An Other Messiah (Redux)



How do you even pronounce that word, "redux," anyways? Well, anyways, I've written a nearly a decade of material, and my goal is to get to a certain point which may or may not happen within a decade of 1 AD.

As my former readers know, this TL came about when I thought about what it would be like if Persia and much of the East became Christian. After making a crappy n00b TL, I realized that it was impossible to get Nazareth inside of Parthian borders by 4 BC without butterflying Jesus away. So, I made a TL called An Other Messiah a while later, which featured a Persia-wank and two rival messiahs, one of them rather Jesus-like, fighting a war of words inside of Parthian borders.

But that TL died. So here it is again, with some editing, a subtitle, and more material for me to post. Expect to see lots and lots of Parthia!



31 BC

-Octavian’s fleet of small, light ships is damaged by a storm in the Ionian Sea. Mark Antony manages to control a malaria outbreak in his army.

-Battle of Actium (September 31) is a draw. Antony fends off Octavian’s fleet, led by Agrippa.

-A month later, Antony and Cleopatra are still fending off Octavian, but they are at a disadvantage. They only control parts of Greece and Egypt now, with most of the land they held in Palestine and Anatolia in a semi-anarchic state.

-Phraates, Shah of Parthia, sees his chance to retake the land he gained but then lost to Rome years earlier. He prepares to invade.

-With very few Roman forces able to secure the region, Gaul, Hispania, and Lusitania begin to rebel against Octavian’s authority.

30 BC – Part I

- Antony and Cleopatra are pinned against the coast of Macedonia, and facing defeat by Octavian’s large, repaired fleet, they decide to flee inland to Dacia, along with Cleopatra’s son Caesarion.

-As Roman troops near Egypt, Cleopatra and Antony’s two young sons, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus, head from their residences with the assistance of some officials to the port of Berenice. They flee to India.

- Phraates’ army is not as prepared as it could be, but he fears that if he doesn’t act soon, Octavian will take the land he wants. He sends an envoy to Octavian to write a treaty allowing him to take the eastern Mediterranean.

-Parthian forces swoop down into Judea, Arabia, and Anatolia, and easily secure the region which had been in anarchy for almost a year, but stop short at the Sinai Peninsula after Octavian threatens Parthia with military retaliation if they take Egypt.

-On March 2, Antony meets with Parthian diplomats and agrees to recognize its dominance over Judea, Arabia, and Anatolia. Octavian decides to concentrate on getting Gaul and Hispania back under control.

-In April of 30 BC, the Parthian empire has completely subdued the Fertile Crescent and much of Asia Minor and Anatolia. However, the Tocharians begin to threaten the western Parthian frontier.

-By May, Cleopatra and Antony reach the Dacian capital, with King Burebista, having survived a court plot to kill him, offering sanctuary.



I intend to post one or two years or parts of years every couple days or so. Or does anyone think just once or twice a week would be better? How often do you update your TLs?
 
I've decided to post the old parts pretty rapidly, and when I get to the new parts I'll post one section every two days.


30 BC – Part II

-At the end of July, most of Gaul is under Octavian’s control, and he is contemplating making himself king when he finishes crushing the Hispanian rebellion.

-On September 14, the last of the Hispanian and Lusitanian rebel groups is defeated.

-Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra and Antony, and former ruler of Libya and Cyrenaica, is exiled to Rome where she lives out the last few years of her life in obscurity.

-Octavian sets himself on getting Cleopatra, Antony, and Caesarion back from Dacia. He says that Burebista is sheltering criminals from justice, while Burebista says that they are his guests and that he has the right to them. No agreement is reached.

-While engaged in his argument with Octavian, Burebista begins to fear that his kingdom will fall apart after his death, which could not be very far away, as he was getting old.

-Octavian starts to suspect that Phraates will try to take Egypt, and moves more legions into the area.

- Phraates starts to suspect that Octavian will try to retake Anatolia and Palestine, and Burebista is beginning to see Rome as a possible threat to his kingdom. Burebista and Phraates create a secret alliance against Rome.

-Rome pressures the King of Bosporus, Asander, to align his kingdom, which became independent a year earlier, with Rome and against Parthia.

-By the end of 30 BC, Parthia and Rome are very distrustful of each other, and tensions mount as the Cleopatra and Antony issue goes unresolved and a number of border disputes arise in Asia Minor between the two empires.

-Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus arrive in the Pandyan Kingdom at the port of Korkai in late 30 BC. They and their guardians are given a somewhat warm welcome by the Pandyan King and are allowed to live a comfortable life among the upper class Pandyans.

29 BC

-Some Jews are beginning to become dissatisfied with their new overlords. The Pharisees are complaining that the Persians sent to govern Judea are creating an unhealthy Zoroastrian influence and that dualism is being encouraged, while more moderate Jews point out that the mostly monotheistic Persians and Parthians are a huge improvement on the polytheistic Romans.

-By February, many Jews are starting to get very dissatisfied with Persian rule. Phraates, looking upon the great Persian emperor Cyrus as a model, decides to make a few concessions to Jewish religion and culture in Palestine to ease discontent.

-Dacian and Roman forces are having regular skirmishes in Moesia and Pannonia. Rumors spread about Burebista falling ill, Cleopatra and Antony gain more influence among the close companions of Burebista.

-Phraates sends forces to push the Tocharians away from Parthia, who are becoming a major nuisance.

-He subdues the Kingdom of Atropatene, which tries to throw off its vassal status. Artavesdes, King of Atropatene, is executed and replaced by one of Phraates’ cousins. The King of Armenia, Artaxias II, fearing that the same thing could happen to his kingdom, affirms Armenia’s vassal status.

28 BC

-Tension continues between Parthia and Rome, and Rome and Dacia.

-Bosporus is coerced into becoming Rome’s ally, but its king wants to eventually ally with Dacia.

-Skirmishes in Moesia escalate into a small battle south of the Dacian border. Neither country wants war, ignores event for now.

-Tocharians retreat from Parthian borders, Parthia captures walled city of Merv. Phraates cooperates with Indo-Greek Kingdom Yadav Kingdom to pacify the Tocharians and Kushans.

-Phraates, in an effort to ease Jewish discontent, appoints a Jew as governor of Judea and outlaws all Zoroastrian fire temples from Jerusalem and the areas around it. However, many Jews complain that the new governor is too Zoroastrian and Persianized, as he was born to Jewish parents in Persia and was given a Persian education. Also, the law banning fire temples from the greater Jerusalem area is poorly enforced, and within a few months of the declaration banning Zoroastrian temples in the area, a group of Persians begin planning to build a fire temple just outside Jerusalem.

-On the Ganges plain, the Kanva dynasty is brought to an end by Susarman, king of the central Indian state of Satavahana. Satavahana establishes its capital at Pataliputra, former capital of the Kanva empire.
 
27 BC

-Skirmishes between Dacia and Rome escalate into quasi-war, but neither side officially recognizes the conflict, and both allow subordinate generals to handle the situation.

-Tocharians are driven back to the Amu Darya river, peace treaty signed with Parthia. However, northern groups of Tocharians and other tribes around the Aral sea are still a possible threat to Parthia.

-Parthian princess marries heir to the Yadav Kingdom.


26 BC

-Undeclared war continues between Dacia and Rome, but only one actual battle is fought. Most confrontations are just Dacian and Roman soldiers setting up camp on either side of a river or on two nearby hills and giving each other nasty looks.

-Octavian, after keeping quiet about Cleopatra and Antony for several months, begins harassing Burebista about the couple again. He also mentions Dacian soldiers camping in Roman territory.

This leads to Burebista increasing border patrols and becoming more vigilant about Roman spies and soldiers entering Dacia. However, both governments still refuse to recognize the war.

-Jews still dissatisfied in Judea.

-The Parthian-protected Tocharian kingdom starts taking control of bits of Chinese protectorate territory, mostly to get more land for the Tocharian upper classes, who resent Parthia’s seizure of their lands after the war.

 
Good to see a re-boot, Maharajah. I'll be reading.

Looking forward to a Persia-wank. :D

Thank you. :D

Next part:

25 BC – Part I

-On the extreme eastern edge of Parthia, Han China becomes more protective about its protectorates, after the Persian and Yadav war against the Tocharians.

-China insists that Parthia should make the Tocharians withdraw from the “stolen” land, but Parthia and the Tocharians refuse to budge. In June, a treaty is signed that creates a compromise that satisfies no one.

-By the end of the summer, Parthia makes a deal with the Tocharians: Parthia will give the Tocharians back some of their land and give them complete independence if they promise never to attack Parthia again and if they help Parthia take back the disputed land they lost in the treaty.

-On September 25, Parthia with the help of Tocharian and Yadav forces occupies the disputed land. The next day, China sends in the cavalry of the protectorates with the help of some Chinese infantry to retake the land.

For the next three days, the two opposing sides grapple over the land, with fighting concentrated in an oasis town just inside of the Chinese border that gives whoever controls it access to a large supply of fresh water and food.

-The Yadav Kingdom sends in a large force to assist the struggling Parthian army, but almost a third of the soldiers die from exposure as they cross the Hindu Kush mountains on a route that the leading Yadav general claimed would be quicker.

They planned to attack the Chinese protectorates of Yutian and Jule to take pressure off of the Tocharians and Parthians further west, but no attack ever occurs as the weakened Yadav army is routed by the Chinese as soon as they reach the southern regions of Yutian.

-It is a huge scandal back in the Yadav court, and some nobles, especially the King’s close friends, called for the general to be replaced. However, the King of the Yadavas claims that the general made an unfortunate miscalculation about the climate and temperature of the region during the late summer.

This enrages the families of the soldiers whose lives were wasted, and when the king still refuses to replace the general, one of the king’s political enemies escapes from prison, and, with the support of most of the Yadav nobility, he stages a coup and has the king exiled to the Himalayas. However, supporters of the king start a civil war in the north, and the country’s new leader, who assumes the name Yayati, is forced to abandon his plans for invading Chinese central Asia properly, and travels south to fight the former king’s supporters.

-Parthia and China, after three weeks of fighting in the harsh central Asian deserts and mountains, agree to a truce. Parthia sends an emissary to Chang’an to negotiate a permanent peace treaty. He arrives by the beginning of October.

 
I'll be gone for a few days, don't expect any updates until early next week:

25 BC – Part II

-Back in Rome, a Jewish man named Shachar returns to Judea for the first time six years. He was once a fisherman who lived on the coast of Palestine, but he was captured by pirates during the war between Octavian and Antony and was taken to Rome, where he was sold as a slave.

There he worked in a wealthy Roman household for the next six years until he was able to buy his freedom. During his time in Rome, he came to respect the Roman idea of the republic, but recognized that tyrants were taking advantage of it. He was appalled by the excesses and waste of the upper classes, and by how much they consumed when the poor masses of urban Rome starved.

-When Shachar returns to Judea, he sets off to visit the Temple in Jerusalem, and finds himself surrounded by arrogant, often hypocritical holy men. Shachar then travels to the southern deserts to live as a hermit and contemplate what he had seen on his journey.

-The undeclared war between Dacia and Rome escalates again, with several battles taking place before the winter.

-As usual, the Jews are still not satisfied, even after Phraates makes a weak attempt to shut down all Zoroastrian and pagan temples in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas.

-The city of Rome has overtaken Chang’an as the most populous city in the world.
24 BC

-Octavian can no longer ignore the undeclared war, declares war on Dacia. He successfully defeats Burebista’s surprised army in Pannonia and Moesia, and crosses the Danube into the western areas of Dacia itself.

-After his victories, the Senate lavishes him with titles, including dictator for life.

-In late February a week after the invasion, Phraates acts on Dacia and Parthia’s secret alliance.

-Parthian forces flood into Egypt, Thrace, and Moesia, taking Octavian by surprise. Octavian begins to panic, feeling foolish for not predicting Parthia and Dacia’s alliance, and orders most legions in Egypt to counter the Parthians by invading Sinai Peninsula.

-Troubled by lack of water and unfamiliar Parthian tactics, the Romans eventually succumb. However, Octavian manages to defend Egypt for the next three months, and fights a successful war in Dacia, but Burebista manages to fend Rome off. However, Rome is troubled by its northern front with Parthia.

-By the end of the year, Dacia and Parthian forces have pushed the tired Romans out of Thrace and much of Moesia. Dacian and Parthian generals meet up to devise a strategy to coordinate their forces.

-On October 25, Parthia’s army reaches the eastern edge of the Nile Delta and takes advantage of whatever farms they can get their hands on.

-Shachar ends his hermitage in June and sets off for Jerusalem again to teach his newly-found ideas that he believes God wants him to spread.

-In parts of northern Gaul, some tribes discuss the possibility of joining together to fight Rome. No alliance emerges because of petty infighting and tribal rivalry until next February.
 
23 BC - Part I

-Two figures rise to importance in Israel in late January, both claiming to be messiah. One, named Isaac, was a former Pharisee-in-training who was forced into the Parthian army five years earlier and escaped just seven months earlier. He has radical new ideas about the future of the People of God and is supported by many Pharisees. He wants to expel foreign powers from Judea and establish a new, strong Israel. He says that if the people of Israel have total faith and put total trust in God, they will succeed in winning independence and driving out Satan forever. He urges humility and confidence in the power of God.

-The other, named Shachar, is not supported by any particular group of people, and arrived in Jerusalem a couple months after Isaac. His ideas are even more radical – he claims that anyone can gain entry into God’s chosen people and that God’s love favors no one people, and that he even cares for the Persians and Romans. He also rejects the idea of Satan as the cause of sin, and encourages people to live simple, modest lives. He urges humility and confidence in the power of God.

-Bosporus breaks its alliance with Rome in mid-January and many Roman soldiers stationed there are executed or driven out. Parthia guarantees total independence for Bosporus in return for helping defeat Rome.

-On February 16, a Celtic confederation forms in northeastern Gaul. They begin attacking Roman garrisons and forts. Dacia cooperates with the Celtic Confederation to ferment rebellion in Gaul and northern Hispania. The two nations channel money to rebel leaders in the region.
 
Interesting timeline, Maharajah!
I am not familar with your previous projects, but this one looks very promising.


As to your last update:
You seriously have two Messiah pretenders in Jerusalem at the same time?
Any authority whatsoever would probably intervene to prevent general unrest ...
what kind of street scenes should we imagine?

To make your changes to OTL explicit:
You say both "claim to be the messiah".
According to the New Testament, Jesus did so only implicitly most of the time,
and some scholar believe he never pronounced it explicitly.
(For comparison, Bar Koshiba was given this title, and did not claim it himself.)
You make the conflicts about them sharper from the very beginning.

And of course, "that [God] even cares for the Persians and Romans"
would be a thesis also only quite implicitly hidden in Jesus' teachings.

Anyway, both messianic figures seem possible and plausible to me in the given context.
So I am eager to hear of their fate.

Btw, re "Persians and Romans": The colloquial language in the region is still Greek, right? And what about mainstream culture (excepting Jews)?
 
Interesting timeline, Maharajah!
I am not familar with your previous projects, but this one looks very promising.


As to your last update:
You seriously have two Messiah pretenders in Jerusalem at the same time?
Any authority whatsoever would probably intervene to prevent general unrest ...
what kind of street scenes should we imagine?

To make your changes to OTL explicit:
You say both "claim to be the messiah".
According to the New Testament, Jesus did so only implicitly most of the time,
and some scholar believe he never pronounced it explicitly.
(For comparison, Bar Koshiba was given this title, and did not claim it himself.)
You make the conflicts about them sharper from the very beginning.

And of course, "that [God] even cares for the Persians and Romans"
would be a thesis also only quite implicitly hidden in Jesus' teachings.

Anyway, both messianic figures seem possible and plausible to me in the given context.
So I am eager to hear of their fate.

Btw, re "Persians and Romans": The colloquial language in the region is still Greek, right? And what about mainstream culture (excepting Jews)?

First of all, I actually don't have any previous projects; this is my only TL.

And I'm glad you think that my messiah characters are at least somewhat plausible.

Also, I read that in Persia, Hellenistic influences were in decline by the Parthian dynasty, and I believe that Greek was mainly used by the upper classes of the east Mediterranean.
 
23 BC - Part II

-In the Kingdom of the Yadavas, the civil war has been resolved, with Yayati emerging as victor against the restorationist forces. He then installs himself as High King of the Yadavas, and intends to maintain his good relations with Parthia.

-The war has now been going on for a year, and Rome is losing. The Celtic Confederation has been a great help to Dacia and Parthia, and parts of Hispania and southern Gaul are rebelling, with the leaders hoping that this will be the last time any Celt will ever have to rebel against Rome.

-Rome has been almost completely pushed out Moesia by March, controlling only the southwest, and Dacia has regained all land Rome captured on their side of the Danube, and is now advancing on Dalmatia and Pannonia.

-Bosporus attacks Rome’s ally of Caucasian Albania in late March, which has been causing trouble for Parthia. Caucasian Albania, after having its miserable, hastily-built Black Sea navy routed by that of Bosporus and having most of its western land captured after Bosporan forces gain support of neighboring tribes, signs a truce with Bosporus and agrees to become a joint protectorate of Bosporus and Parthia.

-Rumors spread in Rome around the last week of March that one of the reasons why Rome is doing so poorly defending against its enemies is because Octavian is ill, and his sickness is interfering with his mental capacities. While anonymous Roman officials confirm that Octavian is, in fact, somewhat ill, it is still open to question whether he is completely mentally sound.

-The rumors do not help Octavian’s reputation, whose popularity has been declining for several months. His illness also raises fears about the question of succession, and if he plans on creating a true monarchy.

-Starting from March, Octavian begins to secretly support the prophet Isaac in Israel. He begins sending Isaac funds on the condition that he continue to try to ignite anti-Persian sentiment among his followers. After Parthian officials realize that Isaac has been getting money from a non-local source, they begin to favor the more peaceful Shachar. When Isaac’s speeches become increasingly violent and nationalistic, the Jewish-Parthian governor of Judea begins to try to restrict Isaac.
 
Also, I read that in Persia, Hellenistic influences were in decline by the Parthian dynasty, and I believe that Greek was mainly used by the upper classes of the east Mediterranean.

OK with Persia itself, but I think your PoD is late enough so that Greek may
still be the (waning) lingua franca in Palestine, Syria, and Italy.


How do we have to imagine Isaac?
A rebel hiding in the hills, preaching in the towns, recruiting new followers or
receive arms, and then vanish into the opposite direction?
 
OK with Persia itself, but I think your PoD is late enough so that Greek may
still be the (waning) lingua franca in Palestine, Syria, and Italy.


How do we have to imagine Isaac?
A rebel hiding in the hills, preaching in the towns, recruiting new followers or
receive arms, and then vanish into the opposite direction?

Well, both, I suppose, depending on the situation and whether he's in trouble with the government or not.

23 BC - Part III

-By mid-may, Octavian has fully recovered from his illness, and he makes a number of public appearances. His popularity only increases slightly because of this; the war is still going poorly.

-Throughout May and June, Rome is slowly pushed back out of Pannonia and Illyria. Dacia and Persia recruit the help of local tribes, promising them greater autonomy if Rome is defeated. The same strategy of promising self-rule is used on the Greek peninsula, where it works especially well. However, the Roman navy continues to battle with the Persian navy in the Archipelago.

-By July, the Roman legions in Illyria are tired, having lost a number of battles of Dacia and Parthia. Roman forces are now fighting battles with their backs to the Adriatic. Desertion becomes more common among the Roman soldiers, whose morale is lower than ever.

-Parthia has taken control of all of Egypt by late July, but Phraates orders his generals not to advance into Libya so that Parthia can concentrate on the northern war.

-In Dacia, discontent caused by Burebista allowing Antony and Cleopatra into positions of power is muted by the military success of Dacia against Rome.

-In mid-July, the Persian and Dacian forces begin a siege of the Adriatic city of Salona. As Persian armies advance on the area, thousands of refugees enter the city of Salona and other coastal areas. The Persian navy blockades the city’s coast, and no one is allowed in or out.

-Shachar and Isaac continue to fight a war of words in Judea, each winning many supporters. The Parthian government continues to watch Isaac closely
 
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23 BC – Part IV

-Persian and Dacian Forces continue to siege Salona throughout the year. Other cities in the region fall after shorter sieges, but Rome tries to hang onto Salona because of its strategic importance along the Adriatic.

-By October, Roman forces have been pushed out of almost all of Illyria, and rebels continue to fight Roman legions in Gaul and Hispania.

-As winter approaches, battles between Roman and Persian-Dacian forces in the Alpine regions of Illyria and Pannonia becomes more sporadic.

-The Roman public is very dissatisfied with Octavian, and the senate and many of his advisors are pressuring him to agree to a truce so that Rome can concentrate on putting down the rebellions in Hispania and Gaul.

-Cleopatra Selene II dies under mysterious circumstances in mid-December. Some Roman leaders had accused her of acting as a spy for Dacia.
 
Great! That would be very helpful.

I'm almost done with the map...I'll edit it into this post in a few minutes.

Massive update:

22 BC – Part I

-Throughout January and February, neither Rome nor Persia makes any progress in the Alps. Skirmishes between the two sides are infrequent, and both Rome and Persia/Dacia has lost many soldiers to the temperatures and other hazards of the region.

-By late January, the siege of Salona has been going on for over six months, and after winter, conditions in Salona are terrible. Many suffer from malnutrition, and disease is rampant. The little food there is goes to the soldiers.

-In early February, an extra-deadly disease starts spreading through Salona. Most people are weak from starvation and malnutrition, and many live in cramped, dirty conditions, making things worse. Some people identify it as the plague.

-At the end of February, a large group of ships from the Roman navy relieves the city of Salona, defeating the blockading Persian navy in a surprise attack. The Roman navy had previously left the Greek Archipelago a little over a week ago, realizing that even southern Greece was a lost cause.

-Thousands of Salona’s inhabitants flee the city now that the Persian navy is not preventing their escape, even though the city officials tell the citizens not to leave, and that more supplies will be arriving soon.

-One week into March, the survivors of the Seige of Salona are scattered across the east coast of Italy. Many have already spread the plague to unsuspecting Italians. In some areas, the inhabitants heard of the diseases carried by the people of Salona beforehand, and prevented them from leaving their ships. Of course, they do not think to stop the rats and other pests that are the more dangerous threat from leaving the ships.

-On March 23, Octavian, under pressure from the Senate, finally agrees to a truce with Persia, hoping that an end to the war will bring his popularity back up. The conditions are that Rome is to surrender all land captured by Persia and Dacia, and to cede northern Gaul to the Celtic confederation.

-The confederation of Celtic tribes has taken control of most of the territory ceded to them by Rome by the end of March, but Brittany refuses to submit to the confederation’s authority.

-By the end of March, the Plague of Salona has spread across the eastern Italian countryside. As news of the pestilence reaches Rome and other urban centers, the populace begins to panic. People from the countryside are not being allowed into cities until it has been proven that they are not carrying the disease.

-Dacia and Persia divide the conquered Roman territory: Dacia receives Roman Pannonia, and consolidates the other areas of Pannonia it occupied during the war, and is given central Moesia. Persia receives Greece, Illyria, and the rest of Asia Minor, along with Egypt.

-As promised, Phraates begins to allow the tribes of Illyria and the Greek cities to exercise more self-rule.

-Discontent rises in Dacia again, as the nobility thinks that Burebista allowed Persia to take too much of the land that Dacia conquered from Rome, mainly parts of Moesia and Illyria. Some Dacian nobles had plans for any coastal territory along the Aegean or Adriatic that Dacia might gain, but these plans for estates, villas, and trading businesses will not come to fruition now.

-Burebista, now in his mid-to-late eighties, does not expect to live much longer, and does not think his kingdom will have a good fate in the years after his death. Cleopatra and Antony are ambitious, and Burebista suspects that they will try to seize the throne after he dies, or perhaps secure the throne for Caesarion. He knows that any such move would split the kingdom apart, for the majority of the nobility is fiercely opposed to Cleopatra and Antony’s ambitions for taking power, and would take military action if the couple ever sought the throne.

-On April first, in a very elaborate ceremony, Burebista has himself crowned as a King of Kings: This is a symbolic move to show that Dacia is an equal to the Persian Empire. Phraates, upon hearing news of the ceremony, agrees to recognize Burebista as a King of Kings, knowing that the Dacian kingdom will not last much longer.

-Shachar and Isaac continue to travel around Judea, each winning converts to their side. Isaac is no longer secretly funded by Octavian.
 
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