How about Hispanization? The Iberian peninsula can be the Balkans of ITTL.
I like the sound of that.
Basques and Visigoths and native Iberians and Franks and . . . bunch o' petty kingdoms.
The Prophet's Voice Fell to Silence: No Islam TL
- Thread starter Malta
- Start date
I like the sound of that.
Basques and Visigoths and native Iberians and Franks and . . . bunch o' petty kingdoms.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
I like the sound of that.
Basques and Visigoths and native Iberians and Franks and . . . bunch o' petty kingdoms.
Ooh, don't forget the Berbers! Not that I know of any organized Berber polities during this time period but I'm sure something can come up and at least cause a little trouble in southern Iberia for the Visigoths.
Ooh, don't forget the Berbers! Not that I know of any organized Berber polities during this time period but I'm sure something can come up and at least cause a little trouble in southern Iberia for the Visigoths.
Almost certainly. Even if there aren't any such polities yet, no reason one can't be formed that would be enough to make things nice and chaotic.
King of Malta, you magnificent bastard.
I also like the idea of Hispanization. Arian Goths, Donatist Berbers and catholic franks romping around the peninsula.
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The War of Three Sons Ends
The War of Three Sons for a year after its start raged on without conclusion by either side. Constantine's main support came from Thrace and the other provinces in the Peninsula of Haemus [1] and Martina from Constantinople and the Asian Minor provinces, but support was still uniquely divided with political infighting amongst the nobility and bureaucrats which hindered either sides attempts to reinforce their positions in the Siege of Constantinople. John Atalarichos on the other hand had a wide range of support in the Diocese of the East [2], The Diocese of Egypt [3], and the Antioch and Alexandria Patriarchs Miaphysite factions sided with him [4]. The Exarchates of Africa and Ravenna would stay neutral during the warfare, with Ravenna losing Italy north of the Po River to the Lombards. The main foreign ally of John was also the Ghassanids, the Arab Miaphysites who provided cavalry and archers to John.
While Constantine and Martina fought, John took the interesting and sometimes remarked fatal strategy of attacking neither side, but remaining Emperor in the East. Seeing that Constantine could not breach the walls of Constantinople, John realized that if he attacked he would just take Constantine's place attacking the walls of the city uselessly. He told his supporters that it would better to wait out the other two pretenders for the throne and defeat them once they were weakened and prepared to invade his territories. John would not have to wait long as in early 636 Martina and Heraklonas were killed by an angry mob in Constantinople who were angry against the toll the siege was taking on their city after Constantine managed to enact naval supremacy in the strait. Many believe that agents loyal to Constantine lead the mob to the former Emperor's wife in the middle of the night.
With Martina and Heraklonas dead, Constantine turned his eye on his half-brother and marched eastward, taking Cilicia on the western shore of the Mare Issicum [5]. John attacked Constantine's positions shortly afterward to discover that Constantine and his army had sailed from Cilicia to land south of Antioch and attack John's forces in the rear. The General Valentius who was allied with John panicked and routed his forces allowing for Constantine to overrun John's reserves. Meanwhile the Diocese of Egypt's leader the Augustal Prefect switched to Constantine's side much to the disappointment of local political and religious leaders. The Battle of Alexdretta [6] shattered John's forces leading to a general retreat, the Armenian backbone of his forces fled to Armenia while John fled to Nisbis before taking refuge with the Tapurianis who had by then controlled western Persia.
Constantine by this point had very little patience and mercy and with his Imperial forces initiated a crackdown on supporters of John and the Miaphysites in general. His anger also turned to the Jews in Jerusalem where his forces were given free reign to loot and pillage the Jewish communities. An act that lead to many Jews fleeing to Tapuriani Persia. His anger extended to the Ghassanids as he cut trade ties with them and persecuted Arab communities throughout the region. This particular diplomatic incident drove the Byzantines' long time ally and proxy into relations with Jamasphi who vigorously worked to gain their confidence.
John was accepted into the Tapuriani court and from there he organized resistance against Constantine that waxed and waned over the years. The most important of which being the coordination of Armenian semi-independence as the Tapurianis funneled weapons and goods across their mutual border until 639 when Constantine was forced to accept David Sarhauni as ruler of Armenia in exchange for closing the border with Persia and sending forces to help the Emperor defend against Slav attacks in the Haemus Peninsula.
Constantine III ruled as Emperor until 641 when he died of tuberculosis. The same year that Shahanshah Jamasphi died and was succeeded by his son, Shahanshah Vergsu. His son now would use the carefully crafted alliances forged by his father to deliver to the Byzantines the first show of force from the east in over a decade.
-
[1]- Balkans
[2]- Levant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dioecesis_Orientis_400_AD.png
[3]- North Africa from Egypt to Cyrenaica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dioecesis_Aegypti_400_AD.png
[4]- The Antioch Patriarchy had for sometime been divided along those who accepted the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon (Imperial/East Orthodox) and Non-Chalcedon (Miaphysites: OTL Copts, Armenians, Ethiopian, Syriac, etc).
[5]-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_%C4%B0skenderun
[6]- Iskenderun
The War of Three Sons for a year after its start raged on without conclusion by either side. Constantine's main support came from Thrace and the other provinces in the Peninsula of Haemus [1] and Martina from Constantinople and the Asian Minor provinces, but support was still uniquely divided with political infighting amongst the nobility and bureaucrats which hindered either sides attempts to reinforce their positions in the Siege of Constantinople. John Atalarichos on the other hand had a wide range of support in the Diocese of the East [2], The Diocese of Egypt [3], and the Antioch and Alexandria Patriarchs Miaphysite factions sided with him [4]. The Exarchates of Africa and Ravenna would stay neutral during the warfare, with Ravenna losing Italy north of the Po River to the Lombards. The main foreign ally of John was also the Ghassanids, the Arab Miaphysites who provided cavalry and archers to John.
While Constantine and Martina fought, John took the interesting and sometimes remarked fatal strategy of attacking neither side, but remaining Emperor in the East. Seeing that Constantine could not breach the walls of Constantinople, John realized that if he attacked he would just take Constantine's place attacking the walls of the city uselessly. He told his supporters that it would better to wait out the other two pretenders for the throne and defeat them once they were weakened and prepared to invade his territories. John would not have to wait long as in early 636 Martina and Heraklonas were killed by an angry mob in Constantinople who were angry against the toll the siege was taking on their city after Constantine managed to enact naval supremacy in the strait. Many believe that agents loyal to Constantine lead the mob to the former Emperor's wife in the middle of the night.
With Martina and Heraklonas dead, Constantine turned his eye on his half-brother and marched eastward, taking Cilicia on the western shore of the Mare Issicum [5]. John attacked Constantine's positions shortly afterward to discover that Constantine and his army had sailed from Cilicia to land south of Antioch and attack John's forces in the rear. The General Valentius who was allied with John panicked and routed his forces allowing for Constantine to overrun John's reserves. Meanwhile the Diocese of Egypt's leader the Augustal Prefect switched to Constantine's side much to the disappointment of local political and religious leaders. The Battle of Alexdretta [6] shattered John's forces leading to a general retreat, the Armenian backbone of his forces fled to Armenia while John fled to Nisbis before taking refuge with the Tapurianis who had by then controlled western Persia.
Constantine by this point had very little patience and mercy and with his Imperial forces initiated a crackdown on supporters of John and the Miaphysites in general. His anger also turned to the Jews in Jerusalem where his forces were given free reign to loot and pillage the Jewish communities. An act that lead to many Jews fleeing to Tapuriani Persia. His anger extended to the Ghassanids as he cut trade ties with them and persecuted Arab communities throughout the region. This particular diplomatic incident drove the Byzantines' long time ally and proxy into relations with Jamasphi who vigorously worked to gain their confidence.
John was accepted into the Tapuriani court and from there he organized resistance against Constantine that waxed and waned over the years. The most important of which being the coordination of Armenian semi-independence as the Tapurianis funneled weapons and goods across their mutual border until 639 when Constantine was forced to accept David Sarhauni as ruler of Armenia in exchange for closing the border with Persia and sending forces to help the Emperor defend against Slav attacks in the Haemus Peninsula.
Constantine III ruled as Emperor until 641 when he died of tuberculosis. The same year that Shahanshah Jamasphi died and was succeeded by his son, Shahanshah Vergsu. His son now would use the carefully crafted alliances forged by his father to deliver to the Byzantines the first show of force from the east in over a decade.
-
[1]- Balkans
[2]- Levant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dioecesis_Orientis_400_AD.png
[3]- North Africa from Egypt to Cyrenaica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dioecesis_Aegypti_400_AD.png
[4]- The Antioch Patriarchy had for sometime been divided along those who accepted the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon (Imperial/East Orthodox) and Non-Chalcedon (Miaphysites: OTL Copts, Armenians, Ethiopian, Syriac, etc).
[5]-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_%C4%B0skenderun
[6]- Iskenderun
Alternatehistory.evu
What If The Jews of Arabia Had Been Converted to Imperial Orthodoxy?
Edmund: i know that somewhere around the 6th century that the jewish communities in arabia were being attacked by the byzzies and the abyssinians. one of their kings even genocided against the christians and was driven out. what if they had converted the jewish population?
Basileus Rhomaion: Caps. Caps. Caps. Caps. CAPS.
Soul-Taker of the Lake: The chances of the Jewish Tribes from being turned out of Arabia by this time in history seem rather slim. You are thinking of King Dhu Nuwas of Himyar (520-530s), he indeed did commit serious massacres against the local Christian population and as a result his kingdom was attacked by both the Byzantines and the Aksumites. As a result the local Himyar and Kahlan tribes migrated out of the region and into the rest of Arabia. Such as the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids who converted to different branches of Christianity. Though, certainly not all of them did so. Some tribes were not so lucky or as willing to give up their faith making a return to the region over the next century. During the reign of Shahanshah Vergsu, two tribes that had been displaced from the city of Yathrib [1], the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir traveled to region and started a revolt with Taburiani aid when the local Sassanid governor had joined the Aksumites.
Thus what western historians call the 'Israelite Kingdom of Arabia' began.
[1]-Medina
What If The Jews of Arabia Had Been Converted to Imperial Orthodoxy?
Edmund: i know that somewhere around the 6th century that the jewish communities in arabia were being attacked by the byzzies and the abyssinians. one of their kings even genocided against the christians and was driven out. what if they had converted the jewish population?
Basileus Rhomaion: Caps. Caps. Caps. Caps. CAPS.
Soul-Taker of the Lake: The chances of the Jewish Tribes from being turned out of Arabia by this time in history seem rather slim. You are thinking of King Dhu Nuwas of Himyar (520-530s), he indeed did commit serious massacres against the local Christian population and as a result his kingdom was attacked by both the Byzantines and the Aksumites. As a result the local Himyar and Kahlan tribes migrated out of the region and into the rest of Arabia. Such as the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids who converted to different branches of Christianity. Though, certainly not all of them did so. Some tribes were not so lucky or as willing to give up their faith making a return to the region over the next century. During the reign of Shahanshah Vergsu, two tribes that had been displaced from the city of Yathrib [1], the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir traveled to region and started a revolt with Taburiani aid when the local Sassanid governor had joined the Aksumites.
Thus what western historians call the 'Israelite Kingdom of Arabia' began.
[1]-Medina
Seven so far. I am going to get ahead of myself and feature "Hispanization" later.
So the Byzantines and the Sassanids are at each other throats, old habits die hard.
You mean the Byzantines and the Tapurianis are at each others throats.My bad. The map confused me.
My bad. The map confused me.
I'll have something up soon to...rectify that.
Redacted
Revenge of the Persians!
by Torvold Samsson
When historians look back on the Shahanshah Jamasphi depending on who is doing the long winded talking or book writing idolize or demonize the Daliamite nobleman who became Emperor of Persia. Often enough compare him to Philip of Macedon in that much like Philip, he was not a conqueror other then his exploits of uniting western Persia which in many cases he left in the hands of Tapuriani generals. He is far more known for organization, much as Philip created the military and political force that would aid his son, it was Jamasphi would reforged Persia under Tapuriani rule and created the series of political intrigues that would see his son bring the fight to the Byzantines. He was not a man of action, but a planner and as such he is fortunate to have realized several key factors about the Sassanids. Namely, that the confrontational and extremist policies of the Sassanids and the Byzantines kept each power interlocked in a constant struggle over the region. He is said to have commented "The Long War [ Either he is commenting on the confrontation between the West and East or the spiritual war of Light and Darkness so very common in Zoroastrianism and related religions] is a fire that consumes blood, flesh, gold, and steel. I did not start the fire. Long after I am gone it will keep going on and on [1]. All that I may do is dampen the blaze for my son and his son, and perhaps even his son.".
The First Byzantine-Tapuriani War or the Chaldecon Succession War though is not totally the orchestration of Jamasphi. Even Theophilus the Silent comments that the descendants of Heraclius had become "Impudent" and "Unworthy of God's glories". The events of the war would be the last echoes of the effects of the last thirty years of fighting between the Byzantines and Sassanids. The Sassanids had collapsed and been replaced by the Tapurianis and now it was the Byzantines turn. The infighting by the sons of Heraclius and even before during the misreign of Maurice and the coup by Phocas had taken its toll on the Byzantines and not just in terms of stretched manpower or economic collapse, but also alienation of many of their subjects. The policies of Constantine III which had refuted the attempts by his father to compromise lead the religious division within the Byzantine empire to burst. On a personal level some may even say that the guilty pleasures of Heraclius had come back to punish his legacy in the case of John.
In 641 CE it was actually Jamasphi that died first, the news being mourned by the Persians and being celebrated by the Byzantines. Records show that Constantine III was already making plans to shift his military forces eastward against the Tapurianis by the time of his death by tuberculosis. Given that his successor, Constans II, was at the time only 11-years of age his regency was controlled by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Paul II. Shahanshah Vergsu did not wait for the Byzantines he used the contacts and alliances of his father to invade the Byzantine Empire. The 'public' pretext of his invasion being to seat John on the Imperial Throne, but his true motives would only be revealed much later.
While Persian forces gathered in Assuristan to march across the flat expanse of the region, Vergsu tapped the Arab kingdoms of the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids [The former having been a long time ally of the Persians, while the latter had turned to the Tapurianis during Constantine's Anti-Miaphysite reign] who invaded ahead of the main Persian force by invading Palestine and Syria. John's supporters in the Byzantine land rose up in revolt in the Diocese of the East, the Diocese of Egypt, and Armenia. Constans forces already in the region were soon swamped in the interior and consolidated their forces along the coastline-primarily in Alexandria, Antioch, Tyre, and Tripoli.
Vergsu lead his forces to the capture of the city of Nisbis after moving his army up the length of the Tigris and Euphrates and then marched south-eastward to Edessa where his forces were joined by Armenians loyal to John. By the time his forces marched on Antioch, Constans' generals had landed in the region focusing on clearing a swath of territory from Tripoli to Antioch. During this period it was just like the War of Three Sons as the countryside descended into civil war as supporters of Constans and of John fought, but given the unpopularity of his father and his age the supporters of John soon came on top flocking to John's banner or spieing on Constans' forces.
As the main opposing armies marched toward a confrontation east of Antioch news arrived that the Arab allies had managed to siege Damascus and Homs-opening a corridor to attack Constans' flank. In a last second decision, Constans' commander split a portion of his army to confront the Arabs where they were defeated! The confusion of the defeat, local saboteurs gave conflicting reports of victory, retreat, and army movements, lead to a important defeat for Constans as Vergsu won the Battle of Antioch and seized the Diocese of the East for John!
The news of the defeat river bated in nearby Egypt where the Augustal Prefect fled the Diocese leading to forces loyal to John to take over. As John called on a march to Constantinople, Vergsu's forces promptly halted. Confused at the events John went to Vergsu who answered that his forces would not march on Constantinople. No army had managed to take the city and he believed that his army would be wasted bringing the fight to Consantinople. Taking John aside Vergsu 'advised' that John should consolidate his new found gains before seeking to topple Constans II. Which may be more of a long term goal then he had expected. The Tapuriani motives for the conflict were at last revealed! Rather then waste their own forces marching on Constantinople and enforcing the region, Jamasphi before his death had decided that a Miaphysite Client Buffer state would be much more beneficial as it would allow the Tapurianis to dominate the region in more subtle methods.
With Lakhmid and Ghassanid armies marching through the underbelly of the Diocese of the East, the government installed in Alexandria already making 'less then utterly loyal' thoughts heard, and a large Persian force at the gates of Antioch, John had little choice.
He became Emperor John I, the Emperor in the East. The Byzantine Empire had become split between a Constantinople half and a Antioch half, a Chaldecon half, and a Non-Chaldecon half.
[1]- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g
Revenge of the Persians!
by Torvold Samsson
When historians look back on the Shahanshah Jamasphi depending on who is doing the long winded talking or book writing idolize or demonize the Daliamite nobleman who became Emperor of Persia. Often enough compare him to Philip of Macedon in that much like Philip, he was not a conqueror other then his exploits of uniting western Persia which in many cases he left in the hands of Tapuriani generals. He is far more known for organization, much as Philip created the military and political force that would aid his son, it was Jamasphi would reforged Persia under Tapuriani rule and created the series of political intrigues that would see his son bring the fight to the Byzantines. He was not a man of action, but a planner and as such he is fortunate to have realized several key factors about the Sassanids. Namely, that the confrontational and extremist policies of the Sassanids and the Byzantines kept each power interlocked in a constant struggle over the region. He is said to have commented "The Long War [ Either he is commenting on the confrontation between the West and East or the spiritual war of Light and Darkness so very common in Zoroastrianism and related religions] is a fire that consumes blood, flesh, gold, and steel. I did not start the fire. Long after I am gone it will keep going on and on [1]. All that I may do is dampen the blaze for my son and his son, and perhaps even his son.".
The First Byzantine-Tapuriani War or the Chaldecon Succession War though is not totally the orchestration of Jamasphi. Even Theophilus the Silent comments that the descendants of Heraclius had become "Impudent" and "Unworthy of God's glories". The events of the war would be the last echoes of the effects of the last thirty years of fighting between the Byzantines and Sassanids. The Sassanids had collapsed and been replaced by the Tapurianis and now it was the Byzantines turn. The infighting by the sons of Heraclius and even before during the misreign of Maurice and the coup by Phocas had taken its toll on the Byzantines and not just in terms of stretched manpower or economic collapse, but also alienation of many of their subjects. The policies of Constantine III which had refuted the attempts by his father to compromise lead the religious division within the Byzantine empire to burst. On a personal level some may even say that the guilty pleasures of Heraclius had come back to punish his legacy in the case of John.
In 641 CE it was actually Jamasphi that died first, the news being mourned by the Persians and being celebrated by the Byzantines. Records show that Constantine III was already making plans to shift his military forces eastward against the Tapurianis by the time of his death by tuberculosis. Given that his successor, Constans II, was at the time only 11-years of age his regency was controlled by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Paul II. Shahanshah Vergsu did not wait for the Byzantines he used the contacts and alliances of his father to invade the Byzantine Empire. The 'public' pretext of his invasion being to seat John on the Imperial Throne, but his true motives would only be revealed much later.
While Persian forces gathered in Assuristan to march across the flat expanse of the region, Vergsu tapped the Arab kingdoms of the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids [The former having been a long time ally of the Persians, while the latter had turned to the Tapurianis during Constantine's Anti-Miaphysite reign] who invaded ahead of the main Persian force by invading Palestine and Syria. John's supporters in the Byzantine land rose up in revolt in the Diocese of the East, the Diocese of Egypt, and Armenia. Constans forces already in the region were soon swamped in the interior and consolidated their forces along the coastline-primarily in Alexandria, Antioch, Tyre, and Tripoli.
Vergsu lead his forces to the capture of the city of Nisbis after moving his army up the length of the Tigris and Euphrates and then marched south-eastward to Edessa where his forces were joined by Armenians loyal to John. By the time his forces marched on Antioch, Constans' generals had landed in the region focusing on clearing a swath of territory from Tripoli to Antioch. During this period it was just like the War of Three Sons as the countryside descended into civil war as supporters of Constans and of John fought, but given the unpopularity of his father and his age the supporters of John soon came on top flocking to John's banner or spieing on Constans' forces.
As the main opposing armies marched toward a confrontation east of Antioch news arrived that the Arab allies had managed to siege Damascus and Homs-opening a corridor to attack Constans' flank. In a last second decision, Constans' commander split a portion of his army to confront the Arabs where they were defeated! The confusion of the defeat, local saboteurs gave conflicting reports of victory, retreat, and army movements, lead to a important defeat for Constans as Vergsu won the Battle of Antioch and seized the Diocese of the East for John!
The news of the defeat river bated in nearby Egypt where the Augustal Prefect fled the Diocese leading to forces loyal to John to take over. As John called on a march to Constantinople, Vergsu's forces promptly halted. Confused at the events John went to Vergsu who answered that his forces would not march on Constantinople. No army had managed to take the city and he believed that his army would be wasted bringing the fight to Consantinople. Taking John aside Vergsu 'advised' that John should consolidate his new found gains before seeking to topple Constans II. Which may be more of a long term goal then he had expected. The Tapuriani motives for the conflict were at last revealed! Rather then waste their own forces marching on Constantinople and enforcing the region, Jamasphi before his death had decided that a Miaphysite Client Buffer state would be much more beneficial as it would allow the Tapurianis to dominate the region in more subtle methods.
With Lakhmid and Ghassanid armies marching through the underbelly of the Diocese of the East, the government installed in Alexandria already making 'less then utterly loyal' thoughts heard, and a large Persian force at the gates of Antioch, John had little choice.
He became Emperor John I, the Emperor in the East. The Byzantine Empire had become split between a Constantinople half and a Antioch half, a Chaldecon half, and a Non-Chaldecon half.
[1]- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g
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Certainly by comparison to Iran's situation - even if it's not in the throes of civil war, the resources available to the state are going to take some time to restore.
The Hispanization of Hispania: 711 and Onward
by Torvold Samsson
(Ignore the Caliphate Part)
The Visigothic Kingdom, had by the beginning of the 8th Century literally come a long way. From the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire to the very edge of Eurasia. The Kingdom carved on the Roman provinces of Hispania in the Iberian Peninsula though was not to last. As the Visigoths had attained a certain period of ascendancy in the region, but by far were the most united and stable kingdom in this or any period of history. Western historians comments on the breakup of the Visigothic Kingdom would give arise to a term for the political break up of a nation on numerous factors such as regional, language, religion, ethnicity, and so forth.
The Visigoths entered the 8th Century in a period of bitter civil war as two claimed the throne of the Visigoths: Roderic in the west and south, and Achilia in the east and north. This claim for a slice of the entire pie was the first crack in a united Hispania (the only exception being the Basques of the north-east who always resisted everyone). The central plateau that hosted Toledo being the site of the main conflict between the two claimants for the throne, but neither side could really force a decisive victory so by 711 CE the conflict had become a stalemate. It was Roderic who decided that a new power needed to be added into the conflict to tip the balance in his own favor. Though who would that be? Neither the Franks or the Exarchate of Africa would do, primarily because he distrusted either side who had long standing desire for Visigothic territory. The Lombards were involved in fighting in Italy. The Byzantine Empires were too involved in staring off each other.
That left just one group: The Berbers of North Africa.
The Berbers made up the main ethnic group in North Africa. Divided between those who lived in the Exarchate of Africa, in the independent, Saharan Border Kingdoms, and those who lived fully as nomads in the Sahara. Since the retreat of the Byzantines from the western reaches of the Inner sea mostly thanks to the Visigoths the Berbers living along the Gibraltar has since become independent and one of their favorite pass times was raiding the Visigothic Kingdom. Roderic went to the Berbers and in exchange for allowing them to settle along the southern coast of his Kingdom gained their allegiance to raid Achilia's territories. This was the second crack that would destroy the Visigothic Kingdom.
The Berbers for Roderic did more then he expected, not only did they raid Achilia's territory, but they even sent a army to aid Roderic and in an attack on Cordoba, Roderic and the Berbers killed Achilia! Roderic was already making celebrations when the Berbers in the night ambushed his jubilant army and looted Cordoba and the surrounding countryside.
The ramifications played out rather quickly in the next few years. The Berbers seized the southern coast for themselves and raided far inland. The pressure of this finally broke the Visigothic system in Roderic's lands as the local nobles, mostly Suveis and local Hispaniards. The Visigothic state survived in central Hispania as the long, disobedient Asturias revolted as well as nobles in Barcelona-aided by the Franks.
The peninsula would never come as close to unification as the Visigoths had managed.
World in 720
by Torvold Samsson
(Ignore the Caliphate Part)
The Visigothic Kingdom, had by the beginning of the 8th Century literally come a long way. From the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire to the very edge of Eurasia. The Kingdom carved on the Roman provinces of Hispania in the Iberian Peninsula though was not to last. As the Visigoths had attained a certain period of ascendancy in the region, but by far were the most united and stable kingdom in this or any period of history. Western historians comments on the breakup of the Visigothic Kingdom would give arise to a term for the political break up of a nation on numerous factors such as regional, language, religion, ethnicity, and so forth.
The Visigoths entered the 8th Century in a period of bitter civil war as two claimed the throne of the Visigoths: Roderic in the west and south, and Achilia in the east and north. This claim for a slice of the entire pie was the first crack in a united Hispania (the only exception being the Basques of the north-east who always resisted everyone). The central plateau that hosted Toledo being the site of the main conflict between the two claimants for the throne, but neither side could really force a decisive victory so by 711 CE the conflict had become a stalemate. It was Roderic who decided that a new power needed to be added into the conflict to tip the balance in his own favor. Though who would that be? Neither the Franks or the Exarchate of Africa would do, primarily because he distrusted either side who had long standing desire for Visigothic territory. The Lombards were involved in fighting in Italy. The Byzantine Empires were too involved in staring off each other.
That left just one group: The Berbers of North Africa.
The Berbers made up the main ethnic group in North Africa. Divided between those who lived in the Exarchate of Africa, in the independent, Saharan Border Kingdoms, and those who lived fully as nomads in the Sahara. Since the retreat of the Byzantines from the western reaches of the Inner sea mostly thanks to the Visigoths the Berbers living along the Gibraltar has since become independent and one of their favorite pass times was raiding the Visigothic Kingdom. Roderic went to the Berbers and in exchange for allowing them to settle along the southern coast of his Kingdom gained their allegiance to raid Achilia's territories. This was the second crack that would destroy the Visigothic Kingdom.
The Berbers for Roderic did more then he expected, not only did they raid Achilia's territory, but they even sent a army to aid Roderic and in an attack on Cordoba, Roderic and the Berbers killed Achilia! Roderic was already making celebrations when the Berbers in the night ambushed his jubilant army and looted Cordoba and the surrounding countryside.
The ramifications played out rather quickly in the next few years. The Berbers seized the southern coast for themselves and raided far inland. The pressure of this finally broke the Visigothic system in Roderic's lands as the local nobles, mostly Suveis and local Hispaniards. The Visigothic state survived in central Hispania as the long, disobedient Asturias revolted as well as nobles in Barcelona-aided by the Franks.
The peninsula would never come as close to unification as the Visigoths had managed.
World in 720
And if the Byzantines were as worse or more so?
Edit: And primarily it is also taking a Byzantine Civil War, a Religious Conflict, and the Arabs to win a grab of the Byzantine's most eastern and least terrain problematic provinces
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Being worse off would be pretty difficult without having been hit harder in the Last War in the areas that the OTL empire kept post-Arab invasion.
And it's still a state which where the ruler is going to be struggling to secure his position somehow being able to think about attacking.