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Deus Vult - 634 AD The revelations of Justinian II's treachery had taken on the character of a Holy War for many involved. Memories of the Thirty Years War were still fresh in the minds of the populace. How Justinian II managed to avoid toppling off his throne remains a curiosity for historians...

There is nothing odd in that. Even as enemies, the Empire and the Arab world consistently trade with each other. For that matter, the Sassanids still used weights very similar to that of the Parthian, who in turn were using the Greek measures. The Arab name "Dinar" is a rather obvious hint as to...

Agreed. Latin coin issues continued long after that, and even after Heraclius, much of the Empire remained Latin-speaking, including the economic and cultural centers of Ravenna and Carthage. Something unusual was happening, though. It wasn't confined to just language. Consider that the column...

Not correct with regards to European coinage in Francia, but quite correct with later coinage in the Crusader Kingdoms and some parts of Spain during the Reconquista. Arab influence never really lasted north of Spain. In the Crusader kingdoms, this was more a matter of expediency than cultural...

Perusing some old threads here, I noticed a lot of speculation regarding when, exactly, the old Roman Empire morphed into Rhomania/Byzantium and exactly how much continuity and legitimacy it really had in later periods. Gibbon was obviously somewhat prejudiced in his view of the later Empire...

Treachery 633 AD Even today, it is difficult to imagine what Justinian II must have been thinking, to attempt to strike a deal with the Zurvanist Kingdom. General Gundemar certainly made productive use of the information, using elements of his army to spread word to the population of the...

If the siege of 1204 fails, the Byzantines only need one or two effective leaders to restore the empire to something like the days of Manuel or John. A good way to handle it would be a solid warrior-emperor emerging during the siege, taking control of the city's defense, and beating back the...

Soooo.... this TL is coming back after a long hiatus. I am alive again ;).

Not dead. But things have been busy lately, so I'm slowing down a bit. But yes, I'm using that narrative style a lot. Still, I like this character, so a few narrative posts are good.

Happenings in the West The journey across the Mare Nostrum didn't suit Leo and his compatriots. They were a hardy folk, born and bred in the deserts of the East, and the rolling motions of the galley were profoundly disturbing to their digestion. The diet of fish and stale bread didn't help...

The fact that the locals drove off the Vandals is telling. Fact is, the Eastern Empire was more populous and had a better supply of men of fighting age. The West was ripe for invasion, the East was not. While it is possible that the Vandal navy could defeat the broken Eastern naval forces, and...

A reasonable suggestion... any ideas? Anyone?

Actually, I take the reverse view here. An Islam that captures Constantinople is likely to produce converts in the depopulated and mostly pagan parts of the Balkans. In other words, instead of Christian Slavs and Bulgars, you are likely to see them convert to Islam instead. It might be that the...

Removing Greek Fire might not do it, either. Constantinople, when defended by any sort of competent leaders (see: Angeloi for non-competent examples) is near-impregnable unless terribly undermanned. However, there were something like 30,000 Byzantine troops manning those walls. The Bulgars did...

The Ultimate Sin Belisarius, despite his sworn oath to execute the treacherous usurper personally, moved very slowly and carefully. With Zurvanist armies lurking near the frontier, he could not strip the Levant and Egypt of its garrisons. With Saxon power on the rise again, neither could he...

I remember a TL I read once that had the OTL Justinian II much humbled by some event when he returned to power. It was quite interesting. And thanks :). I'm always open to thoughts and ideas in this TL, too.

On the Character of Justinian II And the Civil War of the mid-Seventh Century In 630 AD, Rome was once again the dominant Empire it had been in years past. The restoration of Belisarius had set the empire on a trajectory that emphasized military power, relative economic freedom, and had broken...

That would be amusing, but not in the cards for this TL ;). This does bring up the point, though, that I've been ignoring that region for much of this TL.

They aren't. That's an error which was present on my original map, that's supposed to be the Gaels. Thanks for pointing it out, though, it's now corrected.