Bridge of the Horns (Battle of Manzikert)

The Bridge as seen from Angelos' Bay in Angelenople.

The Bridge of the Horns, also known as the Bridge of Two Horns or simply the Bridge of the Strait to locals in the area, is a two-part suspension b in the Byzantine Empire. Construction first began in 2012. It links Africa and the Middle East via two bridges across the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Construction ceased successfully in late 2021, with the bridge opening on January 7, 2022. The bridge spans 23 miles, or 37 kilometers.

History and Construction

Prelude

Concept art from 2012.

The bridges was first proposed by Architects at Work (AAW), a Byzantine corporation that specializes in engineering and construction. In addition to linking the two horns by road, talks about adding a railroad extension also came up (though this never came to fruition). AAW argued that a bridge across the strait would grant numerous benefits. It would further link the Byzantine empire and Asia and Africa as a whole economically and it would help develop Byzantine possessions in Africa as a plan was conceived to construct a large city on Ras Siyan that would rival Angelonople. The city was planned to be ethnically Greek, populating the area with settlers from Angelonople. This would take enormous pressure of Angelonople and its swelling population. The bridge was also said to aid Angelonople as well, though exactly how was never specified.

Talks of backing this proposal within the Byzantine Government began as early as 2010, and in 2012, Emperor Constantine XII Molivesti granted permission for construction. His decision was nearly universally applauded with the exception being the government of Angelonople, who worried that the bridges and especially the new city across the strait would limit the city's influence. The total length of the two structures is estimated to be around 29 km (18 mi), of which, 12.89 mi (20.74 km) has been finished. The total cost is estimated to be around ₯40 billion ($20 billion in U.S dollars). Phase I of the project would oversee the construction of a bridge from Ras Siyan to Perim Isle. Phase II would involve in the construction of a bridge from Perim Island to Angelonople

Phase I

On October 8, 2012, the groundwork for the bridge was placed. A Road connection from the dirt roads of Fagal to the northernmost point of Ras Siyan began to be constructed. A separate but similar project was simultaneously being backed by the Byzantine government, aiming to improve the condition and quality of roads in the area. In February 2013, a hoax was made claiming that the volcano on Ras Siyan could erupt. It was later proven false but the event was enough to delay construction by two weeks.

By late 2013, a concrete road had been created spanning across the peninsula. In March of 2014, a ceremony was held celebrating the commencing of the construction of the bridge. Construction initially progressed relatively unhindered until 2015, when reports were leaked to the press that AAW, out of desperation for conserving wealth, was purposely using material that was not ideal for the bridge. This lead to a massive scandal which was worsened in 2016 when several of the towers collapsed in themselves. The controversy leads to AAW's leader, Mathaios Rubeas, being ousted as the head of the leader in March of 2016. The power vacuum that was left in the wake of his departure was filled by rival corporations of AAW.

The bridge as seen from Perim Island. Photo was taken on April 2nd, 2020.

Construction resumed in May of 2016, with the damages from the 2016 disaster being repaired by early 2017. While the length of the bridge continued to expand, to this day there are still operations to replace the material used by AAW with ideal and suitable material for the project. Construction continued unhindered and this period of the project's history was rather uneventful until March 27, 2020, when it was announced that Phase I of the project was successful. A nearly 20 km bridge had just been constructed from Ras Siyan to Perim. A ceremony was held on April 23, 2020. Plans for a highway system on Perim were already underway, with construction being expected to resume in June.

Phase II

The Bridge as of January 4, 2021. The cars seen are testing the durability of the concrete road on the bridge. Due to a lease on concrete, the bridge had to be constructed rather hastily.

Construction began a month early on May 4, with a concrete highway being finished on May 18. From there, two pylons were raised to the northeast. The second bridge was to be a Cable Stayed Bridge.

Construction went relatively unhindered until October of 2020, when the HAVID-20 Pandemic forced workers to be laid off in the wake of the pandemic and economic crash. This delayed construction for several months, with the initial finishing date of 2021 being set back as late as mid 2023.

After HAVID cases in the region steadily declined in the summer of 2021, construction resumed full operation. On December 14, the road was conjoined with Imperial Motorway 13 in Angelenople. To commemorate, a gilded obelisk was established where the two six lane roads of the M13 split in twain.

The Perim Articles Controversy

Demonstrations on Perim Island on December 23, 2021.

A commemoration was planned to occur on December 21. However, native protestors gathered around the site in response to allegations of severe mistreatment of the native population by construction workers. These claims, exposed by the Perim Articles on December 17 (three days following the end of major construction efforts), cited allegations of ethnic, religious, and careless discrimination and mistreatment to the native population at the hands of the Byzantine workers. Protestors occupied the temporary celebratory stage for ten days, during which, tens of thousands of Drachmas in property was damaged and three killed, while dozens were injured as the demonstrations turned violent. Angelenople Police Officers were violent in their response after demonstrators killed a police officer and injured two in an act of self-immolation.

After ten days of riots and demonstrators, militarized police officers dispersed protestors who had formed a human chain along the bridge. The protests sparked widespread international media coverage, with the subject matter being held in a highly controversial light. Many chastised the Byzantines for their heavy-handed response towards the protesters, citing this as a example of further authoritarian-esque behavior in the light of the 2020 Albanian Protests that left scores of people dead and or injured after police initiated a brutal crackdown on separatist Demonstrators in Tirana.