One in which the specifier (here, -Thuida) follows the head of the noun-phrase or compound word, (sigis- in this case), unlike English or German where you normally have the specified in the last position.At the risk of sounding stupid(er than normal) what is head-complement structure? Once I know - I can give you an answer
The Amalingian Empire: The Story of the Gothic-Roman Empire
- Thread starter DanMcCollum
- Start date
Ah, yes. I'd have to look into a bit more of the mechanics of the Gothic language. Truthfully, for the name of the party, I was following mor the conventions of personal names. In personal names Sigis always comes first, so I went with it (probably a more accurate translation woukd have been "Victory of the People" Party).
Any linguists wanna jump in here?
Ah, yes. I'd have to look into a bit more of the mechanics of the Gothic language. Truthfully, for the name of the party, I was following mor the conventions of personal names. In personal names Sigis always comes first, so I went with it (probably a more accurate translation woukd have been "Victory of the People" Party).
Any linguists wanna jump in here?
No idea if they did, but even if they originally didn't, it's bound to change over time and generations as they are in Italy where Latin population is still high and Latin language and rules influence it.
Well, People's Victory and Victory of the People mean about the same
And in both cases, "Victory" is the specified and the head, not the specifier.I am under the impression that in Gothic personal names beginning with "sigis", that part is the specifier instead, as in, these names mean "the X of Victory" not "Victory of X". Bu this may be mistaken.
(Also, I checked, "sigis" in this form can be either nominative - typically the case of specified heads - or genitive - the prototypical case for nominal specifiers).
EDIT: I checked too cursorily, sigis- is a neuter and its nominative is not identical to the genitive - which would have been the case for a masculine word with the same form. In compound names I assume it is just the declensional theme. However, it looks like that that element is indeed the specifier.
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Chapter 82 Czech One, Czech Two
Chapter 82
Czech One, Czech Two
Romanticized Depiction of a Battle between the Slavs and Gepids
657, Nitra [OTL: Nitra, Slovakia]
Aiza knew what they were going to find, even as they crested the hill and stared down into the river valley at the settlement. The fires had burnt out, but even from here he could smell the sickeningly familiar scent of burnt wood and flesh which hung on the air like a faint miasma. A sick feeling welled deep in his gut and and his hand fell to his belly and began to rub it absently. He hoped he wouldn’t become sick in front of the other men.
“Looks like we won’t be buying any amber,” Badwilla said absently, a small smile crossed the large bald man’s face.
“Shut up,” Aiza said, his voice hissed out barely above a whisper. “It looks like who ever did this is long gone, judging from the lack of fires, but we can’t be certain.” He fixed Badwilla with a withering stare and was satisfied when the large man bowed his head.
“Whatever you said boss. We going down there?”
Aiza nodded, “Yup. There may be survivors that we can help.” Even as he said the words, they rang hollow in his own ears – he knew the chances of anyone being alive down there were minimal. “Besides, just in case the bastards who did this are still hanging around, we need to know. I’ll be damned if I lead my caravan into an ambush.”
“You think anyone would be stupid enough to attack a caravan from the Empire?”
That statement was dumb enough that it didn’t even deserve a response, and so Aiza just shrugged. Without saying another word, he spurred on his horse and began the descent down into the valley as the rest of his comrades followed behind.
The trip to the village took only about fifteen minutes, and that was with the party moving as slowly and cautiously as possible. As Aiza led the small band down the hills and closer to the village, the earth began to flatten and the trees grew patchy and soon gave way to farm and pasture lands. Soon, Aiza knew, it would be nearly impossible to remain hidden from anyone still residing in the town. Instinctively, he reached back and patted the bow on his back, knowing full well that he and his men could be struck down before he even had a chance to draw the weapon, if they were ambushed and the shooter was lucky.
Yet, as they drew closer no arrows whistled through the air with their distinctive screams, nor could be detect the sounds of blades being drawn. In fact, there were no sounds at all, save for the babbling of the River Nistra upon whose banks the village stood and the howling of a dog.
The village was surrounded by small wooden fence which, apparently, had done little to prevent the atrocity of taking place. Even this minimal defensive structure had been subjected to desecration, as if the attackers refused to allow even the smallest symbol of defiance to survive unscathed – sections of the fence had been set aflame and others had been viciously beaten and broken down. Aiza frowned as they drew closer and shook his head sadly. “They didn’t stand a chance,” he muttered to no one in particular. The sound of his voice in his own ears roused Aiza from his thoughts and brought him back to attention.
Silently he cursed himself for dropping his guard for even a second, years of military experience from a lifetime prior, barked orders. Obeying them without a second thought, he effortlessly slid from the saddle of his horse and dropped to the ground, hunching over as he did so. He motioned to the three other men with him to do the same, and they did so without a second through. Drawing his bow and making it ready for an emergency he silently made his way past the fense and until the village itself.
Together, he and his men crept into the corpse of the small town. Although the fires had burnt themselves out long ago, the smell of smoke, burnt flesh and death were much stronger here than they had been from upon the valley hill. Bodies littered the alleys between houses and the village common ground, and this caused Aiza to be both overwhelmed by a palpable wave of sadness that threatened to smash into him and drag him down into the depths, as well as a sick pride and sense of satisfaction. “At least they put up a good fight,” he said, “and didn’t go to the slaughter like sheep.”
“What was that, Boss,” Badwilla asked in a whisper.
“I said,” Aiza said, his voice raising in volume, “that they put up a good fight. The villagers I mean. They didn’t win, but they didn’t meekly accept their lot either. Look at that, there,” he said, pointing to an armored figure landing in the grass.
Without waiting for a response, Aiza moved closer. The body lay face down in the grass, its expensive calvery armor covered in brown dried blood. As he came closer, a cloud of black flies swarmed up from the body and made their escape from the interlopers. Aiza coughed, and sputtered a cursed as he threw his arms up to drive the black demons away. Then he took his foot and with a kick far more savage than it needed to be, he flipped the corpse over. Blank white eyes stared out from a swollen face that was already turning black from decay, casting their blind gaze up to the sky.
“Couldn’t even be bothered to bury their own,” Aiza said, a black ball of bile building in his heart as he said the words. “That means they were in a hurry and this was a lightening raid. We’re safe, or, at least, should be. Whoever did this is long gone. And if they weren’t, we likely have been dead a long time back. I doubt anyone who does this,” and then to illustrate his point, he cast his arm out in a wide arc to take in the expanse of the town, “would have any trouble in engaging in treachery and ambushing us.”
“But who did this,” Badwilla asked.
“Gepids,” Aiza said. “When I fought with Duke Erwig against Prince Theodebert, there were Gepids amongst our foes. I’d recognize their armor anywhere, after the things I saw them due when I fought for Erwig. Bastards.” That last word formed itself nearly effortlessly upon his lips, and he spat it out like a man does a wad of bitter phlem coughed up from the lungs. A wave of fear and panic washed over him as he remembered the sights and sounds of the Gepid calavery charge upon his position, years ago. He remembered lying wounded, and seeing the things they did to the bodies of his comrades while he did his best to hide under the corpses of now-dead friends.
“But,” Badwilla said, “Why? We know that they extort tribute from the Slavic tribes here, but why would they slaughter an entire village like this?”
Aiza swallowed a laugh – for all of the large man’s reputation as a brawler and toughman, he had never seen service in any military. He might be rough hewn, but there remained a niavity to him which still amazed Aiza. “Because, they were sending a message. If I had to reckon, I’d guess that the fair people of this village didn’t pay their tribute; either because they couldn’t, or because they refused. Either way it amounted to the same thing. The Gepids came here and wiped the place out to the last man to send a warning to the other tribes and villages nearby. They took the women and children as slaves, beat down the men of fighting age, and then slaughtered the elderly and anyone else they couldn’t take back with them.”
The words he spoke were matter of fact, but the tone was deeply bitter, betraying the rage he felt building within himself. All of this, Aiza calmly noted, as if the words and emotions were coming from somewhere, someone, else. He felt separated from himself, almost as if he were watching his own actions like they were being performed by an actor in a play. No one was more shocked than he, when he pulled down his trousers, grabbed his member and let flow a stream of piss onto the face of the dead Gepid warrior.
“Why did I do that,” he absently wondered to himself. And the answer came back immediately – an overpowering rage which pounded in his temples and caused his vision to momentarily blur. Rage! These people had been innocent. Innocent. They might have been heathens, and there were many back in the Gothreik that might have called them barbarians, but they had been human, had been good. They had been innocent. He felt a scream building in his chest and clamped it down with only the greatest of effort so that it escaped from his clenched teeth as a high pitch whistle of air, and was followed by the sound of air sucked back in through that same clenched jaw. Whistle, suck, whistle, suck. He repeated the pattern until slowly the red heat left his cheeks and some measure of calm and control returned to him.
Hitching his trousers up again, Aiza looked at his two companions who stared back at him, mouths agape and worried expressions painted upon their faces. “What,” he asked in his best approximation of his normal voice, a mimic of a wry smile upon his lips, “I really had to go and didn’t have the chance.” They didn’t say anything, their eyes casting over him as one does at a well trusted dog which has just begun to snarl.
He waved them off with his hand and walked away, deep in thought. Something had to be done to stop this from happening again. He has been trading in these lands for years now – ever since he took his final payment for his services to Duke Erwig and invested them in a wagon, goods, and a sellsword and set off to make his life as a merchant far to the north of the Empire and away from its wars, its treachery, and its barbarism masked as civilization. He knew the Gepids bled the region of its gold. The Slavs made easy targets; most were simple farmers, their villages were largely independent, and their position along the famed amber road meant that wealth flowed through the land. Easy pickings for an amibitious warlord or king – and the older he got the less Aiza saw a differene between the two. But even the worst of the Gepids had never planned a campaign of wholesale slaughter.
“So, uh, Boss, what do we do?”
Aiza looked up at Badwilla and sighed. “We do what we can. No one’s coming back here. They’re long gone. So we are going back to the caravan tonight and camping. We’ll set up a double watch, just to be careful. Even if the Gepids are gone that doesn’t mean that there aren’t brigands in the area. We can’t afford to let our guard down. Then, tomorrow, we all come back here and we give the dead a proper burial. The Slavs they,” he trailed off as if in thought for a second and then said, “they cremate their dead. We’ll pile the bodies in the largest building that’s still standing and set it afire.”
“But, uh, the Church won’t like that. My priest once told me that the only proper burial is in the ground. Only pagans burn their dead.”
Anger shot through Aiza once again, and Badwilla must have seen it because he lurched back as if stung. Had he ever seen Badwilla scared before? It didn’t matter. “Let me be clear, right here and right now. I couldn’t give two shits for what the Church will or won’t allow. First, these people here aren’t Christian, and we’ll respect them the way they’d want us two. Second of all, the Church and their God didn’t lift a finger to stop the slaughter when we rode against Theodemir and his Lombard and Gepid allies. If he can’t be bothered to intervene then, I doubt he’s gonna do so much as glance in our direction when we burn the dead.”
Badwilla’s jaw dropped for the second time in just a few minutes and he hurriedly crossed himself and mouthed a prayer.
It was their third companion, Totila who spoke next – for the first since since they had caught wiff of what was head of them. “And what do we do if we find any more Gepids? I’m afraid we don’t have enough water to pee on them all.” At that Totila, who was older than the other two men barked out a laugh at his own wit.
“We let them rot,” Aiza said, the potent finality dripping from the words. “We let them rot like they deserve.” And then he smiled, and it was a horrid thing; the sort of smile he had rarely had since the war, “But, if you do happen to imbibe too much wine tonight. Well. Don’t let it go to waste, eh?” And then he laughed himself.
“Now, let’s get a move on. We have to get back to camp before its too late. And after we deal with the dead tomorrow we go to the next village to warn them. I don’t know if the Gepids intend to try this again on any village in their path, but we owe everyone a duty to warn everyone we can.”
And that was that. Badwilla and Totilla simply nodded as if their boss had just told them to go and clean the mess dishes. As they trode back to their horses, Aiza turned and allowed himself one last look back the desecrated ground. In his mind he saw the carnage as it must have played out, interspliced with memories from his own time in the war. “This won’t happen again,” he said to whatever ghosts might be listening, “I promise you that. You will be avenged.” [FN1]
“Strange in a Strange Land: King Aiza and the Founding of the Kingdom of Moravia” In Journal Restoration Era Studies. Volume XXXXIII Issue 1 (2000)
By: Dobromil Sluhaveles
If stories are to be believed, the ethnogenesis of the Moravian people came sometime during the midpoint of the 7th century – scholars have placed it anywhere between the the years 645 and 660 – when representatives of various local Slavic villages and tribes gathered to form an alliance of defense against the Gepid peoples to the South. Known to history and national myth as the Council of the Tribes, though the exact location of this council if it even occurred remains lost to memory, the instigation for the meeting had been a particularly vicious series of Gepid raids into the lands of northern neighbors. At this Council, a particularly unlikely man arose as a prominent leader and would be elected first as War Leader and, later, King.
Aiza, the protogeniture of the Aizarid dynasty, was not a native Slav. Instead, we are told, he was a merchant and native of the Gothic Empire who had become well known in the region due to his activities as a trader. However, he won some regard in organizing the population of several neighboring villages in repelling a Gepid attack and used the popularity of this action in organizing the Council to coordinate the defense of the region. Likely, he already possessed connections to local tribal elites as a result of his occupation as a merchant, and he may have been considered to be an ideal candidate due to the fact that, as a foreigner, he would have possessed no power base, making his overreaching of authority unlikely. What is surprising is that this unlikely candidate would not only lead the Slavic defenses, but would become a staunch defender of the culture and rights and even win a decisive victory against an army sent by Thorismund, the ruler of his own nation.
Unfortunately, despite the importance that Aiza and his descendants have had in the formation of the modern identity of the Moravian nation, we have precious little that was written about him during the time of his own life. The only extant documentation to illustrate the life of King Aiza is a few scant references within the Gepid Chronical as well as an extended narrative, which cumulates in the Battle of Bergberg found in Hunuil of Nizza’s questionable biography of Emperor Thorismund the Good. Sigisbairht, usually the go-to source for those seeking detailed information about Gothic Empire during the the Early and Middle periods offers little, as his account is clearly taken directly from Hunuil and offers little independent information save coloring.
This is unfortunate because the sheer importance of King Aiza to the Moravians as their founding father, means that numerous legends began to spring up around life, likely, during his own lifetime and soon after his death. From the founding of the Kingdom of Moravia to the modern day, the nation exists in many ways as a frontier nation, and its history has been dominated by its position as a crossroads where several cultural and political zones meet. Due to the importance of Aiza, this has meant that his image has been consistently reworked to meet the political, religious and cultural needs of the nation. As a result, several different King Aizas have emerged over the centuries and it the work of Historians to wade through these different accounts in the search for truth. For instance, in the realm of religion, Hunuil of Nizza depicts a Gothic merchant who forsook the religion of his people to war against godly Christians as well as to saite his lusts by marrying eight different Slavic women and siring nearly 20 children (and scandalous number of wives, even for te polyamorous Gothic rulers of the era). Three generations later, when Aiza’s grandson, Svatopluk embraced conversion to Christianity from Constantinople, efforts were made to recast the dynasty’s founder of a pious Christian ruler who held fast to his faith despite the pagan nature of his followers. Then, in the 9th century, when Moravia fell under the influence of the Theutish Empire, Aiza was once again recast as an opponent to Christianity and a defender of the traditional faith of his Slavic followers.
With the ideological lenses which Aiza was viewed through from the very beginning of his reign, what can the despairing historian say with any certainty? Surprisingly, the answer is: quite a bit. For instance, all of the earliest sources agree with Aiza was an independent merchant who plied his trade both within the Gothic Empire as well as the Slavic lands which became the Kingdom of Moravia. We know that the prosperous Amber Road passed through the region, linking the Baltic lands to the North with the lands of the Empire in the South. Although it is conjuncture, it is likely that Aiza was involved with the Amber trade; possibly bringing gold, weapons and goods from the Gothic Empire north in exchange for amber and furs. This would have put him in a advantageous position to establish relationships with many of the tribal and village leaders throughout the Slavic regions. We also know that he fought in what later became known as the Kunis Wars, especially in the wars between Emperor Theodebert II and Queen Adela and Duke Erwig. Later tradition states that he served under the Duke, but this information is not recorded under the reign of his Grandson and so, although its certainly plausible, we cannot say it with any certainty.
Furthermore, all of the accounts, contemporary, early and later, agree that Aiza came upon the ruins of a village which had suffered at the hands of Gepid raiders, and this sparked his crusade to clear the land of invaders. We know from outside sources that the Gepids often vassalized tribal leaders of their Slavic neighbors to the North, extracting tribute from them, and raided those who would not submit. Furthermore, the decades of the 650 and 660s were periods of intense unrest within the Kingdom of the Gepids as the four sons of King Mundo II vied with eachother for control of the Kingdom. This period of civil war and unrest not only allowed the northern Slavs to declare their independence, but it also allowed local Gepid warlords to raid and plunder the Slavic lands without constraint by their overlords. In fact, the Gepid Chronicle lists a particularly devastating raid which sallied North in 657 under command of one Hangistreiks Cunimund, which possibly is the raid which Aiza was initially responding too, though the Chronicle does not record a defeat on the part of Cusimund’s forces which would line up with the stories of Aiza rising to prominence due to such a victory. [FN2]
We also know that some Council of the Tribes was called and at this gathering Aiza was elected to be a Warleader, and that he did not assume the title of King until following his victory at Burgbuerg, which we can confidently date to the year 663. At the time, Aiza’s Kingdom was likely centered upon what would become the Duchy of Nitra and it was only following his victory of Burbburg an assumption of the title of King that he was able to add the Czech tribes to his Confederation. And it would not be until the reigns of his son and grandson that the political center of the kingdom permanently shifted towards the region of Moravia, giving the Kingdom its name.
It can therefore be assumed that the Battle of Burgburg is the central event of importance for the establishment of King Aiza’s realm. Certainly, based on what we can ascertain from sources, it seemed so for his foreign contemporaries. Now, it seems safe to turn our attention towards the account of Hunuil of Nizza in his biography of King Thorismund. Here we are told that in the year 662, word reached the imperial court in Ravenna of a new ‘strongman’ that had arised to the North and who was harassing their Gepid allies. In the typical fashion of Hunuil, the author states that rumors had actually reached the ears of Thorismund a year earlier, but he chose to ignore them, until an ambassador of the Gepids – then ruled by Mundo’s third son, Thrasaric – complaining of the threat and begging the Gothic Emperor for assistance. The Gepid ambassador told terrible tales of the deeds of Slavs who raided deep into Gepid lands and then repulsed any and all efforts to chastise them.
At this point, Thorismund seems to have been shamed into action. Hunuil records a, possibly fictitious, scene where the ambassador recounts the assistance that the Gepids gave to Thosimund’s own Father. The author than states that “he [Thorismund] was a brute and the most unchristian of men. But he was no coward, for whenthe Good Lord had been forging his ancestors, it was declared that no Son of Amal would ever lack in the manly virtues. So, upon hearing thesechastizing words, Thorismund felt grave shame and he vowed to send an ambassador north to ascertain the threat and come to the truth in this disagreement.”
The Ambassador that Thorismund chose was his nephew Amalaric (the text clearly states the familial relationship, but does not indicate who Amalaric’s Father was). Amalaric put together a delegation and traveled North to the court of Aiza, where the account stated “they were treated in a disrespectful manner. No sooner had they arrived at the Court than they were handed rough sewn hides and furs. They were then told to put these on, for ‘Reiks Aiza wil only see those who are dressed as civilized Slavs and not in the garb of rough barbarians.’” They apparently did so, with many complaints, and were then kept waiting for many hours. When they were finally ushered in to see the Reiks, he was flanked by his several wives who witnessed the discussion. When the Goths complained about the presence of the women, Aiza stated “It is well known that the Goths complied with the rule of a woman [Queen Adela] and so it should be no shock to them that we Slavs also see fit to take their insight into consideration.” Whether this was a practice of the region’s early Slavs – which is unlikely - or simply a ploy to further offend the Goths, it worked to further the agitation felt by the diplomats. By end of the next day, Almalaric and his delegation had departed and were on the return trip to Ravenna, having been fed a “breakfast of the most foul gruel by their hosts, having been told that the watery grain and salted gristle helped keep Slavic warriors strong and lusting for battle.” [FN3]
The question nor arises; what did Aiza hope to accomplish by this display. He had already begun his campaign to defend his lands against the Gepids and insulting the Gothic ambassadors in such a way assured that he would face two foes instead of one. Several options present themselves. First, he way of wished to engage in the display to actually dissuade the Goths from attacking, by highlighting the supposed poverty and backwardness of his adopted people. But, if in this was the case, he badl misguided. This option, however, does not right true, as he was himself a Goth and would have possessed some idea of how the Gothic Emperor would respond to an imperial relative being disrespected in such a manner. The Second option is that Aiza wished to suppress discontent amongst the Slavic peoples by openly and dramatically breaking with his background by insulting the Gothic ambassadors, effectively showing all that he had no home in the Gothreik to return to and that his fate was firmly tied to his adopted people. Third, we can hypothesize that he was so confident of his coalition that he was openly antagonizing the Goths, hoping to secure a crushing victory which would secure his power and position amongst the Slavs and forge them into a nation. Fourth and finaly, we can accept later stories as fact that Aiza served under Duke Erwig and the Slavic ruler possessed a gruge against not only the Gepids, but also the heir of the man who had defeated his Lord in battle. In realtity, the answer is probably a mix of several of these different scenarios.
No matter the thoughts of the fledgling Slavic warlord, soon to turn King, his actions caused a firestorm within the Court of Emperor Thorismund the Good. Despite the reputation of Thorismund as a drunkard and playboy, he had brought stability to the Goths during his reign and turned back what major threats that had emerged. The thought of a Goth who had allied with pagan barbarians against his own people must have infuroriated the Emperor. We are told by Hunuil that, “Thorismund was given to great wroth at the treatment of his nephew by the sinner Aiza. Though a wicked man himself, he viewed many man who turned away from the Light of Christ, the Divinely Created, as a threat not only to the Empire but to the world itself. For, should a Christiran be able to embrace Pagan gods and disrespect Christ’s vice-regent upon Earth, then it made a mockery of not only the Empire but also the Will of God.” He soon dispatched envoys to the King of the Gepids and agreed to an alliance for the following campaign season.
In 633, a Gothic army under the command of Thorismund himself traveled North to meet with a larger force lead by the Gepid King Thrasaric. Although our sources are vague as to the site of the Battle of Burgburg, they clearly state that the combined forces of the Goths and Gepids traveled North through Pannonia to the place where the Danube and the Morava Rivers converge. This would place them roughly in the territory around the modern day city of Ladislawskyhrad [OTL Bratislav], but alternative sites have been given, including the city of Brun and, much less likely, Rip Mountain which is located far away from both the Danube of the Marava. [FN4]
We are told in contemporary sources, as well as the legends and tales of later eras, that the Goths and Gepids encountere a region where Aiza had erected a series of fortresses, the tallest of which existed upon a a hill or mountain – and here we once again we must give credence to the traditional view that the battle occurred somewhere near Ladislawskhrad, the western edges of the Carpathian Mountains bein on the outskirts of the modern city. Thorismund and Thrasaric attempted tobesiege each of the seven fortresses in turn, but soon found themselves outmaneuvered and overwhelmed. The Battle of Burgburg was to last for three days, but by its end, Thrasaric was dead and Thorismund and his forces were left retreating south, harried and harassed by Slavic paristans their entire way. This would prove to be the greatest defeat of Thorisund’s reign. Although no formal treaty seems to have been concluded betweenthe Slavs and their Southern foes, the war was all but over. Thrasaric’s death threw the Gepid kingdom into further turmoil as his younger brother attempted to sieze the throne, and Thorismund sulked back home where he tried to put the experience behind him as feuding between his many sons quickly diverted his attention from the Empire’s northern border.
As for Aizar, the Battle of Burgburg secured his position amongst the Slavs. The prestige allowed him to be elected King, and increase his authority. Shortly thereafter he was able to add the Czech tribes to his confederation, and probably several of the southern Lechian tribes. He would spend the rest of his life raiding against the Gepids as well as invading the lands of the Bavarians who’s eastern marches contained many Slavic peoples. He would eventually die in bed, in 681 was succeeded by his son Miroslav.
Aizarid Dynasty would rule, growing rich on the Amber trade and acting as a bulwark against the expansion of the Gepids, Bavarians and Goths, until the disruptions of the Theut in the 9th century. During this time, the would eventually forego their devotion to the traditional paganism of the people they ruled and invite Orthodox missionaries into the realm during the 8th century under Aiza’s grandson Ladislaw. However, even here, the peculiar dynamics of the dynasty showed themselves, as they refused to accept the Arian Christianity of Goths and Gepids, as well as the Orthodoxy of the Roman Pope who must have been seen as a shadow of his former power following the Ruination, and instead accepted the influence of the Orthodoxy of Constantinople, allying themselves for a time with the Emperor of the East and not the West.
[FN1] Aiza’s experiences serving under Duke Erwig were not the most positive. Aiza was the younger son of a Gothic freeman and did not stand to inherit much land. As many did in this situation, he took up service to the local lord, Adela’s chief ally, Duke Erwig. As a result, as a young man, he fought for Erwig against Theodebert II first for Queen Adela, and later during the Duke’s service to the King of the Suebi. However, following Erwig’s defeat, he left many of the common soldiers behind, Aiza amongst them – a fact that engendered no small amount of bitterness in the young man. Aiza took Theodebert’s offer of general amnesty as did most of the remaining soldiers of Erwig, and took what earnings he had saved and invested them into a caravan business trading between the Empire and the northern tribes. In the years since, he has grown moderately well off.
[FN2] Basically, an attempt to create an Eastern German compound which would mean “Horse Lord”, with Reiks being the established ATL term for Duke amongst the Goths and their Eastern Gothic brethren and the first part coming from Hangistaz, the Proto-German word for Stallion and congrate with the Old English Hengest (and, the compound being similar to, but not a cognate, with the OTL term Henchman). Sadly, I’m not entirely sure what the Gothic form of Hengest was after some research. I’m operating under the assumption that written and, thereby, ‘official’ Gepidic hasn’t diverged much from Gothic yet, despite the large Slavic substrata which is emerging in the spoken language during this time.
[FN3] At this point, I think that it’s the time to admit that much of this chapter is actually inspired by a real life character known as Samo who forged a coalition of Slavic tribes into an ‘empire’ during the reign of Dagobert of the Franks. Like Aiza, Samo was a Merchant of his respective people who went native and defeated an army sent by his former King. Also, like Aiza, Samo was elected to fight a foreign foe 0 in his case that foe was the Avars. Since the Gepids control the same region as the Avars did in OTL and have become expert horse-lords, it seemed probable that they also would raid and try to establish dominance over the Slavs to their North. And, really, the story of Samo is just so unique and outstanding, that I had to work elements of it into this TL. Mind you, although there are distinct similarities between Aiza and Samo, there are also noticeable differences (the size of the realms, for instance. Aiza’s Kingdom is more concentrated that Samo’s Empire. Also, whereas Samo’s realm disintegrated after his death, it has already been established that Aiza’s kingdom will continue for some time).
[FN4] This suggestion of the Rip Mountain being the sight of the Battle of Burgburg was theory of a Moravian Yearningist scholar who believed that Hunuil’s description of the army’s movements was tailored by political motivations. By making it seem as is Thorismund’s forces had traveled more shallowly into the realm of Aiza, it humiliated the Emperor. He also pointed ot numerous legends surrounding Rip Mountain, including stories of major battles, to propose that the Gepids and Goths had penetrated further into the Slavic lands than was initially reported. He also pointed out that the name of the battle, Burgburg, could indicate a fortress on a mountain, and that Rip Mountain was one of the most prominent hills of the Eastern extends of the Moravian lands. He was, of course, mistaken. But it hasn’t kept a memorial to King Aiza being placed at the crown of Rip Mountain and for certain schools of scholars and nationalists still proposing it to this day.
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Okay, this one was just fun to write. I'd have my mind on writing an ATL equivalent of Samo's Empire for some time and was just waiting to turn my attention to the northern borders of the Empire. As mentioned in the footnotes, the IRL story was too good not to riff off of and include herein, because it's one of those stories that, if we didn't have documentary proof, some would claim it was completely fabricate or else ASB. It also serves my purpose by showing that the people who surround the borders of the Empire are not simply a grey space on the map labeled 'barbarians' and that they are, in fact, being influenced by the events occurring in the Western and Eastern Empire and reacting to these events as best we could.
Why does Aiza's Kingdom prove longer lasting than Samo's? Well, part of that is luck and political abilities but, the bigger consideration is that the two major threats (the Gepids and the Goths and, of course, to a lesser extent the Bavarians) are closer and a bit stronger than their counterparts that Samo faced in OTL.
I believe the next chapter will focus on the reign of Thorismund's sons with a special focus on the developments within the lands of Senatorial Italy. As we move closer to the reign of the previously mentioned Theodoric II, I'm also going to want to turn my attention to the Franks and Saxons for reasons that will soon become very obvious.
That being said, I'm not sure when the next chapter will follow. Currently I'm packing up my apartment and will be spending the next two week pretty much working on that and on the move dealing with last minute things. I officially leave my apartment on January 4th and fly out for Scotland on the 8th (if I can get another chapter in during that period, all the better, but I'm not hopeful) and after that I suspect I'll be taking some days to get settled and prepped for my newest adventure. But I promise that this break will not be as long as previous ones - I'm too geared up and biting at the bit to write about the Ruination(!) - but please give me a few weeks to get settled. On a side note, any good vibes you can send my way would be greatly appreciated - I'm still waiting on my student visa and though I'm pretty confident I'll get it, the deadline of my flight is looming ever closer!
Oh yeah, any comments and questions are welcomed. Seriously; lets get more than two or three responses here
Czech One, Czech Two
Romanticized Depiction of a Battle between the Slavs and Gepids
657, Nitra [OTL: Nitra, Slovakia]
Aiza knew what they were going to find, even as they crested the hill and stared down into the river valley at the settlement. The fires had burnt out, but even from here he could smell the sickeningly familiar scent of burnt wood and flesh which hung on the air like a faint miasma. A sick feeling welled deep in his gut and and his hand fell to his belly and began to rub it absently. He hoped he wouldn’t become sick in front of the other men.
“Looks like we won’t be buying any amber,” Badwilla said absently, a small smile crossed the large bald man’s face.
“Shut up,” Aiza said, his voice hissed out barely above a whisper. “It looks like who ever did this is long gone, judging from the lack of fires, but we can’t be certain.” He fixed Badwilla with a withering stare and was satisfied when the large man bowed his head.
“Whatever you said boss. We going down there?”
Aiza nodded, “Yup. There may be survivors that we can help.” Even as he said the words, they rang hollow in his own ears – he knew the chances of anyone being alive down there were minimal. “Besides, just in case the bastards who did this are still hanging around, we need to know. I’ll be damned if I lead my caravan into an ambush.”
“You think anyone would be stupid enough to attack a caravan from the Empire?”
That statement was dumb enough that it didn’t even deserve a response, and so Aiza just shrugged. Without saying another word, he spurred on his horse and began the descent down into the valley as the rest of his comrades followed behind.
The trip to the village took only about fifteen minutes, and that was with the party moving as slowly and cautiously as possible. As Aiza led the small band down the hills and closer to the village, the earth began to flatten and the trees grew patchy and soon gave way to farm and pasture lands. Soon, Aiza knew, it would be nearly impossible to remain hidden from anyone still residing in the town. Instinctively, he reached back and patted the bow on his back, knowing full well that he and his men could be struck down before he even had a chance to draw the weapon, if they were ambushed and the shooter was lucky.
Yet, as they drew closer no arrows whistled through the air with their distinctive screams, nor could be detect the sounds of blades being drawn. In fact, there were no sounds at all, save for the babbling of the River Nistra upon whose banks the village stood and the howling of a dog.
The village was surrounded by small wooden fence which, apparently, had done little to prevent the atrocity of taking place. Even this minimal defensive structure had been subjected to desecration, as if the attackers refused to allow even the smallest symbol of defiance to survive unscathed – sections of the fence had been set aflame and others had been viciously beaten and broken down. Aiza frowned as they drew closer and shook his head sadly. “They didn’t stand a chance,” he muttered to no one in particular. The sound of his voice in his own ears roused Aiza from his thoughts and brought him back to attention.
Silently he cursed himself for dropping his guard for even a second, years of military experience from a lifetime prior, barked orders. Obeying them without a second thought, he effortlessly slid from the saddle of his horse and dropped to the ground, hunching over as he did so. He motioned to the three other men with him to do the same, and they did so without a second through. Drawing his bow and making it ready for an emergency he silently made his way past the fense and until the village itself.
Together, he and his men crept into the corpse of the small town. Although the fires had burnt themselves out long ago, the smell of smoke, burnt flesh and death were much stronger here than they had been from upon the valley hill. Bodies littered the alleys between houses and the village common ground, and this caused Aiza to be both overwhelmed by a palpable wave of sadness that threatened to smash into him and drag him down into the depths, as well as a sick pride and sense of satisfaction. “At least they put up a good fight,” he said, “and didn’t go to the slaughter like sheep.”
“What was that, Boss,” Badwilla asked in a whisper.
“I said,” Aiza said, his voice raising in volume, “that they put up a good fight. The villagers I mean. They didn’t win, but they didn’t meekly accept their lot either. Look at that, there,” he said, pointing to an armored figure landing in the grass.
Without waiting for a response, Aiza moved closer. The body lay face down in the grass, its expensive calvery armor covered in brown dried blood. As he came closer, a cloud of black flies swarmed up from the body and made their escape from the interlopers. Aiza coughed, and sputtered a cursed as he threw his arms up to drive the black demons away. Then he took his foot and with a kick far more savage than it needed to be, he flipped the corpse over. Blank white eyes stared out from a swollen face that was already turning black from decay, casting their blind gaze up to the sky.
“Couldn’t even be bothered to bury their own,” Aiza said, a black ball of bile building in his heart as he said the words. “That means they were in a hurry and this was a lightening raid. We’re safe, or, at least, should be. Whoever did this is long gone. And if they weren’t, we likely have been dead a long time back. I doubt anyone who does this,” and then to illustrate his point, he cast his arm out in a wide arc to take in the expanse of the town, “would have any trouble in engaging in treachery and ambushing us.”
“But who did this,” Badwilla asked.
“Gepids,” Aiza said. “When I fought with Duke Erwig against Prince Theodebert, there were Gepids amongst our foes. I’d recognize their armor anywhere, after the things I saw them due when I fought for Erwig. Bastards.” That last word formed itself nearly effortlessly upon his lips, and he spat it out like a man does a wad of bitter phlem coughed up from the lungs. A wave of fear and panic washed over him as he remembered the sights and sounds of the Gepid calavery charge upon his position, years ago. He remembered lying wounded, and seeing the things they did to the bodies of his comrades while he did his best to hide under the corpses of now-dead friends.
“But,” Badwilla said, “Why? We know that they extort tribute from the Slavic tribes here, but why would they slaughter an entire village like this?”
Aiza swallowed a laugh – for all of the large man’s reputation as a brawler and toughman, he had never seen service in any military. He might be rough hewn, but there remained a niavity to him which still amazed Aiza. “Because, they were sending a message. If I had to reckon, I’d guess that the fair people of this village didn’t pay their tribute; either because they couldn’t, or because they refused. Either way it amounted to the same thing. The Gepids came here and wiped the place out to the last man to send a warning to the other tribes and villages nearby. They took the women and children as slaves, beat down the men of fighting age, and then slaughtered the elderly and anyone else they couldn’t take back with them.”
The words he spoke were matter of fact, but the tone was deeply bitter, betraying the rage he felt building within himself. All of this, Aiza calmly noted, as if the words and emotions were coming from somewhere, someone, else. He felt separated from himself, almost as if he were watching his own actions like they were being performed by an actor in a play. No one was more shocked than he, when he pulled down his trousers, grabbed his member and let flow a stream of piss onto the face of the dead Gepid warrior.
“Why did I do that,” he absently wondered to himself. And the answer came back immediately – an overpowering rage which pounded in his temples and caused his vision to momentarily blur. Rage! These people had been innocent. Innocent. They might have been heathens, and there were many back in the Gothreik that might have called them barbarians, but they had been human, had been good. They had been innocent. He felt a scream building in his chest and clamped it down with only the greatest of effort so that it escaped from his clenched teeth as a high pitch whistle of air, and was followed by the sound of air sucked back in through that same clenched jaw. Whistle, suck, whistle, suck. He repeated the pattern until slowly the red heat left his cheeks and some measure of calm and control returned to him.
Hitching his trousers up again, Aiza looked at his two companions who stared back at him, mouths agape and worried expressions painted upon their faces. “What,” he asked in his best approximation of his normal voice, a mimic of a wry smile upon his lips, “I really had to go and didn’t have the chance.” They didn’t say anything, their eyes casting over him as one does at a well trusted dog which has just begun to snarl.
He waved them off with his hand and walked away, deep in thought. Something had to be done to stop this from happening again. He has been trading in these lands for years now – ever since he took his final payment for his services to Duke Erwig and invested them in a wagon, goods, and a sellsword and set off to make his life as a merchant far to the north of the Empire and away from its wars, its treachery, and its barbarism masked as civilization. He knew the Gepids bled the region of its gold. The Slavs made easy targets; most were simple farmers, their villages were largely independent, and their position along the famed amber road meant that wealth flowed through the land. Easy pickings for an amibitious warlord or king – and the older he got the less Aiza saw a differene between the two. But even the worst of the Gepids had never planned a campaign of wholesale slaughter.
“So, uh, Boss, what do we do?”
Aiza looked up at Badwilla and sighed. “We do what we can. No one’s coming back here. They’re long gone. So we are going back to the caravan tonight and camping. We’ll set up a double watch, just to be careful. Even if the Gepids are gone that doesn’t mean that there aren’t brigands in the area. We can’t afford to let our guard down. Then, tomorrow, we all come back here and we give the dead a proper burial. The Slavs they,” he trailed off as if in thought for a second and then said, “they cremate their dead. We’ll pile the bodies in the largest building that’s still standing and set it afire.”
“But, uh, the Church won’t like that. My priest once told me that the only proper burial is in the ground. Only pagans burn their dead.”
Anger shot through Aiza once again, and Badwilla must have seen it because he lurched back as if stung. Had he ever seen Badwilla scared before? It didn’t matter. “Let me be clear, right here and right now. I couldn’t give two shits for what the Church will or won’t allow. First, these people here aren’t Christian, and we’ll respect them the way they’d want us two. Second of all, the Church and their God didn’t lift a finger to stop the slaughter when we rode against Theodemir and his Lombard and Gepid allies. If he can’t be bothered to intervene then, I doubt he’s gonna do so much as glance in our direction when we burn the dead.”
Badwilla’s jaw dropped for the second time in just a few minutes and he hurriedly crossed himself and mouthed a prayer.
It was their third companion, Totila who spoke next – for the first since since they had caught wiff of what was head of them. “And what do we do if we find any more Gepids? I’m afraid we don’t have enough water to pee on them all.” At that Totila, who was older than the other two men barked out a laugh at his own wit.
“We let them rot,” Aiza said, the potent finality dripping from the words. “We let them rot like they deserve.” And then he smiled, and it was a horrid thing; the sort of smile he had rarely had since the war, “But, if you do happen to imbibe too much wine tonight. Well. Don’t let it go to waste, eh?” And then he laughed himself.
“Now, let’s get a move on. We have to get back to camp before its too late. And after we deal with the dead tomorrow we go to the next village to warn them. I don’t know if the Gepids intend to try this again on any village in their path, but we owe everyone a duty to warn everyone we can.”
And that was that. Badwilla and Totilla simply nodded as if their boss had just told them to go and clean the mess dishes. As they trode back to their horses, Aiza turned and allowed himself one last look back the desecrated ground. In his mind he saw the carnage as it must have played out, interspliced with memories from his own time in the war. “This won’t happen again,” he said to whatever ghosts might be listening, “I promise you that. You will be avenged.” [FN1]
“Strange in a Strange Land: King Aiza and the Founding of the Kingdom of Moravia” In Journal Restoration Era Studies. Volume XXXXIII Issue 1 (2000)
By: Dobromil Sluhaveles
If stories are to be believed, the ethnogenesis of the Moravian people came sometime during the midpoint of the 7th century – scholars have placed it anywhere between the the years 645 and 660 – when representatives of various local Slavic villages and tribes gathered to form an alliance of defense against the Gepid peoples to the South. Known to history and national myth as the Council of the Tribes, though the exact location of this council if it even occurred remains lost to memory, the instigation for the meeting had been a particularly vicious series of Gepid raids into the lands of northern neighbors. At this Council, a particularly unlikely man arose as a prominent leader and would be elected first as War Leader and, later, King.
Aiza, the protogeniture of the Aizarid dynasty, was not a native Slav. Instead, we are told, he was a merchant and native of the Gothic Empire who had become well known in the region due to his activities as a trader. However, he won some regard in organizing the population of several neighboring villages in repelling a Gepid attack and used the popularity of this action in organizing the Council to coordinate the defense of the region. Likely, he already possessed connections to local tribal elites as a result of his occupation as a merchant, and he may have been considered to be an ideal candidate due to the fact that, as a foreigner, he would have possessed no power base, making his overreaching of authority unlikely. What is surprising is that this unlikely candidate would not only lead the Slavic defenses, but would become a staunch defender of the culture and rights and even win a decisive victory against an army sent by Thorismund, the ruler of his own nation.
Unfortunately, despite the importance that Aiza and his descendants have had in the formation of the modern identity of the Moravian nation, we have precious little that was written about him during the time of his own life. The only extant documentation to illustrate the life of King Aiza is a few scant references within the Gepid Chronical as well as an extended narrative, which cumulates in the Battle of Bergberg found in Hunuil of Nizza’s questionable biography of Emperor Thorismund the Good. Sigisbairht, usually the go-to source for those seeking detailed information about Gothic Empire during the the Early and Middle periods offers little, as his account is clearly taken directly from Hunuil and offers little independent information save coloring.
This is unfortunate because the sheer importance of King Aiza to the Moravians as their founding father, means that numerous legends began to spring up around life, likely, during his own lifetime and soon after his death. From the founding of the Kingdom of Moravia to the modern day, the nation exists in many ways as a frontier nation, and its history has been dominated by its position as a crossroads where several cultural and political zones meet. Due to the importance of Aiza, this has meant that his image has been consistently reworked to meet the political, religious and cultural needs of the nation. As a result, several different King Aizas have emerged over the centuries and it the work of Historians to wade through these different accounts in the search for truth. For instance, in the realm of religion, Hunuil of Nizza depicts a Gothic merchant who forsook the religion of his people to war against godly Christians as well as to saite his lusts by marrying eight different Slavic women and siring nearly 20 children (and scandalous number of wives, even for te polyamorous Gothic rulers of the era). Three generations later, when Aiza’s grandson, Svatopluk embraced conversion to Christianity from Constantinople, efforts were made to recast the dynasty’s founder of a pious Christian ruler who held fast to his faith despite the pagan nature of his followers. Then, in the 9th century, when Moravia fell under the influence of the Theutish Empire, Aiza was once again recast as an opponent to Christianity and a defender of the traditional faith of his Slavic followers.
With the ideological lenses which Aiza was viewed through from the very beginning of his reign, what can the despairing historian say with any certainty? Surprisingly, the answer is: quite a bit. For instance, all of the earliest sources agree with Aiza was an independent merchant who plied his trade both within the Gothic Empire as well as the Slavic lands which became the Kingdom of Moravia. We know that the prosperous Amber Road passed through the region, linking the Baltic lands to the North with the lands of the Empire in the South. Although it is conjuncture, it is likely that Aiza was involved with the Amber trade; possibly bringing gold, weapons and goods from the Gothic Empire north in exchange for amber and furs. This would have put him in a advantageous position to establish relationships with many of the tribal and village leaders throughout the Slavic regions. We also know that he fought in what later became known as the Kunis Wars, especially in the wars between Emperor Theodebert II and Queen Adela and Duke Erwig. Later tradition states that he served under the Duke, but this information is not recorded under the reign of his Grandson and so, although its certainly plausible, we cannot say it with any certainty.
Furthermore, all of the accounts, contemporary, early and later, agree that Aiza came upon the ruins of a village which had suffered at the hands of Gepid raiders, and this sparked his crusade to clear the land of invaders. We know from outside sources that the Gepids often vassalized tribal leaders of their Slavic neighbors to the North, extracting tribute from them, and raided those who would not submit. Furthermore, the decades of the 650 and 660s were periods of intense unrest within the Kingdom of the Gepids as the four sons of King Mundo II vied with eachother for control of the Kingdom. This period of civil war and unrest not only allowed the northern Slavs to declare their independence, but it also allowed local Gepid warlords to raid and plunder the Slavic lands without constraint by their overlords. In fact, the Gepid Chronicle lists a particularly devastating raid which sallied North in 657 under command of one Hangistreiks Cunimund, which possibly is the raid which Aiza was initially responding too, though the Chronicle does not record a defeat on the part of Cusimund’s forces which would line up with the stories of Aiza rising to prominence due to such a victory. [FN2]
We also know that some Council of the Tribes was called and at this gathering Aiza was elected to be a Warleader, and that he did not assume the title of King until following his victory at Burgbuerg, which we can confidently date to the year 663. At the time, Aiza’s Kingdom was likely centered upon what would become the Duchy of Nitra and it was only following his victory of Burbburg an assumption of the title of King that he was able to add the Czech tribes to his Confederation. And it would not be until the reigns of his son and grandson that the political center of the kingdom permanently shifted towards the region of Moravia, giving the Kingdom its name.
It can therefore be assumed that the Battle of Burgburg is the central event of importance for the establishment of King Aiza’s realm. Certainly, based on what we can ascertain from sources, it seemed so for his foreign contemporaries. Now, it seems safe to turn our attention towards the account of Hunuil of Nizza in his biography of King Thorismund. Here we are told that in the year 662, word reached the imperial court in Ravenna of a new ‘strongman’ that had arised to the North and who was harassing their Gepid allies. In the typical fashion of Hunuil, the author states that rumors had actually reached the ears of Thorismund a year earlier, but he chose to ignore them, until an ambassador of the Gepids – then ruled by Mundo’s third son, Thrasaric – complaining of the threat and begging the Gothic Emperor for assistance. The Gepid ambassador told terrible tales of the deeds of Slavs who raided deep into Gepid lands and then repulsed any and all efforts to chastise them.
At this point, Thorismund seems to have been shamed into action. Hunuil records a, possibly fictitious, scene where the ambassador recounts the assistance that the Gepids gave to Thosimund’s own Father. The author than states that “he [Thorismund] was a brute and the most unchristian of men. But he was no coward, for whenthe Good Lord had been forging his ancestors, it was declared that no Son of Amal would ever lack in the manly virtues. So, upon hearing thesechastizing words, Thorismund felt grave shame and he vowed to send an ambassador north to ascertain the threat and come to the truth in this disagreement.”
The Ambassador that Thorismund chose was his nephew Amalaric (the text clearly states the familial relationship, but does not indicate who Amalaric’s Father was). Amalaric put together a delegation and traveled North to the court of Aiza, where the account stated “they were treated in a disrespectful manner. No sooner had they arrived at the Court than they were handed rough sewn hides and furs. They were then told to put these on, for ‘Reiks Aiza wil only see those who are dressed as civilized Slavs and not in the garb of rough barbarians.’” They apparently did so, with many complaints, and were then kept waiting for many hours. When they were finally ushered in to see the Reiks, he was flanked by his several wives who witnessed the discussion. When the Goths complained about the presence of the women, Aiza stated “It is well known that the Goths complied with the rule of a woman [Queen Adela] and so it should be no shock to them that we Slavs also see fit to take their insight into consideration.” Whether this was a practice of the region’s early Slavs – which is unlikely - or simply a ploy to further offend the Goths, it worked to further the agitation felt by the diplomats. By end of the next day, Almalaric and his delegation had departed and were on the return trip to Ravenna, having been fed a “breakfast of the most foul gruel by their hosts, having been told that the watery grain and salted gristle helped keep Slavic warriors strong and lusting for battle.” [FN3]
The question nor arises; what did Aiza hope to accomplish by this display. He had already begun his campaign to defend his lands against the Gepids and insulting the Gothic ambassadors in such a way assured that he would face two foes instead of one. Several options present themselves. First, he way of wished to engage in the display to actually dissuade the Goths from attacking, by highlighting the supposed poverty and backwardness of his adopted people. But, if in this was the case, he badl misguided. This option, however, does not right true, as he was himself a Goth and would have possessed some idea of how the Gothic Emperor would respond to an imperial relative being disrespected in such a manner. The Second option is that Aiza wished to suppress discontent amongst the Slavic peoples by openly and dramatically breaking with his background by insulting the Gothic ambassadors, effectively showing all that he had no home in the Gothreik to return to and that his fate was firmly tied to his adopted people. Third, we can hypothesize that he was so confident of his coalition that he was openly antagonizing the Goths, hoping to secure a crushing victory which would secure his power and position amongst the Slavs and forge them into a nation. Fourth and finaly, we can accept later stories as fact that Aiza served under Duke Erwig and the Slavic ruler possessed a gruge against not only the Gepids, but also the heir of the man who had defeated his Lord in battle. In realtity, the answer is probably a mix of several of these different scenarios.
No matter the thoughts of the fledgling Slavic warlord, soon to turn King, his actions caused a firestorm within the Court of Emperor Thorismund the Good. Despite the reputation of Thorismund as a drunkard and playboy, he had brought stability to the Goths during his reign and turned back what major threats that had emerged. The thought of a Goth who had allied with pagan barbarians against his own people must have infuroriated the Emperor. We are told by Hunuil that, “Thorismund was given to great wroth at the treatment of his nephew by the sinner Aiza. Though a wicked man himself, he viewed many man who turned away from the Light of Christ, the Divinely Created, as a threat not only to the Empire but to the world itself. For, should a Christiran be able to embrace Pagan gods and disrespect Christ’s vice-regent upon Earth, then it made a mockery of not only the Empire but also the Will of God.” He soon dispatched envoys to the King of the Gepids and agreed to an alliance for the following campaign season.
In 633, a Gothic army under the command of Thorismund himself traveled North to meet with a larger force lead by the Gepid King Thrasaric. Although our sources are vague as to the site of the Battle of Burgburg, they clearly state that the combined forces of the Goths and Gepids traveled North through Pannonia to the place where the Danube and the Morava Rivers converge. This would place them roughly in the territory around the modern day city of Ladislawskyhrad [OTL Bratislav], but alternative sites have been given, including the city of Brun and, much less likely, Rip Mountain which is located far away from both the Danube of the Marava. [FN4]
We are told in contemporary sources, as well as the legends and tales of later eras, that the Goths and Gepids encountere a region where Aiza had erected a series of fortresses, the tallest of which existed upon a a hill or mountain – and here we once again we must give credence to the traditional view that the battle occurred somewhere near Ladislawskhrad, the western edges of the Carpathian Mountains bein on the outskirts of the modern city. Thorismund and Thrasaric attempted tobesiege each of the seven fortresses in turn, but soon found themselves outmaneuvered and overwhelmed. The Battle of Burgburg was to last for three days, but by its end, Thrasaric was dead and Thorismund and his forces were left retreating south, harried and harassed by Slavic paristans their entire way. This would prove to be the greatest defeat of Thorisund’s reign. Although no formal treaty seems to have been concluded betweenthe Slavs and their Southern foes, the war was all but over. Thrasaric’s death threw the Gepid kingdom into further turmoil as his younger brother attempted to sieze the throne, and Thorismund sulked back home where he tried to put the experience behind him as feuding between his many sons quickly diverted his attention from the Empire’s northern border.
As for Aizar, the Battle of Burgburg secured his position amongst the Slavs. The prestige allowed him to be elected King, and increase his authority. Shortly thereafter he was able to add the Czech tribes to his confederation, and probably several of the southern Lechian tribes. He would spend the rest of his life raiding against the Gepids as well as invading the lands of the Bavarians who’s eastern marches contained many Slavic peoples. He would eventually die in bed, in 681 was succeeded by his son Miroslav.
Aizarid Dynasty would rule, growing rich on the Amber trade and acting as a bulwark against the expansion of the Gepids, Bavarians and Goths, until the disruptions of the Theut in the 9th century. During this time, the would eventually forego their devotion to the traditional paganism of the people they ruled and invite Orthodox missionaries into the realm during the 8th century under Aiza’s grandson Ladislaw. However, even here, the peculiar dynamics of the dynasty showed themselves, as they refused to accept the Arian Christianity of Goths and Gepids, as well as the Orthodoxy of the Roman Pope who must have been seen as a shadow of his former power following the Ruination, and instead accepted the influence of the Orthodoxy of Constantinople, allying themselves for a time with the Emperor of the East and not the West.
[FN1] Aiza’s experiences serving under Duke Erwig were not the most positive. Aiza was the younger son of a Gothic freeman and did not stand to inherit much land. As many did in this situation, he took up service to the local lord, Adela’s chief ally, Duke Erwig. As a result, as a young man, he fought for Erwig against Theodebert II first for Queen Adela, and later during the Duke’s service to the King of the Suebi. However, following Erwig’s defeat, he left many of the common soldiers behind, Aiza amongst them – a fact that engendered no small amount of bitterness in the young man. Aiza took Theodebert’s offer of general amnesty as did most of the remaining soldiers of Erwig, and took what earnings he had saved and invested them into a caravan business trading between the Empire and the northern tribes. In the years since, he has grown moderately well off.
[FN2] Basically, an attempt to create an Eastern German compound which would mean “Horse Lord”, with Reiks being the established ATL term for Duke amongst the Goths and their Eastern Gothic brethren and the first part coming from Hangistaz, the Proto-German word for Stallion and congrate with the Old English Hengest (and, the compound being similar to, but not a cognate, with the OTL term Henchman). Sadly, I’m not entirely sure what the Gothic form of Hengest was after some research. I’m operating under the assumption that written and, thereby, ‘official’ Gepidic hasn’t diverged much from Gothic yet, despite the large Slavic substrata which is emerging in the spoken language during this time.
[FN3] At this point, I think that it’s the time to admit that much of this chapter is actually inspired by a real life character known as Samo who forged a coalition of Slavic tribes into an ‘empire’ during the reign of Dagobert of the Franks. Like Aiza, Samo was a Merchant of his respective people who went native and defeated an army sent by his former King. Also, like Aiza, Samo was elected to fight a foreign foe 0 in his case that foe was the Avars. Since the Gepids control the same region as the Avars did in OTL and have become expert horse-lords, it seemed probable that they also would raid and try to establish dominance over the Slavs to their North. And, really, the story of Samo is just so unique and outstanding, that I had to work elements of it into this TL. Mind you, although there are distinct similarities between Aiza and Samo, there are also noticeable differences (the size of the realms, for instance. Aiza’s Kingdom is more concentrated that Samo’s Empire. Also, whereas Samo’s realm disintegrated after his death, it has already been established that Aiza’s kingdom will continue for some time).
[FN4] This suggestion of the Rip Mountain being the sight of the Battle of Burgburg was theory of a Moravian Yearningist scholar who believed that Hunuil’s description of the army’s movements was tailored by political motivations. By making it seem as is Thorismund’s forces had traveled more shallowly into the realm of Aiza, it humiliated the Emperor. He also pointed ot numerous legends surrounding Rip Mountain, including stories of major battles, to propose that the Gepids and Goths had penetrated further into the Slavic lands than was initially reported. He also pointed out that the name of the battle, Burgburg, could indicate a fortress on a mountain, and that Rip Mountain was one of the most prominent hills of the Eastern extends of the Moravian lands. He was, of course, mistaken. But it hasn’t kept a memorial to King Aiza being placed at the crown of Rip Mountain and for certain schools of scholars and nationalists still proposing it to this day.
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Okay, this one was just fun to write. I'd have my mind on writing an ATL equivalent of Samo's Empire for some time and was just waiting to turn my attention to the northern borders of the Empire. As mentioned in the footnotes, the IRL story was too good not to riff off of and include herein, because it's one of those stories that, if we didn't have documentary proof, some would claim it was completely fabricate or else ASB. It also serves my purpose by showing that the people who surround the borders of the Empire are not simply a grey space on the map labeled 'barbarians' and that they are, in fact, being influenced by the events occurring in the Western and Eastern Empire and reacting to these events as best we could.
Why does Aiza's Kingdom prove longer lasting than Samo's? Well, part of that is luck and political abilities but, the bigger consideration is that the two major threats (the Gepids and the Goths and, of course, to a lesser extent the Bavarians) are closer and a bit stronger than their counterparts that Samo faced in OTL.
I believe the next chapter will focus on the reign of Thorismund's sons with a special focus on the developments within the lands of Senatorial Italy. As we move closer to the reign of the previously mentioned Theodoric II, I'm also going to want to turn my attention to the Franks and Saxons for reasons that will soon become very obvious.
That being said, I'm not sure when the next chapter will follow. Currently I'm packing up my apartment and will be spending the next two week pretty much working on that and on the move dealing with last minute things. I officially leave my apartment on January 4th and fly out for Scotland on the 8th (if I can get another chapter in during that period, all the better, but I'm not hopeful) and after that I suspect I'll be taking some days to get settled and prepped for my newest adventure. But I promise that this break will not be as long as previous ones - I'm too geared up and biting at the bit to write about the Ruination(!) - but please give me a few weeks to get settled. On a side note, any good vibes you can send my way would be greatly appreciated - I'm still waiting on my student visa and though I'm pretty confident I'll get it, the deadline of my flight is looming ever closer!
Oh yeah, any comments and questions are welcomed. Seriously; lets get more than two or three responses here
What is the ruination?
A really, really bad time
From previous posts and bit of foreshadowing, we know a few things.
1) Rome falls. What this means is in question, but the legends we've seen so far illustrate it as the entire city being razed and destroyed. Whether this is true or not, has yet to be seen.
2) a multifaceted civil war takes places that sees several factions vying for the Purple.
3) The entire is weakened enough that a Gaelic pirate queen is able to establish a Kingdom in Southern Hispania and launches a major raid on Italia (as well as either raids, or takes part in a civil war on the Vandal lands)
4) The Ruination ends with the ascension of someone who goes by the nickname of The Wolf. (The only sources given so far are Gaelic, so it's questionable what his name really is) and these legends point to him being remembered in folklore as a werewolf.
5) Although the Gothic Empire apparently survives, it enters into a period which scholars have labeled "The Late Empire" which points to a major change in the Empire and a potential end to the Gothic-Roman state.
Could be possible an alternate explanation/account?...I think that the chronicler would be trying and/or giving the Court official version... Perhaps the Goth's embassy and the royal envoy wouldn't be offended or mistreated, at all, but in reality that, in my own interpretation, of course, could had happened it's that Aiza had refuse to submit/acknowledge to 'his Sovereign'. Obeying to the more than probably joint ultimatum to 'cease and desist' his raidings into the Gepids lands and submits to the Gothic King.
Its important to remember, however, that the Chronicle that comes down to us by Hunuil is strongly anti-Thorismund and takes every potshot against him that it can. The entire incident surrounding the envoy, and Thorismund's response to it, is one of the few times where Hunuil gives the Emperor a grudging respect.
It seems that something disrespectful happened at least. Whether or not it has been blown up for political reasons, of course, remains to be seen
krieger
Banned
Does it mean that Moravian statehood survives to TTL XXIth century (if You spoiled Sigisthuda party existence, You also could spoil this)?
There is a country called Moravia in the *Present Day, yes. And it considers itself to be the heir of the state established here. However, how much actual continuity exists is up to debate. Also, I won't say that Moravia has existed continually from this period to the present
krieger
Banned
There is a country called Moravia in the *Present Day, yes. And it considers itself to be the heir of the state established here. However, how much actual continuity exists is up to debate. Also, I won't say that Moravia has existed continually from this period to the present
Is it a blob or just a bit larger than OTL Bohemia? When I was reading chapter about Aiza I became curious about this question.
It begins with a core in OTL Moravia as well as Western Slovakia. By the end of Aiza's life it has grown to include many of the OTL Czech tribes, some Slavs previously under Bavarian control, and even some of the Southern Lechland areas.
However, it's borders won't neccessarily be unchanging over the next 15 hundred years either
. At this early stages, it is very much a tribal Confederacy, and some tribes will drift in and out based on the strength of the ruler, as well as the threat level posed by mainly the Gepids, but also the Bavarians and, to a lesser extent, the Empire.By the way, the Central European peoples that we know exist in the ATL present, currently are:
Moravians
Gepids
The Lech
Lombards (more Southern European, o suppose, but I'll include them in the lost all the same)
What their conditions are in the present, of course, hasn't been well established yet
krieger
Banned
What exactly is the Lech? There were Lechitic tribes, sure but they only surviving branch IOTL were tribes which coalesced into modern-day Poles (and perhaps Kashubians, but it isn't even established that they're separate nation from Poles and most of them consider themselves Polish). If you want to unite all Lechitic (not Lechian) tribes in one state, than you'd need to unify - Elbean Slavs (Lutici, Abodrites, Veleti), which inhabited lands of OTL northeastern Germany (Mecklenburg, Brandenburg and even as far as Hamburg), Pomeranians (who inhabited Baltic coast between Danzig/Gdańsk and Stettin/Szczecin), tribes on the south which gave rise to modern-day Poles (Silesians, Mazovians, Polans, Kuyavians, Vistulans and Lendians). Sometimes Sorbs (Slavic tribes, which inhabited southeastern Germany) and according to Nestor, also Radimichi and Vyatichi (which inhabited lands alongside Oka river) were of Lechitic stock. Plan minimum to unite all Lechitic tribes is not a given, but given your circumstanses of Frank-screw and lack of Gothic interest in this part of Europe, doable. Plan maximum would require Rurik to never come and Rus to never arise, but I don't even want to know this at that stage, I would prefer to read it in the upcoming chapters
What exactly is the Lech? There were Lechitic tribes, sure but they only surviving branch IOTL were tribes which coalesced into modern-day Poles (and perhaps Kashubians, but it isn't even established that they're separate nation from Poles and most of them consider themselves Polish). If you want to unite all Lechitic (not Lechian) tribes in one state, than you'd need to unify - Elbean Slavs (Lutici, Abodrites, Veleti), which inhabited lands of OTL northeastern Germany (Mecklenburg, Brandenburg and even as far as Hamburg), Pomeranians (who inhabited Baltic coast between Danzig/Gdańsk and Stettin/Szczecin), tribes on the south which gave rise to modern-day Poles (Silesians, Mazovians, Polans, Kuyavians, Vistulans and Lendians). Sometimes Sorbs (Slavic tribes, which inhabited southeastern Germany) and according to Nestor, also Radimichi and Vyatichi (which inhabited lands alongside Oka river) were of Lechitic stock. Plan minimum to unite all Lechitic tribes is not a given, but given your circumstanses of Frank-screw and lack of Gothic interest in this part of Europe, doable. Plan maximum would require Rurik to never come and Rus to never arise, but I don't even want to know this at that stage, I would prefer to read it in the upcoming chapters
Thanks for the detailed description of the differing Lechian tribes and territories. I feel comfortable in saying that the core of Lechland will be somewhat analogous to OTL Poland, but there will certainly be some differences.
However, these lands are a bit of a scholarly blank slate until the arrival of the Theutish Era and, as such, save for some references, are unlikely to feature too much on this current timeline (however, should I choose to do a sequel focusing on Theutish Europe, they will certainly be dealt with in considerable detail
)krieger
Banned
Thanks for the detailed description of the differing Lechian tribes and territories. I feel comfortable in saying that the core of Lechland will be somewhat analogous to OTL Poland, but there will certainly be some differences.
However, these lands are a bit of a scholarly blank slate until the arrival of the Theutish Era and, as such, save for some references, are unlikely to feature too much on this current timeline (however, should I choose to do a sequel focusing on Theutish Europe, they will certainly be dealt with in considerable detail
OK, so I'm waiting for development. Amazing TL, by the way!
Thank you!!! Ive been enjoying inhabiting this world in my head for the past few years and love that people seem engaged with it.
Hey guys - sorry to get your hopes up, but I did want to let everyone know I arrived in Aberdeen safe and sound last Thursday. I'm just still in the process of getting settled in, but should have access to the library soon. Which is all a nice way of saying: I should have another chapter written sooner than later. I expect we will be turning our attention back to the Gothic Empire, once again, and examining the role and power of the Senate and how its changed over the years (and also how it will interfere with the plans of our future Emperors)
I expect we will be turning our attention back to the Gothic Empire, once again, and examining the role and power of the Senate and how its changed over the years (and also how it will interfere with the plans of our future Emperors)
Chapter 83 Maybe Everything that Dies Someday Comes Back
Chapter 83
Maybe Everything that Dies Someday Comes Back
Consular Diptych of Anicius Boetius, Consul during at the time of the Assassination of Athaneric I
“The ideal state should strive to mimic the order established within the heavens themselves. The Emperor, rightfully, resembles nothing less than the Father himself, for he brings order throughout the realm. The Church is, of course, the Holy Spirit for it embodies wisdom and knowledge. And the Senate is the Son, for it embodies the Word of the citizens” – “The Republic and the Empire” Aquila Mancini
“An Assembly of Citizens: Senatorial Italy in the Middle Empire and the Amalamirian” Journal Restoration Era Studies. Volume XXXXV Issue 2 (2002)
By: Dr. Ricardo Prugna
On May 24th, 678 a crime was committed which shook the Gothic-Roman Empire to its core. On that day, the Emperor Athaneric I was holding court at the Curia Julia before the Senate, when a seemingly possessed man appeared and beseeched the Emperor for the laying of hands so that the demons might be driven from him. Athaneric, known for his piety, amongst many other traits, acquiesced and moved closer to the afflicted than. However, as he drew near, the man produced a dagger which had been hidden away from the Senatorial guards and proceeded to leap upon the Emperor and stab him repeatedly before being subdued by the guards. [FN1]
Although Gothic Emperors had been driven from the throne by coups or rebellions, several times during the history of the Empire, this marked the first successful assassination of a ruling Gothic monarch since Theodoric first arrived in Italy. Sigisbert the Frothiband, our principal source for the event, though he wrote more than four decades later, tells us that the assassination itself was deeply shocking to the people of the Empire. However, what was worse, was the everpresent rumors that the assassination had been carried out either with the knowledge of, or the full support of, the Roman Senate. Although a full investigation was ordered by Amalamir II, the successor of ill-fated Athaneric and the late-Emperor’s younger brother, and carried out by the Senate, the only men punished were the guards who had failed to find the dagger when the madman entered the confines of the Curia.
The punishment of the guards did little to stop the rumors, and infact seemed to inflame them all the more so, so that Amalaric II spent the entirety of his reign with a cloud of illegitimacy hanging over him. We are told by Sigisbert that “From Rome to Ravenna, the streets were full of chatter. Everyone spoke of their own theories, but all agreed that a most foul deed had been committed and that the perpetrators had gone unpunished. For it was well known in those days that members of the illustrious Senate had conspired with certain Gothic Reiks to overturn the will of the Garune, and Thorismund the Good, and set to replace Athaneric with his brother Amalaric.”
Whether or not a conspiracy was actually hatched in the year 678 is impossible to determine at this late date, well over a thousand years after the actors themselves had been laid to rest. But it seems likely, for, as well shall see, the Senate had a vested interest in the removal of Athaneric I – an Emperor who of bold vision, but one who lacked the political skills to make his dreams a reality – who was brazenly attempting to undermine the power and privlidges which the Senate had accrued under the reign of the Gothic Emperors and which they had long since come to see as theirs by natural right.
Perhaps even more astounding is the fact that the Senate had any such powers to begin with. An institution which had seen its authority and powers continually eroded since the dawn of the Augustinian Princep nearly seven centuries prior, and which had been stripped of even these vestiges by the reforms of Dioceltian, had managed to recover to such an extent that it now possessed more power than at any other time since the collapse of the Roman Republic. In order to understand how such a dramatic development occurred, it will be beneficial to briefly sketch the history of the Roman Senate from the Late Roman period through the first centuries of the Restoration Era.
As mentioned, the Roman Senate was stripped of its remaining powers under the Diocletian Reforms which brought about the advent of the Domination Era of the Roman Empire. The prestige of the institution was further undermined by the establishment of a rival Senate in Constantinople by the Emperor Constantine. During the last century of sole Roman rule in the West, the Senate was largely reduced to a mere municipal body and, though the rank of Senator still carried with it a certain amount of prestige and influence, the body had largely ceased to be able to project any power outside of the confines of Rome itself, a city which was long ceased to be the heart of the Empire it had birthed.
This state of affairs began to change, ironically, with the overthrow of the last native Roman Emperors in the West. The arrival of the German Odoacer in 476 and his proclamation as King of Italy marked an important point of divergence from the previous status quo. A foreigner of non-native stock, Odoacer found himself relying upon the advice of the Senate in order to cement his rule over the whole of Italy and to legitimize his reign. Though he was violently overthrown by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric in 493, his successor largely maintained a similar relationship with the Senate, seeing the body as an important source of counsel and advice.
The Senate gained even more authority under Theodoric’s heir and successor Theodemir the Great. Following a serious rebellion by the native Romans, or Valhos, early in his reign, Theodemir took the novel step of reorganizing the settlement of Gothics and other Germans within the realm, restricting them to a region in northern Italia and southern Jaile which corresponds closely with the borders of the modern day nation of Gothreike. For those regions of Italy south of the newly established Gothic homeland, Theodemir reached an accord with the Senate which granted them limited legislative and appointment powers, but which preserved the right of Imperial veto. This was seen as an attempt to placate the native Latin peoples of Italy that they would maintain their liberties under Gothic leadership, and it proved largely successful.
The powers of the Senate were further entrenched under the leadership of Consul Aquila Marcini. A closer ally of Emperors Amalaric I and Theodebert I, Marcini was able to take the then-largely ceremonial position of Consul and imbue it with some of the luster and power of it’s Republican past. Acting as a close advisor and friend of Amalaric I and the tutor of Theodebert I, Marcini was able to accrue a great deal of power and prestige, not only for the Consulship, but the Senate as a whole. By the end of his sixth and last term, the Senate had truly managed to expand its power throughout all of sub-Gothic Italia.
Much of this power came as a direct result of Marcini’s closer relationship with the Gothic Emperors, as well as the needs of the government for revenue throughout the Fourth Punic War. The end of this war brought the Senate new opportunities, but also new challenges. No future Consul was ever able to establish such a close relationship with the Gothic Emperors as Marcini had. In fact, Amalamir I, Theodebert’s brother and successor, as well as many of the Gothic Reiks, began to view the Senate as a foreign element within their Empire and a potential rival power bloc. However, the financial and military difficulties faced by the Empire during the reign of Amalamir and latter, meant that the Senate remained essential to the continued stability of the Empire.
During the era known as the Kunis Wars, which followed Amalamir’s dramatic death while seeking to aid the Eastern Empire, the Senate continued to give support to Queen Adela who largely ruled from behind the throne through her husband and, later, son. Adela viewed the Senate as an important base of support throughout her reign, and was willing to offer lower taxes to Senatorial Italy – a large concession, as the Empire relied upon Italy for much of it’s tax revenue – in exchange for continued military support against the Rauthering raiders which first began to make their dramatic entrances into the Western Empire during this time, as well as rebellions which plagued her time in power. [FN2]
As the Empire reached its mature Middle stage, the Senate was at the height of its power. By this point, they had developed a pattern of recognizing and joining the winning side in the many internal conflicts of the Gothic Empire and, when they had chosen wrong initially, a admirable ability to recognize their error and make amends with the victors. In this, they were helped by the fact that over a century and a half of Kingly and Imperial favor or disinterest had allowed them to solidify their power over all of Senatorial Italy – governors were appointed by the Senate (and though the Emperor retained veto power, Emperors rarely took such recourse) and often came from Senatorial families, the same too was true of tax collectors, minters, port authorities and nearly every other type of government appointee. Only in military matters was the Senate’s power not all encompassing, and even here Emperors usually made the habit of taking the advice of the Senate and appointing military commanders in Italy from their ranks. Go great was their power that in Post-Imperial Italy, the title Senator often carried with it an assumption of nobility equal to the Gothic title of Reiks. This, despite the fact that it is likely that no Senatorial families of any standing survived Frithunanths I’s purges following the Fall of Rome.
This power extensive power bloc within the Empire which ran parallel and separate to that of the Gothic Reiks and the Garune was both seen by Emperors as a potential source of support against their own noblemen and also filled them with concertation. Although the Senate was able to secure a promise of amnesty from the victorious Emperor Theodebert II in exchange for turning over Adela’s son and heir, the Emperor was not slow to forget that they had initially supported his rival and enemies. He appears to have taken some efforts to chastise the Senate, including officially vetoing a number of their appointments and pieces of legislation, but was prevented from doing more by his need for their support in his campaigns against the Suebi King in Spania and the Bavarian incursions. His son, Thorismund developed a more traditional and hands-off relationship with the Senate and relations during his reign where, if not warm, then significantly less cold.
At the cusp of the Amalamirain Coup, the Senate to the casual observer would have resembled the same body as in centuries past. The Senate was comprised of the most powerful and prestigious Latin families of Italy. As in the past, they elected two Consuls each year and the old restriction of a Consul being unable to serve two consequitive terms had been resurrected. The body served as an officially advisory body for the Emperor as it had for centuries, and had reacquired it’s old Pricipate role of debating and passing legislation.
The resemblance to the Senate of the past was not missed by the Senators themselves, and they made every effort to reaffirm their body’ perigree and history. Throughout the 6th and 7th centuries, there was an acceleration of the building of public works in Rome and surrounding communities, and each as stamped with SPQR as tradition dictated. Public baths, libraries, and especially Churches became the currency which the Senate used to beautify the city where they resided and to impress the population of their wealth and power. The fact that the population of Rome had shrunk significantly since the the city’s height made little difference to the Senators, leading to travelers writing that the city was taking on the character of an aging and gaudy woman, decking herself out in the newest fashions to distract from her age and growing poverty. Later writers would come to refer to Rome as a Sepulcher City, though how much of this comes from depictions of its Post-Fall state and the Senator’s city is hard to determine. [FN3]
Because of the Senate’s devotion to the appearance of tradition, it is often difficult to truly comprehend the many differences which had taken place in the body of the centuries of the Late Dominate and the Gothic-Roman Era. Trade restrictions had long been abandoned by the Senate and it was now permissible for Senators to engage in trade, though disruptions to the Mare Nostrum trade networks in the West meant that most Senators were landed aristocrats which owned vast swaths of land throughout the Italian peninsula, and sometimes in Spania as well. Due to this, travel restrictions had also long ago faded into memory, though the need for the Senate to meet meant that Senators were required to reside in Rome at least six months out of the year: usually coinciding with the Emperor’s traditional visits during the Winter months. The size of the Senate has also expanded. Although it had officially been capped at 600 members during the reign of Augustus, and this number had never changed, for much of its history the number rarely reached to 200 active members. By the time of the Middle Empire, and the fact that Senatorial rank had begun to be inherited from fathers to sons, the numbers had begun to swell; though the residency requirements likely limited the number of active Senators to roughly 300 to 350 Senators at any given time. Finally, following encouragement by Mancini during his years as Consol, the Senate had taken to its legislative and judicial roles with an energy which continued throughout into the Middle Empire, turning the Roman Senate into a dynamic governmental body. Many of these laws and judgement related inheritance and land management, as is to be expected from a society which continued to develop in a more rural direction, but laws were also set in place to keep the roads safe for travelers and for the upkeep of public utilities. It is likely that, as a result of the Senate’s actions, Latin Law continued to eclipse its Gothic equivalent in sophistication, so much so that many of the Imperial decrees within the Gothic lands were simply mildy modified Senatoral laws.
This led Yearningst Historians to attempt to depict Senatorial Italy as a veritable rebirth of the Roman Republic within the confines of the Gothic-Roman Empire; likely influences by the evolution of the Senate in the Eastern Empire over the centuries and the reintroduction of powerful Popular Assemblies in that State at the time. This view was the dominant until the modern era, where a reevaluation of Senatorial Italy occurred coinciding with the collapse of Gothic and Rhoman gains in the decades after their victory in the War of Civilizations. To many modern historians, the very aristocratic nature of Senatorial Italy precluded it being a true rebirth of Republican ideals amongst the Latin peoples of Italy. To them, it resembled nothing so much as the oligarchic states which would emerge in the region during the Theutish Era. However, these scholars go too far in their criticism of Yearningist historiography. Although it is true that the Senate was aristocratic in nature, this in no way differentiates it from the rest of the Roman world where there had long been an association of the nation with the aristocracy – only in the Gothic lands did we continue to see yeomen continue to maintain their rights as a class. However, the presence of the Senate probably did more to perpetuate Republican values and Roman traditions during the Early and Middle Empire than any other institution. The fact that late-Roman surnames continued amongst the Senatorial class of Italy when they were dropped in the rest of the Latin world is but one example of this influence. Furthermore, the influence of Post-Fall Italian Senators on the Rhoman Senate in Constantinople was likely great and responsible for the developing of that body eventually into a truly legislative body during the Theutish Era and later.
No matter the republican merit to the Senate by later historians, the fact remains that by the time of Emperor Athaneric, the Senate had become an institution which was powerful enough to become a threat to an ambitious Emperor.
inherited from his father Thorismund the Good a scholarly bent and appreciation for the past, but not his father’s lethargic nature. Athaneric had been elected by the Garune as his Father’s Co-King in 664 while still a young man, in an effort to solidify the succession. Although Thorismund often feuded with the Gothic Church, he was well enough respected by the Reiks that they bowed to his will. However, the Senate proved less amiable than the Gothic lords, pointing out that such an election prior to the death of the reigning Emperor violated tradition, and were less than impressed with Athaneric’s performance pleading his case before their assembly. The political logjam was eventually broken when Thorismund agreed to the lowering of Italian taxes for a period of five years and the appointment of several officials which he had been reticent of confirming – which had probably been the Senate’s goal all along. However, the obstinance of the Senate to confirm him as Co-Emperor would had ramifications as it apparently convinced Athaneric that the Senate had grown haughty and needed to be brought to heel. [FN4]
Athaneric spent the of his Father’s reign serving throughout the Empire, using the opportunity to learn about the internal workings of the Empire as well as to make important connections which would serve him well upon becoming the sole Emperor upon his Father’s death. However, Athaneric remained a deeply ambitious Co-Emperor, but one who seemed incapable of working well with others. The result is that many of his grand plans often refused to come to fruitions, and this alienated many of his would-be allies.
When Thorismund entered in his final illness in 673, there appears to have formed an official opposition to Athaneric which coalesced around his younger brother Amalamir. Amalamir, like his father and brother, were well educated, and seemed to have inherited from his father a certain amiability which many felt would make him a supple Emperor and unlikely to rock the boat. In the words of one official, quoted by Sigisbert, “Amalamir can speak three languages, but has nothing of interest to say in any of them.”
Luckily for Athaneric, his father had been beloved by the Gothic Reiks and few wanted to take the steps needed to reverse the late Emperor’s will. And, even if they had, no precedent existed to removing a legitimately elected Emperor, save by rebellion, and that was a step which the amiable Amalamir had no intention of pursuing. Instead, he had been willed extensive lands in the western Gothlands by his father, and he departed almost immediately to take control of them; a leave that Athaneric was more than willing to grant him, in order to remove his brother from Ravenna and away from any potential conspirators.
The short reign of Athaneric, which lasted only from 673 through 678, deserves a work of its own and cannot be adequately covered here. It is merely suffice to say that many of the tendencies he revealed during his time as Co-Emperor continued into his actual reign and he showed no despire or ability to moderate himself or learn from such failures as his 674 invasion of the Franks which saw his army badly bloodied and forced to retreat, or his meddling in the affairs of Spania which failed to dislodge Framtane, which was then serving as the region’s Preatorian Prefect, and was so popular that word of his removal lead to a spontaneous revolt against the Emperor. The situation was only saved by the hurried intervention of many Gothic Reiks who negotiated a compromise where Framtane turned over several estates to Athaneric in exchange for remaining in his position. [FN5]
Snubbed twice, Athaneric turned his attention towards the Senate, hoping to humble it and remove it as a potential rival to his own weakening power within the Empire. He turned to the Senate to ask them for an increase in taxes. Under normal circumstances, this was his right, as the Emperors had jealously guarded their rights to raise taxes throughout Senatorial Italia: in theory the Senate collected taxes for the Emperor but had no say on what those amounts would be, unless they had previously negotiated a lower rate. However, this was not a normal situation, and the Senate sensed that there was blood in the water. They agreed that the taxes were legitimate, but argued that it would take time to put in place the needed infrastructure to collect them. However, as debate began over these issues, first one Senator and then another stood up and used their right to speak in order to postpone any votes. This continued for some weeks, until the frustrated Emperor was forced to admit defeat, yet again.
As mentioned, whatever his failings as a politician, Athaneric was a skilled scholar and he knew the history of Rome. He also knew that another failure would fatally weaken his authority and make it impossible to implement any of the reforms he wished to introduce to the realm. As such, he hit upon a novel plan and decreed that legislative powers would be stripped from the Senate and that they would be given to a reintroduced Roman Popular Assembly, and promised that the tax increase would not fall upon the Italian peasant but only on the landed gentry.
This was a direct threat to the Senate and caused shock amongt the Senatorial class. Humiliated, they were forced to capitulate 676 and quickly passed the needed legislation to collect the tax. Athaneric, for his part, agreed not to go through with the reintroduction of the Popular Assembly. Using the revenue of the taxes, he planned to fund an even larger invasion of the Franks which would finally bring the Goth’s northern neighbors in submission and incorporate them into the realm.
However, the Senate did not forget the slight. We cannot be sure what happened next, for no documentation exists and we have only Sigisbert’s account of the events, and he refuses to say for certain what happened – likely because he assumed most tales to be but idle gossip. Based on the events, we can hazard a guess, however. The Senate, smarting from their first major political defeat in centuries and perhaps realizing how precarious their position truly was, reached out to those elements of the Gothic nobility which had grown disenchanted with Athaneric’s leadership. Did Amalaric give his support of the plan? And, if he did, what caused him to change his mind from his earlier position of not wishing to challenge his brother? We can never know, and it would be all the more tragic if he was unaware, considering latter events. But what we can know is that that the next winter, Athaneric traveled to Rome as was tradition for the Gothic Emperors and held court in the Curia there, and it was there that the events depicted at the introduction of this paper occurred. With Athaneric dead, his brother Amalamir was quickly affirmed by the Garun and the Senate followed so quickly in tandem that eyebrows were raised, as they didn’t even ask for any traditional concessions.
For many, it must have seemed as if the Senate had been saved. However, for breaking the taboo against assassination within the Gothic-Roman Empire, they would eventually be forced into a reckoning. Assassinations would now become a matter of reality within the Empire and would reach a feverd pitch during the Ruination – or, the Crisis of the 8th century as it was once common to call it. Furthermore, Athaneric had shown what tactics could be used to undermine Senate power and, in doing so, had laid bare the weakness of the Senate’s position. This would push the Senate to more aggressively attempt to solidify its power over Senatorial Italy and to secure it’s continued existence, and this would in the half century to follow cause it to commit fatal errors which would forever color the nature of the Post-Ruination Empire.
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[FN1] The Gothic Emperor, by this point, has taken on certain elements of Sacred Kingship; inheriting and melding beliefs present in the Greco-Roman and Germanic cultural spheres. One of the side effects of this, is that it is believed that Emperors – through their piety and the favor of God – can drive out demons and cure illness by touch. This view is wholly embraced and promoted amongst the Gothic Church for obvious reasons. It is not held by the clergy of the Roman Orthodox Church, as the thought that a heretic could be so blessed by God causes a number of theological conundrums. However, the view has come to hold sway amongst enough of the Roman population that the Emperor often spends as much of his time in Rome curing the sick as he does hearing legal issues and consulting with the Senate.
[FN2] The Empire relied on Senatorial Italy for a large chunk of it’s revenue for a number of reasons. First, it because Goths at this time, save for a brief period during the darkest period of the Fourth Punic War, were exempt from the payment of taxes. This naturally means that the tax burden falls heaviest upon the Latin population of the Empire. This was beginning to change already in the 7th century, especially as more Gothic nobles took on the tax burden of Valach freeholders in exchange for accepting serfdom. As time goes on, the tax exempt status of Goths would be restricted to yeomen and the Rieks (nobles), but that process is only now starting.
The second reason is because the Roman beauocracy is still functioning in Senatorial Italy to a large extent. Italy and the Gothic lands have both suffered from the same ruralification which has impacted the rest of Western Europe. However, the old urban landscape remains much healthier here than, in say, Gaul, which means that the Roman governmental apparatus is still functioning in these regions than in others. However, as Senatorial Italy continues to have the highest concentration of the population that can be taxed, it provides a larger segment of the funds the government needs to operate. (Hispania also maintains a well functioning government administration.) Much of the wealth the Empire takes from Gaul and less urbanized regions is in the form of food and other goods.
[FN3] This is actually not all that different from Italian nobility during this era in OTL, albeit the Senate no longer existed in our own timeline. Italian nobility during the Lombard period were largely urban dwelling, even when they owned vast estates in the countryside and, much like their ancestors, liked nothing better than to invest their money in building projects to beautiful the towns where they lived. With the presence of a Senate, and an Italy that is somewhat richer than in OTL (having avoided the Gothic Wars, or the worst of any of the invasions which plagued it in OTL, for that matter – save a few destructive Vandal and Rauthering raids), I figure that the Senate would return to its tradition of sponsoring the buildings of public works. However, Rome’s population was declining in OTL even before the Gothic Wars and this trend has continued in the ATL as well. The result is a city which is rich in monuments, but somewhat poor in the number of citizens.
[FN4] A little bit of explanation here. Part of the deal with Theodemir made which saw the reorganization of the Gothic Kingdoms into the Gothic-Roman Empire was that the Gothic Garune would elect the new King of the Goths (actually, there were two Garunes at first, one for the Visigoths and another for the Ostrogoths. But the two would eventually be merged) while the Senate would confirm the Gothic King as Roman Emperor. Initially, the Senate’s role was simply to rubberstamp Theodemir and his heirs (especially as Theodemir himself received his crown from the Eastern Emperor) however, over time the Senate began to use this power to gain concessions from any would-be Emperor; because, of course they would. The result of this is that Thorismund is able to get Athaneric elected Co-King of the Goths by the Garune. However, in order to be officially named Co-Emperor, Athaneric needs the Senate’s approval. Likely, Thorismund expected he would need to make concessions in order to secure his son’s early election and wasn’t surprised by the Senate’s attitude. However, Athaneric is young and ambitious, and their attitude leaves a bad taste in his mouth, and he takes it personally.
[FN5] It is not obvious here, because the Author’s main focus in on the Senate and not on Athaneric and also because he has no respect for the Emperor in question, but the invasion of the Franks and his efforts to depose Framtane all have the same root cause. By this point, the Gothic Emperors are becoming land poor. Although they are able to support themselves by their share of the Imperial revenue, the lack of land is beginning to hinder the Emperor’s abilities to impose their will on the Empire.
Why the lack of land? Well, as in many Germanic kingdoms, the Goths often reward their followers with land and wealth in order to win their support. If there is a war or conquest, this becomes easier, but in times of peace the Emperors often have to give up their own lands. This is coupled with the growing tradition of the Amalings giving titles and lands to all potential heirs in order to, hopefully, cut down on the possibility of revolts. Thorismund had several wives, as did his Father, and they were virile to boot, meaning that the Emperor’s lands have been cut into even further. Athaneric was invading Frankland to secure wealth and hopefully lands in order to reward his followers. When thay failed, he attempted to force the removal of Preatorian Prefect Framane in order to confiscate some of the lands which traditionally come with that title in Spania (this failed became Framane was competent and popular and also because the title of Preatorian Prefect was quickly becoming hereditary in that land, and so Framane’s house had generations to build up support there.)
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And we're back! Sorry for the long absence, but getting myself situated in Scotland took a bit longer than I was planning on, and then the research and work needed for the PhD took a bit out of me. But I'm back now and I'm gonna try to hold on to my previous goal of at least one chapter update a month. And where are we going from here? Well, it seems that there is a need to more from narrative updates to what I like to call, semi-narritive. In this, the events are still depicted (such as the short reign of Athaneric I) but they are used to illustrate certain aspects of Gothic and Roman society at the time. I believe the next chapter will attempt to cast an eye on the state of the Gothic nobility through the lense of the reign of Amalaric II (and did you sense it would be a short and tragic one? Good!) This will continue until we get to the reign of Theorodic II and then through the Ruination.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe out there. I know its been said to death, and I think it's always true: but crazy days we are all living through! Take care, and be safe; you guys are all too awesome.
Maybe Everything that Dies Someday Comes Back
Consular Diptych of Anicius Boetius, Consul during at the time of the Assassination of Athaneric I
“The ideal state should strive to mimic the order established within the heavens themselves. The Emperor, rightfully, resembles nothing less than the Father himself, for he brings order throughout the realm. The Church is, of course, the Holy Spirit for it embodies wisdom and knowledge. And the Senate is the Son, for it embodies the Word of the citizens” – “The Republic and the Empire” Aquila Mancini
“An Assembly of Citizens: Senatorial Italy in the Middle Empire and the Amalamirian” Journal Restoration Era Studies. Volume XXXXV Issue 2 (2002)
By: Dr. Ricardo Prugna
On May 24th, 678 a crime was committed which shook the Gothic-Roman Empire to its core. On that day, the Emperor Athaneric I was holding court at the Curia Julia before the Senate, when a seemingly possessed man appeared and beseeched the Emperor for the laying of hands so that the demons might be driven from him. Athaneric, known for his piety, amongst many other traits, acquiesced and moved closer to the afflicted than. However, as he drew near, the man produced a dagger which had been hidden away from the Senatorial guards and proceeded to leap upon the Emperor and stab him repeatedly before being subdued by the guards. [FN1]
Although Gothic Emperors had been driven from the throne by coups or rebellions, several times during the history of the Empire, this marked the first successful assassination of a ruling Gothic monarch since Theodoric first arrived in Italy. Sigisbert the Frothiband, our principal source for the event, though he wrote more than four decades later, tells us that the assassination itself was deeply shocking to the people of the Empire. However, what was worse, was the everpresent rumors that the assassination had been carried out either with the knowledge of, or the full support of, the Roman Senate. Although a full investigation was ordered by Amalamir II, the successor of ill-fated Athaneric and the late-Emperor’s younger brother, and carried out by the Senate, the only men punished were the guards who had failed to find the dagger when the madman entered the confines of the Curia.
The punishment of the guards did little to stop the rumors, and infact seemed to inflame them all the more so, so that Amalaric II spent the entirety of his reign with a cloud of illegitimacy hanging over him. We are told by Sigisbert that “From Rome to Ravenna, the streets were full of chatter. Everyone spoke of their own theories, but all agreed that a most foul deed had been committed and that the perpetrators had gone unpunished. For it was well known in those days that members of the illustrious Senate had conspired with certain Gothic Reiks to overturn the will of the Garune, and Thorismund the Good, and set to replace Athaneric with his brother Amalaric.”
Whether or not a conspiracy was actually hatched in the year 678 is impossible to determine at this late date, well over a thousand years after the actors themselves had been laid to rest. But it seems likely, for, as well shall see, the Senate had a vested interest in the removal of Athaneric I – an Emperor who of bold vision, but one who lacked the political skills to make his dreams a reality – who was brazenly attempting to undermine the power and privlidges which the Senate had accrued under the reign of the Gothic Emperors and which they had long since come to see as theirs by natural right.
Perhaps even more astounding is the fact that the Senate had any such powers to begin with. An institution which had seen its authority and powers continually eroded since the dawn of the Augustinian Princep nearly seven centuries prior, and which had been stripped of even these vestiges by the reforms of Dioceltian, had managed to recover to such an extent that it now possessed more power than at any other time since the collapse of the Roman Republic. In order to understand how such a dramatic development occurred, it will be beneficial to briefly sketch the history of the Roman Senate from the Late Roman period through the first centuries of the Restoration Era.
As mentioned, the Roman Senate was stripped of its remaining powers under the Diocletian Reforms which brought about the advent of the Domination Era of the Roman Empire. The prestige of the institution was further undermined by the establishment of a rival Senate in Constantinople by the Emperor Constantine. During the last century of sole Roman rule in the West, the Senate was largely reduced to a mere municipal body and, though the rank of Senator still carried with it a certain amount of prestige and influence, the body had largely ceased to be able to project any power outside of the confines of Rome itself, a city which was long ceased to be the heart of the Empire it had birthed.
This state of affairs began to change, ironically, with the overthrow of the last native Roman Emperors in the West. The arrival of the German Odoacer in 476 and his proclamation as King of Italy marked an important point of divergence from the previous status quo. A foreigner of non-native stock, Odoacer found himself relying upon the advice of the Senate in order to cement his rule over the whole of Italy and to legitimize his reign. Though he was violently overthrown by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric in 493, his successor largely maintained a similar relationship with the Senate, seeing the body as an important source of counsel and advice.
The Senate gained even more authority under Theodoric’s heir and successor Theodemir the Great. Following a serious rebellion by the native Romans, or Valhos, early in his reign, Theodemir took the novel step of reorganizing the settlement of Gothics and other Germans within the realm, restricting them to a region in northern Italia and southern Jaile which corresponds closely with the borders of the modern day nation of Gothreike. For those regions of Italy south of the newly established Gothic homeland, Theodemir reached an accord with the Senate which granted them limited legislative and appointment powers, but which preserved the right of Imperial veto. This was seen as an attempt to placate the native Latin peoples of Italy that they would maintain their liberties under Gothic leadership, and it proved largely successful.
The powers of the Senate were further entrenched under the leadership of Consul Aquila Marcini. A closer ally of Emperors Amalaric I and Theodebert I, Marcini was able to take the then-largely ceremonial position of Consul and imbue it with some of the luster and power of it’s Republican past. Acting as a close advisor and friend of Amalaric I and the tutor of Theodebert I, Marcini was able to accrue a great deal of power and prestige, not only for the Consulship, but the Senate as a whole. By the end of his sixth and last term, the Senate had truly managed to expand its power throughout all of sub-Gothic Italia.
Much of this power came as a direct result of Marcini’s closer relationship with the Gothic Emperors, as well as the needs of the government for revenue throughout the Fourth Punic War. The end of this war brought the Senate new opportunities, but also new challenges. No future Consul was ever able to establish such a close relationship with the Gothic Emperors as Marcini had. In fact, Amalamir I, Theodebert’s brother and successor, as well as many of the Gothic Reiks, began to view the Senate as a foreign element within their Empire and a potential rival power bloc. However, the financial and military difficulties faced by the Empire during the reign of Amalamir and latter, meant that the Senate remained essential to the continued stability of the Empire.
During the era known as the Kunis Wars, which followed Amalamir’s dramatic death while seeking to aid the Eastern Empire, the Senate continued to give support to Queen Adela who largely ruled from behind the throne through her husband and, later, son. Adela viewed the Senate as an important base of support throughout her reign, and was willing to offer lower taxes to Senatorial Italy – a large concession, as the Empire relied upon Italy for much of it’s tax revenue – in exchange for continued military support against the Rauthering raiders which first began to make their dramatic entrances into the Western Empire during this time, as well as rebellions which plagued her time in power. [FN2]
As the Empire reached its mature Middle stage, the Senate was at the height of its power. By this point, they had developed a pattern of recognizing and joining the winning side in the many internal conflicts of the Gothic Empire and, when they had chosen wrong initially, a admirable ability to recognize their error and make amends with the victors. In this, they were helped by the fact that over a century and a half of Kingly and Imperial favor or disinterest had allowed them to solidify their power over all of Senatorial Italy – governors were appointed by the Senate (and though the Emperor retained veto power, Emperors rarely took such recourse) and often came from Senatorial families, the same too was true of tax collectors, minters, port authorities and nearly every other type of government appointee. Only in military matters was the Senate’s power not all encompassing, and even here Emperors usually made the habit of taking the advice of the Senate and appointing military commanders in Italy from their ranks. Go great was their power that in Post-Imperial Italy, the title Senator often carried with it an assumption of nobility equal to the Gothic title of Reiks. This, despite the fact that it is likely that no Senatorial families of any standing survived Frithunanths I’s purges following the Fall of Rome.
This power extensive power bloc within the Empire which ran parallel and separate to that of the Gothic Reiks and the Garune was both seen by Emperors as a potential source of support against their own noblemen and also filled them with concertation. Although the Senate was able to secure a promise of amnesty from the victorious Emperor Theodebert II in exchange for turning over Adela’s son and heir, the Emperor was not slow to forget that they had initially supported his rival and enemies. He appears to have taken some efforts to chastise the Senate, including officially vetoing a number of their appointments and pieces of legislation, but was prevented from doing more by his need for their support in his campaigns against the Suebi King in Spania and the Bavarian incursions. His son, Thorismund developed a more traditional and hands-off relationship with the Senate and relations during his reign where, if not warm, then significantly less cold.
At the cusp of the Amalamirain Coup, the Senate to the casual observer would have resembled the same body as in centuries past. The Senate was comprised of the most powerful and prestigious Latin families of Italy. As in the past, they elected two Consuls each year and the old restriction of a Consul being unable to serve two consequitive terms had been resurrected. The body served as an officially advisory body for the Emperor as it had for centuries, and had reacquired it’s old Pricipate role of debating and passing legislation.
The resemblance to the Senate of the past was not missed by the Senators themselves, and they made every effort to reaffirm their body’ perigree and history. Throughout the 6th and 7th centuries, there was an acceleration of the building of public works in Rome and surrounding communities, and each as stamped with SPQR as tradition dictated. Public baths, libraries, and especially Churches became the currency which the Senate used to beautify the city where they resided and to impress the population of their wealth and power. The fact that the population of Rome had shrunk significantly since the the city’s height made little difference to the Senators, leading to travelers writing that the city was taking on the character of an aging and gaudy woman, decking herself out in the newest fashions to distract from her age and growing poverty. Later writers would come to refer to Rome as a Sepulcher City, though how much of this comes from depictions of its Post-Fall state and the Senator’s city is hard to determine. [FN3]
Because of the Senate’s devotion to the appearance of tradition, it is often difficult to truly comprehend the many differences which had taken place in the body of the centuries of the Late Dominate and the Gothic-Roman Era. Trade restrictions had long been abandoned by the Senate and it was now permissible for Senators to engage in trade, though disruptions to the Mare Nostrum trade networks in the West meant that most Senators were landed aristocrats which owned vast swaths of land throughout the Italian peninsula, and sometimes in Spania as well. Due to this, travel restrictions had also long ago faded into memory, though the need for the Senate to meet meant that Senators were required to reside in Rome at least six months out of the year: usually coinciding with the Emperor’s traditional visits during the Winter months. The size of the Senate has also expanded. Although it had officially been capped at 600 members during the reign of Augustus, and this number had never changed, for much of its history the number rarely reached to 200 active members. By the time of the Middle Empire, and the fact that Senatorial rank had begun to be inherited from fathers to sons, the numbers had begun to swell; though the residency requirements likely limited the number of active Senators to roughly 300 to 350 Senators at any given time. Finally, following encouragement by Mancini during his years as Consol, the Senate had taken to its legislative and judicial roles with an energy which continued throughout into the Middle Empire, turning the Roman Senate into a dynamic governmental body. Many of these laws and judgement related inheritance and land management, as is to be expected from a society which continued to develop in a more rural direction, but laws were also set in place to keep the roads safe for travelers and for the upkeep of public utilities. It is likely that, as a result of the Senate’s actions, Latin Law continued to eclipse its Gothic equivalent in sophistication, so much so that many of the Imperial decrees within the Gothic lands were simply mildy modified Senatoral laws.
This led Yearningst Historians to attempt to depict Senatorial Italy as a veritable rebirth of the Roman Republic within the confines of the Gothic-Roman Empire; likely influences by the evolution of the Senate in the Eastern Empire over the centuries and the reintroduction of powerful Popular Assemblies in that State at the time. This view was the dominant until the modern era, where a reevaluation of Senatorial Italy occurred coinciding with the collapse of Gothic and Rhoman gains in the decades after their victory in the War of Civilizations. To many modern historians, the very aristocratic nature of Senatorial Italy precluded it being a true rebirth of Republican ideals amongst the Latin peoples of Italy. To them, it resembled nothing so much as the oligarchic states which would emerge in the region during the Theutish Era. However, these scholars go too far in their criticism of Yearningist historiography. Although it is true that the Senate was aristocratic in nature, this in no way differentiates it from the rest of the Roman world where there had long been an association of the nation with the aristocracy – only in the Gothic lands did we continue to see yeomen continue to maintain their rights as a class. However, the presence of the Senate probably did more to perpetuate Republican values and Roman traditions during the Early and Middle Empire than any other institution. The fact that late-Roman surnames continued amongst the Senatorial class of Italy when they were dropped in the rest of the Latin world is but one example of this influence. Furthermore, the influence of Post-Fall Italian Senators on the Rhoman Senate in Constantinople was likely great and responsible for the developing of that body eventually into a truly legislative body during the Theutish Era and later.
No matter the republican merit to the Senate by later historians, the fact remains that by the time of Emperor Athaneric, the Senate had become an institution which was powerful enough to become a threat to an ambitious Emperor.
inherited from his father Thorismund the Good a scholarly bent and appreciation for the past, but not his father’s lethargic nature. Athaneric had been elected by the Garune as his Father’s Co-King in 664 while still a young man, in an effort to solidify the succession. Although Thorismund often feuded with the Gothic Church, he was well enough respected by the Reiks that they bowed to his will. However, the Senate proved less amiable than the Gothic lords, pointing out that such an election prior to the death of the reigning Emperor violated tradition, and were less than impressed with Athaneric’s performance pleading his case before their assembly. The political logjam was eventually broken when Thorismund agreed to the lowering of Italian taxes for a period of five years and the appointment of several officials which he had been reticent of confirming – which had probably been the Senate’s goal all along. However, the obstinance of the Senate to confirm him as Co-Emperor would had ramifications as it apparently convinced Athaneric that the Senate had grown haughty and needed to be brought to heel. [FN4]
Athaneric spent the of his Father’s reign serving throughout the Empire, using the opportunity to learn about the internal workings of the Empire as well as to make important connections which would serve him well upon becoming the sole Emperor upon his Father’s death. However, Athaneric remained a deeply ambitious Co-Emperor, but one who seemed incapable of working well with others. The result is that many of his grand plans often refused to come to fruitions, and this alienated many of his would-be allies.
When Thorismund entered in his final illness in 673, there appears to have formed an official opposition to Athaneric which coalesced around his younger brother Amalamir. Amalamir, like his father and brother, were well educated, and seemed to have inherited from his father a certain amiability which many felt would make him a supple Emperor and unlikely to rock the boat. In the words of one official, quoted by Sigisbert, “Amalamir can speak three languages, but has nothing of interest to say in any of them.”
Luckily for Athaneric, his father had been beloved by the Gothic Reiks and few wanted to take the steps needed to reverse the late Emperor’s will. And, even if they had, no precedent existed to removing a legitimately elected Emperor, save by rebellion, and that was a step which the amiable Amalamir had no intention of pursuing. Instead, he had been willed extensive lands in the western Gothlands by his father, and he departed almost immediately to take control of them; a leave that Athaneric was more than willing to grant him, in order to remove his brother from Ravenna and away from any potential conspirators.
The short reign of Athaneric, which lasted only from 673 through 678, deserves a work of its own and cannot be adequately covered here. It is merely suffice to say that many of the tendencies he revealed during his time as Co-Emperor continued into his actual reign and he showed no despire or ability to moderate himself or learn from such failures as his 674 invasion of the Franks which saw his army badly bloodied and forced to retreat, or his meddling in the affairs of Spania which failed to dislodge Framtane, which was then serving as the region’s Preatorian Prefect, and was so popular that word of his removal lead to a spontaneous revolt against the Emperor. The situation was only saved by the hurried intervention of many Gothic Reiks who negotiated a compromise where Framtane turned over several estates to Athaneric in exchange for remaining in his position. [FN5]
Snubbed twice, Athaneric turned his attention towards the Senate, hoping to humble it and remove it as a potential rival to his own weakening power within the Empire. He turned to the Senate to ask them for an increase in taxes. Under normal circumstances, this was his right, as the Emperors had jealously guarded their rights to raise taxes throughout Senatorial Italia: in theory the Senate collected taxes for the Emperor but had no say on what those amounts would be, unless they had previously negotiated a lower rate. However, this was not a normal situation, and the Senate sensed that there was blood in the water. They agreed that the taxes were legitimate, but argued that it would take time to put in place the needed infrastructure to collect them. However, as debate began over these issues, first one Senator and then another stood up and used their right to speak in order to postpone any votes. This continued for some weeks, until the frustrated Emperor was forced to admit defeat, yet again.
As mentioned, whatever his failings as a politician, Athaneric was a skilled scholar and he knew the history of Rome. He also knew that another failure would fatally weaken his authority and make it impossible to implement any of the reforms he wished to introduce to the realm. As such, he hit upon a novel plan and decreed that legislative powers would be stripped from the Senate and that they would be given to a reintroduced Roman Popular Assembly, and promised that the tax increase would not fall upon the Italian peasant but only on the landed gentry.
This was a direct threat to the Senate and caused shock amongt the Senatorial class. Humiliated, they were forced to capitulate 676 and quickly passed the needed legislation to collect the tax. Athaneric, for his part, agreed not to go through with the reintroduction of the Popular Assembly. Using the revenue of the taxes, he planned to fund an even larger invasion of the Franks which would finally bring the Goth’s northern neighbors in submission and incorporate them into the realm.
However, the Senate did not forget the slight. We cannot be sure what happened next, for no documentation exists and we have only Sigisbert’s account of the events, and he refuses to say for certain what happened – likely because he assumed most tales to be but idle gossip. Based on the events, we can hazard a guess, however. The Senate, smarting from their first major political defeat in centuries and perhaps realizing how precarious their position truly was, reached out to those elements of the Gothic nobility which had grown disenchanted with Athaneric’s leadership. Did Amalaric give his support of the plan? And, if he did, what caused him to change his mind from his earlier position of not wishing to challenge his brother? We can never know, and it would be all the more tragic if he was unaware, considering latter events. But what we can know is that that the next winter, Athaneric traveled to Rome as was tradition for the Gothic Emperors and held court in the Curia there, and it was there that the events depicted at the introduction of this paper occurred. With Athaneric dead, his brother Amalamir was quickly affirmed by the Garun and the Senate followed so quickly in tandem that eyebrows were raised, as they didn’t even ask for any traditional concessions.
For many, it must have seemed as if the Senate had been saved. However, for breaking the taboo against assassination within the Gothic-Roman Empire, they would eventually be forced into a reckoning. Assassinations would now become a matter of reality within the Empire and would reach a feverd pitch during the Ruination – or, the Crisis of the 8th century as it was once common to call it. Furthermore, Athaneric had shown what tactics could be used to undermine Senate power and, in doing so, had laid bare the weakness of the Senate’s position. This would push the Senate to more aggressively attempt to solidify its power over Senatorial Italy and to secure it’s continued existence, and this would in the half century to follow cause it to commit fatal errors which would forever color the nature of the Post-Ruination Empire.
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[FN1] The Gothic Emperor, by this point, has taken on certain elements of Sacred Kingship; inheriting and melding beliefs present in the Greco-Roman and Germanic cultural spheres. One of the side effects of this, is that it is believed that Emperors – through their piety and the favor of God – can drive out demons and cure illness by touch. This view is wholly embraced and promoted amongst the Gothic Church for obvious reasons. It is not held by the clergy of the Roman Orthodox Church, as the thought that a heretic could be so blessed by God causes a number of theological conundrums. However, the view has come to hold sway amongst enough of the Roman population that the Emperor often spends as much of his time in Rome curing the sick as he does hearing legal issues and consulting with the Senate.
[FN2] The Empire relied on Senatorial Italy for a large chunk of it’s revenue for a number of reasons. First, it because Goths at this time, save for a brief period during the darkest period of the Fourth Punic War, were exempt from the payment of taxes. This naturally means that the tax burden falls heaviest upon the Latin population of the Empire. This was beginning to change already in the 7th century, especially as more Gothic nobles took on the tax burden of Valach freeholders in exchange for accepting serfdom. As time goes on, the tax exempt status of Goths would be restricted to yeomen and the Rieks (nobles), but that process is only now starting.
The second reason is because the Roman beauocracy is still functioning in Senatorial Italy to a large extent. Italy and the Gothic lands have both suffered from the same ruralification which has impacted the rest of Western Europe. However, the old urban landscape remains much healthier here than, in say, Gaul, which means that the Roman governmental apparatus is still functioning in these regions than in others. However, as Senatorial Italy continues to have the highest concentration of the population that can be taxed, it provides a larger segment of the funds the government needs to operate. (Hispania also maintains a well functioning government administration.) Much of the wealth the Empire takes from Gaul and less urbanized regions is in the form of food and other goods.
[FN3] This is actually not all that different from Italian nobility during this era in OTL, albeit the Senate no longer existed in our own timeline. Italian nobility during the Lombard period were largely urban dwelling, even when they owned vast estates in the countryside and, much like their ancestors, liked nothing better than to invest their money in building projects to beautiful the towns where they lived. With the presence of a Senate, and an Italy that is somewhat richer than in OTL (having avoided the Gothic Wars, or the worst of any of the invasions which plagued it in OTL, for that matter – save a few destructive Vandal and Rauthering raids), I figure that the Senate would return to its tradition of sponsoring the buildings of public works. However, Rome’s population was declining in OTL even before the Gothic Wars and this trend has continued in the ATL as well. The result is a city which is rich in monuments, but somewhat poor in the number of citizens.
[FN4] A little bit of explanation here. Part of the deal with Theodemir made which saw the reorganization of the Gothic Kingdoms into the Gothic-Roman Empire was that the Gothic Garune would elect the new King of the Goths (actually, there were two Garunes at first, one for the Visigoths and another for the Ostrogoths. But the two would eventually be merged) while the Senate would confirm the Gothic King as Roman Emperor. Initially, the Senate’s role was simply to rubberstamp Theodemir and his heirs (especially as Theodemir himself received his crown from the Eastern Emperor) however, over time the Senate began to use this power to gain concessions from any would-be Emperor; because, of course they would. The result of this is that Thorismund is able to get Athaneric elected Co-King of the Goths by the Garune. However, in order to be officially named Co-Emperor, Athaneric needs the Senate’s approval. Likely, Thorismund expected he would need to make concessions in order to secure his son’s early election and wasn’t surprised by the Senate’s attitude. However, Athaneric is young and ambitious, and their attitude leaves a bad taste in his mouth, and he takes it personally.
[FN5] It is not obvious here, because the Author’s main focus in on the Senate and not on Athaneric and also because he has no respect for the Emperor in question, but the invasion of the Franks and his efforts to depose Framtane all have the same root cause. By this point, the Gothic Emperors are becoming land poor. Although they are able to support themselves by their share of the Imperial revenue, the lack of land is beginning to hinder the Emperor’s abilities to impose their will on the Empire.
Why the lack of land? Well, as in many Germanic kingdoms, the Goths often reward their followers with land and wealth in order to win their support. If there is a war or conquest, this becomes easier, but in times of peace the Emperors often have to give up their own lands. This is coupled with the growing tradition of the Amalings giving titles and lands to all potential heirs in order to, hopefully, cut down on the possibility of revolts. Thorismund had several wives, as did his Father, and they were virile to boot, meaning that the Emperor’s lands have been cut into even further. Athaneric was invading Frankland to secure wealth and hopefully lands in order to reward his followers. When thay failed, he attempted to force the removal of Preatorian Prefect Framane in order to confiscate some of the lands which traditionally come with that title in Spania (this failed became Framane was competent and popular and also because the title of Preatorian Prefect was quickly becoming hereditary in that land, and so Framane’s house had generations to build up support there.)
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And we're back! Sorry for the long absence, but getting myself situated in Scotland took a bit longer than I was planning on, and then the research and work needed for the PhD took a bit out of me. But I'm back now and I'm gonna try to hold on to my previous goal of at least one chapter update a month. And where are we going from here? Well, it seems that there is a need to more from narrative updates to what I like to call, semi-narritive. In this, the events are still depicted (such as the short reign of Athaneric I) but they are used to illustrate certain aspects of Gothic and Roman society at the time. I believe the next chapter will attempt to cast an eye on the state of the Gothic nobility through the lense of the reign of Amalaric II (and did you sense it would be a short and tragic one? Good!) This will continue until we get to the reign of Theorodic II and then through the Ruination.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe out there. I know its been said to death, and I think it's always true: but crazy days we are all living through! Take care, and be safe; you guys are all too awesome.
So, I don't want to make any promises that I'm unable to keep. However, the Uni is pretty much grinding to a halt out here due to the pandemic. This doesn't mean that I'm off scot-free for work (being a Postgrad Research student, I largely work on my own anyway), but it does mean that I'm likely gonna have more freetime on my hands. This, coupled with the fact that I'm in campus housing and liable to go stir crazy if I don't do something, means that there might be a sudden surge in my timeline writing. You have all been warned
And, as usual, any questions, comments or observations that people want to post: please do so!
And, as usual, any questions, comments or observations that people want to post: please do so!