Chapter 11
A Storm of Swords
The Empire of the East: a History of Rhomania from Constantine I to Justinian IV
Ewan McGowan
[Royal University Press: Carrickfergus, Kingdom of Gaelia, 2010]
…
The first great defeat of Germanus was not militarily, but political. Before declaring his intentions to strip the Purple from Hypatius and restore the dynasty of Justin to power, Germanus had sent letters to his old ally and comrade, Belisarius, who remained in command of the Empire’s forces in Armenia. In these letters, Germanus had pledged to name Belisarius the highest general in the Empire, and to “rely upon his support in all matters.”
Belisarius, for whatever reason, did not respond to his comrade’s call to arms. Although tensions had certainly existed between Justinian I and Belisarius, there had never before emerged any conflict between the two generals of the late-Emperor, and scholars have continued to debate Belisarius’ hesitancy to join his former friend in overthrowing Hypatius. Arguments have tended to emphasize the general’s sense of duty in protecting the Roman frontier with Persia, his own growing antipathy towards the Dynasty of Justin, a sense of loyalty towards the government in Constantinople, as well as salacious rumors that he had been bought off, as it were, by the current Emperor. It seems likely that Belisarius, who had been so badly tarred with the brush of “rebel” for his part in Justinian I’s aborted attempt to regain the throne, simply chose to remain neutral for the time being, to see which way the winds of history would blow. In any case, Germanus, a cautious, if brilliant, general, utterly believed in the support of Belisarius in the events that were to come. He would prove to be bitterly disappointed.
Germanus’ first true threat was the army commanded by Coutez. Although Hypatius had been fearful of executing Germanus, and depriving him of the notable general, he had banished the former Emperor’s cousin to Alexandria, and stationed the loyal Coutez close by, in case the House of Justin should rise in revolt. However, despite Coutez’s loyalty to Constantinople, the same could not be said for his troops, which were largely made up of Syrians. Word quickly spread through the ranks that Germanus was marching to avenge the death of Patriarch Anthimus, in particular, and the Monophytes in particular. When Germanus’ army approached, Coutez’s soldiers began to riot, turning their coats and joining the rebels. The soldiers attempted to capture their general, but he apparently died in the fighting; an act which was to have ramifications for Germanus’ cause, as it pushed Coutez’s brother, Buzes, firmly into the camp of the loyalists in Constantinople.
…
Germanus’ march, throughout the campaign season of 539, was relatively easy, as he marched his army north from Egypt and into Syria, whose governor readily threw his support behind the House of Justin. In September of that year, Germanus pulled off his greatest victory, up to that time, by capturing Antioch after a short siege. He now controlled the entirety of the Empire’s South, and stood ready to strike deep into the heart of the Empire’s Anatolian heartland.
However, Rhomania did not exist within a vacuum. As word spread of the Empire’s civil war, the enemies of Rome were also on the move. To the North, Bulgars began to press into the Balkan peninsula, drawn by the promise of glory and plunder as Hypatius moved troops from the Danube border in order to strengthen the capital and make a move against Germanus. However, the greatest danger lay to the East as the Persians, under their Emperor Khosrau I, mobilized and pressed into Rhomania.
…
The Persian attack came in two waves; the first aimed towards Syria, and the second towards Armenia; the goal was to sweep away any resistance posed by Germanus to the South, while the northern wave struck at Armenia. It was hoped that, by driving out both Germanus and Belisarius, the Roman heartland of Anatolia would be left open, and the Persians would be able to exact concessions from Hypatius; likely including the creation of Armenia as a Persian vassal, and the capture of several key stronghold along the border.
News of the Persian forays did not reach Antioch until May of 540. Germanus, who had set up his administration in the city, was faced with a daunting challenge; either march out of Antioch and meet the Persians, thereby weakening his own position against Hypatius, or lose his entire Southern flank to a foreign foe.
Rather than see Roman territory fall into the hands of Persia, Germanus interrupted his own war for the throne, and marched South. Over the next year, in a series of battles, he was able to check the Persian advance, but not fully disrupt it. Although he remained strong in Antioch, he was unable to prevent the fall of Egypt to the Persians, nor the collapse of much of the defenses of Syria.
Meanwhile, to the North, another tale unfolded. Believing Belisarius to be neutral in the struggle for the crown, the Persians chose to bypass Armenia for the time being, relying, instead, of raiding deep into Anatolia. The forces loyal to Hypatius suffered a series of defeats, further undermining the legitimacy of the Emperor’s claim to the throne.
From 540, through 541, the Empire appeared to be falling apart, due to internal strife and foreign aggression. The Bulgars, seen as savages by the Greeks, sacked Thessaloniki and raided as far south as Athens, spreading fear in their wake. All the while Khosrau continued his advances into Rome, securing control of Egypt and marching into Syria, while pressing forward into Anatolia.
It was at this moment that Belasarius chose to strike. Unwilling, he claimed, to see the Empire of Rome fall into utter chaos, he marched forth from Armenia, cutting off the main northern thrust of the Sassanid army. This maneuver caused the main Persian army, which had long come to see Belisarius as a neutral in the conflict, to retreat back East to deal with their new foe. At the Battle of Manzikert, the Persians were soundly defeated in the North, and fled back to the East.
To the South, Germanus also managed to push back against the Persian threat, although in a much less dramatic fashion. Choosing, momentarily, to turn his attention to the Persian threat, he pushed steadily towards the south, liberating much of Syria and isolating the Persian forces in Egypt. Figuring that the destruction of the main Southern army would free him to pursue his own claims to the throne, he made a treaty with the Vandals to the West, to help support him in his goals of retaking Egypt.
For all of his efforts, however, it would be Belisarius who reaped the greatest sort term reward for his efforts. After staying neutral in the conflict, and only openly engaging in it after a foreign power had entered the fray, Belisarius had won the hearts and minds of a Roman people who had grown dissatisfied with their own Emperor.
In March of 543, Emperor Hypatius, feeling that Belisarius had proved his lately and worthiness, invited the general to Constantinople to be rewarded for his efforts. It would prove to be the greatest mistake of his life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I feel like I should explain. I took a bit of time away from this timeline because A) I was finishing my thesis, B) I had gotten myself stuck in a bit of writer's block and C) I wanted to turn my attention towards writing actual fiction.
The problem is, of course, that this timeline always stuck with it; it would gnaw at my mind at weird moments, and I would find myself plotting out the next several decades and centuries. Obviously, I was not meant to abandon it so haphazardly!
At the same time, I didn't want to start a version 2.0 (for those of you from the newsgroup days, you will recognize that this timeline actually IS a version 2.0!). It had a great start and I'd built the foundations of a good narrative. The only thing stopping me was that ... well, I had stopped and allowed myself to be side tracked (also, come to think of it, the title isn't as dazzaling as I'd like. But that's another matter).
And so, here we come to today. I've added a new update, and I hope you all will enjoy it. I can't promise you that I will update this terribly regularly (I do have another TL on the 1900 board, and I'm still dedicated to writing some fiction as well), but I am determined to see this timeline progress. Sorry for the long hiatus, and I hope I haven't lost too many readers in the progress!
Long live the Gothikrike!