Maurice's Roman empire

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[FONT=&quot]Chapter nine: For the cause[/FONT]​

Early January 593 AD was a busy time for the city of Rome as empress Constantina organized the creation of huge public baths in order to improve the living conditions and Huygens of ordinary people. She was hoping that by improving the living conditions that people would be healthier and disease wouldn’t spread quickly. In order to enact her plan the empress along with the emperor paid for the repair of the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus aqueducts. These aqueducts were the main suppliers of water to the city of Rome and each project would take at least several years to complete. At the same time several hundred skilled artisans and military engineers were brought in from Carthage to the port of Ostia Antica that was the main port that served Rome in order to begin immediate repairs on it. The port was located on the mouth of the Tiber River and at the height of the Roman Empire in the second century AD was used to import and export goods from and to Rome.

However following the decline of and eventual collapse of the western empire the port was largely neglected with a few thousand inhabitants. Like the city of Rome it was a mere shadow of its former self but slowly under emperor Maurice the empire was being rebuilt better then ever before. The emperor hoped that by reconstructing the port that was another long-term project he could revive the local economy and allow trade to expand once again. The reconstruction of all of these buildings and locations was also a message and a political one to the pope and Lombards that weakened or not the Romans are here to stay and that they weren’t leaving any time soon.

By March of 593 AD the Romans had effectively cut Lombard controlled Italy in half after the previous years campaigns against the Lombard duchies of Spoleto that controlled most of central Italy and the duchy of Benevento. As the Italian situation improved the emperor ordered the Legio II Cyrenica to march on the City of Capua that was controlled by the duchy of Benevento. Capua was captured after several weeks although the Legio II Cyrenica did suffer heavy causalities. Capturing Capua was not about the military situation but was a favor to the pope.

For all of there troubles the Lombards were a Germanic tribe who originated from Scandinavia and wondered around for a long time. In the 520s and 530s they served under the legendary Roman general Narses as a mercenaries. At first the general was grateful for the extra manpower but then he found the Lombards to be too savage too out of control and they were shipped out. Two decades later for the Romans a series of unfortunate events in Europe such as the Avars coming to power and the plague of Justinian resulted in the Lombards along with several of their allies conquering huge parts of Italy.

The strategic situation in Italy was increasingly tilting towards the Romans all backed by two military legions in the area. As the Roman army easily captured Capua in May of 593 Ad they then stopped and waited for the emperor who met them inside the city and told the people “Your suffering is now over the senate and the people of Rome are here with you”. In terms of central Italy the emperor was planning to knock two birds with one stone and he already set plans in motion. A few weeks following the capture of Capua and surrounding areas the duke of Benevento was assassinated by one of his noble men due to his inability to deal with the Romans.
Following the untimely death of the ruling dukes the nobles started fighting among each other and as that happened cities all over southern and central Italy rose up usually eliminating Lombard garrisons and pledging allegiance to the empire. By mid June of 593 AD the Legio II Cyrenica besieged Benevento as Lombard rule in southern Italy collapsed.

A month later the city surrendered in exchange for mercy. The emperor didn’t execute the Lombads who were in the city instead he made a nobleman by the name of Aistulf duke of the city under Roman super vision. The remaining Lombard troops would be dispersed to various fronts like the Middle East and Africa. In order to keep the Lombards of of Benevento in check the emperor issued a decree that stated that any Lombard who serves outside of Italy would be given Roman citizenship in ten years.

Despite the strings of constant successes in Italy the emperor left for Constantinople by ship from southern Italy in July of 593 AD. This is because the Slavs and other tribes had breached the defenses in the western banks of the Danube River and were ravaging the countryside. Before leaving Italy the emperor reorganized Italy into two exarchs the fist would be the exarch of Ravenna that would govern northern Italy and the Exarch of Rome would govern central and southern Italy from Rome. Dividing Italy into two exarchs was both a strategic decision because it would allow the emperor to select an experienced general who could deal with the Lombards who controlled northern Italy. Also dividing Italy into two made sure no governor could be powerful enough to challenge Constantinople.

The emperor gave the senate in Rome the ability to choose its governor and levy taxes over the exarch of Rome but with 20% of taxes going to Constantinople. However the emperor appointed half the senators in Rome and the new exarch was an Italian by the name of Flavius Varanius who was of aristocratic background and had military experience serving in the emperor Italian campaign. Choosing an Italian was a way to extend an olive branch to the Italians that they were not ruled by foreign Greeks instead that were ruled by a powerful empire that they were a part of.

Although southern Italy was now stable the center was still a bit unstable because they duchy of duchy of Spoleto was still a threat that the new exarch had to deal with. Emperor Maurice arrived in Sicily in July of 593 AD as part of his tour and took the opportunity to relax for a while there. Sicily was part of Italy but was rued by the Exarch of Africa and it was a stable, peace and extremely prosperous area. The emperor was encouraged to visit Heraclius in North Africa but couldn’t because of the Balkans. Finally arriving in Constantinople in August of 593AD the emperor returned to a city that was enjoying peace and was fairly prosperous. He wasn’t going to go to the Balkans because Emperor Maurice was exhausted from his Italian adventures and was getting tired of constantly traveling long distances.

The emperor order general Priscus to continue campaign across the Danube in the winter a decision that the general disobeyed because the troops were exhausted from constant cat and mouse games with the Slavs. Priscus was also exhausted and didn’t want the troops to mutiny. In winter of the year 593 AD the front was quite but the emperor was furious at the actions of the general and dismissed him in February of 594 AD the general replaced him with Germanus an incompetent general who would be a disaster for the empire in the coming year.

Economically the eastern territories were recovering fairly quickly and were becoming once again centers of economic trade kept by sound economic policies and with a lot of stability. The population was also recovering quickly with many flocking to Egypt in order to participate in the construction of Maurices canal that would connect the red sea and the Madeteranian.

Situation in Madeteranian around February of 594 AD. Roman empire in dark purple, Visigothic kingdom in blue, Main lombard duchies in pink, other lombard duchies in yellow, duchy of Spoleto in green (Central italy). Persian empire in red

 

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Happy Saint Patricks day everybody, here is something to cheer the Monday blues a new chapter .
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Chapter ten: two steps forward and one-step back

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Some where in the Danube river basin Joseph and his unit where serving in the Limes Moesiae in the eastern banks of the Danube river. His unit was a Limitanei (border garrison) patrolling for the last two weeks tracking a group of Slavs who had raided a small village stealing some cattle. Their mission was to track the bandits and identify their location. This mission was extremely unpopular with the entire unit because they regarded it as a waste of time conducted by their incompetent commander Germanus who wanted to gain favor with Constantinople. Joseph knew that it was dangerous to keep tracking the bandits so his units turned back to their hometown of Latrus but when they were heading back several dozen Bandits surrounded his unit and they were forced to surrender, being taken to the north as prisoners of war.

As they were being dragged in chains to Slav territory they cursed the name of their commander Germanus for his incompetence. They also had formed a deep hatred for the emperor because of his failure to effectively deal with the Slavs. By April of 594 Dozens of other military units were also captured. The Slavs sensing weakness launched an invasion of the Balkans peninsula invading the provinces of Macedonia and Moesia. In order to deal with the problem Germanus decided to launch his own invasion of the Northern Danube region taking with him about seven thousand soldiers in order to hit the enemy hard. The Roman army under his leadership soon marched deep into the un-charted forests and swamps of Wallachia where the whole army was routed 2500 soldiers managed to escape while the rest were taken as prisoners.

By August of 594 AD Worse for the Romans another Roman army was defeated in Edessa allowing the Slavs to raid as far as Larrisa in Greece. In Constantinople the emperor was now furious but couldn’t do anything for the rest of the Year. He had to be careful because there was a lot of anger towards him. Not wanting to risk a mutiny by the Danube armies the emperor needed an experienced general but most of those were either on other fronts or had other duties. Thus the emperor restored the disgraced general Priscus back to command hoping he would improve the situation. Priscus was again back in command of the Danube in December of the 594 AD but he couldn’t do anything because it was winter. Instead he ordered the troops to rest for the time being and only engage raiding parties.

By the time Priscus was again in charge the situation was pretty bad the Slavs were raiding almost at will all over the Balkans frontier. Priscus may have been an experienced general but he was no Hercules in order to deal with the situation in June of 595 AD the Roman army in the Limes Moesiae began a heavy refortification effort aimed at reestablishing the borders. This was done by rebuilding many forts and improving the walls of many border cities. In the previous months Priscus brought in additional troops from other fronts that were quiet. Then his forces launched a massive security operation in Greece in order to eliminate the Slavs in there. Sealing all the roads that led to in and out of the region and giving cash rewards to people who brought in suspected Slavic raiders. Over the Summer Priscus succeeded in clearing out all of Greece forcing the Slavic raiders to raid in the provinces that border their territory that included the Diocese of Dacia and Scythia minor.

The reason why the Romans couldn’t deal with the Slavs was because they were not a unified polity instead they were different tribes who took advantage of weak points in the long Roman borders to raid and cause general havoc. By the beginning of Autumn of 595 AD Priscus had campaigned aggressively forcing the Slavs to limit their raids to the province of Scythia minor. However the Slavs also began launching minor raids into Dalmatia a region that was beginning to recover economically and was becoming more prosperous because it was the link between Constantinople and Rome that brought a lot of trade a long the way. The governor of Dalmatia was Philipicus a wealthy nobleman from the region who had seen his fortune increase in the previous years as the empire restored the bulk of Italy. Not wanting to see his gains lost Philipicus paid off many of the raiding tribes that were raiding his province. But this had the opposite effects as more tribes began to raid Dalmatia in order to extract tribute from the Roman governor.

Philipicus soon requested help from Constantinople but no aid would come until early next year because the imperial army was already stretched thin. In Egypt the emperor ordered the governor to reduce taxes on peasants from 35% to 22% in order to reduce the burden on them and make the agricultural sector more productive. The emperor also passed laws that established several designated areas that are allowed to sell silk in and the aim of these laws was to fully regulate that silk market and bring in more income to the imperial coffers. The emperor reduced tariffs for exotic goods that were produced in local provinces such as silk in order to make the economy more competitive.

The emperor also established a special committee in order to improve agricultural efficiency within the empire and he regularly held meetings with peasants from all over the empire. He did this because he knew agriculture was important and having the peasants on his side couldn’t hurt but also improve his legitimacy. The emperor in 593 and 594 AD passed several laws that established more formal procedures for dealing with criminal proceeding regarding the rich. One of those was Hebeaus Corpus that limited the amount of time that a noble could be held without being convicted of something.

The aim of the agricultural laws was part of an unofficial consensus that the emperor made with the peasants that was you be productive and I take batter care of you. The emperor hoped to implement Hebeaus corpus on ordinary citizens but that prospect would take a very long time because it could face strong opposition from the aristocracy.

In Italy Pope Gregory the Great had signed a peace treaty with the Lombard that affirmed the current Italian borders and established peace between the Romans and Lombards but many factions within the Roman military were not pleased with the treaty. But those factions couldn’t do anything because the Pope had the emperor’s ears and Southern Italy was booming thanks to new agricultural imports from the east, the Silk trade, low taxes and local autonomy which allowed local official to deal better with local problems.

By January of 596 AD the Balkans were the main source of trouble for the empire as Slavic tribes began besieging Signidunum and launching more attacks on Dalmatia.

(Map showing the situation in 596 AD) Purple lines show Slavic incursions

 

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I will be publishing a new update later on in the day and i have corrected some errors in this chapter earlier (how embarrassing lol). As all ways enjoy PS so far im planning to take this TL to at least the 8th century and it will include the muslim invasions, bulgars, rise of the RUS and some other things.

As all ways your suggestions are welcome

 

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[FONT=&quot]This is going to be a chapter that cover a lot so get ready. [/FONT]PS how is the story going so far ?
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Chapter eleven: A game of cat and mouse[/FONT]​

General Priscus began campaigning in Scythia minor in order to clear out the Slavic incursions in the region. He also sent a relief force of about 2500 soldiers to Dalmatia in order to assist the local forces in the area with dealing with the Slavs. By the time the troops arrived in mid February the raids had all but stopped and instead several thousand Slavs retreated to Singidunum and reinforced the Slavs that were besieging the city. The general didn’t expect the Slavs to make that move but he kept the troops in Dalmatia to reinforce the garrison and to deter further Slavic tribes from raiding the region. By early May as the situation stabilized in Scythia minor General Priscus soon turned his attention to Singidunum the city that had been besieged for several months, morale was decreasing food was low and the city was close to surrendering.

The Romans relief force arrived from the River of Danube being transported from Danube by boats and also another force arrived from land. This forced the Slavic forces besieging the city to engage both sides but the city was relieved. The battle began in mid April and it was very bloody lasting for about two days until the Slavic forces surrendered being taken as prisoners in hope for an exchange for the 7000s captured Roman soldiers. Another group of Slavs who hadn’t heard of the news attacked Dalmatia before suffering a heavy defeat and was forced to withdraw into Avar territory. The Avars were not too happy about the Slavs entering their territory so they launched attacks on Slavic territory.

By August of 595 AD the situation finally stabilized in the front with on Slavic raids being recorded. In early 596 AD the Slavic chieftain Musokios who controlled the territory bordering Moesia and Scythia seeing no more advantage to the campaign decided to end his campaign and sue for peace. Because of the vastness of the region general Priscus took several weeks to send a message to Constantinople regarding the terms of a final treaty that the emperor might agree to. The terms of the treaty were favorable towards neither side as the Slavs knew the Romans didn’t have total control over every frontier in the Balkans because it was too large for the Romans to totally control but the chieftain also recognized that the Romans could hit him hard and also the Bulgars were raiding his territory. In Italy the Lombard duchy of Tuscany sacked a city in central Italy but the Roman army responded by recapturing several cities from that duchy.

In mid 596 AD the emperor agreed to a treaty that ended the war for five years and resulted in an exchange for all war prisoners. The emperor knew that the Slavs wont hold up their end of the bargain for long but he needed those troops back for morale and the Balkans needed stability in order to continue the emperor ambitious plan of militarizing the border regions of the Balkans. Just to be on the safe side the emperor kept a large military garrison in the city of Marcianopolis in order to launch more campaigns against other Slavic tribes in Wallachia. From mid 596 to late 598 AD the empire was for the first time in a very long time stable and quiet on all front there was no trouble and the economy was recovering fairly well.

The treasury was again in a stable condition and the empire began increasing wages for soldiers to better their pay. The emperor was also focusing on an important project that he hoped would allow the empire to become even richer the canal of Maurice in the province of Egypt. The population of Southern Italy was recovering rapidly and the region was booming due in part to peace, increased trade through the Madeternian and an increase in autonomy that allowed local authorities to better deal with a lot of problem.By 599 AD the Roman empire was the most powerful power in the Madeteranian and the seventh century would bring it more adventures, battles, wars, inventions and much much more.

In 599 AD emperor Maurice made his fifteen year old son Theodosius co-Emperor and made him the sole successor to the throne.

The Madeteranian in 600 AD

 

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comments thoughts ?

 

[Valin Arcadius]

comments thoughts ?

Yeah, post more soon.

 

[NotYetRegistered]

Good TL.

 

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Sup everyone hope your all well . Thank you all for your continued support, we have about 2000 views so far. All right a new update will be out shortly maybe tonight or tomorrow depending on how much i can write.

Ok in the mean time can i get some information about religion in culture within the Eastern Roman empire at 600 AD. How was it like in terms of culture and religion? Would be really glad if you could help

 

[GodEmperorG]

Mainly Christian with most Pagans having just been wiped out or forced into hiding. Egypt was Coptic, the Levant had Syria were Jacobite or Monophite, Mesopotamia Nestorian, Armenia had its own Church, and Anatolia had the Isaurians (Monophite leaning). Virtually every part of the east had its own heresy that split from the Chalcedonian Church. Culture wise I'm not too sure so I'll leave it up to someone else to provide further insight.

 

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[FONT=&quot]Sorry i havent posted in a while been busy with university work but here is a new chapter. [/FONT]
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Chapter 12: A time of uncertainty


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By early 600 AD things were quiet in the empire with little or no military activity occurring on all front as the Romans either had clients bordering hostile powers that acted as a buffer or peace treaties with other nations. Instead the emperor focused on two things that would continue to dominate the rest of his reign the Balkans and the trade. He wanted to make the Balkan border regions a heavily militarized fortress so that the Slavs could never again threaten that critical region again. However this was easier said then done as he couldn’t launch an all out invasion, and the Slavs were having an explosion boom that saw the Serbs begin colonizing areas bordering Illyricum. Instead he continued his policy of shipping thousands of Berbers and Armenians to the border region to establish colonies there that would act as buffers. He also shipped captured Slavs to North Africa in order to deter other troublesome tribes from raiding Roman territory. Once in Africa those Slavs that were captured would be sent to slave markets, military barracks or the kingdom of Numidia as exotic gifts.

Many of the Armenians and Berbers who settled in the Balkans would find life very hard and a quarter of the new arrivals wouldn’t survive. This was because of the remoteness of some of the regions that made transportation and communication difficult, the weather affected many of the Berbers because they were not accustomed to the winter weather and a lot of the Berbers would try to escape. The Romans over the past four years had built or reinforced dozens of settlements in the border region on the Danube River that ranged from simple outposts that kept watch over certain areas to medium sized cities. The policy of transporting different populations was a success in the short term because raids by the Berbers had stopped in North Africa but it also depleted large areas and alienated many with the Numidian kingdom. Because they felt that the Romans were dishonorable because they were enslaving their brothers. In the Balkans this policy was almost useless as it depopulated many areas and made the Slavic tribes hesitant to trade with the Romans.

By early 601 AD the Roman army had stopped relocating Berbers and Slavs instead they focused on maintain the gains they secured earlier. The front was fairly quiet in most of that year but emperor Maurice was all ways paranoid about what he called “the northern hordes” in the Balkans and continued to order more troops to campaign in the region. The biggest problem that the emperor faced in 602 AD was a rebellion by the some of the northern troops who were exhausted of constant campaigning and after ordering them to campaign in the winter they disregarded the order and began marching on Constantinople. Those troops proclaimed a soldier by the name of Phocas as emperor after he promised them to end the campaigns and increase salaries.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

The Slavs had an explosion boom, eh? Early gunpowder?

 

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The Slavs had an explosion boom, eh? Early gunpowder?

Maybe gunpowder, printing press but you will get an idea about agriculture soon . The gunpowder, printing presss "MIGHT" come in 7th or 10th century. In the next update you guys will get a hint of whats going to happen in the future. Almost forgot i will post a new update soon

 

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Here it is a new chapter. I have done two scenes in this chapter and also a poem which explains why the Slavic population is booming or partly anyways. Enjoy

Chapter 13: A race through dark places ​

On the Road of Hope

My name is Andrik

I am from the road of hope

I was born and raised on the road

It gives us riches, sorrows and gold

My family was poor

Moving around

All the time

Looking for food

One day we saw other men on the road,

They are Romans, we see them all the time

They have red shields and carry gold

But they were many of them this time

They look and talk different

At first we didn’t intervene

Then we attacked them and stole their food and gold that time

We attack many of them now all the time

My mother is pregnant again

My family is going to be a lot larger

I am the sixth in my family

and I see my sister or brother

as a blessing making me prouder

My sister or brother will help us take more food, gold

and survive on the Road of hope.

Near the Dunav from here till the end of the road.

[FONT=&quot]Sacrum Palatium (Great Palace) – Constantinople 602 AD
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Antonius was a palace secretary who usually brought news to the Emperor from different parts of the empire. He was a middle aged man who saw himself as someone important and he was using his power to make him self a small fortune to live on following the death of the emperor. But his plans were to take a different direction after receiving news that the armies of the Balkans had revolted and were marching on Constantinople.

He was the one who had to tell the emperor. The emperor wasn’t a bad person but he wasn’t the most understanding of individuals when it came to handling bad news. Now Antonius was the one who had to tell the emperor.

Antonius entered the imperial Room where the emperor usually was. The room itself was a large room filled with gold, silver and decorated with many objects that displayed the extent and reach of the Roman Empire. It had silk curtains from Anatolia, bread made from wheat in Egypt and a lot of exotic items that covered the walls nd sealing. Antonius approached the emperor who was discussing agriculture with several farmers.

"Your majesty I am sorry to disturb but I bare urgent news from the front"

"No you are not disturbing me"

"I would like you to meet Bolyslav from Scythia minor and this is Agape from Alexandria in Aegyptus"

"Men please tell the Berar of news your discovery and what it can do to the empire"

The Slav from Scythia soon began explaining in a thick accent "We have made modifications to the way we grow food and we believe this will allow us to grow even more food then ever before"

"Well I certainly think it is fascinating subject but I have urgent news"

"The armies of the Danube have revolted under an officer called Phocas"

"The soldiers have proclaimed that traitor emperor"

The emperor now had a broken bad feeling about the revolt because he knew those soldiers were the best trained in the world and if he didn’t act soon they would kill him and all his family.

"How many soldiers are we talking about Antonius?"

"It is hard to say your majesty but we estimate about fifteen
thousand soldiers from across different parts of the Danube"

"We received this information an hour ago from a loyalist scout"

"Phocas is marching on Constantinople now he should arrive within three weeks"

"There are a lot of soldiers who are joining him. The greens are supporting him"

The emperor was so angry that he threw a citron that landed on a bust of Justinian cover its eyes with citron juice.

The emperor said in a desperate voice "Antonius please summon general Narses, Pretorian Avidius and my son"

"Thank you for meeting me" spoke the emperor to the farmers

"but I promise to pay more attention to these discoveries later on"

The three men soon arrived.

"Father is it true"

"Yes I am afraid it is my son we have been betrayed by the armies of the north"

General Narses what is the status of the forces defending Constantinople?

"Well your majesty we have about 4000 soldiers at our disposal not enough we can muster and additional two thousand more but that’s it"

"We wont be able to bring reinforcements there just too far away I am afraid"

Pretorian Avidius soon spoke in a worrying manner your majesty
"I am afraid that the rebels are the least of your worries the Greens want your head on a silver platter several aristocratic families are all ready endorsing the traitors"

"I believe we should abandon the city and head east to Nicomedia where we have support or else well be killed"

"No we wont abandon Constantinople instead well fight. I have sworn to protect the people and I will do that assemble the troops we march at dawn"

Theodosius looked excited "Father I am with you and I am ready for a fight we will teach those traitors lesson in honor. Indeed we will indeed we will"

Soon all three men left the room and went about there business knowing fully to well that they might not live in the next few weeks. The battle for Constantinople was about to begin.

Rebel camp Near Thrace

Emperor to be Phocas was in his tent inspecting the maps and discussing strategy with his generals. For all of his speeches and promises he was afraid if he lost because he knew the price of failure would mean his life.

One of his guards entered the tent "Sir you are needed outside we have company" spoke the guard

Phocas soon left the camp and saw several dozen men on horseback.

They were lined up in typical light cavalry fashion but the leader a man by the name of Constantine was in front.

"Who are you?" Phocas asked.

"Well my name is Constantine and I am from the Limes Scythia my unit would like to join you we believe in your cause"

Soon all the cavalrymen dismounted their horses and saluted by holding their arms out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. "While saluting they said glory and honor to emperor Phocas"

"Your majesty we didn’t come empty handed we bring you gifts, here are the severed heads of our former comrades who didn’t see your views"

"Thank you I accept you are now part of the army. With men like you on our side we will bring our empire into a golden age unlike any it has seen"

We know you will sire.

"I have 500 other men and I will inform them of this news"

The soldiers saluted again and soon the dispersed while Phocas went back to his tent. Constantine and his unit weren’t the only ones to defect and many more were doing so. Things were looking worse for emperor Maurice by every passing day.

 

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[FONT=&quot]A new chapter giving you an idea of whats happening in the world. Also how the civil war is playing out and the different factions involved. I have been pretty busy with exams so i havent had much time to post anything. [/FONT]
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Chapter 14: Divided Loyalties [/FONT]​

By early 603AD the army of the Usurper Phocas had swelled to about 20,000 soldiers who had defected from various points along the Danube front. By this time the Roman army was split into three camps that were the army that Phocas controlled, Maurice’s army and the Remaining roman troops who were on other fronts that were loyal to emperor Maurice but couldn’t assist because they were too far away. The Army of emperor Maurice only had about 12,000 soldiers. Emperor Maurice had evacuated Constantinople in early January in order to join loyalist armies while his family excluding Theodosius stayed in the city.

Constantinople was now almost a war zone with the greens and blues fighting it out with each side supporting a different emperor. The Blues wanted a Phocas because they hoped that he would lower taxes and give the rich a freer hand in dealing with the peasantry. The green faction was with emperor Maurice because they supported his religious tolerance and attempts at improving the living conditions of ordinary people. The imperial family was kept safe in the heavily fortified palace of Constantinople although they were safe they didn’t really fell so as the city was filled with shouting, chanting death to the emperor and constant riots.

For Maurice his army wasn’t in a good shape and it was mostly made up of fresh recruits, local mercenaries, cavalry and an elite core of highly trained forces. Phocas on the other hand had with him a lot of highly trained forces and were professional soldiers who were veterans of many military campaigns. Both armies were convening on Adrianople a city that had been the site of no fewer the half a dozen major military battles in history from the greeks to the Romans. To emperor Maurice this was almost a curse as three centuries earlier emperor Valens died defending the empire from the Goths. Now it was his turn to fight a battle near that city.

In other parts of the empire the troops remained loyal and things continued mostly normal but in Italy the Lombards were getting restless and were preparing an offensive to retake lost territory. While in Spain the Visigoths were about to launch another war to regain Spania. In Persia Khoursu II was expanding his empire on all fronts and he had recently acquired Yemen that was an important strategic region because it allowed the Persians to freely control the passage to the red sea and Egypt. The Persian Empire by this time was booming and experiencing a golden age in literature, culture and scientific innovation. It had started using windmills that allowed them to irrigate better and grow even more food. Khoursu II had taken the news of the revolt by surprise and was divided by the loyalty because Maurice was the one who he owed his throne to but restoring the Achamed Empire was his goal. The whole Madeternian was waiting and watching the unfolding events in the Roman Empire.

 

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Greek fire on land or Maurice's fire?

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 15: Cross roads[/FONT]​

The battle began early on March 5th on open fields north of the City of Adrianople and the area was flat which gave neither side a particular advantage because they could not conceal hidden forces. For emperor Maurice the battle was absolutely important it didn’t mean just life and death it meant honor as well for those troops had attacked the honor of the emperor. Emperor Maurice along with general Comentiolus devised a clever plan to win the battle instead of concentrating their troops in one single column the soldiers would be divided into three groups the first group would be in the center and was led by the emperor. General Comentiolus commanded the second group positioned the left flank while general Germanius a nobleman belonging to Cinna family commanded the right flank. Theodosius was commanding the cavalry that was guarding the left lank. On each side of the loyalist armies there were Polybolos that could repeatedly throw projectiles, scorpions and onagers were positioned in the back of the line.

On Phocas’s side there were some of the toughest and most disciplined soldiers in the world, battle hardened war veterans. Phocas’s army outnumbered Maurice by two to one. He wasn’t a fool and knew that emperor Maurice was himself an experienced general who had something up his sleeves. Phocas wasn’t going to risk everything in one strike instead his troops were planning to launch a series of raids on the loyalist army lines aimed at crippling its morale. These raids were to be conducted by a mix of cavalry and infantry and they would at first attack the front lines totally devastating them before moving on to the center and annihilating what ever was left. The rebel army didn’t have with it as many projectile equipment as the loyalist army instead it only had about a few small onagers. Technologically both sides were evenly matched and excluding number both sides had a good chance of winning against each other.

Loyalist army main camp

“Emperor Maurice it’s a lovely day isn’t it?”

“Yes Avidius but real shame we have to fight today”

“Indeed your majesty”

“The troops are ready and awaiting your command!”

“Good, begin,” shouted the emperor as he felt his heart pacing this was the first time he was in battle in a very long time. Horns from two soldiers sounded the beginning of the battle.

"May god for give me for this" thought emperor Maurice to himself.

Onagers’ position central flank, loyalist army

“Raise your shields” screamed Anthenius to his unit warning many of them as arrows were falling on a lot of soldiers. They had to be informed because they were engineers who were loading stones in the onagers so they can fire them.

“Take cover boy, be careful those vassals are dangerous you will burn your self with them ” Anthemius again screamed but this time at junior artillery officer who was carrying several vassals that had dangerous components in them. If they fell they could burn him alive.

After the second wave fell Anthemius and his unit soon loaded rocks on to the onagers lit them with fire and carefully put burnt bitumen and sulfur taken from the vassals on them.

“Why did we use those sir?” asked the boy

“Only god knows son, only god knows”.

As soon as the fire lit stones landed on the enemy they killed many men while smoke began chocking other and many soon died from inhaling the smoke. The rebel cavalry soon charged into the front lines with fire lit stones from the loyalist onagers continuing to fall on enemy positions in the back.

 

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Will Maurice make it ?

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 16: To the victor come the spoils of war[/FONT]​

“Hold the lines,” screamed Antonius as he rode west to inform his commander that the loyalist infantry had retreated east after suffering heavy casualties. Antonius was an experienced cavalryman with preference in archery as he could kill a man from several meters while riding on horseback. Antonius had defected early on as he was tired of the constant campaigning and the cat&Mouse games they were doing with the Slavs. He was now frightened out of his mind as he was riding not because it was a battle but because of the new weapon that could kill dozens of men in mere seconds after landing. It happened a few hours ago as the battle began the stones fireballs fired by loyalist forces crashed and killed a lot of his fellow comrades but the smoke soon spread and it chocked anyone in sight. He was lucky enough to have rode off but he was now on running scared.

“There retreating from the east we inflicted heavy casualties on them and there heading east shall I order the men to pursue them?” Panted Antonius, as he was exhausted from riding the horse.

“I have received orders from command let them retreat, move the men west we are heading there”.

“Yes sir. How are we doing on the other fronts?”

“I don’t know, its hard to communicate, we only get the most basic of information.”

“Thank you sir I will relay the information, chack chack”, Antonius now headed back with his horse to inform the troops.

“But we know that the emperor has been seriously injured from the fighting one of our outer scouting parties recovered his helmet”. Spoke the commander in an almost excited tone.

On other fronts the battle was an extremely bloody stalemate with neither side having the advantage. The battle consisted of small but bloody skirmishes that would see one side gain ground but loose ground somewhere else. It was also intensified by the use of projectiles from scorpions and ballista’s that killed men on all sides. The battle continued on like this until sun set when the loyalist army retreated having been exhausted from the heavy fighting Phocas’s victory now looked all but certain.

 

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Are you guys enjoy the new format or should i stay on the old one?

PS how are my scenes and character?

Happy easter

 

[GodEmperorG]

I'm liking it so far, can't wait to see what happens next!

 

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WOO HOO, WE ARE ALMOST OVER WITH THIS ARC. THIS IS SUPER DUPER EXCITING. I HAVE been working on it for the past 7 hours believe or not.

Here it is

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 17: Light at the end of the long Tunnel[/FONT]​

Emperor Maurice was now exhausted as he had to fight the rebels in a very long and bloody battle that left many men on both sides dead. Despite the heavy losses his troops inflicted on the rebels they had to retreat and after retreating from the site of the battle they made it to the outskirts of Adrianople. Despite inflicting losses on the enemy Maurice’s troops didn’t fare well either as in an army of 12000 only 8000 made it alive. Worse for the emperor his son had been injured and had collapsed after a fireball landed near his unit’s position when they engaged the enemy. Many of his son’s comrades chocked to death but an officer called Constantine who soon disappeared rescued Theodosius. On top of his worries Phocas’s army was now only a days march from reaching Adrianople.

Adrianople’s outskirts loyalist camp March 3rd 603 AD

“Bring me the herbs wife Mariam we are almost finished” spoke the Dr. He was exhausted having operated on Theodosius for several hours.

“Yes Leech Georgios” responded wife Mariam as she was bandaging Theodosius’s
Right arm. Earlier they had managed to stop the bleeding from his forehead by putting pressure on it but he was still in a bad shape having in hailed a lot of sulpher.

She was exhausted as well. “Will he survive Leech?”

“I don’t know, we have done all we can for him now. His body is thinking does it want to continue or shut down,” responded the leech as he washed his hands in water.

“Wife Mariam thank you for your help today please excuse me, I must speak to the emperor at once”. The Dr. left the room while Wife Mariam washing her hands. She was going to be the young Ceaser’s nurse for the time being until they could get him to Constantinople for proper treatment.

“I am going to pry for you tonight” spoke the wife to Theodosius in a soft voice as she put a cover on him.

“How is my son leech Georgios will he live?” spoke Emperor Maurice in an anxious voice. He had been waiting for hours outside the tent learn the fate of his son.

“He is alive right now but weather or not he will live is another question your majesty”

“I have done all I can for now, but we can’t move him because his condition is not stable.”

“Thank you very much for your services leach I am in your debt.” The emperor spoke in a relieved voice now the emperor was heading back to his own tent escorted by his bodyguards.

As he approached the tent two men were waiting outside. “Ah General Narses, General Comentiolus, Theodosius is alive, I have never been more happier then I am now, what is the status of our troops.

Both Comentiolus and Narses looked at each other what would they tell him, as their situation was bad really bad, their army cant just march as the soldiers were exhausted and even if they could were would they go? The men were thinking how to break it to the emperor. They looked at each other for a moment searching for the right words to say. Then Comentiolus spoke

“We are bad in a bad situation your Imperator”

“Our men are exhausted, outnumbered and we will soon be besieged. Our best chance for victory is to send a scout to Constantinople and get troops from the East”.

“In the mean time”

“In the mean time” interrupted Narses as Comentiolus was speaking because Comentiolus looked like he was having a hard time speaking.

“We have two options we can reinforce Adrianople and prepare for a long siege, or we can make a last stand outside the city”.

The emperor looked a bit overwhelmed a little while ago he had heard the first good news in a long and now he was going to have to make a difficult decision.

In a determined voice the emperor responded, “Prepare the troops we march in a few hours,”

Both men looked shocked but how could they march they lost a lot of men and the remaining soldiers looked extremely exhausted.

“Your majesty that might not be a good idea the soldiers are already exhausted, we could have another revolt please reconsider” spoke Narses as he banged the table.

“Relax general I have a plan,” responded Maurice in a calming voice while pointing outside.

“We ride in three hours, Genera Narses bring me several Scorpions and two Onagers with a lot of Vassals the same ones we used today”. “I am going to end this today”. The emperor pointed to the map as he was talking.

“It’s a mad plan what if you get captured or ambushed?” responded general Comentiolus

“What ever may happen the die is cast” spoke the emperor as all men soon dispersed to their various jobs.

Rebel camp March 3rd 603 AD 22.30

Constantine the soldier that defected a long with his cavalry unit a few months earlier was an austere man with little time for pleasure. Having been raised in a strict household he despised wealth and saw drinking and gambling as sins. A few hours earlier he had survived the battle but barely and he was increasingly resenting his decision to join the rebellion. At first he saw it as a great chance to get a saner emperor who didn’t cut money but now he was increasingly resenting the rebels with their lack of discipline, respect and brutality to the civilians.

The rebel army wasn’t as united as it seemed and each rebel commander ran their unit they way they wanted to. The authority of Phocas was partially recognized and most soldiers were loyal to their unit rather then Phocas and his higher ups. The only thing that kept them together was victory and some time the rebel soldiers would fight among themselves for spoils and petty disputes. Tonight the soldiers in Phocas’s army was drinking hard, some were having sex with prostitutes and others were trying to stay out of everything and trying to make it as things could get very violent in this kind of environment.

Constantine had kept his men together and maintained discipline by inspiring fierce loyalty in them.

Constantine entered Phocas’s camp the place was the scene of pure debauchery.

“Ah Constantine come in wine, a women perhaps?” obviously intoxicated Phocas’s was oblivious to what was happening outside.

“No thank you I have important news” Constantine responded in a firm voice.

“Oh do relax Constantine the war is over, we have won, the old emperor is dead and soon those fools or what ever is left will give in”.

“Well all do respect sir but the war is far from over only a quarter of the troops in the Balkans support us and Asia minor, Italy, Syria, Ayegptus, North Africa are loyal to Maurice”.

“How will you deal with them, another massacre perhaps?” barked Constantine in a malevolent voice.

“Now in regards to my news oh yes your being attacked Maurice’s army is attacking us right now there using those Onagers, many have all ready died outside”.

“Its pure anarchy, a lot of the soldiers want you dead” spoke Constantine in calm but cold voice.

“We are going to give them their request” screamed Constantine as he lifted his sword ready to kill the usurper.

Constantine’s soldiers without much resistance killed all Phocas’s men who were inside the tent.

Phocas was alone he got up but fell again; he was so drunk that he couldn’t even stand up straight.

“You dare raise your sword on your own emperor traitors, I will have you head on a pike for this” barked Phocas as he finally stood up raising his own sword.

A battle soon ensued and in one blow as Phocas moved to attack Constantine his sword fell. Constantine now had Phocas by his hands before he killed Phocas he spoke in a soft yet proud voice “emperor Maurice sends his regards”. As the blade entered Phocas killing and he laid on the floor. Another of Constantine’s men cut off Phocas’s head and stored it in a bag. Soon Constantine and his men headed towards Maurice’s army positions.

 

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[FONT=&quot]Whats up everyone. New update is out. In the next few chapters i am going add more people and well find out whats happening in other places ex persia western europe etc.
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[FONT=&quot]Chapter 18: Bloodbath[/FONT]​

By mid March of 603 AD the death of the usurper Phocas at the hands of his own troops resulted in the collapse of the rebellion. The night assault on the rebel camp had destroyed their morale and with the rebels completely surrounded although not aware of the loyalist army’s number decided to surrender in hopes of mercy from the emperor. Emperor Maurice feeling generous and not wanting more trouble from his troops decided to reinstate all of the soldiers back to their positions if they hand over the ringleaders of the rebellion. The soldiers with a bit of resentment quickly handed over many of their own commanders.

The rebel leaders were executed and over the next few weeks their heads were sent to various parts of the empire as proof that the rebellion was over. The rebellion did teach the emperor a lot of hard lessons that included being pragmatic in foreign policy in terms of paying tribute for peace, not openly reducing the military budget and most valuably it taught him if something goes wrong blame it on some one else. With the end of the rebellion the rebels were dispersed to rejoin their old units under careful supervision. Emperor Maurice on the other hand marched his 8,000 strong army to Constantinople arriving in early April as he had unfinished business with the Blues.

On arriving he found Constantinople to be a war zone with various factions fighting it out. The army along with the greens massacred over tens of thousands of rioters and rebelling citizens, he also seized the property of a lot of wealthy individuals who had supported the rebels. The money and property was distributed to the soldiers, sent to Italy and the rest went to the imperial treasury. By May half of Constantinople laid in ruins and over 50,000 individuals were killed in the military operation to restore order. It would take a long time to rebuild the damaged parts of Constantinople and the emperor was going to use money seized from wealthy individuals to rebuild. He learned his lessons from taxing the poor and the peasantry. The emperor was going to
Portray himself as a man defending the people.

Over the course of the rebellion the empire was quiet with the provinces waiting and seeing who was going to win. By early 604 AD Theodosius had recovered fully from his injures and was taking on more of the emperor duties. For the emperor there was no one else then Theodosius who would be emperor he had groomed his son for power for a long time. In this period The Empire was moving towards a more free market oriented system as Italy and the East were recovering very quickly from decades of conflict. Peace was in the air and with that came a lot of new ideas that would improve the way of life in the Roman Empire.