Gepid Expedition in Caucasus (The Ashes of Rome Map Game)

The Gepid Expedition in Caucasus was a military expedition made by the Gepid Republic in order to help the Byzantine Empire against the Caliphate in exchange of keeping the lands that they conquered.

Background
The Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire had been at war since the end of the War for the Ashes of Rome in 745. By that time, the Caliphate was trying to push them to surrender lands to them, which ended up starting a war.

By 750, the Gepid Consul of the time, Vithimiric Bessas, accepted the offer to help the Byzantine in exchange of lands. But his frustration against the Empress for refusing to respect the Christian Meeting of Buteridava lead to his inaction.

This would anger the Senate, who refused to elect him again in 760, instead electing Sigeric Bessas, a religious fanatic who's first action was to send troops to the Caucasus.

The success of the Principality of Benevento pushed the Gepid Republic to change his external policies. Being isolationist for almost a century, they were now willing to expand and create those vassals states that they called Gepid Principalities, and one in the Caucasus would certainly help them.

The War in Caucasus
When he arrived in 763, Sigeric found the region in pure chaos, the Abbasid struggling against the Khazars and Byzantines. He used this opportunity to conquer the coasts, securing his access to the Black Sea. The war was going fairly well for him and his allies, and he decided to divide his troops into two forces in order to conquer more lands. However, Sigeric was captured in 768 and executed, even if the Gepid forces won the battle.

This lead to the interim election of Amaric Valomer, son of Hermenigild Valomer, who lead the Gepid Republic during the War for the Ashes of Rome. As soon as he arrived, he reorganized his forces and claimed what he could of the Abbasid territory. His skills were known by the troops, who were motivated by his presence.

However, in 770 the Abbasid Caliphate felt, being replaced by the Brunei Caliphate in the Middle-East. This would change things for the Consul, as he knew that they would be less likely to accept peace than the Abbasid. To complicate this, the Khazar locals felt oppressed by the Gepid troops, and Amaric had to act before a revolt could rose up.