Chapter I- Ctesiphon Besieged
"I have devoted gigantic efforts to restore what is declining" -Julianvs II, Emperor of the Roman Empire
"Tell the emperor that my hall has fallen to the ground. Phoibos no longer has his house, nor his mantic bay, nor his prophetic spring; the water has dried up." -the Pythia
Chapter I
Ctesiphon, End of May
The sun burned down across the field outside Ctesiphon. The roar of battle had sounded for a short while. Now the anguished cries of fleeing Persians could be heard across the plain. In panic the soldiers of Eran tried to reach the city, hoping to be safe from Roman attack behind the impressive walls of the oriental capital. Julian knew it was time to take advantage of this. He hadn't committed the Herculiani, Joviani, Jovii and Victores until now. These were four palatine legions, the elite of the Roman army, or roughly 4,000 men. They formed the reserve set aside before the battle, at the cost in lives to those in the front lines. It was almost noonish- they did not fight that long at all! The commander Victor, a capable officer, both Christian and Sarmatian, had just ordered his exhausted troops to stop, and Julian felt that it was time to field some troops that were not too tired. The glittering prize of Ctesiphon still stood before them.
"Victor! The palatinae to the front! I will lead them into the city!" Shouted Julian.
"My Emperor, you're a fool! They'll be trapped inside the wall, and you with them." Whined Victor.
"Vincere scis, Victor; victoria uti nescis. Send them in right now," Shouted Julian, angrily waving his shield at him.
"Yes, my Emperor." Acknowledged Victor. "Follow the Emperor into the city!"
Then, to boost the spirit of his men, Julian spoke to them:
"Glory and the favor of Mars himself await you, soldiers!"
Julian rushed onward towards the mass of fleeing Persians. The legionaries could barely keep up with him. They slaughtered the fleeing Persians as those in front desperately tried to get all inside before barring the doors. Julian would not let this happen. These barbarous Persians stood in the way of his glory in the name of Helios. That could not be allowed. With a savage war-cry, the Roman army broke open the half-closed door to the city. The exhausted Persians in the city only had time for perhaps a second of horror. The Romans fell upon them with a fury unknown to the world in this age. Historians have said that thousands of Persians perished in the taking of the city, as the rest of the Romans came unto the city as well, leaving only the proudly indignant Victor aloof. Julian himself was among the soldiers fighting in the city and killed many enemies himself without regard for his own security. (1) By some miracle, the power of the god Helios seemed to protect him. (2) Persian survivors would claim they could not face to look upon Julian, for "he was as bright and as terrible as the sun itself in his rage."
At last, perhaps several hours later, the city fell quiet. The remnants of the once-great Persian army ran east, hoping to meet up with the great host of Shapur. Surely the Shahanshah could drive the Romans away by the strength of his arms? In the meantime, Julian had ordered the city plundered to a reasonable degree. However, no buildings were torched nor innocents slaughtered without cause. Julian intended to fight the Persians off from their own capital. Unless Julian would receive the most favorable terms from Shapur, he would not concede the city until every last Persian in all of Shapur's domains was dead. He would hunt them to the ends of the earth for the glory of Helios. For such an unworthy brute to call himself King of Kings- it was pathetic. Julian would become Parthicus, no matter how many damned Christian pacifists wanted to let Persia off the hook. (3) Victor could have gotten the whole army killed. Julian did not trust them to fight the wars of Rome- it was HE who pacified the Germans, HE who took power without civil war in his family, HE who was a victim of his brutal cousin's purges, and HE who would destroy Persia. The Victorious Sun had blessed him as it once did Avrelianvs, and he would finish the work of Avrelianvs, Traianvs, and Alexander in destroying the Persian menace!
FINIS
Sources
AthanasiadÄ, Polymnia Nik. Julian and Hellenism an Intellectual Biography. Oxford: Clarendon, 1981. Print.
Ammianus, and Wolfgang Seyfarth. Res Gestae. Leipzig: Teubner, 1999. Print.
Richardot, Philippe. La Fin De L'armée Romaine: 284-476. Armées: Commission Française D'Histoire Militaire, 2005. Print.
Zosimus, and Ludovicus Mendelssohn. Historia Nova. Lipsiae: Teubner, 1887. Print.
Wolff, Catherine. La Campagne De Julien En Perse, 363 Apr. J.-C. Clermont-Ferrand: LEM, 2010. Print.
Demandt, Alexander. Geschichte Der Spätantike: Das Römische Reich Von Diocletian Bis Justinian, 284-565 N. Chr. München: C.H. Beck, 2008. Print.
Shotter, David. Rome and Her Empire. S.l.: Routledge, 2017. Print.
Bauer, Susan Wise. The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
Roberts, Walter E. "Julian the Apostate." Roman Emperors- DIR Julian the Apostate. De Imperatoribus Romanis, 19 Feb. 2002. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. <https://www.roman-emperors.org/julian.htm>.
Gibbon, Edward, and F. A. Guizot. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Virtue, 1900. Print.
Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium the Early Centuries. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
Heather, Peter. Fall of the Roman Empire A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Cary: Oxford UP, USA, 2014. Print.
1)-Fighting in battles wasn't unusual for emperors of the 4th century, but Julian was a special case known for taking unnecessary risks and always trying to share the fate of the common soldier. He had much respect for the ordinary legionaries, but also demanded from them the same courage and perseverance he displayed.
2)-Julian is a pagan yes, but specifically he is a devotee of the Sun.
3)-This timeline is told from Julian's point of view- his Christophobic nature does not reflect the opinion of the authors. Just trying to depict him accurately.
So... yeah it took a while to make this. Not entirely my TL actually! This is a collaboration between myself and @G.Washington_Fuckyeah This timeline is based from a discussion a few weeks ago on this site, in which I volunteered to write a Julian TL. Wash wanted to as well, and so we are working together on this! You can thank him for a TON of research on this, constructive criticism of my first draft, as well as the wonderful picture at the top. Stay tuned for his post of the next chapter! As far as my work on this goes, I am going to make sure to make this a great TL to read, and this will not affect my nonexistent update schedule for Gloria Effugiam and Union of the Seas: Eclipse!
In 363 CE, Julian, nephew of Constantine and emperor of the Roman Empire, invaded the Persian Empire with a force of 65,000 men - an additional 18,000 protected his flank at Nisibis and 20,000 were assigned to the supply ships. His precise objectives are unknown: maybe he wanted to gain personal glory, maybe he wanted to unite his army which was only partly loyal to him, maybe he just wanted to secure the eastern frontier. He followed the Euphrates and the royal river until Ctesiphon, where the decisive battle was fought. The Romans lost roughly 70 men, while 2,500 Persian soldiers died.
When the Persians fled into Ctesiphon, the Roman commander Victor ordered his man to halt since they were exhausted from a day of fights and he feared that they would be defeated inside the city. After the battle, the Romans were unable to take Ctesiphon due to their lack of siege engines and the strong fortifications of the metropolis. Fearing to be crushed between Ctesiphon and the approaching army of the Persian king Shapur, Julian had no other choice then to march deeper into Persia, where he was killed at Samarra.
But what if Julian had fresh troops to commit at the end of the battle? What if he had been able to take Ctesiphon?
Thoughts?
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