1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 67 Armenians

If the history of Europe is a drama, then France is the undisputed protagonist.

The entire French region is hexagonal, with three sides bordering the ocean and three sides controlling the land.

English Channel, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea,
Lowlands, Rhine, Alps, Pyrenees.

Just from these place names, we can see the superior geographical location of France.

At present, the population of France as a whole is far higher than that of other European countries, and its huge population of more than 20 million is far superior to other countries.

In contrast, the so-called Holy Roman Empire had a total population of 15 million, and the powerful Ottoman Empire had only more than 6 million.

The Hundred Years' War between England and France caused immeasurable damage to northern France, but it also aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the grassroots people and gave birth to the spark of nationalism throughout northern France.

The British may not have known it, but they had unleashed a horrible monster.

Baron Conti, accompanied by several of his followers, rode in a carriage along a narrow road in the French countryside.

After returning to France, a country he had not visited for a long time, Conte was not as excited as he had imagined. Instead, he felt a sense of alienation.

His hometown was destroyed by the British and his leader died at the trial of a French bishop.

For him, there are not many precious memories here anymore.

The sound of horse-drawn carriages rumbled by, and a small wooden fortress appeared before our eyes.

This place is located in the southern part of the Kingdom of France, deep in the mountains at the junction of Toulouse and Provence. It is usually sparsely populated and rarely seen with merchants and travelers.

Baron Conti and his entourage got off the carriage and came to the small fortress.

Whoosh—whoosh—

Several arrows were shot down from the fortress and hit Conti in front of him, stirring up a large cloud of dust.

Conte stopped.

"Philip, it's me."

"Conte? We thought you were dead."

Philip on the fortress turned around and shouted loudly below.

"Open the door! We are one!"

The gate slowly rose with a creaking sound, and Conte and his entourage walked into the fortress.

"Conte, what are you doing now?"

Philip jumped down from the wall and looked at Conte with a smile.

"Still working as a mercenary?"

"Or be a male companion to some noble lady?"

Philip looked up and down at Conte's face, which had become more mature and handsome after years of vicissitudes, and curled his lips.

"The person standing before you is the lord of Shuy Oasis and Valka Village, a noble of the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, Baron Conti from the Dubois family!"

Before Conte could say anything, the followers beside him were the first to speak up for their master.

"The Kingdom of Cyrenaica?"

Philip thought hard, turned around and looked at the crowd that had gathered.

“Has anyone heard of this?”

"Boss, last time I went to town to buy medicine, an Italian businessman mentioned it!"

"A newly founded kingdom in North Africa."

Someone in the crowd reminded.

Philip laughed playfully.

"Conte, a minor noble from a small North African country, bought your martial arts?"

"Who will recognize your title?"

"The Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople."

Conte was serious.

With a wave of his hand, the servant beside him took out the noble documents.

Philip's smile froze on his face.

"Then, dear Baron, you are not here just to show off to your poor friend, right?"

Conte looked at Philippe and pointed around.

"Do what you need to do! Go, go, go!"

Philip immediately understood and waved his hand to drive his subordinates away.

Philippe took Conte into his tent, pulled out a dirty bottle from under the bed and poured himself a glass.

After thinking for a while, he took out a small cup and poured wine for Conte, his face full of pain.

"I am wanted, and I have nothing else to offer you, Baron."

Philip bowed dramatically.

"How has the south been these years?"

Conte did not refuse, drank the wine in the glass, then skillfully grabbed the bottle and filled it up for himself.

"not good."

Philip said bluntly.

"The imperial edicts are getting more and more intense. The governors of various places regard us as a scourge and want to wipe us out completely."

Conte nodded. This was similar to the information he had heard.

During the Hundred Years' War between England and France, a large number of mercenary organizations emerged, mainly composed of landless knights from all over the country and the second sons of small nobles without inheritance rights. They made great contributions to the victory of the war for the Kingdom of France.

These people had no fixed income and lived on commissions and war profits. They often plundered local areas and robbed merchants.

In 1445, the war between England and France came to a temporary halt. King Charles VII of France, who was eager to centralize power, was determined to eliminate the restless factors in these places. Based on the armored cavalry regiment he founded when he was the crown prince, he established a cavalry company specifically responsible for arresting illegal mercenary groups.

Imperial Knights, also known as Gendarmerie Knights and Gendarmerie Cavalry.

Over the next two hundred years, this group of well-equipped and loyal armored knights continued to appear on various battlefields, establishing a great reputation and being known as the "Flower of Knights."

"I heard that the Crown Prince and the King are in conflict and are almost going to fight. Do they still have the energy to care about your mess?"

Conte asked.

The Crown Prince of France, later King Louis XI, can be regarded as a model of a "filial son".

Prince Louis has been against his father Charles VII since he was a child, leading the rebellion of the great feudal nobles in 1440, the Agena uprising in 1446 and the recent secession movement.

Under Louis's rule, the French Prince's territory almost became an independent kingdom. He expelled the officials sent by his father, placed his cronies in office, set up agencies, and implemented a foreign policy that was completely different from that of his father.

At present, the conflict between the two sides has accumulated to a critical point. Charles VII still cares about the last bit of family affection and does not want to take action against Louis.

"Don't mention it."

Philip stuck out his tongue and shook his head.

"Louis is even more vicious than his father. He would kill any disobedient mercenaries he caught without even going through a trial."

"Our brothers in the north are more miserable than us."

The mercenary leader drank the last drop of wine, put the bottle mouth to his eyes, and tried to look inside.

Conte looked behind him and saw his attendant took out a bottle of fine wine and handed it to Philip with disgust.

Philip's eyes sparkled. He lifted the bottle, bit off the cork, and gulped down the drink.

"Where is it from? It has an indescribable feeling, it doesn't seem like a local wine."

“St. Joseph’s, my own vineyard.”

After drinking the wine, Philip sighed with contentment, wiped his mouth, and looked at Conte with meaningful eyes.

"Conte, just say what you want to say. There's no point in hiding it."

Conte smiled.

"Are you still in touch with the others?"

"Your Majesty, are you looking for me?"

Captain Fidel appeared in Isaac's study in the Black Castle, looking exhausted.

"sit."

Isaac called out.

Fidel sat down, picked up the glass of water and drank it all.

"Mr. Fidel, do you remember me?"

Father Pierni, who was hiding nearby, suddenly spoke, startling Fidel.

"You...Pirni from Adana?"

Fidel frowned and it took him a long time to remember.

"Yes, thank you for remembering me..."

Pirnie nodded repeatedly.

"This Pierni, sir, is the Cilician priest I have spoken of to you."

Isaac nodded.

In 1448, Isaac sent Captain Fidel, who was robbing at sea, to pay attention to the situation of Orthodox Christians in Karamanbey and Ramazanbey and try to contact them.

Pirni was one of Fidel's achievements during this trip.

But Isaac's power was too weak at that time, so Pirney did not take him seriously.

It was not until the end of the Cyrenaica War and the formal establishment of the kingdom that Pirni began to remember Isaac.

After consulting with the local church, Pirni decided to follow Synodal and Anathasius to meet the new master of Cyrenaica.

"Father Pirni, please tell us your plan in detail. It will also be a good opportunity for Fidel's fleet to refer to it and assess its feasibility."

"Your Highness, how much do you know about us?"

How much do you know?

"I know your past, understand your present, and can foresee your future."

Isaac smiled.

Cilician Armenia, a nation formed by refugees.

The Armenian mountain people originally lived in the Armenian Highlands in the Caucasus region for generations. When the Eastern Roman Empire was strong, Armenia was the most loyal vassal, providing troops for the empire and guarding the empire's eastern border.

The empire did not owe them anything, as many generals at that time came from Armenia.

With the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Manzikert, the Armenian Highlands were lost, the Eastern Roman Empire was severely damaged, and it retreated to the Anatolian Peninsula to defend itself.

After that, the Armenians, unable to bear the exploitation of the Turks, fled south and established a new kingdom in the Cilicia region.

This country was once very prosperous, absorbing advanced systems and culture from Western Europe and Eastern Rome, and using its geographical advantages to make a fortune in the Crusades.

Later, several major families in Cilicia fought among themselves and were gradually eroded by the Mamluks during their heyday.

In 1375, the last Armenian stronghold was captured by the Mamluks, and the Armenian Kingdom was declared extinct.

Although the country has perished, a large number of local Armenian communities still exist and live under Muslim rule.

This is also an old tradition, deliberately keeping pagans to facilitate the collection of high jizya taxes.

This policy is very effective when a country is strong. It can integrate a country in a short period of time and enable it to maximize its energy.

However, when the country begins to decline, the ruling class will find that these pagans of different cultures have become too powerful to be controlled and have become the fuse of domestic conflicts.

How to do it?

kill.

This was the case with the horrific Armenian genocide that occurred in the 20th century.

"As you can imagine, we are now living under the rule of pagans, and life is becoming increasingly difficult."

Pirnie spread his hands.

"Oh? I remember that you were famous for your docility a few decades ago. Mamluks, Karamans, Ramazans, no matter who ruled you, you always paid taxes honestly."

"Your Highness, in the past, taxes were low and we just had to put up with it. But now things are very different."

Father Pierney looked somewhat gloomy.

"It's all the Karaman's fault. Successive generations of Karaman Beys have been keen on various wars, provoking the Ottomans in the west and plundering Ramazan and even Mamluks in the east, turning the entire peaceful Cilicia into a mess!"

"The Karamans won few battles and lost many. When they lost a war, they would impose taxes on Christians, take men from our communities, and then use the money from the taxes to continue the war, over and over again."

"Our believers are currently mainly distributed in the Karamanbey and Ramazanbey countries. The two sides have been at war for years, and our blood has been shed!"

"We heard that you defeated the Mamluk Sultan. I wonder if you can save us from this suffering?"

When Father Pirney got to the exciting part of his speech, he waved his hands in indignation.

Isaac signaled him to calm down and complained in his heart.

What's going on? Looking south at Wang's division, I found that Wang's division has expanded from a company to a regiment, so I started to have some ideas?
"Why don't you go and ask the Lusignans in Cyprus?"

"I remember that the current King of Cyprus is also the King of Cilician Armenia."

After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom, the last king fled to Europe and gave the throne to his nephew, who was then the King of Cyprus.

From then on, the Lusignan family wore three crowns at the same time and dominated the European continent.

When talking about Cyprus, Pirni was obviously a little disdainful.

"The Lusignan family was frightened by the Mamluks. Since Peter I, they have been defending the island for generations and don't care about our lives at all."

He paused.

"Besides, we would rather live under the oppression of Muslims than with Roman Catholics."

"These people don't see us as brothers at all."

Isaac thought for a moment.

"Have you ever thought about overthrowing Muslim rule and regaining your freedom?"

Isaac's original intention in contacting the Armenians was to incite them to rebel and thus divert the Mamluks' attention.

"Well...we..."

Pirnie stammered.

"How about this,"

Isaac no longer troubled this poor man who was unwilling to endure exploitation but also unwilling to rise up in rebellion.

"If you are willing to pledge allegiance to me and serve me as your Lord, I can allow you to settle on my land and pay the same taxes and labor service as the Orthodox Christians."

"On religious issues, I can grant the Armenian Apostolic Church some autonomy, which can be found in the agreement reached between the Egyptian Coptic Church and me."

"You can migrate to Cyrenaica, register there, and live together with the Orthodox Christians."

Isaac decided to accept these Armenian refugees, just as the Eastern Roman emperor had allowed them to leave the Caucasus and settle in Cilicia.

"Captain Fidel will be in charge of connecting with you."

Pirnie wanted to say something else but was interrupted by Isaac.

"This is my last act of mercy. It is up to you to accept it or not."

Reverend Pierney thanked him, bowed and left.

"But we have agreed that I will soon join forces with the Republic of Genoa to conduct a sweep of the Anatolian coast if you and the Armenians fail to give me a definite signal."

Pirnie turned around and looked at Isaac in astonishment.

"Then I would naturally conclude that you are in league with the pagans."

Isaac spread his hands.

"When the time comes, don't blame me for being merciless."

(End of this chapter)