Julius decided that he would focus on consolidating his father’s conquests to begin his reign. For about 5 years, there was complete peace in the Romano-Hunnic Empire. However, Julius knew that the Empire was bound to face hardships.
As such, he decided that it needed allies. As his reign began, he realized that Scandinavia was too far from the rest of the Empire. He withdrew his troops from there, knowing that he could not defend it. He established an alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire.
After 5 years had passed, he had heard reports of the less organized Hunnic tribes raiding the Empire’s southern border. Therefore, he decided that the Empire needed to teach these tribes a lesson. From 516-521 AD, he launched a campaign against them. In this way, he managed to expand the Empire all the way to Crimea.
He then began to fund settlement in the new territory. Cities were established. The most notable of these cities was New Lutetia in Crimea. For the remainder of Julius’s reign, the Romano-Hunnic Empire was at peace.
Julius passed away in 545 AD. His son, who had been married to a Byzantine princess to support their alliance, assumed the throne. His name was Marcus. Julius would come to be remembered as Julius “the Peacemaker”.
Marcus would begin his reign with a quick eastward campaign. He knew that many of his men wished for war, and so he granted them a small war.
However, soon the Romano-Hunnic army wouldn’t have to settle for small wars. The Byzantine Empire had been at war with the Sassanids since 540 AD. They had initially done poorly, but they’d recovered by 545 AD, when a truce was agreed. However, sporadic fighting continued in the Caucasus Mountains, specifically over Lazica. In 554 AD, this exploded into a more expansive war. The Byzantines had just finished reclaiming Italy. As such, they were initially taken by surprise when a large Persian army invaded Syria. This army managed to make it to the coast before a Byzantine army defeated them.
The Byzantine Emperor called the Romano-Huns into the war. The Romano-Huns would quickly sweep down the Caucasus, surprising the Persian armies at Nineveh. The Persian army was ultimately defeated during the Battle of Nineveh, and the Romano-Hunnic army gained free reign over all of Assyria.
In Syria and Babylonia, the Byzantines managed to push the Persians back to the Tigris River. In 556 AD, the Tigris had become the de facto border between the two armies once again.
However, the Persians worried about the Romano-Huns in Assyria. They gathered an army from across their lands. This army met together at Babylon.
By 557 AD, the Romano-Huns had occupied most of Assyria. In that year, they gathered most of their army for a campaign. This army met at Asshur and then moved south. Ultimately, they would take some northern Babylonian cities, but the Persian army wouldn’t be lured out. Finally, in 558 AD, the two armies met in battle outside Babylon’s gates. The Romano-Huns would emerge victorious, but it would suffer many casualties.
At this point, the Byzantines and Persians made peace. The terms were status quo ante bellum. However, Persia surrendered much of their Caucasian territory, consisting of the former state of Iberia, to the Romano-Huns. The Byzantines also granted the Romano-Huns sovereignty over their settlements in Crimea.
The Romano-Huns would accept the suzerainty of the Crimean cities. However, they would enthrone a king of Iberia and leave him to rule autonomously. Of course, they agreed to protect him in exchange for an annual tribute payment.
Seeing the might of the Romano-Hunnic state, some neighboring tribes would swear their allegiance to the Romano-Hunnic Empire.
Map of the Romano-Hunnic Empire after the war detailed above
Marcus would ultimately die in 600 AD. He would be remembered as Marcus “the Victorious”. His 17-year old grandson would take the throne. He was named Julius.
Julius’s reign would begin peacefully, but that wouldn’t last. In 602 AD, Byzantium called the Romano-Huns into another war against the Sassanids. At first, the Romano-Huns sent only moral support, but that would soon change. By 618 AD, the Sassanids had seized control of most of the Levant and were invading Egypt. In addition, large portions of Anatolia had fallen. This immensely worried Julius.
Julius feared that the Byzantine Empire would fall. He figured that an ally was better than an enemy on his southern border. As such, he launched a surprise campaign through the Caucasus, which was quickly successful. In 619 AD, he successfully took Nineveh. His armies would march across Assyria, but the Persians didn’t rise to the bait. They believed that they were on the verge of total victory.
In 622 AD, however, the Byzantines launched a desperate counter-offensive against the Persians. The Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius, won a crushing victory of the Sassanids in Eastern Anatolia.
Julius saw this as an opportunity. He took his legions and marched them to Asshur. If Asshur fell, Julius knew, then Assyria would be lost to Persia. This time, the Persian army took the bait. Asshur was a glorious victory for the Romano-Huns, and it meant that there were now no barriers to complete control of Mesopotamia. This cut the Sassanid Empire in half, with Persia proper separated from their conquered western territories.
Ultimately, in December 622 AD, the Persians and Byzantines decided on a white peace. However, the Romano-Huns made Persia pay them tribute in exchange for the return of Mesopotamia. This peace allowed the Byzantines to crush the Avars invading the Balkans by 625 AD.
In 634 AD, however, the Byzantine Empire fought against the Muslims. Unfortunately, they were still weak after their recent war with the Sassanids, so they lost the Levant and Egypt. The Romano-Huns were not called upon in this war, and they remained at peace.
In 635 AD, however, the Romano-Huns launched a comprehensive campaign. They managed to bring many more Steppe tribes under their rule. This “Eastern Campaign” was finished by 642 AD. The new conquests had cities built in them, and they were gradually introduced to the benefits of Romano-Hunnic rule.
Ultimately, Julius would die in 650 AD at the old age of 67. He would be remembered to posterity as Julius “the Savior”. He would also be sainted by the Eastern Orthodox Church. His son, Marius, would assume the throne.
Map of the Romano-Hunnic Empire at Marius's ascension