The Inheritance of Canossa
- Thread starter Marco Oliverio
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I agree, both pleased with the narrative and shocked by the switch – though the new realm makes sense geographically, won't it suffer strains from religious differences?
Loki100 and aldrq - In terms of actually playing the game,I was surprised that I could do it, and I never saw the option to switch back to the German Emperor. I don't really know why it was possible, but I think it made sense to escape a world focused northward, and one in which the German Emperor was actively competing for Africa. When the Staden Dynasty fell, I first thought it would alleviate the pressure of German competition in Africa, but then the fact that the wife of the Roman Emperor was a relative made me start thinking seriously about switching allegiances. I haven't made much of that in terms of the story, but I suppose I could have.
Anyway, here's a small update.
Thanks!
Kera di Canossa, Princess of Italy and Consort to the Heir of the Shia Caliphate
to
Gianlucca IV, King of Sicily, Italy and Africa
Dear Brother:
I have heard that you are studying the idea of learning the future from the past. Perhaps you will have use of my thoughts on this issue - or perhaps I should say the thoughts of a woman who (like all the women in our House) has had her life path controlled in all aspects by echoes from the past.
We all know how Queen Mathilda took a husband and raised up a generation from that marriage that acquired her name, rights and possessions. That has been a model that many of our ancestors have followed - our great House is full of children born of the noble lineages of the women of di Canossa and many warriors, artists, intellectuals and adventurers from across the Muslim world. This aspect of Mathilda’s model we follow quite closely. We are a House containing the best of Andalusia, , Egypt, Persia and the far Cuman Steppes - all bound by our common bond with the Great Mathilda and the tradition of bring the world to our feet that she established. In our marriages and origin of our husbands, the women of the House of ibn Abu Bakr di Canossa are guided and controlled by the past.
In the few instances where we find a different future than following in the actual footsteps of Mathilda’s personal history, we find ourselves bound by Mathilda’s other great tradition - marrying her only daughter to the heir of the Seljuk Sultanate. In that case, beautiful Alianoor, Princess of Africa, was sent to the East to marry Kurboga, heir of Toghan Shah. With him, she had five children, and ensured the continuation of a great lineage. We have two doors to choose from - no, I should say there are two doors, and which one we pass through is chosen for us. We are constrained by Mathilda, the past of our House, in both options.
As you no doubt know, Sultan Ibrahim is the direct descendant of Mathilda through Alianoor, and is therefore our kin. I hope you think about this, and ponder the meanings and responsibility this gives you as your liege, the Roman Emperor, wages war on the Seljuks. Surely your conscience, if not your head, refuse to allow him to use our wealth and men against our kin in the East. What will you do about this - God will require an accounting.
In this same way, the women of our House have been spread throughout the world. The Daughters of Canossa no more control our own destiny than Alianoor, daughter of Mathilda, did. Some say that to complain of becoming the mother of a nation is to be ungrateful to fathers and ancestors, but to me a mother or a nation through no choice our own own is surely not that different hat being the mother of a slave - in both cases, gilded or not - we are acted upon rather than the lords of our destiny. In this way, we differ from Mathilda, who most certainly was her own master.... But to my point, surely these thoughts support the idea that the past controls the future irrevocably?
Let me continue with some additional history of the women of our House:
The Sultans of Syria, recently free of the Shia Caliphs, trace their lineage to our noble ancestor, King Gianlucca III. The “great” Roman Emperor will no doubt will turn his greedy eyes and powerful armies on the people of Syria - you must not let him use our men and wealth to kill our kin!
The Dukes of Meissen and Provence trace their lineage back to Kings Gianlucca II and Abu-Bakr.
The Dukes of Bohemia, who once drew our House into conflict with the German Emperor, also trace their lineage back to us.
In fact, the Staden German Emperor (overthrown now by the Wittlesbach) married into our line, and the children of that marriage rule the Empire’s lands in Kabylia and Tripolitania. And from that marriage, the Empress Consort of the Romans also traces her ancestry to King Abu-Bakr. Even more shocking that she can sit by while her husband, who as I understand it is called by all “The Great”, carries on his wars and slaughter of her kin in Mesopotamia.
Our father was a fine practitioner of this art of setting the fates of his women based on the models of the past.
Our sister Miriam, who first secretly and then openly followed the Way of the Prophet, was betrothed to Prince Khidr, Heir to the Sultanate of Mauretania. Through her, a line of Sultans will rule from our borders in Africa to the Pyrenees.
And of course you know my story - how in me our father hoped to bring together these two great themes governing the lives of the women of our House, how he sought to have both a lineage raised to our House through me, while establishing a line of kings on a throne of great power. My husband, although Heir to the Shia Caliphate, is one of your loyal advisors - he's even your High Almoner! (I wonder what the court of the Shia Caliph think of that....) I know our father hoped to win his way to the very heart of Shia Caliphate by having the heir live here, knowling and loving us (or at least me), surrounded by loyal Muslims subjects in Sicily, and ensure the next heir to the Shia Caliphate was literally a member of the House of ibn Abu Bakr di Canossa. This would be a triumph that would surpass even the great Mathilda.
And of course this shows surely what his mind intended. A great alliance of powers across the world from Africa to Egypt. The Sultanate of Mauretania ruled by the son of our sister, Egypt and Arabia ruled by my own children of the our House, your children ruling the lands of Sicily, Italy and Africa under the Triple Crown. Perhaps he even intended to draw upon the history of our famly alliance to the very gates of Persia with the Seljuk Sultans - this would most certainly be a powerful alliance bound by familial ties.
Of course, as long as you bow your knee to the Roman Emperor, that cannot happen. These kings and sultans will mock your vassalage to the Emperor and your empty claims of crowns - the Triple Crown is a mere shadow, just wisp of smoke when compared to the Emperor’s crown. Our House, my spouse and that of my sister and our many sisters who have gone to their fates, and offered up the sacrifice of their lives in the service required of them by our House will curse you for bowing your knee to a cruel ruler who kills the children and takes the lands of those you are bound to by blood.
As you contemplate the ways the past rules over our present and future, remember that each woman born into our House has her fate already written in the stars - that fact that there are two possible futures does not lessen the fact that these futures are chosen for each of us, and we go as a lamb to whichever sacrifice is required of us. This perhaps is YOUR fate - to take our sacrifices, understand the history or our House, and move us to the a future where those sacrifices mean something. Mathilda, the one woman of our family who lived free of the past, and who created her future for herself, requires no less of you.
to
Gianlucca IV, King of Sicily, Italy and Africa
Dear Brother:
I have heard that you are studying the idea of learning the future from the past. Perhaps you will have use of my thoughts on this issue - or perhaps I should say the thoughts of a woman who (like all the women in our House) has had her life path controlled in all aspects by echoes from the past.
We all know how Queen Mathilda took a husband and raised up a generation from that marriage that acquired her name, rights and possessions. That has been a model that many of our ancestors have followed - our great House is full of children born of the noble lineages of the women of di Canossa and many warriors, artists, intellectuals and adventurers from across the Muslim world. This aspect of Mathilda’s model we follow quite closely. We are a House containing the best of Andalusia, , Egypt, Persia and the far Cuman Steppes - all bound by our common bond with the Great Mathilda and the tradition of bring the world to our feet that she established. In our marriages and origin of our husbands, the women of the House of ibn Abu Bakr di Canossa are guided and controlled by the past.
In the few instances where we find a different future than following in the actual footsteps of Mathilda’s personal history, we find ourselves bound by Mathilda’s other great tradition - marrying her only daughter to the heir of the Seljuk Sultanate. In that case, beautiful Alianoor, Princess of Africa, was sent to the East to marry Kurboga, heir of Toghan Shah. With him, she had five children, and ensured the continuation of a great lineage. We have two doors to choose from - no, I should say there are two doors, and which one we pass through is chosen for us. We are constrained by Mathilda, the past of our House, in both options.
As you no doubt know, Sultan Ibrahim is the direct descendant of Mathilda through Alianoor, and is therefore our kin. I hope you think about this, and ponder the meanings and responsibility this gives you as your liege, the Roman Emperor, wages war on the Seljuks. Surely your conscience, if not your head, refuse to allow him to use our wealth and men against our kin in the East. What will you do about this - God will require an accounting.
In this same way, the women of our House have been spread throughout the world. The Daughters of Canossa no more control our own destiny than Alianoor, daughter of Mathilda, did. Some say that to complain of becoming the mother of a nation is to be ungrateful to fathers and ancestors, but to me a mother or a nation through no choice our own own is surely not that different hat being the mother of a slave - in both cases, gilded or not - we are acted upon rather than the lords of our destiny. In this way, we differ from Mathilda, who most certainly was her own master.... But to my point, surely these thoughts support the idea that the past controls the future irrevocably?
Let me continue with some additional history of the women of our House:
The Sultans of Syria, recently free of the Shia Caliphs, trace their lineage to our noble ancestor, King Gianlucca III. The “great” Roman Emperor will no doubt will turn his greedy eyes and powerful armies on the people of Syria - you must not let him use our men and wealth to kill our kin!
The Dukes of Meissen and Provence trace their lineage back to Kings Gianlucca II and Abu-Bakr.
The Dukes of Bohemia, who once drew our House into conflict with the German Emperor, also trace their lineage back to us.
In fact, the Staden German Emperor (overthrown now by the Wittlesbach) married into our line, and the children of that marriage rule the Empire’s lands in Kabylia and Tripolitania. And from that marriage, the Empress Consort of the Romans also traces her ancestry to King Abu-Bakr. Even more shocking that she can sit by while her husband, who as I understand it is called by all “The Great”, carries on his wars and slaughter of her kin in Mesopotamia.
Our father was a fine practitioner of this art of setting the fates of his women based on the models of the past.
Our sister Miriam, who first secretly and then openly followed the Way of the Prophet, was betrothed to Prince Khidr, Heir to the Sultanate of Mauretania. Through her, a line of Sultans will rule from our borders in Africa to the Pyrenees.
And of course you know my story - how in me our father hoped to bring together these two great themes governing the lives of the women of our House, how he sought to have both a lineage raised to our House through me, while establishing a line of kings on a throne of great power. My husband, although Heir to the Shia Caliphate, is one of your loyal advisors - he's even your High Almoner! (I wonder what the court of the Shia Caliph think of that....) I know our father hoped to win his way to the very heart of Shia Caliphate by having the heir live here, knowling and loving us (or at least me), surrounded by loyal Muslims subjects in Sicily, and ensure the next heir to the Shia Caliphate was literally a member of the House of ibn Abu Bakr di Canossa. This would be a triumph that would surpass even the great Mathilda.
And of course this shows surely what his mind intended. A great alliance of powers across the world from Africa to Egypt. The Sultanate of Mauretania ruled by the son of our sister, Egypt and Arabia ruled by my own children of the our House, your children ruling the lands of Sicily, Italy and Africa under the Triple Crown. Perhaps he even intended to draw upon the history of our famly alliance to the very gates of Persia with the Seljuk Sultans - this would most certainly be a powerful alliance bound by familial ties.
Of course, as long as you bow your knee to the Roman Emperor, that cannot happen. These kings and sultans will mock your vassalage to the Emperor and your empty claims of crowns - the Triple Crown is a mere shadow, just wisp of smoke when compared to the Emperor’s crown. Our House, my spouse and that of my sister and our many sisters who have gone to their fates, and offered up the sacrifice of their lives in the service required of them by our House will curse you for bowing your knee to a cruel ruler who kills the children and takes the lands of those you are bound to by blood.
As you contemplate the ways the past rules over our present and future, remember that each woman born into our House has her fate already written in the stars - that fact that there are two possible futures does not lessen the fact that these futures are chosen for each of us, and we go as a lamb to whichever sacrifice is required of us. This perhaps is YOUR fate - to take our sacrifices, understand the history or our House, and move us to the a future where those sacrifices mean something. Mathilda, the one woman of our family who lived free of the past, and who created her future for herself, requires no less of you.
Observations of the court and person of King Gianlucca IV, King of Sicily, Paramount Vassal of the Emperor in the West
Delivered to the Patriarch Leon I
In accordance with the instructions of your Holiness, we, your loyal bishops of the West, have been actively pursuing the replacement of all of the senior bishops in the lands of King Gianlucca with churchmen loyal to the Orthodox Rite and your Patriarchal throne, and of course His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Meletios II. This has given us many well-placed ears to understand the true state of the realm and the King who sits on the Triple Throne.
King Gianlucca IV ibn Abu-Bakr di Canossa, has been besiged by sadness and tragedy these many years. He came to the throne as a young man, newly a vassal to the Emperor, and full of bright spirit and promise. Lately, after enduring much (and all of it from the Hand of God, as is only right and just), It is clear that he has aged, and in aging has lost some of the vitality that is so essential to maintaining himself upon the throne. Perhaps this opens some avenues to advance our Imperial Majesty’s objectives in this most powerful of vassal’s territories. In short, the family that surrounds him is fraying, and the web of alliances begins to unravel at the edges of his domains - all while the Most Holy Emperor makes progress against the infidel in Asia, may God bless His every effort.
Although this history reaches into what seems the distant past, it is important to show the increasing tragedies that have pursued, like Winged Furies, the heels of the man we call, amongst ourselves, the Heretic King.
Many years ago, the Princess Kera, died. She was a trusted advisor to the King - a thing most shameful - for what could a woman know of ruling? In addition to being beyond her station, she was married to the so-called Caliph of Egypt, Prince Hammud. Princess Kera often encouraged the King to defend the rights of the infidel, whom she called “her people” - of course, she was a heretic and an infidel, having been raised in a heretical religion of allegiance to the Bishop of Rome, married to a following of Allah, and defending both against the righteous wishes of our Imperial Majesty and the true Orthodox Catholic Church and yourself Apostolic throne.
Not long after the death of Princess Kera, the wife of King Gianlucca, Queen Fahriya died - no doubt divine punishment for the King’s refusal to abjure his false religion, failing to force the heretic and infidel in his domain to kneel to the Church of God, and for allowing false religions to prosper in his lands. The King quickly turned even further from God by marrying the grand-daughter of the Infidels our most glorious Emperor wars against - Khadija of the family of Fatima of Egypt, and given by the Caliph of Egypr himself to the King. In every way, this King undermines the efforts of our Most Imperial Emperor to resolve the issues of the East.
This infidel wife of the King, who to this day rejects every opportunity to hear and embrace the Word of God, gave the king a son and several daughters.
As the years passed, these daughters, the Princesses Rahat, Zahra and Huda, were raised in the false traditions of Islam and heathen traditions of the pagan Cumans, and betrothed to the sons of the rulers our Illustrious Emperor fought and defeated time and time again - the Caliph of Egypt and the Seljuk Sultan - as well as the King of the Cumans.
Is it any wonder that the Emperor, may God bless his every move, received missive after missive from this most unrighteous King to cease making war on the people of Asia and Africa? His own daughters were sent, time and time again, into those lands - not to convert them with their faithfulness to God like modern Esthers, working with God to convert the hearts of the Persian King, but to join their wicked husbands in their acts against the One True God. How long will the Emperor allow this King to support the rules of the heathen in the East, and prohibit the work of God throughout the West?
And in fact, while every one of your faithful servants expected the Hand of God to fall on this house with vengeance and justice, these daughters of Satan (how else to describe them?) gained their majority, and were indeed sent to their fates as wives and to become progenitors of faithless and Godless dynasties. We pray (in secret) that God will allow our most Holy and Great Emperor victory over these infidel husbands that the heretic King chooses to ally his family with.
While it might have seemed to the uninitiated in the Ways of God that God’s Hand was pausing in delivering justice to the House of Gianlucca, those of us who know God never doubted that justice would come. God will never fail to reward to righteous and punish the wicked. For after a moment in the glorious sun of propserity, the skies darkened for the family of the king, and all the house calls “ibn Abu-Bakr di Canossa”, as if any righteous family looking to God would use the name of a Muslim!
Word was received in the Court that his nephew, the Sultan of Mauretania, Sultan Khidr, (a distant relative of the Emperor himself) was killed with Sultana Bashira by his uncle, who seized power and overthrew the influence of the King of Sicily. Mourning was declared throughout the kingdom for this Infide, and the churches were ordered to mute their bells and close their doors.
You will remember that King Gianlucca has, in recent years, expanded the Empire in Hispania.
Hispania in 1178
Hispania in 1180
Hispania in 1206
The King has restricted himself to the coasts, long held by France, and it is whispered that he refrains from attacking his nephew although almost all of Hispania has fallen under the banner of Islam and the Sultan of Mauretania. Throughout the western Catholic world he is held in great contempt because of his attacks on France while neglecting the Infidel. I believe this accommodation between the King and his nephew is true - why else would the Sultan refrain from attacking the coasts? The new Sultan has directed himself against France, rather than the King, but it is of course fear of the Emperor and his conquets against Muslims of the East that keep the Muslims of the West in check.
Quickly following the death of the Sultan, the King’s own son was found to have rebellious plans and intentions. Prince Musa, long the King’s favored son, had been granted many counties and dukedoms - he held sway in Africa and throughout Italy. It is said that he longed for a kingships of his own, and jealously desired many of the castles held by his father the King in Africa and northern Italy. His desires burned so hot that is is said he became physically sick. His wife, a heathen from the fringes of the Cuman Kingdom, surely filled his heads with barbaric thoughts and ingenious plans, as all heathen woman do.
It is said that the King refused to believe what he was told about Prince Musa for a long time. Perhaps the influence of his wife, the mother of the Prince, held him from making any move against the Prince. Perhaps it was the Hand of God, preserving Prince Musa until he could be used against the heretic. But the death of Queen Fahriya removed this, and the arrival of the new Queen and the arrival of new children accelerated the action of the Prince against his father. And finally the Hand of God revealed itself.
The King had the Price arrested and imprisioned. And God caused the Prince to die in prison before the King could even talk with his son, to question and understand. It is said that sons are the stays of the old men; with this move God removed one of the main stays of the King, and it is evident to everyone that the King grieves daily for this loss.
This pricking of the King is the most helpful thing God could have revealed - every day the King remember Prince Musa son and the fate that befell him, and every day we, the bishops of his household and his realm are able to remind him of the fate that lies in store for him if he fails to turn to the True God and abandon his sinful says.
The King has lost a son, and while he has a new heir and new children, the shock has aged him, defeated him, and is surely leading him to a new recognition of the power of God and the rightness of His plans for all his children.
We continue to serve you and our most Illustrious Imperial Emperor in these lands full of heretics and infidels in the West. One day we know they will turn to the True God, and fully embrace the Emperor in all his Righteous Might and Glory.
Until them we remain you loyal servants in Christ.
Delivered to the Patriarch Leon I
In accordance with the instructions of your Holiness, we, your loyal bishops of the West, have been actively pursuing the replacement of all of the senior bishops in the lands of King Gianlucca with churchmen loyal to the Orthodox Rite and your Patriarchal throne, and of course His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Meletios II. This has given us many well-placed ears to understand the true state of the realm and the King who sits on the Triple Throne.
King Gianlucca IV ibn Abu-Bakr di Canossa, has been besiged by sadness and tragedy these many years. He came to the throne as a young man, newly a vassal to the Emperor, and full of bright spirit and promise. Lately, after enduring much (and all of it from the Hand of God, as is only right and just), It is clear that he has aged, and in aging has lost some of the vitality that is so essential to maintaining himself upon the throne. Perhaps this opens some avenues to advance our Imperial Majesty’s objectives in this most powerful of vassal’s territories. In short, the family that surrounds him is fraying, and the web of alliances begins to unravel at the edges of his domains - all while the Most Holy Emperor makes progress against the infidel in Asia, may God bless His every effort.
Although this history reaches into what seems the distant past, it is important to show the increasing tragedies that have pursued, like Winged Furies, the heels of the man we call, amongst ourselves, the Heretic King.
Many years ago, the Princess Kera, died. She was a trusted advisor to the King - a thing most shameful - for what could a woman know of ruling? In addition to being beyond her station, she was married to the so-called Caliph of Egypt, Prince Hammud. Princess Kera often encouraged the King to defend the rights of the infidel, whom she called “her people” - of course, she was a heretic and an infidel, having been raised in a heretical religion of allegiance to the Bishop of Rome, married to a following of Allah, and defending both against the righteous wishes of our Imperial Majesty and the true Orthodox Catholic Church and yourself Apostolic throne.
Not long after the death of Princess Kera, the wife of King Gianlucca, Queen Fahriya died - no doubt divine punishment for the King’s refusal to abjure his false religion, failing to force the heretic and infidel in his domain to kneel to the Church of God, and for allowing false religions to prosper in his lands. The King quickly turned even further from God by marrying the grand-daughter of the Infidels our most glorious Emperor wars against - Khadija of the family of Fatima of Egypt, and given by the Caliph of Egypr himself to the King. In every way, this King undermines the efforts of our Most Imperial Emperor to resolve the issues of the East.
This infidel wife of the King, who to this day rejects every opportunity to hear and embrace the Word of God, gave the king a son and several daughters.
As the years passed, these daughters, the Princesses Rahat, Zahra and Huda, were raised in the false traditions of Islam and heathen traditions of the pagan Cumans, and betrothed to the sons of the rulers our Illustrious Emperor fought and defeated time and time again - the Caliph of Egypt and the Seljuk Sultan - as well as the King of the Cumans.
Is it any wonder that the Emperor, may God bless his every move, received missive after missive from this most unrighteous King to cease making war on the people of Asia and Africa? His own daughters were sent, time and time again, into those lands - not to convert them with their faithfulness to God like modern Esthers, working with God to convert the hearts of the Persian King, but to join their wicked husbands in their acts against the One True God. How long will the Emperor allow this King to support the rules of the heathen in the East, and prohibit the work of God throughout the West?
And in fact, while every one of your faithful servants expected the Hand of God to fall on this house with vengeance and justice, these daughters of Satan (how else to describe them?) gained their majority, and were indeed sent to their fates as wives and to become progenitors of faithless and Godless dynasties. We pray (in secret) that God will allow our most Holy and Great Emperor victory over these infidel husbands that the heretic King chooses to ally his family with.
While it might have seemed to the uninitiated in the Ways of God that God’s Hand was pausing in delivering justice to the House of Gianlucca, those of us who know God never doubted that justice would come. God will never fail to reward to righteous and punish the wicked. For after a moment in the glorious sun of propserity, the skies darkened for the family of the king, and all the house calls “ibn Abu-Bakr di Canossa”, as if any righteous family looking to God would use the name of a Muslim!
Word was received in the Court that his nephew, the Sultan of Mauretania, Sultan Khidr, (a distant relative of the Emperor himself) was killed with Sultana Bashira by his uncle, who seized power and overthrew the influence of the King of Sicily. Mourning was declared throughout the kingdom for this Infide, and the churches were ordered to mute their bells and close their doors.
You will remember that King Gianlucca has, in recent years, expanded the Empire in Hispania.
Hispania in 1178
Hispania in 1180
Hispania in 1206
The King has restricted himself to the coasts, long held by France, and it is whispered that he refrains from attacking his nephew although almost all of Hispania has fallen under the banner of Islam and the Sultan of Mauretania. Throughout the western Catholic world he is held in great contempt because of his attacks on France while neglecting the Infidel. I believe this accommodation between the King and his nephew is true - why else would the Sultan refrain from attacking the coasts? The new Sultan has directed himself against France, rather than the King, but it is of course fear of the Emperor and his conquets against Muslims of the East that keep the Muslims of the West in check.
Quickly following the death of the Sultan, the King’s own son was found to have rebellious plans and intentions. Prince Musa, long the King’s favored son, had been granted many counties and dukedoms - he held sway in Africa and throughout Italy. It is said that he longed for a kingships of his own, and jealously desired many of the castles held by his father the King in Africa and northern Italy. His desires burned so hot that is is said he became physically sick. His wife, a heathen from the fringes of the Cuman Kingdom, surely filled his heads with barbaric thoughts and ingenious plans, as all heathen woman do.
It is said that the King refused to believe what he was told about Prince Musa for a long time. Perhaps the influence of his wife, the mother of the Prince, held him from making any move against the Prince. Perhaps it was the Hand of God, preserving Prince Musa until he could be used against the heretic. But the death of Queen Fahriya removed this, and the arrival of the new Queen and the arrival of new children accelerated the action of the Prince against his father. And finally the Hand of God revealed itself.
The King had the Price arrested and imprisioned. And God caused the Prince to die in prison before the King could even talk with his son, to question and understand. It is said that sons are the stays of the old men; with this move God removed one of the main stays of the King, and it is evident to everyone that the King grieves daily for this loss.
This pricking of the King is the most helpful thing God could have revealed - every day the King remember Prince Musa son and the fate that befell him, and every day we, the bishops of his household and his realm are able to remind him of the fate that lies in store for him if he fails to turn to the True God and abandon his sinful says.
The King has lost a son, and while he has a new heir and new children, the shock has aged him, defeated him, and is surely leading him to a new recognition of the power of God and the rightness of His plans for all his children.
We continue to serve you and our most Illustrious Imperial Emperor in these lands full of heretics and infidels in the West. One day we know they will turn to the True God, and fully embrace the Emperor in all his Righteous Might and Glory.
Until them we remain you loyal servants in Christ.
An Allegory of Two Bishops
by Command of His Royal Highness Gianlucca ibn Abu-Bakr di Canossa
Wearer of the Triple Crown of Sicily, Africa & Italy
A story to be read from every pulpit and minbar in the lands of the King
*****
There was once, in a land far to the East and South, two cities, each situated pleasantly amid rolling hills and fertile plains, watered by rivers and streams that cascaded down from the distant mountains. Each city was ruled by a benevolent king and served by innumerable courtiers of all kinds - treasurers, marshals and men at arms, butlers and cooks, maids and gardeners. And of course by wise and righteous bishops, for these kings ruled by the Grace of God and kept at their sides at all times His ministers.
Over the many years, these cities grew and grew, until each was an earthly paradise, full of the good things of the earth as well as sparkling with gold, silver, gems of all kinds, turquoise and amber, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
But evil times fell on these cities - both were besieged by hordes of barbarians from beyond the encircling hills. They were cut off from their gardens and pleasant parks, their sources of gold and silver and jewels, and were threatened with violent overthrow at the hands of innumerable heathens and enemies of God. The unwashed hordes, spread about the cities with their thousands of campfires like stars come down from the heaves to encircle the cities, sent their demands for surrender: capitulation, giving up of all the wealth in the city, slavery for the inhabitants. If given these things, they swore mighty oaths they would leave, and the very old and very young that remained could rebuild and continue on with their lives.
In the city to the East, the wise bishop came to his King, and said,
In the city to the West, the bishop went to his lord with different advice,
Of course, this advice was born of greed and jealousy, for this bishop was old, and his Lord was young, and the bishop lusted after the things of Caesar.
As an old man, the bishop knew he would be spared by the heathen. He looked in envy at his young Lord, and knew that his Lord would be among the first people killed by their enemies. From his secret sources, he knew that the King and all his family would be slain and all the mighty nobles led away to slaughter and ruin. He was a Judas, who advised his Lord with the voice of Satan.
The Lord of the City in the East assembled his men, armed them and fed them, invoked the blessing of God on them, and rode out to defeat the heathens in a mighty battle, and drove them from the land. The Lord returned, and with the Bishop at his side, celebrated great Masses and Parades in gratitude for victory over their enemies.
The Lord of the City in the West opened the doors of his citadel, and was cruelly killed, along with all his family and the nobles of the land. The city was stripped of its wealth and people, and sank into oblivion under the rule of the ancient Bishop and all his successors.
***
***
In the East lies a great city ruled by a great Emperor, with a strong bishop by his side.
In the West lies a once-great city, ruled by a Bishop who aspires to have not only the things of God under his control, but also the things of Caesar.
And this wicked creature has finally brought ruin up his religion and the name of God.
He attempted to seize control of the lands of central Italy from the King in revenge for losing Rome and all Latium many decades ago. To do this he hurled the charge of heresy against our most righteous king, and delivered an excommunication.
This wicked Bishop also tried the same tactic with the German Emperor, who descended from beyond the Alps and smote the Bishop with his arm of worldly power.
Defeated, this wicked Bishop was forced from his throne and dispossessed by the German Emperor of all the gold and silver, jewels and marble that once adorned his city. And the young and beautiful were carried back north, beyond the Alps.
Attempting to call the people of the West to his aid, this wicked prelate called for a Crusade to capture Jerusalem from the Muslims., hoping to reclaim the hearts and souls of the people of the West. But this self-proclaimed “Vicar of God” led those few righteous people who followed his voice to disaster and calamity - the young men of the lands that heeded his call were slain at the hands of the heathen or carried off into slavery. After two years of defeat, his most ardent supporters saw through his righteous words, and realized they followed a demon with nothing but death and despair to offer.
Revealed as a jealous, power-hungry demon in disguise, the whole of the West turned from this Bishop, and embraced whatever spiritual truth they saw.
Unwilling to face the collapse of all his dreams, undeterred in his pursuit of power both temporal and spiritual, and perhaps driven on by the hounds of Hell and Satan himself, this bishop of the West refused to rescind the excommunication of our most noble and righteous King. For this, he was expelled from his last holdings in Italy.
This bishop was placed on a boat with letters requesting safe passage from all the secular rulers who governed the lands to his final home, and sent to Hispania/Andalusia.
For the final home of this bishop of the West, who through jealousy and greed attempted to govern the very Empire from his mighty throne of gold and silver, pearls and gold, lies in the ancient capital of Leon, smaller than a village and people with only the ghosts of the ancient kings of Leon. This small, dusty and inconsequential place is now deep in the lands of the Emir of Beja.
Thus does God punish those who put his Word as naught, and who refuse to hear the meaning of the Words of Christ:
by Command of His Royal Highness Gianlucca ibn Abu-Bakr di Canossa
Wearer of the Triple Crown of Sicily, Africa & Italy
A story to be read from every pulpit and minbar in the lands of the King
*****
There was once, in a land far to the East and South, two cities, each situated pleasantly amid rolling hills and fertile plains, watered by rivers and streams that cascaded down from the distant mountains. Each city was ruled by a benevolent king and served by innumerable courtiers of all kinds - treasurers, marshals and men at arms, butlers and cooks, maids and gardeners. And of course by wise and righteous bishops, for these kings ruled by the Grace of God and kept at their sides at all times His ministers.
Over the many years, these cities grew and grew, until each was an earthly paradise, full of the good things of the earth as well as sparkling with gold, silver, gems of all kinds, turquoise and amber, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
But evil times fell on these cities - both were besieged by hordes of barbarians from beyond the encircling hills. They were cut off from their gardens and pleasant parks, their sources of gold and silver and jewels, and were threatened with violent overthrow at the hands of innumerable heathens and enemies of God. The unwashed hordes, spread about the cities with their thousands of campfires like stars come down from the heaves to encircle the cities, sent their demands for surrender: capitulation, giving up of all the wealth in the city, slavery for the inhabitants. If given these things, they swore mighty oaths they would leave, and the very old and very young that remained could rebuild and continue on with their lives.
In the city to the East, the wise bishop came to his King, and said,
“My Lord, in the days when our Lord Jesus walked the Earth in humility and power, he gave the people many words of wisdom, and invited those with ears to hear. Among the many things He said to his disciples was this - ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” Here is the meaning the Holy Spirit has whispered into my heart, and bid me tell you.
“The defense of the land, of the city and it’s inhabitants lies with you and your mighty armed men. To do your duty you must have men, arms and armor, spears and arrows and swords, food and drink to sustain you. The people must bring to you every piece of metal, every strong lance or instrument that could be turned to a weapon and all the gold, silver, jewels and other riches with which you can buy the men, horses, arms and food to support you in your efforts, and the food from their larders and cupboards and cellars.
“To show that we understand and heed the words of God and His Most Holy Son, we bring to you, first among all your citizens, our wealth, our tools, our metal and precious metals, and food from our stores. In doing so, we prove that we hear the Word of God clearly in our hearts and minds, and render unto you what must be rendered.
“We claim the hearts and souls of the people, and so we will pray for your success and salvation. By doing so we claim for God what is God’s own.”
“The defense of the land, of the city and it’s inhabitants lies with you and your mighty armed men. To do your duty you must have men, arms and armor, spears and arrows and swords, food and drink to sustain you. The people must bring to you every piece of metal, every strong lance or instrument that could be turned to a weapon and all the gold, silver, jewels and other riches with which you can buy the men, horses, arms and food to support you in your efforts, and the food from their larders and cupboards and cellars.
“To show that we understand and heed the words of God and His Most Holy Son, we bring to you, first among all your citizens, our wealth, our tools, our metal and precious metals, and food from our stores. In doing so, we prove that we hear the Word of God clearly in our hearts and minds, and render unto you what must be rendered.
“We claim the hearts and souls of the people, and so we will pray for your success and salvation. By doing so we claim for God what is God’s own.”
In the city to the West, the bishop went to his lord with different advice,
“My Lord, the hosts of the heathen are innumerable, and they ring the city as though with walls of brass and iron. No help can enter, and no word or cry for help can escape. Even the pigeons with your royal messages are shot from the air and roasted by those that would defeat us.
Their terms are hard, like iron in winter, but they are not impossible. True, they wish to take from you the gold and silver, jewels and marble, brass and bronzes that have been collected over the many years of our fair city’s existence. They wish to take our fair sons and daughters and sell them into slavery, and leave us only with the old the very young to inhabit this city. The terms are hard, but I say they are not impossible.
“The gold and silver, jewels and marbles, and all the riches of this city can be built up again. The young will grow, and turn into fair sons and daughters, who will fill the city with laughter and joy again, once the heathen have taken what they demand and depart. We will seem defeated, but in reality we will rise again, like the phoenix, to claim the heights again.”
Their terms are hard, like iron in winter, but they are not impossible. True, they wish to take from you the gold and silver, jewels and marble, brass and bronzes that have been collected over the many years of our fair city’s existence. They wish to take our fair sons and daughters and sell them into slavery, and leave us only with the old the very young to inhabit this city. The terms are hard, but I say they are not impossible.
“The gold and silver, jewels and marbles, and all the riches of this city can be built up again. The young will grow, and turn into fair sons and daughters, who will fill the city with laughter and joy again, once the heathen have taken what they demand and depart. We will seem defeated, but in reality we will rise again, like the phoenix, to claim the heights again.”
Of course, this advice was born of greed and jealousy, for this bishop was old, and his Lord was young, and the bishop lusted after the things of Caesar.
As an old man, the bishop knew he would be spared by the heathen. He looked in envy at his young Lord, and knew that his Lord would be among the first people killed by their enemies. From his secret sources, he knew that the King and all his family would be slain and all the mighty nobles led away to slaughter and ruin. He was a Judas, who advised his Lord with the voice of Satan.
The Lord of the City in the East assembled his men, armed them and fed them, invoked the blessing of God on them, and rode out to defeat the heathens in a mighty battle, and drove them from the land. The Lord returned, and with the Bishop at his side, celebrated great Masses and Parades in gratitude for victory over their enemies.
The Lord of the City in the West opened the doors of his citadel, and was cruelly killed, along with all his family and the nobles of the land. The city was stripped of its wealth and people, and sank into oblivion under the rule of the ancient Bishop and all his successors.
***
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
***
In the East lies a great city ruled by a great Emperor, with a strong bishop by his side.
In the West lies a once-great city, ruled by a Bishop who aspires to have not only the things of God under his control, but also the things of Caesar.
And this wicked creature has finally brought ruin up his religion and the name of God.
He attempted to seize control of the lands of central Italy from the King in revenge for losing Rome and all Latium many decades ago. To do this he hurled the charge of heresy against our most righteous king, and delivered an excommunication.
This wicked Bishop also tried the same tactic with the German Emperor, who descended from beyond the Alps and smote the Bishop with his arm of worldly power.
Defeated, this wicked Bishop was forced from his throne and dispossessed by the German Emperor of all the gold and silver, jewels and marble that once adorned his city. And the young and beautiful were carried back north, beyond the Alps.
Attempting to call the people of the West to his aid, this wicked prelate called for a Crusade to capture Jerusalem from the Muslims., hoping to reclaim the hearts and souls of the people of the West. But this self-proclaimed “Vicar of God” led those few righteous people who followed his voice to disaster and calamity - the young men of the lands that heeded his call were slain at the hands of the heathen or carried off into slavery. After two years of defeat, his most ardent supporters saw through his righteous words, and realized they followed a demon with nothing but death and despair to offer.
Revealed as a jealous, power-hungry demon in disguise, the whole of the West turned from this Bishop, and embraced whatever spiritual truth they saw.
Unwilling to face the collapse of all his dreams, undeterred in his pursuit of power both temporal and spiritual, and perhaps driven on by the hounds of Hell and Satan himself, this bishop of the West refused to rescind the excommunication of our most noble and righteous King. For this, he was expelled from his last holdings in Italy.
This bishop was placed on a boat with letters requesting safe passage from all the secular rulers who governed the lands to his final home, and sent to Hispania/Andalusia.
For the final home of this bishop of the West, who through jealousy and greed attempted to govern the very Empire from his mighty throne of gold and silver, pearls and gold, lies in the ancient capital of Leon, smaller than a village and people with only the ghosts of the ancient kings of Leon. This small, dusty and inconsequential place is now deep in the lands of the Emir of Beja.
Thus does God punish those who put his Word as naught, and who refuse to hear the meaning of the Words of Christ:
“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and Unto God what is God’s.”
From the King’s Private Journal
Entries Covering 1210 to the Momentous Events of 1217
April 1210
News arrived this morning that Basileos Meleketios II, Emperor of Rome, has finally died. Although Meleketios was at least 75, if not 80, he was out leading his troops all over Asia in his perpetual wars against the Muslims. I’m still a child compared to that.
I hear, from my agents in the Imperial Seat of Sestos, that they are calling Meleketios things like "The Great", the "Arab Slayer" (he definitely slew Arabs from the borders of Asia to the shores of the Persian Sea), the "Restorer", the "New Trajan". The hyperbole is only slightly overdone, but I wonder if they realize that Trajan died because of his adventures in the East, and Hadrian abandoned the conquests of his Imperial Foster Father. What do they say about that in the Imperial Chancellery, I wonder.
The Empire in 1181
The Empire at the death of Emperor Meleketios
And of course, along with the news of one Emperor's death comes the summons to join in the raising up and honoring of a new Emperor - Konstantios, son of Meleketios.
I hear he’s been out leading his men in the battles, so I suppose he is suited to be Emperor in these times of constant war. Or so it seems - Meleketios was always pulling my troops out of hearth and home, marching them here or there to deal with real or imagined threats. I suppose we were called on less often than the Dukes along the border with the Seljuks or the Shiites of Syria and Egypt. But then those Seljuks and Shiites are practically my people - the Lord knows my family has married into those royal lines often enough to make them my cousins, aunts and uncles. Meleketios was consumed by the idea of restoring the Empire of Justinian, or Hadrian, or Augustus. Not a bad dream, but such a bloody man. I wonder what his son will be like.
A frustrating, interesting, and completely bewildering coronation banquet!
My head is spinning, I have to write down my thoughts to make sense of them.
First, the new Emperor summons us to Al Amarah. I had to ask my cartographer to show me where this place is. I discovered that it’s below Baghdad, in the most newly conquered lands from the Seljuk Sultan. I suppose it is where the old Emperor died, and the entire court simply stopped there to deal with the death, and the coronation.
A few unknown facts about our “warrior” emperor:
The Emperor clearly wants all of us to support the claim of his daughter to the Imperial Throne. When, if ever, has a woman managed to the rule the Empire? The Emperor clearly is misled by his councilors on this issue - I wonder what they gain to push him to this position? He will alienate his most powerful supporters and vassals with this, and gain only the loyalty of the lords of his Court, who already favor him because of their ability to manage him. The Empire is in for dark days before easy days return. I am by far his greatest vassal - my lands and vassals far outstrip those of any other in the Empire. A few even called me the Western Emperor - quietly, behind the scenes and never in front of the Emperor. But it makes me think...
July 1215
After five years on the throne, the Emperor has managed to humiliate and frustrate his vassals, and rebellions have begun in the far reaches of the eastern Empire - one in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia (hard to get to in the best of times) and the other on the shores of the Persian Sea, far to the south. The Emperor will be pressed to reach these distant lands before things spin out of control. But for now these are minor issues - the major landowners and Dukes on both sides of the Bosphorus remain loyal, as do I in the West.
August 1215
Although the Emperor has put the rebellion in Arabia and eastern Anatolia down, he had to call the troops of his increasingly unhappy vassals to accomplish it, revealing his own weakness. Giving up all his land outside the Imperial capital in exchange for Damascus and and its environs was a most unwise strategy for this most unprepared of Emperors. Those lands will yield neither wealth nor men for many years.
October 1215
The major rebellions have now begun.
The Dukes of Tabriz, Kartli and Baghdad have risen in rebellion, as have the Duchesses of Cyprus and Nicaea. This last Duchess actually holds land directly to the north and east of Sestos, the Imperial Seat, and she brings many men and holdings into this battle. Each of these Dukes and Duchesses bids for independence, rather than merely assuming the Imperial throne. The Empire has entered Dark Days. And although men jump to support the Emperor, his forces are much reduced by fighting in the distant mountains and deserts - the initial rebellions have sapped his resources, and the Dukes know this.
November 1215
The die is cast. I have revived the ancient title Sultan of Sicily, Italy and Africa, and declared the independence of the West from this feeble and catastrophic Emperor of the East. His father raised the Empire to new heights, but laid the foundation for this current disaster by leaving a son unfit to rule, with lands incapable of supporting his rule. As the Empire falls we will leave and chart our won course in the history of men.
Our strategy is simple - we have called our men, and those of our vassals through the Three Kingdoms to arms. We will gather in Palermo, Pisa, Tunis and Ravenna - and from there launch four mighty armadas against the Emperor. We will attack the Imperial Seat with one force; the others will move to attack the Emperor’s land in and around Damascus. If we can deprive him of control of his lands, we will bring him to his knees and break free of this servitude to one not worthy to be in the service of the lowest man among us.
Spring and Summer 1216
By the Spring, we have landed along the coasts of Palestine, and have put the ancient cities under siege. Once they are captured, our supply lines to the interior will be secure. There is little sign of the Emperor in all this, although a small forces are reported in Cyprus and the area around Antioch. Reports suggest he is fighting in eastern Anatolia against the Duke of Kartli - again wasting men in the mountains and valleys of that land. Although good for us, I pity the men who serve under such a foolish Emperor.
The coastal fortresses fall and a large force is sent toward Damascus. Here, the first serious opposition from the forces of the Empire are met, but in three battles the Emperor's forces are completely shattered. My agents tell me that at first the retreat of the Romans seemed chaotic, but then the rationale is realized as disaster strikes. The foolish Muslims from the interior of Arabia, at war with the Emperor themselves, fall upon us as the Emperor’s forces retreat toward the Euphrates. My commanders rally, but they barely manage to hold off the Arabian fighters. I recalled the ragged remnants of this force to the coast, and sent for additional men from Italy and Sicily.
Despite the successes and failures in Palestine, the Imperial Seat in Sestos falls to my troops, and I sent word for those men to carry on and subdue all the strongholds of the province, to give the Emperor no refuge or source of help in that land.
The Winter was spent continuing the sieges of the coastal enclaves along the Great Inner Sea.
By Spring of the year of our Lord 1217, a new force had been assembled and sent through Tyre towards Damascus. In the plains of Mafraq, my forces under the leadership of the Dukes of Modena and Calabria, met and destroyed the remnants of the Emperors forces in Palestine.
The Emperor continued to display his extreme lack of warrior insight and intelligence. With his Imperial seat gone, his major land forces in Asia decimated and his personal demesne under siege, he concentrated all his forces in Cyprus, to bring the heel the least powerful of his rebellious vassals. With his men occupied across the sea, with no hope of succor from any internal or eternal friend, and surrounded on all sides by internal dangers, this man descended from the greatest Houses of our time, and who should have been a Wonder of the World, accepted our demands for independence with barely a murmur. What could have been a long, demoralizing and destructive war was over in two years. Yes, thousands of my brave men lie dead in the hills and valleys of Palestine, but no war touched my lands, and my treasure and family, realm and vassals, harbors, cities and people are unscathed.
Out of kindness, or affection for familial bonds, or perhaps simply the desire to finish this war and return my lands to peace as old age approaches rapidly, I called my men home, rather than inflicting a final, crushing blow on the remaining assembled might of the Emperor. I feel he will have a long hard road ahead, and the Roman Empire may come crashing down around the ears of all those who live within her borders. But it may recover - the Empire has survived far worse. In any event, we are free of the looming disasters of the Romans, and free to take up our rights of inheritance - the rights of Greek, Italian and Phoenician - to rule the West.
My men return, and as a people we will welcome the birth of the Sultanate of Sicily, Italy and Africa.
Entries Covering 1210 to the Momentous Events of 1217
April 1210
News arrived this morning that Basileos Meleketios II, Emperor of Rome, has finally died. Although Meleketios was at least 75, if not 80, he was out leading his troops all over Asia in his perpetual wars against the Muslims. I’m still a child compared to that.
I hear, from my agents in the Imperial Seat of Sestos, that they are calling Meleketios things like "The Great", the "Arab Slayer" (he definitely slew Arabs from the borders of Asia to the shores of the Persian Sea), the "Restorer", the "New Trajan". The hyperbole is only slightly overdone, but I wonder if they realize that Trajan died because of his adventures in the East, and Hadrian abandoned the conquests of his Imperial Foster Father. What do they say about that in the Imperial Chancellery, I wonder.
The Empire in 1181
The Empire at the death of Emperor Meleketios
And of course, along with the news of one Emperor's death comes the summons to join in the raising up and honoring of a new Emperor - Konstantios, son of Meleketios.
I hear he’s been out leading his men in the battles, so I suppose he is suited to be Emperor in these times of constant war. Or so it seems - Meleketios was always pulling my troops out of hearth and home, marching them here or there to deal with real or imagined threats. I suppose we were called on less often than the Dukes along the border with the Seljuks or the Shiites of Syria and Egypt. But then those Seljuks and Shiites are practically my people - the Lord knows my family has married into those royal lines often enough to make them my cousins, aunts and uncles. Meleketios was consumed by the idea of restoring the Empire of Justinian, or Hadrian, or Augustus. Not a bad dream, but such a bloody man. I wonder what his son will be like.
*****
June 1210A frustrating, interesting, and completely bewildering coronation banquet!
My head is spinning, I have to write down my thoughts to make sense of them.
First, the new Emperor summons us to Al Amarah. I had to ask my cartographer to show me where this place is. I discovered that it’s below Baghdad, in the most newly conquered lands from the Seljuk Sultan. I suppose it is where the old Emperor died, and the entire court simply stopped there to deal with the death, and the coronation.
A few unknown facts about our “warrior” emperor:
- Konstantios has one daughter - not much of a progeny for someone married for as long as he has been, and on whom the burden of divine rule falls so squarely now. Where are his male children? Perhaps I should have married one of my daughters to him after all....
- While his father was a great warrior, the new Emperor is practically incapable of the simplest things. He has many fine advisors, but up close he is clearly not capable of running his own household, much less an entire empire.
- Our new Emperor has a most illustrious family line - including a great grandmother, and a great-great grandfather of our line. And a few Roman Emperors and German Emperors. It’s a wonder he isn’t a Stupor Mundi with all the greatness in him. Perhaps just as there are combinations of blood and lineage that yield greatness, there are combinations that yield the opposite?
- I also discovered that many, if not all of the Dukes of Asia and Europe have a deep dislike for this incompetent son of a warrior Emperor. The Empire was held together by the old Emperor; it will be interesting to see what the new one can do to keep things from falling apart.
The Emperor clearly wants all of us to support the claim of his daughter to the Imperial Throne. When, if ever, has a woman managed to the rule the Empire? The Emperor clearly is misled by his councilors on this issue - I wonder what they gain to push him to this position? He will alienate his most powerful supporters and vassals with this, and gain only the loyalty of the lords of his Court, who already favor him because of their ability to manage him. The Empire is in for dark days before easy days return. I am by far his greatest vassal - my lands and vassals far outstrip those of any other in the Empire. A few even called me the Western Emperor - quietly, behind the scenes and never in front of the Emperor. But it makes me think...
*****
July 1215
After five years on the throne, the Emperor has managed to humiliate and frustrate his vassals, and rebellions have begun in the far reaches of the eastern Empire - one in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia (hard to get to in the best of times) and the other on the shores of the Persian Sea, far to the south. The Emperor will be pressed to reach these distant lands before things spin out of control. But for now these are minor issues - the major landowners and Dukes on both sides of the Bosphorus remain loyal, as do I in the West.
*****
August 1215
Although the Emperor has put the rebellion in Arabia and eastern Anatolia down, he had to call the troops of his increasingly unhappy vassals to accomplish it, revealing his own weakness. Giving up all his land outside the Imperial capital in exchange for Damascus and and its environs was a most unwise strategy for this most unprepared of Emperors. Those lands will yield neither wealth nor men for many years.
*****
October 1215
The major rebellions have now begun.
The Dukes of Tabriz, Kartli and Baghdad have risen in rebellion, as have the Duchesses of Cyprus and Nicaea. This last Duchess actually holds land directly to the north and east of Sestos, the Imperial Seat, and she brings many men and holdings into this battle. Each of these Dukes and Duchesses bids for independence, rather than merely assuming the Imperial throne. The Empire has entered Dark Days. And although men jump to support the Emperor, his forces are much reduced by fighting in the distant mountains and deserts - the initial rebellions have sapped his resources, and the Dukes know this.
*****
November 1215
The die is cast. I have revived the ancient title Sultan of Sicily, Italy and Africa, and declared the independence of the West from this feeble and catastrophic Emperor of the East. His father raised the Empire to new heights, but laid the foundation for this current disaster by leaving a son unfit to rule, with lands incapable of supporting his rule. As the Empire falls we will leave and chart our won course in the history of men.
Our strategy is simple - we have called our men, and those of our vassals through the Three Kingdoms to arms. We will gather in Palermo, Pisa, Tunis and Ravenna - and from there launch four mighty armadas against the Emperor. We will attack the Imperial Seat with one force; the others will move to attack the Emperor’s land in and around Damascus. If we can deprive him of control of his lands, we will bring him to his knees and break free of this servitude to one not worthy to be in the service of the lowest man among us.
*****
Spring and Summer 1216
By the Spring, we have landed along the coasts of Palestine, and have put the ancient cities under siege. Once they are captured, our supply lines to the interior will be secure. There is little sign of the Emperor in all this, although a small forces are reported in Cyprus and the area around Antioch. Reports suggest he is fighting in eastern Anatolia against the Duke of Kartli - again wasting men in the mountains and valleys of that land. Although good for us, I pity the men who serve under such a foolish Emperor.
The coastal fortresses fall and a large force is sent toward Damascus. Here, the first serious opposition from the forces of the Empire are met, but in three battles the Emperor's forces are completely shattered. My agents tell me that at first the retreat of the Romans seemed chaotic, but then the rationale is realized as disaster strikes. The foolish Muslims from the interior of Arabia, at war with the Emperor themselves, fall upon us as the Emperor’s forces retreat toward the Euphrates. My commanders rally, but they barely manage to hold off the Arabian fighters. I recalled the ragged remnants of this force to the coast, and sent for additional men from Italy and Sicily.
Despite the successes and failures in Palestine, the Imperial Seat in Sestos falls to my troops, and I sent word for those men to carry on and subdue all the strongholds of the province, to give the Emperor no refuge or source of help in that land.
The Winter was spent continuing the sieges of the coastal enclaves along the Great Inner Sea.
By Spring of the year of our Lord 1217, a new force had been assembled and sent through Tyre towards Damascus. In the plains of Mafraq, my forces under the leadership of the Dukes of Modena and Calabria, met and destroyed the remnants of the Emperors forces in Palestine.
The Emperor continued to display his extreme lack of warrior insight and intelligence. With his Imperial seat gone, his major land forces in Asia decimated and his personal demesne under siege, he concentrated all his forces in Cyprus, to bring the heel the least powerful of his rebellious vassals. With his men occupied across the sea, with no hope of succor from any internal or eternal friend, and surrounded on all sides by internal dangers, this man descended from the greatest Houses of our time, and who should have been a Wonder of the World, accepted our demands for independence with barely a murmur. What could have been a long, demoralizing and destructive war was over in two years. Yes, thousands of my brave men lie dead in the hills and valleys of Palestine, but no war touched my lands, and my treasure and family, realm and vassals, harbors, cities and people are unscathed.
Out of kindness, or affection for familial bonds, or perhaps simply the desire to finish this war and return my lands to peace as old age approaches rapidly, I called my men home, rather than inflicting a final, crushing blow on the remaining assembled might of the Emperor. I feel he will have a long hard road ahead, and the Roman Empire may come crashing down around the ears of all those who live within her borders. But it may recover - the Empire has survived far worse. In any event, we are free of the looming disasters of the Romans, and free to take up our rights of inheritance - the rights of Greek, Italian and Phoenician - to rule the West.
My men return, and as a people we will welcome the birth of the Sultanate of Sicily, Italy and Africa.
Now that Sicily is independent and a powerful Kingdom in it's own right, what goals does the family have for the future?
Excerpt from Final Testament of Sultan Gianlucca of Sicily, call the “Old”
My last days are approaching - I can tell from the aches in my flesh and bones. My courtiers tell me that of course I am imagining things - they say that the Conqueror of the Roman Emperor is immune to the aches and pains of old age, and that I will live for many years to come.
They are just obsequious courtiers and I am a simple soldier who was fortunate and blessed by God (not the God of the hateful so-called Vicar of Christ, marooned in his fortress in the middle of the Andalusian Arabs, and not that of the foolish Romans in the East, but by a simple, kind, understandable God. Or so I believe.)
In any event, the cannot fool me with their honeyed words - I can feel death approaching, sailing towards me across the seas I’ve traveled so often. He will arrive soon enough. Knowing that he is on his way, and I choose to write down a few things covering this last, eventful period of my life, with perhaps just a few asides to earlier days. My public legacy is set, of this I’m sure. It’s the secrets of my private life that might come to light in future days that I wish to write about. In this way, perhaps I can influence what people say of me, and perhaps lay out my case to God for forgiveness of the things I’ve had to do to gain all that I’ve gained for my house, my people, and Him.
My mind takes me back to the end of the war against Konstantios and the Romans.
Following the defeat of Konstantios in the hills and deserts of Palestine, I returned with my troops and ships to Palermo, expecting, quite honestly, to settle down for a few years of peace and quiet, basking in the adulation of my people. Instead, I returned to what I can only call a complete family and governmental.
Somehow, in my absence, my beloved grandson, Biagio, had managed to convince the entire government that he was the proper heir to the throne of Sicily. Needless to say, I was outraged and the insolence, and despite all my best efforts, I could neither convince him to resign this position or convince the court that this was in error.
Now, of course I loved by grandson. The son of my eldest daughter Butayna, and the grandson of two Caliphs, he was, in fact, the living embodiment of my own father’s efforts to gain a claim to the entire Fatimid Caliphate. In fact, he had a claim fo the Fatimid and the Abbasid Caliphate - more than my father actually dreamed of. While it caught me by surprise that the court would in effect disinherit my own sons from the inheritance of the kingdom, I had to admit that the claims he possessed were compelling and entirely appropriate for the next Sultan of Sicily.
And his wife, with her claim to the vast lands and throne of Cumania as well as her formidable skills and capabilities, seemed to make the choice even more compelling.
But there was one problem - after many many years of marriage, they had no children. Now, I understood some of that - Biagio was my marshall and led my troops into many battles over the years. But many men have been to war and managed to have children; I saw the lack of children as a major set-back to his claims to the Kingdom - how could I let my hard work fall into the hands of an heir who had no heir? I could the ruin of my house lurking on the horizon.
I thought of my first-born son, Musa. He was truly the apple of my eye - a son to beat all other sons. And yet.....15 years ago he began his friendship with the hateful heir to the Roman throne, Konstantios. He married but begat only daughters. I had begun to hear stories about a growing irrationality soon after I gifted him with Algiers and other dukedoms and counties across the country - in effect, the patrimony of the Kings of Sicily. I brushed them off as baseless rumors, spread by the envious, but when I heard that he was leading his troops up and down the Calabrian Coast in a senseless marching up and down the mountainous terrain, I grew worried. I sent my Chaplain in those days to investigate - it was a short boat trip from Palermo. What I heard frankly alarmed me - he was a different person from the bright young man I had sent off full of hope to govern Africa for me.
Although my heir, he spoke nothing but evil of me. He talked of making the throne his, and his daughters the “New Mathildas of the Age”. His men despaired of him, his subjects revolted against him, and even his wife conspired against him. I sent my most loyal household troops, arrested him in his delirium, and had him brought back to Palermo, where he was kept under close observations. He was hopeless, or at least he seemed so to me. He declined rapidly and I will admit in these pages, for the sake of the family and the inheritance, I assisted him on his way to the mansions of death.
Meanwhile, my second son, Gianlucca, governing our growing lands in Andalusia from the rich city of Valencia, was brilliant in all the ways Musa had been. He was the perfect heir, and he loved me. He also had three sons, each of whom were promising young men, perfect examples of the brilliance of the Abu-Bakr di Canossa line.
This is the son I had expected to rule, and to whom I had granted extensive lands and honors to replace those that descended from Musa to his daughters, each in turn.
And this is the son who I found so rudely pushed aside by Biagio when I returned from the campaigns against Konstantios. But I was torn - while Gianlucca was my son, and always the intended heir to the kingdom, Biagio was an intriguing choice with those claims that could make him, and my kingdom, the undisputed master of the Mediterranean. My family had long seen ourselves and our lands as the logical continuation of the Roman, Greek and Punic lines - how much the better if we could add the ancient Greek holding of Alexander to our domains?
But what to do about the lack of an heir to this promising new heir? I waited for many months after we returned victorious, but no news of pregnancy in his wife, a maid, a farm girl, a lover - nothing. Was the lack in Biagio (in which case he would be a most unfit King, or Zahra?) In the name of the family, of the inheritance, the kingdom, I decided to do the logical thing - I had Zahra eliminated. If Zahra was the issue, a new wife would quickly show that. If she wasn’t, well, she was a brilliant woman, but the world would have to do without her.
I quickly arranged for a new wife to arrive for Biagio, knowing that in his sorrow, he might turn all the more readily to a new love, and perhaps bring the heir I desperately wanted to see if he could produce. The people were genuinely delighted, and we welcomed her to Palermo with all the pomp and circumstance that the new consort of the Heir to Sicily should have had. I settled down to wait for the glad tidings of an heir to arrive - I requested daily updates from the guards and body servants of the two fo them. I was worried - I was getting old, and had to make decisions about the family and our inheritance.
Two events now occurred in rapid succession. The first made me stop and consider the steps I’d taken to ensure the continuation of the family and my line. The so-called Pope, Vicar of Christ, Bishop (in name only, of course) or Rome, declared me excommunicate and barred from the fellowship of Christ. This was a shock, but I suppose it shouldn’t have been. My family had always opposed the designs of the Pope to temporal power, believing that he should be a spiritual leader only, like the ancient Apostles and Christ himself. What kingdom did Christ rule, other than the spiritual kingdom of God? And looking at the wide lands of Europe, the Pope had failed miserably in fighting against heretic, schismatic and unholy religions. We really did believe that we were doing him a favor by allowing him to focus on the spiritual welfare of Europe, while we and other temporal rulers focused on the things of Caesar (as Christ himself commanded!)
However, I will admit I was tempted momentarily by my own weakness to wonder if God in fact was sending me a signal. Then, fast on the heels of this, came fast ships bearing the news that the Abbasid Caliph Timurtas (in fact, a holder of the claims that Biagio could easily pursue) had declared Jihad against me. This, then was the sign of the utter failure of the Pope in his machinations against me - how could the Vicar of Christ excommunicate the ruler against whom all of Islam was ranged in an effort to claim back the lands of Africa? Clearly this “pope” alone in his small fortress in the ancient lands of Leon (and surrounded on all sides by the Sultan of Mauretania) was a false and failed prophet.
In fact, as my Court Chaplain pointed out, this pope as not only fallen and false, he was in league with the forces of Islam itself! How else to explain the timing? The letter of excommunication, read against me across all of Europe, arrived from the West as the fast ships bearing news of Jihad reached us from the East. Too tidy by far, clearly an effort to crush our spirit between two hammer blows.
In response to this, and with the blessing of my Chaplain, I began sending bags of gold westward, by the hands of merchants and travelers, welcoming people to the benefits of my gold for the demise of the fallen prophet of Rome.
In the meantime, there was a war to be fought.
The first significant battle took place in the ancient lands of Cyrenaica - at Tobruk. There we faces and defeated the first wave of troops, with Biagio leading the center against the invaders. The results were a rout for the Sultan and his allies, and a glorious victory for ourselves, showing to one and all that God was on the side of Sicily.
For the next four years, we waited, with only a few battles fought in the sands of Cyrenaica. The Caliph and his allies had to march across the mountains of Persia, the plains of Mesopotamia, the sands of Palestine and along the coasts of Egypt to even reach our forces. We were content to wait. After four years, we had won many battles with minimal loss and damage to our lands, forces and treasure.
Finally, I sent two large armies traveling back along the path the armies of Islam took to each us. As our troops crossed out of the lands of the Roman, and entered the foothills of Persia, the Caliph, far away in this mountain fortress beyond Persia, sent words of surrender, peace and amity.
And directly following the end of this foolish Jihad, God Himself sent a message that proved to all who have ears to hear and eyes to see that indeed the false and fallen Pope was behind this failed and pathetic attack. After sending an immense treasure to the West, news arrived the Valentine was dead, choking upon his own bile as he led a procession invoking the wrath of God upon the our royal head. Instead, God turned his displeasure upon the one who presumed to serve God while only serving his own selfish ends. The in perfect harmony, and mirroring the arrival from West and East of warnings of doom, we heard from West and East the dawning of peace and the demise of our enemies by the hand of God.
And still Biagio had no children - after 4 years of waiting.
Just as I had loved Musa, I loved Biagio. His claims to the lands of Egypt and Arabia would have made him a king the likes of which I am sure the world has not seen since Alexander or Caesar. But with no heir to pass such a kingdom to, what would happen? History tells us - the Empire of Alexander fell to rivals as soon as he died. Caesar’s kingdom grew, but only after the entire Mediterranean world was plunged into a bloodbath between his friends and his adopted son. Neither end was acceptable to me, and while I was tempted to let the throne pass to Biagio knowing that in the end, if he proved childless, the throne would pass back to Gianlucca, my son. But could I ensure that? It was a possibility, certainly, but one that I could not confirm while living, and certainly could not enforce once dead.
I made my final decision - one that followed logically after the deaths of Musa, Zahra and the false pope. But this time I enlisted the aristocracy of the kingdom, those of my blood who held no fondness for the man they considered an Egyptian usurper (he was still popular with the masses and certain sections of the nobles - otherwise, how could he have established and maintained his claim to the crown?) The family came flocking to the cause - the plot, I suppose I could call it. Within days all the great nobles sent word they would join the cause for the sake of the family. The Archbishop of Rome, my most loyal vassal, joined last - while not a member of the family, he appreciated that his holdings were dependent on the family maintaining our position against the Pope.
I called a great tournament to be held in Rome to celebrate the victories against the Caliph and the end of the Jihad in Africa. Everyone came, including Biagio. I almost called him back, I thought of telling him to hold the throne safe in his hands while I traveled to Rome. But he was the commander of my troops, the winner of the early battle of Tobruk, and the originator of so many of our victories. I couldn’t think of a reason to leave him behind was was arguably a celebration of his successes. Gianlucca and his family, from Andalusia arrived in Palermo as they traveled to Rome, and seeing this face, listening to his wise words and seeing his own prowess with the sword, greeting his male children and grandchildren against the empty chambers of Biagio made he hold my tongue. Having done so much for the survival of the family, of the House of Abu Bakr di Canossa, and of the kingdom itself, we boarded the flagship and proceeded out of the harbor of Palermo, a riot of color and fanfare and joy, with only myself feeling the blackness at the heart of the trip.
In Rome, everything happened as planned. The tournament was a great success, with all the vassals reveling in the crowds, the entertainment, the excitement of the tournament itself with all its pageantry and pomp, and in the innumerable feasts. And at the end of one of those feasts, Biagio withdrew from the feasts claiming to be unwell. And he never rose from his bed after that.
And now I sit back in Palermo. The Tournament was ending anyway, and the death of Biagio was not even known by some as the boarded their ships or started their long journeys home. Those who conspired with me to bring this episode to an end, and Gianlucca back into the line of inheritance all left happy that the family of Abu Bakr would rule still. Those who were partisans of Biagio accepted that illness, or internal wound from his many battles or the tournament itself were the cause mourned the loss of the claims on Egypt and Mesopotamia, but gladly accepted Gianlucca as heir to the throne. Perhaps they even were glad of the strong sons and grandsons of Gianlucca as insurance against the unknown and unknowable future. And I wait for the ship of death to dock at the harbor below, to carry me on to the next adventure.
My last days are approaching - I can tell from the aches in my flesh and bones. My courtiers tell me that of course I am imagining things - they say that the Conqueror of the Roman Emperor is immune to the aches and pains of old age, and that I will live for many years to come.
They are just obsequious courtiers and I am a simple soldier who was fortunate and blessed by God (not the God of the hateful so-called Vicar of Christ, marooned in his fortress in the middle of the Andalusian Arabs, and not that of the foolish Romans in the East, but by a simple, kind, understandable God. Or so I believe.)
In any event, the cannot fool me with their honeyed words - I can feel death approaching, sailing towards me across the seas I’ve traveled so often. He will arrive soon enough. Knowing that he is on his way, and I choose to write down a few things covering this last, eventful period of my life, with perhaps just a few asides to earlier days. My public legacy is set, of this I’m sure. It’s the secrets of my private life that might come to light in future days that I wish to write about. In this way, perhaps I can influence what people say of me, and perhaps lay out my case to God for forgiveness of the things I’ve had to do to gain all that I’ve gained for my house, my people, and Him.
My mind takes me back to the end of the war against Konstantios and the Romans.
Following the defeat of Konstantios in the hills and deserts of Palestine, I returned with my troops and ships to Palermo, expecting, quite honestly, to settle down for a few years of peace and quiet, basking in the adulation of my people. Instead, I returned to what I can only call a complete family and governmental.
Somehow, in my absence, my beloved grandson, Biagio, had managed to convince the entire government that he was the proper heir to the throne of Sicily. Needless to say, I was outraged and the insolence, and despite all my best efforts, I could neither convince him to resign this position or convince the court that this was in error.
Now, of course I loved by grandson. The son of my eldest daughter Butayna, and the grandson of two Caliphs, he was, in fact, the living embodiment of my own father’s efforts to gain a claim to the entire Fatimid Caliphate. In fact, he had a claim fo the Fatimid and the Abbasid Caliphate - more than my father actually dreamed of. While it caught me by surprise that the court would in effect disinherit my own sons from the inheritance of the kingdom, I had to admit that the claims he possessed were compelling and entirely appropriate for the next Sultan of Sicily.
And his wife, with her claim to the vast lands and throne of Cumania as well as her formidable skills and capabilities, seemed to make the choice even more compelling.
But there was one problem - after many many years of marriage, they had no children. Now, I understood some of that - Biagio was my marshall and led my troops into many battles over the years. But many men have been to war and managed to have children; I saw the lack of children as a major set-back to his claims to the Kingdom - how could I let my hard work fall into the hands of an heir who had no heir? I could the ruin of my house lurking on the horizon.
I thought of my first-born son, Musa. He was truly the apple of my eye - a son to beat all other sons. And yet.....15 years ago he began his friendship with the hateful heir to the Roman throne, Konstantios. He married but begat only daughters. I had begun to hear stories about a growing irrationality soon after I gifted him with Algiers and other dukedoms and counties across the country - in effect, the patrimony of the Kings of Sicily. I brushed them off as baseless rumors, spread by the envious, but when I heard that he was leading his troops up and down the Calabrian Coast in a senseless marching up and down the mountainous terrain, I grew worried. I sent my Chaplain in those days to investigate - it was a short boat trip from Palermo. What I heard frankly alarmed me - he was a different person from the bright young man I had sent off full of hope to govern Africa for me.
Although my heir, he spoke nothing but evil of me. He talked of making the throne his, and his daughters the “New Mathildas of the Age”. His men despaired of him, his subjects revolted against him, and even his wife conspired against him. I sent my most loyal household troops, arrested him in his delirium, and had him brought back to Palermo, where he was kept under close observations. He was hopeless, or at least he seemed so to me. He declined rapidly and I will admit in these pages, for the sake of the family and the inheritance, I assisted him on his way to the mansions of death.
Meanwhile, my second son, Gianlucca, governing our growing lands in Andalusia from the rich city of Valencia, was brilliant in all the ways Musa had been. He was the perfect heir, and he loved me. He also had three sons, each of whom were promising young men, perfect examples of the brilliance of the Abu-Bakr di Canossa line.
This is the son I had expected to rule, and to whom I had granted extensive lands and honors to replace those that descended from Musa to his daughters, each in turn.
And this is the son who I found so rudely pushed aside by Biagio when I returned from the campaigns against Konstantios. But I was torn - while Gianlucca was my son, and always the intended heir to the kingdom, Biagio was an intriguing choice with those claims that could make him, and my kingdom, the undisputed master of the Mediterranean. My family had long seen ourselves and our lands as the logical continuation of the Roman, Greek and Punic lines - how much the better if we could add the ancient Greek holding of Alexander to our domains?
But what to do about the lack of an heir to this promising new heir? I waited for many months after we returned victorious, but no news of pregnancy in his wife, a maid, a farm girl, a lover - nothing. Was the lack in Biagio (in which case he would be a most unfit King, or Zahra?) In the name of the family, of the inheritance, the kingdom, I decided to do the logical thing - I had Zahra eliminated. If Zahra was the issue, a new wife would quickly show that. If she wasn’t, well, she was a brilliant woman, but the world would have to do without her.
I quickly arranged for a new wife to arrive for Biagio, knowing that in his sorrow, he might turn all the more readily to a new love, and perhaps bring the heir I desperately wanted to see if he could produce. The people were genuinely delighted, and we welcomed her to Palermo with all the pomp and circumstance that the new consort of the Heir to Sicily should have had. I settled down to wait for the glad tidings of an heir to arrive - I requested daily updates from the guards and body servants of the two fo them. I was worried - I was getting old, and had to make decisions about the family and our inheritance.
Two events now occurred in rapid succession. The first made me stop and consider the steps I’d taken to ensure the continuation of the family and my line. The so-called Pope, Vicar of Christ, Bishop (in name only, of course) or Rome, declared me excommunicate and barred from the fellowship of Christ. This was a shock, but I suppose it shouldn’t have been. My family had always opposed the designs of the Pope to temporal power, believing that he should be a spiritual leader only, like the ancient Apostles and Christ himself. What kingdom did Christ rule, other than the spiritual kingdom of God? And looking at the wide lands of Europe, the Pope had failed miserably in fighting against heretic, schismatic and unholy religions. We really did believe that we were doing him a favor by allowing him to focus on the spiritual welfare of Europe, while we and other temporal rulers focused on the things of Caesar (as Christ himself commanded!)
However, I will admit I was tempted momentarily by my own weakness to wonder if God in fact was sending me a signal. Then, fast on the heels of this, came fast ships bearing the news that the Abbasid Caliph Timurtas (in fact, a holder of the claims that Biagio could easily pursue) had declared Jihad against me. This, then was the sign of the utter failure of the Pope in his machinations against me - how could the Vicar of Christ excommunicate the ruler against whom all of Islam was ranged in an effort to claim back the lands of Africa? Clearly this “pope” alone in his small fortress in the ancient lands of Leon (and surrounded on all sides by the Sultan of Mauretania) was a false and failed prophet.
In fact, as my Court Chaplain pointed out, this pope as not only fallen and false, he was in league with the forces of Islam itself! How else to explain the timing? The letter of excommunication, read against me across all of Europe, arrived from the West as the fast ships bearing news of Jihad reached us from the East. Too tidy by far, clearly an effort to crush our spirit between two hammer blows.
In response to this, and with the blessing of my Chaplain, I began sending bags of gold westward, by the hands of merchants and travelers, welcoming people to the benefits of my gold for the demise of the fallen prophet of Rome.
In the meantime, there was a war to be fought.
The first significant battle took place in the ancient lands of Cyrenaica - at Tobruk. There we faces and defeated the first wave of troops, with Biagio leading the center against the invaders. The results were a rout for the Sultan and his allies, and a glorious victory for ourselves, showing to one and all that God was on the side of Sicily.
For the next four years, we waited, with only a few battles fought in the sands of Cyrenaica. The Caliph and his allies had to march across the mountains of Persia, the plains of Mesopotamia, the sands of Palestine and along the coasts of Egypt to even reach our forces. We were content to wait. After four years, we had won many battles with minimal loss and damage to our lands, forces and treasure.
Finally, I sent two large armies traveling back along the path the armies of Islam took to each us. As our troops crossed out of the lands of the Roman, and entered the foothills of Persia, the Caliph, far away in this mountain fortress beyond Persia, sent words of surrender, peace and amity.
And directly following the end of this foolish Jihad, God Himself sent a message that proved to all who have ears to hear and eyes to see that indeed the false and fallen Pope was behind this failed and pathetic attack. After sending an immense treasure to the West, news arrived the Valentine was dead, choking upon his own bile as he led a procession invoking the wrath of God upon the our royal head. Instead, God turned his displeasure upon the one who presumed to serve God while only serving his own selfish ends. The in perfect harmony, and mirroring the arrival from West and East of warnings of doom, we heard from West and East the dawning of peace and the demise of our enemies by the hand of God.
And still Biagio had no children - after 4 years of waiting.
Just as I had loved Musa, I loved Biagio. His claims to the lands of Egypt and Arabia would have made him a king the likes of which I am sure the world has not seen since Alexander or Caesar. But with no heir to pass such a kingdom to, what would happen? History tells us - the Empire of Alexander fell to rivals as soon as he died. Caesar’s kingdom grew, but only after the entire Mediterranean world was plunged into a bloodbath between his friends and his adopted son. Neither end was acceptable to me, and while I was tempted to let the throne pass to Biagio knowing that in the end, if he proved childless, the throne would pass back to Gianlucca, my son. But could I ensure that? It was a possibility, certainly, but one that I could not confirm while living, and certainly could not enforce once dead.
I made my final decision - one that followed logically after the deaths of Musa, Zahra and the false pope. But this time I enlisted the aristocracy of the kingdom, those of my blood who held no fondness for the man they considered an Egyptian usurper (he was still popular with the masses and certain sections of the nobles - otherwise, how could he have established and maintained his claim to the crown?) The family came flocking to the cause - the plot, I suppose I could call it. Within days all the great nobles sent word they would join the cause for the sake of the family. The Archbishop of Rome, my most loyal vassal, joined last - while not a member of the family, he appreciated that his holdings were dependent on the family maintaining our position against the Pope.
I called a great tournament to be held in Rome to celebrate the victories against the Caliph and the end of the Jihad in Africa. Everyone came, including Biagio. I almost called him back, I thought of telling him to hold the throne safe in his hands while I traveled to Rome. But he was the commander of my troops, the winner of the early battle of Tobruk, and the originator of so many of our victories. I couldn’t think of a reason to leave him behind was was arguably a celebration of his successes. Gianlucca and his family, from Andalusia arrived in Palermo as they traveled to Rome, and seeing this face, listening to his wise words and seeing his own prowess with the sword, greeting his male children and grandchildren against the empty chambers of Biagio made he hold my tongue. Having done so much for the survival of the family, of the House of Abu Bakr di Canossa, and of the kingdom itself, we boarded the flagship and proceeded out of the harbor of Palermo, a riot of color and fanfare and joy, with only myself feeling the blackness at the heart of the trip.
In Rome, everything happened as planned. The tournament was a great success, with all the vassals reveling in the crowds, the entertainment, the excitement of the tournament itself with all its pageantry and pomp, and in the innumerable feasts. And at the end of one of those feasts, Biagio withdrew from the feasts claiming to be unwell. And he never rose from his bed after that.
And now I sit back in Palermo. The Tournament was ending anyway, and the death of Biagio was not even known by some as the boarded their ships or started their long journeys home. Those who conspired with me to bring this episode to an end, and Gianlucca back into the line of inheritance all left happy that the family of Abu Bakr would rule still. Those who were partisans of Biagio accepted that illness, or internal wound from his many battles or the tournament itself were the cause mourned the loss of the claims on Egypt and Mesopotamia, but gladly accepted Gianlucca as heir to the throne. Perhaps they even were glad of the strong sons and grandsons of Gianlucca as insurance against the unknown and unknowable future. And I wait for the ship of death to dock at the harbor below, to carry me on to the next adventure.