Belisarius Reigns

Xeal II

It's a common point of departure, and it's one that's quite difficult to do believably since by all accounts, Belisarius was an honorable man. He was loyal to his Emperor even when said Emperor probably didn't deserve it.

However, I think I have something that might work.

Queen Amalasuntha was known for supporting a merger of the Gothic and Byzantine realms. It was one of the reasons she was murdered in 535, after being imprisoned by her cousin Theodahad. Supposedly, Justinian tried to break her out of prison before this happened, but the task failed. In any event, she was murdered in her bath and the Gothic war was the immediate result, giving Justinian a pretext for invading the Gothic Kingdom.

POD 535 AD:

A young Ostrogoth assassin, a supporter of Amalasuntha's reign, in the employ of Justinian, manages to sneak onto the island of Martana where the former queen Amalasuntha has been exiled. Infiltrating the Gothic guards, he breaks her out of her prison and the former queen travels to Constantinople.

536:

Justinian sends his great general, Belisarius at the head of a Byzantine army of 7,500 regulars, to occupy Sicily and ostensibly restore Amalasuntha to power among the Goths (Justinian's real goal, of course, is one of conquest). Accompanying him is Queen Amalasuntha herself, who managed in the intervening year to attract a small Gothic contingent of approximately 2,500 men, disaffected with the rule of Theodahad. Simultaneously an attack is launched by General Mundus on the Dalmatian provinces. Amalasuntha's daughter Matasuntha escapes Italy, fleeing to Constantinople.

Sicily is quickly overrun and Dalmatia partially falls. General Mundus is mortally wounded, but still manages to inflict a humiliating defeat on the local Goth forces. The coastal regions revert to Byzantine rule but the interior remains unmanageable, disintegrating into small domains ruled by petty nobles, both Gothic and Roman.

537:

Belisarius and his army capture Rhegium and advance into Italy proper. Most Gothic garrisons resist, but Amalasuntha manages to convince some to side against Theodahad and the King's rule begins to collapse in Southern Italy. Naples falls and is subjected to sack, after which many of the cities of Italy open their gates to Belisarius.

Rome's fall is foregone conclusion by the time Belisarius advances to the eternal city's gates. The Goths, enraged at Theodahad's inactivity, overthrow him and appoint Vitiges as King. Several other Gothic nobles (mostly those with extensive estates in Southern Italy) decide to side with Amalasuntha instead, and the war rapidly becomes a civil war between the Gothic factions as much as a Roman war of conquest. Amalasuntha's forces split off from Belisarius's army under the command of her general, Theodemir, to harass the supply lines of an army gathering under Vitiges. A few native Roman civilians side with her as well, swelling the ranks of her army to nearly 5,000 men.

538:

Vitiges marches on Rome with a sizable army numbering over 30,000 men, prepared to defeat Belisarius and eliminate the threat to his rule posed by Amalasuntha. Reinforcements arrive from Constantinople just in time to fortify Belisarius's position, but he still faces a two-to-one disadvantage and remains bottled up in Rome. Small bands of Roman Cavalry harass the Goth's supply line, often with tacit help from the local Roman population and several Gothic nobles in league with Amalasuntha.

After nearly a year of stalemate, marked by sallies, rear-guard actions and ineffective assaults, a combined Roman/Gothic force composed of troops loyal to Amalasuntha take Ariminum, forcing Vitiges to abandon the siege and make for Ravenna.

One commander, John, disobeys the orders of Belisarius and tries to hold the town with Cavalry forces, and is defeated in battle. However, the city walls hold back the Goths for a time and reinforcements led by the eunuch Narses arrive to relieve the city just in time to save it, giving Narses a lot of credibility in the eyes of the army. Vitiges is caught between two armies and his supply lines are cutoff.

An argument breaks out among the Romans over who retains overall authority over the campaign, and Vitiges uses the opportunity to escape with the remnants of his army to Ravenna.

539:

Justinian proposes to divide Italy into northern and southern halves, with Vitiges retaining authority over the north including Ravenna and Justinian ruling the south, including Rome. Amalasuntha, enraged at this betrayal, threatens to wreck the entire deal. Meanwhile Narses attempts to take control of the negotiations while delivering reports to Justinian of Belisarius's unreliability.

Justinian, fearful that Belisarius will side with Amalasuntha or otherwise wreck the negotiations, has his estates confiscated and issues a recall order.

Belisarius is furious but still can't bring himself to disobey the order, and prepares to embark for Constantinople. Perhaps he fears for his wife Antonina or perhaps he still remains loyal to Justinian. Whatever the reason, it becomes clear to Amalasuntha that her chances of retaining power if Belisarius leaves are essentially zero. She arranges for Narses to be assassinated.

With the death of Narses, the Byzantine army in Italy reverts back to supporting Belisarius, but it's too late to stop word from reaching Constantinople of the assassination. The already-paranoid Justinian flies into a rage, demanding Belisarius's head, blaming him for the assassination. Antonina barely escapes with her life (some suspect Theodora actually arranged for her escape).

Seeing an opportunity to salvage something from the fiasco, Vitiges strikes a deal with Belisarius and Amalasuntha. Belisarius is offered the throne of the West with Vitiges and Amalasuntha ruling as foederati within the new Western Empire. Vitiges retains overlordship of the Goths of Northern Italy, and Amalasuntha over the Southern Goths.

Belisarius reluctantly accepts, seeing no other option, and the West Roman Empire is reborn.
 
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RyuDrago

Yay! Federated Italy against the ERE... is going to be epic. :D

Also, you mixed my romanophily with my will to see the restabilishment ( in TLs, of course) of Italian supremacy...:p
 

stevep

Xeal II

Interesting little idea and could well work. Beliarius has vastly inferior resources but then he is Beliarius.:D Also if Justinian is getting that paranoid he could well alienate other people as well and also has to worry about Persia.

I would be tempted to have Antonina die rather than escape as it would ensure Beliarius's hostility and also remove a potential problem as if Beliarius is going to become emperor he needs a better wife and preferably a heir.

Steve
 

jackalope

Both wives of Justinian and Beliarius were former actresses friends, and on a detailed historical account internet site it was claimed in great detail of Justinian's wife being a prostitute from very young childhood (I will spare you the gorey details, and do not know the accuracy).

Do the friends have a spat? What kind of initiation starts the split, or is it mere practicality?
 

Xeal II

jackalope said:
Both wives of Justinian and Beliarius were former actresses friends, and on a detailed historical account internet site it was claimed in great detail of Justinian's wife being a prostitute from very young childhood (I will spare you the gorey details, and do not know the accuracy).

Do the friends have a spat? What kind of initiation starts the split, or is it mere practicality?
Click to expand...

For now, they remain secret friends, which is how Antonina escapes despite Justinian's efforts. And yes, they both supposedly were courtesans at one time and friends.
 

Xeal II

A Map for your viewing enjoyment:

The situation in 540 AD.

b540.jpg
 

Xeal II

540:

Emperor Belisarius immediately sets about preparing for the inevitable counterattack from Constantinople. The cities of Northern Italy are reinforced with garrisons of veterans, fortifications are repaired and rebuilt and Romans in Italy are, for the first time in nearly a century, encouraged to join the army once again.

Most of the veterans from his campaigns in Italy and Africa remain in Italy under his banner. Trying to coordinate three separate armies, the men of Vitiges, Amalasuntha and the Roman troops is a trying affair that strains the partnership of all. Antonina makes it to Ravenna, barely ahead of a Byzantine column of troops which ravages the remaining Western/Gothic garrisons in Illyria.

Western control of the upper Danube frontier, sketchy even during Gothic rule, becomes a tenuous affair, with Lombards and Avars pressing in, trying to take advantage of the chaotic situation. Belisarius's reinforcement of Northern Italy leaves the new Empire with a solid core of territory, however.

Supplying his new army becomes difficult for Belisarius, nonetheless he manages to halt the East Roman advance without a major battle, gambling on his reputation among the East Roman leaders in Dalmatia. A tenuous stalemate holds in Dalmatia, with the Western Empire maintaining control over some of the interior regions, and the Eastern Empire securely holding the coastal cities. The remainder of Italy goes over to Belisarius by year's end.

Pressure from the Sassanid Persians frustrates Justinian's desire to see the usurper punished and many of his best remaining soldiers are forced to defend against a Persian army advancing on Antioch.

541:

With the northern border at least temporarily secured and the Italian countryside still suffering from the ravages of the Gothic war, Belisarius turns to North Africa for supplies and grain, sending a combined Roman and Gothic force to capture the city. With control of the new Empire so precariously balanced, however, Belisarius finds himself unable to leave Italy and entrusts the campaign to Generals Justin and Theodemir.

Though Justinian had replaced the commander of the Carthage garrison, when ships manned with Roman and Gothic troops land near the ancient city, the veterans of Belisarius's Vandal campaign overthrow their own commander and open the gates to Belisarius's army. Most of the province is under solid Western control by year's end. Corsica and Sardinia, isolated by the attack, switch allegiance to the Western Empire.

East Roman reinforcements intended to replace the garrison of Carthage instead divert to Sicily where they annihilate a large portion of Belisarius's naval forces and raid the island, sacking Syracuse before turning back for Constantinople.

Disagreements between Vitiges and Amalasuntha are finally smoothed over by Vitiges marrying Matasuntha, Amalasuntha's daughter, cementing the Goths and doing much to repair the damage of the previous war.

542:

With East Roman raids preventing African grain from reaching Italy, Belisarius orders the construction of a powerful fleet to combat the depredations of Justinian's forces. Meanwhile, the tenuous stalemate in Dalmatia is finally broken.

Justinian's forces, victorious against the Persians in battle near Antioch, are now freed to attack the Western Empire directly. Negotiating an alliance with the Avars and Lombards, smoothing things over with gold and promises of Italian territory, Justinian cobbles together a force of nearly 50,000 troops, supported by a core of veterans from the Persian campaigns, led by Justinian's own nephew, Germanus.

Leaving Antonina and Amalasuntha in Ravenna, Belisarius puts together a much smaller force of Romans and Goths numbering less than 20,000.
 

stevep

Xeal II

Good development of events. Now things come to a head. Beliarius's military genius and veterans against a much larger eastern army. Probably logistics will be a big factor here but things are going to be messy for at least one side.

Steve
 

Xeal II

543:

Winter & Spring
With his fleet still under construction, Belisarius is unable to break the supply chain behind Germanus's army, although continuing harassment restricts the East Roman forces to slowly moving up the coast of Dalmatia, supplied by the Eastern fleet. Avoiding a major engagement, Belisarius fights a delaying action while a smaller army is gathered together under the Romanized Gothic General Theodemir and the King of the Northern Goths, Vitiges. Nonetheless, Germanus's forces slowly push Belisarius out of Dalmatia and Pannonia entirely and seem poised to invade northern Italy.

Summer
Belisarius allows his forces to be pushed back to Ravenna. Meanwhile, Theodemir and Vitiges organize an army of 7,000 Goth and Roman recruits. As Germanus lays siege to Ravenna, seemingly bottling up Belisarius's army, Theodemir moves to cut off the supply line linking Germanus's army with the Eastern fleet.

Germanus, recognizing the danger, immediately disengages from the siege to secure his lines and eliminate Theodemir's forces, while Belisarius sallies with his army to annihilate the East Roman rear guard (how many were actually killed and how many choose to defect to Belisarius's forces is a matter of historical debate). A West Roman fleet, finally completed, armed with lessons learned from the failure at Syracuse a few years earlier, arrives to drive off the supply ships keeping Germanus's army fed. Unable to break out of the encirclement fast enough, his army starving in the poor marshlands near Ravenna and many of his men deserting over to Belisarius, the Eastern General sues for peace. Belisarius wins the campaign with less than half of the men and without fighting a major battle.

The terms imposed upon Germanus and the East Roman Empire are actually very lenient. Perhaps Belisarius was motivated by residual loyalty to Constantinople, or perhaps he was just being pragmatic about the necessity of a strong East Roman Empire to keep the northern Slavs and, of course, the Persians from becoming a threat. Whatever the reason, Belisarius provides food and materials for Germanus's army and escorts him personally across the border, now fixed east of Dalmatia. Most of the Dalmatian province is returned to West Roman control.

Before returning to the capital, he pushes the Lombards and Avars back across the Danube and orders the construction of several border forts along its length. However, the strain on the West Roman Empire's fragile resources ensures that no other major offensive actions are undertaken during Belisarius's reign.

Justinian immediately plans another attack, but another war with Persia breaks out, stymieing his efforts. The East Roman Empire is effectively returned to her original borders before the wars of conquest against the Vandals and the Ostrogoths.

544:

Using the veterans from his many campaigns as a base, Belisarius begins restructuring the Romano-Gothic army along the organizational lines of the old Roman legionary system. Given the Western Empire's weaknesses in terms of population, Belisarius works to overcome that with training methods, education and incentives for men to join the army.

The Edict of Toleration is issued in the summer of 544, officially recognizing Arianism as a tolerated sect of Christianity. Pope Vigilius is furious and immediately appeals to Constantinople for relief. However, Justinian is unable to come to his aid and King Vitiges deposes the pontiff. Pelagius is installed as his successor (same as OTL) and he immediately endorses the edict, declaring that it is the duty of all Christians to put aside petty differences. While this serves as a unifying factor between the Gothic and Roman elements in the Western Empire, it increasingly alienates the Eastern Empire's religious leaders, who furiously denounce the Edict.

Eliminating much of the corruption rampant in the old Roman bureaucracy, still functioning in the West, Belisarius manages to lower effective tax rates. Some suggest this was actually the work of Antonina, however, as Belisarius otherwise seemed to have little economic acumen besides figuring out how to feed and pay for the army.

545:

With Antonina seemingly barren and unable to produce any more children, many in the West begin to worry about the succession. To alleviate this worries, Belisarius adopts as sons and co-heirs his generals Justin and Theodemir. He even marries his daughter by Antonina, Ioannina, to Theodemir [[That he had a daughter by this name is attested in many sources]] The move further cements the loyalty of the Goths and the Empire starts to act as a unified entity.

A Frankish invasion in Northern Italy is repulsed near Mediolanium by Belisarius's new legions, under the command of Justin. The general even manages to advance somewhat in southern Gaul, capturing a few coastal cities and depriving the Franks of access to the Mediterranean Sea. However, avoiding embroiling the fragile empire in another war, he wisely avoids invading the core of Frankish territory.

546:

Death of Amalasuntha. Theodemir succeeds her as leader of the Southern Goths, but with the rank of Caesar and Magister Militum, he sees little need for the obsolete title of Rex, preferring his order in the succession of the empire. Vitiges becomes the sole King of the Goths within the Empire, but most actual authority is invested in Theodemir.

An embassy from the Visigoths arrives, proposing an alliance against the Franks. Belisarius, though friendly with the Goths, denies their request, avoiding stirring up trouble with the Frankish kingdom.

Southern Italy and North Africa, spared a lot of the damage inflicted upon Dalmatia and Northern Italy, rapidly becomes the Empire's economic base.

547:

The Plague reaches Italy and devastates much of the population. Northern Italy is especially hard hit with almost half the population of Mediolanium succumbing to the disease. However, Southern Italy and North Africa are spared the worst of the effects and Belisarius's efforts to restore the aqueducts and sanitation of Rome help to limit the spread there. Rome's population stops declining by the end of the year, though Belisarius retains his capital at the easier-to-defend Ravenna.

548:

Death of Empress Theodora. Long acting as the voice of reason for Justinian, the Emperor begins to slip into further paranoia. However, the effects of the plague on the Eastern Empire prevent further wars against the West.

Meanwhile, cooperation between East and West settles down as the norm on the frontier, far away from Justinian's prying eyes. Their common enemies in the north among the Slavs, Bulgars and Avars force a great deal of cooperation to maintain the shared Danube frontier.

The East Roman war against the Sassanids goes poorly, with Persian forces sacking Antioch before being driven back into Persia (still carrying a long train of booty).

Religious turmoil embroils the Eastern Empire as reactions from the Edict of Toleration embolden the Monophysites of Egypt and Palestine. However, Justinian's strong hand keeps the southern provinces from outright rebellion.

549:

Death of Antonina at the hands of brigands. Many, including Belisarius, suspect the involvement of Justinian's agents. Without Theodora to keep him from doing it, Justinian's desire for personal revenge becomes well known.

Belisarius is overcome with grief, with Justin and Theodemir taking over the day-to-day business of running the Empire for much of the year. Nonetheless, by year's end, Belisarius seems to have been restored to vigor, though he avoids remarrying.

550:

The Franks are finally unified again under Childebert, who managed to defeat and annex the realm of Chlothar. Continuing his successes, he invades Northern Italy with a sizable force. However, Belisarius takes command of the Romano-Gothic army, by now strongly unified, and inflicts a terrible defeat upon the Franks who are pushed back across the border before year's end. However, in the furious battle, Belisarius's star general, Justin, is mortally wounded, leaving Theodemir as the sole designated successor of the Emperor. Nonetheless, his marriage to Ioannina ensures his loyalty to the Emperor.

By this point, the existence of the West Roman Empire is acknowledged by most as an accepting fact. It becomes known that it won't fall quickly or easily.

551:

Death of King Vitiges. Having descended into sloth and debauchery, with his position comfortably secured, Vitiges manages to drink himself to death, choking on his own vomit. Theodemir is declared as King of the Goths, which becomes an appendage to his other titles. Nonetheless, he enjoys the respect of the Gothic nobility.

Full citizenship rights are extended to all free inhabitants of the Empire, ending the notion that Goths could not ascend to high Roman offices. While it would be centuries before the line between Goth and Roman blurred completely, this act was a further step toward unifying Italy's inhabitants.

553:

With the Eastern Empire hard-pressed against the Sassanids and Justinian unwilling to negotiate with Belisarius for any sort of alliance against them, Tiberius (same as the OTL emperor in the 570s) raises the standard of rebellion, taking advantage of religious turmoil to try and overthrow the old Emperor.

Though Justinian keeps his throne and manages to defeat Tiberius, the experience warns him of the dissatisfaction of much of the army and he finally opens negotiations with Belisarius, through intermediaries (the two emperors refuse to meet in person and mutually despise one another).

The treaty of alliance is signed, restoring the traditional alliance of the Eastern and Western halves of the empire and Belisarius dispatches a force of his legions under the command of Paulicus, a native Italo-Roman trained by the deceased General Justin in Belisarius's professional mold.

554:

Winning several skirmishes working with the East Roman forces, Paulicus manages to reverse the the conquests of the Sassanids, though the Persian army remains intact, engaged in a strategic withdrawal from Roman territory. Though the action doesn't cripple the Persian Empire, it does do much to restore the relations between the Romans of the East and West, much to Justinian's chagrin. Still, the omission of the tribute traditionally paid to Persia allows the Eastern Empire's near-empty coffers to begin to fill once more.

b555.jpg
 

stevep

Xeal II

Now that was a quick response!;):D Seriously we posted simultaneously but having read it another reasonable line of events.

If there's going to be an equivalent of Maurice to stablise the east then, provided good relations with the west and decent leadership there things could look excellent for both empires. The differing religious attitude might help in making more acceptable a permanent division but then it's a serious handicap for the east.

How well is the western empire keeping the Papacy under control? Needs to keep an eye on them else there could be problems. Especially if it still claims religious primacy. Could led to it being weakened as the eastern churches will reject such ideas but could also affect relations with the other western states, especially the Franks.

The Edit of Tolerance in the western empire could have some interesting impacts on the Visigoths, where you have the same situation of a Arian Germanic military elite and a Catholic, Latin civilian population. Might remove at least some of Visigothic Spain's traditional weaknesses.

Steve
 

MerryPrankster

Good TL. I will keep an eye on it.

Will the religious tolerance extended to the Arians be extended to other Christian heretics like the Monophysites and Nestorians or even leftover pagans?

(I think there were a goodly number in the rural areas for a long time.)

If you want to provoke an earlier schism, you could have a Catholic Church committed to religious freedom (you can create a theological justification for what began as a pragmatic policy later) and an Orthodox church that turns into OTL's intolerant entity.

Or of course, a tolerant Western church could be a good example for the Eastern one. If people are more willing to agree to disagree, there might not be mutual excommunications and the Great Schism in the first place.

Also, will the Franks go after the Visigoths in order to get an outlet on the Mediterranean?
 

Xeal II

556:

Nearly two decades of near-constant warfare in the Western Empire comes to a close for a few years. The only actions are skirmishing with a few of the Berber tribes in North Africa. A small West Roman contingent manages to secure some of the coastline which had drifted out of control during the Vandal rule of the area but Roman rule doesn't penetrate very far into the interior.

A civil war erupts in Visigothic Spain, but Belisarius refuses to get involved. Nonetheless, a delegation is sent from Belisarius to the Franks to warn them away from any involvement either.

The last vestiges of the plague vanish from the Western Empire, and the population begins to recover. Though Belisarius himself shows little interest in the arts and philosophy, they nonetheless begin to flourish in the new Empire. The infusion of Germanic ideas heavily influences the cultural development of the West, but a Classical revival occurs more or less simultaneously.

557:
Agila I is defeated in battle and executed, leaving Athanagild in control of the country. The decision not to embroil himself in their conflict turns out to be a wise one. Normal relations are quickly restored.

The Edict of Toleration spreads to the Visigoth Kingdom when Athanagild announces his support, where a mixed Chalcedonean and Arian nobility use the proclamation to establish firmer ties with their Hispano-Roman subject population.

Though this warms relations between the Western Empire and the Visigoths, it has the effect of further damaging relations with the Franks. Childebert refers to Pope Pelagius as a Roman puppet, threatening a schism with the Roman church. Nonetheless, the military organization and reputation of Belisarius prevents the Franks from acting.

Though most subjects of the Western Empire support the edict, there are a few who chafe under the idea, though few speak of it with Belisarius's powerful Romano-Gothic legions firmly in control of the major cities.

In the Eastern Empire, the monophysite community becomes further alienated and daily riots erupt in the streets of Alexandria. Germanus is sent by Justinian to quell the disturbance before it erupts into revolt. Even tentative feelers in support of the Edict of Toleration fail to move the crowd and a bloodbath ensues. Though the monophysite community is temporarily restrained, religious tension only grows worse.

558:

With the Mediterranean coast divided between the Roman Empires and the and the semi-Romanized Visigoths, the inner sea, once rife with piracy, begins to buzz with trade activity, reinvigorating economies which had previously been winding down.

Increasingly, the interregnum from 480 to 539 is viewed more as another crisis, similar to that which afflicted the Roman Empire in the third century, one which had finally passed. Though the Western Empire remains fundamentally poorer and less populated than the East, the gap slowly begins to narrow. Regular grain shipments to Rome are resumed and the city's population which had declined as far down as 20,000 during the Gothic war, registers over 75,000 people by year's end, in a census conducted by agents of Belisarius. By the end of the century, the population will be over 150,000.

King Theodemir appoints Totila (same as the OTL King Totila) as magister militum of Africa. General Paulicus is appointed as magister militum of Italia, though his function is increasingly focused on the activities of the hostile Frankish kingdom.

Belisarius orders the construction of a line of strong fortifications in Northern Italy, designed to promote defense-in-depth in the region in the event of a Frankish invasion.

Childebert sends raiding parties into Iberia, sacking several Visigoth towns. King Athanagild sends emissaries to Belisarius formally requesting an alliance against their common enemy which, this time, the Emperor chooses to accept. The move puts an end to Childebert's activities, as he can ill-afford to fight both the Visigoths and the Western Empire simultaneously.

559:

With Lombard power north of the Danube relatively weak, Saxons conquer the region, establishing a loose confederation of Germanic tribes under their leadership, forcing Belisarius to pay more attention to the area. With few large settlements in the area, Belisarius sees the need for a strong presence, and founds the city of Antonina, named for his deceased wife (somewhat east of the modern city of Ulm). Though the city is modeled after a typical Byzantine plan, it is settled largely with Goths and Roman veterans from earlier campaigns. Though its fortifications are not fully finished until 563, it represents a strong, defensible position with command over the upper Danube and the ability to act as a supply base for operations in eastern Gaul and north of the Danube, should it become necessary. A strong legionary presence discourages further raids in the region.

560:

Belisarius's health begins to fail, and he confines himself to Ravenna for a time. Justinian, with his empire still, in theory at least, allied with the West, delivers gold and materials to Childebert through Avar and Saxon intermediaries, forming a secret alliance with the promise of toppling the Edict of Tolerance, the false Patriarch of Rome and the Usurper. Eager for revenge before his own death, Justinian similarly pays off Chosroes of Persia and prepares for a massive coordinated campaign. Justinian's dream of ruling the West haunts him and he cannot let it go.

Where before many of his soldiers were compatriots of and sympathetic to Belisarius, encouraging high desertion rates, Germanus has built up a solid military force loyal to him without any sympathies for Belisarius.
 

MerryPrankster

Oh dear. Unless Justinian dies before Belisarius (either of old age or...active measures), Belisarius's death is going to herald some Bad Things.
 

lordyu

When will the east adopt something like the edict of toleration. One of the reason the the east could not compromise with the monophysite was opposition with the pope. many emperors would dream of something like this.

I am enjoying this.
 

Xeal II

MerryPrankster:

Yes, Belisarius's Edict of Tolerance was more a matter of pragmatism than one of religious fervor. History doesn't paint him as a particularly religious man but he was adept at unifying armies into cohesive entities, even if they were made up of wildly divergent elements. I figure he'd do the same if he were an Emperor, just on a national scale. His goal there is to unify the Goths, Romans and Greeks (there are still a great many Greeks in Italy at this time) into a cohesive entity, and this is a way of eliminating religion as a major sticking point.

Of course, as you say, the church can go in very different directions with this. A Roman church with a tolerant policy and a theological justification for it would alter things a lot (this would be easy to achieve -- probably easier than justifying repression). One of the historical reasons the Papacy and the church became so oppressive, at times, is that it had no oversight (although, Emperors can and have been far worse). As it stands right now, Belisarius has proven himself capable of deposing one Pope, and thus he has a church much more cooperative with his policies.

The result is that the Roman populace adores Belisarius, but the Goths practically worship him at this point. OTL, the Romans wronged the Goths many times and in this timeline, Belisarius has essentially undone all this wrong. Not for some high moral motive, of course, or even any particular love for the Goths, but simply because it's what works and what keeps his Empire from falling apart.


SteveP:

About the Visigoths, absolutely. They were one of the most Romanized successor kingdoms (even building a few new cities in Roman fashion) and with the Edict of Tolerance they are much more likely to look at Rome as an ally than either the Franks or Constantinople. This is, of course, somewhat ironic, given the fact that Visigoths are, perhaps, the most responsible Germanic people for the Fall of Rome in the first place.

As for the Popes, Belisarius (and Vitiges) already got rid of one inconvenient Pope, and they could probably do it again. You won't see direct appointment and submission like the Emperors and Patriarchs of Constantinople practiced, but the Emperor in the West does retain the ability to, on occasion, remove a particularly stubborn pontiff. Of course, public outcry could occur if that Pope is popular. Fortunately for the incident where Vigilius is removed, the Pope was a Byzantine appointee and not particularly well-liked anyway. In fact, denouncing the Edict was probably the dumbest thing he could have done, but OTL doesn't paint the guy as particularly intelligent.

Lordyu:

It's a little more difficult for the East to do this. The West already had a history of Arian Christians ruling over Chalcedonian Christians. In the East, it's the opposite. Chalcedonean Christians ruling over Monophysites. Heraclius proposed a compromise doctrine OTL in the 600s, and both sides hated him for it. The fact is, at this point in history, the East is simply filled with religious fanatics who want it all their way. Byzantium struggled with this throughout the ages. Nonetheless I expect the Edict -will- eventually change this, it will just be rather bloody getting there.
 
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