Just another drink

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Deleted member 43582

Dogs and wolves​
„These are the last days of my life.
And yet the empire
which has not seen peace since my youth
will not come to rest.
The death of the three of the four great usurpers
has turned their kin upon each other.
Like rapid dogs who imitate proud wolves
they strive to claim for themselves what their fathers formed.
And yet this claim
is what will destroy it.”
Death of the three kings, Paulus of Barcelona 469

Ctesiphon, pearl of Mesopotamia, heir of the great Persepolis, capital of the proudest and richest empire the world had seen since the times of Darius and Xerxes. An eagle, coming down from the mountains of Anatolia flew over its roofs, looking for something to eat. Simple hut gave way to bazaars, channels and promenades who in turn gave way to proud palaces. Something caught the eagle’s eye: A toddler playing in one of the pavilions. Not a starving one like the others he had eaten from time to time in the past years, but a fat one. And no adult in sight to protect it. He plummeted towards the ground, prepared his claws and was struck by an arrow. Instantly dead he fell into the royal gardens.
“Well done archer.” Shapur turned around. In the middle of the garden below the pavilion sat Shah Peroz on a mountain of pillows. “He was going for young prince Djamasp. I thought I better take him out before he comes closer.” He explained. “You may take the eagle with you to feed your family. You look like you don’t get enough meat. I need my protectors to always be in the best possible condition. And here take this”, he pulled of a ring “Give it to the royal cook, for the next year he will regularly send food from the royal kitchen to your house.” “Your majesty is too generous!” “Nonsense, you saved my son. Now go.” After the guard left Peroz turned his attention back to the man kneeling in front of him. “So you are telling me the Romans are killing one another? Their timing could not have been worst. With this famine going on we will have no troops to spare. Well it might still weaken them and we can try again after we sorted out our own problems. Anything else?” “Well the Huns are getting nervous, maybe they plan another campaign against us.” “I hope not in our current situation we are quite vulnerable. Anyway please send my condolences to the Roman pretenders.” “My lord?” “Zeno might have been a Roman bastard, but he was an honest bastard who always tried to keep up the good relation we have since the end of the war.” “Yes, your majesty.” Peroz turned to the man sitting beside him. “You see Balash? This is how you rule an empire. Be mercy full if you can and be wrathful if necessary. Than people will fear you while still honoring you. Read all you can find about Zeno, for he is a role model for all rulers. Always remember this omen: The archer who kills the eagle to protect a child. You must become the archer who protects the Persians from the roman eagle.” “Yes brother”, answered the crown prince.
“My uncle ´Zeno the Savior` reigned for 13 years over the Empire. In these years the only wars we fought were those against Attila and the short expedition to punish the Vandals for their sack of Italy. In his wisdom he knew that intervention in the Persian civil war, the Albanian rebellion or the Germanic conquest of the West would not have been possible and ensured that Romans to this day still rule over the Mediterranean. The Vandal raids on the Roman west Mediterranean Islands and the Peloponnese and our counter-raids on their coasts were the most serious battles our men fought in the ten years before my uncle’s death. His main focus was on the rebuilding of Greece after the Hunnish raids. He settled Roman refugees from Illyria along with Romanized people from Dacia in Thebes, Thessaloniki and other Cities. He not only defended the Romans with his sword, but also with his coin, his quill and his mind. This is why I could not forgive my brother, when he tarnished our uncle’s memory and challenged my rightful claim on the throne. Two horrible years of war have almost undone Zeno’s great work. But not all hope is lost. Now that my brother lies dead in the sands outside Ephesus and you have chosen me to be crowned the next Emperor I think Constantinople looks into a brighter future. A future where it shall once again rule over all that was once Roman.” Coronation speech of Emperor Longinus “Zeno II” (11.11.468)

“Genseric died only a few weeks after emperor Zeno. He led our people for more years than any king before him. His son Huneric, at first a quite promising king, was unworthy of the throne. Even thou the Romans were at war with one another he did not try to conquer the Mediterranean islands. Instead he just raided the Egyptian and Syrian coasts until he was defeated by Longinus of the coast of Crete. He blamed the Catholics in his realm for the defeat and accused them of being Roman spies. We knew that the true cause was Huneric’s incompetence, but we did not mind him going against the heretic Catholics, especially when he began seizing their property and redistributing it among us. The Catholic rebellion in Hispania he had to quell was just a minor inconvenience. Oh, if we had just listened to the voices who said that in order to hold Hispania we had to appease its population. Maybe, if our king had been more capable, we would have stood a chance against them, but as it was, Euric just had to extent his hand to pluck the grape of Hispania.” – Memories, Ercanbald, Vandal noble 490

“I have founded my rule on one of the most despicable crimes in the eyes of god: Fratricide. I murdered my brother Theoderic and after three years of civil war that nearly tore apart our kingdom, made myself king of all Goths. Let there be no doubt that I did not do this because of hunger for power, but rather because I saw that the paths Theoderic had put us on would lead to the destruction of our kingdom. The fool wanted peace! Peace, in a time when the Goth’s enemies were weak and we needed to strike to ensure our survival. I regret nothing. Have I not restored order to the realm in only a year after the civil war? Have I not made the Breton refugees in Armorica loyal subjects of the crown? And most importantly: Have I not lead our men into the war that finally rid us of the shameful treaty with the vandals? In 472 I crossed the Pyrenees at the tip of a spear made of iron and blood. I made the dreams of our people come true: The Hispania Gothica[1]!” Memoires of King Euric the Kinslayer/King Euric the Great, 488

“The Suebs had been at war with each other for 11 years when the Vicigoths descended upon them. Lead by their cruel king Rick the Goths burned their way through the kingdom of the Suebs and the free city of Valens. It was in that time of evil that one man came forward. Hermeneric a noble who had always been loyal to king Rechiar took up the mantle of leadership and united the Suebs once more. He already had done many heroic deeds among them killing a lion with his bare hands when only seven and swimming from Valens to Cartago to tell the Vandals of the Goths treachery. He fought many brave battles against the Goths, but in the end he was betrayed by his brother in arms Rechimund[2]. But before Hermeneric fled the battle he still managed to slay Rechimund. He afterwards hid in the mountains with his men. Even thou the dwarf king of the mountain tried to sell him out he lived there for many years. And when he died he was buried in the halls of the dwarf[3]. It is said that he would rise again when the last day of the kingdom had come.” Gothalied, Suebic saga


[FONT=&quot]“Gondioc’s reign over Italy lasted almost exactly ten years. During his reign his main concern had been to secure his reign against the Romans in the east. As much as Zeno and Longinus wished to retake Italy, it was not possible, since neither they nor their new foederati the Heruli had enough men to try to invade Italy. As history would show, the best way to defeat an enemy is to leave him alone. When Gondioc died he was succeeded by his brother Chilperic who only survived nine years before he died as well. The most important event of his reign was the conquest of Corsica and Sardinia, which once and for all ended the West Roman Empire. Upon his death the realm was split between Gondioc’s four sons. Gundobad got the Po valley and the capital Ravenna, Godomar ruled from Rome over middle Italy, Sardinia and Corsica, Chilperic II ruled from Naples over south Italy and Sicily and Godegisel got the territory north of the alps with the capital Geneva. Soon war broke out between the brothers which ended with Gundobad and Chilperic splitting the realm into a northern and a southern part. Burgundy was exhausted. The opportunity was perfect. Clovis I of Francia attacked.” A history of Italia after the collapse of Rome, Leutwin, Anglo-Saxon Bishop 7th century

“The rebellion of Illus is a rather strange one. After nearly 20 years with an Isaurian on the throne the Roman nobles had had enough. They wanted pure Roman emperor. The only problem with that were the Ostrogoths. Theodemir had proclaimed his neutrality during the civil war between Tarasis and Longinus, because he wanted to prevent the Ostrogoth from becoming entangled in Roman webs of intrigue. His only statement was that he supported the nephew of Zeno in this war, but unfortunately could not sent troops since they were unfortunately currently engaged in battle against the Huns[4]. The Romans knew that Theodemir would not tolerate any rebellion against Longinus. But when Theodemir’s son Theodoric succeeded him there was hope that he could be swayed to support an uprising. Especially after Longinus reduced the Ostrogoths colonization of the Crimean Goths to mere trade ports there began to form a rift between the two families. Nevertheless the Romans knew that a non Isaurian Emperor would still be intolerable for the Goths. So they slowly persuaded Illus a friend of the dead Tarasis to avenge his blood brothers death. The plan was to make Illus puppet emperor while the real power lay with the nobility. Unfortunately the Romans had underestimated the young Gothic king. As soon as Longinus had fled and Illus was proclaimed new Emperor, Theodoric approached Longinus and offered his support if the Emperor would now allow Gothic settlement around the Black sea. Desperate for support the Emperor agreed and was soon returned to Constantinople. While the rebellion of Illus was merely a footnote in Roman history it was an important turning point in the history of the Goths. Since now they had officially been promoted from roman vassals to roman allies.” History of the Goths in east and West, Horatius, Byzantine Historian 6th century

“This king has practically begged the Goths to take Hispania from us. This king has caused riots in nearly all Catholic communities. This king has lost giant parts of the coast to the Berbers. It is time that we crown a new king a king of the blood of Genseric, to restore the empire of Genseric. So I ask you my brothers: WHO SHALL BE KING?[5]” Gunthamund, Cartago 479, one second before being proclaimed king

“I am emperor of the Romans, defender of the Christian faith. It is my duty to defend the faith against all infidels. So when Peroz violently suppressed a rebellion by my brothers in Iberia and Armenia, I had no choice but to intervene. Adar-Vishnasp the Persian governor of Iberia was defeated by the Armenians even before my troops could reach the front. Peroz responded by sending four armies: Three to Armenia and one to Iberia. My commander Ovidius and the Armenian king Sahag managed to lure the Persian commander Adar-Narseh into a trap where two of the Persian armies were annihilated. Unfortunately the other commander of the house Mihran managed to bypass a similar trap later on and reunited with the Iberian forces. He then led Ovidius on a false path which trapped him on the Anatolian high plateau during the winter of 482. The war came to standstill for one year after that, since neither we nor the Persian could gain any ground. The only major action in the year 483 was the Ostrogoth invasion of Abasgi and Lazica which opened up a new front in the north, but that also cam to a grinding hold after early advancements. When Peroz recalled Mihran and replaced him with Hazaravough. This one was by far an inferior commander and it did not take long for us to unite with Theodoric near the border to Albania. Unfortunately we could not continue the war at that point because of the trouble back in Italy. We therefore sued for peace. Persia released Armenia, Lazica, Iberia and Abasgi into independence and also had to give us and the Goths trade privileges in Albania. Thus ended the first glorious war against Persia.[6]” - Vita mea Chapter XVII “The Persian War of 481”, Longinus

“After Childeric had united the Franks during his lifetime, the powerbase he passed on to his son Clovis was the biggest the Franks had possessed in their whole history. Clovis was only seventeen years old, but he had already proven himself in battle and was eager to prove that he was worthy of his inheritance. He would later be called the wolf of the north, because like a wolf always attacks the weakest deer, he also had an instinct for when an enemy was weak and it was the best opportunity to strike. So when the Burgundian king died in the same year as his father and left the kingdom disunited and with imminent civil war, he saw it as a sign of destiny. While Gundobad and Chilperic slowly crushed their weaker brothers he forged an alliance with the Rugii and the Bavarians to the south. So when the civil war died down and Gundobad and Chilperic started to feel secure, that was the moment Clovis struck. The Franks took transalpine Burgundy in less then a month. Then they united with the Bavarians at Geneva, crossed the alps and descended like a firestorm on the Po valley. Meanwhile the Burgundians invaded Venetia and lay siege on Ravenna. It seemed like it would be an easy victory. But in the second year the Burgundians gained ground. Chilperic landed in Genoa with half of his troops while the other half marched on Ravenna. He managed to cut Clovis Frankish-Bavarian army off of their supply chain, forcing them to life from pillaging, therefore undercutting their support in the local population. The Rugii, aware of their Allies problems and the Burgundian relief army coming their way, retreaded to the Alps and began to build up a supply chain through the mountains. It was not very efficient, but the Burgundian focus on cutting it gave the Rugii a few months to recover from the war. The tide only turned with the start of the next year when unexpectedly Gunthamund entered the war. His vandals captured the Mediterranean islands and started to cut off Chilperics supply chain. This forced him to do the same thing Clovis did and life of the people of the Po. Hereon the local Romans started to form war bands to protect themselves from the armies, dealing heavy losses to both sides. When they finally met in the battle of Florence Chilperic offered Clovis to marry his daughter Clotilde, but the Frankish refused this, since he had no interest in Italy, only in the transalpine lands which belonged to Gundobad. So it came to battle and the Burgundians were defeated. Chilperic died, making Gundobad the sole king of the Burgundians. Clovis following this victory now could be sure, that no one could challenge his rule west of the Rhine. Therefore he left Italy not willing to waste more troops on the war he started. The Bavarian king abandoned by his ally swore revenge, but continued on. The Vandals, who were very interested in creating a disunited Italy, began to supply both the Rugii and the Bavarians and support them with their fleet. It looked like the Burgundian kingdom would be divided between the Rugian and Bavarian kings, but in 490 the tide of war change one last time when Zeno landed with his army in southern Italy. He proclaimed the Burgundians to be Roman foederati and that any further attack on them would be interpreted as an attack on the Roman empire itself. The peace treaty which was proclaimed on Christmas Eve 490 divided Burgundy as follows: Clovis gained all lands north of the lake of Geneva. The Rugii kingdom was extended westwards until Lake Garda and southwards up to Apulia. Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and the tip of the Italian boot went to the Vandals. Constantinople took control of Calabria as well as Apulia, further more the Burgundians became their foederati. The Bavarians formed their own new kingdom between Alps, Rhone, Tiber and Apennines. The title king of Italy was given to the Bavarian king Karloman, who romanized his name, became a catholic and henceforth called himself Carolus Theodoricus Rex Italianis.” – The great Italian war, Horatius, Byzantine Historian 6th century
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First map below. Europe Anno Domini 491

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Rulers: (b=born, c=crowned, a=current age)
Vicigoths: Alaric II [7], b.453 c.488 a.38
Suebs: Hermeneric b.441 c.467 a.50
Vandals: Gunthamund b.449 c.479 a.42
Franks: Clovis I b.467 c.483 a.24
Bavarians: Carolus Theodoricus b.456 c.491 a.35
Alemanni: Gibuld b.4?? c.46?
Rugii: Hagano b.430 c.467 a.61
Heruli: Ortwin b.443 c.474 a.48
Burgundians: Gundobad b.452 c.482 a.39
Ostrogoths: Theoderic b.454 c.475 a.37
Roman Empire: Longinus Zeno b.433 c.468 a.58
Armenia: Sahag b. 4?? c.4?? a. lets say late 50s
Persia: ????? [7] b.449 c.490 a.42

[1] Well technically the conquest of Hispania ended a year later under his son and never included the Basques and Galicia, but hey who is going to be picky?
[2]Actually Rechimund was his enemy in the civil war and already dead for two years. Hermeneric was also not more or less loyal to Rechiar than any other noble. The war against the Goths was simply lost cause the Suebs were exhausted and outnumbered.
[3] This part of the saga represents Hermeneric starting a guerilla war in the mountains and making peace in the end. The Suebic kingdom is reduced to Galicia. The Goths follow the same thought process of the Arabs IOTL: It’s a bunch of mountains full of people who will fight to the death to defend it. Only a maniac would try to conquer and worse hold it.
[4] This is not actually a lie, but the “Huns” were a few raiding parties, not something that would need the attention of the whole Gothic army.
[5] You may now imagine a bunch of sweating Germans sitting in the desert screaming: KING OF THE SOUTH! KING OF THE SOUTH!
[6] I decided to screw my earlier idea to ignore Persia for now, because this is a golden opportunity for Longinus to gain some Caucasian vassals.
[7] Euric died off page. Yeah not a lot to add. The Sassanids will get their own (short) update in a few days.

And thus ends the age of the Germanic Migration period. Next century: Slaws, Avars and Bulgars! Byzantine-Sassanid wars! Realms being divided and reunited only to be divided again! More Sassanids! Culture and religion will be explored! And probably a little bit of Britain…. No guarantee on that last one.
And like always please comment so I can improve this.[/FONT]
 
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Deleted member 43582

The promised map.

Europe 491.PNG
 

Deleted member 43582

Sry guys. I was on a seminar for the past two weeks and had no time to update.
Here is a short preview to the Sassanid/Hephthalite update.

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Peroz gaze shifted across the horizon. As far as he could see there was only desert. Hill after hill, cliff after cliff and no sign of the enemy. To his right stood his son Kavadh to his left his brother Balash. After the humiliating defeat against the Romans Peroz desperately needed a military victory or else his reign was endangered. A few of his sons claimed that Balash was planning a revolt. So when Peroz marched east to finally punish the Hephtalithes he brought him along. In the city below there were forty of his sons to ensure that none of them used their father’s absence to claim the empire for themselves.
Peroz was actually more worried about them than about the Huns. Kavadh who had spend many years as a hostage with them had told him that they were disunited and only waited to be conquered by the more civilized Persians. So the bigger threat came from his own men. But that was al right. In the desert one could easily get lost and come the battle there would be quite a few stray arrows. “What is the name of this city?” He asked. “I believe its called Kapul”, answered Kavadh. “Most certainly a city not fit to be the place of our battle.” Sneered Peroz. “The greatest empire in the world is fighting before the city of Kapul against a horde of desert dogs. Is there even any doubt who will win?” “None what so ever father.”

Peroz awoke from the sounds of battle. He struggled to free himself of his many blankets and finally managed to climb out of bed. In that moment Kavadh entered the room followed by three guards. “What is going on? Why have we already attacked? I ordered to delay the attack until tomorrow!” Kavadh couldn’t help it and displayed the widest grin in his life. “Well yes father, but you see if you know the desert and have the advantage in numbers, as well as an informant in the highest places, why shouldn’t you attack?” “You betrayed us?” “What does betrayal have to do with it? I spend almost my entire life with the Huns. They have taught me their way of life and war. And learned my lesson. The Huns can not be beaten. Especially not by an army as pathetic as the one you brought here. They will all be annihilated. Balash and my brothers will die. I will become a “hostage”. And the empire will descend into civil war. And once all hope seems lost I will return with a Hunnish army to restore order. There will be little resistance left to oppose me. And once I have restored the Empire the Huns will help me to retake everything that was lost by fools like you. I heard that you once praised Zeno in front of Balash. With the huns the man who praises his enemy is a coward and lost his honor. And there is only one way to punish a coward.” The last thing that Peroz saw was his sons sword. It was Hunnish.[/FONT]
 
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