[BTS] [RFC/DoC] The Legacy of Byzance: An Eastern Roman Tale

[Gruekiller]

Woops, probably should have specified. I mean Justinian II, Heraclian dynasty. I want to know whether he's the last here as well, or if the dynasty ends before him, or if he has kids and they become the Emporer. I NEEDS TO KNOW!

EDIT: I never new wikipedia could be this entertaining! I looked up the list of Emperors to try and guess where you'd go with this, and it felt like I'd opened an intrigue novel! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Byzantine_emperors

You will know soon enough. As in, within the next hour.

You will find some similarities and many differences between Wikipedia's list and mine. And of course, it'll be quite unrecognizable after 1453.

 

[Gruekiller]

1.3 - Stemming the Tide, and a New Dynasty​

Despite a brief respite in which both Constans and the new caliph Muawiyah cemented their rule, the Roman Empire was in a dire state after the first half of the 7th century. Just over half of the Empire's land and population had been lost, and three of the five patriarchates now sat in infidel hands. What's worse, the Arabs seemed to have no intent of stopping, either. In 660 the caliph, seeking to legitimize his controversial rule, funded an expedition into Anatolia to capture the Roman strongholds there.

Arab troops enter the Anatolian frontier.
​

Near Germanicea the Arab forces met the Romans in battle. Though the Roman infantrymen and archers had the high ground, the Muslims' superior numbers spelled doom for the Romans. The Roman commander, Theodorus, was impaled upon a spike at the site of the battle as a warning to the Romans.

The Arabs of Muawiya defeat Roman forces at Germanicea.

The old fortress at what is today called Germanikeia.
​

By 664, the area of Germanicea was under Arab occupation, and a few fresh moirai of troops from Iconium were sent east to oust the Arabs, and met them at Caesarea. At a great loss to the Roman troops, victory was nonetheless achieved, and the Arabs driven back.

Arab occupation of Germanicea.

The Battle of Caesarea.

The town of Kaiseria today.
​

Feeling cocky, the strategus of Cappadocia, a man called Romanus, pressed forward against the advice of his aids to engage the larger Muslim force to the south at Melitene, and his forces were eliminated. The Arabs occupied Germanicea once more.

The Roman defeat at Melitene.
​

But the Arabs were depleted and demoralized by the long campaign behind enemy lines, and further Roman counterattacks finally repulsed the Muslims from Anatolia in early 668. Disgraced, Muawiya was toppled and Hassan, son of Ali, regained the caliphate, ending the brief Umayyad dynasty and bringing about a resurgence of Rashidun rule.

The final Roman victory at the Second Battle of Germanicea.
​

This was Constans' greatest victory, but also his last. At the Emperor's estate in Sicily that same year, he and his sons, Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius, were assassinated by the Emperor's chamberlain and a cadre of conspirators, perhaps owing to rumors that the Emperor planned to move the capital to Syracuse to escape the advancing Arabs. In the resulting confusion, the count of the obsequium, Mezezius, was declared Emperor by the revolting Sicilians.

The Emperor Mezezius I.
​

With little resistance, the new Emperor sailed to Constantinople as Mezezius I Gnunius, ending the line of the Heraclians, and beginning the Gnunian Dynasty.

 

[hoplitejoe]

I hope the Arabs burn you

 

[Gruekiller]

Not feeling very friendly, are you, Hoplite? Needless to say, no one succeeds in burning me down because I'm a badass.

 

[Daedwartin]

isn't going to be long before the Seljuk start the great steamrolling of all the middle east cities...

 

[Gruekiller]

isn't going to be long before the Seljuk start the great steamrolling of all the middle east cities...

We can take 'em.

oh god

 

[NinjaCow64]

Subbed, but I do want to see I am Alexander finished first.

 

[Gruekiller]

Oh, whenever I get over LOR's suddenly-slow running speed on my computer and the slightly annoying angle that the game camera refuses to move out of

 

[MoreEpicThanYou]

Great, another Gruekiller story! If only he would finish one.

 

[Tambien]

Imperium movébitur in ætérnum, imperator semper regunt!

Η αιώνια Αυτοκρατορία ποτέ δεν θα πέσει, και ο Αυτοκράτορας θα καθοδηγήσουν πάντα!

Spoiler :

The Eternal Empire shall never fall, and the Emperor shall always guide it!

 

[christos200]

Η αιώνια Αυτοκρατορία ποτέ δεν θα πέσει, και ο Αυτοκράτορας θα την καθοδηγεί για πάντα!

Corrected.

 

[Daedwartin]

Corrected.

Christos. Most useful as: Political Scapegoat in Democracy games. Political Scapegoat in realpolitik games. Political Scapegoat after ARs. Correcting your mostly correct Greek sentence but not completely Greek sentence, because he actually speeds the language.

 

[christos200]

 

[Gruekiller]

Imperium movébitur in ætérnum, imperator semper regunt!

Η αιώνια Αυτοκρατορία ποτέ δεν θα πέσει, και ο Αυτοκράτορας θα καθοδηγήσουν πάντα!

Spoiler :

The Eternal Empire shall never fall, and the Emperor shall always guide it!

And that's precisely why I never switched to Democracy, even if it would have been better for my stability.

 

[Tambien]

Very nice! You must never allow the Empire to loose ground! Rome must rise again! Do not let the world forget what we have achieved, what we have lost, and what we will regain! IMPERIUM!

(Well, that ends my speechifyin' )

 

[Gruekiller]

You'll notice all my spellings of Roman names and cities have been Latin up to the latest update; you'll also notice that afterwards they'll all be Greek.

This is significant.

 

[Laoch]

Why would that be? I don't understand! Please tell me! I need to know!

 

[Gruekiller]

The Heraclian Dynasty was the last to begin before the Empire changed its official language to Greek, of course!

 

[Laoch]

Thanks for the info

 

[Laoch]

Thanks for the info.Gald that's over.