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The Pax Aureliana lasted for about a century. Peace and stability returned to the empire maintained by a renewed Roman military, but it was not to last. Religious tension between rose between the faiths, both new and old, of the empire. Jesus, Sol Invictus, Mithras, and more all vying for power in the empire. These tensions were only temporarily lessened by the Valentinian Compromise of 1130 AUC. Furthermore, a new threat emerged to the north as tribes, in numbers not before seen, began streaming towards the empire. It is not entirely clear among historians why, some blaming the Huns, others climate change, and some population pressures. Regardless the empire faced a new emergency, the Crisis of the 12th Century. The Empire survived, thanks in large part to strong generals like Aetius, who became emperor in 1185. While the crisis didn’t see the empire collapse it did see regional governors and generals accumulate more power, the break down of the system of succession put in place by Aurelian and Valentinian, and the settling of some Germanic tribes within the empire. Ultimately this paved the way for a much more devastating crisis.

When Aetius died suddenly in 1203 AUC he was succeeded by his young son Gaudentius, under the guardianship of the general Litorius. However upon the general’s death later that year Heraclius, in collaboration with the Senate, murdered the boy emperor, seizing the title for himself. Gaudentius’ seven year old brother was smuggled by loyal supporters to Britain. The situation reached a tipping point, and the empire exploded. First to the north along the Rhine and Danube the Governor, a follower of the cult of Mithras, seized the opportunity declared himself Emperor Mithraius and prepared his legions to seize control. Palladius the Governor of Africa also declared himself Emperor, cutting of the grain supply to the city of Rome. All three of these to be Emperors were pagan, and in response Theodosius, a radical Christian governor in the east, raised himself as Emperor in opposition. Across the the empire regional warlords aligned themselves with the different claimants.

It would be Theodosius’ declaration that transformed the political struggle into a religious one. Riots broke out across the empire between rival faiths and sects. Citizens massacred each other in the streets as the armies butchered each other in the fields. Rome descended into a period of unrivaled turmoil known to history as the Anno Chao, or Years of Chaos.

The opening phase saw a number of clashes. Mithraius engaged the Heraclian forces in Gaul defeating the combined armies of the warlord Ausonius and the Burgundians at the Battle of Matisco in the Spring of 1204. Ausonius died in the battle, and the other warlords of Gaul opted to defect to Mithraius, who in 1205 crossed the Alps and invaded Italy.

Theodosius in the East got caught up in a war with the Sassanids. Valentinus, his ally across the Aegean, was left on his own against the old experienced general Parthenius, a loyal Hercalian. The campaign in Greece and Macedonia was long but ultimately saw Valentinus defeated in several battles. He met his end when his legion, Legio XI Claudia, mutinied at Corinth in 1205.

Theodosius feared Parthenius would invade Anatolia while he was still preoccupied in the east. As such he cut a deal with the Huns. The Hunnic King Bleda, with Theodosius’ blessing, invaded across the Danube meeting Parthenius at the Battle of Oescus in 1206. Miraculously at the marshy plains outside of the city, Parthenius’ army, which also consisted of a small Gepid force, was able to trounce the slightly larger Hunnic force, preventing a potentially catastrophic Hunnic rampage into the Balkans.

Description
Description
The Pax Aureliana lasted for about a century. Peace and stability returned to the empire maintained by a renewed Roman military, but it was not to last. Religious tension between rose between the faiths, both new and old, of the empire. Jesus, Sol Invictus, Mithras, and more all vying for power in the empire. These tensions were only temporarily lessened by the Valentinian Compromise of 1130 AUC. Furthermore, a new threat emerged to the north as tribes, in numbers not before seen, began streaming towards the empire. It is not entirely clear among historians why, some blaming the Huns, others climate change, and some population pressures. Regardless the empire faced a new emergency, the Crisis of the 12th Century. The Empire survived, thanks in large part to strong generals like Aetius, who became emperor in 1185. While the crisis didn’t see the empire collapse it did see regional governors and generals accumulate more power, the break down of the system of succession put in place by Aurelian and Valentinian, and the settling of some Germanic tribes within the empire. Ultimately this paved the way for a much more devastating crisis.

When Aetius died suddenly in 1203 AUC he was succeeded by his young son Gaudentius, under the guardianship of the general Litorius. However upon the general’s death later that year Heraclius, in collaboration with the Senate, murdered the boy emperor, seizing the title for himself. Gaudentius’ seven year old brother was smuggled by loyal supporters to Britain. The situation reached a tipping point, and the empire exploded. First to the north along the Rhine and Danube the Governor, a follower of the cult of Mithras, seized the opportunity declared himself Emperor Mithraius and prepared his legions to seize control. Palladius the Governor of Africa also declared himself Emperor, cutting of the grain supply to the city of Rome. All three of these to be Emperors were pagan, and in response Theodosius, a radical Christian governor in the east, raised himself as Emperor in opposition. Across the the empire regional warlords aligned themselves with the different claimants.

It would be Theodosius’ declaration that transformed the political struggle into a religious one. Riots broke out across the empire between rival faiths and sects. Citizens massacred each other in the streets as the armies butchered each other in the fields. Rome descended into a period of unrivaled turmoil known to history as the Anno Chao, or Years of Chaos.

The opening phase saw a number of clashes. Mithraius engaged the Heraclian forces in Gaul defeating the combined armies of the warlord Ausonius and the Burgundians at the Battle of Matisco in the Spring of 1204. Ausonius died in the battle, and the other warlords of Gaul opted to defect to Mithraius, who in 1205 crossed the Alps and invaded Italy.

Theodosius in the East got caught up in a war with the Sassanids. Valentinus, his ally across the Aegean, was left on his own against the old experienced general Parthenius, a loyal Hercalian. The campaign in Greece and Macedonia was long but ultimately saw Valentinus defeated in several battles. He met his end when his legion, Legio XI Claudia, mutinied at Corinth in 1205.

Theodosius feared Parthenius would invade Anatolia while he was still preoccupied in the east. As such he cut a deal with the Huns. The Hunnic King Bleda, with Theodosius’ blessing, invaded across the Danube meeting Parthenius at the Battle of Oescus in 1206. Miraculously at the marshy plains outside of the city, Parthenius’ army, which also consisted of a small Gepid force, was able to trounce the slightly larger Hunnic force, preventing a potentially catastrophic Hunnic rampage into the Balkans.