Second Votive
The Second Votive War
To the Great Khagan Shiqar Kulujogul, the Universal Ruler, the Unconquered Lion: By the Guardians of the Eight Directions and Great Tangra know that we shall endure in this place with its high walls until they are crimson with the blood of those who are false and we can no longer raise our arms in opposition.
Our position is good, the cisterns deep, the granaries full. By your forethought and beneficence we shall hold this city and if by treachery or force of arms we are overwhelmed the Keep shall not be taken and they shall be forestalled here.
May this missive find you in good health, and may its bearer, my beloved brother, describe to you the situation in greater detail.
-Disiabat son of Sulukichor, commander of the Biharabad Garrison
The Second Votive War (959) had many advantages over the first, but perhaps the greatest was the unification of most of Europe under a single monarch. Aloyisus IV, after his coronation, had essentially the total support of his people and lords. Messages announcing the coming war spread across Christendom like wildfire in the wake of the young Emperor’s coronation and the armed nobility of Europe responded with great enthusiasm – and so too did the common people. The cities of the Italian coast, old enemies of the Khirichan, sent massed town levies of infantry who were equipped to a remarkably high standard. The Germans also came en masse – few peoples had the same Votivist zeal after the long decades of war with the Polish. The Spanish and Aquitanians tended to provide the smallest contingents, with the exception of the Duke of Toulouse, who joined the war with an ostentatiously equipped contingent of heavy cavalry and his own urban levies.
The Second Votive War was more organized from the beginning, and the logistics were no exception. The entire realm came together to fill massive granaries on the Isonzo, hopefully allowing the army to remain in the field and connected to a line of supply near indefinitely. Several newly-minted Count Palatines were given executive authority over supply and appointed large staffs to see the project done, and vast estates in the Balkans were promised in reward.
The allied fleets were also assembled off the coast of Attica, a force numbering hundreds of war galleys. Their goal would be, at the appointed time to cut Constantinople off from the sea and enable a proper siege. Constantinople was essentially the sole goal of the Second Votive War. There was never any notion of going beyond it. The Votivist knights swore sacred oaths to retake the city, and Jerusalem was never mentioned – in no small part because Aloysius IV sought the assistance of Heshanid Egypt, promising trade deals and leeway to expand their power in the Aegean in exchange for naval support which never materialized. The Heshanids had troubles of their own, and lacked the religious fervor of the Franks.
Meanwhile, the Khirichan had two whole years to prepare. Aloysius’ declaration and the proper build-up and calling of vassals took time – especially as the monarch personally toured the realm extensively beforehand. However, by the time the granaries were being built and the armies assembled, Shiqar Kulujogul was on his deathbed. He had five sons, the eldest among them Kaikaus Arslan and Kaikuluj Ishbara, a striking pair of twins who took command of the army, while Kuluj Tangrasah remained in Pianjiqand, overseeing the homeland and the two youngest (from the Khagan’s second wife), Sutluq and Ishbara remained by their father’s side.
Aloysius IV almost immediately found himself forced to confront a lack of actual martial experience. He was well-read, and well-versed in the theory of military strategy, however its stark reality was a new and shocking thing to him. Accordingly, he made complex plans which rarely survived contact with the subordinates implementing them, let alone the enemy. His opening two-pronged assault into Xasar territory was one such plan. Ostensibly, a largely German army under Dietrich, the Duke of Bavaria, was to depart from Linz and put pressure on the Xasar from the north, while the main body of the army marched on the key city of Biharabad [near OTL Zagreb], the lynchpin of any march on Constantinople. Negotiations Aloysius had conducted with the Grand Prince of Sklavenia, Petar I, had assured him that if Biharabad fell, and Aloysius conducted to him certain noble hostages to vouch for his good intentions, the Sklavenians would join the Votive War.
Petar, however, had little desire to aid his fellow Christians. It was a Frankish Duke who had undermined his Kingdom, with the help of Aloysius’ father. After receiving the hostages he cautiously stalled on providing even meagre assistance, and provided all he knew of the Frankish plans to the Khagan in Konstantikert, while hoping that Biharabad would not fall.
The Khirichan, learning of the Frankish plan (and learning of its many deficiencies) played a long game. They did not stop the Franks from besieging Biharabad, and instead harassed the besiegers and refused to be brought to battle while buying time for their allies to the north to assemble. The twin Hanates sent many thousands of men, and even Gardaveldi sent a token contingent of heavy lancers. Biharabad was not a huge city, but it was a well defended one, and the Franks were stalled outside its gates. Aloysius IV’s fleet accordingly remained in Attica unused and the Frankish army helplessly watched as the Khirichan army swelled in the distance.
Meanwhile, Kaikuluj Ishbara took the fight to Dietrich. Gathering the forces of several local Xasar Satraps and linking up with the Rusichi, he forced an engagement with the German army. In this battle, the Khirichan were in many ways outmatched. Long years of warring against the mobile Polish cavalry had taught the Franks highly effective strategies for blunting cavalry charges, and when the Khirichan harassed at a distance, German archers retaliated while hiding behind great wooden shields to reload. Ultimately, the battle was inconclusive, but the Germans halted their advance and withdrew into their own territory.
With the German threat forestalled, Kaikuluj was able to ride south in force and threaten the Frankish host from the north. Operating in conjunction with a much larger but less mobile force commanded by Kaikaus Arslan, Kaikuluj harassed Frankish supply lines and prevented them from effectively foraging. However, just as things seemed their most desperate and rationing became severe, the Frankish army broke through the walls of Biharabad and put the city to sack. Simultaneously, a harassing feint by Kaikuluj was repulsed along the Isonzo river.
It would be the sole Frankish victory of the Second Votive War. Biharabad was torched and devastated, but with its granaries and cisterns not yet diminished, the Franks were resupplied and what was more, they had a base of operations in the Balkans. The Slavic vassals of the Khirichan rose up in great numbers, but much to Prince Petar’s disappointment, they did not join Sklavenia. The Croats in particular aligned themselves with the Franks, and the Sklavenian ruler was forced to bite his tongue and cooperate even with the knowledge that many of the Frankish gains he might have a claim to could just as easily be given to the Croatian nobles.
After the fall of Biharabad, the Frankish nobility largely assumed they would have an easy march to Constantinople. The Khirichan would not pursue them deep into Sklavenian territory, and their lines of supply could be easily maintained until they reached Thrace. Then, the Khirichan would let them besiege the city and attempt a similar harassing campaign as at Biharabad. The war would be for better or worse decided at Constantinople.
However, the Khirichan instead arrayed for a pitched battle, goading Aloysius into a disastrous engagement. The Rusichi in particular had fine heavy lancers and strong axe-bearing infantry who cut a swathe through the Frankish shield walls. The Khirichan cavalry for their part nearly encircled their Frankish opponents and Aloysius’ army barely escaped annihilation by a valiant rearguard action led by the Franco-Mauri Palatine Guisef of Agirgent.
Next year, however, fortunes would favor the Franks. The Rhomans of the Pontic coast rose in rebellion over the winter and massacred some of the Sahu garrisons in a series of brutal street-fights. The remaining Sahu were hard-pressed to maintain their control of the countryside, despite hiring Alan mercenaries to augment their ranks. They appealed to the Khagan for aid, but received almost nothing – several Oghuz clans were moving in the east, trying to utilize the distraction of the great Khaganate to gain good pastureland in the west. Pianjiqand’s attentions were now distracted on two fronts, and the Khirichan war effort floundered.
Next year, a united Frankish army besieged Constantinople with less resistance. The weaker Sahu navy was bottled up in the harbor and the city was properly cut off from resupply. Just as things began to seem their most grim, Shiqar Kulujogul passed away. While his sons continued the defense the open question of who was to become Khagan was deferred, at least ostensibly. Within the walls however, Prince Ishbara died under mysterious circumstances, and Sutluq, his younger brother, began acting increasingly like a sole ruler. To his credit, he was very capable at managing the defense and rationing food reserves, and the populace lived in relative comfort while the external besiegers suffered a harsh plague which would last until 961, leaving many thousands of dead and granting blessed reprieve to the defenders.
As the year wore on, the situation in the east was only becoming more desperate. Many of the Turkish clans had united under a warlord named Chagri Yabgu, and were pressing across the Rav-Itil in force, aided by certain clans of the Bajinak who nursed a long grudge against the Khirichan. The bulk of the Khirichan returned home to defend their homelands. In the absence of the Princes, it was Han Yasenmir of the White Rus who led the defense in a council with some of the greater Xasar Satraps, and this played a key role in undermining the credibility of the Khirichan empire. The eastern nations had all remained under the Turkic yoke because it had been seen as their only hope for resisting the Franks. However, even in the absence of the Khirichan, the Rus led an effective defense of the Xasar territories, and by the end of the campaign season were were camped outside the walls of Hadrankert, threatening the Frankish siege.
This was a small blessing for the Khirichan, however. Despite a victory in the east against Chagri, his coalition remained unified and when Kaikaus Arslan returned west with few reinforcements beyond his personal honor guard and some Sahu levies, he was not treated with the proper respect due to a Khirichan Prince, but rather one as a collection of allies. Furthermore, he could not publicly object because Yasenmir was his brother in law and thus in a sense part of the royal clan himself.
961 would open with the battle of Constantinople – a disaster for Aloysius, who was forced to fight a running retreat from the city. His army was decimated and upon arrival in Slavic territory, their Sklavenian “allies” betrayed them, slaughtering many more and capturing the Emperor. The Sklavenian troops had avoided significant casualties in the siege or the subsequent battles, largely by the design of Petar and his secret Khirichan allies, and thus were fresh and able to massacre the exhausted and disorganized Frankish troops.
Many would escape, of course. Prince Petar lacked the manpower to destroy an army as vast as Aloysius had deployed, but he did manage quite effectively to decapitate it. Duke Majorian took control almost immediately and led its shattered remnants into Croat territory. However, the Votive War was over. It fell to Majorian to negotiate its conclusion, and the humiliating abandonment of essentially every Frankish conquest west of the Isonzo. Negotiations with Petar, however, would go slightly differently. According to rumor, the Grand Prince offered the Emperor’s safe return in exchange for a massive ransom and the Duchy of Great Achaea. However, while the historical record is spotty and contradictory, it seems that Majorian ensured the breakdown of negotiations and merely waited ou the eventual death of the Emperor due to injuries sustained in captivity. With Aloysius IV out of the way, Majorian was presumptive Emperor of the entire Frankish Kingdom.
To the Great Khagan Shiqar Kulujogul, the Universal Ruler, the Unconquered Lion: By the Guardians of the Eight Directions and Great Tangra know that we shall endure in this place with its high walls until they are crimson with the blood of those who are false and we can no longer raise our arms in opposition.
Our position is good, the cisterns deep, the granaries full. By your forethought and beneficence we shall hold this city and if by treachery or force of arms we are overwhelmed the Keep shall not be taken and they shall be forestalled here.
May this missive find you in good health, and may its bearer, my beloved brother, describe to you the situation in greater detail.
-Disiabat son of Sulukichor, commander of the Biharabad Garrison
The Second Votive War (959) had many advantages over the first, but perhaps the greatest was the unification of most of Europe under a single monarch. Aloyisus IV, after his coronation, had essentially the total support of his people and lords. Messages announcing the coming war spread across Christendom like wildfire in the wake of the young Emperor’s coronation and the armed nobility of Europe responded with great enthusiasm – and so too did the common people. The cities of the Italian coast, old enemies of the Khirichan, sent massed town levies of infantry who were equipped to a remarkably high standard. The Germans also came en masse – few peoples had the same Votivist zeal after the long decades of war with the Polish. The Spanish and Aquitanians tended to provide the smallest contingents, with the exception of the Duke of Toulouse, who joined the war with an ostentatiously equipped contingent of heavy cavalry and his own urban levies.
The Second Votive War was more organized from the beginning, and the logistics were no exception. The entire realm came together to fill massive granaries on the Isonzo, hopefully allowing the army to remain in the field and connected to a line of supply near indefinitely. Several newly-minted Count Palatines were given executive authority over supply and appointed large staffs to see the project done, and vast estates in the Balkans were promised in reward.
The allied fleets were also assembled off the coast of Attica, a force numbering hundreds of war galleys. Their goal would be, at the appointed time to cut Constantinople off from the sea and enable a proper siege. Constantinople was essentially the sole goal of the Second Votive War. There was never any notion of going beyond it. The Votivist knights swore sacred oaths to retake the city, and Jerusalem was never mentioned – in no small part because Aloysius IV sought the assistance of Heshanid Egypt, promising trade deals and leeway to expand their power in the Aegean in exchange for naval support which never materialized. The Heshanids had troubles of their own, and lacked the religious fervor of the Franks.
Meanwhile, the Khirichan had two whole years to prepare. Aloysius’ declaration and the proper build-up and calling of vassals took time – especially as the monarch personally toured the realm extensively beforehand. However, by the time the granaries were being built and the armies assembled, Shiqar Kulujogul was on his deathbed. He had five sons, the eldest among them Kaikaus Arslan and Kaikuluj Ishbara, a striking pair of twins who took command of the army, while Kuluj Tangrasah remained in Pianjiqand, overseeing the homeland and the two youngest (from the Khagan’s second wife), Sutluq and Ishbara remained by their father’s side.
Aloysius IV almost immediately found himself forced to confront a lack of actual martial experience. He was well-read, and well-versed in the theory of military strategy, however its stark reality was a new and shocking thing to him. Accordingly, he made complex plans which rarely survived contact with the subordinates implementing them, let alone the enemy. His opening two-pronged assault into Xasar territory was one such plan. Ostensibly, a largely German army under Dietrich, the Duke of Bavaria, was to depart from Linz and put pressure on the Xasar from the north, while the main body of the army marched on the key city of Biharabad [near OTL Zagreb], the lynchpin of any march on Constantinople. Negotiations Aloysius had conducted with the Grand Prince of Sklavenia, Petar I, had assured him that if Biharabad fell, and Aloysius conducted to him certain noble hostages to vouch for his good intentions, the Sklavenians would join the Votive War.
Petar, however, had little desire to aid his fellow Christians. It was a Frankish Duke who had undermined his Kingdom, with the help of Aloysius’ father. After receiving the hostages he cautiously stalled on providing even meagre assistance, and provided all he knew of the Frankish plans to the Khagan in Konstantikert, while hoping that Biharabad would not fall.
The Khirichan, learning of the Frankish plan (and learning of its many deficiencies) played a long game. They did not stop the Franks from besieging Biharabad, and instead harassed the besiegers and refused to be brought to battle while buying time for their allies to the north to assemble. The twin Hanates sent many thousands of men, and even Gardaveldi sent a token contingent of heavy lancers. Biharabad was not a huge city, but it was a well defended one, and the Franks were stalled outside its gates. Aloysius IV’s fleet accordingly remained in Attica unused and the Frankish army helplessly watched as the Khirichan army swelled in the distance.
Meanwhile, Kaikuluj Ishbara took the fight to Dietrich. Gathering the forces of several local Xasar Satraps and linking up with the Rusichi, he forced an engagement with the German army. In this battle, the Khirichan were in many ways outmatched. Long years of warring against the mobile Polish cavalry had taught the Franks highly effective strategies for blunting cavalry charges, and when the Khirichan harassed at a distance, German archers retaliated while hiding behind great wooden shields to reload. Ultimately, the battle was inconclusive, but the Germans halted their advance and withdrew into their own territory.
With the German threat forestalled, Kaikuluj was able to ride south in force and threaten the Frankish host from the north. Operating in conjunction with a much larger but less mobile force commanded by Kaikaus Arslan, Kaikuluj harassed Frankish supply lines and prevented them from effectively foraging. However, just as things seemed their most desperate and rationing became severe, the Frankish army broke through the walls of Biharabad and put the city to sack. Simultaneously, a harassing feint by Kaikuluj was repulsed along the Isonzo river.
It would be the sole Frankish victory of the Second Votive War. Biharabad was torched and devastated, but with its granaries and cisterns not yet diminished, the Franks were resupplied and what was more, they had a base of operations in the Balkans. The Slavic vassals of the Khirichan rose up in great numbers, but much to Prince Petar’s disappointment, they did not join Sklavenia. The Croats in particular aligned themselves with the Franks, and the Sklavenian ruler was forced to bite his tongue and cooperate even with the knowledge that many of the Frankish gains he might have a claim to could just as easily be given to the Croatian nobles.
After the fall of Biharabad, the Frankish nobility largely assumed they would have an easy march to Constantinople. The Khirichan would not pursue them deep into Sklavenian territory, and their lines of supply could be easily maintained until they reached Thrace. Then, the Khirichan would let them besiege the city and attempt a similar harassing campaign as at Biharabad. The war would be for better or worse decided at Constantinople.
However, the Khirichan instead arrayed for a pitched battle, goading Aloysius into a disastrous engagement. The Rusichi in particular had fine heavy lancers and strong axe-bearing infantry who cut a swathe through the Frankish shield walls. The Khirichan cavalry for their part nearly encircled their Frankish opponents and Aloysius’ army barely escaped annihilation by a valiant rearguard action led by the Franco-Mauri Palatine Guisef of Agirgent.
Next year, however, fortunes would favor the Franks. The Rhomans of the Pontic coast rose in rebellion over the winter and massacred some of the Sahu garrisons in a series of brutal street-fights. The remaining Sahu were hard-pressed to maintain their control of the countryside, despite hiring Alan mercenaries to augment their ranks. They appealed to the Khagan for aid, but received almost nothing – several Oghuz clans were moving in the east, trying to utilize the distraction of the great Khaganate to gain good pastureland in the west. Pianjiqand’s attentions were now distracted on two fronts, and the Khirichan war effort floundered.
Next year, a united Frankish army besieged Constantinople with less resistance. The weaker Sahu navy was bottled up in the harbor and the city was properly cut off from resupply. Just as things began to seem their most grim, Shiqar Kulujogul passed away. While his sons continued the defense the open question of who was to become Khagan was deferred, at least ostensibly. Within the walls however, Prince Ishbara died under mysterious circumstances, and Sutluq, his younger brother, began acting increasingly like a sole ruler. To his credit, he was very capable at managing the defense and rationing food reserves, and the populace lived in relative comfort while the external besiegers suffered a harsh plague which would last until 961, leaving many thousands of dead and granting blessed reprieve to the defenders.
As the year wore on, the situation in the east was only becoming more desperate. Many of the Turkish clans had united under a warlord named Chagri Yabgu, and were pressing across the Rav-Itil in force, aided by certain clans of the Bajinak who nursed a long grudge against the Khirichan. The bulk of the Khirichan returned home to defend their homelands. In the absence of the Princes, it was Han Yasenmir of the White Rus who led the defense in a council with some of the greater Xasar Satraps, and this played a key role in undermining the credibility of the Khirichan empire. The eastern nations had all remained under the Turkic yoke because it had been seen as their only hope for resisting the Franks. However, even in the absence of the Khirichan, the Rus led an effective defense of the Xasar territories, and by the end of the campaign season were were camped outside the walls of Hadrankert, threatening the Frankish siege.
This was a small blessing for the Khirichan, however. Despite a victory in the east against Chagri, his coalition remained unified and when Kaikaus Arslan returned west with few reinforcements beyond his personal honor guard and some Sahu levies, he was not treated with the proper respect due to a Khirichan Prince, but rather one as a collection of allies. Furthermore, he could not publicly object because Yasenmir was his brother in law and thus in a sense part of the royal clan himself.
961 would open with the battle of Constantinople – a disaster for Aloysius, who was forced to fight a running retreat from the city. His army was decimated and upon arrival in Slavic territory, their Sklavenian “allies” betrayed them, slaughtering many more and capturing the Emperor. The Sklavenian troops had avoided significant casualties in the siege or the subsequent battles, largely by the design of Petar and his secret Khirichan allies, and thus were fresh and able to massacre the exhausted and disorganized Frankish troops.
Many would escape, of course. Prince Petar lacked the manpower to destroy an army as vast as Aloysius had deployed, but he did manage quite effectively to decapitate it. Duke Majorian took control almost immediately and led its shattered remnants into Croat territory. However, the Votive War was over. It fell to Majorian to negotiate its conclusion, and the humiliating abandonment of essentially every Frankish conquest west of the Isonzo. Negotiations with Petar, however, would go slightly differently. According to rumor, the Grand Prince offered the Emperor’s safe return in exchange for a massive ransom and the Duchy of Great Achaea. However, while the historical record is spotty and contradictory, it seems that Majorian ensured the breakdown of negotiations and merely waited ou the eventual death of the Emperor due to injuries sustained in captivity. With Aloysius IV out of the way, Majorian was presumptive Emperor of the entire Frankish Kingdom.
