Heirs of Heraclius, a no Islam timeline

[Silver01]

March 642:
A soft breeze swept the Bosporus; it carried the sounds of cries coming from the mighty city of Constantinople.One child was weeping close to the body and crying; it was the funeral of a timid, temperate, courageous, and most of all, a great man, Heraclius, the Savior of Rome.

He had led his people against Persia and the Avar barbarians and won the losing war. Heraclius spent the next 14 years after the war's end rebuilding his empire, which had been exhausted and weak by the horrible Roman-Persian War of 602 to 628.He was called Nikephoros, the Bringer of Victory. He was truly a great man; he returned the Roman Empire to its former glory, remade the army, made tax reforms, and took back some territories via conquest or diplomatic appeal. After years of negotiating, they even managed to bring the kingdom of Altava under Roman control as a client state. Along with many Berber tribes that had trade deals with the Byzantines, if he had one major failing in his life, it was that the church, despite his compromise with both the Monophysites and Chalcedonians, accepted the Monothelitism doctrine; however, he knew that they did so because of him and knew this compromise would not outlast him; the church hunted him, but his last days were to be the worst.

In 642, as his son Constantine III was getting worse, he told his father that his son was to be the future emperor. He agreed to his son's wish, and Constantine's deterioration was the beginning of sorrows for the great emperor; he became more unstable, and more isolated, and was only thinking of the church and his salvation, ignoring the power struggle that was already in the city.

Heraklonas, who was co-emperor, and her mother Martina were thinking about the succession. But due to pressure from the generals because of Heraclius' words, he made Constantine’s son also co-emperor; however, some in the senate accused Martina of poisoning Constantine and that she would do the same to her son; they went to the emperor to fix the matter, but by this point, Heraclius had become more senile.

And despite the pleadings, Heraclius was too busy to hear or even care about petty rumors, so he ignored it since he was trying so desperately to heal the split in the church; he had sealed her fate, despite everything that he had done, and he was to suffer the fate of Justinian; the church he never healed the divide he tried to so desperately heal in his last year of life, but at this point, he was too old. His mind, which was so sharp back in his glory days, was now only the mind of a man who forgot things he just heard. With the emperor senile, the army stormed the palace and exiled both Martina and Heraklonas for poisoning. Heraclius was now in conflict with Pope John IV, who was going to condemn his compromise once he died. When the news came to him, he wept and fell to the floor.

The emperor ordered the deaths of all the generals and that Constantinople must be punished; he said he would burn the city if the generals and advisors were not punished, and no one listed to him. Heraclius the Great was imprisoned, but he was well treated; nonetheless, Heraclius was a broken man. He was famous, wealthy, and surrounded by prestige, but he was lonely, sad, and mentally unstable. He thought over and over again that God had punished him, and he believed that he was suffering because of what the Lord had said in Mark 8:36.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

The only thing that distracted him from his misery was seeing his grandson, and that boy knew how to cheer him up. The next few months flew by, but they were dreadful for Heraclius; he felt the cold embrace of death coming for him. One night in March, he told his grandson to continue his work and be a good emperor, that he might have the blessing of God and that he might not pass this curse on to him. He prayed with his grandson, and for the last time in his life, he felt an emotion that he had long forgotten for some years, for the last time he felt happy. The next morning, his courtiers and servants found him dead. He had died in the night after his grandson left.

The boy came back, closed his eyes, and stood beside his grandfather as the priests and deacons congregated. He cried as he followed along with the priest and the sounds of the prayers of the dead. The procession ended in the Church of the Holy Apostles, on this sunny spring day, with the Golden Horn and the Bosporus reflected in the light as the breeze carried the sound of sadness and min censers with incense. This was the funeral of a great Emperor; the night before, he had given an account of his life and his sins to God, especially his marriage, and to commend his soul to the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the Empire continued, and even here, in a city full of sadness and weeping, even at this funeral, the boy had to be prepared. The next day, the boy addressed the senate with a speech blaming Heraklonas and Martina for eliminating his father, who was barely alive, and the 11-year-old began under a regency of senators led by Patriarch Paul II of Constantinople. Constantine III would die just a few days later, and thus began the reign of the boy Basileus Constans II.

 

[Silver01]

may 642

A messenger entered the palace and surprised the young shahanshah Yazdegerd III. He was busy looking to solve the many problems in his realm. In theory, he was king of all of Persia; in reality, he had authority only in Sakastan, Pars, and Khuzestan, while the north hated him and refused to mint coins in his name. This was all due to Heraclius and the civil war that shook the foundation of his empire since the defeat of 628; by the end of 632, he was sha, and now he is battling not for conquest but to keep his realm alive, which was being attacked by outside forces like the Turks and forces and from the inside since so many of his nobles declared independence. When the messenger arrived, he called the shah.

"What is it now—another Turkish raid?" "If it is, I don’t care."

The messenger replied: "No, my king, Heraclius Parviz (the Victorious), has died!"

Yazdegerd III was surprised; he felt relieved and scared, for he knew that Heraclius was a great commander respected and feared by the Persians. But he knew that Heraclius wanted peace; he was thinking, What will the new king of the Greeks do? 14 years had passed; his realm could have recovered, and he was vulnerable. He needed to make peace with the king of the Greeks. This was so important to him that he needed to meet him in person. He sent letters for an official meeting in two months,

Late July 642

Yazdegerd took longer than expected as he had to deal with raids from the Turks and fight his old vassals in the Caucasus, who by this point had long betrayed him. When he arrived at Constantinople, he had a poor excuse of guards and companions; before the Persian Shah had the best guards, one could see the riches of him.Now the sha had come with almost no jewels, the metals he carried were painted to look like gold and silver; one could see how low the Sassanids have fallen; Yazdegerd was waiting for the emperor; and then he saw how a boy stood alongside the patriarch of Constantinople, Yazdegerd chuckled, and this is what consumed his mind? This was a great worry? He expected to see a lion, but he saw a lamb.

He greeted Heraclius' grandson and the patriarch; the patriarch talked in this meeting, while Constans watched with attention. The meeting was quick, and they reached an agreement that they would support Yazdegerd, but he had to help Constans and recognize the independence of Caucasian Albania. The shah agreed that he was now confident that the Greeks would be no menace to him since, in his mind, they were led by a "holy man" and a weak boy. He returned to Persia; once he arrived, there was news that Gil Gavbara had declared independence and established the Dabuyid kingdom, but he could not care less.

He said, "Let the rulers of Tabaristan kill each other." He was confident now that in 10 years he would reunite the whole of Persia under his rule.

 

[Silver01]

As the time of the regency of Patriarch Paul II was coming to an end, Constant had a good experience learning to lead his realm and had also spent his time learning how to fight and lead an army. Valentinus was a good teacher to him, and around this time, a young Constans married Valentinus daughter Fausta.He was on the eve of adulthood, and aside from learning the skills of warfare, he took more time to learn how to administrate his empire; he showed a talent for it. He also hoped that he would just be an administrative emperor due to the minor enemies the empire had, but it was not to be as tensions from the southwest of his realm were about to come forth.

The Exarchate of Africa at this time was in internal turmoil due to the conflict between the mainly Orthodox Chalcedonian Christian population and the supporters of monothelitism. In an attempt at a compromise between Chalcedonianism and Monophysites, as Heraclius suspected after his death, the compromise was disowned by those who had accepted it, and even Pope Paul II rejected it; he was not the only one. Exarch Gregory the Patrician hated the idea and was angered that the emperor and especially the Patriarch had not officially condemned it, so he began to enact the first edicts of persecution in 643; by July 645, Gregory hosted a theological dispute in his capital, Carthage, between the Chalcedonian Maximus the Confessor and the Monothelite former Patriarch of Constantinople, Pyrrhus.

Gregory was a smart man and a persistent one as well, and it seems that he succeeded in bringing about a reconciliation between the two, and Pyrrhus re-embraced the Chalcedonian position. But the situation would only get worse over the next few months; several local synods in Africa proceeded to condemn monothelitism as a heresy that the emperor himself was accused of defending or having been a heretic himself. This threw the exarchate into religious violence, as many of those few who still upheld monothelitism were attacked. Gregory, tired of the chaos, sent many letters to the emperor. The letters began with much respect, but as time went on, they became more disrespectful toward the emperor. To this day, we do not know if Gregory was truly hoping for the emperor to resolve the matter or was just being formal to show that he had no other choice.

Whatever the case might be, Gregory got furious that the emperor was ignoring such a big issue. Constans never received them as Patriarch Paul II ignored them, seeing it as the thing that Gregory had to fix with the bishop of Carthage. Then the letter stopped. One night, Gregory had a secret meeting with the highest-ranking men of church and state in the exarchate and gave the following speech:

I ask you, what ruler is incapable of defending the faith? What sins have we committed that caused Basileus to forsake us?
Have you and I not tried to solve these debates on the nature of the lord? What kind of ruler does not send help to us?

Why has the emperor in Constantinople not called for council? and there is evidence that Basileus SUPPORTS THE HERETICS!

It seems to me that we should not serve an uncaring Basileus, much less one THAT SUPPORTS HERETICS!

We should strive with all our determination to free ourselves from him who calls himself the Emperor!

The men cheered as the seeds of distrust had now become the harvest of rebellion.

 

[Silver01]

Early 646

Gregory had been preparing for months; he had prepared his men in constant training; he had also convinced Berber tribes to join him by his word or the gold in his coffin; he had received money from the local churches; and he had been given support from an unlikely ally, the pope, who like him disliked the compromise and the fact that no official condemnation had been issued on the part of the emperor.

With this wealth, Gregory reduced taxes on the exarchate, which made him popular. Gregory has also made a successful propaganda campaign against Constans rule; at first, it was subtle, mentioning how tragic it is that Heraclius is gone and citing the bible, especially Ecclesiastes 10:16. But it became less subtle, saying that things like Heraclius would disapprove of his grandson's decision-making, or in this case, lack thereof, or that Heraclius compromise was done in desperation and only pushed when he had become senile, and the heretics at the court manipulated him the same way they manipulated Constans.

He was doing a good job of using constans greatest source of approval against him, but this day all would change; as the men rallied in the streets of Carthage, Gregory stood to speak and uttered these words:

Men of Carthage, today I have assembled you because I can't take it any longer. This beautiful city and all these territories are being governed by an incompetent, uncaring, and worst of all, manipulated boy that we call Basileus!

The crowd fell silent, and Gregory got a little nervous, for he knew if he didn't convince them, he would be killed. He continued:

I know you want to be loyal to Heraclius, but if you follow his grandson, you are not being loyal because he not only supports heretics but he has been manipulated by them!

The crowd began to whisper.

What basileus does not call for a council? Why does he let this chaos rule? Is this the attitude of a good ruler?

He might be an honorable boy, but he is not fit to lead us. The snakes in the capital have conspired to use him as their puppet, and will you take orders from a ruler who is manipulated by them?

Some in the crowd began to yell NO!

Is it unjust for us to deal with the betrayal of these snakes and our Emperor? Is it unjust if we fight for a dream?

Men of Carthage, my dream of a united Rome died the day that Heraclius died, and my faith in the healing of the church was buried with him.

So may I ask, will you join me? And together we shall restore Rome and the faith of the one true church! He would have wanted it, do you think? He said this as he pointed at a golden coin of Heraclius.

The crowd began to yell that they were to join him and free the empire from the tyranny of the heretics, Gregory smiled as he knew the last step was over he now was master of these lands.

 

[Silver01]

April 646
Gregory spent the last two months persecuting the few Monophysites and Monothelite heretics; not having the numbers to fight back, they fled to Tripolitania and the kingdom of Altava. Some heretic Berbers defected, but for most, gold was more powerful than faith.Now with an absolute rule, he sets his sights on the east and the province of Egypt. Of course, he could attempt, like Heraclius, to sail to Constantinople, but he knew that would not work because, unlike Phocas, Constans was not disliked and there was no war distracting him to make a landing possible, so he decided that Egypt would be the best target.

The city of Constantinople

Constans was furious and took out his anger at the patriarch, saying, "What have you caused?" You fool, now we have an open rebellion due to your incompetence.

The patriarch said, "Basileus, you must understand; I thought the local bishop could deal with it; I had to attend to more important things as your regent.

As regent, you should have informed me of this situation to avoid it! The now-sole emperor yelled

A servant entered and said, "Basileus?"

Constans said: What! Can you see I am busy?

The servant replied: General Valentinus has arrived.

The emperor said to signal to make him enter. Valentinus entered the room and said,Basileus, I have heard the news.

Constans just said: "Spare me the details, Valentinus, and speak."

Valentinus answered: I ask for troops. I will lead them, and I will take some 22 000 troops.

Constans replied: You don't need more? Or assistance from the Berbers?

The general said: It's not necessary, Basileus. The emperor asked once again and got the same response.

Finally, Constans said, Fine, make your preparations and leave for Egypt.

While Valentinus prepared, Gregory began his invasion of Tripolitania, taking some cities like Sabratha, Oea, and Leptis Magna, that did not want to join him. The outnumbered garrisons were not ready for a siege, and in every desperate sortie they tried, the Berber Calvary would decimate them. Despite this, Gregory was advancing slower than before since now he avoided the coast. He had left a good part of the navy to defend Carthage and his base of power, for he knew the forces of constans might go straight to his capital to attempt a knockout blow, and he knew the imperial navy was enough to crush his on the open sea. Still, every coastal city the took has a safe place to resupply, but Gregory was no interested in a long, drawn-out, multi-year conquest of north Africa. Speed and surprise were his allies, and he was losing them both. The Berbers and other traders who knew these lands told him that he had two options: take the safe route along the coast or send a smaller part of his force ahead to take the cities; due to his timid nature, he chose the first option.

 

[Silver01]

1 week after Gregory’s entry into the desert:

Gregory’s army continued to navigate the sea of sand. Everyone had dried hair, all the men felt the blazing sun, and all they could see was sand. The soldiers complained about the sand, saying that it is coarse and rough and gets everywhere. For the wind, it may feel like a cut, but to their senses, the desert was hellish. Gregory has lost 800 men to the sea of sand, but mass casualties have been avoided. They told him that the best hours to move are early in the morning and in the evening.

They also told the men to dress for the desert-like conditions by wearing long sleeves, and that all the wagons and other supplies needed to be carried by camels or men and not by horses since they would die and they needed their cavalry for the upcoming battles. Even with this knowledge of the Berbers, the desert is giving much trouble to the usurper, but he has not lost heart yet and is convinced that the rewards will be worth the torture of this hellish place.

Constantinople:

Valentinus is still preparing his troops, his supplies, and the navy. He is wondering where Gregory is; his scouts did not find him in Tripolina or on the coast to march to Egypt. Has he returned to Carthage? asked the general. The few days went by fast, and he still wondered where the usurper was.

Libyan Desert: Despite their loyalty, the majority of men signed up to fight the Romans and heretics and install Gregory as emperor, not go on a mortal expedition. As every day passed, they lost their fervor, and only his most loyal men and the Berbers who were paid in high quantities of gold stayed loyal to him. The men were fed up; they did not want to die, and even if they agreed to a sacrifice, they wanted to do so fighting the heretics and their supporters, not here in the dune sea. As a rumor spread that they were lost, which they were, the last ounce of loyalty vanished The men took their arms and were willing to kill Gregory; he tried to calm them to no avail; some of his troops in the front ran to avoid the massacre; the Berbers did so as well; Gregory was thrown off his horse to the ground; the men screamed and cursed him for leading them to their deaths until one of the men from the front who just came back yelled.

WATER! THERE IS WATER HERE!

The men stopped what they were doing, even though Gregory was surprised; the men ran to see, and indeed they saw the water, the one that Gregory had promised. The men ran to it without a second thought. The Berber commander came and said to Gregory, The Berber commander apologized for leaving him; he went to check the location of the oasis. Gregory did not believe in him, but he could not care less; these men want gold, and as long as there are no more mutinies, he would keep the Berbers in line. He asked, Where are we?

The Berbers replied that they were near where Gholaia once stood, and they rested for a three-day rest before they went west and had the troops stockpile on resources, especially water. Gregory replied that he would do this, and he smiled despite his soldiers almost killing him, knowing that they would trust him more and that all the pains would be worth it.

It was likely Gregory did lose track as the valleys had not flooded, as the rains usually come in the winter, but he had still moved south to propose to the local Berbers to join, which he managed to do after giving them lavish gifts.

 

[Silver01]

When early May arrived in Constantinople after a month of preparation, Valentinus had his army, some 1800 cataphracts, and some light cavalry, and the rest were Greek, Anatolian, and Armenian infantry, which was made up of skirmishers and melee warriors, and he set sail with 300 transport ships and 30 warships, and thus the next day he set sail towards Leptis Manga.

While Gregory spent some time in the desert and moved, looking at his progress, the army and the men believed in him, and mutinies dispersed into the nearby oasis as he continued to avoid the coast as much as possible. He spent almost all the night thinking about how this strategy will work once he reaches the city, but as the sun rose, he set aside these worries and began to prepare to move out to the east again. The next few days went by slowly. He made a great advance, and until now, since leaving the oasis, he had not lost any men, but that would change for the usurper. The Berbers noticed large thunderhead clouds and noticed the wind was picking up. A loud yell could be heard from one of them.

STORM EVERYONE TAKE COVER!

It was spring, when storms were most likely to occur; Gregory’s army panicked; this is the thing he feared more than any army, nature herself. The army quickly covered their mouths and noses; some tried to run, and the Berbers tried to yell orders to find shelter. Some put the supplies in the center in a tight sack and covered them with a shield wall. People seeing this went and joined them, and once there, they would close their eyes and use their shields.

Still, panic ensued. This lasted for a few minutes but felt like centuries for the army once the storm calmed. Gregory’s army was in a state of shock. They had noticed that some groups were missing and others were almost buried in the sand. It took the whole day, but the army was reunited at camp by the end of the day; Gregory had lost 3000 due to the sandstorm, and these troops were nowhere to be seen despite their weapons being found they were not. He continued to march as morale fell. Gregory himself began to doubt, but he could not show the armies that he took out the coin of Heraclius and said, I will be a greater man than you, Basileus.

 

[Silver01]

Late May

Leptis Magna

The defenders of the city knew that they did not have many recourses since they gave those to Gregory, and they only had those for about two weeks before they would run out. Valentinus had tried some assaults, but he noticed during the night that fishing boats tried to bypass the navy to get something to eat for the defender, so he called off the assaults. He knew this city would starve soon, but he still wonders where Gregory was? Since taking Leptis Magna would allow him to push further, why didn’t he come to its defense? It was then that news came that Gregory had taken Arae Philaenorum.

I recommend a march to the coast, said one general. I say we attack the oasis at Siwa and from there to Egypt, but we still don’t have the navy to support us since they are back in the capital, said another general.

The other general replied, Does it matter? If we can take these cities, our control will be absolute. Gregory was waiting; he had sent 15 men in to reach the coast and scout it; they moved a whole two and a half weeks ahead, and while the generals continued to discuss, the two scouts arrived. They were immediately given water, and Gregory asked, What is your report?

The scout said while panting that the Romans were still laying siege to Leptis Magna, and with this news, the discussion turned into a heated argument.One of the generals said we could divide our forces and attack the coast and the oasis. The Berber commander agreed to this idea; he said one smaller portion could take the oasis while the bulk of the army would march to the coast there; he could lay siege to the city; this would cause Valentinus to return, fearing that the land route would be cut.

All agreed, and Gregory and his generals decided that out of their remaining 25,000, 5000 would go to the oasis of Siwa and the other 20,000 would go to the coast. Thus, preparations were made, and the next day Gregory and the Berber commander Tariq moved out to the coast while the other 5000 went to the oasis of Siwa.

 

[Silver01]

By the 16th of June, Gregory finally reached his destination, the city of Barca; he asked for their surrender, but they remained loyal to Constans. He was going to make them pay, but his real objective was to draw Valentinus out, so he began a siege but did not commit his troops to any assaults. Valentinus had heard the news but conquered Leptis Magna first. He left a small garrison and departed to Barca; he arrived a week later, landing his troops on Cyrenaica, and marched to the city; the city was still holding; it had tried three sorties but failed and lost many men, so they did not try anymore and morale fell, but when they saw Valentinus army, morale got higher, and seeing this Gregory smiled and went to meet him in open battle.


(Army composition):

Gregory was in the back with some archers; the rest of the troops were archers in the center with heavy infantry, and he put the heavy and light cavalry on the flanks. He put his army in smaller groups, but they were well-positioned so as to negate the numerical advantage of Valentinus; they also served to free up space so that if one group was in trouble, another could help it. Valentinus' army was concentrated in larger groups, with him and his cataphracts in the back, heavy and light infantry in the flanks archers in the center, and his light cavalry on the front. The battle began with Valentinus ordering his light cavalry to attack the archers in the center.

The archers retreated, and due to their light armor, many were killed. As they advanced, the light cavalry almost got surrounded, but they managed to retreat, suffering many casualties. But it was worth it since Valentinus thought he found the weak spot. He ordered the light cavalry to go to the flanks as a distraction, as the archers and the heavy infantry marched towards the center. The first one to arrive battled the heavy infantry while attacking the archers of the center and showering them with arrows, despite taking many hits.

After some fighting caused the archers to retreat, they barely escaped with most of their forces dead. Seeing this success, the light infantry moved. By that point, the right side of the heavy infantry had clashed with Gregory's troops, and the archers had arrived to help them. The light cavalry arrived at the enemy wing to prevent the enemy from attacking and increasing their numbers. After some 15 minutes, the right side of the light infantry arrived to support the heavy infantry. Seeing this, Valentinus sent his heavy cavalry forward but did not order them to charge yet, while the left side of the light infantry was in reserve.

With the arches arriving at the right center, Gregory's army felt the pressure and began to retreat while suffering many casualties, while the light cavalry managed to best Gregory Berber's light cavalry and, with support from the archers, managed to inflict substantial losses.

seeing this, the heavy infantry pushed Gregory's troops, and most of the archers were concentrated on that part of the advance. For the heavy infantry, seeing that his left side was beginning to win, he sent the light infantry to support on the right. The heavy infantry managed to push their enemies back, and Valentinus light infantry arrived to relieve the light cavalry, As the battle reached half an hour, Valentinus' forces pushed on both sides, leaving the center open. Valentinus, seeing this, moved but was still cautious about the enemy's heavy cavalry, despite having moved his cataracts to the left flank and the center while he moved to the right. Seeing this, Gregory sent his archers forward, and the cataphracts charged. Seeing how the cataphracts got into range and all other troops were busy, the other archers began to fire at them, but the cataphracts destroyed the archers of the center. Seeing this, Gregory went to charge them, and while doing this, he gave a signal to the heavy cavalry to concentrate their forces in 2 bigger groups and move out.

On the right, they completely destroyed the light infantry, and Valentinus reacted quickly to save his right flank. When Gregory charged the other archers and moved to close the gap and shoot them at the enemy troops, on the left flank, the Berber commander charged the cataphracts and began pushing them so that they might not help the light cavalry. Back in the center, due to the arrow fire and Gregory's charge, the cataphracts were being pushed back; since this was the weakest area, they did not expect this and some began to retreat. Seeing his enemy leave, Gregory joined the left flank and now surrounded the cataphracts, who were killed.

Gregory and the Berber commander moved and attacked the left flank of Valentinus army and massacred them. Seeing this, Valentinus called for a general retreat before the remaining forces were surrounded. As they fled, the heavy cavalry on the right chased them, killing many. The chase was short-lived since they did not want to get ambushed.

Gregory saw that his plan had worked out; of his 20,000, he had lost 4000, but Valentinus had 22,000 and was only left with 15,000; the people inside the city were horrified, and the next day they would open the gates; this news got to all of Pentapolis, and the main cities surrendered. With this and the victory over Valentinus, Gregory had completed the second phase, and he could look to take Egypt.

 

[Silver01]

It was there in Barca that Gregory received the news that his troops had taken Siwa, two days after his victory; with this news, he sent messages to his capital Carthage to bring a part of his navy he was ready to take Egypt, later in Constantinople, Constans was furious. He received the news a week ago and knew that Valentinus had lost, and he received the news that he had just arrived, and he waited for some 30 minutes.

A servant said that general Valentinus has arrived basileus; Valentinus pleaded that the emperor should listen, but he got interrupted, and Constans replied:

I told you if you needed reinforcements and for me to talk to the Berbers, but due to your pride, so many died even though you outnumbered them.

When Valentinus heard his emperor rambling against him, he felt down, believing he would be executed until he said he would not do what he was thinking and told him to prepare for another battle, The emperor asked, What was Gregory doing?

Valentinus said, "They took the desert route to flank us; it worked since it surprised me and the navy; we had to return in haste and were not prepared while Barca suffered a siege, and with my defeat, they surrendered."

Constans said to prepare; Valentinus agreed that we needed conscriptions, but that would take time. He sent letters to the cities, telling them to hold on, prepare for sieges, and wait. Constans agreed, and he also sent letters to the Ghassanid king and the king of Altava as well as to Vahan and Nikitas, reporting themselves to come as well, Soon, the preparations began. By the 18th of July, the Carthaginian navy arrived; with this, they defeated the Byzantine navy near Barca; with this, the surviving Byzantine navy fled to the capital.

And with this, they moved to the east. Within six days, they arrived and began the siege of Paraitonion, In Constantinople, Emperor constans had already begun his preparations, and a messenger arrived, saying, Sir, general Vahan and general Niketas have arrived. The emperor told them to enter. Began to tell them the situation they knew, and soon

The 3 men discussed while constans watched. Vahan said: If Gregory’s troops won’t stop, and it's clear that he wants to take Egypt, then he will most likely attack or try to convince the Ghassanids to join him for an invasion of Syria.

Nikitas said: But if he were aiming for the throne, why not sail to the capital as the great Heraclius did against Phocas?

Valentinus replied, It’s too big of a risk for him; he is taking cities per city and trying to draw smaller armies, After talking for about 25 minutes, a messenger came in and said that Gregory’s troops are besieging Paraitonion. Silence fell on the conference, and the argument got more heated."

We must relive them. Vahan said they should wait because more troops were needed; if they went, there would be a slaughter. Vahan said we have no time to waste because you failed because of your ignorant pride. Valentinus responded that he was too hasty and failed and that if he wanted to commit the same mistake, he should wait, Nikitas was still thinking.

ENOUGH! Yelled the young emperor, who despite his age managed to show his authority to his generals. The emperor soon demanded what they should do. Vahan said: Paraitonion is an important port city and is only 240 km west of Alexandria, Gregory will continue to invade, and if he takes Egypt, all the empire is in danger. I suggest we move now.

Valentinius replied: The city can hold. We have to wait to get more troops, supplies, and weapons and wait for the Ghassanids and the Berbers to respond.Constans then proposed a compromise, and Niketas agreed that his idea was to send supplies but not all the forces if the city held until winter or, in the worst case, if it fell close to winter, Gregory would have to wait until February to move. All three men and the young emperor agreed, and they continued to prepare. By late July, the city of Paraitonion had held for a month, and Gregory, not wanting to lose troops, simply surrounded the city.

The city now had no reinforcements, but by that time, 3000 troops and many supplies had come to the city; even so, the siege continued. Gregory was tired of waiting; he had planned for the city to fall this very night. He told his navy and the men on the ships to assault the walls late in the night, and the assault on the sea walls began. The city garrison moved there since it was the weakest part of the defense and rushed to save the city.

An hour later, some warriors led by the man who took Siwa, Stotzas, managed to use this distraction to climb the walls. They were still hiding, and one warrior managed to kill one of the guards. Soon, they kept moving and reached a place near the gates, where they proceeded to kill the guards and quickly open the gates for the army to enter.

The rest of the soldiers noticed this and proceeded, and they began to enter; the defenders noticed but it was too late; fighting ensued, but the outnumbered defenders stood no change yet; they fought, some burning houses and other buildings, to stop the advance of Gregory’s troops and to kill as many as they could. But by sunrise, the city belonged to Gregory. He lost about 1500 soldiers and executed all the ones who did not join him willingly or by force. With the fall of Paraitonion, Gregory's conquest of Egypt was almost complete.

 

[Silver01]

The next month, Gregory had not wasted his time, and in these new territories he began to find more troops again. This was hard, as constans was the grandson of Heraclius, yet he used the same strategy to convince the people as he did in Carthage, It worked before, as he made Constans look like a traitor or a victim of the men that manipulated his grandfather.With this, he received 7,000 new recruits and 5,800 reinforcements from the Exarchate; after 2 months of recruitment, he had 35,000 men, and even with North Africa under his control, there was barely enough food for his troops, and he relied on the navy for supplies. And despite this, another argument broke out. The generals were bickering."I suggest we go directly to Alexandria and take it," said the general.

Another said we are in early spring and there is almost no food, and if we confiscate food from the populous, we will lose the support we need to take the Nile.

Tariq, the Berber commander, said it would be better to divide the forces, one to go to Alexandria and one to take the Nile, But Stotzas, the man attributed to the man who took Siwa, and Barca said it would be better to go for the Nile and beyond.

Everyone, even Gregory, asked him to explain. He explained that one part of the army should take the Nile while the other should cut the land connection between Egypt and the rest of the empire. Gregory, in his overconfidence, took troops and told them to take Arcadia, as he was confident he would win despite this and it would be worth it, These were also partitioned, as one force went to Arcadia and another force laid siege to Babylon fortress.

By August, Constans, like Gregory, had made his preparations, but despite becoming sole emperor in late 645, he was not confident in his limited skills. Vahan, Niketas, Valentinus, and the Ghassanid king had already been discussing battle plans. The latter, apart from being a client of Constans, also had his interest as, due to the collapse of the Lakhamid kingdom some 45 years ago and the Persians losing the great Roman-Persian war in 628, the Ghassanid kingdom began to regain more influence.

So much so that some Bedouin tribes were slowly converted, Gregory was a menace to the Ghassanids, and the king would have his kingdom under control over an unpredictable man who had no love for his view on Christ and would obligate him to break relationships with the tribes and the slow convention that was going on.

As the Ghassanid king Jabalah V ibn al-Harith had died in 645, Abu Kirab al-Nu‘man ibn al-Harith II became the Ghassanid king. He respected Heraclius and therefore Constans, so he rejected Gregory’s proposal. He was loyal to Rome since he preferred to have them as an ally rather than an enemy.

As the men kept discussing this, there was still no response from the king of Atalva; still, conscription was not yet over, and they were; the kingdom of Aures remained loyal to Gregory. The siege was lasting too long; the city was starving, but the people feared what would happen to them if they surrendered.

On the 15th of August, the siege of Alexandria began. But unlike many other cities that Gregory had conquered, Alexandria was ready for a siege. The city had huge reserves of food and a 10,000-strong garrison. The walls were fortified and had wall-mounted artillery. With all his forces and seeing the formidable walls and garrison, we just waited. As the first week passed, the defenders still had many quantities of food, but they noticed how Gregory never assaulted the walls. Maybe he didn’t know about the huge quantities of food. But a dust storm came from the west. Gregory smiled at his army, saying his great army had arrived, but in reality it was a show to intimidate the garrison. Seeing this defender's morale fell, they asked where the Roman army was.

 

[Silver01]

As the second week passed, The morale continued to fall, and it seemed that the great city was the last bulwark in Egypt; for when it fell, all of Egypt was soon to follow and was about to surrender, but Cyrus of Alexandria gave a motivational speech, and this lifted the morale of the men. Just 3 hours after that, the defenders heard something from the north. They feared that this was the first assault, but to their surprise, it was not Gregory’s navy but their compatriots, the Roman navy, that arrived, and the heavy galleys led the spearhead against Gregory’s navy. But this was just a distraction, and the transport ships quickly went to the harbor and docked.

Not wasting time, the army began disembarking while some supplies arrived; they disembarked quickly while the galleys kept Gregory’s navy; under pressure, the galleys still did not allow Gregory’s army to interrupt the transport ships; it took 4 long hours that felt like centuries for the men in the galleys, but they had done it. The 40,000, along with all the supplies, had arrived and disembarked safely in the city. Seeing how the transport ships were leaving, the galleys began to leave as well.

Still, the morale of the defenders was at an all-time high, but they saw him, the man" in his golden armor. They knew who it was: the emperor himself came to their rescue.

LONG LIVE BASILEUS! yelled the crowd; they could not believe it. The emperor, who was barely a man, was here, ready to fight some of the older citizens. He gave a happy smile. One old veteran who was defending the city as part of the garrison said

"You would be so proud, Basileus Heraclius, to see your flesh and blood here, a boy to fight for your throne, your legacy, but most important, like you, Basileus, for his empire, he went to the young emperor and said."

Basileus I have fought by your grandfathers’ side since we departed from these lands, and for 18 years I fought. I did not want to see war again since the war was too long and I am just tired of it. He bound himself in respect, but now God wills for me to have another mission to fight by your side, Basileus. I am an old man, but if you allow it, I want to leave the city to fight this usurper.

Constans: said, You are a brave man; tomorrow an old hero like you shall fight; He replied, I will fight like a man 20 years my senior.

This day was a day of prayer. Constans ordered that icons be taken around while the army and the crowd of Chalcedonians and Monophysites joined in prayer. This moment, despite being so short, accomplished what even the great Heraclius failed to do, as for just this short moment, the divide in the church was forgotten.

 

[Silver01]

Early September 646
Constans' army left the city while Gregory’s troops had already retreated to avoid a sally; Constans' army caught up 2 km south of Alexandria.

Army composition:
Gregory's troop had 30,000, and like the last battle, he divided his forces into smaller contingents; he had heavy cavalry at the center, heavy infantry at the front, with light infantry in the flanks and archers at the back, while he and his light cavalry were in the back. Constans army had 40,000 men and concentrated his troops in a bigger group, he was in the center with Valentinus alongside archers and heavy infantry; in his right flank was Niketias with his cataphracts; and in his left flank was Vahan; these flanks also had heavy infantry and light infantry for support; in the front, the Ghassanid king Abu Kirab al-Nu‘man ibn al-Harith II with his light cavalry was in the left while the Bedouin cavalry was in the right. The battle began with the Arab light cavalry charging toward the light infantry.

Despite being light cavalry, the Arabs clashed with the infantry like they were cataphracts. The Arabs began to push back, but due to the fear of being surrounded, they retreated with some casualties. Finding the weak spot, Constans ordered his heavy infantry to move with the archers moving towards Gregory’s heavy infantry; the heavy infantry clashed while the light infantry moved to attack the archers; the Arab cavalry moved to stop this; and the rest of the army covered the gaps.

The ghasanid king clashed and caused many casualties against Gregory’s light infantry; the Arabs on the right also caused casualties, but not as many; seeing this, Gregory sent the rest of his light infantry; seeing this, Constans sent his own infantry.

After nearly 40 minutes of fighting, heatstroke was becoming a big danger for both armies. Wanting to end the battles, Valentinus sent his heavy infantry to destroy Gregory's heavy infantry in the center. Seeing this, Gregory sent his heavy cavalry under Stotzas, who united the 2 groups in the center to charge and to end the battle.

While this was happening, the cataphracts began to move. The heavy cavalry charged and pushed back the heavy infantry of the Romans. Stotzas knew if they could destroy the infantry, he could charge at the emperor himself before the cataphracts could react. He was doing great as he began to push the cataphracts into a better position to strike, and it seemed that the infantry would collapse seeing this. Gregory told Tariq to send the light cavalry as a distraction so that Stotzas would soon win.

But Stotaz was winning too much, and he pushed too far too fast. Seeing this old veteran from Heraclius days who had been fighting grab him and pull him off his horse, some soldiers saw this and rushed to the defense of their old compatriot; this struck terror into the troops. Stotaz was a hero, and when the troops saw that his banner was not present, they began to route; some other officers tried to stop this, but it was too late. The route began. Constans now ordered his remaining infantry to pursue the retreating cavalry, while Valentinus sent a message to Niketas and Vahan to move their cataphracts.

The cataphracts surrounded the flanks, and seeing as how the situation deteriorated, Tariq persuaded Gregory to flee; he hesitated, but saw the cataphracts killing many, he had no choice but to call for a general retreat.

The cataphracts did give chase, but not for long as they feared an ambush. Still, the battle of Alexandria was over. Gregory lost over 8,000 soldiers along with his dream of taking Egypt and even one of his best commanders. For Constans, this was the opposite; his popularity rose, and he was seen as the true successor of Heraclius. But still, he knew that this war was not yet over.

 

[Silver01]

It was late September in Arsinoe, and Gregory’s army had retreated in shame from Alexandria to do a slow march in fear of an ambush. There was no cheer, no festivity, just silence and mourning, not only for their compatriots, but morale plummeted when they learned that Stotaz was captured. Gregory was also worried because he was a good commander; losing him was like a swordsman losing his arm.

Yet for the first time, surrender was on his mind, but he was too sad to comment on it. As days passed in Alexandria, after interrogations and deals, Constans finally took a decision, and the next morning he was paraded through Alexandria and got to the center of the city with the mob attacking him. Before going to his execution, a later writer recorded his supposed last words:

"MAY THE LORD CURSE YOU FOR YOUR ARROGANCE, AND WE SHALL NOT BE THE LAST SHADOW TO COME FROM AFRICA," he said as he dropped, and a deafening crack of bones was heard.

The crowd cheered as Stotaz's body was hung, and with his death and the news spreading by early June, the king of Altava received the news that Emperor Constans won at Alexandria. He sent a letter to Constans explaining that he could not attack due to his preparation. He was looking at who was going to be the winner, and now he was convinced that Constans was the winner.

And thus he marched against Gregory's allies, first attacking and defeating a small force of the kingdom of Ouarsenis.

mid-September

When the Berber king moved to the east, Gregory did not leave his best troops, yet they were overconfident because only 7,000 of them were experienced professionals, When they heard the Altavans were moving against them, they only sent 8000 forces. Still confident they would win, they marched to fight an enemy he severely underestimated. The forces met near Caesarea, and when the confident troops were stunned when they found such a formidable force, the forces stayed in position for 2 days, but on the 3rd day,The Berber heavy cavalry charged, and the line nearly collapsed. The unprepared troops tried to form a shield wall, but the second charge broke the center, the Ouarsenis broke formation, and with it, the rest of the Altavan army clashed. The battle lasted merely 30 minutes, and there were 4000 casualties among the exchart while the Berber king suffered 120 deaths. With this, he continued to push toward the west.

late September
Gregory had retreated to the Siwa while leaving troops to garrison Arsnoe. When he later received the news that the altavan kingdom had defeated his troops and the Ouarsenis, he knew that he had to send reinforcements, but if he did, he would have to give up control of Egypt west of the Siwa Oaisis since he did not have the numbers to hold on to the coastal cities and fight a two-front war. His generals bickered for hours; he thought if Stotaz were here, he would have known what to say, but that was not the case.

He finally decided that of his troops, 1/3 would go back to slow the Berbers, and the rest would stay in Siwa, where the Romans would not follow and try to hold. This was not a war of conquest but of survival.

Mid-October

Constans recovered all of Egypt and went to the west. When constans forces arrived at Paraitonion, the civilians inside the city murdered the guards and opened the gates. He was surprised that Gregory was nowhere in sight. He thought he was hiding the dessert. In reality, Gregory had even moved out of Siwa since it was not favorable, as the population was getting hostile, and there were reports that Constans was coming there, so he retreated with a scorched earth policy to slow down Constans. He reached Barca and received the news that he had lost a major city; the situation in the west was better, but the Altavans were still besieging Saldae, so still now he waited for another clash with the Romans, and as he retreated, he was thinking, How did it all come to this?

Late October, Constans had marched along the coast, and now his last major objective was Leptis Magana. He had received news from the Berbers who had taken Saldae just a few days earlier, but still, Leptis Magana had a strong garrison of 7,000 and had many supplies, so the siege began.

 

[Silver01]

Mid November

Constans finally realized that the garrison had enough supplies to hold, and he ordered the first assault. The Romans crashed against the walls like a wave, but the defenders’ arrows and stones were thrown at the Romans.Still, the assault continued; the sea assault did not, but due to a lack of ships since they were still on patrol for Gregory and in fear of losing the ships, the Romans did not commit to a full assault. After just one hour of fighting, the assault failed. The defenders lost 400 men, while the Romans had lost 1200. By late August, the defenders sallied out to attack the Romans, who were sleeping, but Niketas noticed this and the Romans reacted. A skirmish began, and the defenders were defeated and lost 700 men.

Still, the defenders sent many letters to Gregory, who was returning to Carthage. He sent some 2000 men against the 30,000 Constans men. On the last day of August, at 12 a.m., the army arrived. They know they cannot win but still wanted to kill as many Romans as they could. So they charged the camp. The Romans did not expect this. They started to panic, and some began to run while others desperately began to fight while the attackers began to burn the camp.

But despite the danger, Constans who had barely put on his armor, went to the center of his camp. This inspired the men, and 2000 who were already in the camp were trapped. They tried to kill the emperor, but his excubitor guard defended him. They began to fight, and in just 1 hour, all 2000 men were dead. Still, the night attack killed 5,000.

The next day, the defenders knew what had happened, but they still were not going to surrender since they feared they would be killed. To their surprise, Constans offered peace with just 4000 men and more Roman ships arriving. The defenders surrendered the next day. With the surrender, Constans would wait before he went to Carthage; he sent a letter to the Berber king to move to the city by spring, and the young emperor promised that he would kill Gregory with his own sword.

( early September ) (inaccurate Italy map...)

 

[Silver01]

Spring 647

The Altavan king arrived at Carthage and began the siege, but he did not begin any assaults. Gregory was still mourning how he had fallen so low when just a year ago he was a conqueror, and now, in his mind, he was acting like a coward, and Tariq, despite being a mercenary, was still loyal to him. Gregory, in an act of desperation, sent word to Aures and other Berbers, but they had already sent word to Constans to ask for clemency in return for giving details about the defense of Gregory’s capital. With this, Constans took his navy and went directly to help the Altavans.

By mid-spring, word got to the Berber king as emperor Constans landed 100km to the south and spent his time marching towards Carthage, Due to his popularity, the march north was not interrupted as the men of these cities became disillusioned with Gregory. When Gregory heard about this, he had no option but to send 7000 men under Tariq to move out via sea while he distracted the Berbers with a sortie. Some 2000 men launched the sortie against 15 000 Berbers, but the battle was short-lived as the Berber cavalry and infantry cut down the foolish sortie. Still, Tariq and the 7,000 landed.

And thus they took the same track, that the vandals used 100 years ago. Unbeknownst to them, the Romans had camped nearby. Seeing this Constans move out while the 7000 did not know that they were being chased, the Berber king was informed about this by his scouts, so he sent a portion of his forces. The 7000 kept marching until they almost crossed, but like Belisarius did 100 years before Constans charged, Tariq’s men were surprised since they did not expect an attack from the south. They began to panic, but Tariq, with his guard, tried to control the army. The Berbers who saw this charged at the fleeing men, and the massacre began.

As Tariq tried to reunite his army, he was slain by the Roman army. The defenders could hear screams and horses trampling men; the horror was so great that the men turned pale and some others threw themselves into the sea. Gregory knew that Tariq had died and that the end of his rebellion had come. In the sea, the two navies’ met, but the battle was clearly one-sided, the heavy Roman galleys broke the smaller Berber ships, despite being outnumbered, leading to the destruction of a large part of the navy in Alexandria Gregory’s navy still tried to fight, but it was futile.

In just a couple of hours, Gregory’s navy was destroyed, and the Roman navy surrounded the sea walls. As the month passed and the first assaults took place just days after Tariq’s death, the city still held. The Romans managed to enter but were driven in by Gregory and his troops. Causalities were mounting on both sides, but Constans knew this was far from over. He let Gregory leave; all this was pointless at this time, and a small force of the kingdom of Aures came to help the Romans as a way to show that they were on their side.
constans ordered Niketas, Vahan, and Valentinus to come, and they made what, in their minds, would be a plan that would break the defenses. With that, he issued a decree that this day was to be a day of prayer. Gregory knew that the moment of truth was upon them, yet he gave no speeches or anything, but his loyal troops understood what was going to happen tomorrow.
15th of April
The final assault began at sunrise. The Romans used some of Gregory’s captured ships to dismantle them and build three siege towers. They were moved to storm the walls, and the mighty Roman navy led the assault to the sea walls, Both sides began to lose many men as arrows from both sides killed many, but the city still held. The storming of the walls continued for hours. The defenders were getting more desperate as they threw stones and hot sand to deter the Romans. and in the early afternoon, after hours of fighting, the defenders burned one of the siege towers down. With this, most of the defenders left for the other sides of the walls.
The Romans kept the fire alive, and the smoke made an unbearable smell for the defenders. Seeing this, Vahan and some other warriors on the other side used this distraction to enter; the first ones were an Armenian and a Greek, followed by Vahan and the other men. They began to kill the defenders while the other went to kill the guards, and without time to spare, they opened the gates. Seeing this, the men entered, and the Berber king and his guards were the first to enter.
Gregory tried to reunite his army but was injured by an arrow to his elbow. The retreat to the streets left the other gates abandoned, and due to this and Gregory being injured within a matter of minutes, the defenses of the city collapsed. Gregory was carried by his men; they were taking him away from the carnage. But the Berbers found him, and when the king himself saw him, they killed his guards and captured him.

Gregory was already fainting as the city fell; he just wanted to die since he did not want to see the destruction of the city. The Romans were already inside killing the defenders; he saw as to how the city began to burn as he faded in and out of consciousness; he could barely watch the destruction of his capital as his watery eyes could not see this torment any longer and he closed his eyes; the last thing he remembers is seeing the fire and hearing the screams. Gregory woke up. He was startled. He saw the ruins of the walls and the stench of blood, and he heard.
THIS IS THE MAN, PEOPLE OF CARTHAGE, THE ONE WHO DECEIVED YOU!
Gregory tried to move, but he soon realized he was tied up.
THIS MAN MADE ME DESTROY A PORTION OF THIS FINE CITY; I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS BUT HE MADE ME DO IT BY HIS TREACHERY!
Gregory panicked. What was going on?
BUT I SHALL FORGIVE YOU, OH GREAT CITY!
The crowd yelled: TRAITOR! As they had the intent to kill him.
He saw the man who was talking to the crowd; it was... Constans.
I hope you are happy and are a satisfied "emperor."
Gregory just stayed silent and lowered his head.
Constans said all those men who could have helped the empire are dead because of you. Well, I made a promise, he said as he drew his sword.
Gregory said. nothing as he closed his eyes as constans slew him with his sword.
Finally, it is over. The young emperor said to his generals and to the Berber king, It's finally over

 

[Silver01]

Emperor Constans stayed in Carthage for months as he saw the reconstruction of the city supervising everything, this also boosted his popularity from Carthage he saw the reconstruction of all of north Africa, it was not much for despite the scope of the rebellion it did little damage, constans also had to make deals with the king of altava as he demanded that the kingdom of Ouarsenis be his lands thus reconstructing the Mauro roman kingdom, constans did not agree after all the kingdom was a bane to the Byzantines but the king had proven his loyalty and if he betrayed his trust he could possibly be seen as untrustworthy to all the Berber tribes and kingdoms thus he allowed for this annexation.

By spring, he had supervised it enough for it to return to his capital. As he left Carthage, the people were saddened by his departure, as Constans had burned a light of hope that Rome might return to its glory. When Constans returned, he was surprised to see an emissary of Yazadegerd.

What was the Emissary Shah doing here? Though the young emperor and his generals were also confused, the emissary was also surprised that only five years had passed yet he did not see Costans as a child. Not only was he physically sure the emperor had even grown a beard, but he also saw the young emperor as a confident person, which made him more anxious to speak. The shah representive and the emperor discussed for some time, and he told Constans that he needed to call upon the agreement they made nearly six years ago that if one gets attacked, the other has to defend each other. As the shah was attacked by Axum in Arabia, Constans told him to explain, and they explained the situation.

646

During the time of Gregory’s rebellion, when he took Leptis Magna, as the power of the king of Axum continued to decline, the nobles with land to the south not affected continued to gain prestige, the merchants wanted to gain back their influence, and Persia was weak, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to recover what Khosrow took from them. The Ethiopians landed and found no resistance; they took Saana, most of the coast over a period of months as they were not confident, making small advances to minimize risks. By the time of the siege of Alexandria, most of the coast belonged to them, and they had control of the sea after fighting the small Persian navy.

With the coast secured, they marched to the north, and by this point, the sha had reunited troops to keep the region, so he sent an army of 5000 under Hormozd to the area with the objective of kicking the Ethiopians back to the sea. By the time of the recapture of Barca, the Persians had arrived and marched south, but the Ethiopians spotted them early on and forced the Persian army to chase the Axumite army, which had 3000, The march continued until they reached Najran, where the Christians joined, making the army 4,000 strong. Here the 2 armies met.

Army composition

The Sassanids put their forces in one line, with infantry in the center and cavalry in the wings, while in the back, the Ethiopians had a similar composition, but the Axumite general was not in the back, and he had Arab light cavalry. The battle began with an all-out charge on the part of the Ethiopians.

Both armies advanced, and they crashed into each other. On the left, the light cavalry, moving first the Sassanid heavy cavalry, was not allowed time to charge the almost stale cavalry position, which faced many casualties. On the left center, there was no clear advantage, but on the right center, one group began to push back the Ethiopians. The Axumite heavy cavalry clashed, and the last one to clash was the Axumite heavy cavalry on the right. Despite all efforts, the heavy infantry collapsed under pressure and began to flee.

He noticed this and began to move to save his left, but it was too late, as the Ethiopians surrounded and killed all the forces before Hormozd could arrive.

Hormozd was attacked and surrounded; he tried to fight and held the line, but soon he was slain. The forces that attacked retreated seeing this, and the cavalry charged the Sassanid infantry.

They surrounded the left flank and thus the slaughter began.

The Axumite forces surrounded the rest, as the massacre continued the right flank just fled in the Axumite army lost some 1000 compared to the 5000 that the Sassanids lost

With this defeat, the Sassanids were thrown out of Arabia by this point Gregory’s rebellion was crushed so he went to ask Constans for support

 

[Silver01]

These defeats and the factionalism in the court only worsen the rebellions against Yazadegerd III.Constans thought to make it seem like he was considering helping the Shah, but he had no intention to do so. After some 15 minutes of silence, the emperor answered.

No

The Persian was surprised and replied, No? But we had an agreement.

Constans replied, "Where were you when a rebellion broke out in my realm?"

The Persian tried to reply, saying he was busy with his own rebellions, but then Constans showed a letter from the shah to Gregory, and the Persian turned pale. This was supposed to be a diplomatic mission, but now it felt like an interrogation.

Still, Yazdegerd replied: Those are not real. He would never break our agreement. Constans just watched him as he replied and then said: Had you just sent 100 troops, that would have been enough, and I would have gladly helped you. But you broke the treaty first and expect me to comply with it?

The Persian was both furious and terrified, but he replied, "Please, I am sure we can come to an agreement."

Constans was intrigued, but he knew that he first had to finish rebuilding North Africa, and he knew that the sha did not control all of Persia. Still, this continued for 1/4 of an hour, and the Persian was forced to almost beg. Constans told him to leave and that he would send his own escort to accompany him out of the capital.

But the Persians had come too far and lost too many for nothing. As Constans was leaving him in his desperation, he said, Heraclius would have honored this agreement; he was a man of his word.

Constans stopped and told him to repeat what he said? The noblemen replied: Heraclius was an honorable man, and you are insulting him by breaking your word. Everything you have is because of him, and this is how you repay him?

Constans was angry, but he was leaving, and the Persian said that this was not something worthy of his heir. Constans snapped and nearly struck him, His guards reacted, as did the excubitors. Constans said to lower their weapons, and the Persians did so as well.

And the young emperor said: "I want you to leave this place; do not come back here or try anything against my empire, or I swear I will become Heraclius' heir in one aspect."

Of course he was mostly bluffing; he did not want a war with Persia, but it still scared the Persian noble. understood that he knew he was in condition to fight the Romans and left humiliated, By July 648, the news of the Sha humiliation had reached all of Persia, and one ruler was interested in this: Gil Gavbara, ruler of Tabaristan, saw this as an opportunity, and he wrote to Constans.

From Gil Gavbara, king of Tabaristan, to Constans, king of the Romans, and heir of Heraclius Why do you still allow Yazdegerd to govern us and be your ally? Has he not betrayed you? You say that you have trust in him. If so, why has he betrayed you? Why have you allowed him to insult you and Heraclius?

And does he plot to destroy Constantinople? But I will pardon his faults if you help me; I will give you lands, vineyards, and fortresses and look upon you with even greater respect.

Do not deceive yourself in the vain hope that Yazdegerd will help you or be your ally, with your help. Even if he takes refuge in the highest mountain, the depths of the sea, or on the far sides of the earth, I will stretch out my hand and take him to you, and we shall have peace.

 

[Silver01]

Constans thought about this for a long time. About this, he thought about the benefits and disadvantages of helping him in the turbulent Persian Empire and concluded that support from him would allow him to not only take the throne but also reunite Persia. He reached a conclusion the next day and wrote.

From Constans, Basileus of the Romans, to Gil Gavbara, king of Tabaristan, I pursue peace. I have not and will not forgive the transgressions against my name, my family, and my empire, but I will support you in your pursuit of peace.

If you commit transgressions against me or turn out to be like Yazdegerd, I will willingly burn Persia, so let us now seek a better future and embrace peace. If this is the case, come to Constantinople, and we will discuss this.

By mid-September, Constans had done a good job in the reconstruction of his empire, and many of its riches were going to the reconstruction of those cities that Gregory had taken. Constans also had to attend the burial of one of his generals and friends, Vahan, and he was buried in the church of Saint Peter. He said goodbye to his old friend at the funeral, and during the rest of the funeral he was silent. Still, the empire began to flourish. Constans was in the palace still thinking about the future of his empire when a messenger arrived at the Basileus; the Persian had arrived.

Gil Gavabra entered with this guard and translators; they greeted each other, and the conversations began.

How can I trust you? What gives me assurance that you will not betray me like Yazdegerd, said Constans.

Gil Gavabra waited for his translation and said: "I am a man of my word; also, I do not wish for Persia to get burned by the heir of Heraclius."

The discussion continued. Constans asked: What do I gain by helping you?

He waited for the translation and said, "Order for trade routes. Since the independent rulers impose different taxes and some areas are filled with bandits, do you not wish for order in your trade route in the east"?

Constans knew he was right and said, "What land do you offer me?"

Gil Gavabra thought, and he responded: "many frontier towns and the strategic city of Nisibis and the province of Albania and the rest of Armenia", even though the province was rebelling against them. There was no confirmation, but later Javanshir, the king who expanded into Sassanid lands, accepted the idea. Constans also agreed that, in return, he would help him, but it would not be right to know. Gil Gabrava was okay and left to return to his kingdom.

By 649, a council was being held in Rome, not by the emperor but by the pope, but problems began before the council started since most members of the Roman clergy were too uneducated in theology to "grasp even the fundamental issues presented in the Monothelite controversy" due to centuries of decay in both religious and secular learning in the city.

The Council's position was substantially like that espoused by the Council of Chalcedon: "For the first time in well over a century, the church of Rome would be in a position to debate theological issues with Byzantium from a position of equality in both intellectual substance and rhetorical form."

By May, Pope Theodore had died while preparations for the Council were ongoing. His death left Maximus without his patron and collaborator of the last three years, the Papacy. The Roman clergy were faced with the difficult dilemma of finding a successor with the intellectual reputation to convene the Council.

Still, preparations continued without the knowledge of Constans who was busy with secular matters by July. With the influence of Maximus, a deacon from Todi, in central Italy, was consecrated Pope Martin, a pope consecrated without imperial approval, although he was the former apocrisiarius to Constantinople and well respected in the East. Martin's election was an indisputable "battle cry against Constantinople". Martin's stature and proficiency in Greek were attested to by Theodore's offer to appoint Martin as his personal representative to an earlier proposed synod in Constantinople.

By August, Constans had to leave his capital, since the news had arrived that the Slavs had been raiding his territories, and some of the Slavs that lived under the empire had joined them. This worsens the situation, as the emperor still did not know about the council and the pope will be its sole controller. By October of that year, Constans had nearly crushed the invaders and the rebels, but it was here that he received news about the council. He was mad that he, Basileus, had not been notified of it, but he could not leave now, as if he did, it would demoralize his troops.

A few days later, the council was attended by 105 bishops, all but one from the western portion of the Eastern Roman Empire. Stephen of Dor, a Palestinian, was the only bishop whose see was not in Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, or Africa. Transalpine Europe, Spain, Greece, and Crete, despite lying within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome, were not represented. One-fourth of the bishops were likely of Eastern ethnicity or origin and thus probably Greek-speaking.

The cleric Theophylaktos began the council, as the principal notary of the apostolic see and chief of the papal chancery and library, with the invocation of the regnal year of the "august and most pious Lord Contains". Pope Martin, then read a pre-prepared speech criticizing monothelitism (a view held by the then Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria) and denouncing the Ecthesis by late October.

Constans could finally return and attend the council because he had completely crushed the Slavs. By the end of October, the council's acts and decrees were disseminated, along with a papal encyclical. The Council's formal pronouncements amounted to 20 canons. Canons X and XI are the ones that specifically took up the subject of Christ's two wills and two energies, and were based mainly on Maximus's earlier disputation against Pyrrhus while in Carthage.

Still, the Monothelites denounced the council when it did not turn in their favor, saying that it had no ecumenical status because Emperor Constans did not call it and many eastern bishops were not present. By early November, Constans returned to see chaos as the Monothelites refused to accept the council. In a sense, they were right; why did the pope do such a thing and not call him?

Still, this infighting scared Constans; he knew that Gregory revolted due to the Monothelites, at least that was one of his excuses, and now he feared they would revolt against the Chalcedonians. Gregory’s rebellion was still on many minds, and the emperor thought about it so much that he did not sleep that night.

He finally reached his decision that there would be no new council; it took him some weeks. He issued the Typos, the imperial edict that was meant to supersede the Ecthesis, In an attempt to secure peace during the Monothelitism controversy, it gave both support for teaching of either Orthodox Dyothelitism or Ecthesis, requiring that teaching be limited only to that which had been decreed at the first five Ecumenical Councils and Heraclius Ecthesis that a council will not be held until 675. Of course, this new attempt at compromise for the west failed, especially since back in the east, Constans continued to push the compromise.

 

[Silver01]

By late 651, two years had passed since the council, and while many judged the emperor for this, he ignored most of the complaints. Still, the reconstruction of north Africa after five years was over, and with the capture of southern Arabia and a new trade deal with Aksum, the riches of the east were pouring into the empire. Long distance trade began to flourish with this new wealth, and the empire had a strong army. The arts and education began to rise with this excess of capital, but the land routes were horrible due to the instability of the land due to the situation in Persia, which turned the profitable land trade route into a trade nightmare due to the instability of the land.

Now with his empire at peace from both internal and external threats, Constans knew that it was time to help Gil Gavbara keep his promise that he made three years prior, so he sent a letter to him to reunite his army for spring. In Persia, Yazdegerd boasted ten years ago that Persia would be his, but 10 years have almost passed and nothing had happened; still, the rebellions and factionalism continued, and this weekend he wonders why he could not recover Persia. It had been more than 20 years, and Persia was still not unified.

Yet when he received news that the army of the Greeks were reuniting in Mesopotamia, he was scared; there was no way he was planning to invade. The last war weakened both the Persians and the Greeks, but unlike the last war, Rome was not facing a united Persia by spring 652. Gil Gavbara reunited 12,000 troops, and from his kingdom he also received the support of houses Spandiyadh and Ispahbudhan and some others who were sympathetic to him while Constans was in Mesopotamia with an old Valentinus and Niketas alongside 25,000 troops, while the ghassanid king came to the aid of Constans with 5000 troops, Theodore prince of Armenia, and Stephen II prince of Iberia attacked with a smaller contingent as the caucasian Albanians continued their revolt and attacked deep into Sassanid territories.

All the armies met in Bagavan in the early spring of 652. After nearly 4 years, Gil Gavbara saw Constans and almost did not recognize him for his long beard. The discussion began on where to attack, it was obvious that the Sha would suspect an attack from the north but not from the south; this discussion continued for days, but it was decided that they would split the forces. Constans, Valentinus would go attacking from the south with 22,000 men, While Niketas, Gil Gavbara, and the two Caucasian princes would attack from the north with 20 000 men, Yazdegerd entered into a panic when he found out and went to defend Mesopotamia, the most likely area where the Romans attacked. He called for Rostam Farrokhzād, Piruz Khosrow, Mardanshah, and some others to the defense of his realms, some accepting because of loyalty, others because they got used to their independence.

They reunited many men for this "war", while on the 26th of March, after days of marching, Constans arrived at Firaz at the border, and the garrison was ill-prepared. Pirus khosrow and horruzamn were the closest, so they forced marched their 20,000 troops to the area, and some days the tired army was forced to fight Constans. When Pirus khosrow learned that the emperor was here, he was surprised but thought if he could kill him, it would demoralize them, so he challenged the emperor to personal combat. Before the day of battle could begin, Constans accepted this, and the Persian general was confident that he would win.