...And The Flag Still Waves
Without further adieu... this is the next installment in the story of the two empires.
822 - The Eastern Emperor Leo IV receives an embassy from a land far east the Byzantines call Cathay, previously known only from scattered travel stories, and for being the home of the silk worm, smuggled into Byzantium during the reign of Justinian I. During the ambassadors' visit, they present the Emperor with a dozen primitive rockets, explaining those to be a great item to be used in festivities. To celebrate the birth of his youngest son, Andronicus, Leo orders the rockets to be used in an ensuing celebration. The resulting accident costs several servants major injuries, but also gives Leo a few things to ponder about the military use of such explosive as that presented to him. Ironically, the Chinese themselves never considered the military applications of their invention, preferring to think of it as a potentially dangerous, but ultimately useless toy.
823 - A Pictish king Duncan unites the tribes of Northern Britain in an attempt to resist continuous Norse incursions. While within a few years' space he will be soundly defeated and killed, his early successes do much to inspire the inhabitants of the British Isles.
824 - Leo's attempts to have his scientists duplicate the explosive substance end up in failure, as the concoctions his servants create do not seem to have significant explosive power. He becomes convinced that a secret of the substance, and significant quantities thereof must be obtained from the Chinese. Using a time-tested tactic, he sends a group of agents disguised as monks to ostensibly spread the Orthodox faith to the East - but in reality to obtain the secret of gunpowder, and bring it back to Constantinople for manufacture.
825 - The Aquitainian king Pepin has now solidified his rule over most of Gaul, the Pyrennees, and even parts of Germany conquered by his troops. Having strengthened his army with elite corps of Norse mercenaries, he is looking towards what he sees as his ultimate goal - the rich, fertile lands of Italy, and the unification of Roman Empire's European dominions under one crown, that being his own. Believing that during the minority of young Michael III the Venetian Empire would be easy prey, he marches his troops south of the Alps in a greatest invasion of Italy since Belisarius' reconquest three centuries earlier.
826 - Pepin's troops capture Ravenna after a long siege, enslaving and slaughtering many of the inhabitants. In Venice, a general mood of panic prevails. An army is hastily assembled, while additional troops are being recalled from Sicily, Iberia, and North Africa. This army is placed under command of one Vitale Romagniani, an admiral turned general considered the ablest military leader of Venetian Empire. He bides his time, preparing his troops for what he believes to be an ultimate showdown over who would control the Roman Empire in the West. Several attempts by Pepin to force battle are unsuccessful.
827 - After months of maneuvering, the battle of Modena is fought between the exhausted Frankish army, already suffering from effects of the plague and guerilla activity of Venetians, and a new Venetian army. The Franks number over seventy thousand; the Venetian army is roughly half the size. Vitale draws the Franks into a carefully planned ambush, where the rest could quickly be surmised. The Franks are slaughtered in droves, with many captives transported to North Africa. Vitale is hailed the savior of the Empire, and is allowed to hold a triumph in Venice.
828 - The Venetian Senate decides, after much deliberation, to revive the office of a Consul. The office has been allowed to lapse towards the end of Justinian I's reign, and has not been reinstituted in either East or West. A Consul would have a second duty, as well - considering the Emperor's minority, he would act as a guardian and protector of the young Emperor while still technically subject to the Senate. Vitale Romagniani is nominated to be the Consul for the West, and is elected to the post without surprises. He will hold the Consulship seven more times, inviting comparisons to ancient Gaius Marius. An invitation to elect a Consul of the East is received in Constantinople, whereas Leo has his eldest son Nicephorus nominated Consul. Leo believes that humoring the West could do much for an outward display of unity of the Empires, even though both Empires have long been practically independent of each other.
830 - The Norse raiders establish permanent principalities in the south of England. The most prominent is the Earldom of Londinium, established on the ruins of wealthy Anglish principality.
831 - The Eastern Emperor Leo IV dies in Constantinople, having previously ensured the succession of his own firstborn as Nicephorus II. Only a month after his death, the surviving agents of mission to China arrive back to Constantinople with small quantities of precious explosive substance. On the way back they had to endure hardships, disease, robbers, the conquering armies of the Caliphate, and many other obstacles, however, with the substance in Byzantine hands, and a basic understanding of how to make it available, gunpowder made its appearance in the Western history. The early Byzantine gunpowder weapons came in two qualities, ship-based rockets to fire at the enemy naval vessels in conjunction with the Greek Fire (although the range and accuracy of these projectiles left much to be desired), and hand-thrown grenades, that in their first several incarnations cost many a Byzantine soldier an arm or a leg. Over the next decade, the designs would be improved to where these weapons would have a greater chance of hurting the enemy than the weapon's wielder.
833 - In the West, young Michael III expects to rule in his own stead after turning eighteen years of age. Instead, Consul Vitale and the Senate, fully aware that the relative freedom they had enjoyed during his minority might be over, force him to sign over the document confirming the privileges and rights of the Senate, and limiting the Emperor's power. Years later, reflecting on the event, Michael III Ducas would say to his son, "I leave you a throne less elaborate, but much stronger"; at the time, however, the passions run high, almost amounting to a coup, averted only because the army supports the Consul to a man. The first decade of Michael III's supposedly independent reign is thus primarily occupied by a power struggle with the Senate. The Eastern Emperor Nicephorus II is concerned about developments in the West, however, due to trouble with the Caliphate brewing on the Eastern frontier, decides not to interfere.
835 - A great Ecumenical Council of the Church is held in Alexandria, the first time leading theologians and churchmen of the Mediterranean world met on the territory nominally in clutches of both Athanasian and monophysite heresies. While the crucial issues such as iconoclasm are not resolved, the dialogue under the protection of a nominally neutral power does much to increase if not acceptance, then at least tolerance of Arabic Athanasian Christians and their Coptic Christian subjects' faith in both Eastern and Western Roman Empires.
836 - In the East, the Emperor Nicephorus is seen as an ineffectual leader, more concerned with his numerous mistresses, wild drinking orgies, and racing horses than with the business of government. Such state of affairs is to the advantage of one Romanus of Cyprus, who rose to the position of High Chamberlain in no small part due to being one of the Emperor's constant drinking companions. Although Romanus' origins are humble, he is smart enough to play the various cliques and political parties in the Senate against each other to become a key player in an increasingly more intricate web of Byzantine politics.
838 - The legend has it that the great city of Kiev (or Kyiv, depending on whether you ask an OTL Russian or Ukrainian) was founded in the late Vth century AD by brothers Kij, Schekh, Khoriv, and their sister Lyibid', the city being named after the eldest brother (Kij - Kiev/Kyiv meaning "Kij's"). By the IXth century, it is a major trading center on the Dnepr (or Dnipro, if Ukrainian pronounciation is to be used) river, and a center of bustling Slavic principality. Early in 838, a Norse Prince named Oleg establishes himself as the ruler of Kiev by slaying the local princes, and taking their place. Over the next several decades, the Norse would be mostly assimilated into the Slavic population of the city, who are now taking the Norse name for their people, Rus (meaning "south", for the direction in which the Norse explorers, traders, and conquerors went).
839 - Despite Pepin the Tall's disastrous Italian expedition, his son Lewis still dreams of expansion. Worse yet for the Venetians, at a stroke of a pen he abolishes the Gaulish Patriarch's dependency on Rome, instead making the Patriarch a head of an independent Gaulish Christian Church. Lewis' plans of expansion are usually scouted out by missionaries, who set out in force to convert the neighbouring nations to Christianity. Such a mission is sent to Bulgaria, where for many years the Byzantine conversion efforts were unsuccessful. Not now, though, as the Bulgar Khan Stanislav is seriously alarmed at the prospect of not only Frankish version of Christianity, but outright attempt at conquest. Worse yet, a pagan nation sandwiched between the spheres of Christian influence offers a fair game for conquest without a need for excuse, especially if it is done in the name of God, with other Christian nations standing by idly at best, and trying to grab a piece of the spoils at worst. To this effect, Stanislav sends ambassadors to Nicephorus II's court in Constantinople, informing the Emperor of his and his people's wish to embrace Orthodox Christianity.
840 - In Constantinople, Romanus of Cyprus is by now all-powerful, and his eyes are firmly set upon the throne itself. He convinces bumbling, by now always drunk Nicephorus II to crown him co-Emperor, to "lessen the burden of managing the Empire". He makes no difficulties over the Bulgarian ambassadors' request, inviting the Khan over to Constantinople for his baptism. The Khan arrives with a suite of most illustrous of Bulgarian nobles, and is then baptised in Hagia Sophia, with the now-Emperor Romanus I Cyprioticus standing godfather. Moreover, he is granted the rank of Caesar - a purely titular distinction, designed to further attach Stanislav to Byzantium politically as well as religiously, and not implicating him in Roman government. From now on, Stanislav of Bulgaria begins to style himself Tsar of the Bulgars.
841 - The first Russian raid on Constantinople is defeated by judicious use of Greek Fire and new, improved rockets. In the city itself, Nicephorus II is found dead in his apartments, apparently suffocating in a large goblet of wine his face fell into while intoxicated. Of course, whether or not his head just happened to land in a goblet, or if it was held to be made look that way is open to much speculation... Thus, Romanus I Cyprioticus became the sole ruler of Byzantium, and the founder of the Cypriote dynasty. Any surviving relatives of Nicephorus are, in a meanwhile, quietly disposed of, with his two brothers castrated and tonsured, and his sisters and daughters forced to take the veil.
842 - The first mention of gunpowder in the Arabic manuscripts. After observing the efficiency of the weapon (explosive grenade in this case) in a border dispute, the Caliph of Baghdad orders that his men obtain the secret at any cost. Within only a year, and through liberal use of bribes, they are successful. In the next century, the basic use of gunpowder will spread uncontrollably throughout the Mediterranean world.
Next installment - hopefully tomorrow.
Without further adieu... this is the next installment in the story of the two empires.
822 - The Eastern Emperor Leo IV receives an embassy from a land far east the Byzantines call Cathay, previously known only from scattered travel stories, and for being the home of the silk worm, smuggled into Byzantium during the reign of Justinian I. During the ambassadors' visit, they present the Emperor with a dozen primitive rockets, explaining those to be a great item to be used in festivities. To celebrate the birth of his youngest son, Andronicus, Leo orders the rockets to be used in an ensuing celebration. The resulting accident costs several servants major injuries, but also gives Leo a few things to ponder about the military use of such explosive as that presented to him. Ironically, the Chinese themselves never considered the military applications of their invention, preferring to think of it as a potentially dangerous, but ultimately useless toy.
823 - A Pictish king Duncan unites the tribes of Northern Britain in an attempt to resist continuous Norse incursions. While within a few years' space he will be soundly defeated and killed, his early successes do much to inspire the inhabitants of the British Isles.
824 - Leo's attempts to have his scientists duplicate the explosive substance end up in failure, as the concoctions his servants create do not seem to have significant explosive power. He becomes convinced that a secret of the substance, and significant quantities thereof must be obtained from the Chinese. Using a time-tested tactic, he sends a group of agents disguised as monks to ostensibly spread the Orthodox faith to the East - but in reality to obtain the secret of gunpowder, and bring it back to Constantinople for manufacture.
825 - The Aquitainian king Pepin has now solidified his rule over most of Gaul, the Pyrennees, and even parts of Germany conquered by his troops. Having strengthened his army with elite corps of Norse mercenaries, he is looking towards what he sees as his ultimate goal - the rich, fertile lands of Italy, and the unification of Roman Empire's European dominions under one crown, that being his own. Believing that during the minority of young Michael III the Venetian Empire would be easy prey, he marches his troops south of the Alps in a greatest invasion of Italy since Belisarius' reconquest three centuries earlier.
826 - Pepin's troops capture Ravenna after a long siege, enslaving and slaughtering many of the inhabitants. In Venice, a general mood of panic prevails. An army is hastily assembled, while additional troops are being recalled from Sicily, Iberia, and North Africa. This army is placed under command of one Vitale Romagniani, an admiral turned general considered the ablest military leader of Venetian Empire. He bides his time, preparing his troops for what he believes to be an ultimate showdown over who would control the Roman Empire in the West. Several attempts by Pepin to force battle are unsuccessful.
827 - After months of maneuvering, the battle of Modena is fought between the exhausted Frankish army, already suffering from effects of the plague and guerilla activity of Venetians, and a new Venetian army. The Franks number over seventy thousand; the Venetian army is roughly half the size. Vitale draws the Franks into a carefully planned ambush, where the rest could quickly be surmised. The Franks are slaughtered in droves, with many captives transported to North Africa. Vitale is hailed the savior of the Empire, and is allowed to hold a triumph in Venice.
828 - The Venetian Senate decides, after much deliberation, to revive the office of a Consul. The office has been allowed to lapse towards the end of Justinian I's reign, and has not been reinstituted in either East or West. A Consul would have a second duty, as well - considering the Emperor's minority, he would act as a guardian and protector of the young Emperor while still technically subject to the Senate. Vitale Romagniani is nominated to be the Consul for the West, and is elected to the post without surprises. He will hold the Consulship seven more times, inviting comparisons to ancient Gaius Marius. An invitation to elect a Consul of the East is received in Constantinople, whereas Leo has his eldest son Nicephorus nominated Consul. Leo believes that humoring the West could do much for an outward display of unity of the Empires, even though both Empires have long been practically independent of each other.
830 - The Norse raiders establish permanent principalities in the south of England. The most prominent is the Earldom of Londinium, established on the ruins of wealthy Anglish principality.
831 - The Eastern Emperor Leo IV dies in Constantinople, having previously ensured the succession of his own firstborn as Nicephorus II. Only a month after his death, the surviving agents of mission to China arrive back to Constantinople with small quantities of precious explosive substance. On the way back they had to endure hardships, disease, robbers, the conquering armies of the Caliphate, and many other obstacles, however, with the substance in Byzantine hands, and a basic understanding of how to make it available, gunpowder made its appearance in the Western history. The early Byzantine gunpowder weapons came in two qualities, ship-based rockets to fire at the enemy naval vessels in conjunction with the Greek Fire (although the range and accuracy of these projectiles left much to be desired), and hand-thrown grenades, that in their first several incarnations cost many a Byzantine soldier an arm or a leg. Over the next decade, the designs would be improved to where these weapons would have a greater chance of hurting the enemy than the weapon's wielder.
833 - In the West, young Michael III expects to rule in his own stead after turning eighteen years of age. Instead, Consul Vitale and the Senate, fully aware that the relative freedom they had enjoyed during his minority might be over, force him to sign over the document confirming the privileges and rights of the Senate, and limiting the Emperor's power. Years later, reflecting on the event, Michael III Ducas would say to his son, "I leave you a throne less elaborate, but much stronger"; at the time, however, the passions run high, almost amounting to a coup, averted only because the army supports the Consul to a man. The first decade of Michael III's supposedly independent reign is thus primarily occupied by a power struggle with the Senate. The Eastern Emperor Nicephorus II is concerned about developments in the West, however, due to trouble with the Caliphate brewing on the Eastern frontier, decides not to interfere.
835 - A great Ecumenical Council of the Church is held in Alexandria, the first time leading theologians and churchmen of the Mediterranean world met on the territory nominally in clutches of both Athanasian and monophysite heresies. While the crucial issues such as iconoclasm are not resolved, the dialogue under the protection of a nominally neutral power does much to increase if not acceptance, then at least tolerance of Arabic Athanasian Christians and their Coptic Christian subjects' faith in both Eastern and Western Roman Empires.
836 - In the East, the Emperor Nicephorus is seen as an ineffectual leader, more concerned with his numerous mistresses, wild drinking orgies, and racing horses than with the business of government. Such state of affairs is to the advantage of one Romanus of Cyprus, who rose to the position of High Chamberlain in no small part due to being one of the Emperor's constant drinking companions. Although Romanus' origins are humble, he is smart enough to play the various cliques and political parties in the Senate against each other to become a key player in an increasingly more intricate web of Byzantine politics.
838 - The legend has it that the great city of Kiev (or Kyiv, depending on whether you ask an OTL Russian or Ukrainian) was founded in the late Vth century AD by brothers Kij, Schekh, Khoriv, and their sister Lyibid', the city being named after the eldest brother (Kij - Kiev/Kyiv meaning "Kij's"). By the IXth century, it is a major trading center on the Dnepr (or Dnipro, if Ukrainian pronounciation is to be used) river, and a center of bustling Slavic principality. Early in 838, a Norse Prince named Oleg establishes himself as the ruler of Kiev by slaying the local princes, and taking their place. Over the next several decades, the Norse would be mostly assimilated into the Slavic population of the city, who are now taking the Norse name for their people, Rus (meaning "south", for the direction in which the Norse explorers, traders, and conquerors went).
839 - Despite Pepin the Tall's disastrous Italian expedition, his son Lewis still dreams of expansion. Worse yet for the Venetians, at a stroke of a pen he abolishes the Gaulish Patriarch's dependency on Rome, instead making the Patriarch a head of an independent Gaulish Christian Church. Lewis' plans of expansion are usually scouted out by missionaries, who set out in force to convert the neighbouring nations to Christianity. Such a mission is sent to Bulgaria, where for many years the Byzantine conversion efforts were unsuccessful. Not now, though, as the Bulgar Khan Stanislav is seriously alarmed at the prospect of not only Frankish version of Christianity, but outright attempt at conquest. Worse yet, a pagan nation sandwiched between the spheres of Christian influence offers a fair game for conquest without a need for excuse, especially if it is done in the name of God, with other Christian nations standing by idly at best, and trying to grab a piece of the spoils at worst. To this effect, Stanislav sends ambassadors to Nicephorus II's court in Constantinople, informing the Emperor of his and his people's wish to embrace Orthodox Christianity.
840 - In Constantinople, Romanus of Cyprus is by now all-powerful, and his eyes are firmly set upon the throne itself. He convinces bumbling, by now always drunk Nicephorus II to crown him co-Emperor, to "lessen the burden of managing the Empire". He makes no difficulties over the Bulgarian ambassadors' request, inviting the Khan over to Constantinople for his baptism. The Khan arrives with a suite of most illustrous of Bulgarian nobles, and is then baptised in Hagia Sophia, with the now-Emperor Romanus I Cyprioticus standing godfather. Moreover, he is granted the rank of Caesar - a purely titular distinction, designed to further attach Stanislav to Byzantium politically as well as religiously, and not implicating him in Roman government. From now on, Stanislav of Bulgaria begins to style himself Tsar of the Bulgars.
841 - The first Russian raid on Constantinople is defeated by judicious use of Greek Fire and new, improved rockets. In the city itself, Nicephorus II is found dead in his apartments, apparently suffocating in a large goblet of wine his face fell into while intoxicated. Of course, whether or not his head just happened to land in a goblet, or if it was held to be made look that way is open to much speculation... Thus, Romanus I Cyprioticus became the sole ruler of Byzantium, and the founder of the Cypriote dynasty. Any surviving relatives of Nicephorus are, in a meanwhile, quietly disposed of, with his two brothers castrated and tonsured, and his sisters and daughters forced to take the veil.
842 - The first mention of gunpowder in the Arabic manuscripts. After observing the efficiency of the weapon (explosive grenade in this case) in a border dispute, the Caliph of Baghdad orders that his men obtain the secret at any cost. Within only a year, and through liberal use of bribes, they are successful. In the next century, the basic use of gunpowder will spread uncontrollably throughout the Mediterranean world.
Next installment - hopefully tomorrow.
