1250 - 1255
Episode Twelve
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DEATH AND RACING
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As tradition indicated, at least one of Hungary's Princes had to be educated in the Queen of Cities. The consolidation between the relations of the two realms had been growing without pace, even more with the economic dependence of Budapest with the Imperial Treasury.
While gold and goods were sent north, as a gift to the newly crowned Great King Arpad Jeno, he sent back his brother, young Prince Dezso Kornelfi, to the Imperial Capital of Constantinople. There, even when the blood of both Houses -the Argead and the Arpad- were closely linked, Prince Dezso was not only given a place in the Imperial Court but also the hand of Belisarios' youngest daughter, Petronia.
In matter of months, both were declared married, and the old alliance with the Hungarians solidified once again; at least they had learnt about Jerusalem's mistake, one that Queen Ase was surely regretful from the remains of her Egiptian conquests, knowing the end of her realm was inevitable.
Back to the world's capital, Basilissa Eudokia decided to celebrate her own five decades by iniciating a renovations plan for Constantinople, a set of public works, construction, and restoration of old monuments to give a new color to the city, and of course, generate work for the masses.
The plans were to get rid of every single dirt road inside the Theodosian Walls by replacing them with stone, as the economic miracle that the Empire was going through had really bult up the Imperial Treasury. Soon, this announcement traleved from one corner to the other, and thousands of immigrants from Anatolia, Greece, and even the reconquered lands of the Levant reached the city of Constantine. This, however, was perceived as an opportunity to the shrewd Empress.
They were directed to the other side of the Golden Thorn, next to the latin enclave of Galata. Under the promise of the creation of the new district of the city, one that would be built by their own inhabitants, many moved to the other side, specially the poor. Plans were made to simulate the old Theodisian Walls, not just for defense but to show the welcomed populace that they were going to live in an expansion of the capital itself. The new district began to be called "Eudokion", as it was the Empress' personal proyect.
Maybe one day, the Empress thought by look at the Golden Thorn from the palace, both halfs of the city could be connected by a bridge. Of course, such architectural marvels were matter of the romans of old.
But peace, prosperity, and the defeat of all enemies, threatened to bring back the old problems. While the whispers of a Palaiologan Scheme to retake the throne were gone -something that could mean good or bad news-, conflicts much alike the ones produced by the old theme system began to arise.
The Exarch of Eastern Anatolia, now without the duty of protecting the core of the Empire seemed have nothing else to do but find enemies along his peers. As effective governor of one third of the peninsula, he didn't seem to have much to fight with the Imperial Republic of Cherson. Still, one day he showed up in the palace, without previous notice, and accussed the Archon of treason.
As agents of the Bureau of Secrets were dispatched to the Taurican Peninsula, they didn't find any proof of treason... but they found other interesting details.
To believe that a cannibal, one of the worst sins possible, was the head of such Imperial Office became an outrageous reality. Soon, without any warning, soldiers of the Imperial Guard were sent to imprison the man, and let it rot in jail.
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THE ARGEAD TOURNAMENT
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As time went by, and Constantinople gained the proper splendor of a new golden age, Belisarios' announced a big tournament: A chariot race that would define who was the strongest, most noble and fierce men in the entire Empire. The traditional teams, known for their colors, became wary at first thinking that this was a maneuvre to eliminate them from the social -and political- landscape of the capital, but no. The Basileus had plans for them.
The Greens and the Blues, entrenched on their rivalry, were given a single but shared mission: to get as many fighters and candidates as possible. Soon, they were racing each other through roads and towns, trying to convince local warriors to travel to the capital and, in doing so, declare that they came thanks to a specific team. One way or another, the real race was happening much before the competition at the Hippodrome.
Just like the teams were traveling as fast as possible, news also did: somehow, the heir to Genghis Khan, Khagan Babur of the Mongols, had just became a Mohammedan. Slowly, the Asian steppes were turning muslim, not in the ways of the Shia or the Sunni, but the Zikri.
Somehow, Islam always found a way to be a threat to the Empire. With the Shia confined in Egypt, and the Sunni fighting each other within the Seljuk Sultanate, was this the ideal moment for the Zukri to take the protagonism between the followers of Mohammed?
While everyone flocked to the capital, minor nobles and administrative officers also came to observe the spectacle. Using this ocasion to inspectionate the state of the regional institutions, many assisted to the Imperial Palace and gave local reports and requests, such as repairs, new bridges, economical support, and more. But, as more and more people talked to Belisarios, a young woman, without any knowledge of imperial manners, started to talk with the Emperor in a brief moment of rest. Soon after his father, who also was searching for a suitable husband, tried to take the girl back and scorn her for such disrespect. Belisarios, liking how he could get a conversation without mentioning all of the Imperial Regalia, offered an unexpected option.
The father, ecstatic, accepted. This was not only a the best opportunity he could think, but also gave their family prestige and a direct conection to the palace. Soon, Pulcheria had a room there, and Belisarios' a new honest friend to talk with without thinking on all political affairs. Empress Eudokia, always watching, didn't know how to react to such action. Their love was never in question, but with men you can never be, sure she thought.
Then, after months of preparation, the great tournament in the Hippodrome was ready. Let the games begin!
The first races started strong, with more than a dozen chariots per race. The chaos and ambition were palpable, as accidents and brawl between the competitors were common. Blood was quickly spilled over the ground, something that seemed to amuse the populace as they cheered the victors.
As the tournament continued, more and more gold moved the bets outside the races. Many competitors didn't wanted to get the first place, but to bet for themselves and come out rich from the competition, reason why violence became more and more usual, with people throwing themselves from chariot to chariot and, in some cases, even fighting on the ground while the remaining competitors tried to avoid them. Not everyone succeded.
As fewer candidates remained, the adrenaline and rivalry reached unexpected levels. Getting closer to the last rounds, your blood or office didn't matter on the "battlefield", as the expectators started to call the Hippodrome: everyone could get murdered, and everyone should get hurt to please the masses. Luckily, no member of the Imperial Family was allowed to participate, which were only the handful of "Argead" not the Palaiologoi.
Maybe one of the most remembered events was when Megistos Gavalas, a Greek Anatolian trying his luck and managed to get far, started to speak in tonges after getting fataly wounded after his chariot crashed against the walls. With pieces of wood inserted on his torso, and an open wood in his head, his screams were heared over all the place, with even the remaining racers stopping. Some say he was talking on Arameic, while many assured that those words were demonic in nature. After walking in circles for some minutes and ranting, he pointed out to almost twenty random persons in the public, eight of which fainted in a second. Only after that, Megistos Gavalas fell to the ground, not moving anymore.
To save the tournament -as people didn't want to enter the Hippodrome saying it was cursed-, the Ecumenical Patriach demanded an "interesting ammount of gold" to renovate churches and monasteries in exchange of a cleansing. The bearded priests entered the Hippodrome, singing along as they were inside Hagia Sophia, accompanied by incense and the Basileus following them. With the entire city expectant, the Patriach declared the place cleansed of all evil, and even blessed the remaining races... by getting an exclusive seat alongside the Emperor for the last rounds.
The last race was on. Three competitors, three candidates to gain the glory of one of the biggest tournaments in written history. No bloodshed was allowed on this last race, as they had to win by showing their mastery on the chariot, and the quality of their horses.
Without big surprises, the third place of the race was veteran of the Varangian Guard, Halsten And "the Strong", retired and settled on the reconquered Tripoli. While he was, without a doubt, one of the best fighters in the Empire, chariot racing was a new kind of battle that he had to master, and so he did by besting many.
- His catholic zeal was probably the reason of why he decided to stay in previous catholic Jerusalem -
In second place, by means that few could understand, the public found Count Orbeli of Georgia. By no means a warrior, he was regarded was the "Spider" by those who knew them back in the Caucasus. Some claimed that they saw Orbeli sabotaging Halsten's chariot before the race began, but no one managed to find proof of that. Still, Orbeli became a hero back in his homeland, and Queen Sanatha Bagrationi receive him with all possible honors once he was back in Tbilisi.
And, in first place, a man that was forced in more than one situation to jump from one chariot to another: Philippos "the Frog" Makrembolites, Exarch of Greece and one of the best generals in the Empire.
Maybe, in an all fair race, the norse could have won, but Philippos had decided to change his chariot at the last second, breaking all of Orbeli's plans to take the first place. One of the all times favorites thanks to his acrobacies and almost miraculous ways to avoid death, the Exarch appropialy named "the Frog" for those that supported him, was called in by the Emperor. There, he was named as the best example of what a Roman should be: strong, flexible, and capable to avoid defeat at any moment. Philippos represented the spirit of Rome, always able to bounce back from the abyss, adapting to punch back the enemy. In the eyes of the world, Philippos was named "Kouropalates", the "One in charge of the palace", one of the highest possible offices in the Empire. Acclaimed by he people, he did one last round over the Hippodrome, waving to the public, now presented as the Hero of Rome.
With the Empire back to normality, Constantinople saw his already rich economy boosted even more. Some minors setbacks at the construction of Eudokion meant an extra investment from the treasury, but nothing that really mattered to Belisarios' pockets.
But, at the last moment, a new warning reached the ears of the Emperor. While his enemies had decided to surrender any hopes of taking back the throne from Belisarios, they were aiming for the long game.
Why try to make a coup against of one of the most celebrated and consolidated Emperors in recent history? Such action would only mean suicide, and a bloodshed. But the enemies of the throne were many, and they were willing to wait.
Surely, the Palaiologoi would try to strike at the very moment of Belisarios' last breath. What could he do, but try to fight an invisible enemy? His son was a grown man, capable, with his own family and responsabilities: there was no place for a father to protect the heir of the Imperial Dignity.
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Meanwhile, in the other side of the Mediterranean, Queen Ase saw how the kingdom of her father's fathers turned to ashes, all because of her not renewing the alliance with the Empire. At the time, it seemed the right choice: Constantinople was on the verge of collapse, facing an invasion from every direction possible. How could she endanger her people in a war so terrible? And, besides, that would mean betraying her faith, as the Fourth Crusade was seen as a fight between the True Church against the eastern impostors. But then, the Greeks won. Not only on one front, but in every single one.
It was at that moment that she knew that not honoring the old alliance was a mistake. Few could face the ambition of Belisarios, and she had give him his next target.
There, trapped on whatever remained of her Kingdom, between the abandoned shia fortresses of the Nile, Queen Asa fell into depression. Not leaving her room in days, and refusing any food and water, her servants found her dead. The guilt, some say, ended her life.
The new king, son of Ase, Raimbaut Estrid, took over the ruined throne of the Holy Land. Accusing Constantinople as the ones who slowly killed his mother, he denied any diplomatic relations and offers coming from the Empire. The young King seemed decided to survive on his own, or die.
And, unlike late Queen Ase, he was not going to expect for his death, but search for it.
The race in Constantinople was over, but the one for Egypt had just started.
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Another five quiet years, but hey, I had quite the fun imagining the tournament! Specially the death of the the possesed one, haha.
Still, there is one fact that worries me: the conversion of the Mongols to Zukri Islam. Babur has been expanding his territory and consolidating over the steppes and even atacking India. At least it not a Sunni/Shia, in that case I'd be worrying about the next Jihad!
What I'm really interested in is Jerusalem's new King. I mean, really, he just attacked the nation surrounding him in the BEST MOMENT. The shia caliph just suffered two defeats against the Italians and Ethiopians, and now the remains of Jerusalem may be taking the capital of Egypt. Look at that!
It seems I'll have to create another custom kingdom to unite the administration of the Levant. Hmmh.
I don't think Belisarios will start another war of expansion, specially since the middle eastern border is quite long and, at least in my head, only the current economical state of the Empire makes it possible to maintain. I wonder if the current prosperity will survive the day Belisarios' passes away, hmh.
. Now the Hagia Sophia's picture certainly needs a bit of correction. No Ottomans to be found soon so those minarets are hardly needed.
