The Palace has Fallen: A Timeline Without Charlemagne
- Thread starter ArchimedesCircle
- Start date
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
I mean if the Iberian and French Muslims decide to go the away of the Persians and revive their vernacular languages, sure.
Deleted member 97083
(OTL) Castile does seem to have geography that would tend towards language conservation.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
I'd always love for an AH counterpart to Umar ibn Hafsun leading a native uprising against the Arabs and ousting them from Al-Andalus. Umar ibn Hafsun was said to be descended from Gothic and/or black roots so that'd be something. You have Athanagild, son of the Visigothic noble turned Muslim vassal Theodmir/Tudmir, presumably kicking it and running his father's lands in Murcia. Maybe he leads a rebellion and succeeds in forming a neo-Gothic Muslim kingdom.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atanagildo_de_Tudmir
In the current situation, it will already be a Latin-speaking state.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Just as OTL Al-Andalus was initially a predominately Latinate population ruled over by Syrian Arabs. It being considered the language of God amongst Muslims and the administrative language made it very attractive to Muslims and the Christians and Jews living under them. Ofc. that won't come to pass if Al-Andalus breaks aparts and the power of the Syrian junds is broken.
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Miguel Lanius
Banned
I can see Carl kicking some serious ass in this TL as a lombard noble, who knows, maybe he even gets some good land.
Part 8: Of Slavs and Sunnis
Widukind's death had fractured his empire, and the Saxon kingdom was undergoing violent death spasms that were to reshape Europe. For it was Widukind's host that had begun the period that would later be known as the Viking Age- the followers of the forest king had honed their blades on Frankish shields and whetted their appetites for treasure on Christian gold. With Widukind dead his great host fractured into countless warbands and raiding parties. Some, such as Grimr Haraldson, would carve out their own kingdoms in the west. Others however, would return with their loot to their homelands, using the riches of the west to fuel expansion and adventures in the east. This was especially the case for the Wendish allies of Widukind- save those who had chosen to remain in Wuchodol. In the years following the Battle of Yonne, two veterans of Widukind's campaign, Nako of Rani and Mistivir the Sorb, used their treasure and fame to attract armies to themselves, embarking on a warpath against the disunited eastern tribes. By the end of the decade the two soldiers had forged their own kingdoms in the sparsely populated east, plying the Vistula river and Baltic coast for treasure and slaves to grow the infant regimes.
The Germanics were also taking advantage of the ongoing chaos, pushing further into Britain and making raids all along the Atlantic coast of the continent. In Saxony Theodoric and Wichimann conspired against their younger brother Rechimund, killing their sibling and dividing his lands between themselves.
Far to the south another invasion was ending. The Umayyad expedition had triumphed over the Abbasids in Ifriqiya and Barqah, but their fortunes quickly turned south during their attempt to capture Alexandria. The Abbasid garrison held out until reinforcements arrived and shattered the Umayyad offensive. By 787 Abd al-Rahman's armies were tired, low on men and hundreds of miles from home. With reluctance Abd al-Rahman ordered the remnants of the Andalusian expedition to return to Tunis. From Tunis al-Rahman returned to Cordoba. He left in Tunis a sizable garrison to protect the city from the Romans and Berbers, under the command of his old friend and ally Malik ibn al-Ghafiqi. Shortly after the emir's departure, Ifriqiya faced a Kharijite uprising. During the chaos, al-Ghafiqi seized full control of Tunis. Rallying Ifriqiyan, Andalusian and Berber Sunni soldiers to his flag, al-Ghafiqi soon became the de facto controller of western Ifriqiya.
Abd al-Rahman returned to Cordoba in 788. Already in his late fifties, his military campaign had done little benefit for his health. On a warm summer night in 790, Abd al-Rahman passed peacefully in his sleep. His son Hisham had ruled as regent while his father was on campaign, and so took the throne in truth shortly afterwards.
Hisham would rule for many years. Born in exile and having never known his father's homeland, Hisham felt little connection to Damascus or a need to continue his father's war against the Abbasids. He began a correspondence with Caliph Harun al-Rashid, hoping to mend relations between the two Islamic powers on each end of the Mediterranean. While his father's focus had been on North Africa, Hisham believed that the Umayyad's future lay in Europe. He began to take measures against Lombard pirates and Occitan incursions into Andalusian territory, and attempted to find common ground with the Rustamid Kharijites as well.
The Mediterranean in 790, the day of Abd al-Rahman's death.
Up next: The Clash of Empires
The Germanics were also taking advantage of the ongoing chaos, pushing further into Britain and making raids all along the Atlantic coast of the continent. In Saxony Theodoric and Wichimann conspired against their younger brother Rechimund, killing their sibling and dividing his lands between themselves.
Far to the south another invasion was ending. The Umayyad expedition had triumphed over the Abbasids in Ifriqiya and Barqah, but their fortunes quickly turned south during their attempt to capture Alexandria. The Abbasid garrison held out until reinforcements arrived and shattered the Umayyad offensive. By 787 Abd al-Rahman's armies were tired, low on men and hundreds of miles from home. With reluctance Abd al-Rahman ordered the remnants of the Andalusian expedition to return to Tunis. From Tunis al-Rahman returned to Cordoba. He left in Tunis a sizable garrison to protect the city from the Romans and Berbers, under the command of his old friend and ally Malik ibn al-Ghafiqi. Shortly after the emir's departure, Ifriqiya faced a Kharijite uprising. During the chaos, al-Ghafiqi seized full control of Tunis. Rallying Ifriqiyan, Andalusian and Berber Sunni soldiers to his flag, al-Ghafiqi soon became the de facto controller of western Ifriqiya.
Abd al-Rahman returned to Cordoba in 788. Already in his late fifties, his military campaign had done little benefit for his health. On a warm summer night in 790, Abd al-Rahman passed peacefully in his sleep. His son Hisham had ruled as regent while his father was on campaign, and so took the throne in truth shortly afterwards.
Hisham would rule for many years. Born in exile and having never known his father's homeland, Hisham felt little connection to Damascus or a need to continue his father's war against the Abbasids. He began a correspondence with Caliph Harun al-Rashid, hoping to mend relations between the two Islamic powers on each end of the Mediterranean. While his father's focus had been on North Africa, Hisham believed that the Umayyad's future lay in Europe. He began to take measures against Lombard pirates and Occitan incursions into Andalusian territory, and attempted to find common ground with the Rustamid Kharijites as well.
The Mediterranean in 790, the day of Abd al-Rahman's death.
Up next: The Clash of Empires
Not terribly surprising, Abd ar-Rahman was going for quite a long shot there. However, that English development is quite something. Might we see an early Crusade to drive out the pagans from England, or will they end up converting? Also, I think it might be a good idea to give Al-Andalus and the WRE different colors, since they are darn near indistinguishable here.
Yeah, I'll probably end up darkening the orange I use for Al-Andalus so that it's possible to tell who owns the Balearics. As for Britain, I have some plans there soon(ish).
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Looking forward to the inevitable Lombardo-Roman-Andalusian jihad/crusade/holy war!
Yep, it's going to be interesting. We'll have to see if the Ghafiqids will give the Umayyads the naval bump needed to displace Rome as the masters of the western Mediterranean. The Lombards spent the last fifty years running roughshod over everyone else, but they're in a bit of a tough spot now. To the north the Bavarians are basically too entrenched in their mountains to be driven out without enormous casualties. To the west the Falcon's Child seeks to prove that the future of his nation lies in Jihad against Christendom. To the south the Ghafiqids stand tall over Carthage in proud defiance of Rome. To the east the ERE has finally begun to stir- an awakened giant ready to show the barbarian pretenders who the true heir to Rome is. And north of the ERE is the expansive Bulgar Khaganate, holding the lands that once belonged to the emperor's beloved wife.
The Lombards are going to be a big part of the next update. Abd al-Rahman's death was originally going to be just a part of that one, but I figured that after everything he'd been through I could at least give him some focus in his last years.
True, Carl Peppinid is undeniably a remarkably talented individual, both ITTL and IOTL. The Pepinids were almost all expelled from Francia on threat of death, but perhaps the family can be reborn in Friuli? I was originally just going to have Carl and Carloman be footnotes, but now you've got me thinking...
Part 9: Prelude to a New Century
Abd al-Rahman passed away in his palace in Cordoba. It was a city he had never dreamed of visiting, let alone ruling. Cordoba was his home by accident, not by design. To al-Rahman, Iberia as a whole was simply a temporary domain, a place from he would return to his homeland in Damascus and reclaim the Caliphate for the Umayyad dynasty. But the Falcon of the Quraysh's dream would go unfulfilled. With the ascension of Hisham al-Reda a new era dawned for Al-Andalus. Hisham had not ties to the old homelands in the east, preferring to focus on the protection and expansion of the Umayyad territories in Iberia. Almost immediately, the Andalusian foreign policy changed. The first change was that Hisham began interfering in the internal affairs of Al-Gharb. Al-Gharb, unlike its southern counterpart, had never truly been a unified kingdom. In truth, it was more a confederation of Syrian Junds united by al-Sumayl's force of personality and the support of the south. al-Rahman had believed that the northern Junds were more trouble than they were worth when his true target lay far across the sea, and had assisted al-Sumayl in his wars to keep the Syrians from turning their attention south. Hisham however barely trusted al-Sumayl, and believed that the Junds could not be allowed to remain united, even loosely. When al-Sumayl died in 791, Hisham seized the opportunity to strike a final blow against Al-Gharb. There was no clear line of succession for the confederation as al-Sumayl had left no children. In the wake of his death the confederation collapsed into infighting, with the Andalusians remaining neutral so as not to create enemies. But when the fighting spilled into Al-Andalus' borders Hisham was forced to act, sending an expeditionary force to force a peace between the Junds. Order was restored but all pretenses of the confederation's continued existence were dropped.
In Sicily, Tarasios' rebellion had once burned with a fiery passion, fueled by rage and fanned by faith. Now there was little more than smoldering embers. For over half a decade the iconodules had maintained de facto rule of the island, fire ships and fortified coasts preventing the Romans from attempting to land their army. The iconodules' position had also been assisted by the empire being forced to deal with more immediate threats from the Bulgars. But there were no more ship left to protect the island, and the years of blockades had dampened the spirits of the Sicilians. In march 793, the Roman army made landfall near Syracuse. Much of the island was soon returned to Constantinople's control. Only a handful of territories on the coast remained outside of the Basileus' reach. The northern portion of the island had previously sought western Roman assistance and sent tribute to Rome rather than Constantinople. In the east the city of Trapani had become a haven for the Ghafiqids' pirates. But while Tarasios' rebellion in Sicily failed, the spirit survived in the more defensible Malta, where Tarasios' colleague Theodore had organized his own revolt against the Romans.
Aquitaine too was struggling with war. Employing Norse mercenaries, Lupo managed to push the Ziyaduns back to the Pyrenees. Unfortunately for Lupo, the mercenaries were not cheap, and the Occitan treasury disappeared quickly. Underpaid and angry, the Norsemen turned on their former employer and established themselves as the rulers of southern Aquitaine- which they called Garonland after the river that ran through the region.
In Britain the last Anglo-Saxon holdouts fell under the control of the Norse and Frisian kings. The combined armies of Powys, Mercia and Northumbria had united to stop Wulf at the battle of Clun, but the attempt failed. Many of the Anglo-Saxon nobles, priests and soldiers fled the coming pagans and sought refuge in the Welsh and Cumbric kingdoms.
In eastern Europe the era of Great Moravia drew to a close. Great Moravia had been invaded by the Bavarians in 787, as a response to frequent raids from the pagan Slavs, and the defeat had been harsh. The territory that remained in Moravian hands was looted and burnt- the Bavarians had no intention of letting the Moravians pose a threat in the future. This would have been bad enough, but the destruction of Moravia left the north open to conquest from the Sorbian adventurers, who carved out their own realm from Moravia's northern territory- Cechizemj. By 795 all that was left of the once powerful confederation was the small principality of Lower Moravia.
In the Balkans, the Bulgars were also experiencing difficulties. The Eastern Roman army had forced them from Thrace and blocked their ability to raid the Greek lands, taking advantage of a succession squabble in the Khaganate to drastically weaken the Bulgars. And soon afterwards the Bulgars faced an invasion from the west as well. Zodan, the exiled prince of the Avars, returned to his homeland in 790 with the support of the Western Roman army. A protracted conflict ensued, but by 798 the Bulgars had been soundly defeated, and Zodan had been installed as king of the Avars and vassal of the Western Roman Empire.
Europe and the Mediterranean, December 31, 799.
In Sicily, Tarasios' rebellion had once burned with a fiery passion, fueled by rage and fanned by faith. Now there was little more than smoldering embers. For over half a decade the iconodules had maintained de facto rule of the island, fire ships and fortified coasts preventing the Romans from attempting to land their army. The iconodules' position had also been assisted by the empire being forced to deal with more immediate threats from the Bulgars. But there were no more ship left to protect the island, and the years of blockades had dampened the spirits of the Sicilians. In march 793, the Roman army made landfall near Syracuse. Much of the island was soon returned to Constantinople's control. Only a handful of territories on the coast remained outside of the Basileus' reach. The northern portion of the island had previously sought western Roman assistance and sent tribute to Rome rather than Constantinople. In the east the city of Trapani had become a haven for the Ghafiqids' pirates. But while Tarasios' rebellion in Sicily failed, the spirit survived in the more defensible Malta, where Tarasios' colleague Theodore had organized his own revolt against the Romans.
Aquitaine too was struggling with war. Employing Norse mercenaries, Lupo managed to push the Ziyaduns back to the Pyrenees. Unfortunately for Lupo, the mercenaries were not cheap, and the Occitan treasury disappeared quickly. Underpaid and angry, the Norsemen turned on their former employer and established themselves as the rulers of southern Aquitaine- which they called Garonland after the river that ran through the region.
In Britain the last Anglo-Saxon holdouts fell under the control of the Norse and Frisian kings. The combined armies of Powys, Mercia and Northumbria had united to stop Wulf at the battle of Clun, but the attempt failed. Many of the Anglo-Saxon nobles, priests and soldiers fled the coming pagans and sought refuge in the Welsh and Cumbric kingdoms.
In eastern Europe the era of Great Moravia drew to a close. Great Moravia had been invaded by the Bavarians in 787, as a response to frequent raids from the pagan Slavs, and the defeat had been harsh. The territory that remained in Moravian hands was looted and burnt- the Bavarians had no intention of letting the Moravians pose a threat in the future. This would have been bad enough, but the destruction of Moravia left the north open to conquest from the Sorbian adventurers, who carved out their own realm from Moravia's northern territory- Cechizemj. By 795 all that was left of the once powerful confederation was the small principality of Lower Moravia.
In the Balkans, the Bulgars were also experiencing difficulties. The Eastern Roman army had forced them from Thrace and blocked their ability to raid the Greek lands, taking advantage of a succession squabble in the Khaganate to drastically weaken the Bulgars. And soon afterwards the Bulgars faced an invasion from the west as well. Zodan, the exiled prince of the Avars, returned to his homeland in 790 with the support of the Western Roman army. A protracted conflict ensued, but by 798 the Bulgars had been soundly defeated, and Zodan had been installed as king of the Avars and vassal of the Western Roman Empire.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Hmm two rival empires sharing land in Sicily with a much weaker third party (both the Maltese and the pirates) ruling the remnants in the east and Malta! It's the perfect powderkeg for a potential major conflict between the two Roman Empires. In the far future, anyways. Also I'd love if the West could finally push forward to nabbing back that border on the Danube. It'd be so great.
Miguel Lanius
Banned
Looks like we're this close to a war between the True Roman Empire and the Pretenders.
Meanwhile, the dread Muslim and pagan menaces loom ever closer...
Meanwhile, the dread Muslim and pagan menaces loom ever closer...
Yup, Western Rome and Eastern Rome are starting to collide in a couple of spheres. Will they be able to work it out, is an important question. The fate of England is also an interesting one; will the Christians be able to come back?
Also, if I could make a request, could the country colors perhaps be split up by region (Iberia, Germany, France, etc)? It would make identifying nations a lot easier.
Also, if I could make a request, could the country colors perhaps be split up by region (Iberia, Germany, France, etc)? It would make identifying nations a lot easier.