1255 - 1258
Episode Thirteen
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BEYOND THE HORIZON
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As the Empire faced its greatest territorial extension on centuries, and with the restoration of the Eastern Limes a plausible possibility, nothing seemed too impossible for fifty-nine years old Belisarios, Basileus of Rome, heir to Alexander the Great.
Jerusalem, now in the middle of being integrated within the new imperial administration, seemed to be completely pacified: the Outremer nobles, previously zealous and loyal to the Estrid Dynasty, had adopted the Orthodox rites, and the rights and duties of every great lord under the flag of Rome. While not quite civilized as their Greek counterpart, they were showing potential and loyalty to Constantinople, defending their land against any raid attempt coming from Seljuk territory. While they may be trying to conserve their privileges, their objectives were the same than the ones from the throne.
Sure, Egypt was still under mohammedan dominion, but why should he worry about a land devastated by war? Mad King Raimbaut, still clinging to existence, had declared a holy war against the Shia Caliph. Entertainingly enough, he seemed to be winning so far! Let them fight; after all, the Empire was planning to take over, not caring about the victor.
But, as chaos engulfed the Nile, unexpected words came from somewhere else, but still following the course of the river: Aethiopia, the mythical land beyond the sands, had managed to cross the Red Sea and reach the now Roman shores of the Sinai Peninsula, and from there sailed to The City.
An entire retinue of ambassadors, elite soldiers and gifts escorted none other than King Gondar, "the Roaring Flame", of Abyssinia while they crossed the Golden Gate. People flocked to the streets, trying to see the strange men that were accepted beyond the Theodosian Walls. The city guard formed a perimeter, clearing the road to the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor would receive the most illustrious guest from beyond the Mediterranean. Curious by their language, their clothes, weapons, and even skin, the citizens of Constantinople didn't know what was happening.
Were they Muslims? A new vassal to the Empire? A pretender to the Seljuk throne?
From the balcony, Basilissa Eudokia carefully watched how the retinue entered the Palace District. After all, not every day you hear about the last surviving Christian realm outside of Europe, much less invite them to dinner.
Amazed by the capital of the world, King Gondar kneeled before Belisarios, acknowledging him as Roman Emperor, King of Kings, and Protector of Christendom. The Basileus, in all his glory, took some time to get up from the throne, but asked him to stand up. While in matters of faith Belisarios didn't cared much, he was certainly interested on the premise of Christians further south. And so, he decided to welcome King Gondar with all honors, with the condition of sharing with the Imperial Court about the destiny of Abyssinia. The last of the Solomonids proceeded to share his story, and the one of the faithful lost and cornered by infidels in all directions.
Aethiopia lived in state of constant war. The perpetual assaults by the Fatimids, and pressure from the Seljuks had turned their once prosperous kingdom into a dangerous landscape, suffering from raids, groups of infidel fanatics trying their luck, and two factions within the realm that were fighting for power and, of course, save the kingdom: the Solomonid family, trying to restore their name to the throne, and the Zagwe, trying to maintain the status quo.
After a serious of devastating civil wars, the Zagwe had managed to destroy the Solomonid faction, and consolidate their hold to the crown. This gave Abyssinia the much-needed peace they needed, and unity made possible the formation of armies prepared to fend off invaders. And while they managed to conquer Berbera and reduce their flanks from three to two, there was no way to bring the fight to the Fatimids and Seljuks -not, at least, alone-.
But then, one day, the raids stopped coming. The pirates went north, disappearing. The infidel armies, and their fanatics, left the unstable frontiers seemingly forever. Then, merchants brought news about a holy war, an invasion, and, surprisingly, Christians.
Somehow, Aethiopia wasn't alone in their fight.
Soon, voices began to be heard across the feeble cities of Abyssinia. Some claimed for revenge, others for and attack, while most demanded action from the throne: Christendom was fighting back the Infidel, and the Zagwe were going to just stay still? What other chance had the realm to attack, and redeem the soul of a seemingly cursed kingdom?
The Zagwe, once used to war, now feared to bring back the eyes of their enemies, preferring to lay low and gather strength. This, however, wasn't enough for the surviving last branch of the Solomonid family. Tensions would grow for decades, while even more news arrived from the north. The Infidel was on retreat on all fronts, and even the holy city of Jerusalem had been reclaimed. The Fatimids forces had forgotten about the south, yet nothing happened. The Solomonids, now reduced to a couple of counties, began to gather support from the nobles, forming a coalition against the ruling family. Soon, an ultimatum was sent.
"Fight for God, or you will see Him soon"
There was no response.
And so, if the Zagwe wouldn't bring war to their enemies, then war would come to the Zagwe.
After almost twenty years of civil wars, three pretenders dead, three Zagwe kings, and one attempted regency, King Iskander "the Mutilator" lost the throne, and young Gondar Solomonid ascended.
- I guess he wasn't that popular with such nickname -
After getting the recognition of the nobles and the clergy, now King Gondar decided to change set the capital in the county with his very same name, Gondar. A small city, next to the border, was exactly what the last of the Solomonids needed. Feeling the enemy so close to home, there was no way to fall in compliance with their presence.
Gondar finished his story, looking at Belisarios' reaction. The Emperor called the Protostator, Sakellarios and Magistros to an extraordinary meeting, and invited the King of Abyssinia to accompany them. Within four hours, the Empire and Aethiopia had made a deal.
Roman grain, gold, officers and weapons would travel south, and create a real army for the King. In exchange, Abyssinia promised to aid the Empire against the Fatimids, and pacify the lands surrounding the Nile to restore peace and security in the old granary of the Mediterranean. Of course, they had to acknowledge the authority of the Emperor, and declare themselves a Roman protectorate. While this sounded impressive, the sheer distance between Constantinople and Gondar made it something only in name.
However, this alliance was much stronger than that. As the King of Aethiopia needed a Queen, the Empire provided one.
Kyra Argead, while not that young anymore, was offered to Gondar Solomonid, who accepted her even if she was a widow. While this could cause some trouble back home, there was no way that the King of Abyssinia would insult the Emperor in his home by rejecting his blood.
For a second it seemed that Patriarch Anastasios II was going to object, but a single raised eyebrow in Basilissa Eudokia's face was enough to make him silenced and conveniently forget that these "Aethiopians" were, in fact, heretics.
- While his love for the Basileus is unquestionable, it's only in one way -
One week later, the Abyssinian retinue sailed back home, heading to Jerusalem as pilgrims to make use of the long travel. Basilissa Eudokia said good bye to her daughter once more, hoping that these people could take care of her.
Sometime ended up passing from that moment, and since the exotic visit of Gonder everything seemed too common to really enjoy. A couple months later a peasant revolt erupted in Ikonion, which didn't even need to be communicated to Belisarios.
The cataphracts were quickly dispatched, ready to deal with such impertinence.
- Nothing to worry about -
Instability was quickly growing in inland Levante, with more and more Christians willing to defy their infidel lords, but everyone new that there was no hope for them. With the Empire already overextended, there were no intentions to intervene.
And then, some interesting news came this time from the West. The "Holy Roman Emperor", Kaiser Rutger, had decided to emulate the experiment made some decades ago in the Taurican peninsula, which created the Imperial Republic of Cherson to control all trade routes coming and going through the Pontic Sea. While the Germans did not have such access to the Silk road, they were trying that in the Baltic Sea. Such idea was meet with laughs in Constantinople: What were they going to trade for? Mud? Fish? Maybe rocks? Every time the Germans tried something, it was nothing but a wicked version of Roman works.
From time to time, some of those "Hansa" arrived at Constantinople, trading some new goods. Some shiny feathers, weird looking rocks, and gold. Maybe too many gold coins for a simple German. Was this the secret of the Hanseatic League? They had found a gold mine, and now thought they could buy the world? Silly Catholics.
And as quickly as that rumor arrive, another came. The Germans, now much more confident that Toulouse was at war with the Italian cities, declared on the greatest power of the West. Did this mean a change in balance over in the region? Who really cared, as long as they killed each other and leave the Empire alone.
While Toulouse seemed to be able to hold the line, the declaration of war coming from the British islands made them rethink their strategy. Were they ready to fight every neighbor they had? No. In matter of weeks, they had surrendered the land the Germans wanted back. Without them on the back, there would be no problem to defeat the other two they said.
This kind of news started to become a new topic to laugh about during the councils. And, sometimes, those councils ended up lasting for hours. After leaving one, still laughing, Belisarios was heading to bed when he thought about eating something. A toast, maybe. But was the middle of the night, and the servants were all sleep.
To hell, he said. He was Emperor, conqueror, and shield of Rome. If he was able to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, he was damn able to make a toast! Or two! Maybe even more!
"It is my kitchen, after all", he thought, trying to convince himself.
One toast became two, and then four. Then, too many for sure. Only when he felt satisfied, he started walking back to his bed -surely with Eudokia quite mad for taking too long-.
A crunch in the floor was the only thing he heard before the blow.
Everything became blurry and heavy. The taste of blood was felt in his mouth. For a second, he felt desperate, thinking on screaming for help. But no, "I am Emperor", he repeated, slowly getting back on his feet. Then, he saw the blood on the wooden floor.
It seemed that the price of too many toasts was a broken nose.
This time, he thought, I don't care if they are sleep. And he called the Palace's physician.
Next morning Belisarios got the word that the Seljuk Sultan, Savur II, had died under suspicious circumstances. While it seemed like a good thing, he couldn’t stop wondering for a time if he was the only one taking dangerous mid-night snacks.
That was not the only update of that day: After so much time, the Fatimids were losing their heartland. Abyssinia, under the Solomonids, had accomplish what no Zagwe had attempted and Egypt, somehow, was back in Christian hands. The wrong hands, though.
Suddenly, in the middle of the Imperial Council, Belisarios' sight turned fuzzy again. It seemed that, somehow, that fall still had some effects in the Emperor. The physician recommended uninterrupted rest, without leaving bed, in case the head needed internal healing. Belisarios protested, almost immediately abandoning his room, until Eudokia appeared on the door.
There was only one person that could defy the will of Belisarios and win every time. But while the Emperor had to stay in bed, she decided to take one step further: She attended to the Imperial Council meeting to share the decision and, also, declared not only being the temporal replace to her husband, but also her permanent participation in it.
Sure, his husband had made some minor reforms during his life about woman's role in society, mostly thanks to her. But, ever since the Total War against Infidels, Westerners, and everyone around the Empire, women had been more than just housekeepers. They had to forge weapons, tools, heal the wounded and bury the dead. With every man a soldier, every woman became more than they ever expected.
She decided to make it official. An Imperial Decree, declaring the equality of women and men in Imperial territory. While no one could force the entire population to behave exactly like that, this really meant a first step stone in that direction: now women were openly accepted in the Imperial bureaucracy, a possibility that would end up boosting the boons of knowing how to read and write within the female population.
Basilissa Eudokia Komnenos went as far as naming Queen Sanatha, second Bagrationi on the throne of Georgia after the Georgian Liberation, general of the Roman Armies. Knowing that her reforms, so sudden and exactly done when his husband was unavailable, would cause unrest between the nobility she quickly started gathering allies, and Sanatha's army was stronger than any of the Exarchs.
Only complains reached the Great Palace, but none Belisarios' room.
But that exact lockdown that Eudokia had placed the Palace into made possible that she was the first one to read the weird reports from Hispania. The Empress closed her eyes for a second, trying to understand, trying to remember something she heard before, not too long ago...
The eyes of Eudokia opened wide. That's right, she thought. The German merchants were arriving more and more to Constantinople, buying silk and selling their new "northern" goods in Galata and Constantinople. She knew something was going on in with those Hansa. How else could they get the money to compete with Roman merchants and goods? There was something new on the horizon, and the Germans had managed to profit with it.
But the time of simple trading had ended, as now the shiny feathers invaded from the West, burning every town and city on their path.
This time I don't have much to say. Thanks for coming by!
