Hello, this is my first TL, and yes it is a work in progress. Feel free to critique, I'll probably edit it here and there...
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450 AD - Honoria’s relationship with a chamber servant is discovered by her brother and Emperor of the West Valentinian III. The servant is killed and she betrothed to a nondescript senator, but she offers to Attila the Hun her hand in marriage, with the Western Roman Empire as her dowry.
She then bribes palace guards into killing Valentinian III, being seen as both weak and incompetent by his own guards. A few months later, the throne being occupied by no one, Attila arrives in Rome to press his claim on the crown.
In order to gain support among the Church and Rome’s Christian population, Attila converts to Christianity, and accepts the absolute power of the Papacy. Ultimately, Attila’s claims are accepted, although the means he went about achieving this are shadowy.
On August 15th, 450, Honoria and Attila are wed in holy matrimony, and on that same day he is crowned the Emperor of the West. He has the full support of Flavius Aetius, Rome’s greatest general and important military leader.
Hunnic lands are merged with the lands of the Western Roman Empire, and the client states and vassal states of the Huns officially become client states of the Roman Empire. The name of their overlord country has changed, but its leader has not, and to them Attila is now even more terrifying as both REX HVNNORVM and IMPERATOR OCCIDENTALIS.
451 AD - The historic land and army reforms. The army is entirely remodeled and refashioned to be far more cavalry-centric. With access to the training techniques and breeding stock of the Huns, these reforms go over very well.
The land reforms involve the giving out of land to Hunnic soldiers of the original Hunnic army in Gaul, and the official opening of Hunnic lands to Roman soldiers looking to get land after their twenty year tour of duty. The rich lands attract many young men, especially from the poor classes, and the Roman army is bolstered. Money is (temporarily at least) not an issue, because these soldiers will be paid in land, not sesterces.
Attila begins to revitalize the city of Rome using gold from his own war chest.
453 AD - Attila and Honoria bear a son, named Equtius. He is sent frequently to Attila’s relatives, feeling that Equitius should be raised in the style a Hunnic booy should, but with a Roman education and half his time spent among the people of Rome.
455 AD - Vandals do not invade Italy, for fear of Attila. They invest their time in piracy and terrorizing the high seas. This is a small problem though, compared to what they did OTL in 455: the sacking of Rome
Ostrogothic rebellion in Hunnic lands results in the near-genocide of the Ostrogoths. Their lands are emptied, and Attila orders that this land be set aside for use of the Roman soldiers, the first wave of which would be eligible for their retirement pay in 471. During the ensuing battles, Ellakh, Dengizich and Ernakh, Attila’s three sons with any degree of political and military clout, are killed. Equitius is named heir.
457 - 463 AD - Realizing the economic decay of the Roman Empire which he inherited, Attila realizes that a new influx of slaves and plunder is necessary. He turns to the Germanic tribes (Franks, Saxons, etc.), who, because they have been unable to invade Gaul lest incurring the wrath of Attila, had resorted to infighting amongst themselves.
Using the frequent raids of Romano-Britain as a cassus belli, Attila officially declares war on the Saxon tribes in 457. He and Flavius Aetius, his close friend, cross the Rhine with a mixed Hunnic/Roman force (along with a number of Frankish and Visigothic foederatii), and orders the camp not be segregated, encouraging the forging of bonds of comradeship between the two. Realizing that he should endear the army to his successor, the young Equitius is periodically brought on campaign.
The Saxons that weren’t in Romano-Britain are utterly vanquished by the end of 459, and the new influx of slaves immediately bolsters the Roman economy, as Saxons are put in shackles by the thousands. The lands of the Saxons were nearly emptied, and once again were set aside for use by the soldiers who would later retire. Although he encouraged some of his Huns looking for good farmland closer to the influence of Rome to settle there beforehand to maintain order and upkeep the few remaining towns, farms and villages.
From 459 to 463 Attila continued to subdue the tribes of Germania to the Elbe, finding one reason or another to declare war. By 463 the population of Germania up to the Elbe is estimated by some scholars to be only 20% of what it was at the end of 456 AD, the population having been killed or enslaved and moved far from their homeland.
Notably, during the campaign Ricimer, the magister militum, died.
460 - 462 AD - The Suebii attack the city of Lugo. Attila uses this as an excuse to go to war, and declares the Suebii’s foederate status null and void. He primarily uses Langobardi (Lombard) troops, with a good portion of Romans. The Lombards are used as shock troops, and about half of those Lombards who campaigned there died. Many historians think that Attila did this to intentionally weaken them. No Suebii noble is spared the sword, and all are put to death. Most Suebii are executed, the rest are used as slaves in that region. Again, Galaecia was added to the list of locations for resettlement. By 462 AD the Suebii basically cease to exist.
464 AD - The death of Flavius Aetius. Attila uses more of his personal war chest to create a grand mausoleum for him in in his birth place at Dorostolus (OTL modern day Silistra, Bulgaria). For his conquest of Germania to the Elbe, Attila is given the title “Augustus”. For conquering Germania to the Elbe, giving Aetius a lavish Christian burial, and for helping to spread Christianity among the Huns, Attila is granted by Pope Hilarius the title “Beloved of God”.
465 AD - Theodoric demands that for his loyal service to Rome he is given the Septimania region of Gaul. Attila refuses, and Theodoric declares war on the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths make a terrible mistake. The Roman army is in peak condition at this time, bolstered by the new cavalry-centric reforms and the Hunnic army.
465 - 468 AD - The war is fought between the Romans/Huns/Foederates and the Visigoths. While gaining ground in Gaul briefly, his army is overextended as Franks, Lombards, Huns and Romans enclose themselves around Visigothic territory. On March 8th, 468 Theodoric is slain in the Battle of Burdigala. Just three months later, under serious pressure, his heir Thorismund renounces all claim to the Visigothic crown. This event marks the end of the Visigothic people as a foederate nation. Most Visigoths are slain or put in shackles, and sent as slaves to Hunnic lands. As of this moment the only real foederate nations left are the Burgundians, Lombards, and Franks. Aquitania is added to the land reforms project.
469 - 470 AD - Consolidation of the Empire. Attila pours his personal funding into economic revival all along the empire. He rebuilds the aqueducts and roads, and adopts a new economic policy.
By this time there was far more land than was needed to grant the army retirment pay for a LONG TIME to come, given that the economic policy encompassed many parts of Dacia, Galaecia, Germania, and Aquitania. So he gave the urban poor of Rome, Ravenna, and Neapoli half the land in Germania to make them useful, productive citizens. He mandated that this be a process of some twenty years so that the newly-conquered lands aren’t simply flooded by hordes of urban poor.
For his defense of the empire against the Visigoths and his economic revival policies, he is granted the title “Magnus” (“the Great”) by the Senate.
471 AD - Attila the Hun, Magnus Augustus, Beloved of God, Emperor of the West dies. His final two decrees are that the capital of the Empire be moved from Ravenna back to Rome, now greatly revitalized, and that his heir is his son Equitius.
Equitius is crowned IMPERATOR OCCIDENTALIS ET REGNVM HVNNORVM later that year.
The first wave of soldiers retiring to the lands set aside by Attila. This results in a great movement to the fertile lands in the Pannonian plain of Romanized peoples, bringing with them Roman ideas and Roman innovation. This begins the cultural flourishing of the area. New labor ideas emerge here, as the new farmers look to increase their yield. These however wouldn’t come to fruition until the next few decades.
472 AD - Immediately Equitius’ authority is challenged by one of the client states, that client state being the Gepid tribe. They were crushed and slaughtered to the last man. The rough lifestyle of the Huns which he spent much time living had impressed upon him the need to meet your enemies with utmost hatred, and your friends with utmost generosity. The Gepids weren’t just enemies, they were traitors.
474 AD - The Emperor Zeno’s envoy to the Vandals results in a peace agreement with the Vandal kingdom between them and the two Empires. The piracy ends, and trade in the Mediterranean flourishes, as routes from Europe to Africa open up once again.
Honoria, wife of Attila and mother of the emperor, dies.
475 - 479 AD - Equitius commits five legions to the destruction of the Saxons and Angles that occupied the eastern portion of Britannia. The legions end up killing king Hengest of the Saxon kingdom of Kent and retaking land from Dover to East Anglia. The Saxons are no more.
The Roman legions, however, after four years of fighting, hadn’t the power to destroy the Angles lodged in the far north. That would be left for another day, but Equitius would forever be remembered by the Britons as “the Good Emperor”.
475 AD - Equitius weds the daughter of an influential Hun. That same year they bear a son named Flavius, named after Flavius Aetius. He, like his father, sends him to spend much of his time among the Huns to ensure that he has a proper “Romano-Hunnic” upbringing.
476 AD - The Senate votes to erect a monument to Attila in the Forum. It is a statue of Attila on horseback with the traditional Hun reflex bow drawn while wearing the laurel wreath.
481 AD - Clovis I ascends the throne of the Franks. He is ambitious king, and Equitius does well to keep an eye on him, wondering if he sees the Roman failure to destroy the Angles as a sign of weakness.
482 AD - The retired soldiers in the Pannonian Plain, had for over a decade now adopted a sort of indentured servitude mode of labor for their newly-acquired farms. The movement of urban poor in Italy to Germany had been a long, twenty year process, and at this stage was still only about halfway through. It was popular at this time for the newly-landed soldiers to offer to urban poor in Italy an alternative: work my farm, I give you not only a share of my land but also protection from bandits and whatever the north brings. Thus began the development of a sort of manorial system in the Roman Empire.
486 AD - The fears of Clovis are well-grounded, when Clovis invades the Soissons region of the Roman Empire. He begins rapid expansion in northern France, however he soon finds resistance.
486 - 489 AD - The campaign against the Franks. The campaign was long and bloody, the Franks being at this point very “Romanized”, and not the disorganized barbarian horde it was in generations past.
But ultimately, Clovis is defeated, and he must flee the continent. Thousands of Franks flee with Clovis to Britain. Clovis ends up never being pursued, and sets up his new Frankish kingdom in the lands that just years before were occupied by Saxons and Angles, centered around Kent and later Londinium.
Clovis’ charismatic nature and his control of his own people leads him to establish a very strong kingdom in this region. For the rest of his career Equitius saw that as his greatest failing. While the campaign was successful, and while many new slaves and tons of riches were plundered, he felt it was a failing on his part to truly destroy his enemy. But the way he ultimately saw it, he was rid of Clovis and the Franks, and that territory could now be used to the benefit of the Huns and the Romans.
491 AD - The beginning of the settlement of Germania by the Roman veterans. Although for the most part they are still being sent to the Pannonian Plain.
494 AD - Pope Gelasius delineates the relationship between Church and State, saying that while they are separate, they are to assist each other.
495 - 498 AD - Flavius weds a Hunnic woman, and has two daughters, and a son named Danubius. True to his namesake, he too is sent to spend time in Pannonia Magna.
496 - 497 AD - The weakened Vandal kingdom is the target for a short yet profitable war for Equitius. By March of 497, the Vandal kingdom is destroyed, and the province of Africa is readmitted as a province.
Equitius is granted the cognomen “Vandalicus” for his defeat of the Vandals.
500 AD - The Britons score a major victory against the Angles at Mons Badonicus (Badon Hill), expelling them from the isle of Britain. The British isles are now divided between the Celts, the Romano-British, and the Franks.
Birth of Theodebert son of Theodoric I.
501 AD - Returning from Carthage, Equitius claims he saw the Christ on the battlefield, instructing him to spread and emphasize Christianity throughout the Empire. In the last nine years of his life, Equitius spends much on the construction of monasteries and churches, especially in Gaul, Germania, and the Pannonian Plain.
502 AD - War breaks out between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanids. The Sassanids are overconfident, and send a weak force into Armenia. They are slaughtered at the Battle of Amida, and the war begins.
502 -505 AD - The Eastern campaign against the Sassanids. Mesopotamia reconquered entirely. Peace is agreed upon that the Sassanids give Colchis, Assyria, (region based around Hatra) and 10,000 pounds of gold. Given the large number of Christians in the region, the Eastern Romans are most welcome.
509 AD - Clovis’ conversion to Christianity.
510 AD - The death of the Emperor of the West, Equitius Vandalicus Augustus. Ascension of Flavius as Emperor of the West.
511 AD - The “manorial system” is now in full swing in Pannonia Magna (Pannonia beyond the Danube), although most of the farmers are coming from Greece and beyond the Empire itself, given that most of Italy’s unemployed are gone, sent to be productive in Germania, Pannonia, or Aquitania.
Introduction of this new system into Germania itself. Economic flourishing of the region. Many new roads are built throughout Germania, and it becomes a hub of trade.
Death of Clovis and division of his kingdom between his son Theodoric and his other son Merowig. (Theodoric was granted all land south of the Thames, while Merowig all lands north of the Thames. This division officially marks the beginning of the Merovingian dynasty.
512 AD - Tensions between Emperor Anastasius of the East and the Pope for his adoption of monopyhtism. The eldest daughter of Flavius is betrothed to Sigismund, the heir apparent to the Burgundian throne, in a Roman effort to both cement relations with the Burgundians and to make sure they are continually involved in the area.
516 AD - Death of Gundobad king of Burgundy. Ascension of Sigismund. That same year they have a son named Gallus.
517 - 518 AD - Roman Emperor Flavius, Pope Hormisdas, and Theodoric I of the Franks work together to convene the First Council of Londinium, with many bishops from Gaul. This cements the ties of the Frankish crown to the Catholic church, and Theodoric begins to help stifle Arian beliefs in his lands.
523 AD - Leptis Magna is sacked by Berber raiders.
523 - 525 AD - Flavius sends mostly Huns to deal with the Berber problem. Flavius knew that the best way to deal with the fast-moving warfare of the Berber tribes was to send in the terrible Hunnic horsemen. The Berbers are turned into client states of the West and subdued by 525.
525 AD - Danubius marries a Roman woman, breaking away from tradition, and that same year has a son named Attilanus.
526 AD - Earthquake kill ~300,000 in Antioch and Syria.
527 AD - Ascension of Justinian to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire. Belisarius appointed by the new Emperor to command the empire’s army in the East.
Kavad the king of Persia attacks the Eastern Empire again, and is crushed by Belisarius through superior generalship.
527 - 535 AD - The court in the East asked for the West’s assistance in this matter, and they sent legions to help secure the area around Antioch. For eight years the war dragged on, and the Romans proved themselves to be unstoppable. (NOTE: IOTL, the major reason that the Byzantines did not do so well in this war was because they were tied up in the West, and so couldn’t afford to divert forces to the East. ITTL, they didn’t have that problem to worry about)
In 530 AD Belisarius proved to be worthy of his generalship when he routed the Persians at Dara, and thanks to Western reinforcements, wins again at Callinicum. Belisarius presses his advantage, and begins the invasion of Mesopotamia.
Belisarius wouldn’t leave for another five years, and during this time he would absolutely ravage the Sassanids in this region.
The campaign would end with the acquisition of Mesopotamia into the Eastern Roman Empire, and Belisarius would be granted the title “Persicus” for his defeat of the Sassanids.
Justinian takes a page out of the West’s book, and sets aside much land in Mesopotamia for similar land payments to his own soldiers.
528 AD - Another earthquake in Antioch, which destroys the Great Church built by Constantine.
532 AD - Nika Revolts. Belisarius is too far away from Constantinople to help, but Mundus, and a force of Western Romans traveling by land to assist in the campaign in the East were in the city and able to suppress the rebellion.
Later that year, Justinian orders the construction of the Hagia Sophia.
533 AD - Death of Theoderic I of the Franks. Ascension of his son Theodebert.
Death of Sigismund. Ascension of Gallus the Roman as king of Burgundy.
534 AD - Completion of the Codex Justinianus
535 AD - Conclusion of the war. Mesopotamia is added to the Eastern Empire’s holdings, and the Sassanids are for all intents and purposes pushed beyond the Zagros mountains.
The death of the Emperor Flavius. Danubius succeeds him at 37 years of age.
536 AD - The Franks under Theodebert begin to expand in Britain. Western Romans choose not to assist the Romano-Britons, feeling that their interests lie on the continent. It was a decision that would have been decided differently had Flavius lived one more year, but Danubius didn’t have the emotional sting of personally not having destroyed the Franks that his father had.
537 AD - Hagia Sophia completed.
Inspired by the Hagia Sophia, Danubius decides to create a grand church in Pannonia, to be called the “Church of Danubius.
542 AD - Beginning of the Plague of Justinian.
Completion of the Church of Danubius. Danubius granted the title “Sanctus” by the Pope for the splendor of his Church.
Theodebert now rules all of Wessex and is pushing into central England. In order to keep up, Merowig begins an invasion of Northumbria. The Celts and the Romano-Britons once again form a coalition.
543 AD - Simmering tensions in Burgundy erupt in civil war, with one side (the smaller one) supporting Gallus the Roman, the other side supporting a Burgundian leader by the name of Gundioc.
Death of Merowig king of the Franks (East Anglia). Ascension of his son Clovis II.
544 - 546 AD - When Gundioc sends assassins to kill Flavia, the eldest sister of the Roman Emperor (mother of King Gallus) and one to who the Emperor was very close, they succeed.
This triggers a war between the Western Roman Empire and Gundioc. Western Empire rents out Belisarius to be general alongside Danubius. Within two years Gundioc’s forces are slain, and his supporters enslaved, sent to Aquitaine and Germania.
Danubius is granted the title “Gundiocus”. They were considering “Burgundicus”, but the Burgundian nation was technically not destroyed, and continued to exist with a Roman king.
547 AD - Death of Theodebert and ascension of his son Merovech as the king of the Franks (Kent).
550 AD - Clovis II dies on the battlefield, with no heir, his only son having died as a boy. Union of the Frankish kingdom under Merovech.
555 AD - Attilanus marries and bears a son by the name of Theodotus.
558 AD - Invasion of the Bulgars. The Bulgars, push through Pannonia quickly, ransacking very little, for their goal was the Eastern Roman Empire, seeing it correctly as still richer than the wealthy Pannonia Magna province.
Historians speculate that Danubius purposely allowed the Bulgars through, feeling that his Eastern counterpart was far too strong for his own good, and having resentment toward him for his monophysitic beliefs. At either rate, the Bulgars are repelled by Belisarius, and that is the last the Romans hear of them for some time.
563 AD - Saint Columbia begins preaching to the Picts.
565 AD - Death of Danubius Sanctus Augustus Gundiocus, Emperor of the West. Ascension of Attilanus.
Map:
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450 AD - Honoria’s relationship with a chamber servant is discovered by her brother and Emperor of the West Valentinian III. The servant is killed and she betrothed to a nondescript senator, but she offers to Attila the Hun her hand in marriage, with the Western Roman Empire as her dowry.
She then bribes palace guards into killing Valentinian III, being seen as both weak and incompetent by his own guards. A few months later, the throne being occupied by no one, Attila arrives in Rome to press his claim on the crown.
In order to gain support among the Church and Rome’s Christian population, Attila converts to Christianity, and accepts the absolute power of the Papacy. Ultimately, Attila’s claims are accepted, although the means he went about achieving this are shadowy.
On August 15th, 450, Honoria and Attila are wed in holy matrimony, and on that same day he is crowned the Emperor of the West. He has the full support of Flavius Aetius, Rome’s greatest general and important military leader.
Hunnic lands are merged with the lands of the Western Roman Empire, and the client states and vassal states of the Huns officially become client states of the Roman Empire. The name of their overlord country has changed, but its leader has not, and to them Attila is now even more terrifying as both REX HVNNORVM and IMPERATOR OCCIDENTALIS.
451 AD - The historic land and army reforms. The army is entirely remodeled and refashioned to be far more cavalry-centric. With access to the training techniques and breeding stock of the Huns, these reforms go over very well.
The land reforms involve the giving out of land to Hunnic soldiers of the original Hunnic army in Gaul, and the official opening of Hunnic lands to Roman soldiers looking to get land after their twenty year tour of duty. The rich lands attract many young men, especially from the poor classes, and the Roman army is bolstered. Money is (temporarily at least) not an issue, because these soldiers will be paid in land, not sesterces.
Attila begins to revitalize the city of Rome using gold from his own war chest.
453 AD - Attila and Honoria bear a son, named Equtius. He is sent frequently to Attila’s relatives, feeling that Equitius should be raised in the style a Hunnic booy should, but with a Roman education and half his time spent among the people of Rome.
455 AD - Vandals do not invade Italy, for fear of Attila. They invest their time in piracy and terrorizing the high seas. This is a small problem though, compared to what they did OTL in 455: the sacking of Rome
Ostrogothic rebellion in Hunnic lands results in the near-genocide of the Ostrogoths. Their lands are emptied, and Attila orders that this land be set aside for use of the Roman soldiers, the first wave of which would be eligible for their retirement pay in 471. During the ensuing battles, Ellakh, Dengizich and Ernakh, Attila’s three sons with any degree of political and military clout, are killed. Equitius is named heir.
457 - 463 AD - Realizing the economic decay of the Roman Empire which he inherited, Attila realizes that a new influx of slaves and plunder is necessary. He turns to the Germanic tribes (Franks, Saxons, etc.), who, because they have been unable to invade Gaul lest incurring the wrath of Attila, had resorted to infighting amongst themselves.
Using the frequent raids of Romano-Britain as a cassus belli, Attila officially declares war on the Saxon tribes in 457. He and Flavius Aetius, his close friend, cross the Rhine with a mixed Hunnic/Roman force (along with a number of Frankish and Visigothic foederatii), and orders the camp not be segregated, encouraging the forging of bonds of comradeship between the two. Realizing that he should endear the army to his successor, the young Equitius is periodically brought on campaign.
The Saxons that weren’t in Romano-Britain are utterly vanquished by the end of 459, and the new influx of slaves immediately bolsters the Roman economy, as Saxons are put in shackles by the thousands. The lands of the Saxons were nearly emptied, and once again were set aside for use by the soldiers who would later retire. Although he encouraged some of his Huns looking for good farmland closer to the influence of Rome to settle there beforehand to maintain order and upkeep the few remaining towns, farms and villages.
From 459 to 463 Attila continued to subdue the tribes of Germania to the Elbe, finding one reason or another to declare war. By 463 the population of Germania up to the Elbe is estimated by some scholars to be only 20% of what it was at the end of 456 AD, the population having been killed or enslaved and moved far from their homeland.
Notably, during the campaign Ricimer, the magister militum, died.
460 - 462 AD - The Suebii attack the city of Lugo. Attila uses this as an excuse to go to war, and declares the Suebii’s foederate status null and void. He primarily uses Langobardi (Lombard) troops, with a good portion of Romans. The Lombards are used as shock troops, and about half of those Lombards who campaigned there died. Many historians think that Attila did this to intentionally weaken them. No Suebii noble is spared the sword, and all are put to death. Most Suebii are executed, the rest are used as slaves in that region. Again, Galaecia was added to the list of locations for resettlement. By 462 AD the Suebii basically cease to exist.
464 AD - The death of Flavius Aetius. Attila uses more of his personal war chest to create a grand mausoleum for him in in his birth place at Dorostolus (OTL modern day Silistra, Bulgaria). For his conquest of Germania to the Elbe, Attila is given the title “Augustus”. For conquering Germania to the Elbe, giving Aetius a lavish Christian burial, and for helping to spread Christianity among the Huns, Attila is granted by Pope Hilarius the title “Beloved of God”.
465 AD - Theodoric demands that for his loyal service to Rome he is given the Septimania region of Gaul. Attila refuses, and Theodoric declares war on the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths make a terrible mistake. The Roman army is in peak condition at this time, bolstered by the new cavalry-centric reforms and the Hunnic army.
465 - 468 AD - The war is fought between the Romans/Huns/Foederates and the Visigoths. While gaining ground in Gaul briefly, his army is overextended as Franks, Lombards, Huns and Romans enclose themselves around Visigothic territory. On March 8th, 468 Theodoric is slain in the Battle of Burdigala. Just three months later, under serious pressure, his heir Thorismund renounces all claim to the Visigothic crown. This event marks the end of the Visigothic people as a foederate nation. Most Visigoths are slain or put in shackles, and sent as slaves to Hunnic lands. As of this moment the only real foederate nations left are the Burgundians, Lombards, and Franks. Aquitania is added to the land reforms project.
469 - 470 AD - Consolidation of the Empire. Attila pours his personal funding into economic revival all along the empire. He rebuilds the aqueducts and roads, and adopts a new economic policy.
By this time there was far more land than was needed to grant the army retirment pay for a LONG TIME to come, given that the economic policy encompassed many parts of Dacia, Galaecia, Germania, and Aquitania. So he gave the urban poor of Rome, Ravenna, and Neapoli half the land in Germania to make them useful, productive citizens. He mandated that this be a process of some twenty years so that the newly-conquered lands aren’t simply flooded by hordes of urban poor.
For his defense of the empire against the Visigoths and his economic revival policies, he is granted the title “Magnus” (“the Great”) by the Senate.
471 AD - Attila the Hun, Magnus Augustus, Beloved of God, Emperor of the West dies. His final two decrees are that the capital of the Empire be moved from Ravenna back to Rome, now greatly revitalized, and that his heir is his son Equitius.
Equitius is crowned IMPERATOR OCCIDENTALIS ET REGNVM HVNNORVM later that year.
The first wave of soldiers retiring to the lands set aside by Attila. This results in a great movement to the fertile lands in the Pannonian plain of Romanized peoples, bringing with them Roman ideas and Roman innovation. This begins the cultural flourishing of the area. New labor ideas emerge here, as the new farmers look to increase their yield. These however wouldn’t come to fruition until the next few decades.
472 AD - Immediately Equitius’ authority is challenged by one of the client states, that client state being the Gepid tribe. They were crushed and slaughtered to the last man. The rough lifestyle of the Huns which he spent much time living had impressed upon him the need to meet your enemies with utmost hatred, and your friends with utmost generosity. The Gepids weren’t just enemies, they were traitors.
474 AD - The Emperor Zeno’s envoy to the Vandals results in a peace agreement with the Vandal kingdom between them and the two Empires. The piracy ends, and trade in the Mediterranean flourishes, as routes from Europe to Africa open up once again.
Honoria, wife of Attila and mother of the emperor, dies.
475 - 479 AD - Equitius commits five legions to the destruction of the Saxons and Angles that occupied the eastern portion of Britannia. The legions end up killing king Hengest of the Saxon kingdom of Kent and retaking land from Dover to East Anglia. The Saxons are no more.
The Roman legions, however, after four years of fighting, hadn’t the power to destroy the Angles lodged in the far north. That would be left for another day, but Equitius would forever be remembered by the Britons as “the Good Emperor”.
475 AD - Equitius weds the daughter of an influential Hun. That same year they bear a son named Flavius, named after Flavius Aetius. He, like his father, sends him to spend much of his time among the Huns to ensure that he has a proper “Romano-Hunnic” upbringing.
476 AD - The Senate votes to erect a monument to Attila in the Forum. It is a statue of Attila on horseback with the traditional Hun reflex bow drawn while wearing the laurel wreath.
481 AD - Clovis I ascends the throne of the Franks. He is ambitious king, and Equitius does well to keep an eye on him, wondering if he sees the Roman failure to destroy the Angles as a sign of weakness.
482 AD - The retired soldiers in the Pannonian Plain, had for over a decade now adopted a sort of indentured servitude mode of labor for their newly-acquired farms. The movement of urban poor in Italy to Germany had been a long, twenty year process, and at this stage was still only about halfway through. It was popular at this time for the newly-landed soldiers to offer to urban poor in Italy an alternative: work my farm, I give you not only a share of my land but also protection from bandits and whatever the north brings. Thus began the development of a sort of manorial system in the Roman Empire.
486 AD - The fears of Clovis are well-grounded, when Clovis invades the Soissons region of the Roman Empire. He begins rapid expansion in northern France, however he soon finds resistance.
486 - 489 AD - The campaign against the Franks. The campaign was long and bloody, the Franks being at this point very “Romanized”, and not the disorganized barbarian horde it was in generations past.
But ultimately, Clovis is defeated, and he must flee the continent. Thousands of Franks flee with Clovis to Britain. Clovis ends up never being pursued, and sets up his new Frankish kingdom in the lands that just years before were occupied by Saxons and Angles, centered around Kent and later Londinium.
Clovis’ charismatic nature and his control of his own people leads him to establish a very strong kingdom in this region. For the rest of his career Equitius saw that as his greatest failing. While the campaign was successful, and while many new slaves and tons of riches were plundered, he felt it was a failing on his part to truly destroy his enemy. But the way he ultimately saw it, he was rid of Clovis and the Franks, and that territory could now be used to the benefit of the Huns and the Romans.
491 AD - The beginning of the settlement of Germania by the Roman veterans. Although for the most part they are still being sent to the Pannonian Plain.
494 AD - Pope Gelasius delineates the relationship between Church and State, saying that while they are separate, they are to assist each other.
495 - 498 AD - Flavius weds a Hunnic woman, and has two daughters, and a son named Danubius. True to his namesake, he too is sent to spend time in Pannonia Magna.
496 - 497 AD - The weakened Vandal kingdom is the target for a short yet profitable war for Equitius. By March of 497, the Vandal kingdom is destroyed, and the province of Africa is readmitted as a province.
Equitius is granted the cognomen “Vandalicus” for his defeat of the Vandals.
500 AD - The Britons score a major victory against the Angles at Mons Badonicus (Badon Hill), expelling them from the isle of Britain. The British isles are now divided between the Celts, the Romano-British, and the Franks.
Birth of Theodebert son of Theodoric I.
501 AD - Returning from Carthage, Equitius claims he saw the Christ on the battlefield, instructing him to spread and emphasize Christianity throughout the Empire. In the last nine years of his life, Equitius spends much on the construction of monasteries and churches, especially in Gaul, Germania, and the Pannonian Plain.
502 AD - War breaks out between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanids. The Sassanids are overconfident, and send a weak force into Armenia. They are slaughtered at the Battle of Amida, and the war begins.
502 -505 AD - The Eastern campaign against the Sassanids. Mesopotamia reconquered entirely. Peace is agreed upon that the Sassanids give Colchis, Assyria, (region based around Hatra) and 10,000 pounds of gold. Given the large number of Christians in the region, the Eastern Romans are most welcome.
509 AD - Clovis’ conversion to Christianity.
510 AD - The death of the Emperor of the West, Equitius Vandalicus Augustus. Ascension of Flavius as Emperor of the West.
511 AD - The “manorial system” is now in full swing in Pannonia Magna (Pannonia beyond the Danube), although most of the farmers are coming from Greece and beyond the Empire itself, given that most of Italy’s unemployed are gone, sent to be productive in Germania, Pannonia, or Aquitania.
Introduction of this new system into Germania itself. Economic flourishing of the region. Many new roads are built throughout Germania, and it becomes a hub of trade.
Death of Clovis and division of his kingdom between his son Theodoric and his other son Merowig. (Theodoric was granted all land south of the Thames, while Merowig all lands north of the Thames. This division officially marks the beginning of the Merovingian dynasty.
512 AD - Tensions between Emperor Anastasius of the East and the Pope for his adoption of monopyhtism. The eldest daughter of Flavius is betrothed to Sigismund, the heir apparent to the Burgundian throne, in a Roman effort to both cement relations with the Burgundians and to make sure they are continually involved in the area.
516 AD - Death of Gundobad king of Burgundy. Ascension of Sigismund. That same year they have a son named Gallus.
517 - 518 AD - Roman Emperor Flavius, Pope Hormisdas, and Theodoric I of the Franks work together to convene the First Council of Londinium, with many bishops from Gaul. This cements the ties of the Frankish crown to the Catholic church, and Theodoric begins to help stifle Arian beliefs in his lands.
523 AD - Leptis Magna is sacked by Berber raiders.
523 - 525 AD - Flavius sends mostly Huns to deal with the Berber problem. Flavius knew that the best way to deal with the fast-moving warfare of the Berber tribes was to send in the terrible Hunnic horsemen. The Berbers are turned into client states of the West and subdued by 525.
525 AD - Danubius marries a Roman woman, breaking away from tradition, and that same year has a son named Attilanus.
526 AD - Earthquake kill ~300,000 in Antioch and Syria.
527 AD - Ascension of Justinian to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire. Belisarius appointed by the new Emperor to command the empire’s army in the East.
Kavad the king of Persia attacks the Eastern Empire again, and is crushed by Belisarius through superior generalship.
527 - 535 AD - The court in the East asked for the West’s assistance in this matter, and they sent legions to help secure the area around Antioch. For eight years the war dragged on, and the Romans proved themselves to be unstoppable. (NOTE: IOTL, the major reason that the Byzantines did not do so well in this war was because they were tied up in the West, and so couldn’t afford to divert forces to the East. ITTL, they didn’t have that problem to worry about)
In 530 AD Belisarius proved to be worthy of his generalship when he routed the Persians at Dara, and thanks to Western reinforcements, wins again at Callinicum. Belisarius presses his advantage, and begins the invasion of Mesopotamia.
Belisarius wouldn’t leave for another five years, and during this time he would absolutely ravage the Sassanids in this region.
The campaign would end with the acquisition of Mesopotamia into the Eastern Roman Empire, and Belisarius would be granted the title “Persicus” for his defeat of the Sassanids.
Justinian takes a page out of the West’s book, and sets aside much land in Mesopotamia for similar land payments to his own soldiers.
528 AD - Another earthquake in Antioch, which destroys the Great Church built by Constantine.
532 AD - Nika Revolts. Belisarius is too far away from Constantinople to help, but Mundus, and a force of Western Romans traveling by land to assist in the campaign in the East were in the city and able to suppress the rebellion.
Later that year, Justinian orders the construction of the Hagia Sophia.
533 AD - Death of Theoderic I of the Franks. Ascension of his son Theodebert.
Death of Sigismund. Ascension of Gallus the Roman as king of Burgundy.
534 AD - Completion of the Codex Justinianus
535 AD - Conclusion of the war. Mesopotamia is added to the Eastern Empire’s holdings, and the Sassanids are for all intents and purposes pushed beyond the Zagros mountains.
The death of the Emperor Flavius. Danubius succeeds him at 37 years of age.
536 AD - The Franks under Theodebert begin to expand in Britain. Western Romans choose not to assist the Romano-Britons, feeling that their interests lie on the continent. It was a decision that would have been decided differently had Flavius lived one more year, but Danubius didn’t have the emotional sting of personally not having destroyed the Franks that his father had.
537 AD - Hagia Sophia completed.
Inspired by the Hagia Sophia, Danubius decides to create a grand church in Pannonia, to be called the “Church of Danubius.
542 AD - Beginning of the Plague of Justinian.
Completion of the Church of Danubius. Danubius granted the title “Sanctus” by the Pope for the splendor of his Church.
Theodebert now rules all of Wessex and is pushing into central England. In order to keep up, Merowig begins an invasion of Northumbria. The Celts and the Romano-Britons once again form a coalition.
543 AD - Simmering tensions in Burgundy erupt in civil war, with one side (the smaller one) supporting Gallus the Roman, the other side supporting a Burgundian leader by the name of Gundioc.
Death of Merowig king of the Franks (East Anglia). Ascension of his son Clovis II.
544 - 546 AD - When Gundioc sends assassins to kill Flavia, the eldest sister of the Roman Emperor (mother of King Gallus) and one to who the Emperor was very close, they succeed.
This triggers a war between the Western Roman Empire and Gundioc. Western Empire rents out Belisarius to be general alongside Danubius. Within two years Gundioc’s forces are slain, and his supporters enslaved, sent to Aquitaine and Germania.
Danubius is granted the title “Gundiocus”. They were considering “Burgundicus”, but the Burgundian nation was technically not destroyed, and continued to exist with a Roman king.
547 AD - Death of Theodebert and ascension of his son Merovech as the king of the Franks (Kent).
550 AD - Clovis II dies on the battlefield, with no heir, his only son having died as a boy. Union of the Frankish kingdom under Merovech.
555 AD - Attilanus marries and bears a son by the name of Theodotus.
558 AD - Invasion of the Bulgars. The Bulgars, push through Pannonia quickly, ransacking very little, for their goal was the Eastern Roman Empire, seeing it correctly as still richer than the wealthy Pannonia Magna province.
Historians speculate that Danubius purposely allowed the Bulgars through, feeling that his Eastern counterpart was far too strong for his own good, and having resentment toward him for his monophysitic beliefs. At either rate, the Bulgars are repelled by Belisarius, and that is the last the Romans hear of them for some time.
563 AD - Saint Columbia begins preaching to the Picts.
565 AD - Death of Danubius Sanctus Augustus Gundiocus, Emperor of the West. Ascension of Attilanus.
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