Heaven On Earth: Part One

[General_BT]

Unimaginable horrors? After such a devastating victory? Imperial overreach, perhaps?

[asd21593]

Heaven On Earth

Emperor Alexius I: Horrors Unimaginable
(Mood Music)

During the Siege of Jerusalem, the city of Alexandria was also being sieged. The city wasn’t very well fortified. Since its founding, it was an academic city, filled with the brightest minds from Archimedes to medieval times. So it’s no surprise that it fell to the Orthodox army quite easily. In fact, the non-Latin residents of Alexandria rioted in the city until the gates were forced open by the populace and in marched the forces of Orthodoxy to crush the weakened Latin army.

The commanders of the Orthodox forces in Egypt made sure to follow Alexius I’s example of benevolence and not slaughter the city. They granted religious freedom onto the inhabitants of the city and only killed the soldiers that fought against them. And again, the Latin residents were allowed safe passage to the port and were allowed to leave. A massive procession of Catholics marched out of the city, celebrated a last mass at the docks, and solemnly boarded the ships back to the Papacy and their respective homes in Western Europe.

Catholic priests celebrating a last mass at the port of Alexandria, just before they boarded the ships back to Rome.

And so, with the anticlimactic and near bloodless capture of Alexandria, the two Orthodox armies converged in Egypt. The leaderless Levantine Empire had already collapsed. And the Latin troops in Nubia were left abandoned. Finally, in the early months of 1105, Alexius and 75,000 Orthodox troops stood poised to enter Nubia and destroy the 20,000 Latin troops there.

But with the news of their entrapment, the Latins in Nubia turned to barbaric and suicidal tactics and started to slaughter the Nubian Copts. When news reached Alexius I, he force marched his army into Nubia at record speed. But it was too late. When they came to the large cities of Nubia like Dongola, they only saw smoldering remains. They discovered that all the people were gone. Going further into Nubia, they finally found the Copts, though not in the form they expected.

The aftermath of a Nubian massacre.

Hundreds of piles of skulls were scattered across the Nubian land. These “skull mountains,” as Alexius I and his men came to call them, were so vile, that some Orthodox troops fell sick at the sight of them. The surviving Copts of Nubia were starving and poor. Alexius I did everything in his power to help Nubia recover, but it wouldn’t be until years after his reign that the region would become what it had once been.

And to add insult to injury, it seemed as if the Latin army had disappeared completely. No one knows where the Latins went, though there are many theories. Some say that they sailed across the Red Sea to Arabia and started a new life there. Others say that they went to Ethiopia and raided cities there. Still others theorize that the 20,000 Latins were abducted by aliens, or that they traveled across the Sahara.

One thing is certain; they were not in Nubia, and Alexius I never found them. The most likely theory is that the Latins realized the futility of staying in Nubia, so they massacred the Nubians and sacked all the cities, and tried to migrate to a new land, most likely dying out in the Sahara. Though recent archeological expeditions show that there may be evidence that the Latins raided cities in Ethiopia before being killed.

By the end of 1105, Alexius I had done all he could to rebuild Nubia. So finally, the Orthodox army returned home. From 1103 to 1105, over 75,000 soldiers had died. And the numbers of killed Nubians are estimated at over 50,000. The unimaginable horrors for Orthodoxy had ended. But the horrors for the Catholics had just begun.

[asd21593]

A Reader Challenge!

I am commissioning you readers with a narrative writing challenge. I don't want to spoil anything, so if you are interested in it, just PM me!



asd

[RGB]

Ah, the Apotheosis of War, I hadn't expected to see that in this AAR.

[General_BT]

Wow... that would definitely be an unimaginable horror - and I can see how it might cause Latin Christianity to regret ever crossing the Orthodox Empire really soon...

[Capibara]

What's the matter with those Latins??? Fortunately they were defeated, even though the byzantine troops didn't arrive in time to save the Nubians.
It seems a period of prosperity approaches for the Empire

[Enewald]

awwies... still not as bad as Timur the Lame.

Or Eshafans skull tower... or how was the name...
and etc.

Disbanded?
Aliens?
Ethiopians?
To Sahara?
Arabia?

no one knows...

Nice chapter.
Challenge?
I could even do, I am too bored.

[CountArach]

Horrors for the Catholic world? Count me in!

[demokratickid]

Wow! Scary Nubian Massacre!

[Estonianzulu]

A rather brutal end to the Levantine Empire.

[asd21593]

Heaven On Earth

Emperor Alexius I: Domination
(Mood Music)

From 1106-1108, Alexius I made his plans. He allied the Orthodox Empire with the Rus and assembled his armies. By the beginning of 1109, he had gathered a total force of 300,000 men, and the Rus had mustered about 100,000. Alexius I made complicated battle plans and sent his armies into their positions. After a meeting, both the Russian Tsar and Orthodox Emperor agreed to enact their plans on February 1st 1109.

That day would be the “blackest of days” for the Catholic world. It was the day when the Orthodox Empire and the Rus would declare war upon Hungary, the Holy Roman Empire, Norman Sicily, and the Papal States. The conflict would become known as the Orthodox-Catholic War. From all corners, the Orthodox and Rus invaded Hungary. A large Orthodox army invaded the Holy Roman Empire from Croatia, while two Orthodox armies invaded the Papal States and central Italy. And another army invaded Norman Sicily from Cyrenacia.

The Orthodox battle plans in the Orthodox-Catholic War.

The first to fall was Norman Sicily. Ever since the Orthodox-Adriatic War, the Normans had lost much of their riches. Their once proud and mighty fortress of Palermo had fallen into disrepair. The Orthodox soldiers that approached the citadel cautiously were shocked to see it falling apart. And with much relief, they simply stormed the castle through its gapping holes and easily captured it.

Orthodox infantry battling the remaining Norman cavalry in Palermo

Up in the north, the Rus also sent a secondary expedition to the pagan Baltic states. Usually considered part of the war, although not Catholic, they were the second to fall to the Orthodox nations. The outdated and outnumbered forces of the Baltic pagans were no match for the Imperially-supported Russian soldiers.

In Italy, Orthodox soldiers moved into central Italy rather quickly. However, Papal Rome was much better defended. Mercenaries and armies from across Europe had come to defend the Papacy from the Empire. Rome would be sieged for a long time considering its defenses. Another city that would be hard to overtake was Venice. The city was mostly on water and therefore, was also well-defended.

However, Venice would be bombarded, while Rome would be left alone. Alexius I demanded that Rome only be surrounded and never bombarded, as a bombardment of the Papacy would put the Empire at war with the entire Catholic world. But the country that would be most devastated by the Orthodox-Catholic War was Hungary. It was invaded on all sides by Russian and Imperial troops. It was in Hungary that the Catholic world would feel the same pain that Orthodoxy felt in Nubia.

[Enewald]

poor magyars...
bombarded?
How?
catapults?
ballistas?

How can russia be united?
and even do something in a war?
something useful?

A nice war you have there.

[Capibara]

Excellent update! It's certainly a black day for the Catholic World. Let's see how far can Byzantium and the Rus can advance

[RGB]

1. Heh, what happened in Russia? Who unified it?

2. Ugh...being cruel to the Hungarians?

3. Bombarded? As in lots of siege weaponry?

4. Not fixing the walls at Palermo, can't be a good idea.

[Capibara]

1. Heh, what happened in Russia? Who unified it?

That doesn't matter, mongols will crush them when they arrive

[RGB]

That doesn't matter, mongols will crush them when they arrive

They so won't!



And Russia will win Euro 2008!

[CountArach]

Nice chapter that one. The Hungarians are pretty damn screwed.

[demokratickid]

Well, I can justifiably say... See 'ya Hungary!

[VILenin]

Wow, I guess the Rhomanoi are about to end the schism once and for all by unseating the Pontiff and removing his support. It's nice to see the Fourth Crusade actively pre-empted.

[Capibara]

And Russia will win Euro 2008!

Yes, of course , go Romania!