Well, he died of an illness, not just old age so I thought he might last a bit longer. I knew this was a stretch but met my plot goals of a Visigoth Empire collapse.
Let Me Tell You about My Be-eeeesssst Friend! A Byzantine-Sasanian Re-approachment - 602 AD
- Thread starter Alt History Buff
- Start date
Well, he died of an illness, not just old age so I thought he might last a bit longer. I knew this was a stretch but met my plot goals of a Visigoth Empire collapse.
I mean he was 67 when him dying at 84 is big strech but certainly not imposible but I think the wierd thing is that depends on the pod I guess this pod is before 586 then it would make sense but oh well I still like the story .
Chapter 4: Impotence of Empire
604
Byzantium
The Papal College would issue formal protests, threats and assorted whinging but the young Emperor only dispatched messengers from the Danube. Having marched what little of the Byzantine Army remained under arms north to halt the latest incursions by the Avars and Slavs, the Emperor knew that he could not possibly find funds or forces to invade Italy at this point anyway so what would be the point of even acknowledging the pontificating would-be pontiffs whom demanded that the Emperor "DO SOMETHING".
As it was, the assortment of Cardinals and old Roman Senate-types were hardly in a position to do much of anything.
Of course, the whole point was that the Emperor wasn't in a position to do much of anything either.
Over the course of 603 and 604, the young Emperor, attempting to stamp his own authority on the Empire, instead found himself beset by enemies in virtually all regions.
1. The Lombards took the eternal city and all of northern Italy, leaving only a few isolated settlements on the "heel" of Italy.
2. The Avars and Slavs crossed the Danube...again...and the Emperor was forced to march what was left of the Byzantine Army in the Balkans and Anatolia north to evict them. As it was, the initial incursion was repulsed quickly but hopes of returning home were quickly dashed as raids continued and the Emperor was forced to remain until the situation was under control. Recalling what happened to his father when unhappy soldiers were ordered to billet in the north (Phocus led a rebellion and killed him, that was what happened), the Emperor decided to make an example by remaining north with his own army....as much to keep an eye on them as on the barbarians.
3. The Province of Syria was immediately beset by thousands of Arab raiders from western Arabia. The Ghassamids, long a client state which had protected Byzantine Syria from the Arabs, had not reacted well to the lack of subsidies in recent years and weren't going out of their way to preserve their ally's borders. The Syrian were forced to defend themselves.
4. Coptic riots in Egypt against a particularly ineffective governor would wrack the "breadbasket" of the Empire. Egypt provided grain, manufactured goods and much else for the Empire, not to mention being a primary source of taxes. Unfortunately, the Miaphysites had largely taken hold of both Egypt and large parts of Syria. The young Emperor recalled his governor in hopes that this would forestall the Copts from rioting.
Theodosius knew his Empire was tottering. His army was poorly paid and disgruntled even after purging Phocus' supporters. The Cardinals still could not organize in order to choose a new Pope and the Patriarch of Byzantium was hardly helping, hardly wishing to see a new Pope crowned in HIS city.
Happy to remain near the Danube, Theodoaius would leave his loyal friend Constantine Landys in command in Byzantium.
It became increasingly clear that the Empire could not carry on as it had for centuries.
Kingdom of the Lombards
Agilulf would look on as yet another town fell to his army. Already, the Lombards and other tribes were settling in these areas once dominated by the Catholics. Hundreds of thousands of Germanic and other tribesmen were pouring into the Peninsula. The only significant requirement was that the migrants bear the Arian faith...though even that would often be ignored if the tribesmen would prove useful to the King.
Thousands of soldiers were placed at his command and, by the end of the year, only a few remote regions protected by their isolation rather than the Byzantine Army or Catholic Church remained out of his control.
Out of these new migrants, many soldiers and chieftains were granted noble titles and place over the Latin natives. Oddly, the linguistic war had long been won by the Latin natives. No one tribe, starting with the Ostragoths, had ever numerically or culturally displaced the native Latins. The Ostragoths, then the Lombards, the Vandals, the Burgundians, Bavarians, Franks, Gepids (now under Avar-Slavic authority) and other largely Germanic peoples which migrated to the region would be assimilated by the Latins whose obvious superiority in technology, bureaucracy, art and other fields would lead to Latin becoming the defacto common language. Few even commented upon this.
However, Agilulf would make one particular decision which would severely affect the remainder of his reign. Seeing the Byzantine Empire and the Catholic Church as hand in hand, he opted to shut down huge numbers of Catholic convents and monastaries. Virtually, the entirety of the old Latin ruling classes were disinherited, expelled or simply slaughter. Bereft of their priests and nobles, the commoners were aghast to also learn that the Arian priests were placed in the old churches. In some regions, riots were common, even outright rebellions. In others, the commoners shrugged and entered the churches to learn the new liturgy. Who did they care about the esoteric debates on the hypostatic nature of god and Christ?
By the time of Agilulf's death, large numbers of Latins were, almost without realizing it, being transferred to the Arian faith.
Byzantium
The Papal College would issue formal protests, threats and assorted whinging but the young Emperor only dispatched messengers from the Danube. Having marched what little of the Byzantine Army remained under arms north to halt the latest incursions by the Avars and Slavs, the Emperor knew that he could not possibly find funds or forces to invade Italy at this point anyway so what would be the point of even acknowledging the pontificating would-be pontiffs whom demanded that the Emperor "DO SOMETHING".
As it was, the assortment of Cardinals and old Roman Senate-types were hardly in a position to do much of anything.
Of course, the whole point was that the Emperor wasn't in a position to do much of anything either.
Over the course of 603 and 604, the young Emperor, attempting to stamp his own authority on the Empire, instead found himself beset by enemies in virtually all regions.
1. The Lombards took the eternal city and all of northern Italy, leaving only a few isolated settlements on the "heel" of Italy.
2. The Avars and Slavs crossed the Danube...again...and the Emperor was forced to march what was left of the Byzantine Army in the Balkans and Anatolia north to evict them. As it was, the initial incursion was repulsed quickly but hopes of returning home were quickly dashed as raids continued and the Emperor was forced to remain until the situation was under control. Recalling what happened to his father when unhappy soldiers were ordered to billet in the north (Phocus led a rebellion and killed him, that was what happened), the Emperor decided to make an example by remaining north with his own army....as much to keep an eye on them as on the barbarians.
3. The Province of Syria was immediately beset by thousands of Arab raiders from western Arabia. The Ghassamids, long a client state which had protected Byzantine Syria from the Arabs, had not reacted well to the lack of subsidies in recent years and weren't going out of their way to preserve their ally's borders. The Syrian were forced to defend themselves.
4. Coptic riots in Egypt against a particularly ineffective governor would wrack the "breadbasket" of the Empire. Egypt provided grain, manufactured goods and much else for the Empire, not to mention being a primary source of taxes. Unfortunately, the Miaphysites had largely taken hold of both Egypt and large parts of Syria. The young Emperor recalled his governor in hopes that this would forestall the Copts from rioting.
Theodosius knew his Empire was tottering. His army was poorly paid and disgruntled even after purging Phocus' supporters. The Cardinals still could not organize in order to choose a new Pope and the Patriarch of Byzantium was hardly helping, hardly wishing to see a new Pope crowned in HIS city.
Happy to remain near the Danube, Theodoaius would leave his loyal friend Constantine Landys in command in Byzantium.
It became increasingly clear that the Empire could not carry on as it had for centuries.
Kingdom of the Lombards
Agilulf would look on as yet another town fell to his army. Already, the Lombards and other tribes were settling in these areas once dominated by the Catholics. Hundreds of thousands of Germanic and other tribesmen were pouring into the Peninsula. The only significant requirement was that the migrants bear the Arian faith...though even that would often be ignored if the tribesmen would prove useful to the King.
Thousands of soldiers were placed at his command and, by the end of the year, only a few remote regions protected by their isolation rather than the Byzantine Army or Catholic Church remained out of his control.
Out of these new migrants, many soldiers and chieftains were granted noble titles and place over the Latin natives. Oddly, the linguistic war had long been won by the Latin natives. No one tribe, starting with the Ostragoths, had ever numerically or culturally displaced the native Latins. The Ostragoths, then the Lombards, the Vandals, the Burgundians, Bavarians, Franks, Gepids (now under Avar-Slavic authority) and other largely Germanic peoples which migrated to the region would be assimilated by the Latins whose obvious superiority in technology, bureaucracy, art and other fields would lead to Latin becoming the defacto common language. Few even commented upon this.
However, Agilulf would make one particular decision which would severely affect the remainder of his reign. Seeing the Byzantine Empire and the Catholic Church as hand in hand, he opted to shut down huge numbers of Catholic convents and monastaries. Virtually, the entirety of the old Latin ruling classes were disinherited, expelled or simply slaughter. Bereft of their priests and nobles, the commoners were aghast to also learn that the Arian priests were placed in the old churches. In some regions, riots were common, even outright rebellions. In others, the commoners shrugged and entered the churches to learn the new liturgy. Who did they care about the esoteric debates on the hypostatic nature of god and Christ?
By the time of Agilulf's death, large numbers of Latins were, almost without realizing it, being transferred to the Arian faith.
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good the lombard thing was belivable i mean the visigoth refugees helped but eh taking control over most of italy is kind of a stretch i mean, despite not having much soldiers the byzantine navy should be intact since there is no byzantine sassanid war and later arab invasions that would destroy it even with very limited navy after the battle of the mast the romans could still use it to supply the coast of italy taking revena is kind of a stretch but over all its belivable even thoug the emperor could just call the franks to aid since the frankish - lombard conflicts go as far back as 580s but yeah its for the most part explained
what is really a stretch is the avar thing the avars where destroyed at the battle of Battles of Viminacium killing many in fact it was so bad that the avars where essentially a non threat maurices death was the perfect respite that they need it heck they only joined in 610s only after Shabarraz defeated Heraclius in antioch and the latter had to call most of his balkan troops leaving the region with out an army .
like the avar campaing here would not be anything big i dont think the avars would risk it just raiding parties with hit an run that is not going to stay there for long its just way to risky the empire a smaller force could deal with them in fact any sizable imperial army would scare away the avars
in terms of arianism this i disagree with you its not the first time the entire peninsula was lost to arians being the vandals and the ostrogoths first and there was no major conversion to arianism even under persecutions under the vandals and some under the ostrogoths (i can also cite spain as an example by a long time by an intolerant arian over christians but they never managed to convert the natives ) in fact after a while they give up on the idea even with decades i dont see it happening in fact this would just piss of the franks more and give more reasons to invade.
what is really a stretch is the avar thing the avars where destroyed at the battle of Battles of Viminacium killing many in fact it was so bad that the avars where essentially a non threat maurices death was the perfect respite that they need it heck they only joined in 610s only after Shabarraz defeated Heraclius in antioch and the latter had to call most of his balkan troops leaving the region with out an army .
like the avar campaing here would not be anything big i dont think the avars would risk it just raiding parties with hit an run that is not going to stay there for long its just way to risky the empire a smaller force could deal with them in fact any sizable imperial army would scare away the avars
in terms of arianism this i disagree with you its not the first time the entire peninsula was lost to arians being the vandals and the ostrogoths first and there was no major conversion to arianism even under persecutions under the vandals and some under the ostrogoths (i can also cite spain as an example by a long time by an intolerant arian over christians but they never managed to convert the natives ) in fact after a while they give up on the idea even with decades i dont see it happening in fact this would just piss of the franks more and give more reasons to invade.
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Chapter 5: Bulgar Allies
605
The Danube
The Avar Khaganate was, in fact, an alliance of the Avars, Slavs and assorted other tribes which barely qualified as a coherent organization much less an actual state. However, the tribal leaders would manage to survive the internal disputes naturally arising after repeated defeats to the Byzantines south of the Danube and the Lombards to the west. Too many dead tribesmen had resulted in lowered ambitions. Seeing the Byzantine Army at the Danube, the prospect of losing more warriors than they already was hard to justify.
As it was, the Avars would soon find themselves under attack from another direction.
The Bulgars great Kingdom lay to the east of the Avar Khaganate. Seeing the potential for claiming additional lands, the Bulgars interpreted the Avar defeats at the hands of the Byzantines as weakness. However, the Avar-Slavic tribes were still strong enough to mount 8000 warriors and crush the Bulgar invasion in the Eastern Carpathians.
By this point, the Avars were now thinking better of making peace and agreed to remain north of the Danube. As it was, the depopulated region south of the Danube had been providing a paltry bounty of slaves, plunder and tribute payments (given the Byzantine bankruptcy).
Peace, the Emperor was willing to make. However, the two years spent in the north would endear him to at least some of the army, pushing aside fears that of another coup.
Also, the Bulgarian invasion would begin a dialogue with the Bulgars. Theodosius' Generals would advise that the Emperor encourage another Bulgarian invasion of the Avar Khaganate. However, Theodosius had another idea. With the troubles in other parts of the Empire, picking a fight with the suddenly peaceful Avars would be a poor use of resources.
Instead, the Emperor would dispatch emissaries to the Bulgarian Kingdom, one of the few barbarians groups with which the Empire had no history of aggression. Related to the Turkic peoples of the East, the Emperor realized that perhaps it was time to fight fire with fire in the Levant. The Ghassimids were not doing their historic job against the Arabs of the Peninsula. Too many cavalry raids emerged from the south and raided Syrian cities.
Ever short of cash, the Emperor was forced to come up with creative solutions to his problems in the east. The Balkan forces in his army were returned home in order to keep them near should the Avars invade again...or if the Empire finds the resources to attempt to reconquer Rome (something virtually impossible given the finances of the nation).
The Anatolian forces along the Danube (a few thousand) would be returned home and, if funds could be made available, be sent to support Syria.
But perhaps the most important decision was to combat the raids of the Arabs with people of similar cavalry capacity. For the first time, the Emperor would encourage several thousand Bulgar and related Turkic peoples to enter the eastern Byzantine Empire as allies against the Arabs of the south.
1. The arrive of Turkic horsemen may encourage the Ghassamids to do their jobs better if they they that there is another potential contender for the role of Byzantine client.
2. The Bulgar/Turks riding south through Armenia and Syria were wiling to fight for spoils taken from the Arabs, not coin the Empire could ill-afford.
The Black Sea
Though the Byzantine Navy was but a shadow of its former glory, the fact that it had no natural contenders in the Mediterranean or Black Sea would allow the Empire to maintain naval superiority. This led to sense of complacency which easily allowed the bureaucrats in Byzantium to allow hundreds of powerful ships to rot over the past decades.
However, enough of these ships were in adequate working order to allow the first settlers from Armenia and even some Georgians from the scattered petty states to the north to be sailed across the Black Sea and populate the desolated but fertile lands south of the Danube.
Alexandria
By the time of his death in 605, Pope Damian of Alexandria, leader of the Coptic Church had managed to incense the latest Governor of Egypt to such a point that he nearly had the Pope arrested. Arguably only the Damian's death prevented an outright rebellion by the Egyptian Coptic Church (Miaphysite) majority against the Greek Catholic rulers.
Anastasius of Alexandria was chosen to be the next Pope of the Coptic church. Given that high-ranking Bishops (and, obvious, a Pope) of the Coptic Church were not allowed by law to set foot in Alexandria, the new Pope grasped how tenuous the Coptic Church's hold could be on the nation. The Chalcedonian Catholics had the army and much of the aristocracy.
Not desiring a rebellion, the new Pope would instead opt to seek closer ties to the Church of Antioch, which had been in schism with their Egyptian brethren for many years. Rather that warfare, the new Pope wanted to build up a power base of non-Chalcedonian Miaphysites to challenge the Byzantine Empire. This reconciliation was completed outside of Alexandria in 605, oddly with the full support of the Egyptian Governor whom thought that reconciling the two non-conforming groups would both keep the peace and perhaps bring them back to the Great Church.
It was to be determined if this would occur. However, the closer ties did allow the governor to justify to the restless Egyptians the dispatch of several thousand soldiers east to "aid their religious brethren in defending their southern flank against the idol-worshipers of Arabia".
By 606, a bizarre alliance of Syrians, Egyptians, Anatolians, Bulgar-Turks and Ghassamids were forming to teach the Arab raiders a lesson.
The Danube
The Avar Khaganate was, in fact, an alliance of the Avars, Slavs and assorted other tribes which barely qualified as a coherent organization much less an actual state. However, the tribal leaders would manage to survive the internal disputes naturally arising after repeated defeats to the Byzantines south of the Danube and the Lombards to the west. Too many dead tribesmen had resulted in lowered ambitions. Seeing the Byzantine Army at the Danube, the prospect of losing more warriors than they already was hard to justify.
As it was, the Avars would soon find themselves under attack from another direction.
The Bulgars great Kingdom lay to the east of the Avar Khaganate. Seeing the potential for claiming additional lands, the Bulgars interpreted the Avar defeats at the hands of the Byzantines as weakness. However, the Avar-Slavic tribes were still strong enough to mount 8000 warriors and crush the Bulgar invasion in the Eastern Carpathians.
By this point, the Avars were now thinking better of making peace and agreed to remain north of the Danube. As it was, the depopulated region south of the Danube had been providing a paltry bounty of slaves, plunder and tribute payments (given the Byzantine bankruptcy).
Peace, the Emperor was willing to make. However, the two years spent in the north would endear him to at least some of the army, pushing aside fears that of another coup.
Also, the Bulgarian invasion would begin a dialogue with the Bulgars. Theodosius' Generals would advise that the Emperor encourage another Bulgarian invasion of the Avar Khaganate. However, Theodosius had another idea. With the troubles in other parts of the Empire, picking a fight with the suddenly peaceful Avars would be a poor use of resources.
Instead, the Emperor would dispatch emissaries to the Bulgarian Kingdom, one of the few barbarians groups with which the Empire had no history of aggression. Related to the Turkic peoples of the East, the Emperor realized that perhaps it was time to fight fire with fire in the Levant. The Ghassimids were not doing their historic job against the Arabs of the Peninsula. Too many cavalry raids emerged from the south and raided Syrian cities.
Ever short of cash, the Emperor was forced to come up with creative solutions to his problems in the east. The Balkan forces in his army were returned home in order to keep them near should the Avars invade again...or if the Empire finds the resources to attempt to reconquer Rome (something virtually impossible given the finances of the nation).
The Anatolian forces along the Danube (a few thousand) would be returned home and, if funds could be made available, be sent to support Syria.
But perhaps the most important decision was to combat the raids of the Arabs with people of similar cavalry capacity. For the first time, the Emperor would encourage several thousand Bulgar and related Turkic peoples to enter the eastern Byzantine Empire as allies against the Arabs of the south.
1. The arrive of Turkic horsemen may encourage the Ghassamids to do their jobs better if they they that there is another potential contender for the role of Byzantine client.
2. The Bulgar/Turks riding south through Armenia and Syria were wiling to fight for spoils taken from the Arabs, not coin the Empire could ill-afford.
The Black Sea
Though the Byzantine Navy was but a shadow of its former glory, the fact that it had no natural contenders in the Mediterranean or Black Sea would allow the Empire to maintain naval superiority. This led to sense of complacency which easily allowed the bureaucrats in Byzantium to allow hundreds of powerful ships to rot over the past decades.
However, enough of these ships were in adequate working order to allow the first settlers from Armenia and even some Georgians from the scattered petty states to the north to be sailed across the Black Sea and populate the desolated but fertile lands south of the Danube.
Alexandria
By the time of his death in 605, Pope Damian of Alexandria, leader of the Coptic Church had managed to incense the latest Governor of Egypt to such a point that he nearly had the Pope arrested. Arguably only the Damian's death prevented an outright rebellion by the Egyptian Coptic Church (Miaphysite) majority against the Greek Catholic rulers.
Anastasius of Alexandria was chosen to be the next Pope of the Coptic church. Given that high-ranking Bishops (and, obvious, a Pope) of the Coptic Church were not allowed by law to set foot in Alexandria, the new Pope grasped how tenuous the Coptic Church's hold could be on the nation. The Chalcedonian Catholics had the army and much of the aristocracy.
Not desiring a rebellion, the new Pope would instead opt to seek closer ties to the Church of Antioch, which had been in schism with their Egyptian brethren for many years. Rather that warfare, the new Pope wanted to build up a power base of non-Chalcedonian Miaphysites to challenge the Byzantine Empire. This reconciliation was completed outside of Alexandria in 605, oddly with the full support of the Egyptian Governor whom thought that reconciling the two non-conforming groups would both keep the peace and perhaps bring them back to the Great Church.
It was to be determined if this would occur. However, the closer ties did allow the governor to justify to the restless Egyptians the dispatch of several thousand soldiers east to "aid their religious brethren in defending their southern flank against the idol-worshipers of Arabia".
By 606, a bizarre alliance of Syrians, Egyptians, Anatolians, Bulgar-Turks and Ghassamids were forming to teach the Arab raiders a lesson.
neat the bulgarian think makes sense Kubrat united the bulgarian tribes did it and founded old great bulgaria in 630s so its the same but i guess here it was done earlier maybe do to more pressure on the avar khagante similar to samos rebellion just 5 years after the avar deaft in constantinople i see that this story has so much potential.
Chapter 6
606
Byzantium
Emperor Theodosius was already tired of his damned position. Having returned almost against his will from the Danube front the previous winter, the Emperor was actually starting to look fondly of the days when he only had to worry about barbarians crossing the river to kill him or, more likely, another coup by the soldiers under his command.
Now back in the capital, the Emperor was forced to deal with worse sorts: namely the Senators of Byzantium who all seemed to have an opinion about things and the damned Cardinals whom couldn't even make up their minds about selecting a new Pope much less anything else.
Everyone, however, was certain that their problems were all Theodosius' fault. It was the Emperor's fault the Empire was broke. It was the Emperor's fault that the Barbarians had crossed the Danube (at least Theodosius could claim to have solved that issue). It was the Emperor's fault that Rome and Ravenna (and, for all intents and purposes, the entire Italian Peninsula) had fallen to the Lombards. It was the Emperor's fault that the tribesmen of Arabia were raiding the rich provinces of Asia (Syria). It was the Emperor's fault that so many in Syria and Egypt were following that heretical sect.
The more Theodosius studied the history of the Empire, the more he realized that rickety foundations on which it stood. For nearly half a millennium the Empire seemed to be in imperceptible but steady decline due to a mix of internal political strife, economic chaos, inflation, barbarian invasions, Persian rivalry, religious divisiveness, etc.
Where once the Roman Empire had stood for order and the vast resources could be directed to resolve regional concerns, thus making it perhaps MORE than the sum of her parts, now it appeared that the center appeared to be weakening the assorted regions. Whenever funds or resources were needed in one region, the the others were weakened by a disproportionate amount. Instead of being a central customs house governing the chaos throughout the Empire, Byzantium would, in fact, be virtually superfluous to the events worldwide.
In truth, Syria, Egypt, Anatolia and Africa were the wealthiest of the Provinces, eclipsing even Greece and Anatolia. Had the center of religion not been to the north of the Mediterranean in Rome, it is possible that some Emperor may have decided to relocate to Asia or Egypt at some point in the past. Now, with the European provinces seemingly under perpetual attack, it was the African and Asian provinces which were called upon to pay for their relief. Unsurprisingly, this proved unpopular in Africa and Asia.
Still, with a year of peace under his belt, the young Emperor had hope for the future to bring economic stability, return the army and navy to strength and reconquer Rome (politically the most important re-acquisition if not economically). There was reason to hope for the future. After all, Egypt and Africa had years of peaceful prosperity. Anatolia was in good shape. The Armenians hadn't rebelled in a while and the peace with the Sasanians, to the shock of many, still remained in place.
By some standards, a modest invasion of the Balkans by the Avars and another large-scale raid of Arabs into Syria made for a quiet year in the Byzantine Empire.
But Theodosius was beginning to see that the Empire simply was not responsible enough to regional problems. Granting more authority to local governors to react to developing situations would both increase the rate of success of these initiatives but also prevent needless request for money from Byzantium (which was plainly NOT available).
His own father Maurice had seen the wisdom and created the Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa. Now it was time to expand upon that theme.
Carthage
Heraclius the Elder had been a loyal soldier and administrator under Maurice. Now commanding one of the Empire's crown jewels, Heraclius worked hard to maintain the peace with the Berber Kingdoms to the south of the Exarchate of Africa. Naturally, priests were sent to attempt to convert these peoples but that was only partially successful (at best). Most retained their animist or polytheist practices. Byzantium was hardly in a position to force the Berbers to do anything.
However, Heraclius did many to turn many of these chieftains into allies or clients. He was beginning to see an opportunity. With the taxable wealth of Africa, Byzantium had long depended upon this region to maintain her power. Heraclius began to see that Byzantium provided next to nothing directly to Africa itself. Indeed, when news arrived of Maurice's execution, Heraclius prepared to invade the capital by sea using only African resources. Soon, this proved unnecessary but the power of his command was not quickly forgotten.
Having next to no relationship with Theodosius, Heraclius was seeing himself as an aging man apparently about to die a useful but forgettable public bureaucrat. At this point, his son (also named Heraclius) would make a daring recommendation. With modest financial and military support, an army could be crafted from the Berber peoples to regain power over the whole of Hispania. Currently, the only remnants of Byzantine power over the peninsula were some isolated southern cities.
With the Visigoths apparently well along the way of being ejected from Hispania...
Well, Byzantium may not have any resources to act but Africa did. With a letter to the Emperor explaining that he was sending forces west to "protect" the remaining Iberian possessions, Heraclius would send his own son west in command of a combined Berber and Exarchate force. The Berbers were enticed with promises of land and noble titles in Iberia should the campaign go well. A side benefit was that only those tribesmen who had converted to the Chalcedonian Catholic Church were allowed to join. Many, with dreams of conquest, converted solely to join the expedition. Indeed, many Berbers would bring along their families, sometimes entire tribes trekked by land or sea to Iberia.
By any contemporary standard, this was exceeding his authority. However, to Heraclius' shock and a remarkable coincidence, the Emperor would formally send a letter to Heraclius on the same day his forces sailed from Carthage (some travelled by land, particularly the cavalry, but most sailed on Berber and African ships) investing the Governor with additional powers and authority.
It would also announce the proposed formation of two additional Exarchates: Egypt and Syria.
Byzantium
Emperor Theodosius was already tired of his damned position. Having returned almost against his will from the Danube front the previous winter, the Emperor was actually starting to look fondly of the days when he only had to worry about barbarians crossing the river to kill him or, more likely, another coup by the soldiers under his command.
Now back in the capital, the Emperor was forced to deal with worse sorts: namely the Senators of Byzantium who all seemed to have an opinion about things and the damned Cardinals whom couldn't even make up their minds about selecting a new Pope much less anything else.
Everyone, however, was certain that their problems were all Theodosius' fault. It was the Emperor's fault the Empire was broke. It was the Emperor's fault that the Barbarians had crossed the Danube (at least Theodosius could claim to have solved that issue). It was the Emperor's fault that Rome and Ravenna (and, for all intents and purposes, the entire Italian Peninsula) had fallen to the Lombards. It was the Emperor's fault that the tribesmen of Arabia were raiding the rich provinces of Asia (Syria). It was the Emperor's fault that so many in Syria and Egypt were following that heretical sect.
The more Theodosius studied the history of the Empire, the more he realized that rickety foundations on which it stood. For nearly half a millennium the Empire seemed to be in imperceptible but steady decline due to a mix of internal political strife, economic chaos, inflation, barbarian invasions, Persian rivalry, religious divisiveness, etc.
Where once the Roman Empire had stood for order and the vast resources could be directed to resolve regional concerns, thus making it perhaps MORE than the sum of her parts, now it appeared that the center appeared to be weakening the assorted regions. Whenever funds or resources were needed in one region, the the others were weakened by a disproportionate amount. Instead of being a central customs house governing the chaos throughout the Empire, Byzantium would, in fact, be virtually superfluous to the events worldwide.
In truth, Syria, Egypt, Anatolia and Africa were the wealthiest of the Provinces, eclipsing even Greece and Anatolia. Had the center of religion not been to the north of the Mediterranean in Rome, it is possible that some Emperor may have decided to relocate to Asia or Egypt at some point in the past. Now, with the European provinces seemingly under perpetual attack, it was the African and Asian provinces which were called upon to pay for their relief. Unsurprisingly, this proved unpopular in Africa and Asia.
Still, with a year of peace under his belt, the young Emperor had hope for the future to bring economic stability, return the army and navy to strength and reconquer Rome (politically the most important re-acquisition if not economically). There was reason to hope for the future. After all, Egypt and Africa had years of peaceful prosperity. Anatolia was in good shape. The Armenians hadn't rebelled in a while and the peace with the Sasanians, to the shock of many, still remained in place.
By some standards, a modest invasion of the Balkans by the Avars and another large-scale raid of Arabs into Syria made for a quiet year in the Byzantine Empire.
But Theodosius was beginning to see that the Empire simply was not responsible enough to regional problems. Granting more authority to local governors to react to developing situations would both increase the rate of success of these initiatives but also prevent needless request for money from Byzantium (which was plainly NOT available).
His own father Maurice had seen the wisdom and created the Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa. Now it was time to expand upon that theme.
Carthage
Heraclius the Elder had been a loyal soldier and administrator under Maurice. Now commanding one of the Empire's crown jewels, Heraclius worked hard to maintain the peace with the Berber Kingdoms to the south of the Exarchate of Africa. Naturally, priests were sent to attempt to convert these peoples but that was only partially successful (at best). Most retained their animist or polytheist practices. Byzantium was hardly in a position to force the Berbers to do anything.
However, Heraclius did many to turn many of these chieftains into allies or clients. He was beginning to see an opportunity. With the taxable wealth of Africa, Byzantium had long depended upon this region to maintain her power. Heraclius began to see that Byzantium provided next to nothing directly to Africa itself. Indeed, when news arrived of Maurice's execution, Heraclius prepared to invade the capital by sea using only African resources. Soon, this proved unnecessary but the power of his command was not quickly forgotten.
Having next to no relationship with Theodosius, Heraclius was seeing himself as an aging man apparently about to die a useful but forgettable public bureaucrat. At this point, his son (also named Heraclius) would make a daring recommendation. With modest financial and military support, an army could be crafted from the Berber peoples to regain power over the whole of Hispania. Currently, the only remnants of Byzantine power over the peninsula were some isolated southern cities.
With the Visigoths apparently well along the way of being ejected from Hispania...
Well, Byzantium may not have any resources to act but Africa did. With a letter to the Emperor explaining that he was sending forces west to "protect" the remaining Iberian possessions, Heraclius would send his own son west in command of a combined Berber and Exarchate force. The Berbers were enticed with promises of land and noble titles in Iberia should the campaign go well. A side benefit was that only those tribesmen who had converted to the Chalcedonian Catholic Church were allowed to join. Many, with dreams of conquest, converted solely to join the expedition. Indeed, many Berbers would bring along their families, sometimes entire tribes trekked by land or sea to Iberia.
By any contemporary standard, this was exceeding his authority. However, to Heraclius' shock and a remarkable coincidence, the Emperor would formally send a letter to Heraclius on the same day his forces sailed from Carthage (some travelled by land, particularly the cavalry, but most sailed on Berber and African ships) investing the Governor with additional powers and authority.
It would also announce the proposed formation of two additional Exarchates: Egypt and Syria.
interesting it seems a varient of the theme system but with exchartes , is going to be implemented which with a bigger empire is harder to pull of i personally made combination of the exchart and theme system since the early theme system helped but it gave way to many incentives for the strategos to revolt , it was not until Constantine V created the tagmata and the themes where futher divided that it mostly solved the problem , so personally i did created the themes in areas that suffer most attack like border zones where they would be some themes so no one strategos could rebell and take a pivotal point and they would be under the jurisdiction of an exchart or higher governor
but maybe you have planed another view any way its a instresting story.
but maybe you have planed another view any way its a instresting story.
Chapter 7:
Year 607
Ghassanid Lands
For decades, the Ghassanids had protected the southern flank against the Bedouin nomads of the Arabian Peninsula but also against their traditional rivals, the Lakhmids (clients of the Sasanian Empire). However, in 586 under the reign of Maurice, the Ghassanid Confederation had largely fallen apart into a mixed assortment of tribes and proved only partially capable of organized opposition to the Bedouin raiders passing through to assault Syria.
Finally irritated by the lack of protection by the Ghassanids, the Emperor in 606 called in reinforcements from an unexpected region: the Turkic peoples called the Bulgars, enemies of the Avars north of the Danube, dwelt north of the Black Sea. A pastoral nation, the Bulgars were expert horsemen something the Byzantines lacked in any great numbers. Too many people of the Byzantine Empire had become too "civilized", giving up the advantages of a swift army.
It was hoped that the Bulgars (lured by promises of plunder and lands rather than Byzantine coin) would be able to secure the frontier better than the Ghassanids. The early battles against southern raiders went well. Offering up large amounts of land in southern Syria as well as those in desolated Ghassanid and even some Bedouin territories, the Bulgars were told to be at home.
Of course, these arid regions were hardly hospitable, even to those used to the harsh northern Steppes. Still, the Bulgars took to the work. Unlike many armies, tens of thousands of women and children followed, effectively entire tribes on the move. Over 20,000 Bulgars had arrived in the southern lands by 607 and more would trickle in over the years, including some Turkic-peoples from the east.
It was feared that the Ghassanids would resist this migration. However, there was a rather different reaction. The Ghassanids had mostly practiced the "officially" heretical Miaphysite faith. This was an irritation to Byzantium and Rome but most Emperors were willing to ignore this out of convenience. If they couldn't get the Syrians and Egyptians to worship the proper faith, why bother with the Ghassanids?
As it was, a few thousand Ghassanids of various tribes were hired by the Byzantines to aid the Bulgars, Syrians and Egyptians in punishing some of the Bedouin tribes by attacking deep into their lands. As the only ones who knew the area, the Ghassinids were vital despite their weakness. However, within a few years, the faith of these Miaphysite peoples would soon start influencing the Bulgars. As more and more Turkic peoples migrated southward into northern Arabia, this would prove to be the preferred faith for converts from the native Turkic religion (Tengrism).
Lakhmid Lands
The Lakhmids had served a similar purpose to the Sasanian Empire as did the Ghassamids to the Byzantines. However, here the prevailing religion was Nestorianism (encouraged by the Sasanians in order to split the Christian faith).
As it happened, the Sasanian Empire had been followed the example of the Byzantines. Throughout the two previous years, the endless wars with the Gokturks (Western Turkic Khaganate) along the northern frontier had continued (and taken much of Khosrow II's attention). Many were surprised that he didn't take advantage of the weakened Byzantine position in the west but the Emperor, having already lost his throne once to usurpers, were more interested in strengthening his center of power. By what he saw in the west, the Byzantine was hardly going to be a threat in the near future. If necessary, they could be dealt with later.
As it was, the relationship between Khosrow and his client in the Lakhmid Kingdom, Al-Nu'man, deteriorated despite many years of good service.
Al-Nu'man quarreled with Sasanian diplomats even as he dealt internally with his own tribal rivalries. In 602, Khosrow II was ready to kill Al-Nu'man when yet another raid by from the eastern mountain people occurred. Knowing that Al-Nu'Man was not going to help much, the Khosrow looked north for help. Naturally, the Turks were not the answer. Usually, the Sasanians would attempt to divide and conquer the northern barbarians. However few tribes could challenge the Western Turkic Khaganate, which now ruled the steppes north of the Empire.
There was one group of people, though, who Khosrow thought he could hire. The Magyars spoke a northern Uralic language (that of the FAR north) betraying their origins and relations in northern Europe. For whatever reason, they'd migrated down from the mountains into the Turkic-dominated plains. A strong nation, the Magyars were hardly capable of tackling the Khaganate. However, as a horse-people, they would prove useful to the Sasanians. Tens of thousands of Magyars, including their families, would be called into the Sasanian Empire and dispatched to the east to battle the people of the mountains (including the Hephthalites who crushed the Persians in 603 after years of raiding).
The Magyars inflicted a terrible defeat upon the Hephthalites in 605 and spent much of 606 on a retribution campaign.
By the winter of 606, the Magyars had returned and Khosrow II realized that he didn't particularly WANT tens of thousands of these people in Persia. Thus he sent them southwards into Mesopotamia and then on to the Lakhmid Kingdom. Here Al-Nu'man would be informed of his new "allies" to be used against the Bedouin raiders also attacking the Lakhmids. Though he hardly wanted the "help", Al-Nu'man realized to refuse would probably result in the Sasanian Emperor attempting to exterminate him....again.
Thus, the Magyars would be put to use against the assorted northern Arab tribes.
Like the Bulgars in the Ghassanid lands, the Magyars would be exposed to Christianity, this time Nestorianism.
Note: Both of these maps are courtesy of wikipedia.
Ghassanid Lands
For decades, the Ghassanids had protected the southern flank against the Bedouin nomads of the Arabian Peninsula but also against their traditional rivals, the Lakhmids (clients of the Sasanian Empire). However, in 586 under the reign of Maurice, the Ghassanid Confederation had largely fallen apart into a mixed assortment of tribes and proved only partially capable of organized opposition to the Bedouin raiders passing through to assault Syria.
Finally irritated by the lack of protection by the Ghassanids, the Emperor in 606 called in reinforcements from an unexpected region: the Turkic peoples called the Bulgars, enemies of the Avars north of the Danube, dwelt north of the Black Sea. A pastoral nation, the Bulgars were expert horsemen something the Byzantines lacked in any great numbers. Too many people of the Byzantine Empire had become too "civilized", giving up the advantages of a swift army.
It was hoped that the Bulgars (lured by promises of plunder and lands rather than Byzantine coin) would be able to secure the frontier better than the Ghassanids. The early battles against southern raiders went well. Offering up large amounts of land in southern Syria as well as those in desolated Ghassanid and even some Bedouin territories, the Bulgars were told to be at home.
Of course, these arid regions were hardly hospitable, even to those used to the harsh northern Steppes. Still, the Bulgars took to the work. Unlike many armies, tens of thousands of women and children followed, effectively entire tribes on the move. Over 20,000 Bulgars had arrived in the southern lands by 607 and more would trickle in over the years, including some Turkic-peoples from the east.
It was feared that the Ghassanids would resist this migration. However, there was a rather different reaction. The Ghassanids had mostly practiced the "officially" heretical Miaphysite faith. This was an irritation to Byzantium and Rome but most Emperors were willing to ignore this out of convenience. If they couldn't get the Syrians and Egyptians to worship the proper faith, why bother with the Ghassanids?
As it was, a few thousand Ghassanids of various tribes were hired by the Byzantines to aid the Bulgars, Syrians and Egyptians in punishing some of the Bedouin tribes by attacking deep into their lands. As the only ones who knew the area, the Ghassinids were vital despite their weakness. However, within a few years, the faith of these Miaphysite peoples would soon start influencing the Bulgars. As more and more Turkic peoples migrated southward into northern Arabia, this would prove to be the preferred faith for converts from the native Turkic religion (Tengrism).
Lakhmid Lands
The Lakhmids had served a similar purpose to the Sasanian Empire as did the Ghassamids to the Byzantines. However, here the prevailing religion was Nestorianism (encouraged by the Sasanians in order to split the Christian faith).
As it happened, the Sasanian Empire had been followed the example of the Byzantines. Throughout the two previous years, the endless wars with the Gokturks (Western Turkic Khaganate) along the northern frontier had continued (and taken much of Khosrow II's attention). Many were surprised that he didn't take advantage of the weakened Byzantine position in the west but the Emperor, having already lost his throne once to usurpers, were more interested in strengthening his center of power. By what he saw in the west, the Byzantine was hardly going to be a threat in the near future. If necessary, they could be dealt with later.
As it was, the relationship between Khosrow and his client in the Lakhmid Kingdom, Al-Nu'man, deteriorated despite many years of good service.
Al-Nu'man quarreled with Sasanian diplomats even as he dealt internally with his own tribal rivalries. In 602, Khosrow II was ready to kill Al-Nu'man when yet another raid by from the eastern mountain people occurred. Knowing that Al-Nu'Man was not going to help much, the Khosrow looked north for help. Naturally, the Turks were not the answer. Usually, the Sasanians would attempt to divide and conquer the northern barbarians. However few tribes could challenge the Western Turkic Khaganate, which now ruled the steppes north of the Empire.
There was one group of people, though, who Khosrow thought he could hire. The Magyars spoke a northern Uralic language (that of the FAR north) betraying their origins and relations in northern Europe. For whatever reason, they'd migrated down from the mountains into the Turkic-dominated plains. A strong nation, the Magyars were hardly capable of tackling the Khaganate. However, as a horse-people, they would prove useful to the Sasanians. Tens of thousands of Magyars, including their families, would be called into the Sasanian Empire and dispatched to the east to battle the people of the mountains (including the Hephthalites who crushed the Persians in 603 after years of raiding).
The Magyars inflicted a terrible defeat upon the Hephthalites in 605 and spent much of 606 on a retribution campaign.
By the winter of 606, the Magyars had returned and Khosrow II realized that he didn't particularly WANT tens of thousands of these people in Persia. Thus he sent them southwards into Mesopotamia and then on to the Lakhmid Kingdom. Here Al-Nu'man would be informed of his new "allies" to be used against the Bedouin raiders also attacking the Lakhmids. Though he hardly wanted the "help", Al-Nu'man realized to refuse would probably result in the Sasanian Emperor attempting to exterminate him....again.
Thus, the Magyars would be put to use against the assorted northern Arab tribes.
Like the Bulgars in the Ghassanid lands, the Magyars would be exposed to Christianity, this time Nestorianism.
Note: Both of these maps are courtesy of wikipedia.
Chapter 8
608
Alexandria
Patriarch Eulogius, head of the Catholic Church in Egypt, would look on in concern first as Rome fell to the Lombard heretics and second as it appeared that the Cardinals were hardly swift to replace the late Pope Gregory in their new conclave in Byzantium.
Fortunately, the Patriarch was given a new ally in the military and civil governor whom had been named the new Exarch of Egypt (the first in the role). Unfortunately, the new Exarch was apparently a political choice and managed to alienate the entirety of the Coptic population within weeks of arriving in Alexandria. The timing could not be worse as much of the Egyptian Army was currently in the east, helping to protect Syria from Arab Bedouin incursions.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a rebellion rose up among the general population against the Greek Catholic minority ruling class. Within a few weeks, the Byzantine political system collapsed under a peasant rebellion. The last holdouts of the Byzantine Army (mainly Greek but some Copts as well) would be relegated to certain fortified locations.
As it so happened, the Egyptian Army dispatched east to aid Syria was returning to Egypt in the fall of 608. Initially, this was received as salvation to the besieged Chalcedonians but this soon turned to dismay as the majority of that force turned out to be (by design in order to keep the Greek Catholic forces in Egypt) Copts whom killed their officers and promptly joined the rebellion.
By winter, over 80,000 men were under arms, besieging key regions. The larger cities of Alexandria and Memphis had flung open their gates and allowed the rebels in. Naturally, there were thousands of lives lost but the Coptic Pope Anastasius managed to calm his people enough to halt at least some of the bloodlust. Still, the Greek Catholics (and many Jews) found their residences ransacked by rioters.
Lacking space or supplies in their fortresses, the 10,000 or so Byzantine-loyalist were unable to do much of anything to aid their civilian co-religionists.
When Emperor Theodosius learned of the new rebellion, he was forced to call off his planned invasion of Italy (in truth, he had no money or troops available for the campaign so cancelling it was somewhat easy). Over the past years, Theodosius had, in fact, economized greatly in Byzantium and slowly reduced the army by offering land to his ex-soldiers as some sort of compensation. This reward would increase his popularity (and reduce the chances of a Coup) but it also meant that the size of forces available from the Danube to Armenia and Anatolia were less than 15,000 poorly paid soldiers, most serving at the extreme edges of the Empire and difficult to consolidate.
While he sought to forge a meaningful army to retake the wealthy province, Theodosius would dispatch orders to the Exarches of Syria and Africa to form their own armies and march on Alexandria.
The Emperor would be shocked by the response:
Heraclius of Africa would inform the Emperor that the majority of the military power of Africa had already been dispatched to Hispania under the command of his son. With them were thousands of Berber allies and the treasury of Africa had been emptied for the campaign, thus preventing any significant attempt to reclaim Africa from the west.
Similarly, the Exarch of Syria would write to the Emperor that the bulk of the Syrian Army (comprised mainly of Miaphysites themselves, patently refused to march on their co-religionists in Egypt. Indeed, the Exarch was terrified that another revolt was imminent and informed the Emperor that maintaining his own position was the best he could currently do.
Even the Bulgar Turks "hired" by the Empire to help defend the frontier were less than interested in marching on Egypt. Paid in plunder and land, the Bulgars were more interested in determining if some of this desolate land was worth settling upon.
The Ghassanids, which had devolved into ineffectual feuding factions, decades before had witnessed the success of the Bulgars and belatedly realized that their own position was under threat. For the first time in a generation, the Ghassanid tribal leaders met with the intent of selecting a new King. With the aid of the beleaguered new Exarch, this new Confederation was raised to a Kingdom bearing not only the old Ghassanid tribes but the Kalb, Salih and Judham, all of which were well along the way to converting to the Miaphysite faith and similarly feared the arrival of these new Bulgars tribesmen (of which another 70,000 Bulgar and related Turkic men women and children would arrive in Syria and the southern desert regions by 608-609).
When a King tolerable to these tribes was chosen, he received a belated approval from the Byzantine Emperor. On paper, the Ghassamid Kingdom was larger than the Ghassamid Confederation of the prior generation but politically, it remained weak and owed its existence to the fear of the Bulgars.
As it so happened, the Bulgars were proving less and less impressed by the arid wastes and were already looking vaguely about for better pastures (literally). However, the greatest event to take place was the remarkably quick conversion of these Bulgars to the Miaphysite faith, oddly due to Ghassamid preaching. In 610, at imperial urging another 40,000 Bulgars/Turks arrived in the region even as several thousand travelled back to the lands north of the Black Sea, taking their new faith with them.
By 610, these vast group of "southern" Bulgars in Syria and Arabia determined that their land was too harsh for properly raising horses and were happy to leave them to their Ghassamid "allies".
Hispania
At the head of over 20,000 Byzantine Africans and Berber allies, Heraclius (the younger) sailed into Hispania. Another 8000 would travel along the coast of Africa until reaching the Pillars of Hercules and crossing there.
For the past several years, the last of the Visigoths on the Peninsula battled with the native Iberians for control. In truth, the Arian Visigoths could easily have been stamped out had the Iberians been unified. Unfortunately for them, the lack of unity would lead to rivalries for the throne and allow some semblance of hope for the Visigoths.
The arrival of Heraclius and his allies would put a stop to this. For generations, the Visigoths had dominated most of the Peninsula (and part of Gaul). Most of the nobility by the 7th century had been Visigoth, leaving the peninsula bereft of leadership. Every minor Iberian noble proclaimed himself a King not only of his region but the entirety of Hispanania.
As the first major Catholic commander to arrive on the peninsula in 608, Heraclius bore the authority of the church, long dominated by the Arian Visigoth minority. Heraclius' arrival was applauded by the Roman Catholic clergy whom promptly recognized the young General as the true authority in the region. With ease, Heraclius made allies with assorted nobles and crushed those who opposed him. His army swelled to 60,000 due to the continued arrival of Berbers and shifting loyalties of local potentates.
Most of the first two years was spent defeating Catholic claimants to power. However in 610, the last significant Visigoth-Arian forces was defeated in northern Iberia and forced across the Pyranees into Gaul, from whence they were forced on into the Lombard Kingdom of Italy. By 610, the General had consolidated his force in Iberia, raising local allies and Berber chieftains to noble ranks as vassals.
By this point, Heraclius didn't bother to report to the Emperor as his father, Heraclius the Elder, had already declared independence of Africa as a sovereign Kingdom.
Byzantium
To his horror, Emperor Theodosius watched through 608 to 610 as both the Exarchate of Africa and the Egypt declared independence while the army of the Exarchate of Syria practically mutinied at the demand for them to march to Egypt.
Heraclius' treason and duplicity hurt terribly but not as much as the Miaphysite rebellions. The poorer and war-ravaged lands of the north (Europe south of the Danube, Anatolia and Armenia) simply could not form armies large enough to force the issue on all three of these regions.
Theodosius knew that another invasion of the Avars and Slavs norther of the Danube may come at any moment as could war with Persia. The Byzantine Empire simply lacked the resources to assert her authority in Italy, Hispania, Africa, Egypt and Syria.
Theodosius opted to deal with Egypt first. It was the most populous and wealthiest region in the Empire. Regain that and both Syria and Africa could be brought to heel. Italy and Hispania would simply have to wait.
The Emperor gathered up as much funding as he could scratch together and formed an army of 15,000 to sail to Egypt in 611. In the meantime, he ordered his Bulgarian "subjects" in southern Syria to join with whatever manpower the resurgent Ghassanids were willing to spare and invade Egypt via land.
This would be perhaps the Emperor's most grievous error.
Alexandria
Patriarch Eulogius, head of the Catholic Church in Egypt, would look on in concern first as Rome fell to the Lombard heretics and second as it appeared that the Cardinals were hardly swift to replace the late Pope Gregory in their new conclave in Byzantium.
Fortunately, the Patriarch was given a new ally in the military and civil governor whom had been named the new Exarch of Egypt (the first in the role). Unfortunately, the new Exarch was apparently a political choice and managed to alienate the entirety of the Coptic population within weeks of arriving in Alexandria. The timing could not be worse as much of the Egyptian Army was currently in the east, helping to protect Syria from Arab Bedouin incursions.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a rebellion rose up among the general population against the Greek Catholic minority ruling class. Within a few weeks, the Byzantine political system collapsed under a peasant rebellion. The last holdouts of the Byzantine Army (mainly Greek but some Copts as well) would be relegated to certain fortified locations.
As it so happened, the Egyptian Army dispatched east to aid Syria was returning to Egypt in the fall of 608. Initially, this was received as salvation to the besieged Chalcedonians but this soon turned to dismay as the majority of that force turned out to be (by design in order to keep the Greek Catholic forces in Egypt) Copts whom killed their officers and promptly joined the rebellion.
By winter, over 80,000 men were under arms, besieging key regions. The larger cities of Alexandria and Memphis had flung open their gates and allowed the rebels in. Naturally, there were thousands of lives lost but the Coptic Pope Anastasius managed to calm his people enough to halt at least some of the bloodlust. Still, the Greek Catholics (and many Jews) found their residences ransacked by rioters.
Lacking space or supplies in their fortresses, the 10,000 or so Byzantine-loyalist were unable to do much of anything to aid their civilian co-religionists.
When Emperor Theodosius learned of the new rebellion, he was forced to call off his planned invasion of Italy (in truth, he had no money or troops available for the campaign so cancelling it was somewhat easy). Over the past years, Theodosius had, in fact, economized greatly in Byzantium and slowly reduced the army by offering land to his ex-soldiers as some sort of compensation. This reward would increase his popularity (and reduce the chances of a Coup) but it also meant that the size of forces available from the Danube to Armenia and Anatolia were less than 15,000 poorly paid soldiers, most serving at the extreme edges of the Empire and difficult to consolidate.
While he sought to forge a meaningful army to retake the wealthy province, Theodosius would dispatch orders to the Exarches of Syria and Africa to form their own armies and march on Alexandria.
The Emperor would be shocked by the response:
Heraclius of Africa would inform the Emperor that the majority of the military power of Africa had already been dispatched to Hispania under the command of his son. With them were thousands of Berber allies and the treasury of Africa had been emptied for the campaign, thus preventing any significant attempt to reclaim Africa from the west.
Similarly, the Exarch of Syria would write to the Emperor that the bulk of the Syrian Army (comprised mainly of Miaphysites themselves, patently refused to march on their co-religionists in Egypt. Indeed, the Exarch was terrified that another revolt was imminent and informed the Emperor that maintaining his own position was the best he could currently do.
Even the Bulgar Turks "hired" by the Empire to help defend the frontier were less than interested in marching on Egypt. Paid in plunder and land, the Bulgars were more interested in determining if some of this desolate land was worth settling upon.
The Ghassanids, which had devolved into ineffectual feuding factions, decades before had witnessed the success of the Bulgars and belatedly realized that their own position was under threat. For the first time in a generation, the Ghassanid tribal leaders met with the intent of selecting a new King. With the aid of the beleaguered new Exarch, this new Confederation was raised to a Kingdom bearing not only the old Ghassanid tribes but the Kalb, Salih and Judham, all of which were well along the way to converting to the Miaphysite faith and similarly feared the arrival of these new Bulgars tribesmen (of which another 70,000 Bulgar and related Turkic men women and children would arrive in Syria and the southern desert regions by 608-609).
When a King tolerable to these tribes was chosen, he received a belated approval from the Byzantine Emperor. On paper, the Ghassamid Kingdom was larger than the Ghassamid Confederation of the prior generation but politically, it remained weak and owed its existence to the fear of the Bulgars.
As it so happened, the Bulgars were proving less and less impressed by the arid wastes and were already looking vaguely about for better pastures (literally). However, the greatest event to take place was the remarkably quick conversion of these Bulgars to the Miaphysite faith, oddly due to Ghassamid preaching. In 610, at imperial urging another 40,000 Bulgars/Turks arrived in the region even as several thousand travelled back to the lands north of the Black Sea, taking their new faith with them.
By 610, these vast group of "southern" Bulgars in Syria and Arabia determined that their land was too harsh for properly raising horses and were happy to leave them to their Ghassamid "allies".
Hispania
At the head of over 20,000 Byzantine Africans and Berber allies, Heraclius (the younger) sailed into Hispania. Another 8000 would travel along the coast of Africa until reaching the Pillars of Hercules and crossing there.
For the past several years, the last of the Visigoths on the Peninsula battled with the native Iberians for control. In truth, the Arian Visigoths could easily have been stamped out had the Iberians been unified. Unfortunately for them, the lack of unity would lead to rivalries for the throne and allow some semblance of hope for the Visigoths.
The arrival of Heraclius and his allies would put a stop to this. For generations, the Visigoths had dominated most of the Peninsula (and part of Gaul). Most of the nobility by the 7th century had been Visigoth, leaving the peninsula bereft of leadership. Every minor Iberian noble proclaimed himself a King not only of his region but the entirety of Hispanania.
As the first major Catholic commander to arrive on the peninsula in 608, Heraclius bore the authority of the church, long dominated by the Arian Visigoth minority. Heraclius' arrival was applauded by the Roman Catholic clergy whom promptly recognized the young General as the true authority in the region. With ease, Heraclius made allies with assorted nobles and crushed those who opposed him. His army swelled to 60,000 due to the continued arrival of Berbers and shifting loyalties of local potentates.
Most of the first two years was spent defeating Catholic claimants to power. However in 610, the last significant Visigoth-Arian forces was defeated in northern Iberia and forced across the Pyranees into Gaul, from whence they were forced on into the Lombard Kingdom of Italy. By 610, the General had consolidated his force in Iberia, raising local allies and Berber chieftains to noble ranks as vassals.
By this point, Heraclius didn't bother to report to the Emperor as his father, Heraclius the Elder, had already declared independence of Africa as a sovereign Kingdom.
Byzantium
To his horror, Emperor Theodosius watched through 608 to 610 as both the Exarchate of Africa and the Egypt declared independence while the army of the Exarchate of Syria practically mutinied at the demand for them to march to Egypt.
Heraclius' treason and duplicity hurt terribly but not as much as the Miaphysite rebellions. The poorer and war-ravaged lands of the north (Europe south of the Danube, Anatolia and Armenia) simply could not form armies large enough to force the issue on all three of these regions.
Theodosius knew that another invasion of the Avars and Slavs norther of the Danube may come at any moment as could war with Persia. The Byzantine Empire simply lacked the resources to assert her authority in Italy, Hispania, Africa, Egypt and Syria.
Theodosius opted to deal with Egypt first. It was the most populous and wealthiest region in the Empire. Regain that and both Syria and Africa could be brought to heel. Italy and Hispania would simply have to wait.
The Emperor gathered up as much funding as he could scratch together and formed an army of 15,000 to sail to Egypt in 611. In the meantime, he ordered his Bulgarian "subjects" in southern Syria to join with whatever manpower the resurgent Ghassanids were willing to spare and invade Egypt via land.
This would be perhaps the Emperor's most grievous error.
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And so the last remnant of the once proud Rome begin their downfall. The Persians must be confused indeed; their ancient foe is on the brink of collapse and they needed not lift a finger to see it happen. Oh well, the King of Kings is likely to thank his lucky stars and focus elsewhere. India perhaps; that land is usually good for some sweet plunder.
i thinke he is more busy with the Hephthalites i mean in 600 the Hephthalites were raiding the Sasanian Empire as far as Spahan in central Iran
Miguel Lanius
Banned
Lol at both empires collapsing. But that may be only temporary.
I wonder if Heraclius could ressurect the title of Western Emperor?
I wonder if Heraclius could ressurect the title of Western Emperor?
Thanks, good point. At this point in time, it would still be Memphis. Cairo was settled a few centuries later when the Nile changed course and left nearby Memphis high and dry (Memphis is in the Cairo suburbs these days, if I have my geography right). I'll go back and change it.
A small nitpick: Conclave was not a thing at the time. IIRC the Pope was chosen (out of general consensus and not voted) by the totality of the Roman clergy and then presented to the populus (meaning the heads of the great families) for approval. Maybe there is a specific reason for TTL to have a conclave some 600 years ahead of schedule, but that is kind of weird.