Heirs of Heraclius, a no Islam timeline

[Silver01]

November 772

After the victory, the emperor continued his march, and regrouped with the strategos , alongside Slavic, Avars, and Bulgars loyalists to the Romans, now moving to Italy, By this time Milan was still been under siege, Charles was then informed of the emperor crossing, but was not sure if he wanted to attack the emperor or not, some argued that the emperor would most likely not attack and met the armies to the south and that the emperor would inspire those troops and with his leadership, they might win. But if Charles captured or killed the emperor, the war could be over, the king of the franks was convinced by these words and marched his armies to meet Constantine, leaving a force to make sure that the defenders of the city do not join the emperor.

Constantine was marching to the south; here his scouts told him that the Frankish army was near, he put his army in a box formation where the most armored forces were on the exterior and the light armor wherein the interior, not far from the city of Verona, the Frankish army descended upon the Romans. The nomads allied to Charles, began to shower them with arrows, especially in the left flank where they got closer and closer, the Romans set up a shield wall with the interior forces, and the cataphracts and the exterior were saved by their armor, many of them were eager to fight, but Constantine denied any order to do so.

It took the khan slayer immense will to keep some of his troops especially the non-Romans to keep marching under arrow fire, any break in the gap or anything that would give the franks an advantage would be fatal.

Still, Many Romans thought this would be a great defeat, but the tagmata and the troops that were in the battle before it trusted the emperor and continued marching, for the franks it seemed like the Romans tried to get to the city, so they ordered the nomads and foot archers to get closer and deal more damage to the Roman army and they did inflict more casualties.

But then when all hope seemed lost, The nomads had run out of arrows, the Frankish cavalry now began to move, but Constantine was quick and in the right flank the emperor order to charge and the emperor himself charged with them, the nomads and franks where incredible close to the roman lines due to this, they were smashed by the cataphracts and began to route, the emperor despite his age killed many, filling the sword of Heraclius with avar , bulgar and Frankish blood.

In the left under the command of the strategos of western mosesia , something similar happened but not as large scale, as they were not as close, In both flanks bulgar riders attacked these sides and avar horse archers fired on the retreating soldiers, Still, Charles had reunited many into a defensive formation and after retreating they soon fled, despite some debate Constantine the emperor stopped his army before they got to close as he feared an ambush, Still it was a victory, the emperor had lost 3 000 men of his 20 000 while Charles had lost 4500 of his 22 000.

The victory lifted morale, and the Frankish king was surprised, But Charles numerical losses were recoupable and he began to send messages to his territories requesting reinforcements, the Romans finally saw victory, as they saw how this barbarian king tried to destroy the emperor's army and failed, But Constantine knew this was not the end, as the Romans moved Milan waited for their arrival.

 

[Silver01]

November 772
With the victory many implored the emperor to March towards Milan, Constantine knew that punting the faith of this campaign that marching there might not be the best idea, the emperor did not have overwhelming numbers and some rumors began that the franks were preparing defensive positions, in reality, this was just a debate as the franks decided to leave to Asti a city that along with Ivrea, had been captured by Charles to a surprise night attack, as Constantine moved to the coast where he continued his March towards Ravenna. But this affected the morale of his troops, they had just won only to flee in complete disgrace, Even so, winter had arrived, Constantine waited and later he moved from Ravenna to Rome.

May 773

Charles received 9000 reinforcements, as some Avars joined him and he also got reinforcements from Frankia and Aquitaine, in march the laid siege to Pavia dragged on and the emperor was ready to move with an army of 50 000 from Italy however he only took 35000 he could not take more just in case the Berbers who he also did not trust attacked Sicily or worse yet the very south of Italy, then Constantine left Rome in late of march arriving on late April. But Charles has taken the precaution, putting wooden spikes and put carts in a defensive formation while some other areas had a wall to cover the Frankish camp, in addition to this reinforcement came from Frankia combined with his other Slavic, Avar and other troops put his strength at 28 000, Constantine was not willing to attack such a fortified position, so a double siege Began with the Frankish forces besieging Pavia while the emperor besieged their camp.
Now they both waited.

Early August
As the months passed Food remained limited, epidemics broke out and many Franks died, Charles himself got sick, yet the siege continued, Charles wonders why the city didn't stink of the starved or not shown any signs of disease, the king discovered why, the Byzantine navy in the midst of night were resupplying the defenders with he rivers, The emperor intention was to starve them out, those attacks into the camps where a diversion and Charles had wasted months on nothing. Now the Franks began to assault the walls.

September
Due to the attacks on the city, the military commanders urged the emperor to attack, at first he didn't want to but Fearing the worst and convinced by these commanders, they attacked, in a matter of half a month the defenses of the Frankish camp were severely damaged, the Roman army then charged the camp, the franks tried to fight but their situation became more and more hopeless, during the battle Constantine was struck by an arrow but his armor absorbed most of the impact.

As rumors spread that the emperor had been taken away from the battlefield as he was wounded, many feared a collapse would occur, Surprisingly, the Roman discipline was not shattered, and they continued to press the advantage. Then the franks fled the battlefield, but after a quarter of an hour passed the Roman discipline expired as they were convinced they had won and so began to raid the camp.

Charles then returned and a massacre began, The emperor had to flee crossing the Po river, where many drowned but some franks attacked crossing the river once they crossed the river Constantine force killed the hasty Franks dealing massive casualties and then fled.

Still, Charles had won, out of the 35 000 armies the Romans suffered 10 000 casualties, despite his success It was not a total victory for Charles as he lost more than 9000 to hunger disease, and the fighting, but he had regained the initiative with the slaughter of the imperial troops, the siege engines he captured and Charles convincing them that more reinforcement where coming they surrendered.

 

[Silver01]

As winter arrived, Charles went to take the rest of northern Italy, Constantine would ignore his commanders, and He brought the navy to the Po river. Charles ignored this and kept this campaign in conquering northern Italy, instead of attacking, Constantine began to construct more forts, in the crossings of Po river. By late January Charles knew what Constantine was doing

But in the midst of winter, the conditions were not optimal, Charles army suffered from malnutrition and in some cases starvation, and not having enough reinforcements, and with no navy, he had no choice the biggest thing he could do was sending his nomadic warriors to harass the constructors.

In these attacks, Constantine would throw himself in the midst of the fighting, despite the caution of his officials, Who worried that if he were to die, the whole of Italy would fall, When spring arrived, Charles received more reinforcements; he was not the only one as the navy began to bring more troops from the imperial territories especially Anatolia.

By early June, both armies had 30 000 men, But for Charles, the lack of a navy meant that he could still not cross the river and Constantine did not only bring soldiers but more engineers and did a herculean task to build these forts.

As autumn came Charles sent part of his force to take more of the countryside as his troops still laid siege to Pavia, while Constantine would know to ignore his commanders and he brought the navy to the Po river, Charles ignored this and kept this campaign in conquering northern Italy, instead of attacking, Constantine began to construct more forts, in the Po river among the forts and bridge not far from Testona and many more, by late January Charles knew what Constantine was doing, but in the midst of winter, the conditions were not optimal.

Charles army suffered from malnutrition and in some cases starvation and not having enough reinforcements, and with no navy, he had no choice the biggest thing he could do was sending his nomadic warriors to harass the constructors, In these attacks in the section where he was Constantine would throw himself in the midst of the fighting, despite the caution of his officials, Who worried that if he were to die, the whole of Italy would fall.

When spring arrived, Charles received more reinforcements; he was not the only one as the navy began to bring more troops from the imperial territories especially Anatolia, by early June, both armies had more than 20 000 men, with the Romans having some 30 000 men and the franks having 25 000, but for Charles, the lack of a navy meant that he could still not cross the river and Constantine did not only bring soldiers but more engineers and did a herculean task to build these forts.

By late November, the engineers and workers had made a line of key forts alongside the po river, Then winter arrived again And conditions became worst, the byzantine navy kept the byzantine army well, but Charles army was not doing so well and some deserted others starved, not only that but from the west bulgar and avar cavalry had burned the fields of northern Italy and then harassed their troops, Charles knew he could not win a war of attrition, against the Romans, he needs it his decisive victory

Mid-April 774

The western part of the navy left their post and the emperor ordered the forts and local forces to not attack the franks, which allowed them to cross, in normal circumstances Charles would have hesitated but was desperate and crossed to move against the Romans, by late April both armies met near the emperor organized his troops in standard formation with archers and cavalry behind and roman and spoletan infantry in the center

While Charles organized his troops, in a weird way, with the strongest forces to the Frankish right and the weaker troops in the left, since he did because he did not want to put the strongest near the trees, since he suspected, that in that forest had a roman reserve but his scouts found nothing

the battle began with benard and the heavy cavalry charging, this was effective and pushed the roman right back and caused massive casualties but as the cavalry momentum died and with the attack of the archers the franks suffered many casualties as well, seeing this , Charles sent his infantry but told them to stop in a designated location, Charles then sent the rest of his infantry to the byzantine left and Constantine cavalry had to move to prevent a flanking maneuver, while Benard kept pushing under heavy fire.

Then Charles charged, killing the spolotean center and reaching the emperor and his force, while this happened the Frankish infantry moved closer to the forest

After some fighting Then Frankish king and the Roman emperor saw each other eye to eye, both got of their horses and slowly walked to each other, many people were still fighting but in a matter of minutes, the fighting had stopped, as both watched the emperor and the king who were still circling each other. Charles was the first to swing, as Constantine responded, and they both could hear, the cheers of both armies, while Constantine had experience, Charles was more athletic, just as Charles was preparing a stab to the face, Constantine used his shield to knock him off, it failed but it did Send him stumbling back.

Around the same time, the roman cavalry came out of the forest but was stopped by the Frankish infantry, minutes passed but no one was winning as they were both Evenly matched the emperor and the king tried desperately to end their duel, the emperor nearly made a cut to his throat, but the Frankish king moved, after nearly 6 minutes of the duel, both men were exhausted especially the emperor, and both got more desperate to kill each other.

Then the emperor saw an opening and managed to cut Charles knee, the king fell in pain, as Constantine raised the sword of Heraclius to end the duel, he dropped his sword and then collapsed from exhaustion, but Charles was in no condition to finish him off, as he was reeling from the pain. Seeing this both excubitors and Charles guard, launched each other to save their respective lords, but for Charles, he knew he had to treat his wound, but rumors then began to circle on both sides that both emperor and king were dead.

But when the franks saw that Charles leaving the battlefield, they began to fear the worse do the Romans but the center made sure to inform that the emperor was still alive, now the second in command being the exarch of Ravenna gave the signal, to the duke of Spoleto in couple minutes bulgar horseman and avar horse archers attacked from the forest surprising the franks. The navy had transported them near and then they waited for this moment.

seeing this the burglars and Avars who were fighting for the franks left the field, seeing this and believing that their kings had left them or was dead, the franks fled, then the bulgar, Roman cavalry, and the Avars horse archers perused them, the battle became a slaughter the roman casualties where high but the franks had lost more than 1/3 of their force. Charles managed to survive as no artery was cut, but he fled towards the north again, with the situation getting worse, the local Frankish lords especially the duke of Aquitaine rebelled against Charles and he had to send part of his forces to subdue these, having no real options Charles then sued for peace, the 3 years long Frankish roman war was over.

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

@Goldensilver81 excellent update as always! This really shows the states of the fighting. King Charles and Emperor Constantine are likely seen as the great titans of the era.

What's the Roman strategic position regarding North Africa? I feel like once the Franks are defeated and humbled, Rome needs to turn Southwards to crush the upstart Berber Empire. Maybe Constantine can hearken back to old propaganda playing it off as a sort of Neo-Punic War.

 

[Silver01]

@Goldensilver81

What's the Roman strategic position regarding North Africa? I feel like once the Franks are defeated and humbled, Rome needs to turn Southwards to crush the upstart Berber Empire. Maybe Constantine can hearken back to old propaganda playing it off as a sort of Neo-Punic War.

Oh you physich old kommenos the chapters would be about north Africa

 

[Neko Tamo]

Loving the pace of these updates.

Lets see how close to being right my prediction is.

Not sure if I said it before but I hope ultimately Rome regains Mare Nostrum, so having Spain, coastal North Africa (Berbers will probably keep the hinterlands and further Morocco), Egypt, Southern France (Occitaine and Gascony, Northern France is unlikely to be reconquered) and other things they hold already. Also they may expand towards the Black Sea and Eastern Europe.

 

[Silver01]

The peace treaty was done in Milan, concluded that the Romans would have Carinthia and Bavaria a buffer zone, but like the Bulgars, Constantine saw a potential ally and he was proven right after all the Bulgars have proven their worth as friends of Rome, so in return for the peace, the emperor would not cover a war indemnity, and as a sign of goodwill Constantine recognized Charles rule as the legitimate ruler of the west, Charles biggest problems were he was not seen as legitimate and some say that he killed his brothers, who only ruled because he was the strongest, but this was a shaky foundation.

But with this new imperial title been the one of patrikios and by the emperor seen as his representative as the emperor, now Charles rule was seen as legitimate, as he was to be lord protector and emperors enforcer in the west and like Odoacer and Theodoric, Charles recognized the authority of the Roman emperor and as the last gift, Constantine gave her daughter to be married to the Frankish king. So that all parties would benefit, Charles would gain the legitimacy that he needs and some other things, while Constantine would gain. A powerful ally to help him against the Berbers.

775
Constantine made it back to Constantinople where he was seen as a hero, then he reunited with his wife and daughters, then he revived the news that Tiberius was dead. Constans was now 16, then the emperor and his family had a diner. Constantine then asked, how would you deal with the grain shortages that the empire had suffered ever since the 700 AD when they had lost west of north Africa, constans replied I would exploit the grain source found in Anatolia to compensate and use it more so that we don’t rely too much on in Egypt just in case the Berbers take most of the countryside as they did in 740.

Constantine then asked and how would he keep peace with the Persians?

he replied, keep a good relationship with them, and giving some sort of preferential trade agreement, if the Persians get too aggressive then, speak with the Chinese,
and make them look like we want to be their ally, this would scare the Persians to keep our alliance.

The exchar of Mesopotamia died recently did he not ? said Constantine to one of his advisors, He replied Yes he just died a couple of days ago, Why do you ask my Lord.

I am making constans exchar of Mesopotamia said the emperor

The advisor replied but sir an Exchart at such a young age?

Constantine said: I was not that older when I became emperor
The advisor tried to insist that he had no experience to govern a province much less the hardest province in the empire.

Constantine with an annoyed tone said :
I believe I have the authority to point Whomever I see fit to rule.

Constans replied am grateful but I would make a horrible exchart.
Her mother quickly rebuked him and Constantine smiled, he trusted the boy but here he would prove if we were to be or not.

 

[Silver01]

mediterrenian 775

frankish kingdom (blue)
great berber empire (pink)
roman empire (purple)
khazar khaganate
bulgaria (green)
slavic principalities , avar remanat , caranitia and baveria .

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

This map is excellent!
I can't believe the Romans got Pannonia back. Though one question I do have is that how Latinzed are the Franks here ittl? They're referred to by the French pronunciation of names which is a Romance language. The Germanic version of Charles is Kar, and the Latin word would be Carolus (though the early Franks spelled it with a K on their coinage). Would the Romans refer to the Frankish Kings as Carolus since with Italy being retained, Rome is likely a bi-lingual Latin/Greek speaking Empire.

Is Latin the lingua Franca of the Berber Empire with the majority of their population being composed of Cyrennaic Greeks/Coptic Egyptians, Ibero-Romans and Afro-Romans? Are the Berbers Donatist here? Do the Franks still divide lands up among sons? If so, could the Romans use this to secure lands like Provence/Marseilles which allows them a land route into Hispania? Would the Franks fight alongside the Romans against the Berber Empire?

 

[Silver01]

This map is excellent!
I can't believe the Romans got Pannonia back. Though one question I do have is that how Latinzed are the Franks here ittl? They're referred to by the French pronunciation of names which is a Romance language. The Germanic version of Charles is Kar, and the Latin word would be Carolus (though the early Franks spelled it with a K on their coinage). Would the Romans refer to the Frankish Kings as Carolus since with Italy being retained, Rome is likely a bi-lingual Latin/Greek speaking Empire.

Is Latin the lingua Franca of the Berber Empire with the majority of their population being composed of Cyrennaic Greeks/Coptic Egyptians, Ibero-Romans and Afro-Romans? Are the Berbers Donatist here? Do the Franks still divide lands up among sons? If so, could the Romans use this to secure lands like Provence/Marseilles which allows them a land route into Hispania? Would the Franks fight alongside the Romans against the Berber Empire?

The franks are latinized even so it's mostly vulgar Latin despite that with concections to italy there as for now not a big divergence in to what he would call proto french.


The berbers rule the people you mentioned with Latin , Berber and punic being the most spoken languages , there is still coptic , rigth now the languages seem to be evolving more to romance berber with tints of punic.

The berber empire while having many religions, with their conquest chirstianity has expanded and yes the Main group are donatist
Even so the chalcedonians are big group especially in hispania
and the franks do divide lands umong their sons
the rest i cant say you know spoilers

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

The franks are latinized even so it's mostly vulgar Latin despite that with concections to italy there as for now not a big divergence in to what he would call proto french.

The Modern French language didn't really exist until the French Revolution and Third Republic when the government forcefully standardized the French language around the Parisian dialect in France. The peasants spoke a variety of different dialects due to the fragmentation within the various medieval states, and geographic isolation. This isolation resulted from the transition to a "feudal society" where mannoralism and agriculture was the main economic engine. The classical world and Eastern World differed from this because they still had intact cities with their traditional urban infrastructure and systems in place. Italy though a shadow of what it was during the Middle Ages, was still arguably the Wealthiest part of Western Europe. The Italian communes and townships sprang up from the somewhat intact towns and Roman era infrastructure present. French was fragmented into various dialects like Occitan, Gascon, Burgundian, Norman, Breton, Limousin, etc. I feel with an intact Italy under the Roman world, there would be a cultural hegemon/leader for the Latin speaking world. Though France lost control of its colonies in otl, it still has control over the French language with the Académie française. In otl the vulgar Latin dialects all diverged independently of each other into becoming the Romance Languages. With the old agreements between the Romano-Germanic Kingdoms being reinstated like with the Franks, Rome is also positioned to have itself as the nominal overlord of these Kingdoms. With the Roman Latin still in use, its likely that the other European states are influenced by the Empire since it controls Italy and most of the Mediterranean world which was the center of commerce and trade during this era.

tints of punic.

I though the Punic languages disappeared with the Carthaginians. Roman North Africa was the second most Roman place in the Empire second to Italy itself due to how early it was conquered, and its proximity to Italy.

@Goldensilver81 how do you craft these battle scenes they are very well done? Where do you get those images from? I find I have such difficulty writing about battle scenes.

 

[Silver01]

The Modern French language didn't really exist until the French Revolution and Third Republic when the government forcefully standardized the French language around the Parisian dialect in France. The peasants spoke a variety of different dialects due to the fragmentation within the various medieval states, and geographic isolation. This isolation resulted from the transition to a "feudal society" where mannoralism and agriculture was the main economic engine. The classical world and Eastern World differed from this because they still had intact cities with their traditional urban infrastructure and systems in place. Italy though a shadow of what it was during the Middle Ages, was still arguably the Wealthiest part of Western Europe. The Italian communes and townships sprang up from the somewhat intact towns and Roman era infrastructure present. French was fragmented into various dialects like Occitan, Gascon, Burgundian, Norman, Breton, Limousin, etc. I feel with an intact Italy under the Roman world, there would be a cultural hegemon/leader for the Latin speaking world. Though France lost control of its colonies in otl, it still has control over the French language with the Académie française. In otl the vulgar Latin dialects all diverged independently of each other into becoming the Romance Languages. With the old agreements between the Romano-Germanic Kingdoms being reinstated like with the Franks, Rome is also positioned to have itself as the nominal overlord of these Kingdoms. With the Roman Latin still in use, its likely that the other European states are influenced by the Empire since it controls Italy and most of the Mediterranean world which was the center of commerce and trade during this era.


I though the Punic languages disappeared with the Carthaginians. Roman North Africa was the second most Roman place in the Empire second to Italy itself due to how early it was conquered, and its proximity to Italy.

@Goldensilver81 how do you craft these battle scenes they are very well done? Where do you get those images from? I find I have such difficulty writing about battle scenes.

i did not know that about french i mean , i mean i did know how there was many types of french , but i migth change something .

in terms of punic By around the fourth century AD, Punic was still spoken in what is now Tunisia, other parts of Northwest Africa, and the Mediterranean. The Neo-Punic alphabet also descended from the Punic language. By around 400, the first meaning of Punic was used mainly for monumental inscriptions, replaced by the cursive Neo-Punic alphabet elsewhere. Examples of Punic literary works cover the topic of Mago, a Punic general with great notoriety, who spread Carthage's influence as much through writing books as he did fighting. Mago wrote 28 volumes about animal husbandry in punic , there is also romannic punic .

the images that i use are based on BazBattles army drawing squares and put images of comanders like constantine in these rectangles
in terms of battles i know a lot of medieval tactis
if you want some for your timeline reasearch about your time perdiod and here

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

if you want some for your timeline reasearch about your time perdiod and here

Thanks man!

@Goldensilver81 you should post some of these maps on the Map Thread. These are very well done, and they'll help draw more attention to this fantastic timeline.

 

[Silver01]

It was the 30th year of the rule of Aderfi II, After the death of emperor Gwfa in 745, the 22-year-old aderfi was crowned.

This emperor was more politician and made a preferable peace treaty in 750s with Romans, and then used his wealth to recover the Berber empire and make it much better, they were more, he began to style himself and his empire as a Christian Berber Romanic and while other writers saw them as the new Carthaginian empire

By 778 he made The Harbor installer was upgraded by the emperor and where amplified.

Writing from this time an important chronicler and trader named Idder

“It was not the first time I would visit the ancient city of Carthage, but rarely did ever leave the harbor and the marketplace

I got off in the civilian harbor, where we got inspected for weapons. Then I saw again after some months, the great marketplace which Romans called agora

The markets were overflowing with jewels, gold that came from the south of the great desert silver that only surpassed the shining of the moon

While others sold, grain, wine, oils, and many species, and luxuries from all Africa like ivory from the south and east, tortoise shell from Axum, and even iron and steel as far away from India.

Others sold food, like all kinds of fish including deep-sea sea, fish, and luxurious meat.

While in some other parts exotic animals like giraffes, leopards, lions, zebras were been sold

And one of the most important was the selling of camels for travelers who went to cross the desert to a place they called Ghana

As always like every other market, there was people bargaining and arguing over the price and some others nearly fighting over it.

Of course, the emperor put guards here; to calm these fights and to take care of thieves here one would be hanged if caught

This I had seen many times, we made our deals and some guards escorted us to the interior of the city ..

Then we went to the baths of the city , There was dry baths, baths with hot water heated up by amazing work of human ingenuity, temperate and cold baths since we had come so far in summer, I and my fellow traders got over the cold water.

There we stayed until it was nearly night and went to our designated area where we were to spend the night.

The next day I was walking in the city, Then I saw the aqueduct of Carthage, I have seen it before, but this one was bigger. I was told that this bigger aqueduct was diverted into 3 parts.

One was for the heater that kept the baths warm, one for the public, and the last one who went to the homes.

Just as passed by, the constructor workers had just finished and put the vein (the tubes that connected the aqueduct to the fountain) to the fountain which had the lion and the swan as a symbol, sounds of moving water could be heard, and then dust came out of the mouth of the swan and lion, then water, as both workers engineers and the people cheered.

A celebration occurred which we took part in, where I was gifted some expensive items by the locals

Then I moved back to our place to sleep .

The next day I entered the grand library of the city , some of my companions do not know the language of the Berbers , but they did know Greek and there were a lot of Greek writings like Plato , Aristotle, Galen , Eratosthenes , after I finished in another rooms I saw how people where being thought philosophy , mathematics and science , another thing struck me was the scribes transcribing the Greek texts to Latin , Berber and the Punic language .

I left a little nervous since today I and my party would meet the emperor . I was known in the citadel where only the rich, nobles and the emperor lived.

But many came since the was here as well where the amphitheater was , where people loved to watch chariot races and wrestling matches

I passed then the old roman amphitheater west of the imperial palace where a great church was constructed, to honor the martyrs who were killed here in the days where Rome controlled the city as cartago nova .

There I saw the Hill of Byrsa beside the church, the imperial palace built on the ruins of a temple where the old Carthaginians in their pagan ways sacrificed to their children to their false god Moloch like the Canaanites whom both sacrificed their children to Satan , I suspect that god used the romans to destroy the Carthaginians of old for this sin.

Despite the last emperors styling themselves as in the roman ways he was also presented as the successors of Carthage for Hannibal had failed to crush Rome this empire was to be just as great as it , they also recognized that the values left by the romans like Christianity must be upheld

We entered the palace, where we saw golden cheetahs in reference to the first emperor askel, with many colors , statues and mosaics representing the life of our lord.

The palace was a combination of roman architecture with the description of the building of the Carthaginian senate.

A beautiful place I in my decade of travel in north Africa, have not seen anything like it,I never though the sons of a minor king and could do this .

The man was taller than all of us , With a long beard reaching his collar bones, a pale man with a black beard and wavy hair.

He greets it us, as we paid our respects, and we offered him gifts. As we were invited to eat, we feasted on fruits where coming to us by an from an indoor stream.

The emperor, where he showed us the city and explained in great detail, I was surprised by the personal kindness of the emperor.

After 2 weeks we stayed in his court, The emperor was not only a great gifted leader of man, but was also a poet and artist.

After 2 more weeks there we moved, the emperor told us to deliver this to his cousin in Hispania I knew the was referring to the king, he also gave us precious gifts.

Now I go to Hispania, to go to the first time to their capital in Toledo.

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

Constantine V: So these barbaroi think of themselves as Carthaginians.
Kataphractoi get the salt! I think it’s about time we give our barbarian friends a history lesson on what happened to Carthage.

Roman Army: Carthago delenda est! Ave Dominus Constantinus! Nika Basileus Konstantinos!

Aderfi II: *chuckles* I’m in danger

Cato the Elder and Scipio Africanus: looks on with pride

Hannibal: starts spinning around so fast in his grave that the Romano-Berbers were able to convert that rotation into energy which started an Industrial Revolution.

On a more serious note, how many members are in the Heraclians dynasty still? Has the the themata system been extended to the West or is the Diocletianic administrative system making a comeback?

I can’t wait for the ultimate showdown between the Romans and Neo-Carthaginians. It’s gonna be so epic. Are the Persians going to use the opportunity to try and retake their old heartland of Mesopotamia? I feel like while the Romans are busy in the West, this would be a perfect opportunity to strike.

 

[Silver01]

Constantine V: So these barbaroi think of themselves as Carthaginians.
Kataphractoi get the salt! I think it’s about time we give our barbarian friends a history lesson on what happened to Carthage.

Roman Army: Carthago delenda est! Ave Dominus Constantinus! Nika Basileus Konstantinos!

Aderfi II: *chuckles* I’m in danger

Cato the Elder and Scipio Africanus: looks on with pride

Hannibal: starts spinning around so fast in his grave that the Romano-Berbers were able to convert that rotation into energy which started an Industrial Revolution.

On a more serious note, how many members are in the Heraclians dynasty still? Has the the themata system been extended to the West or is the Diocletianic administrative system making a comeback?

I can’t wait for the ultimate showdown between the Romans and Neo-Carthaginians. It’s gonna be so epic. Are the Persians going to use the opportunity to try and retake their old heartland of Mesopotamia? I feel like while the Romans are busy in the West, this would be a perfect opportunity to strike.

Well the heraclian dynasty we have Constantine 3 daughters and Tiberius 2 sons the important one being constans

The themes just exist in border regions like the 3 themes of the dunube the 3 themes of the caucus and the themes of Mesopotemia .
Italy is rule by the exchart of revena

 

[Neko Tamo]

Hmm you know makes me wonder if Romans succeed in taking back North Africa and pushing the Berbers deep into the hinterlands that they may pull a Timurids and expand instead into West Africa. Making a brand new and glorious empire there, Christianizing the natives in their own flavor of the religion and continuing to be a thorn in Rome's side or at least a distant rival. If they can keep their empire together or if successor states are well developed it also puts them in a prime position to discover America as winds and currents often blow ships to Brazil from there.

EDIT: Actually I posted this before seeing the new update. But the point still mostly stands, except the Christianization of West Africa may have already begun.

 

[Silver01]

I had arrived in the city after 3 weeks of travel from Carthage to septa then went inland
We did not despite being peaceful now these islands were used by the Romans to disrupt trade and some of us still fear the place, despite acts of piracy being low ........
As we arrived in the city.
Fist seem that struck me where the 2 aqueducts, I wonder why would a city so near a river need this?
I was told that the aqueducts it was used
For more than just bringing water.
The water was to power mills, but this structure functioned as a water energy dissipator. The water entered the tower via an arcade. The tower firstly facilitated the aqueduct a less steep path towards Toledo; secondly, it allowed the aqueduct to lose height without excessive slope.

I was stunned by the Roman engineers were truly geniuses only to be equal by the men who reconstructed these fine works of architecture.

Then we passed by the baths, and we entered the market.

Toledo had manufactured goods including leather, metalwork, glazed tiles and textiles, and agricultural produce including a range of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, and materials such as cottonwood, flax, and silk.

I spoke to a local trying to buy some silk
When he spoke it was rather odd, I had some difficulty understanding, What he was saying the Hispanics among us explained.
I was told that long before askel conquered Hispania, and even before constans II and Constantine IV reconquest of the south

The inhabitants of Hispania spoke the Sermo Vulgaris, by the time Justinian was fighting in reconquering Italy, the Visigoths were speaking their dialect

By the time of Heraclius the Visigoth's dialect evolve more (Ibero romance), askel introduced romance Berber and it became popular in the south, but not so much here.

He said in the north I would find other dialects like that of the Basque people, and dialects similar to the man who was speaking to me but more Germanic influence.

Even so, I could still understand the man but I was puzzled, maybe someday I would go to the north to speak with the men who spoke like this man.

But today I have not visited the emperor I bought the silk and moved on there we passed by the great cathedral and the great library both made by the first Berber king of Hispania.
Now we arrived in the palace

It was different than the one in Carthage, it did have Roman influence but it had a Germanic touch to it.
The decorations were also different showing golden lions instead of cheetahs
more realistic statues, and I different style of mosaics.

As we passed we saw the king we showed our respects
The king was actually to my surprise was red-haired and had a shorter beard compared to that of his cousin, he was surprisingly also taller than him.
He was named Tariq after the great general.

He treated us with kindness even though he first suspected that we were spies from his cousin, but after we said he was not and proved it we were treated well, we dined fine meals then he told us to stay and so we did.

Compared to the emperor back in Carthage, we stayed in the court of the king of Hispania for 3 months.

We learned that the system of The court and public officials were taken by the Visigothic system which was model after the roman system

Main public officials were the comes notariorum (royal secretary), comes thesaurorum (aerarii custos, Treasurer) and the comes patrimonii (master of the private purse). The main private officials were the comes spathariorum (dux militium regis (commander of the royal guard)), comes scanciarum (steward), comes stabuli (master of the stables / connétable) and the comes cubiculi (great chamberlain).

By our 6th month there we left.
many things have I seen but now seeing this I wish to see more and how similar and different the land of the Romans is, I now prepare to go to their lands of Italy, not the south which I have been to, no I wish to see the birthplace of Scipio Cesar and the empire.

and I want to see with my own eyes the birthplace of the great heraclians I wish to go to the mighty city of Constantinople.

 

[Silver01]

In 775 Charles attacked the Saxons, It began with a Frankish invasion of Saxon territory and the subjugation of the Engrians, and destruction of their sacred symbol Irminsul near Paderborn in mid-775. Charles's campaign led to the Weser River and destroyed several major Saxon strongholds. After negotiating with some Saxon nobles and obtaining hostages. By winter 776 what was left was Led by Widukind and continued to resist he even raided Frankish lands in the Rhine region. Armed confrontations continued for the winter months

In spring Charles received 5000 Roman reinforcements a sing of good will from Constantine, for his second campaign, under the command of Constantine's best general Nicephorus, the Frankish roman force-marched through Westphalia, conquering the fort of Sigiburg, and crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, they defeated the Saxons, and their leader Hessi converted to Christianity. Charles and returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg. All of Saxony except Nordalbingia was under his control,

Then bitj returned to the region, where a rebellion destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, though Widukind fled to the Danes. Charles built a new camp at Karlstadt. The same year, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptized.

Charles then returned in 777 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were severe on religious issues, namely the native paganism of the Saxons. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a revolt that resulted in many assaults on the church. The Saxons invaded the area of the Chatti, a Germanic tribe already converted by Saint Boniface and firmly in Charles kingdom. Widukind nearly scored a victory over a Frankish army at the Battle of Süntel, but the Romans saved the left flank and the cataphracts rode down the Saxons, after the battle Widukind had himself baptized and swore fealty to Charles and by some roman sources as well as emperor Constantine.

After this Charlemagne organized a diet, the chief purpose of the diet was to bring Saxony closer to Christianity. Missionaries, mainly Anglo-Saxons from England, were recruited to carry out this task, Charlegmane issued several decrees designed to break Saxon resistance and to inflict capital punishment on anyone observing heathen practices or disrespecting the king's peace, his severe and uncompromising position, which earned him the title "butcher of Saxons", caused his close adviser Alcuin of York, later abbot of Marmoutier Abbey, Tours at Tours, to urge leniency, as God's word should be spread not by the sword but by persuasion; he continues this until the pope and emperor Constantine order him to stop.

In summer 779, Charlemagne again went into Saxony and conquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippspringe, he divided the land into missionary districts and Frankish countships. He himself assisted in several mass baptisms, he had done enough , Saxony was conquered and was being pacified , he intended to go back to frankia but soon he received a letter from Constantine to meet him in Italy

 

[Neko Tamo]

Interesting developments. Looking forward to that guy's journal-style account of Constantinople as well as whatever the Emperor is planning. Guessing it is an attack on the Berbers... which I think will fail or at least not be fully successful. After all you have been setting up the internal conflict between the Iberian part and the North African part for some time now and that has to play out. At least from a storytelling PoV, maybe you will focus more on historic realism where outside enemies don't care about your internal issues, except to exploit them against you