The death of Deceneus the Great 124 – 130
The dacian plan to rapidly strike East Rome, using shock tactics and rapidly advance on the enemy capital and force the roman emperor to the table of negotiations, before even the arrival of the army. Some chronicles refer to it as the last plan made by Deceneus, before his death, just two years later. The king was hoping for some quick concessions from the emperor to placate his pileati (nobles). His death before the end of the war.
After the successful war with the germanic tribes an unexpected opportunity presented itself. Zamolxist priests from a byzantine neighboring province asked the king to intervene. Lately the byzantine emperors, short on money because of the many coups of state and unsuccessful war campaigns, imposed heavy taxes on the thracian population. Especially on the ones of zamolxist faith, justfing it, they cooperated with the dacians and conspired against the empire. This was true, many believed in a new indipendent thracian kingdom, ally of Dacia, hoping for an intervention. The taxes situation excalated the situation pretty fast.
Before Burebista was assassinated, almost two centuries ago, he created the empire of the dacians, even intervening in the war between Caersar and Pompei. His support was not enough to turn the tables in favour of Pompei, because Caesar was invincible. Caesar after this would plan an invasion of Dacia, this never happened because later, both would be assassinated. Rome becoming an empire and Dacia collapsing in many smaller entities. Again in 64 the tables would turn around, Rome would collapse because of many unfortunate events, under its immense weight, while Dacia aprofitating of this would slowly but surely engulf, most of the roman eastern territory while slowly pushing into Persia before collapsing and losing most of these newly conquered territories and Egypt to the rising power of the Caliphate.
Dacia under Burebista 60-44 BC
In 124 the nomads of Siracia, invaded the byzantine Tauria. A tricky endeavour to retake those lands back for the byzantines. Parthia had deeply pushed into Armenia, directly annexing the kingdom into the empire, leaving Tauria separated from the empire and extremly vulnerable. In a direct fight Siracia would lose without any doubt, but with different circumstances now they had great advantage.
In the same time, a peasant led rebellion sparkled in byzantine territory with illyrian majority population.
Siracia occupied roman lands in the hope of occupying them permanently. East Rome, didnt stand to this and built a massive transport fleet to land in Tauria (or Tauris, modern Crimea). Upon landing the siraci didnt stand any choice and were quickly defeated. Even with the victory the damage done, remained. The people wouldnt forget such passive behaviour from Byzantion. As the years woudl pass, the Eastern Roman Empire wouldnt fall only to his external enemies but mainly to his internal. A strong empire, which dissolution was caused by poor administration and greed of its own ruling class.
Two years later, the gepids found themselves yet in another war, the desire for revenge of Sarmatians was as strong as ever. After two years of rebellion the area was still under peasant control and slowly a more organized army was forming. The emperor was too busy fighting elsewhere to bother and they didnt invade any further if not pillaging the surrounding cities.
The king was still against a war with the Eastern Roman Empire, fearing a possible draw or gaining little for too much sacrifice. However at that point, he was old, not feared and respected as before. In fact he would die soon, of old age, despite the many enemies he has made during his reign. His clever suppression of all opposition left him almost absolute free reign.
The pileati in Maladina, threatened to declare war to the Eastern Rome themselves and even seccede from the kingdom if the king would refuse. Even worse, the same threats were made by pileati inside the kingdom, especially those of more geatic origin. Threating to split and attack the romans themselves and create a new Geto-Thracian kingdom. That would absoulty weaken Dacia, especially after all the blood and effort to conquer. This would plunge Dacia into a civil war splitting it further into smaller dacic states. Leaving its neighbours room to expand into it.
The choices were two: war or disintegration of the kingdom. The king knew perfectly, he decided to go to war.
Ambassadors from the League of Urbinum, saw the great opportunity and contacted the homeland withing days. Just hours before go to war, the League offered to help Dacia invading East Rome. Of course not without gaining new lands. The League desired all the byzantine possetions in Italy. It was an offer where Dacia would only gain.
Deceneus was on pretty friendly terms with the League. He viewed them as fellow civilized neighbours, beacon of civilization, unless the barbaric neighbours all around. Especially the League didnt have expasion plans outside Italy. He considered them a valuable ally.
Before there were many attempts to convince the king into entering the war against Byzantium, but he always refused to go to war. For him the Germanic Campaign was the last conflict, he was already too old and tired of the continue warfare, thru all his life.
This time being forced to go to war, it was a great opportunity for the League to finally assert power in the region and finally tilt the balance of power in their favour, pushing the barbarians finally out of transalpina region.
Sadly for them the king would die before the conclusion of war. Also would be assasinated shortly the great man responsible for making the League a regional power recongized and respected by its neighbours. But that is a story for a different chapter. All that has to be known now that his assasination would slowly make the League decline. It would still stay for two more centuries as a significant power in region before its inevitable fall.
In 128 dacian armies marched into roman land. The promised support from the League never arrived and wouldnt arrive until two years later, to fight a peasant rebellion in Maladina. An excuse the next king would use against the League. A step against the policies of the old king, he considered the League, unreliable and nothing more than a corrupt oligarchy. In fact, League has proven itself unable to capture the any byzantine lands.
Twenty thousand men directly marched into Skythia, the simbolic capital of the indipendist thracian movement across the empire. Skythia and Dorustum simply opened the gates welcoming the army, supplying it also in the process. Years of long seiges were awaiting ahead. Before that, the byzantine army had yet to be defeated.
A battle happened indeed, but not what the dacian generals were expecting. Instead of fity thousand men only ten thousand men and six thousand heavy cavalry were fielded. And they werent even well rested men, but straight up force marched directly from Lydia to the city Pyrgos. What followed was just a battle of few hours before the exshausted forces made a disorganized retreat. It was clear that this army, once numerous, maybe even, over fifty thousand men has seen many, many battles on the other side of Byzantion against Parthia and later Roman Egypt.
Just a month later, the remaining army surrendered to a scout army, lacking any general.
Byzantium was defeated, no armies exsisted to proect its from its enemies.
After this battle, Dacia defeated its biggest rival with minimal losses. The indecisvness of Byzantium to strike in 120, sealed its fate just nine years later.
Egypt invaded most of Anatolia between 127 and 129. Initially was an invasion with the intention to stay. However for unclear reasons, before 130 all the forces retread leaving a completly devasted area behind. Parthia later invaded further the area. It is possible that Egypt was forced to leave threatened by Parthia. Byzantium had earlier lost over 60% of its army against Parthia in the earlier war. Being a very disastrous loss, the generals in Egypt saw the perfect opportunity to size. Despite such a loss, a smaller army was assembled, around fifty thousand men. Dacia would face only a small portion of that army, completly weakened and demoralized would surrender in the second battle. Egypt, estimate force at the time, seventythousand men, most its force remained intact, despite this, they felt threatened enough by Parthia to leave the area. They would later return, but always in indirect form and never directly ever again.
Roman Egypt almost took over East Rome but suddenly left a devasted Anatolia. This would completly cripple East Rome but also would deny another opportunity for reunification of the empire. The rulers in Egypt opting for a sovereing empire like the Ptolomeic Egypt, considering the empire of origin a lost cause.
The reason the League of Urbinum couldnt provide any real assistance was because of the civil war they faced right at the start of the war, the cities they took from West Rome, some of them, were unhappy with the new administration, some feared the rising power and growth in population of Urbinum and wanted to take it down, bringning some sort of balance, leading to an extremly chaotic war in the peninsula. Urbinum has reached almost forty thousand inhabintans, in just little over half century. Making it a monstrous growth. Despite this, the League could field something between ten-fifteen thousand men. The cities that started the civil war, it is estimated amassed between twenty and thirty thousand, vasty outnumbering Urbinum and the loyalist cities. The civil war would've been won shortly before the end of the Dacian-Byzantine War. Rubbostes, the new king however refused to give any concession to the League, saying they didnt do anything during the war and only concentrated on their internal affairs, waiting for easy lands. Of course at stake was the existence of League itself, but politics are politics and such things as comprehension, simpley do not exist. Outraged, the Great Senator, wich name I will leave for the chapter specifically dedicated to all the history of the League. Somehow ended insulting the new king, later, further unsuccessful talks escalated the situation and the alliance was broken... He would later incite an
inglorious but neccesary invasion of the promised lands. Stating the five thousand garrison men holding them has left for the capital. He was shortly assassinated, before the invasion couldever begin.
Rubbostes the Christian took power right after the death of Deceneus the Great. He was a controversial man. During the centuries he was viewed as a saint. First man in Dacia and Europe to convert to the world of Christ. Obviously things in reality were different from what his successors made the comati (peasants) believe and everyone else for centuries and centuries. Long before he was even born, christianity was already a large part of East Rome. Altought not still official religion, was recongnized and freedom of belief was institued. In the turbid annals of history, his reason for the converting to christianity was nontheless a pretext to label the pileati loyal to Deceneus as heathens and remove them from their position of power. He almost made it before being brutally assassinated, reinstating zamolxism as official religion starting decades of civil war. He was a hated man, by many of his contemporaries because of his crimes against the king. The king died of old age, but was under his order that the still newborn son was killed, rather died under misterious circumstances. After the death of his only son, that died in a hunting accident, not murdereded or anything. A new dynasty under a new man, would take the
control of a great and powerful kingdom.
The peace was negotiated by the roman emperor in autumn of 130. Without an army with the dacian foes near the gates of Byzantion, the emperor agreed to harsh demands.
Most of territory occupied by rebels was added to Maladina, before even the peace talks could begin, something the roman emperor protested but couldnt anything against it. The entire area around the Danube was seized. The new king then planned immediatly to build defenses against East Rome. Such plans will never come to fruition, as Dacia was about to end its days of peace of prosperity and enter a period of tulburence and violence for the rest of century.
STOP! COOKIE TIME