Megacampaign part 1 - Old Dacia

[Falhxer]

I wanted to make sure these two years 128-130, in the chapter are well described since i think, storywise. They are important because of the new era the kingdom is entering. The religious wars are about to start, spanning around seventy years. I will have great fun trying to divide them in possibly three chapters with detailed custom maps. Obviously i take some liberties to write about what happened often greatly improving simple wars or interactions to something as much more important than really in the game itself. Said this, everything i write is interpretation of the various events in-game. Ofc in-game those seventy years wouldnt be much to write about them, by simply leaving them as they were. Hope everyone likes this new way, im trying to make. Not sure for the future parts of the megacampaign but i think its the best for this one.

 

[generalis Julius Caesar]

Nice job with the ERE.

 

[Falhxer]

This wont be much of a spoiler since i already mentioned it in the last chapter. ERE is done for, sadly in this playthru i never had the opportunity to face a strong Rome, its just felt apart in few years after... Even after i modded it adding strong bonuses to keep it togheter. In my previous game, i really did have a very strong Roman Empire, however i didnt survive. Dacia was conquered by barbarians and Cappadocia by the end of 700s... It probably was even greater and more interesting for me to play than this AAR, but i wanted a Dacian Empire no matter what, apparently for that, Rome had to die very early.

 

[Nikolai]

Good going on defeating Rome!

 

[Falhxer]

The unpious king 131-145
​

Rubbostes consolidated his power in 131. In the few months he was about to sail the kingdom into dangerous waters. His coronation day was marked by unsettling news. Fifteen thousand slaves rebelled all over Maladina because of harsh conditions they were treated. During that period, the worst place to be a slave was Dacia. They were forced to continuos hard working labour building, roads, aqueducts, temples and fortifications all around the kingdom.
The new client state was Thracia, a somewhat provisory duchy, personally ruled by himself, under Dacia, before its integration in the next decade. He considered those cities too roman to be annexed directly and had to maintain the promise of creating a thracian kingdom to avoid further rebellions.
It only half worked, thousands of lightly armed militia rose to overthrow him and establish a local king, Many thracians weren't too happy witht the new involvment of Dacia. It wasnt freedom but just change of management. The army brutally suppressed the rebels.

I was unsure how to proceed with the next chapters. They didnt include any war or conquest of significance but rather internal conflicts. I decided to include less images. Screenshots not at all, since i tought it would be rather dull to see a long list of rebels being defeated. I instead opted for a summarized map of all that happened. In first place to be easier to see them on the map and their impact. Second i decided to put more quality into the narrative. They rapresent a perfect opportunity to break the unrealistic winning streak the kingdom had and put more impactful and realistic consequences such unrestricted conquests and expansion had. Not to mention the careless governance my rulers, i imagined had.
​

Just a few months passed, before a second rebellion rose again in Maladina, destroying much of what was built. Almost twenty thousand men between slaves and free illyrians, everyone with one desire, an indipendent illyrian kingdom. The new occupation, was even worse than the roman, the newly conquered lands, subjected to dacianization. Maladina was a hotbed of rebellions and apparently it was contagious because ten thousand gotini barbarians rose in Pannensis too. Following the example of fellow tribesmen, gepids revolted in directly annexed lands. The situation would get even worse in 135, rebels fighting other rebels across all the client states. The death of Deceneus left a great vaccum of power. Rubbostes was, a capable man, but clearly he lacked the talent of his predecessor and was unable to keep order over the strict boundaries of the kingdom.

In 138 he made a most controversial decision for his time. The king converted to christianity, it became official religion of East Rome few years ago. The majority of population being long time christian. He hoped, having the same religion, he could arrange royal marriages and easily control the falling empire, a perfect puppet.
Cronicles describe him as a greedy, ruthless and unpious man. If he didnt follow the holy practices of zalmoxism before he could less about christianity, it was something convenient to convert to, a matter of power and politics.
After his decision royal decrees all over Dacia in just one week made forbidden any zalmoxist practice, all the temples were closed. The newest client state, Thracia, was almost entirely christian.
Maladina and Pannensis on the other hand only recently had been converted almost entirely to zamolxism and now they had to embrace a new faith again. The few hopes of finally stabilizing Maladina and make it a self-sufficient client kingdom, capable of defending itself from internal rebellions, were completly shattered. Pannensis on the other hand smaller in comparison of land and population was more stable and stronger military.

Dacia now was about to face decades and decades of devastation and civil war, something Rubbostes was not aware at the moment of his decision. He tought, he could manage it. Just strip the unloyal zalmoxist pileati of their possessions. The loyal ones could keep their faith but in public they would declare themselves believers of the word of Christ and help the total efforts in converting the population to the new religion. Their children would be also slowly indoctrinated to christianity. A far too optimistic prevision, as the next year over forty thousand pesants, slaves and armed pileati, refusing to convert to the new false religion, rose to arms. The dacian army barely numbered twelve thousand men, because of previous fights and massive desertions.

The kingdom was in absolute turmoil, the countryside was witnessing continous bloody battles between the royal army, the pileati fighting between themselves slaves and comati (peasants). The slaves were the first one to be crashed, not before making gigantic damages and in future would rose again. The comati would be oppressed by both warring factions, making their hard life completly miserable and response rising to fight against both, suffering the biggest human losses.
Rubbostes, desperate, took every single able boddied man and recruited in his own army, leaving Maladina and Pannensis completly undefendable. Thracia was far more stable and he did not dare have another rebellion on his hands. The treasury one prosperous and rich was becoming emptier and emptier day by day, paying and equiping thousands of mercenaries was extremly costly.
Outside the borders of Dacia, apparently in 142 the gepids were subjugated by Quadia, themselves forced earlier to migrate east into gepid territory by vandals and goths.
East Rome had again to throw thousands of men against the unstoppable Parthia that was now reclaiming the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire and rebellious pretenders at the same time.

By the same time Dacia finally managed to defeat all the rebellions, for the time being. Another huge one was about to erupt soon enough. Over twenty thousand well armed heavy infatry units were being marched into Argidava, a city just few days from Sarmisegetuza. They were led by a man named Burebista, having the same name of the legendary Burebista that unified Dacia into an empire long time ago. For over one year the two armies bid their time before reaching a conclusive confrontation.
Meanwhile Parthia, took more land from East Rome, leaving its east part only on Anatolia. Pontus and Bosphorus took advantage of the weakness of the empire to declare indipendece and ally themselevs with Parthia, being all but nominally client states. Parthia viewed Dacia as the biggest power in region, despite over a decade now of continous civil war. Insult and declaration of rivalry was sent. All the commerece was cut with Parthia, owning vital territory, was a heavy blow for Dacia. This was exactly what the parthian king was expecting, launchign a direct campaing against Dacia would prove risky, but a prolonged trade war would damage the kingdom already strained.

Surprisingly or maybe unsurprisingly, the rising tribes of Burgundians proved hostile towards Dacia, seing the kingdom as a potential land to settle and expand its growing power. On the bright side, Roman Egypt, fearing total parthian domination in the nearly future, decided to open a new tra route, creating friendly relations. Such a new trade would also benefit East Rome immensly, recover from the biggest civil war it had after the disastrous loss against Parthia earlier. The new trade route would allow the “rotten corpse” of Byzantion to drag more years, as quoted from a roman-egyptian historian. Dacia imported massivly from Roman Egypt, from food to weapons to supply the increasing demand in the continous civil war, the beneficiary would use this vast wealth accumulated to wage wars all across the region, threatening Parthia itself and after its collapse conquer for itself territories all over africa and middle east. Untill the jewish dinasty took power, this created instability, then Dacia later arrived and gave the last fatal hit to an unstable empire, but that is still centuries ahead for now.
With a new trade open, Rubbostes, finally equipped his army with the finest weapons and armous he could import, roman quality, late roman quality. Produced in Egypt, the peak of roman engineering extremly costly to produce and maintain but sturdy and flexible enough. Burebista in the meanwhile reached around twenty thousand troops of dacians. The king had had over thirty thousand men, however less then a third were dacians, everyone else being mercenaries.
Rubbobostes took the initiative, marched from Sarmisegetuza to Argidava. The battle took place somewhere near the city in the mountains. Burebista was an ambitious and capable man but he couldnt not beat the experience of the king, that have been thru costant battles fifteen years now. He split his huge army in half, surrounded Burebista and slaughtered all his twenty thousand men, all dacians, all killed. Not so, he even sent his dacian contingent to attack first and ordereded later the mercenaries to kill every deserter, heavy losses were seen on the royal faction too. The first most brutal war Dacia has seen on its own lands this has ended, but this would be far from the end.

Argidava was almost completly wiped out from the map, after months of siegeing, it surrounded, the capital of rebels was sacked and burned for days. It was too much even for the times. But Rubbobostes didnt stop there. He paraded the decapitated heads rebels' leaders on the streets of Sarmisegetuza along with macabre depictatios of dacians being slaughtered, not barbarians or romans but dacians. Historians of the times, describe this event, as the carts were passing the crowd was completly silent. To everyone seemed like it was a surreal moment. It was not. This was too much even for his most loyal and stubborn supporters, he has crossed the line. Just only a day later Rubbobstes was found dead in his bed, he had been poisoned.

 

[Nikolai]

Quite a turmoil. And so, it seems, Dacia's future has been decided to be a Christian one. Or...?

 

[Falhxer]

Quite a turmoil. And so, it seems, Dacia's future has been decided to be a Christian one. Or...?

Who knows, i've finished my narrative, time to make the map now. Luckily the easiest part now.

 

[Falhxer]

The rule of pileati 146 – 170

​

A rappresentation of Rubbostes II Aedi as is he giving the orders during the night to counter attack the incoming coalition against him. Half of these men would betray him and further desert from his army leaving him with almost six thousand. He was made saint during medieval times, praising him as a martir that stood against the hordes of pagans and heretics.

With the sudden death of the king the situation became very unstable in the kingdom, again.
A relative of Rubbostes more precisely, his new nephew. He tried to march quickly six thousand troops on Sarmisegetuza and quickly seize the city and the power, since he wasnt in the capital during the assassination. He had been designated as successor to Rubbostes. Altought this wasnt his name, he declared himself Rubbostes II Aedi (from the tribe they originally belonged and ruled). In fact many pileati would just take the name of the tribe they used as second name or from the place they came, for newer dynasties. The goal was simple, assert his rightful rule and execute the traitors responsible for the demise of his uncle. Things didnt go as planned, he was betrayed and before his arrival fourteen thousand troops belonging to Dacia and the three client states were expecting him. Many of christian pileati were not happy under the previous administration and feared his successor, infamous for being a cruel and ruthless man, like his uncle, will purge quite a few families of pileati without much consideration.

Most of the army was quickly routed, the mercenay contingent fought to the bitter end and between the dead, Rubbostes II Aedi was there too. It was an unfortunate accident, since a reasonable compromise was made between the two allied factions, defeating the new king would force him to negotiate and accept the new limitations to his power. Now that he was dead, everything fell apart quickly, any reconciliation between the two religions was now impossible. Accusations were flying from both parts, accusing themselves of being the ones responsible for the death of the king. Truth is, whetherver the Rubbostes II Aedi died in battle or was taken prisonier and executed will never be known.

For the next years, a weak peace reigned over the kingdom. Kings rose and were deposed from power from one faction or another. Some killed, some just decided to step down under great pressure or just fearing for their lives. With the most time ruled being around half a year only.

In 150 the stability was finally broken by three almost simultaneus revolts. Slaves in Maladina and Pannensis revolted. The revolts being close to each other, the slaves managed to unifiy boasting a number equal to the dacian army. Before the army managed to organize and march on the rebels. A third, tribesmen revolt in the north near the barbarian lands. Tired of constant oppression and overtaxation, demanding a degree of autonomy.

The zalmoxist pileati decided to use this opportunity to their advantage. Using the excuse to deal with the barbarians first, because closer to them they left the chalcedonian army to bleed itself puting down the revolts. It soon became clear that they did not face the barbarians in north and the entire zalmoxist army took a completly different route. The rebellion had to be put down. Marching again all across Dacia, the tired troops finally engaged and defeated them in in 151.

Under ten thousand men remained in the dacian army, while the pileati from east assembled over twenty thousand men. The chalcedonians now had to suffer odds two to one. Defeat was imminent.

A haste recruit of Pannensis mercenaries made the army reach almost twenty thousand. The Dacian treasury was slowly consumed. Roman-egyptian equipment also played a very important role, the impoverished east pileati could not afford.

The attacking army was caught completly on surprise, with slighlty less men but better equipment the christians defeated them, but failed to deal a fatal blow. It was somehow only a minor skirmish as the attackers decided to quickly retreat. It was a tactic victory but a stretegic blunder.

A favorable deal could not be negotiated for one side or another and a cold white peace was established.

The previously establishment was kept, with more puppet kings, overly increasing warrying pileati between them like in the past decades. If one side it could have been as a weakness in a kigdom was also its strengh, the higly militarized coalitions inside the kingdom discouraged almost any raid or invasion because of how easily they would ally between them to repel any attack to again fight against each other. It continued like this until in 154 a new king took power, Roigos Saldense.
Two years later the same army rose to rebellion again and this time it was over thirty thousand men. However before the confrontation, at least a third of the army died of an unknown plague.
Near the city of Zusidava the already collapsing army was routed completly.
Unfortunatly the king died of plague, only after two years of rule.

Roigos Saldense, a man that rose to power from humble origins. Proved itself as a brave soldier during the reigns of Deceneus the Great and Rubbostes the Tyrant, where he was awarded rank of nobility for his valorous actions. Described as a tolerant man, ready to settle once and for all the issues that plagued the kingdom.

After his last battle he planned to pardon completly any side and institute a decentralized kingdom. Making the tile of king only a supervisor of order and peace and supreme judge, instituing a sort of loose democracy where each most powerful city would control its surroundings and cooperate with its neighbours. A very ambitous and way ahead of its time political planning.

Dacia would become a loose federation of smaller city states bond togheter by the need to defend each other and making internal expansion impossible, but also any external one too. He has lived his entire life thru war and devastation. Pushing for prosperity and peace instead of war and destruction. He wanted an isolationist kigdom of city states overseen by the rapresentative role of the king.

As absurd as may seem for the time, too many were tired of continous war and he had many supporters. Even among the most powerful ones. The nobles of old faith saw this as an attempt to completly neutralize them and another civil war started. Short but with strong consequences. For the second time, Dacia lost another chance to tolarate both religions. It looked like it was bound one to prevail and only time would tell, after all the century of civil war was entering its second half. The troubles in Dacia were far from over.

Uncertain rule by a constatly arguing aristocratic oligarchy followed until in 160 for the first time in dacian history a woman took control.
The daughter of Rubbostes II Aedi took control. It wasnt really real control but an opportunity the east pileati used against the western counter part. It was a very controversial decision for the time, not only she was a woman but was also very young. In reality she was nothing more than a puppet the zalmoxists could control. Citing she was a legitimate child of a legitimate heir the chalcedonians murdered in the battlefield years ago. The reign of Vezina Aedi, was short lived. She would have a minimal role in her time. Forgotten for many centuries, later would be re-discovered by the monks. She was made later a saint. She and her family would find refuge in the League of Urbinum, the Aedi dynasty would resist for more centuries and would prove at a certain point the stepping stone for the Dacian Intervention in Italy. Starting the Italic Wars and triggering later the formation of Holy Roman Empire after a few centuries of oppression.

Four years after her coronation, a combined rebellion in Pannensis; Maladina and Thrace erupted. The local appointed pileati refused to aknowledge the new laws not so long time ago emanated.

To make things worse, a new emperor succded in Egypt and he was clearly anti-dacian, all previously friendly relations were cut and a rivarly status was established again.

A professional army numbering forty thousand was reduced to mere seven thousand men

In 167, a new army of twenty thousand well equipped and trained, mostly comprised of heavy infantry with few contigents of archers and rest being siege equipment and personel rose up in east and was again marching to take Sarmisegetuza. The royal army was under seven thousand men, mostly light infantry with some royal heavy cavalry. Such poorly equiped army would shatter in front of such enemy. The attackers gambled everything on this final war.

In an act of what would be described by many historians, as the act of shame from both parties. Sarmisegetuza was taken after a long siege, before another army could be recruited in time from the south and west of the kingdom. The entire city was cleansed. It isnt clear if was an order from the beggining or the just the consequence of a long plunder and pillage after months and months of harsh siege. Many oh its inhabitants escaped but many more were killed and made slaves, not even the nobles were sparred, most of whose remained being executed as traitors of the kingdom and only and true faith.

A greek historian, that was visiting the kingdom, in what finally appeared an apparent state of peace and tranquility. Quoted from his works:
“Not a living creature was spared in the city, the biggest and most populous of all Dacia and peraphs of the entire world, commoners as nobles all killed, not even the slaves and animals were sparred, accused of worhsipping a false god or beining possessed by evil. Then the old faith replaced the new as the original inhabitants were no more, new peasants were forced to move to the heart bleeding heart of the kingdom while the nobles were trionfantly claiming the spoils of war and riches left in the city.”

After hearing about the massacre in the city the new recruited royal army hurried to occupy advantegous key points and maybe ambush the zalmoxists. In 169, the ambush was launched in the forests near Arcidava.
Despite such a perfectly executed manevuer to counter the enemies half army was lost in action, while the enemy lost slightly a bigger number, five thousand men, was too much for the attackers that had to retreat hastily. Sadly for them after a continous and quick, pursue, highly risky for the attackers, because almost completly disorganised of the enemy could decide to launch an attack would easily crush them, even outnumbered one to ten. However such toughts never crossed the mind of the current general, Cotiso the Coward, as called by the later generations, because needlessly let to the slaughter of his troops beacuse of his indecisive tactics, that was too precupied to escape and fortify himself in a friendly city in south and hope a siege wouldnt come. The mastermind behind the ambush died, uncertain sources claim him to be a relative of the famous general Oroles the Wall. He was caught just outside the city of Acidava, that refused to let them enter, for the fear of being all killed, like in Sarmisegetuza as the news were spreading now even outside Dacia. While he was trying needlessly a siege of Acidava to capture the city and finally fortify it, his army perished along with him. Following the spring of next year the kingdom was again under the old establishment. Was the old finally triumphying? It could have been so but something deadly was approaching the city, the kingdom and the entire continent.

A new plague apperead, it was rumored came from Egypt and then it spread to East Rome and in matter of time all Europe was hit, Dacia was hit by it particularly harsh, killing as much as a third population in some areas and devastating the army. The capital was hit partcularly hard, killing as much as half of its new inhabitants. The plague lasted from 169 to 180 in Dacia and as far as 190 in some parts of Europe, Dacia was hit in the earliest date. It was called, the Byzantine Plague.

 

[Falhxer]

Finally the chapter is out, halfway making the maps i realized i had serious plot holes and i ended up rewritting it 3 times and im still half content with it. Said this, i will try at least to make the 3rd and final chapter of this bloody civil war more interesting

 

[Falhxer]

End of the crisis 171 – 188​

Having lack of records of the epidemic in Dacia, as they were burried in time, a rapresentation in the city of Urbinum in the League of Urbinum as the city, once small, grew becoming an important cultural and trading harbour. It is comminly agreed that the fall of the league was caused by the plague, as the most important cities were hit particularly hard, the league lost slowly but constantly its power in the region till its ultimate demise in 400s.​

The world was about to change like never before. An old era was finishing and a new one was commencing.
The zalmoxist pileati finally achieved the victory they struggled for many decades. It however came at a price, a price that they will have to pay in the next years. A new king was still not elected. It wont be elected till the final showdown between the two faiths, when only one will survive in Dacia and one will become an exiled faith that will survive for a surprising amount of centuries outside the borders of the kingdom.

The winners had their own plans for Dacia. A new king was out of the question. The memories were still too vivid in the collective mind to let another king do whatever he wanted to do. The first one to suffer were indeed the zalmoxist ones, who decided to not take part in the new faith. The oligarchy would remain, the chalcedonian pileati would, also, lose much of their influence and power and become always subordinate. They did not stop here, to make sure the christianity would never rise and become a menace again, the chalcedonian part of the army was completly disbanded. The christians were forbidden to serve in the army or become mercenaries, altought the last one was questionable and rarely respected. They were only allowed to defend their homes from the raids or incoming invasions. The only way to access the military career was to abbandon the new faith swear fedelty to the old one. This was a great mistake. Without realizing what was about to come, thousands were sent to their homes.

The Byzantine Plague would soon cover much of Europe. This plague would profoundly change the balance of power in Europe and re-write history in a total and complete different way otherwise would not have happened.

In the year 170 the kingdom stood at its lowest point. During the civil war travel was delayed or rerouted or aborted all togheter. Festivals, gatherings, sporting events all canceled. The economy plunged and bodies piled up. Then the Byzantine Plague came.
This pestulence spiraled east, west, north and south, crossing borders then seas as it overwhelmed the world. People panicked, doctors were baffled, administrations dwadled and failed.

Where it came from?

Roman-egyptian emperor and co-emperor led the legions in a victorious war against Parthia. Yet they brought home more than treasures plundered from Parthian temples. Most likely the roman-egyptians brought smallpox a disease carried to Parthia by the silk road from far east. As the legions took positions across all the empire and marched into East Rome for some minor concessions. The unkowngly spread the disease.

The soldiers in Dacia, suffered particularly, similarly to roman-egyptian legions, they lived in tighly packed barracks and did not consider hygiene to be a priority. Not surprisingly the plague spread fast.

Especially in Roman Egypt, since there the army did much trade cities and towns the disease spread fast there aswell, reaching Dacia in weeks. Across all the Mediterranean, great merchants who commended whole fleets and shop keepers working in the main streets, found themselves out of business because nobody wanted to go out and trade. Thousands of middle class citizens in Dacia, League of Urbinum, Roman-Egypt aswell Eastern Rome, almost always in defensive wars against the stronger neighbours and even Gallia, the post-roman provinces that mainted a fairly roman style of life there, were reduced to abject poverty. The sub-roman states in Hispania were hit too. The Western Roman empire fell nominally, but states governed in roman style, roman style of life mixed with local customs remained. A strong presence was still there, something the plague was about to change. The epidemic ravaged thru almost all the former half of empire, and eastern counterparts for the next 21 years.
Roman-Egypt and Eastern Rome, being by this time still considered roman and heirs to old Rome. It was said that what remained of the Roman Empire was divided between the weak East Rome and the powerful and rich Roman-Egypt.

It is estimated that 8 to 15 milion had died only of plague. With so many dead the germanic tribes will start an invasion of the western romans states and create new kingdoms, cultures... Only the League of Urbinum will endure the most, preserving the roman culture for a longer time, even after its eventual fall.

At the height of the outbreaking in Sarmisegetuza, one thousand people died each day, in an already devastated and depopulated city not too long ago.

Ironically this saved Dacia. It caused almost as many deaths as the war. Yet the invading forces and raiders brought the smallpox to their lands they were supposed to make bigger and richer and this plague would devastate some tribes that will migrate, this migration would cause a domino effect, like said earlier, that will cause the collapse of the western roman states.

Christianity was only popular in the biggest cities of East Rome and half Dacia. This changed, because christian priests made the special effort to visit the plague victims despite the risk to their health, this deep care for the poor helped spreading christianity in the League of Urbinum and Gallia, Roman-Egypt still resisted the spreading faith and the hispanian peninsula the path of a new religious heresy started some time later. By the beggining of the third century there would several thousands christians within the League, Gallia and Dacian puppets, while Dacia would be almost entirly christian as East Rome. Roman-Egypt would take a different path, a path that later would destroy the empire, but not before fighting against Dacia in Anatolia and almost completly obliterating its army, but thats a tale for another time.

Four thousand men, remained in the Dacian army in 171. Not only the plague was spreading thru kingdom but also rebellions. Chalcedonian insurections against the new rule, or the old rule being reestablished, either way, rebellions in Maladina and Dacia took place. The total number of rebels being eighteen to twenty thousand men, the kingdom had four thousand...
In 172 the army grew to seven thousand and with further reinforcements, to twenty thousand. A number that would not stay that high for long.

The year 173 came and despite a clear numerical and equipment advantage, little to no progress was made. The rebellions had not been put down, the army was split across all over the kingdom, the nobilty panicked left the cities to escape the epidemic, the army was dying by each passing day and to make things worse fifteen thousand chalcedonian militia rose to arms to opose the incompentent government. Such army rose in east, soon the zalmoxist faith would find itself in minority in the kingdom and during the final battle less than a third of the kingdom would be zalmoxist as the christianity would spread as never before.

This would not mean the end of the old faith, that will survive for centuries outside the borders of kingdom as the exiles left the kingdom for other lands to settle, bringing with them technology and knowledge, having a lasting impact on nearby tribes that would, centuries ahead, slowly submit the neighbours and create something bigger, now back to the current situation.

Famine was striking Dacia, severe famine in many parts of the kingdom. The army was tiny and ineffective. The recruitment was slow, there was a severe lack of military officers. Many running away from the pandemic, many dead, because of the pandemic.
This volatile situation will continue for years, in 176 the biggest rebel army would be defeated while marching on Sarmisegetuza, to take the city again, after a brutal battle the army that managed to recover in part was again in a state of pity and misery as many died during this brutal battle.
Other rebels kept devastating the area outside the direct control of capital, leading to further tragic loss of lives.

Back to one year, 175, Pannensis “officially” annexed Dacian land, “rebels” demanded the land to be incorporated into Pannensis. It was the on the orders of the governor that was ruling the client-state. A province that managed to avoid the plague, was put under his temporary protection, while he transefered there, justifing it as temporary proction against western raiders and this matter he was actually right. Obviously he build large estates and started the expansion of his personal army. If this would have happened during stable and peaceful times, the responsible would be immediatly court trialed and executed for high treason against the kingdom, if. During the situation of those years, the kingdom was in an almost state of collapse, a central figure lacked, the remaining pileati in power, did what they could to save themselves, their regional power and wealth, no one was there to say anything against, no one really cared.

The overall situation will slighty stabilize in 179, where the last rebel army would be defeated. The lands they controlled simply could not be controlled anymore and simply returned to the kingdom. The peace will reign finally, well no, 180, four new rebellions in one year, the army, could simply not recover fast enough to deal with all the insurections, men were dying like flies. A solution was there, simple enough, but that one had the individual power nor will to enact, resind the law that forbids the chalcedonian to join the army. Soon, soon it would become a disaster, for the governing class, a man was creating his private army somewhere in Pannensis near the border with Dacia in a recently annexed province.

In 182 a spontaneous chalcedonian rebellion broke in the city of Polondava, once a bastion of zalmoxist faith in the east, the times were changing. The city or Cornidava, soon followed, twenty thousand peasants in total, or what remained of the population of once these prosperous cities, as they were left almost untouched during the chalcedonian raids against the zalmoxists pileati holdings during the reign of Rubbostes the Tyrant. Their proximity to friendly city made them less of a target for the commercial trade routes the cities were bringing, a less fortunate fate for the eastern cities, is well known.

In 184, the army defeated the half of rebels in the city of Nentidava, near Polondava, however the second rebel army suddenly attacked the exhausted army, two third of army were completly oblitared by the rebels. The next year as the army was recovering after the disastrous defeat and lacking any proper commander, after the higher ups have been killed as the highquarter has been stormed by enemies and completly slaughtered. A minor revolt took place in Maladina. By the end of the summer, the army united with a thracian army and marched towards Maladina.

However by 186, while reaching the capital to reinforce an army coming from west launched an all out assault on the zalmoxist remnant of what could barely be called an army.
It was a private army, an army that a man has been recruiting since 175, the future king of Dacia, Spartacos Albocense. The dynasty that would see the transition of Dacia from kingdom to empire, the dynasty that would be brutally murdered in future, but for now is the dynasty that would end once and for all the civil war. The Crisis of the Second Century, that changed Dacia forever.

 

[Falhxer]

I have a lot of fun writting this aar and making some lore up, very important, since ill have to create a ckii mod from scratch to continue my story. For whose reading but still not have commented yet, please comment, it is always a pleasure to read the comments. As i promised i tried to make the final chapter of this part of the story, better than the previous one, what are your opinions? Was this the most intense one or the previous one ?

 

[All_Father]

I have a lot of fun writting this aar and making some lore up, very important, since ill have to create a ckii mod from scratch to continue my story. For whose reading but still not have commented yet, please comment, it is always a pleasure to read the comments. As i promised i tried to make the final chapter of this part of the story, better than the previous one, what are your opinions? Was this the most intense one or the previous one ?

One of the thing I love about this AAR is the map, it really helps the reader understand what is happening and where, and the zalxonite exile are spreading technology into Russia? Or am I simply looking too far and they are just spreading it to the tribes next to Dacia?

 

[Falhxer]

One of the thing I love about this AAR is the map, it really helps the reader understand what is happening and where, and the zalxonite exile are spreading technology into Russia? Or am I simply looking too far and they are just spreading it to the tribes next to Dacia?

Actually, they are going west, since historically barbarian migrations happened later, i had to find a reason why they would happen earlier, in game after the roman collapse in west and sequentially in east and finally in south, anyway in game the religion really survived in the austro-venetian-bavarian area for quite some time and, i cant really rememeber now, but i will write everything down the road, some nation was zalmoxist indeed. Now that i think, few of what i write did not really happen, i just tend to add a lot of flavour around it, hehe . Russian regions were very little involved in this timeline, involved at least with Dacia, they sure fought between themselves and with nomands a lot, but that's, thats spoilers for the future.

 

[Falhxer]

Twenty years of peace 189-209

​

Dacia did not really stay at peace during those twenty years. It had a small border intervention in the south and later one some nobles rebelling because of centralizing policies of Spartacos.
But these were just minor incoveniences looking at what happened a few decades earlier.
A bit of flashback before 189, as the narration stopped at 186, with him defeating the zalmoxists once and for all. What happened during those three years ?

The situation got complicated, sort of, by 180, Dacia was already free of plague and started slowly recovering. Summarizing briefly the events from five years earlier: the chalcedonian most powerful pileati allied togheter to overthrow the unpopular zalmoxist administration. The kingdom was already majority christian, when they decided to strike and they had some popular support, in 175, they mistankenly tought the plague was over. In the cities they tried to set as bases for their military campaign, the massive influx of soldiers facilitated an easy spread of plague, as those cities were recovering, a second wave of plague hit again. They failed, only by weaking everyone, Spartacos was able to undisputedly take over the entire kingdom so fast.

In 187 he consolidated his power in Sarmisegetuza. He controlled most of north-west of Dacia and was “allied” with Pannensis, technically, a client state, subordinate to Dacia, but now was acting like an indipendent entity. He negotiated with the rebels in Pannensis, and allied to them, but they controlled Pannensis, so at this point in time, Pannensis was really indipendent from Dacia. It was a complicated mess. One year later, Pannensis temporally annexed Maladina, a surbordinate state attacking another one, both subordinate to Dacia, normally this would sparkle outrage all over the kingdom and even in the neighbouring civilized states. Normally, the world was changing rapidly, Spartacos was a charismatic and ruthless man and he would jump on the wagon of opportunity.
He adopted the strategy of panem et circenses, a popular method the roman-egyptian emperors were keeping their population in check.

The rebels, now officially, altough only recognized by Spartacos and his supporters, legitimate pannensi soldiers marched into Maladina without spilling one drop of blood and withing two months was annexed. In 188 the south-west and some south estern cities in Dacia, agreed to swear fealty to the new third rising power. During the entire spring and summer, an army of 30.000 men was fielded somewhere near the eastern border. In autumn, Spartacos send an ultimatum, unconditional surrender by everyone, be chalcedonian or zalmoxist pileati he would destroy them all. It obviously was a bluff, to raise such a big army, many towns and villages were emptied to the last man and large part of the army was under equipped. Spartacos instead greatly exagerated the capabilities of his army. He was sure this gamble will pay well and he was right! By the end of 188, Dacia was under his total control, a precarious one, but finally, once again, a single man finally united the struggling kingdom, under one ruler.

He would be praised and future poems and works would be wrote about the one whom saved Dacia, the saviour. Later after his death, he would be santified. Fiction was one thing and reality another, as much as he was described as a pious and virtuous man, he did many things, that at that time would have been easily described as sinful and dishonorable. In the end, he brought stability and peace, he was victor.

In 189 he issued the edict of Argidava where the zalmoxist faith was forbidden in Dacia. It did not stop only there, two years later, the edict was expanded, and it had dire consequences for many. It stated that any zalmoxist believer would be expulsed from the kingdom and their wealth confiscated. Pesants would be able to convert and thus be forgiven, an argument was introduced that they were illiterate and suffered hard years of war and plague and thus could not decide what was good and bad, they were viewed as cattle, only good for collect taxes from and send them into war to conquer more lands for their lords and make them richer, Spartacos was not any different from the previous administration. The pileati were excluded obviously, he orderered the assassination of the most prone to rebellion and confiscated wast amounts of wealth from the submissive ones and kicked them outside Dacia, revoking the status of nobles, they were merely freemen now.

The majority whom left Dacia migrated to Pannensis. Pannensis now was no several times larger and could soon have an army comparable to Dacia, the situation could turn yet into another war at any point now, if Spartacos was to play his cards poorly.

He instead had a great hand and played it aswell. In 192 an internal struggler for power, in Pannensis, occured, an important figure was assasinated and the newly “allied” kingdom to Dacia was having internal problems. From a legal point of view, Pannensis was still subordinate to Dacia, but in reality has become an indipendent entity that gained indipendence, seized the large state of Maladina, without any say from Spartacos, since he needed their support.

In one year he managed to imprison all the powerful figures in Greater Pannensis, as it was started to been called and put an end to the new kingdom, dividing to the previous borders of 175. The indipendence has ended. He had some degree of autority in Greater Pannensis, he used the enemies of his enemies to put the situation under control, legally he was allowed to arrest the ruling elite for treason, because an official statement where Greater Pannensis was a sovereign kingdom was never issued.

In past he promised the rebels that they will keep the power, he now went back on his word and had them all executed within days. After all, he was now the king, the legitimate king of Dacia, as everyone agreed peacefully or... forcefully. They were just dangerous elements he had to get rid of, he needed the taxes of Pannensis and Maladina but most importantly the mediterranean trade.

After this he divided most of Maladina and gave land to his loyal supporters. The kingdom, was still one, but an early form of feudal system was introduced for the first time in Dacia.

In 194, a suspicious seccession occured, Spartacos remained silent and let events to unfold. More than half of Pannensis secceded in the newly formed kingdom of Gotinia.
Historians suspect, Spartacos was worried of the growing power of Pannensis, the much smaller state, had managed to influence the bigger kingdom and ambitiously took large chunks of land.
The “barbarian” kingdom of Gotinia, as Spartacos implied, had to leave Dacia, rather be allies, than subjugate them and have to worry constantly about rebellions. It was all a fabrication, Pannensis, had been extremly stable in the past decades, the rebellions targeting specifically governemnt buildings, as they have been put down over and over, and indipendentist sentiment was growing in the population, that saw itself, despite many dacians living there, as not dacian. They were tired to constantly fund wars, pay massive annual tributes and provide a costant flow of manpower.
The people of Gotinia were as civilized as the people in Rome, roads and infrastructures were build across all the kingdom. The alliance was officially formalised a year later.

In 198 news arrived that a small kingdom has left East Rome. Spartacos was focused on reviving Dacia and bring prosperity, but this was an opportunity too good to miss. Especially on personal request of the ruling noble in Thracia. Thracia has been relativly neutral during the civil war, suffered mildly during the pandemic and recovered fast. Amadocus of Thracia, the current ruler, requested dacian intervention in Odrysia. He argumented the odrysians were weak and East Rome would not waste much time to reconquer them back.

A jointed invasion of Odrysia started in 202, Spartacos sent two armies and Amadocus personally commanded the thracian army. By the end of the year, despite the valiant effort, most of Odrysia was captured. It took a considerable time to recruit a proper army, Odrysia was no threat, if however East Rome was to object, Dacia would have to fight with the two regional powers, possibly allied against the common foe, a possibility Spartacos did not want to discard.

Meanwhile a considerable force of 20.000 were sent marching rapidly to the capital to siege the city and kill Spartacos. Pileati from cities in south-east were unhappy with his efforts of centralization. The rise of such a big army worried them greatly, his new laws were now backed by his military power and few now could really oppose him, the last attempt was made, the last battle the pileati, that plunged Dacia in decades of endless war, were willing to try, all or nothing. Nothing was achieved.

Almost as the city was about to be taken, 35.000 stormed the besiegers and defeated them, while Amadocus concluded the campaign on his own. Dacia took the coastal cities, leaving Thracia land locked and dependent on dacian merchant ships. Excluding this inconvinient Thracia doubled its size.

After this incident many nobles fled the kingdom, bringing the riches with them, some being easy pray on the sea, to pirats, but some taking important roles, in the lands they ran, one day they will return and that would be an ugly day for Dacia.

East Rome felt very threatened after such an unjustified conquest, troops just marched and took land. The emperor in Byzantion was very concerned. Should he mobilize and strike back? But in the first place if he was not able to hold togheter Odrysia. The problems were many and the solutions few. He decided to send an envoy to Dacia along with gifts to improve the situation with the dacians. Spartacos, looked like a resonable man and he would be able to negotiate a non-aggression pact. Ioannes V Phouskarnaki, knew that Dacia had finally ended it's long civil war and now was quite peaceful, Odrysia, was indeed a golden opportunity, only fools would have not taken. Dacia was not the only one problem. The empire had lost over and over lands to Cappadocia and Pontus.

In 207, Spartacos enforced christianity Pannensis and Maladina. The dacian army has been reduced to 23.000, but was a professional standing army. Few years earlier, the destroyed dacian fleet, was slowly revived, much of funds being directed to the army, but it was an important step.

In 208 Cappadocia declared another war to East Rome, the emperor sent another envoy to Dacia, the relations were rapidly improving between the two powers. Ioannes guaranteed that Dacia would have more influence over the sea and some parts of the anatolian region, while Byzantion will be able to control again most of the lost lands. It was a somewhat risky gamble for Ioannes since, Dacia could just roll over everything and just take whatever they wanted, but he had no other better options, Cappadocia was invading mainland Hellas. This call for dacian intervention in the Cappadocian-Byzantine war almost took place. Shortly before 209, Dacia declared that intends to protect to sovereigny of the empire, this greatly worried the attackers, the cappadocians, that now were panicking. Dacia was about to enter the war next year.

The political situation in 209, it was very volatile during those times and the borders would drastically change in few years.

A year before Dacia would enter in the Byzantine-Cappadocian War to avoid total roman collapse. Cappadocia launched an steady and unrelelentless conquest of East Rome. Another short war tht was supposed to gain control over some lands in Anatolia transformed in a war of total conquest. It is unclear the why of such mindset, as the tribute the romans paid to Cappadocia was plenty and brought great prosperity, taking over the empire, would bring immediate problems, but in the long run, it could be beneficial, so beneficial in fact Cappadocia could become a serious threat to Dacia. As the capital was besieged, a successful naval attack, left the mainland Hellas completly exposed, as only garrisons were defending the principal cities the landed army was simply taking over them with ease. East Rome did not have a fleet to defend itself, even decades before the plague the Roman-Egyptian Empire destroyed to the last ship the east roman fleet. Only trading vessels were allowed, piracy was very common as the trade could not be secured by force, on the the many factors of a never ceasing decline of the empire.
As Parthia fell, new kingdoms slowly rose to power, many were dependent on the whim of the roman-egyptian emperors, gradually as the empire declined and powerful persian kingdoms established again after Parthia, costant warfare engulfed the region.

 

[Falhxer]

The Dacian Campaign: first incursions, 210​

Events sometimes unfold in an unpredictable way. For example a massive burgundian invasion, that would force Dacia to not intervene in the Byzantine-Cappadocian War, unfortunatly, it was exactly what happened.

The year is 210, combined army force of 33.000 was slowly but coordinatly marching into East Rome to free captured cities on the border, altough Dacia was not at war officially with Cappadocia, the troops, neverless were marching. When a messanger arrived to Spartacos, the horse almost immediatly collapsed dead and the man handed hastly a plea for urgent help from the northern territories. A storm, a huge storm was coming on the shores of Dacia and was not from the sea but from the cold north. Burgundians, Hermunduri, Lombards, Marcomanni and Pomerani, a massive alliance of tribes was invading Dacia. Needless to say, the plan for intervention in Hellas, was scrambled immediatly. It was not all lost, however, the declaration of indipendence made a lasting effect on Cappadocia. The king, worried, Dacia might invade as a third party and gain the most out of this all out war between the two ionic powers. The cappadocian king, did not knew about the barbarian invasion from north, he previously also sent envoys, to get on the good side of king, assuring him, it would not harm Dacia in any way and would only benefit the country.


The times were dire, Spartacos, had his hands tied, he sent his ultimatum, altough could do nothing for now even if the whole empire would fall. A sort of agreement was reached, where Cappadocia was free to take any byzantine land in anatolia but refrain from conquering lands past Byzantion.

The comminacations were made while the amry was marching towards north, somehow the cappadocians caught up to what was Dacia, war, a foreign war somwhere far north. It was strange that the entire army was moving, what kind of enemy was forcing Dacia, to moblize its entire army and recruit on the way more?

Before not long, in autumn, news spread to Cappadocia too that Dacia was at war with a grand alliance of barbarian tribes. The king disregarded Spartacos' ultimatum and invaded past Byzantion, taking the city and few other important cities, but decided it was unwise to push further, a dacian-byzantine retaliation could be a real possibility soon enough. The best strategy for the time being was forcing East Rome to pay heavy tributes to strenghten the defenses in the area and gather allies, while at the same time trying to keep friendly the dacians. The year 210 ended in complete dacian politcal incapacity, imminent collapse of East Rome and the rising power of Cappadocia.

The times of troubles however were only starting, this would be only the first war with the burgundians, defeated, they will still not fail to cause Dacia problems in future centuries.

Back to Cappadocia, towards the end of the year, Sparatcos decided to revoke his commitment to East Rome and instead accept the friendly request and alliance with Cappadocia, it was more of a non-aggression pact instead of a proper alliance but was the first step. For now, their unrelentless conquest has been put to a halt, East Rome was almost a puppet in their hands, that was the pressing issue Dacia could not ignore but unable to deal with. In the time Dacia was biding its time with Cappadocia, the last one, made strong allies with Alans, Atropatene and some few minor power, the region was suddenly becoming a strange sort of powder keg. The Pontic Kingdom and Palmyrean Kingdom were allied between them and Roman-Egypt was backing both of them, sooner or later a war of massive proportion had to happen.

A year earlier, the great chief of burgundians, Sigismund, conquered the venedi slavic traibes, gaining a lot of manpower, he intended to use againsta Dacia. The tribal alliance force of 45.000 light armed soldiers and an impressive 20.000 light horsemen. Dacia on the other hand, had 15.000 light infantry, 20.000 heavy infantry and 5.000 heavy cavalry. With time, the importance of cavalry had fallen out of use in dacian militarly as the civil war dictated strong use of infantry in the mountainous region of carpathians. Not soon after the start of the war, the withdrawal of troops from Maladina caused a massive slave uprising.

Half of the army, was sent to battle the incoming barbarians, while the other half, moslty belonging to the client states was sent to destroy the rebels, the total number of the troops were as well increasing.

Near the city of Petridava the first engagement happened, as the city was besieged, 24.000 were sent to defeat, 15.000 burgundians and hermunduri, the number was supposed to be bigger, numbering 33.000, but the 18.000 men that were supposed to be there, were far too separated to help in time, Sigismund had to witness helpless as the entirety of his army was butchered. Of 15.000 warriors only few more than 4.000 infantry and barely 1.500 cavarly were able to escape.

This first battle was a complete disaster for the invaders. The morale of the troops plumetted while the presence of Spartacos as commander only boosted the morale of the dacians.

The next battle, happened in the nearby city of Carsidava, 18.000 marcomanni, leaded by their chief, Vithicab, launched a surprise attack on 5.000 thracian reinforcements, Spartacos rushed to help the unfortunate soldiers, before he was able to do anything, the marcomanni retreated fast, dealing 40% loss to the tracian reinforcement. The reorganised burgundians and hermunduri united to form an army of 28.000 while in north-west 14.000 troops comprised of mixed tribes were crossing into Pannensis and launching heavy raids. The situation with the slaves had not been resolved yet also, splitting the army would result in absolute disaster, the number of barbarians was only growing bigger by each day, no matter how many were killed, these were the conclusion of Spartacos, he was right on most thing, except the growing number of barbarians. In fact the ability to get any significant advantage in the war, made many chiefs doubt about the capabilities of Sigismund as great ruler and conqueror.

Not even a year had passed, and most of the barbarians were retiring, thinking, this war was not worth the gain, the dacian army was an indestructible wall. In autumn the last final battle took place, 11.000 hermunduri were reduced to half by the dacians, before an unorganised retreat, chase was not given, it was pointless, by now even the instigator of this war, Sigismund, retreated all his troops from Dacia, only the hermundurians, were stubborn enough to continue the war, but as they were left alone, they had been easily defeated. This had a great negative impact on Burgundy, as many saw this war as treacherous act to abbandon the allies and let them perish by the hand of dacians. This war, would cause in future an even bigger alliance to form, however unrelated to the direct burgundian-dacian conflict, but unrestricted dacian conquest of germanic lands. In the end these wars only brought nothing if not death and destruction to both sides.

Dacia did not exactly won this war, it was more a decision of Sigismund to retreat. Some tribes paid a simbolic reparation sum for the devastation caused and Dacia convinced the marcomanni to leave their alliance with Burgundy, because nothing good was to be gained.
The first Burgundian Invasion, however was nothing but a testing ground for Sigismund, he wanted to measure the dacian strenght, it was still not over but Spartacos would not live to see the second war but his son, Tarabostes I Albocense.

 

[HistoryDude]

Interesting stuff...

It seems as if there will be no Byzantium or Sassania here. There is no glorious conflict between Persia and Eastern Rome.

Looking forward to more!

 

[Falhxer]

Interesting stuff...

It seems as if there will be no Byzantium or Sassania here. There is no glorious conflict between Persia and Eastern Rome.

Looking forward to more!

Yeah, sadly East Rome was destroyed by the time i finished my civil war. Sassanids never rose to power, it took a very long time, in a balkanized Persia for a serious power to rise and in the end i had to fight a bigger alliance instead of one foe. I was so close taking over Persia, until the Caliphate arrived...