless with the crossing of the Alps and the hold of Piedmont the objective to be the arbiter of the Italian situation, as his armies could reach the peninsula whenever he wanted…
Naturally, it was more an influence the Frank one exercised more over the Lombard Kingdom rather than the Empire, which at least came out from the conflict with more internal cohesion, relative damages and a weakened enemy, but it was as said before a sweet-bitter victory, as in the meanwhile in the east a disaster for the unity of the Empire came…
Fascinating read, and I enjoy watching the slow build up to what's hinted at in the first post.
Amazed this doesn't get more comments really.
Amazed this doesn't get more comments really.
Same here. Digging this TL a lot, though there is a niggling complaint.
Although the Emperor's neglect of Constantinople and Anatolia is proving to have dire consequences, as it should be, I question the ability of the Roman Empire to pursue an Italocentric grand strategy at this time on the basis that Italy's economy was a bloody shambles, especially where it wasn't controlled by the Lombards.
By the 700s Anatolia was the only large Roman possession and certainly the only one rich in grains and manpower. In fact, if they can somehow scrape together the funds and armies, I think a Roman grand strategic offensive in Italy is more feasible post-Mazinkert, perhaps exploiting the feudal anarchy in the Duchy of Calabria-Apulia under the weak Roger Borsa after his father, Robert Guiscard, gave them a bloody nose at Durres. This especially since the Normans had only recently conquered the last Imperial possessions in Italy.
They should beware Roger/Ruggiero II though...
Although the Emperor's neglect of Constantinople and Anatolia is proving to have dire consequences, as it should be, I question the ability of the Roman Empire to pursue an Italocentric grand strategy at this time on the basis that Italy's economy was a bloody shambles, especially where it wasn't controlled by the Lombards.
By the 700s Anatolia was the only large Roman possession and certainly the only one rich in grains and manpower. In fact, if they can somehow scrape together the funds and armies, I think a Roman grand strategic offensive in Italy is more feasible post-Mazinkert, perhaps exploiting the feudal anarchy in the Duchy of Calabria-Apulia under the weak Roger Borsa after his father, Robert Guiscard, gave them a bloody nose at Durres. This especially since the Normans had only recently conquered the last Imperial possessions in Italy.
They should beware Roger/Ruggiero II though...
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Chapter fourteen
During the time Constantine V was busy to fight the Lombards in Italy, the more the war in the peninsula was protracted, Michael Melissenos decided to finally agreed to concede the hand of Eudokia to Niketas, adducing as official reason she couldn’t remain further unmarried from the moment the Emperor was unwilling to return in Constantinople; but the last Paulician insurgence and the constant Umayyad threat weakened his position of force, so he agreed in the end to forge an alliance with the Esarch of Anatolia. The last hesitations of Michael were removed when the Patriarchate of Constantinople considered legitimate the decision to declare null the promise of marriage with Constantine, as the Emperor not returning in Constantinople to fulfill the marriage pact practically violated for first the promise. Naturally, behind the ecclesiastic decision was a decisive pressure of Anna.
Effectively, in Constantinople the ties of loyalty started to came less among the various parts of the civil society: the commoners cried for the lack of feasts and redistribution of free food, the Greek rite clergy was unhappy of the growing role of the Latin Popes in Italy and as strict Imperial advisors, the merchants lamented the reduction of affairs since the absence of the Emperor, the military wanted their ruler to lead them in Anatolia rather than remain involved in the Italian affairs, the nobility and the senators started to think Constantine would restore the role of capital to Rome and recognizing the local Senate as the senior one. Those feelings of negligence were harbored in Thrace and Anatolia, where Anna and Niketas were rather able to hatch and expand in their favor.
Niketas organized his marriage with Eudokia during 752, in the middle of the new Paulician revolt in Anatolia (as the Easrch knew of the return of the Emperor from Greece to Italy he decided to not waste further time), in a lavish ceremony in Hagia Sophia, present Anna and her son, with the organization of a big game in the Hippodrome and the distribution of free food among the population, paid by the princess and the Esarch and approved by the Constantinopolitean Senate, which set with a law a new precedent (in truth something already in use at the time of the Old Republic and the Early Empire) where a private citizen or another public personality aside the Emperor could organize celebrations within the Theodosian wall. It was of course an act of demagogy from all the part involved, and also of defiance towards Constantine, but surely significant of the air which was circulating in Constantinople… which wasn’t anymore favorable to the Emperor.
In the next months following the marriage, the coordinated effort of Niketas and Michael restored order in Anatolia, and that time they went with a heavy hand towards the Paulicians, treating them as heretics and mere rebels and starting a series of persecutions against them. Effectively, also without anymore a certain part of popular support tired of that prolonged state of turmoil, that time the Paulician minority was practically erased, their remnants escaping to the “no man’s land” border with the Abbasid caliphate or even in Syria. In 755 Anatolia was considered finally pacified; and as the same Abbasids were still fighting to assert their domain in the same Caliphate, which received a further shock when just a year later the only surviving member of the Omayyad dynasty, Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Muʿāwiya, was proclaimed Caliph and Emir of Al-Andalus, so of all of Muslim Spain, bringing on his side all the Maghreb as well. The Islamic Empire was now shattered in two parts and their respective internal tensions and readjustment brought a generalized peace across the Mediterranean, because the same Roman Empire or to better say the two parts of it weren’t interested to launch a general war against the fractured Caliphate. Albeit, to be honest, the Empire in Rome tried some actions of disturbance in East Sicily – not siding yet with the Emir in Corduba or the Caliph in Damascus- in the successive years, but the Arabs in the islands remained too strong to be eventually defeated in their entrenched positions. Regardless of those minor skirmishes, both Anatolia than Imperial Italy started to face a period of peace and reconstruction, as for demographic rise as well.
However, the state of generalized peace in the Mediterranean didn’t prevent one of the most dramatic event for the Eastern Roman Empire: its split in two separate parts. When Constantine V knew of the marriage between Niketas and Eudokia was utterly furious, but as being gobbled in the new phase of the war with the Lombards in Italy, he recognized to been impotent at the time so he was forced to recognize the marriage. At the same time, he swore to not take another wife anymore, placing his entire bets over Leo, which started to grow healthy and sane. Anyway, according to various historical reports of the time, Constantine was settled to declare in case of sudden death of Leo one of his loyal officers as eventual heir, to deny his sister’s son to become the next Emperor after him; and bringing the Roman Senate to approve officially the succession, whenever the heir will be Leo or another of his choice.
Constantine wasn’t a stupid and knew his power in Constantinople was faltering, so he opted to bring new legitimacy over his authority by further reassuring the prestige of the Senate of Rome; in that perspective was to be seen his decision to not sign the Constantinopolitean Senatorial law over the organization of official celebrations by private citizens or other Imperial administrators, but making it enacting by the Roman Senate and once then he signed it. The Emperor wasn’t elated, truth be told, to give this privilege to anyone was able to pay for it, especially in Constantinople where effectively Anne and Niketas could later start a “bread and games” policy to keep happy and in line the people of the Second Rome, and in perspective in the First Rome as well; but later, at least in Imperial Italy, the law in question wasn’t extremely bad for the same Emperors, as it freed their treasuries from a series of expenses so saving money for other purposes, and generally those “private paid public celebrations” were always hosted in name of the ruling Emperor or Empress (for political opportunities). Naturally it didn’t mean the Emperors never organized anymore lavish feasts since then.
Anyway when the last political decisions of Constantine started to be know, it further jeopardize the relations between Rome and Constantinople, and Anna and Niketas started to organize a decisive plot to take the power all across the Empire, especially towards the end of 756 when news of the conclusion of the war in Italy started to arrive in Constantinople.
The plotters decided to search support within certain sectors of the Greek speaking entourage of the Emperor tired of his prevalence towards Italy, and wishing to return in Constantinople as well; and through the support of the Patriarch of the city, Constantine II; who was a staunch supporter of Anna, they were rather successful to establish contacts with Constantine Podopagouros, who was Logothetes tou dromon, the overseer of the public post, and his brother Strategos who was commander of the Excubitors, one of the elite Imperial guards corps which however due to the preminence of the Schola Palatina felt into a less relevant position in the last years. Constantine and Strategos, unsatisfied of the Imperial pro-Italian policy and desiderous to reassert the preminence of the Greeks of Thrace (whereas the retinue of the Emperor was more composed by Greeks of the west and of Anatolian descent) in the affairs of the Empire, corrupted to their side some official, but they failed to gain relevant support, and in the end the plot was easily discovered in the Spring of 756, and after some weeks of inquiry, the two traitor brothers were brought to a shameful parade across the streets of Rome and beheaded in the Circus Maximum at the early August of the same year (1). The historians reported the state of eccitation of the Romans towards the traitors and the cheers in favor of Constantine V, sign that he was really loved by the local population at the total opposite of the Constantinopolitean one.
Naturally, Constantine planned to act against the main plotters, as in the late Summer was already in Corinth, bringing Leo with himself to gather loyal troops to him. The soldiers scattered between Imperial Italy and Greece proper remained loyal to him, albeit due to the constant vigilance to the various frontiers he wasn’t unable to gather no more than 15,000-16,000 troops, however veterans of the last war. Plus he weight on his favor the absolute majority of the Imperial fleet remained loyal to him, unless to the naval garrison located in Constantinople, however rather scarce due to the concentration of ships in more critical spots against the Islamic navies elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Lastly, the absolute majority of the Aegean islands, Crete and in last instance Cyprus, remained loyal to Constantine as well in lieu of his naval supremacy.
Constantine however sent a last conciliatory message in direction of Constantinople: or Anna, Niketas, Michael and Constantine II will accept to bow in front of him, they will receive clemency albeit they would lost all their charges and brought to live in a sort of golden exile in some Italian villa under strict surveillance, or the Senate of Constantinople will declare all of them decayed and put them under temporal custody, or there would not be clemency for everyone.
At that point, the entire Constantinopolitean establishment after a rather convulse debate, decided to not bow and to rebel against Constantine: still in the late August of 756, the Senate declared the ruling Emperor decayed as heretic, spreading the voices he was in favor of the Latin version of the Credo and intentioned to impose it over all the Empire (which naturally wasn’t true, but the rebels decided to paint Constantine as succubus of the Romans and the Pope to reinforce the legitimacy of their claims), and then proclaimed Nikephoros, first of his name, as new legitimate Emperor, with Anna as Regent and Niketas as her aide, even if he was almost 16 at the time (however indeed a docile instrument in the hands of the mother and the half-brother). The population of Constantinople, at that point sold towards the usurpers, acclaimed those events with a large support. In the next weeks, all the Anatolian themes proclaimed their new loyalty to Nikephoros I, or to better say to Niketas.
So, as ulterior reaction, in an official statement in Corinth the 4th of September 756, Constantine V declared Constantinople stripped of its role of capital of the Empire, and its senate decayed of its role, while Rome will be restored of its original role of first capital and the local Senate declared the only and senior one legitimated again to promulgate laws for all the Empire.
Naturally, in Imperial Italy, and naturally Rome, joy and excitation for those declarations were incredible. A series of celebrations were held across the country – Italy returned again to be the official core of the Empire, or at least the central and southern parts. But, as it will be seen later, the Lombard kingdom will remain affected as well by that decision…
Constantine and Niketas anyway started to gather and prepare their troops, both realizing to achieve a relevant strategic objective: the control of Thessalonika. In fact with quite the surprise of both sides, the second city of Greece through the local nobility but above all the intermission of the Bishop of the city, declared originally to stay neutral and recognize only the victorious Emperor in the end, especially to avoid the devastation of its surroundings. In fact Constantine even with the naval superiority he decided to not make a landing in Thrace preferring to march towards the rebellious city through the coastal Hellenic route, and Thessalonica would have been a vital supply node; at the same time Niketas needed the control of the said city to have a base from where marching towards Hellas proper attempting to defeat on a land battle his former ruler.
But nobody of them didn’t consider an unexpected factor: the intervention of the Bulgarians, by the same intercession of the Bishop of Thessalonica. Just few months back in 755 Sevar died, so ending his line not having direct heirs, and according to the historians of the time was proclaimed by the tribal nobles gathered in Pliska a certain Kormisosh, of the Ukil clan. Kormisosh wanted to affirm his fresh rule and he was planning, considering himself free from the past obligations his predecessors had with the Roman Emperors (also probably not having full knowledge of them), and so planning an invasion of the Byzantine lands. For sure, when he heard of the voices of incoming civil war across the Empire, he saw eventually a chance to intervene and gain further power, albeit he didn’t know yet what side would be more profitable for him to support.
So he was rather caught off-guard when he received an embassy sent by the Bishop of Thessalonika… asking him to protect with his army the city, against both Constantine and Niketas. Albeit initially sensing a trap, nevertheless he decided to march towards Thessalonika, where he was well received by the bishop and all the local establishment and their families outside the main door of the city walls. The Bulgarian ruler had a long meeting with the bishop and his retinue, the latter interlocutor explaining how the people of Thessalonika, and by certain extent the population of Macedonia, remained neglected by the growing contrast between the two main Greek establishments, the one in Rome and the other in Constantinople, and heavily taxed since the earthquake of the Second Rome to contribute the efforts of reconstruction of the capital of the Empire. The local population didn’t like the hegemony Niketas wanted to impose over them, but lost also faith towards Constantine V to guarantee their interests. Now, albeit not rejecting to stay into the Empire still, the city of Thessalonika wanted a strong, friendly authority to guarantee their interests and was convinced the Bulgarians, which besides started to flock the region and live in substantial peace with the local natives by several years since the rule of Tervel, could be the protectors of the Greeks of Macedonia all. Besides Kormisosh was also well informed of the original deal between Tervel and Maria Isaurica… And Thessalonika in exchange of protection could act as the access to the sea the Bulgarians wished for so long.
Plus there was also the fact the bishopric of Thessalonica, albeit of Greek rite, only in recent time passed over the jurisdictional authority of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, whereas in precedency was under the Roman jurisdiction; jurisdiction which however was rather bland and more aligned towards a certain degree of autonomy. To the opposite, the Constantinopolitean Patriarchate wanted to meddle in the religious affairs of the second city of Greece in a rather invasive way... and the bishop wanted to keep his privileges and autonomy. As aligning with Niketas would have been total submission to Constantinople, while siding with Constantine would have eventually bring the bishopric under Roman influence, he started to consider an alternative option, the Bulgarian one.
So, in the November of 756, Kormisosh was convinced to be invested “by divine authority” through intermission of the bishop of Thessalonika Tsar of the Bulgars (so giving him a sacral aura among his people, especially when the voices started to spread in direction of Moesia Inferior, at that point rather definitive settlement of the Bulgarians so started to be renown “land of the Bulgarians” hence “Bulgaria”) and “Protector of the Macedonian Greeks and the city of Thessalonika”. Kormisosh was lastly definitely convinced to not annex directly Macedonia into his sudden enlarged domains because in that way he could act as potential mediator between the two Roman sides, still under suggestion of the bishop of Thessalonika.
From that November, the historians agreed it was settled the act of foundation of the Bulgarian Empire as the only “Eastern Roman-Barbarian kingdom” in history.
Both Constantine V and Niketas were caught off-guard by the Bulgarian meddling into the Roman affairs, but albeit initially both enraged and inclined to not recognize Kormisosh’s protectorate towards Thessalonika and Macedonia, however in the end they accepted to send both delegations in the city. In fact both feared to not have enough troops to defeat the Bulgarians and, even if who would won first, later should have faced his main antagonist. So both men didn’t want to make the first move… and considered the eventuality to convince Kormisosh to ally with them.
However, as Kormisosh didn’t want to side with neither of both as in truth not Constantine nor Niketas would have much to offer especially in terms of lands (the Bulgarian ruler looked in particular towards Adrianople but it was both clear both would never budge over the cession of the city), the initial negotiations were stalled to the point after a series of various mutual reassurations, at the start of 757 Constantine and Niketas agreed to meet in Thessalonika. Naturally the meeting was tense but both in the end recognized to unlock the situation, they decided to split the Eastern Roman Empire in a sort of condominium administrated by two independent administration. Constantine V will be the senior Emperor ruling over Imperial Italy, Greece proper and the Aegean islands, Crete and Cyprus, with Rome as capital, Nikephoros I will rule as junior Emperor over Thrace and Anatolia with Constantinople as capital. The heirs of Constantine V will rule over the former lands, the ones of Nikephoros over the latter; Thessalonika will be acted as sort of commercial, economical, and diplomatic needle between the two Empires under the protection of the Bulgarians (so paying tribute essentially on them), with their rulers definitely recognized as “Caesars” or Tzars of their own people, but with a substantial equality in rank between the two Emperors.
Due to the respective hatred of Constantine and Niketas, both sides failed to seek a possible conciliation about the perspective of a peaceful reunion of the two parts of the Empire in terms of succession… They even debated spitefully over the official definition of their respective Empires. Constantine claimed to keep the terms of Roman Empire/Basilea ton Romaion refusing to introduce the adjective “western” whereas Niketas immediately proposed for his side to use the adjective “eastern” to marking properly the indipendence of the Thracian and Anatolian regions. More sensate were their subjects which with the passing of the time called each other “Italics” (with the Greeks proper being considered as mere subsidiaries) or “Anatolians”, effectively talking of a “Italic Roman Empire” and “Anatolian Roman Empire”, whereas the modern historians talked of “Second Eastern Roman Empire” (especially after 800) but also of “Southern Roman Empire” and “Far Eastern Roman Empire” so for “Second Byzantine Roman Empire”, up to the more melanchonic and romantic “Eastern Roman Empire in exile” for Imperial Italy… a series of definitions which only confirmed how at the start of 757 the only alive Roman Empire was again split in two different and opposite countries.
To the mere consolation of Constantine V, the Bulgarian penetration in Macedonia allowed him to reassert his control over Thessaly, as the minor barbarian tribes as for the local Greek population accepted to stay under the protective clutch of the senior Roman Emperor. In his way back to Athens, the city of Larissa welcomed him in sign of submission. Constantine briefly considered to start a campaign of reconquest in Epirus as well, but the local populations were less assertive than the ones in Thessaly, and however the Emperor needed to return in Rome to readjust the entire internal policy of what remained of his Empire.
To be honest, Constantine wasn’t entirely disappointed of the loss of Anatolia and Thrace, now that he had a consolidated grip over Italy and Greece and rule over rather productive and densely populated areas; plus he could still count over a relevant part of the Imperial administration and well trained armed forces which remained loyal to him, and also of flock of emigrants which decided to remain loyal to him as well and starting to resettle towards West, especially in South Italy, and besides he grew sickened of the troubles the eastern parts of the Empire gave to him. If the future of the Empire has to lay again in Italy, so let it be.
Arrived in Athens, he retrieved back Leo as he left the boy under the care of a noble family staunchly loyal to him, the Sarantapechos, where the Imperial prince befriended the daughter of the patriarch, Irene…
… At that time nobody knew that meeting would have steered the Roman Empire “in exile” towards a definitive path.
(1) Whereas in OTL the attempted coup happened 10 years later and the execution in Constantinople.
OOC: So, after over a year I finally wrote a new chapter, which is also rather pivotal for the successive developments. I hope this update will not be considered nechromancy, if yes then I ask sorry and ready to accept the mod shutdown.
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Oh awesome
Thanks. A map you said? Hmm I'll probably make a sketch tomorrow.
If we had a stronger roman prsence in Italy , i guess his balkanisation will be reduced to the po valley and tuscany . As for the eastern part ... even without Greece his story will be quite similar as otl ?
I can't spoil nothing about the future of Anatolia and Thrace. Besides my first temporal horizon was and still is early ninth century.