Maurice's Roman empire

alpha · Apr 22, 2014

Hi everyone thank you very much for your continued we have 3500 views so far

and only in the second page. All right here is some news i wont be publishing any new updates until next week as i will be traveling and i wont have access to a computer

. Ok now that we have reached the 6th century get ready for a lot of more interesting things and i am going to expand the world to see whats going on in Persia, Western europe and even china. Ill have an update focusing on them.

Now with Maurice surviving and no Roman-Persian war its going to be really interesting to see what happens when the Muslims show up

. Dont expect an easy time for the Romans though.

One important thing How long will this TL last in case you are wondering. As long as i am interested in writing it is the bast answer i can give you but it will last for a long time none the less. I predict i might want to end it in early 800s. PS how is everything going on so far and i hope you continue to enjoy this work as much as i love writing it for you. As all ways comments, thoughts, criticisms are appreciated !!!!

alpha · Apr 22, 2014

[FONT=&quot]Surprise new update

its the last one for this week. Boy i love writing these updates enjoy [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
Chapter 20: Brave new world [/FONT]

Ctesiphon was one of the largest and richest cities in the world and it rivaled Constantinople in its opulence. It was a city filled with palaces, gardens, bustling bazars and much more. Here you can find anything you are looking for weather spices from India or silk from china and even Roman goods were sold here. The city was the capital of the Sassanid Persian Empire who’s leaders saw themselves as heirs of Cyrus and Xerxes. Kvadah II was the current ruler of this great empire and under his leadership the country was experiencing a time of economic and cultural boom. The prosperity produced by the peace allowed the inhabitants to become richer and everyone was going in on it.

The reason for the wealth of their empire wasn’t just the peace with the Romans it was because of their strategic positions. They controlled some of the most important parts of the Silk Road allowing them to become even wealthier through trade with the Romans, Chinese and Indians. In the late 590s the Shahanshah (King of kings) Kvadah II had conquered Yemen that made them even stronger because now they controlled the entrance to the read sea allowing them to control the trade route between Roman Egypt and the Rich Indian ports. The Shahanshah after having learned of the rebellion in the Roman Empire was preparing to invade the Roman Empire in order to avenge Maurice because he owed his throne to Maurice. However like any power hungry leader it didn’t mean that wasn’t going to take territory.

Ctesiphon imperial place May 604 AD

The Persian king had something troubling him for a long time. For the past four months a civil war had broken out in the Roman Empire that heightened tensions between both sides. Kvadah had been constantly getting contradicting reports from the front on the progress of the Civil war in that empire. Now he was going to get the news he wanted.

“Shahahah I have news” Burst his Vizier Adhur who was his chief minister

“Maurice he is victories, the rebel’s are annihilated”.

For a moment Kvadah had a relieved look on his face that he had to hide immediately as Adhur was war hawk who wanted a new war with the Romans

In a cold voice he responded “Good, that will spare us a war.”

“Adhur I feel that we have been at peace for too long” sounding confident

“That’s a good I want a military expedition”

“Where to?”

“Well we cant invade the Romans, there’s nothing in the North or the west. India I wasn’t Sindh”

“Why?” Adhur wondered

“My dear vizier because we can expand our influence in the region so that we can pressure the Indians to not trade with the Romans that’s why”

“Ah good plan, I will inform our generals we will begin preparations Shahanshah” responded Adhur as he was leaving the room.

“Oh one more thing Vizier do send a letter to emperor Maurice on my behalf congratulating him on his how shall we saw good health and inviting him to a meeting with me”

“I believe its time we met again” Kvadah finished speaking as Adhur nodded in agreement and left the room.

In the Roman empire Maurice had spent most of 604 AD cleaning up the mess that Phocas had done in the Balkans. The emperor didn’t trust the armies of the Danube because of their previous rebellion. Instead using the money he seized from the rich the emperor began re assigning those troops to the East while several eastern legions were being slowly transferred to the Danube. The emperor eased up on his plan to totally militarize the Danube region instead he was willing to play a policy of divide and conquer with the troublesome tribes. The emperor was planning an expedition to Italy to secure the heartland from the Lombards he did this because he wanted to follow up on his plan with reintegrating Italy into the empire and strengthening ties to the papacy.

alpha · May 4, 2014

The next chapter is going to be super duper long it will cover a lot and set the stage for a lot of new things. I am properly intrdocuing a lot of new states and characters as i want to increase the world and etc

PS the new chapter will be published today in the evening and also it is called look to the west.

alpha · May 4, 2014

Not a happy writer

. But here you go a new update at last and a long one at that.

Chapter 21: Look to the west

The kingdom of Franks was along with the Roman Empire and The Visigoths one of the three super powers of Western Europe it had been forged a century earlier by its legendary leader Clovis. A man whose military brilliance rivaled that of Julius Caesar and like Caesar he was able to conquer all of Gaul through military brilliance, cunning and duplicity. Clovis Also united the Franks who were divided into different tribes and he was also the first Frankish King to convert to Christianity this made the Franks become Christians. King Clovis also left his legacy in the form of his dynasty the Merovingian’s that by 604 AD still ruled Gaul. However the Frankish realm was by this time internally divided into three sections following the death of the previous king Chlothar I. It had been divided amongst his three sons who ruled Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitaine.

In 604 the Kingdom of Burgundy was one of the most powerful parts of the Frankish domain. It was in a strategic position as it bordered Austrasia, Aquitanie, Roman Italy and Lombard controlled Italy. Its king Theuderic II ruled the territory officially but unofficially his grandmother Queen Burnhilda controlled the kingdom as his regent. The Queen Burnhilda in 604 AD was a powerful women and she had a lover called Protadius whom she wanted to raise to a position of power. That position was mayor of the palace a position that who ever filed would become the prime minister in essence. However for Bornhilda that position was already filled by Berthold a noble man of influence within the kingdom. In early march of 604AD Queen Burnhilda convinced Theuderic to kill Berthold when he was on assignment to inspect one of the royal villas. Berthold was a courageous, honest and decent warrior he took with him about 500 men to perform the mission.

While on route the other Frankish king Clotaire II who ruled Neustria learned about the group and sent an army under the command of his son Merovech to attack and kill Berthold. Berthold was now the most wanted man in the Frankish realm and he fled to Orleans a city named after the legendary 3rd century emperor Aurelian. Merovech perused Berthold to Orleans and besieged the city however this was a god sent to Berthold because Merovech had violated a peace treaty put in place a few years ago. King Theuderic longing for glory and a chance to prove him declared war on his brother King Clotaire in mid 604AD. Theuderic sent a force that relieved Orleans and soon after returning Berthold began military preparations for the eventual war to come. Although his position was still not secure and assassination attempts were frequent his luck however soon changed when Queen Burnhilda and her lover Protadius were “caught in the act” together. King Theuderic order the execution of Protadius while he sent his own grandmother into a monastery

Following the scandal Berthold position became even more secure and he continued the military preparations. Berthold was also interested in Lombard soldiers so the Kingdom of Burgundy and main Lombard duchy, the Duchy of Milan signed an alliance with one another. In this alliance the two sides agreed they would come to each other’s aid and plot a war against the Romans. The armies of King Clotaire and Theuderic met on Christmas day 604 Near Etampes in Paris. The fighting was savage but with support from his newly gained Lombard allies King Theuderic won the battle and took Paris. Both brothers soon signed a peace treaty that was favorable towards Theuderic, granted him some land in the north of his kingdom and greater diplomatic independence form the Frankish realm. But Theuderic would not gain the title “King of the Franks” something that he wanted because it would give him the opportunity to rule the domain as one king. However that goal would have to wait until he would have a chance to kill his brothers and gain that title. In the meantime the Frankish realm was divided into different states with equally ambitious leaders seeking to gain power for themselves each allying with different foreign and regional powers in order to do so.

Earlier in the year 604AD pope Gregory the great had died of natural causes after fourteen years as being pope. He was pope at a particularly difficult time for the church and for the Roman empire as a whole because it Italy was still in a never ending struggle between the Lombards and Romans, the influence of the church was limited outside of Italy and there was constant war through out the known world. By the end of his time as pope there was still war, carnage but it had decreased considerably, Italy was somewhat stable which allowed for a recovery and in Gaul the church was starting to re assert its influence. The Church under his leadership was able to reassert its influence in Rome because of his relationship with the emperor and the military campaigns the emperor launched that regained the headland of Italy. Another reason for the success was the church through donations and other funding was launching many infrastructure projects that recruited locals such the Catanzaro to Rome highway to connect Rome to southern Italy. After completing the project the church would get a small 5% share of the profit.

These projects helped revitalize the local economy and infrastructure in southern Italy. There was an increasingly north/south divide as the south was prosperous while the north was poorer and had weaker infrastructure. Pope Gregory partially succeeded in revitalizing the churches influence outside of Italy by sending his famous Gregorian mission to convert the northern peoples in Germania and Scandinavia. The church had a fairly strong influence in Roman and Visigothic Spain because emperor Maurice allowed the church and the western senate to have greater influence in Roman Spain as part of his effort to ease tensions between the province and Constantinople. By 604 Ad the church was playing an increasingly important role in Spain as it helped mediate disputes between the authorities and revitalize the economy there.

Only in Gaul did the church have partial success because it was divided into different states and some were hostile to the church but had to maintain good relations with it because there population was Catholic While the rulers of other states were happy to maintain friendly relations with the church in exchange for money and diplomatic support. The death of pope Gregory was a hard blow for emperor Maurice’s effort to stabilize the west because he had lost a valuable ally and the next pope may not be so cooperative. Roman North Africa and its client state Mauritania were the most stable and prosperous regions in the western Madeternian kept stable by trade, wheat production exchange of Ideas. In late 604 AD with his position firmly secure and Constantinople under control the emperor appointed his own son Tiberius as Exarch of North Africa to gain experience in governing and he feared that the old Exert Heraclius the elder was getting to powerful. The eighteen year old was eager to go because he wanted to prove himself and grow from the shadows of his older brother. Theodosius on the other hand was appointed exarch of Illyricum in order to gain military experience and dislodge rumors about his apparent torcher of animals.

The emperor didn’t have a choice in who would replace the Pope that was done by tradition and the various cardinals from Europe would decide the future pope. A decision that the emperor couldn’t control and he was worried about it as well because a hostile pope could make his job a lot harder.

The Iberian Peninsula was divided by 604 AD divided into three states Roman Spania in the south, Visigothic kingdom that covered most of the heartland it also had the Gallic province of Septania that had the important city of Marseille. The Visconti Basque tribes were fiercely independent and controlled the north east of Hispania and bordered the Visigothic kingdom to the south and the Frankish duchy of Aquantine in the north. There north of the Peninsula was fairly stable but the south was a tug of war between the Romans and Visigoths. In early 605AD King Theuderic II who had consolidated his power base made increased the alliance with the Lombards and franks by also including the Visigoths. They were going to cement their new alliance by building a high way that stretched from Mediolium (Milan) in Lombard controlled Italy to Toledo that would pass through Frankish Toulouse and Visigothic Marseille. This super high Theuderic hoped would allow them to easily transport troops and make their kingdoms richer by increasing trade.

Despite the Franks being seen as barbarians by the Romans they weren’t really. In fact they were an advanced civilization who were experts at building cathedrals, building and a lot of other things. They also had an administration system that they inherited from the Romans. In fact they kept the roman administration that was all ready in place and left the mostly roman population to itself and this also occurred in Visigothic Spain and Lombard Italy. In early 505 AD the senate in Rome after careful debate and heated arguments with emperor Maurice declared proclaimed an Italian native by the name of Sabinian as pope. Sabinian was an old man with not a lot left in him but he was chosen because he was seen as a compromise between both the senate and emperor as the Italian heartland continued to recover it wanted to regain its influence. Elsewhere the Balkans were pretty quiet with emperor Maurice firmly in place the neither the Slavs nor the Avars wanted to attack fearing retribution. Britain was still a mess divided into different states and far away from the action and it was also being slowly taken over by Saxons who were attacking the rich monasteries on the coast.

alpha · May 5, 2014

What's happening everyone, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Ok i will publish the new chapter tomorrow gona be called the triumvirate and this chapter deals with why the alliance formed(No spoilers read the update above

). Also why each member is in.

That's my info updates. In regards to how much stuff i will post each week it will be on a semi basis but expect 1-2 chapters every week. If i am not busy that is.

PS lastly how is the story going and i am constantly doing my best to make the story more interesting through research ideas and etc.

As all ways enjoy and your input is all ways valued

Van555 · May 6, 2014

Haven't caught up yet but its awful lonely so keep it up.

alpha · May 14, 2014

A new chapter finally, this deals with how the alliance works and whats going in India. enjoy

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 22: The triumvirate [/FONT]

In 605 AD the coalition that the Visigothic, Lombards and Franks had formed earlier was start starting to seriously materialize. They began by increasing prices on Roman imported goods and were taking other measure to undermine the empire. In the East to India the Sassanid king Kvadah had launched his invasion of Ab-e-sind (Sind) in an effort to increase the power and size of the Persian Empire. It was also aimed at influencing the Indian kingdoms like the Kingdom of Valabhi and Chalukyas so that they will increase prices on Roman goods in order to put pressure on the Romans. Kvadah was planning to damage the Roman economy in the long term by stripping them of valuable revenue from trade with the Indians. Although Kvadah saw Maurice as a good ruler he was above all a Persian and he wanted to return the empire to its former glory to the time of Xerxes and Cyrus. Kvadah was going to use everything he could regardless of who was running the Roman Empire to achieve his goal. For Kvadah the military expedition into Sindh was just the beginning.

Meanwhile in mid 605 AD Western Europe the triumvirate between the Visigothic, Lombards and Franks was continuing to improve and expand. The high way that would stretch from Mediolium (Milan) in Lombard controlled Italy to Toledo in Visigothic Spain was beginning to connect rapidly. It was easy to construct this highway because the necessary infrastructure was all ready there. The triumvirate only needed to either rebuild or repave the roads and then connect the roads to the main ones. The high way was a project on a massive scale and it usually involved funding from the Catholic Church who did this not because they were oblivious to the intentions of the alliance. This is because the project was done on a local level as not to arouse suspicion and the Church got in because it wanted to make money from the tolls imposed on the passes on the road. The alliance was increasing the prices on Roman goods such as wine and wheat on a gradual level so that the traders wouldn’t notice. The alliance also began to produce their own products like wheat by improving infrastructure and lowering taxes on their goods. In essence they were practicing protectionism in order to both improve their economics and weakens the Roman Empire.

The members of the anti roman alliance had their own reasons for joining in. On paper and in reality they were all hostile to each other and two of the members had fought a war against each other. However the two main things that united the triumvirate was religion all three powers were catholic and considered the Roman Empire based in Constantinople to be heretics. They also regarded the pope as being a hostage of those heretics who needed to be liberated from their grasp. On an individual basis each power had different reasons to hate the Romans: the Visigoths saw the Romans as traitors and oath breakers because during the reign of Justinian they took over huge parts of southern Spain while assisting in a civil war. The Romans never returned that territory and the Visigoths never gave up their claim.

Out of all the members in the alliance the Lombards were probably the most aggressive and warlike. Similar to the Visigoths their “affair” with the Romans began during the reign of Justinian. This is when one of Justinian’s main general Narses hired them as mercenaries to fight in Italy against the Ostrogoth’s during the Eastern Roman empire’s invasion of Italy. At first he welcomed the troops but as the war dragged on Narses got weary of their savagery and lack of discipline so Narses shipped them out. But the Lombards got a taste of rich Italian life and wanted to be a part of it. In 569 AD barely four years after the recon quest of Italy by the Roman army Narses “invited” the Lombards to migrate there after he lost his position as governor when Justin II replaced him. Soon they easily took over most of the North and the heartland of Italy.This is because the peninsula was not well defended as the Roman Empire was overstretched and lacked the resources to defend Italy. By 605 AD the Lombards were in a weak position thanks to Maurice’s Italian campaigns that reduced Lombard power. Their power was limited to northern Italy and one duchy in the center. When the Lombard king Agilulf was presented with an opportunity to regain lost ground by forming an alliance with the Visigoths and Franks who pretty much had the same goals.

Out of the alliance the Franks didn’t really hold any grudges on the Romans it wasn’t “personal” they were only in it in the hopes of gaining territory. As the Frankish realm was divided into different kingdoms the Kingdom of Burgundy was the one that participated in the alliance hoping to gain territory and prestige.

The Romans didn’t really react well to the changing climate both in the east and west because they did notice some changes but they weren’t really obvious to them what was going on. The emperor was constantly occupied with internal matters as the Italian senate was continuing to disagree with him and the blue faction was undermining him at every turn. The year 606 had passed quietly with not much happening except for the death of the new pope and his replacement would be a headache for the emperor. In 606 AD the Indian king Harsha of Thanesar establish a north Indian empire by conquering the smaller kingdoms and establishing an Alliance with the Sassanid empire. Harsha and Kvadah alliance was securing power for each other as Kvadah provided support in the form of engineers and soldiers while Harsha pressured the Southern Indian powers to increase prices on Roman goods. This was done by force if necessary.

The situation in 606 AD

PS there were some errors in the old maps the Romans still had some territory in the PO valley. PS i will make a world map showing India

alpha · May 16, 2014

Waz up good folks, a new chapter is out

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 23: Here and back again[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Antiplois Gaul, March 5th 607 AD[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]City Market place, [/FONT]

Flavius Adrinius was a roman merchant from North Africa who regularly travelled to the Gallic city of Antiplois. There he traded Roman goods such as Wheat and silk in exchange for pottery and valuable metals.

Flavius was now back in Antiplois a city he had been trading in for a long time but things were getting tougher

Flavius looked at Alaric a trader whom he had done business with

“How much you say for this wine Alaric?”

“Five denarii’s my friend”

“If I remember correctly Alaric. It was two denarii’s for one barrel last week and this batch tastes like piss”

“What are you thinking?”

“Well its not my fault dear Flavius but I get this from the farmers and I give it to you at good prices, if you go to Gunther its 7 while Narses is 12 per barrel”

Flavius was now angry “well since you don’t have any good wine, good day send an errand boy when you get some”

“Other wise don’t bother I am busy”.

Flavius left Alaric’s stand and went to his fellow merchant Tullius

“How did it go?” Tullius asked anxiously as Alaric wasn’t the first merchant they had approached

“Not well I am afraid Good Tullius, the bastard takes me for a fool 5 denarii for a barrel it used to be two denarri at best 3 but 5”.

“Oh, I haven’t had much luck either I am afraid, my silk wont sell for 12 denarii”

Flavius saw a worried look on Tullius’s face

“Good Flavius, this isn’t easy but I am going to return to Cartago Nova there isn’t any here for me any more”

“You know how they treat us here now, I go back and sell to the army they want a lot of silk, maybe start my own winery from Greece”

As Flavius was about to talk several soldiers disembarked from their horses and headed to the center of the market place.

From a distance Tullius could see a large man talk

“On orders of his highness Theuderic II, king of Burgundy, the prices for Roman imported goods will have an added tax of three denarii”

“Further more those trading with the Romans will require trading license while Romans trading with our merchants will require a trading license”

The soldier continued to speak in a loud voice “These coast about 12 denarii and are valid for a period of 3 months, anyone caught without one will have there property confiscated and sent to prison”

Soon the soldiers left the center and rode off

“Well Tullius our day now cant get any worse, I think I might join you in leaving this dreaded place”

“Where will you head to good Flavius?”

“Constantinople, I know some one they’re who knows some one”

“Ah great opportunity, I have all ways wanted to visit never got the chance I hear its beautiful in the spring, enjoy your and take care” Both men soon departed

What Tullius and Flavius faced in Frankish ports was similar to what other Roman merchants were dealing with in Triumvirate ports. Those gradual changes that the leaders of the Triumvirate set a few years earlier were now becoming more apparent and this coast the Romans a lot in terms of the economy. For Maurice the decline in trade meant less tax revenues to spend on maintaining the army and the ambitious infrastructure programs in southern Italy. In Rome the senate along with the regional cardinals declared a bishop by the name of John Cataadioce to Saint Peters throne.

He was known as Boniface III and he was a middle-aged man who was a good friend of the pope Gregory. Boniface was a simple man who didn’t care for luxury and sent a letter to emperor Maurice urging him to cut the luxury in his court and be more merciful to his enemies. He also urged the emperor to persuade the heretic monotheists to the “true light”.

For the emperor this message was a clear sign that this pope was going to be trouble for him. The remnants of the blues who had survived were scattered around the empire and some had even taken up residence with the Visigothic and Burgandian
Courts. They wanted revenge and above all the chance to return home, they knew while Maurice was emperor they would never see that happen. The blues were the ones advising the Visigoths and Franks on bureaucracy, infrastructure and even diplomacy. Aggripus was one of the Blues originally from Bithynia in Asia Minor he was a soldier who defected to Phocas early on and when Phocas lost he headed west joining the Franks earning a high rank because of his experience. Now he was training the Franks in Roman warfare hoping for the chance to return back home, he also had the ear of the Frankish king.

The western senate was in its current from creation of the emperor Maurice it was like a child that turned away from its parents. It was increasingly becoming out of control fueled by a desire to gain greater independence from Constantinople and perhaps even restarting the western empire. What gave the senate its fuel and power was the church and economy because those were pouring money that helped made southern Italy prosperous and many of the senators were getting richer from the land there. As they got richer there power grew. The emperor would need to deal with them or else they would threaten rebellion on the empire itself. The senate was also given advice by blue remnants as well. For the emperor the empire he had worked so hard to build up and improve was becoming increasingly against him. Fueled by hatred from the blue factions and his increasing in ability to deal with them and improve the weakening economy.

By 608 AD as the Frankish realm was still divided the Triumvirate was still growing strong and soon it faced its first real test. Raising prices on Romans was one thing but in July of 608 AD Merovech had become king of Neustria and his father Clotaire II who died a defeated man was still bitter about his dads defeat at the hands of Theuderic. He wanted revenge for the humiliation his family suffered a few years earlier Merovech was a smart ruler and he started by building an alliance with the ruler of Aquitanie in order to start building up his forces for the upcoming war.

alpha · May 19, 2014

Here is a new map showing the situation as promised. PS havent done India yet but Sindh is under Persian control, also areas in dark pink in yemen and oman are persian vassals. A new update should come out soon still working on it

alpha · May 24, 2014

[FONT=&quot]Hi new chapter is out, This is dealing with how the Frankish war is shaping up and it will also set the stage in part two for things to come after Maurice. Enjoy and comments? thoughts ?

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
Chapter 24: Between a rock and a hard place
Part 1
[/FONT]

In mid 608 AD having assembled his forces from different areas across Neustria the new king Merovech II began deploying his troops along with his Aquantine allies near the Burgandian border. Merovech was going to split his forces into two and launch a two front strike. The first strike would involve the Neustrian army attacking and capturing the Burgandian city of Augustodunum. While the Aquantine army would directly besiege the Burgandian capital of Lyon in hopes of quickly ending the war. Merovech had hoped that by splitting his forces he would increase his chance of victory and minimize the risk of a catastrophic defeat by gambling everything in a single battle.

In military terms the Lombards and Visigoths structure were very similar. They were made up of a regional king who would call on the local dukes. These regional dukes would provide the troops for the king to fight in the war. The Lombard and Visigoth dukes participated in the wars because they wanted to increase their wealth and prestige among their subjects. Also for the kings especially a new one like Merovech war was an opportunity of proving your ability to lead, distracting the lords so they wont revolt and above all else increase your influence with your kingdom.

In the Madeternian region the Franks had the most advanced army that rivaled the Romans in terms of discipline and professionalism. The Frankish army was a weird mix of traditions, tactics and strategy as it incorporated both Barbarian and Roman elements. The reason for this weird mix was because unlike the Visigoths and Lombards before the fall of the Western Roman Empire the Franks were Germanic peoples across the Rhine. They had been serving in the Roman armies ranks and interacting with the Romans for centuries acting in the capacity of allies, enemies, hired mercenaries and wild cards.

Despite interacting with the Romans for a very long time the Franks maintained their own tradition and were never fully romanized. By the time the western empire fell two centuries earlier they all ready were using Roman military tactics and strategy for their own benefit. In mid 608 AD their armies were semi professional, organized along Roman military lines e.g. clear structure. They were also made up of their own soldiers, Gallo-roman soldiers who still had legionary uniforms, mercenaries and allies from different regions across the lines.

The Franks under the Merovingians melded Germanic customs with Romanized organizations and several important tactics as will be seen in the war. The Frankish army was made up of primarily foot infantry with each individual carrying a sword, axe. The Frank had cavalry with the cavalrymen carrying spears along with the standard sword and axe. However beyond the basic weapons of each soldier they didn’t have advanced things like Javiers. For the Franks this blend of barbarian and Roman gave them the advantage of being able to utilize their military more effectively then their opponents.

In July of 608AD Merovech began transporting his troops down the Loire River from the city of tours. He had brought about five thousand soldiers with him ready to fight they included Gallo romans, archers, engineers, heavy cavalry and some specialists. Aggripus had in a twist of irony become Merovech’s mayor of the palace and he was using his skills and tactics to win the day. Merovech was using typical Frankish tactics that revolved around taking fortified positions and expanding control over those positions.

King Theuderic didn’t see the war against his cousin as a distraction but rather as an opportunity to prove himself again against any enemy who would challenge him. Theuderic had no intention of being bogged down in a fight near his capital city like what happened to his cousin a few years earlier. Instead Theuderic with the advice of his generals decided to confront Merovech’s army at their landing site near the Loire River. In order to do this Theodoric after getting the intelligence from his scouts who had been monitoring the Loire River decided to first let the enemy army come in large numbers and establish a beachhead.

Theuderic was then going to order his archers to launch arrows on the enemy and a cavalry charge in order to inflict as much damage as possible. The battle began on July 12 of 608 AD as Merovech was landing has 5,000 man strong army, the Burgandian archers immediately began firing their arrows towards the approaching army killing many who landed in the first wave. The second wave knew about the archers and instead came in with them holding their shields when they landed.

The second wave landed successfully with minimal causalities and soon began building a beachhead that continually expanded and by early afternoon they had reached the archers positions. However the archers had withdrawn earlier and Theuderic had underestimated the size of Merovech’s army. Believing that the second wave was the main army decided to prepare his cavalry for a charge to finish the job. Theuderic was however unaware that Merovech had a larger army and there were two more groups but were kept back until they were given orders that a secure beachhead had been established.

Unaware of the true strength of the enemy Theuderic’s cavalry charged the enemy and suffered heavy losses forcing the remaining men to retreat to a nearby town. By the end of the day Merovech had transported all of his army on shore and began marching towards the Burgandian town of Augustodunum. The city of Augustodunum it self wasn’t important strategically but Merovech wanted to distract Theuderic so that his forces would be easily defeated in hopes of a quick victory. By the third day of Merovech’s invasion his army had reached the outskirts of the city but wasn’t about to besiege it.

Elsewhere the Aquantine army 12,000 men strong was beginning to besiege the Burgandian capital of Lyon and was making head way across the nearby area with soldiers raiding the villages for food, gold and women. Berthold Mayor of the Burgandian palace was holdup in Lyon and was commanding the cities defense. He was going to hold until reinforcement’s arrived from other Burgandian forces to relieve the siege. Theuderic meanwhile was stuck between the cities of Augustodunum and Lyon not being able to make a decision quickly because if he relieves one city he could face more problems.

All though the Triumvirate did exist Theuderic didn’t really trust the Visigoths whom he saw as weak and he also didn’t trust the Lombards because he thought they were too warlike but he chose to send for reinforcements to the Lombards. He was again going to use their help to salvage the situation like they helped him in Etampes a few years ago. For the Lombards one of the main reasons to join the alliance was protection from the Romans who were on the offensive ever since 600 AD. In mid July of 608 AD Theuderic sent the message to his allies by the super high way the built and he hoped that they would get him assistance soon for he would need it.

To be continued

Map showing the cities of Augustundon and Lyon in red. It Also shows the invasion advance

alpha · May 25, 2014

Comments? thoughts?

mane · May 25, 2014

interesting

the timeline is very interesting please keep it up

mane · May 26, 2014

good work

Keep up the good work

alpha · Jun 4, 2014

Whats happening ladies and gents ? long time no new chapter? Well here is a "little" something enjoy

Chapter 24: Between a rock and a hard place Part 2

Merovech by the middle of July had completely encircled the city of Augustodunum after days of pillaging the nearby villages and towns for food and other useful resources. This resource gathering strategy was a tactic that was used by the Romans and Merovech realized the advantages of this because it allowed him to maintain good supplies and weaken the enemy. Merovech’s army was going to slowly starve the Augustodunum lifeline before finally storming it. Merovech also wanted to take back its famous rhetoric schools to his Capital in Paris in order to improve his kingdoms prestige. He hoped that the siege would end quickly so that he can move on and bring an additional 5,000 more soldiers to reinforce his army.

Mediolium July 28th 608 AD

Lombard Royal palace

“Scout Sigibert, the king see you now” spoke a guard in broken Latin.

Sigibert was the scout whom king Theuderic had sent to secure Lombard assistance against his cousin. He was a man in his mid thirties and had previous diplomatic experiences notably with Roman merchants. Sigibert entered a large room and could see a long dining table to his left while in front as he approached he saw a large middle-aged man with a thick beard. The room was mostly empty but was illuminated by lights from the windows.

“Neal before king Agiluf duke of Pavia, Milan and King of all the Longbards” spoke another guard in a thick accent. The scout had no choice but to do so. “Ah Frank what brings you to my great kingdom”. Not knowing how to proceeded the scout responded “well your majesty” The king then spoke in a sharp voice “Not Majesty, highness you pathetic little Frank,” “Do you take me for a Roman with their ‘civilized’ titles.” The guard was taken aback “I apologize your highness.” “King Theuderic sends his regards and he need for assistance against the Neustrian”.

“Scout Sigerts, we have an alliance but not with your pathetic affairs only against Rome” The scout looked at Agiluf while kneeling and muttered slowly he knew what he would say next would either make or break the alliance “Yes you do high, highness only against Romans but we have something of value we can give you gold, King Theuderic sends you a small token”. The scout stopped talking for a moment then “We will give you more gold if you join us in the war against the Neustrians”

Agiluf looked white as a ghost with no expression on his face “You think the great Longobards can be bribed by gold pathetic frank, No we cannot”. The scout almost fainted as he heard Agiluf muttering those words. As Sigert was about to speak Agiluf interrupted “Pathetic Frank we don’t want just gold we want Burgandian land, a few towns will do”. The scout looked a bit more encouraged “Well all do respect highness but I have not the authority to grant you this request”. Agiluf looked at Sigert “Frank send this request to the king, what waiting for go now”. Sigert soon left as he approached the door he heard someone shouting “Frank I will spare you 1500 men but it will coast you in our war against Rome”. Sigert nodded in agreement and left the room urgently, he would have to deal with the consequences later.

As Sigert left he thought to himself “I don’t know who to feel more sorry for even though were enemies those poor Romans who have to deal with the Lombards in Italy or the poor bastards who will fight these savages”.

By August 3rd of 608 AD Agiluf had kept his word and his 1500 reinforcements were hurried into a larger army that was quickly assembled in the town of Alisinum. It was a small sized sleepy town supported by agriculture but in the wake of the war the residents had fled to other cities. Increasingly by August towns like Alisinum that were close to the Aquantine and Neustrian borders were becoming ghost towns this would in the next few years create an agricultural crisis for the Burgandians. Theuderic was preparing his now 4,000 strong now reinforced by the Lombards to relieve Lyon and go on the offensive against the Aquantine kingdom.

Merovech by the 6th of August was confidant that his troops were ready and he ordered the attack that would end the siege of Augustodunum. In the days that preceded the attack Aggripus along with several engineers had built three siege towers that were going to be used in order to storm the cities walls. Aggrippus divided the besieging forces into three groups in order to stretch the defenders. One group would attack from the main gate; the other from the back and the third lead by him would attack from the left of the wall. These attacks would occur simultaneously in order to achieve the desired result quickly and decisively break the siege with little bloodshed.

In the days that preceded the attack Aggripus wanted to confuse and disorient the defenders. Aggripus had his troops constantly on maneuver and sounding horns to outside the city to give the illusion of an imminent attack with periods of absolute silence. The real attack however came at night a few days later and it happened after hours of silence from the Naustrian army. The attack began with a massive barrage from onagers and scorpions engineered using old-fashioned methods. These onagers were basic and could only be used a few times before being destroyed. In the middle of the night residents of the besieged city were violently awoken at the sound of loud screaming and the smell of fire from different places. The defenders were awake but many were tired from the psychological impact of the drums and they put up a good fight although it was a heroic yet futile effort.

By morning of the next day there was still fighting inside the city but Merovech’s forces had controlled most of it. In a few hours Aggripus had near total control of the city and offered the remaining defenders a chance to surrender. Many of the remaining fighters were so exhausted and didn’t see the point in fighting any more. Those fighters who could escape decided to flee elsewhere and those who couldn’t flee decided to surrender hoping that the Naustrians would be merciful in terms of their treatment of them.

With the fall of Augustodunum Merovech proceeded to reinforce his position by bringing another 5,000 soldiers. Those soldiers spread out with the all ready present forces and Aggripus quickly ordered them to capture nearby villages and small towns. His reinforcements also began building up a defensive line that was going to be made up of outposts, troop garrisons and a supply line. For Merovech this war was ultimately a battle of the wills in essence who can last the longest while sacrificing everything.

His cousin Theuderic wasn’t sitting ideally by instead after the Burgandian army was assembled it began moving towards Lyon in order to relieve the city. Theuderic by August 5th marched quickly in order to relieve his capital before doing so he sent a message to the Aquantines.

“From Theuderic duke of Burgundy and king of all the Franks, I give the Aquantines three days to withdraw their Aquantine scum out of my domain and back to your hell hole.” “On the third day we will hunt down any Aquantine scum and flay them alive. This is your only warning”. The Aquantines who were besieging the city didn’t take this message too kindly and decided to begin storming Lyon to show the “little boy” whose scum. On 6th of August while the Burgandian reinforcement was two days away the Aquantines began storming the city.

Lyon was before the fall of the western empire inhabited for thousands of years and was during the time of the empire the capital of Gaul. It was also one of the most richest and important areas of the whole Roman Empire. Even by the time of Frankish Gaul Lyon along with Marseille and Paris were the three most important economic powerhouses in the area. For the Aquantines the capture of Lyon would be an important strategic victory that would allow them to get rid of one of their rivals and increase their chances of controlling the entire Frankish domain.

By the time Theuderic troops arrived the Aquantines had all ready stormed the city and there was savage fighting inside that had been ongoing for a day and a half. This was because Berthold had reinforced the city and it was well defended by nearly 4,000 of the Burgandians best soldiers. As the fighting intensified Theuderic’s army was able to control the gates sealing the majority of the Aquantines in. However just as it looked like the Burgandians were about to win, a group of Aquantines was able to besiege the Burgandian king.

With Theuderic besieged and his personal guards outnumbered he made the only logical decision something that would haunt him for a long time to come. Theuderic only cared about his life and not any one else after all he was willing to sacrifice his own grandmother to survive. He negotiated with those soldiers in exchange for his life he would give them all the gold inside the city. The soldiers sent word to their King Clothar III who accepted the offer and Clothar soon met Theuderic who agreed to a truce and a night of celebration to end the hostility between them.

The Aquantine army was soon in a relaxed mood and the city had a celebratory feeling to it. However at night while half the Burgandians and Aquantines the Burgandians began to slowly but quietly massacre the Aquantines by the morning the city was filled with dead bodies including that of the Aquantine king Clothar III who was hanged and had his head made into a skull cap while his body was flayed. Theuderic earned scorn from many of his officals but since he was king he had the last word. Even the Lombards while known for their brutality objected. News quickly spread of the massacre and Theuderic soon sent a message to every major power informing them of his actions. “The Aquantine scum was warned what happened to them is what will happen to the Naustrians if they don’t withdraw”
Merovech received the news with complete shock even he wouldn’t do something like this. The campaigning season was over by September and the war with the Franks was not resolved. Elsewhere as 609 AD approached Theodosius the eldest son of Maurice was about to begin his invasion of northern Italy and the emperors health was slowly failing.

Nurhaci · Jun 4, 2014

hope theodosius can destroy all lombard duchy

alpha · Jun 6, 2014

[FONT=&quot]Hi, another chapter ps Cena means dinner and i will post a map showing the situation soon as all ways enjoy. PS how is my character writing going. I am going to introduce Theodosius soon as a major person but its gona be a bit different

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[FONT=&quot]
Chapter 25: The red serpent [/FONT]

Aquileia northern Italy Theodosius’s camp
February 5th 609 AD

Dear brother

I write this letter in response to your kind words.You wanted to know what life was like for me well I woke up today with a shiver as I realized it was freezing in my tent and then I felt my stomach make noises, I was hungry as well. General Theodosius as we liked to call him believed that we should be kept on a tight leash that means for an ordinary soldier like me little food, constant drilling and constant prayer to god for our dreaded sins. Today for me was no different then yesterday we would start in the morning with a two-hour prayer, then we would get a simple meal that would last us until the evening. This makes me miss mothers cooking during cena. At night we would have a heavier meal that involves bread, some wine and meat depending on where we are.

Life is to say the least hard and Ceaser Theodosius is not a kind man but a fair one who lives with us and drinks with us. He drills like everyone else and some times a few of the soldiers would go fishing as we are close to many nearby rivers. We are going to soon move towards Castellizo a small town controlled by the Lombards so that we can start this dreaded war. We are attacking them because the Ceaser believes that the Lombards are weaker from supplying troops to the Franks. The Ceaser promised that if we win we would be given Aquileia to be rebuilt by us and Mary along with Titus would love it here. Imagine little Titus running around while I build our house and Mary would spin something nice. The locals seem friendly but talk behind our backs seeing us as foreigners but they prefer us to the Lombards.

We have about 5,000 soldiers with us and expect to easily capture the town but the question is dear brother will the other duchies intervene. The only reason that Theodosius is doing this is because he wants to “earn” his military credentials before becoming emperor. If you ask me this is a waste of time and the men here can be used near the Dunav where the bloody Slavs raid our border, not to mention the Persians who are up to something. Cousin Tullius tells me the border there is quiet too quiet. Perhaps something good can come out of this.

I hope to see you all in April during the time of Easter. Tell mother and father that I love them and send my regards to everyone in Thessalonica Your loving brother Cornelius.

February 12th 609AD Northern Italy, Lombard outpost near Castellizo

Agiluf was a border watch who usually took a small toll from travelers. He had been a border guard for several months. It was a mild autumn day with a bit of a chill in the air “well my friends I am bored, Alboin since you got here any games to play?”

Alboin responded in a calm but serious voice “Agiluf I don’t think it is wise to be playing games right now”

Taken aback Agiluf spoke “You seem down today?”
“Well dear Agiluf I saw a red serpent today while I was dreaming it first hit you by the throat and squeezed you up until blood came out of your eyes.”

Alboin took a moment to breath “Then, when you were dead and on the ground your eyes wide open watching how it killed me, it came at me quickly wrapping it self around me until it reached my eyes I could see it had blood on its eyes and then it bit me”

After pausing “I could see myself from a distance as it ripped off my head and there we were I woke up breathing heavily”

“Albion that is a funny story my friend, we all know here your too stubborn to die that easily after all it took you 10 minutes to hunt that boar and eat it. Im sure you meant to leave some for us” (other men laugh)

A few hours later Agiluf was hearing sounds coming from a distance, “What was that sound Adaloald?”

“I don’t know, we sent Alboin with two others to find out, I am absolutely certain it is not his red serpent”

“Listen Adaloald I don’t know what is going to happen head to town tell them to stop all traffic and seal the gate until we find out”

“But my friend Agiluf you will get into trouble, I might but it is safer that go now”

Adaloald soon rode a horse and departed

Alboin came bursting back with two other men “Its the red serpent there here!!!”

Agiluf had serious stare on his face “It was a funny story but what is going on Alboin really?”

Adaloald “Its Romans and a lot of them?” Agiluf had a bad stare on his face “Tell the men too” Before Agiluf could continue a spear landed on his write leg and another one on his forehead instantly killing him.

Theodosius’s 5,000 men army began their invasion of the Duchy of Friuli by first taking the small but strategically important settlement of Castellizo. His army then proceeded to capture other smaller towns in the nearby areas and over the next few months expanded their control over a lot of territory. Until they were close to reaching the capital of the duchy of Friuli that was Forum Iulii. If Theodosius would successfully conquer the duchy then the Roman Empire would be able to reestablish a natural border against invading armies and other over the western side of the alps.

By April of 609 AD Theodosius was preparing for the siege of Forum Iulii and he was going to use something different in order to recapture it. The war had been going very well for Theodosius since the start because he had been mostly dealing with small towns and outposts allowing him to easily capture the area. His troops had been able to quickly capture a lot of territory because most of the Lombard troops belonging to the duchy were sent to Gaul to fight the Neustrians. At the same time the senate in Italy was quiet because there was a “ceaser” in Italy who promised to conquer the duchy of Friuli by Christmas.

In the west the Frankish civil war had reached a stalemate with neither side having the necessary manpower to finish off the other one. In order to deal with this problem Theuderic activated his alliance with the Visigoths and the Lombards. He used the excuse that the Romans had invaded the duchy of Friuli. The war of the first coalition was about to begin in 610 AD and it would consume the entire Madeternian. Towards the east the Persians had successfully turned Axum into a vassal state and forced them to begin a naval blockade of Red sea that would target Roman ships going to India.

alpha · Jun 6, 2014

Here is the map showing the sitiuation as promised x showing battle of Costallizo, black borders of Roman empire and red newly captured areas.

Timmy811 · Jun 9, 2014

I'm really liking this. Slowly but surely the Empire is being restored.

We appreciate all your hard work.

EDIT: That last map isn't showing up

alpha · Jun 21, 2014

You are all going to get your wish soon very soon.

In the meantime sorry i havent posted in a while i have been busy with real life. However expect an update within the next few days.

PS i am half way through writing the newest update it is really interesting and is going to cover a period of five years so expect a lot and this update is going to set the stage for new things in the story.

alpha · Jun 28, 2014

A new chapter its very long not kidding seriously

. It is going to cover the build up to total war and some other things. Enjoy and as all ways comments appreciated

.

Heads up A legion is made of of 5500 men and each legion had 5 cohorts.

[FONT=&quot]Chapter 26: And so it begins[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]By January of 609 AD Emperor Maurice was now in his late sixties and spent most of his time in seclusion writing military manuals based on his experiences. The emperor also spent time with empress Constantina often in the gardens and for the past few years the affairs of state were becoming less important to him. Instead his sons Theodosius, Paulus who had returned from Africa and Justinian were making the important decisions. Theodosius was in Italy campaigning against Lombards and this made Justinian the man in charge of running the empire because of his administrative experience. While Paulus was an expert on legal and economic affairs and helped Justinian run the empire.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For Paulus and Justinian running the empire was a difficult task because they had to deal with a bad financial situation and multiple foreign crises. Their main concern however was the financial crisis that occurred as a result of a trade deficit. This deficit was happening because of the war in the Madeternian and the increasing Persian blockade of the trade routes in the east. The income for the empire was down from 12 million Solidi from the previous year to 10 million in 609 AD. The loss of income was very dangerous because it would force the empire to find new ways to fund the military and this often meant increasing taxes on the peasants. This was a problem because taxes were all ready high and increasing them even more would carry the risk of a revolt. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Paulus and Justinian had different ideas on how to run the economy and solve the empires financial crisis. On one hand Paulus believed that the problem with the empire was due to the ineffectiveness of the economic system rather then tax collection. He wanted to redraw the empires provinces in order to improve the efficiency of tax collection, put the tax burden on the rich while lowering taxes on the poor peasants. Finally he wanted to give tax breaks to farmers and merchants who found new ways of increasing the amount and quality of the products their profession yielded. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Justinian on the other hand believed that the government should increase taxes on the poor while gaining the support of the rich. He also wanted to give the rich a greater say in the way the economy should be run because they were the ones who had the wealth could create the jobs and keep the empire together. The clash of ideas didn’t really help the empire, as it needed a decision quickly in order to fund the new war in the west. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In order to break the deadlock the emperor intervened to the dismay of Justinian he agreed to both of the proposals. He would divide some of the provinces in the East, Africa and Italy. The provinces were to be divided based on population and the new provinces with bigger population would pay higher taxes while the provinces with lower populations would be entitled to tax cuts. At the same time the less populated provinces would be required to increase their population in order to maintain their tax cuts. Retired soldiers would be used to increase the less populated provinces. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The soldiers would farm the lands and thus increase the taxes for the empire. In the short term Justinian turned to “bread and circuses” to increase revenue. Justinian decided to reinstate the ancient Olympics held in Greece but removed some of the pagan elements in them. He also expanded the government’s postal service in order to get more revenue while borrowing money from several of the aristocratic and promised to pay them later in the form of land and booty from Italy. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The general situation of the empire in 609 AD was mixed the East was stable but with high tensions running through the eastern borders. Things were tense especially along the Persian borders where Roman soldiers along with their Ghassnid allies were on high alert all though trade in the east wasn’t that badly affected. However it was becoming more difficult to trade. In Italy the south was stable but by April was becoming less populated as many young men took the call of arms to join the war of liberation. In exchange for joining the army many men had expected to receive rich Italian lands in the south. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The recruits for the war effort didn’t just come from Italy they came from different parts of the empire, as there was a genuine sense of nationality and patriotism. These emotions were developed over the period of the reign of emperor Maurice as the empire slowly, painfully and gradually rebuilt it self from decades of decline and misfortune. That’s why Theodosius was in Italy in order to show solidarity with the Italians and improve his relationship with the local people. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The emperor and his family were extremely popular ever since he visited in 591 AD. He was popular because of the infrastructure programs that rebuilt much of the south and because he granted them a lot of autonomy. Theodosius returning to Italy, the heartland of where the empire originally started was seen by many as the emperor might return to Rome and make Italy the center of the empire again. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Augustundom April 15th 609 AD, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Neustrian occupation military headquarters [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]By mid April both the Neustrians and Burgandian Franks were formulating their own plans to end the civil war that had been ongoing for the previous year. At the command head quarters in Augustundom King Merovech was busy preparing his final battle plans. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The feeling within the room was one of exhaustion as everyone was tired of the constant warfare, raids and counter raids. Both Agrippus and Merovech were discussing the final war plans when an officer entered the room.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Louis came bursting into the room “Your highness I bring important news,”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Seeing that Louis had a hard time talking Agrippus told him “Catch your breath”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“Thank you sir, the Visigoths have launched an invasion into Aquantine territory and they have also attacked Roman Spain”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Merovech was taken a bit by this he never thought that Theuderic would be this reckless. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Looking at Louis, Merovech began speaking in a firm voice “Send a message to the Austrasians, Baveri and Swabia tell them I want to make an alliance against Theuderic”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Merovech continued talking “tell them, tell them they can have as much Burgandian territory they want, tell them Theuderic is a monster that must be stopped before he comes after them as well”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Stunned Agrippus looked at Merovech “Well all do respect your majesty but are you seriously going to bring the Austrasians, Baveri and Swabia into this war?”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“I am afraid so, we need all the support we can get and with the Aquantines out of the war its only us left, to be honest my dear friend Agrippus I wont make an alliance with the Romans out of respect for you”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]With the revelation Agrippus was a bit shocked he knew he had to win this war “Thank you your majesty I promise we will win this one”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“Dear Agrippus I promise you as well when this war is over I will give you some land to rule over”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“Thank you your majesty”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Agrippus now looked at Louis “Dispatch the messengers now with our terms”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Louis nodded in agreement and left the room while Merovech and Agrippus returned to their military planning. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]By the 18th of April Theodosius who was personally commanding the second Italian legion that contained about 5,000 men was at Forum Julii. He was ready to begin the siege that would end the Duchy of Fruilli and for the empire this victory was essential as Forum Julii was the first major Roman city to fall to the Lombards a century earlier. Conquering it would mean legitimacy for Theodosius and a symbolic victory for the empire. In the past few days his army had marched from Castellizo towards the city encountering little resistance or no resistance along the way. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]While marching towards Forum Julli the Roman army encountered burned out small villages and saw few people. From what Theodosius had gathered the new duke of Friuli, Tasso was getting desperate so he ordered every person able to fight to be conscripted into the city’s protection. Forum Julli was itself a strategically important city because who ever controlled it would control access to Italy itself. It was a small city with a population of 15,000 thousand but from what Theodosius estimated the population was probably increased by a few thousand. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Outside Forum Julli, Roman military camp [/FONT]18 April 609 AD

[FONT=&quot]Theodosius was in front of his army while riding his horse; he was giving a speech before beginning the battle [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“Men, it’s been a difficult journey getting here we have marched a long way and I know a lot of you come from Africa, Syria, Aegyptus and Italy.”

“We are all here for one thing because we believe in Rome, we believe in the empire and we are fighting for Country and God today”

“This is only one small battle rest assured many more will come but as long as we fight hard enough we will win” “I see a victory today, now on to our bloody business”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]After Theodosius gave his speech several assembled Onagers began launching fire rocks at the walls of which a large section fell. Instantly killing all the defenders in that section after that Theodosius ordered two cohorts to enter the city through the broken section. Despite the objections of his military commanders Theodosius ordered two more cohorts to storm the main gate by using a battering ram. As the first wave of soldiers approached a lot of archers positioned in the wall killed many of the attacking soldiers. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Theodosius knew that the Lombards weren’t going to make it easy for him as the first wave of attacking soldiers retreated along with the wounded. A senior Centurion by the name of Constantine who helped the emperor survives during Phocas’s rebellion was the one storming the city from the breached section. Since he had learned about the disastrous first assault against the main gate Constantine decided against launching a full assault.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Instead he decided to use his Hunnic cavalry, Scorpions and a few onagers to soften the defenses before launching a new assaults. It took a few hours for Constantine to set up everything his troops began the attack at noon with archers firing from horses, Scorpios launching projectiles and onagers firing rocks. Constantine proceeded with the assault for thirty minutes and then he sent in his ground forces. Who were able to quickly establish a zone of control inside the city but there was still heavy fighting inside. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Unknown to Theodosius the Lombards had focused most of their forces on containing the breach leaving a few soldiers for the defense of the main gate. A few hours after the failed assault, 2 cohorts moved towards the main gate backed up by roman projectiles that paralyzed the remaining defenders and prevented them from launching a counter strike. This time the attacking Roman soldiers were able to successfully use the battering ram breaching the main gate and with most of the defenders on the other side Theodosius's troops were able to successfully fan out inside the city. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As Theodosius’s troops now entered the city there was savage fighting inside and by evening it was all over as the Roman army battled it was towards the citadel from different directions. The duke Tasso decided to surrender instead of prolonging the fight he hoped that he could continue to rule as a client of the Romans. After the surrender of the Duke, Theodosius restrained his troops from pillaging and looting instead he paid them money from the dukes treasury and sent the rest of the money to Constantinople. Theodosius then made Constantine military governor of the city while placing Tasso under house arrest. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]With the fall of the Forum Julli the duchy of Friuli had ceased to exist the remaining territory had been carved up between the Romans and the Lombard. This was a first come first server approach as scouts from the different states moved quickly to establish a presence. Theodosius spent the next few months securing his side of the Alpine passes, sending scouting missions on raids to test Lombard defenses. The situation in Italy was tense, the Senate in Rome was thrilled about the news however the Lombard duchies of Tuscany and Spoleto were not happy and were preparing for war.

The duke of Benevento a Lombard duchy boarding Spoleto pledged his allegiance to the Romans as his duchy was a de facto Roman territory. In Spain the Visigoths were constantly raiding the countryside in Roman Spainia looking for weaknesses and finding plenty of them. While In Africa General Priscus was assembling the Second Egyptian Legion and the First Mauration Legion for an invasion of Northern Italy. Back in Constantinople the 11th legion stationed in Egypt was ordered to move down from Egypt and secure an alliance with the bordering states against a potential Persian invasion. By mid July most of the Madeternian was holding its breath waiting for the war to begin. [/FONT]