Chapter 36
The Northern Frontier of the Empire
In the early days of the Arcadian Roman Empire, the Arcadian Empire to some, the North was largely ignored. Elysium, proper, was a large and prosperous land. Constantinople's entire population could have moved into the Great Valley and lived there comfortably for decades of growth. Indeed, more than a few people did just that, gradually integrating with various native populations all the while. Those who didn't enter the Valley largely remained in Constantinople, as that grand city revitalized itself from centuries of neglect and decline. Old buildings were scavenged for material to build newer, grander, structures. By the time Europeans arrived, Constantinople was arguably more grandiose than it had been in centuries.[1] As for those who chose neither Constantinople, nor the Valley?
They primarily looked to the south. These were the men and women who settled Dragases, and other settlements along the coast. As well as those who migrated to the lands of the Purépecha, to join Prince Demetrios and his initial vanguard.
Only a bare handful of Romans and Romanized natives ever ventured North. The lands weren't harsh, at least not for quite some distance North, but there were few incentives to travel that direction. No allure of gold or natives to convert to the Church. It was a comparatively empty land, with little attraction to the average Roman. Those who went North were explorers, in the days of Roman exploration, and those who wanted a life away from the heartland. It should be little surprise that when the Emperor Heraklonas sent his younger sons away from home, one would go to the North. That son would, in turn, found a dynasty of his own in the isolated Northern Reaches of the Empire. A small fiefdom, still technically bowing the knee to Constantinople. It was part of the Empire, yet it was also not. It was a study in contrasts, in those early days.
-The Roman North, 1500-1550, Constantinople University Press, 1989
When the first Roman explorers ventured forth, under Constantine and Alexios, some of them had chosen to sail to the far North of Elysium. And, indeed, beyond.
These intrepid men were sailing into the unknown. Even the
Ohlone, who were familiar with much of Elysium, did not know what awaited them. The sailors went north anyway, in search of riches- the gold mines had yet to be discovered -or other signs of human life. Riches, they would not find. Unless one counted furs and fish, as the famous Elysian sea lions greeted them at every turn. As did many, varied, kinds of fish. These were well worth a trip, in their own right, especially for feeding Constantinople's hungry population. However, these were not the kind of riches the explorers had set sail to find. No gold, no silver, no precious gems. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, really, as most of the land they explored was strangely empty.
There were small fishing villages, of sorts, but little beyond that. While the explorations to the south would eventually come upon the great Mesoarcadian civilizations, those to the north found little more advanced than the
Ohlone.
[2]
As a result, the explorers returned home. In their mind, they returned largely empty handed. Small Roman fishing and fur hunting outposts would spring up over the years, but little more than that. It might have remained such, for quite some time, had events to the South not changed.
As the reign of Alexios continued, and contact with the Aztec and
Purépecha came to the south, exploration gradually ground to a halt. The worry of encountering another enemy, as bad or worse than the Aztec, weighed heavily on the mind of the aging Emperor. And especially so on his son and heir, Heraklonas, a man already conservative by his very nature. The days of exploration were over, and the days of consolidation began. Settlements like Dragases began to grow ever larger, as resources were pushed into consolidating the existing holdings. The only truly
new settlements were coastal forts, lining Elysium from Constantinople to the Second City of the Empire. In a sense, this was a wise move. It allowed the Empire to fortify itself, and focus on expanding inland, instead of potentially creating new enemies to fight. There
were no such enemies, as it would turn out, yet it seemed a prudent move to the movers and shakers in Constantinople.
It did, however, paradoxically increase interest in the northern frontier. For a certain value of 'increased interest'. These lands remained unappealing and generally underdeveloped, largely populated by hardy fisherman with little interest in the comings and goings of the elite. However, the South was becoming more and more 'civilized'. And starting a new life, in a new land, became harder and harder as all efforts were made to improve what was already there.
What was good for the Empire, as a whole, was often not good for those who wished for a new life. Certainly not those who craved independent living, over all else.
It was this fact that drove interest in the previously ignored north. Suddenly, those largely empty- scattered native tribes aside -lands became a haven. For those who desired escape from the hustle and bustle of civilized life, it seemed a paradise. An admittedly cool paradise, with little of interest outside hunting or fishing, but the fact remained. If one wanted the ultimate escape from the growing Empire, this was it.
It should be noted, of course, that this remained a fraction of a fraction of the Roman population. Most of the Roman population, be they descended from Constantinople's population or various native tribes, were growing content in their new lives. The spread of civilization often came with an increase in the quality of life. While certain native tribes regretted the loss of their independence, of their ability to migrate to new homes, this remained true. Permanent villages provided a safe and stable life. Disease gradually faded away, and the population continued to boom. With no external enemies, or at least no enemies that could reach the Roman heartland, this was especially true. Nothing drove a growing population quite like a safe home and no threat to the people's livelihood. And the very vast majority of the Roman population was completely content in this.
Nonetheless, there were always those who wanted something
more. Adventurous spirits, exiles, those trying to escape their family or a crime. Any number of reasons, in the end.
And to the North, many of these people went. Some chose to look to the mountains or the deep forest of the Valley, but many chose the fishing villages instead.
It was these hardy folks who thrived on the frontier of Roman society. The sleepy fishing villages began to grow, in their own right, but in a way that escaped central authority. Taxation and the Roman army were almost non-existent, in the cooler northern territories. There was some initial friction between these new arrivals and the preexisting settlements. Roman society was less than a century old in Arcadia, at this point, but many of these villages had been founded decades before the small migrations. It must have seemed odd to these settlers when, suddenly, independent minded Romans began to move into their homes. There might have been more friction, were it not for the fact that there were quite a few similarities between those in the villages, and the new arrivals.
And, of course, the fact that another exile would soon arrive. A man to lead them all and forge something greater than the sum of its parts. For who better to lead exiles and those tired of civilization, than a man exiled from that very civilization?
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So. This shall be my 'kingdom'. My inheritance. Fisherman and rabble barely fit for proper society. I suppose it could have been worse. Father could have blinded and castrated me, before shoving me in a monastery in the mountains.
A young man, in the prime of his life, stared out upon the largest 'village' in the Roman north. It was barely worth the name, consisting of a wooden wall and perhaps two hundred people, living in simple huts with no stonework beyond the squat church at the center of the village. Hardly an awe-inspiring sight. About as far from the gleaming marble and gold of Constantinople as it was possible to be. From what he understood of the Mesoarcadians, it would have been underwhelming even to them and his uncle.
Yet, he smiled.
His father thought to send him where he was no threat to the throne. No threat to his eldest brother. The man bore no ill will towards Leo, who had no choice in the decision. He loathed his father for it, although he had held his tongue, well aware of how
lenient the man had been. No Roman prince could escape the knowledge that far worse fates awaited claimants to the throne. Exile to the north was by far and away the preferable option.
"Not a place fit for a prince to call his court, is it?" The captain of the ship stood beside the Prince. He was one of the few ship captains to routinely brave the northern waters, before returning to Constantinople. "Yet, you'll find no place larger than this for many leagues."
The Prince turned, with a wan smile, "So I have heard. Does this village have a name?"
"Not as such, no. None can agree on what to call it, as it is still a new settlement." The captain shrugged, barking out orders to his crew as the ship moored in the river running next to the village.
For his part, the Prince simply nodded. He had expected as much. It suited him just fine, in any event. If this was to be the place he made his court, for lack of a better term, he would quite like to name it himself. What? No Prince was without their ego. "I see. Well, I will take my leave of you now, my friend. Should I expect you to return regularly, as we discussed?"
"Your coin still pays well, exile or no. Of course."
With a small snort of amuesment, the captain waved the Prince off, as members of his crew arrived to help the noble to a smaller boat. This village had no proper port, and the Prince would have to bear with the indignity of arriving ashore in a rowboat. Strangely, he found little reason to complain about that. From what he know of these people, they would have seen anything else as reason to throw him out. These were a people who valued independence and loathed 'civlization' in all its aspects. They would not have left the Empire for the north if not for that. Even the forests of the valley weren't enough for that. It was enough to make the Prince smile wider when he thought of it. Were he here as an envoy of his father, they would have- politely -thrown him out on his head. The people of this land had no love for the Emperor and his edicts.
That served this Prince just fine. He shared in their dislike for his father.
"Still, I suppose I should think of a name for this place." He idly mused, stroking his beard as he sat in the rowboat. A curious crowd of onlookers had gathered, watching the new arrival. He saw men with unkempt beards, and women wearing threabare dresses.
Yet, for all their roughness, the people seemed healthy. And, if wary, still happy. To a son of Constantinople, it was quite interesting. He would admit he didn't truly understand them, dislike for his father or not. Regardless, he would
have to learn to understand them. These were his people to rule. The core of his little realm, ostensibly under his father's rule. A small and underpopulated land of exiles, that would never be a threat to Constantinople, nor the line of his brother. Leo wouldn't see him as such a threat, the Prince liked to think, but that point remained. He was gaining a land of unruly exiles and fisherman. Not a land of proper Romans.
Then, what
was a proper Roman, really?
Looking at the river, stretching inland as far as his eyes could follow, the Prince smiled once more.
Ah. That should do, I think.
Pýlitou Vorrá. 'Gate of the North'.
[3]
Prince Romanos, the exiled third son of Emperor Heraklonas, was home. A home that he wouldn't have chosen for himself, yet a home he would
make for himself.
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The arrival of Romanos to the northern lands changed less than one might assume. He was not thrown out immediately, as he might have been were he an envoy of his father. He was also hardly able to instantly form a princedom out of the people he found. The independence minded fisherman and settlers had no more desire to follow a Prince than they did an Emperor. Romanos had to work to earn their trust, and that would be a slow process indeed. Even so, he took to it with a passion.
Comparisons can, of course, be made with his uncle, Demetrios. And his cousion, Theodoros. Men who had left home and found a new people to call their own, be it the
Purépecha or the Maya.
These would be innacurate, however.
Romanos lived among Romans. Romans who had left the Empire, proper, but Romans nonetheless. He did not find a native princess to catch his eye, and heart. He didn't live among a people unlike his own, far from home. For all intents and purposes, he remained within the Roman Empire and ruled over Romans. It simply happened to be on the frontier of that Empire, with those who had left the core lands. Quite a different scenario, surface level similarities aside. Romanos found a new home that was broadly the same as his old home, wood and sod aside. If there were any similarity, past the obvious, it was in Romanos finding his calling on the edge of civilization. Or, at least, Roman civilization. He would never see the throne of the Empire, but here in the cool north, he found a throne...of sorts.
With the freedom of action that came from his nobility, he proceeded to completely ignore his father's edicts, and begin exploring his new realm. He hired ships and built more of his own. The explorations that had largely come to an end under Heraklonas began again, looking for anything of note. It was commonly accepted there would be no great stockpiles of gold, or shining cities like Mesoarcadia. However, the various rivers were certainly worth exploring. And, further still to the north, there were persistent rumors of an island of warriors. That, in particular, interested Romanos. He found the idea of warlike natives in these lands to be...surprising, in a way. Conflicts were a fact of life, yet
warriors were thin on the ground, as it were. The tribes the fisherman were familiar with were, by and large, peaceful. Or, at the least, not particularly warlike.
This rumored tribe, however, was both warlike and apparently quite skilled seaman. It was interesting.
[4]
The resurgence in exploration did little to change the lives on the Roman frontier, in the end, however. That continued much as it had, Romanos aside. Fisherman plied their trade, sea lions and beavers were hunted down, and the Roman frontiersman continued ignoring the rest of the Empire In a way, it was hardly dissimilar to life on the fringes of any Empire or Kingdom in Europe. The old Roman Empire included. If there was any difference at all? Well, it was in the lack of an enemy raiding villages. It was a peaceful life, where change was rare and incredibly hard to pull off. A true frontier, where only the hardiest would find their new lives.
1. For many years, arguably for centuries, Constantinople had fallen from her peak. The city had been ground down, with the population dying or leaving for the countryside. The farms inside the walls were not for show. Many grand buildings, even the
Sophia herself, had fallen into disrepair. That was the state Constantinople arrived in Elyisum, in 1453. In 1518, when Romanos was exiled to the North, this was no longer the case. Constantinople had reached new heights, with grand buildings replacing the farms. The
Hagia Sophia was clad in gold, and the palaces became opulent once more. Even the homes of the lower class were magnificent, in comparison to what they once were. It was quite a change, for less than a century of growth.
2. Much like the tribes of Elysium, those of the northern coastal lands were largely primitive. They lacked proper states, in the European sense, and often lived in temporary villages. They were not a simple people, not at all, but they were far from the grand Mesoarcadian cities as well. This made Roman expansion easy, but it also meant there was little incentive to trade with these natives. This is partially responsible for the lack of exploration and expansion, past the early days.
3. Sitting on a large river, this quaint village would become the growing capital of Romanos' realm in the north. It would never be the equal of Dragases, and certainly not Constantinople, but it would begin to grow with investments and immigration from the south. Wooden walls and huts were replaced by stone fortifications and large homes. It would be some time, yet, before it would qualify as a city. The core was certainly there, though, and the Prince would work to expand upon his capital as he gained the trust of his people.
4. This tribe, the Haida, would be one of the more interesting encounters for the northern Romans. Certainly, one of the most consolidated and relatively advanced tribes of the area. Initial relations would shape much of the actions of Romanos' realm, in the future.
AN: Not entirely happy with this, but eh, it's something to get up. Wanted to be clear that this isn't meant as 'another Roman prince off on his own'. Romanos' situation is not the same as Demetrios or Theodoros. He's still in the Roman Empire, he's not going off to some native state. He's certainly not finding some native princess to shack up with. However, it was established that the third of Heraklonas' sons went off to the North to form his own realm of sorts. That is where this came from. As well as a look at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, which is...basically the place that people who don't want to live in 'civilization' have gone off to. You know the type, probably, and just because the Empire is rich and safe, that doesn't mean you won't have people like this.
It stands to reason that the north, without any major trade or such, would be less enticing to the central authorities. Expanding to the south opens up trade with Mesoarcadia and Europe.
Expanding to the north gets...a lot of mostly empty land, with largely primitive natives. And a lot of fish, seals and sea lions. As well as beavers, inland. Certainly economically viable, but not really worth a lot of central effort. The perfect place for an exiled prince to end up calling home. Or so the intention went.
Hopefully that worked out well enough. Not sure, yet, what the next update will look at. Hopefully won't take as long, without SUDDEN COLD cutting things off >.>
(as for the name of Romanos' capital, well, Google Translate is Google Translate. Obviously, if anyone who actually speaks Greek chimes in, that can be changed.)
