Terra Cognita

TERRA COGNITA

Terra Cognita is an Alternate History timeline which takes place in a dimension that did not witness a "collapse" of the Western Roman Empire. Though suffering invasion and conflict the Roman realm lingers and spins through history in fits of growth and decline as a constant.

Traveler’s Guide
Hello intrepid dimension traveler, welcome to this Alternate World. Here I will lay out some of the basic differences to help avoid confusion in your meanderings and explain this Alternate History.

Time & Dating
In this alternate world the years are dated as A.u.C (often written AUC preceding the numbers), meaning Ab urbe condita. The Gregorian calendar introduced in Our World by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 A.D. does not come into being in This World. Ab urbe condita literally means "from the founded city", meaning from the traditionally held day that the city of Rome was founded.

AUC is the most common dating system in the “western world” in This World. The conventional dating system in the "eastern world" is the Sinaean (Chinese) Lunar calendar. So 2019 CE/AD in Our World would be AUC 2772 in the western world and 4717 in the eastern world.

The other widespread and commonly used calendars include the Era of the World calendar, used across the Christian world (excepting Egypt). In this system the date today is 7527 AM (Anno Mundi, the Latin-based translation of Year After Creation, this is written ε.Κ. in Greek, among who the calendar is common). The Islamic world uses the Hijri calendar with today being 1440 AH.

Other more regional calendars are common around the globe in This World. The Egyptians use the Alexandrian calendar (where the year is 1735) for example, Hesperia has two dominant calendars based on systems devised in Ganonsia (Iroquois-land) and one based on the Meshicoan system (Nahua-Mexico); a number dating systems exist, just as in Our World. The four mentioned dating systems (Ab Urbe Condita, Sinaean Lunar, Era of the World, and Hijri) are the most widespread however, with the AUC and SL being the ‘global systems’ of dating – the two sharing a status that is very similar to Our World’s Gregorian system.

Words & Terminology
You might notice a word that is unfamiliar, different, archaic, or new to Our World. This is based on the preference for common usage from This World. This is a tricky thing to do since in This World English does not exist. The Anglo-Saxons, though settling in Britannia, never came to dominate the island and so Old English never came to fruition.

The global Lingua Francas in This World are Romanian (that is, the Vulgar Latin spoken in the Roman Republic, not the same Romania as Our World), Sinaean (Standard Mandarin of Our World), Cambrian (the dominant language of Britain, evolving from the native Celtic language), Persian, Bakitaran (the Luganda language of Our World), Ganonsian (Iroquois), Meshicoan (Nahuatl), and Tavantinsuan (Quecha).

It is in this light that I pick and choose what words to give pseudo-English translations to, what words to just use the translation from Our World, and what words to use directly from a dominant language from This World.

Terra Cognita Glossary:
 Homophile  – Homosexual; Gay; LGBTQ. The term homophile is from love ("-phile" from Greek φιλία). The first element of the word, the Greek root "homo-", means "same"; it is unrelated to Latin homo, "person". The word gained traction in the gay-rights movement in the Christian world of This World, where such rights were under attack, therefore Greek terms were used (as the Greek world was predominantly Christian and the Christian world heavily Greek). In the equivalent of Our World’s 1925 CE (AUC 2678 in This World) the term was adopted broadly across Europe during the rise in global gay-rights of This World. The term has remained in place, used widely as the predominate terminology for what Our World would term ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’.

 Septentrional, Meridional, Oriental, Occidental  - Typically used in reference to "cultural spheres" in This World. Unlike Our World, where the term Oriental fell from use due to imperialistic attitudes and exoticism attached to the term, these terms are broadly accepted and without baggage in This World. Septentrional Culture refers to the "Northern Culture" or that of Europe, North Libia (North Africa), West Asia, and, sometimes, Greenland & Vinland in Hesperia. Meridional Culture refers to "Southern Culture" or that of Libia (Africa) excepting the northern part. Oriental Culture refers to "Eastern Culture" or Asia sans West Asia (the Middle East). Occidental Culture refers to "Western Culture" or that of Hesperia and, with some controversy, Antullia. Said controversy is accompanied by a second touchy item and are the two hot points of these terms in This World. Antullia is often written off and just attached to Hesperia culturally and politically (though always recognized as its own continent), therefore ignored as not important, much to the chagrin of that continents inhabitants. The Oceania of Our World is also just attached to Asia, the region called Southeast Asia in This World, though it does at times garner its own "cultural sphere" term - Austral Culture.

People & Culture
The thoughtful traveler will notice some famous individuals who reflect those from Our World very closely, exactly, minimally, or just mildly. We can assume that no one, after the point-of-divergence, is the same as Our World (not necessarily that they do not exist. Perhaps a reflection of a person). Though, truly, this world is different from the ground up. Though the history preceding the survival of Our World’s Julian the Apostate (This World’s Julian the Philosopher) is nearly identical, it is still different in itself. What butterfly flapped its wings in that distant past I’m not sure. But there are subtle differences, tiny ripples, from before This World’s defined PoD. Furthermore, there are many other PoDs after the Julian one, some small and some big, across the globe, perhaps rippled by these other, older, wing-flaps. Therefore no one is really the same, not one hundred percent.

So, there is mimicry, perhaps due to fate or a natural flow of the river of life. It is in this fashion that we end up with a character such as Aelia Capriolu, with a standing and career that is reminiscent of Our World’s Penélope Cruz. Though reminiscent, she is also obviously not the same person. So it is that we have mirrors, some less distorted, some more, some completely unknown reflections.

Music is different. Take rap – it never evolves along the lines it did from the cultural melding of the United States. The melding of sounds in this world culminated in a birthing from a meld of African and European influence. These two continents still led to a fusion of music that resembles Our World, though echoes far more Afropop, Europop, J-Pop, Trip-Hop, African-Rap, and the like with a conspicuous absence of Our World’s American genres. The influence arrives, via the aforementioned continents melding of ideas, but that direct blending we see in America does not come to be.

Technology
In This World technology is, roughly,15 years ahead of Our World. That is for the most part, in some areas things do not exist at all. This World witnessed many ideas and inventions that Our World did, only perpetrated at different times, by different people, in different places. But the human mind eventually got there anyway. The traffic light is invented, but there is no Tupperware, no basketball, volleyball, snowboarding, no ferris-wheel. Some things are different, with the barcode being a circular symbol rather than a square. But there are personal computers, cellphones, and so on.

On the high advanced end of things This World is not overtly different in an obvious way. A glance around the world would not strike one as much changed, but many things are so in subtle fashion. Above ground power lines are incredibly rare, for instance. Almost always buried worldwide. Many cities are much larger and more built up, with London being more akin to Our World’s New York City. There are three Lunar Research bases and there have been several Moon-Landings by different nations. The moon is treated much like Our World’s Antarctica. Airships, descendants of dirigibles, are widespread. Though surpassed by planes for travel, they never phased out and continue to be employed for leisure in a style similar to cruise-liners, as well as for cargo transport and other things.Tanks (Landships in This World) progressed differently but culminated to end up largely the same as Our World, only from a different origin point. This World has bionic hands for amputees, controlled by brain signals, self-driving cars are a norm (though not the majority for personal use just yet) and make up most train cargo and truck transports, nanotechnology is used in computers resulting in a blazingly fast internet and the internet is far more widespread across the globe, drones constitute about 40% of deliveries, electric vehicles are the majority as is renewable energy, though still not quite a massive majority on the power end of things, evens so – solar energy is very widespread and nearly majority by a bit, bio-printing exists with arteries available, and more complex organs like hearts and livers.

The reason for this minor technological boom in This World is manifold. In the Roman sphere there was no Renaissance, rather there was a consistent built up, largely unbroken from antiquity and so no need for it. This faced some dips long its history, particularly during the loss of territory to the Barbarian Invasions, during the reconquest of said lands, and during the Black Plague. The Romans otherwise do not lose their emphasis on the beauty and movement of the body in sculpture. Painting and freestanding sculpture do not gradually fall from favor in the artistic community and are not replaced by interests in mosaics, architecture, and relief sculpture (note this does happen in the Eastern Roman realm, or Greek Empire). The Greek texts, science, philosophy, and ideas were never lost to them and the Latin never submerged beneath piety. This gives the Medieval Roman’s in This World an art and architecture closer antiquity without the so called Dark Ages. Imperial and later Republican money and unity contribute immensely to these endeavors.

Trade links that grew in the 1300s also aided global growth. Roman connections to Hesperia (Our World’s North America) and west Libia (Our world’s west Africa), Chinese growth into east Libian (East African) markets, making the Western Ocean's regional integration and increase in international circulation of people, ideas, and goods. It also provided a platform for cosmopolitan discourses. For the first time in its history, the maritime region from China to Africa was under the dominance of a single imperial power and thereby allowed for the creation of a cosmopolitan space. Aiding this growth is the internal and earlier development of Bakitara, a state in east Africa that becomes a power of its own. Rome would play this role on the other side of Africa and across the Atlantic. The general lack of open conflict (no dynastic wars between England and France, invasion of France into Italy, no regional power struggles) due to more cohesion in western Europe aids this growth. China nor Japan close themselves off, shutting off ports (Japan only a bit), and no missionary threat arrives to give them an extra cause (though the causes in Our World were manifest certainly). The Sino-Roman linking and trade post established on the Cape of Good Hope solidifies this global growth exponentially.

The world is cleaner and greener, connected earlier and therefore longer, gender equality is more widespread as is general stability, technology is about 15 years ahead. That said, the world is not utopian: it is full of prejudice, conflict, and lingering doubt.

-

The World
* Languages (Terra Cognita)*Politics (Terra Cognita)

Europe
Europe

Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Asia to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe, in particular antiquity Greece and antiquity Rome, was the birthplace of Septentrional Culture.The invasion of the Western Roman Empire in AUC 1128 and the subsequent Migration Period marked the end of ancient history and the beginning of the Post-Classical Era. Humanism, exploration, art and science led to the modern era, born largely from within Romania. Since the Age of Exploration started by Romania, Europe played one of the predominant roles in global affairs.

Asia
Asia

Asia is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its overall large size and population, but also dense and large settlements, as well as vast barely populated regions. Sina and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from AUC 750 to 2550. Sina was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce and exploration. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route, The Spice Current, terminating in Melinde in Libia. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the Modern Era. Asia was the birthplace of many of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions.

Libia
Libia

Libia is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent; it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Eritrean Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Malagasy and various archipelagos. Libia is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the human species originating from the continent. Anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago and Libia is therefore deemed the womb of humanity. The historical record opens in Northern Libia with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic civilization of Ancient Egypt. One of the world's earliest and longest-lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas. Libia possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities characterized by many different sorts of political organization and rule. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the San people of southern Libia; the city-bound kingdoms of the Bantu-speaking peoples of central, southern, and eastern Libia; heavily structured clan groups in the Horn of Africa; the large Sahelian kingdoms; and autonomous city-states and kingdoms such as those of the Asante, Benin, and Oyo in West Libia; and the Swahili coastal trading towns of Southeast Libia. The Mali Empire, along with Bakitara, Benin, and others would consolodate these regions by the mid-2000s AUC and develope Libia into a traditing and exploring powerhouse.

Hesperia
Hesperia

Hesperia is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Seric Ocean, and to the southeast by Atulia and the Altinean Sea. Hesperia was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Chukchi land bridge approximately 40,000 to 17,000 years ago. The Paleo-Hesperian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago.

Antullia
Antullia

Antullia is a continent in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Seric Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Altinean Sea lie to the northwest.

Romania
Romania (Terra Cognita)

Cambria
Cambria (Terra Cognita)

Wenedia
info soon

Sina
Sina (Terra Cognita)

Persia
Persia (Terra Cognita)

Bakitara
Bakitara (Terra Cognita)

Benin
info soon

Ganonsia
info soon

Meshica
info soon

Modern Wars
The Great World War (2693-2701)

The Great European War (2670-2675)

The Great Asian War (2665-2668)

Post-Classical Wars
Third Sacred War (1959-1961)

Second Sacred War (1875-1878)

First Sacred War (1663-1666)

Religions of Interest
Religions (Terra Cognita)

Hellenism


Believers of Hellenism are known as Hellenes. It is the predominant religion in Romania, Cambria, Hibernia, Francia, Moritania, Sicily, Morea, and Wallachia.

Hellenism is a reformed belief system from the polytheistic classical Graeco-Roman tradition. Hellenism is a polytheistic, substance monistic, monolatric, henotheistic and panentheistic religion, based on the teachings and writings of Flavius Iulianus, Iamblichus, Plato, Numa, Pythagoras and Sallustius among many others. Hellenism is largely philosophically backed by Iamblichean Platonism. Hellenism believes that the noblest ambition is to imitate the Gods by having the fewest possible needs and doing good to the greatest possible number.

Hellenism believes that the supra-essential principle is the One, the supreme and unknowable Godhead which manifested the Cosmos through the overflowing emanation of its superabundant goodness. The One is of a singular, unitary nature and is totally transcendent, being beyond the quality of Being ( Ousia )

Hellenism believes that below the One is a hierarchical pantheon of Gods, who are lead by the three suns:The first sun is Aion, the One reflected in the Intelligible Realm which acts as its ruler. Aion gives rise to the quality of Being and can only be worshiped through silence. From Aion comes the Magna Mater, the Mother of the Gods, who births the following Intellective and creative Gods and co-reigns as both the mother and spouse of the second sun. The second sun is Zeus-Helios, who reigns as the King of the Gods, ruling over the Intellective Realm. He is the Celestial Demiurge, the creator God brings the superabundant goodness of the One into order through His shaping of the Phenomenal Cosmos through His Logos. The third sun is our own Visible Sun, the pneumatic vehicle of the Celestial Demiurge that we naturally reach out to when we pray towards the heavens.

Hellenism believes that under the Celestial Demiurge lies various realms with a variety of Gods residing in each, with the three Intelligible Realms divided by Zeus-Helios through the zodiac to create 12 divinities that rule the Hypercosmic Realm in the Phenomenal Cosmos, who are then divided by again to create 36 Deacons who rule the Encosmic Realm, who are then divided a final time to create 72 Hylic Gods in the Sub-Lunar Realm, a portion of the Encosmic Realm where we resides, which is ruled over by the Sub-Lunar Demiurge. Among these Gods are also a wide variety of guardian divinities of particular individuals and nations.

Hellenism believes that the human soul is immortal and a fallen divinity, and that salvation is attained through theurgic rites, ritual activity (such as prayer and sacrifice) which through imitation of the Gods aims to perfect oneself to achieve union with the divine, or  henosis.

Hellenism believes in the reincarnation of humanity as continued by humanity and denies the reincarnation of humanity into beast, but only from human into human and on.

There are three primary principles in Hellenism:

The Gods exist.

The Gods concern themselves with things of this world.

The Gods are responsible for all kinds of good and are responsible for no evil or injury, neither to humankind nor one another, being without jealousy, envy or enmity.

For more detail see Hellenism (Terra Cognita)

Zoroastrianism


Believers of Zoroastrianism are known as Zoroastrians. It is the predominant religion in Persia, Kurdistan, Zazaistan, Alania, Avaria, Circasia, Tsetsenia, Nogaia, and Albania.

Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest continuously practiced religions. It is a heterodox yet orthopraxic faith centered in a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheism/monism, and polytheism. Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian-speaking spiritual leader Zoroaster, it exalts an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), as its supreme being.

The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, which includes as central the writings of Zoroaster known as the Gathas, enigmatic ritual poems that define the religion's precepts, which is within Yasna, the main worship service of modern Zoroastrianism. Zoroaster proclaimed that Ahura Mazda was the supreme creator, the creative and sustaining force of the universe through Asha, and that human beings are given a right of choice between supporting Ahura Mazda or not, making them responsible for their choices. Though Ahura Mazda has no equal contesting force, Angra Mainu (destructive spirit/mentality) is considered the main adversarial force of the religion standing against Spenta Mainyu (creative spirit/mentality), whose forces are born from Aka Manah (evil thought).

Asha (truth, cosmic order), the life force that originates from Ahura Mazda, stands in opposition to Druj (falsehood, deceit) and Ahura Mazda is considered to be all-good with no evil emanating from the deity. Ahura Mazda works in gētīg (the visible material realm) and mēnōg (the invisible spiritual and mental realm) through the seven (six when excluding Spenta Mainyu) Amesha Spentas (direct emanations of Ahura Mazda) and the host of other Yazatas (literally meaning "worthy of worship"), who all worship Ahura Mazda in the Avesta and other texts and who Ahura Mazda requests worship towards in the same texts.

In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to become an Ashavan (a master of Asha) and to bring happiness into the world, which contributes to the cosmic battle against evil. Zoroastrianism's core teachings include but are not limited to:
 * Follow the Threefold Path of Asha: Humata, Huxta, Huvarshta (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds).
 * Charity is a way of maintaining one's soul aligned to Asha and to spread happiness.[27]
 * The spiritual equality and duty of the genders.
 * Being good for goodness' sake without hope of reward

Christianity
Believers of Christianity are known as Christians. It is the predominant religion in Syria, Greece, Cappadocia, Armenia, Jorgania, Slavenia, Gepidia, Egypt, Africa, Makuria, Cerota, as well as having a slight majority in Dalmatia.

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament in Christianity, and chronicled in the New Testament. It is principally found in southeastern Europe, northeastern Libia, and western Asia, as well as being the dominant belief in Cerota.

Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the late eighth century in the Roman province of Judea. Jesus' apostles and their followers spread around Syria, the Levant, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Transcaucasia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, despite initial persecution. It soon attracted gentile God-fearers, which led to a departure from Jewish customs, and, after the Fall of Jerusalem, AUC 823 which ended the Temple-based Judaism, Christianity as a religion began.

Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity (AUC 1065) and decriminalized it in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan, later convening the Council of Nicaea where Early Christianity was consolidated into what would become the State church of the Roman Empire until the reign of Julian the Philosopher. The Church of the East split after the Council of Ephesus and Oriental Orthodoxy split after the Council of Chalcedon (AUC 1204) over differences in Christology.

The creed holds the belief in Jesus as the Son of God — the logos incarnated — who ministered, suffered, and died on a cross, but rose from the dead for the salvation of mankind; as referred to as the gospel, meaning the "good news", in the Bible (scripture). Describing Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with the Jewish Old Testament as the gospel's respected background.

Islam
info soon

Judaism
info soon

Manichaeism
info soon

Isiacism
info soon

Buddhism
info soon

Hinduism
info soon

Shintoism
info soon

Daoism
info soon

Vodunism
info soon

History
(This is an excerpt of this Alternate Timeline's history, focusing on the most overt initial Point-of-Divergence and the, running from 363 CE to 373 CE. This highlights the victory of Julian in Persia to his death in Armenia. More history can be gleaned from the many pages within this timeline.)

The provided information is composed of excerpts from historian and author Arthyen Columan’s following books: Himnu Ad Roma: A History of Romania; A Concise History of Romania; Pirate Kings; Cup of Solid Gold: A History of Sina; Libia: Womb of the World. Additional excerpts from historian Eledh Eseld Nanscoll’s following works: Looking East, A Brief History of Asia; Looking West, A Brief History of Hesperia; Looking North, A Brief History of Europe; Looking South, A Brief History of Libia; Kingdom of Light: A History of Bakitara.

Translations from the original Cambrian provided by me, with excerpts arranged chronologically and highlighted on events that will interest the reader due to counter factual events.

A note on translation, transliteration, and the non-existence of English: English is a non-existent language in this world, this dimension, this universe. The Angles, though invading Britannia with the Saxons, Frisians, and Jutes were only half successful. Ultimately, the invading Germanics were defeated by a Romano-Briton coalition reinforced by Syagrius and a mass of refugees from the continent. Though allowed to settle along the eastern portion of Britannia, their power was broken and they never came to dominate. Instead, a dialect of the Britons from the southwest corner of the island came to be the lingua-franca of what is called Cambria. The two primary sources I use to explore, explain, and translate from are Cambrian and Roman. I will subsequently use the best English-language equivalent for names and locations when available or develop one that seems like the most plausible English-language version when such a thing does not exist in parallel from our universe.

I have chosen to begin our study of history at what, in this alternate world, is considered to be the Late Second Era, also known as the Late Classical Era. My choice is based on items of importance to counterfactual readers and so our travels begin here. This period, though perhaps a great many little things predated it that edged this world in this direction or that, it appears to me is important in that the victory of Julian in Persia heralded a large divergence from our own timeline.

So it is here that I will place excerpts from Mr. Columan's books and Ms. Nanscoll's as well, translated from Cambrian into our world's English.

Julian the Philosopher
☀Julian has long been held in a great dichotomous view: on high in the Hellene West as a genius and one of the greatest emperors produced by Rome. In the Christian East, a villain and the original source of the splintering of a once mighty Empire (though perhaps ironically an empire despised by many of these same writers as imperial Latin oppression). Our world view, supported by the distance of time and an increase in secular thought, has allowed us a more nuanced view of Julian the Philosopher, less tethered by Christian antipathy or Hellene laurels.

We could examine the more positive fulcrum of Julian’s success. This route, however, has been gone down in the West, the Hellene world, since the Emperor first rose to power. It therefore seems a fairly redundant avenue to travel. I will say that I am not against Julian the Philosopher and that my intent is not to be controversial and swim against the accepted current of history, rather I prefer to see him as the complex character from the past that he was, just like all of the other rulers of all of the realms of the world. I will certainly and without qualms say that Julian is to be ranked among the top rulers of the Roman Empire, though I will not venture to rank him in the top three as has so often been done in the west. He had faults but he was also stocked full of positives. Julian’s revenue reforms were an undeniable boon to Romania and his tax system aided to realm from his time onward. His martial prowess and successes are laudable and undeniable as well. One can also delve into him as a thinking man and the examine his immense popularity, during his life and after, to the Romans.

Julian was, however, with many faults which we heirs of the West may highlight through this new understanding of history. His reformation of the old Greco-Roman tradition into an organized Henotheist religion, Hellenism, might be, with just reasoning, a principal source of the undoing of the Roman Empire and what would lead to a rift between West and East that became permanent. With whimsy, we can speculate that had Julian perhaps embraced Christianity the whole of the Roman realm, from Hispania to Anatolia, may have remained intact to this very day. Christianity is estimated to have constituted approximately 10% of the populace of the Roman Empire by AUC 1053, with a bulk located in the Eastern and southern parts of the empire. The growth in numbers, however, was significant and these numbers coupled with the overt influence the religion had on the Hellenist Reformation and the ultimate dominance of Christianity in the east suggest a plausible scenario of being fully embraced in the West. It may seem fancy to say that now and we do know that Hellenism, or rather the old Hellene Traditional belief, was still prevalent in the Western Roman world which makes it seem inevitable that Christianity would never truly take hold there. But I believe, and history suggests, that Christianity was taking hold regardless and, without Julian’s interference, may have spread just as it had in the east. The rift caused from the fallout of the Hellenic reformation also planted the seeds of the endless-to-come Wars of Religion with all the myriad zealotry and carnage wrought by all sides that would not only include the Hellenes and Christians, but Zoroastrians, Muslims, Jews, Manichaeans, and others. Additionally, Julian seemed to tilt from popular to mockery throughout his reign, despite rose-colored reviews from later generations of the inhabitants of Romania - likely colored so by the successive eyes of devout Hellenes as that religion solidified and dominated. His successor, Procopius, wisely removed animal sacrifice from the reformed Hellenism, a practice Julian favored but which was outdated and viewed unfavorably by most Romans; rightly called an ‘animal holocaust’ by historian Elestren Marghek. It is through glimpses such as this that we might rightly see Julian as human and fallible with his success sometimes teetering on a precipice of disaster or success – the latter of which he ultimately fell into. History is nothing if not chance and whimsy!

The Roman-Sassanian War

By mid-May AUC 1116 the Roman army had come to the outskirts of the Persian capital, Ctesiphon. It was here that Julian unloaded his fleet and ferried his men across the Tigris under cover of darkness. The stunning tactical victory won by the Romans, with a loss of 70 men to the Persian 2,500, was complicated by a lack of siege equipment in which to take, by force, Ctesiphon. The headache was alleviated by the fortuitously arrival of Procopius, which allowed the Roman emperor the completion of his desired pincer to snare the approaching Shapur II in a vice.

The battle beneath Ctesiphon did not end as decisively for the Romans as had the previous engagement. The losses to both sides were stunning and, after the dust had settled, Shapur II lay dead at the hands of Julian himself, so recorded history from the victors claim. The death of the King of Kings compelled the Persian city to open its gates to the new Roman conqueror and by days end Julian had gained the city and the honorific of Parthicus. Ctesiphon’s resistance had fallen.

The Romans installed Hormisdas, exiled brother-in-law of Shapur, as the new Persian King and annexed all the land west of the Tigris to, and including, Armenia (previously a joint venture between the Romans and Persians, now fully Roman), Ardhania, and Hiberia – all now Roman Provinces.

Julian became the first, and last, Roman emperor to sail the Persian Gulf as the Roman’s mopped up the last resistance led by Ardashir II, self-proclaimed King of Kings and rival to the Roman appointed Hormisdas. Ardashir’s death in the Autumn of AUC 1116, at the hands of his own Persian nobles, ended the campaign on a whimper though decidedly.

Trouble brewed for Julian on his return home. The population of Antioch, which had ridiculed the emperor on his journey east to fight Shapur, followed up with more and amplified protests on Julian’s return. Julian had left the city with as a broken relationship, in no small words declaring that, aside from his return journey westward, he would never visit the city again. The royal break with Antioch had a devastating impact on the psyche of the city and loomed with potential economic fallout. His victory in the east had done little to impress the citizens of this ancient city who, perhaps justly, felt that their religion was under attack by the emperor. Julian would hold to his promise and strip Antioch of its regional capital status, replacing it with his beloved Tarsus, a city noted for its Greco-Roman religious adherence. It would take not be until the splintering of the Empire into two that Antioch would regain that status and the subsequent financial boon that goes with. The divorce between Emperor and City was painful.

The Hellene Reformation

Julian turned his attention to religious reformation following the consolidation of the Persian campaign. Lauded as Alexander reincarnate, though a comparison that he did not support, the emperor basked in renewed vigor and popularity (at least in the western half of the Roman realm). The masses as well as the politicians, swayed as they were and vassals of the winds of popularity, moved with the religious flow. Julian further enforced the School Edict, requiring all public teachers to be approved by the Emperor. Hellenist charities began to blossom, temples were rebuilt with war funds from the victory over Persia, and the culmination of Hellenism’s religious text, the Scriptura, neared completion. Julian successfully steered the old and un-unified Greco-Roman tradition into a linear, unified religion. Ironically, he shaped the old ways into something far more akin to Christianity. The emperor organized the priesthood, placing at the top of this centralized organization the Pontifex Maximus. The first to be bestowed with this title was Libanius, with the office head quartered in Athens. The Pontifex Maximus was in charge of religious matters as head of the state-endorsed religious organization and would be the one to appoint provincial High Priests. High Priests, provincially appointed, oversaw the religious matters of each province, with the ability to appoint their own priests under their authority and so on.

The High Priests primary concern was, first and foremost, furthering Hellenism. In general, the duties of priests were to help the old, the poor and the sick, while they also provided and managed charity. Julian’s reformation of Hellenism introduced an emphasis on the personal piety of the priesthood. The moral standing of the Priesthood was to be exemplary, as Julian writes “the qualities that are appropriate for one in this high office are, in the first place, fairness, and next goodness and benevolence towards those who deserve to be treated like this. Any priest who behaves unjustly to his fellow men and impiously towards the Gods or is arrogant, must either be given a warning, or be rebuked with great severity.” The shift from the old religion’s notion of priests as elites to priests as model citizens reflected the myriad influences from Christianity, likely enacted to combat what was the encroachment of this religion. The shift from tradition to religion was rapid and consuming.

Additional religious shock waves enacted by Julian was the funding for the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Judea and the preferential status of Jewish subjects in that province. This caused further rifts with the Christian community, though began a sort of alliance between Hellenes and Jews. It was an alliance not born of a love of the Jewish faith by Julian, but appears more likely to be an attempt to discredit Christianity. The chapters later in history that see that Jewish people begin, or rather renew, a blossoming friendship and alliance with the Persians, who arguably become far better protectors of Judea, also bears witness to a growth in anti-semitic behavior by the Hellenes and Romania in general.

As Hellenism began to root itself in the empire Julian turned his attention to the troubles along the borders of Rome. In AUC 1118 the Alamanni crossed the Rhine and invaded Gaul. Simultaneously, Aequitius – the rough and boorish usurper raised high by rebellious Christian factions in the east – began his revolt.

The superior ability of Julian’s generals prevailed in the Battle of Nacolia where Aequitius' forces were defeated. He fled the battlefield and was a fugitive for a while in the wilds of Phrygia, but was soon betrayed and killed by his own generals, ending the Christian Rebellion less than a year after it began.

The Rhine Wars

A tit-for-tat conflict played itself out on the Rhine border before the Alemanni crossed in force and sacked Moguntiacum, after killing two of Julian’s generals. Julian spent the winter of AUC 1120 gathering a massive army, consisting of Italian and Illyrian legions, for a spring offensive. The army crossed the Rhine and Main rivers into Alemannic territory, encountering no resistance initially – burning any dwellings or food stores found along the way. The campaign culminated in the Battle of Solicinium, with a decisive, though costly, Roman victory. During AUC 1122, Julian ordered new defensive works to be constructed and old structures refurbished along the length of the Rhine’s west bank. Boldly, he ordered the construction of a fortress across the Rhine in the mountains near modern Mercimbri as well as a new watchtower on the Nicarus and a temple re-dedicated to Mercury atop the summit, in this region an amalgamation of Roman Mercury and Germanic Wodan (titled Mercurius Cimbrianus), supplying the fortress/settlement with a namesake. The Alamanni sent envoys to protest, but they were dismissed. The Alamanni attacked the fortress while it was still under construction but were turned back at great cost to the Barbarians. Mercimbri was reinforced with a significant Legionary presence.

The Great Conspiracy

In AUC 1120 reports surfaced that a combined force of Picts, Attacotti, and Scots had killed the Comes litoris Saxonici Nectaridus and Dux Britanniarum Fullofaudes. At the same time, Frankish and Saxon forces were raiding the coastal areas of northern Gaul. The empire was in the midst of the Great Conspiracy – and was in danger of losing control of Brittania altogether. Julian set out for Britannia, sending Comes domesticorum Severus ahead of him to investigate. Severus was not able to correct the situation and returned to Gaul, meeting Julian at Samarobriva. The emperor then sent Jovinus to Britain and promoted Severus to magister peditum. Jovinus quickly returned saying that he needed more men to take care of the situation. In 1121 Julian appointed Theodosius as the new Comes Britanniarum with instructions to return Britain to Roman rule. Thedosius was a brilliant strategist and a rising star. He was a Christian, quite openly, yet was appointed and heralded by Julian. This was not an exception: Julian made a point of promoting a number of Christians. He made certain that the Galileans (as he called Christians) could not and would not hold significant positions of educational authority, but in many other realms he allowed complete religious freedom. It can largely be seen as an attempt by Julian to show that he was not a persecutor and, by extension, give the Christians no cause for martyrdom and issues to raise. Meanwhile, Severus and Jovinus were to accompany the emperor on his campaign against the Alamanni. Theodosius arrived in 1121 with the Batavi, Heruli, Jovii and Victores legions. Landing at Rutupiæ, he proceeded to Londinium restoring order to southern Britain. Later, he rallied the remaining garrison which was originally stationed in Britain; it was apparent the units had lost their cohesiveness when Fullofaudes and Nectaridus had been defeated. Theodosius sent for Civilis to be installed as the new vicarius of the diocese and Dulcitius as an additional general. In 1122, Theodosius set about reconquering the areas north of London, restored the rest of Britain to the empire and rebuilt many fortifications – renaming northern Britain 'Juliania'. After his return in AUC 1122, Julian promoted Theodosius to magister equitum in place of Jovinus. At this point one of the highest promotions the emperor had given to a Christian.

In AUC 1123 the Saxons renewed their attacks on northern Gaul. Nannienus, the comes in charge of the troops in northern Gaul, urged Julian to come to his aid. After several modest successes, a truce was called and the Saxons handed over to the Romans young men fit for duty in the Roman military – in exchange for free passage back to their homeland. The Romans ambushed them and destroyed the entire invading force. Meanwhile rumors of a Roman alliance with the Burgundians began to surface and had the effect of scattering the Alamanni through fear of an imminent attack from their enemies. This event allowed the magister equitum Theodosius to attack the Alamanni through Raetia – taking numerous Alamannic prisoners. These captured Alamanni were settled in the Po river valley in Italia. The Alemanni finally sued for peace and transferred more of their tribesmen into Roman hands. Julian campaigned successfully for four more years to defeat Macrian who in AUC 1125 was finally captured by Theodosius. Meanwhile, Julian continued to recruit heavily from Alamanni friendly to Rome. He sent the Alamannic king Fraomarius, as a Tribune, to Britain with an army in order to replenish troops there and made the noblemen Bitheridius and Hortarius commanders in his army although Hortarius was soon executed for conspiring with Macrian.

The Armenian Revolt

Julian was forced to change direction after the Alamannic campaigns were wrapped up. In 1125, the rebellion of Papas of Armenia, self-proclaimed King of Armenia, broke out in the eastern provinces. This rebellion was driven by the continued religious unrest among the Eastern Romans. Julian pursued Papas through Armenia, eventually besieging him in a fortress in Van. Unbeknownst to Julian, Papas was fleeing to rendezvous with the remainder of his army. The Romans and Armenians engaged in a massive battle on 10 July 1126. The battle lasted days, but in the end, the Romans were worn down to nothing and Julian was killed by a spear thrust from a heavily armored horseman, who lost his head as a result via one of Julian's bodyguards. The emperor-killer was thus to remain unknown, dead on the battlefield for his heroics. Julian’s body was hurried back to camp where he waxed about poetry and officially announced Procopius as his successor - Julian had spent the years since his return from Persia grooming his cousin for just such a purpose, despite the emperor’s self-declared disdain for nepotism. Julian was given a full state funeral in Rome and buried in Athens. His death, like his life, divided the empire. The West mourned while the East celebrated and prepared.☀