The Twilight Ages

So either Belisarius' Roman army takes over Persia or it is ravaged in the East, maybe ensuring the Mazdaki's defeat. I'm betting on the latter
 
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The Mazdakite Wars, Part Three: The Eagle and the Lion
Belisarius and his men, crossing the border into Persia in late April of 530, would unite with a newly-raised Persian army of 35,000 under commander Mihr-Mihroe near the city of Nud-Ardashir in mid-May. The plan was then for the two armies to march East further into Persian territory to assist in securing the front against the Mazdakites, who were marching on Shiraz after victories further East earlier that year. Their advance was being slowed by an 18,000 strong loyalist Persian force, which would allow the Romano-Persian force to reach Shiraz before the Mazdakites would.

This march was part of a planned effort by Khosrau to blunt the offensive capabilities of the Mazdakites. He felt that if he could break their offensive strength it would be a two-fold victory- one would be a propaganda victory, helping to quell recruitment efforts by the Mazdakites among loyalist ranks; the other would be, of course, a strategic military victory, allowing loyalist forces to reverse the momentum of the conflict.

The march to Shiraz from Nud-Ardashir was long- over 880 miles. It was a very long time for Romans to be marching through Persian territory, especially alongside Persian forces. Tension arose between the two armies almost immediately- fights and theft were common, with many superior officers refusing to discipline their soldiers for actions taken against their rivals. Reports came from towns and farms along the marching route that Roman soldiers would steal, pillage, and rape as it they were traveling through an enemy country. This would create a massive outcry among the Persian populace, and about half-way through the march, at the request (i.e., demand) of their respective governments, Mihr-Mihroe and Belisarius sat down to figure things out

It was decided that the Romans would be banned from leaving their camps at night and limited to a few-mile radius when on the march. Any trade for supplies would take place at Roman camps, and the Romans would be expected to pay market prices for any goods they purchased. Any Roman caught outside of the camp or beyond the radius of the marching column would be subject to severe discipline. The armies of Mihr-Mihroe and Belisarius would also lengthen the distance between them to prevent further fighting from breaking out between the two allied armies.

This arrangement served to, after a few days and incidents, lower the amount of outrages committed by the Romans against the population they were there to protect. Still, however, the negative news spread, and many peasants, grabbing on to the idea that the government had gone too far in bringing the Roman’s into the conflict, would defect and join the armies of Mazdak and Kawus…

Belisarius and Mihr-Mihroe arrived at Shiraz in mid-July of 530, meeting up with the delaying force that had been operating on that front since earlier in the year. Now strengthened up to almost 75,000, the army would begin to plot out the summer’s campaigns…
 
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Excellent updates :) Eagerly awaiting to hear more about what happens next (your foreshadowings are fantastic).
 
Question- how far should I take this timeline? I have concrete plans going towards the death of Athalaric, but beyond that I am flexible with that. Should I keep going? To the present day?
 
The Mazdakite Wars, Part Four: The Campaigns of 530​

With a force of some 75,000 men (30,000 Byzantine, 45,000 Persian), the Loyalist force based out of Shiraz looked very strong on paper. However, it was weakened somewhat by the language barrier, the rivalry, and the different military doctrines of the two nations present. Mihr-Mihroe, Belisarius, and their respective general staffs engaged in great arguments about what units to place where, how to conduct an offensive, and even who should lead initial attacks. This divisive command structure would prove crippling in this early stage of the conflict.

Opposing this army was a Mazdakite force of 50,000, led by Perozes, one of the most able generals of the pro-Mazdak faction. Perozes had been recruited by Kawus in 528, through promises of wealth and influence in the new order of things. It had been seen as a tremendous blow to the Loyalists when he defected, and he had proved his worth as a commander through engineering the defeats of Loyalist forces earlier in 530 at Darabgerd and Kerman. Now encamped only four days march from Shiraz, Perozes planned his own moves.

Perozes knew that he was outnumbered and outclassed by the Loyalist forces based out of Shiraz, but he knew that he could exploit a fatal flaw- their divisiveness. In a straight out fight in he would probably still be defeated, so he instead pursued a subversive route. He sent agents to infiltrate Persian camps, spreading rumors about the Imperial soldiers in their midst. They invented stories that exaggerated the actual events that took place on the march to Shiraz, hoping to increase mistrust between the two forces. In addition, they spread rumors about the Empire’s motivation at helping the Loyalists; one of the most common of these was that they wanted to force Christian conversion upon them.

These rumors saw success, even reaching a willing audience among some of the general staff. Intelligence was not shared and plans not coordinated, which in turn contributed to Roman mistrust. Belisarius, realizing that nothing was going to get done if things didn’t change, focused his efforts on combating these rumors, even enlisting a reluctant Mihr-Mihroe to assist him. But this took time, and by the end of August, the army still had not moved against the Mazdakites under Perozes.

Perozes, encouraged by the success of his efforts, felt that if he continued this subversive propaganda war that he could drive the two armies to fight each other by the end of the year. But in early September, reinforcements and orders arrived from Kawus. His own offensive, which had been focused on pushing from the North, had been badly bloodied by Khosrau in battle near Nishapur (July 530), and his progress had been reversed, forcing him to withdraw towards Aria. Khosrau was pressing his advantage, and Kawus needed a victory in the South to cause his attention to be directed elsewhere- or else, he said, his army would be destroyed and the cause would be lost.

Now strengthened up to around 65,000 soldiers, Perozes began to plot out his assault on Shiraz. He utilized the intelligence apparatus he had built up to poke about the camps and the city for any sort of weakness or opening. His agents reported back to him, informing him that a prominent local cleric had secretly found merit in the teachings of Mazdak, and that he was willing to perform whatever duties were required of him. Perozes decided to use this to his full advantage, and a daring plan was drawn up.

Knowing that he would be spotted by the scouts of the Loyalist forces as soon as he left his camp, Perozes decided that a distraction would be necessary. He decided to encourage his cleric ally (whose name has been lost to history) to preach to the citizens of Shiraz, and inform them of the glories of Mazdakism. The Loyalists would be forced to respond- and their response, if everything went according to plan, would lead to a riot. The cleric agreed to this plan, and in mid-September of 530, took to the streets and began a sermon about the “true teachings of the most holy Mazdak”.

A crowd gathered around him, hearing his words in part out of respect for his rank and position and in part due to the mistrust of the Romans and the government that had been spread by the agents of Perozes during that summer. Word quickly reached Mihr-Mihroe and Belisarius, who were in yet another command conference (and just about to finalize their own offensive plans). The two generals were alarmed by this development, and sent word that the cleric should be taken into custody for treason.

Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for Perozes), the first soldiers to respond to these orders were Romans. Not fully understanding the language, the Imperials forced their way through the crowd and demanded, in halting Persian, that the cleric cease and come with them. The cleric did not, instead using them as evidence of the Roman infiltration into the highest levels of Persian society. The crowd reacted, jeering the Imperial soldiers, throwing rotten food and spitting on them. The Romans, reacting as soldiers would react, drew into formation, raising their shields to protect them, and once again asked the cleric to come with them. He refused once again, his voice rising to shrill heights in condemnation. One Imperial, tiring of this, threw his javelin at the preacher- he fell off his platform and died.

After a pause, the crowd went wild. The Romans had to batter their way out of the mob, many getting drug out of position and beat to death. Newly arriving units, both Roman and loyalist Persian, were drawn into the duty of crowd control as Shiraz arose in an uproar. The mob pushed back against the Loyalists, stealing weapons from fallen soldiers and brandishing weapons of their own construction. The violence lasted all that day, and into the night. By morning of the next day, the Loyalist forces had been forced out of the city center of Shiraz, which had been rudimentarily fortified and barricaded by the rioters.

The two commanders met that day again to decide how to best resolve this sudden chaos. Belisarius pressed for an overwhelming martial response, hoping to burst through the rioter’s lines and end the “revolt” as quickly as possible. Mihr-Mihroe, on the other hand, was loath to do that. He knew that the mob was in possession of some key stores (mostly of food and other non-weapon supplies) in their zone of control, and he feared that a sudden assault, if it was unable to quickly break through, would infuriate the rebels more into burning the supplies. He proposed to negotiate with the mob, promising them a full investigation of the events of the day previous and clemency to the members of the mob.

Mihr-Mihroe won out, over Belisarius’s protestations, and negotiations were held with the rioters throughout that day and into the evening. Some of the members of the mob had just joined because it seemed like the thing to do, and now, faced with the prospect of facing off against nearly 75,000 trained soldiers, surrendering seemed like the right thing to do. But there was a die-hard cadre, led by agents planted by Perozes, who pressed for continuous resistance against the Loyalists. Negotiations took a break for the night as the mob’s “leaders” talked amongst themselves, trying to decide what to do.

The next day, however, reports reached Belisarius from his own scouts of the rapidly advancing forces of Perozes. Belisarius put two and two together, and realized that the mob action was directly related to this advance. He sent men to inform Mihr-Mihroe, who was deeply alarmed by these reports. Mihr-Mihroe and Belisarius decided that the situation had to be resolved as soon as possible. This was complicated by the rejection of the negotiated points by several of the rioters in Shiraz- there were some who defected over the barricades, but a large chunk, buoyed by the agents planted by Perozes, remained in position.

It was decided that 5,000 Persians would seek to defeat the mob quickly, seeking to gain control of the stores before they could be destroyed, while Belisarius and his 30,000, alongside Mihr-Mihroe and his 40,000, would advance against the approaching Mazdakites. The two armies’ scouts sighted each other late that night, and the battle was joined the next day, early in the morning. (The 15,000 would end up taking the city center by evening, but the stores were burned before they could be recovered).

Perozes, despite being outnumbered by almost 5,000, decided to take the initiative and launched the first maneuvers of the day. As the Loyalist lines were just beginning to be drawn up (the Persians on the left and center, Romans on the right), a cry arose from the Mazdakites as a column of elephants from the Indus, followed by heavily armored lancers, burst out towards the center. This was a bold move by Perozes, as these were among his most experienced and well-equipped soldiers, but it payed off. The Loyalist Persian center was forced back due to this sudden ferocious assault, and, as the Mazdakite infantry joined the engagement, came in real danger of breaking. Mihr-Mihroe committed reinforcements to his center, weakening the left somewhat, and the lines stabilized, though with a dangerous bulge in the center.

As the day wore on, the Persian left was slowly pushed back before the Mazdakite assault, while the Roman’s under Belisarius held their line, even pushing against the Mazdakite forces sent to face them. In the mid-afternoon, however, a tremendous push by the Mazdakites in the center saw the bulge break, and the Mazdakites rushed through the gap in the line. Mihr-Mihroe was killed as his commanding position was overrun, and the Loyalist Persians began to waver and retreat. Belisarius, seeing the day was lost, was able to salvage it somewhat by withdrawing his own Roman force in good order and using his cavalry to great effect to cover the retreat, brushing away several roaming units of Mazdakite light horse and saving many Loyalist Persian lives along the route to Shiraz.

The losses were great, however. Of the 70,000 that took the field that day, some 31,000 were dead, wounded, or captured (mostly from the Persians; Belisarius’ Romans lost only 9,000 that day). The Mazdakites took equally heavy casualties, losing some 28,000 (including a high-percentage of their elite cavalry and elephants that opened the day). Perozes tactical assessment of the battle was low- he had successfully driven the Loyalists off of the field of battle, but the Romans had prevented the victory from being total. His loss of his more experienced units also contributed to his pessimistic view on the victory.

However, the situation in Shiraz was no longer tenable for the Loyalists. Because many of the stores that had been stored in the city had been burned, they could not long remain there; Belisarius, in conference with the successors to Mihr-Mihroe, thus advised a withdrawal from the city, taking what foodstuffs and other valuables they could with them, breaking the fortifications, etc. They would leave Shiraz utterly useless as a strategic target. Despite some Loyalist Persian protestations, Belisarius prevailed; the withdrawal from Shiraz was complete in October, and the armies withdrew to camp some three days march away.

Perozes, surprised at this, moved into Shiraz himself; but finding the city devoid of any strategic worth, he once again found it a bitter tasting victory. He had to divert some of his supplies to feeding the inhabitants of Shiraz, who had been left devoid of sustenance by the retreating Romans and Loyalist Persians.

But the Mazdakite victory at Shiraz, however hollow it seemed to Perozes, had its intended effect. Alarmed by the performance of his own soldiers and the death of one of his top commanders, Khosrau abandoned his designs towards Aria and diverted supplies and men south. Kawus was able to score a late victory in early November along the banks of the Harirud which pushed the Loyalists back somewhat in the Northern front.

As the year began to turn to 531, Belisarius wrote to Justinian of the incompetence of the Persian army, their generals, and their people in general. He requested more soldiers, as well as the request to operate independently of Persian armies. Justinian, supportive of his commander, wrote Khosrau on the subject; the two exchanged some heated communications before it was finally decided that Belisarius would take an independent command (thus illustrating how desperate Khosrau was for assistance at this point). Replacements, as well as an additional 15,000 soldiers, would march from Roman territory into Persia to give Belisarius his independent command.

Despite Khosrau’s worries, this would prove valuable to the Loyalist war effort in the days ahead…

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A longer update, perhaps too long, sorry! Hope you enjoy!
 
Regarding to your question

Good and interesting updates as usual ...and regarding to your question:

Question- how far should I take this timeline? I have concrete plans going towards the death of Athalaric, but beyond that I am flexible with that. Should I keep going? To the present day?


If you have doubts, there are several famous examples on the board of Megas Threads, to which, in case of doubt, perhaps you can look as examples to his own, if you believing it necessary, of course.


Go as far as you are comfortable with.

I agree and wide: The possible temporary extension of this thread and your level of comfort and us readers in principle should not change, but it's a risk for every author on the Board, as you begin to develop your story, increasingly more of the original time period and most importantly for your handling of 'butterflies fluttering at events and places directly affected and unaffected until now by this TL.

Whether you do so by means of a linear or non-linear narrative, for "time flashes" or leaps forward and from there continue the narrative again,etc.
 
The Mazdakite Wars, Part Five: The Campaigns of 531​

The Roman reinforcements would arrive at Belisarius’ camp in May of 531, after a long march. The commander, now with 45,000 men under his command (three entire Imperial field armies), decided that now was the best time to split away from his Persian comrades, who, now commanded by Azarethes and reinforced to a much more stable 50,000, were still intent on retaking Shiraz from Perozes. Belisarius would take his command and try to push through the center.

The center of the battlefront between the Mazdakites and the Loyalists, stretching from Shiraz to the Harrirud, had been the site of very little fighting in the first year and a half of the war. There had been a few violent skirmishes, that was true- but the push from the North and South by the Mazdakites had taken precedence. The Loyalists had been forced to fight against the North/South advances, leaving the center dangerously low of Loyalist forces, beyond some peasant militias. The Mazdakites, however, seemed content to let this be- the campaigns to the north and south called their attention, and so they left a paltry number of regular soldiers in charge of the entire center, assisted by various Mazdakite irregulars.

The rebel in charge of this center was the one-eyed Baresmanes, a rather uninspiring general who had joined the Mazdakites only because they had promised him a higher command than he was likely to receive under the Loyalists. He spent most of his time at his headquarters in Ravar, surrounded by the main force of Mazdakite troops (25,000 regulars, and some 30,000 irregulars), content to while away his time torturing various Zoroastrian clerics who he accused to refusing to adopt the new Mazdakite theology and selecting the most beautiful of the local girls for his enjoyment. His men had settled down in the surrounding territory over the year, with no action than the occasional raid back and forth, some of them even bringing their families to Ravar. All in all, Ravar was a weak point in the Mazdakite line, and Belisarius planned to exploit it.

It was a fair distance from his headquarters three-days from Shiraz to Ravar- at least a 70 day march away. But Belisarius was determined to launch an attack on Ravar, come Hell or high water. It made tactical sense- a victory at Ravar against Baresmanes would be able to be capitalized on with ease, as there was a dearth of supporting Mazdakite armies nearby. A push by Belisarius deep into Mazdakite-held lands would also ease pressure on the fronts near the Harirud and Shiraz, allowing Khosrau and Azarethes more of an edge against their opponents, whose commands would be weakened in an attempt to stem the Imperial tide. Yes, it was a perfect plan- it would just take time.

The men set out in mid-May, and from the very beginning, the trip was fraught with delays. A dearth of Persian speakers in Belisarius’s army made procurement of supplies difficult, and it was not helped by the mistrust most Persians had of the Imperial soldiers (memories of the chaos Belisarius’s column had spread during their march into Persia the previous year still lingered). Some locals, perhaps Mazdakite sympathizers, would even give the Imperials false directions, leading to several instances of doubling back and slowing down. All in all, it ended up taking the Roman’s the equivalent of an additional month to reach striking distance of Ravar, arriving sometime in late August.

Their march did not go unnoticed by Mazdakite spies. They relayed words to their handlers, who then relayed the messages to Kawus and the High Command. Kawus was certain that they were making to reinforce Khosrau to deliver a blow against him; feeling his position vulnerable, Khosrau launched a brutal offensive over that summer against his brother’s troops, hoping to destroy his field army before the supposed arrival of the Romans. This would lead to several costly battles, with both sides taking a severe beating- but Khosrau’s force was not destroyed, and by August, the lines were still near to where they had been at the start of the summer.

Kawus could take comfort, though, from the fact that the Romans, despite marching for over 100 days, were still a fair distance away from his position near the banks of the Harrirud. He gave credit to his spies for a masterful job of delaying, and ordered reinforcements to be brought in to strengthen his position. It may have dawned on him to late that he was not the intended target- some messages sent from his headquarters in mid-August to Baresmanes hinted that there may be action on his position soon, and he encouraged him to prepare. Even if he had wanted to send reinforcements, Ravar was too far away, and his own force, badly bloodied in the unsuccessful attacks of that summer, needed the lion’s share of reinforcements if it was to survive another brush with Khosrau.

Baresmanes, for his part, brushed the late warnings aside. He felt he was in too strong of a defensive position for anyone to try to attack from the West- the terrain was quite uneven, mountainous even, and the only way an army could approach was from the north or the south. The approaching army, emerging from the hills onto some more level ground, would be spotted with ease, giving him and his men plenty of reaction time to get into battle order and prepare to receive their tired opponents.

Unfortunately for Baresmanes, his plan did not work.

The Romans, nearing Ravar towards the end of August, carefully scouted out their target. Most of Baresmanes’s regulars were camped towards the southern end of the town, living out of semi-permanent structures, while the irregulars were scattered throughout the region, some as far as three miles away. A daring plan was made by the Imperial’s- they would attack in the early morning semi-darkness, smashing through the regulars and capturing Baresmanes and the town before the irregulars could be summoned to the field. To this end, the Imperial’s emerged onto the flatland surrounding the town in the cover of darkness, hoping that Baresmane’s sentries wouldn’t notice.

They did not, for there were no sentries posted at all. There had been no action of any exciting note that entire year (and even the year before), and the vast majority of Baresmane’s men had relaxed to the point of laziness. Baresmanes himself had just arrived back from a hunting trip that day, and was spending the night carousing with his lieutenants and other officers in the hall. While they raucously drank and fondled serving girls, the Romans drew ever closer.

At around 4 o’clock in the morning, a Roman cavalry trumpet blared out a call to charge. The trumpets noise traveled into the camp, and a few early risers sought the origin of the sound. The sound of thundering hooves awoke many others, and as the men of Baresmanes stumbled out of bed, the Roman cavalry, led by Belisarius, made contact.

It was utter chaos in the Mazdakite camp. The Romans rode north, slashing and stabbing at anything that moved. Women and children of the soldiers screamed, cut down as well in the darkness. The cavalry burst clear through the camp, into the village, reaching the hall where Baresmanes and his men were finally bedding down to sleep after their revelry. The one-eyed commander blearily stepped from his hall to see what was going on, only to be confronted by a throng of Roman cavalrymen, swords and spears drawn. The commander frowned and shook a fist at the Imperials, famously declaring “Isn’t a bit too early for all of this?”

His men who had survived the strike, and were fully awake now, were reaching stages of readiness when the Roman infantry caught up with its cavalry contingent. A few clumps of Mazdakites would offer fierce, if futile, resistance, but many just threw down their weapons and gave up. The vast majority of the action was over before seven o’clock- a few irregulars would shuffle down from their camps to see what was going on, only to be scattered, while most turned tail and fled back East towards their homes.

It was an utter and complete victory for Belisarius and his Imperials. Receiving minimal casualties, they had knocked out an entire Mazdakite army and had captured their commander. Belisarius sent word to the nearest Loyalist forces to take possession of his prisoners, for he had plans to march further into Mazdakite territory, if he could. The Loyalists, at first, did not believe that the Romans had captured Ravar, but they eventually arrived on the scene in mid-September- a delay that angered Belisarius. After unceremoniously dumping the army of Baresmanes (as well as the man himself) on his allies, Belisarius and the Imperials continued their march east.

Kawus received word about the defeat around this same time, and was furious. He was furious, for one, that Baresmanes had allowed himself to be caught so totally with his pants down; but what was even more galling was the fact that an entire force of regulars had been taken out of the picture. The Mazdakites, at this point of the war, with the bloodletting in the North and continual clashes around Shiraz in the south, were hurting for trained troops, being forced more and more to rely on new recruits. While these recruits were often quite fanatical, they were poorly trained and lacked the military supplies needed to field an effective field army against the Loyalists. He sent what few forces he could spare to the Center, hoping to stave off the Roman advance before it got too far, but, as stated, he needed the vast majority of his troops to defend his position on the Harrirud.

Belisarius’ next move was to march south to take the city of Kerman, which had been captured by Perozes in the opening months of the conflict. Kerman, located only an eleven days march south of Ravar, had been left with a paltry garrison of irregulars after the Battle of Shiraz the year before, the regulars that had been stationed there summoned to reinforce the army of Perozes. The irregulars, after a brief struggle in early October, were routed and Kerman returned to Loyalist hands.

With the fall of Kerman, the line of communication between Perozes in Shiraz and Kawus in Aria grew ever more threatened, and Belisarius’ next planned move would push it back further still. Abandoing his intention to push into the Mazdakite center (a decision that would be much debated by alternate historians in the future), the thought occurred to him to drive to the coast, trapping Perozes and his troops in a pocket near Shiraz, and the next target on this road was Sirjan, which was merely another fifteen days march away or so. Sirjan was dangerously close to Perozes rear, and when news of the Roman heading reaching the Mazdakite commander, he was a bit closer on the uptake than his fellow, Baresmanes. With great reluctance, Perozes withdrew from Shiraz and began to pull his troops back towards Hormirzad; Shiraz was re-occupied by Loyalists in late October, with many of the leaders of the town summarily executed by Azarethes for their actions the previous year.

Sirjan fell without a major fight around the time that the Loyalists entered the streets of Shiraz, and Belisarius, being apprised of Perozes’ fleeing towards the coast, was determined to cut him off. He spurred his troops on south, knowing he was closer to Hormirzad and thus more likely to reach it first. He barreled on South, forcing his ways through what ineffectual resistance the Mazdakites could throw at him. After nearly a month of hard marching, his troops reached Hormirzad, which was surrounded and cut off by land.

Perozes, some twenty days still from Hormirzad, cursed his ill luck- cut off by the Romans to the West, with Azarethes hot on his tail, he only had one way out- the sea. Force marching his men south to the coastline to the settlement of Charak; there, with Azarethes only a day or two behind him at that point, Perozes commandeered every boat he could in the surrounding area. Piling his men on the vessels, they struck out into the sea just as the Loyalists caught up to them. It was not a clean getaway, as they had to leave their horses, elephants (most of which were killed), and supplies in Charak; in addition, some men were unable to get onto boats in time and were captured, and several boats were overfilled and sank, but around 30,000 veterans of the campaigns around Shiraz that year escaped, landing in Harmozeia, just beyond the reach of Belisarius.

Belisarius, wanting to leave the siege to Azarethes and push on towards Harmozeia, which was only a short distance relatively from Hormirzad, asked his Persia counterpart to assist in the matter; but Azarethes informed Belisarius that he was unable to assist, being forced to subdue Mazdakite irregulars and sympathizers in order to secure the chunk of territory Belisarius had cut off. Belisarius, disgusted by this, remained encamped outside Hormirzad, setting up siege camps and doing his best to cut off the supply route by sea (a task he accomplished in mid-December), while reports came in of Perozes strengthening his surviving force in Harmozeia.

And thus, the year turned, with many of the initial Mazdakite gains in the south recaptured by government forces. Kawus felt he was very near a collapse, his men pinned down now by the Loyalists. However, one of his attending commanders proposed a radical plan of subterfuge, reflecting back on the success of the peasant rising in Shiraz the year before. This commander, whose name has been lost to history, declared that many of the lower class in Loyalist territories were loyal to the Mazdakite cause. If they were able to convince them to arise and revolt against their overlords, he reasoned, and if they were able to get groups from across the country to rise up, than the Loyalists would have to divert their forces towards stamping out these revolts, allowing the main body of Mazdakites to regroup, train, and, perhaps, reverse the momentum.

Kawus at first wasn’t too pleased with this idea. He had jumped on the Mazdakite bandwagon at first just to gain power- he feared that if the lower class realized that they had some semblance of power, they would never allow themselves to be governed again. However, in desperation, he agreed to the plan.

This would prove to be a fateful decision, the repercussions of which would affect the region in the coming centuries…

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Another long update! I hope you enjoy!
 
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Kawus at first wasn’t too pleased with this idea. He had jumped on the Mazdakite bandwagon at first jut to gain power- he feared that if the lower class realized that they had some semblance of power, they would never allow themselves to be governed again. However, in desperation, he agreed to the plan.

This would prove to be a fateful decision, the repercussions of which would affect the region in the coming centuries…

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Another long update! I hope you enjoy!

Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess
 
The Mazdakite Wars, Part Six: The Campaigns of 532​

The turning of the year saw the Mazdakites between a rock and a hard place. Having failed to have made any progress with offensives in the North, and being forced to abandon many of the initial gains they had made in the South and Center, the strategic situation looked bleak. However, the plans that Kawus had agreed to in late-December of the previous year were already in the stages of being enacted; agents of the Mazdakites infiltrated Loyalist lands, seeking those who harbored inner loyalty to their cause. The Great Rising, as it would come to be called, slowly began to take shape through the early months of the year, with plans for it to occur sometime in early summer.

In the interim, however, the Mazdakites dug in for a defensive war. Khosrau attacked Kawus’ position on the Harrirud in February, winning a victory and driving the Mazdakite line back towards Aria. Kawus, however, avoided being encircled through his own victory in March at Kohsan, which halted Khosrau’s advance at the expense of heavy Mazdakite casualties. Kawus himself had narrowly avoided being killed by an arrow, with it luckily coming in slightly too high and bouncing off of his helmet (once again, another point alternate historians would debate wildly), and was a bit shaken. He dug his soldiers in once again, glumly preparing to defend against another, inevitable Loyalist offensive.

In the South, Belisarius was still besieging Hormirzad, which stubbornly refused to surrender despite an increasingly dire supply situation and a wide discrepancy in numbers (Belisarius had around 45,000, while those in Hormirzad numbered only 20,000 or so). Still desperate to march against Harmozeia, where Perozes was rebuilding his force after his hurried sea evacuation from Charak the year before, Belisarius constantly sent letters to Azarethes, who constantly refused to come to relieve him. Azarethes was still too busy with cleaning up pockets of resistance that Belisarius’s drive South from Ravar had left behind to come to his aid- at least, that was what the Persian claimed.

Azarethes was secretly in communication with Khosrau, seeking his permission to march on Harmozeia himself. He was bitter that Belisarius had stolen all the glory in the campaign the previous year (the only major action Azarethes had seen was a small-scale battle in June near Shiraz, in which he was repulsed), and embarrassed to some degree that he hadn’t caught Perozes in time to prevent his evacuation. He felt that the only way that he could regain his honor was through a victory against Perozes. Khosrau, at first advising caution in this matter, was encouraged to give the approval by several members of his war council. A victory by Persians, in a theater that had been so dominated by Romans, would reestablish Persia’s position with relation to the Empire. In addition, they reminded Khosrau, Justinian was still sending letters consistently, asking for concrete terms of concessions, and if the Persians were able to take the momentum in their own war, they would be in a much better position at the negotiating table.

Khosrau, eventually seeing the logic behind his advisors plans, decided that he would give his approval to Azarethes. This approval reached the field commander in May, while he was encamped near the small town of Podol. Azarethes, delighted at this, sprang into action, ordering his men to prepare to march immediately. The column departed, taking pains to stay as far away from the Roman siege camp at Hormirzad as was possible.

Belisarius was appraised of the Persian march about eleven days into the thirty day march, and was absolutely furious. He debated abandoning the siege and marching on Harmozeia himself, as he was much closer than Azarethes at this point, but his advisors convinced him not to take such rash action. The Romans were already so heavily invested in this siege, which was beginning to wind down- it would be foolish to abandon it just to rub the Persian’s nose in another Imperial victory. The tactical situation demanded that Belisarius remain in his position- and he grudgingly decided to stay in his siege camps.

Azarethes approached Harmozeia in mid-June, watched carefully by Perozes. Perozes, building around his 30,000 veterans, was now in possession of a force around 55,000 in number- all but the veterans being, for the most part, the fanatical peasant irregulars that were becoming the mainstay of the Mazdakite armies in this stage of the conflict. He was worried that the Romans would be coming up to support them, which initially prevented him from taking any offensive actions- but his scouts said that the Imperials were still in their siege camps, giving no indication they were going to move anywhere.

Buoyed by this, Perozes made preparations to meet Azarethes in the field. He did not want to be trapped in a siege- his was the largest Mazdakite field army in the area, and he couldn’t let it be pinned down. That would give the Loyalists and their Roman allies free reign over the entire southern front, ending the war (as far as Perozes was concerned). Therefore, he marched out of Harmozeia with his 55,000 to face Azarethes and his 50,000.

The armies would meet near the small settlement of Noband, some 9 miles north of Harmozeia. The battle, from the beginning, was not in Azarethes’s favor- his initial assault of the day, an infantry assault against the Mazdakite right launched a few hours after sunrise, was beaten back by a hail of missiles and a counter-charge of light cavalry. An attempt to flank the Mazdakite left with his own heavy cavalry an hour or so later was stopped by a ditch that the Mazdakites had dug during the night, allowing many of the foundering horsemen to be picked off by arrows and a rapidly advancing unit of spearmen before they were able to retreat to safety.

As the day wore on, the Loyalists had made no progress against the Mazdakite line, their own numbers becoming thin. In a last ditch attempt to pierce through Mazdakite lines, Azarethes rallied his surviving heavy cavalry to him and lead an assault against the Mazdakite right. They were initially successful, forcing the Mazdakites to give ground, but a spear thrust from a peasant hit Azarethes in his side- the Persian commander tumbled off of his horse and was finished off on the ground. His death would cause a rout among his soldiers as the Mazdakites, emboldened, pushed hard against the Loyalists. The Loyalists ran as far as they could, many getting picked off by light horse before reaching safety.

The Battle of Noband cost the Loyalist army a field commander and some 35,000 soldiers; the remaining 15,000 would continue to fall back towards the West, effectively knocked out of the conflict. Perozes himself had taken notable casualties- some 20,000 of them, with about 5,000 of them being veterans that he could not easily replace. However, he came off much the better- his men gathered the supplies and arms left on the field of battle by the Loyalists, many of which were of a higher quality than those they had used during the fighting. It was also a great propaganda victory- the virtual destruction of a Loyalist field army. The momentum had shifted, it appeared.

And indeed, it had, for the Great Rising was beginning. To some, unacquainted with how well planned the Great Rising was from its inception, it may seem that it was caused by the victory of the Mazdakites at Noband (which took place a few days before the first reports of the Rising) - but this was not the case. As has been stated, plans for the Great Rising were in motion at the tail end of the year 531 as the situation for the Mazdakite faction became worse. It just happened to occur so soon after the victory at Noband- which helped with breaking Loyalist morale.

The Great Rising itself was quite violent. Peasants, armed with whatever they could get a hold of, attacked their landlords; townspeople murdered Zoroastrian clergy and garrison soldiers; bands of rebels on horseback ravaged caravans carrying supplies to the front. Some of the incidents were dealt with rather quickly in a savage manner, but for the most part those participating in the Rising overwhelmed the already reduced garrisons of Loyalist soldiers. It was utter chaos, disrupting the economy and agriculture of the Loyalist base.

Khosrau, when he heard of the defeat and death of Azarethes, on top of the events of the Great Rising, fell into a rage. He felt that he couldn’t abandon his position on the Harrirud without giving up much ground to Kawus, and yet he couldn’t afford to let the Great Rising continue without some sort of response. He sent what troops he could spare, but he knew in his heart they would not be enough. No, he melancholically realized, he would have to rely once again on the aid of Rome. He sent a letter to Justinian, asking for more soldiers to assist in putting down the Great Rising.

Justinian was more than obliging, knowing that every Roman that crossed the border into Persia was another reason he had to press for further concessions. Justinian, placing this additional Roman force under the command of Hermogenes, gave him orders to march into Persia to assist in putting down the uprising. This army, comprised of an additional 45,000 soldiers, crossed the border in August, and quickly found itself involved in a sort of war the Empire hadn’t seen for a long time. The Mazdakites could blend in easily with Loyalist peasants, making it difficult to tell friend from foe until it was too late. Hermogenes, while successful in clearing out a few rebel nests in Mesopotamia, wrote a letter to Justinian, informing him of the futility of his actions- “Whenever we seem to crush these heathens, and leave to the next place of battle, those we thought we slew arise like a phoenix and once again take up arms.” Hermogenes, in this letter, asked for more assistance in trying to quell the revolts.

Justinian, at Hermogenes request, sent an additional 30,000 Romans into Persia, under the command of Sittas. Together, Sittas and Hermogenes, assisted by what Persian Loyalist soldiers were in the homeland, launched a brutal campaign aimed at repressing the revolts. Their tactics were draconian, even by their standards, and it is thought that many innocent Persians were killed alongside their revolting fellows. This would only serve to cement the hatred of the average Persian of the Empire and their own government for inviting them, leading to a hostility between subject and sovereign that would last for decades.

While Hermogenes and Sittas were slaying peasants, Belisarius was finally entering the city of Hormirzad. The city surrendered in late September, faced with starvation, allowing Belisarius to now focus on dislodging Perozes from his position in Harmozeia. With his 45,000 still roughly intact, Belisarius marched along the coast as quickly as he was able (meaning early October). Perozes, having only rebuilt his force back up to 40,000 after the casualties at Noband earlier that year, was taken aback by the quickness of Belisarius’s actions, and found himself trapped in Harmozeia- well, as trapped as one can be when they control the sea. While cut off from any land routes, Perozes was able to remain fairly well supplied by relying on the sea. Belisarius, while disappointed he was unable to offer battle, could take comfort in the fact that he had cornered the major southern field army of the Mazdakites, and spent most of the late fall and winter looking for a way to cut off Perozes’s supply lines from the sea.

In the North, Kawus, ecstatic at the success of the Great Rising in disrupting the Loyalist war effort, launched an attack against Khosrau in August, in which he was victorious. He drove his brother away from the banks of the Harrirud, saving himself from the threat of encirclement at Aria. However, he did take rather heavy casualties during the fight- as he tried to rebuild his force, he could take comfort that the Great Rising would prevent his brother from receiving the reinforcements he would need to crush him.

As 532 drew to a close and 533 dawned, the situation had recovered somewhat for the Mazdakites. The success of Perozes of destroying the army of Azarethes; the failure of Khosrau to encircle and trap Kawus’s force in the north; and the occurrence of the Great Rising all served to tip the balance back towards equilibrium.

The scales wouldn’t remain balanced for very long, however…
 
Hiding facts

Because you mention Carthage and certain other things I have chosen this thread to invade upon the nit-picking over who did what to whom in each part of the pack of lies Rome foists to this day through the NT Gospels they wrote to blame the Jews (Founders of Carthage like Dido) for "Killing our Savior". You might also like to know where the Ostrogoths disappeared to.

Tyre had been travelling to the Americas to get purple dye from Purpura shells - See Zelia Nuttall of the Peabody Museum. The emerald opera glasses of the Queen of Sheba or her star-gazers and all so many elite people wearing these precious jewels did not get them from one known mine in Egypt. The Egyptian mummies with Peruvian cocaine forensically proven by Balabanova and lots (from every hard science) prove all of history (especially Atlantis myths) are mere propaganda. The founding of Rome is most noteworthy in the annals of what passes for history and which is the foundation of our Nations and Sovereign Rights born from Divine Rights after it grew more powerful every time it fell.

Did Virgil know a lot more about the founding of Rome? I say he did, I find his fellow northern Italian Gaul named Livy to be far more useful to understanding Rome's true history. I also say he knew about the 'medieval castles' on the nearby island of Sardinia and the smaller ones on Corsica from whence a later Emperor named Napoleon came. Napoleon said his family were Royalty in Etruria and he worshipped Alexander the Great. I have done the absolute best history of the founding of Rome - no lies and lots of evidence.

Why not comment on the over 9,000 medieval castles on Sardinia or the DNN (Greek) and Keltoi encampments there even before the castles (See Jacquetta Hawkes' Atlas of Archaeology) which were built by Phoenicians of Carthage and before Carthage even existed? Don't they want to know who the settlers or founders of Etruria/Rome, Sybaris and so many other places are? Don't you want to know who you are fool-owing to this day?

Sardinia's castles in the era before Rome and as far back as the Hyksos rule in Egypt had cross bows and could defend every inch of the large island. No explanations forthcoming from academia. In fact you'll hear more about alien intervention than such facts. I say "pluck yew" (which is the derivation of the phrase often heard 'f*ck you') to those who think modern weapons up until the second world war were significantly better than the ancients.

"Its size suggests that it was one of the most powerful bows of its era. Historical texts indicate that its firing range could have been up to 2,600 feet, according to Huashang Newspaper, which is double the range of an assault rifle, which is about 1,300 feet.

Some historians believe that analysis of a number of historical texts shows that the crossbow was integral to several important military victories of the period."


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peop...-Warriors.html

The Phoenician ships which traveled the oceans of the whole world had windlass technology which I say lead to this crossbow technology. The founders of Greece are the Phoenician Danaus or DNN, according to Homer who Virgil was imitating or borrowing from. They are also the House of Mallia on Crete whose BEE symbol from that time in 2200 BCE to the time Napoleon wears those BEEs on his investiture robes have played a significant role in ruling this planet. I say the 19 areas of battle in the Trojan War were located all over the world, I am not alone in this regard, and I have gathered together more evidence on the matter than any other author I know about. But who cares, eh?

If you are a student today who has to study the Aeneid you might like to read what shmoop says. They say their version won't make you snore. http://www.shmoop.com/aeneid/summary.html
 
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Yes, you are confused. The reason you are confused is you do not question the lies you have been brainwashed into believing, so that you argue about who did what from different versions of those lies.
 
Is anyone else confused by the above post, or is it just me?

I can confirm that I am rather confused as well. Seems to be the only post made by this person on site, so not even sure WTH this is about. (EDIT: Ninja'd)

Anyways, let's not get distracted from your masterpiece. It is going great, keep it up! Though I am a bit surprised at how many men Justinian is pouring in without firm concessions. Like, at this point it seems more sensible to just seize Mesopotamia outright and tell Persians to fuck off.

Also, is this a spoiler about who wins? :p
This would only serve to cement the hatred of the average Persian of the Empire and their own government for inviting them, leading to a hostility between subject and sovereign that would last for decades.
 
I can confirm that I am rather confused as well. Seems to be the only post made by this person on site, so not even sure WTH this is about. (EDIT: Ninja'd)

Anyways, let's not get distracted from your masterpiece. It is going great, keep it up! Though I am a bit surprised at how many men Justinian is pouring in without firm concessions. Like, at this point it seems more sensible to just seize Mesopotamia outright and tell Persians to fuck off.

Also, is this a spoiler about who wins? :p

Thanks for the kind words! Justinian is going to get some very hefty concessions from Persia at the end of the war. As to the spoiler question.... Shh.....

wertmon505 said:
Judging from the post he is either trolling you, or he is a conspiracy theorist

Yeah, thats what I figured.
 
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