Real Roman Renaissance - An ahistorical AAR of the madmen in Roman cultured Iceland

Chapter XVIII – Sunnites et Equites Sancti

Finn Mac Finnachta:

While the legion was hurrying from one skirmish to the other, Imperatrix Ulpia wondered why the Caliphate only sent small groups into Coloneia 'just to get slaughtered'. My agentes quickly provided an answer: The Caliphate had reached its strongest point under the Abbasids around one hundred years ago after they had invaded Graecia, but they grew decadent and lost most of the lands they took from the Greeks to upstart Emirs and the Hospitallers, later the duke of Poitou. And the Seljuk Turks not long ago invaded their heartland; now the Caliphate had their lands separated and could not throw a unified army at the Legion. Coloneia would be a first step for the reunification of their provinces, the Caliph surely thought. He should have informed himself of the change in its political status first!


The generals of the Sunnis tried their best with their limited manpower, launching a sneak attack on the not already fortified city of Phanagoria in the new res publica of Chersonesus, but their initial success didn't last long. Worse for them, the Georgian King agreed to help the Caliph in his effort while the Legion was marching through their lands. The only real battles of the war were fought in Georgia before the Caliph capitulated as Ulpia sacked Edessa.


Journal of Cornelius:

(…) Since the Imperatrix actually stopped needing my services, the internal plotting and scheming augmented. I'll pick the case of the ducatus of Insulae as example: Since Ulpia's namesake from the Vitsercus family died in her accident, Tiberius I ruled Segovium and Insulae, who died recently. Now, Tiberius Secundus is married to the ducissa Gordiana of Eburacum, as the old quaestor Publius now counts the denarii on his tomb. This upsets the balance in Britannia; even the Greeks seemed to fear that, as if the Vitserci would set out and conquer them from the inside. I knew old Fabius, and his descendants are still better with their weapons then their words. Ducissa Pelagia of Venetia represented the request of the status-quo-party to Ulpia, being the nearest to her current location, and convinced her to reply positively. I think she just wanted to concentrate on her wars in Asia Minor and did whatever Pelagia wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. Tiberius accepted the request, probably fearing a prolonged stay in Ulpia's preferred diplomatic solution. Now Fabius III, son of the rebel Fabius II's bastard son, rules the ducatus. Having talked to him, he seems like a bright man and would surely have been able to earn a title or office in the Imperium by himself. Maybe in Ulpia's current wars... (…)


Imperatrix Ulpia:

The Gafurid war was too long. Too many years lost for my dream. I won't be able to return Asia Minor and Graecia to the Imperium myself. But at least the Northern coast of Asia Minor! I still remember Julius' face when I told him a state of war existed between us and most of the minor emirates. Maybe he wanted to rest a bit, but I am running out of time. So much stress to become the greatest Roman of all time! The Georgians and Gafurids tried to help once more, and although they shared their sneak attack strategy on the Taurican merchants, it didn't save the little states from being integrated into the Imperium.


I was leaning over the map, pondering my next moves. As I had just dismissed my councillors to think alone, I yelled 'Out! Wasn't I clear enough?' to the person who just entered my tent.
'I won't leave, Ulpia, you need me. Your councillors are worried for your sanity.'
It was my brother Vespasian. What did a perfectus like him look for in a military camp? One who some duces want to replace me? An Elect, one who has sworn to live an ascetic life? To discard all material things? I still wonder what those duces are thinking. 'What do you want, Vespasian? Preach of peace? Not now, please.'
'I understand that the teachings of Martinus cannot always be respected when you are the Imperatrix, sister. As despicable as it is, war may be a necessity for the prosperity of the Imperium. The simple population, unlike the Elect, are depending on this prosperity. No, I come to deal with your stress. It won't do you any good.'
'Don't bother. I am feeling fine, the Legion is strong and ready, and Graecia awaits the return under the eagle. Don't let the looks deceive you, I love dealing with logistics, planning campaigns, my rise to eternal glory... I have to conquer much more! Where to go, who to attack?'
I had my attention back on the map as Vespasian hit a nerve: 'You are already known as the Great, Ulpia. No ruler is only measured by her conquests. Your rule had a chaotic beginning as father left, but no bellum civile ensured. You showed your strength and will, finally uniting the Imperia hundreds of years after they were torn apart. Roma is rising, Illyria, Bulgaria, Taurica, Valachia and much of Asia Minor are under the eagle now. You won a war against the Catholics, scaring their elite force so much they don't even try to engage in battle. History will remember you, your name will be compared to those of Alexander, Caesar and Carolus Magnus. Really, there is no need to reach for more quantity. Be content with what you have achieved. The world's problems are on other shoulders.'
My brother left, and I looked up from my map. He was right. I am the greatest. There is no need to risk much more. My body and memory are not the same as in my youth, and the future will know me as the Unifier Of The Imperia. I should focus on quality.


Journal of Cornelius:

(…) It looks like this will be the last entry I am able to make. I feel weaker every day. But my mind is still fully present, unlike Ulpia's, although she is around 20 years younger then me. Her frequent illnesses surely played a role in that. Thankfully Vespasian managed to stop her rage, but war has reached Graecia now. While Ulpia's Bulgarian plan worked, with Biagio dead and Aurelia succeeding him, Finn reported a civil war under the Hospitallers. Orson de Lavardin contested Rainero's position as Grandmaster and had declared himself the rightful leader of these knights. With his supporters, he searched the Catholic kingdoms to overthrow Rainero and attacked. She may not be the same warmonger as before, but Ulpia still is opportunistic. She eyes their capital Dyrrachion. I hope that the Hospitallers are like the Templars. But unlike them, they have conquered most of Graecia. I won't be here to worry about that.


Imperatrix Ulpia:

'Are you sure you want to lead the Legion? Don't you think you will forget something important while in battle? Like that we are in battle? I don't doubt your abilities, but your condition can prove dangerous for our victory. Your son Claudius could earn some experience.'
'I have never felt better, Gaius. Besides, the scouts number the Hospitaller army to around 6.000. We have 14.000! We can't lose that! Also, you are older then me, if someone is forgetful, it is you, Marcus.'
Rex Julius of Hibernia sighed, then left to prepare the march. Templars or Hospitallers, what is the difference anyway? And how the Templars fight, nobody knows that better then me.


While the Hospitallers had retreated to the mountains around Chounavia, it was not to worry, the first skirmishes made a great impact and I thought the fight would end soon. But then a huge number of reinforcements arrived on the knights' side and the tide seemed to turn. They concentrated on the Hibernian flank and routed it while their left one collapsed. Now in defence, I did everything for the centre to hold on until Aurelius and his troops got behind the initial defenders' line and dealt a heavy blow to their morale, abandoning their position and fleeing. The battle was won, although under heavy losses. Over 9.000 legionnaires for over 8.000 unholy knights. Antonius was maybe right; maybe not, his flank was the one which fled after all. But I needed to act: I called the magister inquisitiones Máel to summon the whole army with his communication network; the Hospitallers were a tough nut to crack.


The knights had retreated and combined their forces. Just as I sent a messenger back to Nova Roma to replace the late Crassus with my heir Petronia as cancellaria, they attacked us in Durrës. The ducissa of Morai Aurelia, an expert in defence, had joined us and we had fortified the legion behind a river on a steep hill. And if that was not enough, 2.000 Romans reinforced from the sea. The incompetent generals on the knights' side charged blindly in the flanks, held narrow by long and sharp pikes and quickly pushed back, while their center's commander advanced smarter, but couldn't stop our assault after the flanks were dealt with. Durrës was a crushing defeat for the knights, who with almost equal numbers sustained ten times the casualties. They routed eastwards, a disorganized mess, and with a forced march over the shortest pass, I was able to catch them in Debar. 1.800 heavily armoured knights came from Birsiminium, but couldn't avert the next defeat of the Hospitallers. Two commanders were captured and swiftly executed, one more in a following battle. Surely they wouldn't be able to continue much longer.


The Britannian troops hadn't arrived yet in the Haemus peninsula, and the Breton conqueror of Rhodes joined the defenders. Stationed in Ohrid, the Legion had to intervene in Kratovo to stop the Rhodesians from lifting our siege there. As I wondered how the Hospitallers could concentrate all their men against us while dealing with a man who aimed to replace them all, Crimthann informed me that the troublesome claimant found an end in an inn in Sicily. Not from a natural cause. The Bretons filling the fields of Kratovo, the knights had assembled 4.500 men once more to save their castle in Dyrrachion, but it was a force of mostly light mercenary infantry whose morale had already crumbled before the remaining Legion got to ducissa Severa's rescue.


As finally the Britannian ships came in sight at the coast, I was in the castle negotiating.
'Mother, the army is here and ready for your orders! Wait...who are these men?'
Claudius had entered the room in which I sat with Loïs for the terms of his surrender.
'Send them home. They can make a stop in Roma so that the trip was not completely useless. Arnau here is surrendering. The war is won.'
Claudius looked disappointed, then maybe changed his mind on the prospect of seeing Roma and left.
'I hate to admit it, but the heretics have won. I, Grandmaster Rainero, am admitting this defeat in the name of the Order and hereby surrender all titles in the duchy of Dyrrachion to the Empire of the Romans. For in a glorious moment, the Order shall regain its rightful lands, when you all burn in hell.'
Then, he signed the peace treaty and was escorted outside. The most difficult war in all my reign had ended. You cannot compare the Hospitallers to the Templars, after all.

Chapter XIX – Verona

The audacity of those knights! They lost Dyrrachion, and then only because they had some castle in Aqua Viva, they seized my whole county! I could not let it stand, but the ducatus of Slavonia is not as numerous as the Imperial Legions. These wretched knights will have to return it in our next war. It is my demesne! They will have to give it up like the Amalfitans had to abandon their Roman trade posts. It was a good idea of praefectus Fabianus. Some money, less Catholics in our lands... Tragic, that princeps Claudius contracted lethal Smallpox on this campaign, but this is life...


While the Egyptians marched through our lands in a try to reclaim Sicily from the Hospitallers, pontifex Vespasian had to feel that the Swedes protect their children attentively. He preached long enough in Sweden without notable success, but the first conversion he managed there would be his last. After he was released, he was still confused why of all Swedes the one converting was a 14-years-old, envious and greedy liar. So many sins contradictory to Martinus' teachings. He wondered if the boy only converted to have him imprisoned. 'Those Swedes...', I heard him say, 'are the most barbaric people I ever went to. That they are bloodthirsty and undisciplined, we already knew. But that even their youth is using lies and deceit to avert civilization to reach them...'


I grew tired of the Egyptians. They had already lost a major battle, what did they try to accomplish with their remaining 800 men? Starve? As the Hospitallers did nothing to end this, I tipped off queen Aude. Hearing of Muslims near her border, she saw an occasion to prove her piety after her loss of Carinthia and joined in their defence. Maybe she would take care of this laughable remain of an army.


My move had an adverse effect. The Egyptians had just left my territory and roamed through Carinthia when Ulpia decided to humiliate the Catholics once more and return Verona to the Imperium. 'They are already defending against one war together, they can't do it effectively against two', she said. Did she forget that the Muslims from Aegyptus were almost defeated?

The strategy was clear: Move into Italian lands, prevent them from assembling a strong army and await the Britannian troops to have two strong armies, ready to shuffle the enemy's attention around all the time and gain advantage through some decisive battles with one army reinforcing the other. As much for the theory. With the exception of the Hospitallers and Bavaria, all of Carolus Magnus' empire had assured the Italian queen their help. As a response, I left on a special mission to West Francia.


As soon as the Egyptians capitulated, not even two months after our attack, the number of our enemies grew again. Only Asturias and Bohemia did not participate in this war. We were severely outnumbered now. The Legion had intercepted many Italian levies on their way to their fleet, and Padua was assaulted. Then, a combined Italian-Lotharingian army landed in Venetia, where the Southern Army was stationed, originally planned as possible reinforcement for the Legion. Too weak, they had to be combined with the Britannian Army before landing, but the enemy apparently heard of our plan. With the amphibious assault underway in Pallestrina, the Legion could reinforce the Southern Army and the Italians retreated.


'Is everything ready, Jean?'
'Yes, magister inquisitiones. The cause of Roma is just, and the Gauls won't stop it, I assure you. Their army is feasting in Palma, anticipating the day they can get revenge on the Imperium in the name of the kingdom. While not successful, your claimant expedition showed them their weakness. They are drinking all night, imagining the day they defeat the Romans, and the guards... are easily dealt with. They won't notice anything before tomorrow.'
'Good. Nobody will ever know?'
'Your instructions were clear. As clear would be my answer.'
'The Imperium will be grateful. When Gallia returns under the eagle, you will be compensated for your efforts.'
'I will do everything I can to stop the Catholics. The wicked pope is hiding in Avignon, yet we are still hunted. I do this for freedom and justice. This is my reward.'
'Very well, Jean. Your men's role can be crucial for our success, but I have confidence in you; stay ready for your next mission afterwards. I have something more difficult in mind.'
'As you wish. The Phenix will await your orders.' Jean turned to one of his men. 'Your boat is ready, magister inquisitiones.'
As I left Mallorca, I was sure it was a good idea to look for Martinians in the Catholic realms. I recruited the most radical and dangerous individuals to our cause, and this mission was their first test. Who would suspect their fellow soldiers to be saboteurs for Roma?



I had reached the camp of the magister militum in Treviso to report something he would surely like to hear. He had managed to convince the Imperatrix to stay in Nova Roma and let him coordinate the war. Or she forgot that we were fighting a war. Nova Roma is isolated enough if you only stay in the palatium and not participate in the Senate's plenum.
'Rex Julius, I have the report of the Gaulish army.'
'It took you long enough, Finn. Knowing your enemy can be a decisive advantage! If the Gauls arrive before the Britannian Army and surprise us, the war could end soon. And not in our favour!'
'Not to worry, this won't happen. The Gauls are still on Mallorca and Menorca. They repelled the Muslim Invasion, and some say they are on vacation. My sources claim their fleet has sunk.'
'Jokes are not appropriate now, Finn. We are still profiting from the Hospitallers and Bavarians not sure if they want to siege Carinthia or not, but if they do, we'll have only the sea to retreat!'
'It was no joke, Julius. The Gauls won't do anything, they are stuck on the Baleares. And the Hospitallers left because of some peasant uprising in Naissos.'
Julius looked sceptical, but also appeared to believe me. It would be easier if I told him of Phenix and their effectiveness, but I think it is better if I keep it for myself.


As the Britannian Army arrived, Julius' strategy proved successful. The enemy was disrupted and confused, the casualties were kept low. The first proof was against the Germans. First, the Britannian Army marched on their position in Polesine. Seeing their ally in difficulty, the Lotharingians came from the South in order to almost double their numbers. Then, the Legion was set in movement and the Lotharingians hastily retreated. The Germans were exterminated.


From their base in Treviso, the Templars had gathered their army when the Legion was on their way there and it ended like most Roma-Templar-encounters. Wanting to know the fate of their allies, the Lotharingian army ventured to Ferrara once more. This time greatly outnumbered, they were annihilated too.


The Hospitallers were advancing in Bulgaria, but I still fail to see any reason in this. First, they patrolled through Carinthia and Illyria, and then they decide on Bulgaria? Would the Catholics have concentrated on one decisive battle, we wouldn't have stood much of a chance. But this way, we were victorious. And God was on our side, too. The last Italian-Bavarian army laid siege to Aquileia, but suffered under a typhus outbreak. Weakened and decimated, the last fight of the war saw 32.000 Romans facing 6.500 Italian-Bavarians in Bassano. After not even two years, Verona was ours!


Peace restored, I had another cunning plan upon my sleeve when I entered the palatium in Nova Roma. Not even nearly as energetic as I knew her before, Ulpia admitted me in. After the usual formalities, I made my request:
'Your Imperial Highness, as you know, the Árpáds have established themselves in Bavaria for some time as its kings. And your previous foe Imre 'the Bold' had only one son. He ascended the throne not long ago. Now, one of my agentes in Bavaria has looked through the succession in case something should happen to the new king Vazul II. Not only out of interest, naturally. The Árpáds are mostly present in Hungary. And my man, a Lollard, found out that his nearest male relative is an old man of his faith named Károly.'
'Very interesting, Niall, but I don't see where this is going.'
'The Lollards are our only eventual allies, my Augusta. They share our disgust for the pope. And they won't help the Catholics. Also, I think we can send a message.'
'What message do you have in mind, Áed?'
'A message for both our Lollard friends and our Catholic enemies. I propose to burn Vazul at the stake.'
'And in what way does this represent a message? Burning Tamás? Tell me, why burn him, Dabíd?'
'This is the treatment Catholics reserve to heretics. Him burning would reveal who is the true heretic, as everyone would know who ordered this. And it would install a Lollard king in Bavaria! One enemy less! And fear under all Catholic kings! Fear!'
This would set the next wheel of my plan in motion. Although I don't think my description is completely true.
'And then, we'll do the same to the West Francian king. When our army will come to enthrone Valeria, Vespasian's daughter, they will readily hand it over, fearing a burning themselves! A shame Julius won't be able to see this.'
'What are you doing here, Seoán?'
'Nothing, I was just worried about your health.' How could she have forgotten all I just said! Then I will just have to do it myself.


Quaestor Marcellinus:

'My Imperatrix, in my last count of the treasury, six hundred denarii were missing!'
'Who are you? I have never seen you before.'
'I am Marcellinus, the new quaestor. You remember, you had my predecessor Clementius imprisoned for embezzling some money. And as you didn't appoint another one, the Senate elected me.'


'So, what do you want, Drusus?'
Already forgetting my name seconds after hearing it? Her condition really was getting worse.
'Some thief got into the treasury and took away six hundred denarii. They left a note, but it is unreadable. A sign of it lying around there for some time. And a proof that the Imperium desperately needs a quaestor as soon as the previous one is dismissed.'
'A note?'
'All we could read was a cryptic '...ul...goi...bur...ake....grateful...Sig...inn.'.'
'What do you want, Lucius?'
I started to despair. I made one last try.
'Six. Hundred. Denarii. Stolen.'
All of a sudden, Ulpia had stood up and shouted: 'Six hundred denarii? If I catch those thieves, they are going to regret that!'
As suddenly as it started, she collapsed . I called for medicinal help, but the Imperatrix had exhaled her last breath. A last glimpse at what this women once had been, now only a shadow of herself, at last dying as we knew her in the South. Was it her greed which killed her?

Chapter XX – The Order of the Phoenix

1st December, 1038. The monastery came in sight. Now was not the time, but when the Imperium was stabilized, I would make this visit again. Time to prepare them. It has been more then five years I had to retire to Slavonia, dismissed as magister inquisitiones. After Ulpia's death, her daughter Petronia reacted completely different. Would the old woman have gotten that note, like I planned it, the next steps would already have been done. But no, she forgot that the quaestor was rotting in the dungeon and didn't care about the treasury enough to look for my note. Looking at 'Sig...inn.' on the note and at the people in Nova Roma capable of stealing 600 denarii from the treasury, Petronia made the connection to me and replaced me with rex Victor before leaving for her pilgrimage to Roma. Couldn't she have assembled the council after her pilgrimage? I hear that she returned distributing alms and with a ferocious zeal. She couldn't reappoint me without losing her face though. Fortunately, the situation changed not long ago.


Thinking of Phoenix, I painfully remembered that that idiot ruling in Bavaria almost made my act useless. He had replaced most of the lords with Lollards, but not all of them, and failed in his holy war against Bohemia, so that one lone count tried to reinstall a Catholic. Not to say that he had no chance but left Bavaria weak enough to lose even more territory, the whole duchy of Austria. Weak Lollards. It rests on Roma to end Catholicism.


Money attracts money. And money doesn't care for faith. I envy the Salernian merchants sometimes. Getting the Hospitallers to fight Amalfi for the expulsion of some traders... I would love to convince the Imperatrix or at last the Senate to reclaim Aqua Viva, but my coffers are not as full as theirs. War with the knights seemed far away back then, with Petronia using the Jihad (where the knights didn't participate in) against Syria to get Byzantium back into the Imperium without any battle. All that was needed was to move the Legion into the city and tell the Norsemen to surrender it.


I must admit that Victor, while not having the Order to conduct special missions, had managed to successfully place spies in the Hospitaller army. Enough to inform the Imperatrix of their war in Cyrenaica, leaving Graecia defenceless. The magistra militum Spadusa quickly broke through the walls of Adrianopolis with the Legion, fast enough for the knights to surrender those lands while still in Cyrenaica.


That got me thinking... Ulpia fought her wars mainly from the front in battles. Since the Reunification, she complained of 'the Greek Curse', with all the illnesses, peaking in Vespasian's death while she tried to install him as rex of Gallia. It didn't stop with her death. Vespasian's younger daughter caught lethal pneumonia leading troops too, and Petronia's son Arcadius died of a sudden illness. A smart diplomat like his mother, she never really recovered from that blow.


Although she stopped her arbitrary ways, I wouldn't be at the monastery's door now if she was still ruling. The doctors concluded that her death the 3rd November was due to poor health. Iulia, who has always been a weak child, succeeded her. And after Victor betrothed her to his son, he took care of his Hibernian affairs and gave up the offices of regens and magister inquisitiones. Ducissa Marcia of Armeniacon replaced him as regens, and she reinstituted me in my functions, giving us lords of the South-East more autonomy, too. This is why I was here, finally at the gate of the abbey.


'I want to speak to abbé Jean.'
The monk I asked this turned around, startled, and looked at me like if I was a ghost. Not many visitors here, great. 'The abbot is in the chapel now, I think.'
In the chapel, I recognized the leader of the Order in Gallia. 'The Phoenix has risen from its ashes.'
'...and to the sky he shall fly. Ave, magister.'
'A monastery? A good choice, really. Hidden in plain sight, nobody looks for us here. And the monk at the gate looked like I was the first visitor he ever saw.'
'True, no one comes here, save some lost souls. The brothers then take care of them before they return on their way.'
'You are sounding more and more like an abbot. Do you have the intention of converting?'
'It is part of our disguise, magister. Most of the monks are real ones, the Phoenix agentes are a handful. After we tried to convince the previous monks to leave, we had to settle for letting them... stay here... forever. And to hold up our cover, we explained that a disease had ravaged them. New monks came, and I thought it was a good idea. But to what do I owe your visit, magister?'
'I want you to prepare. Imperatrix Petronia is dead, and I have an influential position at the council again. Young Iulia will have some difficulties holding the Imperium together, but with my help, this won't be a problem. I am actually the leader of the most powerful faction, and she should approve of my ideas if she doesn't want to get into trouble. Inform me before it would be too late for operation bellum gallicum.'
'The Order will stand ready, magister. I will prepare another base in Aquitania, should bellum gallicum be crowned of success. May Iulia's reign last, and may Roma prosper.'
'May Roma prosper.'




25th December, 1040. The time had come. Weakened from the futile resistance against the Jihad in Syria, where the Seljuk Turks were responsible for the Catholic defeats, king Josselin was back in Vexin to assemble another army to try and repel the Sunnis. It was his 40th birthday, Christmas too. The perfect setting for Phoenix to act. It would be our present for the Imperium.


Snow was falling. The king was riding towards the next bridge over the Seine, to join the men in Évreux. He had no idea what was coming. It would be fast, quiet and stealthy. Nobody would see a thing. It should look like a divine punishment. Most probably, the war would involve all Karlings, and this was enough to put us in trouble. With Iulia's ascension disputed, factions would use any losses to strengthen their cause. Phoenix had to make it as easy as possible. Lying in the snow, a crossbow aimed at Josselin, frère Jacques had to execute the first step of the second bellum gallicum. And he did it at perfection. As soon as he returned to the abbey, I sent messengers to Nova Roma, Illyria and Anjou before leaving for Italia.


War was declared, for Plautia's claim on West Francia, and, as expected, Germany and Italy joined the weak defenders. My messenger for the Legion in Illyria arrived soon enough to inform them and disrupt the gathering of the German levies in Bavaria. The other message reached my surprise in Anjou, and I reached the Order's headquarter in Italia. I had to do my best for the casualties to stay low, else rebel opportunists would see their chance.


'Queen Aude recently died, magister. But her son Roger has assured his help in the conflict. It has bought us some time, but as we speak, 14.000 troops are attacking Verona.'
'That's good, Giorgio. Let the Italians waste their time in Verona.'
'Magister, what do you mean?'
'As long as their army is in Verona, it can't be in Belgica or Lutetia, can it? There the war is fought. We have to keep the Italians here. Have you followed my instructions?'
'As you wished, Phoenix has infiltrated positions in the Italian command structure, magister.'
'Then inform them of 10.000 Romans preparing for an attack in Carinthia. If the Italians hear of that, they will stay where they are no threat.'
Giorgio executed my order, and it seemed to work. Italia was out of the equation, Germany would be soon. With the Jihad ending and West Francia's manpower depleted, only a fool could lose this war.


As I got to Lutetia, magistra militum Spadusa informed me of the war. While she did understand why there was practically no resistance from West Francia, she was surprised Italy and Germany weren't involved in the fighting. I explained that Italy had augmented their numbers in Verona, expecting a Roman surprise attack, and Germany was dealing with Thiébaut in Gelre. My Angevin surprise had attacked their neighbour Gelre, and with his troops in the North, king Emelrich put his focus on the Frank instead. Some mercenaries and the Varangian guard, hired just in case of severe resistance, were fighting the only West Francian force in Évreux, and the assault of Melun had brought a pleasant surprise. With the young king Aymar's brother and heir Roubaud imprisoned, the war would be over faster then I thought.


Gallia was the newest addition to the Imperium. Contrary to the wars under Ulpia against the Hospitallers and for Verona, the major battle of the war involved less then 7.500 soldiers in total. It was the right moment to act, the right diversions had been set in place. But it wouldn't be always as easy. The Catholics couldn't be as ignorant to let something like this happen again. Therefore, I assembled my Phoenix leaders to talk about the future.
'Bellum gallicum was the perfect operation. Congratulations, agentes. We have proven that not only the force with the stronger military can win a war, even if we are superior. Right planning and perfect execution was the key to our success. The Imperium is still in a precarious balance, the lives saved with our work have held it together. Yet, I have bad news.
The Order of the Phoenix gives us an edge over our enemies, but they are learning. And they know that we are here. No king gets burned at the stake by some peasants. No king gets hit by God's punishment while defending Christendom against Sunni aggression, even less so by a crossbow bolt. They will prepare. Eventually copy us. Nullify our progress. We have achieved much, but I warn you things will be more difficult in the future. And I won't be able to supply you with much more denarii.
But the Order of the Phoenix will live on. The Imperium needs you. More so if what Spadusa told me is true: That the Legion won't exceed 20.000 soldiers. A bigger standing force would be seen as a threat to the Imperium, giving its commanders too much power. Phoenix doesn't have these restrictions. As I am the only one knowing of your existence. Although when the time is ready, I will have to reveal the Order to the Senate. It will be harder in the future, but we will change our methods and succeed. You will become an integral part of the Imperial arsenal against its enemies. For the Glory of Roma, the Phoenix has risen from its ashes. And it shall fly to the sky.'

@Attalus: It's a fitting name, isn't it? And it is a very legitimate Imperial organization, not some secret society . Hence no fancy session conclusion.

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Chapter XXI - The Matter of Gallia

Plautia was installed as regina, but naturally, the Frankish lords didn't like that. Submission to the stronger was not their strong point. Therefore, half of Gallia revolted against her, supporting Aldebert as rex. A pointless loss of lives. Would the rebels have thought about it some more, all they tried to accomplish was put their favourite under direct Roman administration, from where all their titles would directly pass into Imperial hands. Having her dynasty to back her, the de Insanias inside the realm sent their troops to Gallia to crush the rebellion before it became an Imperial matter.


While the Gauls revolted, the only thing preventing a bellum civile was that the factions were not united. The Chersonesian merchants had bribed many nobles into their dream of independence from the weak Imperatrix, and I spent my time there to persuade them they were better under Imperial protection. In the Eastern Imperium, the Salernian merchants wanted to revive the Res Publica on Imperial level. These greedy men had gained even more supporters. The other factions represented less of a threat; I have got the impression those backing the Elect Vespasian only do it to gain some attention. Diplomatic finesse was needed now as much as my persuasive methods.


And those methods fruited once more. No, not in Chersonesus, they were a too tough nut to crack in such short time. Aqua Viva returned to my benevolent rule. I sent my son to stir up the Romans and Martinians who settled there before the knights seized it. As they were fighting in Cyrenaica again, they couldn't handle the well organized uprising and gave up the territory, but kept their castle. You can't have all you want, but at least Aqua Viva was back under Roman rule. As the Knight's castle passed to Aquitaine like Thessalia, I heard of the Imperatrix' pregnancy and returned to Nova Roma. As her sister Constantia had married the king of Hungary not long ago, the birth of a heir would appease the vassals, and I wanted to use this to the Imperium's advantage.


In a purple room like the one in the recently reconquered Byzantium, Iulia gave birth to her son Julius. 'Born in the Purple'; this should give young Julius a more legitimate position, for the Greeks at last. And he would need it. Always having been of weak constitution, Iulia survived the birth, but only of less then a month. The Imperator was a toddler. And regina Plautia's daughter, magistra militum Spadusa, was elected regens in his place. With the war raging in Gallia, it would prove a valuable experience for her, and her military leadership would inspire fear in eventual rebels. The council met before all nobles set out again and got any bad ideas. One thousand denarii were dealt out in bribes, and the dux of Cantium, imprisoned because of some plotting, released. The appeasement met its goal, the factions were actually smaller then under Iulia 'the Weak'.


In Gallia, the war reached its peak at Samarobriva. The 5.000 rebels were first attacked by 6.000 Britannian forces and almost repelled them when the 4.500 Gaulish troops arrived. The mistake of crossing the Loire almost costed the victory of the Romans. While this war preoccupied the minds of the Senate, another war caused the regens to appeal for an opportunity attack on Lotharingia, defending against Italy and Aquitaine. If not united, the Catholics posed no threat, and Spadusa was confident to reach victory only with the Legion. After a surprisingly short debate, her proposal was accepted, and we settled for a short war, as the Lotharingians could only count on German help, nearly not enough to save them.


During the siege of Upper Lorraine, the magistra militum was called to Lutetia. Her mother Plautia, although not the greatest commander, proved her bravery in the defence of the city against the Gaulish rebels, and was struck down. She didn't have the constitution of a soldier, unlike her daughter. The young regina Aurelia of Bulgaria, a smart diplomat, took over the new regina of Gallia's duties as regens, as the rebel army was eventually defeated. As those news reached me, still in Chersonesus negotiating with praefectus Leontius, I used them as an example how the Imperium would treat his kind. Rebels. I smoothed the description with the tale of Ulpia's initial conquest of Taurica. A nice, peaceful story, the perfect example of Martinus' ideas, ideal as a bedtime story for children. Leontius gave up. What would the Imperium be if not for people like me, keeping it together?


With Aurelia as regens, the Bulgarian lord of Serdica sought the same fate as the Gaulish rebels, and found it before the Gauls. What did he think, that if she was far away, he could just seize her throne in Boris' name? Against an army twice his one's size? Iconoclast folly, I would say. It did put her away from Nova Roma though, and Julius' grandfather, a respected Frank from Alsatia, took over. Strong leadership was in need now, and Spadusa had rejoined the Legion after disposing the de Insania armies to siege the rebels' holdings. Why? The count of Gelre had joined the defenders. Just as Queen Bérengère was about to surrender. A count doesn't sound like much of a threat. But it is different if that count has 14.500 men under arms.


I was at the battle site. Behind a river, the Legion had built fortifications before the Catholics arrived. Sending light and heavy infantry in front, they maybe tried to let us waste our arrows. Not with the Roman Legion, mostly consisting of archers. While our flanks were balanced at first, 2.500 archers were shifted to the right flank, rapidly taking out their weakest, the left flank. As the battle raged on and the Catholics started retreating, I was able to exchange some words with Spadusa.
'The Legion truly is the best any realm's military has to offer. And the Roman legati are amongst the best, too. What a shame if it should have to fight fellow Romans.'
She understood. And the battle was won as was the war, in a stupefying manner.



Not one month later, the rebels capitulated and went straight into jail. Strengthened by that victory, Spadusa started to cleanse the regnum. She stripped those unwilling to convert of their titles and replaced them with Romans. Others adopted the Martinian faith in order to be spared. The leader of the revolt herself, Anne of Flandria, chose to convert. Radical methods for sure. But not as radical as my way of disposing of my Greek wife Stephania. She should have listened to me. Sure, I was rarely in Andautonia, but when I was, I clearly expressed my wishes. And you do not simply oppose the magister inquisitiones of the Imperium. Even less if you are his Catholic wife in her forties. Nobody could trace it back to me, as I was just convincing the infirm dux of Verona that scheming is not good for his health. No, I didn't use threats again. I convinced him his continuous scheming is responsible of his current state in a very polite manner.


One year after Gallia was cleansed, Spadusa felt confident enough to attack Aquitaine. As magistra militum, she made sure the Legion would stand ready to intervene if her war wouldn't go well. As her personal campaign, she didn't need any approval of the Senate or the regens, what she wouldn't have gotten, as the number of de Insanias joining her war demonstrate. She picked a good moment, as the Knights were devastated from their Cyrenaican war and Germany had a rebellion in Bavaria. In June, the Gaulish army met the Aquitain one in Caesarodunum. More numerous and under better leadership, they reached a great victory in this first battle. Heading into the offence, with the Britannian reinforcements, a combined army could be defeated in Lusignan. The good progress of the war caused high waves to sweep across the sea.


Those waves made landfall in Nova Roma. Before they arrived, there was a heavy dispute about regina Spadusa's intitiative.
'How can she attack the Catholics after one year of recovering of a bellum civile? Gallia can only lose, and then they will gain confidence in themselves!'
'Audaces fortuna iuvat (fortune favours the bold), dear Senators. The magistra's decision should be an example for us all.'
'She can do what is in the power of her position as regina of Gallia. As long as the Imperium is not threatened by their acts, we should neither object nor encourage any of the nobles' projects.'
That was the main argumentation in the Senate over this case. Some held their truths, others were entirely wrong, but all were stuck on their opinions. Then, the wave came in form of the victories of Caesarodunum and Lusignan. Suddenly, the tide of the discussion turned, from stuck to unanimous. Gallia had to be supported. And something should come out of it for the Imperium after the acquisition of Lotharingia Austral, another auspicious moment had come. The regency council could not refuse that request, and war was declared for Aremorica. Admittedly, I had my hands on this choice for a reason that will become obvious.


King Aymar surrendered after a handful of sieges. Aquitaine had enough problems with the Gaulish war, with his Italian allies crushed in Eu. The Catholic kingdoms once more suffered under their missing unity, and the Gaulish war could really end in favour of Gallia if it goes on like that. Like the Imperial war. How satisfying it was to see that. I'll reveal why: Aremorica was under the control of the Frankish branch of my family. The winners of the internal Mac Finnachta feud would be the Roman branch, as it should be! Spymaster and Marshal of Aquitaine, they were. Although Gaucher's 'skills' are fading in sight of mine. This branch will surely die out or plead for help at Aymar's court after they leave their hiding hole in Rosello, praying in their expansive churches to be granted a new fief...all while Gaucher's son Arnaud rots in a Roman dungeon! This is what you get if you oppose Roma!


My friend and cousin Dúngal was to replace them, a true Roman. At first, the regens thought of taking over Aremorica, but as a Frank, this wouldn't have been taken lightly by the Senate. So I used my influence at the council to get my favourite installed. Dúngal isn't the most capable administrator, but for now, in a time of regency, the family's influence mattered most. And the Mac Finnachtae are influential, with the secret saviour of the Imperium (at least its stability's saviour) as its head! How far were the Franks even related to me? My Great-great-great-great-grandfather is our closest common ancestor. The 'main branch', they were called. We formed a cadet branch for them, the Finnacae, but we do not. We, the Roman branch, are the main branch. They can be the de Finnacs for all I care!

Chapter XXII – Opportunism in times of Regency

Stunned by the shortness of the war against Aquitaine, it was decided to advance against the secondary participants Burgundy and Italy. For the Imperium would only be recognized as what it is, the successor of the ancient Imperium Romanum, if it controls all of Italia. At the same session, four hundred denarii were sent to Gallia for the purpose of hiring mercenaries they would need if they have hopes of winning. They may have won another victory at Barrum, but the Knights and some Iberian kingdoms had recovered from their wars and would soon join in this one. Every help we provide can be decisive. Gallia's hope has to be an early surrender of king Aymar as soon as Poitou is occupied.


We continued the tradition of the Eastern Imperium of employing a guard of Varangians, and their Captain Sigbjörn led the Legion in Spadusa's place to victory against the Burgundians. They couldn't resist long against it, and Delphinatus Viennensis fell to the Imperium. Leo Pompeius, from the family reigning Mercia, was granted this land, officially as a man full of virtues, unofficially because of his uncle's power. He would have made a good Elect. Not like the Varangians. Although with the end of Orthodoxy, Sigbjörn was their first Captain to convert to Martinianism, and while this may not change much in the short run, it may help in converting the Norse. Pontifex Gallienus was proselytizing in Garðariki, and there is hope that if a stable kingdom converts, we would gain a valuable ally against the Catholics. Hungary was not much of a help, and if Martininanism should survive outside of the Imperium, we needed first results. There still is Jylland as a remain of converted Denmark, but they serve only as a small buffer state between Catholics and Pagans, left alone by everyone until now.


The Italians had lost half their army in Eu, but the other half was ready to fight. Yet they had split their army, with Hospitallers in Patavium and their own men in Verona, and as the Legion advanced, those two armies, which even combined only counted half the Legion's troops, were disposed of. Reinforcements of the Italian king in form of mercenaries met the same fate before the South-Eastern army was assembled and lay siege to Ferrara.


While the Imperial war went well, one could think the Gaulish war would near its positive conclusion, but this was sadly wrong. King Aymar refused to surrender, and impressed by his resistance towards us heretics, except Bohemia the last Catholics not involved sent their troops to the lands of Poitou. Suddenly, Gallia faced 38.000 fresh enemies falling like a storm upon Poitou's shores, and with their 15.000 they wouldn't be able to resist long. As Italy surrendered some battles later, the future of the Gaulish war was dark.


One of the last de Mathaniae became ducissa of Ferrara in recognition of their long service to Nova Roma. The Gaulish army got destroyed, and the dux of Burgundy, one of the few Franks who had yet to feel the cleansing of the regnum, declared 'not to tolerate the Roman downfall of France any longer and therefore make use of violence to free the people of the foreign oppressors'. In other words, he tried to install his puppet Agathe as regina of Gallia. Unable to do anything, we decided on another opportunity attack to take over the rest of Aremorica. The 5th September 1052, after more then six years of war, Spadusa had to surrender. Catholicism had won this time... or not?


During the war, heretics rose in their homelands, although not leaving any real impact, as they were poorly equipped and not numerous enough. King Aymar had won the war, but he had to take the most negative consequences: His rule in Aragon was contested by force of arms, and he then had to leave the Aquitain throne to his uncle Bérenger, who had the support of Salernian merchants trying to ban Amalfitan traders from the Aquitain posessions in Graecia. King Roger of Italy had to concede his vassals the right to elect their next sovereign. And in Iberia, the kings paid a heavy price for their intervention in the North, as the Umayyads proceeded to regain the lands they had lost before. Beja, León and Badajoz fell into Muslim hands. They should ask themselves if it was worth it to leave their lands defenceless in order to fight in Gallia.


During this time, Vespasian, Ulpia's brother some still wanted as Imperator, took care of Julius' education. Vespasian should have begun teaching him before his sixth birthday though. Because when he answered Julius' question where children come from, his father told him something I can only suspect. The effect was that the young Imperator was lying around all day, only being active to cause some mischief. Like the time I was writing a letter to my Phoenix leader in Italy to speed the peace negotiations up a bit and my quill was missing. I thought it was Titus, a bright child capable of such a thing, but the truth was it was Julius. 'Titus stole your quill I stole first as I ate the cookies', he came running to me. There was much to be done to form an Imperator, and Vespasian taught him to be happy with his lot in life, the virtue of patience and brought his kindness out. Also he cured Julius of his passion for sweets.


As an Elect, Vespasian was not suited for the military side of his education, so with his eleventh birthday, he would be taught in the art of war by magistra militum Spadusa. An important Senate session had taken place just before, and before I left to persuade another noble to end his faction, I prepared Julius for the future, where this session would certainly have an impact.
'You have to carefully weigh your politics, young Imperator. Do not forget what Vespasian taught you. The Vitserci, Austisii, Pompeii and countless other powerful families are aspiring to gain more power. Not to forget the most powerful, the de Insaniae. You will have to prove diplomatic finesse, be able to inspire respect and if necessary fear in them. And have a reliable magister inquisitiones like me, gathering an immensely valuable resource for negotiations: informations. And sometimes, you should not hesitate to make use of the most definite method... Your council will prove helpful. Make sure that they are competent, and make sure that you keep those lessons in mind, and the Imperium will grow even stronger then it is now.


This said, I am here to inform you of the last Senate session. This period of regency is very much like in Ennodian times, or at least as during the great madness taking over your ancestors. Those in power try to expand it, those far away try to be treated as such. Far away of Nova Roma's influence. We didn't know of Coloneia before they called for the Imperial protection they deserved. The merchants of Chersonesus were clearly in favour of ending the Imperial restrictions imposed on them, and they were quite a pain to deal with. To keep these ambitions in check, the Britannian nobles have forwarded a suggestion to reform the administration. They have the idea of handing out the office of proconsul to deserving nobles in the appropriate regnum. Those nobles would govern these regna instead of Your Imperial Majesty and the Senate. The idea behind this is an administration closer to the far away lands, making it more efficient and easier to conduct from Nova Roma. At the same time, this office would carry much power with it and satisfy the thirst of the noble receiving this honour. As he would be the one ruling in the Imperium's place, he would have to take care of the local nobles, and deal with their squabbles. It would be an important step to take, but there is much opposition from the South-Eastern provinces, as it would be a cut in their autonomy.


My Imperator, like in every hard debate, the Senate hasn't reached a compromise in this matter. Nominally, this puts you in the situation to decide. But right now it is your regens and the council making that decision, and we have already made up our mind, but you have received your diplomatic education, and I thought you should know the terms of the proposal. Since for a strong Imperium, it will be necessary to reform the system at some point. But now is not a time. When you have grown up and your power is uncontested, this is one of the internal reforms that will either make you one of the worst or one of the greatest Imperatores of all time. Unlike Ennodius back then, we as the council have to act for the good of an Imperium, and we do not have the will to lead it to potential destruction through risky warfare. In a time of political stability, one that your rule shall bring once you have finished your martial education and have grown up, this reform will have to be considered. Not now.'

Chapter XXIII – The end of the regency

5 months after retiring from Julius' education, Vespasian died. The old man would have been proud of his ward's development under the regina of Gallia. When he asked why the Catholic church was so rich, Spadusa mentioned their wickedness and the righteous path of Martinianism. One should not strive for material wealth, as it is the work of the devil. She made an exception for the well-being of the Imperium, and Julius started to give his surplus to others. With the old Elect's death, of all those backing him for the Imperial laurels, only a handful joined the faction of dux Aurelian. I guess they only wanted to back an unlikely candidate for the sake of factionalism, and with the dux as serious pretender, they didn't want to risk anything.


With the reform plan repelled for now, the Greeks saw what it would provoke for them. The proconsules would share the administration of the Imperium, and to what it could lead, you could see in Gallia. Catholics were either expelled or converted. While they didn't want to embrace Romanisation and would prefer Hellenisation, there was no choice other then to adopt the Imperial faith if they wanted to stay in power. Instead of not being given a chance, they decided to convert now. A wise choice. If I would be proconsul of Illyria, I would have cleansed it of the Greeks. They were responsible for a whole lot of problems for me. Even after their conversion it went on, and I had to deal with the dux of Dalmatia. With the reform already passed, his fate would have been sealed before...


Since the creation by the great king Tivadar, the Hungarians were Lollards. Also since Tivadar, his death this time, Lollardy was losing its influence. While the majority of their people converted, they lost their Ruthenian lands and the North-West of their kingdom. Repeated attempts to reconquer it from Bohemian hands failed each time. Yet, the peak of humiliation was not reached: A fat, Catholic peasant in Temes rallied enough rabble to use another defeat against Bohemia to successfully secede from Hungary. Descendants of the once mighty Magyars, Hungary was now incredibly weak. Their hope was king Arpád II's marriage to principissa Constantia, but the alliance with Roma died with Imperatrix Iulia. Hungary's downfall could strengthen the Catholic cause. Something we should try to avoid. We will have to act quickly, like in the case of the peasant state; we didn't give them enough time to savour their liberty, 2.300 Romans stood at their doors before this chapter of history finished in a footnote. And as they were peasants, no Catholic realm even thought of intervening.


While the peasants tried resisting behind the walls of the castle, the Gaulish rebel met his fate in battle. His son fought on some more before the inevitable end. Spadusa decided to put Burgundia under the comes of Ypresium, a Frankish scholar well suited to bring them the word of Martinus. Speaking of which, she took his advices when teaching Julius, avoiding any sins and trying, but not succeeding, to lift his slothfulness. I didn't know she was such a faithful woman. Shortly after Temes became Temesiensis, she tried to complete the Gaulish reorganization, but Guy of Berry stood in her way. Another senseless war in Gallia. As these Norse peasants who heard of the Temesian uprising and tried the same in Eburacum. Seems they didn't know the details. The peasants there fought a ruined kingdom, not a flourishing Imperium. And their will for freedom only brought them under another rule, and as they were not Roman citizens, I don't think they had more freedom then before, in a land where they could resist against any form of levy. Informing yourself correctly before acting is important, I say that all the time.


These informations permitted me to report the Seljuk Turks seizing Cibyrrhaeot from the Knights, which caused Tulunid Egypt to once more claim Sicily. In all that confusion, the Knights probably would never hear of Kaliopolis returning under Imperial authority. The Legion marched in and quickly seized the province. Afterwards, we had to await a reaction from the Knights, if they would ever react. Our attention was quickly turned towards Aremorica, where the Bretons seeked the restoration of their kingdom. With the Legion being deployed in Graecia, the experienced troops from Gallia and the South Anglian soldiers would have to make them depose their arms. My cousin was especially angered by this revolt, as he was just leading a siege to replace the disloyal comes of Cornugallia. Well, I could not help him. I had to deal with a threat for the Imperium. Arngrimr av Rogaland.


Another of these never-ending Norse adventurers. The Jihad may have ended their kingdom of Syria, but not their ambitions. Arngrimr had served in the Varangian Guard, specifically in those members of the Guard defending Byzantium. Since it was an exclave of the Imperium, surrounded by hostile territory until the situation in Kaliopolis was clear, we employed some guardsmen to assure the city's safety since its return under the eagle. Arngrimr had volunteered for the service in the city, and now we knew his motivation to do so. Many Norse from the days of the kingdom of Syria were living around the Bosporus, and he looked for support. Studied the city's defences, wanting to find a way to overcome the Theodosian walls. Maybe bribed those of his fellow guards staying on duty when he left the service. And now, he gathered those Syrian refugees willing to 'reconquer Miklagarð' and started hiring mercenaries. I had to stop this. A former Varangian, he was well aware of the efficiency of my work. But all the precautions he made only delayed the end of his ambition. Poisoned wine in his favourite inn didn't work. His men discovered the hidden archer. But as he inspected one of the boats he built for a naval invasion, deforesting Lesbos as far as it was possible in the progress, he was struck down from a fishing boat at sea.


The message that Arngrimr was dealt with reached me at the same time as the victory against the Bretons in Lezergue. After being chased to Gesocribates and Monkontour, not one of them was still alive. The people would have to accept their fate under the Imperium after already revolting three times without success against the Frankish rule. And with their nobility beaten once again, I wonder if there are enough left to lead another rebellion. My cousin should know. Maybe he should be made rex or at least proconsul of Aremorica to end this wish for their own kingdom?


Finally, the Hospitallers decided to contest the seizing of Kaliopolis. The remains of Syria, a duchy covering the Aegean Islands, came to their help. They had yet to fight the strongest army of the Egyptian Sultanate, marching through Illyria again, with desertions and hunger demanding their tribute, and therefore the Knights' army, counting 6.700 men, sailed directly from Sicily and the Aegean to the coast of Kaliopolis. In Heraclea, the only battle of the war was fought, and it ended with an overwhelming victory for the Legion. Shortly after, Grandmaster Rainero surrendered, and Byzantium had a land connection to the Imperial provinces in the South-East. He couldn't afford to fight a longer war against us, else there would be no chance against the Sunnis. The knights of the order were probably stationed in Sicily, and if he had a choice of losing against Muslims or losing against heretics, he should prefer the heretics. Because he had sworn to defend Christendom.


The next year was the last of the regency council. For the good of the Imperium, we sent dux Cornelius IV of Dunedinum to a prolonged stay in one of the Austisian castles. Unlike his grandfather, hard working cancellarius, he was a thorn in Nova Roma's side, supporting Aurelian, the duces' right to elect their next Imperator and scheming to put himself on the Caledonian throne. The troublemaker gave us a perfect reason to stop him, and he didn't resist as he was imprisoned during a Senate session about dux Annius' bold attack. Annius, who tried to take advantage of the German attack on Lotharingia to claim Lower Lorraine. He probably speculated on Gallia's help, since Guy of Berry had just been defeated, but most of the de Insaniae didn't join his attack. Italy intervened on Lotharingia's side in the German war, and this led peasants to revolt on Sardinia.


The 3rd March 1059, Nova Roma celebrated the end of the regency. Julius de Insania officially assumed his duties as Imperator Imperio Britannico et Romano. Spadusa's education made of him a promising strategist, and he showed that in his first act as ruler of Nova Roma. War was declared on Italy. The Italians also fought alongside the Salernians to expel Amalfitan traders – Really, is Salerno's goal to ruin their rival Amalfi in wars? I always wanted to think merchants settle their differences on the market, not on the battlefield. – therefore it was the perfect time to attack. The Legion should advance on their capital Pavia and capture it. Maybe the young king's regent would not have anticipated to see the Roman army that soon, and we could capture Bérenger, whose father recently died, thus ending the war fast. Internal strife following their king's death could prove advantageous, too.


Italy was defending its heartland Lombardia, and consequently did everything in its power to keep it. Pavia was almost deserted when Roman soldiers walked its streets, and the Italian army, sent initially to fight against Amalfi, returned North. They called their allies, but here is where all the advantages of good intelligence were shown: Germany was their enemy. Lotharingia was losing, and had to deal with a heretic attack on their own. Aragon and Aquitaine were in a war with another pretender to Aymar's throne and had called in the Hospitallers. Burgundy was not interested. And the Templars... as soon as the old Grandmaster Sigismond got the call to arms, he fell over. Ten days later, and he was dead. His successor answered the call, but the 2.000 knights leaving their castle in Tarvisium were corpses as soon as they left. I still don't get why they haven't moved their headquarters since Tarvisium fell to us Romans.


Italy had hired the Company of the Rose, originally to fight Amalfi. The company which had been a key element of the bellum Hibernicum all those years ago found themselves opposed to Nova Roma, the realm they helped to grow, naturally with their services paid in much gold. In Manerbio, this past cooperation didn't play any role. All of those participating in the bellum Hibernicum were long dead, and mercenaries fight for who pays, not for anything else. As we share a deep distrust with the Swedes and are friendly towards the Hungarians, there is no such relation to mercenaries. The enemy numbered half the Legion, and our generals were superior too. In the end, their casualties were ten times higher, and Raymond of Modena was captured, a man full of hatred against us and who certainly would have preferred to die then to be taken prisoner. On our side, dux Aurelian of Calunium fell, solving another problem for me, although it certainly was a loss for the army.


The routed enemy was pursued, and before making heavier losses, Italy surrendered. Julius personally congratulated the legionnaires of this next step for the Imperium to be recognized everywhere as reborn Roma, and left his uncle Justinian in charge of the newly acquired territory. He was travelling to Dioclea to wed ducissa Eustathia, in an effort to reconcile the Romans with the Greeks. The Eastern Imperium had Hellenised, now our politic was slow (Re-)Romanisation, and this marriage should be an example for it.


Back in Nova Roma, Julius announced to host a tournament to celebrate his marriage and the triumph against Italy. As the preparations took place, I used the time to detail the current situation of the world.
'Dux Annius has not made any progress in Lotharingia so far. The belligerents are yet to meet on the battlefield, and with the Muslim wars in progress, Annius has a slight chance of victory if the Germans do not enforce their claims before he does.
News have reached us from the pontifex. While he complains of the barbaric lifestyle he is subjected to, he reports first successes, most prominently one of the king's nephews, a man named Toke, has converted. And that Garðariki is really much more stable then Sweden.
And here are the latest maps of the cartographers, trying to show the political, religious and cultural state of Europa in this year 1060, as based on my agentes' and the pontifex' reports.'

Chapter XXIV – Imperatrix contra Magister Inquisitiones

'On the occasion of this great... what was it? Oh yes, this tournament... my congratulations to the winner, dux Victor Sulpicius... on this great occasion, I will reveal the work of my lifetime, my lasting gift to the Imperium.'
I was starting to become forgetful. The same symptoms as Imperatrix Ulpia had shown. The time had come, and the whole nobility was amassed in Nova Roma.
'The older Senators will remember. Why did the Franks never arrive in Verona? How did Bavaria become Lollard? What caused the confusion in the bellum gallicum, and what happened to king... whatshisname?
The outposts of the Imperium striked. In my youth, I built connections to Martinians in Catholic lands, and recruited the most dangerous of them in the 'Order of the Phoenix'. Unlike the Catholic orders, Phoenix would not consist of a heavily armed knightly force, but conduct spying missions. They sabotaged the Frankish fleet on the Baleares, killed the Bavarian and Frankish kings on my command and distracted the Italians with false informations. The Order was my contribution to the stability of the Imperium, limiting the casualties to a minimum and therefore avoiding a bellum civile. Lastly, the Catholics have started countering it, but Arngrimr is the last example of their efficiency. A powerful weapon in our arsenal, another advantage against the pope. It should be of much use in the future... damn. What was I talking about again?'


Dux Victor II Sulpicius de Gallovania:

After my victory in the tournament, confirming my abilities as best duelist of the realm, a chariot race was held, won by the blue team Julius supported. In the Senate session after it I expected to deal with the Lotharingian war, or that the last Italian war would be discussed, but not this. The old magister inquisitiones still had some surprises upon his sleeve in his advanced age. Poor man though, ending his speech in such an unusual way. But what an intriguing speech it was; he could lie, as his office always needed him to do, but the explanations he gave made sense. In Ulpian times, elimination was the key, afterwards informations. The efficiency of this Order proved its existence, and the danger emanating from it. Leaving it under the magister inquisitiones would give him too much power, therefore we decided to put Phoenix directly under Imperial and Senatorial command. As Finn said, a powerful weapon we should make use of sparsely if we wanted to preserve its use.


He was getting forgetful, but didn't give up his office, and as he continued stopping plots left and right, one couldn't argue with the decision until his body really slipped out of his control some years later. Before, his mind was sharp as ever, as he demonstrated in the Imperatrix' case: He had a deep distrust for Greeks, and therefore put 'a watchful eye' on the Imperatrix. Thanks to Finn, it became public knowledge Eustathia's first child was not the Imperator's but from a local episcopus. So soon after her wedding, already having an affair. Later on, she defended herself claiming Jesus spoke to her, but would he really want her to procreate, capture another soul in the cycle of reincarnation? Her possession became a problem, and Finn's involvement certainly was the cause of it. Before the birth, the episcopus responsible actually died. Sudden illness, they say...


That Germany had to fight against the Swedes, distracting them from Lotharingia, allowed Annius to advance, and with Verdun fallen and still no resistance, victory was not too far away. As it had been for the Imperium, which took advantage of the squabble for the Knights' grandmaster post to claim Naissus in a short war, in which the grandmaster whose rule was contested quickly gave up the enclave to focus on 'the vile traitor'. Meanwhile, the adversity between the magister inquisitiones and the Imperatrix began to escalate in open conflict. One of her servants, a woman named Julia, observed every move of the Imperatrix and reported to Finn. Naturally, nobody knew – until Eustathia claimed Jesus showed her a traitor. She tried to kill the servant, but the magister's other spies at court discovered her plot – how close was he observing the court anyway? She had to stop her plotting. I was sure it was only a matter of time until these two would fight again. Especially since there was no heir yet...


Julius returned from the traditional Imperator's pilgrimage to Roma with a very special friend. Nicholaus de Gravia was three times as old as him and had an opposite personality to Julius. He even was a practitioner of 'Greek love', and there were many fearing a somewhat closer relation to the Imperator. Thankfully, this proved not to be the case; they had met as a fire broke out in the inn they were staying in. Julius helped put it out while Nicholaus tried to flee, but returned because he had forgotten his money. The Imperator misinterpreted this as bravery, and invited him to accompany him during the rest of his travel. I suspect that the Occitan had heard of Roma's, and more important Nova Roma's riches, and that his greed drove him to follow. Nevertheless, as he arrived in Julius' entourage back in Nova Roma, he forgot that he was originally a Hospitaller. He inquired over Martinianism, and didn't even try to judge it. Not the usual 'HERETIC!' any knight screamed in battle before meeting his end. Still, the city's guards and the spies everybody began to employ watched every single one of his steps. Greed was a grave sin, and while the citizens naturally didn't have that vice, thieving would bring one against a Norse berserker in the Arena. Concessions to our faith were found everywhere. If Martinus would see us now...


With the Catholics fighting under themselves, it was once again time to take profit out of it. King Aymar was barely holding on to his crown of Aragon, contested once more, and his demesne in Northern Gallia was surrounded by Imperial territory. Évreux was overrun, and Aragon's Lombard exiles were annihilated in Roucy before Aymar gave up, focusing on his civil war. It was almost too easy. And then, as peasants successfully revolted in Aquitaine, the Legion launched an invasion of Poitou. Since the Second Crusade, Poitou held lands in Graecia, and if they would lose their homeland, that was the calculation, the connection to the crown would possibly fade. Having lost against mere peasants, the resistance was minimal.


Sadly, pontifex Gallienus was banished from Garðariki before king Arngrimr saw the light, and his stay in Sweden was prolonged by a visit of their dungeon. But not before converting the Jarl of Sjaelland, what could be beneficial in the future. This message reached us via a merchant who travelled with some Norsemen to Hindustan and Cathay. The trade routes to these distant lands had been opened again, and the profits were immense. Immense enough for quaestora Livia to forward the idea of bullying these merchants for 'an extra tax on exotic goods'. The Imperator declined; the treasury was comparable to the papal coffers which left Roma, and we should not fall to the sin of greed.


The next chapter in the relation between the magister inquisitiones and the Imperatrix was a less shadowy one. Julius' father had recently died, after contracting leprosy and the slow fever. With more diplomacy then I ever would have thought him capable of, the dux of Slavonia appeared at rex Julius III of Hibernia's funeral and asked Eustathia politely what she wanted to gain in her factions.
'In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I wish to make of Dioclea a land according to Martinus' teachings, free of the greed of the merchants and the war of the soldiers.'
'Think about it again, ducissa. The Imperium has a formidable army, and any kind of secession is a direct affront. Your marriage should reconcile Greeks and Romans, even if that has failed miserably. My people is clearly in the majority, and we would not be too pleased of the execution of your plan. Your aspiration to be free of violence would not help you much in this case, on the contrary... in your and my interest, it would be best if you stop now. Later could be too late. Listen to an old man's advice.'
Strangely, it worked.


The queen of Lotharingia had died some time ago, facing the Germans and dux Annius relatively powerless. Now that Metz and Pfalz were occupied by Romans, internal struggles for 'power' had erupted. They ended abruptly with king Jaspert's death. Rumoured to have been struck down by his own men. Aimery succeeded him, and assembled the Lotharingians and the Italians in Liège to face Annius' army half a year after his coronation. The de Insaniae had twice the Catholic numbers, they were confident and eventually victorious. With the loss of their army, Lotharingia Boreal fell to the dux. Leaving them no time to recover, Imperial troops crossed the new border. As soon as Liège fell, Luciliburgum was freed of the papal influence.


Other holy wars were fought by duces in Asia Minor against... minor nobles, who had seized Lykandos and Trebizond. Spadusa attacked Aragon to end the Catholic presence in the ancient West Francian kingdom. Old age ended the feud of the magister inquisitiones and the Imperatrix, while the Imperator studied alchemy to be prepared against poison in case the feud would escalate. And principissa Constantia was murdered in Hungary. With Julius still heirless, the main suspect in this case was dux Annius, new heir to the Imperium. In the troubled Hungarian kingdom, I can only imagine how easy it was. Once more, parts of the nobility disagreed with the young king and had risen in arms. Chaos reigned. For a better future in form of some money or food, the most desperate would do anything. Like murdering a foreigner, even if she was the king's mother. But if it was Annius who ordered it, he could not savour it long: two months later, he fell ill and died.


The Gaulish holy war started as well as the previous one, but there were differences: The first engagement involved 7.500 Hospitallers and 24.000 Romans. In the previous one, the Gaulish numbers were smaller, and the Knights were the ones responsible for the Catholic victory. Now, the Iberian kings thought about the consequences and abstained from intervention, so that the belligerents had roughly equal numbers after the kings of Aquitaine, Italy, Burgundy and Germany-Lotharingia joined. While this would be an opportunity to invade Burgundy or Germany, with which we were not bound by any truce, the Imperator chose to wait.


Because Julius didn't trust his court. Plenty of intrigue went on, and he had first-hand knowledge of all the spies surrounding him since the feud between his wife and the recently deceased magister inquisitiones. It was more peaceful in his surroundings now, but he had reasons to distrust the peace and joined in the servants' gossip. He heard who worked for whom and who actually only served the Imperial court. One of them was a bright young eunuch who had allegedly already taken over the duties of quaestora Livia who spent her time in her ducatus of Armeniacon. One of the few people not involved in the nobles' affairs, Julius appointed the man named Honorius as new quaestor, and he immediately raised the question of how to deal with the recently discovered wrecks of longboats at Austisium's coast. Full of loot, the episcopus of Circubaer and the praefectus urbanus of Godalir both claimed the wrecks. The decision was simple: The episcopus had to leave the wrecks alone, for he was supposed to have no more connection to the material world then necessary. That he made the claim was already wrong.


I had joined the ranks of the Gaulish army in Verdunum. Far from the Senatorial intrigue, here was where I could prove my true worth. Not as employer of some shadowy methods. Our scouts had spotted the army of king Pagano of Burgundy, the rest of those which had permitted him to usurp the throne. Ten thousand men our 17.000 would have to face crossing a river. We could swat two flies with one strike; Pagano's son was rumoured to adhere to the true faith, and the king led his men. As soon as we engaged, it became clear we would have to fight 8.000 more, as the Germans in Vermandois had been alerted. A true battle of two comparable armies. This is where I belong to, not in the Imperial campaigns which met no resistance at all. Charge!

@ Crimson Drakon: It would be nice to be able to see your vassals' battles like your own. Then I would have a better idea why the battle ended like it did.

Nice to hear of your interest; the wars are not too difficult now, but that may change in the future. And politics are... well, politics.
Italy is the goal now; as the narrators said, Italy has to be controlled for Nova Roma to be recognized as the true Imperium Romanum. (means: for the decision to form e_roman_empire, I've changed the requirement to control all of k_italy)

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Chapter XXV - Martinianism on the rise

Quaestor Honorius:


With his suspicions cleared after Julius had finished his inquiries at court, the pressure put on him by the Senate forced a declaration on war on Burgundy. And we hadn't even heard of the battle of Verdunum as the orders were sent to occupy Savoy. When we did hear of it, the same messenger announced the Burgundian capitulation; they had lost their army in Verdunum and Valais was occupied, so they wisely saw that a longer war would only mean more devastation. The integration of Sapaudia led to a continuous land connection between Aremorica and Taurica, even if the passes in the Alps wouldn't be crossable by a large army.


Since Verdunum, the defeat of the Catholics was clear to everyone involved. Dux Victor of Gallovania told me why he thought they fought on: 'The Hospitallers are zealous believers. Their honour interdicts them to pull back before heretics. This deserves our respect, even if it is foolish. Either they fight or they are nothing. Unlike the Templars. Bankers they are now, not much more!' The last stand was made by 5.500 knights in Vermandois, before 7.800 Romans defeated them. 11.000 more had almost intervened, but the battle, and with it the war, was won. And if it was not enough reason for joy in the Martinian world, pontifex Vespasian announced that he safely arrived in Akershus and was under the king's protection.


It took him only half a year to persuade king Ragnar of the truth of Martinus' words. The king's interest in Latin scriptures had helped him on his mission, and Norway could be a good ally against the Swedes. At least it would stop the Norwegian raiders. Vespasian continued to Gotland, but the local Jarl disliked the prospect of abstaining of raiding or leaving Valhalla behind (most importantly probably leaving behind his concubines, but what do I know of this?) and imprisoned him soon after his arrival, where he died one year later.
What's worse then his tragic death, he has been freed of the material world after all, is what those Norsemen did later. With the most notable Jarls still children, Ragnar couldn't ask them for conversion. And his brother Odd, his steward, raised a host and claimed Ostlandet. Ragnar lost his lands, and was overthrown by one of his pagan vassals. Norway was ruled by Swedes, could we expect anything else?


Finally, the 26th July 1068, a heir to the Imperium was born, Aelia. Few were those thinking this would end the struggle for Julius' succession, all while he was alive and in good health. Not even one year after her birth, the magister inquisitiones discovered dux Annius' son Claudius' plot to kill her. Has power corrupted the minds of the nobility? A rhetoric question, my experience at court and as quaestor has taught me that they have much less to do with Martinian ideals then the Imperator. To get some of them to pay their taxes is as tedious as extracting purple. And this was another example: Kill a toddler just for a chance to inherit the Imperium in the distant future? Even the infamous Romulus de Insania acted while being in power. Julius directly had Claudius imprisoned. But it left an impact on the Imperator, and the last bits of trust he had for others disappeared. While he didn't become paranoid, he no longer met strangers with kindness. Claudius felt his wrath, and he wouldn't be the last one.


Would Julius have changed his attitude earlier, the Turk Togay wouldn't have had a chance to attack but have met Arngrimr's fate. More then three years before, Phoenix had discovered his intentions to raise a host of former soldiers of the Seljuk 'empire'. Julius back then dismissed this as unlikely to cause harm; in his condition after the scheme for his daughter's life became public knowledge, Togay would have had all murderers of Mesopotamia after him. He had amassed 30.000 men, and the Legion awaited him in Carin. Having blocked a mountain pass, Togay's host had to concentrate his forces, and arrows mowed down his men while pikes blocked his way forward. The result was a bloodbath, as dux Urbanus exaggerated: 'A red river flowed down the pass that day, and peasants in the villages of the valley thought the end of the world had come.' Togay had to row in chains on a galley to Nova Roma, where he was released under the conditions to exchange informations over the state of the Seljuk 'empire' and renouncing his allegiance to the Caliph to embrace Martinianism.


The Catholics were not better then the Swedes. King Aymar of Aragon had witnessed, powerless, how Nova Roma took Gallia, then he had to abdicate the Aquitain crown. Now that he had lost his last Northern territories, he died in weakness. His son Josselin had tried to expand taking advantage of a revolt in the Umayyad lands, and took Valencia. But instead of improving his position under the Catholics, king Bérenger of Aquitaine declared his support for Princess Aude. Soon, Aragon and Italy were fighting Aquitaine and Lotharingia, whose crown Aimery had gotten back after the defeat of the Germans in Verdunum. As divided as the Swedes. Naturally, this provided the chance to fight Italy without the support of the other kings, and Ancona was our goal in this war.


Emelrich of Germany answered the call to arms, but was fighting Sweden in the North. Some sad Templar mercenaries stood in the Legion's way, but not for long. And after occupying Ancona, the Italian army was defeated while trying to liberate the city. With the Gaulish army seizing the merchant city of Genoa, king Bérenger of Italy was forced to abandon the duchy. To provoke the Catholic world, Julius installed his half-brother, Avitus Eblanus, as dux. Son of Julius III of Hibernia and one of his servants. While Julius himself didn't approve of it (he respected Martinus' teachings in this point as much that he was called 'the Chaste'), the Catholic nobility condemned it.


I should be thankful to be quaestor of Nova Roma. Being steward of Hungary should be the equivalent of the Catholics' hell. Once again, they lost a war against Bohemia. Once again, rebels accused the king to have the full responsibility. Once again, chaos reigned in Hungary, the country was in ruins. But this time, they weren't left alone in their misery. Roman lords at the border interfered. Finn II of Slavonia claimed Vas, Belisarius II of Valachia Feher and Verina of Temesiensis Bihar. Hungary was burning, a paradise for criminals, mercenaries, warriors and warlords of all sorts. The wars went on for many years, leaving Hungary even poorer then before, and Vas and Feher became parts of the Imperium, while the revolt in Bihar ended before Verina controlled it.


Being in Nova Roma, my duties were not to try and get the last bit of resources out of the peasants in order to sustain an army in that seemingly never-ending conflict but to watch over the taxes and advise the Imperator over administrative matters. And in this case, we are much more peaceful then the Lollards as could be seen in Dalmatia. The ducatus was inherited by dux Makarios of Venetia, hereby putting two ducati under one noble; a Greek one, too. This caused a massive debate in the Senate, with the reformers from Britannia and the Romans of the South complaining about a Greek holding that much power. The comes of Orcades eventually forwarded the suggestion to separate the ducati again, giving Dalmatia to Ognen Balgarsko, the Romanized comes of Spalatum. It would appease the Romans, clearly in majority, and Makarios was unable to do anything against them, so I advised to follow that suggestion. Julius, who did not trust his vassals anymore, would demonstrate his power, and at the same time Ognen would be grateful to him and unlikely to do anything against him. So, as the civilized people we are, no force of arms like in Hungary was needed to assert the ruler's authority, as Makarios surrendered the title peacefully, avoiding any possible bloodshed. Sometimes, the words of Christ and Martinus still have an effect on the nobility. Even if forced upon them by rational consideration of the facts.


His words spread more and more in these years. Pontifex Gallienus had been imprisoned by the Jarl of Skåne after Jarl Totil of Norrland, king Torbrand's brother, had accepted our ways. The Jarl feared that Sweden would once again collapse into civil war, and as usual for them, the difference in faith was just another reason to wage war, with Totil claiming the crown. Swedish warmongers. The Jarl of Själland, the other Martinian of the kingdom, appeared to have understood the real meaning though, as he abstained from taking party for Totil, whose chances to win were poor, even if Sweden's army had suffered under the German war.
Surprisingly, the Scandinavians were not the only ones who converted slowly. Martinianism found followers in the Catholic kingdoms, and the followers of the pope now numbered only little more then the Martinians. This was understandable, but that a request for assistance reached us from the East was not. Under the guidance of Putiata Feofilaktovich, Russian Martinians had overthrown the High Chief of Galich and were now claiming his lands before his Catholic subjects overthrew him. The missions to Ruthenia weren't successful, and Hungary hadn't managed to convert the Slavs to Lollardy for the short time they ruled there. Catholics, probably Bohemians, had. But Martinians? The only explanation we found was Jylland. For around a century, this peaceful realm existed after Denmark fell apart before it was conquered by Norway. Either their missionaries went Eastward or the people fled the Norse. It didn't matter how, they followed our faith and needed help against Catholics, help the Imperium would provide.


The 2nd October, the Senate met to debate over the intervention. Nothing would change, the troops were already on their way, but we wanted to discuss what this meant for the future. Some other Chiefs ruled over mostly Martinian populace, would the Imperium intervene there, too? Deep in pagan lands, with nothing to gain other then the satisfaction of having more successful missionaries then the pope? The debate went from one side to the other, zealots facing cynics, realists arguing against idealists. Julius listened to both sides, looking disinterested. In the end, no side had the clearly better arguments, and retired to the therms to let out the remaining hot air. As the nobility went to the therms, I returned to the palatium. I had heard enough politics for today and nobody would like to talk with the eunuch quaestor in the therms anyway. As I arrived, I saw a hooded silhouette disappearing in the city's direction. This could not mean any good. I directly remembered the scheme against principissa Aelia and hurried into her chamber, calling out to the guards to follow me, as the silhouette was already too far away for any pursuit. But I knew it was already too late. My thoughts were confirmed when I saw the nanny lying in a pool of her own blood, the throat slit. Combating the urge to lose conciousness, I assembled all my willpower and opened the door to the principissa's chamber. I found her lifeless. She had been poisoned.

Chapter XXVI – Changes of Mind

Close to collapsing, I immediately hurried to the thermae to inform the Imperator. His reaction was what you would expect from someone who lost his daughter, most probably to traitors within his own ranks. Sorrow, anger... There were plenty of suspects, every Senator, a Catholic response to Phoenix, even his wife with her possession. For some Senators, jealous, aiming at my office, even I was one, but why should I then announce what I have done? I was one of the few who enjoyed the Imperator's trust, so he didn't see me as a suspect. But as soon as the first sorrow was overcome, heads started to roll. The magister inquisitiones was fired for his failure to reveal this scheme. The guards, which had seen nothing suspicious, were imprisoned. All the servants were replaced, as they were all involved in the Senatorial intrigue and one of them could have been responsible to help the assassin. It would take some time for the Senators to rebuild their spy networks at court. If we would still have slaves, which our faith forbids, they would probably have literally lost their heads.



Julius appointed Septimius Hiberniacus as the new magister inquisitiones. A brilliant man, but with some... at best unorthodox, at worst mad methods. For some obscure reason, Julius trusted him. Maybe he just believed such an envious and proud man would refrain from killing his way upward. Rumours said he somehow got Amentius' book into his hands. I'll just let this stand, his declaration as he entered into office will suffice:
'My Caesar, I will prove it was a wise choice. I will have my eyes and ears everywhere, be it human, dwarfish or elvish ones. Congratulations to your wife's new pregnancy. The Imperium and your new child will be safe as the source of true wealth behind the Old One. No threat will be spared.'
Somehow, I was never as happy to be the Imperator's trusted quaestor as in that moment. That danger emanating from Septimius.


But I must admit he was right. Nobody knew of Eustathia's pregnancy before him. Also, he discovered a plot between a father and his son, the Aurelians of Calunium. Son wanted to kill father. Septimius proposed to have the son tortured by his nonhuman friends in the centre of our island. But a nice message to stop was considered enough. That was one more example which gave me an idea to levy a special intrigue-tax to improve the economy. For the Calunian de Insaniae, the family peace would be ruined, and this was the punishment Julius preferred, as he found a new pleasure in time-consuming punishments. The latest one was the birth of his second daughter. While he originally wanted to name her after Saint Martinus, he changed his mind and named her Ulpia, after his great-grandmother. His motivation: 'I don't have the character to be feared by my subjects. Ulpia the Great had. Nobody dared plot against her. My daughter should gain her strength, her unforgiving character. When she succeeds me, it will be my late revenge to the nobles!'


The Imperator sought his consolation in revenge. His weapons of choice were the councillors: The cancellarius humiliating those openly criticising the throne; the magistra militum keeping them in check militarily; me, levying the taxes; the magister inquisitiones, disrupting their intrigues; and the pontifex, proselytizing in Swedish lands. Sometimes, we all had to work together, as in the case of Linsta:
Before the reform was underway, dux Valerius of Linsta pointed out that since the renovatio imperii, Hibernia had been a regnum under the eagle. With the rex' death, the title was now held by the Imperator himself. A breach of tradition he intended to end, looking for support under the Hibernian nobility. Septimius Hiberniacus for example. He proved his loyalty and brought this plan to Julius' attention before it was exposed in the Senate. Diplomacy had failed; the taxes paid numbered less and less even though the economy was booming. Valerius evaded the Hibernian guards sent to seize him, and the battlefield would have to decide. Spadusa was getting old and underestimated the army he could raise, forgetting Saxon mercenaries, and lost the first battle before returning with more troops to end the little rebellion.


What I forgot is that the dux of Limones attacked Aquitaine. Unlike the de Insaniae, he had no allies and no realistic chance. But Burgundy joined the war. And met the Limonian forces in Marsan, led by the king himself. Who fell, leaving the kingdom to his son Achille. And the rumours were true. He was no Catholic. This led to his throne being contested and the German queen attacking him. The Senate was fast to decide for a military intervention; the Legion would fend off the Germans while dux Gordian of Sapaudia attacked the Catholics revolting against their rightful rex. Hearing of Imperial intervention, queen Katharina called king Bérenger of Italy to arms, but he declined. He knew the Legion would go for Italy once more after the truce, and intended to prepare himself instead of fighting for a lost cause.


The war in Galich ended in the Martinians' favour, and the German attack would be fended off; the last news from the Legion were that they laid siege to Nassau, the German capital. With the military going well and dux Annius' second son Vigilius obligated to end his ambitions to the throne, I walked around the palatium's garden with Julius informing him of the golden financial situation. This garden was another example of the golden age we were in, it was still hard to believe how it could grow enough to have a maze in Nova Roma's harsh climate. The perfect place to explain that over one hundred denarii a month flowed into the treasury; and just after I did this, a voice came out of nowhere:
'Your Imperial Highness, you need a new cancellarius.'
Startled, we looked around in panic. Since Aelia's murder, the palatium was surrounded by guards; could they have missed an assassin, going for the Imperator himself now?
'Who's there?'
There was no answer. As we settled for having a simultaneous vocal hallucination (we stood on the same ground as Julius' mad ancestors, after all), the voice started again:
'Dux Constantine had an affair with a local noble's wife on his diplomatic mission. The man imprisoned him. Another cancellarius has to be appointed.'
We tried to localize the voice more intensively this time. It didn't come from the maze, it was too far away. Maybe... from the old well? I went there and saw light flickering on the well's walls. What was going on? Before I reached the well, a man came out of it.
'Dux Septimius!', the Imperator exclaimed. 'What are you doing in my garden, in the old well! Explain yourself!'
'I wanted to share this information. I was told you were in the garden, and as I passed the well, a dwarf called me. He was digging in Fabius' old mine, and asked for help. Help I am providing. And as I heard your voices, I shouted out what happened to the cancellarius. Now if you would excuse me, your Imperial Majesty... he's waiting for me, and he has very interesting tales to tell. There is something down there; Fabius was right, he just missed it.'
He disappeared in the well again. That lunatic... Unsurprisingly, he found nothing.


The wars in Burgundy proceeded well. Queen Katharina had surrendered. And while dux Gordian fell in the battle of Provence against Templar mercenaries, together with Gallia his troops routed the Burgundian Catholics, capturing the Templar grandmaster. They said he was just supervising if his money was well-invested. Obviously, this was not the case. Only a matter of time until that war was won. Time half of the council didn't have, as cancellaria Aurelia of Bulgaria and Septimius the mad died soon after the battle, replaced by the dux of Anglia Oriental and... a Greek comes, Matthaios of Lykandos. A Greek, too proud to accept the Latinized name, but with the ambition to rise. Somehow, Julius trusted him more then Roman Senators; maybe because he truly had no reason to kill his daughter. Based on Septimius' network, he would have to deal with his wife first after the birth of his son Lucius.


The Knights and Aquitaine were fighting over Épieros. Their Grandmaster Tibaud had crushed all resistance within their ranks and had attacked another Catholic realm, earning him the nickname 'the Terrible'. His grip was firm enough to push his men into the fight, and they won. A very costly defeat for Aquitaine, with king Bérenger getting maimed by Tibaud himself and dying shortly after. His daughter Mahaut, married to the Italian king, had to begin her life as queen with a surrender towards the Knights and the reception of a Roman declaration of war; the duchy of Bourbon became the ducatus de Borvo, without any severe resistance.


With the external politics dominated by truces, the Senators resumed their favourite activities, debating and scheming. Very unusual was the plot of Tiberius IV Vitsercus. Unlike Victor Romnicus, who tried to murder Antoninus de Insania for having married an African woman, or Severa Romnicus, who sought to murder her husband, Julius III of Tara (was Matthaios focusing on this family, or were they just murderous?), Tiberius sent assassins after Sif Ofeigsdottir av Agder. And nobody found a rational explanation for it. Even mad Septimius wouldn't have found one. A courtier of the High Chieftess of... Mazovia? There was not even the farthest visible connection to dux Tiberius. All this failed attempt managed to do was that the Chieftess sent counter-assassins, who accomplished their mission. What had Tiberius died for? Maybe it was an old feud, dating back to his Viking ancestors, an av Agder stealing a Hvitserk's loot. Or having an affair with his wife. Or just for drinking the last drop of mead at some feast. Who knows what these barbarians fought for, that is important enough to put a feud into motion which lasts even centuries later?


In the South-East, the Imperial authority was too far away to prevent wars from escalating within the Imperium. It seems that this region always has to experience some fighting, even now that peace had returned in Hungary. Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria were fighting against each other. At least they had reasons, unlike the Vitsercus case. Still, it was regrettable, for war left its traces in the landscape, which had an impact on the treasury. I thought they cheated on their taxes before, but now it would be even harder to fulfil their financial duties towards the Imperium. It did help that Sapaudia won its war in Burgundy, without securing rex Achille's throne though. As I wandered around with that thought, I overheard a conversation between the stablemaster and the Imperator. Togay, the failed invader, intervened by telling a tale of his youth in the steppes. I was impressed how the man had established himself in Nova Roma, providing valuable information about the Turk, and now also solving this little dispute.


The next time I was marching around the palatium thinking, I could watch principissa Ulpia. Imperial troops were fighting in Ruthenia alongside the former rebel again, and since that decision, she had doubled her training in swordfighting. Julius had decided to teach her the skills 'she would need to', and knowing how to fight was part of these. And it had terrible success, as she quickly mastered the way to handle a weapon, be it sword, axe or bow, so much that it was terrifying to watch. They say Ulpia the Great used to duel her prisoners to death if she was bored during campaigns. This training was surely part of the Imperator's plan to build up her reputation. With a bad feeling, I resumed my tasks, happily hearing that Imperatrix Eustathia had consented to her obligations, paying her tax and leaving the faction 'for the true Christian ways', her dream of an independent Martinian Dioclea, she led.


As the Imperial troops had beaten back an equal Ruthenian force under much lower casualties, the Imperator dealt with his wife's possession once and for all. She had born a fourth child, Iulia, sickly as her grandmother, and since then Julius had sent her back to Ragusa. He had enough, couldn't take it any longer, and probably wanted to avoid her influence on Ulpia. He still had his suspicions about her involvement in Aelia's murder as well. Also, marriage had been a burden for him, and now that the succession was secured, he lived celibate 'as he should do'. While Jesus' new messenger on earth left Nova Roma, the killing didn't end though, but it didn't hit a de Insania this time. Mad Septimius' children Scantilla and Septimius had cooperated to eliminate their brother Justinian. It has to have something to do with Ulstriacum, since Romulus that place was filled with kinslaying, murderers and thugs of all kind.


In Scandinavia, pontifex Trajan ended his mission in Sweden like his predecessor, in prison. But only after the Duke of Prussia, an ancient Varangian, was reminded of the Martinian religion enough to embrace it. King Odd of Ostlandet had more success spreading his teachings by the axe. The recent developments in the North and the East reflected the theological progress which accompanied the rebirth of the Imperium; Catholicism suffered defeat after defeat, while the Imperium did not. Pagans accepted the rule of strength, therefore believed the Martinian way was better than the Catholic one. The last event in this progress emerged from Graecia. Due to all the defeats, and due to Tibaud attacking his brothers-in-faith, recruits were rare for the Knights. The Grandmaster imagined a radical solution to this problem, which would allow him to spill more blood, in his ranks and outside, as a winner. He didn't earn his nickname for nothing. The 1st January 1082, he passed on to action: Secretly, his trusted brothers had reached the same conclusion as he had; convert to Martinianism. So he sent them out to arrest all 'useless, stubborn old idiots living in the past' and execute them on the spot. Tibaud and his followers then proclaimed that the Knights no longer served the pope, dying on hopeless battlefields. The errors of the Catholics and infidels would have to be erased from the world's surface, and the Knights Hospitaller would be more then proud to do it. While I didn't think he grasped Martinus' ideas, he used them to his advantage, and fresh recruits from all over the Imperium joined the Knights, who internally held together due to Tibaud's radical cleansing of opposition. Now, Catholicism was truly a minority.

Chapter XXVII – Ulpia's education

With Tibaud the Terrible abandoning the pope and anxious to kill Catholics in the future, the Templars had different ideas on their new position as minority. They dissolved their knightly structure completely. They never stood a chance against Nova Roma, and financing mercenaries to fight instead was too costly. More interest lied in their banking activities, on which they focused entirely, giving up all their castles to move into their banks in the cities. Quickly seizing the situation, Phoenix occupied the castles before anyone else did. Now the question was what to do with them. It was debated if troops should move in and conquer the surrounding country when the enemy was unprepared for an attack. It would be a logistical nightmare though. Others argued to sell them the castles. As quaestor, I should know if we were in urgent need of money, and we weren't. So the third proposal came out as the winning one: Create our own force of Holy Knights, a branch of the Order of the Phoenix solely destined to fight our religious enemies. Like it was the case with the Hospitallers, many former Templars which didn't want to lie down their weapons joined our new Order.


With this new development, the time for the reform had come. The Imperator had called all his vassals to the next Senate session to announce the Council's conclusion on how to reform the Imperium. He wanted originally to restrict the nobility's hereditary titles even more, but cancellarius Severus made a good point in saying that while the nobles would bear the proconsular system, giving ducati to the most deserving would result in open rebellions. As the only lowborn of the council, Julius sought my support, and while the idea would guarantee an efficient administration, it was true that the nobles wouldn't accept this and probably overthrow anyone trying it, be it their rightful Imperator or not. Julius conceded this point grudgingly, but I felt his distrust for the nobles gaining once more the upper hand. To be a shining example of relinquishing some power, he had trusted his half-brother Avitus with the ducatus of Bedfornium before enacting the reform with the following speech:
'Reges, duces, comes. You all know of the Britannian request for reforms during my childhood. The Imperium wasn't ready back then, in an unstable, dangerous position. But now, I see your support. The succession is safe,...', he made a pause, probably remembering Aelia. '...and our faith has supplanted the Catholic one as strongest of the Christian beliefs, turning their own creation, the Knights Hospitaller, against them. Only some more then two hundred years after its foundation, Nova Roma has grown into an Imperium worthy of being Roma's true successor, and soon the world will have to recognize it. But with its growing extent, the administering difficulties have grown as well; we are now in dire need of a change, if Nova Roma wants to govern far places as Taurica, Coloneia or Illyria effectively. Therefore, I have decided, together with the Council, to appoint the following proconsules, who will govern their provinciae like a rex, reporting to the Imperator and the Senate.'
Very little uproar was caused by this announcement; it had been expected to happen since the reformists had revealed their plans, and the Senators had their own hopes on being appointed as proconsul.
'The provincia of Hibernia falls to Julius of Tara, unlike the other Hibernian rulers a man of justice; Caledonia to our trusted legatus Victor of Gallovania; Tiberius of Segovium has responsibility over Cumbria; cancellarius Severus represents the eagle in Anglia; Aremorica unsurprisingly falls to dux Severus, the elevation of that title to the rank of provincia should appease the local populace; Finn of Slavonia shall rule Illyria as its most powerful representative; Belisarius of Valachia and Drusus of Taurica also have their ducati elevated to the rank of provincia.'


The reform worked, even if there were some problems with some of the new proconsules claiming the richest cities of the provinciae as their new capitals. The conversion of the kingdom of Lotharingia into the provincia of Rhenania-Mosellania required the end of the kingdom though; before the Imperium conquered it, Vigilius of Lotharingia Austral invaded, eager to increase his power and to recommend himself as future proconsul. Finn of Illyria used his new power and Tibaud's idea of Martinianism to invade a for once stable Hungary. I guess this meaned the end of our sympathy for the Lollards after over a century of at least intended friendship. And thanks to the Imperial troops, Putiata managed to achieve victory over the Ruthenian king.


Far from these violent activities, in Nova Roma, the inflowing wealth was accompanied by much food. The latest outcome of it was a spreading obesity. The few perfecti ascetics living in the city were now more easily distinguished as such, and if not for our clothes, but only our corpulence, the Imperator himself and me would pass for perfecti in comparison. Principissa Ulpia, between her fighting training, saw this too, and said to the women watching the childrens' training in their face that they're fat. Some, influential and rich, complained in the palatium. While Julius didn't care for the fat women, he saw a chance to form his daughter's character as he wanted it. 'Ulpia, you shouldn't say the truth as openly all the time. These women are fat, yes. Telling them they're thin would be too sarcastic. So either you tell them nothing or you invent something. A well placed lie is sometimes better then the truth.'


For the first time, Bohemia intervened in a holy war. It wasn't their brightest idea, Vigilius, backed by many de Insaniae, defeated them in Sundgau before capturing prince Beszprzym, heir to the Bohemian throne, in Breisgau. They fought on some more before conceding defeat. As did the Burgundian revolt; our intervention was successful. As a sign of gratitude for saving his crown, king Achille sent Chanan of Flint to Nova Roma. He was informed of Julius' distrust for the Roman nobility, and with the death of Matthaios, no competent non-Roman could be found to deal with all the intrigue of the Senate. Chanan was a Jew who saved Achille from countless conspiracies before he secured his reign as a Martinian king. He would be a valuable asset; after a short discussion, he was made the new magister inquisitiones.


The Aragonian succession was still being disputed, years after it had begun and caused such losses for the Catholic world. Only the doge of Amalfi therefore joined Bérenger of Italy in the defence of Spoleto, but all he achieved was to waste his money on mercenaries in Sarno. As well prepared as possible, the Italian army managed to escape direct conflict with the Legion as long as possible; eventually, they were caught unaware in Orvieto. Shortly after, the king surrendered, as did the Hungarian one, leaving Pecs to Finn of Illyria.


With the Legion manoeuvring in Italia, Magister Tibaud of the Knights sent them a diplomat. He wanted to officially announce to the Imperium that he and his holy knights were always ready to spill infidel or heretic blood if the Imperator wished it. He excused himself for not appearing in person, but he pointed out that 'I don't even know where your cold island is. Also, I have some Catholic rebels to exterminate.' As the diplomat was there, Julius saw an occasion to get rid of his old rival, his cousin Titus. He should become a permanent representative of the Roman Imperial House in Sicily. In other words, he should join the Knights. Watching her father making this decision, Ulpia formed a strong opinion about justice, distributing fair shares of food under her training partners. Which the Imperator corrected promptly in sight of his plans: 'Being a just ruler is very important, Ulpia, and I am happy to see this Imperial trait in you. But justice isn't always about equal shares. In accordance to the law, harsh punishments may be in order. Dura lex sed lex (the law is harsh, but it is the law). Against Uncle Titus, I had nothing else then my deep hate, so I couldn't take action against his presence sooner. But remember: Against the scum of the nobility, there is always a reason. And I intend to create new ones you will be able to use during your rule.'


Hungary's defeat against Illyria caused another peasant uprising and an attack by the Russian faithful. A true nightmare of a kingdom, never stable. Unlike the Imperium, blossoming under the long and wise rule of Imperator Julius. Amalfitan traders took advantage of the Imperial prosperity and opened trade posts all along the Greek and Italian lands. The situation almost escalated once, as Eustathia and her zealots threatened to burn down the post in Ravenna. Luca Mauro begged the Augustus himself to intervene and restore order, joining 100 denarii to his message to sweeten the deal. Threatening the internal peace with her pacifism and rejection of money, Julius now really had enough of her. Rumours spoke of her having another affair as well; this was the drop to make the amphora overflow. More happy then ever to have embraced his celibacy, he developed a passionate hate against his wife and ordered the mob stopped, by violence if necessary. The patrician could not rejoice long of that decision though; to prevent anything like that in the future, the merchants were expelled by force.


Regina Spadusa had died peacefully during the last Italian war, and her son Felix succeeded her not only as rex of Gallia, but also as magister militum, and led the Legion to victory against the few remaining mercenaries ready to face Nova Roma's most formidable forces. In regard of the full treasury, he suggested to raise the legionnaires' pay, which would certainly heighten the troops' morale while preventing excessive looting of future conquests. More money was at our disposal, while Amalfi's suffering didn't end, as Magister Tibaud followed the Imperium's example by embargoing them with Salernian financial help.


With these wars, caused by 'the evil which is the material good money', some preachers sought a highly ranked audience in Nova Roma's streets. The wrong place to search for some ascetic souls, as much is certain. But they caught principissa Ulpia's attention, leading to her listening attentively to their speeches and spending more time in the library, Martinus' writings to be more precise. Also, she started acting like the Imperator in his youth, before her sister's murder. Unbearable for Julius, he snatched the book from her hands one day and reminded Ulpia of all the Senatorial intrigue, of her sister's murder and her mother, barely holding back his anger. 'See, young principissa, you still have much to learn. You cannot trust the nobility. If something endangers the Imperium, it is them and their constant scheming. Even we are not safe of it. And for your... your newly found interest in the true way of Martinus, just take it and throw into the old well! As even my old tutor, your great-great-uncle Vespasian, an Elect, said: You have to make concessions to the faith for the good of the Imperium, to allow the people to escape reincarnation. For that, you have to make it prosper, eliminate external threats... and internal ones. So that the grass isn't greener on the other side anymore. You may have to take that garden for yourself or burn it down.'


The next two years, the Imperial troops were not active. Ducissa Livia of Ravenna had declared war on Bérenger of Italy for Tuscany after the Spoletan war, and the army of her husband had won the first battle in Saluzzo. Otherwise, the office of pontifex constantly changed due to imprisonments during their proselytizing missions. And the Shiite, while a small Islamic minority, have adopted and advanced the methods of the Phoenix Order to create an assassin order, the Hashshashin, in the middle of the Seljuk 'empire'. Catholics had risen in Rotomagus, and the Swedes were once again infighting. Principissa Ulpia had remembered the lesson of the fat women and consumed her food in moderation. As she came of age, a skilled tactician with an absolute lack of diplomacy, she was engaged to prince Bernabò of Burgundy, a promising, strong young man, which should seal an alliance between his kingdom and the Imperium. There was hope the marriage would be a better one then her parents' one.

@Crimson Drakon: The spread of the true faith was only a matter of time. Other Imperators would constantly uphold a state of war to take maximal profit out of it,but not Julius. As for the Order, now I've split it up, as a logical consequence of the Templar failures , but I won't use it if there's no case of emergency. And Ulpia and Bernabo are certainly a better match than Julius and Eustathia.

@Red John: Thanks! As for Nova Roma, I don't see it comparable to Rome or Constantinople. The resources make of it a much smaller city, and it is far away from the continent. But as the capital and seat of the Senate of the most powerful empire of Europe, it is a place where rich nobles spend their time. Those nobles have a taste of luxury, so many merchants bring expensive goods there, sensing a good market and becoming rich themselves. Money attracts money, etc.. In the end, you have a rich city on a lost island, a place where not only the merchants, but also the arts and the science are booming. It is silly; but if you think twisted enough, you can explain it

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Chapter XXVIII – Potesta Absoluta

It was sealed too late to prevent Burgundy from losing their aggressive war for Köln. The Imperium would probably not have intervened anyway; Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippina, as a holy site for Christendom since the Italian king sent the relics of the Three Kings from Mediolanum in order to prevent them from getting into 'dirty heretic hands', would be much better under Imperial protection. But not for now; the long war had made Katharina abdicate the throne to Geoffroy, and he ended the Lollard rule in Bavaria. With all sympathies for the Lollards lost, Nova Roma stood by idly and observed how its own vassals ended the republic of Amalfi, long ago chased from its initial home, now also from its second one.


They were all out to get me, I knew it. Maybe I passed too much time close to the Imperator while educating his daughter. I was the quaestor, the most trusted council member. And they were all after me! Each and every one somewhat capable of counting one and one together had ambitions to reach my office, and only I stood in the way. That wouldn't happen. I had learned a trick or two from mad Septimius, and I was ready to use these skills. Nobody kills quaestor Honorius! Unlike that Aragonese princess Aude, claimant in the long and bloody war which had an important part in the Catholics' downfall. Dead before a conclusion was reached, reducing the contested kingdom to the Baleares and demanding a heavy toll of all kingdoms involved! All that while Arvernia fell to the Imperium, the new base of the military branch of the Order of the Phoenix.


I tried to concentrate on my work, but possible murderers in the shadows preoccupied me all the time. I saw them everywhere. The Turkish sultan had died, but after a short dispute between his sons, Turhan had secured his title. The rex of Gallia fell in a skirmish against the Aquitain forces during the Arvernian war, but was it only a coincidence? Or was he murdered? They said his son Felix II was possessed, and on the battlefield, you never know... But in my office, I was safe. Safe from 'illness' as well? One like that which hit Chanan? A sudden illness, leading to his death... If somebody controlled it, would I be the next target? Or was it Lucilla, the new magistra inquisitiones, who had such mastery over one's health?


With the Ravennan war progressing, the ducissa of Verona declared war as well, for Modena. And in the battle of Lucca, both Roman armies cooperated; first, 2.700 Italians attacked the Ravennan positions in Lucca, 4.700 troops. Not in a suicidal attack though; 5.000 Germans reinforced them shortly after the fighting began. Now at a disadvantage, the Veronan army and their Illyrian allies entered the battlefield and turned the tide again, leading to the utter defeat of the Italians, their capitulation towards Ravenna and their helpless position against Verona, Illyria and Valachia. Limones didn't have the military might to impose their terms on Aquitaine on the other hand, as over 6.000 Bohemians ended their last invasion.


The next two years, Julius' other children grew up and married into the Iberian kingdoms. They had learned not to meddle into Roman affairs on the other side of the Pyrenaei, and these alliances should stop the Umayyad advance as well as secure the good trade relations. While the Imperium was at peace, Julius thought the time had come to restrict the nobility's powers even more. As a sign of good will, he had released the dux of Linsta from the dungeon before he announced his great plans. He wanted to proclaim himself as absolute ruler, not having any duties towards the Senate and taking away their ius bellum (right of war). Great uproar was caused as he presented this plan. Not that it would matter; after over 50 years of reigning, with the exception of the nobles and their creatures, the wise rule that led to this golden age guaranteed the Imperator the complete loyalty of his people, from the lowest peasant to the highest magistrate, a simple footsoldier of Austisium's garrisons to the commanders of the Legion, the poorest debtors to the richest merchants. The lords protested vehemently, but then submitted themselves to the new absolute ruler. The ius bellum only affected the Britannian nobility, and they had been peaceful for decades. The nobles in the former Eastern Empire still had their liberties and didn't complain at all. I managed to pick up a piece of conversation that threw some light on the motivation to finally accept the proposal:
'I fear age is getting to our old Imperator. Soon, he will become as forgetful as Imperatrix Ulpia. How old did his parents become? He's almost as old as both of them together. Many nobles and the people may stay behind him now, but I say he'll drop dead sooner then we know it, and then we can force Ulpia to repel this madness.'


To prove that he was going to use that new power for the good of the Imperium, Julius declared war on Italy to take Susa. The Veronan alliance had diminished their army to a level where they could not resist in any way, and after the battle of Fontanellato and the occupation of some castles, Bérenger surrendered. The Germans sent a fresh army to fight Verona, but floated in the Po after the battle of Ticinum, turning Modena Roman and making Achille of Burgundy seize Tirol.


After the war, the Imperator continued his reforms. The hopes of the nobles that he would die soon were not even close to be fulfilled, he was in great health and contrarily to his usual slothfulness so enthusiastic about his plan that he passed to action swiftly. The ducissa of Ravenna had replaced the rex of Gallia as magistra militum after his death, but she was old and followed him into the grave soon. Nominating the Captain of his Varangian Guard Eirikr, crushing Catholic rebels in Eu, to succeed her, the only noble left on the council was proconsul Severus of Anglia, who had served Julius long enough to be trusted. The cancellarius had to deal with the nobility most of the time, so it was advantageous to have one of them to have that office as well. His capabilities were needed to explain the Imperator's next move: He prepared the ground for a deep change in the realm's administration. Duces would have to earn their position in the future, as the proconsules did. Inspired by the structure of the first Imperium, produces would replace the duces. While I expected this reform would cause more uproar then the first one, the Senate had lost most of its power and couldn't do much against it. Still, after Severus pointed out that this could only affect newly conquered lands, as Julius would never breach the nobility's birthrights, it was approved.


The alliance with Portugal caused some difficulties in Nova Roma. Elisabete, princeps Lucius' wife, always complained about the weather and desired to return to the Iberian climate. Couldn't the Imperium move its capital back to its true roots, Roma, she asked. It would be a much better place to coordinate the administration, it has such a symbolic value and it is also much warmer. She also insisted on returning the pope to his seat in the Eternal City. At some point, she even started preaching on the forum, wearing three layers of clothes, almost unrecognisable, about the papal interpretation of the holy word. While the Imperial Guard intervened quickly, a lasting solution had to be found to stop it, and king José's request to help in the defence of Viscaya against the Navarrese was perfectly suited for that. The boat carrying the order to mobilize the Gaulish army to intervene would also transport the Portuguese princess and Lucius to Roma under the condition that she would accept Martinus' teachings, what she did instantly.


In Irún, the Navarrese advance was stopped, allowing José to sue for peace. Peace which would stop existing in Asia Minor, as dux Gallienus of Adrianapolis attacked the Beylerbey of Cibyrrhaeot. A war which looked like it was in his favour after he defeated the Turk's army in Antalya, but which he was losing after the Seljuk sultan sent his horde, 80.000 men strong if Phoenix' informations were right. Now mostly a spy network, no assassination orders were carried out under Julius' rule; some attributed the murder of king Gottfried of Germany to Phoenix' agentes, but Livilla suspected the old queen Katharina to be responsible for it.


Whoever held the responsibility, the murder turned the general attention towards Germany. And reminded the Imperator of the failed Burgundian war for Colonia, to claim the holy relics and further undermine the authority of the pope. A failure the Imperium would not reproduce; one year after the annihilation of the German army at Wetzlar and the following smaller engagements, Colonia was back under the rule of its founders. The leader of the German army was a symbol for the downfall of Catholicism: Kolbjörn af Duma, bishop of Ellwangen. One of the exiled Norse Syrians with the fitting phenotype. A paranoid zealot, quick to kill everybody not agreeing with him, carrying an indomitable will of destruction. And on the other hand, tending carefully to his garden. He showed perfectly that the Church of Wolves doesn't care for the humans, but only for their material well-being.


Kolbjörn was the contrary of the new pontifex Cornelius, since his predecessor Paulus found himself in king Torbrand's prison. He was perfectly able to communicate with strangers and persuade them to listen attentively to his words, hence he got the permission to spread the word in Holmgarðr unlike the Catholic missionaries king Hroðulfr showed him in his darkest dungeon. As that letter arrived in Colonia, Julius was deciding who to appoint as its governor. He heard of a man hearing the voice of Jesus, but unlike his recently deceased wife he hated for that, the man, named Hemming, had received military advice from him. The legati assured him of Hemming's exploits during the battle of Wetzlar and the following ones on the right flank, highly accountable for keeping the casualties so low. Therefore he was appointed at the old Imperium's limes: Hemming Mac Ailpin, descendant of the last Celtic king of Caledonia before the rise of Nova Roma.


I may not have fought in these wars, but my contribution to the Imperium was as important as the soldiers' one. I controlled the finances, overviewed the expenses and the income, and that made me some important enemies. Not only the nobles, whose tactics to evade the fiscus I've grown accustomed to, but also the praefecti urbani of the Imperator's personal lands in Nova Roma, Latium and Thracia. Two of them were exceptionally greedy, filthy men. They've always found new reasons to pay less then they had to, and they were a bad influence on me. Since I had to force one of them with one of the Imperial Guards to pay, the affronts multiplied. Once I was ambushed on my way to the palatium, and only the guards' intervention saved me. Having enough of all that, I trained my fighting skills a lot before I went to the Imperator to ask for a permission to duel. I picked the wrong moment though. A messenger from Asia Minor just arrived: The Arabian Caliph had declared a Jihad for Anatolia.

@ Attalus: He surely can't! ( Surely not alone.) Some editing was necessary for the CM update (only setting min. centralization), but since I got kingdom viceroyalties passed, the vassal limit was no problem, and the update went smooth to 2.2.1.. And if Romans don't have Imperial administration, who else has?
The crops, I don't know, but they've got a nice palace garden and some therms .

@eliaspays: Thanks! It's on the agenda, after they've finally recognized the direct continuation of Roma.

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Chapter XXIX – The Anatolian Jihad

Captain Eirikr of the Varangian Guard:

To arms! I was preparing the elite troops in Ísland who should reinforce the armies present in Asia Minor, if they stood their ground. A real war, one of those who brought me away from Sviþjod to serve in the Varangian Guard. The Imperium caused a new faith to take roots in my homeland, a faith which caused great turmoil. I sought stability and justice, far away from the eternal wars caused by old feuds if there was cause at all. And a place to find inspiration for my poetry. In exchange for my fighting abilities, Nova Roma provided all that; I rose through the ranks, and this 6th January, 1102, I would lead the troops at the Imperator's side against the Muslim invaders, as the Captain of the Guard, fulfilling my duties.


The Gafurid Caliph was the head of all Sunnis, which caused countless minor zealots to join his cause, the cause of Allah proclaimed by the Prophet's successor. Also, he had powerful allies, the Umayyad and Tulunid Sultans. This alone would represent a balanced war. But our fear was the Seljuk Sultan. He had sent a horde of 24.000 men, mostly horse-archers, to stop the Adrianopolitan ducis advance. Would he pursue the way of the Jihad, we would be severely outnumbered. A scenario the Imperial legati wanted to avoid at all costs; it was mostly imaginary though, as the Turks and the Caliphate hated each other with a burning passion since their invasion of Caliphal lands. As the Italians did with us, their new king Roger as much as old Bérenger.


After gathering the Varangian Guard and the Order of the Phoenix, we embarked and made landfall in Teluch the 3rd September. Immediately, we tried to get up to date on the Jihad's progress. Smaller Muslim forces had been thrown back into the Black Sea as they met the Roman armies arriving by land, but these were not much more then mere skirmishes against overly confident or foolish Emirs. 40.000 troops were present, still waiting for the Legion. Taking our fresh army into account, that provided roughly 70.000 soldiers for Roma, while the enemy's numbers already here numbered around 45.000 men with who knew how many to come. Before being able to make any plans, we had to rush towards Lykandos, where the Gaulish-Italian army was intercepting the enemies' try to concentrate their army.


The Umayyads had landed 20.000 men in Tarsos, and the equal Caliphal army marched to combine their forces. 7.000 of them under prince Mirza's command had seperated themselves from the main army, rushing towards the Andalusians, but were caught in Lykandos; we arrived in time to mostly cut off their escape route, slaying their misguided leader as he fled towards the bulk of the Caliphal army. Assuming control over the situation, in my position as magister militum, we conferred to plan the strategy of the war.
'The first real battle is won, but there is a long way ahead of us. What do you think of the situation, legati?', the Imperator began.
'The Lord Himself reassured me that the Turks won't join the Jihad. He is on our side, and we will win. I advise Your Imperial Majesty to strike the Caliphal force next. The Andalusians have difficulties finding enough supplies in Tarsos, and if they hear of their allies' fate, their morale will fade as their men do.' Even if one did not believe Hemming's claim of godly guidance, his advice was a good one.
'My Augustus, what the Coloneian dux said about the supplies is true for us as well, even if we have the support of the population. We won't be able to sustain the whole army at once. So we should use the combined might of our army to crush the Caliph, but then split up in even parts to assure that hunger and thirst do not claim our soldiers' lives.' Magistra Octavia of the Order made a true claim. Here, not the cold of my old and new homes are a great danger, but the heat and aridity, even if I had heard of snowfall in the mountains in winter.
'Your Imperial Highness, our best strategy would be to build a defence line across the border, then isolate and eliminate one army after another as they try to combine. Our advantages are our unity and that we are the defenders. The enemy has to act; and as long as our armies stay close enough of each other, we can react to each of their movements, and eliminate an threat before it can form.' My advice was a strategy which would have been impossible with Norsemen, but with disciplined Romans, no Arab dune will sweep as much as a grain of sand over our wall.
'So be it. We shall send the Arabs back to the desert, where they belong. Give the orders to march East.'


Already preparing myself mentally for our next confrontation with the Caliph, prince Bernabò entered the tent. 'Great Imperator, I have a request to make.'
'What do you want, son?'
'We don't have to be alone in this war, o Caesar. My brother has assured me of his support, and the Knights are there to defend the faith.'
'The Knights?', Hemming interjected. 'All Tibaud wants is to expand his power. He's a dangerous man.'
Hemming obviously didn't trust him. How could one trust a man who swore to defend his faith, but then abandoned it for its theological enemy and executed anyone standing in his way, especially those reminding him of his oath. But what he didn't know is Julius' secret admiration of him, as he wished he could muster the strength to deal with the nobles in a similar way.
'My Imperator, Tibaud could prove a valuable ally. Even Imperatrix Ulpia admitted the Knights' bravery and abilities in battle.'
'That was back when they had honour!' Hemming really hated him.
'Enough! Bernabò is right. We may need every soldier we can get. If we like them or not', Julius threw a glance at Hemming. 'Who shall inform him?'
'I shall do it. In fact, together with your daughter, I've decided to become a Knight Hospitaller. In the inheritance line of Burgundy, I am too far to even think of it. And the valuable experience we can get there will make of me a complete person, and prepare Ulpia for her inheritance.'
Hemming protested vehemently. Octavia and I agreed from our personal experience that it could be very beneficial. After a short bit of consideration, Julius agreed. Ulpia could learn how to deal with... 'annoying elements' from Tibaud.


We marched to Arca, where the Bulgarian army had just began to engage the Caliph's troops. As we arrived at their flank, the Arabs where cornered, arrows and charges caught all who couldn't flee, and another great victory was sealed. I found some inspiration to improve the military in the battle, seeing as the Arabs made use of their camels and their different weapons. The remaining Caliphal force, 4.000 men, routed while I split the army in two, each 20.000 soldiers strong, to secure the border awaiting the Legion.


Shortly after it arrived, the Andalusians had understood they were just losing their army to attrition in Tarsos. Circumventing our defence line, they caught the last arriving army, the Aremorican and Limonesian troops, in Kaisereia and overwhelmed them. Fleeing, the few survivors reached the Legion, informing the dux of Carinthia of the loss, and they counter-attacked. The Andalusians had lost half their army to hunger, their morale was low even after their recent victory, and couldn't resist a foe three times their force for long. As the Legion took care of the fleeing ones, the Imperial Army returned to Melitene, as the Knights arrived in Asia Minor. I dispatched them to the West, taking care of any possible reinforcements from this side.


With the Andalusian defeat in Kaisereia, the main armies of the Muslims were gone. The minor Sheiks and Emirs tried to combine their men under Caliphal guidance in Kaisereia again, but this plan failed as the information of corresponding Roman manoeuvres 'leaked'. Not having had the chance to unite with their co-mujahideen, the Imperial Army fought a force half their size in Tephrice, while the Legion attacked the other half in Lykandos.


Hemmings' Gaulish Army blocked the access to Anatolia in Teluch, forcing Muslim reinforcements to take a longer route through Aintab and Edessa. As the Egyptian and African armies arrived, they were led by the will to arrive at the place of the Jihad as soon as possible, causing them not to form a strong, united force before. This brought the opportunity to break their troop movements by picking apart smaller hosts, and the battle of Kyrrhos was such a cut.


A whole lot of frustration for the Jihadis was certainly the sight of huge Turkish armies passing them. They fought to spread the word of Allah, and the Seljuks contended themselves with defending one of their former vassals against a dux who could now only muster 1.000 soldiers. And they did it with 40.000 men. A provocation of the Caliph? Full of rage, the Muslims converged at Yedisu, seemingly forgetting the three Roman armies, joined by the Burgundian troops as well. Trapped between the attacking Imperial and Gaulish Armies, this battle, at the end of August 1003, marked the end of our defensive stance and what I call the first stage of the Jihad.


New mujahideen arrived in much smaller numbers and didn't stand a chance. While we continued holding up our wall, it moved towards Aintab and Edessa, capturing these cities. The Knights and Burgundy occupied Caliphal holdings in Asia Minor. Minor battles were fought all along that second phase of the Jihad, but not involving more then 4.000 enemies each, while the three Roman armies alone numbered 12, 18 and 15 thousand respectively.


The 26th April 1005, an emissary from the Caliph arrived in the camp, stating that the head of all Sunnis admitted defeat and left Anatolia in infidel hands. We had won.


To honour all those who had taken part in this glorious victory, the Imperator decided to hold a magnificent triumph like those in ancient Roma. At the same time, it should be a display of power, a celebration of his rule. To emphasize the Imperium's place as true successors of Roma, still contested by the Catholics and now also by the Muslims, it would be held in the Eternal City itself, while an arc of triumph was built in Nova Roma to put this victory into stone in the capital. As the day of the triumph had come, the city was once more the centre of the world. An immense crowd had gathered, the people of Roma, its surroundings, Roman or Italian, and from the four corners of the Imperium. More than one spy from the hostile realms surely did participate as well. Covered by ecstatic cheers, the imprisoned Sheikhs and Emirs were pushed through the masses as spoils of the war as well as Imperial denarii were distributed to the people. King Achille of Burgundy and magister Tibaud of the Knights had been attributed the honour to take part in the triumph, and they preceded the Imperator on his quadriga, followed by the victorious army and its legati, myself included. A moment to remember, one I can only put in a poem if I ever find the words for it. An incredible show of the Imperial might, one which should silence all critics for a while. Victorious first of the Catholic world, now of the Muslim one. Unthinkable in Sviþjod, this proved what I knew since I enlisted: Nova Roma was truly in a golden age.

I've learned a lesson, namely that I shouldn't have played too much in advance... I lacked inspiration for this chapter because I was thinking about the one after the next one! It will be a bit different, but for now, we are still in the reign of Imperator Julius I de Insania, and I hope the chapters are still enjoyable. At the end of the chapter, 20-30 years will still be with the CM patch, then I'll go on to WoL if it is bugfree enough (in the new year). I think (or hope) most of the vassals will have the 'intrigue' focus, so that shall make things more interesting. Anyway, on to chapter XXX.

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Chapter XXX – Familiar Powers

During the following days, I noticed proconsula Cassia of Illyria arguing vehemently with her father, the dux of Verona. The MacFinnachtae had given up Illyria as the last proconsul's son left for the Knights, and Cassia had inherited. With her short-tempered nature, the discussion escalated, as she declared war on her father before we even left Roma. Even in war-infested Sviþjod, I didn't witness something like that; a face of the Romans I did not want to see. Irritated and disappointed in the self-called civilized people, I managed to convince the Imperator to arrange a feast in Nova Roma like in my old customs. Maybe they would end their infighting on a horn of mead... err...I mean a cup of wine. If they weren't dead until then.


In preparation, huge quantities of exquisite food and wine were shipped to the capital, and a conjurer was found who would perform during the feast. The whole nobility was invited; therefore, the cooks were closely supervised by the Imperial Guard to prevent any poisoning on that occasion. Julius also invited magister Tibaud, but the old man had died. He had centralized all power on himself, and having reached his goals, he started caring for his subjects, announcing Gerbèrga de Poitou as his successor, a woman with a completely different character. Finally, for the new year 1106, the feast was held, and I gladly remember it. No one declined the Imperial invitation, and the nobility had an internal contest about who made the greatest entrance. They were all accompanied by personal servants, guards and the praefecti urbani of their important cities as well as their episcopi. I couldn't say who had the most, but the whole city was full of them. You recognized them easily during the feast:
The episcopi refused to eat and drink more then necessary, some complained that they had been dragged to the feast against their will.
The praefecti urbani sat together, but one could feel they didn't speak freely. They nervously glanced at quaestor Honorius from time to time, and when a Gaulish one threw up on the quaestor's shoes, he claimed it was on purpose.
The minor nobles mostly stuffed themselves with all they could get. Entirely drunk, one Greek lord exclaimed he had never eaten better before he fell asleep.
But all in all, it went as I imagined it, with the Senators agreeing it was a great feast. It couldn't end the wars inside of the Imperium though.


As the feast was over, Nova Roma had recovered enough of the Jihad to pass to the offensive again. Roma was still surrounded by the Italian Latium, and this would have to change. The Italian army was in Brabant; we took the Gaulish Army to meet them in Kortrijk, while the Legion invaded Latium. King Roger managed to evade to Cambrai, but after his remaining men were eradicated, he surrendered. Julius wanted to administer the cradle of the Roman civilization himself as Imperator, and this needed more centralization he passed without opposition.


Back in Nova Roma, the conflict between the quaestor and the praefecti urbani was dominating all discussions. The war in Latium was far away and would be won anyway, so the focus was entirely on this fight for authority. Even the return of pontifex Cornelius, announcing king Hroðulfr's conversion, admittedly due to his close entourage converting, was almost ignored. The quaestor on the other hand had sought another method for revenge, after his duel request was not granted, and found it in this return. He sent a boat to Garðariki, presumably to open official trade between the realms. It returned with some berserkers he intended to use to 'nicely ask my friends if their contribution to the fiscus numbers the right amount'. His revenge was short-lived though; the Imperator forbade the use of any violence as soon as he heard of it. The Norsemen were given the choice to enlist in the Varangian Guard or to leave, and after they disappeared the next day, we all thought they left. How wrong we were. Some weeks later, Honorius was ambushed by said Norsemen and killed. They were apparently hired by his praefecti rivals, although nobody could prove it and the assassins kept their mouths shut before their execution.


As Aelia de Insania, the Imperator's granddaughter, came of age, a great diplomat, I could witness the return of a powerful family to the reins of the Imperium. She was betrothed to Aemilian Austisius. I cannot really find a comparison to this family in my ancestral lands. The Austisii descended from dictator Ennodius, one of Nova Roma's most important pioneers, and had repeatedly lost and regained influence. They held the lands of Morai before they nearly died out, replaced by the Hiberniaci through an unlucky marriage; then they profited from the conquest of Britannia to establish themselves in Deubarta. Now, Marcellinus Austisius was the actual quaestor. Former husband of the proconsula of Caledonia, he managed to convince Julius that only his son Victorinus could be the next proconsul, holding half the provincia. The regrowing power of this house would be celebrated in this marriage.


Magister Tibaud's death left a power vacuum in the Knight's structure. They were accustomed to a strong, unforgiving leader, and now they had a kind woman to guide them. It wasn't left unopposed. Enric de Salamis, count of Smyrna, declared himself free from any bond with 'the weak woman', and was soon invaded by the Beyberley of Cibyrrhaeot. Looking for help, he found none in Gerbèrga, who defended Sicily once again against the Egyptians. In his dire situation, he turned towards the Imperium, promising to swear his allegiance should we defend him. Levying the South-Eastern Army, the Turk was repelled in Ephesos and the Beyberley's brother captured, which led him to surrender. Enric kept true to his word and swore fealty to Julius.


Shortly after the return, he once again looked with disgust at the messages brought to him from within the Imperial limes. As the dux of Verona fended off his daughter, the method employed by Justina Nicolae to reach the same goal, inheriting her father's lands, was more radical, even if it involved only one death. The Imperator heard of his Taurican proconsul's death as Justina applied to become the new proconsula. But he knew she was responsible; he had enough experience to feel it, he told me. After he had appointed her uncle as representative of the eagle, he heard of his son's 'foolish mistake'. Lucius had been persuaded by Constantine Hadrianus, princeps of Serbia, to aid him in his ambition to rise to the throne. The traitor then claimed not to know anything when Lucius declared war and sided with his brother. That spineless liar sent him on a war he couldn't win.


The following years passed by faster then I thought. On the request of countless merchants, Julius cleared the hideout of the Norse pirates on their islands between Britannia and Nova Roma, making their travels much safer. With the death of queen Mahaut, Italy and Aquitaine formed one kingdom, embroiled in civil war. The 1st November, 1111, Lucius died in the Serbian rex' dungeon, leaving Ulpia as the Imperator's only living child. More familicidal plots were revealed, now by Aemilian Austisius, who replaced Livilla as magister inquisitiones. And I led my last campaign: The conquest of Karvuna, against a Cuman rebel, the shortest war of my life. Would it have lasted longer, I wouldn't have seen the end of it.




Aemilian Austisius:



As the old Varangian died, Caesaris, sister of the Hibernian proconsul, occupied his position as magistra militum. She went to prepare the Legion for the next Italian war, while dux Gallienus of Adrianapolis seized the last bastion of the Norse-Syrian exiles in Lesbos. Italy's unification with Aquitaine brought them more problems then strength, and Achille, now called 'the Wise', of Burgundy conquered the Alpine territories. Frédéric, son of the king of Aragon, a kingdom destroyed by the Muslims, turned to his new overlords in Africa to claim the crown for himself. He easily found money and men, and invaded Italy.


Awaiting the end of this squabble, I could prove my worth as magister inquisitiones. I had heard of an Arabic killer who infiltrated Nova Roma in order to get revenge for the lost Jihad. Intensifying my precautions, the Imperial Guard closely followed all members of the council, kept a close eye on the palatium's walls and I doubled the number of patrols in the city. Cornelius de Insania, a very capable diplomat, although a coward, even pressed the Imperator to choose him as cancellarius instead of his old friend Severus to profit of this safety. While his demand was rejected, he was not the final target of the Hashashin. Titiana Liciniana, who had retired here since the death of her husband, was casually strolling around the palatium's garden, as she stopped in front of the old well. She had read about Amentius' book and Fabius' mine and was always fascinated of that well. As she got closer, a cloaked man jumped out and stabbed her a dozen times before he disappeared in the well again. As the guards nearby either stormed into the well or crossed the wall to search for the Hashashin's tunnel entrance, Titiana collapsed. The man was caught, and he admitted he had lost his nerve before the attack.


The harbour was closely supervised in the next months, but it seemed the killer was alone. As the tension went down, a man clad in Italian armour arrived. One of Phoenix' men, he said he came directly from Piombino and had an urgent message. King Roger had led his army the man was a part of against Frédéric, and got surprised by the claimants' furious charge. His resources had diminished, Genoan merchants supported their king, and his last chance was to capture Roger. Instead, his bold charge led to the king's death, not only splitting Aquitaine and Italy again, but also opening the way for new Roman attacks. Capua soon fell to the Legion, the battered Italian army barely able to resist in the city. While Benoît was able to hold Italy together, his cousin Bérenger II of Aquitaine had to defend his authority on the nobility and his throne. Only the duke of Toulouse stayed loyal to him; and the Order of the Phoenix aspired to rule these lands.