COTIAEUM 492 - v1.0
by Chris Jackson

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

With the troublesome Ostrogoths out of the picture, the last three years of
Zeno's reign over the Byzantines were relatively peaceful and free of 
insurrection, though the religious schism with Rome remained. Zeno's son, 
also called Zeno, died at an early age, allegedly from venereal disease 
contracted from "homosexual excess". His expected successor was therefore his 
brother Longinus, Consul in 486 and 490.

When Zeno finally expired in an epileptic fit on April 9, 491, his death
was mourned by few. Zeno was from Isauria, a region in southern Anatolia
where the inhabitants were considered a warlike, uncultured mountain people.
He had only become emperor by heading the Isaurian army (used to offset the
influence of Germanic troops in the Byzantine army) under Emperor Leo, and
marrying his daughter Ariadne. Zeno took the throne in 474 when Leo's 
seven-year old son died. One of Zeno's accomplishments was to turn the 
semi-independent Isaurians from 

When Longinus claimed the throne, the people took to the streets of
Constantinople vocally expressing their disapproval - they were determined 
not to have an Isaurian or a heretic as the next emperor. To avoid civil war,
Longinus was passed over in favour of a member of Zeno's personal entourage,
Flavius Anastasius. Though already aged 61, Anastasius remained an impressive
figure. Born in Dyrrhachium (now Durazzo, Albania) in about 430, he was tall,
clean-shaven and intelligent. He was also memorable for his one blue eye and
one black one. Zeno's widow, Ariadne, held the imperial diadem. When she 
married Anastasius his legitimacy was sealed.

The Isaurians, who had been anticipating Zeno's death for years, were
outraged and set the city on fire. This earned them a total banishment, no
small thing - Zeno had appointed many fellow Isaurians to prominent civil
positions, and Anastasius removed them all in 492. Soon the Isaurians were in
open insurrection, with Conon the bishop supporting them. 

One of Zeno's accomplishments had been turning the semi-independent Isaurians
from untamed mountain people into an effective part of the Byzantine 
military. A man named Athenodorus took command of the Isaurian troops, while 
two men of the same name led an essentially Gothic army under the Byzantine 
banner - John the Hunchback and John the Goth (John the Goth led the siege of
Illus and Loentius at Cherreus castle from 484-488). The only true battle was 
fought at Cotiaeum (now Kutahya, Turkey) where the Isaurian rebels were 
defeated, and then driven back into the mountains in 493.

The rest of the war was defined by guerilla resistance from the outnumbered 
rebels as the Byzantines systematically captured their fortified towns. The 
war stayed local, and the rebels never got further than Phrygia. Anastasius 
was criticized for faint-hearted pursuit of the war. It finally ended in late
497 and in early 498 the Byzantines secured complete victory by imprisoning
and beheading Athenodorus and Longinus. John the Goth sent their heads to  
Constantinople where they were placed on pikes opposite the city. Many 
Isaurians were resettled in Thrace, and Anastasius then imposed a tribute, 
probably collected from Isauria.  

The other war fought in the first half of his reign was war with Persia from 
502-505, breaking sixty years of peace between the two great powers of the 
East. Kobad, who had taken the throne in 487, looked to repay the 
Ephthalites, or "White Huns" on his northern border for military support in 
the past by coming to Anastasius for a sum of money. Whether it was presented
as a temporary loan or a demand for repayment of an old debt is debated, but 
Anastasius rejected it, and Kobad declared war. In the first year of war the 
Persians took Amida. Anastasius sent four nearly autonomous armies to the 
battlefield. Lack of co-ordination and leadership left the Byzantine war 
effort accomplishing little, and they slowly lost ground in a war that was
essentially a series of long-rage raids against each other's frontiers.

The Byzantines caught a break when Kobad had to return to Persia to fight 
barbarians on the Oxus - the Persian effort started to go badly without
him. After a three year siege of Amida, a peace was agreed, as it turned out
when it was nearly out of provisions anyway. Anastasius essentially bought 
back Amida for 1000 pounds of gold, and everything returned to pre-war state, 
the peace agreed for seven years. That same year, in 505, came the first 
clash of arms between Anastasius and Theodoric.......


SOURCES

Dupuy, B. Ernst and Dupuy, Trevor N. "Harper Encyclopedia of Military 
     History". New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

Head, Constance. "Imperial Byzantine Portraits". New Rochelle (NY): Caratzas
     Bros., 1982.

"Isauria". Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 6 page 402. Chicago: University
     Press, 1995.

Kohn, George C. "Dictionary of Wars". New York: Facts on File Publications, 
     1986.

Norwich, John Julius. "Byzantium: The Early Centuries". New York: Alfred A.
     Knopf, 1989.

Vasiliev, Alexander A. "History of the Byzantine Empire". Madison: University
     of Wisconsin Press, 1952.


BATTLE NOTES

The Byzantine army was completely dominated by cavalry in this era, which
explains the make-up of the forces. The Isaurian rebels are at a disadvantage
in numbers and equipment, but the battle is closer than it may seem; the
Goths were less reliable than other Byzantine units, so their morale is lower
in this scenario so they will break easier. The biggest challenge for the 
Isaurian player is weathering the wave of charges from two wings bearing down
on them.



- Chris Jackson
March 19, 1999




