Heirs of Heraclius, a no Islam timeline

Silver01 · Oct 20, 2023

Zygmunt Stary said:
I thought about it long term (that could be situation in say XIth century, if you chose to go that route). The newly created Polish state (since Germans are losing to Bulgaria and Veleti and Abodriti are still a thing, so nucleus of Polish state doesn't share land border with Germany) would probably become Bulgarian vassal and sooner or later take baptism from it.

Ill keep it mind even though I also noted possible Rus bulgarian conflicts

Silver01 · Nov 17, 2023

Vahan declared Basil dead, but Vahan was smart; he knew the last time some had successfully used a Heraclian, he was hated, and it made sense that the dynasty had ruled for now 300 years, so he worded himself very carefully; he never declared himself emperor despite him being married to Irene; he always claimed that the revolt was on behalf of Leo; this combined with his iconoclast policies made the Balkans join his revolt. As he marched towards Constantinople and news of the death of Basil spread, all of north-western Asia Minor joined him against the iconoclast forces loyal to the now-dead emperor. With great haste, Vahan marched towards Constantinople, where the forces there were heavily outnumbered and their emperor was now dead. Yet many feared the outcomes of allowing Vahan into the city; many still believed he wanted the purple for himself, and that would lead to another civil war with Emperor Leo.

So in an act reminiscent of Caesar and Mark Anthony, did the Patriarch of Constantinople leave the walls to present to Vahan a crown and to bless his rule, fearing for his life as he was an iconoclast? The soldiers were silent for a moment, yet the general pushed away the crown, saying: The citizens do not need a new Basileus; they already have one.

As he pointed west towards the eternal city, the action, whether an act of political play or genuine fleeing, soon cast away all doubts as the gates were open, and Vahan, along with Irene, entered Constantinople as heroes as they restored the worship of icons, with some support, and then moved first to return the exiles and the icons back to the city; he would not move to root out Iconoclasm, not yet at least with one glaring expectation, he allowed the patriarch of Constantinople to leave the city, Ignatius II was recalled from his exile, and later Vahan sent a word to Leo apologizing for the death of his brother, he told him he had no ambition to be emperor of the east and he invited the emperor to come to be crowned In Constantinople, Leo was distrustful, for was he not the same man who was under the command of his brother and betrayed him? Who was to say he would not try something similar and slay him once he arrived in the capital? Still, Leo answered that he would come, but he could not leave Italy now, not when the Amazigh could still attack. He ordered Vahan to subdue or, if need be, crush the men in favor of his brother.

Vahan smiled when he heard about this; it was going to be an easy task by now. Lydia,Asia,Caria, Lycia, and parts of Phrygia fully supported him, as did Helespont, and the theme of Pontus and Armenia had diverged into civil war. The same was true of the principality of Armenia. It's not that these places supported Iconoclasm; this was hardly the case; rather, the military victories and the strong position of the ruling Bagratid family made them support the resistance against Vahan. After all, the Mamikonian family, ever since the 7th century, was the greatest rival to the Bagratid, and more than one Armenian source feared that Vahan would give the throne to his family or, better yet, if he could not be emperor, at least become Prince of Armenia.

But his confidence was to be shattered. Basil had barely escaped; he first intended to flee to his capital, but understanding and seeing how quickly the forces were moving, he crossed the straits. From Abydos, he fled towards the military center of Amorium, where he was welcomed by the local soldiers. Soon, he began to gather the forces to take back his throne, for he knew many soldiers in the east supported him for his great victory, but another player was to join the war: the Persians, like hawks, who had been eying the events in the Roman empire, The Shah Hormizd VII situation was not enviable; despite the great rule of Kavad III, the last years of his rule saw a shift in the climate; now cold spells were not new, which is one of the reasons why the 7th century marked the start of the Persian dark ages. During this time, aside from the political chaos, there were five cold events that hit Mesopotamia, Armenia, and northeastern Syria. The Romans could deal with the crisis, even with the four events listed in the 8th century, especially in 749–751, but Constantine V dealt with the crisis as many Armenians moved to Anatolia and Syria.

In the 9th century, another cold event went as far as Transoxiana, weakening the Tang presence, Iran, and further to Syria and Mesopotamia, but just as before the Romans weathered the storm, the political chaos of the crisis meant that the Iranians took advantage. Now it seemed Mother Nature had again chosen a favorite. Kavad III saw freezing weather from 919–921, leading to a grain shortage, leading to famine and riots. The cold extended to the Black Sea, but Shah Kavad did not hesitate to open the granaries. Yet in 926, with heavy snow and the cold that both the mighty tigris and Euphrastes froze, Kavad again opened the granaries to support the people as chaos erupted in Ctesiphon, but these cold events triggered a problem for Kavad: for a time now, the soil salinity of southern Mesopotamia increased, and the yield of wheat was reduced. Barley was more saline-resistant and did not suffer to the same extent. Consequently, farmers cultivated more barley and less wheat in response to growing salinization. To add to this, the cost of the irrigation system was high, and for as noble as Kavad III was the grain given, his spending on the learning and marvelous architecture along with the army changed caused some problems. This is likely another reason he invaded Arabia; after all, he did start getting some tribute from Kinda and even preferential trading in Yemen after he vanquished the Meccans. This is also another reason why he went to war with Rome to increase the tribute.

But now, years later, while Hormizd VII had not lost the war , he had to make peace and while in any other circumstances this would not have been as bad, The loss of tribute and the continuing degradation of the soil did not make him popular, and so, knowing that the Roman Empire was in civil war, he saw his chance to invade and force the Romans to pay tribute again. The Shah had a casus beli already; after all, he had made peace with Basil, who was now dead; thus, the treaty was null. As the Shah gathered his army, war loomed again in the east.

Silver01 · Nov 17, 2023

When news reached that Basil was still alive, Vahan gathered his armies to fight against him, as by now the emperor had gathered his armies, but then the Persians invaded, and the Shah went for Dvin, outnumbered the fortress, and resisted. There was, for now, no hope of reinforcements, as the prince of Armenia, also in civil war, could do little. As the siege dragged on back west, still not having gathered most of his men, Emperor Basil fled Amorium as the army of Vahan crossed to Anatolia and moved, taking over the city. The army of Vahan then marched east, defeating a smaller force to slow them down. With that, he reached Ankara, which he laid siege to, as by now his brother had fled to Cesarea as the siege dragged on till summer. When Basil reunited his army and marched towards Ankara, both sides did not battle for four days as they negotiated. Vahan was clear that he would allow the empeor to live if he adbicated and even retake his throne if he renounced Icnoclasm, which Basil refused.

With that, the armies met. The battle was a grueling match, but the details are lost to us. We do know that the right wing of the Basil army collapsed; some even fled to the camp. It was said that Basil was soon going to call the retreat, but there was hesitation to strike the center or go directly to attack General Constantine Tyannos reserve. This allowed both Tyannos to attack and the wing to reform as Vahan in the center tried to get to the emperor, but his elite guard defended him well, nearly killing Vahan on more than one occasion. The sources say Vahan was with a lance sticking out at him, but Tyannos soon broke the Vahan left wing; he did not hesitate to attack from the flanks, and this caused a general route. Had it not been for Vahan and his other commanders orders, many would have been killed in the persuit, but they managed to retreat in good order.

The battle had saved Ankara and the loyalists in Anatolia, but both sides were exhausted. After resting for a while, he sent one of his generals, Theophanes, to the east to deal with the Persians, as by now, three months after the siege, Dvin had just fallen. Theophanes gathered the armies loyal to him in Armenia and marched to meet the Persians near Kars. The resulting battle was a disaster for the Romans, as almost the entire force was destroyed. With the other principalities not wanting to join Basil and him still focusing on the civil war, the principality of Armenia fell to the Persians. As the winter of 940 arrived, both sides prepared. When spring arrived, the Persians were the first to attack due to the civil war. They pushed, taking more of Armenia and taking back all of old Sasanid Armenia.

While Basil pushed west, he marched towards Amorium, which he took back along with some other nearby cities, but again, Vahan arrived and reversed these gains except for Amorium. After another battle, which was inconclusive but did force Basil to lose Amorium again, Vahan sent word to Leo to support him, but raids and couter raids: with the Amazigh still crossing to Italy, the Persians on the other side started their attacks to go further, fearing for a collapse in the east. Basil sent Tyannos east with a portion of his forces. Knowing he was outnumbered, the general took a risk by entering Caucassian Iberia, which still resisted the Dabuyid invasion. From there, he marched towards Dvin and then south. The Persian armies decided not to retreat but to focus on conquering as much as they could to force him back, but he ignored them and crossed the mountains to Mesopotamia. There were the armies of Mesopotamia who were raiding deep into Roman Mesopotamia and laying siege to Dara. Now the Roman general has laid siege to Peroz Shapur, and the army moved back to face him, having been given time. Tyannos laid an ambush, and taking part in the following battle, the Persians were defeated. Still not having the numbers to march further down, he sacked some minor towns and returned to Anatolia.

He had done enough by lifting the siege of Dara. Still having the upper hand, the Persian emperor wanted to make peace, but he did not know to whom the civil war was still going. Even though he was temped to make an alliance with Vahan for some concessions, mainly tribute and the return of Dvin, maybe he could restore all of Sassanid Armenia come winter 941. He sent his proposal to Vahan, which was in turn intercepted by the loyalists, and Basil exclaimed that he was responsible for the Persian invasion as he invited them, and now they were discussing their proposals after they crushed the rightful emperor who defeated the fire worshipers. This did cause some, especially in the Caucasus, to switch sides, mainly the theme of Pontus and Armenia, who also wanted to now join forces with Tyannos if he did a second attack. With this new support and the soldiers they had recluted before Basil's 20,000-strong army met the 30,000-strong army under Vahan near the Sangarius river, the battle to decide if Basil would keep his throne or even his head was about to commence.

Silver01 · Nov 17, 2023

Both sides had the standard formation of infantry in the center and the wings with cavalry; both sides also had a reserve behind the center. The battle began with both skirmishes, and the loyalists got better in the exchange. Vahan left wing charged to their counterparts, pushing them back soon. The infantry charged, and on both sides, a great din was heard. Despite it crashing like a wave, the loyalists stood firm as the din was replaced by the clash of spears and the cries of dying men. The loyalist right crashed into the Vahan cavalry; it seemed they would collapse quickly, but some reserves and Vahan himself were alongside his men, killing many loyalists. Despite having smaller numbers, the loyalists pushed Vahan forces further and further to their camp, but the Armenian general forces stopped them as they had a numerical advantage and fresh troops moved to the front while the first counterattack failed and the second one pushed the loyalists back.

Vahan himself was successful in pushing the loyalist wing back; it even drove some back to the camp. Vahan quickly moved to attack the center, but using his last reserves, Emperor Basil moved to intercept. Whether this was a show of bravery or the fact that enough time had passed, the loyalist wing reformed and joined the attack against Vahan troops. Despite this, Vahan resisted, and he soon stopped his retreat. Both were at a breaking point; they had been figthing for hours now, but fate was ironic, as Vahan's horse was killed in the midst of the fighting, just as he himself was successful due to the rumors of Basil being dead. When word spread that their leader had been killed, the wings lost heart, and soon panic spread to the rest of the men. Yet not everyone in the center broke, as his guard resisted, but soon they were surrounded. Either because Basil wanted to show mercy because he was impressed by their bravery or simply because he wanted to show his mercy to win over the people again, he decided to spare the men who had not fled.

Still, in the battle, it was said that the loyalists lost about 3000 men, while the forces loyal to Vahan lost about double that. Still, it was Basil's victory that allowed him to enter Amorium without a siege, but it was not over. Vahan had survived and fled back west to the coast. He again wrote to Emperor Leo, but he was not going to help; the Amazigh had crossed into Italy, and the emperor force met him near Cosenza while Leo was heavily defeated. His new army managed to inflict so many casualties and, according to Roman sources, nearly won the battle that the Amazigh returned to Sicily. With the victory, the emperor planned to move to the west, and at the same time, having gathered his forces in Trebizond, Tyannos was to march out. By now, the Persians had conquered all of Armenia east of the Euphrates, yet Caucassian Iberia still resisted and now fully supported him at the head of a larger army. He moved towards Iberia and again towards Dvin, but this time the armies of northern Iran moved against him, and the armies of Mesopotamia were also moving north. Seeing this, Constantine Tyannos marched back south-west, being chased, until he reached Lake Van and defeated the northern Iranian army.

Again, the Cappadocian general entered Mesopotamia, but this time the Persian general Adarmahan moved west as well and was now blocking the way to Roman territory. Having no option, they were forced to march and face the Persians at the Mygdonius River. This is the first recorded instance of taxiarchies, or hollow infantry squares. The men, with their menaulion or three-meter pikes, stopped the famous Iranian cavalry in their tracks. The Persian general then kept his distance, like Surena nearly 1000 years ago. He tried to take out the formation with horse archers and, in this case, also archers, but the Romans, unlike Crasus, sent their own cavalry against them. Seeing this, the Persians sent their infantry. Here, the reforms of great Shah Kavad III showed their worth as the Persian infantry fough nearly breaking the Roman formation on multiple occasions, but it was not to be by the end of the day that the Romans had taken the day and the army of Mesopotamia retreated.

Still, this bold strategy was not without flaws. Having taken the Roman army to Mesopotamia, the Shah now raided deep into Anatolia, reaching as far as Sivas. Still, Tyannos did not return; he rather sacked Balad Singara and went as far south as Hatra; he even captured Heraclia but chose not to sack it; this was a gesture that this city would return one day to Roman rule. He retreated before winter, but by this point, Emperor Basil had pushed back to Abydos and had nearly kicked out the forces loyal to Vahan from Anatolia. Clearly seeing where the wind was blowing, the Shah sent a peace proposal to the emperor. By now, his ambiton had fallen, and he only asked for Dvin and some other forts along with an annual tribute. Aside from a return to his past treaty, the empeor was tempted, but he did not trust the king of Persia. He would need those forces, for as he wintered in Abydos, he knew that coming spring he would march on Constantinople.

Silver01 · Nov 17, 2023

well hope three chapters in a day excuses me not posting for a while also yeah climate change please do not ignore it your alt hist its very imporant

Silver01 · Nov 28, 2023

Basil was eager to attack the rebels, but it was not to be to the east. While Tyrannos victories stopped any Mesopotamian offensives, the army in Armenia, reinforced by Iranian forces, continued its raids, pushing deeper into Cappadocia, raiding as he went until he reached Caesarea, where he laid siege and sent word to the Roman emperor asking for peace. The campaigns of Thanos had caught him off guard, yet he had conquered Theodosiopolis and Satala. In his march, he took Melitene, even if he failed. Now he could use it as a base to raid towards Syria, knowing that Vahan had been for the most part crushed and with the fear that if the Persians were to sack the city, many officers might desert or lose faith in him. Already, some were comparing it to Heraclius' time: first Caesarea would fall, followed by Antioch and Jerusalem, then the gates of the capital.

The emperor soon arrived, and he did so with such haste that the contingent to the north-west of the city that was setting up an ambush was destroyed and routed, having discovered a Persian ambush. They routed them, and the battle began. It was bloody until the Persians retreated; it was a feint to draw them to the ambush, as the Shah thought they had already set positions and would attack the Romans from the rear. Unknown to him, this was not the case, and the Romans charged. Still, some of them did become disorganized, allowing the Persians to regroup and continue the fighting, but as the sun set down, both sides disintegrated, having suffered many casualties. The Persians, not close to capturing the city deep in enemy territory, doubted when confirmation of the ambush was discovered. The Shah quickly ordered a retreat, believing that the Romans could torture some prisoners to reveal weak points in their fortified camp, he would not repeat the same mistake committed by Shah Narseh so long ago against Galerius at Satala.

The day belonged to the Romans, but the emperor had taken so many casualties that he could not kick the Persians out. But the Roman army in Syria had gathered in Antioch and marched north, still leaving a force in case an invasion came from Mesopotamia. The Romans pinned some of the Persians at Melitene, content with starving the city out, but this delay in months was what Vahan needed; he gathered large food stocks for Constantinople, sending his navy tacking back Abydos; it was there where the navy had left that Igor with many hundreds of ships; the prince had raided Bulgaria; hearing of the civil war, he tried to take the queen of cities, but other ships attacked Bithynia when the rebel navy came back with haste from Abydos.

The ships burned, but like Great Emperor Heraclonas, Vahan would use these men, so he gave some treasure to Igor and discussed trading concessions; in return, 400 warriors would be given to the Romans. At the same time, those loyal to the emperor also employed the rus who ended up on their shores; Igor would leave, and Vahan forces pushed back as far as Galatia. Back east, Basil began negotiations with the Shah and spent the rest of the year kicking back Vahan forces, and then news came in the winter of 941-2 that Leo had reached a truce with the Amazigh; their emperor had crushed the Sicilian revolt. In 941, he crossed back to Italy; this time the emperor met him, and while the Roman army lost, the changes made by Leo were enough that this time the Amazigh could go no further, even if their emperor wanted to; he had just lost too many men, so they reached a truce allowing the Amazigh to retreat, finally having the entire island of Sicily.

Now there was a real possibility that Leo would intervene in the war. Even though he would need to recover from the battle, he could still afford to wait as spring came and the Emperor crossed over. Vahan would not risk his navy in an engagement and put to defense the golden horn if the chain from Galata to Constantinople was removed. Constantinople also, by now, had enough reserves to last two years of siege; he had also ordered the Theodosian walls to be repaired and 15000 men would defend the capital. If the defeat of Vahan had made them doubt it, they were gone by now; defeating the rus, who had just attempted to take some time prior, convinced many that God was still on their side and he would not allow Constantinople to fall.

But Emperor Basil knew his brother would take time to arrive and decided not to attack, instead using the time to take the cities around the capital. He also had not brought more men from the east, still loyal to him, as he planned for Tyanno's own campaign.

Silver01 · Dec 6, 2023

Tyannos, at the head of 25,000 troops, went and marched along the Euphrates River. The army moved with speed, passing through where Dura-Europos stood and moving towards Anah, whom he took by surprise and sacked. Then he moved further into Mesopotamia; once he reached Diacira, the defenders, along with part of the army of Mesopamia numbering nearly 20,000, had come to defend the city; a greater number was outside of the fortified town with a ditch with spikes. Witnessing the Persian strength, the commander sent a portion of his troop to probe. After a hard but short skrimish, the Romans retreated. This was the situation for 10 days when the Romans attacked and were pushed back; the situation could not hold, and the Persians never fell for a feint retreat. After a particular hard clash that lasted till night, the Romans retreated, and it was decided that he sent part of his troops to leave. The next day, the Roman general did his best to try to conceal his numbers, which had been lowered, and many who suspected just assumed the last-day figthing had inflicted many casualties. The day started like the others as the troops fought until the Romans retreated. This time, the Persian commander saw his opportunity to crush Tyannos.

The Dabuyids pushed the Romans with so much force that the fighting grew fierce, but slowly the Persians pushed back the Romans. This continued for one hour until they moved far beyond the trench, where the force blocked the path back to the defensive lines. Seeing this, the Romans pushed back, driving the Persians back, and he soon gave the signal. The flanking force clashed like a hammer, and the fighting was fierce, but many did manage to break and flee to the fortress or further. Still, the battle was won. Despite this victory, Constantine Tyannos could not go ahead with his plans to catch Ctesipon off guard. Up to half of the Persian army was slain, but the Roman army was also nearly crippled; there was no way to take Ctesiphon, but he had crushed the main army of Mesopotamia, and while reinforcements would be sent given time, he decided to march back and bring fire and sword, pillaging the country side and the noble estates, but he did have enough men to reach Peroz Shapur. The details of the siege are lost.
Still, he knew he could not stay. Winter was coming, and reports showed that the army to the north was going to march south, and thus, in November, he left Mesopotamia. This was to be no help for the Persians, for in the winter of 942–943, many left the city of Ctesiphon. As looting became widespread, people were desperate for any scraps of food they could find, but the same cold was not limited to Mesopotamia. In the Dabuyid capital, so much snow fell that the Perisan writers mention that people could not even walk. Even when spring came, the snow still persisted. When the troops that were to join the forces in Mesopotamia in 943 revolted, they proclaimed the now-adult son of Kavad III, Ardashir. As Ardashir IV, the troops in the capital and the troops of Mesopotamia joined him, and even those in the spahbod or the north joined him, but Hormizd moved quickly towards northern Iran with his troops there, defeating the spahbod. By now, the new shah had sent word to the Romans, offering them to return all territories taken during the war. Hormizd also sent word to Leo, also promising to return the territories and even to restore the 591 border.

For Leo, he had to choose; both had a relationship with Kavad, whom Leo always distrusted, and there were rumors that Ardashir would start persecuting the Christians, even if he was to discard the rumor that Hormizd's offer would give him a massive advantage in future wars, but then again, Hormizd was shown to be an unstroworthy oporutnist, so he would help the younger Shah be trusted for peace between the empire, and with that, he ordered Tyannos to attack the areas still under Hormizd. He now needed to crush his nephew, so he marched to meet him near Ganzak, near the temple of Adhur Gushnasp. Both sides had large armies; Hormizd was said to have 120,000 men, when in reality he probably had no more than 36,000 men based on accounts of his war in Armenia and the fact that he sent some of his forces to defend his gains from the Romans. His army was highly motivated and battle-hardened by their victories in Armenia. Adashir IV's army was about the same size, but some had lower morale due to the recent defeat of the northern forces, yet many were just as motivated as the loyalists, believing that the natural disasters were God's dissatisfaction with the current shah.

And thus the battle began with the rebel horse archers skirmishing and then retreating, and then the loyalists charged. The hand-to-hand combat was fierce, and at points it seemed the rebels would break, but Ardashir reassured his troops and pushed back, believing the fighting would last even beyond dusk and that it would be exhaustion that forced both armies to retreat the next day. Hormizd would lead the charge himself with the Pushtigban and the rest of the cavalry; the mountian of iron galloped; even the most adherent were scared, but their nerves did not overcome them, and then a great din was heard before the lances broke and the loyalists pushed the rebels back, but the first shock was not enough as the battle continued. Both sides sent their army to support it. It was at this critical moment that the younger pretender saw the shah and charged his kontos piercing the side of the shah. His troops near by saw this and broke soon enough. Soon enough, the entire force broke as news of the Shah's death and many fleeing only caused further chaos. By the afternoon, both the battle cry of the rebels and the screams of the loyalists had subsided. But the new Shah couldn't celebrate his brother in the east. His exiled brother had heard of the civil war, and with the help of the Tang remnant, he declared himself shah as the Christians joined him out of fear that the new shah would start the great persecution again. Despite the fact that it rarely targeted Christians outside of Mesopotamia, it did convince some to join him.

Silver01 · Dec 10, 2023

Got a question after I'm done with the whole heraclian civil war would you like something about china? I swear I will not make it 5 pages like the tang rather an short overview of what has occurred following the collapse of the tang dynasty in both china and Mongolia

Silver01 · Dec 19, 2023

Emperor Basil had by now taken the cities and towns nearby Constantinople. When Tyannos came back in May of 943, having now brought peace to the east and brinning more troops, the emperor told him to go west and attack Italy, but Tyannos said it was better to stay thinking over it. It was true; Leo had condemned him as a heretic and not officially supported the rebel army; maybe his brother saw Vahan as a useper; maybe his court wished against it out of fear for another Amazigh attack; or simply because they truly wished to follow a more diplomatic approach, he instead used the new forces to launch his attacks on the capital.

There would be a general attack on the capital from the sea and land walls. The loyalists supplied siege engines and catapults that bombed the fortress while the navy tried to break the chain; each of their attacks failed. Vahan and the restored patriarch of Constantinople showed an icon of the Virgin Mary. The rebel leader was not subtle, for just as she had saved Constantinople from the Avar Hordes in 626, now the parrading icons would gain her favor, and she would grant the icon defenders protection from the heretics, and it seemed to work; the land attack was pushed back, but it seemed her biggest miracle was in the sea. As the attack could not even start due to strong winds, two attacks continued and both failed.

The emperor stopped leading the attack; he complained much about pains in his stomach; he had them since earlier this year, but now it had become so unbearable that he even started bleeding from the anus. Still, the emperor carried out more attacks; all of them failed, and yet there were no signs of his brother. But this did not mean peace, for the troops of Vahan that were reuniting in Doclea to await the emperor impatienily just attacked. The emperor sent Tyannos, and they met near Scupi; Tyannos was south of the Axios River, and both troops shadowed each other, yet no side attempted to cross the river. It was on the 4th day of this showoff that, during the night, the rebel commander David sent a force as he told his men to attempt to cross the river. These were met by the troops of Tyannos, who suspected an attempt to cross during the night. The fighting was fierce, but soon he pushed back those who had managed to cross. But soon after David attacked, the men panicked, thinking a much larger force had crossed the river and outflanked them. They nearly went into flight, but Tyannos calmed his men and led the attack despite being very outnumbered. The eerie feeling of surprise was enough that David had broken through the lines, and even when they reformed, he still had the momentum. It was at this crucial hour that the rebel forces north of the river did not attempt to cross again. Despite David's fierce resistance, he was soon overwhelmed. When the rest of the force tried to cross again, they were repulsed, and soon all sides retreated.

Tyannos had won, but his army was crippled and limped to Constantinople, back to the east, running out of options. Vahan sallied out during the night, burning much of the supplies of the besigers but failing to break the siege. The news then came that Tyannos had crushed the armies of the west, and some rumors spread that he had in reality defeated Emperor Leo. With that, a traitor told him of an unsued aqueduct, and the emperor reclaimed the imperial city. What followed next was extreme cruelty, even though one must wonder how much of it was exaggeration. Vahan was quickly brought to the forum of Heralcius and then blinded, had his nose cut off, followed by his tongue, and then later his arms and legs, followed by his head. The patriarch of Constantinople was also captured, and he was burned alive alongside the icon of the Virgin Mary, which he showed off on top of the troops. In fact, the troops destroyed every single icon they could find and killed anyone who was hiding them.

It was this act that forced Emperor Leo's hand, or so they say, and he gathered his army in the spring of 944, reuniting with the remnants of the Balkan armies. He continued until he reached the Belles Mountians, where Emperor Basil had entrenched himself.

Tyannos presented the peace of the emperor, Basil, saying that he would tolerate the lovers of icons and exile some men. Now it is the Emperor himself to ask for peace, as we are not responsible for this war, but we shall do our upmost to keep peace.

to which Leo and his entourage were filled with icons and by the bishops and even the pope:

I'm quite aware that my brother seeks peace, but my father decree is not to be a reward for heretics, yet he seeks to keep the throne. My father tolerated his views, but the first persecution following the robber council and then the massacre of the Orthodox have justified my cause, and God will grant you no more victories. Tyannos, had the emperor spared the city and asked for peace, I would not reject them, but now I would not tolerate his heresy any longer, so my terms are as follows: Your emperor is to recant his heresy and to step down for the massacre of the people of Constantinople, among them the most pious patriarch or face God wrath

Tyannos would return without any peace, and thus the battle began. The emperor tried to attack the wall as they were showered with arrows. Despite their efforts and high morale, the emperor called his assult on the wall. The next day there would be another attack, and the men joined in prayer with the pope, hoping that they would win, and it seemed God heard them because the men surrendered and Emperor Basil was dead. In an excerpt from the administration of the empire

"God struck him with an incurable disease, for the plague of cancer had spread from his vowels, and the physicians could not get rid of it. He grew more feeble in the months before the battle, to the point that he complained not of the constant pain that had bothered him but that he became pale as he bled from his tumor. This only spread to all neighboring parts; even the most learned and famous physcians even those of Constantinople, could do nothing, for human hands could not cure him, for only God would spare him from this deadly crisis. Yet his prayers were not yet answered as the disease spread further. On his last days, even though he was not yet dead, the foul smell that already smelled like one made him call his son, hoping that he would take the throne. His last day was to be filled with anguish, and his body had now only a mass of corruption."

The death of the emperor demoralized the force, which did little to resist, and Leo granted them mercy if they renounced their heresy. Many did, some did not, but still, it was done as Leo was now proclaimed sole emperor and he marched to Constantinople, where he put the sword of his forefathers taken from his brother in his belt, and since the new patriarch of Constantinople was heretic, it was the pope who crowed him as emperor. Leo III proclaimed the return of orthodoxy.

Silver01 · Dec 21, 2023

been given a laptop for a while so enjoy how massive bulgaria is

https://flic.kr/p/2pnUdvz

Zygmunt Stary · Jan 9, 2024

Goldensilver81 said:
been given a laptop for a while so enjoy how massive bulgaria is

https://flic.kr/p/2pnUdvz

I have two questions (tho not entirely related to Bulgaria)
a) are you intending for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_revolt_of_983 to happen still? This concerns Germans more but if it still happened, it might be a threat to Bulgaria also because it might spread to Bulgaria's new conquests, maybe some faction among Polan elite could see that as opportunity to regain independence from Bulgaria
b) how Germans are governing Bohemia proper (Prague and surroundings) - did they create march of Bohemia with German-appointed margrave or did they keep vassal Slavic princes in place
c) where did Serbo-Croat royals go after failed revolt?

Silver01 · Jan 9, 2024

Zygmunt Stary said:
I have two questions (tho not entirely related to Bulgaria)
a) are you intending for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_revolt_of_983 to happen still? This concerns Germans more but if it still happened, it might be a threat to Bulgaria also because it might spread to Bulgaria's new conquests, maybe some faction among Polan elite could see that as opportunity to regain independence from Bulgaria
b) how Germans are governing Bohemia proper (Prague and surroundings) - did they create march of Bohemia with German-appointed margrave or did they keep vassal Slavic princes in place
c) where did Serbo-Croat royals go after failed revolt?

A) we shall see

B) a direct march

C) the senior members were all killed those who weren't got exiled , most of them were just given some land in Anatolia, Armenia or Syria to retire and never return to Dalmatia

Zygmunt Stary · Jan 10, 2024

Goldensilver81 said:
A) we shall see

B) a direct march

C) the senior members were all killed those who weren't got exiled , most of them were just given some land in Anatolia, Armenia or Syria to retire and never return to Dalmatia

c) my question was more about - where those who were exiled go? Germany? Bulgaria?Thanks for answering the rest.

Silver01 · Jan 10, 2024

Zygmunt Stary said:
c) my question was more about - where those who were exiled go? Germany? Bulgaria?Thanks for answering the rest.

You're welcome yes some did flee but most were just resettled in the east

Zygmunt Stary · Jan 11, 2024

Goldensilver81 said:
You're welcome yes some did flee but most were just resettled in the east

Thanks you for your answers!

Alex123 · Apr 10, 2024

Uh. It's been around a year or so that I've not visited this timeline. It's actually one of the nicest and the most realistic alternate timelines that I've read.It just doesn't have one faction spam the entire Europe and middle east like other timelines. But one other major thing that makes this timeline interesting to me is how china might be altered. I haven't visited this timeline for a while but if I remember correctly an-lushan rebellion didn't happen in this timeline for some reason and if I'm not mistaken china had far longer presence in the trasoxanian region due to it(They abondoned the region after the battle of talas IOT). So what happened to the tang dynasty without the rebellion and decline here?

Silver01 · Apr 10, 2024

Alex123 said:
Uh. It's been around a year or so that I've not visited this timeline. It's actually one of the nicest and the most realistic alternate timelines that I've read.It just doesn't have one faction spam the entire Europe and middle east like other timelines.

Thank you it's been on hiatus do to personal issues but there getting resolved

Alex123 said:
But one other major thing that makes this timeline interesting to me is how china might be altered. I haven't visited this timeline for a while but if I remember correctly an-lushan rebellion didn't happen in this timeline for some reason and if I'm not mistaken china had far longer presence in the trasoxanian region due to it(They abondoned the region after the battle of talas IOT). So what happened to the tang dynasty without the rebellion and decline here?

I actually did touch this and yes an lushan did not occur the tang dynasty did still decline but the anxi protectorate lasted so much longer that by now it's general/ duke is essentially the defacto ruler of central asia in that area governing with the tribes mainly the karluk I wrote to the tang remnant essentially became the eastern bane of Persia with the Persians wanting to destroy the state to turn back into a series of tribes as of now this Turlock tang kingdom still exist so Chinese culture has had a great impact on east of the Syr Darya especially how far Buddhist have spread even west of the river to which the Persians really don't like
as for china proper last I left of the tang dynasty was to be collapse but rather than an abrupt decline it's more like the han were slowly the dynasty rotted away

Alex123 · Apr 11, 2024

Silver01 said:
Thank you it's been on hiatus do to personal issues but there getting resolved

I actually did touch this and yes an lushan did not occur the tang dynasty did still decline but the anxi protectorate lasted so much longer that by now it's general/ duke is essentially the defacto ruler of central asia in that area governing with the tribes mainly the karluk I wrote to the tang remnant essentially became the eastern bane of Persia with the Persians wanting to destroy the state to turn back into a series of tribes as of now this Turlock tang kingdom still exist so Chinese culture has had a great impact on east of the Syr Darya especially how far Buddhist have spread even west of the river to which the Persians really don't like
as for china proper last I left of the tang dynasty was to be collapse but rather than an abrupt decline it's more like the han were slowly the dynasty rotted away

Thank you . That's really interesting. Also another major important thing that I've discovered is Italy. IOT it was vastly depopulated in the 7th century because of the Justinian war and the Lombard invasions . How did Byzantines manage to defeat the lombards and how with such situation (Having Also lost Egypt and north Africa and thus Alexandria and Carthage and large swaths of income) they manage to rebuild the peninsula. Did they even manage to do so?

Silver01 · Apr 11, 2024

Alex123 said:
Thank you . That's really interesting. Also another major important thing that I've discovered is Italy. IOT it was vastly depopulated in the 7th century because of the Justinian war and the Lombard invasions . How did Byzantines manage to defeat the lombards and how with such situation (Having Also lost Egypt and north Africa and thus Alexandria and Carthage and large swaths of income) they manage to rebuild the peninsula. Did they even manage to do so?

well the lost of egypt was in 840s and the reconquest of italy was in 660s also before the lost of africa in 700, as to why i made Constans II take back the entire peninsula well in the Otl despite the arabs invasion he came very close to take Benevento, Constans II invaded the duchy he taken lucera and laid siege to the capital which despite the defense of the duke the city was about to fall to quote the king sent sent Sesuald back as a messenger to warn his son the duke of his arrival but he was captured Now that he knew that the Lombard army was on its way, Constans decided to try and make peace with Romuald before the latter found out about the impending arrival of reinforce-ments. Sesuald was taken in sight of the walls of Benevento and ordered, under pain of death, to tell Romuald that his father was still a long way off and could not relieve him. In- stead, Sesuald encouraged his former student to keep on fighting, for his father was very close and would soon rescue him.

Had he taken the city the king would now have to deal with a siege in the otl Lupus revolted even when the king lifted the siege quickly and took power for himself in Pavia had the king if the if the lombard king had lost benevento and has to deal with lupus it essentially gives Constans II time to consolidate his new holdings, these played a key factor in this timeline since the king was dead and lupus was also a key factor of why the romans got a respite when things got bad in italy, essentially everything that could have allowed Constans II to take Benevento now gave him a chance to conquer italy since he has the entire empire at his dispossal and instead of dealing with caliphate that was already going back to offensives after the first fitna he had weak neighbors, the reconquest of italy were among my favorite chapters to write.