The weight of a kingdom has been placed on the small shoulders of a five-year-old child. Thank you for the update.
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A five-year-old gives plenty of opportunity for the nobility to do politicking.
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Jerusalem was truly a melting pot during this time period. But a regency doesn't bode well.
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History does not always follow the expected path and Otaspes will carve his own. Thank you for following along and let's see where Otaspes takes us.
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Otaspes the Great (524 AD – 602 AD) - Part 1
Otaspes the Great (524 AD – 602 AD)
The sources for the early years of Otaspes are few and far between, presenting a fractured view of the man that would grow up to be called “The Wolf” or “The Great”. Unfortunately, the Achaenemeh, the Book of the Achaemenids had such a gravitational pull that many later sources began using to it as the primary or only source for Otaspes and his heirs as they ushered in the 2nd golden age of the Achaemenid Empire. [1]
Growing up, Otaspes was placed into the care of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Raksh, who often regaled him with stories of his forebears including tales of his Roman ancestors (his grandmother was a Roman princess). It sparked a burning desire to restore his family’s empire and drive him all his adult life. Jerusalem was already the strongest Kingdom along the Eastern Mediterranean coast, with territories extending up into Syria and down into the Arabian Gulf but Coptic Egypt and Zoroastrian Durine rivalled it in strength.
Jerusalem in 524 AD
The other great influence on his life was his great-grandmother, Sisygambis. She had seen the death of her son and grandson but continued to hold on to life. She continued to care for her family, acting as the physician to the boy king and reminding him of the hardships that the usurpers and other Great Houses forced on them during their time on the run.
With dreams of reunification, Otaspes commanded his generals to capture Cilicia when he was only twelve. The war was a disaster for Jerusalem as the boy king underestimated the capabilities of the Cilician King, Aurang Bagratid. The Cilicians were adept at mountain warfare and cornered the Jerusalem army in the mountain passes that gave access to Antioch. Jerusalem’s army was mostly cavalry, made up of camel and light horse cavalry, ill-prepared for war in the highlands, and they were slaughtered. Forced to pay an indemnity and hand over the pilgrim tax for Jerusalem for the next five years, Otaspes swore never to be humiliated in such a manner again. It would take him three efforts before he could subjugate Cilicia and capture Antioch and the Cilician Gates. He personally led the last war, as a man of twenty, crushing the enemy forces on the plains of Aleppo where he could bring his superior cavalry to the fore.
With this victory, Otaspes grew in confidence and stature. His men worshipped him for his battlefield cunning and strategic brilliance. The brave and hardworking warrior-king who dined with his men and shared in the risk of battle was an easy man to follow and many more flocked to his banner. They called him the Wolf of the Battlefield and claimed that he was Darius I reborn.
The Egyptian Plague
Unfortunately for Otaspes, further dreams of conquest were put on hold for the Egyptian Plague would sweep the land. In the year 540, or shortly thereafter, as part of an ongoing campaign to eradicate from Egypt the final remnants of classical paganism, the Bagratid King Arbaces ordered that the temple to Isis, at Philae in southern Egypt, be destroyed. According to legend, among the many civilizing skills that mankind had been taught by Isis was that of how to cure disease. That the following year Egypt should have fallen victim to an outbreak of bubonic plague may have struck many adherents of the old gods as a sure sign of the folly of Christian policy. According to the contemporary historian Myconius, the plague first manifested itself at the entrepot of Pelusium, whence it spread to Alexandria, to the rest of Egypt and to Palestine. By 543 AD, it had spread across the Middle East and the Mediterranean, causing untold suffering and death. Within Jerusalem, Otaspes ordered vast pits to be dug to dispose of the rotting corpses. When these overflowed, bodies were stuffed into the towers of the city walls with quicklime poured over them to speed up decomposition, or they were loaded onto ships that were pushed out into the Dead Sea and set alight, giving a second reason for its moniker. The world came to a stop for ten years as everyone prayed for protection and deliverance.
Otaspes would spend the time with his aunt (born from his grandmother’s second marriage), Denag, who sought shelter in Jerusalem during the worst of the outbreak in Egypt. Within the walled gardens of the palace, a forbidden romance would begin between the two. Denag was married to the King of Lower Egypt, Stephanos Bolbitine and eager whisperers would claim that the 3rd Bolbitine son, Zenobios was Otaspes’. Neither Otaspes or Denag spoke of the matter but Otaspes would always ensure Zenobios was taken care of, giving him lands and titles within the Faiyum after he had dispossessed Stephanos of the Kingship of Lower Egypt at the height of their rivalry.
Otaspes the Conqueror
In 551, with the world finally ready to venture beyond the sealed city gates as the plague abated, Otaspes gathered his armies once again. The next twenty years would see a mix of diplomacy and war by the warrior king as he subjugated Syria, Anatolia and Greece under his banner. As many picked through the wreckage of their lands post-plague, they were unprepared to stand against this new force. In many areas, lines of kings had been extinguished and the return of an Achaemenid promised stability and protection. One of Otaspes’ fixation was putting an end to false Achaemenids. Many nobles were made to either renounce their claims of kinship or had their lines extinguished or banished. Otaspes wanted none to challenge his authority or the legacy of the Rightful Rulers of the World, his House Words.
As he marched towards his ultimate goal, Achaemeniyya, the Patriarch Zarthosht was not eager to welcome his arrival. With the weak Gulakshans in power, the Patriarchate had grown in influence in the City and was eager to emulate the Pope who had claimed Rome as his dominion and the supreme leader of all true Orthodox Christians. Exercising his one ultimate weapon, he excommunicated Otaspes and hoped to de-legitimise the King in the eyes of his followers. The cult of Otaspes had grown stronger with every victory and the Orthodox Church’s authority had weakened with its focus on worldly matters. His soldiers paid no mind to the decree and swore to restore piety to the ‘corrupted’ church. As the holder of the Ark, Otaspes had greater credit in claiming to serve God’s will and bringing his commandments to the decadent city.
In 578 AD, fifteen thousand Achaemenid warriors defeated ten thousand strong Gulakshan forces at the Battle of Chariopolis. Otaspes captured Shah Babak and forced him to surrender the City to him. With the capture of the ancient home of his ancestors, Otaspes had done the impossible, uniting the fallen empire within a single lifetime.
His men dragged the Patriarch before the King and forced the priest to kiss the royal signet ring in a sign of submission. Zarthosht was forced to retract his decree and in the following weeks, presided over a grand ceremony to anoint Otaspes as Emperor and Paragon of the Orthodox Church.
The re-established empire was significantly reshaped by the Warring Princes period and Otaspes' wars of reconquest and we’ll delve into it in the second part covering the latter part of his reign.
The restored Achaemenid Empire in 585 AD
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[1] The Achaemeneh was written in the time of Nikola II between 950 AD – 990 AD by a Byzantine poet named Fidraun. The Bulgarian Achaemenids sought to compile their family’s history and burnish their legitimacy as the returning heroes of old. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couplets (two-line verses), the Achaemeneh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author. It’s considered the national epic of the Byzantine people and the work is of central importance in the Byzantine culture and language, proving definitive for the ethno-national cultural identity of the nation.
Illustration from the Achaemeneh showing Smerdomenes crossing the Bosphorus and claiming the riches of Byzantion
Divided into three sections, it provides a semi-mythic take on the founding of the Achaemenid Empire in the time of Cyrus to the first restoration by Amastris and Orodes and the second restoration by Otaspes and ends with the triumphant return from exile by Nikola. The Mythical Age gives an account of the creation of the world and of man, closely mimicking the Bible. The Heroic Age focuses on great heroes and mythological beast and closely parallels the Achaemenid Empire from Cyrus to Alexander to Darius I. Lastly we have the Historical Age detailing the rise of Otaspes before the eventual fall of the Empire against the Arab Conquests. Unfortunately, even the Historical Age is narrated romantically, focusing on great deeds, flawed heroes and the divine will driving the story forward, making it unreliable as a historical source.
Growing up, Otaspes was placed into the care of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Raksh, who often regaled him with stories of his forebears including tales of his Roman ancestors (his grandmother was a Roman princess). It sparked a burning desire to restore his family’s empire and drive him all his adult life. Jerusalem was already the strongest Kingdom along the Eastern Mediterranean coast, with territories extending up into Syria and down into the Arabian Gulf but Coptic Egypt and Zoroastrian Durine rivalled it in strength.
Jerusalem in 524 AD
The other great influence on his life was his great-grandmother, Sisygambis. She had seen the death of her son and grandson but continued to hold on to life. She continued to care for her family, acting as the physician to the boy king and reminding him of the hardships that the usurpers and other Great Houses forced on them during their time on the run.
With dreams of reunification, Otaspes commanded his generals to capture Cilicia when he was only twelve. The war was a disaster for Jerusalem as the boy king underestimated the capabilities of the Cilician King, Aurang Bagratid. The Cilicians were adept at mountain warfare and cornered the Jerusalem army in the mountain passes that gave access to Antioch. Jerusalem’s army was mostly cavalry, made up of camel and light horse cavalry, ill-prepared for war in the highlands, and they were slaughtered. Forced to pay an indemnity and hand over the pilgrim tax for Jerusalem for the next five years, Otaspes swore never to be humiliated in such a manner again. It would take him three efforts before he could subjugate Cilicia and capture Antioch and the Cilician Gates. He personally led the last war, as a man of twenty, crushing the enemy forces on the plains of Aleppo where he could bring his superior cavalry to the fore.
With this victory, Otaspes grew in confidence and stature. His men worshipped him for his battlefield cunning and strategic brilliance. The brave and hardworking warrior-king who dined with his men and shared in the risk of battle was an easy man to follow and many more flocked to his banner. They called him the Wolf of the Battlefield and claimed that he was Darius I reborn.
The Egyptian Plague
Unfortunately for Otaspes, further dreams of conquest were put on hold for the Egyptian Plague would sweep the land. In the year 540, or shortly thereafter, as part of an ongoing campaign to eradicate from Egypt the final remnants of classical paganism, the Bagratid King Arbaces ordered that the temple to Isis, at Philae in southern Egypt, be destroyed. According to legend, among the many civilizing skills that mankind had been taught by Isis was that of how to cure disease. That the following year Egypt should have fallen victim to an outbreak of bubonic plague may have struck many adherents of the old gods as a sure sign of the folly of Christian policy. According to the contemporary historian Myconius, the plague first manifested itself at the entrepot of Pelusium, whence it spread to Alexandria, to the rest of Egypt and to Palestine. By 543 AD, it had spread across the Middle East and the Mediterranean, causing untold suffering and death. Within Jerusalem, Otaspes ordered vast pits to be dug to dispose of the rotting corpses. When these overflowed, bodies were stuffed into the towers of the city walls with quicklime poured over them to speed up decomposition, or they were loaded onto ships that were pushed out into the Dead Sea and set alight, giving a second reason for its moniker. The world came to a stop for ten years as everyone prayed for protection and deliverance.
Otaspes would spend the time with his aunt (born from his grandmother’s second marriage), Denag, who sought shelter in Jerusalem during the worst of the outbreak in Egypt. Within the walled gardens of the palace, a forbidden romance would begin between the two. Denag was married to the King of Lower Egypt, Stephanos Bolbitine and eager whisperers would claim that the 3rd Bolbitine son, Zenobios was Otaspes’. Neither Otaspes or Denag spoke of the matter but Otaspes would always ensure Zenobios was taken care of, giving him lands and titles within the Faiyum after he had dispossessed Stephanos of the Kingship of Lower Egypt at the height of their rivalry.
Otaspes the Conqueror
In 551, with the world finally ready to venture beyond the sealed city gates as the plague abated, Otaspes gathered his armies once again. The next twenty years would see a mix of diplomacy and war by the warrior king as he subjugated Syria, Anatolia and Greece under his banner. As many picked through the wreckage of their lands post-plague, they were unprepared to stand against this new force. In many areas, lines of kings had been extinguished and the return of an Achaemenid promised stability and protection. One of Otaspes’ fixation was putting an end to false Achaemenids. Many nobles were made to either renounce their claims of kinship or had their lines extinguished or banished. Otaspes wanted none to challenge his authority or the legacy of the Rightful Rulers of the World, his House Words.
As he marched towards his ultimate goal, Achaemeniyya, the Patriarch Zarthosht was not eager to welcome his arrival. With the weak Gulakshans in power, the Patriarchate had grown in influence in the City and was eager to emulate the Pope who had claimed Rome as his dominion and the supreme leader of all true Orthodox Christians. Exercising his one ultimate weapon, he excommunicated Otaspes and hoped to de-legitimise the King in the eyes of his followers. The cult of Otaspes had grown stronger with every victory and the Orthodox Church’s authority had weakened with its focus on worldly matters. His soldiers paid no mind to the decree and swore to restore piety to the ‘corrupted’ church. As the holder of the Ark, Otaspes had greater credit in claiming to serve God’s will and bringing his commandments to the decadent city.
In 578 AD, fifteen thousand Achaemenid warriors defeated ten thousand strong Gulakshan forces at the Battle of Chariopolis. Otaspes captured Shah Babak and forced him to surrender the City to him. With the capture of the ancient home of his ancestors, Otaspes had done the impossible, uniting the fallen empire within a single lifetime.
His men dragged the Patriarch before the King and forced the priest to kiss the royal signet ring in a sign of submission. Zarthosht was forced to retract his decree and in the following weeks, presided over a grand ceremony to anoint Otaspes as Emperor and Paragon of the Orthodox Church.
The re-established empire was significantly reshaped by the Warring Princes period and Otaspes' wars of reconquest and we’ll delve into it in the second part covering the latter part of his reign.
The restored Achaemenid Empire in 585 AD
=======================================
[1] The Achaemeneh was written in the time of Nikola II between 950 AD – 990 AD by a Byzantine poet named Fidraun. The Bulgarian Achaemenids sought to compile their family’s history and burnish their legitimacy as the returning heroes of old. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couplets (two-line verses), the Achaemeneh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author. It’s considered the national epic of the Byzantine people and the work is of central importance in the Byzantine culture and language, proving definitive for the ethno-national cultural identity of the nation.
Illustration from the Achaemeneh showing Smerdomenes crossing the Bosphorus and claiming the riches of Byzantion
Divided into three sections, it provides a semi-mythic take on the founding of the Achaemenid Empire in the time of Cyrus to the first restoration by Amastris and Orodes and the second restoration by Otaspes and ends with the triumphant return from exile by Nikola. The Mythical Age gives an account of the creation of the world and of man, closely mimicking the Bible. The Heroic Age focuses on great heroes and mythological beast and closely parallels the Achaemenid Empire from Cyrus to Alexander to Darius I. Lastly we have the Historical Age detailing the rise of Otaspes before the eventual fall of the Empire against the Arab Conquests. Unfortunately, even the Historical Age is narrated romantically, focusing on great deeds, flawed heroes and the divine will driving the story forward, making it unreliable as a historical source.
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Otaspes was a great, great man, if only half his deeds are factual and not myth or legend. Thank you for updating
It is easy to conquer land, it is harder to tame it. Otaspes needs to reform the empire, not just remake it.
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(Half) A century or so left of greatness, then. Enjoy it while you can, Achamenids.
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The next section will dive deeper into the tales of the Achaemeneh and help us draw what truths we can about Otaspes and the reforged Achaemenid Empire.
Otaspes will reform the empire but the old system is dead and buried. Let's see if his new regime's ideas work.
(Half) A century or so left of greatness, then. Enjoy it while you can, Achamenids.
Some people are just looking forward to seeing the world burn.
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Otaspes the Great (524 AD – 602 AD) – Part 2
Otaspes the Great (524 AD – 602 AD) – Part 2
Instead of recapping the nature of Otaspes' rule, I think it's more enlightening to use this excerpt from the Achaemeneh to provide a sense of the world that the Achaemenids ruled and the mythos that grew around the family to its fabled status as beautifully captured by the poet Fidraun. The text about the death of Otaspes is transliterated from its original Byzantine to English and told in prose :
It came to pass that Otaspes had grown old and weathered in his elder years and sought to lay down his crown. Darab the Aged was angered, and he deemed that the wits of Otaspes were distraught.[1] And he said-
"Since I have stood before the throne of the Achaemenids no King hath spoken words like to thine. And I fear that a Daev [2] hath led thee astray, and I implore of thee that thou listen not unto his voice, and that thou give ear unto the words of an aged man, and that thou Turn thee back into the path that is right."
And when Darab had done speaking, the nobles cried with one accord that he had spoken for them also. Then Otaspes was sorrowful, but he would not suffer anger to come into his spirit. And when he had pondered, he opened his mouth and spake, saying-
"O Darab, I have given ear unto the words which thou hast spoken, give ear now unto the answer. For I have not departed from the paths of Christ, and no Daev hath led me astray. And I swear it unto thee, even by God the Merciful. But because I am sprung from Cyrus the evil one, and am linked unto the race of Persia, I am afraid, and I fear to grow like to Jamsheed and Tur, who wearied the world with their oppressions. [3] And, behold, I have avenged my family, and have made the world submissive unto my will; and I have established justice in the realm, and the earth is glad, wherefore there is no longer aught for me to do, for the power of the wicked is broken. Therefore, lest I grow uplifted in my soul, I have entreated of Christ that He allow me now to go hence, even unto Himself. For I am weary of the throne and of my majesty, and my soul crieth for rest."
When Darab heard these words he was confounded, for he knew that they were true. And he fell in the dust before the King, and he craved his forgiveness for the hard speech that he had spoken, and he wept, saying-
"O Otaspes, we desire not that thou go hence."
And the King accorded forgiveness unto the old man, because of the great love he bare him; and he lifted him from the ground and kissed him. And when he had done so, he bade him go forth with Faramarz. [4] And he commanded that the nobles and all their armies should camp upon the plains. And Darab did as the King desired, and the hosts were encamped without the gates of Achaemeniyya.
Now when it was done, Otaspes mounted upon the golden throne, and he held in his hand the Sword of Mah, [5] and he bare on his head the crown of the Achaemenids, and a sash of might was girded round his loins. And on his right hand stood Faramarz the Exarchos, and on his left Nemesios the aged. And he lifted up his voice and spake words of wisdom unto his army; and he said unto them that the sojourn of man was brief upon the earth, and that it became him to remember his end. And he said how he had also bethought him of his death. And he spake, saying-
"I have made me ready to depart, and my testament will I speak before you. I will give richly unto those that have wearied themselves in my service, and of those to whom I owe gratitude I will speak unto God, and implore of Him that He reward them according to their deserts. And I give unto the Byzantines my gold, and my armour, and my jewels, and whosoever is great among you to him do I give a province." [6]
Thus for the space of seven days did the King sit upon his throne and order his treasurer how he should act. Then on the eighth he called before him Goudarz the wise, and he gave to him instructions. And he bade him be kind unto the poor, and the widowed, and the fatherless, and he entreated him to dry the eye of care. Then he gave unto him much treasure, and rendered unto him thanks for the services that he had done before him. And he gave rich gifts also unto Faramarz, and Eusthatios, and Gracchus, and to all his nobles, according to their degree. And he desired of them that they should ask a boon at his hands, and whatsoever it was he gave it. And he spake, saying-
"May my memory be hateful unto none."
Then he called before him Faramarz, and praised the mighty deeds that he had done, and he invoked the blessings of Heaven upon his Exarchos. And after many days, when all these things were accomplished, the King was weary, but his task was fulfilled. And the others knew thereof, but they ventured not again to admonish Otaspes, for they were amazed at his wisdom and his justice, and they saw that he did that which was right.
Now when it was done, Otaspes turned him to his nobles, saying-
"I go now to prepare my spirit for death."
And when he had so spoken he entered behind the curtains of his house. And he called before him his women, and he told unto them how he should depart. And they wept sore at the tidings. Then Otaspes confided them unto Darius, and he gave to him safe counsels, and he said- [7]
"Be thou the weft and the warp of righteousness."
And when all was ready, he sat him upon his horse to go forth into the mountains. And Darius would have gone also, but Otaspes suffered it not. But there went with him Darab and Faramarz, Behrouz also, and Zadashsm and Fereydun, and Tiberios the Noblest of Lances, and Ordanes, the son of Otaspes, and Jnanasome the Silver Aswar. And they followed after him from the plains unto the crest of the mountains. [8] And they ceased not from mourning that which was done of Otaspes, and they said among themselves that never had King done like unto him. And they strove to change his purpose. But Otaspes said unto them-
"All is well, wherefore weep ye and trouble my spirit? "
Now when they were gone with him the space of seven days, Otaspes turned unto his nobles and spake, saying-
"Return now upon the road that ye are come, for I am about to enter in upon a path where neither herb nor water can be found. Wherefore I entreat of you that ye spare yourselves this weariness."
Then Darab and Faramarz, and Tiberios the Silver Aswar, listened unto the voice of the King, for they knew that he spake that which it became them to obey. But the others refused ear unto his voice, and they followed after him yet another day, but their force was spent in the mountains. Now when the evening of that day was come they found a running stream. Then Otaspes said,
"Let us halt in this spot."
And when they were encamped he spake unto them of the things that were past, and he said unto them that when the sun should have lifted up its face anew they should behold him no longer in their midst, for the time of his departure was at hand. And when the night was fallen he drew aside and bathed his body in the water, and prayed unto God his Maker. Then he came yet again before his nobles, and he awakened them from their slumbers, and he spake unto them words of parting. And he said-
"When the daylight shall be come back, I say unto you, return upon your path, neither linger in this place, though it should rain musk and amber, for out of the mountains a great storm will arise that shall uproot the trees and strip the leaves from off their branches. And there shall come a fall of snow such as Byzantium hath not seen the like. But if ye do not as I say unto you, verily ye shall never find the path of return."
Now the nobles were troubled when they heard these words, and the slumber that fell upon their eyelids was fined with sorrow. But when the raven of night flew upwards, and the glory of the world flooded the earth with its light, Otaspes was vanished from among them, and they sought out his traces in vain. [9] Now when they beheld that he was gone, they wept in the bitterness of their hearts, and Ordanes spake, saying-
"O my friends, listen to the words that I shall speak. I pray of you, let us linger yet a while in this spot, lest after his adventure my father should return. And since it is good to be here, I know not wherefore we should haste to depart."
And the nobles listened to his voice, and they encamped them on this spot, and they spake continually of Otaspes, and wept for him, but they forgot the commandment that he had spoken. Now while they slept there arose a mighty wind, and it brought forth clouds, and the sky grew dark, and before the daylight was come back unto the world the earth was wrapped in snow like to a shroud, and none could tell the valleys and the mountains asunder. And the nobles, when they awoke, knew not whither they should turn, and they sought after their path in vain. And the snow fell down upon them, and they could not free them of its might, and though they strove against it, it rose above their heads and buried them, and after a little the life departed out of their bodies.
Now after many days, when Darab, and Faramarz, and Tiberios beheld that the nobles returned not, they grew afraid and sent forth riders to seek them. And the men searched long, but in the end they found the bodies, and they bare them down into the plains. And sore was the wailing in the army when they beheld it, and a noble tomb was raised above their heads. But Darius, when he learned that Otaspes was vanished, mounted the throne of the Achaemenids. And he called before him his people that they should do allegiance unto him. And they did so, and the palace of Otaspes knew him no more.
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[1] Darab was reputed to be the most loyal of Otaspes’ bannermen. After the conquest of Cilicia, he was gifted the region to govern on Otaspes’ behalf He and his son, Faramarz, would be tasked with the defence of the east, eventually adopting the title Exarchos as marcher lords against Persian aggression and later, Muslim armies.
[2] We can see the influences of the Zoroastrian Magi on the Orthodox Church in the language they use. Daev here refers to the demons of Catholic terminology. There are many other areas of gospel and customs where the older faith shaped the younger. The key tenet of Zoroastrianism “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Act” would shape the Orthodox doctrine of Sanctity without Distinction. Through baptism alone is a man or woman free of sin. Distinctions between an austere life or a comfortable one cannot be a source of holiness. All sins are equally terrible and all virtues equally noble and righteous in leading the faithful to heaven. The church taught that salvation is driven by thought and action and that extreme asceticism is not only arrogant, but un-Christian. This is in contrast to the Coptic stylites or the Catholic hermits, contributing to a growing schism between Rome, Alexandria and Achaemeniyya.
[3] By this point, the Neo-Persians of the West had grown significantly apart from the Persians of the East, beginning to call themselves Byzantines, having integrated many elements of Greek culture into their ways and traditions. Fidraun, the author of the Achaemeneh, was a Byzantine through and through and during his time, it was common practice to demonise the Persians as heathens or exotic orientals. The issue of descent from these Persians was a touchy affair and you can Fidraun attempt to rationalise it here as a King aware of the corruption in his blood.
[4] Faramarz Ghobadan the Strongarm is the legendary Exarchos who commanded the armies of Darius III in the Wars for God that the latter king launched. He and his father are famous in Byzantine folklore for their loyalty to their kings and their great prowess in feats of strength and battle, becoming a model for Aswars to aspire to.
[5] Mah the Maid was a legendary figure in Byzantine folklore. A peasant girl who fought for the cause of Otaspes in reclaiming the empire. Mah claimed that she had been sent by God to aid Otaspes. She died in the Battle of Chariopolis but Otaspes would take up her sword and it would become a family heirloom until it was lost in the Muslim Conquest.
[6] Here we see how power had evolved from the imperial bureaucracy of Arbaces day to the more autocratic nature of Otaspes. While it was still true that all power came from the Shahanshah or Emperor as some later rulers would style themselves, the robust system of officials and bureaucrats had withered away during the 4th to 6th centuries. With nearly 50 years without an authority in Achaemeniyya, the Warring Princes period had further relegated the old ways to the past. Otaspes’ court now chose strong men, like Faramarz and Eusthatios to govern large territories. Their lands could ebb and surge depending on the favour of Achaemeniyya and on their own personal abilities to defeat rivals. While it superficially resembled latter-era feudalism, Otaspes’ autocracy still gave immense powers to the ruler with taxation being slowly scrutinised and the provincial collections being securely transported to the capital under the guard of Otaspes’ royal army. Most lords within the reorganised territories were left with a small pittance for their own household troops to guard against rebellion while the majority of levies could only be raised on the Shahanshah’s command. The exceptions such as the Exarchate of Cilicia enjoyed greater freedom alongside greater responsibilities and this system mostly worked as intended until the time of the Muslim Conquests.
[7] Otaspes had four sons but he chose his youngest, Darius, as crown prince. With this proclamation, Otaspes would begin the Era of the Steward Kings where the best candidate, not the oldest would take the throne. His oldest, Otaspes the Younger, was riven by diseases and in ill health. His second, Orodes was infamously weak of heart and prone to cowardice in battle and Ordanes was prone to eccentricities and fickleness in his interests. Darius was considered, calm and measured in his words with a strong fixation on piety and faithfulness. As another sign of his favour to Zenobios, his supposed bastard, Otaspes married Zenobios' daughter to Darius.
[8] This likely fits the description of the way into the Rhodopes mountains from the Thracian plains.
[9] This legendary retelling of Otaspes’ death is probably quite far from the truth. We do know that he died in Achaemeniyya peacefully having ensured that the Byzantine nobles had sworn loyalty to the crown prince and that he handed over a full treasury collected from his decades of conquest. Despite this, there are no known records on where Otaspes was buried or any funeral for the great king so perhaps Fidraun’s tale had a kernel of truth.
Instead of recapping the nature of Otaspes' rule, I think it's more enlightening to use this excerpt from the Achaemeneh to provide a sense of the world that the Achaemenids ruled and the mythos that grew around the family to its fabled status as beautifully captured by the poet Fidraun. The text about the death of Otaspes is transliterated from its original Byzantine to English and told in prose :
It came to pass that Otaspes had grown old and weathered in his elder years and sought to lay down his crown. Darab the Aged was angered, and he deemed that the wits of Otaspes were distraught.[1] And he said-
"Since I have stood before the throne of the Achaemenids no King hath spoken words like to thine. And I fear that a Daev [2] hath led thee astray, and I implore of thee that thou listen not unto his voice, and that thou give ear unto the words of an aged man, and that thou Turn thee back into the path that is right."
And when Darab had done speaking, the nobles cried with one accord that he had spoken for them also. Then Otaspes was sorrowful, but he would not suffer anger to come into his spirit. And when he had pondered, he opened his mouth and spake, saying-
"O Darab, I have given ear unto the words which thou hast spoken, give ear now unto the answer. For I have not departed from the paths of Christ, and no Daev hath led me astray. And I swear it unto thee, even by God the Merciful. But because I am sprung from Cyrus the evil one, and am linked unto the race of Persia, I am afraid, and I fear to grow like to Jamsheed and Tur, who wearied the world with their oppressions. [3] And, behold, I have avenged my family, and have made the world submissive unto my will; and I have established justice in the realm, and the earth is glad, wherefore there is no longer aught for me to do, for the power of the wicked is broken. Therefore, lest I grow uplifted in my soul, I have entreated of Christ that He allow me now to go hence, even unto Himself. For I am weary of the throne and of my majesty, and my soul crieth for rest."
When Darab heard these words he was confounded, for he knew that they were true. And he fell in the dust before the King, and he craved his forgiveness for the hard speech that he had spoken, and he wept, saying-
"O Otaspes, we desire not that thou go hence."
And the King accorded forgiveness unto the old man, because of the great love he bare him; and he lifted him from the ground and kissed him. And when he had done so, he bade him go forth with Faramarz. [4] And he commanded that the nobles and all their armies should camp upon the plains. And Darab did as the King desired, and the hosts were encamped without the gates of Achaemeniyya.
Now when it was done, Otaspes mounted upon the golden throne, and he held in his hand the Sword of Mah, [5] and he bare on his head the crown of the Achaemenids, and a sash of might was girded round his loins. And on his right hand stood Faramarz the Exarchos, and on his left Nemesios the aged. And he lifted up his voice and spake words of wisdom unto his army; and he said unto them that the sojourn of man was brief upon the earth, and that it became him to remember his end. And he said how he had also bethought him of his death. And he spake, saying-
"I have made me ready to depart, and my testament will I speak before you. I will give richly unto those that have wearied themselves in my service, and of those to whom I owe gratitude I will speak unto God, and implore of Him that He reward them according to their deserts. And I give unto the Byzantines my gold, and my armour, and my jewels, and whosoever is great among you to him do I give a province." [6]
Thus for the space of seven days did the King sit upon his throne and order his treasurer how he should act. Then on the eighth he called before him Goudarz the wise, and he gave to him instructions. And he bade him be kind unto the poor, and the widowed, and the fatherless, and he entreated him to dry the eye of care. Then he gave unto him much treasure, and rendered unto him thanks for the services that he had done before him. And he gave rich gifts also unto Faramarz, and Eusthatios, and Gracchus, and to all his nobles, according to their degree. And he desired of them that they should ask a boon at his hands, and whatsoever it was he gave it. And he spake, saying-
"May my memory be hateful unto none."
Then he called before him Faramarz, and praised the mighty deeds that he had done, and he invoked the blessings of Heaven upon his Exarchos. And after many days, when all these things were accomplished, the King was weary, but his task was fulfilled. And the others knew thereof, but they ventured not again to admonish Otaspes, for they were amazed at his wisdom and his justice, and they saw that he did that which was right.
Now when it was done, Otaspes turned him to his nobles, saying-
"I go now to prepare my spirit for death."
And when he had so spoken he entered behind the curtains of his house. And he called before him his women, and he told unto them how he should depart. And they wept sore at the tidings. Then Otaspes confided them unto Darius, and he gave to him safe counsels, and he said- [7]
"Be thou the weft and the warp of righteousness."
And when all was ready, he sat him upon his horse to go forth into the mountains. And Darius would have gone also, but Otaspes suffered it not. But there went with him Darab and Faramarz, Behrouz also, and Zadashsm and Fereydun, and Tiberios the Noblest of Lances, and Ordanes, the son of Otaspes, and Jnanasome the Silver Aswar. And they followed after him from the plains unto the crest of the mountains. [8] And they ceased not from mourning that which was done of Otaspes, and they said among themselves that never had King done like unto him. And they strove to change his purpose. But Otaspes said unto them-
"All is well, wherefore weep ye and trouble my spirit? "
Now when they were gone with him the space of seven days, Otaspes turned unto his nobles and spake, saying-
"Return now upon the road that ye are come, for I am about to enter in upon a path where neither herb nor water can be found. Wherefore I entreat of you that ye spare yourselves this weariness."
Then Darab and Faramarz, and Tiberios the Silver Aswar, listened unto the voice of the King, for they knew that he spake that which it became them to obey. But the others refused ear unto his voice, and they followed after him yet another day, but their force was spent in the mountains. Now when the evening of that day was come they found a running stream. Then Otaspes said,
"Let us halt in this spot."
And when they were encamped he spake unto them of the things that were past, and he said unto them that when the sun should have lifted up its face anew they should behold him no longer in their midst, for the time of his departure was at hand. And when the night was fallen he drew aside and bathed his body in the water, and prayed unto God his Maker. Then he came yet again before his nobles, and he awakened them from their slumbers, and he spake unto them words of parting. And he said-
"When the daylight shall be come back, I say unto you, return upon your path, neither linger in this place, though it should rain musk and amber, for out of the mountains a great storm will arise that shall uproot the trees and strip the leaves from off their branches. And there shall come a fall of snow such as Byzantium hath not seen the like. But if ye do not as I say unto you, verily ye shall never find the path of return."
Now the nobles were troubled when they heard these words, and the slumber that fell upon their eyelids was fined with sorrow. But when the raven of night flew upwards, and the glory of the world flooded the earth with its light, Otaspes was vanished from among them, and they sought out his traces in vain. [9] Now when they beheld that he was gone, they wept in the bitterness of their hearts, and Ordanes spake, saying-
"O my friends, listen to the words that I shall speak. I pray of you, let us linger yet a while in this spot, lest after his adventure my father should return. And since it is good to be here, I know not wherefore we should haste to depart."
And the nobles listened to his voice, and they encamped them on this spot, and they spake continually of Otaspes, and wept for him, but they forgot the commandment that he had spoken. Now while they slept there arose a mighty wind, and it brought forth clouds, and the sky grew dark, and before the daylight was come back unto the world the earth was wrapped in snow like to a shroud, and none could tell the valleys and the mountains asunder. And the nobles, when they awoke, knew not whither they should turn, and they sought after their path in vain. And the snow fell down upon them, and they could not free them of its might, and though they strove against it, it rose above their heads and buried them, and after a little the life departed out of their bodies.
Now after many days, when Darab, and Faramarz, and Tiberios beheld that the nobles returned not, they grew afraid and sent forth riders to seek them. And the men searched long, but in the end they found the bodies, and they bare them down into the plains. And sore was the wailing in the army when they beheld it, and a noble tomb was raised above their heads. But Darius, when he learned that Otaspes was vanished, mounted the throne of the Achaemenids. And he called before him his people that they should do allegiance unto him. And they did so, and the palace of Otaspes knew him no more.
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[1] Darab was reputed to be the most loyal of Otaspes’ bannermen. After the conquest of Cilicia, he was gifted the region to govern on Otaspes’ behalf He and his son, Faramarz, would be tasked with the defence of the east, eventually adopting the title Exarchos as marcher lords against Persian aggression and later, Muslim armies.
[2] We can see the influences of the Zoroastrian Magi on the Orthodox Church in the language they use. Daev here refers to the demons of Catholic terminology. There are many other areas of gospel and customs where the older faith shaped the younger. The key tenet of Zoroastrianism “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Act” would shape the Orthodox doctrine of Sanctity without Distinction. Through baptism alone is a man or woman free of sin. Distinctions between an austere life or a comfortable one cannot be a source of holiness. All sins are equally terrible and all virtues equally noble and righteous in leading the faithful to heaven. The church taught that salvation is driven by thought and action and that extreme asceticism is not only arrogant, but un-Christian. This is in contrast to the Coptic stylites or the Catholic hermits, contributing to a growing schism between Rome, Alexandria and Achaemeniyya.
[3] By this point, the Neo-Persians of the West had grown significantly apart from the Persians of the East, beginning to call themselves Byzantines, having integrated many elements of Greek culture into their ways and traditions. Fidraun, the author of the Achaemeneh, was a Byzantine through and through and during his time, it was common practice to demonise the Persians as heathens or exotic orientals. The issue of descent from these Persians was a touchy affair and you can Fidraun attempt to rationalise it here as a King aware of the corruption in his blood.
[4] Faramarz Ghobadan the Strongarm is the legendary Exarchos who commanded the armies of Darius III in the Wars for God that the latter king launched. He and his father are famous in Byzantine folklore for their loyalty to their kings and their great prowess in feats of strength and battle, becoming a model for Aswars to aspire to.
[5] Mah the Maid was a legendary figure in Byzantine folklore. A peasant girl who fought for the cause of Otaspes in reclaiming the empire. Mah claimed that she had been sent by God to aid Otaspes. She died in the Battle of Chariopolis but Otaspes would take up her sword and it would become a family heirloom until it was lost in the Muslim Conquest.
[6] Here we see how power had evolved from the imperial bureaucracy of Arbaces day to the more autocratic nature of Otaspes. While it was still true that all power came from the Shahanshah or Emperor as some later rulers would style themselves, the robust system of officials and bureaucrats had withered away during the 4th to 6th centuries. With nearly 50 years without an authority in Achaemeniyya, the Warring Princes period had further relegated the old ways to the past. Otaspes’ court now chose strong men, like Faramarz and Eusthatios to govern large territories. Their lands could ebb and surge depending on the favour of Achaemeniyya and on their own personal abilities to defeat rivals. While it superficially resembled latter-era feudalism, Otaspes’ autocracy still gave immense powers to the ruler with taxation being slowly scrutinised and the provincial collections being securely transported to the capital under the guard of Otaspes’ royal army. Most lords within the reorganised territories were left with a small pittance for their own household troops to guard against rebellion while the majority of levies could only be raised on the Shahanshah’s command. The exceptions such as the Exarchate of Cilicia enjoyed greater freedom alongside greater responsibilities and this system mostly worked as intended until the time of the Muslim Conquests.
[7] Otaspes had four sons but he chose his youngest, Darius, as crown prince. With this proclamation, Otaspes would begin the Era of the Steward Kings where the best candidate, not the oldest would take the throne. His oldest, Otaspes the Younger, was riven by diseases and in ill health. His second, Orodes was infamously weak of heart and prone to cowardice in battle and Ordanes was prone to eccentricities and fickleness in his interests. Darius was considered, calm and measured in his words with a strong fixation on piety and faithfulness. As another sign of his favour to Zenobios, his supposed bastard, Otaspes married Zenobios' daughter to Darius.
[8] This likely fits the description of the way into the Rhodopes mountains from the Thracian plains.
[9] This legendary retelling of Otaspes’ death is probably quite far from the truth. We do know that he died in Achaemeniyya peacefully having ensured that the Byzantine nobles had sworn loyalty to the crown prince and that he handed over a full treasury collected from his decades of conquest. Despite this, there are no known records on where Otaspes was buried or any funeral for the great king so perhaps Fidraun’s tale had a kernel of truth.
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Just a reminder that balloting is underway for the Q2-2024 AARLand Choice AwAARds! Please take a moment to vote for your favourite AAR and I would like to highlight that this AAR qualifies for it (barely). No pressure to vote for it but lets encourage the many great writers contributing to this community. I'll be making my own nominations in the next few days.
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That tale is the stuff of legends...I mean it's legendary....I mean it's, surely, a legend?
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Great job capturing the legendary, sort of Biblical Old Testament language in this update! Very cool!
What is Tiberios' relation to Otaspes, Darab, and Faramarz? How old were the three of them at the time of Darius' ascension?
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That tale is the stuff of legends...I mean it's legendary....I mean it's, surely, a legend?
Surely it must be. As a side rant, I really hate how Legends work in CK3, just a bunch of modifiers to stack on. What a missed opportunity to add roleplaying and story driven elements to the game. The narrative they create dont reflect any reality and the memories system does a better job of capturing the great deeds of a character.
In the Achaemeneh, Darab is said to be the oldest man alive, well past a hundred. From the records, it seems he was about 70 when he passed shortly after Otaspes and his son was 45 at the time of Darab's death. The Achaemeneh narrative really picks up on Faramarz's story in the Darius III's tale but its full of legendary deeds like him standing alone against 2,000 Dacians or building a bridge of boats to march his army across the Adriatic. In real life, he was the commander of Darius' army and probably the 2nd most powerful man in the empire.
We don't have much info about Tiberios outside of his honorific, the Silver Aswar. Perhaps he was the first to hold the title. The Silver Aswar was the champion of the Achaemenid Shahanshah. It was traditional for Achaemenid armies to offer a challenge duel to the enemy army before battle. The Silver Aswar had the honour to represent the Byzantines and when not at war, he was the commander of the garrison of the Golden Gate in Achaemeniyya. The title would be vacated in the aftermath of the Muslim Conquest. In the time between Otaspes to the Conquests, there were 16 holders of the accolade we know of, showing us that they didnt enjoy long lifespans.
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Just caught up on this and I'm really enjoying it! The world that you've created is quite vivid.
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Welcome Cora! Glad to have you as a reader. Your AAR about the Caliphate of Al-Rus was one of the first I read and still among my favourites.
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How long can the Achaemenids keep Jerusalem? Until the Muslim Conquests? Also, will their mistreatment of the Jews come back to bite them?
How will the restored empire fall? Will Otaspes be like OTL Justinian, where the reconquests just weakened the empire overall?
Did Otaspes replace the Ecumenical Patriarch?
Is the Achaenemeh (the in-universe one) based on OTL's Shananemeh?
I liked the excerpt.
How did Cyrus become known as the evil one, theologically? Do TTL's Christians just ignore the end of the Old Testament (where there's a bunch of messianic references that refer to Cyrus)?
How will the restored empire fall? Will Otaspes be like OTL Justinian, where the reconquests just weakened the empire overall?
Did Otaspes replace the Ecumenical Patriarch?
Is the Achaenemeh (the in-universe one) based on OTL's Shananemeh?
I liked the excerpt.
How did Cyrus become known as the evil one, theologically? Do TTL's Christians just ignore the end of the Old Testament (where there's a bunch of messianic references that refer to Cyrus)?
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Jerusalem has an interesting destiny waiting to be played out but for now, control of the city and its territories will pass from Otaspes to Darius III.
Big difference, Justinian never earned the right to be "The Great". Otaspes unified the empire of the Byzantines and his line will be looked on as a second golden age for the realm as the Steward Kings. We've hinted at the impact of the Muslim Conquests but jumping ahead, I'll put forth my hypothesis that the failure to resist was down to overconfidence. When the enemies crossed into Syria, the empire was as strong as it had ever been but they underestimated the Arabs and dynastic infighting fatally weakened the defenders when unity was needed.
The Achaenemeh is indeed inspired by the OTL's Shahnameh. I have an illustrated copy of it and it's such a beautiful book. Glad you enjoyed the excerpt.
Otaspes did not replace the Patriarch, simply ignored him. With the taking of the City and Otaspes in control of most of the Orthodox lands, Patriarch Zarthosht realised that he didn't have a good hand to play and acquiesce to the demands of the Shahanshah. The shifting of power between secular and religious heads will prove to be one of the constants of the medieval Byzantine era, growing to a head with the Time of Two Popes in the 11th century as the Bulgar Achaemenids sought to diminish the authority of Achaemeniyya in favour of their own religious head.
The Orthodox do view Cyrus as chosen by God and that he did initially serve Him. However, they state that Cyrus rejected God in his later life and turned away from his messianic calling. Looking back, most of the strongest invectives against Cyrus came about after Parsae split off, rejecting Christianity in Persia proper. A cynical analysis is that the Achaemenid Church was eager to exaggerate the differences with Persia to reinforce the belief of the rightful "us" vs the wayward "them" in the East to strengthen their control and influence. Names such as Cyrus were appropriate targets to blacken and to show a pattern of rejection by the Persians for Christian ways. Of course, they had to jump through hoops to justify how their ruling Achaemenids were not like the old apostate Achaemenids of Cyrus' time.
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The Reign of Darius III the Strong (602 AD – 623 AD)
The Reign of Darius III the Strong (602 AD – 623 AD)
The Introduction for the tale of Darius the Strong from the Achaemeneh:
“Hark! From the hoary slopes of Mount Ararat, where the vessel of righteous Noah found solace after the wrathful Deluge, did Darius, a king touched by the divine, hold dominion. Unlike the ravenous lions of bygone reigns, Darius was a tiger, stalking with silent tread, his gaze keen as a hawk's, and his might tempered with the wisdom of ages. He embodied the stoic stillness of the mountain and the swiftness of the wind whispering through the canyons.
Darius' days were not heralded by the clang of war, but by the whisper of parchment inscribed with sacred lore. With the first blush of dawn, he rose, not to the blaring of trumpets, but to the murmured prayers of blind seers, their voices chanting wisdom passed down through generations. His court was not a battlefield of clashing egos, but a verdant garden where prophets and artisans toiled, each adding a fragrant bloom to the king's tapestry of knowledge.
Darius himself lived modestly. His meals were a simple fare of barley and fish, shared in quiet communion with his counsellors. Their discourse revolved not around earthly conquests, but around the pronouncements of oracles and the art of weaving tales that honoured Christ. Solace he found not in the thrill of the hunt, but in the dance of moonlight upon the endless plains, for he understood that a king's true power lay not in seizing lands, but in discerning the hearts of his people and reflecting the majesty of the heavens upon his domain.
Darius' reign ushered in an era unlike any before. In place of monuments to his own vanity, he erected churches, towering tributes to God’s' might. Their weathered stones, etched with prayers and offerings, dotted the landscape, and the mournful cry of the wind on the plateau carried the tolling of bronze bells, summoning the faithful to prayer.
He was a ruler who saw victory in the knowledge gleaned from ancient scrolls, strength in the unwavering devotion to God, and legacy not in bloody conquest, but in the quiet prosperity and piety of his people. His reign became a legend whispered across the ages, a testament to the power of a king who ruled with a discerning heart, a mind guided by the whispers of the ancients, and a presence both silent and formidable in its unwavering devotion to the divine.”
Darius III, the youngest of Otaspes’ son was already in his thirties when he took the throne and his reign would become the model for future crusader kings fighting to defend or spread the faith. In his youth, he had spent his time among the clergy and lower officials of the court, anticipating a life as a churchmen or an administrator for his oldest brother. When he was surprisingly elevated to the throne, he sought to make clear that his reign would be different from his conquering father. In depictions of him, Darius had a stylus tucked into his waistband, to show that he was a man of words, not just war – that he was mighty without needing to lead his troops into battle himself. For war, he had Faramarz the Strongarm to lead his armies.
Darius would rebuild the royal library of Achaemeniyya, fallen into neglect with the rotating door of rulers over the past century, eagerly seeking every book or scroll he could acquire and it was said to rival the collection in Alexandria. We have this quote from Darius from his coronation speech for insight into the nature of the man:
“I learned the craft of the sage Aristotle, the secret and hidden lore of all the ancient Greeks. I am able to recognize celestial and terrestrial signs to navigate the seas. I can resolve complex mathematical problems that was not easily solved by Pythagoras. I have read cunningly written texts in obscure Egyptian and Babylonian that are difficult to interpret. I have carefully examined inscriptions on stone from before the Deluge that are sealed. I am Darius, great king, king of kings, king of Achaemeniyya.”
Rebuilding an Empire
Now in control of the empire, Darius would embark on an ambitious series of building projects. With plagues and civil strife in the past, Anatolia and the Balkans had recovered a significant portion of their population and prosperity. He would put that improved taxation to the building of churches across the land and encouraging trade between cities once again. Anatolia would reap the greatest benefits as once fallow land was utilised once again for the growing of crops or the grazing of cattle and sheep. Ancient cities would begin to recover as the land was able to support a larger population of non-farmers though they were still far from achieving the density of centuries past. Old buildings that had fallen to ruin were scavenged for their marble and stone to build new homes and the churches that became the heart of the reborn cities.
In Achaemeniyya, he would task his most brilliant architects to build a new cathedral where the Baha’i Sophia stood. The new building would surpass all others in grandeur and solidify Achaemeniyya’s position as the centre of all Christianity. Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles combined their knowledge of mathematics, geometry and mechanics to create a truly innovative design. Construction began in 607 AD and was completed in an astonishingly short period of five years and ten months. This rapid pace was achieved by employing a massive workforce – estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000 workers. Darius was said to have been so obsessed with the project that he constantly monitored its progress and spared no expense. The massive dome would be the largest in the world for over 500 years and became a key part of the city’s skyline. No expense was spared in the construction. The Baha’i Sophia used a variety of luxurious materials, including marble from across the empire, gold mosaics depicting Christian scenes, and rare purple and red porphyry stones. Upon seeing the completed structure, Darius was said to have declared, "I have outdone Solomon!"
The Wars for God
Darius was not content with simply building for the faith. He sought to be the foremost champion of faith in Christendom. In 605 AD, he would launch a war against the Arzuhin King Ardashir to recover several Christian artifacts including the Girdle of Mary.
Dismayed by the heathen nature of the Dacian people who prayed to the false god Zalmoxis, he would launch a holy war to spread the faith across the Danube in 612 AD. The Dacians had been client kings of the Achaemenids for most of the 2nd to 5th centuries and previous Shahanshahs had never seriously tried to evangelise their faith in their lands. Led by the boy king Decebalus, the people of Dacia were ill-prepared for war as they had been extremely hard hit by the Egyptian Plague six decades ago and were will still dealing with occasional reoccurrences.
Darius would personally lead the war effort alongside his Exarchate Faramarz. Together, they marched at the head of 40,000 men and brought fire and faith to the poor Dacians. The Conquest of Dacia would become part of Christian crusader mythos. Never before had so many men gathered together for the purest goal of spreading the faith and never before had so many atrocities been committed in the name of Christ. Villagers who refused to accept conversion were put to the sword and many of the prosperous trading hubs along the Danube were razed after their defenders lost the siege. His men would acclaim him a holy warrior fighting for a righteous cause. With his conquest, the empire expanded by almost a third but the Dacian lands would prove difficult to subdue and his heirs would deal with continual revolts by Gepid and Dacian nobles who converted out of fear initially or Zalmoxian fanatics who were angered at the desecration of their holy sites. Rulers after Darius would attempt to manage the lands by transplanting Byzantine families to take over empty lands or abandoned farms but they would merely add to the strife and anguish of the conquered people.
The 3rd Ecumenical Council
The schism with the Western Church was another point of contention that Darius tried to resolve through a mix of diplomacy and imperialism. Italy was still governed by the Romans but their control had grown weak. The ruling Ulpius dynasty had been forced to move their capital to Mediolanum (modern-day Milan) to better react to the invading Germanics from the North. Despite their best efforts, they had lost the wars and large numbers of migratory tribes had crossed over the Alps and settled in central Italy and along the region of Veneto. This began one of the great population shifts of history. Romans would stream out of Italy to settle in what they viewed as the safer lands of Hispania while the Germans would settle their old lands and intermingle with locals, giving rise to a hybrid Italian-Lombardic culture. The new arrivals paid obeisance to the Roman Emperor and the Pope in Rome but there were strict limits on how much either could exert sovereign control.
In this tense situation, the Pope wrote to the Shahanshah to request for Darius’ intercession and aid in Italy – to provide succour to Latin Christians from abuses by the barbaric Germans and aid the Roman Emperor, an imperial colleague in putting his realm aright. Pope Lucius would attempt to ingratiate himself with the Shahanshah by writing in Greek and this was the excuse Darius needed to try to impose Orthodoxy on Rome.
He would launch a two-prong assault. His armies would sail across the Adriatic to banish the Lombards from central Italy while he summoned Pope Lucius to Dyrrachion for an Ecumenical Council. The Council of Dyrrachion was a fiery affair as the Patriarch Barchus and Darius sought browbeat Lucius into submission and accept that the Achaemeniyya Patriarchate had primacy and that the Shahanshah was the leader of Christendom and regent of God on Earth. Alongside the Catholics and Orthodox, members of the Coptic Church and the Church of the East was in attendance and it eventually broke out in fisticuffs as none of the factions were willing to concede to the primacy of the Byzantines. In the middle of the 4th night, the visiting clergy left secretly, in fear of retaliation or being forced to agree to tyranny. In his quest for church unity, Darius had only entrenched everyone’s position and the schisms continued.
The Plague Returns
Darius had substantially extended his father’s domains, subjugating Dacia and expanding into Italy – a first for the Achaemenid Empire. But his dreams of a universal church would be cut short by the return of the Egyptian Plague in 622. Spreading from the North, it would once again engulf the lands of Europe in misery and death.
The ever-pious Darius sought to handle the situation in his inimical way – through carrots and sticks. Throughout the empire, many proclaimed that the end times were nigh, creating mayhem and panic as their words echoed the death around them. Darius ordered Patriarch Airopos to put an end to these mobs, aiding the effort with armed soldiers who went town to town to repress these heretics.
At the same time, he would often go out into the streets of Achaemeniyya to distribute alms to the suffering. Despite the advise of his physician to isolate himself and his court, Darius went forth to provide comfort and it’s likely through these efforts that he himself was inflicted with the bubonic plague.
His suffering was quick and he would pass on a month after contracting the disease. Despite his strength of faith, Darius III was not strong enough to resist the reaper and his young son, Orodes would take the throne.
The Orthodox Church would beatify Darius after his death and he would become a recognised saint in the 700s. His body was moved in 731 AD to the monastery at Athos. During the move, people marveled at the untouched state of his body, despite the plague and decades since death. Mount Athos would over the next decades become a popular site for pilgrimage and crusaders would often pay a visit to the old king for a blessing before their attempts to capture the Holy Land in later centuries.
The Introduction for the tale of Darius the Strong from the Achaemeneh:
“Hark! From the hoary slopes of Mount Ararat, where the vessel of righteous Noah found solace after the wrathful Deluge, did Darius, a king touched by the divine, hold dominion. Unlike the ravenous lions of bygone reigns, Darius was a tiger, stalking with silent tread, his gaze keen as a hawk's, and his might tempered with the wisdom of ages. He embodied the stoic stillness of the mountain and the swiftness of the wind whispering through the canyons.
Darius' days were not heralded by the clang of war, but by the whisper of parchment inscribed with sacred lore. With the first blush of dawn, he rose, not to the blaring of trumpets, but to the murmured prayers of blind seers, their voices chanting wisdom passed down through generations. His court was not a battlefield of clashing egos, but a verdant garden where prophets and artisans toiled, each adding a fragrant bloom to the king's tapestry of knowledge.
Darius himself lived modestly. His meals were a simple fare of barley and fish, shared in quiet communion with his counsellors. Their discourse revolved not around earthly conquests, but around the pronouncements of oracles and the art of weaving tales that honoured Christ. Solace he found not in the thrill of the hunt, but in the dance of moonlight upon the endless plains, for he understood that a king's true power lay not in seizing lands, but in discerning the hearts of his people and reflecting the majesty of the heavens upon his domain.
Darius' reign ushered in an era unlike any before. In place of monuments to his own vanity, he erected churches, towering tributes to God’s' might. Their weathered stones, etched with prayers and offerings, dotted the landscape, and the mournful cry of the wind on the plateau carried the tolling of bronze bells, summoning the faithful to prayer.
He was a ruler who saw victory in the knowledge gleaned from ancient scrolls, strength in the unwavering devotion to God, and legacy not in bloody conquest, but in the quiet prosperity and piety of his people. His reign became a legend whispered across the ages, a testament to the power of a king who ruled with a discerning heart, a mind guided by the whispers of the ancients, and a presence both silent and formidable in its unwavering devotion to the divine.”
Darius III, the youngest of Otaspes’ son was already in his thirties when he took the throne and his reign would become the model for future crusader kings fighting to defend or spread the faith. In his youth, he had spent his time among the clergy and lower officials of the court, anticipating a life as a churchmen or an administrator for his oldest brother. When he was surprisingly elevated to the throne, he sought to make clear that his reign would be different from his conquering father. In depictions of him, Darius had a stylus tucked into his waistband, to show that he was a man of words, not just war – that he was mighty without needing to lead his troops into battle himself. For war, he had Faramarz the Strongarm to lead his armies.
Darius would rebuild the royal library of Achaemeniyya, fallen into neglect with the rotating door of rulers over the past century, eagerly seeking every book or scroll he could acquire and it was said to rival the collection in Alexandria. We have this quote from Darius from his coronation speech for insight into the nature of the man:
“I learned the craft of the sage Aristotle, the secret and hidden lore of all the ancient Greeks. I am able to recognize celestial and terrestrial signs to navigate the seas. I can resolve complex mathematical problems that was not easily solved by Pythagoras. I have read cunningly written texts in obscure Egyptian and Babylonian that are difficult to interpret. I have carefully examined inscriptions on stone from before the Deluge that are sealed. I am Darius, great king, king of kings, king of Achaemeniyya.”
Rebuilding an Empire
Now in control of the empire, Darius would embark on an ambitious series of building projects. With plagues and civil strife in the past, Anatolia and the Balkans had recovered a significant portion of their population and prosperity. He would put that improved taxation to the building of churches across the land and encouraging trade between cities once again. Anatolia would reap the greatest benefits as once fallow land was utilised once again for the growing of crops or the grazing of cattle and sheep. Ancient cities would begin to recover as the land was able to support a larger population of non-farmers though they were still far from achieving the density of centuries past. Old buildings that had fallen to ruin were scavenged for their marble and stone to build new homes and the churches that became the heart of the reborn cities.
In Achaemeniyya, he would task his most brilliant architects to build a new cathedral where the Baha’i Sophia stood. The new building would surpass all others in grandeur and solidify Achaemeniyya’s position as the centre of all Christianity. Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles combined their knowledge of mathematics, geometry and mechanics to create a truly innovative design. Construction began in 607 AD and was completed in an astonishingly short period of five years and ten months. This rapid pace was achieved by employing a massive workforce – estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000 workers. Darius was said to have been so obsessed with the project that he constantly monitored its progress and spared no expense. The massive dome would be the largest in the world for over 500 years and became a key part of the city’s skyline. No expense was spared in the construction. The Baha’i Sophia used a variety of luxurious materials, including marble from across the empire, gold mosaics depicting Christian scenes, and rare purple and red porphyry stones. Upon seeing the completed structure, Darius was said to have declared, "I have outdone Solomon!"
The Wars for God
Darius was not content with simply building for the faith. He sought to be the foremost champion of faith in Christendom. In 605 AD, he would launch a war against the Arzuhin King Ardashir to recover several Christian artifacts including the Girdle of Mary.
Dismayed by the heathen nature of the Dacian people who prayed to the false god Zalmoxis, he would launch a holy war to spread the faith across the Danube in 612 AD. The Dacians had been client kings of the Achaemenids for most of the 2nd to 5th centuries and previous Shahanshahs had never seriously tried to evangelise their faith in their lands. Led by the boy king Decebalus, the people of Dacia were ill-prepared for war as they had been extremely hard hit by the Egyptian Plague six decades ago and were will still dealing with occasional reoccurrences.
Darius would personally lead the war effort alongside his Exarchate Faramarz. Together, they marched at the head of 40,000 men and brought fire and faith to the poor Dacians. The Conquest of Dacia would become part of Christian crusader mythos. Never before had so many men gathered together for the purest goal of spreading the faith and never before had so many atrocities been committed in the name of Christ. Villagers who refused to accept conversion were put to the sword and many of the prosperous trading hubs along the Danube were razed after their defenders lost the siege. His men would acclaim him a holy warrior fighting for a righteous cause. With his conquest, the empire expanded by almost a third but the Dacian lands would prove difficult to subdue and his heirs would deal with continual revolts by Gepid and Dacian nobles who converted out of fear initially or Zalmoxian fanatics who were angered at the desecration of their holy sites. Rulers after Darius would attempt to manage the lands by transplanting Byzantine families to take over empty lands or abandoned farms but they would merely add to the strife and anguish of the conquered people.
The 3rd Ecumenical Council
The schism with the Western Church was another point of contention that Darius tried to resolve through a mix of diplomacy and imperialism. Italy was still governed by the Romans but their control had grown weak. The ruling Ulpius dynasty had been forced to move their capital to Mediolanum (modern-day Milan) to better react to the invading Germanics from the North. Despite their best efforts, they had lost the wars and large numbers of migratory tribes had crossed over the Alps and settled in central Italy and along the region of Veneto. This began one of the great population shifts of history. Romans would stream out of Italy to settle in what they viewed as the safer lands of Hispania while the Germans would settle their old lands and intermingle with locals, giving rise to a hybrid Italian-Lombardic culture. The new arrivals paid obeisance to the Roman Emperor and the Pope in Rome but there were strict limits on how much either could exert sovereign control.
In this tense situation, the Pope wrote to the Shahanshah to request for Darius’ intercession and aid in Italy – to provide succour to Latin Christians from abuses by the barbaric Germans and aid the Roman Emperor, an imperial colleague in putting his realm aright. Pope Lucius would attempt to ingratiate himself with the Shahanshah by writing in Greek and this was the excuse Darius needed to try to impose Orthodoxy on Rome.
He would launch a two-prong assault. His armies would sail across the Adriatic to banish the Lombards from central Italy while he summoned Pope Lucius to Dyrrachion for an Ecumenical Council. The Council of Dyrrachion was a fiery affair as the Patriarch Barchus and Darius sought browbeat Lucius into submission and accept that the Achaemeniyya Patriarchate had primacy and that the Shahanshah was the leader of Christendom and regent of God on Earth. Alongside the Catholics and Orthodox, members of the Coptic Church and the Church of the East was in attendance and it eventually broke out in fisticuffs as none of the factions were willing to concede to the primacy of the Byzantines. In the middle of the 4th night, the visiting clergy left secretly, in fear of retaliation or being forced to agree to tyranny. In his quest for church unity, Darius had only entrenched everyone’s position and the schisms continued.
The Plague Returns
Darius had substantially extended his father’s domains, subjugating Dacia and expanding into Italy – a first for the Achaemenid Empire. But his dreams of a universal church would be cut short by the return of the Egyptian Plague in 622. Spreading from the North, it would once again engulf the lands of Europe in misery and death.
The ever-pious Darius sought to handle the situation in his inimical way – through carrots and sticks. Throughout the empire, many proclaimed that the end times were nigh, creating mayhem and panic as their words echoed the death around them. Darius ordered Patriarch Airopos to put an end to these mobs, aiding the effort with armed soldiers who went town to town to repress these heretics.
At the same time, he would often go out into the streets of Achaemeniyya to distribute alms to the suffering. Despite the advise of his physician to isolate himself and his court, Darius went forth to provide comfort and it’s likely through these efforts that he himself was inflicted with the bubonic plague.
His suffering was quick and he would pass on a month after contracting the disease. Despite his strength of faith, Darius III was not strong enough to resist the reaper and his young son, Orodes would take the throne.
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Darius has the stats of a god walking among men. Rest from your labors, Darius, you did enough good deeds for ten lives. Thank you for the update
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