Byzantine Empire (Yarmuk)

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Byzantine Empire

Official Languages	Greek, Latin
Capital	Constantinople
First Ruler	Constantine I
Last Ruler	Constans Augustus II
Founded	330 AD
Dissolution	1849 AD
Currency	?

The Eastern Roman Empire, called the Byzantine Empire by modern scholars. In this timeline, the Byzantine Empire defeatef the forces of Islam at the Battle of Yarmuk and preserved its empire. It is then able to extend its power throughout the Mediterranean world, establishing itself as a colonial power and remaining a strong nation state in more modern times
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Contents [show] 1 Emperors 2 Victory at Yarmuk 3 Wars against the Arabs 4 The Struggle for Italy 5 The Danube Bulgar Khanate

EmperorsEdit

See Emperors of Byzantium.

Victory at YarmukEdit

The Battle of Yarmuk was undeniably the victory that the failing powers of Byzantium had been looking for; it gave them the respite needed to make an attempt to reconsolidate their hold on some of the more peripheral provinces. This they managed in much of Southern Italy, though the North was lost to the Lombard League. More importantly, it allowed the Emperor to reinstitute his control over the Papacy, thus eliminating the impending schism. Moreover, the Arabs served to destroy Byzantium's main rival Persia, which allowed Byzantium to establish stronger trading influences with the East (namely the Khazar Khanate).

Wars against the ArabsEdit

Except for a short, provincially scaled and ultimately unsuccessful conflict with the Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, no fighting was sustained by the Byzantine army for another generation. However, all of this time, the Arabs were moving. The Byzantines initial rivals, the Rashidun had been overthrown and replaced by supporters of Uthman, a powerful merchant prince, who went on to found the Ummayad Dynasty. The Byzantines took little notice of this change; they felt they had nothing to fear from financially minded Uthman. This indeed turned out to be the truth - Uthman was assassinated in 653. However, in his heir Al Wahdiq they found their match. Though a failed administrator, Al Wahdiq knew how to deal with his many enemies: he destroyed the Kushans in 666. The Byzantines were drawn into Al Wahdiq's invasion scheme when he invaded the territory of their Khazar allies in 668, though they failed to act on it until 670, by which point Merv had already been annexed by the Ummayads. Byzantine intervention certainly took the pressure off the Khazars, but for the Byzantines, it was a tough trial. The Ummayads were very different to the Rashidun - and Al Wahdiq proved himself to be an outstanding commander. However, the sack of Mecca in 673 and the siege of Antioch in 674 put an end to this conflict. Outstanding or not, Al Wahdiq proved the true strength of the Byzantine Empire. It was certainly superior to that of Islam. Peace was concluded at Antioch, following a quick conflict between the Arabs and the Khazars that proved to be the end of the latter. Byzantium was certainly capable of defending herself, but protecting the interests of her allies was evidently an entirely different matter.

The Struggle for ItalyEdit

A generation had passed before the next military challenge came to the Byzantine state, during which time there was a little internal upheaval within the Heraclian dynasty. Overall, however, this did not overly affect the empire as a whole - despite the continual interruption of military advances. However, Leontios, the Emperor that succeeded the last genuine Heraclian candidate, was presently (698AD) called to Italy by the Byzantine proconsul of Rome, who had fled to Naples following a rebellion by the Pope, who was supported in his actions by the Lombard Dukes of Salerno and Benevento, who between ruled much of central Italy. This they had done as semi-independent vassals of the Byzantines for about 100 years, but due to the stories of troubles in the East reaching their courts, they thought it appropriate to exploit Byzantium's supposed weaknesses.
They were entirely mistaken. Leontios immediately set out for Italy, accompanied by an army raised in the Balkans specially for the occassion. Papal arrogance proved enough to stir the hearts of the Lombard dukes, who called on their northern kinsmen for aid. But the Lombard league simply weren't interested; they felt it lucky that they had sustained their hold on Cisalpine Italy for so long - and did not want to be drawing attention to themselves. It took two sharp defeats by Leontios to break the forces of Salerno and Benevento, who consequently fled northwards, causing havoc as they went. Justinian continued on his march to Rome, which fell without a fight. During the legal exchange that followed, the Pope and all 12 of his cardinals in Rome were arrested and sent back to Constantinople in chains. Leontios then considered moving the Papal office to reside in his sight in Constantinople, but was persuaded otherwise by representatives from both the Frankish and Visigothic royal houses, both of whom had strong objections to Leontios' plan. Moreover, the dispute was one of the reasons which lead to a military coup in Constantinople by Tiberius, who successfully overthrew Leontios at the close of the year. In order to pacify the situation (both the Franks and the Visigoths threatened to leave the Catholic Church if a compromise was not reached) and consolidate his position as Emperor, Tiberius conceded over the issue. He even allowed the Franks and the Visigoths to provide bishops to reform the College of Cardinals, in order to conciliate the Western nations as allies of Byzantium.

The Danube Bulgar KhanateEdit

In 620 AD, the Khazar Khanate destroyed the Khanate of Great Bulgaria, leaving only the lands around the Danube estuary in the form of the ancient Hunnic race. Though, due to the events predating the fall of Rome, the Byzantines had little time for the Huns (now called the Bulgars), they appreciated that to invade the wilderness of the Danube valley would be more trouble than it was worth - and that rather than wasting the men and resources of the creaking Byzantine state, they could establish a protectorate over the wild horsemen of the Danube valley. The Bulgars saw no problems with this; what was left of their former prestige had been destroyed by the Khazars in 620, and through vassalage to Byzantium, they could only gain from Byzantine subsidies. Slowly but surely, relations between the nations grew; by the late 7th century, the Byzantines had less concern for their Northern borders than ever before - and the only other threat - the Khazar Khanate - had been neutralised by the Arabs of the Ummayad Caliphate.
This peaceful relationship was rocked in 695 AD by the arrival of the Patzinaks, who crushed the armies of the Bulgar Khan. The Byzantines, who had promised reinforcements, failed to provide a necessary force - and it didn't take long for the Patzinaks to subjigate the entire Danube estuary. The Bulgars were understandibly unhappy with the Byzantines, to whom they sent many pleading envoys begging for aid. But the Byzantines, though distressed by the news, were unwilling to attack an army as great as the Patzinak horde; consequently the Bulgar Khan changed his tune. By becoming a vassal of the Patzinaks, he obtained their permission to raid Byzantine lands. The Byzantines reacted with vigour at Sirmium; subsequent raids by the Bulgars were too insignificant to be of any importance to Constantinople.
However, in 702 AD, it was the Byzantines' turn to change their tune. The Khan of the Danube Bulgars had died and been replaced by his fiery son, who was keen to relinquish Patzinak vassalage. At the same time, however, he also tried not to involve the Byzantines, but this couldn't be avoided forever. Envoys from Emperor Justinian II were sent to the Khan's court to talk to the new Khan, who had come to the realisation that he couldn't make his dream effective without Byzantine aid. However, the Byzantine army was too slow to take up the call to arms, by the time they reached Bulgar territory, the Bulgar army had already been wiped out by the Patzinaks. The young Khan had been captured and executed at the hands of Patzinak warlord Tughril Alp Qinsai, who then went on to defeat the Byzantine force and invade the Byzantine province south of the Danube. Justinian II rapidly collected together an army from Constantinople, Salonika and Rhodes - and in a carefully planned ambush outside Kios, he annihilated the Patzinak army, sending the prisoners back to the Patzinak capital at Tana as a sign of peace, Begrudgingly, the Patzinak council accepted peace on this basis, but peace was uneasy. Byzantium and the Patzinak Empire seemed on the brink of war.

B

Byzantine Colonial Empire (Yarmuk)

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In 1402 the Byzantines were defeated at Ancyra by the hordes of Tamerlane. They were saved when he turned back from his conquest to invade India where he died in 1405. In the period of recovery that followed the Byzantines started sending explorers further afield.

The Early DiscoveriesEdit

In 1428 Konstantin Zapatos, the emperor's Imperial Seamaster, landed on the coast of North America. The land he found was heavily wooded and inhabited by strange, spirit worshipping natives. After two years of attempting to peacefully 'educate' the locals a fierce revolt broke out that killed most of his men. He came to the conclusion that the land was not desirable and colonising it would not benefit the Byzantine Empire. So he left it to be colonised by later explorers such as Sir Walter Raleigh of England.
On his next expedition, in 1431, Konstantin headed southwest and discovered a shallow sea full of glorious tropical islands that he named the Caribbean, after the locals, the Caribs. He made a settlement on the largest island, New Crete, and sailed back to Constantnople in 1432.

The Empire ExpandsEdit

Over the next 50 years, large sections of the world were colonised by the Byzantine explorers. Much of Africa's west coast and the Caribbean became cluttered with small settlements full of Greek immigrants seeking a new life. Sailors setting off from Egypt through the Red Sea arrived in India and in 1470 Michaelos Paolaegios sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and discovered the passage to India. In order to reduce journey times, Emperor Alexander VII ordered the construction of a waterway through the Sinai Desert from the Mediterranean to Suez on the Red Sea. In 1491, Michaelos Paolaegios II, the great explorer's son, landed on the coast of what will become New Byzantium and made contact with the Aztecs.
Βyzantine-Aztec War (Yarmuk)

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In 1516, the Byzantine General Belisarios Konikas began a ten year war against the formidable local power, the Aztec Empire. The war ended in victory for the Byzantines and the almost total destruction of the Nahuatl culture and race.

Contents [show] 1 The Seeds of the Conflict 2 The First Campaign 3 The Second Campaign 4 The Third Campaign 5 Rebellion and the Final Fall of the Aztecs 6 Troop Numbers and Casualties

The Seeds of the ConflictEdit

In 1491, Byzantine explorers made first contact with the Aztecs. At first they believed them to be another primitive and disparate tribe of Indians, but soon they recognised them to be an advanced culture of their own. A visit to their captial, Tenochtitlan, in 1493 confirmed that this was a mighty civilisation. The leader of the expedition believed the city he saw to be second only to Constantinople in size and beauty.
Something else that interested the explorers was the vast amounts of gold that the Aztecs had. It was so common that they used it for ornaments even in some of the poorest dwellings. The President of the Royal Company of New Crete, Michaelos Paolaegios, maintained peaceful, trading relations with the Aztecs, but in 1512 the Viceroy of New Crete had him transferred to Constantinople and replaced him with Belisarios Konikas, a soldier and known gold-seeker. He immediately sailed for Mexico to begin stirring up trouble. In 1513 he established a permanent Byzantine settlement on the coast in Totonac, something banned by previous trade agreements with the Aztecs. In 1515 he staged a raid on Byzantine traders returning from Tenochtitlan using local Totonacs. Blaming it on the Aztecs, Belisarios applied for a royal command from the Viceroy, which was duly granted, and in 1516, with a crack force of 500 gunmen and 300 cavalry, he marched inland.

The First CampaignEdit

Belisarios' march went unopposed until he reached the mountain city of Cholula. There he found 2500 Aztec soldiers waiting in the streets of the city for him. A fierce and bloody battle ensued in which the attackers were beaten off, but with the loss of around 300 Byzantine lives. From the locals in Cholula, Belisarios recruited some 3000 soldiers and armed them as best he could. They were willing to fight, as they were not Aztec themselves, rather they were a conquered city state under Tenochtitlan's control. Belisarios continued his march and finally he reached Lake Texcoco in late October after two months marching overland.
However, when he arrived, he found that the causeways were removed and all the Aztec's people and soldiers withdrawn into the island city. He attempted to besiege the city but he was in need of many more men if he was to block off all five causeways and prevent a landing by boat. Frustrated, he burnt the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan, which bordered the lake, to the ground and returned to the coast.

The Second CampaignEdit

The following year, now with some 1500 infantry and 500 cavalry, Belisarios marched once more on Tenochtitlan. Wanting to recruit locals to his army, as he had done the previous year, he strung it out to make it seem more impressive. At Cholula he found several thousands of locals gathered, all willing to join his forces. This time confident of a successful siege and the capture of Tenochtitlan, he walked boldly into the area around the lake.
The campaign ended in disaster when his column was attacked in a patch of dense rainforest. His forces were strung out and heavily outnumbered. Many were slain and other managed to fight their way back to Belisarios' standard. Calling on the locals to fight, he found that they had largely defected to the Aztecs or fled the fight. Enraged he led a charge attempting to break out and make it back to Cholula. We know that in that charge he was slain, but how, we are not sure of. Some accounts say that he was shot down by many arrows, others say he was brought down after a fierce struggle by many armed opponents, but the most common account says that he was faced with an Aztec Skull Warrior who swept his head clean off with a single blow from his obsidian sword.

The Third CampaignEdit

Two years after the disaster of 1517, a Byzantine army was once more assembled on the coast of Mexico. It was led by Belisarios' brother Theodosios and numbered around 2500 musket infantry and 500 cavalry. It was the entire standing forces of New Crete come to wreak vengeance upon the Aztec Empire.
In late August it set off, this time taking a new route through the long independent state of Tlaxcala. The people there had long resisted Aztec conquest and they were a numerous source of local auxilaries. The King of Tlaxcala agreed to support Theodosios and lent him 20,000 warriors. Theodosios tried to arm some of them with guns, but found them more willing to fight with their natural weapons. The Tlaxcala also built him boats on his specification that were then dismantled and transported down to Lake Texcoco.
On January 21st, 1520, the assault began. It lasted three weeks and the Aztecs fought him street by street, but eventualy Theodosios triumphed, albeit with the loss of 1800 of his Byzantine soldiers. He then proclaimed himself the Viceroy of New Byzantium, something which was later accepted by the Emperor in Constantinople.

Rebellion and the Final Fall of the AztecsEdit

The fall of Tenochtitlan and the death of Moctezuma, the Aztec Emperor, did not end hostilities. A large number of Aztec warriors joined with another who was proclaiming himself Emperor, Cunacpa. He made existence very difficult for Theodosios' new state until reinforcements arrived from the rest of the empire. Using these new troops and some Tlaxcalan allies, Theodosios attacked Cunacpa's mountain retreat and slaughtered everyone inside, including Cunacpa.
The defeat of Cunacpa did not quite end Aztec defiance. Inspired by his apparent martyrdom, various cells of Aztec rebels appeared in remote rainforests and mountain valleys. With the help of turncoat locals, Theodosios had the last ones wiped out by 1526, finally ending the war.

Troop Numbers and CasualtiesEdit

First Campaign:-

• Byzantines - 800 men (300 killed), 3000 allies (250 killed)
• Aztecs - 2500 men (1000 killed)

Second Campaign:

• Byzantines - 2000 men (1000 killed), 5000 allies (1000 killed)
• Aztecs - 30,000-50,000 men (3000-6,000 killed)

Third Campaign:

• Byzantines - 3000 men (1800 killed), 20,000 allies (8,000 killed)
• Aztecs - 60,000-80,000 men (50,000 killed)

Cunacpa Campaign:-

• Byzantines - 2000 men (300 killed), 10,000 allies (1,000 killed)
• Aztecs - 5,000 men (5,000 killed)

Other Rebellions:-

• Byzantines - 3,000 men (250 killed), 10,000 allies (500 killed)
• Aztecs - 15,000 men (12,000 killed)