WI: Byzantine Emperor Maurice isn't deposed in 602

I am posting a timeline in the timelines forum and will use this one for ideas. Currently I am working on the reconquest of Egypt and parts of Syria by the Eastern Empire. Also the Visigoths will restore their northern dominions and subjugate the Basques.. evicting the Franks from any holdings on the Med. Sea but only with the help of the Romans, whose price is the restoration of imperial rule in the lands held by Justinian in southern Spain. The Kingdom will remain a vassal of the Eastern Empire. The Avars and Slavs as chased back over the Danube. However the Arabs remain entrenched in Palestine, and the Sassanid Empire begins it's breakup into smaller Zoroastrian kingdoms, though at this time it is still nominally ruled by a Sassanid prince. The largest chunk of the old Empire is inherited by the Bactrian domain.

With the lack of real ability of any of the major powers to maintain control over the area, Armenia forms an independent kingdom which maintains an alliance with the Romans. The Armenians raid deep into the Arab Caliphate and occasionally raid into the lands of the Persian Kinglets.

This is a map of the Med. around 680 in this timeline.

700alt11.jpg
 
Xeal

Many thanks. Been busy the past few days but catching up now. Looking very interesting. Not sure about the semi industrial revolution in Egypt. I could see something happening under the sort of pressures you describe. However would suspect it would be elsewhere in the empire, rather than a battered, war-torn region probably still contested. Think it would be more likely somewhere in the heartland on the empire, with security, population and wealth. Possibly somewhere in the Balkans, Italy or Anatolia which also has the advantage of some mountainous areas which might provide a power source. [I think the upland rivers of Lancashire were important in providing the power sources for the early factories prior to the development of coal & steam sources]. Not sure if any of the regions in those areas are that suitable but just an idea.

Anyway, looking to see more. Keep up the good work.

Steve
 
660 AD: Taking direct command of the Army of the East, Theodosius pushes into northern Syria with his army, numbering in total perhaps 75,000 men, nearly 15,000 of which are highly disciplined Byzantine Cavalry units with heavy combined-arms training. Meeting the Arabs just south of Antioch, they join battle. The Arabs field a numerically equal army, but are soundly defeated by the better trained and equipped soldiers of Theodosius. As a direct consequence of the battle, much of Syria is reincorporated into the Empire. A nearly simultaneous assault of local garrisons and berber allies breaks into Egypt and chases the Muslims across Sinai. His second army, under the command of a General Lilius managed to chase the Avars and Slavs back to the Danube and restore order in Pannonia, though the region was never completely subjugated.

Theodosius considered pressing on to Damascus and Jerusalem but was taken ill, probably from a minor leg wound sustained in battle that had grown infectious. Thinking his days were numbered, he ordered his army to return to central Anatolia, where he made a partial recovery. For the remainder of his painful life, he would be known as Theodosius the Lame. His days campaigning in the East were over.


664 AD: Taking advantage of the warfare continiuing between the Arabs and the Romans, a persian noble took the name of Aradashir and declared himself King. Whether or not there was a true dynastic link with the Sassanids is not clear, but he ascended the throne anyway and began to patch things together. Many of the nobles, particularly those in Tabaristan and Armenia, do not acknowledge his rule, but Aradashir nonetheless controls most of Persia proper and Bactria, along with a few scattered cities on the edge of Mesopotamia, which now comprises the bulk of the old Sassanid Empire.

Caliph Ali, furious at the Persians for repudiating their tribute and submission to the Caliphate, invades Aradashir's kingdom, but is defeated while campaigning in Persia. The remnants of the Sassanid Empire thus buy themselves reprieve for awhile as the Arabs, drained from their attempts at conquest, settle into a period of consolidation. Nonetheless raids between all three empires continue more or less unabated throughout the period.
Armenia, effectivelly cut off from any major empire during the wars, begins to form it's own kingdom under local princes.

671 AD: With the eastern front reduced to a simmering brush war for the time being, more resources could be devoted to the West again. Emperor Theodosius supports a Visigothic drive to the north to regain territory lost to the Franks a generation earlier. Theodosius brings the Exarchates into line, deposing the old Exarch of Ravenna and promoting Lilius in his place. With the West cowed slightly, Theodosius sends a large army into what is nominally Frankish territory on the Mediterranean Sea coast. Meeting up with a Visigothic army near Marseilles and defeating the local Frankish lords, the Roman army kicks the Franks out of the Mediterranean. With the strong display of Imperial and Gothic force, King Merowig III, a sniveling child in any case, avoids any strong defense of the area. The newly conquered lands are turned over to the Goths in exchange for parts of southern spain that had fallen from Imperial control not long after Justinian's demise. The once thinly garrisoned coastal regions of Spain, the only outposts of Imperial control in the area for since 587, are joined by Cordoba and a number of other cities, along with a regional army large enough to protect them. Visigothic King Athalric reaffirms his foederate status with the Romans, probably realizing that without Roman protection, there would be little to stop a Frankish counter-attack. The Visigoths manage to subjugate the Basques shortly thereafter, though only with great difficulty. Local Basque leaders would continue to wage a low-intensity war in the region for some time.

673 AD: The Armenian Wars begin. With the chaos on the Roman/Arab frontier, which was constantly shifting in these times, and with the squabbling among various Persian nobles, the Armenians decide on a campaign of conquest, which would, ironically, lead to the Islamic conquest of northern India in the next century and give rise to a radical form of the new religion. The war to follow certainly qualifies as one of the most unusual and chaotic in history.

Vomonteri, a previously minor noble in the recently independent Armenian lands, proclaims himself to be King, and a sucessor of Tigranes the Great in the old Hellenistic mold. Only about half of the country actually accepts his rule, mostly under the intimidation of his bands of brigands. But whatever his pretensions or claims, the man was more barbarian than hellenstic philosopher-king. Leading what could best be described as a massive mob into the northern lands of Mesopotamia, then under the authority of the Caliph Ali, he lays waste to most of the countryside.

The Arabs, in light of their difficult expansion, had been rebuilding the shattered cities of Mesopotamia for their own use, trying to get the economy back on it's feet in an attempt to further their dreams of conquest, and the intrusion of what amounts to a portable riot was most unwelcome. Vomonteri's hodgepodge army nonetheless managed to defeat the local Arabic army and continue ravaging the area. Though Vomonteri managed to lose (it is said) three times as many men as the Muslims in every skirmish, he had a large enough mob to simply fight a war of attrition in the area. Many local Christian and Zoroastrians joined up with his brigands, and the army actually grew larger. Caliph Ali's more moderate policies with his Christian subjects became increasingly unpopular in the Caliphate.

674 AD: The situation caused a great shift in Islamic religion, and Caliph Ali was challenged by a violent sect led by Muawiyah (I've gone with something similar to OTL, having the Ummayads take control but in this case I have the Ummayads more violent and prone to Jihad). Almost immediately, the whole of Mesopotamia erupted into civil war with backers of Ali and Muawiyah rioting and rampaging along with the "army" of Vomonteri continuing it's violent march across the area. To complicate matters, a small Persian army led by Aradashir entered the region with the intent of restoring Persian rule to the area.

Marching from Mecca with the strongest force the Arab Caliphate had yet assembled, Muawiyah managed to win the support of most regions and tribes of Arabia proper. Taking the title of Caliph and presenting a more radical, violent form of Islam in response to the Christian "invasion," Muawiyah marched towards the chaotic regions of Mesopotamia.

675 AD: Battle of Babylon. Set near the ruins of the old city, the symbolism of the battlefield was lost on none. The smaller force of Ali was nonetheless standing against the massive force assembled by Muawiyah. The battle was extremely bloody and lasted two days, but in the end Ali's army was destroyed and he took flight towards the Romans, hoping to obtain Roman help in exchange for territorial concessions.

Dismissing Ali offhand, Muawiyah's army marched deeper into the region with the intent of destroying the maurading Christian army, by this time armed with considerable experience (and stolen weapons) in the battlefield and actually starting shape up into something similar to a civilized "army" instead of a mob. Vomonteri, either awakening to his own mortality or deciding that Muawiyah's army was simply too great for him, decided on a retreat to the north, nonetheless holding on to large sections of land. By the time he returned to Armenia, he was hailed as a hero, and the country rallied behind him.

Aradashir must have suddenly realized that the favorable situation which existed two years prior was now something completely different, and he did not have sufficient forces to hold any permanent conquests against a secure Caliph. Nonetheless, the Muslims decided to pursue him deep into Persian territory, and eventually defeat him near Tabaristan with a vastly superior force. Aradashir proved his worth as a commander in the following months, however, strategically retreating across Persia with the remnants of his army and exacting a high price on his Arab pursuers. It is mostly due to his ability that Persia did not completely fall apart in these days. The walled cities of Tabaristan continued to resist the Arabs and actually payed homage to Aradashir finally, theoretically reuniting the remnants of the Sassanid Empire.

676 AD: Muawiyah invades Armenia and begins slowly picking off cities and fortresses in the area. Vomonteri suddenly realizes that he is outclassed by the forces and appeals to Theodosius III of the Roman Empire. Theodosius, by now a very old man, sees the perfect opportunity. By releasing the ex-Caliph Ali with a sizable Byzantine contingent and reinforcing the Armenians with a large Imperial army under the command of General Leo, he creates a two-front war with little real expense or risk to the Empire. At the battle of Van, Muawiyah is defeated, though not decisively, and is forced to retreat out of Armenia, leaving behind a sizable train of prisoners and booty. The utter frustration of the Muawiyah becomes a thing of legend, when he begins to take out the failure of his campaigns on his advisors. Dozens of them are lined up for execution on grounds of incompetence. Ali is eventually defeated near Damascus, and he is executed.

Muawiyah spends his remaining years propogating his more violent form of Islam and restoring the economy of his Empire. Skirmishes continue on the Roman front, but now Muawiyah concentrates on securing the borders rather than extending them. Nonetheless he preaches the destruction of Persia, Armenia and the Romans. Arab tribes train harder for war, and begin to show signs of organization and strategy ironically similar to the methods employed by the still mostly Maurican armies of the Romans. The new Islamic culture takes on a decidedly violent shape. The economy of Mesopotamia begins to recover again, and the cities of Arabia start to become prosperous trading centers, with the usual trade routes in chaos due to the conflict in the area, the relatively peaceful cities on the Red Sea and Persian Gulf become viable alternatives to the old Persian trade routes.

677 AD: Vomonteri, his ambitions apparently not quashed by the nearness of defeat the year before (his kingdom saved by the Romans), decides to invade the Persian domain of Tabaristan, defeating a number of local Persian nobles and annexing some of the smaller settlements on the border regions. The Armenian kingdom is now nearly the size of the ancient empire of Tigranes and has established itself as a major player in the region in a matter of a single generation. Either by temperment or wisdom, Aradashir decides not to retaliate, keeping his forces on the frontier with the Arabs. Vomonteri eventualy heads back home with considerable booty. End of the Armenian Wars.

679 AD: Death of Theosodius the Lame. With no clear heir, two claimants show up. The old Exarch Lilius and Leo, the popular general of the Armenian Wars both claimed the purple. In what amounts to the first test of authority with the Exarchs, Pope Sergius decides to put his full weight behind Lilius, pointing out the Monophysite sympathies of Leo. Declaring Leo to be a heretical usurper, and declaring himself the next logical successor, citing himself as being placed by Theodosius into the second-highest position in the Empire, Lilius marches with a large force of Italians and Avar mercenaries towards Constantinople.

Leo, extremely popular with the soldiers in the East, puts together a smaller, more elite army comprised of seasoned veterans of the Armenian and Arab conflicts. Furthermore he solicits aid from the King of Armenia, promising more assistance against the Arabs and Persians. Unfortunately for Leo, however, Lilius reaches Constantinople first, and is crowned Emperor in Saint Sophia. Religious conflict had been building for quite sometime, and it threatened to explode in all out civil war.

680 AD: Not to be deterred from a throne he believed to be occupied by an incompetent, Leo marched on Constantinople anyway. When his army reached Chalcedon, Lilius began to get nervous and sent out his army of Italians and Avars, along with a few loyal troops from the capital. However, with all the experienced generals from the Eastern campaigns solidly backing Leo, no one aside from himself could be found to command it effectively. Nonetheless Lilius did not want to leave the capital at what he percieved to be a very delicate time, and assigned his inexperienced and mostly drunken brother to command it. This would prove to be disasterous for him, as Leo and his experienced commanders easily outmaneuvered Lilius's army and tore it to pieces. Many in the capital believed it to be a sign of divine displeasure, and riots promptly forced Lilius out of the capital and he attempted to flee for the Crimea. His ship was intercepted in the straits by a flotilla loyal to Leo, and he was executed and his body thrown into the sea. Leo soon marched into the capital unopposed. Nonetheless tension was definately in the air, and though he proven himself to be a reasonably capable military man, he was curiously ignorant of the growing religious turmoil in the Empire.
 
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Xeal

Many thanks. Been busy the past few days but catching up now. Looking very interesting. Not sure about the semi industrial revolution in Egypt. I could see something happening under the sort of pressures you describe. However would suspect it would be elsewhere in the empire, rather than a battered, war-torn region probably still contested. Think it would be more likely somewhere in the heartland on the empire, with security, population and wealth. Possibly somewhere in the Balkans, Italy or Anatolia which also has the advantage of some mountainous areas which might provide a power source. [I think the upland rivers of Lancashire were important in providing the power sources for the early factories prior to the development of coal & steam sources]. Not sure if any of the regions in those areas are that suitable but just an idea.

Anyway, looking to see more. Keep up the good work.

Steve

Thanks :). I think you may have a good point with the location of the industrialization. Anatolia may be better suited, and it would probably help that the area is at that time inhabited by the more militarily-inclined ethnic groups of the empire. My first idea was that a Byzantine/Roman Empire which didn't collapse into a rump state would probably wind up industrializing to a limited extent in the wake of the plagues of Justinian's time destroying much of the labor base, if it were given the time, motivation and resources to do so. Egypt was an intellectual center in the Empire... but it may be that industrialization is more likely in a region that is less moribund and of course more geographically suited to it in the first place. I think I'll use Anatolia as the location instead.

The way I figure something like this could have come about is the Arabs eventually replace the Persians (though don't subjugate all of them) as the Roman rival. The Romans institute a system similar to the themes, but not indentical, where soldiers are rewarded with land... but in this case also maintain considerable shares in the booty of war (similar to the old Roman custom of distributing portions of conquered war booty to the Roman populace).

This results in many of the soldiers becoming relatively well off, but recent plagues and war rendered the usual slave and/or serf system more or less useless. Enterprising families of the Imperial soldiers then begin to find more productive uses for their lands. Drawing from the store of ancient Greek & Roman knowledge and combining it with a labor shortage and a decent sum of money backed by the wealth of the Byzantine Empire necessary as capital, some of the families begin to develop basic, simplistic machinery to help cultivate lands more efficiently, or in some cases mine more efficiently, etc... One individual stumbles upon the ancient ideas of steam power and tries to think of a more useful purpose than a simple toy...

Metal technology, as I think was pointed out elsewhere in this forum, advanced more slowly over time, and thus the partial Industrial Revolution that this launches begins to peter out eventually due to the inability to make metals strong enough to take the higher pressures. But nonetheless simple factories, mining machines (pumps and such) and limited application at sea will change things considerably.
 
Xeal

Many thanks. Been busy the past few days but catching up now. Looking very interesting. Not sure about the semi industrial revolution in Egypt. I could see something happening under the sort of pressures you describe. However would suspect it would be elsewhere in the empire, rather than a battered, war-torn region probably still contested. Think it would be more likely somewhere in the heartland on the empire, with security, population and wealth. Possibly somewhere in the Balkans, Italy or Anatolia which also has the advantage of some mountainous areas which might provide a power source. [I think the upland rivers of Lancashire were important in providing the power sources for the early factories prior to the development of coal & steam sources]. Not sure if any of the regions in those areas are that suitable but just an idea.

Anyway, looking to see more. Keep up the good work.

Steve

Thanks :). I think you may have a good point with the location of the industrialization. Anatolia may be better suited, and it would probably help that the area is at that time inhabited by the more militarily-inclined ethnic groups of the empire. My first idea was that a Byzantine/Roman Empire which didn't collapse into a rump state would probably wind up industrializing to a limited extent in the wake of the plagues of Justinian's time destroying much of the labor base, if it were given the time, motivation and resources to do so. Egypt was an intellectual center in the Empire... but it may be that industrialization is more likely in a region that is less moribund and of course more geographically suited to it in the first place. I think I'll use Anatolia as the location instead.

The way I figure something like this could have come about is the Arabs eventually replace the Persians (though don't subjugate all of them) as the Roman rival. The Romans institute a system similar to the themes, but not indentical, where soldiers are rewarded with land... but in this case also maintain considerable shares in the booty of war (similar to the old Roman custom of distributing portions of conquered war booty to the Roman populace).

This results in many of the soldiers becoming relatively well off, but recent plagues and war rendered the usual slave and/or serf system more or less useless. Enterprising families of the Imperial soldiers then begin to find more productive uses for their lands. Drawing from the store of ancient Greek & Roman knowledge and combining it with a labor shortage and a decent sum of money backed by the wealth of the Byzantine Empire necessary as capital, some of the families begin to develop basic, simplistic machinery to help cultivate lands more efficiently, or in some cases mine more efficiently, etc... One individual stumbles upon the ancient ideas of steam power and tries to think of a more useful purpose than a simple toy...

Metal technology, as I think was pointed out elsewhere in this forum, advanced more slowly over time, and thus the partial Industrial Revolution that this launches begins to peter out eventually due to the inability to make metals strong enough to take the higher pressures. But nonetheless simple factories, mining machines (pumps and such) and limited application at sea will change things considerably.
 

Hecatee

Donor
Well it is a very interesting timeline that you've got here, yet I do have one question and one suggestion.

The question is about the Great Library of Alexandria. What happened to it ? Did the romans, with more time and resources available, evacuate it to Constantinople, leading to a re-discovery of ancient text that would be the basis for the industrialization ? Because, and this is the suggestion, some advanced research on steam power were kept in the library since at least the second century B.C. and the texts would also speak of devices like the Valus, a machine developped in northern Gaul in the first century A.D. which did greatly augment agricultural production, or the gallic horse neck yoke which gave as much power as the later horse collar yoke used in Europe since the 9th century A.D. ? ( cf. http://www.humanist.de/rome/rts/neck.html )
 
Interesting timeline. The major thing you've neglected is the religious tensions inside Byzantium, particularly the Iconoclast heresy that several emperors tried to impose on both East and West (and failed with both, though generally more successful in the East). This of course had dynastic and political repercussions with the unhappy Patriarchs getting tormented and the emperor installing his own creatures to promulgate the heresy who's then deposed/recants/retires before the cycle repeats with a trio of Iconoclast emperors followed by an Orthodox empress regent.
 
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