Peroz is, essentially, a madman. Still, a huge Roman/Sassanid war like this was pretty much inevitable. In OTL it happened because Chosroes II had the excuse of his patron, Maurice, being deposed. Here it happens because Peroz is flippin' nuts and has a personal grudge against Rome.
Belisarius Reigns
- Thread starter Xeal II
- Start date
Peroz is, essentially, a madman. Still, a huge Roman/Sassanid war like this was pretty much inevitable. In OTL it happened because Chosroes II had the excuse of his patron, Maurice, being deposed. Here it happens because Peroz is flippin' nuts and has a personal grudge against Rome.
591 - 600
The Long War
In the Fall of 590, the citizens of Constantinople breathed a sigh of relief. The Avars were in full retreat, the Persians were destroyed and Tiberius had managed to re-secure western Asia Minor. Everyone expected the Sassanids to pack up for home and end the war, probably with some kind of tribute and negotiated treaty, as had happened often enough in the past.
That didn't happen.
When Peroz II heard of his elite army's destruction, he flew into a rage, demanding the heads of military advisers everywhere. Roman prisoners captured in Palestine were marched into the palace and slaughtered wholesale, the severed heads sent to Constantinople as the only reply to an offer of peace.
By this time, it was clear to most of the leaders in the Sassanid Empire that Peroz had simply lost any kind of grip on sanity.
In early 591, the Bactrian satraps revolted, and the rebellion spread across the lands of old Persia like wildfire. A pretender, calling himself Ardeshir, took command of the growing uprising, and marched into Mesopotamia in the summer of 592.
Taking advantage of the chaos in Persia, Tiberius marched his legendary Three Legions into Anatolia and finally expelled the remaining Persian forces, chasing them across the Taurus mountains.
So once again, the Romans of the East breathed a sigh of relief. Certainly the Persian King was mad, but he would be overthrown and someone more sane and open to negotiations would surely take over, they thought. They were sure the war would end.
That didn't happen either.
In one of history's brutal ironies, the madness of Peroz II, while anathema to the Persians, became a thing of legend in Arabia. Khalid had been spreading his variant of Zoroastrianism for a decade, now, and among the mercenaries in the Persian King's employ, it had taken solid root. Peroz's single-minded determination to bring down Rome became a thing to admire, and Mesopotamia remained firmly in his control. Though many of the Persian nobles defected to Ardeshir, enough of the army and most of the Arab mercenaries still remained loyal to Peroz, and Ardeshir was defeated in the fall of 592.
Still, the depletion of manpower left Peroz with a terrible dilemma, and mad as he was, he still remained a strategic thinker. More Arab mercenaries were brought into the army, and soon a flood of Arabs streamed forth into Persia, seeking gold and glory in the service of the "divine enemy of Druj" Peroz.
The war, originally different from previous conflicts only in its intensity, had become a holy war. Though Peroz never officially acknowledged the version of Zoroastrianism preached by Khalid, he did use it to his own political benefit, enraging his subjects against the Romans and their evil God.
Speculation abounds as to why Peroz hated the Romans and Christians so intensely, and innumerable theories have been put forth, but the thing is lost to the mists of time. Some point to a Sassanid princess, supposedly born at the same time as Peroz (possibly a twin) who suddenly drops off the records about 15 years later. The theory goes that Peroz was raised as a Nestorian Christian, but that a Roman raid into Mesopotamia killed his twin sister. But it's all conjecture.
Whatever his reasons, Peroz was not willing to end the war.
When Tiberius chased the Persians out of Anatolia, he found a new army of fanatics waiting for him in Syria in 593. The war continued.
At this point, even the seemingly inexhaustible military might of the old Western Empire was being taxed. The constant stream of men and materials to the beleaguered East was beginning to stretch the Saxon frontier dangerously, and they had finally emerged from their civil war under a new king, Aethelwulf.
Romulus, more of a diplomat than a warrior, used that talent to good purpose. He was married to Brunhilda, a Visigothic princess, and aunt to Hermenegild, the Visigothic King. And thus, he made a proposal that must have seemed like madness at the time, but would actually prove to be an amazing foresight.
In exchange for direct help in the East, on a never-before-seen scale, Romulus proposed acknowleding Hermenegild not as a King of the Visigoths... but Emperor of Hispania & Gaul. Romulus drew upon the tradition of the old Gallic Empire which existed for a short time in the Third Century and drew upon Belisarius's acknowledgement of all Goths as citizens of the Empire. Hermenegild would have the right to appoint his own religious leaders, as an Emperor. All territory regained that corresponded to the old Gallic domain would be turned over to Visigothic control. But, more importantly for Hermenegild and his kingdom, it cemented his control of Gaul. Even the Gallo-Romans, who chafed under the Visigothic nobility, could not complain about living under an actual Roman Emperor.
In time the three "Roman" Empires would drift apart and sometimes engage each other in wars. But from this point forward, there was a sense of all three being part of an overall larger domain. Against external enemies, they tended to unite. Laws in one were usually acknowledged in the other realms, and trade flowed freely...
...but all of that was for the future. For the immediate time-being, a great army of Visigoths and Romans was assembled to shatter the Sassanid threat forever. By 595, they had reached Syria, and combined with the forces of Tiberius, drove off even the fanatical Arab-Persian army.
In 596, however, dire news reached Romulus... in vengeance for the defeats they had suffered, the Persians and Arabs had levelled Jerusalem before retreating from it, tearing the city apart brick by brick, burning it to the ground. However, the Christian Ghassanid Arabs, still allied to Rome, managed to block the retreat of the retreating garrison responsible for the deed, and slaughter it to the last man.
After these events, it became clear that in the continuing war, there would be no quarter, no honor on either side. Fanatical bands of Christians began hunting down suspected Zoroastrians, and the entire affair took on the air of a witch-hunt. Neighbors would accuse others of being secret Zoroastrian practitioners and religious tensions, so long subdued in the Empire, began to flair once more. The religious persecution which began against Christians now turned in reverse. Local governors in the Eastern regions of the Empire publicly declared that the Edict of Toleration did not apply to Zoroastrians, and even the Emperor dared not disagree, for the burning hatred which had been growing in the area. Religious persecution within the Roman Empire began in earnest.
By 597 all of Palestine had been restored to Roman hands.Restoring the lands of the Eastern Empire had been one thing, but invading Persia itself was quite another. The shattered lands of the East could barely support the troops defending it. Supplies were terribly strained, and a march into Persia would take time. Tiberius consulted with the Visigothic general, Wallia and began preparations for that invasion.
In the meantime, the Sassanids had finally managed to break the back of the Armenian revolt. The Romans managed to occupy part of Armenia and defend it, but the eastern regions fell back into Persian control. Refugees flooded into the Roman-controlled portions.
The year 598, A Persian fleet managed to sail around Arabia, bypass Axum, sail up the Red Sea and land in Egypt, sacking several small cities around Alexandria before being driven off by the local Egyptian forces. The fanatical Egyptians had fully unified behind the Emperor, against this "heathen" enemy, and the usual religious hatred that was so prevalent, even after the Edict of Tolerance had been announced, was put aside in the face of a common enemy. Still, the Persian raid indicated that the Persians were far from defeated, and they retreated back to their ships laden with prizes. On their way back, Axumite ships managed to catch them, but the battle was largely a draw, and most of the Persians escaped.
In 599, the invasion of Persian territory finally began. Tiberius and Wallia marched into the old province of Osroene, lost in the 530s, securing the region and expelling its local Sassanid governor. Subsequently, this would become the primary supply base for the invasion. The army wintered in the area while Peroz mustered his forces, relying ever more strongly on Arab contingents under the fanatical leadership of (now General) Khalid. Furthermore, after Ardeshir's revolt, Peroz came to look upon many of the dehgans, the traditional backbone of the Persian army, as politically suspect.
In the year 600, Tiberius invaded Persia.
The Long War
In the Fall of 590, the citizens of Constantinople breathed a sigh of relief. The Avars were in full retreat, the Persians were destroyed and Tiberius had managed to re-secure western Asia Minor. Everyone expected the Sassanids to pack up for home and end the war, probably with some kind of tribute and negotiated treaty, as had happened often enough in the past.
That didn't happen.
When Peroz II heard of his elite army's destruction, he flew into a rage, demanding the heads of military advisers everywhere. Roman prisoners captured in Palestine were marched into the palace and slaughtered wholesale, the severed heads sent to Constantinople as the only reply to an offer of peace.
By this time, it was clear to most of the leaders in the Sassanid Empire that Peroz had simply lost any kind of grip on sanity.
In early 591, the Bactrian satraps revolted, and the rebellion spread across the lands of old Persia like wildfire. A pretender, calling himself Ardeshir, took command of the growing uprising, and marched into Mesopotamia in the summer of 592.
Taking advantage of the chaos in Persia, Tiberius marched his legendary Three Legions into Anatolia and finally expelled the remaining Persian forces, chasing them across the Taurus mountains.
So once again, the Romans of the East breathed a sigh of relief. Certainly the Persian King was mad, but he would be overthrown and someone more sane and open to negotiations would surely take over, they thought. They were sure the war would end.
That didn't happen either.
In one of history's brutal ironies, the madness of Peroz II, while anathema to the Persians, became a thing of legend in Arabia. Khalid had been spreading his variant of Zoroastrianism for a decade, now, and among the mercenaries in the Persian King's employ, it had taken solid root. Peroz's single-minded determination to bring down Rome became a thing to admire, and Mesopotamia remained firmly in his control. Though many of the Persian nobles defected to Ardeshir, enough of the army and most of the Arab mercenaries still remained loyal to Peroz, and Ardeshir was defeated in the fall of 592.
Still, the depletion of manpower left Peroz with a terrible dilemma, and mad as he was, he still remained a strategic thinker. More Arab mercenaries were brought into the army, and soon a flood of Arabs streamed forth into Persia, seeking gold and glory in the service of the "divine enemy of Druj" Peroz.
The war, originally different from previous conflicts only in its intensity, had become a holy war. Though Peroz never officially acknowledged the version of Zoroastrianism preached by Khalid, he did use it to his own political benefit, enraging his subjects against the Romans and their evil God.
Speculation abounds as to why Peroz hated the Romans and Christians so intensely, and innumerable theories have been put forth, but the thing is lost to the mists of time. Some point to a Sassanid princess, supposedly born at the same time as Peroz (possibly a twin) who suddenly drops off the records about 15 years later. The theory goes that Peroz was raised as a Nestorian Christian, but that a Roman raid into Mesopotamia killed his twin sister. But it's all conjecture.
Whatever his reasons, Peroz was not willing to end the war.
When Tiberius chased the Persians out of Anatolia, he found a new army of fanatics waiting for him in Syria in 593. The war continued.
At this point, even the seemingly inexhaustible military might of the old Western Empire was being taxed. The constant stream of men and materials to the beleaguered East was beginning to stretch the Saxon frontier dangerously, and they had finally emerged from their civil war under a new king, Aethelwulf.
Romulus, more of a diplomat than a warrior, used that talent to good purpose. He was married to Brunhilda, a Visigothic princess, and aunt to Hermenegild, the Visigothic King. And thus, he made a proposal that must have seemed like madness at the time, but would actually prove to be an amazing foresight.
In exchange for direct help in the East, on a never-before-seen scale, Romulus proposed acknowleding Hermenegild not as a King of the Visigoths... but Emperor of Hispania & Gaul. Romulus drew upon the tradition of the old Gallic Empire which existed for a short time in the Third Century and drew upon Belisarius's acknowledgement of all Goths as citizens of the Empire. Hermenegild would have the right to appoint his own religious leaders, as an Emperor. All territory regained that corresponded to the old Gallic domain would be turned over to Visigothic control. But, more importantly for Hermenegild and his kingdom, it cemented his control of Gaul. Even the Gallo-Romans, who chafed under the Visigothic nobility, could not complain about living under an actual Roman Emperor.
In time the three "Roman" Empires would drift apart and sometimes engage each other in wars. But from this point forward, there was a sense of all three being part of an overall larger domain. Against external enemies, they tended to unite. Laws in one were usually acknowledged in the other realms, and trade flowed freely...
...but all of that was for the future. For the immediate time-being, a great army of Visigoths and Romans was assembled to shatter the Sassanid threat forever. By 595, they had reached Syria, and combined with the forces of Tiberius, drove off even the fanatical Arab-Persian army.
In 596, however, dire news reached Romulus... in vengeance for the defeats they had suffered, the Persians and Arabs had levelled Jerusalem before retreating from it, tearing the city apart brick by brick, burning it to the ground. However, the Christian Ghassanid Arabs, still allied to Rome, managed to block the retreat of the retreating garrison responsible for the deed, and slaughter it to the last man.
After these events, it became clear that in the continuing war, there would be no quarter, no honor on either side. Fanatical bands of Christians began hunting down suspected Zoroastrians, and the entire affair took on the air of a witch-hunt. Neighbors would accuse others of being secret Zoroastrian practitioners and religious tensions, so long subdued in the Empire, began to flair once more. The religious persecution which began against Christians now turned in reverse. Local governors in the Eastern regions of the Empire publicly declared that the Edict of Toleration did not apply to Zoroastrians, and even the Emperor dared not disagree, for the burning hatred which had been growing in the area. Religious persecution within the Roman Empire began in earnest.
By 597 all of Palestine had been restored to Roman hands.Restoring the lands of the Eastern Empire had been one thing, but invading Persia itself was quite another. The shattered lands of the East could barely support the troops defending it. Supplies were terribly strained, and a march into Persia would take time. Tiberius consulted with the Visigothic general, Wallia and began preparations for that invasion.
In the meantime, the Sassanids had finally managed to break the back of the Armenian revolt. The Romans managed to occupy part of Armenia and defend it, but the eastern regions fell back into Persian control. Refugees flooded into the Roman-controlled portions.
The year 598, A Persian fleet managed to sail around Arabia, bypass Axum, sail up the Red Sea and land in Egypt, sacking several small cities around Alexandria before being driven off by the local Egyptian forces. The fanatical Egyptians had fully unified behind the Emperor, against this "heathen" enemy, and the usual religious hatred that was so prevalent, even after the Edict of Tolerance had been announced, was put aside in the face of a common enemy. Still, the Persian raid indicated that the Persians were far from defeated, and they retreated back to their ships laden with prizes. On their way back, Axumite ships managed to catch them, but the battle was largely a draw, and most of the Persians escaped.
In 599, the invasion of Persian territory finally began. Tiberius and Wallia marched into the old province of Osroene, lost in the 530s, securing the region and expelling its local Sassanid governor. Subsequently, this would become the primary supply base for the invasion. The army wintered in the area while Peroz mustered his forces, relying ever more strongly on Arab contingents under the fanatical leadership of (now General) Khalid. Furthermore, after Ardeshir's revolt, Peroz came to look upon many of the dehgans, the traditional backbone of the Persian army, as politically suspect.
In the year 600, Tiberius invaded Persia.
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Awsome update
could this mean the Roman empire possibly even marry spain and gaul into their empire?
In a sense, yes. But you'll never see a strongly unified Roman Empire, such as existed prior to Diocletian's East/West split. There's simply too much history of a divided empire for that to overcome. Although it's possible you'll see some Emperors rule more than one section at a time, on occasion.
There's a sense of a "Roman Empire" which encompasses Spain & Gaul, along with Italy, Africa, Egypt, the Balkans and Asia Minor...
But at the same time, the Visigothic realm is quite independent of Rome, and Constantinople, though theoretically subservient to Rome at the present moment... is de facto independent as well. It will become de jure independent again soon enough, too. But no one wants to rock the boat too much while engaged in this deadly struggle with Persia.
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Battle sites now color coded by nation.
Red line in Roman Empire indicates approximate boundary of Western vs. Eastern control.
Purple-Red line in Sassanid Empire indicates furthest advance of Ardeshir's revolt (and includes battle as a Sassanid victory, though... that's kind of misleading!)
The Sassanid Empire is ripe for revoltion.
The question is, who will succeed Peroz as ruler of Persia, his general Khalid (Sassanid Arabia will remain a loyal stronghold, even if he lose the rest) or Roman-backed Persian traditionalists?
The question is, who will succeed Peroz as ruler of Persia, his general Khalid (Sassanid Arabia will remain a loyal stronghold, even if he lose the rest) or Roman-backed Persian traditionalists?
That is an interesting idea we could see Persia proper coming under the control of a new dynasty while Arabia and Mesopotamia become this TL's version of Islam: strong, vibrant and expansionist.
The Final Phase
The Thirty Years War had, by this time, been going on for two decades. Children had been born and raised who didn't know of a time when Rome had not been in a life or death struggle with Persia. Emperor Romulus had shifted the entire economy of the Empire to a war footing and the great military academies of Belisarius were producing a new grade of soldier. With the devastation of Eastern lands, Romulus promised land in the depopulated regions of the East in payment for service, and recruits flooded into the Army in search of wealth, land and glory.
The economic power of the East had been greatly damaged by the war, but the old Western Empire's economic power had recovered considerably, balancing out the damage. In fact, the Roman economy of the early 600s was stronger than it had been since the 200s. And while Romulus wasn't any sort of tactical genius, he was very adept at rooting out corruption in the bureaucracy and streamlining the government of the Empire. Still, great turmoil was beginning to build.
Since the reign of Diocletian, the Empire had strongly emulated the Eastern forms of monarchy, both in ceremony and idea. The Emperor was the equal of the Apostles, almost quasi-divine, and the ritual forms observed in his presence were immense and abject. The growing hatred of Persia and the influence of Gothic notions of personal freedom had begun to seriously challenge this, however. With the restoration of Rome, the old Senate had begun to demand many of its ancient privileges. Romulus allowed this for a time, and there was a general relaxation of Imperial authority in many areas, especially the administration of the capital itself. It would be a long time before anything like a Republic would be proposed, but the trend of increasing Imperial authority had, essentially, come to an end and wealth began to accumulate at lower levels of the aristocracy. The payment of soldiers with land would accelerate this trend greatly, as smaller land-holders gained a say.
Still, Persia had to be dealt with.
The war would take a very bizarre turn when Tiberius and Wallia finally invaded Persia proper in 600. Peroz, long gaining the hatred of many of his Persian subjects, was assassinated in a public square by one of his own bodyguards. Peroz had come to rely on his Arab mercenaries as bodyguards, distrusting many of the Persian soldiers after the failed revolt of 592, but apparently a Lakhmid had managed to slip into the ranks, slowly move up, and finally gain access to his person. The murder was particularly brutal, the guard having sliced up the old King as much as possible before being subdued and killed by the other guards.
The chaos in Persia can hardly be imagined. The Iranian nobility of Persia was a haughty bunch, and they had grown to hate the King of Kings for daring to promote foreigners so high in the service of the Empire. Many were obsessed with blood purity, and in the end, a backlash against his line rapidly devolved into a civil war. Peroz's children were brutally murdered by Persian contingents, and street-fighting between Arab mercenaries and Persian forces gripped Ctesiphon.
Pretenders to the throne popped up everywhere, even as Tiberius marched almost unopposed into Mesopotamia. In other times, perhaps the Romans would have actually been welcomed as liberators against the tyrannical regime, but the religious dimension of the conflict had become unresolvable by such things. The residents of Mesopotamia had, by and large, been swayed by the teachings of Khalid, and regarded the Romans not only as enemies, but as a manifestation of Evil. In later times, this would be moderated somewhat, but during the war tensions were high. Tiberius had no desire to slaughter the populace, but securing his supply lines became increasingly difficult with such hatred in the area, and his army bled men, necessary to secure his forward march.
It became apparent to him that he could not topple the Sassanid Empire alone. Fortunately for Rome the nobility of old Persia and Bactria had largely been spared the ministrations of Khalid and his firebrand version of Zorastrianism. As the Roman army advanced into Mesopotamia, a leading contender for the throne, Chosroes III, made contact with the Tiberius.
Chosroes III claimed affiliation with the Sassanid dynasty, but in all probability this was a fabrication. It didn't matter, whatever his bloodline, he was at least Persian, and commanded many dehgans. On the other side, one of Peroz's sons, Shapur, had escaped the massacre that has killed his siblings, but he was only 12. Khalid immediately claimed the regency on his behalf. Much of Mesopotamia solidly backed Khalid, and a large portion of Arabia immediately followed suit.
Chaos reigned in the Sassanid Empire, and several provinces began to break away in the north, but far from eliminating the threat to Rome, it quite possibly made the danger even more grave.
By 601, lawless brigands and refugees cluttered the frontiers of the unmanageable borderlands. Tiberius ignored this, trusting the local garrisons to defend the area, but the devastation spread like a plague. Khalid managed to scrape up a solid army, relying on Arabs and Persian converts. Due to Tiberius's need to garrison and secure his foothold in Mesopotamia, it was actually substantially larger than the Roman army. However, the training and organization of this army left much to be desired, and a stalemate ensued.
However, Tiberius managed to keep Khalid and his forces tied to Ctesiphon, and Chosroes III rapidly secured Bactria and much of old Persia. A three-way stalemate was the immediate result. Chosroes had a well trained army of dehgans and conscripts, but it was very small. Still the mountain ranges between him and Khalid made for a formidable obstacle. Most of the government apparatus remained in Khalid's hands, such that remained after the chaos surrounding Peroz's death.
Meanwhile, the new faith, Zurvanism (which we shall use to distinguish between the two varieties) spread rapidly throughout Arabia, in many ways as a backlash to Christian efforts in the area. Zurvanism merged with the earlier variety (of the same name) that predated Khalid, and was regarded as heresy by most Zoroastrians. However, the belief system merged with Khalid's teachings and many of the "heretics" became followers of his variant of the faith. It gave the Arabs a version of the faith that was more exclusive to them, yet still tied to an established community in Mesopotamia. Whether this was divine inspiration or political expediency, we will never know.
Throughout 601, skirmishing between Khalid's forces and the Romans was commonplace, but both sides avoided a critical field battle, fearing what a loss would mean. Manpower had bled out for 20 years, and these armies were, essentially, irreplaceable for either side. However, the increasing unity of much of Arabia behind Khalid must have worried Tiberius, and it definitely worried his Axumite allies, who fought several inconclusive, small-scale battles on the southern tip of Arabia.
Men rotated in and out of action, and more Visigoths joined with the Roman forces, attracted by promises of the wealth of Persia, and with them came a sense of urgency. Something needed to be done, and thought Romulus was quite supportive of his junior colleague, it was obvious to all that even his immense patience was being tried. Tiberius made his move in the fall of 601, unwilling to winter in the field.
Leaving the security of his captured fortresses, he moved deep into Mesopotamia, towards Ctesiphon, even as Chosroes III moved with a smaller army, towards the same objective. The battle would occur near the outskirts of old Babylon, and Tiberius used the ruins with great effect during the course of the battle, anchoring his legions around the wrecked fortifications.
The battle was a long and exceptionally bloody affair, the energy and fanatacism of the new religion urging Khalid's men toward remarkable feats of bravery. Persians fought Persians, dehgan and dehgan. Arab contingents were on both sides, Ghassanid cavalry burning with the need to avenge themselves upon their kindred. The legions anchored the battle, fixated around the ruins, but the action seemed to be dominated by screening elements and cavalry.
The combination of Persian Dehgans under Chosroes and cataphracts under Tiberius finally began to tilt the battle against Khalid. Any normal commander might have ordered a retreat, tried to cover his withdrawl, but not Khalid. He had been divinely protected once, and he would do it again. The general entered the fray himself, with his bodyguards and the entire center of his army. Still, the legendary Three Legions would not break, and the fighting became particularly vicious.
Tiberius was confronted with a decision that would have incredible ramifications for the future. The most experienced veterans in his army, the strongest force he had at his disposal, was under merciless attack. He didn't have the forces to push back the assault, he couldn't withdrawal with the fray having degenerated so terribly and his attempt to flank Khalid's forces had just resulted in a clash of swirling Arab light cavalry on both sides. In a coordinated fight, the Romans were far stronger, but in this sort of melee, the edge went to Khalid.
The Caesar decided to emulate his opponent and charged into the fray...
[[I'm interested to see how you all think this should end
]]
The Thirty Years War had, by this time, been going on for two decades. Children had been born and raised who didn't know of a time when Rome had not been in a life or death struggle with Persia. Emperor Romulus had shifted the entire economy of the Empire to a war footing and the great military academies of Belisarius were producing a new grade of soldier. With the devastation of Eastern lands, Romulus promised land in the depopulated regions of the East in payment for service, and recruits flooded into the Army in search of wealth, land and glory.
The economic power of the East had been greatly damaged by the war, but the old Western Empire's economic power had recovered considerably, balancing out the damage. In fact, the Roman economy of the early 600s was stronger than it had been since the 200s. And while Romulus wasn't any sort of tactical genius, he was very adept at rooting out corruption in the bureaucracy and streamlining the government of the Empire. Still, great turmoil was beginning to build.
Since the reign of Diocletian, the Empire had strongly emulated the Eastern forms of monarchy, both in ceremony and idea. The Emperor was the equal of the Apostles, almost quasi-divine, and the ritual forms observed in his presence were immense and abject. The growing hatred of Persia and the influence of Gothic notions of personal freedom had begun to seriously challenge this, however. With the restoration of Rome, the old Senate had begun to demand many of its ancient privileges. Romulus allowed this for a time, and there was a general relaxation of Imperial authority in many areas, especially the administration of the capital itself. It would be a long time before anything like a Republic would be proposed, but the trend of increasing Imperial authority had, essentially, come to an end and wealth began to accumulate at lower levels of the aristocracy. The payment of soldiers with land would accelerate this trend greatly, as smaller land-holders gained a say.
Still, Persia had to be dealt with.
The war would take a very bizarre turn when Tiberius and Wallia finally invaded Persia proper in 600. Peroz, long gaining the hatred of many of his Persian subjects, was assassinated in a public square by one of his own bodyguards. Peroz had come to rely on his Arab mercenaries as bodyguards, distrusting many of the Persian soldiers after the failed revolt of 592, but apparently a Lakhmid had managed to slip into the ranks, slowly move up, and finally gain access to his person. The murder was particularly brutal, the guard having sliced up the old King as much as possible before being subdued and killed by the other guards.
The chaos in Persia can hardly be imagined. The Iranian nobility of Persia was a haughty bunch, and they had grown to hate the King of Kings for daring to promote foreigners so high in the service of the Empire. Many were obsessed with blood purity, and in the end, a backlash against his line rapidly devolved into a civil war. Peroz's children were brutally murdered by Persian contingents, and street-fighting between Arab mercenaries and Persian forces gripped Ctesiphon.
Pretenders to the throne popped up everywhere, even as Tiberius marched almost unopposed into Mesopotamia. In other times, perhaps the Romans would have actually been welcomed as liberators against the tyrannical regime, but the religious dimension of the conflict had become unresolvable by such things. The residents of Mesopotamia had, by and large, been swayed by the teachings of Khalid, and regarded the Romans not only as enemies, but as a manifestation of Evil. In later times, this would be moderated somewhat, but during the war tensions were high. Tiberius had no desire to slaughter the populace, but securing his supply lines became increasingly difficult with such hatred in the area, and his army bled men, necessary to secure his forward march.
It became apparent to him that he could not topple the Sassanid Empire alone. Fortunately for Rome the nobility of old Persia and Bactria had largely been spared the ministrations of Khalid and his firebrand version of Zorastrianism. As the Roman army advanced into Mesopotamia, a leading contender for the throne, Chosroes III, made contact with the Tiberius.
Chosroes III claimed affiliation with the Sassanid dynasty, but in all probability this was a fabrication. It didn't matter, whatever his bloodline, he was at least Persian, and commanded many dehgans. On the other side, one of Peroz's sons, Shapur, had escaped the massacre that has killed his siblings, but he was only 12. Khalid immediately claimed the regency on his behalf. Much of Mesopotamia solidly backed Khalid, and a large portion of Arabia immediately followed suit.
Chaos reigned in the Sassanid Empire, and several provinces began to break away in the north, but far from eliminating the threat to Rome, it quite possibly made the danger even more grave.
By 601, lawless brigands and refugees cluttered the frontiers of the unmanageable borderlands. Tiberius ignored this, trusting the local garrisons to defend the area, but the devastation spread like a plague. Khalid managed to scrape up a solid army, relying on Arabs and Persian converts. Due to Tiberius's need to garrison and secure his foothold in Mesopotamia, it was actually substantially larger than the Roman army. However, the training and organization of this army left much to be desired, and a stalemate ensued.
However, Tiberius managed to keep Khalid and his forces tied to Ctesiphon, and Chosroes III rapidly secured Bactria and much of old Persia. A three-way stalemate was the immediate result. Chosroes had a well trained army of dehgans and conscripts, but it was very small. Still the mountain ranges between him and Khalid made for a formidable obstacle. Most of the government apparatus remained in Khalid's hands, such that remained after the chaos surrounding Peroz's death.
Meanwhile, the new faith, Zurvanism (which we shall use to distinguish between the two varieties) spread rapidly throughout Arabia, in many ways as a backlash to Christian efforts in the area. Zurvanism merged with the earlier variety (of the same name) that predated Khalid, and was regarded as heresy by most Zoroastrians. However, the belief system merged with Khalid's teachings and many of the "heretics" became followers of his variant of the faith. It gave the Arabs a version of the faith that was more exclusive to them, yet still tied to an established community in Mesopotamia. Whether this was divine inspiration or political expediency, we will never know.
Throughout 601, skirmishing between Khalid's forces and the Romans was commonplace, but both sides avoided a critical field battle, fearing what a loss would mean. Manpower had bled out for 20 years, and these armies were, essentially, irreplaceable for either side. However, the increasing unity of much of Arabia behind Khalid must have worried Tiberius, and it definitely worried his Axumite allies, who fought several inconclusive, small-scale battles on the southern tip of Arabia.
Men rotated in and out of action, and more Visigoths joined with the Roman forces, attracted by promises of the wealth of Persia, and with them came a sense of urgency. Something needed to be done, and thought Romulus was quite supportive of his junior colleague, it was obvious to all that even his immense patience was being tried. Tiberius made his move in the fall of 601, unwilling to winter in the field.
Leaving the security of his captured fortresses, he moved deep into Mesopotamia, towards Ctesiphon, even as Chosroes III moved with a smaller army, towards the same objective. The battle would occur near the outskirts of old Babylon, and Tiberius used the ruins with great effect during the course of the battle, anchoring his legions around the wrecked fortifications.
The battle was a long and exceptionally bloody affair, the energy and fanatacism of the new religion urging Khalid's men toward remarkable feats of bravery. Persians fought Persians, dehgan and dehgan. Arab contingents were on both sides, Ghassanid cavalry burning with the need to avenge themselves upon their kindred. The legions anchored the battle, fixated around the ruins, but the action seemed to be dominated by screening elements and cavalry.
The combination of Persian Dehgans under Chosroes and cataphracts under Tiberius finally began to tilt the battle against Khalid. Any normal commander might have ordered a retreat, tried to cover his withdrawl, but not Khalid. He had been divinely protected once, and he would do it again. The general entered the fray himself, with his bodyguards and the entire center of his army. Still, the legendary Three Legions would not break, and the fighting became particularly vicious.
Tiberius was confronted with a decision that would have incredible ramifications for the future. The most experienced veterans in his army, the strongest force he had at his disposal, was under merciless attack. He didn't have the forces to push back the assault, he couldn't withdrawal with the fray having degenerated so terribly and his attempt to flank Khalid's forces had just resulted in a clash of swirling Arab light cavalry on both sides. In a coordinated fight, the Romans were far stronger, but in this sort of melee, the edge went to Khalid.
The Caesar decided to emulate his opponent and charged into the fray...
[[I'm interested to see how you all think this should end
]]
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pike
Banned
This is a model of the perfet Roman TL in my opinion plenty of blood/guts and glory for Rome.
It repairs some of the damage done to Roman TLs that seem weak and sickly unable to hold on to there conquests. Aka Isaac Empire let go of africa.
Well done and congratulations on a great Roman TL Xeal II i hope you contine with this TL.
It repairs some of the damage done to Roman TLs that seem weak and sickly unable to hold on to there conquests. Aka Isaac Empire let go of africa.
Well done and congratulations on a great Roman TL Xeal II i hope you contine with this TL.
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Good update. Should Tiberius and Khalid actually face off, that would just be epic, even if one would wonder about the realism of the affair.
The Battle of Babylon
Tiberius knew the future of the Roman Empire hinged in the dusty fringes of ancient Babylon. Within that chaotic insanity, lay the final deliverance or failure of the world he knew, the world of his forefathers. He knew himself as he was, a product of the renaissance of Belisarius, educated on the brilliance of the man's campaigns, his uncanny grasp of grand strategy and tactical deviousness. And, as he had learned long ago, Tiberius knew he, himself, possessed none of these talents.
He had something else, instead, a certain stubbornness, an inability to accept failure built upon a rigid discipline of training and experience. To him the legacy of Belisarius was barely removed from sorcery. This was where he truly lived, in the dust, the blood of the battlefield. Out there was the standard of Khalid, the messenger of Hell, the protegee of Peroz the Mad.
Beneath him, his horse seemed to chafe with a mirror of his own fury. His Gothic bodyguards watched him for any sign of orders, but for a moment, his introspection continued. Before him the Three Legions who had been with him since the delivery of Constantinople lay pressed, many of their great spears broken, their careful formations beginning to crack. These men would not rout, they knew better, they knew what happened to infantry who ran in the face of determined cavalry attack. Even as he watched, a single dehgan, an undoubtedly brave man, crashed into the failing shield wall, where no spears could stop him. Half a dozen Romans swarmed the man, tearing him from his horse, stabbing and slashing at him. Somewhere in the midst of this, the horse had been critically wounded, and it toppled onto a pair of Romans, crushing them instantly with the weight of armor and flesh. And in that moment, he knew what had to be done.
He spoke simply. His Ostrogoth excubitores had no need for speeches or wasted breath.
"We go."
The response was immediate, and he felt the power of his horse shaking the ground beneath him. Swinging around the embattled legions, through a hole in the collapsing lines, fifty armored Goths charged into the fray. The standard of Khalid glittered, the shimmering armor like a beacon in the bloody mess that surrounded him. Tiberius urged his horse faster. A mounted Arab stood in his way, but the lance speared him through his light armor, breaking with the ferocity of the blow, nearly pushing Tiberius off his mount. He drew his spatha. A plumbata dart flew nearby, catching another Arab about to strike. Goths died all around him, protecting him, but they knew their mission. Death was their business, and they did not fall easily or quickly.
He was almost there now. Dust was everywhere, seeping into his eyes, but the target remained. One of his guards found him, knocking an Arab rider out of his path, and then he was there. Khalid was in the the thick of things, his men charging at a detached group of desperate Visigoths. His spatha slammed against the chain mail of one of Khalid's guards, not piercing it, but probably breaking the man's arm. The Goth beside him went down into the fray, vanishing into the dust, probably dead. It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was the battle before him.
Legends always spoke of some kind of epic battle between leaders, but more often it was like this, simple, furious and quick. A flash of metal against metal as Khalid's mace was knocked away, as much from sheer momentum as any particular skill. The battered Visigoths took this distraction as their opportunity, one of them reaching for a broken spear, impaling Khalid's horse. Hooves from the screeching animal kicked the man away, but the deed had been done. Still, the Arab general would not relent, drawing his knife and slashing the throat of the unfortunate Goth. Tiberius found himself once more in combat with the Arab guards. The blow to his shoulder knocked him squarely off his horse, but he rolled with the fall instinctively. He had his feet at that critical moment, and slashed at the horse's leg. The wounded animal howled and veered away, carrying its indignant rider, leaving the Caesar momentarily alone against the General.
The first thrust glanced off armor, and Tiberius felt the weight of the Arab's mailed fist smashing his midsection, and the sheer power behind that blow. Ribs snapped, but he barely felt it, twisting aside and thrusting the spatha once more, his mind's eye finding the seam in the armor, the weak point. This time the sword found its way into soft flesh, piercing the scales. Confusion reigned as Khalid fell to his knees, his remaining guards rushing to aid their leader. The battle continued, as Romans clashed against Arabs and Persians. Tired and terribly bloodied, the legions nevertheless advanced on their enemies. With most of the Arabs dismounted, the fight had once more swung in their favor.
Tiberius wheezed, coughing blood, watching the Arab General as his body went rigid with anger and determination. For a moment it seemed he would overcome his grievous wound, but the gaze slackened. The powerful form crumpled weakly, as the life bled out of it.
Throughout it all, the Arab leader said nothing, but finally something like a smile crossed his features, and Tiberius had the sudden thought that, perhaps, death was precisely what the fanatical leader had desired all along.
Tiberius knew the future of the Roman Empire hinged in the dusty fringes of ancient Babylon. Within that chaotic insanity, lay the final deliverance or failure of the world he knew, the world of his forefathers. He knew himself as he was, a product of the renaissance of Belisarius, educated on the brilliance of the man's campaigns, his uncanny grasp of grand strategy and tactical deviousness. And, as he had learned long ago, Tiberius knew he, himself, possessed none of these talents.
He had something else, instead, a certain stubbornness, an inability to accept failure built upon a rigid discipline of training and experience. To him the legacy of Belisarius was barely removed from sorcery. This was where he truly lived, in the dust, the blood of the battlefield. Out there was the standard of Khalid, the messenger of Hell, the protegee of Peroz the Mad.
Beneath him, his horse seemed to chafe with a mirror of his own fury. His Gothic bodyguards watched him for any sign of orders, but for a moment, his introspection continued. Before him the Three Legions who had been with him since the delivery of Constantinople lay pressed, many of their great spears broken, their careful formations beginning to crack. These men would not rout, they knew better, they knew what happened to infantry who ran in the face of determined cavalry attack. Even as he watched, a single dehgan, an undoubtedly brave man, crashed into the failing shield wall, where no spears could stop him. Half a dozen Romans swarmed the man, tearing him from his horse, stabbing and slashing at him. Somewhere in the midst of this, the horse had been critically wounded, and it toppled onto a pair of Romans, crushing them instantly with the weight of armor and flesh. And in that moment, he knew what had to be done.
He spoke simply. His Ostrogoth excubitores had no need for speeches or wasted breath.
"We go."
The response was immediate, and he felt the power of his horse shaking the ground beneath him. Swinging around the embattled legions, through a hole in the collapsing lines, fifty armored Goths charged into the fray. The standard of Khalid glittered, the shimmering armor like a beacon in the bloody mess that surrounded him. Tiberius urged his horse faster. A mounted Arab stood in his way, but the lance speared him through his light armor, breaking with the ferocity of the blow, nearly pushing Tiberius off his mount. He drew his spatha. A plumbata dart flew nearby, catching another Arab about to strike. Goths died all around him, protecting him, but they knew their mission. Death was their business, and they did not fall easily or quickly.
He was almost there now. Dust was everywhere, seeping into his eyes, but the target remained. One of his guards found him, knocking an Arab rider out of his path, and then he was there. Khalid was in the the thick of things, his men charging at a detached group of desperate Visigoths. His spatha slammed against the chain mail of one of Khalid's guards, not piercing it, but probably breaking the man's arm. The Goth beside him went down into the fray, vanishing into the dust, probably dead. It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was the battle before him.
Legends always spoke of some kind of epic battle between leaders, but more often it was like this, simple, furious and quick. A flash of metal against metal as Khalid's mace was knocked away, as much from sheer momentum as any particular skill. The battered Visigoths took this distraction as their opportunity, one of them reaching for a broken spear, impaling Khalid's horse. Hooves from the screeching animal kicked the man away, but the deed had been done. Still, the Arab general would not relent, drawing his knife and slashing the throat of the unfortunate Goth. Tiberius found himself once more in combat with the Arab guards. The blow to his shoulder knocked him squarely off his horse, but he rolled with the fall instinctively. He had his feet at that critical moment, and slashed at the horse's leg. The wounded animal howled and veered away, carrying its indignant rider, leaving the Caesar momentarily alone against the General.
The first thrust glanced off armor, and Tiberius felt the weight of the Arab's mailed fist smashing his midsection, and the sheer power behind that blow. Ribs snapped, but he barely felt it, twisting aside and thrusting the spatha once more, his mind's eye finding the seam in the armor, the weak point. This time the sword found its way into soft flesh, piercing the scales. Confusion reigned as Khalid fell to his knees, his remaining guards rushing to aid their leader. The battle continued, as Romans clashed against Arabs and Persians. Tired and terribly bloodied, the legions nevertheless advanced on their enemies. With most of the Arabs dismounted, the fight had once more swung in their favor.
Tiberius wheezed, coughing blood, watching the Arab General as his body went rigid with anger and determination. For a moment it seemed he would overcome his grievous wound, but the gaze slackened. The powerful form crumpled weakly, as the life bled out of it.
Throughout it all, the Arab leader said nothing, but finally something like a smile crossed his features, and Tiberius had the sudden thought that, perhaps, death was precisely what the fanatical leader had desired all along.
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Oh boy. Khalid is dead and the Roman legions are advancing on the dismounted Arabs, but Tiberius is wounded. Given that he's wheezing blood, at least one of his lungs looks like it's punctured.
I await the next update.
I await the next update.
Just breezed through thr entire TL, I eagerly await to see what happens outside Babylon!
pike
Banned
History seemed to hang by a string in the battle of Babylon and time seemed to slow down for just a second. I felt the weight of history bore down on me reading the conclusion to this most griping battle. Its hard to put into word how much i loved this update. But i try.
The brutel determiation is Tiberius most like able characteristic. I think you have have captured this elerment perfectly in your new update.
Writing from a first person perspactive has definitely produced the most cuting edge update yet Xeal II.
I look forward to finding how Tiberius and his legions fair in Babylon.
Were the fate of Rome might be decided once and for all.
The brutel determiation is Tiberius most like able characteristic. I think you have have captured this elerment perfectly in your new update.
Writing from a first person perspactive has definitely produced the most cuting edge update yet Xeal II.
I look forward to finding how Tiberius and his legions fair in Babylon.
Were the fate of Rome might be decided once and for all.