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November 24th, 2009, 04:05 AM
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THE THIRD HITTITE EMPIRE
An Alternate History Timeline
by Robert Perkins
PART ONE--THE EARLY YEARS (1200 BC to 800 BC)
c. 1200 BC--The Second Hittite Empire falls to attacks by invading Phrygian and Kaska tribesman. The capital at Hattusas is burned and abandoned. Many Hittites flee south ofthe Taurus mountains and take refuge in the city-states of Cilicia (at this time calledKizzuwanda) and northern Syria, many of which are inhabited by the Luwians, a peoplewho are ethnically and culturally similar to the Hittites and speak a related language.
c. 1200-1000 BC--Dark Ages in the aftermath of the barbarian invasions which broughtdown the Second Hittite Empire. During this period, sixteen powerful city states arise inCilicia and northern Syria. These states are culturally Hittite, and speak a mixture ofHittite, Canaanite, and Luwian. Their rulers consider themselves to be the heirs of theGreat Kings of Hatti (the old Hittite Empire), but they squabble among themselves,weakening all of them.
1168 BC--The Kassite Dynasty of Babylon is overthrown by the Elamite KingShutruk-nahhunte. Babylon is captured and plundered (It is at this time that the famousstele of the Law Code of Hammurabi is taken to the Elamite capital at Susa). TheElamites rule Babylonia for the next 30 years.
1156 BC onward--The Second Dynasty of Isin comes to power in Babylonia. In theaftermath of the overthrow of the Kassite dynasty by the Elamites, a new dynasty arises inthe town of Isin under Marduk-kabit-ahheshu, (1156–1139 BC) who by the end of hisreign will retake Babylon and re-establish the independence of Babylonia from theElamites.
1125-1103 BC--Reign of King Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon. He invades and conquersmost of Elam.
1115-1077 BC--Reign of King Tiglath Pileser I of Assyria. Assyria invades the regioninhabited by the Hittites and extracts tribute, but does not remove the Hittite dynastiesruling over the cities. In 1081 he defeats King Marduk-nadin-ahhe of Babylon andconquers Babylonia, ending the Second Dynasty of Isin.
c. 1100 BC--Over the past 3 centuries, Aramaean nomads have been infiltrating theSyrian region. By 1100 BC, they are powerful enough that they take control of some ofthe southern Hittite cities, such as Damascus. However, the twelve cities of the northremain under Hittite dynasties, albeit with the addition of Aramaean elements to theirpopulation.
1076-934 BC--Aramaean invasions of Mesopotamia. Incursions by Aramaean nomadsseverely weaken Assyria. Assyria loses control over the Hittite cities of Syria, and entersa period of decline. Also during this time, Babylonia is invaded by Aramaeans andChaldeans, and breaks up into small tribal states. It will be some time before the countryis re-united.
c. 1000 BC--Most of the Hittite and Aramaean cities of Syria are temporarily under thesway of the United Hebrew Kingdom of Kings David and Solomon. The Hittite cities ofKizzuwanda (Cilicia) remain independent.
c. 1000 BC onward--Greek Colonization of the east coast of Asia Minor. Also at aboutthis time, the alphabet is developed by the Phoenicians. Phoenician traders and colonistswill spread it far and wide over the succeeding centuries, where it will be adapted bymany peoples, including, eventually, the Greeks and Romans. Also at this time, the Sabaeans, a Semitic tribe living in southwestern Arabia, unite and form the Kingdom of Sheba. Approximate time of the legendary visit of the Queen of Sheba to the court of Hebrew King Solomon. The Sabaeans are traders in frankincense and myrrh, precious resins obtained from trees which grow only in southern Arabia and which are greatly prized for use in religious rituals.
965 BC--Death of King Solomon of Israel. The Hebrew Kingdom is divided in twain,with the ten northern tribes forming the Kingdom of Israel and the two southern tribesforming the Kingdom of Judah. The House of David continues to rule in Judah, but Israelwill be ruled by a series of dynasties over the next two centuries. The two Israelitekingdoms will be often at war over the succeeding years. The Hittite and Aramaean citiesof Syria regain their independence...indeed, Damascus gains independence even before Solomon’s death (c. 970 BC), when the Aramaean chieftain Hezion (Rezon from theBible) seizes the city and establishes his dynasty there.
c. 950 onward--Growth of the power of the Aramaean city-state of Damascus. Damascusbrings the other Aramaean cities under it’s control.
935-911 BC--Reign of King Ashur-Dan II, who begins to once again rebuild Assyria’sstrength.
c. 930 BC--Death of King Hezion/Rezon of Damascus. He is succeeded by his son,Tab-Rammon (Tabrimmon from the Bible).
c. 925 BC--Tuwanuwa I, the King of Azatiwataya (modern Karatepe, inKizzuwanda/Cilicia) unites the twelve Hittite cities under his rule. He claims the title,Great King of Hatti, and this is recognized by his vassal rulers in the other Hittite cities.Also at about this time, Pharaoh Shesonq of Egypt invades Judah and Israel and sacks theTemple at Jerusalem.
c. 900 BC--The various city-states and principalities around Lake Van are united to formthe Kingdom of Urartu. Urartu, whose population is largely Hurrian in origin(descendants of the people who once formed the powerful kingdom of Mitanni) will beone of the great enemies of Assyria, and sometime ally of Hatti.
c. 900 BC onward--Phoenician traders begin to found colonies overseas in north Africa,Spain, Sicily and Sardinia.
891 BC--King Tuwanuwa I of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who rules asTuwanuwa II.
c. 890 BC--Death of King Tab-Rammon of Damascus. His son, Ben Hadad I, comes tothe throne of the Aramaean city-state of Damascus.
c. 885 BC--War between the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. King Asa of Judah makes atreaty with Ben Hadad I of Damascus, and King Baasha of Israel is defeated. Both Israeland Judah become tributaries of Damascus.
884-859 BC--Reign of King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria. He fights several wars with theHatti, but is unable to defeat it, in large part due to alliances made by the Great Kings ofHatti (Tuwanuwa II and Muwatalli III) with King Aramu of Urartu (in the Armenianmountains) and Kings Ben Hadad I and Ben Hadad II of Damascus.
881-870 BC--Reign of Omri of Israel. In 881 BC, Omri usurps the throne of Israel. SinceKing Ben Hadad I of Damascus is heavily engaged in warfare against Assyria, Omri isable to free Israel from its tributary status. Omri moves the capital to Samaria, which isheavily fortified, and extends Israelite control over Ammon and Moab to the southeast ofIsrael.
870-848 BC--Reign of King Ahab, son of Omri of Israel. Most of his reign will be spentwarring, usually successfully, against the Kings of Damascus (except for one notableinstance where he fought as the ally of King Ben Hadad II against Assyria). However, inthe end, he will die in battle against the forces of Ben Hadad II at the Battle of RamothGilead in 848 BC.
c. 860 BC--King Ben Hadad I of Damascus dies, and is succeeded by Ben Hadad II.
860 BC--Aramu comes to the throne of Urartu. He makes an alliance with KingTuwanuwa II of Hatti against Assyria.
859-853 BC--Reign of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria. He continues his father’s warsagainst Hatti and Urartu.
857 BC--Death of King Tuwanuwa II of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who takes thethrone as King Muwatalli III (reckoning the line from the kings of the same name whohad ruled the old Hittite Empire).
855 BC--Marduk-zakir-shumi I comes to the throne of Babylon, beginning a new dynastywhich will re-unite the country.
853 BC--Battle of Qarqar. King Muwatalli III of Hatti allies himself with King Ahab ofIsrael and King Benhadad II of Damascus against King Shalmaneser III of Assyria.Shalmaneser is killed and his army is routed.
853-843 BC--Civil War in Assyria. The death of King Shalmaneser III at Qarqar has lefta power vacuum in Assyria, as his oldest son, the crown prince Ashur-dain-apla, is a boyof fifteen years. Various claimants vie for power for the next decade, and Assyrianpower is greatly diminished by this internecine warfare. Somehow, the youngest son ofShalmaneser survives the brutal infighting and comes to the throne as KingShamshi-Adad V in 843 BC.
851 BC--Marduk-bel-usati rebels against his brother, King Marduk-zakir-shumi I ofBabylon. Marduk-zakir-shumi (unable to call on Assyria as he did in OTL) isoverthrown, and his brother takes the throne. He will continue his brother’s efforts tounify Babylonia.
c. 850 BC--Following the victory against Shalmaneser III of Assyria, the alliance of Hatti,Damascus, and Israel breaks up as old animosities resurface.
849-845 BC--King Ahab of Israel makes an alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah andKing Muwatalli III of Hatti against Damascus. King Ben Hadad II is hard pressedfighting a two front war, but manages to kill Ahab of Israel at the Battle of RamothGilead in 848 BC, effectively taking Israel out of the war. Judah makes peace withDamascus shortly afterward. Ben Hadad then concentrates all of his forces against Hatti.Neither side is able to make much headway, however, and a peace treaty is signed in 845BC.
c. 845 BC--Mesha, king of the city of Dibon in Moab, revolts against Israel andre-establishes the independence of Moab. In commemoration of his victory, he sets up astele (what in OTL will be known as the “Moabite Stone”). Ahab’s weak successors askings of Israel, Ahaziah and Joram, are unable to restore Israelite control over Moab.
843 BC--King Ben Hadad II of Damascus is murdered by Hazael, an influential courtofficial, who usurps the throne. Also in this year, the civil war in Assyria ends and KingShamshi Adad V takes the throne. Shamshi-Adad once again begins building Assyrianstrength. However, Assyria will not be strong enough to attack it’s neighbors for sometime, and indeed will be hard-pressed to survive the onslaught of the Kings of Urartuover the next few decades.
842 BC--King Muwatalli III of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by Hattusili Tesub I.Recognizing the growing threat posed by Assyria, he forms an alliance with King Aramuof Urartu, King Hazael of Damascus, and King Mita of the Mushki (Midas ofPhrygia...Phrygia was apparently ruled by a line of Kings who all were called eitherGordias or Midas) against Assyria. Also in this year, the House of Omri in Israel (in theperson of King Joram) is overthrown by Jehu, one of the king’s generals. Jehu assumesthe throne of Israel.
841 BC--Threatened with attack by Hazael of Damascus, King Jehu of Israel formallysubmits to King Shamshi Adad V of Assyria. However, Shamshi Adad is in no positionto campaign against Hazael, and Jehu’s action succeeds only in enraging Hazael againsthim.
840 BC--Death of King Aramu of Urartu. His son, Sardur I, comes to the throne. Sardurbreaks the alliance with Hatti and the Mushki, while maintaining an alliance with Hazaelof Damascus.
840-800 BC--Period of Urartian expansion. Under the warrior kings Sardur I, Ishpuinis,and Menuas, the Kingdom of Urartu expands at the expense of Assyria, Phrygia, andHatti. By the end of the period, the Mushki have been pushed back to the Halys River,and both Assyria and Hatti are virtual vassals of the Urartian king, paying yearly tributes.
837 BC onward--Wars of Hazael of Damascus against Israel and Judah. King Jehu ofIsrael attempts to make an alliance with King Hattusili Tesub I of Hatti, but with nosuccess (Hatti is embroiled in conflict with the Urartians by this time). By the end of hisreign, Hazael will take all of Israel’s possessions east of the Jordan, advance as far asGath in the Philistine Plain, and threaten Jerusalem itself. Israel and Judah become tributary states of Damascus.
823 BC--Death of King Hattusili Tesub I of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, HattusiliTesub II. The new king reorganizes the army, reducing the proportion of chariots in favorof light and medium cavalry (lancers and archers). The new military thus created is quiteformidable.
818-812 BC--King Shamshi Adad V of Assyria wars with Babylon. He defeats KingBaba-aha-iddina in battle and pushes all the way south to the Persian Gulf, but Babylonitself is not taken, and Babylonia remains independent.
815 BC--King Hattusili Tesub II of Hatti, using his newly reorganized army, defeats KingIshpuinis of Urartu, who was besieging the city of Carchemish. The advance of Urartu tothe west is halted, and no Hittite territory falls to the Urartians. However, Hatti will paytribute to the King of Urartu in the succeeding years. Also in this year, King Jehu of Israeldies, and is succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. Hazael of Damascus continues his waragainst Israel, and the new King proves no more able to resist than his father.
c. 815 BC--Carthage is founded by an expedition from the Phoenician city of Tyre.
811 BC--Death of King Shamshi-Adad V of Assyria. He is succeeded by his minor son,Adad Nirari III. Adad Nirari’s mother, Queen Sammuramat (Semiramis) rules as regentfor the first few years of his reign.
808-783 BC--Reign of King Adad Nirari III of Assyria. Adad Nirari reaches adulthood in808 BC and assumes the throne of Assyria. His reign will be filled with warfare,primarily against Urartu. However, he will also war against Hatti and Damascus, as wellas conduct campaigns in Babylonia to the south and against the Medes to the east.
804 BC--King Adad Nirari III of Assyria attacks Hazael of Damascus. Hazael allieshimself with King Hattusili Tesub II of Hatti, and the Assyrian army is defeated in battleoutside the city of Kadesh. Adad Nirari retires to Assyria, and will not trouble Syriaagain for the rest of his reign.
801 BC--Death of King Hazael of Damascus. He is succeeded by his son, Ben Hadad III.
800 BC--Death of King Hattusili Tesub II of Hatti. His son takes the throne as KingTelepinu II. Also in this year, King Jehoahaz of Israel dies, and is succeeded by Jehoash.
800 BC--Death of King Hattusili Tesub II of Hatti. His son takes the throne as KingTelepinu II, and will become known as “Telepinu the Great” because of hisaccomplishments during his long reign. Also in this year, King Jehoahaz of Israel dies,and is succeeded by Jehoash.
c. 800 BC--The Etruscans arrive in Italy. Also at about this time, the Greek version of thePhoenician alphabet is first used, and the earliest iron age societies...proto-Celticpeoples...develop in Germany and Austria.
c. 800 BC onward--Greece is gradually emerging from the Dark Ages following the fallof the Mycenaean civilization. An increase in trade and the establishment ofgovernmental defense fortifications allows for the emergence of Greek city-states (thePolis) from tribal communities. These grow up around marketplaces and include citiessuch as Athens, Thebes, Sparta, Corinth and Megara on the Greek mainland. For the mostpart, the Greek city-states are similar in their political evolution, with the exception ofSparta's elite dictatorship. Most begin their political histories as monarchies, evolve tooligarchies, are overthrown during the age of the tyrants (c. 650-500 BC) and eventuallyestablish democracies in the sixth and fifth centuries. Of the Greek city-states, Athensand Sparta will be the two most important.
PART TWO: 800-700 BC
798 BC--Death of King Joash of Judah. He is succeeded by Amaziah.
c. 795 BC--King Ben Hadad III is a weak ruler, and not at all in the mold of his illustriousforebears. The other Aramaean cities revolt against his rule, and the powerful Damascenestate breaks up.
c. 794 BC--King Amaziah of Judah declares war against Israel, but is defeated andcaptured by King Jehoash of Israel. He will remain a prisoner of Jehoash until the latter’sdeath in 784 BC. His sixteen-year-old son, Azariah, is named King in his stead.
790 BC--King Telepinu II of Hatti, seeing an opportunity for territorial expansion, makesan alliance with King Jehoash of Israel and King Azariah of Judah against Damascus.
c. 790 BC--Greek colonists found the trading settlement of Al Mina in Syria, where they tradewith the Hittites. Contact is established between the two civilizations for the first timesince the fall of the Second Hittite Empire.
789-784 BC--Hatti, Israel, and Judah wage war on Damascus. The Kings of Hatti haveadapted Assyrian siege technology (battering rams, siege towers), and Damascus is takenin 784 BC. King Ben Hadad III is captured and executed. Israel and Judah recover all thelands taken from them by Damascus, and Hatti absorbs Damascus itself, along with theother Aramaean city states (which, upon the surrender of Damascus, surrender to KingTelepinu of Hatti).
785 BC--Death of King Menuas of Urartu. Argishtis I takes the throne. Argishtis is evenmore expansionist than his predecessors, and generally makes life miserable for hisneighbors with incessant warfare.
784-750 BC--Israel and Judah expand. Israel re-takes Ammon and Moab, Judah takesEdom and Philistia. Both Kingdoms prosper mightily and maintain their alliance withHatti.
784 BC--Death of King Jehoash of Israel. He is succeeded by Jeroboam II. It is JeroboamII who recovers Ammon and Moab for Israel. Jeroboam releases King Amaziah of Judah,who returns to his own land, where he resumes the Kingship.
780 BC--Recognizing the common threat posed by the expansionist kings of Urartu toboth of their kingdoms, King Telepinu II of Hatti and King Adad Nirari III of Assyriaconclude a treaty of alliance against Urartu. When Adad Nirari III dies a few years later,Telepinu will renew the agreement with the new king, Shalmaneser IV, and then againwith Shalmaneser’s successor, Ashur Dan III.
780-768 BC--King Telepinu II of Hatti and Kings Adad Nirari III, Shalmaneser IV, andAshur Dan III wage war against Urartu. The combined armies of Assyria and Hatti aretoo powerful for the Urartians to resist, and the armies of Urartu are gradually beatenback and many of their fortress cities are taken by siege. However, the Urartian capital ofTushpa is not taken, and a treaty is finally signed in 768 BC which ends the war. The power of Urartu is effectively broken, and although it will continue as a player in middleeastern politics and warfare for over a century more, it will never again threaten Hatti orAssyria as it did previously. Hatti expands northward, and takes back the old Hittitehomeland in the bend of the Halys River (which the Urartians had taken from thePhrygians in the previous century).
783 BC--Death of King Adad Nirari III of Assyria. Shalmaneser IV takes the throne.
776 BC--First recorded Olympic Games are held at Olympia in Greece.
773 BC--Death of King Shalmaneser IV of Assyria. Ashur Dan III takes the throne.
c. 770 BC--Carthage founds a colony at Gadir, on the coast of Iberia. The city provides agateway to Spanish silver.
769 BC--King Amaziah of Judah, despite his successes against the Edomites andPhilistines since the war with Damascus, has fallen into idolatry, and the people revoltagainst him. He flees to Lachish, where he is murdered. He is succeeded by his son,Azariah.
c. 765-745 BC onward--Assyria, despite it’s participation in the victory over Urartu a fewyears earlier, falls into a period of decline as local rebellions and plague ravage thekingdom.
765 BC--Death of King Telepinu II “the Great” of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, whotakes the throne as King Suppiluliuma III. Suppiluliuma begins rebuilding the old Hittitecapital at Hattusas, which he plans to use as a northern administration center.
763 BC--Death of King Argishtis I of Urartu. Sardur II takes the throne.
755 BC--Death of King Ashur Dan III of Assyria. Ashur Nirari V takes the throne.
753 BC--Founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus (legendary).
750 BC--King Azariah of Judah is struck down with leprosy. His son Jotham reigns asregent from this time onward.
c. 750 BC onward--Greek colonization of the Black Sea and the western Mediterraneanbegins.
c. 750-650 BC--Hoplite phalanx adopted by cities of Greece. Previously fighting wascarried out by a relatively few warriors who fought with a shield, sword and spear with no armor andwere not organized in a phalanx. Hoplites had defensive armor and fought in closeformation.
748 BC--Death of King Jeroboam II of Israel. He is succeeded by his son, Zachariah.However, Zachariah will rule for only six months before being murdered by one of hiscourt officials, Shallum, who usurps the throne. Shallum does not enjoy his ill-gottengains long, however, as he is, in turn, murdered by another official named Menahem, whoalso usurps the throne. Menahem will rule for ten years.
745 BC--Military coup in Assyria. King Ashur Nirari V is overthrown, and an armygeneral takes the throne as King Tiglath Pileser III. Tiglath Pileser will abandon thealliance with Hatti, and will resume Assyria’s aggressively expansionist policies, leadingto virtually continuous warfare throughout his reign.
746-744 BC--King Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria receives an appeal for aid from KingNabun-nasir of Babylon, who is beset by invading Aramaean tribes. Tiglath Pileserdefeats the Aramaeans and reduces Babylonia to a tributary state.
743 BC--Elam has been in a disunified state since the defeat inflicted upon it by KingNebuchadnezzar I of Babylon over 300 years ago. In this year, a new dynasty comes topower at Susa which will re-unify the country. King Khumbanigash I takes the throne asthe first king of a united Elam, which will become a major power in the succeeding years.
743-741 BC--War between Assyria and Hatti. In 743 BC, Tiglath Pileser III of Assyriainvades Hatti and tries to sieze the cities of Haran and Carchemish. The cities stronglyresist, and Tiglath Pileser becomes involved in a protracted siege at both cities. KingSuppiluliuma III of Hatti makes an alliance with King Sardur II of Urartu andSuppliluliuma’s vassal, King Menahem of Israel, against Assyria. The allies meetTiglath Pileser’s army in battle outside of Carchemish in 742 BC. The Assyrians arevictorious, but at huge cost, and have to abandon their sieges and return to Assyria. Thefollowing year, King Suppliluliuma leads the allied forces into Assyria, where they meetTiglath Pileser again in battle, this time outside the city of Ashur. The Assyrians thistime meet defeat, and Tiglath Pileser sues for peace. A treaty is agreed upon later thatyear. Urartu and Hatti both take some minor territory from Assyria. King Tiglath PileserIII plots revenge.
c. 740 BC--For many years, Egypt has been a fragmented land, with as many as four rivaldynasties ruling at the same time from cities such as Tanis, Sais, Leontopolis,Herakleopolis, Hermopolis, Thebes, and Memphis. But in about 740 BC, this is about tochange due to outside intervention. King Piankhi of Kush leads his army northward, andconquers Egypt as far north as Thebes. Within a few years he receives oaths of loyaltyfrom the various rival kings of Egypt, effectively unifying the country for the first time ina century and a half. Under his dynasty, the 25th (Kushite) Dynasty, Egypt will begin totake an active role in the affairs of the middle east once more.
740 BC--Death of King Azariah of Judah. Regent Jotham succeeds to the throne.
740-738 BC--Since c. 850 BC, the Medes, a group of Indo-Iranian tribes, have beensettling in the region east of the Zagros Mountains, and their power has been growing,especially since they have often allied themselves with Urartu. However, they have nevermanaged to unite, and the Assyrians have been able to keep these fierce tribesmen incheck. Beginning with Shalmaneser II in 836 BC, Assyrian kings have campaignedagainst them. King Tiglath Pileser III continues this tradition, campaigning against the Medes from 740-738 BC. He is unable to conquer them, but devastates their country andcarries away much booty. Median power is greatly reduced.
739 BC--King Sardur II of Urartu breaks the alliance with Hatti. Border warfare betweenthe two kingdoms begins which will continue on for some time. Tiglath Pileser III ofAssyria, of course, will take advantage of this.
738 BC--King Mita (Midas) III comes to the throne of Phrygia. He will war against Hattiin an unsuccessful attempt to regain the former Phrygian lands east of the Halys River.Mita will also be known for his fabulous wealth, giving rise to the legend of “Midas ofthe Golden Touch.” Also in this year, King Suppiluliuma III of Hatti dies. He issucceeded by his son, who takes the throne as King Ura-Tarhundas I. Also in this year,King Menahem of Israel dies, and is succeeded by his son, Pekahiah.
736 BC--King Pekahiah of Israel is assassinated by one of his generals, Pekah, whousurps the throne.
735 BC--Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria invades Urartu. No territory is annexed by Assyria...this was more of a raid than an actual war of conquest. His armies carry away a lot of booty, however, and Urartu is weakened.
c. 735-716 BC--First Messenian War. Sparta conquers the neighboring state of Messenia.The population of Messenia is enslaved and becomes the “helot” class in Spartan society.
734 BC--Chaldeans take power in Babylonia. In the last century, Babylonia was reunifiedunder a native dynasty. However, the state has remained weak, and has been under thedomination (but not direct rule) of Assyria during most of this time. In 734, theChaldeans, a tribe related to the Aramaeans who had settled in the region three centuriesbefore, sieze power in Babylon and found their own dynasty under a king calledUkin-zer. This dynasty will be much more aggressive, and will make Babylonia a majorplayer in world politics again over the succeeding years. Also in this year, King Sardur IIof Urartu dies. Rusas I takes the throne.
733 BC--King Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria lays siege to the Hittite border city of Haran.The city falls before King Ura-Tarhundas I of Hatti can intervene, and is sacked. Whenthe King of Hatti does arrive with his army, he is defeated by Tiglath Pileser’s Assyrianhost, but the cost to the Assyrians is so high that they accept an offer of peace from theHittite King. Hatti cedes the city of Haran, along with the territories it took from Assyria in 741 BC, to Assyria.
732 BC--Death of King Jotham of Judah. His son, Ahaz, succeeds to the throne. Ahazwill fall into idolatry, and will be very unpopular in Judah. Also in this year, King Pekahof Israel is assassinated one of his generals, Hoshea, who usurps the throne.
731-728 BC--King Ukin-zer of Babylon makes an alliance with King Khumbanigash I ofElam against Assyria. Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria invades Babylonia, and in a campaignwhich lasts for almost four years, finally defeats the allied Babylonian and Elamitearmies and King Ukin-zer is captured and executed in 728 BC. King Tiglath Pileserdeclares himself King of Babylonia...the first Assyrian monarch to do so. He reigns there under the name King Pulu (and thus becomes known as Pul in the pages of the Bible).
c. 728 BC--The Medes are united for the first time by King Deioces.
726 BC--King Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria dies, and is succeeded by his son,Shalmaneser V. Like his father, Shalmaneser rules Babylonia as well, reigning under thename of King Ululas.
c. 725 BC--The Cimmerians, a nomadic Indo-Iranian people living in the region north ofthe Black and Caspian Seas, are defeated by the Scythians and forced out of theirhomeland. The Cimmerians had been using war chariots, but quickly adopted Scythianlight cavalry tactics after being defeated by said people. Some of them settle in theCrimea (giving that peninsula their name), but most will flee south through the CaucasusMountains into Anatolia and Mesopotamia, where they will cause great destruction.
722-721 BC--King Shalmaneser V of Assyria is assassinated in 722 BC, and civil warbreaks out in Assyria. The final victor, Shalmaneser’s younger brother, will take thethrone as King Sargon II in 721 BC.
721 BC--The assassination of King Shamaneser V of Assyria has lead to chaos inBabylonia. In Babylon, a Chaldean chieftain related to the former King Ukin-zertakes the throne, reigning as King Marduk-apal-iddina II (who will be known asMerodach Baladan in the Bible). The new king is not content to be an Assyrian vassal,and he will begin intriguing with the kings of other lands in an attempt to form an allianceaimed at the destruction of Assyria, and he quickly concludes an alliance with KingKhumbanigash I of Elam against Assyria. King Sargon II of Assyria tries to nip theconspiracy in the bud with an invasion of Babylonia, but is defeated by the combinedBabylonian and Elamite forces and forced to retreat to Assyria.
720 BC--The Cimmerians burst out of the Caucasus and invade the Kingdom of Urartu.King Rusas I attempts a pre-emptive attack, but is defeated. Urartu is looted as far southas Lake Urmia, but their fortified cities are not taken by the nomads, and the kingdomsurvives (albeit severely weakened). This proves to be a temporary incursion by the Cimmerians. They will return, however. Also in this year, King Marduk apal-iddina ofBabylon, who has been negotiating with King Ura-Tarhundas I of Hatti, concludes atreaty of alliance with Hatti. King Ura-Tarhundas had been impressed by the victory ofBabylon and Elam over King Sargon of Assyria the previous year, and this is whatpersuades him to join the anti-Assyrian alliance.
720-710 BC--The alliance of Babylon, Elam, and Hatti declare war on Assyria in 720 BC.In a series of grinding campaigns which will consume the next decade, the three powersdestroy Assyrian power forever. The great cities of Assyria are taken, one by one, andsacked, and the Assyrian armies are defeated. The final straw comes when King Rusas Iof Urartu joins the anti-Assyrian alliance. King Sargon II is killed in battle outsideNineveh in 712 BC. His son, Sennacherib, is unable to recover the situation, and is himself killed when Nineveh itself falls to siege in 710 BC. Assyria disappears from themap as an independent state. The victorious allies divide the land between them.
Ura-Tarhundas I of Hatti takes the region west of the Harbur River. KingMarduk-apal-iddina II of Babylon takes everything east of the Habur River and south ofthe junction of the Upper Zab and Tigris Rivers (including the cities of Nuzi and Ashur).King Argishtis II of Urartu (who had succeeded his father, Rusas I, in 714 BC) takes theterritory west of the Habur River and north of the junction of the Upper Zab and TigrisRivers, including the cities of Nineveh, Calah, and Sargon’s capital at Dur Sharrukin.
King Shutruk-Nahhunte II of Elam (who had succeeded his father, Khumbanigash I, in717 BC) is pretty much left out in the cold, and this, along with the disputed nature of theborder between Babylon and Urartu (who have no obvious natural boundary betweenthem, unlike the Hittites with their border on the Harbur River), will lead to much warfarein the succeeding decades.
717 BC--Death of King Khumbanigash I of Elam. He is succeeded by King Shutruk-Nahhunte II.
715 BC--King Ahaz of Judah dies, and is succeeded by his son, Hezekiah.
714 BC--Death of King Rusas I of Urartu. Argishtis II takes the throne.
712 BC--Death of Pharaoh Piankhi of Egypt/Kush. He is succeeded by his son, Shabaka.Shabaka will, shortly after assuming the throne, attack the last remaining native Egyptianstronghold, the city-state of Sais, which is ruled by Pharaoh Bocchoris of the 24thDynasty. The city falls, and Bocchoris is slain. But some of his family survive, and willeventually return to throne of Egypt as the 26th Dynasty.
709-705 BC--War between Babylon and Elam, as King Shutruk-Nahhunte II tries to makegood his claim to some of the spoils from the recent war with Assyria. The war isinconclusive.
705-702 BC--Pharaoh Shabaka of Egypt, flush with his victory over Sais, decides toexpand his empire into Asia. Accordingly, in the year 705 BC he invades Judah andIsrael. While King Hoshea of Israel immediately submits to Shabaka and joins him in theassault on Judah, King Hezekiah of Judah calls on King Ura-Tarhundas I of Hatti for aid.King Ura-Tarhundas responds by leading an army southward against the Egyptians. The two forces meet in the Valley of Jezreel, near the town of Meggido. A bloody battle isfought in which the forces of Hatti and Judah emerge victorious. Shabaka retreats toEgypt, and abandons his ally, King Hoshea of Israel, to his fate. The kings of Hatti andJudah then invade Israel, and lay siege to Hoshea in his stronghold at Samaria. The cityfalls, after a siege lasting 2 years, in 702 BC. Hoshea is captured and executed, and King Ura-Tarhundas gives the land of Israel to King Hezekiah of Judah, in exchange for a vowof fealty from said monarch. For the first time in over 200 years, the twelve tribes ofIsrael are re-united under the rule of the House of David.
701 BC--Death of King Ura-Tarhundas I of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who takesthe throne as King Suhis Tesub I.
PART THREE: 700-600 BC
c. 700 BC onwards--Cimmerian invasions of Anatolia and Mesopotamia.
700 BC--Death of Pharaoh Shabaka of Egypt/Kush. He is succeeded by Sabataka. TheCimmerians invade Urartu again and once again, devastate the kingdom. But they areunable to take the fortified cities, and the kingdom survives, for the time being. Seeingwhat is happening in the neighboring kingdom, King Suhis Tesub I of Hatti orders areorganization of the Hittite army. The chariot force is disbanded and converted tocavalry (each chariot demobilized allows two cavalrymen to be added to the army).
Alsoat this time, King Suhis Tesub I demands, and receives, tribute from the Phoeniciancity-states on the Lebanese coast. From this date onward, the Phoenician cities will be(although nominally independent) virtual vassals of the Great King of Hatti.
699 BC--Death of King Shuttruk Nahhunte II of Elam. He is succeeded by Khallushu.
697 BC--Also in this year, the Cimmerians invade Hatti, but are defeated by the recentlyrevamped Hittite army, which has a much larger preponderance of cavalry and is muchmore mobile. King Suhis Tesub I then bribes the Cimmerians and gives them freepassage over his lands to attack the Phrygian Kingdom, which has been a constant thornin the side of Hatti since King Mita III ascended the throne almost 40 years ago.
695 BC--The Cimmerians sack the kingdom of Phrygia and settle there. King Mita(Midas) III commits suicide in his capital at Gordium when the city falls to theCimmerians. He is succeeded by Gordios IV, who reigns as a weak vassal of theCimmerians.
c. 695 BC--King Gyges of Lydia, who has reigned as the vassal of King Mita III ofPhrygia since 718 BC, establishes the independence of Lydia at the death of King Mita.The new king of Phrygia, Gordios IV, is unable to restore Phrygian rule in the area.Gyges of Lydia will war with the Cimmerians throughout his reign.
695-694 BC--War between Elam and Babylonia. King Marduk-apal-iddina II of Babylonis defeated and killed, and Elam conquers Babylonia. King Khallushu of Elam installsthe first of a series of vassal kings on the Babylonian throne, who takes the throne asNergal-Ushezib.
694 BC--Pharaoh Sabataka of Egypt/Kush invades the United Hebrew Kingdom and layssiege to Jerusalem. King Hezekiah calls on his ally, King Suhis Tesub I of Hatti, andtogether the allies once again defeat the invading Egyptian/Kushite forces. Sabatakaretreats to Egypt, and the Hebrews are left in peace for a while.
693 BC--Death of King Khallushu of Elam. He is succeeded by King Kutir Nakhkhunte.Also in this year, the vassal king of the Elamites in Babylon, Nergal-Ushezib, attempts arebellion but is defeated. The Elamites formally annex Babylonia into the ElamiteEmpire. The Elamites install Mushezib-Marduk I as their vassal king at Babylon.Mushezib-Marduk I will prove a loyal vassal for the Elamite kings, and will enjoy a longreign.
692 BC--Death of King Kutir Nakhkhunte of Elam. He is succeeded by KhummaMenanu.
690 BC--Death of King Suhis Tesub I of Hatti, he is succeeded by his son, Suhis TesubII. Also in this year, the Cimmerian chieftain Dugdamme deposes and murders KingGordios IV of Phrygia, ending the Phrygian dynasty. Dugdamme declares himself Kingand the land is renamed Cimmeria. Under Dugdamme’s rule, the Cimmerians willcontinue to raid the neighboring kingdom of Lydia, with various degrees of success.
689 BC--Death of King Khumma Menanu of Elam. He is succeeded by KhummaKhaldash I.
688 BC--Death of Pharaoh Sabataka of Egypt/Kush. He is succeeded by his nephew,Taharka. Taharka will prove a very aggressive ruler and will attempt to establishEgyptian control over Palestine and Syria.
687-670 BC--War between Elam and Urartu over the disputed border between the twoEmpires. Urartu will not survive (see entries below).
686 BC--Death of King Hezekiah of the Hebrews. He is succeeded by his son, who takesthe throne as King Manasseh. Manasseh was very impressed by the “divine protection”his father, a loyal follower of the Hebrew national god, Yahweh, seemed to enjoy, and incontrast to OTL, will go down in history as an extremely pious ruler.
685 BC--Death of King Argishtis II of Urartu. He is succeeded by Rusas II. Rusas II willbe the last king of Urartu.
685-679 BC--War between Egypt and Hatti. Pharaoh Taharka invades the UnitedHebrew Kingdom in 685 BC. King Manasseh once again invokes the alliance with Hatti,and King Suhis Tesub II leads a Hittite army southward in 684 BC, defeating theEgyptians near the town of Hazor and forcing them to retreat back to Egypt. Taharka,however, doesn’t give up. He intrigues with the Kings of the Philistine cities (who aretributary to the Hebrews) and the Phoenician city-states (who are tributary to Hatti), andin 682 BC rebellions break out in those regions. Taharka lands troops to support the
Phoenicians while leading the main Egyptian army into Palestine yet again.
The strategy istemporarily successful, and because the Hittites are busy putting down the Phoenicians,Jerusalem is captured in 681 BC, and Taharka establishes Egyptian control over most ofPalestine. King Manasseh escapes to the fortress city of Lachish, where he withstands asiege. In 679 BC, however, King Suhis Tesub II leads the main Hittite army southward once again, and once again, the Egyptians are defeated. Taharka retreats once again, andthis time is pursued by the Hittite army, who once again defeat the Egyptians at Pelusium.Taharka then sues for peace, and a treaty is agreed upon, ending the war. King Manassehis restored to his throne.
681 BC--Death of King Khumma Khaldash I of Elam, he is succeeded by KhummaKhaldash II.
676 BC--King Khumma Khaldash II of Elam is assassinated and the throne is usurped byShilhak-In-Shushinak, a general in the Elamite army.
675 BC--Death of King Deioces of the Medes. He is succeeded by Phraortes, who inalliance with Elam, will destroy Urartu. Also in this year, Pharaoh Taharka of Egyptleads his army into Palestine once again. This time it is just a raid, however...theEgyptians sack a few towns and then take their booty back to Egypt before the Hittitescan intervene.
c. 675 BC--The Persians, a group of Indo-European tribes related to the Medes, move intothe Elamite region known as Anshan. Their chieftain, Hakhamanish (Achaemenes to theGreeks) is recognized as King of Anshan by King Shilhak-In-Shushinak of Elam, andbecomes vassal of the Elamite King.
673 BC--King Shilhak-In-Shushinak of Elam, who is at war with Urartu, makes analliance with King Phraortes of the Medes against Urartu. The tide of war turnsdecisively against Urartu. Urartu, which has never really recovered from the devastationwrought by the Cimmerians 30 years ago, is utterly defeated within three years. Thefortified towns of Urartu are taken and sacked, and the people either killed or enslaved.
670 BC--Tushpa, the capital city of Urartu, falls. In the fighting King Rusas II is killed,ending the Urartian dynasty. Urartu disappears from the map, and is divided between theElamites (who take the old Assyrian lands conquered by Urartu in the last century) andthe Medes (who take the Urartian homeland itself).
c. 670 BC--Miletus (Greek city on the Aegean Coast of Asia Minor) begins foundingcolonies both in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea.
666 BC--Death of King Suhis Tesub II of Hatti, he is succeeded by his son, UraTarhundas II.
665-660 BC--641-637 BC--Over years, Hatti has had much contact with the Greeks,especially through the trading settlement founded by the Greeks at Al-Mina in Syria.These contacts have increased dramatically recently as the Hittites have come into directcontact with the Greek cities of Ionia. One major impact of this is the increasingavailability of Greek mercenaries to the Hittite kings. Up to now these have been hireddirectly, to serve as a small, but important portion of the Hittite infantry. But in 665 BC,the new King Ura Tarhundas II decides to re-organize, re-train, and re-equip the Hittiteinfantry on the Greek model. Greek mercenary officers and Greek armorers are hired, andthe reorganization will be completed within five years. The new army thus created is themost powerful in the near east. The infantry phalanx is supported by a force of armoredfoot archers, as well as by light cavalry archers and armored cavalry armed with lance andbow. It is a highly flexible, disciplined and dangerous force.
663 BC--King Mushezib-Marduk I of Babylon dies. King Shilhak-In-Shushinak of Elamallows his son, Mushezib-Marduk II, to assume the throne as Elam’s vassal ruler.
660 BC--Pharaoh Taharka of Egypt/Kush dies, and is succeeded by Tamwetamani.Tamwetamani will be a weak king, and the neighbors of Egypt will enjoy a period ofrelative peace during his reign.
c. 660-625 BC--Scythian invasions of Anatolia, Iran, and Mesopotamia. The Scythiansare beaten back by the Elamites in Mesopotamia and the Hittites in Anatolia, but theytemporarily bring the Medes under their control, and greatly weaken the Kingdom ofElam.
c. 660 BC--King Gyges of Lydia introduces the world's first standardized money, in theform of electrum coins, stamped with the king's seal. The idea will eventually spreadthroughout the world, and replace barter economies with money economies.
659 BC--Death of King Dugdamme of Cimmeria. He is succeeded by his son, who rulesas King Dugdamme II.
657 BC--Megara founds Byzantium.
654 BC--Carthage, a colony of the Phoenician city of Tyre located in OTL Tunisia on theNorth African coast, founds a colony in the Balearic Islands at Ibiza.
653 BC--Death of King Shilhak-In-Shushinak of Elam. He is succeeded by Khumbanigash II. Also in this year, Pharaoh Tamwetamani of Egypt/Kush dies. He issucceeded by Atlanersa. Atlanersa, like his father, will be a weak ruler, and will notengage in aggression against his neighbors. Also in this year, King Phraortes of theMedes dies, and is succeeded by Cyaxares.
652 BC--King Gyges of Lydia is killed in battle with the Cimmerians. His capital atSardis is sacked, but the crown prince, Ardys, escapes, and the Lydians are able torecover within a few years.
651 BC--Death of King Khumbanigash II of Elam. He is succeeded byAtta-Khumma-In-Shushinak.
650 BC--Death of King Ura Tarhundas II of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, KuziTesub. Also in this year, Perdiccas Temenid founds the Macedonian kingdom with capitalat Aegeae (Vergina).
649 BC--Rebellion of Babylonia against Elam. The revolt is crushed. Also in this year,King Cyaxares of the Medes re-establishes Median independence from the Scythians.
649-642 BC--King Dugdamme II of Cimmeria, thinking that the new king of Hatti mightbe easy pickings, attacks Hatti. King Kuzi Tesub proves to be more than Dugdammebargained for, and the Cimmerians are severely defeated. Kuzi Tesub then allies himselfwith King Ardys of Lydia and launches a series of yearly campaigns into Cimmeria,aimed at the destruction of that kingdom and the final elimination of the Cimmerian threat once and for all. The Hittite capture the Cimmerian capital at Gordium in 642 BC,and King Dugdamme is slain. Kuzi Tesub occupies all of the former lands of Phrygiashortly thereafter. The Cimmerians cease to be a threat, and will eventually be absorbedinto the population of Anatolia under Hittite rule. King Ardys of Lydia is not happy at notgaining much of anything from the war, but is unable to do anything about it.
648 BC--Death of King Atta-Khumma-In-Shushinak of Elam. He is succeeded byIndabigash.
647 BC--Death of King Indabigash of Elam. He is succeeded by Khumma Khaldash III.
643-620 BC--War between Elam and the Medes. The Medes, under King Cyaxares, willtotally defeat and conquer Elam over a period of 23 years, aided by rebellions by theKings of Anshan and Babylon which force the Elamites to fight a war on three fronts.
643 BC--Death of Pharaoh Atlanersa of Egypt/Kush. He is succeeded bySenkamanisken. Senkamanisken will once again begin to interfere in Palestine in Syria,financing rebellious Philistine and Phoenician kings (these revolts will be crushed, butwill cause much inconvenience to the Hebrew and Hittite kings). These activities willeventually lead the King of Hatti to reply in kind, with dramatic consequences.
642 BC--Death of King Manasseh of the Hebrews. He is succeeded by his son, Amon.Unlike his father, Amon is not a faithful follower of Yahweh, and he quickly stirs upresentment against himself.
640 BC--King Amon of the Hebrews is assassinated. He is succeeded by his son, Josiah.Josiah will prove a pious and popular King. Also in this year, King Hakhamanish of thePersians dies, and is succeeded by his son, Kurush (Greek--Cyrus) I. Also in this year,Sparta adopts a militaristic form of government.
638 BC--Death of King Mushezib-Marduk II of Babylon. He is succeeded by his son,Nabu-Nasir II, who also reigns as the vassal of the kings of Elam. Also in this year, KingKuzi Tesub of Hatti invades Lydia. King Ardys is defeated in battle, and is besieged inhis capital at Sardis. Ardys, recognizing that he cannot prevail against the might of Hatti,offers to submit to the Great King, and the offer is accepted. Lydia remains nominallyindependent, but will be a vassal state of the Hittite Empire.
635-625 BC--In a series of campaigns which span a decade, King Kuzi Tesub of Hattireduces the Greek cities of Ionia to vassalage. Like Lydia, they remain nominallyindependent, but pay tribute to the Great King of Hatti, who they recognize as theiroverlord.
632 BC--Athens abolishes the monarchy in favor of an oligarchy.
631-622 BC--Revolution in Egypt. For the past century, Egypt has chafed under the ruleof the foreign kings of Kush (who are reigning in Egypt as the 25th Dynasty). The city ofSais has as it’s nomarch a man named Psamtik, who is descended from the last Pharaohof the Saite 24th Dynasty. He has been for some time, intriguing with King Kuzi Tesubof Hatti, seeking support for a rebellion against the Kushite rulers of Egypt. Psamtik has gained financial support for his efforts, but no promise of troops or other direct aid.However, the financial aid proves to be enough. Psamtik builds an army around a core ofGreek mercenaries, and in 631 BC marches against the forces of Pharaoh Senkamanisken.
Senkamanisken is defeated outside Memphis, and flees to the south, setting up his base atThebes. Psamtik is left in control of Lower Egypt (the Delta Region), where he declareshimself Pharaoh, beginning the 26th Dynasty. For the next nine years, there will bewarfare between Upper Egypt (under Senkamanisken) and Lower Egypt (under Psamtik).
631 BC to 609 BC--In a long reign, Pharaoh Psamtik I establishes the pattern of kingshipwhich will prevail in the new 26th dynasty. The attitude of the Saite Pharaohs towardsthe kingship will be radically different from the Egyptian tradition. The lifestyle of thepharaohs of Sais will be much less ostentatious, to the point of being considered frugal bycontemporary writers. And there will be no return to the ancient traditions under later kings. Psamtik will strengthen royal power over the provincial warlords and thepriesthood by abrogating feudal and clerical immunities and privileges. Psamtik will alsoencourage Greek settlement within Egypt. Psamtik will make extensive use of Greekmercenaries in the army, and Psamtik will build a cities, the greatest of which is calledNaukratis, where Greek scholars and merchants will be settled, and endow these Greekcommunities with land and rights. Psamtik will also cultivate friendly relations withHatti, by whose aid he was able to overthrow the Kushite tyranny over Egypt.
c. 630 BC--Birth of Zarathustra (Zoroaster). Over his lifetime, Zarathustra will found anew religion, which will become known as Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is a dualisticreligion; in Zarathustra's cosmos, the universe is under the control of two contrary gods,Ahura-Mazda, the creating god who is full of light and good, and Ahriman, the god ofdark and evil. These two evenly matched gods are in an epic struggle over creation; at theend of time, Ahura-Mazda and his forces will emerge victorious. All of creation, all gods,all religions, and all of human history and experience can be understood as part of thisstruggle between light and dark, good and evil.
Zoroastrianism, however, is a manifestlyeschatological religion; meaning and value in this world is oriented towards the end ofhistory and the final defeat of Ahriman and all those gods, humans, and other animateforces arrayed on the dark side of creation. This will eventually have profound
consequences as Zoroastrianism gradually becomes the primary religion of the Persiansand their kings of the Achaemenid line. Since Zoroastrianism recognizes that all the godsworshipped by other peoples are really gods...some as underlings of Ahura-Mazda andsome servants of Ahriman...the Persian kings will come to see as their mission the tearing down of religions for evil gods and the shoring up of religions of gods allied withAhura-Mazda.
630 BC--The kings of Anshan transfer their allegiance to Cyaxares and become vassals ofthe Medes. The Persians join in the war against Elam, which begins to go badly for thelatter kingdom.
c.630 BC--Greek settlers from Thera found the city of Cyrene, on the northern coast ofLibya.
626 BC--Revolution in Babylonia. The Chaldean chieftain Nabu-apal-usur (Nabopolassar) overthrows the Elamite vassal king King Nabu-Nasir II, rebels againstElam and allies himself with Cyaxares of the Medes. The forces of Elamite KingKhumma Khaldash III attempt to put down the rebellion, but are defeated outsideBabylon, and the Elamite king is killed. His son takes the throne as King ShutrukNahhunte III. He will be the last King of Elam.
622 BC--The reunification of Egypt. Psamtik I of the Saite 26th Dynasty, ruler of LowerEgypt, captures Thebes, capital of Upper Egypt and seat of the Kushite 25th Dynasty.Upper Egypt’s Pharaoh, Senkamanisken, is killed, and his successor, Anlamani, is forcedto flee to the Kushite capital of Napata. Psamtik begins wearing the Double Crown ofEgypt, symbolizing the reunification of the country under his rule. Anlamani rules asKing of Kush only.
621 BC--Death of King Kuzi Tesub of Hatti. He is succeeded by his nephew, who takesthe throne as Arnuwanda IV. Also in this year, Draco establishes the first Athenian codeof law. The code is extremely harsh (Draco's name will become synonymous withharsh...or DRACONIAN...measures in future times).
620 BC--King Shutruk Nahhunte III of Elam is killed when the Elamite capital city ofSusa falls to the forces of the Median King Cyaxares and King Nabu-apal-usur ofBabylon. End of the Elamite dynasty...and the Elamite Kingdom. King Kurush (Cyrus) Iof Anshan (acting as the vassal of Cyaxares) and Nabu-apal-usur of Babylon divide thethe Elamite homeland between them. Babylon and the Medes divide the northern Elamitepossessions in old Assyria.
618-612 BC--Revolt of the Greek cities of Ionia against Hatti. King Ardys of Lydia joinsthe revolt and allies himself with the Greeks. King Arnuwanda IV crushes the revolt,however, and both Lydia and the Ionian Greek cities are formally annexed by the HittiteEmpire.
616 BC--The Etruscans conquer the small Latin town of Rome in Italy. Tarquinius IPriscus becomes King of Rome. Etruscan kings will reign there for the next 100 years.
610 BC--Also in this year, Miletus founds a trading post in Egypt.
609 BC--Death of Pharaoh Psamtik I of Egypt. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns asPharaoh Necho II (reckoning from Psamtik’s father, Necho, who was a Prince of Saisunder domination by the Kushite 25th Dynasty).
605 BC--Death of King Josiah of the Hebrews. He is succeeded by his eldest son,Eliakim.
605-601 BC--King Arnuwanda IV of Hatti invades and conquers the island of Cyprus.
605-600 BC--Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt has renewed Egypt’s ties to the Phoeniciantrading cities, especially Tyre and Sidon. In 605 BC, he hires Phoenician shipwrights tobuild a fleet for the exploration of the African coast. The Egyptian exploration fleet isbuilt at an Egyptian port on the Red Sea, and in 603 BC, it sets sail. The fleet, manned bya mixed force of Egyptian soldiers and Phoenician sailors, sails south along the African coast. Each autumn they come ashore and plant the land in whatever part of the coastthey have reached, and there await the harvest; then, having gathered the crop, they sailon. And so, in this manner, they circumnavigate the African continent. In 600 BC theypass through the Pillars of Heracles (the Straits of Gibraltar) and return to Egypt.Although they have many wondrous tales to tell, they do not bring back any news of greatvalue. No further expeditions are sent out by Egypt.
604 BC--Death of King Nabu-apal-usur of Babylon. He is succeeded by his son, whoreigns as Nebuchadnezzar II.
600 BC--Death of King Kurush (Cyrus) I of the Persians. He is succeeded by Kambujiya(Greek-Cambyses) I. Also in this year, Rome conquers the city of Alba Longa, andCarthage fails to prevent the establishment of the Phocaean Greek colony at Massilia(Marseilles).
PART FOUR: 600-500 BC
600-575 BC--Intermittent warfare between Babylonia and Hatti. Shortly after assumingthe throne, King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon wages war on Hatti in an attempt to wrestcontrol of the trade routes through Syria and Palestine from the Hittite King.Nebuchadnezzar makes nearly annual invasions of Syria, but his armies are unable todefeat those of the Hittite king, and he gains nothing. The struggle is very exhausting forboth empires, and serious fighting peters out by about 588 BC. But a formal peace treatyis not finally agreed upon, based on status quo ante bellum, until 570 BC.
c. 600 BC--Confucious teaches in China.
597 BC--Death of King Arnuwanda IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reignsas Tuwanuwa III.
594 BC--Solon founds the Athenian democracy. He is heavily influenced by hisobservations of Egyptian society and law during a visit to Egypt a few years before.
593 BC--Death of Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt. He is succeeded by Psamtik II.
590 BC--Death of King Tuwanuwa III of Hatti in battle against the Babylonians.Tuwanuwa had no heirs at the time of his death, and he is succeeded by his brother,Sharkhurunuwa.
589-575 BC--Pharaoh Psamtik II of Egypt decides to take advantage of the warfarebetween Hatti and Babylon to sieze the Hebrew Kingdom. Egyptian armies invade thekingdom, and although the Hebrews fight valiantly, they are over-run. Psamtik carriesKing Eliakim of the Hebrews away in chains, and installs an Egyptian governor inJerusalem. The Egyptians also land an invasion force on Cyprus, and sieze most of theisland. However, Eliakim’s son, Jehoiachin, and his mother manage to escape from theEgyptians along with much of the Hebrew army, and take refuge with the Great King of Hatti.
Finally, in 580 BC, as the war between Hatti and Babylon winds down, KingSharkhurunuwa of Hatti and Prince Jehoiachin of the Hebrews leads their armiessouthward. They meet the forces of Egypt, now commanded by Pharaoh Wahibre, inbattle near Jerusalem, and the Egyptians are severely defeated. The allies spend the nextfive years reducing the fortified cities in the region still held by the Egyptians, and in theprocess learn that King Eliakim has died while in Egyptian custody. Jehoiachin isdeclared King of the Hebrews, and is restored to his kingdom in 575 BC. He reaffirmsthe long-standing alliance between his kingdom and the Great King of Hatti.
588 BC--Death of Pharaoh Psamtik II of Egypt. He is succeeded by his son, Wahibre.
585 BC--King Cyaxares of the Medes dies, and is succeeded by Astyages.
585-583 BC--A final Scythian invasion causes great damage to the Median kingdombefore they Scythians are finally defeated and forced to retreat back north of the CaucasusMountains by King Astyages.
582 BC: The Pythian games are established in Delphi and the Isthmian games areestablished in Corinth.
580 BC--First attempt by the Greeks to drive the Phoenicians out of Sicily. The attemptis unsuccessful.
c. 580 BC--Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, in addition to being a warrior king, is a greatbuilder. In Babylon he builds eight monumental gates, the Esagila complex, aseven-storey ziggurat, and the Hanging Gardens. The last of these will be accounted oneof the seven wonders of the world.
579 BC--Death of King Eliakim of the Hebrew Kingdom while in the custody of theEgyptians. He is succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin.
576-570 BC--War between Babylonia and the Medes. King Nebuchadnezzar attempts toconquer the region of Anshan (the former Elamite homeland), which is ruled by thePersian Achaemenid Dynasty (who are, in turn, vassals of the Median kings). KingKambujiya (Cambyses) I of Anshan calls on his overlord, King Astyages of the Medes,for aid, and a six year war between Babylonia and the Medes is the result. The Medesmake inroads into Babylonia’s northern territories, and King Nebuchadnezzar concludespeace with Hatti in order to devote his full attention to the Medes. He is able to drive theMedes out of his northern provinces, and a stalemate results. A peace treaty is finallysigned in 570 BC.
576 BC Death of King Sharkhurunuwa of Hatti. He is succeeded by Tudhaliyas V.
574 BC--King Tudhaliyas V of Hatti signs a peace treaty with Pharaoh Wahibre of Egypt.Egypt renounces it’s claim to the Hebrew Kingdom in exchange for recognition ofEgypt’s claim to Cyprus. Tudhaliyas agress to this in order to gain peace on his southernborder, and finds the exchange well worth his while. The Great Kings of Hatti will not betroubled by further Egyptian incursions for a long time.
570 BC--Pharaoh Wahibre of Egypt receives an appeal for aid from the King of Libyaagainst the Greek colony at Cyrene, which has, since it's founding in 630 BC, had strainedrelations with the native Libyans of the region. Wahibre leads an Egyptian armywestward, but it is severely defeated by the Greeks of Cyrene. A revolt breaks outamong the native Egyptian contingent of the army, where rumour has it that the Pharaohintentionally lead them to defeat. As Herodotus would later write..."The Egyptiansblamed him for this and rebelled against him; for they thought that the Pharaoh hadknowingly sent his men to their doom, so that after their death his rule over the rest of theEgyptians would be strengthened. Bitterly angered by this, those who returned home andthe friends of the slain rose against him.” Also in this year, the first coins are minted by Athens.
569-566 BC--Civil War in Egypt. In response to the rebellion in the native Egyptiancontingents of the army, Wahibre sends Ahmosi, his son and one of his most trustedgenerals, to negotiate with the rebels. But when Ahmosi arrives at the rebel camp, therebels "put a helmet on his head from behind, saying it was the token of royalty," anddeclare him the new king. Ahmosi decides "it’s good to be the king," goes over to therebels, and leads the rebel army against Wahibre. Wahibre rallies the mercenarycontingent of the army and attempts to put down the insurrection with these forces, but isdefeated and forced to flee from Sais. Ahmosi is crowned Pharaoh, and takes the throneas Ahmosi II. However, Wahibre I continues to claim the kingship, and gathers anothermercenary army while in exile in Upper Egypt. Finally, in 566 BC, Wahibre I, at the headof his mercenary army, attempts to retake the throne of Egypt from Ahmosi II. He isdefeated and killed.
569-525 BC--Reign of Pharaoh Ahmosi II in Egypt. Ahmosi drastically reduces theproportion of mercenaries in the Egyptian army and reduces the term of service for nativetroops, ending a continual problem with army revolts. Ahmosi also establishes theworld's first income tax. According the Herodotus, he established a law that "every yeareach one of the Egyptians should declare to the ruler of his district, from what source hegot his livelihood, and if any man did not do this or did not make declaration of an honestway of living, he should be punished with death." The new tax puts the royal treasury ona more stable footing than it has been in many centuries. Ahmosi also disposes of thegoods of the temples as he sees fit. Just as the military nobles had been neutralized byabsorbing many of them into the royal administration, the priests are turned into officialsof the monarchy too, and their upkeep and that of their temples becomes the responsibility of the royal treasury. The threat to the monarchy posed by the power of thepriestly class is broken. Thus by the end of Ahmose II’s reign the foundations have beenlaid for a very stable, prosperous, and secure society.
565 BC--Death of King Tudhaliyas V of Hatti. He is succeeded by Mursili III.
562 BC--Death of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. He is succeeded by Amel Marduk.
560 BC--King Amel Marduk of Babylon is assassinated by his brother-in-law,Nergalsharusur, who usurps the throne. Also in this year, the temple of Artemis atEphesus is built. This temple will eventually become one of the seven wonders of theworld. Also in this year, King Jehoiachin of the Hebrews dies, and is succeeded by hisson, Shealtiel.
559 BC--Death of King Kambujiya (Cambyses) I of Anshan. Kurush (Cyrus) II comes tothe throne. Like his father, Kurush is a vassal of the Median king, Astyages.
556 BC--Death of King Nergalsharusur of Babylon. He is succeeded by his young son,Labashi Marduk. Labashi Marduk will enjoy a long and successful reign (in OTL, he wasmurdered within a year and the throne usurped by Nabonidus, who came from the city ofHaran in the north and who seems to have been a commoner with no relation to the royalfamily. Since Haran is a Hittite city in this timeline and not a part of the BabylonianEmpire, Nabonidus is not in Babylon to usurp the throne).
555 BC--Pharaoh Ahmosi II of Egypt invades and conquers the city of Cyrene in Libya. The region will be a permanent part of the Egyptian Empire for many years.
550 BC--Kurush (Cyrus) II of Anshan revolts against King Astyages of Media. Astyagesis defeated and killed. Kurush takes control of the Median Empire, which will henceforthbe known as the Persian Empire. Also in this year, Carthage allies with the Etruscansagainst the Greeks. A Carthaginian force led by Malchus defeats the Greeks in Sicily, butis vanquished in Sardinia. Malchus is banished, and in response marches on Carthage, but is caught and executed.
550-500 BC--La Tene culture develops; Celtic culture reaches its peak. Celtic tribesexpand from their homeland in central Europe and begin moving east, south, and west.
c. 550 BC--The Sabaeans of southern Arabia build a huge, earth-filled dam near their capital city of Marib, which enables the irrigation of 250,000 acres of land. The population increase this allows enables the Kingdom of Sheba to dramatically expand it's power in southwestern Arabia. Also at about this time, the Nabataean Arabs of northern Arabia begin moving into the land of Edom, causing many Edomites to emigrate northward. The Edomites are gradually absorbed into the Hebrew population. However, the Hebrew Kings (and later the Hittite Kings) prevent the Nabataeans from forming an independent state. Instead, they form a trading class within the larger society of the region, serving as middlemen in the frankincense and myrrh trade between the Sabaeans to the south and the Hittites and other kingdoms to the north.
c. 550 BC onward--Carthaginian presence in the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.Carthaginian colonies formed along coast of Africa, in Algeria, including Hadrumetum, Leptis.
549 BC--Death of King Shealtiel of the Hebrews. He is succeeded by his son, Josiah II(in OTL named Zerubabbel...”Child of Babylon”...but since there was no BabylonianCaptivity in this ATL, the child gets a different name).
547-544 BC--War between Hatti and Persia. In 547 BC, King Kurush (Cyrus) II of Persiaattempts an invasion of Hatti. But the flexible and hard-hitting Hittite army, under thecapable leadership of King Mursili III, severely defeats the Persians. Kurush is severelywounded, but manages to escape, and will survive his wounds. The following year, andeach year thereafter, King Mursili III will invade the Persian Empire. The Persians are gradually pushed back out of the former lands of Urartu, and King Kurush finally sues forpeace in 544 BC. A treaty is signed in which Persia cedes the former lands of Urartu toHatti.
546 BC--The Tyrant Peisistratus overthrows democracy in Athens, and Sparta forms thePeloponnesean League.
543 BC--King Labashi Marduk of Babylon makes a treaty of alliance with King MursiliIII of Hatti. The alliance is aimed at Persia.
540-539 BC--King Kurush (Cyrus) II of Persia invades Babylonia. His army defeats thatof Babylon at the city of Opis, on the Tigris River (near the site of present-day Baghdad),and he lays siege to the city of Babylon itself. King Labashi Marduk calls on his ally,King Mursili III of Hatti, for aid. Mursili arrives outside Babylon with the main Hittitearmy in the spring of 539 BC, and a battle is fought in which King Kurush of Persia falls,struck down by a Hittite arrow. The Persian army is scattered, and the siege of Babylon islifted. However, the Hittite/Babylonian forces also take heavy losses, and are tooexhausted to follow up with an invasion of Persia. Although no formal treaty is signed,the war effectively ends.
539-532 BC--Civil War in Persia. The death of King Kurush II in battle outside Babylonhas thrown the Persian Empire into turmoil. The Medes, under a prince who claimsdescent from King Cyaxares, revolt against the Persians. In addition, various factionswithin the Achaemenid royal house vie for power. Finally, however, one of the sons ofKing Kurush emerges victorious, and takes the throne as King Kambujiya (Cambyses) II.Kambujiya will suppress the Medes, reorganize the Persian empire and armed forces, andalso re-orient the focus of Persian military efforts from the west to the east. Infurtherance of the latter of these, he concludes a treaty with Hatti and Babylon, officiallyending the war begun by his father in 540 BC.
535 BC--Carthage, with the Etruscans, destroys the Phocaean colony in Corsica andcloses Sardinia-Corsica off to the Greeks.
530 BC--Pythagoras founds Mathematics. Also in this year, King Kambujiya (Cambyses)II of Persia launches the first of several invasions of India.
530-500 BC--Persian conquest of northern India. In yearly campaigns, King Kambujiya(Cambyses) II of Persia and his successor, King Darayavahush (Darius) I, conquer mostof northern India, defeating the various native kings and incorporating their kingdomsinto the Persian Empire.
529 BC--Death of King Labashi Marduk of Babylon. He is succeeded by his son, whoreigns as King Nebuchadnezzar III.
c. 527 BC--Prince Siddhartha Gautama is enlightened and becomes the Buddha, foundinga new religion.
525 BC--Death of Pharaoh Ahmosi II of Egypt. He is succeeded by his son, Psamtik III.
c. 525 BC--The first Greek Tragedies are written. Among the writers are Aeschylus,Sophocles, and Euripides.
523-522 BC--Civil War in the Persian Empire. In 523 BC, King Kambujiya (Cambyses)II is killed in battle in India. Upon his demise, there is a struggle for the succession to thePersian throne. Gaumata, a pretender who claims to be a son of King Kurush (Cyrus) IInamed Smerdis who had actually been killed by Kambujiya some years earlier, assumesthe throne, but is disputed by another prince of the Achaemenid House, who finally defeats Gautama in 522 BC and assumes the throne as King Darayavahush (Greek--Darius) I.
521 BC--Death of King Mursili III of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, Hattusili TesubIII. Hattusili Tesub III, who was a somewhat elderly man when he assumed the Kingship,dies later that same year, and is succeeded by his grandson, Suhis Tesub III. Suhis TesubIII’s father had been killed in a hunting accident shortly after Suhis Tesub was born, andtherefore the new King is a minor child at the time of his succession. A civil war breaksout as one of the King’s cousins, Prince Talmi Tesub, contests his right to the throne.
521-519 BC--King Nebuchadnezzar III of Babylon takes adantage of the chaos caused bythe civil war in Hatti to sieze the lands between the Harbur and Euphrates rivers. He layssiege to the Hittite fortress city of Carchemish, but is unable to take the city. The newHittite King Talmi Tesub, upon ascending the throne, signs a treaty recognizing the Babylonian title to the disputed region. Relations between Babylon and Hatti are neveragain to be good.
519 BC--End of the civil war in Hatti. King Suhis Tesub III of Hatti is captured and putto death (At the orders of Talmi Tesub, the unfortunate young king is castrated andallowed to bleed out, symbolizing the end of the old dynasty), and Prince Talmi Tesubusurps the throne, founding a new dynasty. The new king will reign as King Talmi TesubI.
512-510 BC--King Darayavahush (Darius) I of Persia declares war on King Nebuchadnezzar III of Babylon. Babylon’s army is defeated in battle by the Persians nearthe city of Nippur, and the Persians take Babylon itself in 510 BC. Nebuchadnezzar III iscaptured and put to death, and the Babylonian kingdom comes to an end, absorbed intothe Persian Empire.
510 BC--Athens joins the Peloponesean League, and the temple of Ceres at Paestum (inItaly) is built. Also in this year, King Josiah II of the Hebrews dies, and is succeeded byhis son, Abiud.
509-485 BC--Period of sporadic warfare between Hatti and Persia. King Darayavahush(Darius) I follows up his conquest of Babylon with an invasion of Hatti, but is defeatednear Carchemish in 509 BC. The Persian King, who is a devout Zoroastrian andconsiders it his mission to conquer for the glory of Ahura Mazda, will not sign a treatywith the Hittites, and a state of low-intensity warfare continues between the twoempires...with periodic Persian invasions of Hatti and Hittite counter-invasions of
Persia...for almost a quarter of a century, until Darayavahush finally dies in 485 BC.Neither side gains much from these conflicts, which prove exhausting for both empires.
509 BC--Revolution in Rome. The last Etruscan King, Tarquinius Superbus, is expelled.Founding of the Roman Republic.
508 BC--Attack on Rome by the Etruscan general Lars Porsena. Rome is able towithstand the attack. Several Roman noblewomen, including Cloelia, swim the TiberRiver to escape from Lars Porsenna and his men. Also in this year, the last of the Tyrantsis overthrown in Athens, and democracy is restored. Cleisthenes grants full rights to allfree men of Athens.
507 BC--First treaty between Carthage and Rome.
506 BC--A planned invasion of Rome by ousted King Tarquinius Superbus and an armyof Etruscans is defeated by the Latin League and Greeks lead by Aristodemos of Cumaein a battle at Aricia. Also in this year, a Roman noble named Horatius Cocles stops aninvasion, when he bars the bridge into Rome. While he is defending the bridge, theconsuls Sp. Lartius and T. Herminius chop it down to prevent the enemy crossing.Horatius swims, fully armored across the Tiber to safety.
505 BC--Death of King Talmi Tesub I of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reignsas Suppliluliuma IV. Also in this year, a temple to Apollo is built at Delphi.
501-498 BC--Revolt of the Greek cities in Ionia (coastal Asia Minor). The Greeks ofthese cities call on their brethren in mainland Greece for aid. Only the city of Athensresponds. But even with Athenian aid, the Greek forces are no match for the militarypower of the Great King of Hatti, and the revolt is crushed within three years.Beginning of a period of conflict between Hatti and the Greek city states of mainlandGreece.
c. 500 BC--Celtic tribes begin moving into Britain.
PART FIVE: 500-400 BC
c. 500 BC--The Sabaeans are founding colonies on the coast of Ethiopia. These will become the nucleus of the later kingdom of Axum.
498 B.C.--Athens at war with Aegina. Also in this year, Hippocrates and Theron seizecontrol in Syracuse and attempt to throw the Phoenicians off the western part of theisland. They are unsuccessful, once again.
494 B.C.--The First Secession of the Plebeians in Rome takes place. Creation of thetribunes of the plebes, two of whom are elected annually. Creation of the office of aedilefor the plebeians of Rome, held by two men.
489 B.C.--Death of King Cleomenes of Sparta.
487 BC--Death of King Abiud of the Hebrews. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns asKing Eliakim II.
485 BC--Death of King Darayavahush (Darius) I of Persia. He is succeeded by his son,Xshayarsha (Greek--Xerxes) I. Xshayarsha, who wants to concentrate on continuing theconquest of the Indian subcontinent, shortly afterward concludes a treaty with KingSuppiluliuma IV of Hatti, ending the decades-long war between the two empires.
481 BC--Athens, Sparta, and other Greek cities form the Hellenic League against Hatti.
480 BC--A Carthaginian force under Hamilcar the Magonid is defeated by SicilianGreeks at Himera cutting off Carthaginian access to the East. Hamilcar commits suicideon the battlefield. In the wake of this defeat a revolution overthrows the Magoniddynasty and establishes the Court of 104 Magistrates. Beginning of the CarthaginianRepublic. Also in this year, King Suppiluliuma IV of Hatti dies, and is succeeded byTelepinu III.
480 BC onward--King Xshayarsha (Xerxes) I of Persia and his successor, Artaxshassa(Greek--Artaxerxes) I, wage war on the Tamil states in southern India. The Persiansencounter great difficulties in the mountainous, jungle-choked terrain. But by the end ofthe century, the entire Indian subcontinent will be under Persian control. Persian tradingships begin traveling to the city states of the Indonesian archipelago and, eventually, tothe coastal cities of China, bringing back spices, silk, fine Chinese pottery and bronzework, and Persia is greatly enriched by these contacts.
480-477 BC--Hittite campaign against Greece. With the ending of the war with Persia in485 BC, the Great King of Hatti can now turn his attention to the troublesome Greeks tothe west of his realm. Ever since the Ionian revolt of two decades ago, Hatti has beenengaged in low-intensity warfare with the Greek city-states of the Greek mainland,especially Athens. Most of this conflict has been in the form of naval encounters in theAegean, with neither side gaining much advantage.
In 480 BC, the new King of Hatti,Telepinu III, decides to take a more active stance against “Greek Piracy” in the Aegean,and begins making preparations for an invasion. Telepinu sends envoys to the variousGreek city states, as well as to the kings of the Thracian tribes and of Macedon,demanding submission. The Thracians chieftains and King Alexander I of Macedon, aswell as many Greek cities, submit, but the most powerful (cities such as Athens, Sparta,and Corinth) do not. These cities, along with many others, form the Hellenic League toresist Hatti.
In 478 BC, the Hittites land a large force in Thrace, and march throughThrace and Macedon into northern Greece. The Greek allies attempt a defense at thePass of Thermopylae, where the Hittite advantage in cavalry will be neutralized.However, the Hittite heavy infantry is as good as anything the Greeks have, there are aLOT more of them, and they are supported by a large force of archers, which the Greekslack. The Greeks are forced to abandon the pass. The Hittites pursue, and manage tobring the Greeks to battle again on an open plain near the city of Plataea. The Hittites
rout the Greek forces, killing King Leonidas of Sparta (who was in command of theGreek forces) and the Athenian general Miltiades (who was second in command of thecombined force). The Hittites then advance into Attica and lay siege to Athens.However, the Hittites then suffer two major disasters. First, the Greek fleet defeats thatof the Hittites near the island of Salamis, making resupply of the Hittite army veryproblematic while opening up the supply route for the defenders of Athens.
And then, in early 477 BC, a plague breaks out which decimates the Hittite force. One of thecasualties of this plague is none other than King Telepinu III of Hatti. His successor,King Muwatalli IV, decides to abandon the siege and withdraw his army from Greece.This he manages to do, although his army is harassed by the Greeks during it’s retreatnorth through Macedon and Thrace, before the end of 477 BC.
479-450 BC--Re-buffed in Sicily, Carthage focuses on Africa, conquering most of what isnow Tunisia. Colonies in North Africa founded or strengthened. Mago's expeditioncrosses the Sahara.
477 BC--Representatives from the Greek city-states of Asia Minor and the islandsscattered throughout the Aegean Sea, meet on the island of Delos—a sacred islandassociated with the cult of Apollo—to discuss an alliance with the Athenians. They swearoaths of alliance to each other and to Athens; thus is born the Delian League. This newleague has several purposes besides defense; one of these is to wage a military campaign against the Hittites to free those Greek cities that are still under the control of Hatti.Although Athens is the leader of the League, each city-state has one vote—the League isessentially a democratic alliance between equals. Also in this year, King Telepinu III ofHatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Muwatalli IV.
477-450 BC--Wars of the Delian League against Hatti. Although the Kings of Hatti willnot attempt another invasion of Greece itself, they are successfully able to defend theirpossessions in Asia Minor against the forces of the Delian League. But the war isdamaging and costly for both sides. Finally, in 450 BC, the Great King of Hatti offers togrant limited self-government to the Greek cities of the Anatolian coast, in exchange for an end to the war. Pericles of Athens, leader of the Delian League, sees that the Greekswon’t get a better deal without unacceptable costs, and agrees. A treaty is signed whichends the war between the Hittites and the Greeks.
475 BC--Death of King Eliakim II of the Hebrews. He is succeeded by his son, whoreigns as King Azor.
c. 475 BC--Beginning of the Period of the Warring States in China. Since 1122 BC, theEmperors of the Chou (Zhou) Dynasty have maintained a loose hegemony over thevarious city-states which comprise China. But this has been weakening for some time,and several large and powerful states have arisen, including Chin (Qin), Chi (Qi), Chu,Yan, Han, Chao (Zhao), and Wei (Wu). All of these have recognized the legal hegemonyof the Chou Emperor, while doing pretty much as they please. By 475 BC, however, the last pretense is thrown off, and the authority of the Chou Emperor is confined to his ownsmall and insignificant kingdom in central China. Over the next couple of centuries, thenew states will war against each other, and the more powerful will gradually absorb theweak. In the end, there can be only one...
472 BC--Carystus, a town on the island of Euboea, is forced into the Delian League. Thisis the first time a Greek state has been forced into the League against it's will, establishinga dangerous precedent.
469 BC--The island of Naxos tries to secede from the Delian League. It is invaded andcaptured by League forces, who force it back into the alliance. Thus another dangerousprecedent is established which will lead, eventually, to the transformation of the Leagueinto the Athenian Empire.
465 BC--Death of King Xshayarsha (Xerxes) I of Persia. He is succeeded by Artaxshassa(Greek--Artaxerxes) I. Artaxshassa continues his father’s policies, focusing his militaryefforts on southern India, while maintaining peace with the states to the west.
461-451 BC--First Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Sparta is jealous ofthe power Athens has amassed as leader of the Delian League, and declares war. The warlasts a decade, is indecisive, and a peace is agreed to in 451 BC.
461 BC--Pericles comes to power in Athens. His rule will become known as Athens'Golden Age. Also in this year, King Azor of the Hebrews dies, and is succeeded by hisson, who reigns as King Zadok. King Zadok will prove to be a disastrous ruler for theHebrews, as he has pretensions of restoring the complete independence of the Hebrewsand re-establishing the Hebrews as a great power. In furtherance of these goals, he beginsintriguing with the Pharaoh of Egypt against his overlord, the Great King of Hatti.
458 BC--King Muwatalli IV dies, and is succeeded by his son Ini Tesub. Ini Tesub dieslater that same year in an outbreak of plague which is ravaging the Hittite capital, and issucceeded by his son, who reigns as Talmi Tesub II. Within weeks after ascending thethrone, however, Talmi Tesub himself falls victim to the plague, and is succeeded by hisyoung son, who reigns as King Ura Tarhundas III. However, since the new King is still aminor, his uncle actually rules as regent for the first years of his reign.
458-450 BC--Period of relative instability and weakness in the Hittite Empire. Theregent, one Labarnash, is a poor ruler, and revolts break out in several regions of theempire which take several years to put down.
458 BC--Death of Pharaoh Necho III. He is succeeded by Psamtik IV. However,Psamtik IV also dies later this year, and is succeeded by Ahmosi III.
457-455 BC--In 457 BC, King Zadok of the Hebrews makes an alliance with PharaohAhmosi III of Egypt, and declares the treaty between his kingdom and the Great King ofHatti (who has been, for some time, more of an overlord than an ally, exacting annualtribute from the Hebrews) to be null and void. The Hittites, being caught up in problemsof their own, do not respond. But Zadok soon finds that he has made a poor choice ofallies. In 456 BC, Pharaoh Ahmosi betrays his newfound ally, and the Egyptian army invades the Hebrew Kingdom. The Hebrew army is defeated near Gaza, and King Zadokis killed in the fighting. The Egyptians lay siege to Jerusalem, which falls the next year.The Egyptians burn and loot the Temple of Solomon, and carry off much of the Hebrewupper class population, including the royal family, to exile in Egypt. The HebrewKingdom ceases to exist, and the territory is absorbed by Egypt.
454 BC--The Treasury of the Delian League, which had, up to this time, been kept on theholy island of Delos, is moved to Athens, signifying the transition of the League from avoluntary association of Greek States lead by Athens, to an empire ruled by Athens.
450 BC--The Law of the Twelve Tables is established in Rome. Also in this year, KingUra Tarhundas III of Hatti comes of age, and takes over the reigns of government.Fortunately for Hatti, Ura Tarhundas is everything his uncle, regent Labarnash, was not...astrong and charismatic leader, and a gifted military commander. He quickly sets theHittite house in order, quelling the simmering revolts which have been festeringthroughout the empire for the past five years.
c. 450 BC--At around this time, Herodotus writes the first-ever non-theological history,and Hippocrates establishes the foundations of modern medicine. Also at about this time,Celtic tribes reach Spain.
448-442 BC--War between Hatti and Egypt. Pharaoh Ahmosi III of Egypt follows up hisconquest of the Hebrews with an invasion of Syria, determined to restore Egypt to the fulllimits of its ancient empire. However, King Ura Tarhundas III of Hatti defeats theEgyptians near Damascus, and follows up with an invasion of Egypt itself the following year.
By 442 BC, the Hittites have established control over Lower Egypt (the Deltaregion). Pharaoh Ahmosi III is captured and executed, but his son, Crown PrincePsamtik, escapes to Thebes, where he wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt as PharaohPsamtik V, and continues the war against Hatti. King Ura Tarhundas of Hatti allows theexiled Hebrews to return to their homeland and to rebuild their temple...but does notrestore the land to its former independent status. The land of Israel becomes a province of the Hittite Empire. King Ura Tarhundas also formally annexes the Phoenician citystates at this time.
c. 440 BC onward--The Hebrews are rebuilding their Temple, but major changes havetaken place in the Hebrew religion during the fifteen years of the “Egyptian Captivity.”The loss of the Temple, and the centralized worship it represented, has lead to an earlyform of rabbinic synagogue worship becoming the norm among the Hebrews (bothamong the Exiles and those who remained in the Land of Israel). The restoration of theTemple will not change this. The two will operate, side by side and in competition witheach other, for centuries to come. Gradually, a split will develop among the Hebrewsbetween those who favor the Temple Priests and those who favor the Rabbis. This willhave profound effects later on.
441 BC--Death of King Ura Tarhundas III of Hatti in battle against the forces of PharaohPsamtik V of Upper Egypt. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Urhi Tesub I.Urhi Tesub, unlike his father, is not a great leader, and the empire suffers during hisreign. But fortunately for Hatti, he will reign for only six years.
440-432 BC--Pharaoh Psamtik V of Upper Egypt, taking advantage of the weakness ofthe new Hittite King, manages to expel the Hittite garrisons from Lower Egypt. He willreign, unmolested, as Pharaoh of a united Egypt for several years. But the situation willnot last.
438 BC--With funds taken from the treasury of the Delian League, Pericles beginsconstruction of the Parthenon in Athens.
437-426 BC--The Fidenaean War between Rome and the city of Fidenae. Rome isvictorious. This marks the beginning of Roman expansion in Italy.
435 BC--Death of King Urhi Tesub I of Hatti. He dies childless, and is succeeded by hisbrother, who reigns as King Warpalawa I. Warpalawa is a virtual carbon copy of hisgreat father, King Ura Tarhundas III, and Hatti is blessed by another strong King.Warpalawa will have a very long and successful reign.
432 BC--Death of Pharaoh Psamtik V of Egypt. He is succeeded by his son, who reignsas Pharaoh Psamtik VI.
431-404 BC--Second Peloponnesian War between the Peloponnesian League (Sparta andallies) and the Delian League (Athens and subject states). Sparta is heavily financed byHatti, whose kings have maintained their enmity for Athens, even though the warbetween them ended two decades ago.
430-415 BC--Hittite conquest of Egypt. In 430 BC, King Warpalawa I of Hatti invadesEgypt, intending to re-establish Hittite control there and end, once and for all, theEgyptian threat to his southern border. In a campaign lasting fifteen years, Hittite forcesestablish control over the land of Egypt. Pharaoh Psamtik VI is captured and executed in415 BC, and his son, Crown Prince Necho, flees to the court of King Amanineteyerike ofKush. With the death of the Pharaoh, the last vestiges of Egyptian resistance collapse, andEgypt is incorporated as a province of the Hittite Empire.
429 BC--Pericles dies in an outbreak of plague in Athens. No leader of his caliber willarise to replace him, and this is a major factor in the final defeat of Athens in the war withSparta.
424 BC--Death of King Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) I. He is succeeded by Xshayarsha(Xerxes) II. Xshayarsha will be a somewhat weak ruler, and will focus on internal mattersrather than foreign expansion during his reign.
415 BC--Athens attempts to capture Syracuse in Sicily, but fails. This is the beginning ofthe long road to final defeat in the Peloponnesian Wars.
410 BC--Phoenicians in Hispania join with Celtiberians to secede from Carthage, denyingthe state important silver and copper revenues. Overland tin trade is cut off. Also at thistime, Himilco's expeditions in the Atlantic and Hanno's expeditions to Morocco andSenegal take place.
409 BC--Carthage initiates attempts to conquer Sicily. Hannibal, grandson of Hamilcar,takes the fortified towns of Selinus and Himera by use of siege towers.
406-396 BC--Rome conquers the Etruscan city of Veii.
405 BC--Hannibal Mago and hundreds of troops die in epidemic outside the fortifiedtown of Acragas. Himilco, his relative, takes over command, but is defeated by a forceout of Syracuse, and has his route of supply disrupted in naval action. Syracusan forcesstrengthen the garrison. A Carthaginian squadron breaks through Greek blockade—thebesieged escape under cover of night, Punic forces collect spoils. Later that year, Himilcotakes town of Gela, defeating a Syracusan force, and then takes town of Camarina.Finally, Himilco marches on Syracuse itself, but his army is laid low by epidemic, andHimilco seeks peace. By the terms of the treaty, Syracuse grants control of most of Sicilyand must pay tribute to Carthage. The treaty confirms Dionysius I as dictator (tyrannos) ofSyracuse. First Sicilian War concluded.
404 BC--Death of King Xshayarsha (Xerxes) II of Persia. He is succeeded by his son,Darayavahush (Darius) II. His brother, Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes), revolts against him,however, and Darayavahush is overthrown later that same year. His brother takes thethrone as Artaxshassa II. Also in this year, Sparta and it’s allies force the surrender ofAthens, ending the Second Peloponnesian War. After the Athenian defeat, the Atheniandemocracy is replaced by an Oligarchy called The Thirty Tyrants.
403 BC--The Thirty Tyrants are overthrown in Athens. Restoration of the democracy. Also in this year, King Warpalawa I “Egypt Smiter” of Hatti dies, and issucceeded by his son, who reigns as King Arnuwanda V.
401 BC--Kurush (Cyrus), younger brother of King Artaxshassa II of Persia, revolts andattempts to usurp the throne, but is defeated. However, in contrast to OTL, Xenophonand the 10,000 predominently Athenian Greek mercenaries are not with him. They have,instead, found employment in the armies of Hatti.
c. 400 BC--Aristophanes is writing the world's first comedic plays. Also at about thistime, Celtic tribes cross the Alps and settle in northern Italy. They displace the Etruscansfrom the Po River valley, which hereafter is known as Gallia Cisalpina.
More to come...
November 25th, 2009, 03:50 PM
THE THIRD HITTITE EMPIRE, CONTINUED.
PART SIX: 400-300 BC
c. 400 BC--The regions of Main and Qataban break free from the Kingdom of Sheba and found their own kingdoms. The Minaean Empire (founded by the people of Main) is founded and becomes a serious rival to Sheba for the control of the caravan routes carrying frankincense and myrrh from southern Arabia to the major states northward.
399 BC--Trial of Socrates, who is sentenced to death by taking poison. Also in this year, the catapault is invented in Syracuse by Dionysius I.
398 BC--King Arnuwanda V of Hatti is an admirer of the Greeks, and is pursuing a policy aimed toward closer relations between his empire and the various Greek city states. As a gesture of goodwill, in 398 BC he grants full independence to the Greek cities on the coast of Anatolia. After that, his embassies to various Greek cities are warmly received, and thus begins a new era of Graeco-Hittite cooperation.
398 BC--Dionysius I of Syracuse sacks Motya (Carthaginian town in Sicily), and the Carthaginians permanently relocate their main Sicilian base to the fortified town of Lilybaeum.
397 BC--Himilco drives Dionysius back to Syracuse and resumes siege. In naval action, the Carthaginians sink or board 100 Syracusan naval vessels and take 20,000 prisoners.
395-390 BC--Crown Prince Necho of Egypt, who now lives under the protection of King Harsiotef of Kush, returns to Egypt at the head of a Kushite army. King Harsiotef hopes to restore Necho to the throne of Egypt, and through him, to control Egypt. The Kushite army lays siege to Thebes, which falls before the end of 395 BC. Necho dons the White Crown of Upper Egypt as Pharaoh Necho IV, and many of the people of Upper Egypt rally to his standard. With a greatly bolstered army, Pharaoh Necho and King Harsiotef march on Sais, intending to restore Necho’s rule to all of Egypt. But the Hittite garrison of Lower Egypt defeats the combined Egyptian/Kushite force outside Sais, and Necho is forced to return to Thebes. For the next five years, there will be sporadic fighting between Necho’s forces and the Hittites along the border between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Finally, in 390 BC, a Hittite army lead by King Arnuwanda’s best general decisively defeats the Egyptians and Kushites outside Thebes and takes the city. Pharaoh Necho IV, and his son Wahibre, both die in the battle, extinguishing the 26th Dynasty. King Harsiotef of Kush retreats with his army to their homeland. He is not pursued by the Hittites, who are, for the time being, content to re-establish control over Egypt.
396 BC--Yet another epidemic lays Punic forces low for a third time in Sicily. Dionysius capitalizes on this and defeats Himilco in pitched battle. Himilco survives, but upon returning to Carthage, starves himself to death. Fighting continues.
395-389 BC--Corinthian War. Angered by Sparta's tyrannical overlordship in Greece after the Peloponnesian War, several Greek states challenge Spartan supremacy. The war is very costly for both sides, but in the end, Sparta triumphs (unlike OTL, Sparta is not also fighting a war against Persia during this time, and Hatti is playing the role of a strict neutral, so Sparta is able to defeat the combination which is challenging it’s supremacy a bit sooner than in OTL).
393 BC--Carthaginian force under Mago, nephew of Himilco, defeated trying to re-take Messana.
392 BC--Mago of Carthage is defeated a second time. Truce signed with Syracuse.
390 BC--The Gauls (Celtic tribes) under Brennus defeat a Roman army at the Battle of the Allia River and then sack Rome itself.
389 BC--Death of King Arnuwanda V of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Kushtashpi I. Kushtashpi continues his father’s pro-Greek policies.
388 BC--Plato, a pupil of Socrates, founds his philosophical Academy, the first university in the world. Also in this year, Dionysius of Syracuse, during a war with the Etruscans, pillages the Pyrgi sanctuary.
385-371 BC--Hittite conquest of Kush. Since the failed Kushite invasion of Egypt a few years earlier, the Kushite King, Harsiotef, has continued to funnel arms and money into Egypt in support of rebels against Hittite rule. Furthermore, he has re-asserted his family’s claim to the throne of Egypt as the scions of the 25th Dynasty. Old King Arnuwanda V of Hatti had allowed this to go on without much response, but the young and vigorous King Kushtashpi I is determined to end Kushite meddling in his Egyptian provinces once and for all. Beginning in 385 BC, Hittite armies march south from Egypt, and in a campaign lasting fourteen years, conquer the Kingdom of Kush. King Harsiotef and his sons are all captured or killed, extinguishing the Kushite royal house. Hittite garrisons take up residence at Napata and Meroe, the two largest Kushite cities, and Kush becomes a province of the Hittite Empire.
384 BC--Carthage renews it's war with Syracuse.
375 BC--Carthage is defeated at Cabala—Mago and 10,000 soldiers killed. Mago's son Himilco defeats Dionysius near Himera—truce favorable to Carthage concluded. Also in this year, Plato writes the "Republic."
373 BC--The Temple of Apollo at Delphi is destroyed by an earthquake. It will be rebuilt.
371 BC--Athens, Thebes, Chios, Mytilene, Byzantium, Rhodes and others revolt against Sparta which loses its supremacy. Especially critical is the defeat of the Spartan army at Leuctra by Epaminondas of Thebes.
371-362 BC--Period of Theban hegemony in Greece.
370 BC--Death of King Kushtashpi I of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Tuwanuwa IV.
368-352 BC--The Great Indian Rebellion. The Persians and the Aryan peoples of India all came from the same Indo-Iranian stock, and their religion was, at one time, probably identical. But over time, a great reversal has crept in, which has had immense impacts in the relations between the Persian Kings and their Hindu subjects. In the Persian Zoroastrian religion, the Devas (root of our word, “devil”) are demons who cause plagues and diseases and who fight every form of religion. They are the male servants of Ahriman, and together with female demons called Drugs, they fight the Persian supreme god Ahuru Mazda and his servants. When the Persians enter India, they find that many of the Persian Devas are known there...Indra, for example, is common to both Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. But to the utter shock and dismay of the Persians, the local Hindus worship the Devas as gods, and consider the Asuras (which the Persians worship as gods) to be demons. Therefore, the pious Zoroastrian kings of Persia have considered it their mission to stamp out the cults of these “devil worshipers.” For a century and a half, the Persians have been attempting to do so, but they have not been successful, and of course their efforts have bred a huge amount of resentment and zealotry among the Hindus. In 368 BC, this resentment boils over and a huge rebellion breaks out as the native Hindus attempt to throw off the Persian yoke. The Satrap of the province of Magadha, a native prince named Ajatashatru, takes the leading role in the rebellion, and under his leadership, native forces inflict many defeats on the Persians. Ajatashatru dies in 361 BC, but his son and successor, Darshaka, continues the rebellion and proves as capable a leader as his father. The Indian rebels are helped by the fact that Persia and Hatti are at war during most of this period, and by 352 BC, the last Persian troops have been driven from India.
367 BC--Dionysius of Syracuse attacks the Carthaginian base at Lilybaeum but is stopped when his fleet defeated by Carthaginian warships under Hanno the Great. Also in this year, Aristotle enters the Academia of Plato.
366 BC--Dionysius I of Syracuse dies, still at war with Carthage.
362 BC--Thebes is defeated by the Athenians and Spartans at the Battle of Mantinea. Epaminondas is killed, Theban hegemony ends.
360 BC--Hanno the Great tries to usurp power in Carthage. He is captured and crucified.
360-354 BC--War between Hatti and Persia. Hittite spies have reported to King Tuwanuwa IV of Hatti the troubles the Persian king is having in India. He decides to take advantage of the situation, and invades Mesopotamia. Hittite armies march all the way to the Persian Gulf and push the Persians east of the Zagros Mountains by 357 BC. The Persians mount counter-invasions, but are unable (due to the constant drain of manpower caused by the Indian revolt) to make any headway. Finally, desperate to devote his full attention to the Indian problem, King Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) III agrees to a treaty ceding the lands east of the Zagros Mountains to the Hittites in 354 BC. Unfortunately, as noted elsewhere, it doesn’t help him in India. King Tuwanuwa IV will be known to history as “Tuwanuwa the Great” as a result of these conquests.
359 BC--Death of Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) II. He is succeeded by Artaxshassa III. Also in this year, Phillip II comes to the throne of Macedon. Phillip had spent much of his youth as a hostage in Thebes, where he studied under the great general, Epaminondas. With what he learned there, he will reform the Macedonian army. He replaces the old Greek-style hoplite phalanx with a new formation, the Macedonian Phalanx. Phillip's Macedonian Phalangites are professional soldiers, and are among the first troops ever to be drilled, thereby allowing them to execute complex maneuvers well beyond the reach of most other armies. They fight packed in a close rectangular formation, typically eight men deep, with a leader at the head of each column and a secondary leader in the middle, so that the back rows can move off to the sides if more frontage is needed. Unlike earlier hoplites, phalangites are mostly unarmored except possibly those of the first row, and carried only small shields. No enemies are expected to get close enough for them to need any armor, however, since each phalangite carries as his primary weapon a sarissa, a double-pointed pike over four metres in length. At close range such large weapons are useless, but an intact phalanx can easily keep its enemies at a distance; the weapons of the first five rows of men all project beyond the front of the formation, so that there are more spearpoints than available targets at any given time. Phillip doesn't use the Phalanx as his primary striking force. Instead, the Phalanx is used to hold the enemy in place for a decisive charge by the cavalry.
357–354 BC--Rome attacks the Etruscans and the Faliscans. Siege of the Etruscan city of Sutri.
356 BC--The temple of Artemis at Ephesus is rebuilt. The new temple will be considered one of the seven wonders of the world. The Great King of Hatti, Tuwanuwa IV, contributes a large sum for the construction project, further increasing the goodwill between Hatti and the various Greek city states.
355 BC--Death of King Tuwanuwa IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Warpalawa II. Warpalawa continues the pro-Greek policies of his father and grandfather.
352-322 BC--In the aftermath of the successful rebellion which ended Persian rule, India once again fragments into several kingdoms, of which Magadha (ruled by the descendants of Darshaka) is the most powerful.
352 BC onward--In the newly independent Indian states, Hinduism has taken on a very intolerant, puritanical world-view, and followers of beliefs considered “heretical” are persecuted. Especially hard hit is greatly is Jainism, which had begun about 600 BC as a dissident sect of Hinduism. Indeed, persecutions of this faith will be so severe that by the end of the century, it will be totally eradicated. Another faith which suffers greatly is the relatively new faith of Buddhism, which is nearly wiped out in bloody persecutions carried out over the next century, but manages to survive by the barest of margins.
351 BC--Beginning of the forty years truce between Rome and the Etruscan city of Tarquinia.
c. 350 BC--By this date, Carthage has established itself as the leading power in the West. Also at around this time in China, the Period of the Warring States has spawned many innovations in Chinese society, including coinage, widespread replacement of bronze weapons by iron weapons, and public works projects (canals, walls). The relative lack of central control during the Warring States Period has also spawned the Hundred Schools of Thought, considered to be the Golden Age of Chinese Philosophy. Prominent schools are Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Mohism.
350 BC--Duke Xiao Gong of Chin moves his capital from Yung to Xianyang. Xiao Gong will be the first great ruler of Chin, and Chin’s rise toward supreme power in China begins with his reign.
348 BC--Second treaty between Carthage and Rome.
344 BC--Philip II of Macedon conquers Thessaly, Illyria, and Epirus.
343 BC--Mago sails to Syracuse to drive out the usurper, but fails and commits suicide in order to avoid court martial upon his return. Hasdrubal and Hamilcar make a second attempt, losing a battle at Segesta. Hasdrubal executed. Gisco, son of Hanno the Great, is authorized to make peace. Sicily is divided along the Halycus River. 2nd Sicilian War ends.
343-341 BC--First Samnite War between Rome and the Samnites, a hill tribe from the central Apennines. War inconclusive.
342 BC--Aristotle tutors Alexander, son of Phillip II of Macedon.
341-338 BC--Revolt of the Latin League against Rome. Rome is victorious. The Latin League is dissolved. Some communities closest to Rome are fully absorbed into the Roman state. Some Latin communities continue as technically independent states with Latin rights, but they sign treaties that subordinate their foreign policy to that of Rome. These states provide contingents for the Roman army. The least Romanized communities receive a special form of second-rate citizenship. Citizens of these communities have the obligations of Roman citizens (in particular military service) but are not allowed to vote at Rome.
341 BC--The Kingdom of Chin (Qin) defeats the Kingdom of Wei (Wu) at the Battle of Maling. Also in this year, King Warpalawa II of Hatti, having observed the success of the reforms instituted in the Macedonian army by Phillip II, decides to institute similar reforms in the Hittite army, replacing the Hittite hoplite phalanx with a Macedonian-style phalanx. He retains the existing Hittite cavalry and foot archers to supplement his phalanx (Hittite cavalry, composed as it is of armored cavalry armed with lance and bow, and light cavalry archers, is already better than that of any other nation, and the foot archers provide a good base of fire for his army which the Macedonian army lacks). Warpalawa’s army is very formidable.
340 BC--A power struggle in Syracuse ends with Timoleon of Corinth victorious.
339 BC--King Warpalawa II of Hatti receives an entreaty from a coalition of Greek cities headed by Athens, requesting help against the expansion of Phillip of Macedon. Warpalawa signs a mutual defense treaty with these cities.
338 BC--Death of King Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) III of Persia. He is succeeded by Arsha (Greek--Arses). Also in this year, King Warpalawa II of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Hattusili Tesub IV. In the Spring of this year, Philip II of Macedonia declares war on Athens and Thebes (chief cities of the Greek coalition which is allied to Hatti) and invades. King Warpalawa having recently died, the new King Hattusili Tesub IV takes an army by sea to Athens, arriving there in mid-July, where it unites with the combined Athenian and Theban force. At the battle of Chaeronea on August 2, the Hittite forces turn the tide against Phillip of Macedon. Phillip and his son Alexander are killed in the battle, and the Macedonian army is almost annihilated.
338 BC onward--Period of increasing cooperation and trade between Hatti and Greece. Most of the mainland Greek cities (Sparta being the chief exception) form a league which is allied to Hatti militarily. The Great King of Hatti becomes a patron of Greek arts and science, and with this encouragement a new Golden Age of Greek Art and Philosophy
338-320 BC--Chaos and Civil War in Macedon. Phillip III Arrhidaeus, the feeble-minded son of Phillip II by a Thessalian wife named Phillina of Larissa, has come to the throne of Macedon, and Macedon is in chaos. The satellite territories conquered by Phillip (Illyria, Thessaly, Thrace, Eprius) soon revolt and re-establish their independence during this time period. Phillip III is finally murdered by order of Phillip II’s first wife, Olympias, in 330 BC, who then tries to give the throne to her brother, Alexander of Epirus. This however, leads to civil war, as the Macedonian nobility (lead primarily by Antipater, Antigonus, and Ptolemy) revolts against the imposition of a foreign Epirote king. Olympias is captured and executed by 325 BC, after which the Macedonian noblemen fight among themselves for the throne. Antigonus “One-Eye” emerges as the final victor in 320 BC, and establishes a new dynasty for Macedon. However, Macedon is severely weakened by the civil war, and there will be intermittent outbreaks of rebellion by the heirs of Antipater and Ptolemy over the next few decades (the most serious of which is that of Cassander, son of Antipater, in 308 BC). So Antigonus is in no position to cause trouble beyond his borders for the rest of his reign.
336 BC--Death of King Arsha (Arses) of Persia. He is succeeded by Darayavahush (Darius) III. Darayavahush is a weak king who will be faced by rebellions in different parts of the empire during his reign.
334 BC--The feudal Dukes (Gongs) of the Chinese states of Wu and Chin assume the title of “King” (Wang). Other rulers will soon follow suit.
326-304 BC--The Great Samnite War. The Romans suffer a major and humiliating defeat at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC, and another at Lautulae in 315 BC, but they persevere and finally emerge victorious. The Samnites and many other tribes allied to them are subdued and forced into alliance with Rome.
330 BC--Death of King Hattusili Tesub IV of Hatti. He dies childless, and is succeeded by his nephew, who reigns as King Tudhaliyas VI. Also in this year King Darayavahush (Darius) III of Persia is killed while fighting against rebels in Bactria. He is succeeded by a cousin, who reigns as Kambujiya (Cambyses) III. Kambujiya successfully puts down the rebellions and establishes firm control over the empire, but the empire is severely weakened as a result of the rebellions.
322 BC--Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the king of the Indian kingdom of Magadha and establishes the Maurya Dynasty. Chandragupta and his successors will forge an empire which will unite most of the Indian subcontinent under their rule.
320-318 BC--War between Persia and the Maurya Kingdom. In 320 BC, King Kambujiya (Cambyses) III of Persia sends an army to invade India. The forces of King Chandragupta Maurya meet the Persians at the River Hydaspes, and the Persians are defeated with heavy losses. The next year Chandragupta crosses the Indus and invades the Persian provinces of Bactria and Sogdiana, laying siege to the cities of Bactra and Maracanda. King Kambujiya of Persia leads an army eastward which lifts the siege of both cities, and drives the Indian army back across the Indus in 318 BC. Shortly afterward, the two kings agree upon a treaty which sets the boundary of the two empires. The Persians agree to cede everything east of the Indus River and south of the Oxus River to Chandragupta.
318 BC onward--With the conclusion of a treaty with Persia ending the war between the two kingdoms, King Chandragupta Maurya begins invading and conquering the other kingdoms of northern India. Chandragupta’s army is huge...estimated at 30,000 cavalry, 9000 elephants, and 600,000 infantry...and at the head of this host he will, by the end of his reign, bring all of northern India under his control. When Chandragupta dies in 296 BC, he reigns over a vast area extending from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. His successors will expand on this, of course.
315 BC--Agathocles of Syracuse takes Messana from Carthage.
314 BC--The King of Chin inflicts a heavy defeat on the nomads of the northern steppes. These nomads will not trouble China for quite some time.
312 BC--Battle of Danyang, in which Chin defeats Chu. Later that same year, the upper valley of the Han state is occupied by Chin; Hanchung, the Han capital, is captured. But a rump of the Han state survives.
311 BC--Agathocles of Syracuse lays siege to Acragas and crosses the Halcyus, violating the peace treaty with Carthage.
311-302 BC--Roman wars against the Etruscans, who had joined Samnites in their war on Rome. After the final Etruscan defeat at Roselle in 302 BC, all Etruscan cities and towns are forced into alliance with Rome.
310 BC--Carthaginian force under Hamilcar, grandson of Hanno the Great, defeats a Greek force at Himera. Siege of Syracuse begins.
309 BC--Agathocles sails with a force of 14,000 to Africa. Carthage meets him in battle with 40,000 foot, 1000 cavalry and 2000 chariots under Bomilcar and Hanno. The Greeks are victorious, Carthage losing 3000 on the battlefield, but the city itself is impregnable. The Siege of Syracuse continues.
308 BC--Bomilcar tries to make himself dictator in Carthage, but is defeated and tortured to death. Continued fighting between Greek and Carthaginian forces in Tunisia.
308-301 BC--Civil War in Macedon. In 308 BC, Cassander, son of the nobleman Antipater (one of those defeated by Antigonus “One-Eye” during the civil war following the death of Phillip II) tries to usurp the throne of Macedon, leading to a seven-year civil war. Cassander is defeated and captured in 301 BC, taken to the capital at Pella, and executed. However, in the final battle, King Antigonus was seriously wounded, and later dies of his wounds. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Demetrius I.
307 BC--Greek victory outside Syracuse. Hamilcar is captured and killed. While Agathocles oversees events in Syracuse, however, Carthage defeats the Greek and allied forces in Africa. Despite Syracusan reinforcement, the Greek cause in Africa is doomed. Greeks desert to Carthaginian commanders Hanno and Himilco in vast numbers. A treaty favorable to Carthage is concluded.
306 BC--Third treaty between Carthage and Rome.
305 BC--Death of King Kambujiya (Cambyses) III of Persia. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Kurush (Cyrus) III.
301 BC--Beginning of the reign of King Demetrius I of Macedon. Demetrius will once again put Macedon on an aggressive path, with many consequences for the upcoming century. Indeed, his aggressive attitude will earn him the nickname Poliorcetes (“Besieger”), and it will be a well deserved nickname. Also in this year, the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya of India dies. He is succeeded by his son, Bindusara.
300 BC--The Olgunian Law in Rome ends the monopoly of the patrician class on constructing law and procedure, greatly increasing the rights of the plebeian class.
300 BC onward--Religious developments in the Hittite Empire. The conquest of Palestine by the Hittites will have significant effects on the future development of world religion. The Great Kings of Hatti are, of course, believers in the old gods of Hatti. However, the Hittites have always been very flexible with regard to religion, adopting the pantheons of conquered peoples into their own. Thus, Yahweh is recognized as a real god by the Hittites, along with the gods of the Aramaeans, Canaanites, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Phrygians, Lydians, Greeks, Egyptians, and other subject peoples of the Empire. The Great King of Hatti (or his viceroy in the region, if the Great King cannot come) goes to Jerusalem once a year to offer sacrifice to Yahweh in the Temple. Needless to say, the Hittites are very lenient with the peoples in the lands they rule, they are sensitive to the religious feelings of their subject peoples, and they do not attempt to impose any sort of religious conformity. The lenient Hittite administration allows the Hebrews complete freedom of worship, and the Hebrews are loyal subjects of their Hittite overlords. Thus, there is no Maccabean revolt in this timeline and no independent Hebrew state. However, as in OTL, the main religious life in the province is dominated by the Sadducees (the Temple Priests) and Pharisees (the Rabbis). The Sadducees, as in OTL, are involved in politics, and are allowing commercial business to take place in the Temple (i.e. the moneychangers), which offends many of the more pious people. The Pharisees, who might have served as an alternative, however, are obsessed with petty dietary laws and other minutia, and are seen as hypocrites, observing the form, but not the spirit, of the Law. As a result, by the end of the 1st Century BC, many Hebrews will have become dissatisfied with their religion and are starting to follow various cults which look to the arrival of a promised "Messiah" who will restore the Hebrew faith to purity.
PART SEVEN: 300-200 BC
c. 300 BC--Celtic tribes settle in Ireland. Also at about this time, the city of Axum is founded on the coast of Ethiopia, partly by Sabaean settlers from Arabia. Axum will grow rich by serving as a trade conduit between Hittite-controlled Kush and Egypt and the Sabaean cities on the southern Arabian coast. Also at this time, the Kingdom of Hadramaut in southern Arabia also breaks free from Sabaean control.
300-280 BC--Campaigns of King Demetrius I “The Besieger” of Macedon. Demetrius moves north and east, conquering Illyria, Thrace, Thessaly, and generally expanding the Macedonian frontier northward to the line of the Ister (Danube) and Savus (Save) Rivers. He also absorbs the Greek city states on the western shores of the Black Sea (which are not allied to Hatti). Mindful of the fate of Phillip II, he avoids direct confrontation with the Greek states allied to Hatti. He does intrigue with dissident elements in those cities, trying to engineer coups aimed at bringing to power groups which will voluntarily forego the alliance with Hatti in favor of an alliance with Macedon. He does not meet any great success in this, but his efforts do cause a great deal of instability in the Greek polei to the south of Macedon.
299 BC--Death of King Tudhaliyas VI of Hatti. He is succeeded by Zidanta III. Zidanta is fortunate to have a relatively peaceful reign. Zidanta promotes trade with India and points eastward from the recently gained Hittite ports on the Persian Gulf, and the Hittite Empire prospers mightily during his reign.
298-290 BC--Third Samnite War. The Samnites abrogate their treaty with Rome and once again declare war. They are joined by the Etruscans, Gauls, and Umbrians. The allies are decisively defeated at the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC, and never recover. By 290 BC, the Romans have forced all of the allies to make alliances with Rome.
296 BC--Zhongshan falls to the Chao state.
290 BC--the Mauryan king Bindusara, son of Chandragupta, extends the empire to the Deccan.
289 BC--Agathocles of Syracuse dies. Pre-war division of Sicily resumes. 3rd Sicilian War ends.
288 BC--King Chao-hsiang Wang of Chin and King Min of Chi are recognized as the Western and Eastern Kings respectively. Also in this year, King Kurush (Cyrus) III of Persia dies, and is succeeded by Xshayarsha (Xerxes) III.
287 BC: Last secession of the plebeians in Rome. As a result, the Lex Hortensia makes plebiscites binding in Rome.
287-286 BC--King Xshayarsha III of Persia has pretensions to greatness, and decides to attempt an invasion of India. But unfortunately for Persia, he is not as good a general as he thinks he is, and his army is defeated by the forces of the Mauryan Emperor Bindusara. Bindusara replies with an invasion of Persia, and captures portions of the Persian provinces of Gedrosia, Arachosia, and Gandhara before Xshayarsha sues for peace. Bindusara, who is faced with rebellions in some of his Indian provinces, agrees to a treaty, and the war ends, with Mauryan annexation of the conquered provinces recognized.
284 BC : Failed revolt of the Etruscan city of Arrezio against Rome.
280 BC : Fall of the Etruscan city of Vulci to the Romans. Roma issues coins for the first time. And also in this year, King Zidanta III of Hatti dies. He is succeeded by Hantili III.
281-272 BC: Tarentine Wars. Rome has been pressuring the Greek city of Tarentum in Southern Italy, and in 281, Tarentum pleas for assistance from King Pyrrhus of Epirus. Epirus has been able to maintain it’s independence from Macedon by virtue of an alliance with Hatti (it being one of the States who signed treaties with Hatti in the aftermath of Chaeronea in 338 BC), and Pyrrhus has gained a reputation for military ability in various campaigns. He agrees to the Tarentine offer, and in 280 arrives in south Italy with 35,000 men and 20 elephants. The Romans promptly lead an army against him and are heavily defeated at Heraclea. Though victorious Pyrrhus loses 4,000 men, and when congratulated for his victory, he comments bitterly that "another such victory will ruin me" (hence the expression "Pyrrhic victory").
After this victory, the south Italian Greeks (Italiotes), Lucanians and Samnites go over to Pyrrhus. He marches on Rome, perhaps expecting to cow them into submission. He finds, however, that even if some of the outlying Italian peoples are willing to desert the Romans, they can rely on the hardcore support of the Latins and various other communities. In the absence of large-scale defections, Pyrrhus can achieve nothing and withdraws to the south. In 279 he again wins a costly victory against the Romans, losing another 3500 men. At this point he offers to make peace if the Romans agreed to guarantee the independence of the Italiotes and the Samnites. Rome rejects the offer.
In the meanwhile the Carthaginians are close to conquering the Greek communities of Sicily, and Pyrrhus crosses over to Sicily in 278 to aid the Greeks there. Pyrrhus defeats the Carthaginians and forces them off the island, leaving Lilybaeum as their only remaining stronghold.
After throwing back the Carthaginians, he returnes to Italy in late 276. In 275 two Roman armies guard against his attack to the north. His surprise attack on one army fails and he withdraws to Tarentum to avoid being encircled. At this point he goes back to Greece with most of his army, leaving the Italiotes to their fate. The Greek cities, without military support from Pyrrhus, are subdued by Rome and forced to sign treaties of alliance. Rome is now in effective control of all of Italy.
279 BC--Celtic tribes from north of the Ister (Danube) invade Greece through Macedonia, making it all the way south to the temple of Delphi, which is plundered. King Demetrius I Poliorcetes of Macedon dies in battle with the Celts, and is succeeded by his son, Antigonus II Gonatas. At the time of his death he was preparing an invasion of the Hittite provinces in Anatolia, a project which his successor will continue with. Also in this year, Chi defeats Han in the Battle of Jimo.
278 BC--Chin armies occupy the Chu capital at Ying, forcing the Chu Kingdom to move its capital to Chen.
277 BC--Chin expansion into Hubei at the expense of the Chu state. Also in this year, Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon defeats the Gauls and drives them out of Greece. He is now ready to resume his father’s plans for an invasion of Anatolia...
276-273 BC: War between Macedon and Hatti. In 276 BC, King Antigonus II Gonatas launches the long-planned invasion of the Hittite provinces in Anatolia. King Hantili III of Hatti leads an army to meet him, but unlike many of his illustrious forebears, is not a very competent general, and Antigonus defeats him at the River Granicus. Hantili’s army is routed, but the King escapes, and retreats from Anatolia into Syria to regroup and rally his forces. Meanwhile, unopposed by any substantial Hittite force, Antigonus lays siege to and captures the cities of Sardis and Gordium before the end of 274 BC, and advances as far as Hattusas, where he lays siege to the city in early 275 BC. But he is still besieging Hattusas when word arrives that Pyrrhus of Epirus (an ally of Hatti, but acting for his own purposes rather than to succor his ally) has invaded Macedon. Antigonus is forced to lift the siege and return to Macedon to oppose Pyrrhus, abandoning his gains in Anatolia. Hantili, at the head of a new Hittite army, follows in the wake of the Macedonian retreat, and by the end of 274 BC all the captured territories are reclaimed. Hantili then (273 BC) launches a minor invasion of Macedon in support of Pyrrhus, but is defeated by a Macedonian army under Crown Prince Demetrius near the city of Byzantium, and retires to Anatolia without taking further part in the war. Hantili and Antigonus agree on a peace treaty based on status quo antebellum shortly afterward, ending the war between the two kingdoms.
274-272 BC--Antigonus II Gonatas, having returned to Macedon from Anatolia, defends Macedon from the onslaught of Pyrrhus of Epirus. Several inconclusive battles are fought before Pyrrhus is finally killed in 272 BC. Antigonus has successfully defended his kingdom, but his forces are severely weakened. He will be in no condition to commit foreign aggression for a while.
273 BC--Foundation of the first Roman colony in Etruscan territory.
273 BC onward--Hantili III of Hatti sponsors building projects in many of the cities of the empire. Temples and government buildings in cities as disparate as Hattusas, Sardis, and Gordium (which required repair due to the recent war), as well as Babylon, Memphis, Thebes, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Napata (which did not see damage from the war) are renovated and expanded. As a result of these efforts, Hantili will go down in history as “Hantili the Builder”...a name he would no doubt far prefer to the sobriquet of “Hantili the Feckless,” which he endured through most of his reign as a result of his defeats in the war against Macedon.
270 BC--Death of King Xshayarsha (Xerxes) III of Persia. He is succeeded by Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) IV. Artaxerxes is a relatively weak ruler, and the empire begins to break down during his reign, as local satraps exert more and more power and independence from the throne.
269 BC--Death of the Mauryan Emperor Bindusara. He is succeeded by his son, Ashoka. Ashoka will conquer almost all of south India, bringing almost the entire subcontinent under Mauryan rule.
270-266 BC: Rome at war with Umbrians and Etruscans. Rome is victorious.
269-263 BC--King Alexander II of Epirus, son of Pyrrhus, once again invades Macedon. Taking advantage of the weakened condition of the Macedonian army, he succeeds in conquering most of the country and holding it for almost twelve years, but is finally defeated by a Macedonian army under Demetrius, son of King Antigonus Gonatas, in 264 BC, and forced to retreat back to Epirus. Antigonus and Demetrius quickly re-establish control over the whole of the Macedonian Empire.
265–264 BC--Fall and destruction, by the Romans, of Volsinii, the last independent Etruscan city.
264-241 BC--First Punic War. Rome and Carthage support opposite sides in a war between the Greek cities of Sicily, leading Rome to invade the island. Carthage declares war on Rome, and a vicious struggle lasting over 20 years is the result. Rome is victorious, largely because of it's invention of the corvus...which allows Roman marines to board enemy ships and capture them. Carthage's naval power is broken, and it's armies are forced to surrender through lack of re-supply. In a humiliating treaty, Carthage is forced to surrender all of it's territories in Sicily and Sardinia to Rome.
261 BC--Death of King Hantili III of Hatti. He is succeeded by Suhis Tesub IV. Also in this year, King Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon attempts to force Athens into submission, but Athens appeals to King Suhis Tesub IV of Hatti for aid. King Suhis Tesub sends an army to stand with the Athenians, and Antigonus is defeated near Plataea. He retreats to Macedon, and agrees to guarantee the independence of Athens (and other Greek cities allied to Hatti).
260 BC--Battle of Changping in which Chin defeats Chao.
259 BC--Chin starts its siege of Handan, the Chao capital. Also in this year, Mauryan king Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta, converts to Buddhism and sends out Buddhist missionaries to nearby states. He does not attempt to make Buddhism the state religion, however...Hindu zealotry is still alive and well in India, and he knows he would face major rebellions if he tried anything like that.
258 BC--Birth of Ying Cheng, future First Emperor of China.
257 BC--The Chin army is forced to raise the seige of Handan, capital of the Chao state.
256 BC--To avert immediate annexation, the Chou state offers lands to the Chin state. The Dujiang Ditch and the Cheng ditch are built. Also at this time, Doung Voung (Thuc Phan) unifies the tribes of Vietnam and creates the kingdom of Auc Lac with his capital at Phuc An.
255 BC--Death of King Suhis Tesub IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by Mursili IV. King Mursili IV is more focused on internal Hittite politics than on foreign affairs, and not as much of a Graecophile as many of his forebears.
253-240 BC--Civil War in Persia. King Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) IV of Persia dies in 253 BC without heirs, and upon his death a seven-year civil war breaks out as various claimants vie for the throne. Finally, one of the rival claimants, a prince named Darayavahush (Darius), pays Tiridates, king of the Parni (who had recently arrived in the Satrapy of Parthia, where they had declared their independence), to intervene on his side. The Parni intervention proves decisive, and Darayavahush defeats the other claimants within a year and assumes the throne of Persia as king Darayavahush IV.
But Darayavahush doesn’t like being beholden to the chieftain of a rough tribe of nomads, and so he tries to have Tiridates poisoned shortly after taking the throne in 240 BC. He fails, and Tiridates overthrows him and takes the crown for himself. Tiridates marries a princess of the Achaemenid line, then ruthlessly seeks out and murders all the remaining Achaemenid claimants for the throne, ending the Achaemenid Dynasty.
251 BC--Ashoka's son Mahinda introduces Buddhism to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
250 BC--Prince Zichu ascends the throne of Chin as King Chuang-hsing Wang. Also at about this time, Buddhists carve the first cave temples (Lomas Rishi), and the Greek scientist Archimedes is active at Syracuse, and China repels an invasion by the turkic-speaking Hsiung-nu (Huns).
c. 250 BC--The Parni (a nomadic Indo-Iranian tribe which originally lived north of the Aral Sea), lead by their aged chieftain, Arsaces (founder of the Arsacid Dynasty), invade the Persian satrapy of Parthia (in northern Iran) and settle there, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the ongoing Persian Civil War to enter without resistance. Also at this time, the southern Arabian Kingdom of Sheba conquers the Minaean Empire and most of Qataban. Sheba is once again the most powerful kingdom in southern Arabia.
249 BC--The realm of the Eastern Chou is annexed by the Chin, marking the end of the Chou Dynasty.
248 BC--Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon invades and conquers Epirus, despite the alliance of that country with Hatti. King Mursili IV of Hatti protests, but does nothing else. Antigonus is emboldened by this lack of action on the part of the Hittites.
246 BC--Death of King Chuang-hsing Wang. Ying Cheng ascends the throne of Chin at 13 years of age. Commencement of work on Ying Cheng's tomb at Mount Li.
245 BC--In Parthia, the new king of the Parni, Tiridates, revolts against the rule of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Parthia is established as an independent kingdom.
245-244 BC--Emboldened by the lack of Hittite response to his annexation of Epirus, Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon once again attempts to force the states of southern Greece into submission, and declares war on Athens. But this repeated aggression by King Antigonus finally awakens King Mursili IV of Hatti to the danger posed by Macedon, and he sends a large army (under the command of his younger brother, who is a much better general than Mursili ever dreamt of being) to the succor of Athens. Antigonus is initially successful, defeating the combined Athenian and Hittite army south of Thermopylae, in restricted terrain where the superior Hittite cavalry cannot be usefully employed. But when he pursues the defeated allies south, he finds them drawn up on the plain near Plataea, where he met defeat before (in 261 BC). Despite his own misgivings, he accepts battle at this site. With enough open space to operate effectively, the Hittite cavalry routs the Macedonian cavalry and then takes the Macedonian infantry phalanx in the flank and rear. The Macedonian Phalanx is broken, and Antigonus himself is killed. The allies pursue the Macedonians back to the pass of Thermopylae, and then halt their pursuit. Demetrius, the son of Antigonus and new king of Macedon, immediately sues for peace, and once again guarantees the independence of Athens and the other Greek states allied to Hatti. He also agrees to pay an indemnity to Athens and Hatti. These terms are accepted in 244 BC, and the war ends.
240-200 BC--The new Parthian dynasty in Persia is consolidating it’s rule, putting down revolts among the Medes, Persians, Bactrians, and other native peoples of the Empire. By the end of the century the Parthian dynasty is firmly established.
241-237 BC--Civil War in Carthage. Hamilcar Barca, a brilliant general and statesman, emerges as virtual dictator in Carthage.
241 BC--Roman destruction of the Etruscan city of Falerii.
239 BC--King Demetrius II of Macedon, mindful of the fates of Phillip II and his own father, Antigonus II Gonatas, resumes his grandfather’s policy of avoiding direct confrontation and weakening Hittite influence by intriguing with dissident elements in the Greek polei to the south. His efforts will eventually bear fruit, when he gains the support of King Cleomenes III of Sparta..
236 BC onward--Carthage invades and conquers most of the Iberian Peninsula. Hamilcar Barca does this to provide Carthage with an empire to compensate it for the one lost in the first Punic War, as well as to gain a base from which to eventually launch a war of revenge against Rome.
235 BC--Cleomenes III comes to the throne of Sparta. Cleomenes, like the rulers of Sparta before him, opposes the influence of Hatti in Greece, and begins intriguing with King Demetrius II of Macedon. He aims to restore Sparta’s pre-eminence in Greece at any price.
232 BC--The Indian Emperor Ashoka dies.
232-187 BC--At the death of Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire in 232 BC, disputes break out among his sons over the succession, and the empire begins to break down. The final collapse does not occur until 187 BC, when the last Mauryan Emperor is assassinated.
230 BC--Chin conquest of the Han state.
229 BC--229 BC--Death of King Mursili IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by Kushtashpi II. Kushtashpi will emulate the achievements of his great grandfather, Hantili “the Builder,” and will sponsor construction projects throughout the empire. He is also a great patron of learning, and will establish the Royal Library at Hattusas, which will eventually collect over 200,000 volumes containing the science, philosophy, and religious thought of much of the world. Also in this year, King Demetrius II of Macedon dies. He is succeeded by Antigonus III. Antigonus continues his father’s policies and stipends to King Cleomenes III of Sparta.
228 BC--Chin annexation of the Chao state. Also in this year, Hamilcar Barca dies in battle in Hispania, and is succeeded by his brother, Hasdrubal Barca. Hasdrubal continues his brother's policies in Hispania and vis-a-vis Rome.
227 BC--Cleomenes III of Sparta engineers a coup. Four of the five Ephors are killed, and Cleomenes deposes his colleague king, Archidamus V. Cleomenes then institutes a social revolution in Sparta...dividing the land into 4000 lots, and redistributing it not only to Spartan citizens, but also to perioikoi and hypomeinones. He thus effectually expands the military base of the Spartan state, which is open only to landowners. He is also secretly receiving a stipend from King Antigonus III of Macedon, which he uses to re-organize the Spartan army on the Macedonian model. Sparta is once again ready to march...
226-215 BC--Wars of Cleomenes III of Sparta. In a series of campaigns lasting over a decade, King Cleomenes III of Sparta conquers all of the Peloponnesus, including the cities of Argos and Corinth. Although most of the cities involved are allies of Hatti, the treaty of alliance with Hatti is specifically against Macedonian aggression, and the Great King of Hatti does not intervene in what he views as an “internal Greek affair.”
225 BC--Chin conquest of the Wei state.
c. 225 BC--The Celts in the west and the Sarmatians in the east overwhelm the Scythian tribes (who live in the Danube basin and the area north or the Black Sea). The Scythians disappear from history as a separate people.
223 BC--Chin annexation of the Chu state.
222 BC--Chin conquest of the Yan state.
221 BC--The last feudal state in China, Chi, is conquered by Chin. King Ying Cheng is now ruler of all China. He assumes the title of Shihuangdi, “The First Emperor.” Shihuangdi initiates several important reforms, including abolition of feudalism and the centralization of power in the form of a non-hereditary bureaucracy loyal to himself; division of the empire into 36 commanderies, which are sub-divided into prefectures and counties; the standardization throughout China of written language, currency, weights and measures, and the legal code. To deter rebellion against his regime, he orders the confiscation of weapons, which are to be melted down to form bells and giant statues. Also at his order, the joining of the various defensive walls built by the former Warring States begins, under General Meng Tian....this will become, eventually, the first version of the Great Wall of China. Also in this year General Meng Tian defeats the Hsiung-Nu (later to be known to history as the Huns) and drives them northward. Also in this year, King Antigonus III of Macedon dies, he is succeeded by Phillip IV.
221-210 BC--Meng Tian of China initiates campaigns against Rong & Di barbarians.
220 BC--The Maurya dynasty under Ashoka's son Bindusara expands to almost all of India. Also in this year, the Hsiung-nu defeat the Yuezhi, who are forced to move south towards Iran and India.
219 BC--Hasdrubal Barca dies, and is succeeded by Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca.
218 BC-202 BC--The Second Punic War. In 218 BC, Hannibal Barca precipitates the Second Punic War when he attacks the Roman client city of Saguntum. As in OTL, Hannibal leads his army across the Alps and invades Italy, inflicting numerous defeats on the Romans over a period of fifteen years, but never able to capture Rome itself and put an end to the war. And, although Phillip IV of Macedon signs a treaty of alliance with Hannibal in 216 BC, the Macedonians do not intervene effectively, preferring to let the Carthaginians do most of the dying and then, hopefully, pick up the pieces afterward. In the meantime, Roman armies defeat those of Carthage in Spain, and then Scipio Africanus invades Carthaginian territory in Africa itself, where, aided by the defection of King Masinissa of Numidia (who brought over to the Roman side the best cavalry in the Carthaginian army), he is finally able to defeat Hannibal himself at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC.
Carthage is given harsh peace terms...1) The immediate territory of Carthage in Africa would remain free, but the rest was to be ceded to Masinissa of Numidia; 2) Carthage would totally withdraw from Spain and Gaul; 3)All elephants were to be ceded to the Romans; 4) Carthage could keep only ten warships; 5) Carthage could not make war without Roman consent; and 6) Carthage would pay 10,000 talents in 50 annual installments. Carthage is a broken power.
217 BC--Death of King Kushtashpi II of Hatti. He is succeeded by Suppiluliuma V. Suppliluliuma continues his father’s projects, and for the most part, does not seek to expand the Hittite Empire. But the Hittites prosper during the period of peace which characterizes most of his rule.
216 BC--Philip IV of Macedonia allies with Hannibal of Carthage. This action causes a break with King Cleomenes III of Sparta, who opposes Macedonian involvement in the struggle with Rome and fears Sparta may be drawn into the war. But by this time, Cleomenes is firmly established as ruler of the Peloponnesus, and the loss of Macedonian support does not unduly impact his plans.
215 BC onward--Cleomenes III of Sparta extends the Spartan social revolution to the other cities of the Peloponnesus, redistributing land, breaking the power of wealthy landowners and elevating many lower class elements to power. He also grants the new landowners in the recently annexed areas a form of citizenship in the Spartan state, allowing their cities a good deal of local autonomy and a seat on the new Council of Ephors which he creates in 210 BC, in return for military service. And, unlike previous Spartan leaders, he does not actively oppose democracy in the various cities under his rule, at least so far as local government is concerned, which increases his popularity in the conquered regions yet further. In the process he binds the people of the conquered territories ever more closely to Sparta, and succeeds where his ancestors had always failed...in creating a unified state out of the disparate polei of the Peloponnesus.
213 BC--Chinese Emperor Shihuangdi outlaws all schools of thought except the legalist one and buries alive 346 scholars.
212-210 BC--In the one instance where King Suppiluliuma acts to expand the Hittite Empire, Hittite armies move east from Kush to annex the new state of Axum, which is accomplished by 210 BC. Thus is eliminated what Suppliluliuma considers to be an unnecessary middle-man in the trade between his empire and the cities of the Arabian coast.
211 BC--Death of King Tiridates of the Parthia. He is succeeded by Artabanus I.
210 BC--Shihuangdi, the First Emperor of China, dies of mercury poisoning and is buried in a colossal tomb near Xian, surrounded by thousands of terracotta soldiers. He is succeeded by Ershihuangdi (“Second Emperor”).
209-202 BC--Civil war in China. In 209 BC, the Chinese Empire falls apart as peasant revolts break out in the former state of Chu, and the heirs of the former feudal lords of the states of Chi, Yan, Han, Wei and Chao also rise in rebellion. The Chin emperor, Ershihuangdi, is unable to put down the uprisings, and is finally captured and forced to commit suicide by the Duke of Chao in 207 BC. In 206 BC, Duke Chang Yu of the state of Chu captures and executes the rest of the imperial family, ending the Chin dynasty. But it is Duke Liu Pang of the state of Han who in 202 BC finally defeats his rivals, including Chang Yu, and reunifies China. Liu Pang takes the throne as the Emperor Kao Tsu of China, beginning the Han Dynasty.
207 BC--King Trieu Da reigns over the Nam Viet kingdom (northern Vietnam) with his capital at Fan-yu. In this year he subdues the Au Lac kingdom (southern Vietnam). The Trieu dynasty will reign over Nam Viet from 207 to 111 BC.
206 BC--The kingdom of the Nam Viet dynasty extends from Vietnam to Canton.
205 BC--Death of King Cleomenes III of Sparta. He is succeeded by Agesipolis III. Agesipolis continues his predecessor’s policies, furthering the unification of the Peloponnesus into a single state.
200 BC--Mao-tun unites the Huns (Hsiung-nu) in Central Asia around Lake Baikal and southeastern Mongolia. The Hsiung-nu conquer northern and western China. Also at about this time, the Mahabarata is composed in India, and the Andhras occupy the Indian east coast.
PART EIGHT: 200-100 BC
c. 200 BC--The Buddhist missionaries sent out by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka are making converts in Central Asia, China, and southeast Asia. They are not making much headway in India itself, however, where Hindu extremism still prevents the growth of other religions in the region. Also at about this time, Germanic tribes (which had entered Scandinavia as early as 2,000 BC and had been living in northeastern Germany as early as 1,000 BC), begin moving to the south and west, where they come into conflict with the Celtic peoples currently inhabiting those areas.
200 BC - Destruction of Roman town of Placentia by confederation of Gallic tribes (Insubres, Cenomani and Boii). Also in this year, the Hsiung Nu lay siege to the Han Chinese Emperor at Pincheng; he barely escapes.
200-197 BC--First Macedonian War. Rome has not forgotten that Phillip IV of Macedon allied himself to Hannibal, and in 200 BC, they take their revenge. Roman armies invade Macedon, and over a three year period, Macedon is defeated. Cumbersome Macedonian Phalanxes are defeated repeatedly by flexible Roman legions, culminating in the battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC. After this disaster, Phillip IV sues for peace, and the Romans grant it, imposing harsh terms...Phillip’s empire is stripped from him, and he remains king only in Macedon proper. He is required to pay 1000 gold talents to Rome, and disband his navy as well as most of his army. Rome annexes the northern and eastern provinces (Illyria, Istria, Thrace) and restores independence to Epirus.
197-133 BC--The Spanish Wars. In the aftermath of the Second Punic War, Rome annexed the former Carthaginian provinces in the Iberian Peninsula. After the war Rome divided Spain into two provinces, known as Hispania Citerior (Near Spain) and Hispania Ulterior (Far Spain). Both of these provinces are rich in silver and other precious metals, and their governors do not hesitate to extort extra wealth from the local inhabitants. During the Second Punic War the native tribes (such as the Celtiberians, the Turdetani, the Lusitanians, and others) had vacillated between supporting the Carthaginians and the Romans. Now they turn fully against the Romans. Supported by cavalry and armed with javelin, sling, and short stabbing sword and wearing light armor, these fierce and valiant peoples prove a major threat to Roman power in Hispania. The result is an ongoing campaign of attrition, atrocity and massacre that will be an like an ulcer, consuming a major portion of Roman resources for over sixty years, until the Romans finally subdue the last of the native tribes in 133 BC.
200-195 BC--In Carthage, Hannibal Barca becomes Suffete and proves a successful political leader. He forces state reform, reducing corruption and introducing new methods of election. He also initiates programs to improve agriculture and increase trade with Greece, north Africa, and Hatti in an effort to increase state revenues. But Hannibal’s reforms lead the Romans to suspect that he is planning a Carthaginian resurgence aimed at Rome, and Hannibal is forced into exile in 195 BC.
198 BC--Death of King Suppiluliuma V of Hatti. He is succeeded by Anitta II.
198-134 BC--The Han Chinese Emperors give the Hsiung Nu gifts & princesses in exchange for peace. It doesn’t always work.
188 BC--King Agesipolis III of Sparta concludes a treaty of alliance with Rome, aimed at both Macedon and Hatti.
195 BC onward--The annexation of Macedon’s imperial territories means that Rome now has a coastline on the Aegean and the Black Sea...directly opposite the Hittite coast. This does not make the Great King of Hatti happy. Until now, Rome has been a distant rumour on the horizon, but now it poses a clear and imminent threat. Furthermore, the ease with which Rome’s flexible legions pummeled the Macedonian Phalanx in the recent war serves notice to the Hittites that their own army...which organized around a Macedonian-style infantry Phalanx...is in danger of being rendered obsolete.
Therefore, in 195 BC King Anitta II of Hatti sends agents in search of Hannibal Barca, the former Carthaginian general who gave Rome so much trouble during the Second Punic War. Hannibal is now a fugitive, on the run from Roman vengeance, and he eagerly accepts the Great King’s offer of protection and employment when he is located by the Hittite agents. The agents bring him to Hatti, where King Anitta hires him to reorganize and retrain the Hittite army to fight that of Rome.
Hannibal is very familiar with the Roman legionary system of organization (having observed it in action over so many years), and oversees the reorganization, re-equipment, and re-training of the Hittite infantry according to that system. Hannibal is very impressed with the Hittite cavalry...always the strongest part of the Hittite army...and makes very few changes in it’s organization or equipment. He also retains the corps of foot archers, recognizing the advantage of fire support they provide to the heavy infantry. At Hannibal’s suggestion, Hittite warships are also modified so as to be better able to meet Roman ships on even terms in battle. In order to prevent the Roman Corvus from being deployed effectively against Hittite ships, the decks of Hittite warships are covered with a thin plate of iron...this will prevent the iron spike of the corvus from fixing itself into the deck, thus binding the ships together and allowing boarding to occur. A complement of marines and archers is also added to the crews of the Hittite vessels.
195 BC--In the aftermath of the recent war between Rome and Macedon and the news of the signing of a treaty of alliance between Sparta and Rome, the independent city states of the Greek mainland which are allied to Hatti begin to feel threatened by Roman power. The Greek cities, lead by Athens, appeal to King Anitta II of Hatti for an amendment to the treaty of alliance between them to extend Hittite protection against Rome and Sparta as well as Macedon. King Anitta agrees, and a new treaty is signed before the end of this year.
197 BC--The coalition of Gallic tribes who destroyed Placentia is defeated by two Roman armies.
191 BC--Death of King Artabanus I of Parthia. He is succeeded by Priapatius. Also in this year, the Boii (a Celtic tribe living in northern Italy) are defeated by a Roman army under P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, son of Gn. Scipio and cousin of Scipio Africanus. The Boii drift north into the Danube regions, where one of their settlements will eventually be known as Bohemia.
191-185 BC--The Ligurian Wars, in which Rome subdues the piratical Ligurians and Celts of northwestern Italy and southeastern France, who had been raiding Roman towns and shipping in the region.
189 BC--Death of King Agesipolis III of Sparta. He is succeeded by Leonidas III. Leonidas has ambitions for expanding Spartan power in Greece, and the new alliance between Sparta and Rome will give him the encouragement he needs to act...
187 BC--Death of King Anitta II of Hatti. He is succeeded by Huzziya III.
187 BC-320 AD--The collapse of the Mauryan Empire in India leads to a "Dark Age" from the point of view of rulers and politics. India breaks up into small, warring states, whose rulers leave little record of themselves. However, the period is a golden age for art, literature, and commerce. For example, the 1st century AD will be a period of active sea trade with the West, with fleets sailing annually from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf ports of the Hittite Empire to India.
185-175 BC--The War for Hellene Freedom. In late 185 BC, King Leonidas III of Sparta declares war on Athens and invades Attica, laying siege to the city. The Athenians immediately invoke their threaty with Hatti and the other independent Greek states, and King Huzziya III of Hatti sends an army under the command of Hannibal Barca to the succor of Athens. The Hittite army lands at Marathon in the spring of 184 BC, and is attacked almost immediately by the Spartans under King Leonidas. At the battle of Marathon, the Spartans are defeated, and King Leonidas is forced to abandon his siege of Athens and retreat back to the Peloponnesus.
By this time, the forces of the other allied Greek cities have converged on Athens, and together with the Hittite army, they now invade Spartan territory. The Spartans have fortified the Isthmus of Corinth, however, and the allies find that they cannot force their way into the Peloponnesus. Hannibal considers an amphibious operation, but the Spartan navy defeats a Hittite fleet in 183 BC and puts an end to that idea. Hannibal instead conducts siege operations, and in 181 BC manages to breach the Spartan isthmian fortifications and enter the Peloponnesus, where he lays siege to the cities of Corinth and Argos.
At this point, Spartan King Leonidas II invokes his treaty of alliance with Rome, and the Roman Senate declares war on Hatti in 180 BC. Rome demands that King Phillip IV of Macedon allow passage of Roman armies over Macedonian soil, which the old king, not wanting another confrontation with Rome, agrees to do under protest. Roman armies move south across Macedon and lay siege to the Hittite-allied cities in northern Greece, another Roman army crosses from Italy to land in the Peloponnesus in support the forces of Sparta, and a Roman fleet joins that of Sparta off Corinth.
In 179 BC, King Phillip IV of Macedon dies and is succeeded by Perseus. Perseus was enraged by his father’s meek acquiescence to the Roman demand for free passage over Macedonian territory, and upon taking the throne immediate abrogates the agreement and declares war on Rome. King Huzziya III of Hatti quickly signs a treaty of alliance with Perseus, and by the end of that year a second Hittite army has landed in Thessaly to support the forces of Macedon. The Macedonians under King Perseus and the Hittite northern army under Crown Prince Telepinu move to raise the sieges of the northern Greek cities in 178 BC. They meet the northern Roman army outside the town of Pharsalus and virtually annihilate it, and then move north to capture the Roman provinces of Illyria and Thrace (recently taken by the Romans from Macedon). But do not get very far before news comes of the truce agreed upon by Hannibal (see below) and they never enter any of the Roman provinces.
Meanwhile, later that same year, Hannibal leads the southern Hittite and Greek allied armies to a decisive victory over the combined Roman and Spartan armies at the Battle of Mycenae. Hannibal marches straight on Sparta, and King Leonidas (over the protests of the Roman commander in the Peloponnesus) sues for peace. Hannibal agrees to a temporary truce, sends a fast galley to carry the peace proposal to King Huzziya of Hatti, who agrees but with conditions... Sparta must abandon it’s alliance with Rome, give up any claims it has to territory outside of the Peloponnesus, surrender it’s navy and dismantle the fortifications on the Isthmus of Corinth.
King Leonidas, upon receiving these conditions in early 177 BC, rejects the demands and decides to fight it out. He is encouraged in this decision by the landing near Sparta of another Roman army, under the command of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, in the final month of 178 BC, and together, the Spartans and Romans launch a counterattack. At the Battle of Argos in March 176 BC, the Spartan and Roman army is victorious and in the battle, Hannibal is severely wounded (putting him effectively out of action for the rest of the war). The Hittites and allied Greek forces retreat from the Peloponnesus into Attica, pursued by the Romans and Spartans, who once again lay siege to Athens in April of 176.
Meanwhile, in 177 BC, the Romans had decided to expand the war, and enticed King Massinissa of Numidia to attack the Hittite provinces in Egypt. A Roman army is sent by sea to join Massinissa near the city of Cyrene, but the Roman fleet is met by a Hittite fleet off the Cyrenacian coast. The Roman naval flotilla escorting the transports is defeated, with nearly all of the Roman warships being sunk or captured, and then the Hittites fall on the defenseless transports. 60,000 Roman soldiers drown when their ships are rammed and sent to the bottom. And on land, the Hittite army defending Egypt makes mincemeat of Masinissa’s army and pursues the tattered remnants back into Numidian territory.
In 176 BC, Carthage (which has been suffering from Numidian aggression and raiding since the end of the Second Punic War, and which has obvious reasons to desire bad things to happen to Rome) and Hatti agree on an alliance, and Carthage declares war against Rome and Numidia. Together, Carthaginian and Hittite forces conquer Numidia (Massinissa is killed in August 176 in battle outside his capital city) before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, back in Greece, Crown Prince Telepinu and King Perseus of Macedon have come down to relieve the siege of Athens, which they accomplish in July 176 BC after winning a battle outside of Thebes. They are also helped in this by a Graeco-Hittite naval victory over the Roman and Spartan fleets off the island of Euboea in June 176, which allows a seaborne route of supply for the city to be opened. Roman and Spartan forces retreat back to the Isthmian fortifications.
In the aftermath of the Hittite and allied victories of 176 BC, King Huzziya of Hatti (who can see that the escalating cost of the war is weakening his empire) consults with his allies, and then sends out embassies to Rome and Sparta, seeking an end to the war. The terms he offers are as follows...1) Sparta to agree to guarantee the freedom of the Greek cities allied to Hatti, in exchange for recognition of Sparta’s claims to the cities in the Peloponnesus. Sparta can retain it’s alliance with Rome and retain it’s navy and the Isthmian fortifications; 2) Rome to withdraw from Greece; 3) Carthage to be freed from the conditions of the treaty which ended the Second Punic War, and to be ceded the lands of Numidia (which had belonged to Carthage before the Second Punic War). Carthage renounces all claim to territory in Spain and Gaul, as well as Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica; 4)Rome guarantees the freedom and independence of the Greek states which are allied to Hatti. After some negotiation, these terms are accepted in early 175 BC, ending the war.
181 BC--The Sardinians revolt after the Romans end the piracy of the Ligurians, but it is quickly put down by an expeditionary force sent to Sardinia. It is thought that they revolted because they were a part of the piracy.
176 BC--The Hsiung-nu attack eastern China. Also in this year, King Priapatius of Parthia dies, and is succeeded by Phraates I.
175 BC--In the aftermath of the War for Hellene Freedom, Hannibal Barca returns to Carthage, where he tries to stage a political comeback. He is murdered by a jealous political rival (possibly in collusion with agents of Rome) later that year.
175-170 BC--During the War for Hellene Freedom, the non-aligned Greek city states of the Black Sea Coast had tacitly backed Rome, supplying Roman troops and contributing some naval vessels to the Roman fleet. And Hatti is also being troubled at this time by raiding Sarmatians coming down out of the Caucasus regions to pillage and loot in northern Anatolia. Therefore, in 175 BC, King Huzziya III of Hatti launches a campaign to resolve both of these problems. Hittite armies move north and conquer most of the Caucasus region, pushing back the Sarmatians and bringing the Greek cities on the eastern shore of the Black Sea under Hittite control.
172 BC--Death of King Leonidas III of Sparta. He is succeeded by Eudamidas IV.
171 BC--King Phraates I of Parthia dies, and is succeeded by Mithridates I.
170 BC--The unhappiest party to the treaty which ended the War for Hellene Freedom was King Perseus of Macedon. Perseus had joined the Graeco-Hittite alliance in the hope that he might recover his former provinces in Thrace and Illyria, but did not. In 170 BC, therefore, he attempts to entice King Huzziya III of Hatti into a joint war of conquest against Rome (offering Hatti part of Thrace in return for Hittite assistance in recovering Thrace and Illyria). Huzziya flatly refuses, and Perseus, in anger, declares that the alliance between Hatti and Macedon is void.
168-164 BC--Second Macedonian War. King Perseus of Macedon decides to take back the provinces of Illyria and Thrace, which were taken from Macedon by Rome in the First Macedonian War. Roman armies move southward, and Macedon is conquered. Perseus is finally defeated and captured in 164 BC. He is taken to Rome, where he marches in chains in the triumph of the victorius general, and then is ceremonially strangled. Macedon becomes a province of the Roman Empire.
165-147 BC--Wars of King Mithridates I of Parthia against Hatti. In 165 BC, King Mithridates I of Parthia invades the Hittite provinces in Mesopotamia. He defeats a Hittite army near the town of Opis in 164 BC (killing King Huzziya III in the process) and siezes all of Mesopotamia within a year. He then campaigns against Syria and Armenia (the former lands of Urartu, which have, for some time, been inhabited by Armenian tribes under the control of the Hittites), but is unable to defeat the Hittite armies in those regions. And the Hittites, despite repeated attempts to re-take Mesopotamia, are not able to do so (due largely to simultaneous involvements against Rome). A treaty recognizing the Parthian annexation of Mesopotamia is finally signed in 147 BC, establishing the borders between the two empires.
164 BC--Death of King Huzziya III of Hatti in battle against the Parthians. He is succeeded by Telepinu IV.
155-146 BC--Third Punic War. Rome was not happy when Carthage was freed from the terms of the treaty which ended the Second Punic War as a result of Carthage’s participation in the war for Hellene freedom. She has watched with growing alarm as Carthage has rebuilt it’s navy, re-captured a major share of trade in the western Mediterranean, and Rome strongly suspects (correctly, as it happens...although the Romans have not been able to prove it yet) that Carthage is involved in the ongoing rebellions against Roman authority in Hispania.
In 150 BC, the Roman Senate decides to "put an end to the Carthagininian menace" once and for all, and declares war. The Roman navy defeats that of Carthage in 149 BC, and a Roman army is landed outside the city, which is placed under siege. Carthage invokes it’s alliance with Hatti, and the Hittites honor their agreement by declaring war on Rome (desirous to prevent the war from expanding, King Muwatalli V of Hatti advises his Greek allies to remain neutral, so long as they are not attacked by Rome). A Hittite fleet moves against the Roman fleet of Carthage, but the battle is essentially a draw, and both fleets retire to repair and refit. Meanwhile, a Hittite army advances along the coast from Cyrene toward Carthage. It arrives there in 148 BC, defeats the Roman army besieging the city, and lifts the siege. But although defeated, the Roman army is not destroyed, and the Romans have been negotiating with the tribes of Numidia (which have not reconciled themselves to being ruled by Carthage again), and many of these have declared for Rome. And the sea route from Rome to Africa is still open. So the war in Africa continues.
Meanwhile, another naval battle is fought in the Black Sea, and in this one, the Romans prevail. Shortly afterward, in late 148 BC, two Roman armies are transported over to Anatolia from Thrace. One army advances on Hattusas, which they place under siege, while the other moves against Sardis and Gordium (Gordium falls, but Sardis resists strongly and is placed under siege). A Hittite army commanded by King Muwatalli V is defeated near Hattusas, and Muwatalli himself is killed. The new king, Talmi Tesub III, quickly decides to sue for peace with King Mithridates I of Parthia, ending the war between Hatti and Parthia and allowing Talmi Tesub to concentrate his forces against Rome, and a treaty is signed in April 147 BC.
In June 147 BC, the Hittite Aegean fleet defeats the Roman fleet, severing the Roman supply route from Thrace into Anatolia. Talmi Tesub leads a new Hittite army into Anatolia, and in successive battles, defeats the Roman armies besieging Hattusas and Sardis. Defeated, cut off from their source of supply, and in a hostile country, both Roman armies in Anatolia surrender in early 146 BC.
But in the meantime, the war in Africa has not gone well for Carthage and Hatti. In mid-147 BC, a second naval battle off Carthage has lead to a decisive defeat for the Hittite fleet, which ends the last immediate hope of cutting the Roman supply line for their army in Africa. A second Roman army has been landed, and the combined Roman forces, with their Numidian allies, have defeated the Carthaginian and Hittite armies in battle near the city of Utica. Carthage has, once again, been placed under siege, and in 146 BC, the city falls to the Romans. The Romans raze the city to the ground, sell the population into slavery, and sow the ground with salt so that nothing will grow there again. Upon hearing the news of the fall of Carthage, King Talmi Tesub III of Hatti sues for peace. And, bearing in mind the fate of it’s armies in Anatolia, Rome agrees. The Third Punic War ends.
150 BC--Death of King Telepinu IV of Hatti in battle against Parthia. He is succeeded by Muwatalli V.
c. 150 BC--Metal coinage comes into use among the Celtic tribes of Britain; widespread contact with continent.
148 BC--Death of King Muwatalli V of Hatti in battle against Rome. He is succeeded by Talmi Tesub III.
147 BC--Death of King Eudamidas IV of Sparta. He is succeeded by Agesilaus III.
145 BC--Rome doublecrosses it’s Numidian allies and annexes Carthage’s north African territories.
141 BC--Wu Ti comes to the throne of the Han Chinese Empire. Wu Ti will be known as "The Martial Emperor" because of his highly successful military campaigns.
140 BC--Han Chinese Emperor Wu Ti begins campaigning against the Hsiung Nu.
c. 140 BC onwar--Political chaos in Rome. In the last hundred years, Rome has been involved in numerous wars. Since legionaires are required to serve in a complete campaign no matter how long it is, soldiers often are forced to leave their farms for long periods in the hands of wives and children. As estates in this situation go steadily into bankruptcy and are bought up by the wealthy upper class, latifundi (large estates) are formed. When the soldiers return from the legions, therefore, they have nowhere to go, so they end up in Rome, join the mob of thousands of unemployed who roam the city. As a result, the number of men with enough assets to qualify for army duty is rapidly shrinking, weakening the military power of Rome just as it’s empire is expanding, requiring more troops to protect it. These unemployed men also occasionally riot in Rome, and various demogogue politicians begin to see them as a potential base of power to fuel their own rise to political dominance in Rome.
139 BC--Death of King Mithridates I of Parthia. He is succeeded by Phraates II.
138-125 BC--Zhang Qian, a diplomat during the Han dynasty, is sent from the capital city of Chang'an (Xi'an) to create alliances with and develop a trading route to the West. His success leads to the establishment of the first commercial land route between East and West...the Silk Road. The Silk Road consists of several different branches that follow a path of oasis towns around the edges of foreboding deserts and harsh mountain ranges, and then reconnect in the city of Kashgar. Most trade is done over relatively short distances by middlemen who receive a share of the profits; between Rome (the western terminus) and China (the eastern terminus), goods are sold and bartered several times for other objects as the traders make their way from one end of the route to the other. As regional governments legally can tax foreign traders passing through their territories, local factions periodically battle to gain control of commercial interests along their portion of the Silk Road.
Although known as the "Silk" Road, the route transports and trades many other items than the delicate and colorful silk. By these exchanges, across thousands of miles and hundreds of cultures, the Silk Road opens up both East and West to new peoples, ideas, and religions. At this same time, Buddhist and other missionaries and pilgrims begin travelling on the Silk Road between India, Central Asia, and China. Musicians also travel the route, which allows for a thorough, and at times surprising, dissemination of national styles and cross-fertilization of instruments.
137-130 BC--Kushite revolts against Hatti. Encouraged by Roman agents, revolts break out in Napata, Meroe, and Axum. The Hittite garrisons are temporarily thrown out, but Hatti is able to re-establish control by 130 BC.
133 BC--Slave revolts in Sicily. Partly inspired by Hittite agents, the slaves of Sicily revolt against Rome. Also in this year,
132 BC--Death of King Talmi Tesub III of Hatti. He is succeeded by Zidanta V.
131 BC--Death of King Agesilaus III of Sparta. He is succeeded by Polydorus II.
c. 130 BC onward--Pressure from the Yue-Chi (a tribe of Indo-Iranian or possibly Turkic origins who had been defeated and forced to the south and west by the Hsiung-Nu back in 220 BC) forces the Saka tribes (tribes related to the Scythians who lived in the region now called Uzbekistan) to migrate to the southwest. They fight the Parthians and conquer the regions of Bactria, Gedrosia, and Arachosia, founding their own kingdom.
127 BC--Tibetan kingdom of Nyatri Tsenpo unifies the Tibetan tribes. Also in this year, King Phraates II of Parthia is killed in battle against the Saka. He is succeeded by Artabanus II.
124 BC--King Artabanus II of Parthia is killed in battle against the Saka. He is succeeded by Mithridates II. Mithridates will enjoy a very long reign and be an aggressive king, defeating the Saka and conducting wars with Hatti as well.
124-90 BC--Wars of King Mithridates of Parthia against the Saka. The Parthians under King Mithridates engage in yearly campaigns against the Saka, gradually re-taking the provinces which the Saka had wrested from the Parthians and forcing the Saka into submission to the Parthian Empire.
121 BC--The emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty defeats the Hsiung Nu after lengthy campaigns. Hsiung Nu empire falls into civil war (it will collapse completely by 58 BC).
121-101 BC--Campaigns leading to Han control of Hexi Corridor and victories as far west as Fergana.
121-119 BC--The Great Wall of China is extended to the Jade Gate (near modern Dunhuang, in northwestern China).
120-111 BC--War between Hatti and Parthia. In 120 BC, King Zidanta V of Hatti decides to take advantage of the absorption of the Parthian Empire in it’s war with the Saka to invade Mesopotamia. Thus begins a nine-year series of see-saw campaigns which mostly brings neither side much advantage. But Hatti is able to re-occupy northern Mesopotamia and hold onto it by 111 BC, when a treaty is finally agreed upon, ending the war. Parthia retains southern Mesopotamia, however.
115 BC--The Himyaritic Kingdom is founded on the Bab el Mandeb on the southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula. Unlike the other south Arabian kingdoms, which are oriented inland and focus on the caravan trade exclusively, the Himyarites are a coastal people and begin trading frankincense directly with the Hittites across the Red Sea, in ports on the coast of Axum and Egypt. This cuts out the Nabataean middle-men who so dramatically raise the price of frankincense and myrrh obtained via the caravan trade. The Great Kings of Hatti form an alliance with the Himyarites and support them as they war against the other kingdoms of south Arabia.
111 BC--The armies of the Han Chinese Emperor Wu Ti destroy the Kingdom of Nam Viet. China occupies northern Vietnam. The rest of Vietnam falls into chaos and splits into competing city states.
109 BC--Death of King Polydorus II of Sparta. He is succeeded by Cleomenes IV.
108 BC--Death of King Zidanta V of Hatti. He is succeded by Tuwanuwa V.
c. 100 BC--Rice and iron are imported into Japan by the migration of the Yayoi (related to the Mongols), who also bring a new language and a new religion, which evolves into Shintoism. Also at this time,India is mainly divided among the Sakas in the northwest, the Andhras in the east and the Sungas in the south.
PART NINE: 100 BC-1 AD
95 BC--King Mithridates II of Parthia defeats the Saka, who become a subject state of the Parthian Empire.
94 BC--Gotarzes, a Parthian general, revolts against King Mithridates II (with Hittite aid) and establishes a rival kingdom in Babylonia and Persis. Beginning of a period of civil war in the Parthian Empire.
91 BC--Death of King Tuwanuwa V of Hatti. He is succeeded by Labarnash II. Labarnash is a militarily gifted and diplomatically crafty ruler, and his wise policies will serve Hatti well during his long reign. Also in this year, a Roman Tribune of the Plebes named Marcus Livius Drusus is assassinated following a political rally in the Roman Forum. Drusus had been attempting to push through legislation similar to the Gracchi: agrarian reform, the founding of colonies, and an increase in the corn-dole for the poor. But to appease the Senate, whom he knew he had to appease, Drusus also proposed to give the courts back to the senators (Gaius Gracchus had given court control to the Equites in 123 BC) and increasing the Senate's membership from 300 to 600, which should also appease the Equites who would become the new senators.
Unfortunately for Drusus, in these proposals trying to appease everyone, they appeased no one. Neither the Senate nor the Equites supported it. Then, Drusus had broached a sensitive topic in Rome: he proposed Roman citizenship for all of the Italian allies (socii). Citizenship had been an issue with the Gracchi, it had reared its head with Marius and the army, and now it becomes the vital issue of the time. The allies (socii) have fought Rome's wars--they risk their lives to protect the welfare of Roman citizens and Rome itself. And while they shed blood to protect Rome, they serve under the authority of Roman commanders. Allies have no legal rights in this regard, and the Romans under the current system have their way with the lower class, non-citizen allied soldiery. After the assassination of Drusus, the socii, whose rights he was championing, become inflamed and they revolt against Rome. Thus begins the Social War.
90-88 BC--The "Social War" between Rome and it’s Italian allies, who are demanding greater citizenship rights. In response, Rome undercuts the military rebellion by extending citizenship to all of Italia south of the Po River. Roman citizenship and the right to vote is limited by the requirement of physical presence in Rome on voting day, but nevertheless, the allies have essentially gotten what they wanted, and most of them give up the rebellion. But not all, and Rome spends the next two years defeating the cities still in revolt. In the end, the rebellion is crushed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Gaius Marius, and Pompey Strabo.
90 BC--Death of King Mithridates II of Parthia in battle against the forces of Gotarzes I. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Orodes I.
89-82 BC--War between Hatti and Parthia. Seeking to take advantage of the civil war then raging in the Parthian Empire, King Labarnash II of Hatti makes an alliance with King Maues of the Saka, and together Hatti and the Saka attack Parthia from the east and the west. King Gotarzes of Babylonia/Persis is the first to fall, being defeated and killed in battle with the Hittites in 87 BC. King Orodes II of Parthia manages to hold off the two-front onslaught of the Hittites and Saka until 82 BC, when he is finally defeated and killed outside the city of Ecbatana, ending the Arsacid Dynasty. The Parthian Empire ceases to exist. Hatti absorbs southern Mesopotamia and Elymais (former Elam), while the Saka take the eastern provinces of Bactria, Aria, Drangiana and Chorasmia. Parthia itself, Media, and Persis are left as independent buffer states, with puppet dynasties imposed by mutual agreement of Hatti and the Saka.
88 BC--Death of King Cleomenes IV of Sparta. He is succeeded by Lycurgus I.
87-76 BC--First Roman Civil War. Following the Social War, rivalry between Gaius Marius (who is now champion of the Populares, the party which promotes the ideals and reforms of the Gracchi in Rome) and Lucius Cornelius Sulla (a supporter of the old conservative Senatorial power clique) leads to civil war between the two factions. Although Marius and his supporters are temporarily successful in seizing power in Rome, Sulla (who realizes the potential power which the military reforms made by Marius during the Jugurthine War gives to commanders by making troops loyal to their commander rather than to the Roman State) takes the unprecedented step of leading his legions against Rome itself, seizing control of the city by military force and declaring himself Dictator. Marius, and his colleague Lucius Cornelius Cinna, thereupon swear an oath not to begin a revolution against Sulla’s rule, but almost immediately begin planning to renege on the oath, which was administered under duress.
In 86 BC, Cinna slips away from Rome and raises an army among the recently defeated Italian allies, many of whom are still not happy with the representation given to them following the Social War. Sulla’s forces are temporarily defeated and forced to retreat from Rome, and the triumphant Marians begin a reign of terror in which many of Sulla’s followers in Rome are massacred. Marius dies soon afterward, leaving Cinna (with his new co-Consul Lucius Valerus Flaccus) in command of Rome. Shortly afterward, an up-and-coming young politician named Gaius Julius Caesar marries Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, in an attempt to ally himself with the new powers-that-be.
However, Sulla is not through yet, and, supported by Gnaeus Pompeius (son of Pompey Strabo) and Marcus Licinius Crassus (the richest man in Rome), returns with a new army in 84 BC. Cinna’s army is defeated and Sulla re-takes Rome. In retaliation for the Marian reign of terror, Sulla executes many Marians (Gaius Julius Caesar flees Rome for a time to avoid this fate, but will later return and make his peace with Sulla), banishes many others from Rome, and reforms the Roman constitution, reducing the power of the Tribunes of the Plebes, increasing the power of the Senate, and in general, rolling back many of the reforms passed by the Populares over the past century.
But the cause of the Populares is taken up by Quintus Sertorius, who leads the largest remnants of the Marian party to Hispania in 83 BC, where he establishes himself as the virtual ruler of that province. Sertorius follows very statesmanlike policies in Hispania, and manages to rally the populace behind him. His announced object is to build up a stable government in the country with the consent and co-operation of the native people. He establishes a senate of 300 members, drawn from primarily from Roman emigrants, but with a sprinkling of the best Spaniards, and surrounds himself with a Spanish bodyguard. For the children of the chief native families he provides a school where they receive a Roman education and even adopt the dress of Roman youths, thus binding them closely to his regime. The various tribes of Hispania are very enthusiastically supportive of him, and Sertorius is able (with financial and military support from King Labarnash II of Hatti, with whom Sertorius negotiates successfully) to raise a powerful army from the warlike tribes of Hispania. Although Sertorius loses some battles, he wins more often, and is able to maintain his army in being, despite the best efforts of the Roman armies (under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius and Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius) sent against him by Sulla.
Sulla dies in 78 BC, and leaves no clear successor. Renewed civil war breaks out between the pro-Sulla faction, lead now by Quintus Lutatius Catulus, and the faction of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who opposes the constitutional reforms of Sulla. Gnaeus Pompeius returns to Italy from Hispania, and in cooperation with Catulus, defeats Lepidus in 77 BC (Lepidus flees to Sardinia, where he dies the same year). Thus the pro-Sulla faction is able to retain power in Rome.
The following year (76 BC), Gnaeus Pompeius returns to Hispania to campaign against Sertorius. He is initially successful, but is finally again defeated outside Saguntum, and Sertorius drives Roman forces from Hispania. Sertorius shortly afterward declares the independence of Hispania from Rome, which is greeted with wild enthusiasm by the native inhabitants. King Labarnash II of Hatti immediately recognizes the independence of Hispania, and soon makes a formal alliance with Sertorius. Not wanting to end up in a two-front war, Rome signs a treaty with Sertorius before the end of the year, recognizing the independence of Hispania. The civil war at last comes to an end.
87 BC--Death of the Han Chinese Emperor Wu Ti. The Emperor Chao Ti assumes the throne. Emperor Wu Ti’s reign has seen great changes in Chinese society that will mark the civilization for centuries to come. For example, Wu Ti has decided that Taoism is no longer suitable as a state philosophy for China, and has officially declared China to be a Confucian state. However, like the emperors before him, he has combined Legalist methods with the Confucian ideal. This official adoption of Confucianism has led to not only a civil service nomination system, but also to a requirement of compulsory knowledge of Confucian classics of candidates for the imperial bureaucracy, a requirement that will last for centuries to come. Confucian scholars thus gain prominent status as the core of the civil service.
Wu Ti has also reformed the land ownership and tax systems, effectively legalizing the privatization of lands. Land taxes are now drawn based on the sizes of fields, and no longer on the amount of the harvest. This has had an unintended effect of creating a class of wealthy landowners and reducing most of the population to a state of near serfdom.
Wu Ti’s reform of the tax system, on paper, guarantees the government a steady flow of revenue from year to year. But in practice, since peasants depend on their harvest for their income, they can not always pay the standard taxes assessed on their land under the new system. Thus, small peasant freeholders find themselves forced to sell their land to wealthy merchants and nobles who can pay the taxes. And since the peasants have no place else to go, they are forced to stay and till the land for the new owners, effectively reducing themselves to serfdom in the process. This will provide the seed for peasant revolts which will disrupt Chinese society time and time again in the centuries to come. And the newly created class of wealthy landowners will also come to be a threat to the Imperial throne as the landowning families become allied with each other through marriage and gradually gain power over the selection of officials.
85 BC--The Second League of Delos is formed. Over the past two-and-a-half centuries, the Greek Polei which are allied to Hatti have become ever more closely linked economically, and there have, for some time, been many who argue that these links should also be moved into the political realm as well. In 85 BC, representatives from these states meet on the holy island of Delos to discuss the possibility of unification.
They reach an agreement to form a new League of Delos...in essence, a federal-style government for the city-states of Greece. The federal government of the league will be in the form of an assembly, in which each polis has one vote, which will meet four times per year on Delos in order to discuss and legislate on matters pertaining to the whole league.
An Archon, selected by the Delian Assembly for a one year term, will hold executive power and command the armed forces of the League. Local government in the individual polei will continue as before (almost all of the cities have some form of democratic assembly), and the League will not have power to interfere in the internal affairs of any member polis. The League will have the power to collect taxes from the individual polei, and the individual polei will no longer be permitted to maintain their own military forces, which now become the responsibility of the League (it is stipulated that the military may not be used against any member polis without a 4/5 majority vote of the Delian Assembly). Member polei are each assigned a quota of troops and warships, to be equipped and trained in a uniform manner specified by the League, to serve with the League military forces, where they will be commanded by officers selected by the Archon.
82 BC--Romans inflict a final defeat on the Celts in Italy; Roman province of Gallia Cisaplina formed.
80 BC--Gaius Julius Caesar leaves Rome for military service with the forces of Gnaeus Pompeius in Hispania. As a result of his service, Caesar wins the corona civica (award for personal heroism. For the rest of his life he will be awarded public honors (such as being able to wear his laurel crown on all public occasions). He is also permitted to sit in the Senate without age restriction.
75 BC--Leaving Rome to study rhetoric in Rhodes, Gaius Julius Caesar is captured by pirates and held for ransom. Caesar, when released, returns and crucifies all the pirates. He then continues on to Rhodes to study under famous rhetorician Apollonius Molon.
74 BC--In Rome, the inevitable reaction against the arch-conservative policies of the pro-Sulla faction has begun to set in, and concessions are being made. This is hastened when Gnaeus Pompeius returns from Hispania and along with Marcus Licinius Crassus, switches his allegiance from the Optimates (pro-Sulla party) to the Populares. The Tribunes of the Plebes receive many (but not all) of their powers back,and many of the reforms of the Populares are reinstated.
73-62 BC--The Spartacid War. In 73 BC, Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator, leads a rebellion at a gladiatorial school in Capua. Along with other gladiators, Spartacus escapes and proceeds to raise an army of escaped slaves which ravages southern Italy. Spartacus then moves north, aiming to cross the Alps and escape into Gaul, but is forced by a near mutiny among his followers to give up this plan and head south again. In the process, Spartacus meets, and defeats, several Roman armies, creating a panic in Rome. Upon reaching southern Italy again, Spartacus makes contact with agents of Sertorius and King Labarnash II of Hatti, and with their aid, manages to transport his army to Sicily in 71 BC.
Once in Sicily, Spartacus leads the Sicilian slaves into rebellion, and with their aid, establishes control over the whole island. Spartacus is proclaimed King of Sicilia by his followers, and this is immediately recognized by Sertorius and Labarnash, who are both eager to see the strategically important island of Sicily liberated from Rome and under the control of a friendly regime. A Hittite fleet shortly thereafter takes up station at Syracuse and begins patrolling the waters around Sicily.
When the Roman Senate learns of this, they issue an ultimatum to Hatti and Hispania, warning them to cease interfering in “Roman internal affairs” or face war with Rome. Sertorius and Labarnash consider the maintenance of an independent Sicily as strategically vital in keeping the sea route between Hispania and Hatti open, and they do not back down. Accordingly, on March 14, 70 BC, the Roman Senate declares war on Hatti and Hispania.
The Greek League of Delos and Sparta declare themselves neutral in the conflict, and as a result, most of the war is fought at sea between the rival fleets of Rome, Hatti, and Hispania, as almost all of the natural invasion routes between the countries involved are sea routes. In these contests, the Hispano/Hittite fleets generally have the better of it. Therefore, Hispania is able to land an invasion force in north Africa to cooperate with Hittite forces advancing from Cyrenacia. And since Rome is not able to land reinforcements, Rome’s north African provinces fall to the allies within two years.
The naval fighting in the Aegean and Black Sea is inconclusive, with neither side gaining the upper hand. Therefore Rome is unable to land an invasion force in Anatolia, nor is Hatti able to land a force in Thrace.
The fighting between Roman and Hittite fleets off Sicily also proves indecisive, which prevents Rome from landing troops on that island. But Rome is able to send an invasion force overland to attack Hispania, and this they do, resulting in the most sanguinary fighting of the war. Sertorius, however, although his army is severely battered, manages to hold off the Roman assault and later, when Hittite reinforcements cross from Africa, to finally expel the Roman invasion force from Hispania in 64 BC.
Finally, in 62 BC, the Roman Senate responds to a peace overture from King Ura Tarhundas IV of Hatti and agrees to negotiate for an end to the war. The terms of the treaty which follows stipulate that Sicilian independence must be recognized by Rome. Hatti and Hispania agree to guarantee that the newly independent Sicily does not become a base for piracy against Roman shipping in the area, or a launch pad for seaborne raids against Roman cities (Spartacus protests this provision somewhat loudly, but Labarnash and Sertorius make it clear that the provision must be obeyed). Rome will also give up all claim to it’s north African provinces in exchange for a payment of 10,000 talents of silver (5,000 talents from Hispania and 5,000 from Hatti). Hatti and Hispania will jointly administer the provinces as a protectorate. Finally, Hatti and Hispania guarantee to cease interference in Rome’s internal affairs.
73 BC--Death of Emperor Chao Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Hsuan Ti.
72 BC--Death of King Lycurgus I of Sparta. He is succeeded by Lycurgus II.
68 BC--Death of King Labarnash II of Hatti. He is succeeded by Ura-Tarhundas IV. Ura-Tarhundas is a virtual carbon-copy of his great father, and Hatti will prosper under his wise leadership.
62 BC onward--King Spartacus of Sicilia organizes his kingdom. He creates what is essentially a limited, constitutional monarchy, with the King’s powers limited by a legislative body (modeled on the Roman Senate) whose members are elected by the people of the cities and provinces of Sicilia. He has previously, as one of his first acts, abolished slavery throughout Sicilia, and extended citizenship to all people living on the island, whether of Roman, Greek, Punic, or native Sicilian stock. He also seized the estates of large landowners (most of whom were killed when the slave revolt seized control of the island) and redistributed the land to the freed slaves and other landless people. He remains very popular with the masses as a result, and will enjoy a long and relatively peaceful reign. Sicilia will use it’s advantageous position as a “gateway” for trade between the eastern and western Mediterranean to great advantage, and the kingdom will prosper mightily.
62-40 BC--Period of relative peace between the great powers. During this period, Roman armies, under the command of capable generals such as Gnaeus Pompeius, Gaius Julius Caesar, and less capable ones such as Marcus Licinius Crassus, move north into Gaul, Germania, and Britain, conquering the Celtic and Germanic tribes there and annexing those areas into the Roman Empire. By the end of the period, Rome’s northern borders sit on the Oder, the Danube, and the Firth of Forth.
60 BC onward--Sertorius reforms the governmental structure of Hispania. In response to complaints from the native tribes that Roman emigres are heavily over-represented in the Hispanian Senate, Sertorius creates a bi-cameral legislature. The Senate will, as before, be composed primarily of Roman Emigres, with, as before, some representation of the Romanized noble families of the native peoples of Hispania. The second house, called the Tribunate, will be elected by popular vote of each province. The number of representatives from each province will be determined by the population of the province, and Sertorius orders a census to be taken every ten years so that the seats in the new house can be properly apportioned. All laws have to be approved by majority vote of both houses. Sertorius also sets up a legal system of succession for the office of Consul, which he currently holds, as he realizes he is getting old and will likely not be around much longer. Basically, he has the chief member of the Senate succeed him until an election is held (within no more than one year) to choose a permanent successor.
57 BC-- A kingdom is established in the Silla region of south Korea with capital in Kyongju.
55 BC--First Triumverate formed by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (so named for his triumphs in Germania), Gaius Julius Caesar, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. This combination will dominate Roman politics for the next decade.
53 BC--Death of Sertorius. The new system of succession which he established for Hispania works as designed, and a new Consul is peacefully elected to replace him.
51 BC --Death of King Ura-Tarhundas IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by Anitta III. Anitta III is a weak king, and also not a Hellenophile. In fact, he begins acting aggressively toward the Greek cities on the Anatolian coast, causing a rift in the Graeco-Hittite alliance which does not go un-noticed by outside powers. Also at this time, the Hsiung Nu Empire breaks apart. The Hsiung Nu split into two hordes, with the eastern (southern) horde surrendering to China.
c. 50 BC onward--Expanding trade between the Hittite Empire and India. Sometime in the middle of the 1st century BC a Greek sailor named Hippalus (working for the Hittites) discovers that he can take advantage of the monsoon winds and sail from the Red Sea ports of the Hittite Empire to India in forty to fifty days. By 24 B.C. at least 120 ships are setting sail annually and by the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. sea trade between the northern and eastern coasts of Africa and India is brisk and prosperous. Like the the overland Silk Road, which took its name from the most prestigious commodity traded along it, the sea route comes to be called the Pepper Route, for it is the tangy spice from Malabar which is valued above all. However, that not the only item traded, and the great warehouses in the Indian ports are stocked not only with pepper, but also with pearls and gems, fine fabrics and perfumes, in exchange for which merchants from Hatti bring wine, metalwork, ceramics, glass-ware and slaves.
50 BC--The western Huns (Hsiung Nu) expand to the Volga.
48 BC--The Hsiung Nu empire completely disintegrates. The Hsiung Nu tribes will war among themselves for quite some time, thus removing a serious threat from China’s borders. Also in this year, Emperor Hsuan Ti of Han China dies, and is succeeded by Yuan Ti. And also in this year, Marcus Lincinius Crassus is killed while campaigning in Britannia. The alliance between Gaius Julius Caesar (who is now the champion of the Populares) and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (who has switched his allegiance back to the Optimates) begins to break up, as Crassus is no longer there to defuse conflicts between the two.
46 BC--Death of King Lycurgus II of Sparta. He is succeeded by Pausanias II. King Pausanias will be a militarily gifted and aggressive king, and will seek to take advantage of the rift between the League of Delos and Hatti to fulfill the dreams of King Leonidas III and to unify Greece under the banner of Sparta. He immediately begins preparing for war.
44-40 BC--Second Roman Civil War. In 44 BC, Gnaeus Pompeius wins the political struggle between himself and Caesar in the Senate and Caesar is ordered to dismiss his army and report to Rome for trial. Caesar refuses, and crosses the Rubicon with his army. Pompeius flees to Germania, where his old legions are stationed, and raises an army against Caesar. Thus begins a four-year war, which is bitterly contested. But in the end, Pompeius is defeated and killed in northern Italy by Caesar’s army, and Gaius Julius Caesar emerges as the dominant political figure in Rome. He is declared Dictator for Life in 40 BC.
42 BC--Death of King Spartacus of Sicilia. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Spartacus II.
40-35 BC--Dictatorship of Julius Caesar. Following his victory over Pompeius and the Optimates, Caesar attacks the intractable social problems which have bedeviled Rome since the time of the Gracchi, including what to do with the landless poor. He declares a general amnesty for all who had taken arms against him in the Civil War. He orders the taking of an exact census of the city and reorganizes and reduces the distribution of free grain, reducing those on the dole from 300,000 to 150,000. He founds dozens of civilian and military colonies in the non-Italian provinces, to which eventually 80,000 of the turbulent Roman poor are transported as well as veterans. He grants citizenship (and all its benefits) to doctors and teachers, many of whom were Greek. The owners of large landed estates are required to hire a third of their farm workers from free men rather than slaves, to avoid the problem of forcing landless workers into the overcrowded towns. He abolishes the private guilds which have become breeding-grounds for the fighting mobs of various demagogues.
Caesar also makes sweeping changes in how the provinces are governed. He steps up criminal penalties for corruption and makes laws limiting the terms of provincial governors. He limits the terms of propraetors to one year and of proconsuls to two consecutive years- both to prevent others from acquiring a power base from which to launch another civil war, as well as to discourage the wholesale provincial robbery of the past. Perhaps most importantly to the provinces, after decades of rapacious Roman tax-gatherers plundering for their own profit, he abolishes the existing tax system. Instead, he returns to the earlier policy of permitting the provinces themselves to collect and pay tribute without middlemen. Most importantly of all, Caesar sees provincial political enfranchisement as a vital necessity for the workable growth of empire, and begins making moves in that direction.
All these reforms are opposed by the conservative patricians in the Senate, but are passed because Caesar’s power seems unstoppable. Caesar also creates opposition to his rule by increasing the number of Senators and filling the vacancies with those loyal to himself, including many people who are not of patrician or equestrian birth. Soon centurions, men without name or reputation, even barbarians (supposedly in hairy breeches, although more likely provincial Roman citizens) are sitting in the hallowed halls of the Senate, to the disgust of the old patrician elite.
Caesar’s enemies begin spreading rumours that Caesar intends to make himself King of Rome...which Caesar has explicitly denied. But the rumours have their effect, and a conspiracy forms against Caesar, which culminates in Caesar’s assassination in 35 BC.
40-32 BC--The War of Hellene Unification. In 40 BC, the new Spartan King, Pausanias II, declares war on the League of Delos and invades Attica, laying siege to Athens. The Archon of the League of Delos, Democritas of Phocas, leads the League’s army to the relief of Athens, and the two armies meet on the old battleground at Plataea. Pausanias is victorious, and the League’s army is routed.
In early 39 BC, the Spartan navy defeats the fleet of the League of Delos off the coast of Attica, cutting off Athens from outside aid. The fleet then transports a second Spartan army to Crete, which is brought under Spartan control by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the city of Athens falls later that year, and Pausanias declares Attica to be officially annexed by the Spartan state.
In 38 BC, Pausanias marches north, laying siege to Thebes and defeating another Delian army sent to the relief of that city. Thebes proves to be a very tough nut to crack, however, and holds out against the Spartan siege for several years. And the heavy defeats inflicted on the League of Delos prevent them from mounting any major military action during the time period, either.
In 35 BC, the fleet of the League of Delos, under the new Archon, Anaxagoras of Lesbos, inflicts a heavy defeat on the Spartan fleet off Corinth, and Anaxagoras leads a new army in a seaborne invasion of the Peloponnesus itself, moving inland and laying siege to Corinth and Argos. Pausanias abandons the siege of Thebes and moves swiftly to the relief of Corinth, where he meets the Delian League army in battle. Although the Spartans are victorious once again...virtually annihilating the Delian army...Pausanias is killed, and his successor, Leonidas IV, is unable to immediately follow up on the victory.
In 34 BC, King Anitta III of Hatti takes advantage of the warfare between the Greek states to sieze control of and annex the Greek cities on the coast of Anatolian coast. This will have dramatic impacts later on.
In 33 BC, Spartan King Leonidas IV moves north and lays siege to Thebes, the Spartans again defeating a Delian League army sent to the relief of the city. The city, weakened by the previous siege, falls by the end of the year. The Spartan navy also re-establishes control over the Aegean, devastating the Delian League fleet in battle off Crete (where the League was trying to land an army to recover the island from Sparta).
In 32 BC, with the conquest of the two strongest member polei of the League of Delos, and the betrayal of the Great King of Hatti, friction among the remaining member states finally leads to the collapse of the League. The remaining mainland cities surrender to Sparta and are annexed. With the exception of a few island states which still cling precariously to independence, Greece is now unified for the first time in it’s history.
37 BC--A second kingdom, Kogoryu, arises in Korea.
35 BC--Death of King Pausanias II of Sparta in battle. He is succeeded by Leonidas IV.
35-28 BC--Third Roman Civil War. In the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination, civil war again breaks out between Caesar’s supporters...lead by Marcus Antonius (also known as Mark Antony) and Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (also known as Octavian, adopted heir of Caesar)...and the assassins of Caesar, lead by Quintus Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. A series of campaigns and battles will lead ultimately to the defeat of the assassins in 28 BC.
Antony and Octavian, along with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, form the Second Triumverate. Octavian is left in control of Italy...center of Roman power...Lepidus in Gaul and Germania; and Antony in Macedon and Illyricum. Antony and Octavian almost immediately begin to scheme against each other, seeking total power for themselves. But despite this, the Second Triumverate will manage to co-exist peacefully for over a decade.
33 BC--Death of King Anitta III of Hatti. At his death, the Crown Prince is murdered and throne is usurped by a noble of the old royal house of Carchemish (a rival dynasty to the family from Azatiwataya which has ruled the empire up to now), who takes the throne as King Piyassili. Piyassili methodically hunts down and murders all remaining members of the royal house and closely related houses, ending the dynasty established by Talmi Tesub I. Beginning of a period of instability as noble families from other Hittite cities begin to maneuver to seize the throne for themselves.
32 BC--Death of Emperor Yuan Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Cheng Ti. However, the widow of the emperor Yüan Ti succeeds in placing all of her relatives in government positions and ruling in place of her son.
31-20 BC--Axumite and Kushite revolts. Taking advantage of the chaos in the Hittite empire following the usurpation of the throne by Piyassili, revolts break out in the provinces of Kush and Axum. The Hittite garrisons are thrown out, and the two kingdoms re-establish their independence.
30 BC--King Piyassili is himself murdered, and the throne is usurped by a noble from the city of Milid, who takes the throne as King Halpasulupis.
30-27 BC--War between Sparta and Epirus. In 30 BC, King Leonidas IV of Sparta declares war on Epirus, and in a series of campaigns lasting three years, conquers it. Epirus is annexed by the Spartan state.
25 BC--The southern Arabian kingdom of Sheba is conquered by the Himyaritic Kingdom (with Hittite aid).
24 BC--A prince who is distantly related to the old royal family from Azatiwataya rebels against the Milidian usurper Halpasulupis and seizes the throne. He will reign as King Warpalawa III and have a long and successful reign, establishing a new dynasty, reunifying the country and restoring stability.
22 BC--In Han China, slave revolts begin in the government iron works. They will continue for several years, weakening the Han regime.
18 BC--The Kingdom of Paekche arises in Korea. Also in this year, King Spartacus II of Sicilia dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Phillip I.
17-12 BC--Fourth Roman Civil War. The continuous scheming of Antony against Octavian and vice verse finally leads to war between the two. Lepidus declares himself neutral, and Antony has been cultivating a friendly relationship with and receiving financial and military support from King Warpalawa III of Hatti, and this will prove decisive in the civil war. Antony’s army defeats that of Octavian outside the city of Mediolanum (OTL modern Milan) in 15 BC, and Octavian is captured and executed. Octavian’s supporter, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, continues the war, but is himself defeated and killed in 14 BC. Antony marches on Rome, and is proclaimed Dictator.
Lepidus then declares war on Antony, and is in turn defeated in 13 BC. Lepidus escapes, however, and raises another army in Britannia. Antony leads an army across the Oceanus Britannicus (English Channel) in pursuit, and defeats the forces of Lepidus near the town of Londinium in 12 BC. Antony is supreme in Rome.
12 BC-3 BC--Dictatorship of Mark Antony. Antony assumes the title of Dictator for Life which had been bestowed on Julius Caesar, and continues and expands on Caesar’s reforms of the Roman governmental system. He is aided in this by the fact that the power of the arch-conservative Optimate faction has been destroyed in the Civil Wars, and the Roman people are heartily tired of the factionalism and want stability, and thus they support reforms which seem aimed at eliminating conflict from the society. In the end, Antony will be remembered as the savior of the Republic...he reforms the military system so as to prevent ambitious generals from using their armies as a springboard for political power, he finally breaks the power of the elites and makes the Roman political system universal in nature, and extends full citizenship to the people of the provinces. The final system which emerges is much more responsive to the will of the Roman people, while being at the same time much more stable and less factionalized. Rome will prosper mightily as a result. Shortly before his death in 3 BC, he resigns from the office of Dictator, but before doing so he institutes a system of orderly succession to the office of Dictator, which is now made permanently the supreme executive office of the Republic (Basically the structure now is 1 Dictator selected by the Senate for a six year term, supported by 2 Consuls who are elected by the people for one-year terms, who are in turn supported by the traditional Praetors, Tribunes, Censors, and other officials).
15-13 BC--King Warpalawa III of Hatti campaigns in Kush, but is unable to restore Hittite control in the region.
14 BC--Peasant revolts begin in Han China. The peasants join forces with the slaves from the government iron works, who have been in revolt since 22 BC.
12 BC--Death of King Leonidas IV of Sparta. He is succeeded by Archidamus VI.
11 BC--In the aftermath of the victorious conclusion of the Fourth Roman Civil War, and in gratitude for the role played by King Warpalawa III of Hatti in that victory, Mark Antony signs a formal military alliance between Rome and Hatti. This inaugurates a period of peaceful cooperation between the various states of the Mediterranean basin which will last for some time.
6 BC--Death of Emperor Cheng Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Ai Ti.
4 BC--Yeshua (Jesus) born in the Hittite province of Israel.
3 BC--Death of Mark Antony, of natural causes, in Rome. The Senate selects as Dictator Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, who had married Mark Antony’s daughter and had been, under Antony, a successful general in Germania, making punitive raids beyond the Oder in response to barbarian incursions from beyond the Roman frontier. Germanicus will serve a six year term, and then peacefully transfer power to his successor, setting an important precedent and showing that system established by Mark Antony really works.
MORE TO COME...
November 26th, 2009, 06:38 PM
THE THIRD HITTITE EMPIRE, CONTINUED...
PART TEN: 1-100 AD
1-100 AD--Era of Relative Peace in the Mediterranean Basin. Continued peaceful relations between the two great regional powers...Rome and Hatti...lead to a century of near-peace in the region. That is not to say that there is no warfare in the region at all...just that the major powers are not involved in warfare against each other. Both empires use this time profitably to promote trade, conduct major building projects and expand infrastructure. The Era will be variously known by historians as the Pax Romana or the Pax Hattica
1-223 AD--During this time period, Rome will gradually move toward the abolition of slavery, as successive Dictators continue the reforms begun by Julius Caesar and Mark Antony and bring passage of laws increasing the proportion of free labor required to be employed by owners of large estates, mine owners, and other large users of slave labor. By the end of the First Century, seventy-five percent of the workers on large estates and in mining operations are required to be free laborers. This has the salutary effect of absorbing the large masses of unemployed who congregate in Roman cities, living on the public dole and occasionally rioting and causing other public disorder. By the end of the Second Century, this proportion will have increased to over 90%, and the Roman Senate will formally abolish slavery in 223 AD.
1 AD onward--Bantu migrations in Africa. The Bantu, iron-working cattle-herders who originated in the forests of west Africa, begin migrating south and east in about 1 AD. In a process that will consume the next 1,400 years, they will spread out over most of sub-saharan Africa, becoming the dominant population in most areas. The first waves of Bantu immigration will reach Natal (OTL South Africa) by 200 AD, and the east coast of Africa about the same time.
1 AD--Han Chinese Emperor Ai Ti dies and is succeeded by Ping Ti.
c. 1-98 AD--Gothic tribes migrate out of Scandinavia and into the regions of OTL Poland and Romania. In the region north of the Danube, they ally themselves with the Dacians and Sarmatians, and as a result by 50 AD raids across the Oder and the Danube begin which occupy much of Rome’s military resources for much of the latter half of the century.
2 AD--The Han Chinese Empire takes a census, revealing it is the most populous nation in the world at 57,671,400 souls.
3 AD--The term of the current Roman Dictator, Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, is coming to an end, and he is not standing for re-election. The Senate selects Publius Cornelius Scipio as his successor. Scipio will continue the reforms of Mark Antony with regard to the army. Laws passed during his term of office will remove all military roles from the various magistrates of the Republic (Consul, Praetor, Tribune, etc.). Instead, a military academy is established, where a professional officer corps will be trained, and it will be from this professional cadre that army commanders will be selected. No more will politicians be able to use the army as a springboard to political power, and the quality of generalship displayed by Roman commanders in the field will also improve greatly.
5 AD--In recognition that his kingdom is no longer an expanded city state, but a united Greek nation, King Archidamus VI of Sparta declares that his kingdom will no longer be known as Sparta, but will instead be called Hellas...land of the Hellenes. This announcement is met with much enthusiasm throughout his realm.
6 AD--Death of King Warpalawa III of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Labarnash III. Also in this year, Han Chinese Emperor Ping Ti dies, and is succeeded by Ju-Tzu. Ju-Tzu is a minor child, and a Confucian Scholar named Wang Mang is named as Regent.
8-20 AD--Campaigns of King Labarnash III of Hatti against Kush and Axum. Eager to eliminate competition for the lucrative trade with India, and freed of immediate threats from Rome, King Labarnash III of Hatti invades the Kingdoms of Kush and Axum in 8 AD. A series of campaigns spanning the next eighteen years will be required, but both kingdoms will be annexed by Hatti by 20 AD.
9-23 AD--The Han Chinese throne is usurped by Wang Mang, who declares the foundation of a new dynasty, the Hsin Dynasty. Wang Mang hopes to win support from common people by reforms, and he issues decrees for the redistribution of land, reduction of the tax burden on poor peasants, reduced interest rates on loans, formation of a state granary to stabilize the price of grain, and the creation of a body of officials to regulate the economy and fix prices. Furthermore, he decrees that critics of his plan will be drafted into the military. He justifies all these reforms by claiming that they are supported by “The Lost Scriptures of Confucianism,” which Wang Mang claims to have found. However, gentry-bureaucrats and other owners of good-sized lands fail to cooperate in implementing Wang's reforms, and without newspapers or television, local people remain unaware of the reforms.
9 AD--The term of Roman Dictator Publius Cornelius Scipio is ending, and once again, the current Dictator is not standing for re-election. The Senate selects Lucius Aemilius Paulus as the new Dictator.
10 AD--Death of King Phillip I of Sicilia. He is succeeded by Cassander. Cassander abandons the relatively benign trade policies followed by his predecessors and imposes high tolls on ships passing through Silician waters, especially those of Hellas and Rome. Also at about this time, Buddhism makes it’s first significant inroads in China.
11 AD--The Yellow River overflows it’s banks, leaving millions homeless and creating a widespread famine in the Chinese Empire which is made even worse by the five-year drought which follows. Emperor Wang Mang is unable to cope with the crisis, and rebellions break out all over China. The most dangerous of these is that of the Red Eyebrows (so called because it’s members paint their eyebrows red for easy identification).
12-23 AD--War between Hellas and Sicilia. In 12 AD, King Archidamus VI of Hellas declares war on Sicilia in retaliation against “Sicilian Piracy” (actually, the imposition of exhorbitant tolls on Spartan trade ships passing through Sicilian waters). The nature of the two antagonists being what they are, the war is primarily naval in nature, and for the most part is inconclusive.
Rome secretly supports the Hellene war effort against Sicilia, however (although it does not declare war itself, not wanting to jeopardize the profitable relationship it has with Hatti), and the Sicilian fleet is finally defeated in 23 AD. King Cassander immediately sues for peace, realizing that if a Hellenic army lands on his soil, his kingdom is probably doomed.
Cassander agrees to restore the low pre-war tolls on ships passing through Sicilian waters, and also agrees to pay Hellas reparations of 10,000 talents of silver over ten years. King Leon II (who succeeded Archidamus VI in 21AD) of Hellas agrees to these terms, and the war ends.
15 AD--Roman Dictator Lucius Aemilius Paulus wins re-election to a second term.
21 AD--Death of King Archidamus VI of Hellas. He is succeeded by Leon II. Also in this year, the term of Roman Dictator Lucius Aemilius Paulus comes to an end, and the Senate selects Tiberius Claudius Nero as his successor.
22 AD--The Red Eyebrows defeat the main Chinese imperial army at Liang.
23 AD--In the aftermath of the defeat by the Red Eyebrows, Wang Mang is executed by his own troops. Central authority collapses in China, and civil war breaks out.
24 AD--Rebellion in Sicilia overthrows King Cassander. He is succeeded by his nephew, who reigns as King Dionysius I.
25 AD--General Liu Hsiu, who is distantly related to the royal family of the old Han Dynasty seizes the imperial throne as the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti, founding the Later (or Eastern) Han Dynasty. However, the country is still disunified, with warlords holding sway in various regions, a situation which will prevail for another decade.
26 AD--Death of King Labarnash III of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Hattusili Tesub V. The new king will not be military minded, but will rather concentrate on massive building projects throughout the empire, as well as on expansion of the Royal Library at Hattusas.
27 AD--The term of Roman Dictator Tiberius Claudius Nero is coming to an end, and the Dictator is standing for re-election. However, he has been somewhat unpopular, and is defeated. Instead, Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix is selected.
29 AD--Death of King Dionysius I of Sicilia. He is succeeded by Spartacus III.
c.30 AD--Kajula Kadphises unites all the tribes of the Yueh-Chih and become the first of the Kushan emperors.
c. 30 AD onward--The Yueh Chih, who had in the preceding century driven the Sakas southward from their homeland, themselves begin to move southward into the Saka Empire. They will defeat the Sakas and force them further southeast into India. Meanwhile, they will found their own empire, which will be named after their ruler, who is known as The Kushan. By the end of the century, it will include Bactria, Gandhara, and much of northern India.
30-33 AD--Yeshua called to ministry. 12 Disciples join him. Yeshua performs various miracles (healing the sick, blind, and lame, walking on water, converting water into wine, feeding a large multitude with a small number of loaves and fishes, and raising the dead, among others) and preaches a doctrine of peace, brotherly love, and redemption through the grace of God. He gains many followers, and comes to be seen as a threat by the Hebrew authorities in the Hittite province of Israel. Although Yeshua himself does not claim it directly, his Disciples begin spreading the word that Yeshua is the long-awaited Messiah.
31 AD--Frictions have been building between Hatti and Hispania over their joint administration of the former Roman north African provinces. In 31 AD the Hispanian Senate declares the treaty between Hatti and Hispania to be null and void, and Hispania declares that it is annexing the north African provinces. King Hattusili Tesub V of Hatti does not respond to this provocation, and Hittite troops are withdrawn peacefully.
32 AD--A Parthian chieftain named Vologeses who is distantly related to the old Arsacid royal house seizes power in Parthia, throwing out the puppet regime imposed by the Hittites and Saka in the last century. Because Hatti is ruled by a non-warlike king and the Saka have their hands full fending off the Kushans, he is able to get away with it. Vologeses founds the Neo-Arsacid Dynasty. Vologeses will maintain friendly relations with Hatti.
33 AD--Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix is elected to a second term. Also in this year, Yeshua attacks vendors in Temple at Jerusalem during the Passover celebration. He is accused of Blasphemy by the Sanhedrin, tried, convicted and executed. When His body disappears from his tomb 3 days later, His Disciples claim to have seen Yeshua, risen from the dead, and begin making converts.
34-42 AD--War between Rome and Hispania. Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix has watched the recent events leading to the breakdown of the alliance between Hatti and Hispania with interest, and in 34 AD, he declares war on Hispania. Roman armies march south from Gaul, and in a grueling series of campaigns, they defeat the Hispanic armies and conquer Hispania. Not wanting Roman power to be re-established in Africa, King Hattusili Tesub V of Hatti sends troops to occupy the north African
provinces which were just recently annexed by Hispania, and makes it known that any Roman invasion of these provinces will end the peaceful relationship between Rome and Hatti which has prevailed since the time of Mark Antony. Dictator Sulla agrees, and no Roman troops enter Africa. Hatti establishes the north African provinces as an independent buffer state under the rule of the Punic city of Utica.
34-40 AD--Vologeses of Parthia campaigns in Media and Persis, bringing both of these kingdoms under Parthian control.
36 AD--Emperor Kuang Wu Ti of China defeats the last of the warlords and reunites the country.
39 AD--Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix is elected to a third term. Sulla will, during this term, get some important laws passed, including a law which extends the franchise to the provinces. No more will voters in Roman elections be required to be physically present in Rome in order to vote...now citizens in the provinces can vote at their own provincial capital. This still limits the franchise to those who can be physically present in the provincial capital on election day, but it is a definite step forward in truly integrating the provinces into the Roman State.
40 AD--Most of the followers of Yeshua are driven out of Israel by the Hebrew authorities. Communities are formed in Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Athens, Arabia and Rome over the next few years. Converts in Greek-speaking areas will give Yeshua a new name...Jesus Christ...and His followers will be known as "Christians." The new religion begins to spread.
41 AD--Death of King Hattusili Tesub V of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Kushtashpi III. Kushtashpi will also be remembered primarily as a builder, but will conduct campaigns against the Sarmatian tribes to the north of his realm (in reply to Sarmatian raids into Hittite territory).
42-55 AD--Vologeses of Parthia campaigns against the Saka and the Kushans. He is generally successful, and retakes much of the territory lost to these peoples in previous times.
43 AD--Chinese armies conquer Annam (northern Vietnam).
45 AD--Death of King Kushtashpi III of Hatti in battle against the Sarmatians. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Tudhaliyas VII. Tudhaliyas will also campaign against the Sarmatians, but most of his long reign will be spent at peace. Also in this year, the third term of Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix comes to an end, and he does not run for re-election. The Senate selects Paulus Fabius Persicus as his successor.
48 AD--Chinese armies drive the Hsiung Nu back to their homeland in Mongolia.
49 AD--Death of King Leon II of Hellas. He is succeeded by Nicander II.
50 AD--The Chinese Empire allies itself with the southern Hsiung Nu tribes. Also in this year, the Xianbei (mounted archers) invade north China. Also at this time, the southern Arabian kingdom of Qataban is conquered by the Himyaritic Kingdom (with Hittite aid).
51 AD--The term of Roman Dictator Paulus Fabius Persicus comes to an end, and the Senate selects Titus Aurelius Fuluus as his successor.
52 AD--Death of King Spartacus III of Sicilia. He is succeeded by Dionysius II.
55 AD--Death of King Nicander II of Hellas. He is succeeded by Pausanias III. Also in this year, King Vologeses of Parthia is killed in battle against the Kushans. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Mithridates III. Like his father, Mithridates will cultivate friendly relations with Hatti while engaging in warfare against the Saka and the Kushans.
57 AD--The term of Roman Dictator Titus Aurelius Fuluus ends, and the Senate selects Gaius Marcus Antonius (grandson of Mark Antony) as the new Dictator. Gaius will follow in the footsteps of his great ancestor and will get many reforms passed which will strengthen the stability of the Republic while making it more inclusive. Prime among these is a law which allows the individual provinces to elect their own Governors, rather than having one appointed for them by the Dictator and Senate at Rome. He also creates provincial assemblies...mini-Senates, if you will...which will act as a check on the Governor’s power and pass legislation on local matters, so long as provincial legislation does not conflict with legislation passed by the Senate at Rome. The passage of these laws will encourage citizens of the provinces to begin to enthusiastically identify with the Roman State.
58 AD--Death of the Han Chinese Emperor Kuang Wu Ti. He is succeeded by Ming Ti.
59 AD--Death of King Dionysius II of Sicilia. He is succeeded by Phillip II.
c. 68 AD--Wima Taktu, Kushan Emperor, conquers northern India.
60-100 AD--Christian Gospels composed and set down in writing.
63 AD--Gaius Marcus Antonius is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
65 AD--Decebalus unites the Dacian tribes into a single kingdom. The Dacians begin raiding across the Danube, causing severe problems for Rome.
69 AD--Death of King Mithridates III of Parthia. He is succeeded by Arsaces II. Arsaces will, like his father and grand-father before him, continue to cultivate friendly relations with the Hittites while warring with the Saka and Kushans to the east. Trade between Hatti (terminus of the Pepper Route) and Parthia (terminus of the Silk Road) reaches unprecedented levels and greatly enriches both realms.
70 AD--Death of King Tudhaliyas VII of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Huzziya IV. Huzziyaâ€™s reign will be most taken up with campaigns against the Sarmatians to the north of his realm. Also in this year, Gaius Marcus Antonius is elected to a third term as Roman Dictator.
70-100 AD--Roman expansion on it’s northern frontiers. In response to raiding by Dacian, Gothic and Sarmatian tribesmen, Roman armies move across the Oder and the Danube in a series of campaigns that will last for 30 years and will see the expansion of Roman control to the Vistula and the Carpathians. Rome thus gains a comparatively short and more easily defended line of defense, which it proceeds to heavily fortify. It also absorbs the warlike Gothic, Dacian, and Sarmatian tribes which have been troubling it for so long. These peoples will be gradually Romanized, and will make fine recruiting stock for the Roman armies.
74-94 AD--The Kushans and other peoples of OTL Turkestan submit to Chinese hegemony, helping caravan trade on the Silk Road.
76 AD--Death of the Han Chinese Emperor Ming Ti. He is succeeded by Chang Ti. Also in this year, Gaius Marcus Antonius steps down after his third term as Roman Dictator. Gaius Rutilius Gallicus is selected as the new Dictator.
79 AD--Death of King Huzziya IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Suppiluliuma VI. King Suppiluliuma will be a strong ruler, and under his reign the armies of the Hittite Empire will be reorganized, with the infantry component of the army being reduced in favor of an expanded force of heavy cavalry armed with lance and bow (cataphracts). The new army is proportioned as follows...30% Roman-style heavy infantry (short sword and pilum), 10% armored foot archers, 40% Cataphract cavalry, 20% light horse archers. Death of King Pausanias III of Hellas, who is succeeded by Eudamidas V. Also in this year, the Five Classics of Confucianism are assembled in China.
c.80 AD--Wima Kadphises, the son of Wima Taktu, ascends the throne of the Kushan Empire.
82 AD--Gaius Rutilius Gallicus is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
83 AD--Death of King Phillip II of Sicilia. He is succeeded by Cassander II.
84AD--An envoy from the Kushans asking for marriage to a Han Chinese princess is refused. This leads to hostility between the Han Chinese and the Kushans, and by c.90 AD, Kushan emperors begin to encroach on the Han sphere of influence in the Western Regions.
88 AD--Gaius Rutilius Gallicus is defeated in his bid for a third term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects instead L. Asinius Pollio Uerrucosus as his successor.
89 AD--Eighty-one Hsiung Nu tribes, totalling around 200 000, submit to Chinese suzerainty after a Chinese army kills 13,000. Also in this year the Han Chinese Emperor Chang Ti dies, and is succeeded by Ho Ti.
90 AD--Chinese campaign smashes the northern Hsiung Nu (Hun) tribes and start the tribes' migration to Europe.
92 AD--Death of King Arsaces II of Parthia. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Orodes II. Orodes II will abandon the pro-Hittite policies of his predecessors and war against Hatti.
93-97 AD--War between Hatti and Parthia. King Orodes II of Parthia invades Mesopotamia in 93 AD. However, his army is defeated outside Babylon by Hittite forces lead by Crown Prince Urhi Tesub, and Orodes barely escapes with his life.
Orodes invades again the following year, and this time defeats a Hittite army near the city of Nippur, after which he seizes control of most of Mesopotamia. But the Parthian victory will be short-lived, and in 96 AD, another Hittite army, again lead by Crown Prince Urhi Tesub, invades Mesopotamia. The Hittites meet the Parthians in battle near the town of Opis, and the Parthians are defeated. Mesopotamia once again falls into Hittite control.
Urhi Tesub follows up with an invasion of Parthia the next year, and the Parthians are once again defeated, this time near Pasargadae. King Orodes II falls in battle, and his successor, King Artabanus III, sues for peace, due in large part to the need to concentrate his forces against invading armies from Han China. A treaty is signed later that year, establishing the border between the two empires.
94 AD--L. Asinius Pollio Uerrucosus does not run for a second term as Roman Dictator, and the Senate selects Gavius Silvanus as his successor.
95-98 AD--War between Parthia and the Han Chinese Empire. The armies of the Han Emperor Ho Ti are moving west along the Silk Road, and they finally reach the borders of the Parthian Empire. Fighting breaks out as the Parthians oppose the Chinese advance, but the Chinese are victorious, and by 97 AD have reached the shores of the Caspian Sea (although they do not stay). The new Parthian King, Artabanus II, sues for peace, and in 98 AD a treaty is signed, establishing the border between the two empires. King Artabanus also agrees to give special preferences to Chinese traders and to assist in keeping down banditry along the Silk Road.
97 AD--Death of King Suppiluliuma VI of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Urhi Tesub III. Urhi Tesub is a strong king, with military experience from the recent war with Parthia, and Hatti will prosper under his reign. Also in this year, King Orodes II is killed in battle with the Hittites. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Artabanus II.
100 AD--Buddhist texts are translated into Chinese. Also in this year, Gavius Silvanus is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
PART ELEVEN: 100-200 AD
c. 100 AD--Christianity is spreading throughout the Near East. Thriving communities exist in the Hittite Empire, Parthia, Rome, and Hellas, and smaller communities have been established in the south Arabian kingdoms. In this ATL, adherence to the State religion is not a test used for treason (unlike in OTL Rome, where it was expected that all citizens make sacrifices to the Emperor as a show of loyalty), and so the religion is spreading somewhat faster than in OTL. One place where it is not spreading is in India, where a small sect barely maintains itself against persecution by the Hindu authorities, who do not willingly allow any competitive religion to thrive there. Another place where it is virtually absent is in it's original homeland, the Hittite Province of Israel, where the local Hebrew authorities severely persecute Christians.
Christianity's appeal has several sources. For some people the austere morality of the Christians is an attraction. Christians can point to the absurdities in many traditional religions, especially the worship of gods whose antics make them no guide for morality. Christianity also benefits from worship of someone with a human face...Jesus having been a common man and a martyr with a message, easier to worship than a god that was vague, unseen, unspeaking or a creature other than human. People can see their own suffering in the suffering of Jesus.
Christianity also has an advantage in being organized and relatively unified, and it benefits from its being open to people ignored or excluded by other religions: to women, non-citizens and slaves. In particular, Christianity appeals to the poor, an appeal aided by the claim that poverty was an advantage in attaining salvation after death. And becoming a Christian is less expensive than entering some other faiths. To be initiated into Great Mother Worship...a major rival to Christianity...for example, one has to bear the great expense of a bull that has to be slaughtered. Conversion to Christianity, on the other hand, requires only a free immersion in water.
And last but not least, when one becomes a Christian, he or she joins a community that looks after the welfare of its members. Christians share their meals. They offer health care (such as it is). They share their wealth. They take care of the indigent among them, including widows, whom they call "Virgins of the Church."
100 AD--The Himyaritic Kingdom conquers the Hadramaut kingdom (with Hittite aid), making it the dominant state in Arabia. All of southern Arabia, and much of the western coast extending toward the Sinai peninsula, is under Himyaritic control, giving the Himyarites complete control of the frankincense and myrrh trade with the north. They retain their close alliance and trading relationship with the Hittites, to the mutual profit of both. The Hittites thus are able to obtain frankincense and myrrh at “wholesale” prices, and profit handsomely by re-selling it to Rome, Parthia, and other regional kingdoms.
101 AD--Death of King Cassander II of Sicilia. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Spartacus IV.
102 AD--Death of King Eudamidas V of Hellas. He is succeeded by Eudamidas VI.
105 AD--Ts'ai Lun invents paper in China.
106 AD--Gavius Silvanus steps down as Roman Dictator, and the Senate selects Lucius Licinius Sura as his successor. Also in this year, the Emperor Ho Ti of Han China dies. He is succeeded by Shang Ti.
110 AD onward--The Nabataeans, who have never been able to form an independent state of their own and who are increasingly deprived of the source of their livelihood (the caravan trade in frankincense and myrrh) by the Hittite/Himyarite alliance, gradually are forced to seek other employment in the local economies of the regions in which they live. By the end of the century, they will lose their identity as a separate group and disappear from history.
107 AD--Death of the Emperor Shang Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by An Ti.
112 AD--Lucius Licinius Sura is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
115 AD--Kushan Emperor Wima Kadphises dies, and is succeeded by Kanishka I. Also in this year, King Eudamidas VI of Hellas dies, and is succeeded by Leon III.
118 AD--Lucius Licinius Sura is re-elected to a third term as Roman Dictator.
c. 120 AD--Images of the Buddha begin appearing on Kushan coins for the first time, signifying their conversion to Buddhism.
123 AD--Death of King Artabanus II of Parthia. He is succeeded by Artabanus III.
124 AD--Lucius Licinius Sura steps down from his post as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Gavius Claudius Squilla as his successor.
125-134 AD--War between Hatti and Parthia. The long war is inconclusive, but exhausting for both sides. It finally peters out without a treaty being signed in 134 AD.
126 AD--Death of the Emperor An Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Shun Ti.
128-132 AD--The Sicilian War. In 128 AD, King Spartacus IV of Sicilia dies without heirs, and upon his death, civil war breaks out in Sicily as several rival claimants (including the heirs of Crixis...the Gallic lieutenant of Spartacus during the original slave revolt which lead to the foundation of the kingdom of Sicilia nearly two centuries ago) vie for the throne. Rome sees the chaos in Sicilia...which because it was founded by escaped Roman slaves, has been viewed as a dangerous example to Rome’s own slaves...as an opportunity, and decides to intervene. Gavius Claudius Squilla, Roman Dictator, claims (falsely) to have received entreaties for aid from the Crixines (the faction supporting the descendants of Crixis), and in short order, a Roman army lands in Sicily near Syracuse. Within five years, the Roman army has established control over the island, and the Spartacid kingdom comes to an end.
King Urhi Tesub III of Hatti strongly protests this clear violation of the treaty which ended the Spartacid War, but, as he is occupied in a war against Parthia at the time, takes no other action. The Senate of Utica and King Eudamidas VI of Hellas also protest, but declare their neutrality. However, the war does mark the end of the Pax Romana/Pax Hattica period of relatively friendly relations between Rome and Hatti which have existed over the past century.
129 AD--Death of King Urhi Tesub III of Hatti. He is succeeded by Urhi Tesub IV.
130 AD--Gavius Claudius Squilla steps down from his post as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Quintus Fabius Catullinus as his successor.
131 AD--Death of King Artabanus III of Parthia in battle against the Hittites. He is succeeded by Vologeses II.
134 AD--Roman Dictator Quintus Fabius Catullinus declares, in a speech before the Roman Senate, that “Rome will reclaim all the lands which, by right, belong to it.” This is clearly a reference to the north African state of Utica.
135 AD--A mutual defense treaty is signed between Hatti, Hellas, and Utica. The treaty is aimed at Rome, of course, whose recent aggressive actions in Sicily, coupled with the bellicose pronouncements of Dictator Catullinus in the Senate, have sent shockwaves of fear through all the neighboring powers.
136 AD--Quintus Fabius Catullinus is re-elected, on the strength of the recent victory of Roman arms in Sicily, to a second term as Roman Dictator.
139 AD--Kushan Emperor Kanishka I dies, and is succeeded by Vanishka.
140 AD--Death of King Urhi Tesub IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by Mursili V.
142 AD--Quintus Fabius Catullinus declines to run for a third term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Titus Hoenius Severus, who is a follower of Catullinus, as his successor. Rome’s aggressive stance will continue.
143 AD--Kushan Emperor Vanishka dies, and is succeeded by Huvishka.
144-155 AD--The Utican War. In 144 AD, Roman Dictator Titus Hoenius Severus declares war on Utica, claiming that the Uticans are guilty of sponsoring piratical acts against Roman shipping (a charge which is completely false, of course). Roman armies cross into Utican territory from Hispania and Sicily, and Utica is quickly placed under siege. King Mursili V of Hatti and King Leon III of Hellas immediately declare war in the face of this naked Roman aggression. Neither power is able to immediately intervene, however.
In 145 AD, the Hittite/Hellene fleet raises the Roman blockade of Utica, which allows a seaborne supply line for the city to be opened. Utica thus is able to withstand the Roman siege. However, the Romans are able to also maintain a seaborne supply line for their own forces, and thus supply and reinforce their armies. Also in this year, Hittite armies move westward from Cyrenacia to the support of Utica in North Africa, while other Hittite armies join those of Hellas in an invasion of Rome's provinces in Macedonia and Illyricum. Fighting between the armies is inconclusive but bloody.
In 146 AD, the Hittites launch an invasion northward from their Caucasus provinces, aimed at taking the Greek cities of the Crimean region (which are, once again, supporting Rome). The cities are placed under siege. A Roman army moves north from Dacia in support of the Crimean Greeks, but is defeated and forced to retreat back to Roman territory. Inconclusive but bloody fighting continues in north Africa and the Balkans, as well as at sea.
In 147 AD, the Crimean Greek cities fall to the Hittites and are formally annexed by Hatti. A stalemate has settled on most of the other fronts. In 148 AD, the poor progress and steady casualties coming out of the war cause the Roman Senate to reject Titus Hoenius Severus when he runs for a second term as Roman Dictator. The new Dictator, Slavius Julius Aemilianus, promises to prosecute the war more aggressively and to bring it to a victorious conclusion by the end of his term of office.
In 149 AD, Rome heavily reinforces it’s army in the Balkans and inflicts a sharp defeat on the Hittite/Hellene armies there, driving them out of Macedonia and Illyricum. It follows up by invading Hellas itself, penetrating as deep as Athens, which it places under siege. The Roman fleet defeats the Hittite/Hellene fleet in the Aegean and establishes a blockade of the city.
In 150 AD, Rome concludes a treaty of alliance with King Vologeses II of Parthia, who launches an invasion of Mesopotamia. In response, King Mursili of Hatti concludes an alliance with Emperor Huvishka of the Kushans, who begins to make inroads on Parthia’s Bactrian provinces. So, although the Parthians are initially successful in their invasion of Mesopotamia, they are forced to withdraw to meet the Kushan threat before the end of the year. However, the need to defend Mesopotamia is stretching Hittite forces thin, and the Hittites are unable to reinforce their armies in the Balkans or in north Africa. King Leon of Hellas attempts to raise the siege of Athens, but is defeated and killed in battle.
In 151 AD, Athens falls to Rome. The new Hellene King, Leonidas V, sues for peace shortly afterward. Roman Dictator Aemilianus offers harsh terms...all of Hellas north of the Isthmus of Corinth is to be ceded to Rome, with King Leonidas to be left in control only of the Peloponnesus. Hellas must abrogate it’s alliance with the Hittites, and turn over it’s navy to Rome. With the Hittites still unable to intervene in the Balkans due to continued fighting with the Parthians, Leonidas has little choice but to agree.
In 152 AD, Rome heavily reinforces it’s army in north Africa, and inflicts a sharp defeat on the Hittite/Utican forces there. They are still unable to take Utica itself, however, which is supplied by sea, but occupy all the rest of the Utican territories in north Africa. Meanwhile, the forces of Hittite King Mursili and Kushan Emperor Huvishka inflict a devastating defeat on the forces of Parthian king Vologeses II. Vologeses sues for peace, and this is granted. The Kushans occupy parts of eastern Iran, and the Hittites take Elymais. The Romans attempt an invasion of Anatolia, but their fleet is defeated in the Aegean and the transports are forced to turn back.
In 153 AD, Hittite forces freed by the surrender of Parthia are transferred to north Africa, where they inflict a serious defeat on the Roman army besieging Utica, raising the siege.
In 154 AD, the Hittites and Uticans inflict further defeats on the Romans in north Africa, and by the end of the year the Romans have been all but driven out of North Africa. Roman Dictator Slavius Julius Aemilianus decides not to seek re-election as a result of these defeats. His successor, Tiberius Sextius Lateranus, promises to end the war.
In 155 AD, a peace treaty is signed which ends the war, basically recognizing the situation existing at the time. Rome is to keep it’s conquests in the Balkans. The Hittite annexation of the Crimea is recognized. Utica is to retain it’s independence.
145 AD--Death of the Emperor Shun Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Chung Ti.
146 AD--Death of the Emperor Chung Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Chih Ti.
147 AD--Death of the Emperor Chih Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Huan Ti.
148 AD--Titus Hoenius Severus is defeated in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects instead Slavius Julius Aemilianus as his successor.
150 AD--Death of King Leon III of Hellas in battle outside of Athens. He is succeeded by Leonidas V.
154 AD--Slavius Julius Aemilianus does not run for re-election as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Tiberius Sextius Lateranus as his successor.
155 AD--Kushan Emperor Huvishka dies, and is succeeded by Kanishka II. During his long and successful reign, Kanishka will expand Kushan rule into Uzbekistan, Kashmir, Punjab, and the Gangetic Plain. He moves the capital to Peshawar and promotes Buddhism. In the process he will conquer the final vestiges of the Saka kingdom, which disappears from the map forever.
157-166 AD--The First Great Persecution of Christianity. Over the past century, Christianity has been quietly growing in numbers and influence, especially in the Roman Empire. Rome in OTL had an Emperor Cult, and the Emperors equated refusal to participate in the State-sponsored worship ceremonies with treason. But in this ATL, no such Emperor Cult exists, and Christianity has generally been tolerated.
But in 157 AD, Roman Dictator Tiberius Sextius Lateranus decides that Rome's recent lack-luster performance in the Utican War was due to the anger of the gods, and he issues a Proclamation directing all Roman citizens to make sacrifices to the official Roman gods (the Olympian Pantheon) by the end of August of that year. When the Christians refuse to do so, Lateranus declares them traitors and orders mass arrests. Christians will be martyred in large numbers and in many very imaginative ways over the next several years, but the bravery they display under these horrendous conditions impresses many people, and the religion grows despite the persecutions.
159 AD--Death of King Vologeses II of Parthia. He is succeeded by Tiridates II. Tiridates will be a relatively weak ruler, and will spend much of his reign fighting off...not completely successfully...incursions by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka II.
160 AD--Tiberius Sextius Lateranus is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
162 AD--Death of King Musili V of Hatti. He is succeeded by Suhis Tesub V. Suhis Tesub will spend much of his reign battling raiding Sarmatians...who are secretly being financed and supported by Rome. Death of King Leonidas V of Hellas. He is succeeded by Archidamus VII.
166 AD--Hittite merchants arrive in Tonkin, China. First direct contact between the Hittite and Chinese Empires. Also in this year, Tiberius Sextius Lateranus does not seek re-election as Roman Dictator. Licinius Fufidius Pollio is chosen by the Senate as the new Roman Dictator. Dictator Pollio orders the persecutions of the Christians ended.
168 AD--Death of the Emperor Huan Ti of Han China. He is succeeded by Ling Ti. During his reign, China begins to fall into chaos as a struggle for power between the imperial court eunuchs and the Confucianist gentry-bureaucrats begins. Renewed attacks by the Hsiung Nu tribes to the north will also take a toll, and China will lose control of the Tarim basin and it’s other conquests in the far west during his reign. Also in this year, King Tiridates II of Parthia dies, and is succeeded by Mithridates IV. Like his father, his reign will be mostly spent in fighting the rising power of the Kushans to the east.
170 AD--Death of King Suhis Tesub V of Hatti in battle against the Sarmatians. He is succeeded by Arnuwanda VI.
172 AD--Licinius Fufidius Pollio does not seek re-election as Roman Consul. He is succeeded by Marcus Aquillis Apollonaris. Apollonaris begins a Roman policy of providing support to Numidian tribes who revolt against Utica, and for Kushites/Axumites/Egyptians who revolt against Hatti.
175 AD--Dawn of printing occurs when ink-rubbings are taken of Confucian texts carved on stone tablets.
176-190 AD--Numidian revolts against Utica, supported by Rome. They are ultimately crushed, but Utica is weakened considerably by the destruction they cause.
177 AD--Kushite revolt against Hatti. Kushite rebels, with Roman financial support, rise up in Napata and Meroe. The rebellion is not successful, and is quickly crushed. But Hatti is forced to place more garrison troops in Kush.
178 AD--Marcus Aquillis Apollonaris does not seek re-election as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Sergius Cornelius Scipio as his successor. Scipio continues his predecessor's foreign policy vis-a-vis Hatti.
180 AD--Death of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka II. He is succeeded by Vasudeva.
181 AD--Roman Dictator Sergius Cornelius Scipio dies while in office. The Senate selects Lucius Fulvius Brutus as his successor to serve out the rest of his term. Brutus continues his predecessor's foreign policy vis-a-vis Hatti.
183 AD--Death of King Archidamus VII of Hellas. He is succeeded by Lycurgus III. Lycurgus secretly concludes a new treaty of alliance with Hatti against Rome.
184 AD--Lucius Fulvius Brutus is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
184-189 AD--Revolt of the Yellow Turbans in Han China. A Taoist monk named Chang Tsu preaches that the Han Emperors have lost the Mandate of Heaven and will soon be overthrown. He gathers a large number of followers around him and in 184 AD leads them into revolt. Rebellions in sympathy to the Yellow Turbans begin to break out all over the Han Chinese Empire. In order to defend itself, the Han Dynasty conscripts a huge army, and authorizes local governors to organize their own armies to combat the rebels. Wealthy landowners also organize armies to defend themselves.
Faced with the huge military power of the Han Emperor and his allies (the governors and the landowners), the Yellow Turbans are essentially defeated within a year, although there will be sporadic outbreaks until 189 AD. However, in allowing the local governors and wealthy landowners to organize their own armies, the Han Dynasty has sown the seeds of it's own destruction. Fighting soon breaks out between rival warlords, in defiance of the Emperor's authority. Within forty years, the Han Dynasty will collapse and China will fragment once more.
185-199 AD--The Great African Revolt against Hatti. Spurred on by Roman agents and financial support, simultaneous rebellions break out in Egypt, Kush and Axum. The Hittite garrisons are thrown out, and the three provinces briefly establish their independence. But Hittite armies re-invade the area, supported by coastal invasions by the Himyarite allies of the Hittites, and in a series of grueling campaigns lasting for over ten years, the Hittites re-establish their control over the rebellious provinces. But the rebellion is very exhausting for the Hittites.
c. 185 AD--Taking advantage of the chaos in the Chinese Empire, the Kingdom of Koguryo drives Han Chinese forces from northern Korea, and Vietnamese rebels drive the Chinese out of Annam. Death of King Mithridates IV of Parthia. He is succeeded by Mithridates V. Like his father, Mithridates V will spend most of his reign campaigning against incursions by the Kushans.
188-190 AD--The Great Bread Riots in Rome. Over the preceding decades, many business owners...farm, factory, and mine owners...have been ignoring regulations regarding the proportion of slave labor allowed to be used by their businesses. As a result, unemployment has been steadily increasing as freemen have been thrown out of their jobs, replaced by slave labor. These unemployed men gravitate toward the great cities of the empire, where they can receive free bread from the government. But in 188 AD, a poor harvest forces the government to temporarily suspend the bread ration, and riots break out in many cities around the empire, including Rome itself. Repeated riots will occur over the next two years as harvests continue to be poor.
190 AD--The Chinese invent the abacus. Also in this year the Emperor Ling Ti of Han China dies, and is succeeded by Hsien Ti. Also in this year, Lucius Fulvius Brutus is re-elected to a third term as Roman Dictator. During this term, a law...strictly enforced...requiring that slave labor comprise no more than ten percent of the labor force at any business (farm, factory or mine) is passed. In addition, a new Slave Tax is passed, to apply not only to businesses but also to private owners of slaves. This has the effect of drying up most of the large number of unemployed who are living on the streets of the empire’s major cities, and ending the rioting which has been plaguing Roman society for the past two years.
191 AD--Death of King Arnuwanda VI of Hatti. He is succeeded by Hantili IV.
196-199 AD--Civil War in Rome. In 196 AD, Lucius Fulvius Brutus runs for an unprecedented fourth term as Roman Dictator, and wins. His opponents in the Senate, fearing that he plans to resurrect the post of Dictator for Life or even make himself King, have him assassinated. Riots break out in the streets of most major Roman cities as a result, and factions in the Senate at Rome appeal to various army generals for aid. Most generals remain neutral, as their army academy training teaches them to do, but a few do not, and fighting breaks out between the rival factions.
It looks for a while like the Republic is about to relapse into the chaos which almost destroyed it two centuries ago, but a charismatic Roman Senator, Sextus Quintilius Rufinius, persuades the neutral generals to act in defense of the Republic and to put down the rebellious generals...those supporting both of the factions in the Civil War...in the name of the Roman State. This is accomplished by 199 AD, with the rebellious generals being either killed in battle or captured and executed, along with those Senators who participated in fomenting the rebellion in the army.
In the aftermath, Sextus Quintilius Rufinius is applauded as the new Saviour of the Republic and is elected as the new Roman Dictator by acclamation in the Senate. He immediately introduces a bill to amend the Roman Constitution to limit the Dictator to no more than two terms, which is passed unanimously.
198 AD--Death of King Mithridates V of Parthia in battle against the Kushans. He is succeeded by Orodes II.
199 AD--Death of King Lycurgus III of Hellas. He is succeeded by Cleomenes V. Sextus Quintilius Rufinius is elected as Dictator of Rome.
c. 200 AD--First use of the Runic alphabet in Scandinavia. Also at about this time in India, the Manu code prescribes the rules of everyday life and divides Hindus into four castes (Brahmins, warriors, farmers/traders, non-Aryans).
November 27th, 2009, 06:42 PM
THE THIRD HITTITE EMPIRE, CONTINUED.
PART TWELVE: 200-300 AD
c. 200 AD onward--The various clans (uje) of Japan are beginning to unite into small states. Beginning of the process which will lead to a unified Japan.
c. 200 AD onward--Economic crisis in the Roman Empire. In the Third Century A.D., the Roman Empire begins to experience an economic crisis which will have dramatic effects on the empire’s future. Although the development of the governmental system of the Republic, where civilian Dictators instead of military Emperors hold sway, has resulted in somewhat wiser economic policies...such as the gradual reduction of slavery as the basis for labor within the empire...the Dictators and Senate have not, for the most part, been markedly better at managing the economy of the empire than the OTL emperors. Many of the factors which lead, in OTL, to the beginnings of decline of the Roman Empire in the Third Century A.D. are still present in this timeline, and in some cases, worse than in OTL.
Financially, Rome is in a worse position than in OTL, as they never acquired the rich provinces of Asia Minor, Egypt, and the Levant which, in OTL, provided much of the tax base of the empire. Also, the Hittites are controlling the trade in silks, pepper, frankincense, myrrh, and other exotic products from China, India, and Arabia, and Rome's trade deficit is thus even greater than in OTL.
Heavy taxation...necessary to fund the large Roman military establishment...has forced men of commerce to hoard their money rather than invest it. To pay soldiers, the Dictators have debased the money, and government has began paying its debts in money that it does not accept from citizens as payment of taxes. Prices skyrocket as a result, forcing much of the middle class into bankruptcy and even beggary.
Much of the agricultural land is unused, as the families which own the land are forced to abandon their farms, and cities and towns begin shrinking as the people there begin migrating into the rural countryside in search of food. In some cases, these displaced people form into roaming bands of brigands, which leads to another important development...the beginnings of what would be called feudalism in OTL...as owners of large agricultural estates threatened by roving bands of brigands protect themselves by fortification and by raising their own private armies, and their neighbors surrender their holdings to them in exchange for protection.
200-300 AD--Religious Developments. At this point, a brief discussion of religious development up to this time is in order.
--Development of Christianity. Christianity is continuing to grow in Rome, Hatti, and Parthia (and later Persia). The church is not as well organized as in OTL to stamp out heresy, however, and distinct variations of Christianity are thriving in the various regions (the Hittite empire itself is home to three...one based in Palestine and Egypt, one in Anatolia, and one in Mesopotamia). Disagreements about things such as the nature of Christ (was he human, was he divine, or a combination of the two), the nature of the Trinity (all manifestations of one entity, or three separate entities?), and other major issues divide the various churches from one another. In addition, there are major differences in the liturgy of the various churches, the type of baptism performed, and even which books of the New Testament are considered to be canonical.
--Zoroastrianism has continued much as in OTL, but has been limited in large part to Persia itself. The Parthians have been half-supporters of the faith, but have also been promoting Mithraism.
--Mithraism: Mithraism has spread from Parthia into the Hittite and Roman Empires, where it has gained many followers and is a major competitor of Christianity.
--Hinduism and Buddhism: Hinduism remains extremely intolerant of other religions in this timeline, a legacy of the attempted suppression of Hinduism by the Zoroastrian Persians several hundred years ago. When the apostle Thomas went to India in 52 AD, for example, he was almost immediately murdered by an angry Hindu mob and Christianity never gained a foothold there as a result. Buddhism, although promoted by some kings such as the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and the various emperors of the Kushans, has remained a very small and embattled sect in India. Buddhism has, however, gained many converts outside of India, in places like southeast Asia, Ceylon, China, and of course, among the Kushans.
--Yahwism: The national faith of the Hebrews continues to be practiced by the Children of Israel in Palestine. Small communities of Hebrews also live outside of Palestine, and they practice their faith in those distant lands. But Yahwism is very much looked on as the Covenant between God and the Hebrews...and not as a faith that can be inclusive of foreigners (Gentiles). The local religious authorities in Palestine are much more powerful than in OTL, and they quickly stamp out all dissent from the theological "party line." In part this is because the Hebrew Temple in Jerusalem, unlike in OTL, has not been destroyed. Partly because of the retention of northern Israelite influence on the religion, in the ATL Yahwism, unlike it's offshoot, Christianity, has remained henotheistic…it does not deny the existence of other gods, but simply declares that Hebrews are not to worship any other gods save Yahweh.
--Other religions: The Hittite, Egyptian, and Babylonian religions are still being practiced in their own homelands. At least one major religion...Manichaeism...has never gotten started because it’s founder, Mani, was never born in this timeline. The Graeco-Roman pantheon is still worshipped around the Mediterranean, as is the Phoenician/Canaanite pantheon (primarily in the lands governed by Utica and in the original Phoenician homeland ruled by the Hittite Empire). Celtic and Germanic tribal religions in lands under Roman rule are gradually fading into obscurity as these lands are increasingly Romanized. However, Germanic religion still survives in Scandinavia and Celtic religion survives in northern Britain and Ireland.
203 AD--Death of King Hantili IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by Tuwanuwa VI. Tuwanuwa is a relatively strong king, and under his rule Hatti will prosper. He will have a mainly peaceful reign, and will conduct numerous public works projects throughout his realm. Among the most magnificent of these are huge aqueducts to bring mountain water to many of the cities of the realm. He also expands on the royal library at Hattusas, increasing it’s importance as a center of learning.
205 AD--Sextus Quintilius Rufinius is elected to a second term as Dictator of Rome.
208 AD--The Battle of Red Cliffs is fought in China. Three powerful warlords...Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Kwan...have pretty much defeated their rivals and are fighting for supremacy in the country (while still nominally acknowledging the overlordship of the Han Emperor, Hsien Ti). Cao Cao has the largest army and fleet, but is defeated by the use of fire ships by the allied fleets of Liu Bei and Sun Kwan. Cao Cao does not succeed in uniting the country under his own rule.
211 AD--Having reached his statutory limit of two terms, Sextus Quintilius Rufinius steps down as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Titus Claudius Severus as his successor. Severus will be an active Dictator, and will conduct campaigns against raiding Germanic and Celtic pirates from Scandinavia and Ireland. No permanent conquests will be added to the empire as a result of these campaigns, however.
213 AD--Death of Kushan Emperor Vasudeva. At his death, the empire is divided into eastern and western halves. Emperor Kanishka III rules the eastern empire from the city of Mathura in northern India.
217 AD--Titus Claudius Severus does not run for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Gaius Octavius Suetrius as his successor. Suetrius will continue his predecessor’s campaigning in the north.
220 AD--Beginning of the Three Kingdoms Period in China. In the aftermath of the Battle of Red Cliffs, three feudal states....Shu Han in the southwest, Wei in the north, and Wu in the southeast...have gradually formed within the Han Chinese Empire. Up until now, the warlords in control of these states have nominally acknowledged the authority of the Han Emperor, but in this year the last Han Emperor, Hsien Ti, abdicates his throne, ending the Han Dynasty. Shu, Wei, and Wu assume full independence. Liu Bei, who is distantly related to the old Han Dynasty, rules in Shu under the name Chao-lieh Ti; Cao Pei, son of Cao Cao who was defeated at the Battle of Red Cliffs and himself a former general under the Emperor Hsien Ti, rules in Wei under the name of Wen Ti; and Sun Kwan, another former Han general, rules in Wu under the name of Wu Ti.
In terms of manpower, Wei is by far the strongest, retaining more than 660,000 households and 4,400,000 people within its borders. Shu has a population of 940,000, and Wu 2,300,000. Thus, Wei has more than 58% of the population and around 40% of territory. With these resources, it is estimated that it could raise an army of 400,000 whilst Shu and Wu could manage 100,000 and 230,000 respectively: roughly 10% of their registered populations.
The kingdoms of Wu and Shu will, within a few years, form an alliance against Wei that will prove itself to be a militarily stable configuration, and the basic borders of the Three Kingdoms will be almost unchanging for more than forty years.
223 AD--Gaius Octavius Suetrius is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator. In this year, the Roman Senate passes legislation abolishing slavery. It is the first major power in the world to do so.
224 AD--Rebellion in Persis. One of the Persian noble houses, the House of Sassa, rebels against the rule of the Parthian Neo-Arsacid Dynasty. King Orodes II of Parthia is killed in battle with the forces of the Sassanian King Ardashir I. Ardashir claims the imperial throne shortly afterward, and the Neo-Arsacid Dynasty comes to an end. He is a devout Zoroastrian, and immediately declares Zoroastrianism to be the official State religion. Under his sponsorship, the collection of Zoroastrian texts known as the Zend Avesta will be assembled.
225 AD--Death of King Tuwanuwa VI of Hatti. He is succeeded by Tuwanuwa VII. Tuwanuwa VII will prove a weak king, and will rule shakily on his throne for fifteen years. Meanwhile, various factions are positioning themselves for the inevitable power struggle when he dies...
227-250 AD--Wars of the Sassanian Persian kings Ardashir I and Shapur I against the Kushans. The Persians, taking advantage of temporary Hittite weakness, gradually conquer most of the Western Kushan Empire. The strongly Zoroastrian Persian kings begin suppressing Buddhism in those regions.
229 AD--Since Gaius Octavius Suetrius is not eligible to run for another turn, the Roman Senate selects Appius Claudius Julianus as his successor. Appius Claudius Julianus will be remembered because he initiates the Second Great Persecution of Christianity in Rome.
230-235 AD--The Second Great Persecution of Christianity--Alarmed by the growing influence of Christianity within the Roman Empire, which is rapidly gaining converts as disaffected people are spurred by the growing economic crisis to seek comfort in religions that promise them well-being (as Christianity does), Roman Dictator Appius Claudius Julianus pushes through the Roman Senate a law outlawing Christianity and making annual sacrifice to the official Roman deities a requirement of citizenship in the Roman Empire. Julianus justifies this by claiming (falsely) that the Christians are engaging in cannibalism (a perverted interpretation of the rite of communion) and that they are responsible for the economic decline of the empire. Once again, Christians are rounded up in large numbers and imprisoned, tortured, and killed in many imaginative ways, but, as before, the faith emerges stronger and gains more converts despite the persecution.
c. 230 AD onward--Shift of power in the state of Wei as rivalry between the royal family (Cao clan) and the powerful Sima clan erupts. By the end of the 230s, the Sima family will displace the Cao family as the de facto rulers of Wei, even though the Cao family still technically holds the throne.
232 AD--Emperor Kanishka III of the eastern Kushan Empire dies, and is succeeded by Vasishka II.
235 AD--Increasing disgust at the persecution of Christians by Appius Claudius Julianus leads to his defeat in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. Instead, the Senate selects Gnaeus Cornelius Paternus as his successor. Paternus immediately pushes through a bill to rescind the anti-Christian act of Julianus, removing the requirement of sacrifice to the Olympian gods as a condition of citizenship and ending the persecutions. End of the Second Great Persecution of Christianity.
239 AD--First recorded visit by a Japanese envoy to China.
240 AD-249 AD--Death of King Tuwanuwa VII of Hatti. Beginning of a period of civil war as Tuwanuwa’s sons, Anitta and Warpalawa, vie for the throne. Anitta sets himself up at Hattusas and declares himself to be Anitta IV, Great King of Hatti. Meanwhile, his brother sets himself up at Damascus and declares that he is Warpalawa IV, Great King of Hatti. The war which rages between them is very destructive, and does not end when Anitta is killed in battle in 245 AD. Anitta's faction instead rallies around Prince Wasuruma, who is a scion of the old royal family of the city of Kanesh who is also related to the current imperial family from Azatiwataya. Wasuruma finally defeats and kills Warpalawa IV at the Battle of Aleppo in 249 AD. Warpalawa's faction is completely destroyed, and Wasuruma is acclaimed as the new Great King of Hatti, founding a new Hittite Dynasty, the first of a family from a city other than Azatiwataya.
241 AD--Gnaeus Cornelius Paternus is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator. Also in this year, Shah Ardashir I of Persia dies, and is succeeded by Shapur I.
241-245 AD--Dictator Gnaeus Cornelius Paternus of Rome takes advantage of opportunity provided by the civil war raging in Hatti to invade Hellas and Utica. Despite valiant resistance by both, without Hittite support, Roman armies conquer Hellas and Utica by 245 AD, incorporating both into the Roman Empire.
244 AD--The Chinese kingdom of Wei conquers the Kingdom of Koguryo in Korea.
245-255 AD--The Great Plague ravages the Roman Empire. In 245 AD, Roman soldiers, returning from the campaign against Utica, bring back with them a mysterious malady which rapidly spreads along the excellent Roman road system and leaves thousands dead in cities throughout the empire. As much as 1/10 of the entire population of the Roman empire perishes in this first outbreak. Repeated outbreaks of the plague will occur again over the next ten years, but will be much less severe than the first outbreak. When all is said and done, the Roman population has been reduced by 1/6 from where it stood in 245 AD. Labor shortages caused by the Plague will accelerate the economic crisis within the Roman Empire.
Neighboring states and peoples like the Hittite Empire will also be affected, but to a much lesser degree, by the Great Plague.
246 AD--Emperor Vasishka II of the Eastern Kushan Empire dies and is succeeded by Vasudeva II.
247 AD--Roman Dictator Gnaeus Cornelius Paternus is not eligible for re-election, so the Senate selects Marcus Acilius Aviola as his successor.
253 AD--Marcus Acilius Aviola is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
255-260 AD--War between Hatti and Persia. In 255 AD, King Shapur I of Persia invades Mesopotamia. A series of bloody see-saw campaigns which will consume the next five years results. Finally, in 260 AD, Shapur's forces completely defeat the main Hittite army outside of the city of Nippur. King Wasuruma I of Hatti barely escapes capture, and sues for peace soon afterward. The war has been very exhausting for Shapur as well, and he agrees. Hatti cedes all of Mesopotamia and Elymais to Persia.
256 AD--Emperor Vasudeva II of the Eastern Kushan Empire dies and is succeeded by Kanishka IV.
259 AD--Marcus Acilius Aviola is not eligible for re-election as Roman Dictator, so the Senate selects Licinius Naevius Aquilinus as his successor.
263 AD--In China, the kingdom of Wei conquers the Shu Han kingdom.
264-271 AD--Revolts in Egypt, Kush, and Axum. Sensing the weakness of the Hittite regime after the devastating war with Persia, and secretly financed by Rome, rebellions break out in Egypt, Kush, and Axum. The Hittite garrisons are thrown out, and King Wasuruma I is unable to restore Hittite rule. Indeed, Wasuruma himself will be killed in 271 AD while campaigning in Egypt.
264 AD--A new native Dynasty establishes itself in Egypt, the 27th Dynasty. The Dynasty is based in Thebes, under the rule of Pharaoh Nekhtnebef I.
265 AD--Licinius Naevius Aquilinus does not seek re-election as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Publius Licinius Valerianus as his successor. Valerianus tries to arrest the growth of semi-feudal statelets within the empire by passage of laws forbidding private individuals from raising their own military forces, but given the continuing economic decline in Rome, he does not have the military power to fully enforce these laws.
In China, Sima Yan, head of the powerful Sima family, deposes the last of the kings of the Cao family, the Emperor Yuan Ti of Wei, and usurps the throne of Wei. He establishes a new dynasty, the Tsin Dynasty, and reigns under the name of Wu Ti.
c. 270 AD--Hindu resentment at rule by the Buddhist Kushan Emperors has been growing, and at this time a coalition of native princes under the leadership of Prince Sri Gupta of Magadha defeats and kills Emperor Kanishka IV and expels the Kushans from the entire region of the Gangetic Plain. Fall of the Eastern Kushan Empire. However, the victorious coalition soon falls to fighting among itself, and no new empire immediately establishes itself in northern India.
271 AD--Death of King Wasuruma I of Hatti in battle against Egyptian rebels. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Wasuruma II. Wasuruma II recognizes the independence of Egypt, Kush, and Axum. Also in this year, Publius Licinius Valerianus is re-elected to a second term as Dictator of Rome. Also in this year, the magnetic compass is invented in China.
271-301 AD--Period of dynastic struggle in Persia. In 271 AD, King Shapur I of Persia dies. At his death, civil war in Persia begins as his sons, Hormizd and Bahram, each declare themselves to be the new Shah of Persia. This will continue for the next 30 years, preventing the Sassanids from engaging in military adventurism outside their own borders.
272 AD--Roman Dictator Publius Licinius Valerianus orders an invasion of the Egyptian province of Cyrenacia. The Romans defeat the Egyptian garrison and capture the region.
273 AD--Bahram I defeats the forces of Hormizd I to become the sole Shah of Persia. Hormizd is captured and executed.
276 AD--Bahram I, Shah of Persia, dies. He is murdered by his son, Bahram II, who takes the throne for himself. Bahram will spend most of his reign putting down revolts within his own empire, and will be too occupied to engage in military activity outside his own borders. Also in this year, Pharaoh Nekhtnebef I of Egypt dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Pharaoh Nefaarud I.
277 AD--Since Publius Licinius Valerianus is ineligible to run for another term as Roman Dictator, the Senate selects Titus Pomponius Bassus as his successor. Bassus will try to restore Rome’s economic fortunes by an old method...military conquest. Roman armies will advance northward in Britain and will also land in Ireland, bringing those regions under Roman rule. But unfortunately, these are relatively poor regions, and their conquest does little to improve the economic standing of Rome.
280 AD--Emperor Wu Ti of Wei conquers the Kingdom of Wu. All of China is once again united under the Tsin Dynasty. It will be only a temporary situation, however. Also in this year, attacks by the Sarmatians force King Wasuruma II of Hatti to abandon the Greek cities of the Crimea.
283 AD--Tiberius Pomponius Bassus is defeated in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Junius Verius Lupus as his successor.
285-291 AD--Roman Dictator Junius Verius Lupus sends troops to annex the Crimean Greek cities which have been recently abandoned by Hatti. Roman forces also conquer a large area of the region known today as the Ukraine, subduing the turbulent Sarmatian peoples who live there.
287 AD--Death of King Wasuruma II of Hatti. He is succeeded by Hili I. Unlike his two rather undistinguished predecessors, Hili is a strong and militarily gifted king, who comes at a critical time in Hittite history.
289 AD--Junius Verius Lupus is re-elected to a second term as Roman Dictator. He begins making plans for war with Hatti.
290 AD--Shah Bahram II of Persia persecutes Christians in the Persian Empire.
291-306 AD--War of the Eight Princes in China. Upon the death of Tsin Dynasty Emperor Wu Ti (Sima Yan), civil war breaks out between eight princes of the imperial Sima family...some sons of Emperor Wu Ti, others from more distantly related branches of the family. The war will be devastating, and will leave China's borders open to renewed attacks by the Hsiung Nu and other nomadic, non-Chinese tribes from the north (collectively known as the Wu Hu tribes).
292-298 AD--War between Rome and Hatti. In 292 AD, Roman Dictator Junius Verius Lupus declares war on the Hittite Empire. However, his expectations of an easy victory over the much-weakened Hittite Empire prove to be ill-founded. Rome's own military power has been greatly reduced over the course of this century by the continuing economic crisis, and the brilliant King Hili I of Hatti proves to be a very troublesome opponent. The Hittite fleet virtually annihilates the Roman fleet in the Aegean, which allows Hili to take an invading force into the Balkans. Meanwhile, strong Hittite defenses in the Caucasus region prevent a Roman invasion from the Ukrainian regions which they occupy. Hili is aided by popular revolts in many of the Greek cities, who look on Hili as a potential liberator from oppressive Roman rule. Hili skillfully defeats every Roman army sent against him, and liberates much of Macedonia, Epirus, and Hellas from Roman rule. When Dictator Lupus steps down in 295 AD, his successor will seek to end the war. A peace treaty is finally signed in 298 AD in which Rome is forced to relinquish control of the Greek cities, which are formed into an alliance of city-states aligned with Hatti. Hatti itself occupies Thrace. Macedonia and Epirus remain Roman provinces.
293 AD--Shah Bahram II of Persia dies, and is succeeded by his son, Bahram III. However, Bahram III is soon murdered by a general named Narses...who is also a member of the royal family...who usurps the throne. Narses, like his predecessors, is soon involved in more dynastic infighting, and so in unable to intervene in the Romano-Hittite War.
295 AD--Junius Verius Lupus is ineligible to run for another term as Roman Dictator, so the Senate selects Gaius Annius Anullinus as his successor.
298-330--The recent defeat in the war with Hatti has caused much political turmoil in the Roman Empire. Rebellions break out in many regions as powerful, semi-feudal local lords rise up and attempt to shake off the rule of the Roman central government. This period of instability in Rome will last for over 30 years, and Rome will be much changed by the chaos which results.
c. 300 AD--The Kidarites, also known as the Red Huns, begin moving southwest from their former homes in the region of Mongolia. They will soon come into contact with the northern frontiers of the Sassanian and Kushan Empires. The Kushans will not survive.
PART THIRTEEN: 300-400 AD
AN OVERVIEW OF THE HITTITE EMPIRE IN 300 AD: At this point, a brief survey of the structure of the Hittite Empire, it's economy, and it's social development up to this time, would be in order.
--Political Structure: The Hittite Empire is ruled by the Great King of Hatti. Originally the Great King was simply the acknowledged leader of a league of Neo-Hittite city states, but over time his power has increased to the point where he is no longer simply "first among equals," but effectively an Emperor, ruling directly over all the other Hittite cities and other provinces of the Empire. However, he is not an absolute ruler. The heads of the old royal families of the old Hittite cities now form a Council of Twelve which advises the King, and although they have little formal power, the Great King seldom thinks of acting on important matters without first consulting them. Thus his power base in the Hittite homelands is very secure. The provinces are ruled by Viceroys, usually selected from the imperial family itself. In order to bind the provinces more tightly to the Empire, the Great King maintains palaces at not only the imperial capital at Azatiwataya, but also at Hattusas, Sardis, Damascus, Tyre, and Jerusalem, and he visits each of these cities on a regular basis. The Great King or his Viceroys make annual sacrifices to the local gods in each region, and the local regions are administered according to local law and custom, except where the local law directly conflicts with Hittite law.
--Economy: The basis of the Hittite economy is agriculture and trade. The Hittites are renowned as horse breeders (which allows them to have what may be the world's finest cavalry), and their wise use of irrigation has allowed large grain harvests to be regularly made in the empire. In addition, since acquiring Phoenicia, they have a monopoly over the production of the so-called "Tyrian Purple" dye, which is in great demand throughout the Mediterranean. The Hittites also have a long-standing alliance with the Himyarites of southern Arabia, which means they get favorable prices on frankincense and myrrh from that region, which they then export at a large profit. Although they no longer have a monopoly in these products since the independence of Egypt, Kush, and Axum, they still hold large share of the market. They also maintain an active trade with India along the Pepper Route, and also are a major terminus of the Silk Road from China, from which Chinese goods are shipped west to the ravenous markets of Rome. The revenues from this trade have prevented the Hittites from falling onto the hard economic times experienced by their Roman neighbors to the west, although the decline in Rome's economic fortunes has, of course, impacted the volume of Hittite trade.
--Social structure. The traditional Hittite family was very patriarchal, and this has influenced the structure of Hittite society from the earliest times. At the beginning of the Third Hittite Empire, the common man of the Hittite Empire was a small farmer, who farmed land as a tenant of the Great King, who owned all the land. Gradually, over time, various Great Kings...usually as the result of rebellions, or to gain support during a crisis, granted land ownership to different groups of people throughout the empire. By 300 AD, almost all the land is privately owned, although the Great King maintains large estates for his own use and income. This, along with the increasing importance of trade within the empire, which has fueled the growth of an increasingly wealthy and powerful merchant class, has created what we would call today a class of bourgeoisie in the Hittite Empire which is steadily gaining influence. The bourgeoisie are often literate, and are readily influenced by foreign ideas...including such Greek ideas as "democracy." Although they have not formally broken the gates of political power as of yet, they are coming to realize that they want to do so, and they on their way.
c. 300 AD--The Huns (the former Northern Hsiung Nu who had formerly plagued China, but had been driven west beginning in the first century A.D.) settle in the region north of the Caspian Sea. They begin to war with the Alans, a tribe related to the Sarmatians who live in the region. Also at about this time, the stirrup is invented somewhere in northern China.
c. 300 AD onward--The economic crisis faced by the Roman Republic continues throughout this century, and indeed worsens. With the continuing erosion of it's tax base caused by the economic crisis, the Republic finds it impossible to maintain the large military forces needed to protect the empire and enforce the laws of the Republic, and the army begins to actually shrink, even as the rebellions which began in 298 AD continue to flare up throughout the empire. As a result, the process of feudalization which began in the last century...as powerful local landowners raise private armies for the protection of their estates from roving brigands, and lesser landowners surrender their holdings to them in return for protection...continues unabated, despite the law of Dictator Valerianus which officially forbids such practices. Although the regular army is able to defeat the revolts by individual grandees by 330 AD, by 350 AD, the combined military strength of the proto-feudal grandees will actually outnumber the regular army of the Republic. And the generals of the regular army will also be seeking a place for themselves in this new order. All this will have devastating results later on in the century.
c. 300 AD--Religious Developments.
--Christianity. By this point in history, Christians form approximately 20% of the total population of the Roman Republic. The proportion varies by region, of course. In North Africa, due largely to the fact that early Christian evangelists learned the Berber and Punic languages, the population is over 75% Christian. The proportion of Christians in the Balkans is about 30%. In the rest of the empire (the provinces of Italia, Germania, Gallia, Hispania, Britannia, and Hibernia) the proportion is about 10%. Due to the effect of several ecumenical councils held over the preceding century, Christianity in Rome is now much more homogenous throughout the empire, and what could be considered an "orthodox" Christianity has begun to establish itself. Competing sects are being gradually suppressed by this "orthodox" majority.
Elsewhere, the situation is vastly different. In the Hittite Empire (where Christians now form about 30% of the total population), the opposite has occurred. The three main sects existing in 200 AD have, a century later, given way to no less than nine. Christianity is being suppressed in Persia, where the Zoroastrian Sassanian Kings are trying to impose Zoroastrian orthodoxy on their population. In Egypt, Christianity is beginning to be a major competitor for the old native Egyptian religion, as it offers the same promise of life after death without requiring the expenses of mummification and the construction of a tomb to house the mummy for all eternity. As a result, the Pharaohs have made half-hearted attempts to suppress the religion there as well, with little success. A similar story is being played out in Kush and Axum.
--Zoroastrianism and Mithraism: Zoroastrianism is being pushed along the road to complete Orthodoxy by the Sassanid Kings of Persia. All other competing faiths are being stamped out, including the offshoot of Zoroastrianism which had earlier been favored by the Parthians, Mithraism. Mithraism is also losing ground elsewhere. While in the last century it was developing as a major competitor of Christianity in the Hittite and Roman Empires, this is no longer the case, and the number of adherents of Mithraism is dropping as the numbers of Christians rise.
--Hinduism and Buddhism: In India, Hinduism is undergoing a renaissance in the wake of the victory of the coalition of Hindu princes over the last of the Kushan Emperors in the last century. The Puranas, a compendium of Hindu mythology, is being composed (it will be completed about 350 AD), and competing sects, among them Buddhism, are being stamped out. Hinduism will get a major boost when the Gupta dynasty emerges during the coming century and will experience a period of missionary zeal, during which Hinduism will spread into Southeast Asia and the Indonesian Archipelago. Gupta kings will also try to spread Hinduism by the sword by warring against the Great Enemy...the Zoroastrian Kings of Persia. Buddhism will be almost completely exterminated in India during this period, but will continue to grow in other places (China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Southeast Asia).
--Yahwism: The national religion of the Hebrews continues to flourish in Israel. In this century, the ongoing conflict between the Temple Priests (Sadducees) and the Rabbis (Pharisees) is finally resolved when the High Priest has a "revelation from God", supported by the "miraculous" finding of a new "Book of the Law" in a cavern beneath the Temple, which allows non-Levites to be ordained into the Priesthood. The synagogues run by the Rabbis become, in effect, "Sub-Temples," where Rabbis are authorized to perform all but the most sacred of rituals (including even some of the lesser
sacrificial rites). This has the effect of further cementing the orthodoxy promoted by the Temple priesthood over the whole religion, and the teachings of certain Rabbis which have appeared over the past couple of centuries promoting the idea that Yahweh is not only the God of Israel, but the ONE TRUE GOD and GOD OVER THE ENTIRE WORLD, are effectively suppressed. Yahwism will, therefore, remain henotheistic.
--The old pagan religions of the Hittites, Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Germans and Celts are all in decline as they compete, increasingly unsuccessfully, against Christianity. In some places...such as the Hittite Empire and Egypt...the old religions try to adapt by merging with Christianity, adopting Mary and Jesus into their pantheons as deities. In Hatti, for example, Mary comes to be identified with the goddess Hebat, while Jesus is identified with her son, Telepinu. In Egypt, on the other hand, Mary is identified with Isis and Jesus with Horus. Other religions also try to find ways to adapt, usually not successfully.
c. 300 AD--Yamato clan rulers, claiming descent from Amaterasu Omikami, begin the imperial dynasty that continues to occupy the throne of Japan today. At first they rule only a small state on the Yamato Peninsula on the island of Honshu, but gradually, over the next 200 years, will consolidate their rule over all of Japan.
300 AD--Prince Gupta of Magadha, who had lead the coalition of native Hindu princes which destroyed the Eastern Kushan Empire in India, dies. He is succeeded by his son, Ghatotkacha.
301 AD--Gaius Annius Anullinus is elected to a second term as Dictator of Rome.
302 AD--Shah Narses of Persia dies, and is succeeded by his son, who assumes the throne as Shah Hormizd II. The period of dynastic struggle which has lasted for the past several decades comes to an end, and stability returns to Persia.
304-317 AD--Wu Hu Uprising in China and the Beginning of the Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms. During the final years of the Han Dynasty, barbarian tribes from beyond the Great Wall migrated into northern China, where they settled and became nominal subjects of the Han Emperor. These became known collectively as the Wu Hu.
During the Three Kingdoms Period, this process continued, as years of war generated a severe shortage of labor, which lead to the encouragement of immigration of Wu Hu herdsmen by the Wei Kingdom, which controlled northern China. The Wei reluctantly yielded areas already occupied to the Wu Hu and sometimes colonized areas depopulated by war with some weaker tribes of herdsmen. The relocated tribes adopted agriculture and contributed to the revival of national prosperity, as well as serving as a ready source of mercenary troops for the Wei armies. The Wu Hu, to a large extent, adopted Chinese culture, but they still retained their identity as a separate people.
When the Tsin Dynasty re-united China, they continued the policy of the Wei and encouraged even more settlement by Wu Hu. But the Tsin bureaucracy forgot the underlying threat posed by the Wu Hu, who now formed more than half the population of northern China. The bloody battles of the War of the Eight Princes lead to a great demand for more troops by all contenders, and not surprisingly, Wu Hu mercenaries were often called upon.
Finally, in 304 AD, the various chieftains of the Wu Hu decided to stop fighting on behalf of the various Tsin pretenders and to seize power for themselves instead. In 311 AD, the Emperor Huai Ti was captured by the Wu Hu and the Tsin capital of Luoyang fell.
The new Tsin Emperor, Min Ti, established his court in Chang'an, but his rule did not last long. In 317 AD, the Emperor Min Ti was captured and executed by the Wu Hu, and the remnants of the Tsin court fled southward to Jiankang (near present-day Nanjing). There the Tsin Dynasty would continue to rule over south China. But in the north, the various Wu Hu tribes (and some native Chinese dynasties as well) set up a plethora of small, competing kingdoms that would be collectively known as the Sixteen Kingdoms (or Sixteen Dynasties). This near collapse of central authority will persist in China for more than a century.
307 AD--The current Dictator of Rome, Gaius Annius Anullinus, is ineligible to run for another term. The Senate selects Titus Flavius Posthumius Titianus as his successor. Titianus recognizes the futility of trying to halt the process of feudalization which is afflicting the Republic, and rescinds the unenforceable law of Valerianus forbidding the formation of private armies by local grandees. Titianus also hopes that the defense of the empire will also be strengthened, since the central government is no longer able to maintain the large forces necessary to properly defend it.
309 AD--Shah Hormizd II of Persia dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Shah Shapur II. When Hormizd died, Persian nobles killed one of his sons, blinded another and imprisoned the third. The crown was instead given to the unborn son of Hormizd and one of his concubines. Shapur was thus born king, and is quite possibly the only king in history to have been crowned in utero...the crown being placed on the belly of his mother. Shapur will have a long and mostly successful reign. Under his rule, the collection of Zoroastrian writings known as the Avesta will be completed, heresy and apostasy within Zoroastrianism will be rooted out and punished, and Christianity will be persecuted. In addition, Shapur will succssfully preserve the empire from the incursions of the Red Huns and the Hindu Guptas, in addition to fighting an ultimately unsuccessful war with Hatti.
310 AD--A Hittite merchant named Suwarmis, returning from China, brings back two innovations which he found there...paper making and stone-block printing. He sets up shop in Hattusas, and initially sells his products to the Royal Library there.
312-320 AD--Naval war between Hatti and Egypt. Pharaoh Amonirdisu II of Egypt is trying to take complete control of the sea routes in the Red Sea, thus gaining control over the frankincense and myrrh trade from South Arabia and the trade in pepper and other exotic items from India. The Hittites, who depend heavily on this trade (which, after being cut off from the Egyptian and Axumite Red Sea ports in the last century, has been revived from the port of Ezion Geber in the Gulf of Aqaba) for a lot of their revenues, resist these efforts. Neither side declares actual war on the other, and the fighting is all done at sea. In the end, the Hittites prevail, and the Egyptians give up their efforts to dominate the Red Sea.
313 AD--Titus Flavius Posthumius Titianus is elected to a second term as Dictator of Rome.
315 AD--King Hili I of Hatti has looked at his massive Royal Library in Hattusas, and he sees major problems. In short, the multiplicity of different languages, scripts, and writing media being used is making the library much less useful to the scholars in his empire than it could be.
To illustrate these problems, the Hittite language itself is being written in at least three different scripts by this time in history. Cuneiform writing is still used in the Hittite homeland itself, alongside Hittite Hieroglyphics and a new alphabetic script, based on the Greek and Phoenician alphabets, which is gradually phasing out the older scripts because it is easier to learn and much more flexible in practice. And there are thousands upon thousands of tablets and scrolls in the library written in other languages and scripts...Akkadian, Sumerian, Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Egyptian, Elamite, Persian, Sabaean, and Latin, for example. And the Library in Hattusas contains thousands of documents written on clay tablets, alongside many thousands of scrolls of papyrus, and, more recently, codices written or printed on the paper produced in Suwarmis's shop.
Hili wants to standardize by having everything translated into Hittite, written in the new alphabetic script, and printed on the new paper and bound as codices. This will simplify document storage considerably, and mean that scholars only have to learn one language and one script. Hili hires a large crew of scholars to do the translations and contracts with Suwarmis, the Hittite merchant who brought paper making and stone block printing back from China, to help facilitate the project.
Suwarmis is quite literally overwhelmed by the scope of the project, and he begins looking for ways to simplify the job. In particular, he begins looking at the printing process to see if there is any way this could be sped up and simplified. He also begins training a cadre of paper makers, who will run additional paper shops so as to ramp up production of paper for the project.
318 AD--Suwarmis, the Hittite paper-maker and printer, has an inspiration, based on something which he sees in use around him everyday. For over three thousand years, cylinder seals have been in use throughout much of the Near East for stamping important legal documents (originally used to stamp clay tablets, now more commonly used to stamp wax seals or as ink stamps). Could not, he reasons, a set of small stamps, each for one letter of the new alphabetic script, be devised, which could then be arranged into text at will simply by placing them inside a frame?
Assisted by local stone carvers, potters, and metal smiths, he begins experimenting with different methods of doing this. But he needs money, as this is rather expensive research. Suwarmis approaches King Hili and offers him a stunning possibility...not only may it be possible to simply translate and copy all the scrolls and tablets in the library into codices, but it may be possible to make MULTIPLE copies of each, at a relatively low cost, which can be distributed to other libraries in all the major cities of the empire. This, Suwarmis argues, would prevent a major disaster...a fire, for example...from destroying the huge reservoir of knowledge which the Hittite Kings have accumulated in their massive library. Hili is intrigued, and agrees to fund Suwarmis's experiments.
319 AD--Titus Flavius Posthumius Titianus is ineligible to run for another term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Amnius Anicius Julianus as his successor. Julianus is a powerful grandee who has, himself, a private army, and he continues...and indeed, broadens...the policies of his predecessor, seeing them as a means to accrue more power for himself.
320 AD--A Syrian monk converts Axumite King Ezana to Christianity. Axum becomes the world's first Christian state. Also in this year, the Kingdom of Koguryo re-establishes it's independence from China.
320-335 AD--Establishment of the Gupta Empire in India. In 320 AD, Prince Ghatotkacha of Magadha dies, and is succeeded by his son, Chandra Gupta I. Chandra Gupta is a brilliant and energetic ruler, and by the end of his reign establishes a large empire encompassing most of northern India.
323 AD--Suwarmis debuts his new invention...a printing press using moveable type...which enables him to rapidly set up type and print multiple copies of it. King Hili is very pleased. With the aid of this device, Hili's great translation and re-copying project will be completed within the next twenty years, and by the end of the century, branch libraries will exist in several other cities of the empire...Damascus, Jerusalem, Tyre, Azatiwataya, and Sardis. When this project is completed, it have one major, but unintended effect...Hittite will be eventually come to be known as the universal language of scholarship in the Western World for centuries to come. Since the books are all printed in Hittite, it is much easier for the scholars to learn Hittite than for all the books to be reprinted in all the different languages spoken by the scholars.
324 AD--The Kidarites (Red Huns), under their chieftain Kidara, smash through the borders of the Kushan and Sassanid Persian Empires. The Kushans are completely defeated, and the Kidarites assume power over their empire. The Persians are better able to resist, but repelling the Kidarites will consume most of their energy for some time.
325 AD--Amnius Anicius Julianus is defeated in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. Julianus had angered many Senators by his support of legislation which would increase his own power, and instead, the Senate selects Acilius Severus as his successor. Severus will attempt, with limited success, to roll back the power of the proto-feudal grandees. Also in this year, King Hili I of Hatti dies. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Tuwanuwa VIII. Tuwanuwa, like his great father, fully funds the great
project at the Royal Library. He also begins to establish branch libraries in other major cities of the empire.
c. 330 AD--Christianity is introduced into the Himyarite Kingdom by a missionary from the Hittite Empire. It will take root there and slowly grow.
331 AD--Acilius Severus is defeated in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. Instead, the Senate selects Petronius Probianus as his successor. Probianus is a protege of former Dictator Julianus, and his election marks a return of full support for the policies of Dictators Titianus and Julianus.
335-370 AD--Reign of Samudra Gupta in India. In 335 AD, Emperor Chandra Gupta I of India dies, and is succeeded by his son, Samudra Gupta. Samudra Gupta is another brilliant military and political leader, and during his reign, the Gupta Empire will be extended into Assam, the Deccan, and Malwa. Samudra Gupta will also war with Persia during his reign. Also during his reign, the Puranas, a compendium of Hindu mythology, will be composed.
337 AD--Petronius Probianus is elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
337-363 AD--War between Hatti and Persia. Shah Shapur II of Persia, having defeated the Kidarites (Red Huns) and forced their King, Grumbates, to ally with him, marches west and invades Mesopotamia. Thus begins a series of campaigns in which Shapur will attempt to take Mesopotamia from the Hittites. Shapur besieges Hittite fortress cities such as Babylon, Nippur, Haran, Singara, Nisibis, and Amida repeatedly over the next 26 years, with varying degrees of success.
Beginning in 350 AD, Shapur is forced to divert forces to his eastern frontier, as he fends off invasions by the Hindu army of Samudra Gupta. The war begins to turn against him at this point, and in 363 AD, the Hittite army, under King Uassurme I, inflicts a severe defeat on the Persians outside of Babylon. Shapur sues for peace, and a treaty reaffirming the Zagros Mountains as the border between the two empires is signed. Mesopotamia remains a Hittite territory.
341 AD--Death of King Tuwanuwa VIII of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Uassurme I. Uassurme, like his father and grandfather before him, continues the great project in the royal library and the establishment of branch libraries. He will also fight a long and exhausting war with Shah Shapur II of Persia, before finally bringing it to a successful close.
343 AD--Petronius Probianus is ineligible for another term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Julius Annius Bassus as his successor. Bassus is a genial non-entity, and will accomplish little during his tenure as Dictator. He is supported by the grandees and the army generals, who recognize that having a weak Dictator gives them more power.
349 AD--Julius Annius Bassus declines to run for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Lucius Aradius Valentinianus Proculus as his replacement. Proculus is also a weak non-entity, and the feudalization of the Roman Republic continues.
350 AD--Hunnic invasion of South-eastern Europe. Also in this year, Emperor Samudra Gupta of India invades the Sassanid Persian Empire. His army is defeated, but this begins a war between the two empires that will continue until the end of his reign.
355 AD--Lucius Aradius Valentinianus Proculus is elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
361 AD--Lucius Aradius Valentinianus Proculus is ineligible to run for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Flavius Claudius Mamertinus as his successor. Mamertinus is, unlike his predecessors, an opponent of the accumulation of power in the hands of the grandees, and seeks to place limits on them.
363 AD--Roman Dictator Flavius Claudius Mamertinus dies...some say by poisoning, but nobody can prove it...while in office. The First Consul, Flavius Sallustius, succeeds to the office and serves out the remainder of the term. Flavius Sallustius is a Christian, the first to ever hold the office of Dictator.
367 AD--Flavius Sallustius is elected Roman Dictator. During his term of office, he will continue the policies of Mamertinus and try to limit the power of the grandees. And, in addition, with the support of other Christian Senators, he will attempt to push through a bill declaring Christianity the official religion of the Roman Republic. This effort will not be successful, and will create great animosity among the non-Christian portion of the population and especially among non-Christian members of the Senate. This anger will be used to devastating effect by the grandees and army generals opposed to Sallustius.
370 AD--The Huns inflict a crushing defeat on the Alans, forcing them out of their lands north of the Black Sea. The Alans fracture into three main groups. The Eastern Alans go south into the Caucasus, where they petition the King of Hatti for entry into the Hittite Empire. King Uassurme I grants entry and settles them in the Caucasus, where they will prove to make fine recruits for the Hittite cavalry. The Northern Alans move north and merge with various proto-Slavic groups, while the Western Alans head west, toward the Roman Empire. Also in this year, the Emperor Samudra Gupta of India dies, and is succeeded by his son, Rama Gupta. Rama Gupta decides to end the war against Persia, and concludes a treaty with Shah Shapur II.
372 AD--Death of King Uassurme I of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Tuwatis I. Also in this year, the Alans, after having been forced west by the Huns, appeal for entry into the Roman Empire. They are refused, and cannot penetrate the strong Roman defenses on the Vistula/Carpathian line.
373-398 AD--Civil War in Rome. Flavius Sallustius declares his intent to run for another term as Roman Dictator. His pagan opponents and their grandee allies in the Senate challenge this, as they say he has already served the statutory limit of two terms. Sallustius counters by saying that he has only been elected Dictator once...he served the first term in replacement for the previous Dictator who died in office...and he should be eligible to run for a second term. The Roman succession statute is not clear on this matter, and his opponents accuse him of trying to subvert the Roman constitution so as to make himself Dictator for Life and force Christianity on the people of the Republic.
Both sides begin to rally their forces, riots break out between the supporters of the respective sides in Rome, and various army generals and local feudal warlords begin declaring for one side or another. Other generals and warlords, not loyal to either side, instead see this as an opportunity to seize power for themselves, and also go to war. By the end of 373 AD, Rome is in the grip of a bitter, multi-sided civil war which will last the next quarter century.
374 AD--Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Roman Civil War then raging, in 374 AD the Western Alans successfully breach the Vistula defenses and sweep across the Roman province of Germania, burning, looting, and pillaging as they go. Roman armies which are engaged in civil war with each other do very little to impede them. For the next two years they will wander about pretty much at will over Germania and Gallia before settling down in Hispania.
375 AD--Shah Shapur II of Persia dies. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Shah Ardashir II. Also in this year, Emperor Rama Gupta of India dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Chandra Gupta II. Chandra Gupta II will extend Gupta realm to Gujarat. Also at this time, nomadic Mongolian tribes of central Asia (possibly remnants of the Hsiung-nu) organize themselves into a confederation, the Juan-juan. These tribes will later become known to history as the Avars.
376 AD--The Huns reach the Black Sea, and defeat the Romans, conquer the Eastern Goths (one of the few Germanic tribes outside of Scandinavia which have not been absorbed by the Romans), killing their king Hermanerich in the process. Over the next few years, the Goths will be completely subjugated by the Huns and the Romans will be driven back to their Vistula/Carpathian defenses.
Also in this year, the Roman Governor of Hispania, Gaius Flavius Maximus, declares the independence of said province from Rome, and offers the crown of Hispania to King Alatey of the Alans in exchange for help in expelling the remaining Roman garrisons not loyal to himself. Alatey accepts the offer, and within a year the forces of Governor Maximus and King Alatey have established complete control over Hispania. Alatey soon has Maximus quietly murdered, and seizes complete power for himself.
377 AD--The Huns force their way through the Roman frontier defenses in the Carpathians and plunder as far as the Danube before turning back. The Roman armies, engaged in a bitter civil war at the time, barely attempt to stop them. Fortunately for Rome, this was just a plundering raid...not a full scale invasion.
383 AD--Shah Ardashir II of Persia is killed in battle with the Hittites. He is dies childless, and is succeeded by his brother, who reigns as Shah Shapur III.
387 AD--The forces loyal to Dictator Flavius Sallustius are defeated in Italy and flee, along with Sallustius himself, across the Mediterranean to north Africa. Rome’s north African provinces (Africa, Africa Nova, Numidia, and Mauretania) have been much more thoroughly Christianized than Rome’s European provinces, and their people side heavily with Sallustius. Sallustius’s forces take control of the provinces in north Africa, and Sallustius declares the secession of those provinces from the Roman Republic. Sallustius also declares Christianity to be the official religion of the new Republic of Africa, as it will be called. Sallustius soon begins negotiating for treaties of alliance with Hispania and Hatti.
Meanwhile, a rump Senate in Rome composed of the pagan faction opposed to Sallustius declares Junius Mallius Atticus as the new Dictator of Rome. Atticus immediately declares Christianity an outlaw religion, and persecutions more severe than any which have gone before begin. Thousands of Christians flee to north Africa, taking refuge with Sallustius’s forces. However, the expulsion of Sallustius and his army to north Africa does not end the civil war in Rome's European provinces, as various generals and warlords not loyal to either side continue to vie for power over the Republic.
388 AD--Death of King Tuwatis I of Hatti. He dies childless, and is succeeded by his brother, who reigns as King Hili II. Soon after taking the throne, King Hili II will sign a treaty of alliance with Dictator Sallustius of North Africa. Also in this year, Shah Shapur III of Persia dies, and is succeeded by his brother, who reigns as Shah Bahram IV. Bahram is, at the time, over 70 years old, and his reign will be short and mostly uneventful.
390 AD--Uldin takes power as the Khan of the Huns. Within the next few years, Uldin will unite the disparate Hunnic tribes under his banner.
393 AD--The all-pagan Senate in Rome re-elects Junius Mallius Atticus to a second term as Roman Dictator.
394 AD--Kutelburi becomes Khan of the Juan-juan empire, that stretches from Manchuria in the east to Lake Balkhash in the west.
395 AD--The Huns raid Armenia. In 395 AD, Khan Uldin leads the newly united Hunnic tribes southward against Hatti. Although they kill King Hili II of Hatti at the Battle of Lake Van, they nevertheless suffer a major defeat at the hands of the Hittites. Khan Uldin of the Huns shortly afterward signs a treaty with the new King of Hatti, Wasuruma III, in which he swears never to cross the Caucasus Mountains again.
395 AD--Death of King Hili II of Hatti in battle against the Huns at the Battle of Lake Van. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Wasuruma III.
397 AD--Khan Uldin of the Huns begins probing the Roman border defenses along the Vistula and the Carpathians. He finds them...weak. But unfortunately for him, at this time some of his subordinate chieftains decide to rebel. Rome will have to wait...
398 AD--A coalition of warlords from Germania and Gallia are finally defeated outside Massilia (on the southern coast of Gaul) by forces loyal to Dictator Atticus, ending the Roman Civil War. But Atticus has won a hollow victory...the Roman Republic has been devastated, and a new enemy is at the gates: THE HUNS.
399 AD--Shah Bahram IV of Persia dies. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as Shah Yazdagird I. Also in this year, Dictator Atticus of the Roman Republic steps down, and the Senate selects Flavius Vincentius as his successor.
PART FOURTEEN: 400-500 AD
400 AD--King Alatey of the Hispanic Alans dies, and is succeeded by Beler.
400 AD onward--The introduction of the printing press is having several unintended effects within the Hittite Empire. The various Christian sects of Hatti have taken advantage of the availability of inexpensive paper to spread their Holy Books to a wider audience. Christians set up schools throughout the empire, where prospective converts are given Bibles and taught to read. This not only has the effect of greatly increasing the growth of Christianity within the Hittite Empire (by the end of the century, over 50% of the population will be Christian), but also of greatly increasing literacy within the Empire (by the end of the century, literacy rates will be approaching 40% of the entire population, and will be growing each year).
At the same time, the greater number of literate people, along with the availability of inexpensive paper, will lead, by the end of the century, to the proliferation of newspapers in the various cities of the Hittite Empire. Many of these newspapers will become organs for the voicing of dissent within the Empire, expressing the views of the educated bourgeoisie which, influenced by Greek ideas, favor a more democratic form of government within the empire.
The printing press is also spreading to other countries as well. The first presses appear in Egypt, Rome, and Africa by 450 AD, and by the end of the century they will have spread to Persia and the Gupta Empire as well.
400-430 AD--The White Huns (Hephthalites) begin attacking the Red Hun (Kidarite) kingdom and the Sassanian Persian Empire. Continuing White Hun attacks destroy the Kidarite (Red Hun) kingdom in Afghanistan by 430 AD. The remnants of the Red Huns move southward toward India. Persia is more successful in fending them off, but this consumes their military resources for the rest of the century, preventing them from becoming too adventurous in the west. The Great Kings of Hatti will take advantage of this to go on adventures of their own...
405 AD--Flavius Vincentius is elected to a second term as Roman Dictator. Also in this year, Flavius Sallustius, Dictator of Africa, dies and is succeeded by Junius Hanno, a powerful African noble of mixed Roman and Punic heritage. The constitution of the Republic of Africa, unlike the Roman Republic, does not have a term limit for the Dictator, which is essentially a “Dictator for Life” position. Hanno will serve until his death in 460 AD.
406 AD--Pharaoh Nefenankre II of Egypt and King Ella Wosen of Axum form an alliance against the kingdom of Kush. Their ultimate aim is to establish complete control of the Red Sea trade routes.
407-416 AD--The Egyptian/Axumite alliance conquers Kush, which is divided between Egypt and Axum.
407-410 AD--War between Persia and the Gupta Empire. Emperor Chandra Gupta II of India once again takes up the flame of holy war against the Zoroastrian oppressors of Hinduism and leads his armies across the border of Persia. A short, three-year war results, in which Chandra Gupta extends the frontier of his empire westward into Arachosia, but is not able to penetrate very far before being stopped by the Persians. In 410 AD, Shah Yazdagird I of Persia sues for peace, as he needs to concentrate his forces against the incursions of the White Huns, and Chandra Gupta agrees, ending the war.
408 AD--The Huns, under Khan Uldin, breach the Roman Vistula/Carpathian line. They ravage Rome’s provinces north and east of the Oder and Danube, but are halted by the second line of Roman defenses on those Rivers. The Huns settle down in the plains of the Carpathian basin. Roman control of all lands east of the Oder and north of the Danube effectively collapses at this time.
408 AD--King Beler of the Hispanic Alans dies, and is succeeded by Respendial.
410 AD--Missionaries from the Republic of Africa convert King Respendial of the Hispanic Alans to Christianity. The realm of the Hispanic Alans becomes a Christian nation.
411 AD--Flavius Vincentius is ineligible to run for another term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Junius Quartus Palladius as his successor. Palladius will, unsuccessfully, attempt to reverse the tide toward feudalism which is gradually breaking up the cohesion of the Roman Republic. Also in this year, Khan Uldin of the Huns dies. The Huns split into two hordes, the Eastern Huns (ruled by Charaton, centered in the region north of the Black Sea) and the Western Huns (ruled by Mundzhuk Aybat, centered in the Carpathian Basin).
415 AD--Death of King Wasuruma III of Hatti. He is succeeded by Tuwatis II. Tuwatis will enjoy a long and successful reign, and will go down in history as Tuwatis “the Great,” in recognition of his brilliant military record and his wise diplomacy.
Also in this year, Emperor Chandra Gupta II of India dies, and is succeeded by Kumara Gupta I. Kumara Gupta have a long reign, and will focus his energy on a campaign to conquer southern India, where various Buddhist dynasties rule. By the end of his reign, these dynasties will be destroyed, and Kumara will persecute the Buddhist minorities in those areas, virtually eradicating them. Thus, by the end of his reign, India’s population will be virtually 100% Hindu and all of India will be united under the rule of the Gupta Empire.
417 AD--Junius Quartus Palladius is defeated in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects instead Lucius Heraclianus as his successor. Heraclianus is a feudal grandee, and reverses all the reformist legislation introduced by his predecessor.
417-425 AD--The Red Sea War. In the aftermath of their successful conquest of the Kushites, Pharaoh Nefanankre of Egypt and King Ella Wosen of Axum agree that their next target will be the Himyarite kingdom. Conquest of the Himyarites will give the Egyptian/Axumite alliance complete control over the exits from the Red Sea, and effectively, over the Red Sea trade routes.
In 417 AD, the Egyptians and Axumites land an invasion force near Aden, the major Himyarite port in the southwest corner of Arabia. The city is captured. The Himyarite King, Warau-amar Ayman, calls on his long-time ally, the Great King of Hatti, for aid, and not wishing to lose the vital Red Sea trade, King Tuwatis II of Hatti declares war on Egypt and Axum.
Hittite armies move into Egypt, and the Hittite navy engages the Egyptian and Axumite fleets in the Red Sea. In a campaign lasting eight years, the Hittites and their Himyarite allies defeat and conquer Egypt and Axum. Hatti claims all of Egypt and most of the former Kush as it’s provinces, while the Himyarites lay claim to Axum (which is culturally and ethnically very similar to the Himyarite realm itself).
c. 420 AD--Khan Charaton of the Eastern Huns and Mundzhuk Aybat of the Western Huns both die at about this time. They are succeeded by Octar (Eastern Huns) and Ruga (Western Huns).
420 AD--The rule of the decrepit Tsin Dynasty ends in southern China when the last Tsin Emperor, Kung Ti, abdicates in favor of Liu Yu. Liu Yu founds the Anterior Sung Dynasty, taking the throne as the Emperor Wu Ti. Also in this year, Shah Yazdagird I of Persia dies and is succeeded by Bahram V.
420-589 AD--The end of the Tsin Dynasty in southern China, combined with the unification of northern China a few years later, ushers in an age of political weakness and struggle for dominance in all of China. During this period the process of sinicization accelerates among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the aboriginal tribesmen in the south.
This process is also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism in both north and south China. One thing that weakened government made possible was basic cultural innovation. Buddhism had been introduced into China during the Han Dynasty, but took a while to catch on in China. Confucians would really never accept a teaching that advised people to abandon their families and become dependents on society, as Buddhist monks and nuns did. Basic Confucian hostility was only overcome by weakening of central authority with the now fragmented nature of the country, especially under the barbarian Northern dynasties, where undiscriminating "barbarian" tastes perhaps didn't know any better.
Despite the political disunity of the times, there were notable technological advances. The invention of gunpowder (at that time for use only in fireworks) and the wheelbarrow is believed to date from this period. Advances in medicine, astronomy, and cartography are also noted by historians.
423 AD--Lucius Heraclianus is elected to a second term as Roman Dictator.
429 AD--Lucius Heraclianus is ineligible for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Gaius Flavius Agricola as his successor. Agricola, like Heraclianus, is a powerful feudal grandee who does nothing to stop the slow disintegration of the Roman state.
c. 430-440 AD--The Red Huns, retreating after their defeat by the White Huns, begin attacking the Gupta Empire, making incursions into the Punjab and Kashmir. The Gupta Emperors are able to contain these invasions, however, and by 440 AD, the Red Huns have been effectively obliterated.
432 AD--Khan Octar of the Eastern Huns is killed in battle with the forces of Khan Ruga of the Western Huns. Khan Ruga briefly unites all of the Huns under his rule.
434 AD--Khan Ruga of the Huns dies. He leaves his realm to his two sons, Bleda and Attila, who jointly rule the Hunnic Empire.
435 AD--Gaius Flavius Agricola does not run for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Julius Licinius Monoxius as his successor. Monoxius is an opponent of the grandees and tries to curb their power, but with little success.
439 AD--End of the Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. In northern China, the last remaining survivors of the Wu Hu “Sixteen Kingdoms” are fighting for total dominance of northern China. The Northern Wei Dynasty defeats and conquers it’s last remaining contender, the Northern Liang Dynasty, unifying northern China under one rule and ending the Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms. The Northern Wei will be the first of six Northern Dynasties which will rule in north China over the next 150 years.
Also in this year, King Respendial of the Hispanic Alans dies, and is succeeded by Sangiban. Also in this year, Shah Bahram V of Persia dies and is succeeded by Yazdagird II. Yazdagird will be primarily notable for his persecutions of Christians and other religious minorities.
440 AD--For some years, Christian Missionaries have been visiting the Huns, making conversions and trying to woo the Huns as an ally against Rome, which is controlled by an irredentist pagan faction which is severely persecuting Christianity in territories held by Rome. In 440 AD, Khan Attila of the Western Huns converts to Christianity...not so much because he has genuinely accepted Christian belief, but because he sees this as a means to an end...the conquest of Rome.
441 AD--Julius Licinius Monoxius is defeated in his bid for a second term as Roman Dictator. The Senate selects Petronius Maximus as his successor. Maximus is a genial non-entity supported by the grandees, and during his tenure, Rome slips further toward the abyss. He will be the last Dictator of Rome.
444 AD--Khan Attila arranges to have his brother, Bleda, die in a “hunting accident.” Attila takes over as sole ruler of the Huns. He shortly afterward begins negotiating with the Republic of Africa, the Hispanic Alans, and the Hittites for alliances against Rome.
446-450 AD--In 446 AD, Khan Attila of the Huns begins to attack the tottering Roman Republic. The Dictator, Petronius Maximus, tries to rally the people in defense of the Republic, but the process of disintegration has gone too far and very few respond. Christians throughout the Republic, including many powerful feudal warlords, rise up in support of the Huns. The result is a bloody civil war among the Romans which severely impairs their ability to defend themselves against the Huns.
Rome’s fate is sealed when the Christian Republic of Africa, King Tuwatis II of Hatti, the Greek Polei allied to Hatti, and King Sangiban of the Hispanic Alans also declare war on Rome. The city of Rome itself falls to the invaders in 450 AD, and is sacked and burned. With the destruction of Rome, the Roman Republic effectively comes to an end.
In some places...Britannia, Hibernia, and northern Gaul...local Roman warlords establish Roman successor states. But most of the Republic’s territory is taken as the spoils of war by the conquerors. Hatti takes most of the Balkan provinces, the Huns take Pannonia, Germania, and Northern Italy, the Alans take southern Gaul, and Africa takes Southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica.
447 AD--A terrified Senate re-elects Petronius Maximus to a second term as Roman Dictator, largely because nobody else cares to take responsibility for what looks to be the final collapse of the Republic.
450 AD: The Juan-juan (Avars) attack northern China, where they are defeated by the Northern Wei Dynasty. Also in this year, the Huns capture and sack Rome, and the city is razed to the ground. Petronius Maximus, the last Dictator of Rome, is captured and brought before Attila. He pleads for mercy, but Attila has none to give. Maximus is flayed alive, and, after the skin is tanned, Attila uses it as a saddle blanket for his war horse. This display of raw barbarity shocks many of Attila’s allies as well as his enemies.
c. 450 AD--The Alchon Huns, a branch of the White Huns, begin to move southward into India, where they clash with the armies of the Gupta Empire in the Punjab and Kashmir. They are defeated and retreat northward, rejoining the main body of the White Huns in Afghanistan. At about this time, the White Huns convert to Zoroastrianism.
451 AD--Khan Attila of the Huns, flush with his victory over the Roman Republic, begins eyeing the Hittite lands south of the Danube as the next stop on his road of conquest. Hunnic raiders begin crossing the Danube, where they clash with Hittite forces.
452 AD--With the Huns making threatening moves on his northern border in Europe, King Tuwatis II of Hatti offers one of his nieces, a very beautiful princess named Puduhepa, as a bride to Khan Attila of the Huns, along with a large payment in gold, in exchange for a treaty of peace. Attila accepts.
453 AD--Khan Attila of the Huns and Princess Puduhepa of Hatti are married at the Hunnic capital in Pannonia. Attila suffers a nosebleed on his wedding night and drowns in his own blood...or at least that is the official story. Actually, he was assassinated by order of King Tuwatis II of Hatti, by Princess Puduhepa, who administered a rare Hittite herb to Attila in a goblet of wine which rendered him unconscious, and then smothered him with a pillow. Puduhepa, appropriately distraught, was found with the body the next morning, and suspicion never fell on her. She was later allowed to return to the Hittite Empire, where, curiously...or maybe not so curiously...she was never able to find a man willing to marry her.
453 onward--Upon the death of Attila, the Hunnic Empire falls apart as civil war breaks out among the various sons of Attila. The subject tribes, such as the Goths and Northern Alans, go into revolt, as do many of the former Roman feudal warlords in various regions. By the end of the century, a patchwork of successor states will have arisen in the former Hunnic domains. The Goths will establish two states...the North Goths in what is OTL Poland, and the South Goths in northern Italy. The Northern Alans will found a state to the east of the North Goths. A sub-Roman state will take control of the province of Germania, ruled by a set of powerful Roman feudal grandees. The Huns themselves will fragment into five separate hordes...the Western Huns, the Altyn Oba Huns, the Kutriger Huns, the Utriger Huns, and the Kremeri Huns. None of these successor states will be very powerful, and all of them will be pretty much constantly at war with each other.
455 AD--In the aftermath of the war which ended the Roman Republic, King Tuwatis II of Hatti decides to take steps to withdraw from his new vulnerable provinces in Europe, while leaving them in the hands of a friendly power which will cooperate with Hatti, as necessary, in the future. The logical candidate is the Greek Polei, and at the urging of Tuwatis, representatives of the Greek Polei meet on the island of Rhodes to discuss the formation of a new Hellenic State. Representatives of cities and provinces from Macedon, Thrace, Epirus, and Illyria are also invited to this meeting, and under the guiding hand of Tuwatis, a new government is formed.
The Greek state will be a republic. Laws for the republic will be made by a Legislature, called the Hellenic Assembly, with equal representation for each city and province of the new country. As in the old Delian League, a chief magistrate called an Archon will be elected to serve a four year term. The Archon will be the chief executive and head of state, and have command of the army. Each administrative unit of the Republic (city or province) will be bound to raise a certain number of troops for the standing army and navy of the Republic, based on it’s population. All of these troops will be equipped to the same standard, as specified by the Hellenic Assembly.
King Tuwatis approves of this new government, and the Republic of Hellas is officially recognized by Hatti in the following year.
Also in this year, Emperor Kumara Gupta I of India dies, and is succeeded by Skanda Gupta. Skanda Gupta continues his father’s policies vis-a-vis the Buddhist minorities of Southern India.
456-458 AD--Following the official recognition of the Republic of Hellas by King Tuwatis II of Hatti, the Hittites withdraw their troops from Europe over the next two years. The Republic of Hellas signs a mutual defense treaty with Hatti.
457 AD--Death of Shah Yazdagird II of Persia. He is succeeded by Hormizd III. Hormizd’s short reign will be consumed with civil war between himself and his brothers, and with fighting the incursions of the White Huns.
459 AD--Death of King Tuwatis II “the Great” of Hatti. He is succeeded by Anitta V. Anitta will not be a powerful ruler compared to his father, but fortunately for him and Hatti, the surrounding powers will be too busy with their own squabbles to interfere too much in Hittite affairs during his reign.
Also, in this year Shah Hormizd III of Persia is killed in battle with forces lead by his brother, Peroz, who is in league with the White Huns. Peroz takes the throne and reigns as Shah Peroz I. Peroz will spend most of his reign under the domination of the White Huns, making several unsuccessful attempts to regain full independence from them.
459-465 AD--War between the Hispanic Alans and Gallia. King Sangiban of the Hispanic Alans invades the sub-Roman state of Gallia in 459 AD, sparking a six-year war. The war finally ends when Sangiban himself is killed in battle with Gallic forces on the River Seine. His successor, Respendial II, takes an offer of tribute from the Gallic Confederation (the coalition of Roman feudal grandees which rules the sub-Roman state of Gallia) and agrees to end the war. A treaty is signed which establishes the border between the two states.
460 AD--Death of Dictator Junius Hanno of the Republic of Africa. He is succeeded by Maximian Licinius Sallustius, grandson of former Dictator Flavius Sallustius.
467 AD--Emperor Skanda Gupta of India dies, and is succeeded by Kumara Gupta II.
470-490 AD--The White Huns launch a massive invasion of India. They devastate much of the Ganges basin, including the Gupta capital at Palatiputra. But the Gupta Emperors continue to fight against them, and using the fact that the White Huns have converted to a form of Zoroastrianism as a rallying cry to the Hindu population of India, they manage to expel the invaders after twenty years of hard fighting.
477 AD--Emperor Kumara Gupta II of India dies in battle against the White Huns, and is succeeded by Budha Gupta.
479 AD--The Anterior Sung Dynasty ends in southern China, replaced by the Southern Ch’i Dynasty. Also in this year, King Respendial II of the Hispanic Alans dies, and is succeeded by Beler II.
481 AD--Death of King Anitta V of Hatti. He is succeeded by Mursili VI. Mursili is more in the mold of his great grandfather, and Hatti will prosper mightily under his rule.
Mursili is also important in another regard...he is a Christian, the first such to become Great King of Hatti. Mursili belongs to a Christian sect which espouses ideas close to those which in OTL would be called Nestorianism. This church argues that Jesus had two natures...human and divine. According to this creed, God the Father incarnated a portion of Himself as Jesus, becoming human in the process. When Jesus returned to His Father’s side after his death as a human being, He resumed His divine nature. Thus, while on earth, Jesus was human, but once returned to Heaven, he became divine. And nearly as importantly, Mary was the mother of the human man, Jesus, but not the mother of God.
This is in contrast to various monophysite creeds in the Hittite Empire which argue that Jesus had only one nature...Divine...and that Mary was therefore the mother of God. It contrasts as well as with the Roman Orthodox creed, which forms the basis of several sects within the Hittite Empire, which argues that Christ had two natures...human and divine...but also argues that Mary was the mother of God, not merely of the human man, Jesus.
While Mursili does not try to impose his belief on the empire as a whole, he does begin to work toward the consolidation of the various Christian faiths in the Hittite Empire into one unified Hittite Church, holding several ecumenical councils during his reign which attempt to hammer out the differences between the various sects. He will not succeed during his reign, and indeed, the effort he begins will never be entirely successful, but great strides toward a single orthodoxy will be made.
483 AD--Death of Dictator Maximian Licinius Sallustius of the Republic of Africa. He is succeeded by Theophanes of Hippo, a Greek citizen of Africa. Theophanes steps up the persecution of the few remaining pagans in the Republic, mostly in the newly conquered provinces of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and southern Italy.
484 AD--Since taking the throne, Shah Peroz I has found himself dominated by the White Huns, and has fought several wars against them, all unsuccessfully. In 484 he raises a large army and advances against them, but his luck holds true to form, and his guides lead his army into a barren desert, where Peroz and his entire army perishes. He is succeeded by his brother, Balash.
484-486 AD--The White Huns plunder and sack at will throughout the Persian Empire until a respected Persian noble, Zahrmir of the House of Karen, drives the White Huns out and raises the brother of the unfortunate Shah Peroz I to the throne in 486 AD. The brother rules as Shah Balash.
488 AD--Shah Balash of Persia, who has proven to be a mild and generous monarch at a time when a ruthless one is required, is deposed and blinded. The throne is usurped by his nephew, who reigns as Shah Kavadh I. Kavadh, in an attempt to break the power of the great nobles of Persia, gives support to a communistic Zoroastrian sect called the Mazdakites, which preaches that the rich should divide their wives and wealth with the poor. Needless to say, this causes much dissension among the nobility.
490 AD onward--Defeated in their attempt to conquer India, the White Huns once again focus their attentions on Persia. They also begin expanding eastward, into the Tarim Basin region. Theophanes of Hippo, Dictator of Africa, is assassinated by unknown persons as he is returning home from religious services. He is succeeded by Julius Lucius Barca, another citizen of mixed Roman and Punic heritage. Barca declares the pagans responsible for the assassination of Dictator Theophanes, and during his reign, the last remaining pagans in the Republic will be either exterminated or forced to flee. Africa will become the world’s first 100% Christian state.
491 AD--King Mursili VI of Hatti issues an Imperial Edict formally abolishing slavery throughout the Hittite Empire. This was not as dramatic a step as it might seem, as slavery, as an institution, has been slowly dying out in the Hittite Empire for centuries due to some quirks in Hittite law. Under Hittite law, slaves may amass private wealth, the possession of which has gradually eroded the barriers between slaves and free men in Hittite society and allowed increasing numbers of slaves to purchase their own freedom. Furthermore, a Hittite slave may marry a free person legally without depriving his spouse of the rights of his/her free birth. The children of such unions are all granted freedom upon reaching adulthood.
The combined effects of these two idiocyncracies of Hittite Law has been to gradually reduce the number of slaves over the centuries to the point where very few slaves remain in the Hittite Empire anymore. Mursili, in issuing his Imperial Edict, simply recognizes what has become a virtual fait accompli within his empire.
496 AD--Emperor Budha Gupta of India dies, and is succeeded by Chandra Gupta III. Chandra Gupta will spend his reign rebuilding his Empire, repairing the damage caused by the White Hun invasion. Also in this year, Shah Kavadh I of Persia is deposed and imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion in Susiana. The nobles raise his brother, Jamasp, to the throne.
497 AD--Kavadh, the deposed Shah of Persia, escapes from the Castle of Oblivion and finds refuge with Khan Akhshunwar of the White Huns. He marries the daughter of the White Hun Khan, and the White Huns begin aiding him as he attempts to return to power in Persia.
499 AD--With the assistance of the White Huns, deposed Shah Kavadh of Persia defeats and kills his brother, Jamasp, and retakes the throne. But although he is king in name, the real power in Persia is now Khan Akhshunwar of the White Huns, to whom Kavadh shortly finds himself paying tribute. He secretly begins intriguing with King Mursili VI of Hatti, seeking to free himself from White Hun domination. Mursili, who has no wish to see Persia restored to an independent status, basically strings Kavadh along, making promises and providing small amounts of money, but not enough to allow Kavadh to overthrow his White Hun overlords.
500 AD--The Juan-juan (Avars) convert to Buddhism, and the Himyarites convert to Christianity.
MORE TO COME...
November 29th, 2009, 10:00 PM
THE THIRD HITTITE EMPIRE, CONTINUED...
PART FIFTEEN: 500-600 AD
c. 500 AD--The Srivijaya kingdom is founded in southern Sumatra (Indonesia) with capital in Palembang. Also at about this time, Polynesian people begin arriving on Madagascar. Also at this time, the Chinese alphabet is adapted to the Japanese language.
500 AD--Emperor Chandra Gupta III of India dies, and is succeeded by Vainya Gupta. The years of his predecessor’s reign have been spent rebuilding the country, and Vainya Gupta inherits a very strong empire, with the people firmly united behind their emperors.
500 AD onward--The printing press continues to exert increasing influence over the course of events in Hatti and elsewhere.
502 AD--The Southern Liang Dynasty replaces the Southern Ch’i Dynasty as rulers of South China.
505 AD--Death of King Mursili VI of Hatti. He is succeeded by Uassurme II. Uassurme, unlike his father, is not a Christian, and takes no interest in furthering his father’s goal of creating a unified Hittite Church.
507-535 AD--War between Hatti and the White Huns. In 507 AD, the White Huns discover that Shah Kavadh I of Persia has been intriguing against them with the Great King of Hatti. The White Huns invade Persia, meet Kavadh in battle near Ecbatana, and rout his army. Kavadh himself escapes and flees to the court of King Uassurme II of Hatti. When the White Huns, in pursuit, cross the Hittite border later that year, Uassurme declares war.
The Hittite main army meets the White Huns near the city of Opis in Mesopotamia, inflicts a severe defeat on them, and the White Huns retreat back across the Zagros Mountains. The following year, King Uassurme leads the Hittite army, along with the pitiful remnants of the Persian army lead by Shah Kavadh, in an invasion of Persia itself. This leads to a series of campaigns lasting 28 years in which the Hittites gradually...ostensibly in the name of the Persian Shah...conquer most of Iran.
However, when Shah Kavadh dies in 531 AD, King Uassurme has his son, Prince Khosrau, deposed and executed, ending the Sassanid Dynasty. Uassurme instead incorporates the former Persian lands into the Hittite Empire, creating four new provinces from them...Persis, Media, Parthia, and Elymais. Shortly afterward, in 535 AD, the Khan of the White Huns, Lakhana, sues for peace with Hatti, and a treaty is signed establishing the borders between the two kingdoms. The White Huns are forced to pay tribute to Hatti as well. Their power sharply declines from this point on.
510-518 AD--Conquest of northern Italy by the Republic of Africa. The Republic of Africa holds that it is the only true successor to the old Roman Republic, but up to now, due to a variety of circumstances, has been unable to press it’s claims to former Roman territories in Europe. In 510 AD this changes, however, when Dictator Junius Lucius Barca declares war on King Theodoric of the Southern Goths. A brutal eight year war results in which African forces conquer and essentially destroy the Southern Goths as a people. Southern Gothic territory is absorbed into the Republic of Africa. The remnants of the Southern Goths take refuge with the Hispanic Alans or the Western Huns, where they are absorbed by these larger groups and lose their identity.
512 AD--Emperor Vainya Gupta declares holy war against the Persians and the White Huns, the great Zoroastrian powers to the north and west. He becomes a defacto ally of the Hittites, who are also engaged in a war with the White Huns at this time.
515 AD--Emperor Vainya Gupta of India is killed in battle with the White Huns, and is succeeded by Narasihma Gupta. Narasihma Gupta continues his father’s holy war.
530 AD--Emperor Narasimha Gupta of India dies, and is succeeded by Kumara Gupta III. Like his father and grandfather, Kumara Gupta continues the holy war against the Zoroastrians to the north and west.
531 AD--Death of Junius Lucius Barca, Dictator of Africa. He is succeeded by Gaius Maximus Strabo. Strabo is an army general who, recognizing that the office of Dictator has become a monarchy in all but name, decides to formalize the situation. However, remembering the long-standing Roman tradition which forbids anyone from claiming the title of “Rex” (King), Strabo instead claims the title of “Imperator” (Emperor). He furthermore will see to it that the office is passed down to his heirs. He reigns as Emperor Gaius I. The Republic of Africa becomes the African Empire. Also in this year, Shah Kavadh I of Persia dies, and is succeeded by his son, Khosrau. Khosrau is, however, quickly deposed and executed at the order of King Uassurme II of Hatti
534 AD--The Northern Wei Dynasty ruling northern China fragments. Two successor dynasties arise...the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei.
538 AD--A delegation from the Korean kingdom of Paekche introduces Buddhism to the Japanese Emperor at Osaka. Buddhism had previously been introduced into Japan, but had not made much headway there. Once accepted by the Emperor, it rapidly spreads.
540 AD--Emperor Kumara Gupta III of India dies in battle against the White Huns, and is succeeded by Vishnu Gupta. Vishnu Gupta decides to end the holy war, and makes peace with the White Huns later that same year. The effect of the holy war has been to significantly expand the Gupta empire to the north and west. Persecutions of the newly conquered Zoroastrian populations quickly begin in the conquered territories. Vishnu Gupta and his successors will look with suspicion at the Hittites to the west, who they see as sheltering the Zoroastrian “devil worshipers.” They will tend to maintain chilly but cordial relations with Hatti. Also at this time, the Magyars migrate from the Ural Mountains in Russia to the Don. They come under the overlordship of the Avars
540-558 AD--African Conquest of the Hispanic Alans: Emperor Gaius I of Africa, pursuing his predecessor’s quest to reunite former Roman territory under the “rightful” heir of Rome...the African Empire...declares war on King Alatey II of the Hispanic Alans in 540 AD. Emperor Gaius leads African armies in a two pronged assault on Alanic territory, with one army crossing into Hispania at the Pillars of Hercules, and another pushing into southern Gaul from northern Italy. The Alans prove to be staunch opponents, and a bloody 18 year war results in which Emperor Gaius himself is killed. But in the end, the forces of his successor, Emperor Marcus I, are victorious, and the territory of the Hispanic Alans is absorbed into the African Empire.
549 AD--Death of Gaius Maximus Strabo, Emperor of Africa, in battle with the Hispanic Alans. He is succeeded by his son, Marcus Livius Strabo. He reigns as Emperor Marcus I.
550 AD--Death of King Uassurme II of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, Uassurme III. Uassurme III is a Christian, like his grandfather, and a very zealous one. Upon his accession to the throne, he declares Christianity...and in particular, the form of Christianity favored by himself and his grandfather (called Kuruntite Christianity, after it’s founder, Bishop Kurunta of Hattusas)...to be the official religion of the Hittite Empire. His heavy-handed attempts to enforce these edicts lead to widespread resentment in the empire, and within two years, civil war will have broken out. Also at this time, the Northern Ch’i Dynasty takes over rule of the territories held by the Eastern Wei in northern China.
c. 550 AD--The Sun (Soga) dynasty takes effective control of the Yamato state and the capital of Japan is moved from Osaka to their homeland, the Asuka valley in the central Yamato plain. At this time, the term "Shinto" is introduced to differentiate the native religion from the philosophies and religions imported from China...Buddhism and Confucianism. Also at about this time, the fragile structure of the sub-Roman state of Hibernia comes crashing down as local Celtic chieftains revolt against the “Romanized” class which rules Ireland. Ireland splits into various competing petty states, and will remain disunited for some time to come.
552-555 AD--The First War of Religion: In 552 AD, attempts by Hittite officials in the service of King Uassurme III to close down the Hebrew Temple in Jerusalem and forbid all non-Christian worship in the province of Israel leads to a bloody revolt. Other disaffected factions scattered over the empire, both pagan and Christian, soon follow suit, and it is not long before the various anti-Uassurme factions are coordinating their efforts. Civil war threatens to tear apart the empire.
552 onward--Hebrew refugees from the brutal oppression of their religion by King Uassurme III of Hatti flee to the Himyarite kingdom. Lead by a set of rabbis who reject the orthodox, henotheistic interpretation of Yahwism in favor of a monotheistic interpretation, these Hebrews set up thriving communities in many of the cities of the Himyarite kingdom and make many converts.
552 AD--The Juan-juan (Avars) are defeated and expelled by their Turkic-speaking vassals. They begin to move west. The Turks found their own empire, the Gok Turk Khaganate, which will in the succeeding years conquer a huge area from the shores of the Sea of Japan in the east to the Caspian Sea in the west.
555 AD--King Uassurme III of Hatti is killed in battle with rebels opposed to his edicts establishing Kuruntite Christianity as the official religion of the empire. The leader of the rebel faction is his cousin, who takes the throne as King Hattusili Tesub VI. The new king is a pagan will go down in history as “The Apostate.” During his fifteen year reign, Hattusili Tesub will attempt to promote a return to paganism and will eventually even attempt to outlaw Christianity. Needless to say, this only serves to deepen the religious divisions within the empire.
556 AD--The Northern Chou Dynasty overthrows the Western Wei Dynasty and takes over rulership in northwestern China.
557 AD--The Southern Liang Dynasty is deposed by the Chen Dynasty in most of southern China with their capital at Nanking. A branch of the Liang, called the Nan Liang, will continue to rule a small kingdom from the city of Xining, in southwestern China.
558 AD--The Avars (remnants of the Juan-juan), under their Khagan Kandik, invade the Russian steppes and push the Slavs to the west. The Slavs split into three main groups...the Eastern, Western, and Southern Slavs. They also crush the Hunnic Altyn Oba, Utrigur and Kutrigur hordes. The remnants of these hordes flee to the west, where they take refuge with their kinsmen, the Western Huns.
559 AD--The Avars destroy the kingdom of the Northern Alans. The Western Huns are assailed by Slavic invaders from the east. Both the Huns and the Slavs begin crossing the Danube into the territory of the Republic of Hellas. Also in this year, Emperor Marcus I of Africa moves his capital to Rome. He declares that henceforward his state will be known not as the African Empire, but as the Roman Empire.
560 AD--The Avars destroy the kingdom of the Northern Goths. The remnants of the Goths flee westward into Germania. The Republic of Hellas hires Avar mercenaries to fight invading Slavs and Huns, and calls for assistance from King Hattusili Tesub VI of Hatti. A Hittite army lands at Byzantium, and in cooperation with the Greeks and their Avar mercenaries, forces the invading hordes of Huns and Slavs back north of the Danube.
562 AD--The Gok Turks invade the Khanate of the White Huns and destroy it. The survivors flee for safety into the Hittite Empire, where they are settled in Parthia and are gradually absorbed into the population.
565 AD--Kandik, Khagan of the Avars, is killed in battle with the Republic of Hellas. He is succeeded by Bayan.
565-567 AD--The Avars invade the sub-Roman state of Germania. The feudal grandees which rule the area in a loose confederation are unable to put up a united front to resist the Avar onslaught, and Germania falls to the Avars.
567 AD--The Gok Turks invade the Gupta Empire, but are defeated by the forces of Emperor Vishnu Gupta. This begins a period of nearly constant warfare between the two empires which will continue for several decades.
568 AD--The Avars, under Khagan Bayan, invade Pannonia, expelling the Western Huns who move towards Italy. They then settle down for a while to digest their conquests, and the rest of Europe knows a brief interlude of relative peace. Also at this time, the Emperor of the Northern Chou Dynasty in China gives his daughter to the Khagan of the Gok Turks in marriage. This is an attempt to cement relations between the two empires and prevent the Gok Turks from depredating in northern China.
568-580 AD--The Western Huns, driven west by the Avars, invade northern Italy. There they come into conflict with the forces of Roman Emperors Marcus I and Gnaeus I. A bitter struggle lasting twelve years ensues, but in the end, the Huns are finally and decisively defeated outside Milan in 580 AD. The defeat is so decisive that the Western Huns effectively cease to exist as a people after this date...caught between the victorious Romans to the south and the Avars to the north, they have nowhere to go and are pretty much exterminated over the next few years.
570 AD--King Hattusili Tesub VI is overthrown in a palace coup lead by Hili, the younger brother of King Uassurme III. King Hili III will repeal the anti-Christian laws and will once again declare Kuruntite Christianity to be the official religion of the empire. However, he issues edicts of tolerance for pagans, Yahwists, and “heretic” Christians, which will serve to preserve the peace in his empire during his long and successful reign. However, the peace is fragile, and will not outlast his reign.
Also in this year, Marcus Livius Strabo, Emperor of Rome, dies. He is succeeded by Gnaeus Flavius Strabo. He reigns as Emperor Gnaeus I. Also in this year, Emperor Vishnu Gupta of India dies, and is succeeded by Chandra Gupta IV. Chandra Gupta will spend most of his reign fighting with the Gok Turks on his northern frontier. He will maintain chilly, but cordial, relations with Hatti. Also in this year, in the Himyarite city of Mecca, a boy named Muhammad is born.
570-580 AD--The Southern Slavs, fleeing from the Avars, manage to cross the Danube and settle in the Balkan peninsula, despite resistance by the forces of the Republic of Hellas. Among these groups are two which are the descendants of a merger between primitive Slavic tribes and the Northern Alans...the Serbs (from the Alan tribe, the Serboi) and the Croats (from the Alan tribe, the Choroatos). The Greeks decide that “if you can’t beat them, join them,” and begin to make efforts to integrate the new arrivals into their political and social structure.
571 AD: The Hittite Empire and the Republic of Hellas sign a peace treaty with the Avars. The sub-Roman state of Gallia, ruled by a confederation of feudal grandees which is completely terrified of the Avars who are now just across the Rhine River, appeals to Emperor Gnaeus I for admission into the Roman Empire. Gnaeus accepts, and Roman troops move into Gallia and begin building fortifications along the Rhine.
c. 575 AD--By this time, the East Slavs inhabit western Russia and the West Slavs inhabit what will become in OTL Poland, Czechoslovakia and Prussia. These two groups are under the overlordship of the Avar Khagan.
577 AD--The Northern Chou Dynasty conquers the Northern Ch’i, re-uniting northern China.
580 AD--The confederation of Romanized grandees which rules in Britannia, seeing the new Roman Christian power rising across the Oceanus Britannicus, decides to declare that the Roman creed of Christianity will be henceforward be the official state religion of Britannia. They also begin negotiating with Emperor Gnaeus I for a treaty of alliance...more to keep the Roman Empire from coming after them than because they feel any real outside threats at the moment. Gnaeus, who looks at the treaty as a first step in the eventual re-claiming of Britannia as a province of the Roman Empire, accepts the offer, and a treaty of alliance is signed at Rome later that same year.
581 AD--General Yang Chien overthrows the Northern Chou Dynasty in north China. He founds the Sui Dynasty, taking the throne as the Emperor Wen Ti.
582 AD--The ruler of the Himyarite kingdom converts to Yahwism and begins to persecute Christians.
583 AD--Muhammad travels with a caravan to the Hittite Empire. This is the first of several such trips, where he is exposed to several versions of Christianity.
584 AD--Khan Kubrat unifies the Bulgars, a collection of Turkic peoples who had taken part in the Hunnic migrations and now are under the overlordship of the Avars. Under Kubrat’s leadership, the Bulgars throw off the Avar yoke and establish their own independent state, Great Bulgaria.
586 AD--Death of Gnaeus Flavius Strabo, Emperor of Rome. He is succeeded by his son, Decimus Flavius Strabo. He reigns as Emperor Decimus I.
587 AD--Emperor Wen Ti of the Sui Dynasty conquers the Nan Liang Dynasty in southwestern China. Also at this time, spurred on by Chinese agents, civil war breaks out in the Gok Turk Empire, which splits into eastern and western halves.
588 AD--Emperor Chandra Gupta IV of India dies, and is succeeded by Rama Gupta II. Rama Gupta will maintain cordial relations with Hatti, while warring with the Gok Turks on his northern frontier. He will also send Hindu missionaries to the Indonesian archipelago and southeast Asia, where they will vie with the Buddhists for supremacy in those regions.
589 AD--Emperor Wen Ti of the Sui Dynasty conquers the Chen Dynasty and re-unifies all of China for the first time in almost three centuries. Under Wen Ti and his successors, the Sui Dynasty will accomplish great things...such as the construction of the Grand Canal and reconstruction of the Great Wall...but only by using extremely tyrannical methods and imposing great hardship on the people. The Grand Canal alone was accomplished by the forced impressment of no less than 3,000,000 laborers, with those caught while evading service being executed. The Sui will not hold power for long.
590 AD--The empire of the Avars extends from the Rhine to the Volga and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea. Also in this year, Muhammad enters a seminary in the Hittite city of Damascus, where he begins training to be a Christian priest. Over the next couple of decades he will make a name for himself, preaching against the persecution of Christians by the Yahwist Himyarite kings. He subscribes to the Kuruntite version of Christianity.
593 AD--Prince Shotoku of the Soga clan rules Japan and promotes Buddhism.
599 AD--The Avars, abrogating their treaty of 571 AD, cross the Danube, inflicting a heavy defeat on the forces of the Republic of Hellas near Pella. The Avars, in a display of barbarity, capture 12,000 Greek prisoners of war and execute them all. They then proceed to rape and pillage through most of the Balkan peninsula, before retiring north of the Danube, heavily weighed down with plunder. The Republic of Hellas is devastated.
600 AD--Prince Shotoku sends the first official Japanese mission to China.
PART SIXTEEN: 600-700 AD
c. 600 AD onward--The continuing impact of the destruction of the Marib Dam, among other factors, has lead to the gradual breakup of the Himyarite Kingdom into several competing city states. These cities still officially acknowledge the authority of the Himyarite King, but in fact are independent in all but name.
600 AD onward--Beginning of the Scientific Revolution in the Hittite Empire. As mentioned previously, the rise of the Universities and the growth of private libraries among the bourgeoisie of the Hittite Empire has stimulated learning. This, combined with the decimation of the population by the Yellow Plague (and later the Second War of Religion) leads various inventors to begin creating labor-saving devices which will eventually revolutionize the world. Progress will be slow at first, but will accelerate as time goes on.
600 AD--The Pallava Dynasty, which has ruled the city of Kanchi in southern India as vassals of the Gupta Emperor for centuries, asserts it’s independence from the Gupta Empire. Over the course of the next few decades they will expand their rule over all of southern India. Also at this time, Buddhist texts are translated into Tibetan, and Muhammad returns to his home in Mecca after completing his studies at the seminary in Damascus. He begins preaching in protest of the Yahwist persecutions of Christians in the region, while also, gradually and without his conscious knowledge, being influenced by those same Yahwists.
c. 600 AD--The stirrup, which had been invented in northern China about 320 AD, is introduced as standard equipment for the Hittite cavalry after Hittite merchants and diplomats bring back reports of it’s use in Chinese armies. This gives Hittite cavalry a great advantage over that of the neighboring peoples.
601 AD--Death of King Hili III of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Muwatalli VI. Muwatalli is not the statesman his father was, and at the death of King Hili, the fragile peace between the different religious factions within the Hittite Empire begins to crumble. Within a year, full-scale civil war has broken out...The Second War of Religion. Also in this year, the Gok Turks under the command of Tardu lay siege to China's capital at Chang-an (Xian).
602-620 AD--The Second War of Religion. A fragile peace between the various religious factions within the Hittite Empire which had existed through the long reign of King Hili III crumbles at his death. His son, Muwatalli, is a fervent Kuruntite Christian, and has none of his father’s tact when dealing with leaders of other religious factions. His heavy-handed discrimination against the other sects and religions in the Hittite realm leads to the outbreak of revolt within months of his succession to the throne, and within a year, to full scale civil war.
The war rages for 18 years, and almost destroys the Hittite Empire. Two Great Kings of Hatti will be overthrown in the course of these bitter civil wars, and many other members of the royal family will be killed. Finally, in 618 AD, King Tuwatis III comes to the throne. The new King is no zealot when it comes to religion, and has a gift for reaching what seem to be unreachable compromises. Furthermore, he cultivates the support of the educated bourgeoisie within the empire by promising political reforms, including a written constitution guaranteeing greater political freedom within the empire and the guarantee of basic liberties to the people of the empire. The bourgeoisie throw their support behind the new king, and with their aid, Tuwatis is able to bring the various factions to the negotiating table, ending the civil war, in 620 AD.
Over the course of several months of often heated negotiations, a constitution is hammered out. The Great King agrees to share power with a legislative body, called the Council of 400, which will be composed of representatives elected by the various provinces of the Empire, with the Hittite Provinces to hold half the seats, and non-Hittite provinces to divide the remaining half. The Council will have the right to review and veto new taxes and other legislation proposed by the Great King, as well as approve or disapprove of declarations of war. The Council also gains the power to approve or disapprove any amendments to the constitution itself. For the first time, the rights of the people are specified and enshrined in the constitution itself. The Great King retains the right to conduct foreign policy, to propose new taxes and legislation and to spend state revenues. The document enshrines two key principals...freedom of religion and separation of church and state...as central features of the new regime. Religious liberty will be guaranteed to all, and no sect will be favored over others. The new document will stand the test of time, and will come to be a model which many future nations will emulate.
602 AD--Tibet is unified under Namri Songsen. Bayan, Khagan of the Avars, dies. At his death, the Avars fall to bickering among themselves, and several weak Khagans will rise to power over the next 180 years. In the meantime, the surrounding states enjoy an interval of relative peace. Not complete peace, to be sure...even under relatively weak Khagans, the Avars will still manage to pursue some aggressive action over the ensuing period.
603 AD--Death of the Emperor Rama Gupta II of India. He is succeeded by Chandra Gupta V.
604 AD--Prince Shotoku issues a Chinese-style constitution (Kenpo Jushichijo), based on Confucian principles, which de facto inaugurates the Japanese empire. Also in this year, the Emperor Wen Ti of China dies, and is succeeded by Yang Ti.
605 AD--King Muwatalli VI of Hatti is overthrown by his cousin, who reigns as King Hantili V. Hantili is an able schemer and plotter, but a total failure as a ruler, and the civil war rages on.
Also in this year, Prince Shotoku declares Buddhism and Confucianism the state religions of Japan. Emperor Yang Ti of Sui China orders the capital moved from Chang-an to Luoyang.
Also in this year, a violent storm shatters Mecca's Kaaba, a cube-like structure housing a shrine to inter-tribal Arabic pagan gods. Since Mecca was in the crossroads of major international trade routes, the Kaaba and its precincts also served as a place of sanctuary for caravan pagan worship, tribal and tradesmen poetry contests, and an oracle. The Kaaba also represented the solar system, for it housed a zodiac "machine" of daily shrines that consisted of over 360 idols, each of which was probably a symbol representing a complex astronomical relationship between each day of the year, the months, and survival rituals tied to seasonal events. Also housed in the shrine is a piece of black meteorite which has been held sacred by the pagans in the region for centuries.
Some of the locals believe that this stone has the power to cleanse worshippers of their sins by absorbing them into itself. The city elders violently disagree on who should replace the sacred black stone into the east wall of the Kaaba. After much debate, they take an oath that the next person to enter the gates will do so, and this happens to be none other than Father Muhammad, one of the local Christian priests. Muhammad declares that the black stone has no power to absorb sin on it’s own, but is a representation of the power of redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Muhammad agrees to replace the stone, but only on one condition...the pagan idols must be removed and destroyed, and the shrine rededicated as a Christian Church.
The city elders, most of which are pagans, are very upset by this demand, but they are bound by their oath, and do as Muhammad commands.
605-611 AD--The Emperor Yang Ti of China builds the Grand Canal. This will be one of the greatest engineering projects in human history. The canal will stretch an astounding 1,115 miles, and in many places it will be over 100 feet wide, with the sides faced in stone. The canal will also be spanned by many fine stone bridges. The project will consume six years and require the work of no less than 3,000,000 laborers. The resentment caused by the tyrannical methods used by Yang Ti to accomplish this project will lead to the fall of the Sui Dynasty shortly after his reign.
606 AD--Sapalume, a Hittite inventor working at Kanesh, invents the first successful mechanical reaper. He finds a ready market among landowners who have seen their agricultural labor forces decimated by plagues and warfare over the past century.
607 AD--Shotoku builds the Buddhist temple Horyuji in the Asuka valley in Japan. Also in this year, word of Muhammad’s exploit in converting the Kaaba at Mecca into a Christian shrine reaches Hattusas. The Kuruntite Archbishop of Hattusas, generally held to be the head of the Kuruntite Church, names Muhammad as the Bishop of Mecca.
610 AD--In the preceding years, Bishop Muhammad of Mecca has taken to spending nights of meditation in a cave on Mount Hira, north of Mecca. One night, he has a vision of the Archangel Gabriel, who gives him a cryptic message..."Read in the name of your Lord the Creator. He created man from something which clings. Read and your Lord is the Most Honored. He taught man with the pen; taught him all that he knew not."
Muhammad is deeply disturbed by this vision, and when he returns to Mecca, he discusses it with a close friend, a rich widow by the name of Kadijah (Kadijah had, fifteen years before, fallen in love with Muhammad and offered him marriage, but because Muhammad had taken vows of celibacy upon his ordination as a Christian priest, he had rejected her offer. Kadijah remained a very close friend and confidante of Muhammad, however, and has never married since) who was one of his first converts to Christianity.
Kadijah convinces Muhammad that the vision is true, and offers him an interpretation...perhaps Muhammad is supposed to take a more active part in spreading the Word of God among the pagans and Yahwists of the area? Perhaps by translating the Bible into Arabic, and by bringing a printing press to Mecca, so the Word of God can be distributed to the masses? Upon reflection, Muhammad agrees that this is what it must mean. He begins making preparations to carry out the wishes of the Archangel Gabriel.
Also in this year, the Avars invade Italy. They are defeated by the forces of the Roman Emperor Decimus I and forced to retire to their own lands.
611-613 AD--Bishop Muhammad travels to Hattusas, to confer with the head of the Kuruntite Church, regarding the vision he had of the Archangel Gabriel on Mount Hira. Archbishop Kuzi agrees with Muhammad’s interpretation of the vision, and agrees to finance the project. Muhammad works with a team of scholars over the next two years in translating the Bible into Arabic, and with his assistance, a printing press capable of printing in the most widely used Arab alphabet is produced, which accompanies him back to Mecca.
612-614 AD--War between Sui China and Koguryo. Emperor Yang-ti of Sui China with 1 million troops invades Koguryo in 612 AD, but Korean General Ulchi Mundok after several months pushes the Chinese into a retreat. In one of the battles between Koguryo and the Sui Chinese, the Koreans ambush the Chinese at the Sulsa river leaving only 2700 Chinese alive out of 300,000 troops. Repeated invasions in 613 and 614 AD fare no better. Combined with resentment over the harsh measures used by Yang Ti to accomplish his public works projects, the defeats in Koguryo will spell the doom of the Sui Dynasty. A new dynasty, the Tang, soon arises in Chang-an and begins to challenge the Sui for supremacy in China.
612 AD--First inscriptions in the Khmer language in Cambodia. Also in this year, inspired by the success of the Sapalume reaper, another Hittite, Piyamaradu, invents a mechanical threshing machine. It too, finds a ready market.
614 AD--Bishop Muhammad’s printing press in Mecca is producing Arabic Bibles in large numbers. Muhammad establishes a school where local people are given Bibles and taught to read. The number of Christians in the region increases dramatically as a result, drawn primarily from the pagan minority population. The Yahwist majority views these developments with deep suspicion.
617 AD--Death of the Emperor Yang Ti of China. He is succeeded by Kung Ti.
618 AD--King Hantili V is overthrown by his cousin (and son of Muwatalli VI), who reigns as King Tuwatis III. Tuwatis will be known as "The Peacemaker," and his wise policies will end the Wars of Religion in the Hittite Empire. Also in this year, Li Yuan overthrows the Emperor Kung Ti of the Sui dynasty and becomes the first Tang emperor of China, with his capital in Chang-an. He reigns as the Emperor Kao Tsu.
619-626 AD--Avar invasions of the Republic of Hellas. The Greeks mobilize the recently settled Slavic tribes (Serbs and Croats) to their aid, and also call for assistance from the Hittite Empire (which, despite being in a state of civil war at the time, renders some limited aid). Thus bolstered, the Greeks manage to repel the Avars and maintain their border on the Danube. However, the invasions are quite destructive, and Hellas will be quite some time in recovering.
622 AD--Death of Roman Emperor Decimus I. He is succeeded by his son, Marcus Gnaeus Strabo, who reigns as the Emperor Marcus II. Also in this year, the success of Bishop Muhammad in making conversions to Christianity has the local Yahwists deeply concerned, and they riot outside his church (the Kaaba) in Mecca. The Yahwist mob invades Muhammad’s print shop (next door to the church), kills the printers and destroys the press. They then enter the church itself, looking for Muhammad. Muhammad, however, escapes and flees to the city of Yathrib (OTL Medina).
Muhammad finds that Yathrib is a divided city. Different clans and religions are eternally quarrelling and bickering there. Muhammad offers to act as a mediator, all parties agree to a pact drawn up by Muhammad and his followers, and Muhammad brings unity to the city. Most of the tribes in the city convert to Kuruntite Christianity, and Muhammad is chosen by the city elders to be ruler over the city. This, of course, angers the Yahwist tribes among the city population, who withdraw from the city. Joining with their compatriots in Mecca, the Yahwists begin to war against Muhammad and Yathrib.
622-630 AD--War between Mecca and Yathrib. The Yahwist tribes of Mecca and the surrounding area make war on Muhammad’s Christian city of Yathrib. Muhammad declares a Holy War, and over the next eight years, a series of see-saw campaigns takes place.
In 624 AD, a pivotal event occurs which will have dramatic impacts on future history. In that year, word of the activities of Muhammad, who has been engaging personally in battle with his Yahwist foes in Arabia and has personally shed blood...which is forbidden to priests of the Kuruntite Church...reaches Archbishop Kuzi in Hattusas. Kuzi issues a decree which effectively de-frocks Muhammad and orders him to come to Hattusas, there to present himself for trial. When word of this edict reaches Muhammad, he flies into a rage, and shortly afterward has another "visit from the Archangel Gabriel," who tells him to throw off the authority of the Kuruntite Church, and establish the One True Church.
Declaring his surrender to the Will of God as expressed by the Archangel Gabriel, Muhammad declares that henceforward, his church will not acknowledge the authority of the Archbishop of Hattusas, and will function as a separate entity under the direction of Muhammad. Muhammad will have other visions of the Archangel Gabriel over the years which will lead him to make some doctrinal changes for his newly independent church as well, creating, in essence, a new faith. Although Muhammad himself does not promote this, his followers gradually begin to use a new term...Islam, meaning "submission to God"...in referring to their faith, and to call themselves "Muslims," meaning "those who have submitted."
As the war goes on, Muhammad’s armies brutally attack several Yahwist tribes, with the worst such incident being the massacre of the Banu Qurayza in 627 AD. Other Yahwist tribes are forced to convert to Christianity or are exiled. This finally breaks the back of the Yahwist resistance, and Muhammad takes Mecca itself in 630 AD. He cleanses the Kaaba, which had been defiled by the Yahwists, and re-dedicates it as a centre of Christian worship. Muhammad calls on the Yahwists of Mecca to convert, but desiring to end the war, offers amnesty and protection to those who will not, with those Yahwists who will not convert being allowed to practice their religion in peace upon payment of a poll tax. The majority of the Yahwists convert to Christianity, and Bishop Muhammad honors his agreement with the remainder.
625 AD--Pulikesin declares the independence of the Chalukyan kingdom from the Gupta Empire. He expands the rule of his own dynasty throughout central India.
626 AD--The Avars invade Hellas again, but are decisively defeated at Byzantium.
627 AD--The Emperor Kao Tsu of Tang China is deposed and the throne is usurped by his brilliant son, Li Shih-min, who reigns as the Emperor T’ai Tsung. T’ai Tsung will have an enormously successful reign, and among other accomplishments, will establish the system of civil service examinations, based on the Confucian Classics, which will choose Chinese bureaucrats for many centuries to come. He will also establish law and order in China to such an extent that it will be un-necessary for people to lock their doors at night, and items lost on the road will remain untouched by others. He will become, in the eyes of later Chinese, the very epitome of what an Emperor should be, and the model against which all future Emperors are measured.
627 AD onward--Emboldened by the stinging defeat inflicted on the Avars by the Greeks at Byzantium, revolts flare up throughout the Avar Empire as native peoples throw off the Avar yoke. The weak Avar Khagans of the period are unable to re-establish control, and by the end of the century, the Avar Khagans rule only a small area in the plains of south-central Europe. In the other former Avar lands, a patchwork of small, squabbling states arises, essentially leaving a power vacuum over much of the area as Romanized Germans, remnants of un-Romanized Germanic peoples such as the Goths, as well as Alans, Slavs, and other native peoples vie for control.
Powerful local landowners and warlords revive the semi-feudal system which had begun to appear in the latter stages of the old Roman Republic and which had never totally disappeared during the time of Hunnic and Avar rule, fortifying their lands and raising private armies, with those less powerful surrendering their lands (sometimes voluntarily, often not) to the grandees and working as tenant farmers in exchange for protection.
629 AD--The Chinese monk Xuanzang (Huang Tsang) travels to India. Tibet expands to Nepal under Songsen Gampo. The Chinese Tang, at the order of Emperor T’ai Tsung, begin anti-Turk campaigns. The eastern Gok Turk Kaganate is defeated by the Tang Chinese.
630 AD--The western Gok Turk Kaganate is defeated by the Tang Chinese and breaks up, with many of the subject tribes declaring independence. One of these is the Khazars, a nomadic Turkish-speaking tribe which emerges from the break-up of the western Gok Turkish empire and settles in southern Russia with capital at Balanjar (Verkhneye Chir-Yurt). Also at this time, Songsen Gampo of Tibet introduces Buddhism to Bhutan.
630-632 AD--Muhammad leads his Christian armies against the other tribes of Arabia and forces them into submission. By early 632, most of Arabia is under his rule.
632 AD--Archbishop Muhammad of the Islamic Church, as it has come to be called, dies. He is succeeded by his close friend and ally, Abu Bakr. He takes the title of Caliph (Successor). Unlike in OTL, there is no schism within Islam at this time and no equivalent to the "Shia" movement arises within Islam. This is because Muhammad, who until the end of his life maintained his vows of celibacy and never married, thus had no daughters, and his cousin Ali never became Muhammad’s son-in-law. Thus, no faction ever grew up around Ali based on his marriage to the Muhammad’s daughter, which never happened in the ATL, and thus no "Shia" movement. Ali will, however, because of his blood relation to Muhammad and the role he played in Muhammad’s victories, still have a claim to the Caliphate which will eventually lead to his succession to that office later in the century. Abu Bakr begins planning to attack the "heretics" (as he regards them) to the north.
633 AD--The Islamic Caliph, Abu Bakr, leads an Arab army north into Mesopotamia. The fanatical Arab warriors defeat the Hittite army outside Babylon and overwhelm Hittite resistance in the region within a year.
634-635 AD--In 634 AD, Caliph Abu Bakr leads an Arab invasion of the Hittite provinces of Israel and Syria. In Israel, the Hebrews (having heard of the massacres of Yahwists carried out by Muhammad during the war between Mecca and Yathrib a few years earlier, and having been granted complete religious freedom by the new Hittite King Tuwatis III, rally behind the Hittites, and the Arabs are repulsed. Abu Bakr is killed in battle outside of Jerusalem in late 634, and is succeeded as Caliph by Omar ibn al-Khattab. Caliph Omar leads a second invasion of the region the following year, but is no more successful.
636-650 AD--Caliph Omar, following the defeats of the attempted invasions of the Hittite provinces of Israel and Syria, decides to expand the Caliphate eastward, a policy which his successors will continue. Moving from Mesopotamia, Arab armies sweep into Persia, where they defeat all resistance and conquer all the way to the Oxus and Indus Rivers by 650 AD.
640 AD--The Khazars introduce a system of dual kingship (khagan and bek). The Khagan is the supreme political ruler, the Bek is the supreme military ruler.
642 AD--Naval fighting in the Red Sea between Hittite and Arab fleets goes decisively against the Hittites, allowing the Muslims to establish control over the Red Sea.
643 AD--Buddhist pilgrim Hiuan-tsang (Xuanzang) brings Sanskrit manuscripts from India to China.
643-650 AD--Arab armies, transported by sea, invade the Hittite provinces of Egypt, Kush, and Axum. All Hittite resistance in these provinces is defeated by 650 AD.
644 AD--Caliph Omar is murdered, and is succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan.
645 AD--Prince Shotoku is succeeded by Kotoku Tenno, who strengthens imperial power over Japanese aristocratic clans (Taika Reform), turning their states into provinces. The Hittites, forced out of Egypt, begin constructing strong defensive lines across the desert from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Red Sea. Defenses along the entire southern and eastern borders of the empire will be strengthened over the next few decades.
647 AD--The Gupta Emperor Chandra Gupta V is defeated and killed in battle by the Chalukyas (based in Karnataka) at Malwa (central India). With his death, the power of the Guptas is broken, and the Gupta Empire falls apart. Northern India collapses into a patchwork of small, competing states, dominated (but not directly ruled by) the Chalukyas.
648 AD--Recognizing the threat which is materializing on his eastern border as the Hittites are kicked out of Egypt, Emperor Marcus II of Rome negotiates a treaty of alliance with King Tuwatis III of Hatti against the Arabs. Marcus, who is a devout follower of the Roman Orthodox brand of Christianity, is encouraged in taking this action by the new Hittite religious toleration laws, which guarantee protection to followers of Roman Orthodoxy within the Hittite Empire (relations between the Roman Empire and Hatti had considerably chilled during the Wars of Religion, when the dominant Kuruntites had viciously persecuted their Roman Orthodox brethren). But the treaty comes too late for the Hittites in their African provinces...the Arabs succeed in establishing complete control there before the Romans can effectively intervene.
650 AD--The Pallavas, ruling from their capital at Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), are defeated by the Chalukyas and forced to abandon their capital. The Tang dynasty extends the boundaries of China west into Afghanistan, north into Siberia, east into Korea and south into Vietnam, golden age of art and literature (ideal of the universal man, combining the qualities of scholar, poet, painter, statesman). Also in this year, the Emperor T’ai Tsung of Tang China dies, and is succeeded by his weak-willed son, Li Chih, who reigns as the Emperor Kao Tsung. Kao Tsung is seduced by one of his father’s concubines, Wu Mei, who effectively rules as the power behind the throne.
650 AD onward--Wars between the Arabs and the Roman Empire. Shortly after subduing the Hittite provinces of Egypt, Kush, and Axum, Arab armies move west, invading the Roman Empire’s African provinces. By the end of the century, Roman control is limited to a few heavily fortified cities on the northern coast such as Carthage and Tingis.
651 AD--The Tang Chinese destroy the vestiges of the Western Khaganate of the Gok Turks.
655 AD--Hittite invasion of Egypt. Roman Emperor Marcus II has called for aid from his Hittite allies, and King Tuwatis III sends an army into Egypt in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure on his ally. The Hittites are defeated near Pelusium, however, and retire to Palestine.
656 AD--Caliph Uthman is murdered, and is succeeded by Ali, a cousin of Muhammad.
657 AD--Jayavarman I founds the Khmer dynasty in Cambodia.
658 AD--Death of Roman Emperor Marcus II. He is succeeded by his son, Gaius Flavius Strabo, who reigns as the Emperor Gaius II.
660 AD--Death of King Tuwatis III "the Peacemaker" of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Wasuruma IV. In Damascus, a Greek inventor named Kallinikos invents a highly inflammable liquid substance which burns even in water and cannot be extinguished. He demonstrates this, along with a pumping device which he invents as a projector for the inflammable liquid, before king Wasuruma IV of Hatti, who is very impressed. Wasuruma orders projectors for the new substance, called "Fire of Kallinikos" in honour of it’s inventor, incorporated into the defenses of Hittite fortifications as well as mounted onto Hittite warships.
661 AD--Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, chief of the Ummayad clan and a relative of the murdered Caliph Uthman, revolts against the rule of Caliph Ali. Ali is killed in battle against Mu’awiya’s forces later that year, and Mu’awiya declares himself the new Caliph. Mu’awiya has Ali’s sons, Hassan and Hussein, murdered forthwith, and the rest of Ali’s family hunted down and killed as far as they can be found. There is some outrage at these acts among the population, but Mu’awiya is able to maintain control and establish his dynasty, which will hold the Caliphate for the next century.
668 AD--Death of King Wasuruma IV of Hatti. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Arnuwanda VII. Also in this year, the Korean kingdom of Silla, with the help of the Tang Chinese, conquers Koguryo and Paekche, thereby uniting the whole of Korea, with their capital in Kyongju. Also in this year, the Khazars destroy the kingdom of Great Bulgaria, killing Khan Kubrat in the process. The Khazars then drive the Bulgars westward and northward. Some settle along the central Volga River, where they become the Volga Bulgars. The others, under their new Khan Asparukh, head toward the Danube.
669-690 AD--Arab invasions of Anatolia. Caliph Mu’awiya and his son Yazid launch nearly annual invasions of the Hittite homeland in Anatolia. These are, more often than not, defeated near the border by the Hittite armies, often with the aid of the recently introduced "Fire of Kallinikos." But some manage to break through Hittite defenses and penetrate far into Hittite territory, where they cause much damage.
670 AD--The Pallavas build a new capital city at Mamallapuram. Also in this year, a Hittite merchant named Hapalsulupis brings back to Hatti the formula for a mysterious substance he saw used in certain celebrations in China. The mysterious powder...a mixture of nitrates, sulphur, and charcoal...makes a loud noise when fire is applied to it, and is even capable of shattering the heavy jars in which it is being held. It is viewed as an oddity, with no immediate practical applications beyond use in celebrations.
673 AD--Death of Roman Emperor Gaius II. He is succeeded by his son, Flavius Septimus Strabo, who reigns as the Emperor Flavius I.
680 AD--Death of Caliph Mu’awiya. He is succeeded by his son, Yazid. Yazid will continue his father’s campaigns against Hatti.
681 AD--The Bulgars under Kubrat's son Asparuch cross the Danube. They defeat the army of the Republic of Hellas near Pella, and occupy all of Thrace and parts of Macedon. The Republic of Hellas will be unable to expel them, and will shortly sign a treaty formally ceding the area to the Bulgars.
682 AD--Elterish rebels against the Tang Chinese and founds a second Gok Turk Khaganate in the East.
683 AD--The Khazars raid Armenia and Georgia. King Arnuwanda VI of Hatti is killed in battle against them, but succeeds in repelling them from Hittite territory. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Hattusili IV.
684 AD--Death of the Emperor Kao Tsung of Tang China. He is succeeded by his son by Empress Wu Mei, Li Che, who reigns as the Emperor Chung Tsung. However, Empress Wu Hou is still the power behind the throne, and within a month she deposes him in favor of his younger brother, Li Tan, who takes the throne as the Emperor Jui Tsung. Jui Tsung lasts a bit longer on the throne than his elder brother, but before the end of the year Empress Wu Mei deposes him as well. From then on, she will rule directly, first as regent for her deposed sons (who she does not murder, but sends into seclusion), and then, eventually, in her own name. Her reign will be characterized by Machiavellian cleverness and brutal despotism as she ruthlesses suppresses her opponents in the royal family and the nobility.
686 AD--The Srivijaya kingdom expands over Sumatra (Indonesia) and the Malay peninsula. The Mongolian tribe of the Kitan from Manchuria raid China.
690 AD--Empress Wu Mei throws off all pretense of ruling in the name of her sons and declares herself Emperor of China, changing her name to Wu Chou. She declares the establishment of the Chou Dynasty. Also in this year, Caliph Yazid is killed when he is sprayed with "Fire of Kallinikos" as he besieges the city of Azatiwataya in Anatolia. His horrifying death takes the heart out of the Arabs, who retreat in disorder. Pursued by the Hittite main army, the Arabs are caught and decisively defeated as they attempt to retreat across the Euphrates. Yazid’s successor, Mu’awiya II, witnessed his father’s gruesome death, and, perhaps taking this as an omen, takes a far less aggressive stance vis-a-vis Hatti. Hatti will enjoy a period of relative peace as a result.
691-695 AD--Abd al Malik ibn Marwan, the head of a secondary branch of the Ummayad clan, leads a revolt against Caliph Mu’awiya II. Mu’awiya is defeated and killed in battle near Yathrib in 695 AD, and Abd al Malik assumes the Caliphate. Abd al Malik’s reign is spent mostly in finishing the conquest of north Africa from the Romans (except for Carthage and Tingis). He continues to follow a relatively peaceful policy vis-a-vis Hatti, although there is some minor cross-border raiding.
694 AD--Khapghan extends the Gok Turk empire over Transoxania, thus unifying eastern and western Turks for the first time in over a century.
699 AD--Aristobulos of Ephesus, a Greek inventor living in the Hittite Empire, puts together several ideas which had been put forth by earlier inventors over the past several centuries and designs a workable steam engine. It is sold initially to mine owners who need it to pump water out of their mines. It is a very inefficient engine, but other inventors will refine the design over the next century.
PART SEVENTEEN: 700-800 AD
700 AD onward--In India, with the collapse of the Gupta Empire, India has fragmented into numerous small states, which are ruled by competing Hindu dynasties which vie for control over India. Dynasties such as the Chalukyas, Pratiharas, Vengis, Gangas, Cholas, Palas and Rashtrakutas all achieve brief periods of dominance over different parts of the subcontinent, but none is able to establish a lasting empire. India is thus ill prepared for the Muslim onslaught that will come in this century.
c. 700 AD onward--The Industrial Revolution continues in the Hittite Empire. Over the course of this century, machines to automate the spinning of thread and the weaving of cloth make their appearance, and the first true factories arise as a result. The reduction in the labor necessary for agriculture, which has been allowed by the invention of reaping, threshing, and seeding machines, has created a ready work force which can be used to work in the new factories, as well as allowing the Hittite armies to be rebuilt despite the great loss of territory in the past century. The steam engine will be dramatically improved, and will begin to see utilization outside the mining industry for the first time before the end of the century.
Additionally, this century will see the continued development of that mysterious chemical formula brought back from China...gunpowder. By the end of the century, the first military applications of the powder will begin to be made.
Finally, over the course of this century, the Industrial Revolution begins to spread to some of the states surrounding the Hittite Empire. Hellas, and more importantly Rome, begin to utilize the new farming technology and steam engines, and Greek and Roman inventors begin to make their own contributions to the Industrial Revolution.
c. 700 AD--The peoples of Scandinavia have been somewhat influenced by their close proximity to the Roman Empire, but have retained their essential culture. The Romans never felt they were worth conquering, and so the only true Germanic culture left in the world still survives, worshipping their warlike gods, trading and raiding their neighbors, and squabbling among themselves. Over the previous millennium, the Norse peoples of Scandinavia have been slowly developing sleek, double-ended boats. These are oar powered, and carry only small crews, and are capable of only short coastal voyages in sight of land. Even in these limited craft, the Norse have made themselves a nuisance with raids on Rome’s northern frontiers.
However, about 700 AD, two innovations (the T-shaped keel, which strengthens the vessel against heavy seas as well as allowing a mast and sail to be mounted, and the sideboard rudder) are made by Norse shipbuilders in Norway which will enable the Norse to leave their home waters and become not merely a nuisance, but a plague. However, it will be a few decades still before these designs are perfected, and the fearsome Viking longship makes it’s appearance on the world scene.
700 AD onward--The Islamic Church has not been nearly as successful in integrating conquered peoples into itself as it’s OTL counterpart. Being a Christian sect, rather than a separate religion, the Islamic Church tends to treat Christians in the conquered territories as heretics to be persecuted rather than as potential converts to be brought to the true faith. Non-Christians have fared somewhat better, usually getting the option of converting or paying a poll tax. But even they have found themselves on the receiving end of Muslim persecution as mobs of fanatical Muslims riot periodically in various places.
As a result, Muslims remain a minority population outside of Arabia, and the Caliphate is basically composed of a lot of resentful conquered peoples held down by a thin smattering of Arab soldiers.
The Caliphate is also in political disarray as the new century dawns. Since the death of Caliph Yazid, the new Caliph, Mu’awiya II, has been faced with rebellions by various pretenders to the throne, including his cousin, Marwan and Marwan’s son, Abd al Malik, and Abdul ibn Zubayr, a nephew of Muhammad’s confidant, Kadijah, all of whom claim to be the true Caliph and have gained large followings. This will provide an opportunity for enemies of the new faith to rally against it in the upcoming century.
701 AD--Emperor Flavius I of Rome dies, and is succeeded by his son, Flavius Gaius Strabo, who reigns as Emperor Flavius II. In this year, Caliph Mu’awiya II is defeated and captured by the forces of Abd al Malik. He is executed shortly afterward, and Abd al Malik declares himself the new Caliph.
705 AD--Empress Wu Chou of China is deposed by her son, who restores the T’ang Dynasty to the throne of China. The son assumes the imperial name of Chung Tsung. Abd al Malik dies, and is succeeded as Caliph by his son, Al Walid I.
707 AD--The forces of Caliph Al Walid I defeat the army of Abdul ibn Zubayr. Abdul ibn Zubayr is captured and executed. The last of the major pretenders to the Caliphate is thus eliminated, and the Marwanate branch of the Ummayad House is firmly established on the throne. But the flames of rebellion continue to burn in various places throughout the Islamic realm, and Al Walid will spend most of his reign putting down these rebellions. This will not preclude some expansion of the Muslim Empire, however, as later entries will show.
710 AD--Japan's capital is moved from Asuka to Nara, modeled after China's capital Xian. The Emperor Chung Tsung of China dies, and is succeeded by his brother, who reigns as the Emperor Jui Tsung.
711 AD--King Hattusili IV of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Hantili VI. Hantili, who will go down in history as “Hantili the Redeemer,” and to a greater extent his son and grandson, will all be strong and resourceful rulers, and the Hittite Empire will prosper mightily during their reigns. Also at this time, the Arabs conquer Sindh and Multan (Pakistan).
712 AD--The collection of tales "Kojiki" (record of ancient times) is written in Japan. The Emperor Jui Tsung of China dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as the Emperor Hsuan Tsung. Hsuan Tsung will be the last great Emperor of the T’ang Dynasty, and the T’ang Empire will reach it’s greatest extent under his rule. The Arabs conquer Transoxiana and convert the Turks to Islam.
715 AD--Caliph Al Walid I dies, and is succeeded by his younger brother, Suleiman. Suleiman is indebted to political opponents of many of his brother’s most successful generals, and he attempts to have those generals murdered. However, word of his nefarious scheme reaches the generals and when he calls them to his capital, they refuse his summons and instead raise the banner of rebellion. The Caliphate is soon being torn apart by civil war.
716-730 AD--The War of Redemption: King Hantili VI of Hatti, seeing the chaos which is reigning within the Caliphate, decides to take advantage of the situation. In the interim since the death of Caliph Yazid outside the walls of Azatiwataya, the Great Kings of Hatti have thoroughly reorganized their armed forces, and King Hattusili IV had made an alliance with the Roman Empire which Hantili has renewed. Thus, in 716 AD, Hantili and Emperor Flavius II of Rome jointly declare war on the Caliphate. Hittite armies sweep into Mesopotamia, while Roman armies burst out of Carthage and Tingis in North Africa. The advance of the Hittite and Roman armies is met with great rejoicing by the persecuted Christian populations of the Caliphate, and recruits flock to the Hittite and Roman banners after the Arab armies defending those regions are defeated and destroyed.
In the succeeding years, Hittite armies reclaim Egypt, Kush, and Axum as well, and also advance into Persia, where they are likewise met with much enthusiasm by a grateful population. Caliph Suleiman and, after Suleiman is killed in battle, his successors, lead yearly counterinvasions from the Arabian peninsula, but these are beaten back. Attempted Hittite invasions of Arabia likewise are repelled by fanatical Arab resistance.
Finally, in 730 AD, a treaty is agreed upon which recognizes the status quo as it exists at that time. Hatti has restored it’s empire to it’s old limits, and Rome has recovered it’s north African provinces. Only Arabia remains under the rule of the Caliphs.
718 AD--Caliph Suleiman is killed in battle with the Hittites near Damascus. He is succeeded by his cousin, Umar ibn Abd al Aziz, who was personally selected by Suleiman to be his successor, bypassing his own brothers and son. Caliph Umar continues his predecessor’s efforts to regain the lost lands of the Caliphate.
720 AD--The "Nihon shoki" (history of Japan) is composed. Caliph Umar II dies, and is succeeded by his cousin, Yazid ibn Abd al Malik, who reigns as Caliph Yazid II. Also in this year, the Republic of Hellas inflicts a major defeat on the Bulgars, who are forced to acknowledge the hegemony of Hellas. The Bulgars will be greatly weakened and will remain relatively quiescent for the remainder of the century.
723 AD--King Hantili VI of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Suppiluliuma VII. Suppliluliuma will go down in history as Suppliluliuma “The Conqueror” after his successful campaigns to recover Egypt, Kush, Axum, and Persia. Also at this time, Kathmandu is founded in Nepal.
724 AD--Caliph Yazid II dies of tuberculosis. He is succeeded by his brother, Hisham ibn Abd al Malik, who reigns as Caliph Hisham.
730 AD--Emperor Flavius II of Rome dies, and is succeeded by his son, Marcus Livius Strabo, who reigns as the Emperor Marcus III. Also in this year, the Khazars raid the Hittite provinces in the Caucasus. They are repelled, but cause much damage.
730 AD onward--In the aftermath of the War of Redemption, a long period of relative peace settles over the near east, especially in those lands ruled by the Great Kings of Hatti. In the lands recently retaken from the Caliphate, Hittite and Roman administrators begin rebuilding the provinces and integrating them into their respective empires. The Hittites are helped by their tolerant religious policies, which guarantee everyone, including those who have converted to Islam, complete freedom of worship. Thus the
local populations are bonded in loyalty to the Hittite King and his benevolent government.
Roman policies, however, are not as tolerant, and Muslims in Roman lands find themselves the objects of persecution. Fortunately for Rome, the number of Muslims in their territories is small, so they do not form a major threat to imperial rule in those regions. Unlike the Hittites, who spend most of the rest of the century consolidating their gains, the Romans will conduct several military campaigns which will greatly expand the limits of their empire.
Meanwhile, in Arabia, the power of the Ummayad Caliphs is severely eroded as the faith of the masses in the divine inspiration of the Caliphs is greatly shaken by the recent defeats by the “heretic” Hittites and Romans. It will not be long before rivals arise to challenge them. The resulting internecine fighting will prevent the Arabs from threatening their neighbors for quite some time. At the same time, in Transoxiana and the recently conquered regions of Sindh and Multan in India (which were not reached by the Hittites before the end of the War of Redemption), the Muslim generals who command in those regions throw off the authority of the Caliph and set themselves up as independent Kings.
731 AD--Roman mine owners begin to use steam engines to pump water out of their mines, purchasing them from Hittite sources. Within a short time, Roman firms are making copies of the machines inside the Roman Empire itself.
732 AD--Sanjaya founds the Sanjaya dynasty in central Java (Indonesia) with capital in Mataram.
740 AD--The loose confederation of Romano-Celtic warlords and grandees which rules in Britannia breaks down, and civil war erupts. Emperor Marcus III of Rome sends an army across the Oceanus Britannicus to “restore order.” Roman troops put down the rebels, and peace is restored. But the Romans do not leave, and Roman governors and administrators follow them to the island. Britannia is re-incorporated into the Roman Empire.
742 AD--Emperor Marcus III of Rome dies, and is succeeded by his son, Julius Licinius Strabo, who reigns as Emperor Julius I. Emperor Julius will be variously known in history as “Germanicus” following his conquest of that region and “The Avar Slayer” for his devastating campaigns against that people.
742-750 AD--Emperor Julius I sends Roman armies into Germania, where they defeat the disunited local feudal warlords and force their submission to Rome. Germania is re-incorporated into the Roman Empire.
743 AD--Japan's emperor Shomu founds the temple Todaiji in Nara (largest wooden building in the world) with a colossal Buddha inside. Caliph Hisham dies, and is succeeded by his nephew, Walid ibn Yazid, who reigns as Caliph Al Walid II.
744-745 AD--The Chinese Tang dismantle the Gok Turk empire. The Turkic-speaking Uigurs, thanks to their alliance with the Tang, conquer the Eastern Gok Turk Khanate and expand from Lake Balkash to Lake Baykal, with capital in Kara-Balgasun. The first Turkic alphabet appears about this time.
746 AD--Demosthenes of Argos, a Greek inventor living in the Republic of Hellas, builds on the anonymous innovations of several other inventors and produces the first fully automated weaving machine. His invention is soon put to use in factories in the Hittite Empire and Rome.
748-758 AD--Roman campaigns against the Avars. Over a ten year period, Rome completely crushes these troublesome nomads and annexes their territory. Emperor Julius I is killed during the campaign, but the conquest is completed by his son, Emperor Gaius III. Gaius orders the rebuilding of the old Roman defenses on the Oder and Danube Rivers.
750 AD--The Khazars transfer their capital to Itil (Atil) on the Volga River. Also at about this time, the Bulgars adopt a Slavic language. Also at this time, the Palas rule eastern India, the Gurjara-Pratiharas rule the north of India, and the temples of Bhubaneshwar and Puri are begun in India. Also in this year, Caliph Al Walid II is killed by rebels. No new Caliph is named, as the tribes of Arabia cannot agree on a successor. Arabia fragments into numerous small, tribal states.
751 AD--Battle of Talas River between the forces of the Muslim ruler of Transoxiana and the T’ang Chinese. The Chinese are victorious, but are soon forced to abandon their gains by the outbreak of rebellions at home. Also in this year, Korean prime Minister Kim Tae-song orders the construction of the Buddhist cave temple Sokkuram at Mount Toham.
753 AD--The Rashtrakutas, a Chalukya dynasty, expand from the Deccan into south and central India.
755 AD--Emperor Julius I is killed in battle with the Avars. He is succeeded by his son, Gaius Lucius Strabo, who reigns as the Emperor Gaius III. Also in this year, An Lushan's rebellion begins in China. The rebellion will span the reigns of three emperors, and cause as many as 36 million deaths.
756 AD--Emperor Hsuan Tsung of China is forced to flee his capital by rebels commanded by An Lushan. He is shortly afterward deposed by the army and his son elevated to the throne, where he reigns as the Emperor Su Tsung. Su Tsung’s reign will see the beginning of the growth of the power of the court eunuchs and the army generals, at the expense of the imperial throne, which will eventually lead to the final collapse of the T’ang Dynasty.
757 AD--The capital of the Chalukyan kingdom in India is moved from Badami to Pattadakal. Also in this year, the Kailasa temple at Ellora is begun. Quintus Decimus Lupus, a Roman inventor, invents a mechanical seed sower, which, along with the threshing and reaping machines already invented, greatly reduces the labor needed for agriculture.
759 AD--The poetic anthology "Man'yoshu" ("Collection of Myriad Leaves") is written in Japan.
760 AD--King Suppliluliuma VII of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Suppliluliuma VIII. The new king will be noted for his peaceful reign, and many major building projects will be accomplished. Suppliluliuma will also be a great patron of learning and invention within the Empire. Also in this year, Indian mystics such as Santarakshita and Padmasambhava visit Tibet, where they are instrumental in the spread of Buddhism in that region.
762 AD--The Khazars invade the Transcaucasus, but are defeated by the armies of Hatti. Emperor Su Tsung of China dies of a heart attack. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as the Emperor Tai Tsung.
763 AD--The An Lushan rebellion is finally crushed by armies loyal to Emperor Tai Tsung. But the T’ang Empire has been left in such a weakened state that the Tibetans invade and succeed in sacking the Chinese capital of Chang’an (Xian). The Tibetans also drive the Chinese out of the Tarim Basin, and they will not return during the remainder of the T’ang Dynasty. This marks the beginning of a long period when China will be beset by the Tibetans and will suffer several major military defeats at their hands.
768 AD--Hiram of Tyre, a Phoenician inventor living in the Hittite Empire, introduces a greatly improved version of the steam engine invented by Aristobulos of Ephesus nearly seventy years before. Steam engines begin to be used outside of the mining industry as a result.
775 AD--The Rashtrakutas of India are defeated by the Chalukyas, who move the capital at Kalyani (Mysore). Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty builds the rock-cut Kailasha Temple at Ellora. Steam engines are first used to power automated looms in the Hittite Empire.
777 AD--King Suppiluliuma VIII of Hatti dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Mursili VII. Mursili, like his father, will be a great patron of learning and of inventors.
778 AD--Sailendra king Dharmatunga begins construction of the Buddhist temple at Borobudur in Java (Indonesia)
779 AD-- The first Buddhist monastery in Tibet is founded in Samye by Guru Rinpoche/ Padmasambhava. Emperor Tai Tsung of China dies, and is succeeded by his son, who reigns as the Emperor Te Tsung.
780-781 AD--Arab raids into the Hittite Empire are repulsed by Hittite forces.
781 AD--Tibetans occupy Dunhuang in China.
784 AD--The Japanese Emperor moves the capital to Nagaoka. In India, the Pratihara king Nagabhata II conquers the sacred capital of the north, Kanyakubja.
788 AD--The Buddhist monk Saicho founds the monastery of Mt. Hiei, near Kyoto, which will become a vast ensemble of temples.
790 AD--Death of the Emperor Gaius III of Rome. He is succeeded by his son Lucius Gnaeus Strabo, who reigns as the Emperor Lucius I.
791 AD--The Tibetans capture Kansu, in China. Archidamos of Miletus, a Greek inventor in the Hittite Empire, develops the first practical artillery rockets using gunpowder. They are not very accurate, but are destructive and very frightening when used against troops who have never seen them. The Hittites secretly incorporate them into their armies forthwith.
794 AD--Emperor Kammu of Japan moves the capital to Heian-kyo (Kyoto).
795 AD--Warpalupis, a Hittite inventor, demonstrates a steam locomotive before King Mursili VII of Hatti, who is greatly impressed. Mursili recognizes the potential military value of the invention, which would enable rapid movement of troops and supplies to areas of the Hittite Empire which are threatened by attack. With his support, construction begins on a network of rail lines which will link the various cities of the Hittite Empire.
798 AD--King Mursili VII of Hatti dies childless. He is succeeded by nephew, who reigns as King Tuwatis IV.
800 AD--Licinius Gaius Marcian, a Roman inventor, demonstrates the first steam-powered boat. It is a small vessel, hardly practical for anything much, but will be the precursor to much more impressive vessels in the future.
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