Patriarchate of Antioch

## History

### **The Druze Mountain Rebellion & Great Flood (1919-1927)**

In 1919,  the Kingdom of Syria was established under Emir Faisal I of the Hashemite dynasty, he would later go on to be more famously the Emir of the Sinai. The same year Syrian National Congress proclaimed Faisal as king of Syria "in its natural boundaries" from the Taurus mountains in Turkey to the Sinai desert in Egypt. However, his rule in Syria ended after only a few months following a clash between his Syrian Arab forces and French forces at the Battle of Maysalun. French troops took control of Syria and forced Faisal to flee.

Later that year the San Remo conference split up Faisal's kingdom by placing Syria-Lebanon under a French mandate, and Palestine under British control. Syria was divided into three autonomous regions by the French, with separate areas for the Alawis on the coast and the Druze in the south.

Nationalist agitation against French rule led to Sultan al-Atrash leading a revolt that broke out in the Druze mountain in October 1919, and spread across the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon. The revolt saw fierce battles between widely supported rebel forces and French forces in Damascus, Homs and Hama. By December of that year it was clear the French were losing.

In order to secure the territory, a French force of 75,000 strong was sent to Syria under the command of General Henri Gouraud, to aid the French forces already there. General Gouraud was sent by French leader Philippe Petain with two objectives: quell local dissent and re-affirm French control, and prepare a staging ground for an invasion of the Ottomans, should the need arise. When the flood began in 1920, the majority of the French fleet sent to Syria was either destroyed or damaged so badly the ships were deemed non-salvageable. Communications with France also failed to return any responses by February 1920—the French soldiers were on their own.

By October of 1920 General Gouraud first retook control of Damascus, and established the city as the main command of the French Forces, and soon after had taken control of the surrounding areas, establishing a temporary state known as the French Damascus Freehold. One of the few areas that remained under French control.

Christmas Day 1920, Gregory IV, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East declared the “Miracle of Antioch and the Sea”, in which the waters of the of the flood spared most of the city including the seat of his Bishopric. Contemplating in prayer and meditation he asked by God would choose to save his seat but failed to save those of the “larger” bishops in Rome and Constantinople, as well as the seat of the bishopric of Alexandria. Only his seat, and the seat of his predecessor Patriarch Gerasimos I, who had since presided in Jerusalem, had been saved. Together Patriarchs Gregory IV, corresponding with his mentor Gerasimos I, declared the cause flood the will of man but the ending of the flood the will of God. Those who were pious, were saved and those who were impious had suffered. Furthermore it was the responsibility of those who been saved, to use their lives and undamaged resources to aid those who had suffered—it was their responsibility to show the suffering & impious the will and mercy of God. In a joint declaration called the Biarchy Declaration of 1920, the two Patriarchs offered sanctuary to the Orthodox Christians of the world that were adversely affected by the flood. This declaration offered orthodox christians to seek refuge and faith amongst their wisdom, and should these people come they would be welcomed with food, hearth, and the guidance of God.

March 1921 Druze rebels openly assaulted the French Damascus Freehold, during the Siege of French Damascus—attempting to take control of the city and end centralized French control. However the Druze rebels suffered heavily due to the heavily fortified encampments out the city—dubbed “Gouraud Line”. Artillery, had been well established and there was limited but present French air support that aided in the defense. In a 9 week attempted siege the Druze lost an estimated 35,000 men, while French losses were an estimated 5,500.

Beaten back after the results of the Siege of French Damascus, the Druze retreated to Druze Mountain, their main base of operations and political support. Their leader, Sultan al-Atrash took the bulk of the forces there to re-cooperate, re-organize, recruit & train more soldiers. By late August 1921 general Gouraud had received intelligence of Druze rebel activity in the area, and ordered aerial scouting missions. While the Druze were already entrenched, the French suffered minimal losses from these reconnaissance mission due to the lack of Druze air support—and limited anti-aircraft capabilities rendered the Druze more vulnerable.

September 1st, 1921 the assault on Druze Mountain had begun, which Sultan al-Atrash had fortified further during French reconnaissance operations. The battle was 4 days of continuous fighting with an estimated 50k total deaths on both sides. By the end Sultan al-Atrash was captured by French forces, and was taken back to Damascus to stand trial for his crimes against both the French government and the French Damascus Freehold. On September 11th, 1921 al-Atrash was publicly executed by firing squad ending the Druze Mountain rebellion. General Gouraud was famously quoted as saying “We have cut off the head of the snake, and we will ensure that two heads do not take its place—the Levant is not the land of the hydra. It is the land of the French”.

It would seem that the French had achieved a great victory and secured their dominance, but for the French ruling the land proved more difficult than conquering it. By December 1922 nearly 2 years after the Biarchy Declaration of 1920 the Levant had seen an influx of roughly 3.5 million migrants—not just Christian but of people of all faiths and cultures who sought both sanctuary, and refuge. In a two year period 850,000 migrants had traveled to the city of Damascus. The French forces that remained there were little over 18,000—and as the central government of the Freehold they were ill-equip to deal with influx.

By June 1923 the strain placed on the government’s limited resources had become too much to bare, lack of access to adequate food, water, and economic opportunities led to the June 14th event locally colloquial called the “Bon-Voyage”, but formally known as the Fall of the Freehold. A small riot in the markets quickly got out of hand, and the French did not maintain enough of a force in the city to quell the riot. In the chaos General Gouraud was shot in the abdomen and died 4 days later. Conflicting sources argue different causes, one major theory is that Gouraud was shot by a nationalist sect and likely former Druze rebels that had infiltrated the city amongst the immigrants, while another claims it was an accidental misfire from a junior officer during the riot. There was never an official death toll for the Fall of the Freehold, but it is certain that several hundred thousand civilians were killed or severely injured in the event.

What is certain that without Gouraud’s leadership the French abdicated the city to the masses, and the senior officers ordered the remaining troops began a long march north to reconvene with other French forces in Homs. The most senior officers held a council in Homs to determine their next course of action. Roger Michaud was selected to be General Gouraud’s replacement as head of the French military forces in Syria as acting General. Many of the senior officers blamed the Biarchy Declaration of 1920 for the Fall of the Freehold. While the council was split on the issue, acting General Michaud decided to placate his officers and confront the nearest of the two Biarchs, Gregory IV, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East in an effort to convince him to rescind the declaration so their military forces could stabilize the region.

On July 1923 the majority of the French forces had reached Antioch and they found the city had received a similar influx of refugees, but had not suffered as significant strain on their local leader and state services. Instead, most the people had been put to work on rebuilding the lower city, which had flooded. Things were not totally harmonious, but Antioch was not only in a better civil state than Damascus, but also had better social and economic conditions. Michaud and a small group of his forces, roughly 200 men approached the cathedral of Patriarch Gregory IV, which was renamed after the flood becoming, The Holy Miracle Towering Over the Waves of Sin Cathedral and found it had been turned into a refugee house center. Unable to find the Patriarch, they were told he was in the lower city leading the refugee and reconstruction efforts. Famously Gregory was found by the French military leader to be working construction himself despite his age, and he wore no shoes for he had given them away.

Michaud tried to insist to the Patriarch of Antioch that his declaration must be repudiated, but Patriarch Gregory IV was adamant that it is the duty of those who are able to help those who are unable. After much discussion Michaud was swayed not only to give up on his endeavor to have the Biarchy Declaration rescinded, but also to aid the Patriarch. While Michaud was not Orthodox he too was a devout Christian, and saw the merit of both Gregory IV’s theological and humanitarian arguments. With the Patriarch’s agreement Michaud offered to provide security and labor to the redeveloping city. While it had not yet been declared as an independent state, historians have a level of general consensus that the union between the Patriarch and the French military in Syria laid the foundations for what would later become the sovereign state of Patriarchate of Antioch.

By the end of this relative period of peace in 1927 Antioch had become one the most prosperous cities in the Levant. Now a costal city with a new port the city had become a trade center, and immigrants continued to enter the city creating a greater surrounding community along the Antiochian bay—becoming the closest thing possible to a mega city in the post-flood world. A ruling council had been established consisting of both senior officers of the French forces, and the senior clergy, called the Council of Seniors, which acted as the region’s supreme executive, legislative, and judicial authority. However each borough in Antioch proper, and greater Antioch had their own local council of leaders elected from amongst themselves, able to pass local laws and ordinances. Likewise each local council could send one representative from amongst themselves to The Holy Miracle Towering Over the Waves of Sin to sit in and have their voices heard by the Council of Seniors, whenever it was convened. While the culture and values of the Greek orthodox clergy and French military officers were quite different, differences amongst the two factions were usually quite effectively quelled by Patriarch Gregory IV and acting General Michaud. In the post great flood world, the Antiochians and the stranded French had developed a new life for themselves that seemed to be working.

### Syrian Civil War & Genocide (1928-1940)

By mid 1928 the regions known as Syria and Palestine had been entirely and totally fractured from post-flood immigration and civil conflicts such as the Druze Mountain revolt. Antioch—while not formally an independent state functionally was its own sovereign territory. The local population of Damascus had been able to install a mostly functional government, and like Antioch was functionally an independent city state. To the far east Sunni Muslims flocked to the Zaid Caliphate founded and led by Zaid Sa’di—a strict and radical Wahhabist. The majority of the Druze in the south lived under their own functional state, which was formally declared as an independent sovereign state after its constitution was signed on August 19th, 1928 named The Drusian Republic. Various Kurdish communities were concentrated around the Euphrates river, working together in a loose and informal confederacy. There also were smaller local powers in various regions of the Syrian desert, but the desert remained mostly uninhabited wastes.

On 3rd December of 1928 the Syrian Civil War began after the Zaid Caliphate declared the whole of Syria a Sunni state, and demanded the various communities of Syria to acknowledge the Caliphate as the rightful government. Mostly the communities of Syria repudiated the control of the Zaid Caliphate, but it was recognized by roughly half of the settlements of the informal Kurdish confederacy. By January 19th 1929 the Zaid Caliphate had taken control of the Kurdish settlements of Dijjah, and Al Artareg, which had not recognized the authority of the caliphate . After rebels of Dijjah successful assassinated the Zaid General Abul-Fazl Fouad via car bomb, the Zaid Caliphate instituted a policy of relocation for fighting age males. Those 14 and older were rounded up and forcibly relocated deep within the Caliphate’s territory. Not long after the subjugation of these communities did the Caliphate also institute a policy of Jizya for all non-sunni households.

That same January the French military forces of Antioch under direction from the Council of Seniors instituted a draft and began the training of a larger military force. The city of Damascus, and the Drusian Republic also instituted similar policies in March and January respectively. By late May, Antioch had established its first domestically produced fighting force, composed of 4 divisions, two comprising their own corps. However, these corps maintained mostly French officers, taken from the remaining French Corps. The Council of Seniors believed that this would be a sufficient force to defend the city of Antioch.

By mid August the Caliphate had begun to press into the border regions along Antioch, deeming a Christian state “unfit to exist” and a “perversion of Allah’s will”. While at this point conflict was light between the two powers, that changed in November when the Caliphate ordered a wide-spread firebombing of Antioch. This event, known as the Flame of Antioch ignited a domestic will for retaliation amongst the populace. The lack of sufficient Antiochian air capabilities to prevent the attack also allowed for the Council of Seniors to establish the Holy Antiochian Sky Force (HASF), and while the The Holy Miracle Towering Over the Waves of Sin was targeted by the Caliphate—it never once was hit.

On land however, the Caliphate was not able to take considerable Antiochian territory, and their strategy changed that winter. Instead of continuing their advance west into Antioch, they marched south in an attempt to take Damascus. Damascus too proved to be a difficult campaign, and the Caliphate’s support in part depended on securing the region for strict muslim rule. By summer 1930, the Caliphate had decided to remove their remaining forces entrenched along the borders Antioch and other areas and commit fully to the Damascus campaign.

After 3 long bloody years, the Caliphate managed to secure Damascus, in 1933 they instituted Jizya in Damascus and worked to relocate people deemed problematic into territories in the east more securely under their control. The Druze Republic has also fallen to the Caliphate shortly after in October 1933, but they established a provisional government in exile and various Druze tribes broke out establishing a Druze resistance. These Druze fighters targeted supply lines, and conducted somewhat successful assassinations of Caliphate political and military officers. By May 1934 the Caliphate began rounding up Druze nationals and placing them in “Druze Exclusive Reservations Zones”, the most famous Al-Ki’ir was established 24 miles east of Damascus.

In February 1935 the Caliphate had completed training a new military division, and cemented their control over the region. Antioch was their only remaining major opposition for control of Syria. Given their success during the Flame of Antioch it was decided that their superior air power would be used to topple infrastructure and demoralize the Antiochian populace into submission. They did not however anticipate the rapid development of the HASF, which had established 3 major airships in a rather short amount of time. The HASF Antioch, HASF Patrii, HASF Petros were fully functional and designed for repelling another Flame of Antioch type event. Their strength was supplemented by nearly  12 dozen light, single engine planes and on-the-ground AntiAir defenses.

The air assaults of the Caliphate were repelled effectively in more than 30 attempts. These attempts stopped after the Caliphate’s numerical superiority of aircraft began to reach parity with Antioch. The Antiochians knew that in the Caliphate’s western frontier, Damascus was the head of military theatre. The HASF Patrii and HASF Petros along with a compliment of light fighters were sent to bombard and destroy their major military installations. On December 25th, 1935 the bombarding of Damascus began—in this battle the HASF Petros was lost but so too was the majority of the Caliphate’s military infrastructure.

Given the success of the attack the Council of Seniors decided to liberate Damascus, and the first division was sent to take control of the city. 3 months later, Damascus was under Antiochian control. What the Antiochians found in Damascus disturbed them, the city had been divided into 3 sectors. The military sector had been mostly destroyed by the bombing of the previous year, but the two other sectors were mostly undamaged from that attack, there was a sector for Sunni muslims, which made up ab 55% of the city by area, and non-sunni muslims were pushed into another sector about 15% of the city by area. Christians were kept in appalling conditions, lack of access to clean water, 3-6 families shoved into single room housing. It was around this time the Antiochians learned of people being dragged off in the night, someplace to the east. At first it was believed they were taken deep into the Caliphate’s territory which they had been known to do.

July 15th, 1936 an aerial team discovered the Caliphate outpost of Al-ki’ir, a force of Antiochians were deployed and discovered the horrors the Caliphate had wrought. It was a concentration camp, no, it was an extermination camp. Built into an oilfield, a large pit burned eternally in which bodies of those the Caliphate deemed undesirable were disposed of. The Al-Ki’ir body pit still burns, to this day. It is estimated that around 750,000 people were killed at Al-Ki’ir, mostly Druze, Christians, Kurds, and sexual minorities, however numbers will never be confirmed due to the nature of how bodies were disposed.

This discovery led to a developing sense Antiochian nationalism of Anti-Caliphate sentiment both in Antioch and Damascus, where the Antiochians were viewed as liberators. The discovery led to a renewed will for war and destruction of the genocidal Caliphate. It was time for Antioch to end the Caliphate’s tyranny for the security of all people.

By March 1st 1937, the Antiochians had reinvigorated their military forces, and instituted a mandatory draft to do so. That month, the marched eastward, liberating Kurdish settlements that had been occupied by the Caliphate. The first major battle occurred at Al Artareg. The battle of Al Artareg took place on June 11th, 1937 and in resulted in an estimated 25,000 deaths—including civilian, but was a decisive Antiochian victory. The Caliphate attempted to retake Damascus that same year on October 12th but failed during the Battle of North Damascus—largely due to the efforts of the Damascus civil militia, and support from the HASF Antioch.

On May 9th 1938, the third major battle of the war—the Battle of the Dune Sea took place in the desert near Al ‘Ulayyaniyah. Given the numerical advantage of Zaid tanks, it was their first decisive victory in the war since the Flame of Antioch. During the Battle of the Sandy Sea an estimated 16,000 Antiochians lost their lives, while the Zaid Caliphate lost an estimated 9,500 soldiers.

From November 14th-19th 1938 the deadliest battle of the war would take place—the Battle of the Euphrates was fought near the settlement of Muqla Kabir. As the Antiochian forces continued to march eastward along the Euphrates, liberating settlements under Caliphate control the Zaid Caliphate forces began to entrenchment themselves near Muqla Kabir. Having been able to set up encampments nearly 7 weeks in advance of Antiochian forces, they had committed a large force to repel the Antiochians. The HASF Patrii is widely regarded as the main reason the Antiochians were not soundly defeated. The battle waged on for 5 continuous days, and ended in a standstill. An estimated 85,000 people died in the Battle of the Euphrates—-and left both factions reeling.

The “Long Wait” (Nov. 1938-Aug. 1940) happened as result of this battle, both sides withdrew forces into their territory to recuperate losses. During this time the Antiochians and Zaid Caliphate both devised plans on how to defeat the other. The Antiochains began training the Holy Antiochian War-Killers (HAWKs) an elite unit designed to “kill” the war itself. While the Zaid Caliphate looking at the success of the Battle of the Dune Sea, and the failures from the Bombardment of Damscus and designed a mega-landship. This landslip, had a crew of more than 800, with more than 600 guns—and had one massive AntiAir cannon which spanned the whole length of the landslip. By August 1940 construction of the landslip “Zaid’s Glory” was completed—and the bulk of Zaid Caliphate forces traveled with it westward with the goal of pacifying Antioch.

Zaid’s Glory only ever saw combat once, in the Battle of Homms, its main gun throughly destroyed the city—which had been previously evacuated. Under the cover of night on September 3rd 1940 the HAWKs paradropped into the Zaid Caliphate’s capital and took Zaid Sa’di hostage. Using him to gain access to important Zaid military knowledge, the HAWKs were able to relay information back to Antioch via radio. They then assassinated the Caliph, and without their hostage they were captured and killed. However, the first mission of the HAWKs was a success, the death of Zaid Sa’di led to infighting amongst the Caliphate’s top general and political leaders, and resulted in the internal destruction of the Caliphate. While there were still warlords claiming right to the Caliphate, it effectively dissolved before the end of 1940.

### Founding Period (1940-1960)

Following the Syrian Civil war, Antioch was left as the most stable governing body in the region, and the a constitution was signed on December 1st 1940 by Patriarch Gregory IV and the other members of the Council of Seniors.

The nation established Greek orthodoxy as the official state religion, and dissolved the Council of Seniors. The new government established a bicameral legislature, and a semi-presidential system. The Ecumenical Council and the House of Commons served as the nation’s two legislative bodies, the constitution also established a non-sitting supreme court that would be composed of 6 members of Ecumenical Council, and 3 members of the House of Commons by random allotment when the need would arise.

Patriarch Gregory IV served as head of the Ecumenical Council, the formal head of the legislature. Roger Michaud was elected was the first President of Republic of Antioch. Later that year he converted and was confirmed as a member of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.

The 40’s were a period of both political and economic growth for the Republic of Antioch, democratic norms began to establish themselves and in 1943, the secret formula for Antiochian Blubber was created by Agapi Aliki Antoniou, an Antiochian engineer and physicist. Antiochian Blubber, a highly volatile and highly efficient fuel source created through a refining process of whale oil & petrol.

On January 3rd 1953 Patriarch Gregory IV died at the age of 94. He was replaced by his long time mentee Leonidas Efthimios Michelakakis, a former Cretan priest that came to Antioch following the Biarchy declaration. The two had fostered a friendship over many years and was Gregory IV’s unofficial chosen successor.

January 15th, 1953 Michelakais was anointed Patriarch of Antioch & All the East by the Ecumenical Council under the name Patriarch Gregory V. Under the leadership of Gregory V, Antioch’s economic growth continued but the precursor to Antioch’s future caste system began to take form.

Government contracts began to heavily favor those of the Greek Orthodox faith, and increasingly less were awarded to Muslims. New developments had increasingly stringent zoning laws, and all but the richest Muslims found themselves in Muslim neighborhoods and unofficial segregation was in place.

By the late 50’s economic classes had begun to align very closely with religious classes, Greek Orthodox individuals were increasingly likely to be economic elites and upper middle class, other Christians were mostly solid middle class, and non-christians generally were low class.

### The Purple War (1960-1966)

Tensions with Constantinople had been developing for many years, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Michael XVI had called for Gregory V to recant the Biarchy declaration. Gregory V was unwilling to do so both for political reasons and in honor of his late friend and mentor Gregory VI.

Things came to a head in 1961 when Patriarch Michael XVI excommunicated Patriarch Gregory V, who in turn excommunicated Michael XVI—the Churches in Constantinople and Antioch subsequently fell out of communion.

Patriarch Michael XVI had begun to petition Octavian, head of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and Emperor of Rome to use force against the Republic of Antioch. Eventually convinced by the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Emperor decided to bring Antioch into the fold of the Roman Empire and placate Michael XVI by forcing Gregory V to recant the Biarchy Declaration.

March 3rd, 1962 the Purple War began when the Roman Empire issued a formal declaration of war. The Romans deployed their Navy to force a blockade of Antioch city. By mid April, the Romans had secured a beach head in Northwest Antioch city, but had incurred several losses not anticipating the amount of civilian resistance in the city.

To break the blockade the Antiochians deployed their airships, which for a time lifted the Roman blockade around the mega-city. Wartime laws were instituted in Antioch, and a mandatory national draft was implemented. After the unexpected death of the President, it was determined that elections could not be fairly or safely held, and the powers of President were given to Gregory V.

The Romans attempted to secure more of the city, but could not securely advance from their portion of the city due to civilian resistance, which attacked supply lines and used car bombs to slow Roman advance. It was impossible for Romans to determine who was a combatant, and who was truly a civilian.

By 1963 the Romans had secured a portion of Northern Antioch City, but had taken losses in doing so. By pushing so far into the city, in conjunction with the attacks on their supply lines, the Roman forces on land got cut off from the rest of their forces and became unable to resupply. However, the luck had turned somewhat as their forces were primarily in a Muslim district, many of these citizens saw the war as Christian infighting, but viewed the Romans as potentially more inclusive and fair than the Antiochians. These citizens began quartering and in some cases supplying the Roman soldiers. In response Gregory V forced all Muslims citizens to surrender arms, and in late 1963 rounded up muslim citizens and relocated them to the country sides.

In 1964 the largest battle of the Purple War took place outside the Antiochian bay. The Romans had reinforced their naval detachment blockading the city, and the HASF scrambled to destroy the fleet. Both the Roman navy, and the HASF were virtually destroyed in the battle. With the Roman fleet destroyed, the Roman forces were trapped in the city. The Antiochians took advantage of this and led a major assault against Romans, with high casualty rates on both sides the Romans were forced to retreat to the north, leaving the city.

By 1965 the war had become unpopular back in Rome, the Romans had miscalculated the amount of manpower and economic demand that would be required to take control of the Mega-city. The Roman emperor had begun to reconsider the benefit of continuing the war. Patriarch Michael XVI however, was as fervent as ever—unwilling to allow the bishop of Antioch claim religious supremacy. Public demonstrations against the war had begun, and by late 1965 the Emperor opened a back channel with Gregory V discussing terms for a truce.

The back channel had proved successful and on January 5th 1966 Treaty of Antioch was signed between the two powers. The Treaty of Antioch established the following:

* The Biarchy Declaration would stand, the Bishops of Antioch and Constantinople would co-equal, the churches would re-enter communion with one another, and the issued ex-communications would be lifted.

* Antioch would become an autonomous region of the Roman Empire, abled to be called upon by the Emperor for political and military support but a functionally self-governing region of the empire.

* Whoever held the Bishopric of Antioch would sit as a permanent advisor to the Emperor of Rome.

* Safe passage for the Romans stranded in Antioch, for their return back to Rome.

### Post-War Antioch (1966-2022)

As the war was concluded, Gregory V was furious at muslim assistance of the Romans, and viewed it as not only treason but a declaration of war against the church, and by extension God. He sought a way to punish the muslims for their crimes. He declared that for their repeated insults to Christians, muslims must suffer the same insults they once pushed on Christians.

Jizya, was implemented against muslims citizens, and all non-Christians were forced to pay this extra tax. Gregory V, having full executive authority—refused to hold elections for the next President, and dissolved the position all together.

In 1972 riots broke out in Antioch, the military was deployed the keep the peace. After 3 months of domestic unrest, the constitution altogether was dissolved and Gregory V had become the supreme ruler of Antioch.

In 1975 Gregory V was assassinated, and his friend and right hand hand Bishop Giannis Demetrios Raptis succeeded him as Patriarch of Antioch & All the East under the name Gregory VI. Gregory VI ushered in a new era for Antioch, the military enforced his rule and in 1987 he formally issued a new constitution. This new constitution did allow for democratic bodies, but in truth all real power was held by the Patriarch and the Ecumenical Council.

Under his rule non-Christian citizens were forced into increasingly worse conditions, most business legally were not allowed to employ muslims. This forced muslim citizens to take low paying and hazardous jobs, and with Jizya still in place, the economic conditions placed onto muslims were far more than oppressive—they had effectively become an underclass bordering on slavery.

In 1990 Gregory VI made all emigration illegal, in order to leave the country government approval was required. While some level of dissent persisted the Black robes, a civilian paramilitary organization strongly enforced the whims of the regime. Originally named for the black robes of the priests that they supported, in time they took this name to heart and began wearing the robes themselves. It became common that the black robes would refuse to shave, truly mimicking the priests and monks of the regime they so fervently supported.

Throughout the 90’s and new millennium and number of policies were implemented, women were not allowed to work. While abortions had already been illegal, contraceptives were also made illegal. Muslims were forced to work in the oil fields and only a select few jobs. However, due to policy changes muslims were allowed to join the military—joining the military became one of the very few ways the slave underclass could escape their life of desperation and poverty.

Gregory VI’s regime was firmly established and had quashed any threatening opposition—with the support of the Christian populace he had been able to ensure that he would remain in power for the remainder of his life. In 2011 he elevated his son Stefanos to the rank of Bishop despite Stefanos still being married, and entered him into the Ecumenical Council. Stefanos became Gregory VI’s presumptive heir establishing the dictatorship was hereditary.

Gregory VI died Christmas Day 2021, and Stefanos after eliminating his political opposition in the Ecumenical Council was confirmed as the Patriarch of Antioch & All the East. Stefanos broke longstanding precedent and chose to take the name Peter II, citing Antioch as a bisphoric founded by Peter. This decision was unpopular amongst the more conservative clergy, but those that were more political savvy clergy supported and re-affirmed this position. Patriarch Peter II had grown up as the son of a dictator, a life of luxury and educated in politics—he would allow no one to put limits on his authority.

## Notable Antiochians

* Peter II, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East
* Gregory VI, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East, Reformer of the Republic of Antioch
* Gregory V, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East, wartime leader during the Purple War
* Roger Michaud, Founding Father of the Republic of Antioch, 1st President of the Republic of Antioch
* Gregory IV, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East, Founding Father of the Republic of Antioch
* Gerasimos I, Patriarch of Jerusalem