So the votes are in, I'll continue this TL. Thanks guys for putting in your thoughts! Glad you could.
Chapter V: A Comfortable Rest Amidst the Debris
Part Three
Contemporary depiction of the Greek Melkite general Isaias Marangoudakis.
If you were to ask every single person in the entire kingdom of Aegyptus, no-one would be able to accurately predict the coming months. The turmoil and trouble that was to follow would be blamed on many different parties. Some would assert the emerald-eyed Roman Empire to the West was the cause. Some would blame the Greek aristocracy. Others the Coptic or Melkite Churches. Still others would assert that Kyrillos I, to be frank, had it coming. In reality, it was a culmination of factors, but as usual, some suspects were more guilty. Ever since the accession of Kyrillos I to the throne of Aegyptus, people grew unsettled. As previously mentioned, the Greek aristocracy was dissatisfied with his rulership. Actually to say that they were dissatisfied is a bit of a broad overgeneralisation. At the best, the Greek aristocracy were mildly wary, but at worst, they were deeply hateful. Indeed, their were members of the aristocracy who identified with both groups (and everything in between). The Melkite Church was also at odd with Kyrillos I. After realising that their time as the premier religious establishment of Aegyptus was over, they strategically chose to remain out of the Erros's eye. However, their consensus of Kyrillos I and what he stood for was generally quite negative. If the increasingly marginalised Greek aristocracy had few reasons to like Kyrillos I, the Melkite Church had even less. The military, which was staffed primarily by Greeks and Hellenised Copts, was split in its loyalties. Indeed, even within the Coptic Church he has made enemies: The ultrajingoistic elements of the church (y'know, that element in any organisation which has a bit of a Napoleon syndrome: loud and violent, but small and generally disliked) still have not forgiven Kyrillos I for refusing to help his Roman brothers, and allowing the Muslim advance into Christendom.
So in short, the fires of untreated domestic division and heated foreign affairs had been boiling the waters of a cauldron that looked a lot more dangerous then a simple black pot. But then again, bombs can often be disguised as things as innocent as a briefcase, right? Anyway, up until now, the lid of that cauldron had been kept firmly on. Notice the past tense in the previous statement. So what happened to turn all this on its head? It all started with a fairly small act of rebellion, which blew up faster than you could say "Guy Fawkes". The depopulated yet important border region of Cyrenaica had been a hotspot of anti-Kyrillos activity. The governor was a man from an excellently conservative Greek stock, and the people in Cyrene had more in common with the Romans only a few hundred miles away than they did with even the cosmopolitan Greeks in Alexandria. The majority-Greek region had also been the recipient of a great deal of political undesirables from the more heavily populated areas of Aegyptus. So in a nutshell: Not the place Kyrillos I would want to be wondering around in the dark unprotected on a cold October night.
On the 27th of January, 645AD, an extremist sect of anti-Copts was uncovered in Cyrene. Calling itself the
Dóry tis Aigyptiakis Romaious (the Spear of Egyptian Romans), the sect was the equivalent of a medieval terrorist cell which openly and vehemently advocated the destruction of Kyrillos I's regime. Kyrillos I was highly annoyed that his sect was not uncovered earlier, and as such he ordered the sect to be destroyed. And he meant destroyed: All members of the sect was to be beheaded publicly. Reluctantly, the governor of Cyrenaica carried out Kyrillos I's orders with one small exception. One member of the sect unfortunately happened to be the charismatic and well-connected commander of the Cyrenaica legion, Iulian Rhinotenos. It was inevitable that Kyrillos I would find out, and when he did he was furious. On the 6th of February, he sent the (coincidentally Melkite) General of the Egyptian Army, Isaias Marangoudakis in to arrest both the governor and the local legion commander, and have both executed. Isaias Marangoudakis brought with him 10,000 men of the military. It seemed that this minor infraction would soon be over.
But alas, it was not to be. No-one is really sure what happened after Isaias Marangoudakis left Alexandria. Some say his aging head was filled by Iulian Rhinotenos with dreams of a rejuvenated Aegyptus with him as another Ptolemy. Some say the decades of war and social unrest embittered him against the regime of Kyrillos I. Still others say that from the start, Isaias Marangoudakis was a cold-hearted and ambitious snake, who was simply waiting for a chance to strike. Most likely, it was a culmination of all of the above. Regardless of what went through the head of Isaias Marangoudakis, he returned to Alexandria with 15,000 men (the addition of Cyrenaica's legion) in a manner that would have made Phocas smile with glee.
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-16th of March, 645AD. The Royal Palace of Alexandria.
Kyrillos I gasped for air against the cold steel that seemed the wrap itself around his neck. Around him, the blood of the palace guards and servants was painted against the walls and floors in a last-ditch testimonial to their pathetic lives. Candles flickered against the breeze of wind that came through the open throneroom doors and the stench of death permeated the room like an unwanted guest.
"W-What is t-this?" Kyrillos I stuttered, the fear mangling his words like an angry bear, "W-Why have you d-d-done this?"
The Erros and Basileus of Aegyptus was lifted up to face the perpetrator of this heinous crime. Isaias Marangoudakis[1] stared at the ruler of Aegyptus for a brief moment, then stabbed him through the throat. The death-throes of the Erros and Basileus of Aegyptus were blood-curdling, and those who heard it would later state that it sounded demonic in a respect, as if a dragon had been slain.
The General of the Egyptian Army looked with eyes of iron at the dead Erros, and did not offer any sort of emotion towards his great betrayal. Isaias had won battles - no - wars for the dead Erros, and now he was reaping his reward. He turned to his men who still clenched their blood-soaked weapons with a sort of grim desperation found only in starving lions.
"Find Benjamin I and arrest him. Find Matthaios and kill him." he said in a harsh monotone. His men nodded silently and then departed the room. Isaias bent down to Kyrillos I and lifted the gilded crown from the floor. The crown was still warm from Kyrillos I's head, and it had a single slash of blood across it.
"Well well my old friend. How is it in Hell?" said Isaias quietly, "You knew this was inevitable didn't you? You see, at first we held great hopes in you my friend. Great hopes. We thought you'd be able to balance the interests of both the people and the nobility. Alas, the scales have been tipping away from us since Benjamin I's proclamation. You and your Coptic puppet forgot that the wealth and indeed fate of this great, sunburnt country will always lie with us. And our church. We've been here since Alexander the Great. And we're not leaving any time soon."
He stood up and placed the crown of Aegyptus upon his head, totally ignoring the dribbles of Kyrillos I's blood that fell from the crown and onto the face of the self-proclaimed Basileus,
"I had no love for the Romans. And even less for the Persians. My friend, I support an independent Aegyptus. We're quite alike in a way: we both want to rule from Alexandria"
The snake had stricken, now all that remained was whether the bitten would bite back.
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Betrayal! The word would ring across Aegyptus like a shout from God. To many, the heinous crime committed by one of Aegyptus's foremost heroes was as stunning as it was totally unexpected. Immediately there was a highly polarised reaction across the political landscape of Aegyptus. The Greek landowners were in almost unanimous support of the coup, as those who had known of Isaias's intent had been the backers of the plot from its inception. The Greek ruling elite had finally boiled over after having been heating up in anger against the Erros, who in response had only initiated bribes and soft oppression for the last ten or so years. Essentially, the now dead Kyrillos I had learnt a lesson that so many monarchs would later learn: You either purge the ruling class or submit to their demands, there rarely is a middle ground. but the Coptic bureaucracy and minor aristocrats were in an uproar. The Melkite Church and her Patriarch[2] Maximus of Alexandria, threw their support behind the usurpation by Isaias. Indeed, the Coptic Church was violently against it, and when the Patriarch Benjamin I was arrested and carried off to the dungeons of Kyrillos I's Palace, the Church started to openly confront the new regime in methods that were most unbecoming of a church. Open, vehement sermons advocating violent rebellion were made and the Church used every drop of it's far-reaching influence to condemn the new regime.
Of course, Isaias had quickly made many and some very powerful enemies but he wouldn't have initiated the coup if his regime didn't have any hope of continuation. Having the backing of the Greek aristocracy, he had an enormous deposit of funds, and being the General of the Egyptian Army he had the support of the... Well the army obviously. But whether or not his regime survived could probably be best connected to whether or not Prince Matthaios survived. He was indeed the heir to the deposed Eikosidekid dynasty but probably more importantly he was the legion commander for the Avgoustamnkai region, and thus already had a sizeable military force under his wing. Indeed, in a stroke of bad luck that would ironically fit best in a Classical Greek tragedy, the first attempt to kill Matthaios failed dramatically. When a small battalion of troops arrived in the city of Paramoun[3] to arrest the Prince (and subsequently execute him) they were met with the entire Avgoustamnkai legion which had been mustered in anticipation.
Matthaios, who was previously a competent if not slightly spoilt heir apparent, seemed to have been evolved into a much different beast by the terrible betrayal of his father. When his legion easily overcame the battalion sent to kill him, he ordered every man to be slaughtered except for one man, who would be blinded and sent back to Alexandria to convey Matthaios's message to Isaias Marangoudakis. It was a simple message, which was worded something similar to "I will destroy you". With such a chilling and rage-induced message, the Prince of Aegyptus very much resembled the young Kyrillos I when he overthrew the office of Shahin Vahmanzadegan. But regardless of the behaviour of the Prince, the province of Avgoustamnkai was the first to raise the flag of rebellion, and after that, the entirety of Aegyptus descended into a civil war that would forever be etched into the Egyptian consciousness.
The reply to Matthaios's bold statement of rebellion was to raise the nation's levies and attempt to purge the country of all opposing elements. The Coptic Church was largely targeted, and heavy harassment upon the priests became a regular occurrence. Pope Benjamin I was stripped of his title and an obscure chorbishop[4] from Cyrenaica was crowned Pope Petros V. Of course, Petros V was merely a puppet of Isaias Marangoudakis. Around the same time this religious tomfoolery was occurring, the banner of the Eikosidekid dynasty was attracting more followers. In the south especially, the Governors of Thēbaida , Diopolis Periochi and Arsinoites threw their support behind the Eikosidekid. Being the heartlands of the Coptic Church and much less cosmopolitan than the north, they felt threatened by the Greek aristocracy. The Governor of Voreia Nouvia, though pro-Marangoudakis, abandoned ship and fled to Alexandria. Swiftly, an army of 30,000 men was assembled by the Governor of Thēbaida . Though the army was made up mostly of untrained levies, the troops were enthusiastic and determined. This, in addition to the professional legion of Prince Matthaios meant that Isaias Marangoudakis and the backers of his plot were facing a very real threat. Obviously, the Byzantine-style coup that Isaias Marangoudakis was attempting to initiate was not going to plan.
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I bet you didn't see that coming! Well... Then again, this is seventh-century Middle East... So some might have. I'll expand on the foreign reaction et cetera in the next update, remember this has all happened within a matter of a few days!
Feedback much wanted. This an abrupt and kind of sudden turn in the marvellous Egyptian drama, so I would like to know what you all think. Also, forgive (or better yet, point out) any typos et cetera. Long update done on a basic text edit program with no spelling/grammar checking. Thanks guys.
Footnotes:
[1]: So this guy! All-star general of the Egyptian army! Though then again, this sort of thing was popular back then, especially in nations which shared any kind of cultural heritage with the Romans.
[2]: Technically this dude is the Archbishop of the See of Alexandria. Not a patriarch in the sense of Benjamin I (or rather Petros V now).
[3]: Paramoun is the seaside capital of the Avgoustamnkai region.
[4]: A chorbishop is a rank below a regular bishop and their name translates to "rural bishop".
Hmmm! Not much footnotes I kind of rushed that part admittedly, so yell if you need something explained.