As is traditional, here is what I listened to while processing this turn. Pretend to care, or not.
Generally eastward starting with ...
Thus it was that he ordered scrolls bundled, furniture knocked down, and wagons built - or confiscated. When the mud had dried the Hepthalites took to the road en masse, this time rolling eastward to Issyk-Kul. Clans which had settled in Bactria, Bactra, Kara-Khitan, and Maracanda left what had become their homes to the applause of parents and the whines of their children, who had come to appreciate the joys of literature, theater, and solid walls. Boqara was let go in order to simplify governance. By the end of 417 over 100,000 Hephthalites were encamped in Issyk-Kul, their new home.
Surely Tengri had smiled upon them, for their ancient foes the Juan-Juan and allies were on their scent, and a timely transhumance saved many Hephthalites from enslavement or slaughter (see Juan-Juan Khanate). Ilginc smiled grimly at the travails of his clan-enemy.
The populations of the cities and villages in Bactria and Kara-Khitan declared national holidays, made offerings at reopened temples and churches, and generally rejoiced. The many persecutions by the Hephthalites were announced in the streets, written down, and even engraved in stone. Those few who had benefitted under nomadic rule quietly slipped out of town and fled to Sogdiana or other friendly lands.
Over the next four years the High Shaman spread the word in the countryside, establishing many new shaman. The movements of the Juan-Juan and Hephthalites were no barrier to the spread of an inherently itinerate priesthood. Even the ancient trade city of Kashgar hosted a number of converts, much to the consternation of the Buddhist monastics.
En route most tribes give the khan's army a pass through their lands, but those of Kyzl-Kum object and a month is wasted chasing the locals about the rocky wastes. In Khwarizm the Hephthalite heir decides it prudent to hide in Dashovuz until the Turks pass. By 420 the tribes of Otrar and Tabolsk are so well-pleased with the migration that they decide Sonqur deserves their anda - and a share of the loot. The fact that many of the Royal Tribe now worshipped the Dead God under the Patriarch of Alexandria did not diminish their enthusiasm for striking against the Zoroastrian menace (see Monophysite Christian Church).
Thus it was that the Spring of 417 saw the clans retracing some of their route, marching, riding, and rolling towards the rising sun: towards the lands and cities of the Hephthalites. The mighty host was delayed at the Boresthenes by the Alans of Levedia, who were inadvertently insulted by the tarkhan. A month was wasted in removing the obstacle, in the course of which a couple of hundred horsemen were lost but replaced by defectors.
By Spring of 418 Anakin's men were looting Torki. The local Alans objected and engaged in a harassing campaign against the invaders. There was not much booty to be had, and the Juan-Juan left the region disappointed. By the Winter of 419 the horde was encamped among the Ghuzz, who had left the Oghuz Turks over the issue of migration to Persia. Anakin arranged the marriage of a Ghuzz princess to Crown Prince P'ulochen, an alliance between them was thus sealed, and the Ghuzz agreed to migrate south. Further, gurkhan Kutelburi was wed to the Princess Hara, bringing him into the royal lineage. At the same wedding ceremony Princess Shara was married off to the loyal Khan of the Eastern Turks, Alptekin. All the steppe could feel the love ...
Further travel took them all into the lands of the exiled Hephthalite khakhan, Akhshunwaz. Tribal enmity aside, the khakhan saw that his chances of regaining the wider Hephthalite patrimony might well rest on the shoulders of his clan-enemy. Tengri wore the mask of a trickster at times, warning men to seize opportunity as a hawk might seize a mouse. And so the court at Dashovuz entertained the leaders of the horde and warmed to their message while they encamped in his irgun to the end of 420.
Construction of a road into the troubled province of Korat continued at a leisurely pace. Trade with the Eastern Ts'in was re-opened, though the king was enraged by a scroll from a low-level bureaucrat thanking him for paying tribute to the empire. Anger turned to sorrow when Queen Xi-xia died in childbirth, losing the infant son as well. Popular with the people, many of them privately offering incense to her spirit.
The Ling Pao Master authorized more silver spent in Szechwan to the benefit of poor farmers, raising the standard of living substantially. Missionaries in Korat and Kwangtung were busy and generally successful.
And finally this gem:
A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat. "This is where my sword fell off," he said. When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.-Wisdom from the desk of Ko Chao Fu.
Ignoring the turmoil to the north, K'ung Ti once more lead his army in the opposite direction. The Duke of Chekiang was repaid for his treachery when tens of thousands of imperial troops marched into his domain, siezed him, and secured the land for the empire and thousands of carpetbaggers. During a small cholera outbreak the famous general Cheng Du fell ill and died, but not before putting his memoires to paper, especially how he managed the colonization of this province, and his heroic role in the ill-fated coup.
The brutal treatment of Chekiang made an impression on the leaders of Wu city, who were also pleased that the imperial prince would consent to have the daughter of their most famous merchant as his bride. Thus Zhang Ti was wed in 419 to the very young Lady Mi. Similarly, Tsainan entered fully into the empire as Prince Zhou Ti found a bride therein.
Less cheerful news came from the city of Koeuichou, where the Duke choked on a chicken bone and died on 21 July of 419, only 39 years old. The new Duke considered the strategic situation viz the Toba Wei and joined the empire as well. Finally, the Count of Hwai decided that it was time to acknowledge the young emperor as well.
Age finally caught up with the king, who passed away on March 25 of 420. The crown prince, Changsu, took over the reins of government with no trouble, and a great hope that the "purification" program of Kwanggaet'o continued.
After some commotion involving knives and a live burial, the son Lu Ssu took command of the clans. Gathering the army he decided to remain at home to keep a close eye and heavy hand on his fellows. The khan of the Tangut, Ta K'ang, was busy in 417 and 418 adding to his sub-khanate from former Juan-Juan lands. Whether the new Emperor can maintain his hold over the vast lands of the Later Liang was an open topic in gers across the steppe.
Meanwhile Prince Yeke travelled up the Great River to Chang'an to treat with the remnants of the Later Yen. Compared with the efforts of the Sung king, however, the lad was accorded little credibility and the diplomatic effort failed. Despite his performance his same-age brother Yaba was made a prince as well. In these dire times the clan needed all able-bodied men to serve.
Despite attempts by royal agenst to portray the campaign in Shensi as one of liberation, the locals were having none of it. After their treatment at the hands of the Toba they were in no mood for armies or soldiers of any stripe. Ma Ch'in shrugged and began treating with the Later Ts'in emperor Shek Hsing. In another sad turn, December saw Shek Hsing pass away from a colic, and the Later Ts'in dissolved entirely. The notables and scribes of the ancient capitol considered the Toba threat and decided to pay tribute to the Sung and come under their protection.
Left to defend the entire frontier with the main army, Mu-jung Shen-qu heard the first reports from the frontier with dread. The 10,000 Qiang horse and various fortified towns were no match for the combined might of the Toba and was swept from the field wherever resistance occurred. Mu-Jung took an arrow in the chest after the lamellae of his cuirass had been ripped off by an enemy mace during a cavalry charge and managed to escape into Chung-shan. He could only watch from a sickbed on the parapets as the horde marched to the east. Before the winter of 417 had set in the barbarians had captured Yen and began a thorough looting and enslavement of the province. Thousands were captured, thousands fleed across the Huang Ho into Shantung, hoping for refugee within the "real" empire.
While ravaging the countryside Prince Lai Hsiang let his guard down and was slain by an assassin seeking revenge for the death of his sister. The attacker escaped the guards by leaping between rooftops in the village and then diving into a river. The horde buried the prince in a kurgan built during the late summer of 419 - built with slave labor. A number of horses were sacrificed as well as slaves to accompany the spirit of Lai Hsiang in the next world.
This bad news came on the heels of word that Bao'ding had been liberated by a small force under the Later Yen emperor, leaving the Toba cut off from their homes. No messages made it home by land, and communications up the river were blocked by the fleet of Bailao "the Scythe" Qu Li. Toba Kuei's Han advisors fretted, but the emperor only chuckled. What do nomads care for "front" or "rear" when the four winds blow free as a horse can run?
Many of these noyans felt disenfranchised and several plots were discussed and then ignored as pointless. In Lanchou, however, the local people were outraged at he attitudes revealed by the Turk ruling class. It was one thing to be ruled, and quite another to have no hope of advancement, and the small bourgeousie in the valleys of Lanchou rose up and in the Spring of 417 evicted the barbarians.
Naturally, Mu-lien was not pleased. The army was mustered and after a short campaign in Lanchou - during which the temple under construction was left alone - the rebels surrendered by late 417. Another bit of trouble caught up with the empire in November of 419, when news from the east seems to have been too much for the elderly emperor, and his heart gave out on the first day of December. The first snow of the year fell that same day, a good omen for his successor Chow Lu.
All seemed well, when a plague swept the land in December of 420. Fever, sores, and death was the sword that claimed Bhadravarman, his wife, Crown Prince Khac Ba Hoang, and Lord Xuan Manh Dang, along with a cast of thousands. The people cried out in fear that anarchy would sweep the land and the papayas would grow bitter. But a conclave of nobles chose a distant cousin of Bhadravarman to rule, and the citizens rejoiced to the extent possible.
Choppy waters and shifting winds kept Crown Prince Norodom Huoth and his fleet up against the coast of the Malacca Strait for two moons before they were able to continue on to Perak. Years spent at the court of the raja produced a treaty and a princess for Korn Danh.
Kyanzittha worked to improve irrigation in Ava and subsidized growth in Sri Ksetra, to general approval.
The change in official faith made the leadership in Saguntina more happy with the German immigrants, and accepted them as legitimately in the greater Latin family. No actual treaty between the Alamanni and the Empire existed, however.
By 420 it was clear the Alamanni had held to peace with the Empire. His jailors in Gades thus freed Otto, who travelled to his nephew's court in Corduba that summer. Before August had ended Otto was dead, and many suspected Arbogast of poisoning him. Others noted that the prince had not looked well when he had been delivered from his captivity, and may only have lasted so long as he did to spite his captors.
Then the guard yelled for help. It was too late, as Eric and the widow had fled into the forest. Xerxes was furious, especially as the Burgundian had helped the Alans against the Huns (see Empire of the Huns), and was set to wed his young cousin. The shah did smile later in the year to hear about his former prisoner's deeds outside the walls of Roma (see Ostrogothic Kingdom). He was sure that his annoyance was nothing as to the fury Uldin would be feeling at the news. And the Burgundian had at least made Xerxes see the light and leave the Roman tent, a tent whose fabric had let in too many harsh breezes, over the objections and bribes of Timotheus, the Roman comes rerum privatarum.
In the Spring of 417 thousands of Picts were joined by Alans, Germans, Roman deserters, and (most terrible of all) Huns and were lead against the limes by the very young Prince Sean MacAniel. Heir to the throne of the Cruithni, he inspired many, even the mercenaries, by analogies to Alexander of Macedon in his youth. A clever ruse gained a team of Alans entry into one of the gate houses along the wall near Luguvallium, where the garrison was either slain or chased off. The remainder of the army of over 10,000 queued through.
Rather more than half had filed past the fortifications when the Roman ambush was sprung. Thousands of legionary frontier veterans quickly recaptured the gate house and sealed it while more alae and cohors concealed in the town of Luguvallium stormed out and assaulted the milling mass of Picts and Continentals. These were quickly slaughtered while those beyond the wall attempted to come to their rescue. When all hope for the invaders seemed lost, the gate reopened and rescuers charged through, creating a "beachhead" on Roman soil.
They found, however, that there were few compatriots to rescue, and the attackers were once more the attacked. Knots of men broke through, only to be hunted down by local numerus and others. Before the new moon all had been either slain or captured. As the Roman commander Libanius Musonianus wrote in his report to Mediolanum, "'N' is for no survivors." Sean himself had a harrowing ordeal, wounded in the calf by an arrow, and stole a curragh and rowed it home along the coastline. Despite the terrible loss he and his few retainers were welcomed as heros by the people.
The mission of Padrig down the coast had mixed results. Maxima Caesarea was less than receptive to his offers of alliance while the neighboring province was being invaded by Picts. In the beautiful South the Picts seemed less a threat than a lifeline, and Padrig was greeted with optimism. On his return he was greeted warmly by the king, but others wondered aloud, asking him how many Romans he had slain.
The Holy Father and all religious leaders continues the call for Holy War against the Huns, Ostrogoths and their allies. The Agents of Satan will not relent until they have been vanquished by the armies of all Christian nations. Pope Innocent calls all the faithful to redouble their efforts and follow the Holy call to arms against the enemies of the Church.But by the spring of 417 it was clear that the faithful were sufferring from "crusade fatigue" and wished to see whether the professionals could handle matters. Some hundreds showed up in Aquileia, but most of these later died of a fever. The failure of the Goths to take Roma (see Ostrogothic Kingdom) appeared to confirm the verdict of the laity that the time for renewed struggle was not yet at hand. Innocent was not pleased. Worse still was news that Huns and their henchmen were actively persecuting Roman priests and worshippers wherever they could be found.
While in 401 the influential Augustine of Hippo wrote that "Nothing is so powerful in drawing the spirit of a man downwards as the caresses of a woman," and in 385 the marrying of priests had been technically outlawed though honored mainly in the breach (so to speak), Innocent had given his blessing on the union of Paulus, Bishop of Neapolis, and Tamora, Queen of the Ostrogoths. Some inside and outside Roma were scandalized, but the heir of Peter realized that while he may be a rock at the foundation of the Holy Church, yet that rock was set in the sandy soil of a barbarian occupation. The Lord had given men sense, Innocent proclaimed after a harangue from several theologians, and they had best use it in times such as these.
He spent much of his time attempting to preach surreptitiously to the Gothic people outside Roma. Success was extremely limited, but the Grace of God sustained him by assuring he was not turned over to the Ostrogothic leadership for certain martyrdom. Disturbed at his lack of significant effect he decided to make for Tuscia.
While meeting with parish leaders in a village outside Arretium on June 6 of 420 he was siezed in the night by several dozen Gothic warriors of the garrison and hauled before the local warlord. In a fit of annoyance Kasimir, a Slav by birth, ordered the bishop to duel with him to prove the stronger faith. The old priest was given a heavy sword and a circle formed about the contestants, Goths jostling each other and joking about the inadvisability of betting at all in this case. The two men set upon each other, and some said that a faint glow surrounded Innocent, while young Kasimir's skin appeared to shine like burnished steel. Striking with amazing speed for such an old man the two exchanged blows first in the guesting room of the villa, then out in the courtyard. Amazingly, Kasimir suddenly threw his long horseman's blade into the sky and knelt, head down. Innocent beheaded the man with a two-handed stroke, but as he rose up the priest was surprised to see a handspan of the barbarian blade projecting from the cloth of his sweat-dampened chest.
The body of Kasimir was carried away by a shaman and several guards, while the stunned Goths allowed Innocent's body to be removed to Arretium, where a vigil is yet held before his sarcophagus. At the news a short conclave was held in Mediolanum and Zosimus was named the new head of the Western Church. The gathering also considered the nature of Innocent's martyrdom but were unable to arrive at a consensus on just what it might mean.
In Roma, as if to mirror the turmoil outside the walls (see Ostrogothic Kingdom) several theological camps came to literal blows in the hot summer of 418. The Pelagians saw themselves in ascendance with the accession of a nominal Briton to the Purple, and published their views on Grace and Sin throughout the Empire. Friends of Jerome and Augustine, however, railed against their views. On a hot July night a gang of Pelagians set upon one Constantius, leaving him dead on the street. A series of thunderstorms cooled things off, but the theological debate roiled on just below the level of the forum. The death of Jerome in the following year lowered the complexity of the discourse without lessening its intensity.
All news was not however grim. Elsewhere, the resourceful Bishop Ninian was ordered to continue his efforts to bring the Word of the Lord to the pagan tribes of Britannia and Hibernia. The new Bishop Porphyrius is a convert from the Frankish tribes and has been ordered to his homeland to spread the Light of Christ among those peoples. Bishop Timothy received ordination in Latium and was moved by a vision of the Holy Spirit speaking to all of faithful throughout the realm with a message of vigilance and salvation. And after many moons of confrontation, by late 420 the Corps Helvetica traded good-natured jibes with the Goths and others outside Roma, and in a few cases the bored warriors on either side engaged in Olympian javelin, running, and other contests.
Perhaps the best news to reach holy offices was the acceptance of the authority of the Bishop of Roma by the Alamanni, the Red Huns, and (as one might expect) the Holy Empire of Rome. While no crusading warriors were called, then, it was true that some thousands were added to the Armies of the Faithful.
And speaking of which, with his tribes holding the via and these pirates the watery road, he had hopes that the ancient Imperial city would succumb to his "charms" ere long. Thus in the Spring of 418 the Suevi tightened their grip on Ravenna, and the people began to regard the illiterate brigands encamped before the walls as something more than fashion victims.
But not much more than that. For the small pirate fleet was not large enough to successfully blockade the port, nor indeed to even provide more than entertainment for the daring captains who would smuggle goods into the city at night, during fogs, and occasionally in broad daylight.
Most of this effort was aimed at impressing the Taifali, to whom the now-Prince Gunther the Burgundian had been sent on Epiphany Sunday of 417. His mission was to incorporate those Goths into the Suevi realm. Realizing that the attempt to blockade Ravenna was about to become an embarassment, Agnar cleverly left the army and went personally to woo Vallia.
By the summer of 420 the Taifali were sufficiently impressed to agree that the very young Constantia, daughter of Prince Dubius, would wed Gunther at harvest time. The celebratory party the following evening proved too much for the perigrinating Burgundian, who collapsed in a fit of apoplexy - and good wine - and expired at the age of 48. The prospective bride was secretly relieved: at 12 years she was not yet ready for any aspect of marriage, with the possible exception of light housekeeping. This chain of events made the Taifali, odd folk that they were, yet more enamored of the Suevi, and a union of some sort seemed inevitable.
Sempronius, the new praefectus praetorio Galliarum, escorted the Imperial Princess Galla Placidia to be the bride of Tertullian of Gades, who thus became Flavius Tertullianus Gaditanus. He then worked on the local warlord in Calpe at the Gates of Herakles, winning his allegiance in part to face the only recently trustworthy Alamanni, in part out of sympathy when Sempronius fell from a parapet to his death in 419. Libanius Musonianus, magister militum per Gallias, travelled to the frontier eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. No sooner than he had arrived at some initial arrangements with the local commanders to return to the fold than news arrived from the western end of a massive invasion (see Pictish Tribes).
The young wife of the former Emperor Honorius died in 418. Most claimed Maria succumbed to a broken heart at their separation. Johannes, praepositus sacri cubiculi, was hectoring one of his agents when he suddenly collapsed dead on the spot in 420.
A fire in Mediolanum was found to be arson by foreign agents, who were not caught but their target was apparently a government office. Imperial support for maintenance of irrigation canals and subsidies to farmers had long been denied the province of Germania Rauracenses, and as a result the once-profitable plains lapsed into scrub and scattered trees. Roads in Baetica, Hauptland, and most embarassing of all, Latium all degraded due to lack of corvee labor and pilfering of stones for housing and pigpens. Independent Lusitania reverted to arid Iberian grassland.
Another indication of the decline of the Pax Romanum was the report of a pirate raid on a tin shipment crossing the Gulf of Lyons. Survivors claimed their attackers were Germans of some flavor - most rowers were dark-haired, and most of the boarders were blonds. Further news was the fact that the pirate trade in Aquitania had become substantial enough to cause the tiny city of Andegavum on the banks of the Liger to expand its port facilities in order to handle the demand, which the local bishop even blessed.
All mourned the untimely death of Eucherius, only son of Stilicho. But in what may be a rather odd sign of Holy Grace the month after the August 419 death of the flavius saw the birth to his mistress twin boys, and the birth to the mistress of Stilicho another set of twin sons. The bishop of Aquileia chose to overlook the provenance of these children and declared a special feast day.
And yet he was uneasy on his throne. The Goths were by nature a restless people and sitting outside the walls of a rich city was not their idea of a good time. The rites of Spring had been brutal enough to whet the warriors' appetites, and this hunger had become a caged wolf, ready to spring out at the first opportunity for release. Further, an unusual illness had stricken many of the warriors and their families, rendering them more than usually nervous, and several of his staff had been laid up from failed poisoning attempts.
Not even the wedding of Ardabur and Tamora, the Taifali princess and former wife of his brother and heir Athanaric, had lifted his mood. She had been convinced to renounce her vows to her husband, assumed to have perished in the dungeon of distant Aquileia, and marry the king on a fine April day. Even the news she had brought to him in secret, that she was with child, cheered him little.
For he knew what his nobles said. Some claimed Ardabur had stolen Tamora from his own brother, others spoke in hushed words of hiring on with a mercenary band, or the Frisians, or even the Romans. All this driven by heat and boredom.
So it was not surprising that the king found himself battling an assailant in his bedroom in the confiscated villa the court had taken for itself. Rolling on the floor with the man he yelled as loudly as he could. In the end a guard appeared in time to split the skull of the assassin over the corpse of his king.
As news raced from encampment to encampment of the death of Ardabur the warriors for the most part lapsed into a sullen silence. No leader had emerged to declare a new policy, and the discovery that the assassin was a fellow Goth and distant cousin of the king quickly defused the immediate rage against the hated Romans. Living with the Latins had in fact made the barbarians more appreciative of good food, good water, and a good roof, taking some of the edge off their disdain for all things Roman.
Within a week Theodoric, the newly-made fleet commander, and Theodahad, the late king's shieldman, were attempting to seize control of the reins of power. A bold mid-day snatching of the latter by men of the former ended the struggle within days. Theodahad knelt and vowed loyalty to a new figure who had been raised to lead the people, Queen Tamora.
She had not mourned her husband long, and quickly made known her possible status as the Queen Mother of the heir. Tamora was a clever woman, handsome rather than beautiful but with the ability to make all heads turn - male and female - when she walked into a gathering. Most fortunate was the fact that Ostrogoths regarded the Taifali accent as an enchantment of itself. Thus it was that Theodoric declared his loyalty to her as Regent and the kingdom escaped a violent dissolution.
By the time cooling breezes arrived in the autumn the blockade of Roma had broken down almost entirely. Rather than halting all shipments into the city, the warriors had devolved in their duties to merely exacting hefty tolls from convoys at sea and on land. Knowing her position to yet be precarious Tamora allowed this to continue. Theodoric was the man most people regarded as the "real" thiufand, but the well-informed realized that with him relegated to the fleet the Queen Mother held the control of the army and kingdom closely, and met frequently with a small committee of priest-led Latins, keeping their concerns in mind.
It was with relief and honest joy that the nation learned that Tamora had delivered a boy, son of Ardabur, on December 25th. Latin subjects of the Ostrogoths were either dismayed at the date of birth, declaring the arrival of the Anti-Christ and thronging the many secret churches, elated by the hope this was a sign of their deliverance, or a smile at the mysterious ways of the gods/God.
At the end of the following year came news of the arrival of a large host of mercenaries hired by Uldin to assist his vassals the Ostrogoths in the taking of the old imperial capitol. Alans under their warleader Geraldin marched with some Hun horse archers, accompanied by the veteran mercenary Hrothgar and his Germans and Roman deserters. They had marched through Pannonia I looting churches as they went. A bonus was the capture of the missionary Roman priest Irenaeus, who was dragged along and looked after by the Latins in the army. This march had been anticipated, grain and housing set up for the ten to twenty thousand soldiers long ago.
But the mercenaries were confused, for they had expected that their long march from Slovakia would be ended in blood, fire, and treasure in a siege of Roma. Instead they found the countryside to be at peace and talk of war a distant echo. The Ostrogoths seemingly had no use for them - so they went to the beach. The mercenaries realized they were being paid to in this case do nothing, and they seemed happy at the turn of events. The Queen Mother encouraged this and gave bonuses to officers from her apparently bottomless purse.
The old thiufand Hrothgar was not, however, pleased. No war meant no loot, and he spent much of 419 establishing ties to certain Gothic commanders who were similarly ambitious. Their plans to overthrow the Queen Mother were maturing into 420 when word of the plotting reached Paulus, the priest who had been representing the Latins of the province. He wisely went to Tamora, and together they arranged for a countercoup to take place. Their most important confederate was Eric the Burgundian, who had arrived after Lent after a long and eventful journey from his captivity in the north. With only a wagon, 12 men, three horses, and his Alan lady he had come to join Hrothgar's forces. Eric rapidly rose to prominence and had maneouvered to become one of the top commanders in the mercenary army.
On May 14 of 420 the countercoup was sprung. Eric took the opportunity to slay Hrothgar in a duel, while Paulus and Tamora were pleased at the chance to purge the Goth leadership of disloyal men. By the end of the day the Ostrogoths were treated to a shock no less violent than the death of Ardabur years before. For Paulus was in reality a Roman official, the comes sacrarum largitionum, as well as being a bishop of the Roman Christian Church. Yet more jarring was the news that Tamora was to marry this man, accepting baptism for herself alone.
To say that an uproar ensued would be appropriate. The Queen Mother had, however, planned for opposition and a series of short personal meetings and the presentation of select captive offspring "visiting the court" toned down the more rebellious elements. For his part, Paulus met with local guilds and priests to reassure them of his devotion to their cause. While it was unusual for a bishop to marry, the greater obstacle in many minds was that a Roman of senatorial rank would join with a barbarian widow, albeit a queen. Tamora was baptized and married to the bishop before a crowd of Goths in a wood on Saint Matthew's day, and as well Theodoric and Theodahad accepted baptism as a show of loyalty to the new order rather than as a serious spiritual act.
Eric met with similar success, and by the end of 420 was leading some German mercenaries, living in a villa, conferring with his Alan lady, and enjoying the company of a variety of concubines. Few questioned the arrangements, for in these rootless times any semblance of a court was impressive. Given the unusual arrangements in Latium few were even put out on learning that Eric the Burgundian had decided to work for the Emperor and renounce his contract with the Khakhan. The Roman deserter force of a thousand under his command balked at the prospect of working for a man who legally could have them executed and for a system they abhorred, and struck their tents in favor of a location near the villa of Geraldin, the commander of the hired Alans and Huns. No mercenary knew just for whom he would be working the following campaign season, and so collegiality would be high until then.
The end of 420 saw an uneasy standoff in Latium. Ostrogothic policy was pulled in several directions, while forces hired to Uldin and to Marcus cohabitated within a day's march, and Roma itself (as well as Ostia) remained free and open as a bastion of the Empire.
The kingdom was immediately thrown into turmoil, as Octar had not bothered to officially name his son as his successor. Clans began choosing sides, each occupying sets of villages, as Turpilio opened negotiations between the son Edeco and Octar's brother, the Prince Modares. Within a week the latter had agreed to recognize the rights of the former, and after a few warriors holding out in a hilltop village were slain Edeco was, on Turpilio's suggestion, crowned by the bishop of Neapolis to the general acclamation of the crowd. As part of the arrangement Turpilio was made a member of the ruling clan in rites which left the consular descendant speechless for an entire day.
For his part Edeco announced a continuation of his father's policies, and also to guarantee the future of his uncles and his sisters, including the identical twin daughters born to Octar some months prior to his death. He further asked the Church to consider Octar a candidate for beatification.
The nobles quickly conferred, and the young Vidimir was chosen by general acclamation to lead the tiny kingdom. When in the following year it appeared that Tamora had taken a step too far (see Ostrogothic Kingdom) the new king decided to distance himself a bit from the spectacle of a Gothic queen marrying a Roman bishop and agent. Ties between the two remained strong, however.
For his part, Godegisel realized he lead more a pool of refugees than a nation. His pride told him to come up with some defense against the dread Hun and uphold his people's trust - not to mention his own position. Yet the lesson of Airmnareiks' (Ermaneric) fate was that resistance in the face of overwhelming numbers of steppe warriors was foolish. Thus when Prince Ruas rode up to the gates of Alba Iulia Godegisel was there to meet him with the appearance of hospitality. One did not spit in the face of a wild auroch.
When Uldin arrived, his first question was, "Where are the Silingi?" A few nervous glances among Godegisel's clansmen did not fill the awkward silence, but the Asdingi thiufan spoke up with, "They left before Easter, marching to the North." The Khakhan was not pleased, and those present later claimed to have sufferred permanent hearing loss during his tirade. Yet Uldin knew that Balimber would be able to deal with that insignificant threat, and he settled down to serious talks with Godegisel. By the time the Vandals were celebrating the birth of their Dead God the Khakhan had made some progress, though not nearly so much as he might have hoped.
Lacking in neither funds nor ambition, Uldin offerred pay and loot for mercenaries to be sent to beleager Roma. Many heeded the call, but a surprising number opted for the larger amount of coin proposed by, of all people, the Picts. Geraldin and Hrothgar lead a small mixed host of Alans, Germans, Romans, and Huns south to Latium (see Ostrogothic Kingdom).
Looking to the West from Slovakia was another host lead by Balimber. Tens of thousands of Huns, including some who were free bands, were joined by the Quadi under their King Vitalianus and two mercenary forces under their own leaders, Goths under the Thiufan Onoulph, and Armenians under Prince Razmig. Before heading for Austria, the host ravaged the Quadi lands, intent only on cleansing them of Roman Christian temples. The dozen or so small wooden structures were razed, their eucharist items and other valuables pilfered, and the priests either martyred or run out.
By June the army entered Austria, Hun outriders roaming through mountains and forests looking for an enemy. They were, after a fashion, in luck. For Gaiseric, King of the Siling Vandals was intent on implementing his program of Gothic unity by starting with the traitorous Quadi. Luckily for him, the local rex, a hitherto obscure ruler by the name of Thiudmir, a vassal of the Alans, gave the Vandals warning of the Hun movements and a hasty defense was established.
Gathered with their front on the Thaya River, the Vandals and Austrians knew they were outnumbered by nearly two-to-one and generally outclassed. But in Thiudmir they had a leader well-versed in the art of war, having served for a time under Stilicho before raising his own band and conniving his way to rule. The Huns had been stifled in their attempts to force various passes and forest trails. For his part Balimber was please to have brought his quarry to a halt. Trusting in his overall superiority, he ordered a general assault across the river. Being Huns, they of course attempted to cross the Thaya just upstream with a mounted column to take the enemy in flank or rear.
But Gaiseric expected this and ambushed the column from a dense wood nearby. Thus the Hun advance across the river met the Vandals head-on, being charged in turn as they crossed the stream. A fierce struggle ensued, but the dancing horsemen from the steppe managed to drive back the shielded infantry, who fled to a wood to their rear. Thousands were cut down as they ran, but the vast majority made their way over hill and along trail away from Balimber's harrying riders.
The Hunnic host continued unopposed through Austria and gave it the same treatment as Slovakia. Unfortunately for the ravening bands there were no Christian churches of any stripe to loot. Thus this rough beast slouched more than paraded into Raetia II in the summer of 418. While there were some peasants to be abused, the landscape was generally quiet, many villages empty. After a few days of such reports Balimber sighed and ordered his men to advance on the city of Castra Regina.
Reports from along their line of advance had told him that the Vandals, Austrians, and Alans were heading for the sanctuary of Castra Regina's Roman-built walls. And impressive they were, Balimber had to admit, as he viewed them one July afternoon. Bastions, curtain walls, various engines - this he had not bargained for. His army encamped outside the walls and exhanged some sniping with the enemy while his staff considered various options. It was generally agreed that the Alans would not leave their stronghold under any circumstances, and that the remaining Austrians would follow their lead. The Vandals, however, were another story ... Balimber sighed, then shrugged. Gratification deferred was still gratification, and after only a week outside the city he commanded some of his men to remain, while the remainder of the force were turned loose on the landscape to glean what they could, and when winter came early that year the invaders quartered themselves in peasant huts and nobles' houses. Most men were happy to have the opportunity of "sharing" their captives and count the loot from looted temples of Hera, Jupiter, and others. By spring of 419 the men fired what had become their villages and marched back into Austria. It too was savaged, and by the autumn the host was marching hundreds of captives from the raids and depredations towards Slovakia.
As the Huns retired, the people came out of hiding to find about what they expected. The Alans were disgusted and decided to finally leave the sway of the emperor in Mediolanum and strike a more independent course (see Alans). Raetia II and Austria were liberated behind the Huns, though it was usually at least a moon before any valley was entered following news the last enemy rider had left, such was the fear inspired by the men from the steppes.
Balimber had been pestered by Vitalianus the Quadi thiufan to return to Slovakia to drive out the Siling Vandal occupiers, and at last decided that this would be a good idea. The men, after all, had been promised another chance at the Vandals, and the Quadi would (sigh) need to be rescued once more.
They found the Vandal army deployed along the Granua River about two score miles north of the Danube. Patches of snow marked the fields with white, the remainder a scene of scattered woods and brown grass and mud. A lot of mud. Before the Prince of the Huns could issue orders, he found that the Quadi had quick-marched up on the left and were already only a half mile from the river. Balimber had enough time to say, "Tengri!," before ordering his fastest minghans to support the rash infantry. Thus the Vandal forces, lead by their "Flavia" Hunneric and some Arian bishop Paulus, were hit pell-mell by Quadi foot, then the quick Armenians under "Prince" Razmig, and finally by the bulk of the Huns, and the mercenary Goths under Onoulph.
The battle lasted from midday until the cloudy sunset of a chill early Spring evening. Thousands of dead littered both banks of the river, and despite the cries of the dying and the loss of family and friends the Vandals were pleased at merely surviving. Jubilation was not to be theirs, however, for their Prince lay dead in his tent - or what was left of it after a squad of light horse had attacked from the rear - and the remainder of the Hun army was still facing them. Thus bishop Paulus ordered a night withdrawal to a previously scouted position upriver, and ordered prayer as well.
The Hun army paced the Vandals the following day, doing little more than skirmishing. Paulus was alarmed to hear from an outrider that their refuge was already held by an as-yet unidentified force. The despair vanished within the hour when the warriors were found to be Gaiseric and his men, recently arrived from Austria. The combined force took heart and made a defense against the enemy.
Meanwhile, Balimber had chastised Vitalianus for his behavior and ordered an encirclement of the Vandal army. Thus it was that on the morning of the fifth day after the outset of the battle the Vandals looked out from their position in a shallow oxbow of the river and despaired. On all sides were arrayed men, most with bows. A small gap near a rock outcropping was left, but that was all. Shortly after the grey sky had lightened sufficiently archery commenced. After a half hour cowering under shields and a bit of countershooting, the targets decided that this was not a reasonable long-term tactic, and began to attempt breakouts.
Few made it past the ring of Huns, Goths, and Armenians. A late afternoon thunderstorm allowed, finally, the Vandal leadership to break through to the north with around half their force. Balimber ordered a vigorous pursuit, determined to end the matter. Thousands more were slain in the mud, the cold, and the dusk. At last, less than a few thousand of the Vandal host made it to Hunneria by June of 420. Losses to Huns, their hirelings, and their allies were minimal, and they pursued over the Little Carpathians into Moravia. One casualty was bishop Paulus, whose constitution was worn down by the cold and damp of the mountains.
The Silingi made a stand at the village of Olomouc on August 22 of 420. Despite fierce resistance, the outcome was never in doubt, and within a few hours the Huns had slain hundreds of warriors. In the following weeks the tribes were run down and captured or slain, and the remaining warriors lead by King Gaiseric fled into Bochnia, Hun horse archers shadowing them closely. Balimber's various mercenaries, meanwhile, were encamped on the plain about the Siling capitol city, Hunneria. Some few even ventured into town to purchase supplies and found it a far cry from the "real" metropolitan centers of the Empire. They were content to wait.
When Gaiseric entered Bochnia he found that the Prince of Volhynia, a lackey of the Hun, had defeated his small forts and set up an overlord. This minor Slavic leader and his staff were rounded up and beheaded, and the people cheered their liberation. The king knew better, and wondered how long it would be before he would need his sword arm once more.
M.M. Illyricum Dux Priscus loaded troops and shipped them to Antioch, then took a fast galley to Cyprus for some R&R. His parties were so well received that the locals decided that they needed to pay their full taxation and volunteer their sons for the legion. About the time this mission arrived on that sun-drenched shore, M.M. Praesentalis Fravitta succumbed to the gout and terrible sores while affixing his seal to official scrolls in Antioch in November of 418.
As chaos raged in the south and east (see Sasanian Persia), the M.M. Thracias Dux Theophylact wooed the senatorial classes in Serdica and Thessaly, winning "clients" and improved loyalty to the Imperator. More exciting was the mission of M.M. Orientem Dux Verinian to Persian Osrhoene. His efforts weakened the ties to Ctesiphon, but failed to break them, due in part to the large Sasanian garrison and general uncertainty in the region.
As for a cassus belli, Flavius Arcadius Augustus Orientalis sat on the throne his father's courage won and steepled his fingers before speaking unto the assembled nobles and senators:
In truth, no man could ever say that Rome and Persia had ever been friends, and perhaps that is natural, for Rome is the God-Sustained Empire of Christ, peerless in her power, glory and antiquity; Blessed Rome's fate is to strive eternally with all those who envy our Divinely-Ordained eminence. And could there be, has there ever been, since the days of Carthage, any empire which so envies us as the Mede envies us?There was a silence among the assembled, followed by a few cheers. These served to awaken those who had dozed off during some rhetorical flourish or other, and the cheers increased in volume.Aye, they envy us - and well they might for our power and glory is without equal. Yet, if the Persians are our foes, there have been some, in years gone by, who have occupied the throne of Persia but who have proved to be men of honour and of valour. Such men may have been our foes but they were worthy foes with whom accommodations and understandings might be reached. In the past, our forefathers and theirs were able to extend the hand of peace, to set aside old enmities and old wrongs and bear no abiding hatred for an honourable enemy.
But what of the present? For two long decades, I have pursued a policy of peace towards Persia. I have sat idle as Yazdigerd, Father of Lies, spread his malicious calumnies about me. Taking the Lamb as my model, I have turned the other cheek to his gross and base deceptions. I have listened as emissaries came to me from all corners of the earth telling me of the Persian's interminable plots against me. Why, the cretin who dwells in Ctesiphon, and who is well deserving of his soubriquet "the Mad," even tried to turn my own dear, departed brother against me - Honorius, of blessed and glorious memory, who fell a martyr of our dynasty, faith and republic.
All the while, the mewling coward of Persia denies his actions. "Oh no," he lies, with his mealy-mouthed protestations of innocence, "I have not plotted against the Eastern Augustus." Why, there is scarcely a prince of this earth who has not received the devious overtures of the lying Persian - while Yazdigerd sanctimoniously complains that he pays no tribute to the Khan of the Huns, he obfuscates the fact that he has shamefully and treacherously solicited the Huns to attack us! Worst of all, the lying toad even approached my own brother! This spineless Mede who plots and lies but will not face me in battle sought to convince my own brother, who died in defence of Rome and of our Flavian dynasty, to attack me!! Is there no level to which the Shahanshah will not sink?
Well, I say "enough!" Persia has had her chance. Our hand, time and again offered in peace and reconciliation, has been rejected for the last time amidst sanctimonious lies from a Shah who is known through all the wide world as the greatest of liars, the greatest of cowards and the most cretinous individual ever to walk the earth. If the Princes of Persia had any sense, they would remove the addle-headed buffoon whom they call "the King of Kings" and send him off to be a jester, that his actions might at least be a source of amusement. As it is, since they will not act, our honour demands that we act and so we march to war. We will war against Persia; we will war against them until we have recovered Mosul and Osrhoene, which are by rights Roman provinces held by Persia only because we tolerated their presence in the hope of fostering peace; we will war against them until we have recovered Nisibis and Dura, cities that are rightfully Roman and chafe against the oppression yoke of the Persian overlord; we will war against them until Ctesiphon, the canker of Mesopotamia, is blotted from the map and the Persians and all others see that our Roman honour will brook no further insult and that the days of forgiveness are long past.
Verily, having taken the Lamb as my model in days gone by, I now strap on the Lord's armour and call upon him, God Who Is Mighty In Battle, to guide my arms as I march forth, bringing back strength and glory to this, our republic, and bringing about the final and cataclysmic clash between this world's two towering temporal empires. And in years to come, when men ask why we fought this war, they shall be answered with these words: "Because of the madness of Yazdigerd, because of his deception, his stupidity, his vanity. This fool of a Persian, this pompous, puffed-up dolt, who thought himself more than he really is, destroyed his empire and his dynasty through his own arrogance."
Meanwhile in al-Hira rumor of a great scandal arose among the Monophysite clergy. For word had spread that the Patriarch would rule that the bread for communion would be baked within the church, during the eucharist. By the time the story had spread for a week, the baking had become a fire, and the fire something to be worshipped just as those devil Zoroastrians were said to do. Royal agents quickly tracked the source of the calumny to a wine merchant near the palace, who had mysteriously disappeared. Neighbors reported that the man was a foreigner - some said Greek, others Persian, others Indian - and it was widely reported that a foreign conspiracy was behind the attempt to defame the local priesthood. This, news from the front, and the death of the Sheikh's wife while he was away on campaign cast a pall over the capital.
Great efforts were made among the Nubians of Axum. The Patriarch himself travelled up the Nile to collect the young Blemmye prince Agetal from the Nobades king. The young man was soon given a promising future as a Prince of the Church. Coming from the dusty hills by the Red Sea and shifting camps with the seasons, Agetal was overawed by Alexandria and soon became "more Roman than the Romans." Parthimus kept the lad close and dined with him weekly, pleased with the changes the Holy Spirit had apparently wrought in the youth.
Bishop Dorian "Peregrinatus" was finally released by the might khan of the Oghuz Turks. Despite being warned to not return, the priest slipped back into the camps of these nomads and continued to minister to them as they made for the rich lands of Persia. In Gurgan he was finally apprehended by the khan's guard and as punishment was used as target practice for 12 shots by the court archer. At sunset a large crowd had gathered to watch, silent. A dozen arrows were sped towards the holy man, yet he was not killed as each missile seemed to miss him at the last moment. He was cut down from the post, to which he had been tied for three days. Acclaimed a miraculous act, Dorian was carried off by the jubilant crowd and spent months recuperating from the ordeal in the back of a bumping wagon. The religious affiliation of the court archer was a topic of much discussion around the evening fires.
Scores of missionaries descended upon Mecca, standing out among the locals by their black pins through white tunics, walking about in pairs, and visiting the dwellings of the poor and rich alike. Within a few years the city fathers had hidden away the idols of the Ka'abah and turned the place into a church.
Amid all the other turmoil in Persia, Luke was outraged at the martyrdom of of Abdas, Bishop of Karkar, in 420, along with nearly a score of priests, virgins, and deacons. The fact that the Osrhoene martyr had out of a rabid sense of anti-idolatry burned down the local Zoroastrian temple and refused an edict from the Shahanshah to rebuild it was quickly glossed over, and the man was canonized within the week.
And now a look inside the most ruthless kingdom in the world:
The wind from the river made the tribal banners flap and dance in the sunset's dying light. The palace roof was almost deserted - only two older men and a teenage boy stood at the edge, watching the horizon. To the south was Lake Debo, reflecting the flaming sky. Everywhere else they looked were well-tended fields, dotted by dark-skinned slaves and their Moorish overseers. Work crews were now returning to their barracks, passing on the way the foundations of Mopti's first wall."My Sheik", one of the men began, "the traders from the Idir tribe report that our ancestral lands are not under the Roman yoke anymore - other Berber tribes rule them". His words carried what almost sounded like hope.
The other man chortled. "Abarug my friend, the Romans were a temporary risk, maybe, but never a yoke. Do you miss the desert and the Latin-speaking lions prowling on our borders? Would you go back to the Old Lands after all you've achieved for us here?"
The grizzled general smiled briefly. "You're probably right, my Sheik. We're safer here, and there's combat - and slaves - enough if we wish for it. Now - what is your wish regarding your rule in Senegal, and the declaration of war from Ghana?"
The Sheik turned to look at the flaming horizon and was silent for a moment. "Senegal is too far and will soon find an excuse to stop paying tribute. And that kingling in Ghana must be taught the price of defying the Moors. Take our warriors west, Abarug, and bring back all the people of Senegal and Ghana. In chains. When you return we will hold Sedray's coming-of-age feast - you are one of the guests of honor". The teenager next to him beamed with pride.
"Thank you, my Sheik. It will be done." General Abarug left the roof with his usual scowl. He could already be heard barking orders at his captains. Sheik Abdul smiled - his old friend would make sure this was another well-run and successful campaign. Time to have the slave barracks enlarged, he thought... Then young Sedray spoke up: "Father, what did you mean when you said General Abarug would be a guest of honor?"
The Sheik's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Ah, my son, at your feast I will kill two birds with one arrow. I will give Abarug a much-deserved reward, as well as rest from battle. At the same time, I will teach the Ghanans the true meaning of punishment." At his son's puzzled look, he chuckled. "I'm giving all of Ghana to the General after his cammpaign, Sedray. If those meddling fools think Abarug made them suffer as our General, wait until he rules them as our Governor!"
The king of Senegal protested that he was already a vassal, albeit unwillingly, of Abdul al-Kasurga. A messenger returned with the chilling message that the Sheik required his people for various labor projects. An army of over 5000 outraged Senegalese warriors marched out to meet the Berber army. In a classic maneouver, Abarug attacked their front with a portion of his light horse, ordered a feigned flight, then counterattacked the pursuing mass of ill-ordered troops. The local army was essentially wiped out and most of the people were enslaved and marched back to Songhai tied in groups, nearly 30,000 of them. They joined 10,000 refugees from Jenne-Jeno in shared misery.
On his return from conquests to the West, Abarug was feasted at the same time Sedray was named the Crown Prince. The general was further given Ghana as his personal fief as reward for his years of service to the sheik and the people. Having been ravaged by the Berber army, Senegal was turned loose. Meanwhile, the sheiks of Arguin realized there was no reason to continue to send tribute to the distant al-Kasurga, and cordially evicted his tax counters and other representatives. And to the east and south years of warfare and refugees caused the unexpected (see Sudanese Kingdom).
Meanwhile Satifal, who had travelled to Yemen after banishment from Nobades and Blemmye lands and the execution of his son and heir Ephisal, received this news with gladness. Within a week he was back in Blemmye. Aspher was not pleased, as he had designs on the throne himself. Several of the steward's cousins ambushed Satifal while he was greeting people in a market village. The assassins were spotted and torn to shreds by the well-armed mob, who then stormed the camp of Aspher and treated him as harshly.
Ironically, the statement of Zakarias that as king he would continue to embrace the rites of old worked in his favor, and he was welcomed back into the kingdom as a valued ally. In 420 he wed the very young daughter of Satifal, Sinhuway. She was 15 and he was 44, yet politics outweighed all else in these dangerous times and by December she was great with child. This sealed the relationship, and Zakarias was named Prince and Heir to Satifal.
Why did the handsome lad travel north? King Phillipus Silko announced on Easter Sunday of 417 that his nation was converting to Christianity under the Patriarch of Alexandria, and submitted to baptism at the hands of the Bishop of Meroe. This change in policy outraged many, leading to the loss of the Blemmye nation, Nobatia, and as well as the Beja. At the news of the rising the few hundred Blemmye troops which had been placed under the command of Zakarias, king of Beja, mutinied against a man widely loathed for having "betrayed" the Blemmye king, Satifal. This despite his announcement at the baptism that:
Our religious traditions will stay unchanged, despite the religious conversion of the Nobades. Monophysite Christians are to be tolerated, although not encouraged. Prince Agetal, son of the former King of Blemmye, is studying the new faith, but far away in Alexandria, not here in our kingdom. Let this shine as an example. Those wishing to embrace this new faith can study it there, not in our land where we hold dear to the traditions of our fathers.
But Zakarias was out when the warriors came looking for him, and he slipped away home. The Blemmye, on horse and camel, gave chase, and when they lost him they took the opportunity to slit the throats of their few Nobades minders and escaped back home themselves. Phillipus cursed the ingratitude of the barbarians, on whom he had lavished gold and grain, and then resumed the oversight of his diverse and fractious land.
Happier news was generated by Lord Shenouda, who by the end of 417 had won the willing allegiance of Kasu and a beautiful princess for the king. Their wedding was the event of the social season:
The wedding ceremony lasted for only the typical 40 days, but it was still filled with the usual long series of rituals, both old and new. According to long standing traditions, the groom presented several gifts, particularly garments for the bride, her mother and sisters. These presents were boarded on a camel, adorned with decorations, colourful silk fabrics, and jewelry. All propaganda efforts were made to ensure the King's natural honesty and trustworthiness was well known and gifts were selected to embody these royal traits.
During the wedding ceremony King Phillipus Silko was well dressed, holding a sword and a whip. The bride carried loads of jewelry all over her body. Around the neck, she wore 2 lines of necklaces, topped by two more simple lines of jewelry. Her ears displayed a large pair of earrings dangling from the top part of both ears, a second pair from the lower part and yet a third in between. Her ankle was adorned with a silver anklet and her fingers with silver rings.
The new chapel built by the Monophysite Church in Kerma was named for Saint Mary, but it was judged too small and without proper grandeur for such an auspicious royal wedding. Thus most of the wedding itself took place in the large open square of the city, before a multitude, much as the King's parent's wedding had. Thus the location continued an old tradition while the service was settling a new one using the Monophysite Christian format.
The ceremony did not, sadly, prevent the young lady from dying in childbirth the following year. The city of Qustul approved of the baptism of the king and yielded to his authority.
Kartir spends much time in Asuristan, Ahvaz and Parthau writing his Letters to the Arabs, which are religious instructions to the missionaries entering Oman. Azargoshasp wanders the desert, befriending the Bedouin and littoral princes alike, preaching the gathas of Ahura-Mazda in Dharan. Few heeded the call. Namirog found small success in al'Bayad, the advice of his mobedhanmobed notwithstanding.
We, Shahanshah, Beloved of the Sun, Favored of the Gods, hereby outlaw unauthorized proselytization in our provinces and depedencies. We, in the interest of our own Christian communities welfare, forbid the parasitic extraction of their wealth by their own prelates to be disposed of to succor the wretched enemies of our state.
All grain, gold, and manpower derived from Persia will remain within Persia for the benefit of Persian subjects. Any attempt to influence the loyalty of the Christian communities, close to our heart though not in faith, is also forbidden. Any violation of this decree will result in various unspecified, but quite unpleasant, penalties for violating parties. In our house we are master, and our guest must be wary of what they say and do with others when resident within our domain.Against the Darkness in a spirit of joy and peace.
Yazdigerd III Shahanshah
Despite these stirring words missionaries found no purchase in Asuristan, where the local Christians and Jews were "polite" to the emissaries of the religion of their masters, but no more than that. In Mesopotamia evangelical dasturs were listened to avidly by Manicheans and Monophysites alike, painfully aware that an army besieging Ctesiphon would quarter themselves in places like Veh-Ardashir and not care whose food and daughters/sons they were taking.
The capitol grew as more artisans were encouraged to move into Ctesiphon. Furthermore the great city was finally given walls and gates, as were Dura and Nisibis. This move seemed extravagant at the time, though none would gainsay the Shahanshah, but in the end proved providential. Much of the Persian Silk Route was upgraded from a string of post stations along a graded track to imperial-licensed caravanserais along a paved road.
The famous mercenary Qutlugh was tempted to take the offer from the imperial arteshtaransalar but by early 417 rumors had found his ear and he declined. The Persians cursed him as a bloody Turk. They would see more of them ...
Spring of 417