Rise, Aegyptus!

God-Eater of the Marshes

Hey Alternate History! This is my second TL, as my first wasn't very good or well received, so I am having another shot. The POD is the battle of Issus in the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628.

Rise, Aegyptus!

An alternate history timeline chronicling the ascendency and subsequent consequences of Coptic Egypt.

Prologue: The Roman Defeat at Issus

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The Sassanid Empire midway (circa 620AD) through the aforementioned war. The light green areas are recently conquered areas of the Byzantine Empire​


-24th of July, 622. Somewhere near the town of Issus.

"What about over there, Alexios?" called Constans, pointing to a hilltop where a plume of smoke rose, "Looks like an ambush"
"Nonsense. That isn't enough smoke to justify an ambush" said Alexios authoritatively, waving Constans's statement away like a fly, "It is most likely a woodcutter clearing scrub"
Constans acknowledged Alexios's explanation with a shrug, and Aristarchos and Oulixeus nodded in agreement. Heraclius had driven them hard over the past few months, and the preparation for the recapture of Issus had been grueling. He wanted nothing more than to return to camp, but still, he queried further,
"Alexios. The Persian encampment at Issus is small" he said, "I have a feeling that their entire force is not present"
"What? Why don't you go down and ask the Persians?" sneered Oulixeus, "'Hey Shahrbaraz! Is this your entire army or are the rest hiding in the hills with the woodcutter?' sounds good?"
The rest of the scouts apart from Constans sniggered, and Alexios smiled in victory. Constans knew that if he really wanted, he could pressure Alexios to check out the hills surrounding the town of Issus, but he chose not to. He knew that if he were wrong, Oulixeus, Aristarchos, Alexios and probably the other scouts would give him endless shit about it. He could see it now: "Hey Constans! Where are the Persians?" would become a regular occurrence, and Constans wasn't well liked as it was. Weighing the likelihood, Constans realized that the Persians were probably not planning an ambush. The scouts had done their job, and going into the hills wasn't what Heraclius had prescribed. Thus, history was changed by a guy not wanting to look like an idiot. Not exactly a rare occurrence.

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When the army of Heraclius marched forth to retake Issus, it turned out that Constans the Scout was correct: the Persians had indeed planned a large-scale ambush[1]. When the Roman (Byzantine) army engaged the small Persian force guarding the town, the trap was sprung. Persians descended from the hills, raining death and steel. The Roman army was caught in confusion as it's right, left and back flank was engaged. With no escape, the Romans panicked and the battle was lost. While the bulk of the Romans were frightened like a bunch of spooked chickens, The Optimatoi fought to the death[2], but their nobility was in vain. The Persians destroyed the army, capturing 10,000 prisoners as well as the esteemed emperor of the Romans, Heraclius himself. Ironically, Constans perished, slain by an arrow to the eye. Oulixeus, Aristarchos and Alexios escaped, forever bearing the shame of their fatal mistake.

The battle was lost, and with it the Roman counter-offensive was ground to a halt[3]. Powered by their latest victory, the Persians proceeded to go on a rampage through Anatolia, capturing almost all of it, except for a few exclaves of Roman authority that held out, but the Persians made no effort to subdue these exclaves: they could be dealt with after the great city of Constantinople was captured. With no Emperor to lead them, and two ravenous enemies[4] on either side of the Bosporus, the Romans seemed doomed. As such, the Persians laid siege to Constantinople in late 622AD, aided by their Avar allies. However, the Romans still had the naval superiority, and being that the majority of Constantinople was on the European side of the Bosporus, the Persians could do little except for look on as their Avars allies threw man after man in vain at the mighty walls Constantinople. After two weeks of the siege, the Persians attempt to capture the Bosporus straits, so as to set up a line of communication and transport siege equipment to aid the Avars, and they sent in their navy to destroy the Roman naval superiority. However, it was not to be so, the Romans were well-schooled in naval warfare and were better equipped, and the Persian fleet was sunk. The siege dragged on for a couple of weeks longer, until the exhausted Avar army retreated from the arrows of the Romans. On the other side of Bosporus, the Persians we at a brick wall: they could not capture Constantinople without a fleet, and their armies were exhausted and overextended. After momentous pressure from the war-weary nobles and generals, the Persian king made peace with the Romans, gaining huge tracts of land, but not recreating the Achaemenid Empire as was originally intended. With that, Heraclius was free to leave the captivity of the Persians and deal with the Avars in the west, who felt that the weakened empire would be easy game. Head bowed in disgrace, Heraclius left the court of the Sassanids in early 623AD.

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The purple is the Roman Empire, the green is the Avar-controlled portions of the Roman Empire and the turquoise is the Sassanid Empire. This is after the peace treaty that concludes the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-622. Apologies for the bad map.​

Heraclius left the Persians and returned to Constantinople. Under fire from his subjects as a result of the drastic loss of the war, Heraclius made a dramatic announcement to the court of the Romans: that by his death, Heraclius would reclaim the lost territories from the Sassanids or God help the Romans. It was a promise made of smoke and mirrors, but a good propaganda tool, at least. However, the Romans had a greater issue to deal with, that of the marauding Avars. Raising a large army of 35,000 to meet the Khagan of the Avars, Heraclius marched forth and met the Khagan at Heraclea. Although the Khagan had arranged to negotiate with the Emperor of the Romans, Heraclius, feeling the need to prove himself to his people, had planned to surprise the Khagan with a nasty treat. In a strange twist of fate, the Khagan had also arranged to ambush Heraclius. Ambush met ambush outside of Heraclea[5] in a moment of confusion, and the battle commenced. However, it was the Romans who had the advantage this time, for the Avars had rushed ahead, and sent a brigade of fast cavalrymen (designed to quickly capture Heraclius) straight into the marching Roman army. The Romans quickly destroyed the cavalrymen, and proceeded to march upon the Avar's main camp. The main body of the Avars were startled (they did not know that their's was the only ambush) and the Romans swept into them. The Romans fought tooth-and-nail, knowing if they lost, that the road to Constantinople. Eventually, the bravery of the Romans prevailed, and the Khagan agreed to peace, and promised not to assault the walls of Constantinople within his lifetime.

The year 623AD concluded with an air of shame about the Romans, and an air of glee among the Persians. However, for the next twenty years, the eye of the Near East would be turned on the previous breadbasket of the Romans, the now-Persian province of Aegyptus!

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

Now that I have set up the crux of the narrative, in the next installment I shall move onto the focal point: the Egyptians.

Any thoughts/feedback?

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Footnotes:

[1]: In the OTL battle of Issus, the emperor Heraclius discovered the ambush that the Sassanids had set up and pretended to flee upon entering the battlefield. The Persians in ambush then broke their cover to give chase, and the Roman army turned around and smashed them.

[2]: The Optimatoi were the elite Roman troops of the army, and in OTL they did most of the proverbial "smashing" that was aforementioned.

[3]:In OTL, the Battle of Issus was the first and most important stage in the Roman counter-offensive, as it saved Anatolia from the Sassanid Persians and opened the path for further Roman advances.

[4]: The Avars had began to invade the Romans in the beginning of the 7th century AD. However, they made a major push during the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-628 while the Romans were occupied with the Persians.

[5]: In OTL, the Khagan put horsemen en route to Heraclea to ambush and capture Heraclius, so they could hold him for ransom. Heraclius (without his army ITTL) was fortunately warned in time and managed to escape, and was subsequently chased by the Avars all the way to Constantinople.

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Index to Rise, Aegyptus!

Chapter I: The Triumph of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria, Part One
Chapter I: The Triumph of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria, Part Two
Chapter I: The Triumph of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria, Part Three
Chapter II: The Rebirth and Rise of the Phoenix, Part One
Chapter II: The Rebirth and Rise of the Phoenix, Part Two
Chapter II: The Rebirth and Rise of the Phoenix, Part Three
Chapter III: The Peace of Antioch, Part One
Chapter III: The Peace of Antioch, Part Two
Chapter III: The Peace of Antioch, Part Three
Chapter IV: Two Destroyed Empires, One Rising Power and the Guys Caught up in the Middle, Part One

Rulers of Aegyptus so far... (if Romanized, it is in Italics)

Kyrillos I Eikosidekas (Cyril I), Erro and Basileus of Aegyptus, 623AD-
 
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God-Eater of the Marshes

Update schmukdate

Before-you-read notes: For the sake of clarity, when I use the descriptor Coptic or Copt, I am referring to a native Egyptian who speaks the Coptic language more than any other, the overwhelming majority of native Egyptians were adherents of the Coptic brand of Christianity, so I may also use it as a descriptor for those Copts that follow the Coptic Chruch. Greek, when used in the context of Egypt, (example: "The Greeks were restless, and riots took place in Alexandria") refers to the Greeks that settled in Egypt and call it their home as well as those native Egyptian who have adopted the Greek language as their primary language. When I use the descriptor Egyptian, I am referring to all citizens of Egypt, native, Greek, Jewish or otherwise.


Chapter I: The Triumph of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria
Part One
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The Coptic Cross, the emblem of the Coptic Church​

It is a well known fact among the citizens of Egypt that Pope Benjamin I[1] was a remarkable figure. His brother, Mennas, was tortured and killed by Patriarch Cyrus[2], for refusing to profess to the Chalcedonian[3] brand of Orthodox Christianity. It is said that this spurred Benjamin I to gain independence and recognition for the adherents of the Coptic Church and caused a deep hate for the Romans inside of him. It was no surprise then, that when Benjamin I returned to Alexandria after many a year spent in exile, hiding from the Romans, the first major thing he did was to proclaim the that the rise of Egypt has begun, on the 30th of November, 623.

But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let us examine the events leading up to the proclamation that would change Egyptian history forever.

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-1st of July, 623. The Patriarchate of Alexandria.

"Your Holiness, you have no idea how pleased I am to see your return!" spoke Kyrillos Eikosidekas, as he bowed his head in respect to the Pope of Alexandria, "Many years, we have spent under the domination of the Romans, finally, we are free"

The Pope himself, a lean, bearded man of short stature and whispery, soft grey hair that grew down from his chin to his midriff, looked at Kyrillos with bemusement,

"Free of the Romans? I do not think the average citizen will know the difference!" he said quietly, though his words carried severe weight, "The taxes are still high and we do not govern ourselves, though Cyrus is out of the picture at least"

Kyrillos looked at his feet as if he were slightly embarrassed, "What do you mean?" he said, questionably, "My Holiness, the Sassanids promise to be kind to us, they speak of lowering the tax and increasing grain production!"

Benjamin I chuckled to himself, "Kyrillos, I know that the Sassanids chose you as the governor of Aegyptus province[4], but let us not get too sweet on them, they are not Copts or even Egyptian Greeks, so we are not truly free"

What Benjamin I had said was true, Kyrillos Eikosidekas had been chosen as the governor of the capital province of Aegyptus. A Hellenized Copt, he spoke both Koine Greek and the Coptic language fluently. Not only that, but he was a capable administrator, a wealthy individual and an adherent of Benjamin I's church. The Sassanids chose wisely. Kyrillos in question paused before he spoke but the Pope of Alexandria spoke first, cutting him off, "My son, where do your loyalties lie? The Sassanids are kind to us, yes. But the farmer is kind to his animals. He feeds him and loves them, but when the day of the slaughter comes, not a tear is shed"

At this, Kyrillos became annoyed, "Your Holiness! I doubt the Sassanids would bring us to the proverbial slaughter!"

"Oh? The Sassanids are broken and overextended. Their realm is far to great for them to handle, they are weak and they know it! That is why Greeks run their provinces and Copts form their armies based in Egypt! They paid the price for their conquests in coin and manpower!" exclaimed Benjamin I, his words, like thunder, crackling with emotion, "When the Romans, as Heraclius promised, attack them or when someone eventually rebels or when a dissatisfied noble claims the throne, what then? Their fragile empire of glass and air will come crashing down! And where will that leave the Egyptians? The Sassanids would exploit this fair realm and then abandon this province at the first sign of trouble!"

Kyrillos was taken aback: he hadn't expected this from the Pope of Alexandria. But then he reminded himself that Benjamin was known for his fervent belief in the independence of the Coptic Church, and with it, the Coptic people. But, as adventurous as ever, Kyrillos put forth a counterattack, "I do not think the Sassanids would abandon Aegyptus as fast as you imply, neither do I think that the Sassanids are weak! It takes a large degree of strength to defeat the Romans, and even more to get them to agree to your terms! We are much better off under the Sassanids than we ever were under the Romans!"

It was a good point. The Romans had been the de facto masters of the Mediterranean as long as anyone could remember, but the venerable Pope of Alexandria was not defeated yet, "Are you saying the Romans are giants, with no weaknesses? And that the Sassanids are mighty warriors, vanquishing all foes? That it is some God-given miracle that these heathens defeated the Romans?" he said, "Far from it! Listen: Once upon a time, there lived an old Coptic goat-herder. This is a man with little love in his life or love for his life. Characteristically, he is wifeless and childless. One day, whilst in the markets of Hermopolis, he spies a young girl, of about ten years of age. The young girl is strikingly beautiful, and the goat herder wishes her to become his wife. The father of the young girl names a dowry, which happens to be extremely high. Not to be rebuffed, the goat herder saves and saves until ten years later he is able to afford the virgin bride, who is now of a ripe twenty years of age. Seems like a story of overcoming your burdens, right?"

Kyrillos nodded silently and Benjamin I continued, "Not really, my son. For the father is bereft of a daughter, and has to watch his beautiful daughter fall to the hands of a poor goat-herder, after all, he named a dowry. As for the goat herder, he is penniless and old. Crooked teeth and a handful of skinny goats is not enough to support a family, let alone his beautiful bride, so who really wins? The bride. For after all the squabbling, when her husband dies, which he will, she will inherit his wealth, however meagre it is, and she will be free to make her own life, marry her own man"

Benjamin I sat there and peered at Kyrillos, searching for a reaction, would he dismiss Benjamin I's analogy? Challenge it? Maybe even realize the truth of it? Kyrillos fidgeted slightly, then stood up abruptly, "I am sorry, your Holiness, I have official duties to attend to. I must take my leave."

As he walked towards the door, the Pope of Alexandria shot out a question, "My son, do you consider yourself Egyptian?"

Kyrillos turned and looked at Benjamin, no words were said, at least through the means of speech,

"If so, do your loyalties lie with the Egyptians?" said Benjamin I, "Or, like so many other Egyptians, with the money that a foreign oppressor can offer?" and as Kyrillos left, the unanswered question hung in the air like the evening mist.

Thus, the governor of the Aegyptus province left the Pope of Alexandria with a seed of doubt in his mind. But a seed can grow into a tree.

And that tree can bear fruit.

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That is the second installment, and of course, the chapter is not finished yet, more to come! As you may or may not have seen, Benjamin I and Kyrillos will play important roles in this play, so stay tuned!

Any questions/comments/criticism?

Footnotes:

[1]: The Pope of Alexandria refers to the leader of the Coptic Church, and as no relation to the Pope of Rome. Pope Benjamin I is known to have been a skilled orator and believer in the Egyptian people, in fact, when 'Amr ibn al-'As met the Pope, 'Amr is quoted as having said that he had never seen such an impressive man of God as Benjamin.

[2]: Patriarch Cyrus was the Chalcedonian Christian leader, and under the Romans, the de jure head of all churches of Egypt. Cyrus and Benjamin I are known to have been mortal enemies.

[3]: Chalcedonian refers to the Council of Chalcedon, whereby it was decreed that in Jesus, Divinity and Humanity were two separate parts of his person. The Oriental Churches (including the Coptic Church) disagreed, and asserted that the natures of Divinity and Humanity were united in one single nature ("physis"). The Council of Chalcedon ultimately alienated the Egyptians from the rest of the Romans, and the Miaphysites (those who believed that the natures of Divinity and Humanity were united in one single nature) were looked down on by the Romans. Though the Romans were not nearly as bad as Benjamin I makes them out to be and the main reason that the Egyptians disliked their Roman masters was on the grounds of an extremely high and complex taxation system which the Romans implemented, and the fact that they had little financial freedom about who they sold their grain to.

[4]: The Roman province of Aegyptus was divided into smaller sub-provinces, one of which was the sub-province of Aegyptus. See this map.
 
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God-Eater of the Marshes

Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys!

Before-you-read note: When I say Egypt I am referring to the nation, as a body of people and as a geographic entity. When I say Aegyptus I am referring to the state/province, as a political entity (unless noted otherwise). For a modern parallelism, think "Russia" and "the USSR". One is a nation, the other is a state.

Chapter I: The Triumph of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria
Part Two
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The Sassanid King Khosrau II the Ever Victorious​

-23rd of August, 623. The Throneroom of Khosrau II

Shahrbaraz has become to ambitious for his good. Those were the last words that ran through the mind of Khosrau II[1] as he received fifteen arrows to the torso. Blood splattered across the varnished floor of the palace and the "Ever Victorious" King of Persia's face met with the cold floor. Wearing a grim expression, Shahrbaraz strolled across the floor to where Khosrau II lay, that'll teach the bastard to plot against me[2]. Fifteen archers followed him, all shining in gilded armor. "The king of Persia is dead. Long live the new king" said Shahrbaraz quietly, as he lifted the crown from the head of the dead monarch. As he had been practicing his moment a hundred times in his head, the great general who had oversaw the defeat of the Romans placed the crown upon his head and turned the face the archers who had followed him, the assassins of Khosrau II.

"Kneel before your lord" said Shahrbaraz, "I am now Shahrbaraz I, Sassanid king of Persia"

The archers did so, kneeling before the new king. Shahrbaraz turned around and faced the throne where only moments before Khosrau II had been seated, before he stood up to receive the Eran Spahbod[3]. It was now Shahrbaraz's throne. It was now Shahrbaraz's empire.

"Order the army to kill all of Khosrau II's family, and inform the empire of its new king" he said ominously, "Now, leave me. I must get used to my new throne and the duties it entails"

And in a matter of ten minutes, the brilliant general Shahrbaraz had become the king of Persia. Overlord of Sassanids. Free to exercise his reign over his great empire

Little did he know, it would be one hell of a reign.

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News spread quickly about the death of Khosrau II, and his subsequent replacement by the usurper Shahrbaraz. Immediately, it caused great commotion. This was especially true in the Levant and Anatolia, where the conquered peoples saw him as a vile beast, capable of only death. After all, he was the one who orchestrated the invasion of both regions. Another place where he was loathed was Egypt. Which, of course, had faced his conquering hand during the brutal siege of Alexandria. However, barring the civil threats of revolt, Shahrbaraz also faced immediate revolt from the nobles of his realm. A great deal of them were upset; the king Khosrau II had been a good king, and had grotesquely increased some of their estates. Not only that, but Persia wasn't exactly 4th century Rome, and usurpations were not taken lightly, far from it. But in Shahrbaraz's eyes, the only people who's support he needed was that of the army, which he had, mostly. In the same day that he usurped Khosrau II, he re-divided and re-drew the estates of nobles, vastly cutting down most, and giving huge plots of land to his generals to ensure their support. Now, he would pacify the nobles the only way Shahrbaraz knew how to, through the edge of a sword and the point of an arrow.

As was aforementioned, Shahrbaraz was in for one hell of a reign.

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-21st of September, 623. Kyrillos Eikosidekas's official study.

"Enter" said Kyrillos Eikosidekas, and the door opened. In entered three men, Shahin Vahmanzadegan[4] and two Greek guards. Kyrillos sat bolt upright,

"Shahin? What are you doing here?" he said with surprise, and he walked forward to receive the the spahbod.

"I am sorry, Kyrillos" he said, with a faux air of sorrow, "but you are no longer the governor of Aegyptus"

"I'm sorry?" spluttered Kyrillos, "I've been here for less than a year? Am I not Khosrau II's loyal servant?"

"That is the point" said Shahin, "Khosrau II has been deposed and his despicable corpse dragged throughout the streets. The great Shahrbaraz is the new king of Persia and he sees fit to elect me as the governor of all of Egypt, Aegyptus and all the other provinces"

"What? Shahrbaraz?" Kyrillos sat back down and placed a sweating palm against his forehead, "He is merging all the provinces of Egypt into one? Do you have any idea what that will cause?" Kyrillos threw his arms around, surprise turning into anger, "Disaster! A bureaucratic disaster! It takes years to complete a bureaucratic reform that large! What is he thinking?"

"It is for the betterment of Persia" Shahin said matter-of-factly, "Now settle down. Please."

"Settle down? The betterment of Persia? What about the betterment of Egypt?" yelled Kyrillos, he was really angry. Since his momentous conversation with the Pope of Alexandria, Kyrillos had been doubting the Sassanids. They gave independence to the Coptic Church and threw around big words, spouting idealism like a fountain. Speaking about making the Aegyptus region second only to Persia and increasing the harvest and making the Egyptians equal to the Persians. Kyrillos had began to doubt it since he talked with Benjamin I. No longer did he doubt it, he knew it was all shit. "Shahrbaraz is making you governor of all Aegyptus to satisfy you and preventing you from rebelling against him!"

"Leave my office!" yelled Shahin, "Leave now! I am the governor of all Aegyptus! You are lowly Copt! A slave to your overlords"

Kyrillos's face grew bright red and his hand flew down to his waist. It all happened so fast, but in a second or two, a dagger was sticking out of Shahin's neck. The guards yelled and knocked Kyrillos to the floor.

"Fools!" barked Kyrillos, "What are you going to do? Kill me? And then what? Lick the boots of the Persians some more! Fools!"

The guards stopped for a moment, stunned at the audacity of the Copt before them, "I am the governor of Aegyptus, this is Egypt, and I am Egyptian!" he yelled, standing up, "You are Egyptian, and should act like you are! I refuse the rule of Shahrbaraz!"

The guards backed away, absolutely stunned, "Now, go and get me the Pope of Alexandria!" commanded Kyrillos, the guards stood there, dumbfounded, "I gave you an order!"

They scurried off, not really knowing what else to do.

Gone was the boy who was the bootlicker of the Persians, here was a man who was willing to stand for his own.

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Two murders, two usurpations and a counter-usurpations? What is this, the Roman Empire? :D

So anyway, there is part two. I know it is meh.

Part three of chapter one is on its way.

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Footnotes:

[1]: Khosrau II was the king of Persia from 590 AD to 628 AD in OTL.

[2]: Shahrbaraz was the Persian's top general, and midway through the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-628, Khosrau II plotted to have him executed, as Shahrbaraz was growing too powerful, which Shahrbaraz discovered. An early end to the war gives Shahrbaraz the time to commit his revenge. In OTL, Shahrbaraz committed an usurpation in 630AD, so ITTL he only commits it at an earlier date.

[3]: Eran Spahbod was Shahrbaraz's official title, it meant "Commander of the Army of Iran"

[4]: Shahin Vahmanzadegan was a prominent spahbod (Commander) of the Persian army. A member of the House of Suren and the House of Karen, he was well-connected and a viable contender to the Sassanid throne.
 
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God-Eater of the Marshes

TheLordProtector said:
Holy shit. :eek: When did Kyrillos become such a raging badass?
Click to expand...

He used Old Spice that morning? :D

But really, he was always a fervent patriotic and a capable man, but until he met Benjamin I his eye wasn't opened to Benjamins I's view of the Persian oppressors, I guess.

Also, swiping away a man's job and country like that is pretty drastic.
 
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