The Scorpion Bite - A VIth century Sassanid/Roman TL with a possible Christian China
- Thread starter fi11222
- Start date
fi11222
Banned
It is true that the Henotikon was not an absolute necessity in that context. I just mentioned it to clear the table of any possible misunderstandings with the Chruch of the East in the future.
fi11222
Banned
SB 7
The Kingdom of Dipotamia
Back in Ctesiphon in the summer of 578 AD, Vardan Mamikonian settles down to the business of administering the newly conquered lands in the name of the child Shah-n Shah Khosrow. Most Roman troops have gone back to Roman territory, which now includes Nisibis and Doura-Europos. The Arabian Ghassanid troops have been the first to leave as their king was enraged by the results of the council of Nisibis. Most of the Bulgarian and Avar horsemen have also left but about a third of them have opted to stay and are now in the employ of Vardan. They have formally converted to Christianity and have been granted land around Peroz-Shapur (soon to be renamed Vardanopolis). Soon, they are joined by new recruits from beyond the Danube, attracted by the news of their brethren good fortune. They are being ferried across the black sea to the port of Phasis in Lazica by the Roman Navy free of charge as Constantinople is only too happy to see these fearsome warriors move away from the imperial northern borders. Soon, the Avar cavalry contingent in Vardan's army numbers over 10 000 men. They are put to good use mopping up the remains of the Persian presence in Mesopotamia as well as taking the cities of Syarzur and Kerman-Shah.
On the Persian side, the seven great clans are licking their wounds. The three major families of Mihran, Ispahbudhan and Karen have taken staggering losses at the battles of Adur-Gushnasp and Ctesiphon. As a consequence, they are no longer in a position to dictate their views to the other clans and the so called "Regency council" is all but dead. Fariburz is still alive but in hiding as many hold him responsible for the debacle. For all practical purposes, all seven clans have now become autonomous entities once again. None of them recognises the authority of the boy-emperor Khosrow, of course, which they derisively call "baby Simurgh in a cage". The house of Suren has gone the farthest in the direction of autonomy. In late 578, Kardar-Mihr Suren, the head of the clan, declares himself "Shah of Sakastan and India" thus formally declaring suzerainty over the former Sassanid vassal states of the Hindu Kush. Since he stopped short of assuming the title of "Shah-n Shah", this is not a declaration of war on the other clans. Yet, they are none too pleased. To make matters worse for the Persians, Vardan has used part of the huge booty he gathered in Ctesiphon to bribe the Khagan of the western Gökturks into attacking Iran from the North-East. Tardu is only too happy to oblige. During the winter of 578-579, as the weather in the Karakum desert is mildest, he raids Merv and Shar-Ram-Peroz. As snow melt further south in the spring of 579, he attacks Nishapur and Herat. A hastily formed alliance of the Waraz, Ispahbudhan and Spandiyah clan manages to stop him in front of the latter city which is thus saved. The Turks accept to retreat and stop raiding, in exchange for a yearly tribute of 55 000 bales of silk and 1500 male and female slaves.
579 AD With his eastern border secured, Vardan Mamikonian must now find ways to ensure the longer-term future of the lands he controls. The elevation of the young Khosrow to the Sassanian throne was nothing but a stop-gap measure set up hurriedly in the aftermath of Hormizd's unexpected death. Some more permanent political settlement must be found. Since the end of the council of Nisibis, Vardan has been negotiating with Vahan Siunian, Al-Mundhir and, of course, Tiberius. An intense exchange of diplomatic couriers during the winter of 578-579 finally results in an agreement. Vardan is to be crowned king of a newly formed kingdom called "Dipotamia" ("land of the two rivers" in Greek), a name which has been chosen to avoid any confusion with the province of Mesopotamia within the ERE. Vahan Siunian is to marry one of Vardan's daughters and be named "Dux of Armenia and Albania" within the new realm. Al-Mundhir ibn Al-Mundhir, who has formally converted to Christianity after the council, will be "Dux of Chaldea[1] and Elam[1]" (see map below). His son will marry another daughter of Vardan. Both Lazica and Iberia, for their part, become client kingdoms of the ERE. Finally, Vardan recognizes himself the "eternally grateful junior brother of the Emperor of the Romans" and agrees to pay a yearly tribute of 35 000 nomismata (450 pounds of pure gold) which is to be financed by taxes on the East-West trade which the new state is now in a position to largely control.
The young Khosrow is offered the choice to abdicate and retire to a monastery or die in a hunting accident. After consulting with his mother, he chooses the former. To prevent him from ever laying claim on the throne in future, one of his limbs is to be cut off. He chooses the nose as, in his own words, "it is the least useful". The best possible court surgeon is fetched all the way from Constantinople for the express purpose of performing the operation as delicately as possible and a prosthetic nose is made for the boy from the finest gold. Khosrow's mother, the Ispahbudhan princess and widow of Hormizd, is of course heartbroken over her son's mutilation but at the same time she is secretly relived to see her son forever spared the dangers that always hang over the head of a king. Under the influence of the two other wives of Hormizd with whom she fled Ctesiphon in 576, she has become a Christian while in Syria. Together with her son, and with the two other former imperial wives which have become like sisters to her and aunts to her boy, she plans to retire to a convent in Arbela just next to the one where Khosrow is himself due to become a monk.
In the summer of 579 a grand celebration is held in Ctesiphon for the coronation of Vardan the First, King of Dipotamia. The former Sassanid imperial palace, where the ceremony is held, is almost intact. But the rest of the city is derelict and there is almost no population left. It does not matter since a new capital is to be built north of the former one. Its name will be "Annūdagšahr" in Pahlavi or "Christopolis" in Greek and "Mashiyḥo Madiynto" in Syriac. The patriarchal see will be transfered there, next to a basilica for which plans are already being drawn and builders summoned from every corner of Christendom. Vardan, for his part, plans to keep using the Sassanid palace as his own residence, while the rest of Ctesiphon, or rather what is left of it, will be levelled to make way for a garden and hunting park. As the ceremony is about to conclude, the patriarch Ishoyahb addresses the king thus:
The kingdom of Dipotamia (in blue) - Click to enlarge
[1] The biblical names of lower Mesopotamia and Khuzestan respectively.
The Kingdom of Dipotamia
Back in Ctesiphon in the summer of 578 AD, Vardan Mamikonian settles down to the business of administering the newly conquered lands in the name of the child Shah-n Shah Khosrow. Most Roman troops have gone back to Roman territory, which now includes Nisibis and Doura-Europos. The Arabian Ghassanid troops have been the first to leave as their king was enraged by the results of the council of Nisibis. Most of the Bulgarian and Avar horsemen have also left but about a third of them have opted to stay and are now in the employ of Vardan. They have formally converted to Christianity and have been granted land around Peroz-Shapur (soon to be renamed Vardanopolis). Soon, they are joined by new recruits from beyond the Danube, attracted by the news of their brethren good fortune. They are being ferried across the black sea to the port of Phasis in Lazica by the Roman Navy free of charge as Constantinople is only too happy to see these fearsome warriors move away from the imperial northern borders. Soon, the Avar cavalry contingent in Vardan's army numbers over 10 000 men. They are put to good use mopping up the remains of the Persian presence in Mesopotamia as well as taking the cities of Syarzur and Kerman-Shah.
On the Persian side, the seven great clans are licking their wounds. The three major families of Mihran, Ispahbudhan and Karen have taken staggering losses at the battles of Adur-Gushnasp and Ctesiphon. As a consequence, they are no longer in a position to dictate their views to the other clans and the so called "Regency council" is all but dead. Fariburz is still alive but in hiding as many hold him responsible for the debacle. For all practical purposes, all seven clans have now become autonomous entities once again. None of them recognises the authority of the boy-emperor Khosrow, of course, which they derisively call "baby Simurgh in a cage". The house of Suren has gone the farthest in the direction of autonomy. In late 578, Kardar-Mihr Suren, the head of the clan, declares himself "Shah of Sakastan and India" thus formally declaring suzerainty over the former Sassanid vassal states of the Hindu Kush. Since he stopped short of assuming the title of "Shah-n Shah", this is not a declaration of war on the other clans. Yet, they are none too pleased. To make matters worse for the Persians, Vardan has used part of the huge booty he gathered in Ctesiphon to bribe the Khagan of the western Gökturks into attacking Iran from the North-East. Tardu is only too happy to oblige. During the winter of 578-579, as the weather in the Karakum desert is mildest, he raids Merv and Shar-Ram-Peroz. As snow melt further south in the spring of 579, he attacks Nishapur and Herat. A hastily formed alliance of the Waraz, Ispahbudhan and Spandiyah clan manages to stop him in front of the latter city which is thus saved. The Turks accept to retreat and stop raiding, in exchange for a yearly tribute of 55 000 bales of silk and 1500 male and female slaves.
579 AD With his eastern border secured, Vardan Mamikonian must now find ways to ensure the longer-term future of the lands he controls. The elevation of the young Khosrow to the Sassanian throne was nothing but a stop-gap measure set up hurriedly in the aftermath of Hormizd's unexpected death. Some more permanent political settlement must be found. Since the end of the council of Nisibis, Vardan has been negotiating with Vahan Siunian, Al-Mundhir and, of course, Tiberius. An intense exchange of diplomatic couriers during the winter of 578-579 finally results in an agreement. Vardan is to be crowned king of a newly formed kingdom called "Dipotamia" ("land of the two rivers" in Greek), a name which has been chosen to avoid any confusion with the province of Mesopotamia within the ERE. Vahan Siunian is to marry one of Vardan's daughters and be named "Dux of Armenia and Albania" within the new realm. Al-Mundhir ibn Al-Mundhir, who has formally converted to Christianity after the council, will be "Dux of Chaldea[1] and Elam[1]" (see map below). His son will marry another daughter of Vardan. Both Lazica and Iberia, for their part, become client kingdoms of the ERE. Finally, Vardan recognizes himself the "eternally grateful junior brother of the Emperor of the Romans" and agrees to pay a yearly tribute of 35 000 nomismata (450 pounds of pure gold) which is to be financed by taxes on the East-West trade which the new state is now in a position to largely control.
The young Khosrow is offered the choice to abdicate and retire to a monastery or die in a hunting accident. After consulting with his mother, he chooses the former. To prevent him from ever laying claim on the throne in future, one of his limbs is to be cut off. He chooses the nose as, in his own words, "it is the least useful". The best possible court surgeon is fetched all the way from Constantinople for the express purpose of performing the operation as delicately as possible and a prosthetic nose is made for the boy from the finest gold. Khosrow's mother, the Ispahbudhan princess and widow of Hormizd, is of course heartbroken over her son's mutilation but at the same time she is secretly relived to see her son forever spared the dangers that always hang over the head of a king. Under the influence of the two other wives of Hormizd with whom she fled Ctesiphon in 576, she has become a Christian while in Syria. Together with her son, and with the two other former imperial wives which have become like sisters to her and aunts to her boy, she plans to retire to a convent in Arbela just next to the one where Khosrow is himself due to become a monk.
In the summer of 579 a grand celebration is held in Ctesiphon for the coronation of Vardan the First, King of Dipotamia. The former Sassanid imperial palace, where the ceremony is held, is almost intact. But the rest of the city is derelict and there is almost no population left. It does not matter since a new capital is to be built north of the former one. Its name will be "Annūdagšahr" in Pahlavi or "Christopolis" in Greek and "Mashiyḥo Madiynto" in Syriac. The patriarchal see will be transfered there, next to a basilica for which plans are already being drawn and builders summoned from every corner of Christendom. Vardan, for his part, plans to keep using the Sassanid palace as his own residence, while the rest of Ctesiphon, or rather what is left of it, will be levelled to make way for a garden and hunting park. As the ceremony is about to conclude, the patriarch Ishoyahb addresses the king thus:
My dear son Vardan, our Lord has deigned in his mercy to put a newly minted crown upon your head. It is is a heavy burden as we know all too well. Remember always that the Father has put "everything under our Lord's feet, all rule and authority and power and dominion" [Eph 1:21-22]. When the pangs of anxiety seizes you over what course of action to take, always turn in prayer to our Lord until he fills you with His Spirit, the Comforter of Mankind. May you be always thus guided, for the welfare of your subjects on this Earth but above all for the eternal salvation of their souls. Amen.
The kingdom of Dipotamia (in blue) - Click to enlarge
[1] The biblical names of lower Mesopotamia and Khuzestan respectively.
Last edited:
Not much in the interest of Romans to get a new powerful neighbour, so soon after destroying the last one.
fi11222
Banned
SB 8
The Conquest of Iran
The South
Al-Mundhir ibn al-Mundhir dies in the winter of 580 AD and is replaced by his son Al-Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir as Dux of Chaldea and Elam. Every year in autumn, as the cooler weather is most conducive to military operations, he mounts raids deep into Pars and along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. As the raiding season approaches, his army is swelled by allied warrior bands attracted north from the desert by the promise of plunder. Usually, these bands retreat to their Arabian homeland as spring comes and with it the end of the military season. Increasingly though, as years pass, some tribal leaders decide to stay on in Persia as enfeoffed local warlords (called "mulūka" in Arabic, i.e. "kings", after the Persian usage) bound by personal loyalty to Dux Al-Nu'man. Southern Iran used to be the dynastic domain of the Sassanids and therefore the major Persian noble clans of the North and East have little presence there. As a result, the only Persian opposition in the region is a scattered set of mid-level local noble houses or priestly lineages who are easily overrun or sometimes co-opted by Al-Nu'man and his new governors through marriage alliances. When this occurs, the Persian noble who contracts the alliance is not required to convert to Christianity but the bride he gives in marriage is. Through this process, the southern provinces of Iran, as far East as Hormuz and as far North as Yazd have become an extension of the Duchy of Chaldea and Elam by 600 AD.
The North and East
For the great Persian Noble clans, the peace of 580 has resulted in the humiliating loss of vast territories in the West. But there is something worse: the continued occupation of the Atash Behran of Adur-Gushnasp. This sanctuary is one of the three "great fires" of ancient Iran, supposedly burning since creation, and it is therefore unbearable to have the venerable altar lie derelict and the rites[1] neglected. The reconquest of the shrine also provides a convenient way to unite the mutually suspicious noble houses. An army is thus gathered in the spring of 584 AD at Rey after much haggling between the leaders of the various lineages regarding the choice of the top commander. Finally, it has been agreed that it will be Gudarz, head of the Spandiyah clan. But this is a compromise choice, not one based on military experience or leadership skills. Gudarz is an old man and has a lacklustre personality. He has never led an army in battle. As soon as he learns of this nomination, king Vardan embarks on a large scale effort of psychological warfare. He sends secret emissaries to various cadet branches of the Persian noble houses with enticing offers of defection and then spreads rumours that these have been accepted enthusiastically regardless of whether or not it is actually the case. The Armenian houses of Mamikonian and Siunian have retained a wide network of sympathetic correspondents from their time under Persian suzerainty and are therefore in a position to spread these rumours widely and credibly. As the Persian army marches out of Rey, most of its leaders are looking at each other askance. Only the old Gudarz seems oblivious to the suffocating atmosphere of mistrust.
The Persian and Dipotamian armies meet in the plain to the west of the Adur-Gushnasp peak, almost in the same spot as the previous battle occurred in the summer of 577. The Dipotamian army is about 25 000 strong while the Persian one numbers almost 40 000. Vardan's contingent is composed in equal parts of Armenian troops and of Avar mounted warriors. The Persians want to avoid the previous disaster while Vardan knows he is outnumbered. As a result, no one is eager to attack first and there are only light skirmishes and arrow volleys duels for a few days. Then, after a lengthy late-night council in the Persian camp, an attack is decided upon for the next morning. At daybreak, both armies face each other in battle array. Trumpets sound, drums beat and banners fly in the wind. Then, as planned, the whole Persian cavalry line starts to charge. Suddenly, as it reaches about midway between the two armies, a large segment of its right flank veers off to the north and leaves the battlefield at full speed. Rumours of betrayal were true after all. All Ispahbudhan-affiliated troops have just defected. As a result, the Persian centre is destabilized. It continues to charge but its order is compromised. As it reaches the Dipotamian lines, a large body of Avar cavalry on the left flank rushes forward through the gaping holes in the now much diminished Persian right flank and then turns towards the centre. The Persian formation loses all cohesion and soldiers start to flee in complete disorder amid cries of "Betrayal!, Betrayal!" Some units on the extreme left flank of the Persian battle-line manage to extricate themselves but the rest is mercilessly slaughtered. More than 12 000 of the remaining Persian nobility dies on the Adur-Gushnasp plain.
After the battle, a new political dispensation is proclaimed by King Vardan in accordance with the secret pact sworn with the Ispahbudhan. Vinduyih, the surviving brother of Vistahm (unlucky defender of Ctesiphon in 577) becomes Dux of Khorasan with a territory including Merv, Shah-Ram-Peroz (soon to be renamed "Mariamshahr"[2]), Nishapur and Herat. His sister, the mother of Khosrow, played a key role in making the pact possible through her correspondence with Vinduyih. She now sends the abbot of the Mar Qardagh monastery in Arbela to instruct her brother in the Christian Faith. Vinduyih is to be bathed in baptismal waters within five years, as stipulated in the pact. Vardan has allocated to him a strong bodyguard of Avar cavalry to accompany him on his journey back to Khorasan as the population there is not expected to welcome him back with open arms. From the territory lying between the pre-war Dipotamian border and Khorasan, a new Duchy of Tabaristan is carved out, including Gomyan, Rey, Amol, Gurgan and Eran-Xwarrah-Yazdegerd (Renamed "Saoshahr"[3])). Isfahan, Nahavand and Ecbatane are attached to the central part of the kingdom which forms the personal appanage of Vardan. The Duchy of Tabaristan is awarded to Smbat Bagratuni, a promising young general from the powerful Armenian house of Bagratuni.
The Turkic War
Since 581 AD, the Turkic Khaganate has been torn by civil war. In 588, desperate for funds in order to defend himself from Tardu's bid for power, Bagha Qaghan mounts an invasion of Iran. A large army, numbering over 70 000 assembles in Sogd and besieges Merv in the summer. This attack will prove to be a decisive test for the new political order in the Iranian lands as defence against steppe people has always been the fundamental source of legitimacy there since time immemorial. Within two months, Vardan manages to gather a 50 000 strong army in Nishapur. All major ethnic components of the realm have responded to the King's call and there are therefore large contingents of Armenian, Arabic and Avar soldiers present, as well as a small Ispahbudhan cavalry unit. In the plain to the south of Merv, the Turkic army, unaccustomed to fight the new forces brought against it, is crushingly defeated in October of 588. As the Turks retreat northward back to Sogd, the Dipotamian army moves due East and captures Balkh in December. As a result of the war, Bactria, Bamiyan and Kapisa, become vassal kingdoms of Dipotamia. The first is ruled by a newly baptised Christian king of Kushan origin, installed on the throne by Vardan. The latter two are ruled by dynasties of Hephtalite origins, which are of Buddhist and Saivite faith respectively. The Turkic war is a resounding success and a defining moment for Dipotamia. In the "Grand Chronicle of Dipotamia", maintained by the secretary of the Catholicos in Anudagshahr, the following is written down under the heading for the year 588 AD:
The story of king Vardan defeating Gog and Magog, and thus averting the Apocalypse, spreads like wildfire to all corners of Christendom. The transformation of Vardan Mamikonian into a legendary warrior king has begun. At the same time, Kardar-Mihr Suren, declares himself "Shah-n Shah of Iran and Aneran"[4] while proclaiming the sanctuary of mount Khajeh to be "the only true Atash Behran burning for the glory of Ohrmazd since creation". But nobody pays any attention to him as the territory he controls is mostly desert and uncultivated salt marshes.
Dipotamia and dependencies in 600 AD (in blue) - Click to enlarge
In the spring of 589 AD all the nobility of Dipotamia is gathered in the newly completed basilica of the Saviour in Anudagshahr for the feast of Easter. The Catholicos Ishoyahb delivers the following homily.
[1] The fire should be continually fed and kept lit by priests 24/7.
[2] i.e. "city of Mary"
[3] i.e. "city of the Saviour"
[4] Traditional imperial title in Iran, from the Achaemenids onward
The Conquest of Iran
The South
Al-Mundhir ibn al-Mundhir dies in the winter of 580 AD and is replaced by his son Al-Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir as Dux of Chaldea and Elam. Every year in autumn, as the cooler weather is most conducive to military operations, he mounts raids deep into Pars and along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. As the raiding season approaches, his army is swelled by allied warrior bands attracted north from the desert by the promise of plunder. Usually, these bands retreat to their Arabian homeland as spring comes and with it the end of the military season. Increasingly though, as years pass, some tribal leaders decide to stay on in Persia as enfeoffed local warlords (called "mulūka" in Arabic, i.e. "kings", after the Persian usage) bound by personal loyalty to Dux Al-Nu'man. Southern Iran used to be the dynastic domain of the Sassanids and therefore the major Persian noble clans of the North and East have little presence there. As a result, the only Persian opposition in the region is a scattered set of mid-level local noble houses or priestly lineages who are easily overrun or sometimes co-opted by Al-Nu'man and his new governors through marriage alliances. When this occurs, the Persian noble who contracts the alliance is not required to convert to Christianity but the bride he gives in marriage is. Through this process, the southern provinces of Iran, as far East as Hormuz and as far North as Yazd have become an extension of the Duchy of Chaldea and Elam by 600 AD.
The North and East
For the great Persian Noble clans, the peace of 580 has resulted in the humiliating loss of vast territories in the West. But there is something worse: the continued occupation of the Atash Behran of Adur-Gushnasp. This sanctuary is one of the three "great fires" of ancient Iran, supposedly burning since creation, and it is therefore unbearable to have the venerable altar lie derelict and the rites[1] neglected. The reconquest of the shrine also provides a convenient way to unite the mutually suspicious noble houses. An army is thus gathered in the spring of 584 AD at Rey after much haggling between the leaders of the various lineages regarding the choice of the top commander. Finally, it has been agreed that it will be Gudarz, head of the Spandiyah clan. But this is a compromise choice, not one based on military experience or leadership skills. Gudarz is an old man and has a lacklustre personality. He has never led an army in battle. As soon as he learns of this nomination, king Vardan embarks on a large scale effort of psychological warfare. He sends secret emissaries to various cadet branches of the Persian noble houses with enticing offers of defection and then spreads rumours that these have been accepted enthusiastically regardless of whether or not it is actually the case. The Armenian houses of Mamikonian and Siunian have retained a wide network of sympathetic correspondents from their time under Persian suzerainty and are therefore in a position to spread these rumours widely and credibly. As the Persian army marches out of Rey, most of its leaders are looking at each other askance. Only the old Gudarz seems oblivious to the suffocating atmosphere of mistrust.
The Persian and Dipotamian armies meet in the plain to the west of the Adur-Gushnasp peak, almost in the same spot as the previous battle occurred in the summer of 577. The Dipotamian army is about 25 000 strong while the Persian one numbers almost 40 000. Vardan's contingent is composed in equal parts of Armenian troops and of Avar mounted warriors. The Persians want to avoid the previous disaster while Vardan knows he is outnumbered. As a result, no one is eager to attack first and there are only light skirmishes and arrow volleys duels for a few days. Then, after a lengthy late-night council in the Persian camp, an attack is decided upon for the next morning. At daybreak, both armies face each other in battle array. Trumpets sound, drums beat and banners fly in the wind. Then, as planned, the whole Persian cavalry line starts to charge. Suddenly, as it reaches about midway between the two armies, a large segment of its right flank veers off to the north and leaves the battlefield at full speed. Rumours of betrayal were true after all. All Ispahbudhan-affiliated troops have just defected. As a result, the Persian centre is destabilized. It continues to charge but its order is compromised. As it reaches the Dipotamian lines, a large body of Avar cavalry on the left flank rushes forward through the gaping holes in the now much diminished Persian right flank and then turns towards the centre. The Persian formation loses all cohesion and soldiers start to flee in complete disorder amid cries of "Betrayal!, Betrayal!" Some units on the extreme left flank of the Persian battle-line manage to extricate themselves but the rest is mercilessly slaughtered. More than 12 000 of the remaining Persian nobility dies on the Adur-Gushnasp plain.
After the battle, a new political dispensation is proclaimed by King Vardan in accordance with the secret pact sworn with the Ispahbudhan. Vinduyih, the surviving brother of Vistahm (unlucky defender of Ctesiphon in 577) becomes Dux of Khorasan with a territory including Merv, Shah-Ram-Peroz (soon to be renamed "Mariamshahr"[2]), Nishapur and Herat. His sister, the mother of Khosrow, played a key role in making the pact possible through her correspondence with Vinduyih. She now sends the abbot of the Mar Qardagh monastery in Arbela to instruct her brother in the Christian Faith. Vinduyih is to be bathed in baptismal waters within five years, as stipulated in the pact. Vardan has allocated to him a strong bodyguard of Avar cavalry to accompany him on his journey back to Khorasan as the population there is not expected to welcome him back with open arms. From the territory lying between the pre-war Dipotamian border and Khorasan, a new Duchy of Tabaristan is carved out, including Gomyan, Rey, Amol, Gurgan and Eran-Xwarrah-Yazdegerd (Renamed "Saoshahr"[3])). Isfahan, Nahavand and Ecbatane are attached to the central part of the kingdom which forms the personal appanage of Vardan. The Duchy of Tabaristan is awarded to Smbat Bagratuni, a promising young general from the powerful Armenian house of Bagratuni.
The Turkic War
Since 581 AD, the Turkic Khaganate has been torn by civil war. In 588, desperate for funds in order to defend himself from Tardu's bid for power, Bagha Qaghan mounts an invasion of Iran. A large army, numbering over 70 000 assembles in Sogd and besieges Merv in the summer. This attack will prove to be a decisive test for the new political order in the Iranian lands as defence against steppe people has always been the fundamental source of legitimacy there since time immemorial. Within two months, Vardan manages to gather a 50 000 strong army in Nishapur. All major ethnic components of the realm have responded to the King's call and there are therefore large contingents of Armenian, Arabic and Avar soldiers present, as well as a small Ispahbudhan cavalry unit. In the plain to the south of Merv, the Turkic army, unaccustomed to fight the new forces brought against it, is crushingly defeated in October of 588. As the Turks retreat northward back to Sogd, the Dipotamian army moves due East and captures Balkh in December. As a result of the war, Bactria, Bamiyan and Kapisa, become vassal kingdoms of Dipotamia. The first is ruled by a newly baptised Christian king of Kushan origin, installed on the throne by Vardan. The latter two are ruled by dynasties of Hephtalite origins, which are of Buddhist and Saivite faith respectively. The Turkic war is a resounding success and a defining moment for Dipotamia. In the "Grand Chronicle of Dipotamia", maintained by the secretary of the Catholicos in Anudagshahr, the following is written down under the heading for the year 588 AD:
In the 11th year of King Vardan, by the grace of Our Lord, the King defeated Gog and Magog in the Wilderness of the East.
The story of king Vardan defeating Gog and Magog, and thus averting the Apocalypse, spreads like wildfire to all corners of Christendom. The transformation of Vardan Mamikonian into a legendary warrior king has begun. At the same time, Kardar-Mihr Suren, declares himself "Shah-n Shah of Iran and Aneran"[4] while proclaiming the sanctuary of mount Khajeh to be "the only true Atash Behran burning for the glory of Ohrmazd since creation". But nobody pays any attention to him as the territory he controls is mostly desert and uncultivated salt marshes.
Dipotamia and dependencies in 600 AD (in blue) - Click to enlarge
In the spring of 589 AD all the nobility of Dipotamia is gathered in the newly completed basilica of the Saviour in Anudagshahr for the feast of Easter. The Catholicos Ishoyahb delivers the following homily.
Dear children of our Holy Mother the Church. We have been blessed by our Lord to witness many wondrous miracles during the past year. The once unconquerable Persians have yielded to the swords of Faith in complete submission. And, more wonderful still, the fierce barbarians of the endless northern expanses have been turned back. Let us ponder in prayer and consider the glory of God as it manifests itself in these mighty happenings. Far be it from us to succumb to the temptation of vainglory and ingratitude. "Vanity, vanity; all is vanity" as the Ecclesiastes writes. So is human glory; a mere puff of smoke that the wind quickly disperses. But eternal is God's glory. So, my dear children, strive for eternal glory. Burn with desire for the admixture of your earthly bodies into the immortal body of our ever victorious Lord the Christ of God. Eat the bread and drink the wine of life as you long for the ultimate advent of God's all encompassing reign. Amen.
[1] The fire should be continually fed and kept lit by priests 24/7.
[2] i.e. "city of Mary"
[3] i.e. "city of the Saviour"
[4] Traditional imperial title in Iran, from the Achaemenids onward
Last edited:
Armenia is certainly strong at the moment.
One has to think, however, that Iran will eventually split off and become independent again. Iranization will be made difficult by the vitality of Armenian culture -- its own written language and Church rites -- and Iran will not be Armenianized.
Either the Mamikonians will lose Armenia and become Iranians, or they will lose Iran.
Also, Dipotamia doesn't make much sense as a name, what with Mesopotamia so well entrenched (from OTL Western Armenia into OTL Iraq)
One has to think, however, that Iran will eventually split off and become independent again. Iranization will be made difficult by the vitality of Armenian culture -- its own written language and Church rites -- and Iran will not be Armenianized.
Either the Mamikonians will lose Armenia and become Iranians, or they will lose Iran.
Also, Dipotamia doesn't make much sense as a name, what with Mesopotamia so well entrenched (from OTL Western Armenia into OTL Iraq)
fi11222
Banned
Zoroastrianism definitely takes a beating in this TL but the idea is not to make it end up as screwed as IOTL. The goal here is to have a multi-religious meeting-point in the Hindu Kush area and Bactria on an even larger scale than IOTL and to maintain it for a longer period. For this purpose, Zoroastrianism will remain the majority religion in Seistan and the southern part of the Hindu Kush range, as well as in some area in Sogd. Besides the good religion, there will be of course Manichaeism, Buddhism, Hinduism (various flavors), Christianity (including Gnostic forms), Judaism and Tengrism, providing many opportunities for competition and mutual influence.
fi11222
Banned
It is possible, and even likely. But one must keep in mind that Dipotamia is still a late-antique state where ethnicity is not the defining factor. Religion, lineage loyalty and bureaucratic/legal traditions are the defining factors.
The Arsacid then Sassanian Persians ruled over large Aramaic-speaking populations for nearly a millenium yet there was no cultural fusion between the two.
Mesopotamia was used by Greek-speaking peoples only. After the Seleucids lost control of the area, I do not think the name was much used in Mesopotamia itself. Apparently, "Irak" (which comes from the IIIrd millenium BC city of Uruk) was still the prefered name among Semites. And there was also "Babylon", or "Chaldea" for those steeped in Biblical culture.
Anyway, "Dipotamia" is just the result of a diplomatic concession to the ERE. In future, the kingdom will be know probably as "the throne of Vardan" or maybe as "Anudagshar", for those speaking an Iranian language.
Last edited:
I was more thinking on the lines of OTL's Arab and Turkish Iranian rulers. Arabs incorporated Persian culture into Muslim culture whereas Turkic rulers outright Iranized, which was made easier by the relative flexibility of the steppe peoples vis-a-vis a more settled Armenian upper strata.
fi11222
Banned
I see what you mean. But I do not think that this is a problem.
Armenians were very close to the Persians and there is therefore not such a large gap to bridge. All Armenian noble houses had served the Sassanids and therefore spoke Pahlavi fluently and were already well acquainted with Persian courtly culture. An Ispahbudhan might look down on a Mamikonian because he considered himself of higher birth but in truth their manners and outlook were not that dissimilar. The real difference between them in the 6th century was religious, not cultural.
For the Arabs and the Turks, the situation is not the same. As you say, like all nomads, they tend to be culturally absorbed by the people they conquer. A process of this kind is occurring ITTL at the end of the 6th century in Pars, where a number of Arabic tribal chiefs are becoming settled rulers. These will indeed be Persianised in much the same way as their equivalents were IOTL. But the process will be on a smaller scale as the Arabs are, for the moment, a junior partner to the Armenians in Dipotamia.
As far as the Turks are concerned, they too will have a role to play but it will come later.