Megacampaign part 1 - Old Dacia

[Falhxer]

​

Dacia at the peak of its expansion in 638, shortly before losing vast territories to a new rising power, the Rashidun Caliphate. The previous Persian Wars weakened the empire enough to crumble under the weight of a new invader. In just a few years, a massive empire will knock at the Dacian doors, halting its expansion and creating a new defensive mentality.

(This is an older map I made a long time ago. The AAR will diverge from its original path as I decided to mod it first into Imperium Universalis, a mod for EUIV. Yeah, a submod for a mod, but it took too long and the submod was constantly breaking down, which made me reconsider. After I upgraded to a better machine that could run Imperator: Rome, I decided to port it into that. This AAR ends around 290s and the next part will begin with Imperator: Rome.)


Hello everyone reading my AAR. I hope you will enjoy it, even if the initial writing style will change quite a bit down the road.

The version of the game I'm playing is 1.29. I used a few mods, but the ones that really changed the gameplay were a few I created. One mod boosted the casualties to make them realistic for the victims in ancient battles and another one boosted the Caliphate. I felt the new rising Caliphate was too weak, so I just boosted it, by a lot, to make it a worthy foe.

English is not my native language, sorry for any grammar errors. (As of now in 2023, I will start using AI to help me with grammar and write in a much clearer and better way than before.)

Well, there isn't much more I want to except enjoy the AAR!!!



last time edited: 9/1/23 (d/m/y format)

​

 

[Falhxer]

The collapse of an empire 62-74​

In 62, a series of political failures led the Roman Empire to an abrupt end. It was split into two parts to ensure better administration and stability: the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, which was named after its city Byzantion, but later an emperor called it Constantinople in his honor.

The Western Roman Empire was somewhat stable and only lost some territories to tribes. Byzantium, on the other hand, was experiencing a temporary civil war and rebellious generals trying to split the empire to carve out their own.

Dacia was ruled by an oligarchy in 62, with the king serving as a nominal figure. In 61, Dacia, allied with the Gepids, launched an attack against the Slavic tribes of Antes and their ally Venedi.

The war ended by the end of the next year. Chronicles report heavy casualties on both sides, as the Slavic tribes resisted the Thracian and Germanic invaders as much as possible. The demands weren't as great as the price paid, but controlling more territory proved difficult because many died during that short war. The winning party decided to settle for more lenient demands, more for practical reasons than moral ones.

In 65, Dacia announced its ambitions to gain more land around the Black Sea in order to increase trade. To the east, the council was already planning to invade and defeat the Iazyges, a seminomadic tribe of Persians similar to the Sarmatians. Their existence posed a threat to Dacia because they could launch a double attack or, at the very least, cause massive devastation in the area.

Dacia's relations with Byzantium were not good at all. Dacia desired more coastal land, while Byzantium desired the Dacian gold mines. Historians still argue today that by 120, Byzantium could have crushed Dacia if it weren't for the disaster against Parthia, where all of Byzantium's armies were completely wiped out by Parthian cavalry, which had surrounded them. This made the decline of the empire inevitable, and the Greeks wouldn't see freedom for another thousand years, or at least semi-autonomy under Dacian rule later on. Greek dukes would gain more and more power in the medieval times.

Some other historians argue that the fall of Byzantium was just a change of name from Byzantium to Dacia, as soon as the region was conquered. Little to nothing was changed, in fact Dacia adopted Roman traditions, allowing for a stable and growing empire before the Persian Wars and the Arab conquests, which stopped the empire from growing and instead forced it to build walls on all its borders.

In 69, a brief and unclear war happened between Dacia and Sarmatia with the goal of completely wiping them out. The Alans agreed to invade, happy to take territory from their rival.

However, it didn't go as planned. The majority of Alan land was subjugated, and Dacia found itself alone in the open steppes against horse lords after some minor defeats. A honorable peace was achieved, in which the Sarmatians had to pay a symbolic tribute. It was a useless war that only strengthened Dacia's enemies.

By 72, rumors were spreading that the Western Roman Empire was failing, torn apart by civil war and barbarian invasions.

Gallia, a Roman kingdom under rebellious generals, was rising. The Suevi migrated into Hispania and established a kingdom there. A smaller kingdom, Aquitaine, was seizing land from the old empire. Though insignificant for many centuries, it would become a major power by the end of the medieval times. Mixed Roman-barbarian kingdoms such as Genoa and Venice were claiming the north.

While the rest of the peninsula was just fracturing into smaller sub-Roman states.

last time edited: 18/1/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[Falhxer]

​

The foundations of an empire 75-89​

After a few years of peace, another war was started. It was a bold move. Vastly outnumbered by its foes, in the end, Dacia managed to win, slowly paving its path to glory and the greatness of the Old Dacian Empire, a nostalgia that led to the recreation of the second empire during the Victoria Era. But enough digressions.

The year of fate was 78 AD. Still not fully recovered from the precedent war, without any reserve of manpower, Dacia launched itself in a full attack on the western borders. A single man was responsible for this, but for now, he was just a very influential noble in the council.

​

After killing almost ten thousand Gepids in an elaborate ambush, a peace agreement was achieved with Gepidia, where they would have to pay a tribute to Dacia for ten years.

A general distinguished himself, Oroles the Wall, called that way because he was able to organize the army in tight formations similar to the Romans, but with the ability to move freely in the forests, lure the enemy in ambush in disadvantageous places and slaughter them all. He is the first general with written accounts about.

​

The casualties are not clear, however, it is believed he lost six thousand men in total against twenty thousand of the enemy. The Iazyges were crushed.
This battle marked the start of Dacian land supremacy for the next few centuries.

In 79, the surrounding neighbours started to look at Dacia no more as a mere regional power but as an established rising power, capable of rivaling the old empires.

With the Iazyges under control, Dacia could claim further provinces into the collapsing Western Roman Empire.

Which is exactly what they did. The empire itself had no more than one thousand men directly guarding the emperor, if he could still be called as one, an infant under an incompetent regency council. Old corrupt men, more worrying about their riches than the empire collapsing.
Sixteen thousand men flooded the undefended Roman border. An incident happened where the Iazyges started to raid Dacian land, or more precisely, former Iazyge land, claiming they mistook it for Roman land. It was aimed to retake as much riches as possible. The vassal was still deeply disloyal if not capable of rebelling on its own. After the war, the Iazyge ruler was thrown into the Danube for his acts, and later the lands would be directly incorporated into Dacia to avoid such incidents. Despite initial success, the war would prove to be long and sluggish, with continuous small skirmishes only to be culminated by the battle of Carthago Nova, meanwhile the Dacian army was becoming highly professional and trained.

By 81, Byzantium revoked its claims directly on Dacian lands, as a rebel pretender declared Egypt as an independent entity, putting Byzantium in a precarious situation, surrounded on three sides by enemies: Dacia, Parthia, and Egypt.

The kingdoms in northern Italy were highly unstable. In fact, the entire western Europe was completely devastated. News spread soon that Genoa fell in civil war. As the old ruler died, the sons went to war to claim the kingdom for themselves.

A strong king in 82 ascended to power. Deceneus I introduced new Roman technology, making Dacia more wealthy.

By 84, the Burgundians thought they could easily overpower the Gepids, who had lost important wars till that point. After three years of brutal fighting, not only did they manage to defend their homeland but also pushed deep into Burgundian territory, leaving Burgundy as a minor tribe, to be conquered by someone else anytime soon. This was bad news. Dacia was growing in power, but so were its enemies.

The Tales of Scorilo the Great started to appear during that period too. As disproven by historians, he was nothing but a mere pawn in the hands of nobles. It was just an elaborate propaganda Deceneus was using to justify his ascension to power and avoid the same as his predecessor. It is also claimed in very controversial theses that he was the one responsible for killing Scorilo and capitalizing on his "successes" as a righteous ruler. It worked. He introduced the alphabet, inspired by Romans, as advancing into Roman land more and more technology and culture was assimilated into Dacia. The military tactics and equipment were also started to become more and more standardized across the kingdom, under the rule of Deceneus I.

As Western Rome lost almost all the control over the Italy except some isolated cities. Hispania became the central core of the empire. With Carthago Nova as its capital. In 88 after many months of march the army reached the capital. A prolonged siege made the capital surrender after months and months of siege. Peace was finally achieved, Dacia lost twenty thousand men, seven thousand only to attrition and the rest fighting a rebel general in Hispania that aimed to control the empire themselves and repel the invaders. Oroles the Wall managed to win, it was a defensive fight, outnumbered by the enemy, as months of marches took it heavy toll on an already worn out army. The enemy had almost no cavalry, while Oroles had the Iazyge heavy cavarly with which he butchered the roman cavarly and attacked from behind the romans, this caused total rout of the romans that were chased and many killed by the cavalry. The name of roman general remains unknown as he was killed during the chaos.

​

The peace treaty was pretty heavy for the romans as they had to relinquish the Balkans and Pannonia.

last time edited: 18/1/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[Falhxer]

Towards Isolationism 90-92​

​

Following the next year, 90, Deceneus decided to cut down any diplomatic relations with any uncivilized neighbour. He deemed them a little better than savages. Like the Germanic tribes in the north, the nomads in the east, and the unstable Germanic-Roman kingdoms in northern Italy. ​

Until the 3rd century, Dacia will have some allies, here and there. Short, unstable alliances, made on the rush, being more about to secure areas from invasion while launching attacks in other areas.​

​

The alliance with Siracia was broken, even the royal ties, sending back many nobles. Dacia did not need unreliable allies that one day are stable and the next one embroiled in civil war or calling Dacia into useless wars where it would gain nothing at best. The decision he was about to make would completely change the way Dacia looked at the world. A new era of deep distrust and isolationism was about to begin. Where even commerce would be highly limited, inducing the conquest of new lands as the demand for goods was increasing, from prolonged internal prosperity. Dacia would not commerce, but rather conquer, as Rome. However, Rome was no more. Divided, weak and decadent.​

​

Deceneus knew it would be only a matter of time before Dacia would further advance into Roman land, especially Byzantine land. He deemed the west to be a wasteland of barbarians and endless wars, the prosperity once there was no more. The East on the other hand, was civilized, prosperous and rich. That was the land that should be taken. His thoughts were too early for his era. He knew he wouldn't be able to conquer those lands himself, but maybe his successors...
He founded this mentality of conquering the East and mostly ignoring the West, fortifying it. Building extensive walls, outposts and heavy fortified fortresses to protect themselves from the savagery. Savages and civilized people could simply not live together, Rome let them inside and this was the reason of their downfall.

Historically, the reasons are actually more complicated than simply barbarian invasions. A series of unfortunate events made the empire crumble and be divided. What was supposed to be the solution to the problems of Rome actually accelerated its dissolution. A new restored empire, or rather a poor attempt was made in the dark ages. Called dark ages, because of a total degradation of the urban and rural areas. The Dacian Empire became highly decentralized, where the emperor sometimes was only a mere figure. Civil wars were as frequent as the change of seasons. Back to the restored empire, it was a king that in the second half of 8th century manage to crash Dacian hegemony in Italy, bring most of Gaul under his iron rule, and annihilated the last Arian king in Hispania, ending the Arian faith in Europe.

Such large conflicts erupted because of the ambition of Dardanos Aedi, to create the Daco-Roman empire with the ambition to take over Italy and finally cement his rule as absolute. Himself and his dynasty as chosen from God. His failure would lead to a chain of disastrous consequences.
But that will happen many, many centuries ahead. For now, Dacia is just emerging as an established power in the region more and more.
Two new client kingdoms were created, ruled by the current king and the council of nobles. Maladina and Pannensis were thus born. Maladina, roughly meaning sealand, despite having large areas of mainland and Pannensis being a butchered pronunciation of how the locals called it.

Deceneus kept his promise and dissolved any ties with the barbaric kingdoms. This caused immediate civil war in Venice, as the alliance with Dacia was the only thing the king could display as power and threat and call them against his enemies. Soon Venice will be reduced into irrelevance, as powerful support faded away and unified sub-Roman states were rising in the south, meaning the Romans weren't done...not yet.

In May, envoys were sent to Byzantium to announce the new rivalry, sadly, they never came back...
Maladina proved immediately to be a very unstable area. With never-ending tensions between the population with very often rebellions. From the beginning of its creation, it became a constant drain of manpower and resources, till the very end until its final annexation at the beginning of the 5th century.
Pannensis, smaller in size, had its fair share of instability too. However, it almost always had a bigger army, a better economy, and population homogeneity.
Iazygia, considered a dangerous subject, had to be incorporated into Dacia as soon as possible.

News of war between Sarmatia and Alania worried Deceneus, as Sarmatia was becoming too big and powerful.

Tensions were high, and Dacian nobles outright declared Byzantine territory as lawfully theirs, claiming that the Romans had no right to it - highly dubious claims, but nonetheless useful to Deceneus.
As more and more revolts erupted in Maladina, the nobles claimed more and more territory as theirs. A new threat arose: Sarmatia emerged victorious over Alania and the khagan was ready to expand into Dacia.

last time edited: 18/1/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[generalis Julius Caesar]

Nice AAR. I really love this idea.

 

[Falhxer]

Nice AAR. I really love this idea.

Thank you very much !

 

[Falhxer]

The Second Sarmatian War 93-95​

Dacia had invested significant resources and manpower to suppress the rebels in its client states. Manpower was now a luxury, and the army was the shadow of its former self. However, Deceneus had gold, Roman gold. He decided to put that gold to good use.
The devastation in the area left many men desperate. In order to feed their families, as the fields were all devastated and barren, many took the inviting opportunity to become mercenaries. Men from all over the Balkans rallied under the call of Deceneus. He was promising good and stable pay. All they had to do was die for Dacia, become loyal mercenaries, and if they returned, they would be rewarded with great riches.
It was the usual propaganda, however, desperate men came in thousands to become mercenaries. Exactly what Deceneus needed. He promised many things, but he wouldn't exactly keep his word. He was a ruthless, deceitful, greedy and sometimes cruel man, who would stop at nothing to obtain what he wanted. Truly a great ruler, who laid the foundations for a future empire. Even the death of Oroles the Wall is a heated argument among historians today. But that's it for now, let's focus on the incoming war.

The Second Sarmatian War became reality with the ascendancy of a new khagan. Unfortunately, no written records remain today about the identity of this Sarmatian ruler. Sources claim of an invading force of about fifty thousand men, were mostly exaggerated, the real force is estimated to be between twenty and thirty thousand Sarmatians and Scythians.
The combined force of Dacia and its clients was around eighteen thousand men and three thousand heavy cavalry. Ten thousand infantry and another three thousand light cavalry mercenaries were recruited. A massive number, never seen before. To other kingdoms and smaller tribes, this must have been seen as the riches in Dacia were bottomless. This, in fact, triggered a century later two barbarian invasions from the north, after the religious civil war to seize such riches. A war that lost could have changed history in totally unpredictable ways... now back to the Second Sarmatian War.
As the year 92 was ending, during the winter, Deceneus recruited mercenaries and organized the new army. Oroles the Wall had to lead it now. Despite the winter, the invaders managed to capture many villages and some important cities on the border, threatening now the internal trade routes. As the spring arrived, the new army finally reached Zusidava, that was now under enemy siege. Without much delay, he ordered an immediate attack on the enemy to alleviate the stress on the defenders without waiting for the other columns, that remained behind. It wasn't necessary, they had been instructed to follow no matter what without delays or stops to fight enemy armies nearby and only to unite with the avanguard, lead by him. Deceneus wasn't himself a bad commander too, but he decided to remain in the capital and plan his next move. A move some historians today claim lead to sudden death of Oroles.
Fourteen thousand men, a third being cavalry only, engaged two thousand Sarmatian horsemen and four thousand Scythians. Oroles broke the enemy lines completely, the cavalry completely overpowered the enemy counterpart, this was a successful but risky move, crossing the Pyretus river (otl today Prut) without any immediate additional forces.

Two thousand men were lost against four thousand invaders.

Just two weeks later, another important engagement was fought in Tira. The infantry had no problem crushing the enemy lines and routing them. Despite being outnumbered, the enemy commander chose strategic defensive points and didn't lose as many as he was supposed to. Oroles was quite furious at what he called "cowardice."

Less than a thousand soldiers were lost, and around a thousand cavalry, mostly light cavalry. While the enemy lost almost four thousand men and less than a thousand horse units. It was a strategic and tactical victory, however, a rather costly one. The cavalry were outnumbered two to one, yet struggled to fight against the experienced Sarmatians. This not only minimized casualties but also gave time to organize a fast retreat and most importantly denied the possibility of encircling and slaughtering the enemy. The enemy commander was not a talented man, but he had experienced veteran horsemen.

After the successful spring campaign, all the enemy armies retreated. Now they were the ones being outnumbered. In the summer, twenty thousand men were sent into enemy territory while thirteen thousand were left to besiege any captured cities and deny the enemy the possibility to attack from behind. Also, the treasury was a third of what it used to be. The war had to end quickly.

After 3 months of quiet, Vinnitsya, an important Scythian city, was under siege by Oroles after butchering half the enemy army, while the other half ran away in terror.

He decided not to stop, however, and after ten days of relentless pursuit, he killed the last remaining men of the enemy army with the new reinforcements along the way, losing only five hundred men.

As Oroles was passing the winter sieging Vinnitsya, Deceneus finally made his move. At the beginning of 94, he personally issued an order to rally all mercenaries in two columns and attack an important trading center near Yedisan. Much of what happened later is not clear, and left to a matter of debates and hypotheses. Eleven of seventeen thousand were killed in an obvious ambush. It didn't make any sense, almost as if Deceneus left it to happen, and they were all mercenaries, who had yet to be paid soon. To make things even more suspicious, just a few weeks later, Oroles received an order to head to Dacia and then to Pannensis, another order void of any sense. Pannensis was on the other side of Dacia, such a move would certainly benefit the enemy. Or maybe benefit someone else more than anything.

After the crushing defeat of West Rome, Oroles the Wall acquired fame, wealth, and power. Things the king didn't take to heart too much, if someone else other than him had all those things.
In fact, the ties between king Deceneus and his best general, Oroles, were strained. The last chapter of the Second Sarmatian War was about to begin.
The order was to crush a rebellion in Pannensis. After taking over the city, leaving it surprisingly intact, for his temper. A second battle happened. This time, lead by Oroles, the enemy didn't stand a chance. Not only being in numerical disadvantage and crossing open fields, having less cavalry than the Sarmatians, in a move only he could pull off and win. Half the enemy army was butchered this time.

The Scythians lost thousands, the Sarmatians had used them as meat shields. In May 94, envoys literally begged for peace. Oroles handed the deal, demanding nothing less than Vinnitsya, the only intact settlement left. All over was only devastation. All this happened before the "revolt" in Pannensis. Although he had such power, Deceneus did not like it one bit, despite trying to remove it from history, something remained, that would claim his full involvement in the death of the great general.

In August of 94 Oroles sent his army to crush the rebels. He succeeded with minimal casualties, only to die suddenly a few days later. An arrow pierced his right eye. It infected quickly and led to death.

A new, loyal but very capable general was promoted from lower rank.

One war was coming to an end, and perhaps another war was looming soon. The Gepid tribes managed to unify and subjugate everyone else around them, creating a considerably strong threat on the Dacian border.

In April 95, Deceneus agreed to a very dubious peace with the Sarmatians. All they had to do was pay back the gold Dacia was forced to spend to fight them and a series of diplomatic actions. It was obviously impossible for them to pay back such a sum. It was all just a scheme to mask the real intentions behind those actions. To mask the opportunities taken and the lies told by one ambitious and ruthless man, who happened to also be very paranoid.

Two centuries ago, a letter was found in an archaeological site, now lost. Impossible to confirm if it's real or just made up. The letter, engraved on a ceramic tablet, discussed an eye injury. The author claimed it was an assassination attempt, a special squad was sent specifically to hunt him down. The campaign in Pannensis was a trap to kill him, because he wanted to conquer the western half of the Sarmatian lands and create a new client state under Dacia with him as the ruling noble. Deceneus was afraid of him and for this reason, he wanted to kill him. Half of the council of nobles was on his side and they would gladly approve the creation of a new entity under Dacia, especially after a war of invasion and the pillage of the border provinces. The next part was a rather long string of curses to bring bad luck and doom over Deceneus. Written under the order of... Oroles the Wall.

It is unanimously agreed that Sarmatia had almost no more manpower and Dacia indeed had the capabilities to invade and freely seize those lands. It is believed the death of Oroles made the nobles recycle the idea as too risky without any capable commander. That's the official theory. Historians deny the involvement, or at least direct involvement of the king against his best general. He rather left the matters unchecked, because Oroles in fact had half of the Dacian nobility supporting him and his desire to establish a new eastern sub-kingdom. A direct involvement would likely plunge the kingdom into civil war, and that didn't happen until the religious war, a century later. One thing is certain for sure, we will never know what truly happened, the truth was buried long time ago.

last time edited 20/1/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[generalis Julius Caesar]

Nice, plots are always good.

 

[Falhxer]

Nice, plots are always good.

It will get only worse and that's without me doing anything, in fact ill have to write realistic plots for this, fortunatly reality is full of such cases from which i can take inspiration. For some reason my rulers kept dieying one after another, I would say it's somehow fitting for the kind of governament im creating for Dacia in this timeline.

Also i want to create a mini chapters or topics sometimes at the end of a chapter called History of the Nations, in which i try to write about the formation and history of a certain kingdom and nation with some custom maps created by me, obviosuly matching the borders in game, trying to make as much as historically plausible. In this way they will have a backstory, a why they exists and to make it more, i dont really know how to describe it, but add something more to the story overall.
Im asking, writing as a reply, because you have been the only one so far replying here, but anyone is free to answer if you would like something like this ?


Update will appear soon very late today or tommorow.

 

[Falhxer]

A brief period of peace 96-113
​

As Dacia was approaching a new era, a new dangerous alliance was formed. For months, the barbarian king and the horselords had been meeting, discussing, and plotting the downfall of Dacia. These pacts of mutual assistance, by the end of 96, culminated in the official formation of an alliance. This alliance was sealed with the marriage of the sons of both sides to the respective daughters.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. (attributed to many)

As alliances were being created by various tribes in the east, Dacia faced the consequences of this long war. Naturally, Deceneus decided to ignore the problem completely, arguing that he was the one who saved them. Without him, they would be dead or sold as slaves by the Sarmatians. It was only right that they continue to pay the regular taxes that he had earlier imposed during his reign.

In fact, Deceneus I created from scratch the legislative foundations for the future Dacian Empire. Most of it was copied from Roman laws, but the Romans did the same when they rose to power, only pragmatism and practicality at the end of the day... Formally, Dacia was fielding nineteen thousand men, ready for war at any moment. News came from Siracia, spies were reporting that the Sarmatians were selling some land for goods in exchange, mainly horses... concerning news.

Growing older, he became also more conscious. He knew that imposing the Dacian religion and customs had to be done gradually, over time, leaving the conquered populations some degree of liberty and self-government. It wasn't an act of mercy; he knew that even more rebellious would prove too much to handle the already conquered territory properly.

Around year 100, barbarians declared war on other barbarians. However, these were not simple barbarians but a threat. Massive armies were marching into Antes. Antes was about to disappear from history after losing approximately half its population. Historians estimate that the Sarmatians wouldn't last very long, torn apart by their enemies. An even bigger tribal confederation would become free just a few years later.

At the same time in Dacia, the king pushed for cultural assimilation. He decided to scrap tolerance and integrate every conquered population directly into Dacia, or leave them as half-autonomous vassals to avoid internal problems. This would create dependent subjects that would provide taxes, manpower, and land between Dacia and the invading forces. Assimilate or settle those who refused outside the kingdom boundaries, in reality many who refused ended just as slaves put to harsh work into the mines, living short lives of few years before dying of extreme hardships.

Zalmoxism was spreading further thanks to the efforts of priests. It wasn't something the king wanted at all costs, but it nonetheless proved a stabilizing factor in the kingdom.

In the summer of the next year, the former small king (a title created by Deceneus, meaning submission to the king of Dacia) died suddenly. After years of bribes, promises, gifts, and royal marriages, the nobles in Iazygia finally agreed to become direct subjects of the king. This title was used only in this particular case; later, governors would be called the ones controlling Dacian provinces.

At the same time, a treaty of cooperation based on trade and mutual assistance in case of invasions was signed with the League of Urbinum. This league, at this point, was much larger than a city-state; in fact, it was a Latin league of cities united together with the goal of reuniting the Italic Peninsula and reinstituting the Roman Republic. This new league of cities directly opposed the already existing entity of West Rome and East Rome. At this point in time, West Rome didn't represent any threat at all, having most of its lands in Southern Hispania and some isolated coastal cities in Italy. The real threat was East Rome, an enemy that both Dacia and the League of Urbinum were hostile to. Such a pact came at the perfect time. The hostile relationship with East Rome could only mean one thing: war. Deceneus wanted to avoid a conflict at all costs, while still dealing with internal problems and client internal instability. The newly formed clients were continuously dragging resources and manpower from Dacia, forced to reinforce the new established borders with more and more men in small forts in order to keep the rebellious cities and rural surroundings under control.

In the last month of 101, news of the peace treaty arrived in Dacia. Antes had been reduced to a remote province deep in the Scythian homeland.

While dealing with internal problems, the supply of salt dropped immediately, causing unrest and overall inflation in the economy. Most goods produced by artisans were sold at a higher price, and poverty was growing. The kingdom needed solutions soon.

In autumn of 102, first unconfirmed rumors and later proven and reliable information made it clear that Sarmatia was expanding even further into the east, bringing more and more tribes under the control of one man with one purpose: to launch an invasion of Dacia.

The last months of the next year were also full of surprises, but the most important one was about Venetian intentions. An envoy from the League of Urbino announced that spies in Venice had heard about the plans of the barbarian duke to conquer the remaining Western Roman cities in Italy. They urged Dacia to keep its army prepared as they might attack the League soon. In those years, Venice was allied with Genoa and they did have plans to expand into Italy.

The year 104 saw much more than the previous ones. In the summer, the nobles in Maladina and those in the areas bordering East Rome managed to create claims suggesting that the area was under Daco-Thracian control before Rome even existed. These claims were obviously disputed by the Romans as false and ridiculous. In the autumn, an envoy from Egypt arrived, declaring Dacia as a threat and rival. Today, historians debate not why Egypt posed itself as a Dacian rival, but why the rulers declared Dacia as an enemy. One possible hypothesis could be the claims. Egypt, at that time, was still under Roman control, or better said, under a Roman dictatorship. The kingdom was relatively small; it broke away from East Rome because of a disagreement between the emperor and some generals. It was supposed to be a short-term breakaway. A disagreement that would never heal. As Egypt launched invasions to reclaim Byzantium, as it was called after the fracture. East Rome would be whole again with Egypt incorporated into the empire again. However, the future wars failed, Byzantium was weakened enough to fracture further. A massive invasion from Parthia, trying to recreate the Achaemenid empire destroyed every hope of reunification. The loss of the entire Middle East and the creation of a new kingdom, the Kingdom of Palmyra, exacerbated the situation further. Parthia would later collapse and fracture into many Persian satrapies, but it was too late at that point. A new power would rise in the region and crush any opposition.

With the definitive integration of Iazigya, loyal nobles were rewarded with lands, and the disloyal ones were all executed or exiled, and all their properties confiscated and redistributed to the loyal ones and new Dacian ones.

This year ended with the defeat of ten thousand Goti tribesmen. An ambitious barbarian tried to settle in Pannensis and claim large parts of it. Many of them were killed, but even more were sold as slaves across all of Dacia and its client states.

The new year saw massive improvements and construction projects in the capital, Sarmisegetuza. The king ordered many houses, theatres, and temples to Zalmoxis to be built. The city also grew in size as more and more people were moving into the capital, making it one of the biggest at the time.

While the kingdom was at peace, the army was restless. New tactics, drills, and an improved military hierarchy were established by Cotys, a general who many said was as talented as the legendary Oroles the Wall, if not even better. His new military doctrines broadly speaking, consisted in dividing the army into more separated smaller armies under the control of a general who would oversee them. At the top, the king or one the generals would command all the armies. In desperate situations, the individual coordination of each army would be left to the assigned general to proceed as he best deemed. In this way, each particular situation could be easily dealt with. That's of course only a very vague and short description of a more complex doctrine that Cotys envisioned even before being promoted to such a high position. He could have been a great commander and general, however reality was far from romantic and heroic. During a drill while crossing a river, he fell from his horse and while he could swim, the heavy armor dragged him to the bottom, leaving Dacia without the most capable military man in mere seconds.

Two more years passed without any remarkable event when one day, Deceneus heard that the old allies were now warring against each other. Gepidia and Sarmatia were now enemies. These news were seen as an omen from the gods. Big festivals took place in all Dacia while the Sarmatians were killed in the forests that previously belonged to the Scythian tribe of Antes.

There are not many records of this war at all. It is something strange, because after all, this conflict was probably the one that sealed the fate of Byzantium and projected Dacia from a simple regional power to a superpower of the age. Throwing men at Byzantine fortifications instead of defending the homeland from what could have been the biggest barbarian invasion without any precedents to occur.
The few remaining records are also incomplete and not completely trustworthy, most of them dating several centuries later since the conflict. This war, even if won by the Germanic tribes, was so devastating for both sides that it would collapse their hegemonies in the area for years to come.
Sarmatia wouldn't expand anymore and would later fall in the last Sarmatian War, where Dacia invaded the nomadic steppes with almost one hundred thousand men. Despite this, they would fight bravely, but that's for the future to come, back to present.
It was debated and mostly agreed upon that the main cause for war would appear as an insult, or rather something that the Sarmatians viewed as an insult perpetrated by the Gepids. All relations ceased, and just a few months later, in spring, Sarmatia assembled a force numbering forty thousand horsemen. It was a combined force of Sarmatians, Siracians, Antes Scythians, mostly coerced into cooperation under the threat to unleash their wrath first on what remained of their home and later on the enemies and possibly even Alans. On the opposite side, the Gepids were allied with the Skirians. A tribe much further north, deep into Germania Magna, as the Romans used to call it. The fragmented records place the Germanic force at a similar size. In the first months of the conflict, the Germanic armies were forced to retreat by the horsemen. They inflicted severe casualties and pillaged deep into enemy territory. In autumn, after two seasons of devastation, they finally had their revenge. A new leader took command of the tribes and tricked the Sarmatians to follow them into the forest as they were running away defeated, and surprisingly, the Sarmatian khagan gave the order to chase them. A well-orchestrated ambush happened, throwing the vulnerable Sarmatians off their horses and finishing them on the ground, in which clearly the Gepids and Skirians had a better advantage. Following the end of the battle, only one third of the invading army remained, mainly Antes Scythians, refusing to follow into the forest. The Germanic union of tribes lost as much as half of the army, after all, they were strongly outnumbered, the previous defeats reduced their enemies, to what the records suggest, about twelve thousand men. After their defeat, what remained of Gepids and Skirians flooded the undefended territory, pillaging entire encampments and forcing many more to run away.
After two years, the Germanics were still pushing into defenseless Sarmatian territory. The Sarmatians were running more desperately than ever, retreating deeper and deeper into their East holdings. A new duchy was inherited by an Etruscan. What was supposed to be part of the League of Urbinum was now a hereditary despotic monarchy under the rule of an Etruscan duke. He declared the rebirth of Etruria. A kingdom subjugated by Rome many centuries ago would rule its lands again. Hostilities started immediately between the League and Etruria. However, a third player entered the game, Genoa, hoping to take over as much land as possible before the certain downfall of the newly formed duchy. Little did they know that one day that small duchy would rule over all of them.

The year 113 confirmed the League's fear. Venetians and Genoese had real intentions to invade the rest of Italy. Genoese open hostility towards Dacia for supporting the League of Urbinum, now that Etruria has been reduced to a mere polis. Was this provocation perhaps the start of another conflict?

last time edited 28/1/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[generalis Julius Caesar]

Really cool, I tried to loop in @stnylan and @Nikolai but they haven't responded yet.

 

[Nikolai]

Really cool AAR, thanks for letting me know, @generalis Julius Caesar

 

[Falhxer]

The First Germanic Campaign 114-123
​

​

The First Germanic Campaign, so called because it exclusively consisted of fighting Germanic tribes, involved two wars that, although not particularly relevant to the grand scheme of things, proved to be crucial in determining which tribe would prevail over the others in Germany. Dacian intrusion into Germanic affairs tilted the balance of power significantly and led history to take one course instead of another.

Gotini-Gothic War:
It started in 114, when Dacia invaded the weaker Gotini tribe almost without any clear cause for war. Their ally, the Goths, entered the war, indignant at this unprecedented act of aggression. Dacia was taking over without any restraint or proper justification, and had only made a hastily-made claim the day before. In fact, the armies were already pillaging and seizing a quarter of Gotini territory.

The invading armies, combined, numbered around 20,000 heavy infantry and 6,000 light and heavy cavalry. The defenders, according to poorly-kept records, numbered around 20,000 light infantry and 6,000 light cavalry.
The first battle, in which records greatly exaggerate Dacia's losses and the barbarians' deaths, went astoundingly well. This war was really a test of the army, a preparation for something much, much bigger: a plan to take down the eagle in the south, the Latin juggernaut.
The leading general, Amadocus, a talented and ruthless man, completely destroyed the enemy. The leading chieftain was killed early in the battle while trying to lead his force in a defensive retreat tactic, by an arrow. He decided to kill them all; the war was still early on, and transporting over seven thousand slaves to Sarmisegetuza would prove a risky move if the Germans made a move and he would have to fight not only against the newly arrived attackers but also rebellious slaves. He did what he did, after all, they could simply surrender or run away instead of fighting. The loser takes upon him the consequences.

In just two weeks of war, the enemy has been crippled to only being able to defend. A month later, another, less numerous army, was defeated. This time, the nobles waiting impatiently finally saw their new slaves, and great building projects were now set in motion. The city would grow bigger and bigger, but over time would lose importance to Byzantion. Once the Dacian population became the majority there, Byzantion became the new capital.

Smaller skirmishes followed. A scout army was wiped out. It was a decoy and ended badly, but nonetheless, it was used to trick the Dacian army away. The barbarians then attacked the isolated army. Amadocus was coming, too busy plundering to keep up with the others.

It didn't end well for the enemy. Losing half their army, they were forced to retreat deep into the forests. However, the Dacian army suffered the loss of a third of their own army. The Dacians had been caught completely unprepared for such a surprise assault. Any other traditional army would have been routed with indescribable casualties, but not the Dacian army.

The Dacian army was becoming as fearsome among the neighbors as the Romans once were feared and hated. Completely disciplined, launching war cries that terrified the enemy, they knew the Dacians were coming before even seeing them. The Germans at this point were completely disoriented and lost. Roigos, another talented general and close friend of Cotys, was applying new shock tactics that worked extremely well, wiping out one army after another.

Amadocus, not so busy seeking glory, was instead chasing smaller armies, escorting civilians running elsewhere and enslaving them by the thousands. In a very short amount of time, he became one of the wealthiest men in the known world.

The war concluded well, but there was one problem: the supplies. Half of the casualties were caused by attrition alone. Another half could have been avoided if not for the greed of some other men, who were too busy ordering the siege of fortified villages, taking over all possible treasures, and causing regular ambushes and harassment even by neighboring tribes. These actions horrified many, and they began to question if the Dacians were really the savages that Rome had always called them.
Pannensis doubled in size, but its population was reduced by three-quarters. This was exactly what Deceneus needed, as he praised Amadocus for his loyalty and for being a perfect order follower. From an economic point of view, it was ruinous and devastating for the region, but from a stability standpoint, there would be no people to revolt, and over time, Dacian settlers would replace the local population. In order to create something new, the old had to be destroyed.
Quadia also seized back lands it had lost, and some sort of support for Quadia began to form. The policy of supporting the weak and crushing the strong was starting to take shape. And when the situation again became unstable, the Dacians would crush the new dominant power, keep the neighboring tribes weak and divided. This would be the Dacian strategy for the centuries to come.

Northern Intervention:
The summer of the following year, a small tribe, the Quadi, declared war on Gepidia. Any sane man would judge such a move as deliberate suicide. Gepidia was huge and, despite the war with Sarmatia, could still field a few thousand tribesmen to protect its homeland. Little did they know, that wealthy and influential nobles and the Germanic chief had made an agreement to send mercenaries in exchange for a symbolic payment. Gepid incursions on Dacian borders had become unbearable and entire villages were left abandoned as the people moved inland more and more. This was unacceptable, not only were taxes not paid, there were strong shortages of salt for years now and the grain production was dropping, forcing the market to import food. Empty lands would also encourage new settlers on it, indirectly claiming the land, not through direct war but through terror.

A direct declaration of war would drag Dacia into a long war, even maybe decades, facing a strong alliance of many tribes. Even the fearsome army would struggle to keep them all at bay and not leaving them free to ravage the homeland. Such a war would make losses hundred of times bigger than the gain.
However, a tribal conflict between Germans wouldn't involve many tribes, if any at all. An opportunity the nobles couldn't lose at any cost. The chance to finally punish the raiders had come to them on a golden plate. Only a fool would waste it.
Thirteen thousand highly trained men were sent as mercenaries in Gepidia for a symbolic payment.

Such a military display completely demoralized the Gepids, the only fight the mercenaries saw was against a vanguard of merely 2,000 men. The Quadi alone managed to defeat the Gepid army, and a year later, peace was signed. The strong were weak again, and the borders were safe.

Soon after, Dacia marched with all its might into Gepidia with over 30,000 men against merely 1,000 infantry and some thousands of cavalry hired as mercenaries. In one quick battle, Amadocus destroyed them to the last man. He was forbidden to take slaves this time, they would have to die all, as punishment for the raids.

With another lost war, the vanquished were forced to cede lands once more, forcing them to migrate into the east in former Sarmatian territory. The entire population was displaced.

The Germanic Campaign was over, but the instability in the kingdom was far from over. New lands and clients were a powder keg of constant rebellions...

last time edited 29/1/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[generalis Julius Caesar]

Cough-Rome-Cough

 

[Nikolai]

Slowly, Dacia is taking her rightful place in the world.

 

[Falhxer]

Sorry for such long updates, but i was short on ideas and i didnt want to write something mediocre. Instead i wanted to make the best i could, i hope today, if not, tommorow will post the next update.

 

[Nikolai]

No worries

 

[generalis Julius Caesar]

It's fine.

 

[Falhxer]

The Death of Deceneus the Great 124 – 130

​

The Dacians planned to rapidly strike East Rome using shock tactics, rapidly advance on the enemy capital, and force the Roman emperor to the negotiating table before the arrival of the army. Some chronicles refer to it as the last plan made by Deceneus before his death two years later. The king was hoping for quick concessions from the emperor to placate his pileati (nobles), but his death occurred before the end of the war.

​

After the successful war with the Germanic tribes, an unexpected opportunity presented itself. Zamolxist priests from a neighboring Byzantine province asked the king to intervene. Recently, the Byzantine emperors, short on money due to many coups and unsuccessful war campaigns, imposed heavy taxes on the Thracian population, particularly on those of Zamolxist faith, justifying it by claiming they cooperated with the Dacians and conspired against the empire. This was true, and many believed in a new independent Thracian kingdom ally of Dacia, hoping for intervention. The tax situation escalated quickly.

Before Burebista was assassinated almost two centuries ago, he created the Dacian Empire and even intervened in the war between Caesar and Pompey. His support was not enough to turn the tables in favor of Pompey, as Caesar was invincible. Caesar planned an invasion of Dacia after this, but it never happened, as both were later assassinated, leading to the collapse of Dacia into many smaller entities and the rise of Rome as an empire. In 64 AD, the tables turned, as Rome collapsed due to many unfortunate events, while Dacia slowly but surely engulfed most of the Roman Eastern territory, pushing into Persia before collapsing and losing most of these newly conquered territories and Egypt to the rising power of the Caliphate.

In 124, the nomads of Siracia invaded the Byzantine Tauria. Retaking the land was a tricky endeavor for the Byzantines. Parthia had deeply pushed into Armenia, directly annexing the kingdom into the empire and leaving Tauria separated from the empire and extremely vulnerable. In a direct fight, Siracia would have undoubtedly lost, but with the new circumstances, they now had a great advantage. At the same time, a peasant-led rebellion sparked in Byzantine territory with an Illyrian majority population.

Siracia occupied Roman lands in the hope of occupying them permanently. East Rome didn't stand for this and built a massive transport fleet to land in Tauria (modern Crimea). Upon landing, the Siraci had no choice and were quickly defeated. Despite the victory, the damage remained and the people would not forget the passive behavior of Byzantium. As the years passed, the Eastern Roman Empire would not only fall to its external enemies but primarily to its internal problems, caused by poor administration and greed of its ruling class.

Two years later, the Gepids found themselves in yet another war. The desire for revenge among the Sarmatians was as strong as ever. After two years of rebellion, the area was still under peasant control and a more organized army was slowly forming. The emperor was too busy fighting elsewhere to bother and they didn't invade any further, except for pillaging the surrounding cities.

The king was still against a war with the Eastern Roman Empire, fearing a possible draw or too much sacrifice for little gain. However, by that point, he was old and no longer feared and respected as before. In fact, he would soon die of old age, despite the many enemies he had made during his reign. His clever suppression of all opposition had left him with almost absolute free reign.

The pileati in Maladina threatened to declare war on the Eastern Rome themselves and even secede from the kingdom if the king refused. Even worse, the same threats were made by pileati inside the kingdom, especially those of Geatic origin, who threatened to split and attack the Romans themselves, creating a new Geto-Thracian kingdom. This would weaken Dacia even further, especially after all the blood and effort put into its conquest, and would plunge Dacia into a civil war, splitting it further into smaller Dacian states, leaving its neighbors room to expand. The choices were war or the disintegration of the kingdom. The king knew perfectly well and decided to go to war.

Ambassadors from the League of Urbinum saw the great opportunity and contacted their homeland within days. Just hours before going to war, the League offered to help Dacia invade the East Rome. Of course, not without gaining new lands - the League desired all the Byzantine possessions 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 neighbors, a beacon of civilization amidst the barbaric neighbors all around. Especially since the League didn't have expansion plans outside of Italy. He considered them a valuable ally. Despite many attempts to convince the king to enter the war against Byzantium, he always refused to go to war. He was already too old and tired of the continuous warfare throughout 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 favor, pushing the barbarians finally out of the Transalpine region. Sadly for them, the king would die before the conclusion of the war. The great man responsible for making the League a regional power recognized and respected by its neighbors would be assassinated shortly thereafter. His assassination would slowly make the League decline. It would still remain a significant power in the region for two more centuries before its inevitable fall.

In 128, the Dacian armies marched into Roman land. The promised support from the League never arrived and wouldn't arrive until two years later, to fight a peasant rebellion in Maladina - an excuse the next king would use against the League. He took a step against the policies of the old king, considering the League unreliable and nothing more than a corrupt oligarchy. In fact, the League had proven itself unable to capture any Byzantine lands.

Twenty thousand men directly marched into Skythia, the symbolic capital of the independent Thracian movement across the empire. Skythia and Dorustum simply opened their gates, welcoming the army and supplying it in the process. Years of long sieges were ahead. Before that, the Byzantine army had yet to be defeated.

A battle did indeed occur, but it wasn't what the Dacian generals expected. Instead of fifty thousand men, only ten thousand men and six thousand heavy cavalry were deployed. These men were not well rested, but were force-marched directly from Lydia to the city of Pyrgos. What followed was just a battle that lasted a few hours before the exhausted forces made a disorganized retreat. It was clear that this once numerous army, possibly numbering over fifty thousand men, had seen many battles on the other side of Byzantium against Parthia and later Roman Egypt.

Just a month later, the remaining army surrendered to a scout army without a general. Byzantium was defeated and had no armies to protect it from its enemies. After this battle, Dacia defeated its biggest rival with minimal losses. Byzantium's indecision to strike in 120 sealed its fate just nine years later.

Between 127 and 129, Egypt invaded most of Anatolia with the intention of staying. However, for unclear reasons, all forces retreated before 130, leaving a completely devastated area behind. Parthia later invaded further into the area. It is possible that Egypt was forced to leave due to a threat from Parthia. Byzantium had earlier lost over 60% of its army to Parthia in the earlier war, and the generals in Egypt saw this as a perfect opportunity to seize. Despite this loss, a smaller army of around fifty thousand men was assembled. Dacia faced only a small portion of that weakened and demoralized army, which surrendered in the second battle. Egypt, with an estimated force of seventy thousand men, kept most of its forces intact. However, they felt threatened enough by Parthia to leave the area. They would later return, but always indirectly and never directly again.

Roman Egypt almost took over East Rome but suddenly left a devastated Anatolia. This would completely cripple East Rome but also deny another opportunity for reunification of the empire. The rulers in Egypt chose to establish a sovereign empire like Ptolemaic Egypt and saw the empire of origin as a lost cause.

The reason the League of Urbinum couldn't provide any real assistance was due to the civil war they faced right at the start of the conflict. Some of the cities they took from West Rome were unhappy with the new administration and feared the rising power and growth of Urbinum, leading to an extremely chaotic war in the peninsula. With a population of almost 40,000 in just over half a century, Urbinum's growth was monstrous. However, the League could only field between 10,000 and 15,000 men, while the cities that started the civil war were estimated to have amassed between 20,000 and 30,000, vastly outnumbering Urbinum and the loyalist cities. The civil war would have been won shortly before the end of the Dacian-Byzantine War.

However, the new king, Rubbostes, refused to give any concessions to the League, claiming they didn't do anything during the war and only focused on their internal affairs. This put the existence of the League itself at stake, but as politics are politics, compassion simply does not exist. Outraged, the Great Senator (whose name will be revealed in a chapter dedicated to the history of the League) insulted the new king. Later, unsuccessful talks escalated the situation and the alliance was broken.

The Great Senator incited an inglorious but necessary invasion of the promised lands, claiming that the 5,000 garrison men holding them had left for the capital. Unfortunately, he was assassinated before the invasion could ever begin.

Rubbostes the Christian took power immediately after the death of Deceneus the Great. He was a controversial figure. Over the centuries, he was viewed as a saint, being the first person in Dacia and Europe to convert to Christianity. However, reality was different from what his successors led the comati (peasants) and others to believe for centuries. Before his birth, Christianity was already an important part of Eastern Rome, even though it was not yet the official religion. It was recognized and the freedom of belief was established. In history, his conversion to Christianity was nonetheless used as a pretext to label the pileati loyal to Deceneus as heathens and remove them from their positions of power. He was close to achieving his goal before being brutally assassinated, which led to the reinstatement of zamolxism as the official religion and decades of civil war. He was hated by many of his contemporaries because of his crimes against the king. The king died of old age, but it was under Rubbostes' orders that his newborn son was killed, or rather, died under mysterious circumstances. A new dynasty under a new leader would take control of the great and powerful kingdom.

The peace was negotiated by the Roman emperor in the autumn of 130. Without an army, and with Dacian enemies at the gates of Byzantion, the emperor agreed to harsh demands.

Most of the territory occupied by rebels was added to Maladina, even before the peace talks could begin, a situation that the Roman emperor protested but could do nothing about. The entire area around the Danube was seized. The new king immediately began to plan defenses against Eastern Rome, but these plans never came to fruition as Dacia was about to end its days of peace and prosperity and enter a period of turbulence and violence for the rest of the century.

last time edited 1/2/23 (d/m/y format)

 

[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.