The Southern Roman Empire

CHAPTER 37
AFTER BATTLE: SHARING LOOT, REWARDING

After a moment of the greatest joy, when the last Arab had been stabbed or cut, the Khazars moved towards the Muslim camp, expecting the most natural reward of the winners. But it was already firmly taken by the Avars, and the rest of the Avar army was entering it or lining up before the camp. The blood was still hot from both sides, the hands again took their weapons out.
At that moment the old khagan Bayan showed up in front of his lines, he was instantly recognized by the Khazars, the steppe banner with nine horses' tails and other inner Asian royal insignia gave him away.
Soon Khazar Qagan Corpan appeared, a man in the prime of his life, inspiring respect and awe among the troops he rode through.

The two qagans ordered everybody away and long time stood alone. They say, Bayan let Copran know that these days he lost five of his sons, among them the heir to the throne, and one grandson. Then he showed the hill, still covered with thousands of Arab bodies. Did that convince Khazar qagan, or did he heavily rely on his Avar ally? We’d never know. There was another infantry Muslim army in Anatolia, which had to be dealt with. The loot from that army was decided to share beforehand: three thirds to the Khazars, one third to the Avars.
The Khazar army slowly left the field, disgruntled, but obviously under solid control of their qagan.

In the Avar army collecting of the loot was under way traditionally under the strict supervision of tarkans. One tenth went to qagan.
But division of the rest of the plunder was ‘revolutionary’ and shocking to some. Previously the lion’s share had gone to the nomad cavalry: Avar (mostly) and Bulgar. The Slavic infantry had received some 5-10% if any.
But now Bayan distributed loot this way:
- the Avars got 40%
- the Bulgars got 30%
- the Slavs (and other infantry) got 30%.

Did the core of the Khanate, nomad cavalry, like it? Definitely not.
But at that moment qagan Bayan was already a legendary statesman, the founding father of the great Empire. Whatever he did - turned out well. The last battle proved it one more time.
So he could allow himself much more than that - his favors to Slavs went even further: thousands of them received honorific title ‘bogatur’, about a hundred got a title ‘tarkan’; which made these Slavs equal in dignity to the Avars.
But none of the Slavs had under his command more than 100 soldiers, that was the limit for a Slavic ‘officer’. Overwhelming majority of infantry commanders of hundreds and higher were “pure ethnic” Avars; only Avars, never Bulgars.
The Bulgars could achieve highest ranks as imperial statesmen, governments (tuduns) or cavalry generals; but there was not a single Bulgar, who held a position in the infantry.
So this apparent elevation of the Slavic infantry in fact strengthened the Avars as a ruling elite of the Empire, and consolidated the unity of the Avars and the Slavs as well.

In two days 10 000 of Avar/Bulgar horse (under the command of Bayan’s son Prince (tegin) Apsich) and 30 000 Khazar horse (under the command of qagan Corpan personally) advanced in the direction of the Arab infantry army into the central Anatolia.

All the Avar infantry stayed in the camps crowded with huge numbers of the wounded. Qagan Bayan ordered to treat the wounded Arab prisoners of war (those caught in the Arab camp) the same way as the Avars were treated; it hardly had to do anything with humaneness, those were warriors from the best Arab families, an asset as hostages or being held for ransom.

*16 maps

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CHAPTER 38
FATE OF ARAB INFANTRY ARMY

Khazar and Avar/Bulgar cavalry moved South to find the Arab infantry army. According to evidence of the Arab prisoners it was located not far away, supposedly a week’s ride for cavalry. About 20 000 elite Muslim foot troops was a force to be reckoned with. The Turks hoped that the Arabs didn’t know yet how disastrous were the results of the last battle.
The good thing was the Arabs now had no cavalry to speak of. That gave the Turkic horse army an advantage in speed, reconnaissance; strategical and tactical superiority was also theirs; they gained full military initiative.

The horse army went fast, killing or catching to interrogate everyone before them. They already got to know that the Arabs had learned about their cavalry total defeat, and hurriedly entered the nearest town to use its defenses. Soon the Muslims realized that the town was too small, their food supplies were insufficient. If they got besieged, they would be starved. So they decided to take their chances and left for the bigger city, with better fortifications, supplies and closer to the South, from where they expected reinforcements. The Arab weak reconnaissance failed them, they were unaware that the horse nomads were already close by.

Last unmounted Arab walking out of the town sealed the army’s fate. Unnoticed, invisible steppe nomads followed them like a wolf pack, waiting for an opportunity to come upon them.
When the Arabs were far from any town, in the middle of arid smooth terrain, they noticed a few dark ominous silhouettes of the mounted archers far behind. They hurriedly started to form a square battle formation with the trains in the middle. In an hour 40 000 Khazars and Avars/Bulgars encircled them, started going round. The sky over Arabs got covered with Turkic arrows. The nomads were not in a rush, the Khazar qagan, an experienced steppe general, arranged water supply for the whole army. The Arabs were parched with thirst, the Anatolian sun was especially scorching that day.
Late in the afternoon the sinister deep wail of the Khazar war trumpets gave the signal of major offense. What followed was more a massacre than a fight. Some pockets of resistance held for an hour though. That battle did not tarnish the Arabs’ reputation of being tough fighters.

This time loot sharing went smoothly, as the Avar and Khazar steppe customs were very similar. The only difference was the Avars took Arab prisoners, while Khazars preffered to butcher their enemies in hot blood.
There was a direct Bayan’s order for that, those prisoners were isolated as a qagan’s share; it became apparent Avar qagan collected Arab prisoners purposefully.
Some Avars knew Arabic, because before they had been Arab allies and campaigned together for years; so the Arabs trusted the Avars more than the Khazars.

During this short campaigne Khazar Qagan Corpan and Bayan’s son, Avar Prince (tegin) Apsich were on good terms. Apsich tegin personally took part in hand-to-hand combat shoulder to shoulder with the Khazars, received a head wound, saving a Khazar general (actually a North Caucasian Hunnic Prince). Qagan Corpan presented to Apsich tegin a special Khazar military reward for courage - a sword of honor. From his side Apsich tegin politely admitted that this victory owed much of its success to Qagan Corpan’s military wisdom and experience.

After burying their dead and a day of rest, the nomads made for the camps by the sea shore, where Bayan the Great stayed. The qagans previously had agreed to take counsel there.


* 16 maps

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CHAPTER 39
QAGANS MEET TO DECIDE THEIR FURTHER ACTIONS

The meeting of the two victorious cagans took place in the huge golden tent of Bayan; that was on the Avar territory, so Bayan played host.
The war started fortunately for the khanates, an elite Arab army was totally annihilated. There were some internal disturbances in the Caliphate, and it seemed that the Arabs were at the qagans’ mercy. It seemed a good idea to rush South and divide the Arab realm between themselves.

But there were some troubles:
In the Avar part of Italy, the Muslims from the Southern part of the peninsular made a few plundering raids when the war started. Bayan’s son was an efficient governor (tudun) of Italy, the Avar Italy flourished under his prudent economic management. But he happened to be a poor general; during his punitive military expedition the Avar army was ambushed by the Arabs and suffered a crushing defeat, Bayan’s son was wounded, captured unconscious. Although he was treated like a Prince by the Arabs, he committed suicide in captivity. He didn’t want to give the Muslims a means to blackmail his father. The Bayan’s sons seemed to be from a tough stock.

At the moment the Avar part of Italy was ravaged from the South by the Muslims. The Avar general of Germanic origin declared an old Italian senator Roman Emperor (playing a mere puppet), and made himself the “imperial” Magister militum (with full real power).
There was also a general Irnik in the nomadic Bulgar part of the Avar army, who claimed Attilid descent through Attila’s son, and he self-proclaimed himself baz qagan (“vassal qagan”). Irnik asserted to acknowledge the Avar qagan authority, but in fact it was high treason, pure and simple. Even a small group of “real ethnic” Avars acknowledged the power of this Attilid Prince, but they didn’t seem to have any other choice - the Bulgars and Avars might get butchered by the Italian Germanics.

The only good news was that the Franks didn’t intervene into this Italian affair yet, they knew that qagan Bayan was alive and victorious; they remembered too well his incursions, and didn’t want to see him in Gaul again. But the Franks started to concentrate their troops on the Italian border, as a preventive defensive action.

Khazar Qagan Corpan had some troubles of his own - there was one more wave of steppe nomad tribes in migration towards his Eastern border of the great Eurasian steppe.
These Eurasian steppe troubles might become a head ache for Qagan Bayan as well, as his steppes were next in turn to the West. If the Khazar border was broken through the Avar steppes might suffer next - the usual steppe domino effect.
The Avar steppes were full of mix of Kutrigurs and Utigurs, some tribes of Zaloi, Sabir, Tarniach, Zabender, Onoghur and Kotzagir origin; most of these composit tribes got an umbrellar name “Bulgars”. And that had been the main power pool for the Avar armies, best of the tribes joined the ranks of “Avars” as a reward by qagan’s decision.
And it was now, when Bayan wanted to use this nomadic pool of his extensively once more, thus weakening his Eastern steppe border.

Two days qagans discussed all those matters. The Khazar qagan insisted on the joint offensive immediate actions. Bayan explained that he lost one third of his army killed, another third wounded, Avar Italy needed an army to be sent to.

As a result of the negotiations the qagans divided Caliphate into two theatres of war:
- the Khazars were supposed to campaign in Mesopotamia and further East - Iranian territories, that was their part.
- the Avars’s part of the Arabs’ realm was everything to the West of Mesopotamia. So the Khazars were not supposed to appear west of the Euphrates.

* 16 maps


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CHAPTER 40
BAYAN'S THREE SONS, AVAR MILITARY REFORMS

The Khazar cagan proclaimed himself shahanshah, and he (with all his extended family) adopted Zoroastrianism with an evident intention to make Zoroastrianism an official state religion of the Khazar Empire.

The Avar cagan proclaimed himself Roman Emperor and took away all the restrictions against Christianity (especially that concerned the version of the faith which Patriarch of Constantinople and Pope of Rome professed, the official Christianity before the Avar conquest), and gave this religion some minor reductions in tax and insignificant judicial rights over their congregation. Bayan adopted Christianity himself and started careful christening of his milieu.
Bayan gave two more Roman titles to his sons - ‘Caesars’: to his heir, Crown-Prince (kanartikin) Kandik, and another to his son Targites (who was entrusted with reconquering and governance of Italy).

Three sons received important Avar titles:
Kandik became ‘Yugurus’ (the second in honor and power after qagan) and received under his supervision nearly all the Avar realm except Italian part, Pontic steppes and Avar Anatolia).
Targites became ‘Kapkhan’ (the third in honor after qagan).
Another prince (tegin), son of Bayan, Apsich, who was in charge of Avar horse in a joint Avar/Khazar cavalry march and battle against Arab foot army, received the title ‘Sad’ (approximately equal in honor to title ‘Kapkhan’) and his responsibility became the Pontic steppes full of nomadic ‘Bulgar’ tribes, bordering Khazar steppes. Bayan the Great hoped that Apsich’s good relations with Khazar qagan would be of some help there.

These appointments did not mean division of the Avar Qaganate, at least it was not planned that way; qagan Bayan remained the indisputable highest power of the realm. He wanted to concentrate on the Arab issue personally, staying in Anatolia. Bayan’s heir, Kandik controlled much more territory, population and resources than two his brothers together. After his father’s death, Kandik was supposed to receive all the high power in the Khanate, full control over the whole territory of the Empire, including territories ruled by his brothers Targites and Apsich (their territories were not intended as appanages).

Intentions of the Khazar cagan Corpan were perfectly clear - he wanted to conquer as much as possible of the former Sassanian realm, the Sassanid Empire; preferably all of it. He had great hopes, that the Avars would distract the Muslims and make his conquest easier. That was the reason of Corpan embracing Zoroastrianism, he wanted to use religious/national Iranian sentiments against the Muslims.

You couldn't say the same about the plans of the Avar cagan Bayan, the man was old enough to see with his own eyes two great empires crumble because of overextension - the "Southern" Roman Empire and the Persian Empire.
Also Bayan was not sure that he would be happy to have the Great Khazar Empire (including Mesopotamia and Iran) on his border.
The heavy casualties his army suffered made Bayan respect the Arab martial qualities even more than before. It was wise to invade into the "core" Arab territories only if there was certainty about Arab disunity, their intensive internal squabbling, civil war and chaos. Now it didn't seem to be exactly that way. The former Avar alliance with the Caliphate made Bayan familiar with their internal politics and leaders. At the moment Syria was controlled by Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān, whom Bayan considered to be the most talented Arab general and the wisest politician. The first victory against the Arabs was won by the Avar blood, it was enough for now.
Now it was his time to wait and see.

Bayan's son Kandik, whom he made his heir, had been responsible for choosing, training, supervision and transporting the Slavic infantry to Anatolia before the battle; and it had been his idea to use Slavs in war differently and more extensively, which proved to be a success. Of course, the Avars/Bulgars and even the Germanics were better warriors. But there was innumerable multitude of Slavs who constituted the bulk of the Avar Khanate population; and the Slavs were considered more loyal than other subjects, just because they hadn't had any statehood to speak about before Avars' conquest.

The first mission for Kandik was to conscript two infantry Slavic armies:
- 40 000 for Anatolia
- 30 000 for Europe
They were supposed to serve one year at least; they were equipped, fed, armed and armored by cagan. They even were to get monetary payment.
Those were huge expenses; it was obvious that stingy Bayan opened his treasure chests (which were rumored to be full of gold). There were too important bets on a stake: a war with the most powerful realm, Christianization of the Khanate. Changing pattern of conscripting, warfare was necessary; and having a couple of huge armies handy at such a period was advisable. And it seemed that old Bayan wanted his son Kandik to have two new armies staffed and trained by him and loyal to him personally after Bayan's death.

Bayan already gave half of his personal guards (best equipped heavy cavalry of noble Avars) to Kandik.
There was one more 'revolutionary' novelty - the most influential Slavic chiefs were forced to supply the personal guard of Crown Prince Kandik with one thousand of their sons. Every youth must be equipped with a good battle-horse and a full heavy horseman's set of armor and arms of the highest steppe quality; this and a mounted page with ordinary Slavic weaponry is to be paid by the fathers.
Actually that was an additional tax for the richest Slavs, and the sons might be used as hostages, guarantee of their fathers loyalty.
To sweeten a pill the qagan promised, that every such Slavic guard would get married a girl from an Avar nobility ('baglar'); it was specifically mentioned that the girls would be from the higher-ranking 'boili', not from the lower nobility 'bagaini'.
That was a great honor and an opportunity for a Slavic youth, his father and his clan. Being related by marriage to the highest Avar nobility that was something any Slav couldn't dream of.
The Slavic cavalry was not famous for their horsemanship, especially in full heavy steppe Turkic armor (which they never used), so the Turkic guards were obliged to train them.
Bayan promised that the best trained Slavic horse guard would get his own daughter in marriage. Prolific qagan had hundreds daughters and that particular one might be of the lowest rank, but anyway, that was unheard of.

* 16 maps


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Nice, the Turks probably got less men in reserve though should the Caliphate persist.
Yes, overall the Turks probably got less men in reserve. But the Avars are working on it, recruiting and training Slavs.
If the Khazars go on winning and getting easy loot, they might attract numerous Turkic tribes of the Great Eurasian Steppe, part of which they own and have a border with.

So what does this defeat of the Arab Caliphate mean for Islam in the future of this timeline?
So far it is vague.
I mean the Arab army is obliterated. It definitely makes Caliphate and Islam weaker.
But if it had been that bad for the Arabs, the Avar qagan would have rushed into Syria.
But Bayan thinks that the risks are too high.

As the ATL Arabs see the current situation:
the main Arab problem is (ATL) fitna - the major civil war of the Islamic Caliphate.
The Arabs say that Caliphate is a mighty lion who got sick for a time (got a common cold, flu or something); and cowardly despicable jackals grew bolder, surrounded the lion and are yelping around. The moment the fitna is finished - the lion will leap and disperse all his enemies.
So... We'll see...
 
I mean the Arab army is obliterated. It definitely makes Caliphate and Islam weaker.
But if it had been that bad for the Arabs, the Avar qagan would have rushed into Syria.
But Bayan thinks that the risks are too high.

As the ATL Arabs see the current situation:
the main Arab problem is (ATL) fitna - the major civil war of the Islamic Caliphate.
The Arabs say that Caliphate is a mighty lion who got sick for a time (got a common cold, flu or something); and cowardly despicable jackals grew bolder, surrounded the lion and are yelping around. The moment the fitna is finished - the lion will leap and disperse all his enemies.
So... We'll see...

Interesting to see the Shia-sunni split create a civil war this time around.
 
Interesting to see the Shia-sunni split create a civil war this time around.
I don't concentrate on the inner politics of Caliphate. Actually I cannot be more specific and detailed.
As the PoD was a few centuries ago so if the Caliphate appeared, their history is supposed to be totally unrecognizable from OTL. That's a conservative, traditional, orthodox point of view in alternate history.
As for me, to make things more simple, where things went more or less similar to OTL, I make alternative history more or less close to OTL. It's easier to write and it's easier to read.

So, ye, there's something like Shia-sunni split going on, at least the things which started it.
 
I don't concentrate on the inner politics of Caliphate. Actually I cannot be more specific and detailed.
As the PoD was a few centuries ago so if the Caliphate appeared, their history is supposed to be totally unrecognizable from OTL. That's a conservative, traditional, orthodox point of view in alternate history.
As for me, to make things more simple, where things went more or less similar to OTL, I make alternative history more or less close to OTL. It's easier to write and it's easier to read.

That makes sense
 
CHAPTER 41

In 650 A.D. the Khazar qagan moved his armies into Arab Mesopotamia and Iran.
Muawiyah consolidated his power in Syria and started taking Egypt from other hostile Arab factions.

Qagan Bayan had a busy year as well.

After the battle, and after distribution of plunder, the warriors of the Avar army, who showed cowardice, were separated and swiftly executed. Their shares of loot were given to those warriors, who distinguished themselves in this battle and to the 'bogaturs' (the warriors who received this title for valor in previous battles). So everybody saw the cowards got executed and the heroes got their share of loot, which met the Avars' criteria of justice and fairness.

First a few dozens of Avars were executed, then several hundreds of "Bulgars" were murdered, and finally more than a thousand of Slavs were butchered.
A few thousands Bulgars were rewarded - they were 'officially' made 'Avars', for bravery of course: a 'Bulgar' could become an 'Avar' individually or as a part of a group (military detachment, clan or a tribe). This change in status was followed by change of belt buckle with a specific (different for different tribes) tamga on the buckle - so everybody could always see who is "Avar" and who is not.

None of the Slavs (or any non-Turkic foot) was made an "Avar" of course; it was a Turkic Khanate primarily. But Bayan the Great worked out a way to distinguish his infantry - everybody who took part in this battle on foot received a belt buckle of the Avar/Bulgar type with a tamga, specifically designed for that occasion - a stylized image of Christian cross (holy crucifix) and a griffin's head. So now everybody could understand, that a man with such a belt buckle participated in the famous "Battle by the Sea" in the infantry.

Bayan went even further than that - he branded this tamga with a hot iron on their left hands. It was a painful procedure and might seem humiliating to somebody, as the Turks traditionally branded their cattle with hot iron this way. To avoid any misunderstanding Bayan personally was the first to get his left hand branded, second came his son and heir Kandik; they did take part in that famous "Defense of the Hill" part of the battle, dismounted, on feet; and so they truly deserved this mark of honor as well.
That was the beginning of a new Avar tradition - branding the warriors for valor in a certain battle; and that was the beginning of a myth that Bayan and his infantry had seen a Christian cross in the sky at the most crucial moment of the battle.

The Avar cagan wanted these men, who proved their worth, to constitute the main backbone, the core of his two huge Slavic infantry armies; so he sent half of the "branded warriors" into Europe, where one more Slavic infantry army was being formed.

One of the numerous Bayan's sons asked his Father for an audience.
It was Samur, a son of Bayan by an Armenian concubine, a slave girl, so Samur didn't have a right to an honorary title 'tegin' (prince of blood). But Samur had a title 'bogatur', this title was given exclusively for bravery, and one of advantages of being a 'bogatur' was a preferential right to speak to a qagan personally.
The right Samur used for the first time in his life.
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Samur had taken part in Arabs' military actions against the Armenians in Anatolia. It was years ago, and it was there where he deserved his title 'bogatur' - in a heat of a battle he alone rushed against a dozen of enemies. After the battle he was found breathless under a heap of dead bodies and even reported dead to his father qagan Bayan by an Avar ship leaving that day. But he recovered, that was one of the reasons why Bayan remembered this son of his well.
The Armenians fought hard against the Arabs, and in response there had been severe repressions, including mass deportations of the Armenians into faraway lands - Iran, even North Africa.
Samur had taken an Armenian wife from an influential Armenian clan; the Arabs didn't like it, but he didn't care.

Now the Armenians of Anatolia (headed by his wife's relatives), approached Samur, offering the Avar qagan a thousand Armenian warriors immediately, and thousands later. The Armenians pleaded to gather their nation back and vowed their loyalty to qagan Bayan.
Bayan appreciated martial qualities of the Armenians who had been one of the pillars of the (East) Roman army for centuries; now the Avars and the Armenians had a common enemy; the Avars Christianization and cagan becoming a Roman emperor was essential as well. For the Armenians it felt natural to serve the Christian Roman emperor again.

Now Samur was in charge of this 'Armenian project', which was a great promotion for a man, born by a slave girl. But he was brave (received new wounds during the 'Battle by the Sea' as well), his ideas about the Armenians were wise - these were the qualities Bayan appreciated. Samur had never had more than a hundred under his command, now he got a thousand Armenians immediately and more to come. He continued further negotiations with them; he was fluent in Armenian, which helped.

*16 maps


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