James IV, King of Scotland, is cut down by English billmen, and longbowmen
[at] the Battle of Flodden [Field], Northumberland, 1513 (p208+14)
James IV, King of Scotland, is cut down by English billmen, and longbowmen
[at] the Battle of Flodden [Field], Northumberland, 1513 (p208+14)
I Ancient (7)
1 The Most Terrible of All, Huns and E Germans 4-5C AD (9)
Rome attacked Celtic Gauls led by Brennus 390 BC, and again by Cimbri and Teutones late in 2C BC. Backward-firing Scythian (Greek term) horsemen known already c500 BC, lived just N of Black Sea in Eurasia (aka Sarmatia, e.g. Alans). Alaric led sack of Rome 410 AD. Vandals under Gaiseric do so 455 AD. Goth v. Roman at Adrianople 378 AD. After discussing the much-feared Huns and Attila (?-453), author says migration chain-reaction was likely started when Chinese finally repulsed the Hsiung-nu Mongolians who'd been terrorizing them (some think Huns = Hsiung-nu, but why would they travel so far E?) and they turned W, causing other Mongolian peoples (e.g. Huns, later Alans, whose remnant joined the horde) to also head W to escape them, resulting eventually in Huns terrorizing Ostrogoths and driving them W and S into the RE for protection. Once in the RE, the Goths sometimes marauded and Adrianople (in Thrace) 378 AD was a failed attempt by E RE Valens to stop them once and for all (he was k., his nephew Gratian was W RE). Next they turned to Constaninople, but were repulsed. Retired general Theodosius was recalled from Spain to defeat the Goths, which he did later that year, becoming E RE and treatying w/Visigoths.
The Huns continued to conduct border raids into the RE, seeing it as a fat target providing much better plunder (e.g. gold, bread, meat, hot baths, women, alcohol, ...) than that available on the steppes. They even took in many captured prisoners and turned them into cohorts e.g. Turks, Persians, Sarmatians, Germans, even Romans (24). One such Greek-speaking turncoat reported that he'd been captured in 441, but since had fought well and been allowed to live a much better plunder-based lifestyle than he had earlier "as a Roman merchant constantly threatened by tax extortion and Imperial corruption" (24, cf EoD discussion of more efficient parasites competing against less efficient ones!). Attila raided in the E RE for 3yrs 447-50, then turned his attention W. He offered the W RE Valentinian to suppress the Visigoths in S France, thereby privately hoping to displace Aetius as 'protector of the W' (actually parasite-in-chief) i.e. "a craving for plunder had been replaced by more sophisticated power politics" (24-5), but obviously both are fueled by the same root desires, to enjoy the resources earned by others (i.e. 'all politicians want to spend the peoples' money)! Valentinian declined. Attila went anyway and met Aetius et al at Chalons in June 451 (aka Catalaunian Plain, or locus Mauriacus). Goth chronicler Jordanes described it as Armageddon-like. Aetius won, and wisely avoided annihilating the Huns in order to preserve them as a counter-balance to the Goths (and perhaps because of his earlier friendship w/them?). Possibly a mistake, since the angry Huns then raided N Italy. As he planned another massive attack on Constaninople, Attila died after a drunken party. After that, the Huns disintegrated and were pushed back into Scythia.
The Huns and other later E nomads were raiders, not invaders. They only scratched the surface of the European world. "It was left to the German tribes to transform the RE into great estates held by their warlords [i.e. feudalism]" (27), an impact less dramatic but far more profound than the Huns.
2 Fear in the Forest, W Germans 1-4C AD (28)
e.g. Arminius defeats 3 Roman legions under Varus at Teutoburger Forest in 9 AD, burials and cleanup by Germanicus.
3 Business as Usual, Visigoths and Vandals 5C AD (45) [i.e. assimilated into RE] (45)
Goths cross Danube into RE to escape Huns 5C AD (see br-hisc). Clovis was the gson of Meroveus, a chieftain who'd fought alongside Aetius against Attila in 451 AD and given his name to the Merovingian dynasty (80). Belisarius of the E empire was the most powerful warlord of the E RE in the 6C.
[Hmmm, added this yesterday, but apparently wasn't saved]. The title of this chapter comes from a quote by the author on p59 that Aetius invited certain barbarian tribes into the RE to help settle them i.e. Visigoths near Toulouse in Aquitaine, Burgundians in Savoy (SE France), and Alans in the area of Orleans (C France). They were set up there to help maintain some semblance of order and security, keeping S Gaul economically useful for the RE. To an outsider, it may have seemed as if France had 'fallen to the Barbarians', but for Roman magnates and their German associate (elites), it was just 'business as usual'. He makes the point that when barbarian ldrs saw how good life could be for elites, they agreed to join their fellow Roman elites in suppressing the 'heavily oppressed [Roman, barbarian] peasants and native Celts', often their fellow tribesmen i.e. class trumped race. This is a theme often repeated in the book i.e. the desire for power and wealth (S/M/P) and willingness to oppress others (even one's own kin) to get it. Later he discusses the death (murder?) of Gaiseric's less effective legit bro e.g. court intrigue and observes that 'little changes' (319, agreeing w/Procopius, Belisarius' scribe).
He notes (p52) that when E RE Theodosius d. c395 (?), Stilicho was busy installing one of Theo's sons as W RE (name? probably at Ravenna). The other son shakily became E RE. A rival of Stilicho's (apparently one of his army ldrs) named Alaric took advantage of this Roman weakness and broke away from Roman army and rampaged thru Greece, attracting the support of many disaffected Roman peasants and Goths (i.e. fellow plunder-seekers). Stilicho managed to contain them e.g. pinned them down in (now) Serbia for 10yrs. But amazingly, the E RE (who?) had Stilicho ass. in 408 due to jealousy of his power, which released Alaric to rampage again, sacking Rome in 410 (55).
1rst 16 pics between pp64-5:
1 Alan, Sarmatian attacked by Hun, Eurasian steppeland, late 4C, Huns took both realms
2 Goth horse-warrior, foot soldier ensnare a Roman legionary at Adrianople 378 AD
3 Hun noble, raider ambushed by Balkan farmers, mid 5C (Huns bone-tipped composite bows)
4 German 'Cherusci' attack a Roman baggage train in Teutoberg Forest 9 AD
5 W German raiders free kin from C German 'Suevi' slavers, late 1C, horseman wears captured Roman armor
6 Visigoth bandits and runaway slaves ransack an Italian villa, early 5C, ldr has exaggerated his Barbarian image (pony tail, long moustache)
7 Gallo-Roman landlord hands over property deed to Burgundian warlord, late 5C
8 Ostrogoths assault Temple of Hadrian (now Castel S. Angelo), defended by citizens and Byzantine warriors (under Belisarius), Siege of Rome, 537 AD
9 Franks attack Byzantines at Casilinum 554 AD, axe-wielding Franks suffered heavily from enemy arrows (Germans typically thought bow was 'beneath' their macho dignity!)
10 Vandal raider shies away from (Camel-equipped) Moorish warrior, Libyan desert, early 6C
11 Muslim Arab warrior and his Ethiopian slave tackle a Sasanid Persian clibanarium (armored mounted knight), Mesopotamian desert, early 7C
12 Berber lancer and Arab archer clash w/Frank noble between Tours and Poitiers 732 AD, by this time some horsemen used stirrups
13 Danish Viking chief and raider confronted by Franks, N France, late 9C, Viking raiders rode their stolen horses deep inland
14 Swedish Vikings (Rus) board a Byzantine ship which is spraying Greek Fire thru a dragon-shaped tube, Black Sea, early 10C
15 Avar horsemen clash w/Carolingian horsemen of Charlemagne, Bavaria, early 9C
16 German knights of the Teutonic Order confront heavily armored Mongol horsemen at Battle of Liegnitz 1241
4 The Empire Fights Back, Ostrogoths and Franks 6C AD (65)
This is mainly the story of Belisarius, the E RE's main warlord and 3rd major part-barbarian figure after Stilicho (3??-408, Vandal by birth) and Aetius (c390-454). It begins w/Odoacer in power at Ravenna and E RE Zeno sending barbarian Theoderic to unseat him. Pretending to treaty, Theo k. 60yo Ocoacer w/a sword in 493 and ruled Italy as King of Ostrogoths for 30yrs (to 523?). The author notes his attempt to retain Roman laws and estates (esp. taxes), since efficient bureacratic admin benefited himself (i.e. bleed it w/o killing it). Now the new E RE Justinian could see that >half of the old RE had been lost to barbarians; Britain's Saxon kingdoms [i.e. 7, 'heptarchy' developing], Franks in France, Visigoths in Spain, Vandals in N Africa, Ostrogoths in Italy (66). His main interest was to recapture Mediterranean coastal areas to preserve Roman economic supremacy. So he sent his leading general (Belisarius) to retake N Africa, which he did. Everyone now wondered if Justinian could really re-est. the old RE? The achilles heel of the Germans (ldrs) was their lust for wealth, which tended to soften them and ruin their war-readiness. Belsarius was sent to retake Italy, taking Sicily in 536. He famously took Rome in the year-long Siege of Rome, ending Spring 538. After that, he consolodated his power in Italy, but had to fight Goth ldr Vittigis in N Italy (Milan, 2nd largest). But again the E RE (Justinian) grew jealous of Belisarius' power (like w/Stilicho and Aetius) and recalled him to Constantinople in 545. Goth ldr Totila recaptured Rome shortly after. Belisarius was sent back to Italy, but w/o enough troops, but he retook Rome anyway. Later, Belisarius was again recalled, Goths again retook Rome, and eunuch warlord Narses was sent (by E RE) to retake Rome. c552 he retook it, "for the 5th time in Justinian's reign[! wasted former efforts]" (79). Meanwhile, the Franks had been taking over Gaul (led by Clovis) and in 553 they even invaded Italy (81). But Narses annhilated them at Casilinum in 554. For the next 11yrs, Italy remained free of barbarians. But when Justinian d565, his Empire began to crumble. "Retreating before the Avars, the Lombards crossed the Alps in 568 and set in motion a series of wars w/the Byzantines that lasted for 200yrs and forced the Imperialists into S Italy" (82). Here he again notes that elites from old Romans, Byzantines, and Germanics now competed for land but otherwise cooperated in holding down peasants and maintaining the lucrative Roman-style 'villa' economy. This lasted into the 7C, when their Mediterranean monopoly (Nostra Mare = 'our lake') was severely disrupted by the rising Islamic movement.
5 The Force of God, Moors and Arabs 7-8C AD (83)
Here he discusses the rise of Islam. Muhammad was b. c560 and "by 610, in his late middle age, he began to preach to the citizens of Mecca about his mystical experiences" (85). "Such a blatantly anti-materialistic philosophy naturally excited the poor of Mecca [but] annoyed the ruling merchants. Irritation turned to outright hostility and in 622, Muhammad and his Muslim followers fled to Medina, the next important trade center, 200 miles N of Mecca. It is from this date that Islamic history begins - year 1" (86). Rather than meditating or preaching, Muhammad began at once organizing raids on Meccan caravans. Without an income and arms, his religion might've disappeared. The 1rst actual battle was in 624 i.e. 300 Muslims defeat 900 Meccans at Badr. Opponents were then killed, Jews expelled or massacred, and in 630 they retook Mecca. Just before his d. in 632, he led a 30k-strong raid along the trade route to Iraq, foreshadowing future conquests beyond Arabia. By that time, he'd pretty well consolidated Arabia under his leadership. Some Muslims were motivated by religion, but many (most?) by the prospect of booty. The 1rst caliph Abu Bakr tried hard to maintain Arab/Muslim unity, but many 'false prophets' rose (seeing how well that had worked for Muhammad) to challenge him for ldrship. Whether Muhammad had merely posed as a 'spiritual' ldr is uncertain, but many others tried the same route to power. Bakr got rid of many challengers in the war of the Ridda, and his successor 'Umar was then able to direct his energies against non-Muslims (i.e. Jihad taken to Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria). "An array of feuding tribes [became] a nation, a major Mediterranean power" (89). What explains their sudden explosion. Faith? Newark says no. He says it was 1) imposed unity, 2) material ambition, and 3) weakness (soft luxury-loving decadence) of (Sassanid) Persia, Byzantium. They took Jerusalem 638, Egypt a year later. Muslim civil wars 657. In 711 they began to colonize Spain, after years of piratical raiding there (k. Goth ldr Roderick). By 716 Andalusia (al-Andalus) "emerged as the 1rst European province of the Muslim Empire" (95). They wisely offered Jews and Christians tolerance (w/tribute). But as they raided N of the Pyrenees, they ran up against a much more vigorous foe, and Charles Martel soundly defeated the Arabs at Tours 732 AD. After that, they mainly kept S of the Pyrenees, except for raiding. At its height, the Arabs had taken "half the old RE" (98), while the other half was controlled by Germanic kingdoms. Yet Newark emphasizes that the new leaders mostly kept the old Roman 'villa' system in place, merely substituting themselves as the aristocratic beneficiaries! (98). In 718, E RE Leo "so decisively defeated the Arabs outside Constantinople that they never again tried to invade Europe via the Balkans" (99). The RCC continued to maintain a powerful link with the Ancient World. A big turning point was in 800 when Charlemagne, formerly friendly w/the E RE, agreed to accept the title HRE (actually just 'Emperor' [of East] and 'Augustus', 'HRE' wasn't coined til 1254), thus antagonizing the E RE. The new 'heartland' shifted from Mediterranean to Rhineland. W Europe was 2nd only to Byzantium, and became the 2nd most important 'defender of [holy] civilization'.
6 The Wolves of Wodan, Danes and Swedes 9-10C AD (101)
Newark quotes at length 'the wanderer' e.g. 'I am a man alone ...' (101). Tacitus noted this "close, mutually dependent relationship [between lord and retainer] in his 1C description of German tribes [and] it was the core around which all the honor and nobility of the medieval hero was constructed ... The 1rst requirement for the maintenance of [warlord] power thru-out the 1M was - as it always has been - wealth" (102). But usually more was required to motivate retainers to fight to the death i.e. physical and moral character, ability to cmd respect, physical strength, skill in battle, wisdom, intelligence, wit i.e. a winner! Newark notes interestingly that "the further N one goes, the less dignity [or decorum was required by ldrs]" (102) e.g. juggling daggers was fine for N barbarians, but would've been considered 'unprofessional' in S (RE). But even the N'ers excluded 'commerce and farming' skills as 'base'. This disdain toward earned wealth (i.e. not inherited or pillaged) "continued amongst aristocracy thru-out the MA and after" (!? 103). There's a description of the famous Battle of Maldon (E Anglia) in 991, where the Anglo-Saxons made a 'last stand' against raiding Danes. Within 2 decades the Danes controlled England and France, the Swedes Russia, and the Norwegians Iceland and Greenland (108). He notes the irony that later these barbarians "became the hardiest defenders of the culture they'd once violated [but] is was in their 'barbarous' state that they accomplished [the most]" (108).
Good pic of Viking ship among whales p105. Siege of Paris 885 and pic of Rollo p107. Both Danes and Swedes clashed w/Arabs, but "never seriously challenged their domination of the Mediterranean" (116).
7 The Relentless Plainsmen; Avars, Magyars, Mongols 6-13C AD (119)
Newark makes the interesting point here that successive waves of horse archers from the steppes of Asia were related. Beginning with the ancient 'Scythians' who lived in the region N of the Black Sea, their next incarnation were the Huns of the 5C AD, led most effectively by Attila (famously defeated by Aetius at Chalons 451, Attila d453). Then they were 'dormant' til the 10C Avars in E Europe, Bulgars E of them, and Khazars still further E. All of these were 'Turkic' in language and culture, tho he explains that the hordes were a great mix of various peoples e.g. slavs, sympathetic Europeans, down-and-outers, outlaws, etc. The Khazers famously and shewdly chose Judaism to avoid to closely allying themselves to either of their main rivals (Christian Byzantium and Germany, and Islamic Arabs, proto-Ottomans). Also in the 10C, a people (the 'Magyars') related to the Finns migrated S from there toward E Europe and vied with the 3 Turkic tribes. Next came the 13C Tartars (named by their enemies after the Greek dark god of the underworld, but called Mongols in more modern times). These were led by Genghis Khan and their leaders were Chinese, not Turkic (hordes were mixed). The term 'Khan' means 'top leader' ('Kagan' for the Khazars). Genghis created the largest empire in human history, but after his death it began to devolve into various feuding fiefdoms e.g. the Moguls of India. Newark notes that the Mongols were very close to taking control of E Europe when news of Genghis death arrived, providing a 'miraculous deliverance for the West' (138) as the Mongol armies returned E to contest for the succession (Frederick of Germany had appealed to other European leaders for help in fighting them, but had been rebuffed). But the remnants of the Mongolian empire continued to be 'a force to be reckoned with' into the 19C (imperial brits had to fight them in various places e.g. India). Newark notes that while the Huns, Avars and Magyars had penetrated further W, they lacked the admin sophistication of the later Mongols i.e. ability to turn raids into permanent conquests. After Genghis, Scythia became the westernmost province of the 'Khanate of the Golden Horde' (139). Of course, 'Turkish terror' would continue in the form of Islamic conquest into the 14-6C under the Ottomans, but these were famously stopped at Vienna and ? [France], w/later expulsion from Spain. The German HRE became the chief bulwark to defend Europe from them. But once Byzantium fell in 1453, it was no longer Greco-Roman civilization v. barbarian (i.e. 'insiders' v. 'outsiders'), but various imperial powers contending for regional domination, of which the Ottomans were one (i.e. Great Power conflict).
II Celtic (145)
8 The Golden Age, Celtic Europe v. Greeks and Romans 400-52 BC (153)
'Dying Gaul' sculture a Roman copy of orig. commissioned by King Attalus I of Pergamum to celebrate his victory over Celtic Galations c230 BC (165). Vercingetorix brought before Caesar 52 BC, ending Gallic large-scale resistance to Rome. Vespasian attacked Maiden Castle 43 AD.
9 The Battle for Britain, Celtic Brits v. Anglo-Saxons 43-800 AD (180)
10 The N Menace, Ireland and Britain v. Vikings and Normans 800-1200 AD (204)
Brian Boru, his son Murchad, Battle of Clontarf at Dublin 1014, King Magnus of Norway, Macbeth, a Gaelic warrior from Moray (Scotland), Siward, a Northumbrian-Danish warlord (d1055), Duncan, king of Scots, Macbeth and Duncan both gsons of Malcolm II, Orkney Saga, Normans 1066 (Celtic Brits aided WmConq and were richly rewarded) ... Ireland, Scotland and Wales remain free, due to lesser interest by Vikings and/or hearty Celtic resistance. See also 'High Kings and Vikings'.
2nd 16 pics between pp208-9:
1 Celtic raiders fall upon a Greek guards at Thermopylae pass, 279 BC
2 Celtiberian chieftain and warrior break thru Roman siege-works surrounding hill-fort, Numantia, N Spain, 133 BC
3 Belgic chariot, horse-warrior harass Roman legionaries during Caesar's expedition to Britain, SE England, 54 BC
4 Veneti sailing ship boarded by Romano-Gallic auxiliaries from the Aedui, Morbihan Bay, French Atl. coast, 56 BC
5 Scots highlanders in a schiltron hold their ground v. English knight Sir Wm DEYNCOURT, Bannockburn, 1314
6 Edw BRUCE attacked by Anglo-Irish warriors at Moiry Pass in Armagh, Ulster, 1315
7 Pict horse-warriors chase in isolated Scot into a deserted broch [tower], Dalriada, NW Scotland, 7C
8 Murchad, son of Irish High King Brian BORU, tackles a Viking at Clontarf, Dublin, 1014
9 Norman Breton landlord ambushed by Welsh herdsmen, N Wales Marches, late 11C
10 Dermot MacMURROGH, Leinster warlord, backed up by Norman Welsh knight, Welsh archer, Ossory, SE Ireland, 1169
11 Cuchulainn of Ulster rides his legendary scythed chariot against Connacht raiders, described in the pre-Christian Irish saga Tain Bo Cuailnge
12 Arthurian Romano-British landlord (w/chi-rho banner) clashes w/Saxon raider outside Bath, Britain, late 5C
13 Owain Glyndwr and his Welsh followers attacked by English garrison of Caernarfon Castle, 1401
14 James IV cut down (see cvr)
15 A galloglas and his kern attendants await their Irish lord, Shane O'NEILL, during his visit to the court of Eliz I, London, 1562
16 Irish warriors of the army of Hugh O'NEILL charge English at Yellow Ford, Ulster, 1598
11 Celtic Counter-Attack, Welsh and Scots v. Edwardian kings 1200-1450 AD (230)
Llywelyn, lord of N Wales r1194-?, treaty w/France 1212, English King John, Magna Carta 1215, Henry III d1272, succeeded by Edward I, who smashed Welsh, John Balliol and Robert Bruce, Harlech Castle, John de WARENNE defeats Scots at Dunbar c1286, Caernarfon Castle begun 1283, Bannockburn 1314.
12 The Final Challenge, Irish and Scots v. Tudors 1450-1600 (260)
James IV of Scotland, the last Gaelic-speaking monarch, was k. at Flodden, Northumberland, in 1513.
III Medieval (289)
13 Flavius Aetius c390-454 (297)
Barbarian father, rich Roman mother. Sent as boy to Alaric the Goth as Roman hostage, trained by them. Later (after 410) sent as hostage to Huns. Befriended them, often allied w/them later. Aetius was present at the 410 AD sack of Rome by Alaric and told stories of it later. When Alaric d. shortly after, Athaulf took over, m. [Galla] Placidia. When he returned Rome, Theodosius II was RE in E, elderly Honorius in W w/his chief warlord Constantius (m. Placidia 421, sis of Honorius). Constantius extorted great wealth from the most noble families of Italy (300), but d. 7mos after m. Placidia. Improper relationship between Honorius and sis Placidia. Honorius d423, and left a power vacuum. 2 parties, Placidia and her 4yo son Valentinian (w/supporters incl. E RE Theod) v. usurper John, chief sec'y backed by Castinus, Master of Soldiers (also Boniface, a N African warlord and chief rival of Aetius). Aetius was asked to help latter faction, but he arrived late (on purpose? 303) at Ravenna after E imperial victory. He quickly sought peace w/Placidia and sent the Huns back to Hungary. He was rewarded w/military cmd of Gaul.
Here he discusses the revolt of 407 by the Bacaudae of Armorica (Brittany), which were disaffected farmers and peasants sick of the heavy oppression under the Roman 'villa' system i.e. THEY did all the work, while the elites reaped most of the benefits. They were joined by runaway slaves, army deserters, bandits and invading barbarians, and it became "a movement joined by small land owners and middle classes" (304). They set up an independent state and ruled for 10yrs until Aetius began to put them down by 417. The Visigoths were brought in as 'extra elites' to enforce the old system from above against unruly elements from below. They were suitable, says Newark, since they were less militarily powerful than other barbarian tribes, who had been located at edges of RE rather than central areas (like Visigoths). Tho there were conflicts, "on the whole, Theoderic, King of the Visigoths, and Aetius were united in the same task: the suppression of the Gallo-Roman lower classes ... This was the [main] job of Aetius in France" (305, plus some border enforcement, of course e.g. Chalons 451). He was so successful that he was named magister militum in the late 420s, the highest military title, shared only by Boniface in N Africa (305, in W RE). After defeating 2 failed expeditions to check his [Boniface's] power, the Vandal invasion of N Africa forced him to return to Ravenna to seek Placidia's favor. She forgave him, then played him against Aetius by naming Boniface consul, prompting the furious Aetius to rush back to Italy. A small confrontation between the 2 warlords just S of Ravenna left Aetius as the only 'super-general [warlord]' (Boniface k.).
In 437 Aetius famously led the Huns in annihilating 20k Burgundians (then in S Rhine region) under their king Gundahar which "later formed the kernel" of the German epic tale of the Nibelungenlied [i.e. twilight of the gods]. For the next 6yrs, the Burgundians disappear from history! Then in 443 Aetius resettled them in Savoy (SE France) as part of his strategic resettlement program. He did the same w/Alans near Orleans, so they would quell "the insolence of the proud Armoricans" (306). Later RE Avitus was at this time a protege of Aetius'. Then in 450 E RE Theodosius I died, with Marcion taking his place. Around the same time (447) Frank ldr (Merogingian) Chlodian the Hairy also died, his younger son Meroveus appealing to Aetius and being adopted by him. The elder son sided w/Attila. This was also when Honoria, sis of Valentinian III and dau of (now old, w/in 1yr death) Placidia, offered herself to Attila in marriage (hmmm, part of Placidia's last challenge to Aetius?). Newark says the combination of 1) new anti-Hun resolve of E RE Marcion (which Attila had been focusing on up to now, since Aetius was firmer in W), 2) Frank succession crisis, and 3) E RE political offers convinced him to lauch an attack on the W (i.e. Chalons 451), which of course Aetius won. Incredibly, when Aetius was later in Rome (Sep 454) at the height of his power, RE Valentinian III became so jealous of his power that Val stabbed and killed Aetius ('a foolish and mad act' 317)!? He was later ass. by Aetius aid Optila, a Hun. The loss to the RE of Aetius was profound. "He alone had maintained Imperial control over France, giving reality to the concept of a W Empire. W/o him, the individual Germanic settlements would soon rise to replace the old Roman province with a fragmentation of German kingdoms" (317). For some reason (strategy? fear?) Aetius had basically ignored the Vandals under Gaiseric in N Africa. But in recent years they'd been causing RE REAL trouble by capturing the major port at Carthage (Tunis) in 439 (including the large Roman fleet of ships based there) and then developing sea-power. The loss of Aetius and this broke the W RE by 476.
14 Gaiseric c400-77 (318)
"In the hands of Gaiseric, Carthage once more rose as a great enemy of Rome" (326). When the Vandals were granted N Africa by treaty, the great Roman estate holders there were dispossessed (i.e. those who hadn't already fled). All others i.e. traders, farmers, peasants, continued life as before, only resenting new Vandal masters in place of older Roman ones. The great exception was RCC ldrs, who "suffered terribly" (327) under the Arian Vandals (e.g. Augustine d. of disease in the Vandal siege of Hippo). Val III's widow was Eudoxia, who was forced to m. Maximus, who usurped the W throne and was involved in Val III's ass. In revenge, Eudoxia wrote Gaiseric inviting him to take Rome. Maximus had hurriedly m. his son to Eudocia (dau of Val III and Eudoxia), angering Gaiseric who had sought her for his own son Huneric. So now in 455 the Vandals sacked Rome. As Gaiseric continued to raid, RE Avitus unsuccessfully appealed to the E RE (Leo, but his warlord was Aspar, an Alan and Arian, who didn't want to trouble his comrade Gaiseric). Avitus' chief warlord Ricimer (half Suevi, half Goth) had some limited successes against Gaiseric. Most of Gaiseric's troops were by now black Moors (since most Germans had by now retired to the 'good life'). This continued into the reign of W RE Majorian, who tried to crack down on Gaiseric but failed. But in 467 Gaiseric went too far and united W and E RE against him. E RE Leo installed W RE Anthemius w/backing of Ricimer. Leo assembled a massive army, nearly bankrupting the E RE. But Gaiseric thru savvy managed to rebuff the attack and cause a major crisis for Leo. Jordanes even says Gaiseric was behind Attila's attack at Chalons 451! In 471 Aspar was k. by Leo. Ricimer d472. Leo d474. These emboldened Gaiseric, as new E RE Zeno tried to negotiate. Gaiseric d477. After that, the Vandal kingdom declined as the Moors revolted and was crushed ~50yrs later by the Byzantines.
15 An Lu-Shan c703-57 (336)
Half Turk, half Iranian. Tho a nomadic tribesman who normally would've been viewed as a barbarian by the Chinese, he managed to become intimate friends w/the most powerful heads of the Chinese Empire. The author summarizes a long history of alternating alliance and adversarial terms between these Turkic peoples and the Chinese. The Turks of C Asia were famous as metal-workers and had been employed by the Juan-Juan, making the blades so feared by the Han Chinese. Circa mid-6C, Bumin led the Turks in rebellion against their Juan-Juan overlords, becaming the new warlord of the steppes. His descendents expanded both E and W, harassing the Chinese, but clever Chinese diplomacy and internal strife eventually split the Turks into E/W Khanates. The Turks revived in the early 7C when rebellion in China produced the T'ang dynasty, but the latter eventually crushed the E Turks. By early 8C, the Turks had again become the primary Chinese enemy to their W and N. E Turk Khan Qapaghan unified the Turks for a time, but was betrayed and killed by another Turk faction in 716. The resulting purge of pro-Qapaghan elements sent the An clan w/teenage Lu-Shan into China. Lu-Shan was b. c703 near Bukhara in Sogdiana, modern Uzbekistan. He took this name, a Turkic word meaning 'warfare', later in life. He later became a notorious bandit, and was eventually employed by local Chinese ldrs. This was a time when the Emperor was suspicious of too much power at the capital, so the regional centers were getting more powerful. In 742 Lu-Shan became a military governer (340) and by 755 had amassed a huge army and began his challenge to the emperor for control of China (still vast, unified in early 8C). He successfully attacked the Imperial 2nd city of Loyang 756 and declared himself 1rst of a new 'Yen' dynasty and had many other victories, including briefly taking the capital [name?] not far from T'ung-kuan Pass, forcing the emperor to flee. But eventually his rivals allied to bring him down. On 29 Jan 757, the by now morbidly obese and very ill-tempered (insane?) warlord was assassinated by his own son, part of the conspiracy. His rebellion continued after his death, but after 6yrs of civil war, rival (and heir to last emperor, who'd been k.) Sutsung had recaptured the capital w/help from 3k Uigher Turkic tribesmen, triumphing in 763. But from then on, the T'ang could no longer control the entire country, since Lu-Shan "had shattered the ancient unity of China and introduced the country to the power and devastation [and potential for revolutionary change, i.e. 'dragons of expectation'] of the warlord. To the [other] barbarian warriors of the NE frontier, he became a cult figure - the realization of all their ambitions" (351, i.e. for 'change' to ACTUALLY benefit their Nimrodian selves, but to OSTENSIBLY benefit 'the people', hmmm, sound familiar i.e. 'change you can believe in'? [12/4/2009, recent Obama slogan]).
16 Owen of Wales (Glyndwyr) c1335-78 (352)
3rd 16 pics between pp352-3:
1 Usurper John brought for execution before W Imperial regent Placidia (~3yo son Val III), and her [German] bucellarii (bodyguards), Aquileia, NE Italy, 425 AD
2 Alan horseman of Orleans, on orders of Aetius, clashes w/bacaudae [peasants] on E Brittany estate, 440s AD
3 The warlord Aetius and a Burgundian retainer attacked by a Hun at the battle of locus Mauriacus [Chalons], NW France, 451
4 Vandal and Moorish pirates flee to their ship after an ambush set by bucellarii of W RE Majorian, Campania, SW Italy, c458
5 Gaiseric's Moorish warriors in a camel phalanx attacked by Huns in E Imperial warlord Heraclius' army, Tripolis, N Africa, 468
6 An Lu-Shan pursues a Khitan Mongol beyond the Grt Wall on NE Chinese border, 735
7 Yang Kuei-fei, the Emperor's consort, and Imperial Guard prepare to leave Ch'ang-an before the army of An Lu-Shan, 756
8 Spanish galley collides w/English cog at Rochelle, France, 1372
9 Owen of Wales pursued by halberdiers from Berne at Buttisholz, Switzerland, 1375
10 Bertrand du GUESCLIN and his retainers surprise men-at-arms of Sir Hugh CALVERLY on the road to Montmuran, Brittany, 1354
11 Sir John CHANDOS is harassed by Moorish genitors [lightly armed horsemen] in the army of Henry of Castile at Najera, N Spain, 1367
12 Teutonic knight attacked by Lithuanian horse-archers at Tannenberg, 1410
13 Taborite war wagons await the attack of Sigismund's Hungarian horsemen, outside Kutna Hora [E Bohemia], 1421
14 [blindfolded] Jan ZIZKA enters Prague w/his Orebite warriors, 1423
15 Dracula supervises the [brutal] execution of prisoners after a raid on a German settlement in S Transylvania, 1460
16 Wallachian horsemen surprise janissaries crossing the Danube, S Romania, 1462
Owen, b. in Wales, portrayed himself as the next legitimate Welsh prince/king. He appealed to the French king Philip VI (when Owen was 20yo, so c1355) to support him against the British to throw off British overlordship of Wales and install a France-friendly new regime (under himself). He claimed to be the gson of Rhodri ap Gruffydd, the last and true Celtic prince (and ruler) of Wales who'd been k. by King Edward I of England when he'd conquered Wales. Rhodri's bro Llywelyn was also k. Owen's inheritance had been given to Edward's son, falsely named Prince of Wales, but actually a mere puppet of English tyranny. Owen's father Thomas was also k. and his land taken. Historians since then have debated his claims. Most Welsh regard him as a hero, but Newark says the fact is that Rhodri was settled on an English estate by Edw I and was happy to serve him! In 1278 was a bitter dispute between the Welsh bros, and Rhodri lost his land but was paid off by Llywelyn. In 1282 Llywelyn was k. by the English, while Rhodri retired on an English pension. Thomas also lived on an English estate, and d1363 i.e. they were indeed former Welsh nobles, but had been bought off by Edw I! [Irish gift of blarney, i.e. myth-making, e.g. portraying things more heroically, romantically than they actually were] Even so, the French Valois used Owen's hatred of the English for their own purposes. When Philip VI d1350, Owen continued to serve the new king John. Owen fought at Poitiers 1356 w/the French, a disaster for France. Owen pursued the same strategy as his father and gfather, seeking and winning land thru the English court system in 1365. But unlike them, he wasn't satisfied with comfortable retirement and tried to parlay his story into kingship of Wales, appealing to many foreign courts for support in this effort! He later became a noted 'sea-dog' (i.e. both pirate and naval hero) and was present at the famous battle at [La] Rochelle port in 1372 [hmmm, this related to Bourgon Broucard/Brokaw line].
France's King Charles V appealed to the powerful Spanish fleet of King Henry of Castile to navally challenge the English-controlled port at Rochelle. The English cmdr was the Earl of Pembroke, who was captured. Once the Brits lost, the Spanish sailed away and left the port to the French (tho they failed to take the strong English castle there). "Whether Owen was [in] this battle, or just viewed it from shore, its outcome greatly influenced his life" (356). Shortly after, Chas V gave him $ and an army and he set off toward Wales. He was later called back to Rochelle to, with 1) his army, 2) the Spanish fleet, and 3) the army led by Constable of France Bertrand du Guesclin, finally take the English castle of Soubise (358). This they did, along with many other villages in the area. After that, Owen joined du Guesclin's army and was involved in the Brittany civil war. Owen had a reputation as a powerful naval/piratical presence in French waters w/Spanish connections. In 1375, a truce was declared between England and France and, to sustain himself, Owen and his army went to Switzerland as mercenaries. By 1377 he was back in France (Gascony) fighting w/Guesclin. Tho a notorious privateer, on land he was still regarded a minor warlord expected to fight in the field. But when the Duke of Anjou retired, Owen was promoted to major independent warlord status (363). Not long after Edw III of England d (date?), the English, tired of slow French losses, drew up a hit-list of primary French warlords. Owen was apparently on that list, since they apparently sent a Welsh mole named John Lamb to join Owen's army, befriend him, and later kill him. Not long after, Lamb stabbed Owen in the back near the [English] castle of Mortaigne, which they'd been besieging. The English were glad to see him dead, but Chas V was greatly saddened to lose him. The Welsh were too, tho they didn't know his claims to Welsh ldrship were "laced with fantasy" (365). Welsh poets later mythologized him, making him another Arthur.
17 Bertrand du Guesclin c1320-80 (366)
Born at La Motte-Broons in Brittany, he was "an awkward forest boy, wishing above all else to be knight ... [knowing] this was the only way to transcend his unhappy circumstances. By all accounts, he was an ugly, violent boy; disliked even by his parents. He couldn't count on friendship or good looks to win him respect. But fighting would. He had little fear of physical violence or pain ... He was a bully and a thug [i.e. a budding warlord]" (366). John, [British?] Duke of Brittany has just died w/o heir, so 2 factions maneuvered for the position: 1) John's niece, m. to Chas, Count of Blois, nephew of Philip of Valois, King of France, 2) the [British?] Count of Montfort, half bro of the dead Duke. Guesclin and his Breton family sided w/the French [duh!]. The civil war this sparked "merged into the opening rounds of the 100yrs War [between France and England]" (367). The battles of Crecy 1346 and Poitiers 1356 had been devastating for France, and all they could do was conduct small-scale guerrilla raids against their English overlords. Guesclin was an expert at this. Of course, even w/o the war w/England, knights continually conducted plundering raids against other duchies. His reputation grew and he became a national hero by defending Rennes against a 1356 siege by the English Duke of Lancaster. He was awarded knighthood and a pension by Charles the Dauphin [later V] in 1357 (hmmm, Joan of Arc Dauphin? No, she d1431). In 1362 Guesclin was made supreme [military] cmdr of the Duchy of Normandy. In both 1360 (treaty of Bretigny) and 1364 (after battle of Auray), huge numbers of now unemployed mercenaries and knights turned to independent marauding, terror, pillaging, kidnapping, murdering and generally causing havoc across France (i.e. en entire subculture dependent on plunder ... warlordism ... precursors to modern politicians!). Several cases where truce was offered but the warlords needed the war profits to survive, so refused it! Pope Urban V suggested to French King Charles V that "the best way to rid the land of these parasites was to send them on a crusade" (377). This 30k-strong crusade of 1365 was sent to Spain (hmmm, War of Spanish Succession?) under the ldrship of Guesclin, who had to be ransomed from Sir John Chandos. Eventually, Guesclin's forces [supporting Spanish Don Henry] met those of the [English] Black Prince [supporting Spanish Don Peter] on 4 Apr 1367 near Najera in N Spain. The Black Prince won and "was celebrated as the greatest knight in Christendom. Najera joined Crecy and Poitiers as a trinity of historic English victories" (381). But it had cost the Black Prince a huge amt of $. ...
See JoanArc.
18 Jan Zizka c1360-1424 (390)
19 Vlad Dracula c1430-76 (410)
Note: Hmmm, very helpful and enlightening to view politicians as warlords. This human phenomenon has always been, and will always be! Politics is war by other means. Past warlords were more overt, but modern ones are just as dangerous to our liberty.
Reminds me of civil v. political society. 2 ways to get what we want/need: civil means i.e. work and trade, save, invest v. political means i.e. appeal to politicians [warlords] to take from others and give to us! The latter method is on full display throughout history, and this is major reason why America was unique, at least in the early days. Plunder was minimized (cf. Bastiat's 'The Law').
Hmmm, here's a quote in IRI's quote-book that warns against warlord-thinking. I need to be careful to stress that I don't believe there's no such thing as right, only might. My point is that, throughout history, might has often triumphed over the right, and that modern pretentions by libs to use govt power to 'do right' (do-gooders) are often merely covers for power-seeking:
"We still find, especially in parts of academe, the damaging [postmodern] notion that everything is a struggle for power, or being empowered, or hegemony, or oppression: and that all competition is a zero-sum game. This is no more than a repetition of Lenin's destructive doctrine. Intellectually, it is reductionism; politically, it is fanaticism".
- Robert Conquest (p81)
The State is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else [i.e. each becoming a little 'warlord', enlisting politicians to help them do it].
- Frederic Bastiat
See also quotes in br-tha and Warlords quote on Aetius that main aim of these leaders is parasitic controlled extortion i.e. as much as possible, but not TOO much. They want to control and live off of other peoples' efforts (OPM)! Basic strategy didn't change w/fall of RE, just the beneficiaries! (i.e. 'farm' owners, where we citizens are the 'crops').
From Forbes 1/18/10 'thots on the business of life': Popular culture tells you that schools and parents don't know what's going on, the police are dogs, politicians are all liars and scum, and any crime that's not committed by the Mafia is done by the CIA" (Stanley Crouch). Hmmm, popular culture is usually leftist, anti-establishment, radical. Is my cynicism of those in power ('warlords') playing toward leftist radicalism? Undermining proper authority?
Bonner/Wiggins EoD insightful quote: 'Empires are to geopolitics what bubbles are to markets' i.e. artificial, temporary, nature abhors them and will end them eventually.