Dear Folk,
J. Ellsworth Weaver
On this day August 19th died both an emperor who was soon worshipped as a god, and the hopes of the Byzantine Empire.
Let us speak of the god first. Gaius Octavius was born on September 23, 63 BC. After his great uncle Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BC, Gaius took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" to his friends). That was kind of fitting in that Julius had named Octavian his heir in his will. I am not talking about the one Marc Antony purportedly read to the mob naming all of them as his heirs, either. This was the real deal.
So in 43 BC Octavian, Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus (bet you forgot about him; so did everyone else) formed themselves into the second Triumvirate to rule Rome. The alliance was sealed by a massive proscription, in which 300 senators and 200 knights—the triumvirs' enemies—were slain Brutus and Cassius were defeated in the Battle of Philippi (42 BC) and Cicero, perhaps the greatest thinker in the Roman world, had his hands and head cut off and placed in public display in the Forum. These three men headed a republican faction against Caesar for the simple reason that Caesar had claimed absolute power for himself.. Shame on them!
To further seal the good feelings, In 40 BC Antony married Octavian's sister, confusingly enough called Octavia. Personally, I think this dressing alike and sharing names thing can go too far. Next thing you know, they will be sitting much too close at awards ceremonies.
Marc was a soldier and overseas (and haven't we all been that way?) when he met the Queen of Denial, Cleopatra. That romance just did not stay under wraps too long. In fact Antony was so bold as to give Roman provinces to his and Cleo's kids. Octavian decided it was time to rid himself of his player brother-in-law. "Sorry, Sis, but this is for your own good," I can hear him saying. We all know that Antony and Cleopatra "did the right thing" in 30 BC after Agrippa and the Roman Navy defeated the Egyptian fleet at Actium a year earlier.
In 27 BC the Roman Senate thought so much of Octavian that they gave him the handle of Augustus which means "the exalted" or "ultimately cool dude." The Senate rolled over, exposed its belly and practically begged Augustus to rule the religious, military, and civilian affairs. The Senate said, "You do it, Auggie, we will sit back and applaud." Okay, I am sure that there were a few Republicans (not George W. but the guys who thought that single guy rule is bad) who disagreed but they suddenly got sick and some of them died. Funny how it usually was after dining with Augustus and his sweet wife Livia Drucilla.
Granted things were quieter under Augustus. Rome had been in a civil war for almost 100 years and he put an end to that. Hooray! He stabilized the currency. Now you may not think that stabilizing the currency is a big deal but when one day a hot dog is a buck and the next you cannot buy one even for 10,000 dollars, that is pretty bad. It was that bad in Germany after WW I. Anyway, he also extend the highway system -- the better to march troops out to kick butt in the provinces – built bridges, aqueducts, and public buildings. Hey, he was putting folks to work and increasing trade. Got poets and playwrights to writing; Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Livy all wrote during his reign. "He subjected the whole wide earth to the rule of the Roman people." Made the trains run on time, too. Whoops, that was another Italian.
Back to family matters. Livia Drusilla was Augustus' third wife. She had two sons, Tiberius and Drusus Germanicus, by a previous marriage. Augustus, in turn, had a daughter, Julia, by a previous wife. Augustus' heirs, mysteriously again, died -- one after another -- leaving his stepson, Tiberius, to succeed him when he died at Nola on August 19, 14 CE. Livia had Tiberius push through a resolution in the Senate that Augustus had been a god and should be worshipped as one. Nice touch until Livia wanted that same status for herself.
By the way, Tiberius (emperor 14 - 37 CE) was no Augustus. He was dark, brooding and vengeful. Remember Nixon during the Watergate years? After his death, finally, the rule of Rome went to the fine emperor, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus who was the third child of Augustus' adopted grandson, Germanicus, and Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina. You may remember Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus by his nickname. He was called "little sandals" by his father's troops. Oh, in Latin that is "Caligula." Maybe we will talk about him sometime soon.
Although we are not exactly sure what day of the month it was, and the Arab historians agree it was a Friday, today was probably part of the battle of Manzikert in 1071 CE. Most of the Byzantines afterward could only refer to it as "that terrible day." For them it was much like when we heard that John Kennedy was shot; somehow the world changed dramatically. Everyone remembered exactly where they were when they heard the news.
We are talking about the Byzantine empire, headquarters Constantinople. The empire had been ruled by Constantine X (Dukas) from 1059 to 1067. Before ascending the throne, he had been a high official in the finance department. Just like it sounds, the bureaucrats took over the government. Of course the army was neglected and viewed with hostility.
Upon Constantine's death, a soldier named Romanus Diogenes married Con's widow, Empress Eudoxia. Romanus was a rather strict man but the times seem to call for it. He was fighting a two front war. In the West the Normans were retaking areas of Italy which had fallen to the Byzantines earlier. By 1071 the Normans had taken the last outposts, Otranto and Bari, of Byzantine rule. In the East were the Seljuk Turks.
Things weren't Frosty Blue Creme Soda (which I highly recommend) and cheesy nachos at home in Constantinople, either. The Dukas family hated this upstart marrying into their important family. This hatred really made it a bad thing to be leaving home. Sure as shootin' if he left, there would be little to come back to. The Dukas' let it be known that Romanus was not long for this world. Well, if he was going to stay at home, he could at least raise some cash for decent equipment for the troops. That he did.
The leader of the Seljuk Turks was a rather sophisticated Turk-about-town, Alp Arslan. He had recently signed a peace treaty with Romanus. but some yahoos had been out marauding and killed a Byzantine or two. Quel embarassement!
Sure enough, in 1071 Romanus decided to get away on a little smash and bash expedition. The army he fielded was far less than the great armies of old. He was able to put 100,000 guys out there but only about half were regulars, the rest were mercs (mercenaries).
When they got 200 miles out away from home, Romanus got a tad testy. Well, there were these omens, you see. His tent pole broke, there was that unexplained fire in his tent that damaged most of his personal stuff, and his horses and mules seem to be decreasing regularly. Fires in tents are things I pay attention to, I guarantee. Okay, omens or no, Romanus decided that if he returned to Constantinople without even seeing a Turk, folks would laugh at him. He was soon to get his wish in spades.
Romanus sent the biggest part of his army toward Lake Van under the command of a trusted general Joseph Tarchaniotes. What happened to them, we will probably never know. Maybe they were bushwhacked by owlhoots, maybe they were in the pocket of the Dukas family, maybe it is because Tarchaniotes was born a Turk and had command of a large bunch of Turk mercs but in any case, they were splitsville. Romanus was down to less than half strength when he found out his Norman and Frankish heavy cavalry decided that they were not really in the mood to fight, either.
About a mile or two from the fortress of Manzikert, things starting getting rough. Romanus saw a group of Turks and sent some men out to scout out the situation. The few riders who made it back described what must have been the entire Turkish army. Whoops! Romanus thought for sure it would be blood and gore time tomorrow morning.
Strangely enough, a Turkish delegation showed up in camp with an offer of peace. Romanus did not take well to the idea of dividing up Armenia. This was a costly mistake. Alp Arslan really wanted to go whack on the Egyptians (also Islamic folk.) If Romanus had agreed he could have nicely helped a growing division between Shi'ite and Sunni forces in Islam. Instead, Romanus turned Arslan down like a motel bedspread.
Okay, it was time for slobberknocking. Romanus put his men out onto the field in a rather traditional way with himself at the center of the main force. He put Andronicus Dukas, the nephew of the late Emperor, in charge of the rear guard. Does anyone else sense tragedy here?
Seljuk archers had a great time provoking the cavalry. Of course, the cavalry decided to charge after them. That is what cavalry does best. They ran smack into a Turkish ambush. Meanwhile Romanus was in the middle of a battlefield with no one to fight. He ordered the Imperial standard reversed to tell the troops to retreat and regroup. Alp Arslan was waiting for that moment. As the Byzantines retreated, he attacked. Okay folk, this is where that rearguard comes in handy. They are supposed to advance and smash the incoming enemy. Do you think they did? Right!
Instead, Andronicus spread the word that the emperor had been killed and the battle lost, he hightailed it out of there. This act caused more confusion among the remaining troops and more and more of them fled the battlefield. Only the Emperor remained with his personal guards around him. Romanus fought valiantly until the end:
He was captured by the Turks and treated nicely. Alp Arslan wanted only one of Romanus' daughters to marry one of his sons (awww!), some castles like Antioch, and a tiny bit of ransom and yearly tribute. Surely the folks back home could help their emperor out.
The news of the battle was pretty disjointed when it reached Constantinople. Romanus' wife Eudoxia was asking everyone what she should do. Most folk told her to forget Romanus where ever he was and secure the throne for herself and her sons. She then set it up that her eldest son, Michael Dukas, would be the co-emperor with her.
Romanus tried to get home with what was left of his army to get his throne back. The Dukas family met him on the road where he was soundly beaten by John Dukas. After the second such battle Romanus was forced to give himself up to the traitor Andronicus. He then had to renounce all claims on the throne and retire to a monastery. In return, he was supposed to get safe conduct to Constantinople. It was five hundred miles back and Andronicus put Romanus on a mule. The onlookers on the road back attacked Romanus and put out his eyes. He died in the summer of 1072.
It was on that terrible day in around August 19, 1071 that "Anatolia, heartland of Byzantium,.. was lost forever to Christendom." In one catastrophic day the eastern Roman Empire had lost its major recruiting region, its major grain producing region, and its vital trade route between Constantinople and the riches of the East.
What have we learned? Sometimes your enemies treat you better than your friends? Do not put needed troops in the charge of a questionable person? Some republicans can mean well? It is one thing to have an overseas romance but one should forget about it when you come home? Take every advantage of a split in your enemies? How about don't eat Auntie Dru's "almond surprise" if you are inline to rule?
As always, if you are marching toward Armenia and decide you need these pages for something, please leave my name and sig attached.
Eating mayonnaise sandwiches and drinking my Frosty Blue Creme,
SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats