CHAPTER FIVE: The First Melian Wars
Recorded from the Security Cameras in Coullon Elsar Junior High.
November 17th 11:45
The fourth period class of Mrs. Mallory filed in with a monotonous charm, awaiting the next lesson in this Byzantine Lesson.
Okay, turn your books to page 143, Mrs. Mallory spoke, awaking the class. Their books turned to a large map of the Byzantine Empire at 825 BC.
Now, as we covered yesterday, the teacher started, The Byzantine Empire had just discovered writing. As well, they had just started on the pyramids, re-arranging their building structure.
This action was made in an effort to contribute to the growth in the Byzantine Empire. Currently, they would complete this project first, according to spies and embassies they had established in other countries. Scott, would you read on?
Scott was caught by surprise, but he read in the books to where the teacher had stopped summarizing.
The Triangle of Melian The three advanced civilizations who occupied the Melian Continent and overshadowed Carthagia were the Koreans, the Indians, and the Byzantines. All of them had very sturdy relationships as friends.
Okay, class, look at this next picture, Mrs. Mallory said, opening the discussion up.
Now, if you were faced with this previously inferior country who was expanding towards your borders, and you had the free chance to take away their expansion, what would you do?
A hand went up.
Yes?
I would attack them!
A murmur of approval rang throughout the classroom.
But that would ruin the friendship. And, Korea has a superior military. So one city may cost us our own and we wouldnt even gain a city the city would be destroyed because it was too small to keep.
But didnt the same thing happen with India? a boy asked. And they did the same to the Byzantines?
Yeah, but that time they had the advantage, someone else replied. Its like how you only hold a poker hand when you think youll win.
Yes, another started, but in Poker, you dont gain progressively. One turn does not affect the next.
Not if you count your chips or money.
But is world history counted on money?
World history is counted on respect.
No it isnt! Its all money!
Its like dinner!
At the comment of the last, the entire class fell into a silence.
What the heck do you mean?
You know, how like you only eat something when you feel like you have an advantage over it.
That didnt make any sense. The food isnt competitive!
Unless you count the restaurant business.
Class! Mrs. Mallory interrupted. I know that this debate is a very relevant discussion, but dont you guys have any more meaningful analogies?
Well, think about an operation, one started after everyone had a moment of thinking. You only let it done to you in the hospital of you feel that you are up to it.
Yeah, but if you arent theyll just put you to sleep.
That was exactly my point with the dinner analogy!
Hold on
what about my operation analogy?
Yeah, you dont want to get circumcised if you dont feel like it.
What is circumcision?
Its when they c
Its a Christian thing, the teacher quickly added, to keep the topic from going out of hand. Lets not delve into tha
Do Jews get circumcised?
Theyre the same as Christians.
No were not! the class Jew objected.
But you all believe in God and Jesus.
Not Jews.
Oh. Then who believes in that then?
Christians. Get it? CHRIST-ians?
Whats a Christ?
Its when they hang you on a cross.
No, thats Christ-fixation.
So then Christ is the cross?
So Christians are the people who want to get hanged on the cross?
Im confused.
So am I.
The teacher realized that this conversation was getting out of hand. Okay! Enough discussion! So what have we learned about the Byzantines choice to attack the Koreans?
They did it as an easy way to stunt Korean expansion.
How did you conclude to that? the teacher asked, curiously.
Well, I think that the classroom debate told us all.
I sure hope they havent installed security cameras here, the teacher chuckled nervously. So, back to the books.
The Byzantines successfully razed the Korean city of Chijou or however you say it. They quickly helped India to join them. This therefore sparked the First Melian Wars a war between the three main powers on the continent of Melian. But meanwhile, on the other side of Melian and off the eastern coast of Sweorcan, the Voyage of Christophe Elsar had found themselves another civilization.
What the Byzantines had discovered was an island, completely off the coast of Melian, that they dubbed Myein. The island was inhabited by the Chinese, as we all know.
They should have attacked the Chinese! They were at a definite advantage!
Quiet, Scott. Inter-island warfare had not yet been discovered, the teacher reminded him. The Koreans were technologically far behind, and their treasury was shallow. Their expansion had gone pretty quick because of the little space to settle and the small need for a military. Therefore, they rivaled the Byzantines in city number, but not empire area. Theodora felt as if there was nothing to gain worthwhile from the Chinese, so she left them alone.
I still think they should have gone to war.
Quiet.
Around this time, the citizens gratefully accepted the chance to improve the palace, adding an extra story and some better lighting. But you should all remember the graffiti poster that was put up on the
first palace improvement. It was Kill the Indians! The Byzantines had a knack of building improvements at the time of war, and now Kill the Koreans had come up.
And speaking of improvements during war, it was about this time that the breakthrough to Mapmaking finally came. The Byzantines decided to refocus all the labor that had been put into the Pyramids and double-time them into creating the Great Lighthouse, which could let them sail over the Blue Divide.
What would that help? Inter-island war had not yet been discovered.
The teacher answered this quickly. These new ships that were made from mapmaking allowed cargo to be carried. This meant that they could carry entire towns on their backs, and establish colonies on other landmasses.
Plus, the Byzantines had a special secret. Has anyone ever heard of Greek Fire?
Im guessing that its fire. And its Greek, a smart-alec student replied.
Actually, Greek Fire was invented by the Byzantines. It is a secret so well guarded that when it was lost to one man alone a science advisor known as Alexander Nerdian III the entire world lost its secrets and still cannot find them today.
What a nerd, someone called out.
Actually, the term nerd was invented when the Military Advisor used Alex Nerdian Is last name as a vulgar adjective, the teacher pointed out. Anyways, Greek Fire was one of the most powerful weapons in the Ancient Age. It had the effect on psychological fear that nuclear weapons had today. Stored on these new Byzantium ships known as
Dromons, Greek Fire was shot out of cannons as a liquid fire. Upon contact with anything tangible, it would stick to it and ignite on fire. This included human bodies, wood, and even
water. One of the most devastating things about the Dromons were that they had a lethal bombardment to throw this liquid fire and, with one shot, burn down an entire armada, because it burns even on water.
So youre saying that
now they should declare war.
Its not about declaring war! Its about cool pyrotechnics. Today we have something called Naphtha that is almost the same quality as Greek Fire. But at that time, they were still creating these Dromons to deploy. The first Dromon would be timed at the same time as the Great Lighthouse, so they would deploy fast into lands overseas.
Now, back onto the Melian War. It was about this time that Korea came begging towards the Byzantines to stop the war. But this next picture from the Battle Plans showed the arrogance of the Byzantines. As well, it also shows that the Korean Attack force came from the south instead of the north. Go figure.
So they decided to declare war?
At this same time, the Byzantines completed their first road to a source of Iron. They quickly utilized this source to create the first Swordsmen on the face of Melian.
So the Byzantines are winning! a student declared.
Not exactly, Mrs. Mallory replied. Three things happened that settled the tragedy that was the completely pointless First Melian Wars.
The first was the loss of the Second Battalion, who had survived after many centuries. You can read about them in
The Great Unknwon, by Coullon Elsar, whom this school is named after. The Second Battalion had just achieved veterency, when they fell into a barbarian camp, which was built upon a hill structure. This was known as the First Fall of the Elsars.
The battle was fought, but the barbarians had an advantage. They were a warlike tribe, who were actually quite advanced. In their hills was a complex defense system, which successfully held off the entire First Battalion, who had lost half of their number already.
And then, in what was known as the Last Stand of the Elsars, the Voyage of Christophe Elsar fell to another barbarian a galleon. It had fought off at least three, but this last one took down the Voyage of Christophe Elsar for the last time. The Elsarss glory days went into the ocean after successfully circumnavigation Melian.
The last and most devastating was the Varna Ambush. After successfully amassing an enormous attack force that dispatched from Varna, two divisions of the Korean Military blocked there way. In what was a cruel twist of fate, the Korean Ambush completely eliminated the stack of Swordsmen, Horsemen, Archers, and Warriors alike a single force that could have wiped out most of the Indian Empire. As well, this left Varna itself undefended.
Naturally, this devastating chain of events knocked the Byzantines into reality. There was no way they were going to gain anything from this war. The war actually
cost them more than it gained. But they were forced to negotiate.
This time, the Koreans werent so humble.
The class observed the deal made, and then the classroom bell rang.
Okay, thats it, class. Homework is to look up on the internet and find 10 facts about the First Melian Wars, Greek Fire, or advanced military tactics.
I still think they should attack, because now they have a Right of Passage AND the Greek Fire, Scott said as he got up.
As the last of the class filed out, Mrs. Mallory prepared to repeat the lesson all over again.