Remnants of Rome
- Thread starter Zuvarq
- Start date
Actually Turks have not yet even set foot on Anatolia by this point ITTL and in OTL. At this time it was almost 100% Greek or Latin. And before that it was part Greek and part Persian. And before that Greek and Hittite. The Turks are still in Central Asia; though there are the Huns who speak a Turkic language.How are the Eastern Romans Christianizeing the OLT Turkish lands to fend off the Yehud Empire.
And it is and has been Christian, ITTL and in OTL, ever since the spreading of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
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tjvuse
Banned
That is very good news that Anatolia is Christian. Through i did not known that Anatolia was 100% Greek or Latin before the Turks invaded very interesting tid bit.
Heh, then I guess you'll be disappointed with the future of Anatolia.That is very good news that Anatolia is Christian. Through i did not known that Anatolia was 100% Greek or Latin before the Turks invaded very interesting tid bit.
tjvuse
Banned
I don't think i will be disappointed by the out come of Anatolia cause it hopefully cant be any were near as bad as OLTs and the ruthless forced conversions to ___ in Anatolia enslavement and expulsion of 10 of thousands of Christan by the Turks in Anatolia.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
I don't think i will be disappointed by the out come of Anatolia cause it hopefully cant be any were near as bad as OLTs and the ruthless forced conversions to ___ in Anatolia enslavement and expulsion of 10 of thousands of Christan by the Turks in Anatolia.
I take offense at that. The Turks did not expel the Christians from Anatolia. Anatolia remained a pretty diverse place until the 1920s. That's like saying the Greeks expelled tens of thousands of Muslims from the Balkans. And there's little evidence of forced conversions.
THE FALL?
The Eastern Roman Empire was stuck between a rock and a hard place. To their west and north were the Venedi Slavic barbarians, of course, and to the east were the fanatical and powerful heathen Zoharists of the Rahbarate. And their discontiguous territory in Italy was unstable, wounded from the war with the Visigoths and, though it was more Greek than it had been during the Roman Empire’s heyday, as well as when the Visigoths conquered it, it was not Greek enough.
The western edge of the eastern empire was completely unprepared for the attack. The Venedi Slavic barbarians charged in committing crimes just as barbaric as the ones they committed against the Gepids, Ostrogoths, and Huns, starting with Dionysopolis... it was a pile of rocks by the end of January. The eastern edge of the empire, however, had somewhat extensive fortifications and Zeno II had also developed a plan for effectively defending the Empire. Specifically, the fortifications included a wall spanning most of the border, which was similar to Hadrian’s and the Antonine Wall, 3 meters high, with occasional forts, each having a legeonas. But the huge Zoharist armies brought a prize from India--the elephant.
Elephants provided a significant advantage to the Yehudahids, because they could bash wooden gates, pull siege engines, and scare troops. One week prior to the siege of Adana, two Yehudahid elephants cooperatively bashed open the gate at a fort east of Adana. This literally opened the door to southern Anatolia. And the siege of Adana itself was, though done mostly by siege engines, and by waiting for the city to starve, culminated by the breach of the eastern gate by the same two elephants. It is believed that stories and jokes about the mythical character ‘Khodi, the Elephant who never remembers (because he hit his head on the gates one too many times)’, in Hunnic folklore, may be based on this.
Over the course of the war, elephants broke the gates of four forts and twenty settlements in the Eastern Roman Empire. The siege of Neocaesarea was perhaps the most notable, happening in the beginning of the war. A Yehudahid army of 40,000 infantry, 31,000 cavalry, and 50 elephants initially surrounded the city from three sides. When the city did not surrender after six months, ladders were set up on the walls, the elephants bashed the gates in, and the Yehudahids poured into the city.
When the Venedi Slavs conquered most of Greece from the Huns, Greeks who did not flee during the time of the Huns fled to Italy, the rest of Greece, and Anatolia. When the Venedi Slavs conquered the rest of Greece, those Greeks left too. Most fled to Italy, because the rest of Greece was also falling to the Slavs, and Anatolia seemed unsafe too. However some could not make it to Italy and were forced to flee to Anatolia or to stay, to either be enslaved or join the Horde.
During their time of isolation (at least from the perspective of state to the south--not to the small tribes to their north) and peace (again, only from the perspective of the states to the south), the Taurigoths had become a sea people. They excelled at both sea warfare and sea trade. Tribes to their north and northwest were in constant fear of the Taurigoths sailing up the Dneiper and raiding their cities. And there was a small section of the Golden Horn’s harbor, and a medium section of the markets of Constantinopolis and many other cities dedicated for Taurigoth traders and their ships. In addition, the Taurigoths were actually starting to become more civilized, despite their raids to the north, and actually their lands were starting to become slightly overpopulated. Aganaric of the Goths commissioned the creation of several settlements along the Black Sea coast and up several rivers, to function as trading centers, to consolidate control over tribes, and simply because Aganaric wanted to be the king of a bigger empire
When the Slavs migrated south they took everything with them, or abandoned what they couldn’t move. During the conquest of Greece, for example, Gebidaz, formerly the Gepid capital, was abandoned, and so was Noviodonum, a strategic city on agriculturally useful land on the Danube. All the stones in those settlements were taken to build new ones to the south. In the vacuum left by the Slavs, the Taurigoths created many settlements, though the ones which would grow the fastest were (New) Korsun on the site of Noviodunum, Buw, on the Southern Bug river, and Hus, on the Dneister/Nistru, a good deal upriver but nowhere near the site of former Gebidaz.
If things weren’t bad enough for the Eastern Romans, the governor Velusius of the Italia province of the Eastern Roman Empire declared independence--with Western Roman support. Velusius and Emperor Flavius Augustus II Tiranus made an agreement--Velusius would be the de jure ruler of Italia--it would be under de facto Roman control. Velusius wanted the riches of being a ruler more than the power. In reality Velusius had just barely more power than the governors of any of the existing provinces of the Western Roman Empire.
Velusius and Augustus II led a combined army and took Rome in November 498. Velusius’ army headed up the Tiber River, headed east to conquer Ancona, and travelled southeast. Augustus’ army of 6 legions headed southeast from Rome, along the coast. Cities such as Neapolis, Salernum, Thurii, Rhegium, and Messana fell to Western Roman control--some more willingly than others. By then, Italia was nearly completely controlled by the Western Romans and Velusius. Note however that the Eastern Romans had weakly defended Italia because of the threat to the lands to the east they saw as more important. In addition, some cities welcomed the Western Romans and Augustus.
In January 501, Constantinopolis itself was threatened, and the Horde stood just outside the walls. This siege would take some time, though... the walls built by Theodosius were perhaps the grandest and strongest walls in the world. And the Eastern Romans retained control of the Strait.
The Eastern Roman Empire was stuck between a rock and a hard place. To their west and north were the Venedi Slavic barbarians, of course, and to the east were the fanatical and powerful heathen Zoharists of the Rahbarate. And their discontiguous territory in Italy was unstable, wounded from the war with the Visigoths and, though it was more Greek than it had been during the Roman Empire’s heyday, as well as when the Visigoths conquered it, it was not Greek enough.
The western edge of the eastern empire was completely unprepared for the attack. The Venedi Slavic barbarians charged in committing crimes just as barbaric as the ones they committed against the Gepids, Ostrogoths, and Huns, starting with Dionysopolis... it was a pile of rocks by the end of January. The eastern edge of the empire, however, had somewhat extensive fortifications and Zeno II had also developed a plan for effectively defending the Empire. Specifically, the fortifications included a wall spanning most of the border, which was similar to Hadrian’s and the Antonine Wall, 3 meters high, with occasional forts, each having a legeonas. But the huge Zoharist armies brought a prize from India--the elephant.
Elephants provided a significant advantage to the Yehudahids, because they could bash wooden gates, pull siege engines, and scare troops. One week prior to the siege of Adana, two Yehudahid elephants cooperatively bashed open the gate at a fort east of Adana. This literally opened the door to southern Anatolia. And the siege of Adana itself was, though done mostly by siege engines, and by waiting for the city to starve, culminated by the breach of the eastern gate by the same two elephants. It is believed that stories and jokes about the mythical character ‘Khodi, the Elephant who never remembers (because he hit his head on the gates one too many times)’, in Hunnic folklore, may be based on this.
Over the course of the war, elephants broke the gates of four forts and twenty settlements in the Eastern Roman Empire. The siege of Neocaesarea was perhaps the most notable, happening in the beginning of the war. A Yehudahid army of 40,000 infantry, 31,000 cavalry, and 50 elephants initially surrounded the city from three sides. When the city did not surrender after six months, ladders were set up on the walls, the elephants bashed the gates in, and the Yehudahids poured into the city.
When the Venedi Slavs conquered most of Greece from the Huns, Greeks who did not flee during the time of the Huns fled to Italy, the rest of Greece, and Anatolia. When the Venedi Slavs conquered the rest of Greece, those Greeks left too. Most fled to Italy, because the rest of Greece was also falling to the Slavs, and Anatolia seemed unsafe too. However some could not make it to Italy and were forced to flee to Anatolia or to stay, to either be enslaved or join the Horde.
During their time of isolation (at least from the perspective of state to the south--not to the small tribes to their north) and peace (again, only from the perspective of the states to the south), the Taurigoths had become a sea people. They excelled at both sea warfare and sea trade. Tribes to their north and northwest were in constant fear of the Taurigoths sailing up the Dneiper and raiding their cities. And there was a small section of the Golden Horn’s harbor, and a medium section of the markets of Constantinopolis and many other cities dedicated for Taurigoth traders and their ships. In addition, the Taurigoths were actually starting to become more civilized, despite their raids to the north, and actually their lands were starting to become slightly overpopulated. Aganaric of the Goths commissioned the creation of several settlements along the Black Sea coast and up several rivers, to function as trading centers, to consolidate control over tribes, and simply because Aganaric wanted to be the king of a bigger empire
When the Slavs migrated south they took everything with them, or abandoned what they couldn’t move. During the conquest of Greece, for example, Gebidaz, formerly the Gepid capital, was abandoned, and so was Noviodonum, a strategic city on agriculturally useful land on the Danube. All the stones in those settlements were taken to build new ones to the south. In the vacuum left by the Slavs, the Taurigoths created many settlements, though the ones which would grow the fastest were (New) Korsun on the site of Noviodunum, Buw, on the Southern Bug river, and Hus, on the Dneister/Nistru, a good deal upriver but nowhere near the site of former Gebidaz.
If things weren’t bad enough for the Eastern Romans, the governor Velusius of the Italia province of the Eastern Roman Empire declared independence--with Western Roman support. Velusius and Emperor Flavius Augustus II Tiranus made an agreement--Velusius would be the de jure ruler of Italia--it would be under de facto Roman control. Velusius wanted the riches of being a ruler more than the power. In reality Velusius had just barely more power than the governors of any of the existing provinces of the Western Roman Empire.
Velusius and Augustus II led a combined army and took Rome in November 498. Velusius’ army headed up the Tiber River, headed east to conquer Ancona, and travelled southeast. Augustus’ army of 6 legions headed southeast from Rome, along the coast. Cities such as Neapolis, Salernum, Thurii, Rhegium, and Messana fell to Western Roman control--some more willingly than others. By then, Italia was nearly completely controlled by the Western Romans and Velusius. Note however that the Eastern Romans had weakly defended Italia because of the threat to the lands to the east they saw as more important. In addition, some cities welcomed the Western Romans and Augustus.
In January 501, Constantinopolis itself was threatened, and the Horde stood just outside the walls. This siege would take some time, though... the walls built by Theodosius were perhaps the grandest and strongest walls in the world. And the Eastern Romans retained control of the Strait.
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That sounds nice, I like how Italy got a big demographic boost, which will allow the Romans to survive a bit longer. What's the Roman culture in the West like? The eastern empire became largely greek, so what sort of culture will develop in the West? I'm also curious about the Rahbarate. How much longer is this unbroken string of success going to last?
Roman culture in the west is essentially a continuation of Roman/Latin culture at its height. It doesn't have very much barbarian influence.
Vulgar Latin might gradually spread upward into the higher classes' speech, Classical Latin still being used for writing.
Circuses, amphitheaters, aqueducts, roads, etc. will remain as they were in the Roman Empire's heyday, although those will veer off in their own direction too with new sophistications and technologies.
Italia however has a bit more barbarian influence, plus it has seen an influx of Greeks, so we can perhaps see them eventually speaking a language like today's Griko, with some Gothic influences too. Italia is actually 'less Roman' than Iberia, Corsica, Sardinia, and North Africa at this point.
Well the Caliphate had a bit more than a hundred years of nearly unbroken success. The Rahbarate will reach its peak soon and then slowly decline.
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Glad to see you used my sefaring idea for the Taurigoths. Love where you are taking this, but I'm wondering one thing; do you think you could possibly make the Rahbarate expand further into Central Asia/Russia then OTL Islam did? I think an alternate direction of expansion would be very interesting to follow, rather than the expansion solely west ward. Otherwise, very good stuff!
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
I rather Rhomania gets ruled by the Zoharists than those Slavs! At least I can hope for a Zoharist Greek-speaking successor kingdom.
VOX POPULI
Constantinopolis, not only having the grandest and strongest walls in the worlds, but the supreme Eastern Roman navy on its side, did not easily fall to the Venedi Slavs;. If the Slavs broke into the city, they would face the largest Eastern Roman army they’d faced yet, as Constantinopolis was the most important of the Eastern Roman territories. The city of Constantinopolis could perhaps have had fallen if the Slavs had broken the gates and set up ladders on the walls, but that they did not do, and they waited for months, attempting to starve the city. The city was constantly resupplied and the Venedi could do nothing about it because their navy was pathetic to say the least, and they could not starve the inhabitants as they had planned.
Khodadad III, soon after succeeding to the throne in late 501, proposed a treaty and peace terms to Zeno II, which would force the Eastern Romans to cede most of their territory except the area around Constantinopolis, some Aegan islands, and Crete. In exchange the Zoharists would fight back the Slavs. Zeno II was not quite ready to abandon his nation and his territory in such a way and therefore he declined, as any Eastern Roman probably would have. The Zoharists advanced even further and won battle after battle, pushing towards Constantinopolis itself. In December 502 the Zoharists reached the eastern gate of Constantinople and, seeing that the treaty would actually lead to the Eastern Roman Empire gaining some land that had now been lost, Zeno II finally accepted the treaty. He was perhaps lucky that the Rahbarate still offered the terms, seeing as they were now giving up an opportunity to sack and conquer Constantinopolis.
The Venedi Slavs finally did attempt to assault Constantinopolis, on April 6th, 503, but they were surprised to discover that, when they rammed the gates open, Zoharists poured out of the gates and attacked the Slavs. The Venedi Slavs were quite surprised to see almost a hundred elephants and 90,000 troops. The Venedi army consisted of 120,000 troops (with the rest of the army keeping the slaves in line), but despite their numerical advantage the Zoharists were victorious. To the west, on the other side of the Sea of Marmara, the Zoharists crossed the Dardanelles Strait and attacked coastal Greece under Slavic control.
Two years, too many expenses, and hundreds of thousands of casualties later, the Zoharists forced the Slavs to make peace in June 505. After the war, all three nations involved were drastically changed, for better and for worse. The Slavs were thrown into a stability crisis and small uprisings occured as many pretenders desired to become King of the Slavs. The Zoharists, despite the cost of the war, generally benefited, not only because they gained land, but Greek culture would define the Rahbarate and Zoharism for centuries to come. Anatolian riches also almost made up for the cost of the war. Lastly, the Eastern Roman Empire had, obviously, lost most of its land and was greatly weakened. It did become more stable over time as a result of the war, though, with only a small amount of land which was under direct control by the Emperor--of course the gradual stability was not exactly worth the destruction of their empire. Even then the stability only came after a period of moderate instability, lasting the rest of Zeno II’s reign (which soon was, literally, cut short, as he was assassinated in 506).
Langobardia had been placed into a prime position to expand after it captured Lutetia, and this it finally did. In 502, Azipar II of Langobardia and his army charged north into the Jutland peninsula, attacking the somewhat-peaceful Angles. Villages were destroyed, people were enslaved, and bad things generally happened, at least from the non-Langobard perspective. By January 503, the Angles were completely subdued--although it seemed that many of them were just gone rather than killed or enslaved. Azipar decided to keep going and conquered some more barbarians to their north. When Jutland was completely conquered he celebrated by founding the city of Azipar, obviously named after himself.
Britannia had been a chaotic place after the fall of the Roman Empire, but after the fall of Votadini, it had become perhaps too peaceful. During the Langobard conquest of the Jutland peninsula, this had all changed. Angles took to the seas as the Frisians and Saxons did so many years ago, and arrived in Londinia, Venteade, and Friede. They pillaged towns, ransomed captured officials, and demanded that they be granted land in Britannia.
The Roman Empire under Augustus II was placed into a good position for expansion southward after the conquest of Italia. Augustus II himself and Velusius, who was now a Roman general, led armies composed of three legions each. They conquered up to the Atlas mountains. The campaign took slightly more than a year, lasting from January 502 to February 503. However the conquest of this area was perhaps the least important thing that happened to the Roman Empire at this time...
The Roman Empire called itself the SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and the Roman People. But this was merely a name. The Roman Empire was under the sole control of the Emperor, the Senate was powerless, and all the governors were generals, aristocrats, or members of the Senate. Throughout all of his life Augustus II had come up with a scheme to restore aspects of the Republic, but he would do it when he knew that his time as emperor was coming to an end. In 504, Augustus II was in ill health. He enacted his plan in June.
The Roman Empire-Consulate of the Senate and the Roman People would be led by two Emperor-Consuls, also called the Flavitirani, elected by the senators, governors, and generals of the Empire-Consulate. The senators were elected by Roman citizens. Governors were elected by Roman citizens from that province, but the candidates were picked by Senators from that province. Legislative assemblies were held, there being two types: Committees were an assembly of any Roman citizens, and Councils were assemblies of certain classes of Roman citizens. Augustus II died on January 2nd, 506. Augustus III plotted to kill his father and declare himself the Emperor, but he died mysteriously one day before his father did. A senator named Lusitanius became Flavius Lusitanius Tiranus, and the governor of Africa, Scipius, became Flavius Scipius Tiranus. They were the first Emperor-Consuls.
The Taurigoths continued to slowly become more civilized, the problem of overpopulation persisted, and Taurigoth traders and merchants brought money to the homeland. Combined with the barbarians’ weakness this created a perfect opportunity to settle yet more lands. New towns were founded along almost all of the rivers of the northern Black Sea, and more raids occured, some of them now from sea as well as from river and on land. Aganaric was later cherished as the Great Establisher of the Kingdom of the Taurigoths, however it was not really his doings that made the Taurigoths greatly expand, it was just the situation they were placed in. In fact he perhaps spent too much of the Kingdom’s finances on himself.
Besides their expansion, other interesting things occurred to the Taurigoths. Greek refugees arrived, some of them skilled artisans, clergy, etc., bringing with them a small piece of Greek culture, and expanding the Taurigoth upper classes, and literacy among them. There were few effects on the Gothic language, other than some Greek loanwords, because Gothic already possessed its own independent alphabet, which was already quite suited for the language, and the amount of Greek refugees was relatively small, so the spoken side of the language wasn’t very influenced either. Besides the Greek refugees, some Jews arrived in the Kingdom, presumably from the Rahbarate. They lived in peace, however, their faith would one day persuade Aganaric’s son Aganaric II.
In late 506, if one was in Langobardia or the Slavic lands, they could smell chaos in the air...
Constantinopolis, not only having the grandest and strongest walls in the worlds, but the supreme Eastern Roman navy on its side, did not easily fall to the Venedi Slavs;. If the Slavs broke into the city, they would face the largest Eastern Roman army they’d faced yet, as Constantinopolis was the most important of the Eastern Roman territories. The city of Constantinopolis could perhaps have had fallen if the Slavs had broken the gates and set up ladders on the walls, but that they did not do, and they waited for months, attempting to starve the city. The city was constantly resupplied and the Venedi could do nothing about it because their navy was pathetic to say the least, and they could not starve the inhabitants as they had planned.
Khodadad III, soon after succeeding to the throne in late 501, proposed a treaty and peace terms to Zeno II, which would force the Eastern Romans to cede most of their territory except the area around Constantinopolis, some Aegan islands, and Crete. In exchange the Zoharists would fight back the Slavs. Zeno II was not quite ready to abandon his nation and his territory in such a way and therefore he declined, as any Eastern Roman probably would have. The Zoharists advanced even further and won battle after battle, pushing towards Constantinopolis itself. In December 502 the Zoharists reached the eastern gate of Constantinople and, seeing that the treaty would actually lead to the Eastern Roman Empire gaining some land that had now been lost, Zeno II finally accepted the treaty. He was perhaps lucky that the Rahbarate still offered the terms, seeing as they were now giving up an opportunity to sack and conquer Constantinopolis.
The Venedi Slavs finally did attempt to assault Constantinopolis, on April 6th, 503, but they were surprised to discover that, when they rammed the gates open, Zoharists poured out of the gates and attacked the Slavs. The Venedi Slavs were quite surprised to see almost a hundred elephants and 90,000 troops. The Venedi army consisted of 120,000 troops (with the rest of the army keeping the slaves in line), but despite their numerical advantage the Zoharists were victorious. To the west, on the other side of the Sea of Marmara, the Zoharists crossed the Dardanelles Strait and attacked coastal Greece under Slavic control.
Two years, too many expenses, and hundreds of thousands of casualties later, the Zoharists forced the Slavs to make peace in June 505. After the war, all three nations involved were drastically changed, for better and for worse. The Slavs were thrown into a stability crisis and small uprisings occured as many pretenders desired to become King of the Slavs. The Zoharists, despite the cost of the war, generally benefited, not only because they gained land, but Greek culture would define the Rahbarate and Zoharism for centuries to come. Anatolian riches also almost made up for the cost of the war. Lastly, the Eastern Roman Empire had, obviously, lost most of its land and was greatly weakened. It did become more stable over time as a result of the war, though, with only a small amount of land which was under direct control by the Emperor--of course the gradual stability was not exactly worth the destruction of their empire. Even then the stability only came after a period of moderate instability, lasting the rest of Zeno II’s reign (which soon was, literally, cut short, as he was assassinated in 506).
Langobardia had been placed into a prime position to expand after it captured Lutetia, and this it finally did. In 502, Azipar II of Langobardia and his army charged north into the Jutland peninsula, attacking the somewhat-peaceful Angles. Villages were destroyed, people were enslaved, and bad things generally happened, at least from the non-Langobard perspective. By January 503, the Angles were completely subdued--although it seemed that many of them were just gone rather than killed or enslaved. Azipar decided to keep going and conquered some more barbarians to their north. When Jutland was completely conquered he celebrated by founding the city of Azipar, obviously named after himself.
Britannia had been a chaotic place after the fall of the Roman Empire, but after the fall of Votadini, it had become perhaps too peaceful. During the Langobard conquest of the Jutland peninsula, this had all changed. Angles took to the seas as the Frisians and Saxons did so many years ago, and arrived in Londinia, Venteade, and Friede. They pillaged towns, ransomed captured officials, and demanded that they be granted land in Britannia.
The Roman Empire under Augustus II was placed into a good position for expansion southward after the conquest of Italia. Augustus II himself and Velusius, who was now a Roman general, led armies composed of three legions each. They conquered up to the Atlas mountains. The campaign took slightly more than a year, lasting from January 502 to February 503. However the conquest of this area was perhaps the least important thing that happened to the Roman Empire at this time...
The Roman Empire called itself the SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and the Roman People. But this was merely a name. The Roman Empire was under the sole control of the Emperor, the Senate was powerless, and all the governors were generals, aristocrats, or members of the Senate. Throughout all of his life Augustus II had come up with a scheme to restore aspects of the Republic, but he would do it when he knew that his time as emperor was coming to an end. In 504, Augustus II was in ill health. He enacted his plan in June.
The Roman Empire-Consulate of the Senate and the Roman People would be led by two Emperor-Consuls, also called the Flavitirani, elected by the senators, governors, and generals of the Empire-Consulate. The senators were elected by Roman citizens. Governors were elected by Roman citizens from that province, but the candidates were picked by Senators from that province. Legislative assemblies were held, there being two types: Committees were an assembly of any Roman citizens, and Councils were assemblies of certain classes of Roman citizens. Augustus II died on January 2nd, 506. Augustus III plotted to kill his father and declare himself the Emperor, but he died mysteriously one day before his father did. A senator named Lusitanius became Flavius Lusitanius Tiranus, and the governor of Africa, Scipius, became Flavius Scipius Tiranus. They were the first Emperor-Consuls.
The Taurigoths continued to slowly become more civilized, the problem of overpopulation persisted, and Taurigoth traders and merchants brought money to the homeland. Combined with the barbarians’ weakness this created a perfect opportunity to settle yet more lands. New towns were founded along almost all of the rivers of the northern Black Sea, and more raids occured, some of them now from sea as well as from river and on land. Aganaric was later cherished as the Great Establisher of the Kingdom of the Taurigoths, however it was not really his doings that made the Taurigoths greatly expand, it was just the situation they were placed in. In fact he perhaps spent too much of the Kingdom’s finances on himself.
Besides their expansion, other interesting things occurred to the Taurigoths. Greek refugees arrived, some of them skilled artisans, clergy, etc., bringing with them a small piece of Greek culture, and expanding the Taurigoth upper classes, and literacy among them. There were few effects on the Gothic language, other than some Greek loanwords, because Gothic already possessed its own independent alphabet, which was already quite suited for the language, and the amount of Greek refugees was relatively small, so the spoken side of the language wasn’t very influenced either. Besides the Greek refugees, some Jews arrived in the Kingdom, presumably from the Rahbarate. They lived in peace, however, their faith would one day persuade Aganaric’s son Aganaric II.
In late 506, if one was in Langobardia or the Slavic lands, they could smell chaos in the air...
Valdemar II
Banned
e
One question are the Biohaemians Slavs or Germanics, while the name point toward a Germanic origin, so would the name Vends in OTL. (Bohemians was simply the Germanic term for any people living in Bohemia/Czechia, while Vend was the same for any East Elbian group, Bohemian came form the original Celtic tribe which lived there, while Vends came from Vandals)
One question are the Biohaemians Slavs or Germanics, while the name point toward a Germanic origin, so would the name Vends in OTL. (Bohemians was simply the Germanic term for any people living in Bohemia/Czechia, while Vend was the same for any East Elbian group, Bohemian came form the original Celtic tribe which lived there, while Vends came from Vandals)
They are Celtic.
EDIT: Their ruling classes are Turkic, descended from Dengizich and his supporters, as well as the Hun soldiers who were in the area at the time, who declared it independent from the Hunnic Empire. A majority of the people of Biohaemia are Celtic, although there are sizable amounts of Germanics in the north and Romans in the south.
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Valdemar II
Banned
I really find that unlikely, the original Celtic inhabitants had disappeared before the POD first been replaced by Marcomannians (a Germanic tribe), later by Langobards, and at last Bavarii (whom was later replaced by Slavs). There are nothing wrong with the name through, as I said the Germanic tribes adopted it for inhabitants of the area no matter their origin.
Valdemar II
Banned
Hunnic descendant ruling over a multiethnic Empire I find that quite likely, even if the main Celtic tribed had died out at this point