HORREA MARGI, 505 -v1.0
by Chris Jackson

SYMBOL SET REQUIRED - Master 1


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Despite the violent and rather underhanded means by which he seized power in
493, Theodoric quickly earned the respect and admiration of many with his 
devotion to the people. One of his first acts was negotiation with Gundobad
for the return of the prisoners taken from Liguria in 490 - in March 494
Epiphanius welcomed the chance to make a dangerous crossing of the Alps
to meet Gundobad and personally arrange for their release. All were returned
except for prisoners taken personally by the soldiers on their own private
account, who would have to be paid a fee. Epiphanius also visited Ravenna
to plead for a reduction in taxation, which was granted. Seven days after
returning from that trip he died in 497.

Theodoric also drained marshes and built public works such as aqueducts. 
Italy became a major exporter of grain as general prosperity returned. He
also restored cities, rebuilding their walls and towers as well as roads
such as the Appian Way. In 499 when a pro-Byzantine faction in Rome elected
an anti-pope to fight the election of Symmachus, Therodoric stepped in and
put an end to the street fighting. In 500 the Arian king visited the home of
Catholicism, Rome, for six months to a warm reception from Symmachus and the 
populace. That same year he foiled an assassination plot by one Goth named 
Odoin who was executed, showing that Theodoric had no mercy for evil-doers.
 
In 497 Theodoric was recognized by Anastasius. Theodoric had been crowned 
without waiting for official sanction from Constantinople; this may have 
wounded the emperor's pride. But after four years of envoys and negotiations,
the imperial insignia that Odoacer had sent to Constantinople twenty years 
earlier was finally returned to Italy. To what degree Theodoric was supposed
to be a true King of Italy or merely an official of the Byzantines is 
debatable (he is only identified as "king" with no further clarification),
but Theodoric seems to have kept a Byzantine-style court. He also reaffirmed
old Roman laws and rejected Odoacer's skins and furs in favour of reviving 
the imperial purple. It is reported he remained illiterate and would sign
documents by tracing his signature with a stencil.

With traditional rights to the territory east of Italy, Theodoric determined
to take the Illyrian lands held by his old enemies the Gepids. He could not 
tolerate the fact that they held the city of Sirmium, the greatest city in 
the Illyrian Prefecture and a former frontier of the Roman Empire. Since the 
death of Trapstila after the battle of Singidunum (near Sirmium) in 489, the
tribe had broken into two factions: one led by his son Trasaric and one by a 
certain Gunderith.

Trasaric asked Theodoric for help against his rival, but when Theodoric did
not recieve the expected recompense, he no longer trusted him and sent an 
army against him in 504. The expedition was led by a general named Pitzias,
with Herduic second in command. Tulum, a young Gothic noble, and Witigis 
also earned distinction in this campaign. Little is known about the campaign
except that Theodoric's generals won an easy victory over the Gepids who 
were allied with the Bulgarians, and Sirmium was recovered, not regarded as a
new prize but as an old possession returned to its rightful owner, as the
Ostrogoths returned the kingdom's boundaries on the eastern frontier to their
limits in Roman times. Trasaric was kicked out and the people of Sirmium were
probably happy to accept Ostrogoth rulership.

However, this was not as well received at Constantinople, as a new frontier 
line suddenly appeared so close to their own. Old territorial boundaries 
between the Roman Empires of the East and West were now vague in this region
of Pannonia, and Theodoric appeared to be taking the matter into his own
hands. Soon, a third party emerged that would force the issue.

A certain Mundo the Hun, son or grandson of Attila, had fled the Gepids and 
led a band of marauders that was soon causing trouble in Upper Moesia (modern
day Serbia). Against the bothersome Mundo, Anastasius sent the general 
Sabinian (the son of the general of the same name who had fought a young 
Theodoric back in 479) to remove him. With 10,000 men, including Bulgarian 
foederati, Sabinian brought a long train of wagons down the valley of the 
Morova in 505. Mundo desparately called on the Ostrogoths for aid, and 
Pitzias brought 2000 infantry and 500 cavalry down from Bosnia quickly to his
aid. This Ostrogoth contingent reached Horrea Margi (near Morova Hissar) in 
time to save Mundo who was being sieged there. The battle was fiercely 
contested, especially by the Bulgarians, but Pitzias prevailed.
Many of Sabinian's men were slain or drowned in the Margus, and the bodies of
the Byzantines were left to the dogs and vultures. Sabinian also lost all his
wagons and had to withdraw to a fortress called Nato. Mundo vanishes from 
history at this point, but the dispute between the Ostrogoths and Byzantines
went on despite no formal declaration of war. In 508, 100 Byzantine ships and
as many cutters carrying 8000 soldiers raided the Apulian coast, going as 
far as Tarentum. It is uncertain when hostilities came to a formal close, but
documents suggest that peace between the two kingdoms was re-established 
around 509, a peace that would stand for one full generation...


SOURCES

Hodgkin, Thomas. "Italy and Her Invaders, Volume 3". London: Russell & Russell, (1880-89) 1967.

Hodgkin, Thomas. "Theodoric the Goth". London: GP Putnam's Sons, 1891.

"Theodoric". Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 11, p. 688. Chicago University Press, 1995.

BATTLE NOTES

One map of the area I've found shows Horrea Margi right on the bank of the
Margus, another map shows it a couple miles out - I just went with the former
since I think it makes for a better battle.
The AI is pretty useless here, but as a two-player game this is a pretty 
fierce scenario - despite the Byzantines having an edge in men and morale,
it's quite evenly matched because the attrition trying to crack the fortress
of Horrea Margi will bleed off the Byzantines at least a little. The 
Bulgarian foedarati are the main force opposing Pitzias' reinforcements, and
need to tie down as many of them as possible. Even if the Byzantines succeed
in taking the fortress, they can still lose if their morale drops below the
limit. Both armies are quite large in this scenario so each side must beware
of getting flanked from the bottom of the map.


- Chris Jackson
November 2, 1999
chrisbjackson@hotmail.com

