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Anno Domini 828,June-24-26
"For the love of Freyr , how can it be this hot?" Sigurd said as he emptied a bucket of water over his head.
"Welcome to the Mediterranean climate… the southern one, at least. Warm, a chance of rain, humid and dry at the same time. Unlike our trip to Africa, here we are entering spring and summer. And it will get worse," I replied with a smile as I chewed on dried meat and splashed water over my body.
"I do not know how we are supposed to fight in this infernal heat. I am drenched in sweat and my beard feels like a swamp," Sigurd growled, twisting as he tried to clean the soaked braids of his beard, still complaining.
"You are not the only one. The other Varangians are having a hard time too, but they will adapt. If you worked at the forge with me, you would already be used to infernal heat. It is bad, but not that bad," I said with a grin.
"Oh yes… I want to see you in the middle of winter, you lover of heat," Sigurd replied sarcastically.
"I like the cold. It is easier to endure with furs than relying on these Sarakenoi ideas to lower the temperature," I said, pointing at the wind catcher of the fortress of Antarados, which gathered the air currents and directed them inward, noticeably reducing the temperature.
"So what are we going to do now? We have only been sending patrols in the morning or at dusk to clear the few villages that remain. As far as the eye can see, this is all that is left inhabited. I suppose it will already be difficult for them to launch a major campaign here. How many people did you say live in the area now?" Sigurd asked, placing a wet turban on his head and putting on a cotton tunic soaked with water before sitting down to enjoy the breeze.
"I thought about raiding Tripoli, but I was informed that the garrison there is mostly Muslim. I doubt they would open the gates for us. They may not yet know how we entered the other cities, but it is still risky. That leaves the north. The Holy Land could have been interesting, but there are few collaborators there. There are far more Muslims and Jews than Christians, many conversions and much slavery. Much of the Christian population is already gone. Antioch and Aleppo could be good targets, but the risk is far greater," I replied calmly as the wind continued to strike my face.
"Why is it so risky? At most they have a governor capable of moving troops like the last one. With new levies we could match their numbers and, if we force a pitched battle, we could defeat them. Our heavy infantry is nearly unbeatable when we make contact. They have never been able to stop us once we push. They do not use weapons like our pole hammers," Sigurd said, while the rest of the hird nodded, copying his way of dealing with the heat.
"The Sarakenoi do not fight the way you think. The ones we faced fought because they had no other choice. They use guerrilla tactics, light cavalry, and mounted archery. They are masters on horseback. They would rain arrows on us constantly and, when it seemed like they would engage, they would retreat at a gallop, shooting as they withdrew. To truly fight them you must force them to stand, deny them water or food, or trap them. And that is difficult," I replied, frowning.
"Sounds like cowards to me. It seems the only brave one was the governor of Homs. A shame he is now rowing that galley toward Crete. I would have preferred to keep fighting men who thought like him," Sigurd said as he adjusted his still damp hair.
"They wear little armor, so that is the best tactic they have to avoid being caught. Running is not a bad idea if it has allowed them to defeat the Empire on several occasions. They exhaust imperial forces with constant harassment until wear and tear cause wounds, fatigue, and disorder, and when the army is already exhausted, they strike. That is usually when a decisive defeat follows," I said, closing my eyes for a moment.
"Strategos, the fleet of the strategos of Cyprus has arrived and requests permission to enter the harbor," one of my guards said.
I stood up without a word and began to prepare to receive the strategos of Cyprus. We needed to coordinate our forces if we were going to attempt to take Antioch.
"Oh… you move early," Sigurd commented as he rose to follow me.
"It is what it is. We have to coordinate the attack as soon as possible. We might be able to take Antioch if what the informants say is true, that the city is composed mostly of Christians looking to change sides. It would be the first large city with a Christian majority. They say one hundred thousand people live there. All of Crete concentrated in a single city. If we manage to reclaim it and rebuild it, we could increase our numbers like never before," I said with a smile as we walked toward the harbor.
With the sun already high, I stepped out of the shade and moved toward the harbor, which remained extremely active. Supplies were arriving from Cyprus, while other ships departed toward the Empire to repopulate depopulated areas of the Balkans. The harbor had grown from around ten thousand inhabitants to nearly thirty thousand, tripling its population, just like the other ports under our control. In total, the four coastal cities now held close to two hundred thousand people, all working to expand the walls and secure farmland against possible Sarakenoi incursions.
Upon arrival, I observed the Byzantine fleet anchored outside the harbor. I took one of my ships and headed toward the heavy dromon where the strategos of Cyprus awaited me to coordinate what we would have to do if we truly intended to take Antioch.
When I reached his ship, the largest of them all, I boarded quickly and went to where the strategos was waiting.
"Strategos Basil. Great victories, from what I have heard. Defeating a larger army is already a great achievement, but retaking Emesa is truly a major victory. The Sarakenoi have been effectively expelled from this region," said the strategos of Cyprus with a slight smile, after ordering his sailors to leave us alone.
"Strategos Herakleios, it is a pleasure to see you again. It seems we caught the Sarakenoi poorly positioned, and the shame of losing a city pushed the governor of Homs into the disastrous decision of charging the walls without even counting how many men defended them. That mistake opened the way for this great victory. Now I would like to speak with you about the possibility of coordinating our forces to besiege Antioch and, by doing so, connect our conquests with imperial territory and secure the region," I said with a measured smile.
"Antioch… that is on the mainland. Do you want me to put my men ashore?" the strategos of Cyprus asked after thinking for a few seconds.
"We have to. There is a real possibility of entering that great city that once belonged to the Empire, but we must present ourselves with sufficient force to take control. Most of the population is Christian, and a large part of the garrison is willing to change sides if we arrive with a force capable of protecting them after the switch," I replied, trying to persuade him.
"No. That would be unwise. Between your men and mine we have around twenty thousand, considering that we must leave thousands behind to protect the ships. Those numbers are barely enough to encircle a city the size of Antioch. Moreover, we cannot afford months of siege. The moment the Abbasid fleet learns of it, they will do everything possible to burn our ships, and if they join forces with their African fleet we will be in serious trouble. It is possible that, after your victory, they will try to concentrate all their naval strength. In that scenario we should be on the defensive, not attacking," Herakleios said cautiously.
"We have around fifteen thousand men who joined the local themata. With my own troops that brings us to nearly twenty-three thousand. If we add yours, we reach about thirty-five thousand. With that force we can besiege Antioch and, on the first night or at the latest the second or third, have the gates opened. From there we could move toward Cilicia and attempt to link up with the imperial army to support its operations," I said, pointing out the recent recruits.
"It is risky. Who will stay behind to guard the cities?" the strategos asked, nervous, though he was already clearly inclined to give way.
"We can do the following. I will coordinate with the spies I have in the area to take the city of Rosos. That will give us a secure port from which to move and sustain the siege. If everything goes well, we will take control of the area in one or two weeks and then advance toward Cilicia, recover the cities of the region, and finally coordinate with the emperor. In that way we will expel the Sarakenoi, since they will have no ports from which to respond to our naval presence," I said, taking out the map I carried and pointing to the port city.
"That is a much better plan. With a secure port we can push deeper into Sarakenoi territory without leaving the ships in a vulnerable position. That way we can truly reach Antioch. So how much time do we have to prepare?" he asked, now clearly interested.
"Ideally we leave immediately. We must seize the initiative. The governors of Aleppo and Damascus must be recruiting troops to try to retake the cities we have taken, not expecting an attack from us. Their garrisons should not yet be reinforced, so the sooner we act, the better," I replied firmly.
"Very well. I have supplies for a few days, since I thought you might want to try to draw the Abbasid fleet into a naval engagement, so I have the means. Are your forces ready?" asked the strategos of Cyprus, now fully convinced of advancing toward Antioch.
"Yes. We have the ships from the ports of the four cities, so I have a considerable fleet to transport the thousands of men required. Do you recommend sailing close to Cyprus and then striking directly at the city, or sailing straight toward it?" I asked, more out of courtesy than doubt, since I already knew the answer.
"Surprise is more important. We will travel along the coast of Cyprus and then head directly to Rosos. At that point we should land on the nearby beaches, surround the city, and verify whether your spies are telling the truth. If they are not, we will have to carry out an assault from all directions, both by land and from the sea. In any case, with our numbers we could take it by storm," the strategos replied confidently.
"Very well. I will prepare everything immediately," I said before returning to my ship.
Without wasting time, I returned to Antarados and prepared my men, leaving behind a solid garrison, though not an overly large one, since we had to stake everything on this operation. I gathered all my men scattered throughout the northern cities and concentrated them for the march.
We loaded the ships with thousands of men and hundreds of kilograms of supplies for the journey, preparing even for a siege in case the gates did not open as the spies indicated.
When all the ships were filled with men and provisions, we sailed toward Cyprus and from there continued swiftly, using oars and transport vessels to reach Rosos as quickly as possible. When night fell we stopped advancing, since we wanted to arrive at dawn, so we slept at sea while preparing the troops for the attack.
As soon as the sun rose we resumed the journey, and as it climbed into the sky we finally reached the outskirts of the city of Rosos. The garrison must already have been informed of our plan, so we completely surrounded the city, deploying the cavalry first to prevent any attempt to send messages for help.
As soon as our army took position before the walls, the gates of the city began to open.
"This is too easy. Antioch should fall soon," I said with a slight smile.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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