-----------------------------
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.
-------------------------------
Anno Domini 828,June-27-July-4
Reorganizing the themata alone took me about three days. During that time, all the lands around Antioch were surveyed, divided, and assigned among the new soldiers. We also equipped them with Sarakenoi gear, since there was plenty of high quality equipment available: armor reinforced with iron and weapons in good condition. This allowed us to outfit all the themata decently. I also left officers in charge of training, something that would be absolutely necessary when the caliph's army arrived within one or two months.
I tried to respect local property rights. During those days, many claims were brought before me by people alleging ownership of lands supposedly belonging to ancient families, so I had to thoroughly review maps and records from the previous governor to make sure they were not trying to deceive me.
In many cases, that was exactly what they were doing. They claimed lands they had lost decades earlier when the territory fell into Abbasid hands, invoking ancient rights annulled by war. I had no obligation to return them. Doing so would have been nothing more than a gesture of goodwill.
And no sane man would return such productive lands to enrich four or five idiots clinging to forgotten ties while harming the future themata. Accepting that would have meant dismantling the very system we had just built.
There were different cases, however. People whose property had been unjustly taken less than five years earlier. In those instances, I chose to return it.
Once that matter was resolved and the opportunists were sent away to bother someone else, we finished distributing the lands and began marching back toward Rosos. The themata were returned to their respective cities, though I kept a good number of them with me. I took five thousand men from Antioch and marched with around sixteen thousand of my own forces, along with roughly fourteen thousand men from the navy. We still maintained a considerable force capable of offering battle, while at the same time leaving the rear well defended.
Using part of the spoils, I began purchasing construction materials from local merchants and hired a large number of inhabitants from the region. I employed local architects to begin fortifying the Orontes River at key points to prevent incursions from the governor of Aleppo.
We were still within the agricultural season, so many wanted to settle and work the lands that had been assigned to them. That helped stabilize the region quickly.
With the rear secured, we began the march toward Cilicia. If I was not mistaken, a large portion of the imperial army should be stationed in Tarsos. That was the strategic objective. Controlling Tarsos meant sealing the gates of Cilicia and ending Arab incursions into Anatolia.
It was possible that the imperial army was already there. Our missions were rarely fully coordinated. We only reported advances, hoping to distract the Abbasids across different fronts.
And it had worked. At that moment, the Abbasids were sufficiently occupied, likely with the governors of Damascus and Aleppo gathering forces to expel us.
From that perspective, the mission was accomplished.
Without wasting time, we moved down the river and reached Rosos. The navy returned to their ships, and we boarded ours. From there, we sailed toward the city of Alexandretta.
Upon arrival, we observed that its ports were half empty. That indicated that the Abbasid fleet was not there. Only one possible harbor remained where they could be concentrated.
We disembarked as the population ran back inside the walls to avoid being trapped outside.
I needed to take the city quickly. Unlike Antioch, the population here was overwhelmingly Sarakenoi, and almost no one inside the walls was willing to collaborate. Taking it by assault was entirely feasible with our numbers. Even so, speed was essential, so I decided to attempt a negotiated surrender before wasting time and men.
I approached under a white flag, just as the Sarakenoi had done with me before at Antarados, and waited for someone with authority to appear on the walls.
"What do you want, Roman?" a voice shouted from above.
"To avoid unnecessary deaths, my esteemed enemy" I replied calmly, raising my voice just enough.
"We will not surrender if that is what you think. We can hold until the wālī of Antioch comes to our rescue" the voice answered.
"That is precisely why I am here," I said, pointing with my index finger. "Antioch fell to us four days ago. No reinforcements are coming," I added with a faint smile.
"Impossible, infidel. That city could not have fallen so quickly. I am not stupid enough to fall for such a crude deception" he replied.
"I have here the correspondence between the wālī of Antioch and Caliph al-Ma'mun, requesting aid against us," I said, pulling the letters from within my garments. "You may send someone to verify the handwriting and seals if you wish. You will see that I speak the truth. No one is coming to your aid. I offer that you and your men abandon the city, leaving behind arms and armor, and withdraw with your lives" I said firmly.
"Do I have your word that if I come down nothing will happen to me?" he finally asked.
"You have my word, Sarakenoi. Nothing will happen to you" I replied without hesitation.
There was silence after my words. Shortly thereafter, the gates of Alexandretta opened and a small group of horsemen rode out to meet us. My hird moved discreetly to my side as we came face to face with the man who was clearly the city's governor.
"Here" I said, handing him the letters.
He took them, examined the seals, and when he recognized them his eyes widened completely. His hands began to tremble.
"May I send a messenger to Antioch to verify this information?" he asked, visibly nervous.
"No" I replied calmly. "I am short on time and do not have two or three days for a rider to go and return to tell you what you already know. Either you surrender the city now and leave alive with your men, or I will assault the walls and we will both suffer."
The governor looked at his men, then at the letters.
"What can we take with us?" he finally asked.
"Twenty horses and whatever you can carry in two carts. Choose a safe territory and leave" I replied without hesitation.
"I understand. We will prepare the provisions and abandon the city" he said, returning the wālī of Antioch's letters to me.
Without another word, the horsemen rode back to the walls. Several minutes passed as the sun began to beat down with force. Finally, the gates opened and a large group began to emerge.
Twenty horses and thousands of people, men, women, and children, abandoned the city without resistance. They looked at us with suspicion as they passed in front of our lines. All the guards had left their equipment behind. They carried only basic clothing, without weapons or armor.
When the last of the Sarakenoi left, we began to enter the city.
Inside, we found mountains of abandoned equipment. Swords, spears, bows. Most of the valuables were already gone and the fortress treasury had disappeared, but that was secondary.
What truly mattered was reaching the imperial army as soon as possible and supporting the campaign in Cilicia while the Abbasid army remained tied down in Anatolia, attempting to break imperial fortifications.
The Christian population did not exceed two thousand inhabitants. They were an absolute minority, so I was forced to leave five hundred men as a garrison. I left troops drawn from Antioch and sent all the captured equipment to Rosos, from where it would be transported to Antioch and distributed among the city's men.
We immediately returned to the ships. We could not remain idle. Once back at sea, we sailed rapidly until we identified the mouth of the Pyramos River, where we stopped temporarily to send mounted scouts inland. That area was supposed to be heavily fortified by the fortress cities the Sarakenoi used to control the passage.
After waiting several hours, my men returned with the information I sought. To the north lay the city of Mopsuestia, well fortified and inhabited mostly by Muslims. It was an Abbasid military colony from which the annual incursions into imperial territory were launched.
After evaluating our options and considering the near total absence of local support networks, I decided not to risk a siege. Instead, we continued our voyage to the next river, the Saros. We arrived close to nightfall after an intense journey. We rested at sea and resumed our advance at dawn, with the objective of reconnecting with the imperial army.
Upon disembarking at the mouth of the Saros River, we again sent out scouts. Shortly thereafter they returned with favorable news. Adana, the city to the north held by the Sarakenoi, was under siege by an imperial army. The same was true of Tarsos and other smaller cities in the region.
In addition, my men detected the Abbasid fleet concentrated in the harbor of Pompeioupolis. That appeared to be their last operational port in the area, from which they supported resistance against the imperial sieges.
With that information in hand, we landed. The strategos of Cyprus moved to engage the Abbasid fleet by sea, intending to force a naval battle. His men were confident after so many easy victories.
Meanwhile, we established a naval camp, left men to guard the ships, and began advancing inland.
Our destination was Adana.
The march began, and the difference in training and experience among the men following me quickly became evident. The themata soldiers tired rapidly and struggled to maintain the pace, while my men suffered only from the heat of the day. Even so, the heat here was not as brutal as it had been in Emesa and its surroundings.
After several hours of advance, mounted riders began to appear around us. They observed us from a distance until one of them finally approached.
"Which strategos do you serve?" the rider asked after greeting us.
"The one from Crete" I replied bluntly.
"The Makedon? What has happened? You should be raiding the Levantine coast" he said with clear curiosity.
"I am on my way to report our progress to the basileus Rhomaion and to request reinforcements to defend several important gains we have made" I replied with a faint smile.
"The basileus Rhomaion is directing the siege of Tarsos. You will not find him here unless he is inspecting the camp, but he did that a few days ago. He is almost certainly in Tarsos" the rider explained.
"Thank you for the information. We will redirect our course" I replied as I gave the order to change direction.
We resumed the march and, after stopping for an hour to rest, eat, and drink, continued without delay. We reached the city of Tarsos at dusk, another Abbasid military colony from which repeated raids into Anatolia had been launched.
Finally, after a month and several additional weeks, the campaign had ended, and I needed to report the results.
As we approached the siege camp, a large group of horsemen surrounded us. This time they were scholai, a clear sign that the emperor was present in the area.
"Strategos Basil. What are you doing here?" one of the scholai asked upon recognizing me.
"I am here to report and to attempt to coordinate operations in the region," I replied as I mounted my horse beside him.
"And your mission? It is important that the Sarakenoi governors are unable to regroup their forces. We are conducting multiple sieges and our troops are spread thin," he said seriously.
"Have the reports not arrived yet?" I asked, recalling that I had sent several, at least from Antarados and the coastal cities.
"They may have been intercepted. The Abbasid navy is active in the area" the scholai replied.
"Then take me to the basileus Rhomaion. I will give the report personally. It is too important" I said without hesitation.
"Of course. Come with me, but your men must wait outside the camp. It could be interpreted otherwise" he clarified.
"I understand. Do not worry. Sigurd, set up camp outside. We will not be here long" I ordered, turning toward my hird.
Mounted on horseback, I observed that the camp was well organized. Theophilos had devoted time to its layout. Trenches, palisades, broad encampments facing the gates, dug latrines, and siege engines such as scorpions and onagers were already pounding the walls.
The scholai removed all my weapons, even concealed daggers, before allowing me to enter Theophilos' tent. Inside, several strategoi and generals were reviewing maps of the city. The conversation stopped the moment I entered.
"Basil?" Theophilos said, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"My apologies for the interruption, but I bring information" I replied with a slight bow as I approached him.
"What are you doing here? What of your mission? There is immense pressure in Anatolia. My forces there are barely holding, and nothing has been diverted by your attacks. Furthermore, the Abbasid navy remains active" he said with a frown.
"That is strange. I took six cities. Antarados, Laodikea, Gabala, and Balanaia, securing the coast. I left Emesa and Raphaneia as ghost cities and defeated the governor of Homs in battle. After that, I took the city of Rosos" I listed calmly.
"Wait… how many cities have you taken?" one of the generals asked, eyes wide.
"Let me finish. I took Antioch a few days ago and…" I continued, but even Theophilos began to tremble at the chin.
"Antioch? Antioch? Basil, is this a joke? How did you take Antioch with your men?" he asked, bringing a hand to his mouth.
"I bathed in filth. I entered through the sewers, opened a gate, and we killed the Sarakenoi" I replied plainly.
One of the strategoi covered his face with his hands, laughing in disbelief.
"And on the way here I took Alexandretta, convincing its governor to surrender the city once he learned that no help was coming" I concluded.
Theophilos closed his eyes tightly, bit his lip, and glanced at the man to his left, signaling him to vacate his seat.
"Sit, Basil. I need details. Extensive details" he said, gesturing toward the chair.
"Of course. Oh, and by the way, I have information regarding the caliph's possible plans" I added as I handed him the letters, uncertain whether he could read Arabic.
"Thank you" Theophilos said, looking around at all those present.
-----------------------------
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.
-------------------------------