The Achaemeneh - the Saga of the Byzantine Kings (Achaemenid Megacampaign Part 2)

[Killcrazy13]

Prologue - The Bulgarian Invasion and the Return of the Achaemenids

May, 939 AD

The wind howled like a banshee across the steppes, whipping at Nikola’s weathered face as he surveyed his Bulgar horde. For years, this people, the mighty Bulgars, had roamed the endless plains north of the Danube, a people known for their fierce horsemanship and unwavering loyalty. But whispers of opportunity danced on the wind, whispers that spoke of crumbling kingdoms to the south.

"Brothers!" Nikola roared, his voice a thunderclap against the howling wind. "You took my family in when we had nowhere to go. You offered us shelter and protection when our enemies were hunting us to the ends of the earth. Now, I shall return the gift. For generations, you have ridden the endless plains, but glory awaits us beyond the great river! The Muslims, once masters of these lands, are weak and divided. Now is the time to claim back my birthright, a land of fertile valleys and strong cities!"

A guttural roar rose from the Bulgar ranks, their battle axes flashing in the dying sunlight. The fire of conquest had been ignited. Under the steely gaze of a blood-red moon, the Bulgars crossed the Danube, a tide of horsemen surging southwards.

The initial Muslim response was feeble. Scattered detachments were brushed aside like chaff by the Bulgar storm. Panic rippled through the kingdom. Cities like Silistra, once bastions of an ancient power, fell with shocking ease. The Bulgars, fueled by victory, carved a bloody path deeper into the Balkans only just ravaged by a monstrous and bloody plague half a decade ago. After each battle, the Bulgars yelled “Victory for Khoda! Revenge for the Achaemenids!”

Nikola was no mere barbarian warlord, ravaging territory for plunders’ sake. He was of an ancient bloodline, who had been rulers of a vast empire that had been stolen from them. In his lineage, hallowed names like Cyrus, Darius, Orodes and Otaspes had their deeds inscribed into history. They had been forced to abandon their home nearly a century ago and their successors had considered them an ancient legend, lost to the annals of time. Now it was a time for the Achaemenids to come for those who had wronged them, reclaim the land stolen from their grasp and the enemies they were eager to enact vengeance on.

Nikola was a strategist, a wolf who knew when to strike and when to negotiate. He understood the value of a strong empire, not just plunder. When the Muslims finally offered a truce, he met with their emissary, a pompous noble named Hassan, in a makeshift tent. Hassan, his face pale with fear, looked down upon Nikola, seated on a bearskin throne. Behind him, the ancient banner of House Achaemenid, frayed and patched hung behind him. "Barbarian," he croaked, "we offer you a treaty. Leave our lands and we shall forget this transgression."

Nikola’s dark eyes narrowed. "Transgression? The land we stand on belonged to my ancestors before the Muslims even dreamt of an empire. Now, listen carefully, heathen. We will accept your surrender. You shall cede control of these lands – Moesia, Scythia Minor, Muntenia and Dobrudja. Pray we do not take more.”

Hassim sputtered, his pride bruised. Nikola’s demands were audacious, yet... he had little choice. The Muslim taifas of Byzanstan were divided and more interested to fight among themselves for territory after the collapse of the Caliphate. In the West, the Greek successor states of the old Achaemenid Empire would not aid their enemies against this new barbarian threat.

After days of tense negotiations, a treaty was signed. The Bulgars secured their newly conquered lands, laying the foundation for the Bulgarian Kingdom. Nikola, the man who led them from the steppes, had not just claimed land, he had reclaimed his family’s name in the histories. Though clashes with the Greeks and Byzantines would continue for centuries, the Bulgar presence in the Balkans was a permanent fixture. As for Nikola, he returned to his new capital, Tarnovgrad, his legacy etched in blood and soil – a testament to the unwavering will of the House of Cyrus and the people they had been adopted by.

 

[Killcrazy13]

Welcome dear readers to part 2 of this megacampaign (hopefully all the way to Vic3).

You can read about Part 1 here: The Last of the Achaemenids
This covers the rise of the Achaemenids from 304 BC to 476 AD after the destruction of the Persian Empire by Alexander to eventually creating an empire greater than their ancestors or Alexander. From there we follow the slow decline as the centuries slowly wear down the great edifice.

Over the next couple of posts, I'll detail out the world at 476 AD when the narrative begins and from there, we'll discover how the world evolved over four centuries leading to the Achaemenid's victorious return to their homelands.

 

[Nikolai]

Ah, it's back in CK's clothing! Wonderful!

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for continuing. Subbed! What is the religious breakdown in the area? Is Nikola a 'true Achaemenid' or is he using legends to promote legitimacy?

 

[Killcrazy13]

Thank you for continuing. Subbed! What is the religious breakdown in the area? Is Nikola a 'true Achaemenid' or is he using legends to promote legitimacy?

Very glad to have you back!

I intend to cover the developments of the 400 years including religious and cultural changes over time so stay tuned. One thing I will say say is the cultural map of the Balkans is truly Balkanized by the point I've played up to.

In regards to Nikola's heritage, you'll have to find out when I catch up to the 930s.

 

[Darumaka]

This looks very interesting! I'll have to go check out the first part for sure, never really played Imperator or read any of its AARs so it should be fun.

 

[Killcrazy13]

A History of the Neo-Achaemenid Empire


The Neo-Achaemenid Empire traces it founding to the city of Heraclea Pontike on the Southern coast of the Black Sea. Amastris, a niece of the fallen Persian King Darius had inherited rule of the Greek city state and set it on a course to reclaim the legacy of the old Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus and Darius from the Diadochi fighting over Alexander’s empire. Over the following century, she and her heirs would slowly drive the Macedonians from Anatolia and eventually subjugate their homeland of Greece. Moving their capital to Byzantion at the nexus of Aegean and Black Seas, they would embellish the city with the spoils of campaigns and establish it as the grandest city in the world, soon to be called Achaemeniyya and forever associated with the dynasty.

In the 2nd century BC, the sitting Shahanshah Orodes II would launch the Great Campaign to claim back the Persian heartlands. A generational war would see them launch multiple campaigns to pull the old lands back into the Achaemenid orbit and by the end of his lifetime, his rule extended till the Indus valley. Future rulers would conquer Egypt, Arabia and Libya, and subjugate the Punics of North Africa, the Dacians, the Scythians, Nepalis, Berbers and Kemetic people of the Upper Nile, establishing the largest empire the world had ever seen.

The Achaemenid Empire at its height around 100 AD including tributary client kings​

Their rule would ensure two centuries of a Pax Persica in the Anatolian and Levant heartlands while war raged on its periphery against the Romans, Kushites, Sarmatians and Tamil Kings of India. However, success breeds corruption as many in the centre took the prosperity for granted. In Achaemeniyya, politics became a game as factions fought for influence, even toppling Shahanshahs when the stars aligned. In the 1st century AD, with the increasing influence of the Zoroastrian Magi now brought into the fold, the ruling Queen decreed that Ahura Mazda would be the god paramount of the empire, doing away with centuries of Hellenic faithfulness. As decades gathered dust, the control of Achaemeniyya slowly ebbed away due to the effects of plague, rebellions and war and the increasing disinterest of the Shahanshahs to actually rule their empire.

By the end of the 3rd century AD, kingmakers and claimants fought to put themselves or their candidate on their throne and or claw pieces of the empire for themselves. Into this evolving cauldron of calamity, the young Darius would rise to the challenge, defeating all challengers, reforming the economy and setting the empire on a new path in service to Christ the Redeemer. However, the recovery would not long survive his passing and the empire would split in two shortly after his death with a Christian West and a Zoroastrian East and two Shahanshah that would increasingly clash over the territories they each viewed as rightfully theirs.

By the early 5th century AD, the throne would pass completely out of Achaemenid hands as the line of the Dâmâds or the son-in-laws took charge of the much reduced empire. Tigraios, the first in the line was married to the daughter of the Shahanshah and was acclaimed as his successor but his son, Darius II, would announce the birth of a new dynasty, drawing on his ancient Greek bloodline as a descendant of Alexander and the refounding of the Argeads. Once again, civil war swept the empire as many Persians took offence or sought to carve out their own fiefdoms as central legitimacy was exhausted. The 3rd Achaemenid Civil War would last 44 years and prove to the bloodiest in history as millions died in service of the rival kings or simply as collateral damage in the many sackings and ravages of war.

The empire in 476 AD after losing Persia and seeing many satrapies breaking off during the many crisis of the last two hundred years. ​

By 472, Darius II emerged triumphant and had all usurpers put to death. By now, an old man, he would spend his last years attempting to rebuild from the ashes of war but times were changing and the sunset of the old empires was coming. He would pass on in 476 AD when our narrative begins.

​

Up next is a detailed lay of the land in 476 AD.

 

[Lord Durham]

Nice opening. I look forward to see how you get there. I'm fascinated by that little chunk of land called Europa.

Edit: Ugh. Cross posted. Anyway, enjoyed the recap. Lots happened.

 

[Killcrazy13]

The World in 476 AD – Western Europe

The British Isles had beaten back a Roman invasion in 75 AD and had stayed independent since then. The Romans viewed the isles as unworthy of the effort in blood and treasure to capture and left the inhabitants to their local disputes. Now mostly unified under the Brygentin Cavarinus II mab Vosenius and still dominated by the Brittonic people, the lands are still underdeveloped compared to the European mainland and prone to tribal infighting. The Britons still abide by their Old Gods and druids who manage their religious ceremonies. In Ireland, the Celts fight for their independence controlling half the island.

Germania is split between Rome and constantly splintering Germanic kingdoms. In 476, they are briefly unified under King Baswo of the clan Wulthungaz of the Ripuarian tribe, rejecting the weak Christian god of the Romans. His kingdom of Tropea would slowly break apart after his passing and the Germanics would continue to flood into the porous borders of the Roman empire for the next century.

Further north in Scandinavia and the Baltics, tribes are engaged in a battle for land and survival. It’s a harsh territory and many will choose to migrate away in search of better prospects. To their east, the Baltics are home to Finnish and Sami people who engage in hunts and fishing when not defending their lands from the Germanics or Sarmatian raiders of Thyssagetia.

Rome

In 476 AD, Rome experienced a momentous change. The sitting Imperator, Volumnius Ulpius, abdicated in favour of his sons. Seeking to ensure that both would receive a fair inheritance, he split the empire between them. The elder, Mamercus, would receive Gaul, Hispania and the North German territories while the younger, Amulius, received Italia and the lands just north of the Alps. Over the centuries, Rome had faced similar problems to the Achaemenids in governing their large territories and defending their borders against barbarian raids. Mamercus, a famed and adept administrator was tasked to put right the unruly lands beyond Italy while Amulius would steward the semi-prosperous peninsula. Both brothers had sworn to come to each other’s aid in the advent of crisis.

Following the Council of Chalcedon, the Roman people accepted the Pope as the head of their church. Almost all of Western Europe professed the Catholic faith and viewed the Zoroastrian-influenced Orthodox of the East as schismatics. The office of the Papacy had grown in power and influence since Chalcedon, with lands and territories it managed independent of the Roman crown. In 473 AD, Pope Martinus had been driven out by the citizens of Rome due a papal decree and had taken residence in Toulouse. This is would not last and by 480 AD, the Pope was back in Rome, seated in St Peter’s Cathedral in the Vaticano.

Culturally, the Romans had spread around the Mediterranean with much of Hispania becoming Romanised. However, Gaul was predominantly Gallic, refusing to integrate fully into Roman culture. The demographics in Gaul would change rapidly over the next century. Mamercus would be unable to hold back the tide and the Germanics would break through and dominate much of Northern and Central Gaul. The Gaulish people would increasingly find themselves migrating to the lands around the Alps to band together for protection against these invaders.

Italy itself would see much change too as the Empire accepted more and more barbarians as foederati to supplement their armies. The idea of Roman-ness would also driftas the people dealt with these invaders and were forced to integrate them and live side-by-side with them. Italian culture would become increasingly regionalised from the Persian-influenced south to Gallic-Tuscany to the Germanic-influenced Romagna. Only in Hispania would we see the stereotype of Roman culture survive as they held on to what they believed to be the "True Roman" way while their ancestral lands gestalted significantly.

 

[Killcrazy13]

This looks very interesting! I'll have to go check out the first part for sure, never really played Imperator or read any of its AARs so it should be fun.

Glad to have you on board and hope you enjoy the I:R read-through.

Nice opening. I look forward to see how you get there. I'm fascinated by that little chunk of land called Europa.

Edit: Ugh. Cross posted. Anyway, enjoyed the recap. Lots happened.

Crossposting happens but welcome back! Lots more to recap and to establish the world in 476 AD.

Oh Europa, the true heartlands of the Achaemenids and their fabled city. They'll get back there someday.

 

[Killcrazy13]

The World in 476 AD – North Africa

While the state of Carthage no longer existed, the Punic people still dominated North Africa. From their capital in Tunis, Africa, they ruled over a larger confederation of Berber peoples – the Gaetulians and Maurians tribes of the Atlas and northern Sahara. The Punic nation of Hadrametum had restored much of North African Carthage after breaking away from the Achaemenids during the Empire’s crisis, even claiming a portion of Cyrenaica. They professed the heretical Donatist faith, heretical at least to Chalcedonians of Rome and Achaemeniyya. Hadrametum was ruled by the House of ‘Abd’osiri, formerly favoured privateers of the Acahemenids during the Romano-Persian wars that raged in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. They haven’t renounced their piratical ways and Punic warships are a threat to merchant shipping throughout the Mediterranean. The sitting Emperor of Hadrametum is Birrekba’l IV and he seeks to make common cause with the Kemetic Kingdom of Waset to claim Achaemenid Egypt.

Deeper into the Sahara, along the Libyan coast is Grand Emirate of Waddan, a former tributary of the Achaemenids. Deep in their desert fastness, these Berber people prefer to stay isolated and keep out of the business of empire and war after the deeply scarring 3rd Achaemenid Civil War. They are ruled by Agellid Mastan IV and act as a trade conduit with sub-Saharan Africa for Europe, making the city of Tripoli one of the richest cities in North Africa.

 

[Nikolai]

Donatists, eh? Those guys were harsh historically.

 

[jak7139]

It's an interesting choice to start "in media res." I'm excited to see how Islam and the Bulgars come into things!

 

[Midnite Duke]

I was unsure if CK2 or 3 until I saw Africa. Africa is good for orienting 2 before or after Holy Fury and 3 from 2. Thank you for the background.

 

[HistoryDude]

I appreciate the overview!

How far did this Caliphate stretch? Did it conquer Parsa?

What will be the greatest extent of this Second (Third?) Achaemenid Empire that is composed of Bulgars?

 

[Killcrazy13]

The World in 476 AD – Eastern Europe

Dacia had been a client state of the Achaemenid for most of its existence. It had been protected by the Persians and had been a useful buffer against Roman aggression. With the annexation of Illyria in the 4th century, the Achaemenids found Dacia less useful militarily but still a good source of tribute. The 3rd Achaemenid Civil War broke that partnership as they sided with the Beth Narayan usurpers and retained their independence at the end of the war. They retained the worship of Zalmoxis and other Dacian gods despite the missionaries sent from Achaemeniyya. Now free, the Dacians will need to fend off the Romans and migrating Germanic and Slavic tribes on their own, as many eye the fertile Pannonian basin as a new home.

South of the Danube lay the two breakaway Achaemenid states, Krajina and Odessos. Having shaken off central authority during the long civil war, their kings professed the Arian branch of Christianity to escape the influence of the Patriarch of Achaemeniyya. Krajina claimed origins from the House of Achaemenid but as far as our genealogies can trace, there is no direct kinship between them and the bloodline of Cyrus and Amastris. These claims would be a sore point between the two fiefdoms for quite some time.

The Bosporan Kingdom is just as old as the Achaemenid Empire. It reached its heyday in the 2nd century BC, controlling most of the Pontic Steppe but had been pushed back into Azov region by Scythian and Sarmatian raiders. The Achaemenids had come to their rescue in return for the Greeks becoming a tributary and they had restored much of what had been lost. They were still ruled by the ancient House of the Spartokides and were an island of Hellenism and Greek culture in a sea of barbarism. Pataroue was another Hellenic kingdom in faith but Persian in culture, immigrants from the Achaemenids after the Hellenic faith had been outlawed in their own country.

Beyond the Bosporan Kingdom ranged the large Sarmatian tribal confederation called Thyssagetia. They ruled the steppes from the Baltic to the Ural Mountains, refusing to adopt civilised manner and adhering to their sky gods and the ways of the ancestors.

The World in 476 AD – Persia

The Persian plateau was dominated by the Empire of Parsa, once the Eastern half of the Achaemenid Empire. Ruled by Kophenes Vivanid in 476 AD, they are facing immediate internal threats from the Smerdid family who controlled the prosperous region of ancient Mesopotamia and the great cities of the Tigris and Euphrates. Beyond this immediate conflict, Kophenes faces challenges in exerting his control as powerful families control immense fiefdoms in the East, especially the Orontids of Parthia and the Turan regions.

Persia itself is relatively homogenous in faith, with most professing belief in Ahura Mazda. Still, there are notable communities of Christians who have broken off from the mainstream and established their own Church of the East. In the North, there is even an independent Christian kingdom that hold to the teachings of Nestorius. Tiny Maca and its Sogdian people are located close to Ferghana and resolutely holds on to its independence.

In the borderlands between Parsa and the Achaemenids lie the Kingdoms of Arzuhin, Sagarejo and Tushpa. These lands are a melting pot of peoples with the majority Kartvellians and Armenians hosting Babylonians, Sarmatians, Persians and Greeks living mostly in harmony. With the Achaemenid Empire exhausted, a war of soft power is likely to continue here over matters of faith and allegiances to avoid further encroachments by Parsa. Arzunid is ruled by the Arzunid dynasty, an ancient house that can trace its lineage back to Shahdokht Amastris, granddaughter of Arbaces III. They had broken away during the crisis in the reign of Darius I and had taken on a new family crest but believed they had legitimate claims to the Achaemenid inheritance. Their words are “Reclaim our right”.

The World in 476 AD – Arabia & East Africa

Arabia had fallen to fractious infighting during the Side revolt in the late 3rd century AD and the Persian satraps had been overthrown by Arabian tribal chiefs. Ony the Northern tip of Arabia is under an imperial authority and it’s the most prosperous part of Arabia with ships sailing between Mesopotamia and India.

Further South and into the desert, Arab tribes rule the Oasis and trading outposts and have fallen back to worshipping their old gods and ancestors. They speak of a messiah that will come to relieve them of the Christian and Zoroastrian yoke that has entrapped their brothers in the North and of a great Jihad.

Beyond the waters of Arabian Gulf lies the Kingdom of Kush and Waset. Kush are still believers in the religion of the ancient Egyptians. These Meroitic people are fighting for influence in the region with their Northern neighbours, Waset who are Coptic Khemitics, the people who built those ancient pyramids in Memphis and Luxor. Ironically neither the religion or the culture that gave birth to that ancient civilisation reside in their homelands any longer and that the people had left their old religion.

At the tip of the Horn of Africa lies Opone, a small African Kingdom that had the distinction of being the very first land to acknowledge Christ as their god and protector of their faithful. While they will mostly be written out as a by-blow of history, it’s important to recognise that they were still the first Christian nation.

The World in 476 AD – India

India was dominated by the Pandyas, the Tamil Kings who had warred with the Achaemenids for the past 500 years since the Persian had planted their flag in the Indus Valley. Their hold on the sub-continent in 476 AD seems as strong as ever but ambitious Maharajas are eager to manipulate the sitting Samrat Amarabhujanga V to their own devices and throw off the yoke of Tamil domination within their own lands.

In the Indus Valley and Punjab, a breakaway Achaemenid family rules the land of Ouarana Indus from their seat in Bukkor. They had adopted Indian customs but still kept the fire temples of Ahura Mazda burning within their domain.

 

[Killcrazy13]

Europe is primarily Christian in 476 AD though it has failed to penetrate deeper into Central Europe as 'barbaric' people still hold faith with their gods. There several heresies growing within these lands though as the central Churches of Rome and Achaemeniyya fail to exert their authority to ensure that their single view of Christianity is dominant.

India has monthly adopted a common view of Hinduism enforced by the Pandya Samrats while Persia stays loyal to Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. Beyond these great empires, many pagan faiths hold sway in the mountains and steppes of the North.

 

[HistoryDude]

Parsa looks divided. How long will it take for them to fall into civil war?

How similar is Opone to OTL's Ethiopia (besides the early conversion and the location)?

 

[Lord Durham]

Funny seeing the Papacy located just north of the Pyrenees Mountains. Any idea who those two independent spots in Spain and part of the Balearic Islands belong to?

 

[Killcrazy13]

The World in 476 AD – The Achaemenid Empire

The Achaemenid Empire had shrunk immensely from its zenith in the 1st century AD. Now, its territories hugged the Eastern Mediterranean controlling the Balkans, Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Jerusalem and Egypt.

The Argead dynasty had survived the vicious civil war but now found itself isolated as the Great Houses had capitalised on the throne’s focus on war to expand their holdings and control within the old satrap system. As control had receded from the centre, they had wrested semi-independence and ruled their domains as kings who owed allegiance to Achaemeniyya and swore to provide the sitting Shahanshah with soldiers and gold. Much of the old imperial system had decayed away and the Shahanshah had to engage in favour trading and alliances to keep the machinery of government going. Legitimacy was also a going concern as many of the Great Houses now eyed acquiring the supreme seat of power as something within their grasp, something unthinkable a century ago when none but the Achaemenids had ever sat on the throne.

Despite the challenges of war, destruction and plagues, the empire was still mostly prosperous. Achaemeniyya was still the city that all flocked to and the fisheries of the Aegean, the cattle pastures of Anatolia and the wheat fields of Egypt provided plenty to develop industries and feed the people. The old imperial roads still existed, despites centuries of neglect and it was hoped that with peace, the people could slowly rebuild. The people themselves were a variety of cultures from cultured Greeks in the East to warlike Macedonians in the North to the Neo-Persians of Western and Central Anatolia to the Syrians and Aegyptians of Syria and Egypt. Middle Persian was the common tongue of trade and commerce though the imperial court increasingly used Greek in official matters. The Neo-Persians were distinct from their Eastern brethren in their old homelands. Centuries of Greek influence and imperial rule had seen them become more formal and proper as if holding on to long-forgotten practices were what made them “Persian”. They developed a love for the water, insisting on fountains or small pools in every noble house or civic feature and had an eye for commerce, trading across the Mediterranean.

With the death of Darius II, his middle-aged son, Tigraios II, took charge. Arrayed before him was a host of competing Great Houses, now royal in nature, competing against him and each other for power. The Houses Bagratid, Vivanid, Metillius, Bolbitine, Beth Narayan and even a small household of old Achaemenids in Judea had grown powerful over the ages and bided the time to strike.

The map shows the old governorships and the houses that controlled them now as kings. With the receding of Achaemenid power, the Bagratids and Vivanids had seen their influence rise and now controlled more than half the empire. If the members of the Houses could cooperate, they would be well placed to make a grab for power. ​