Aquitaine

Aquitaine is a rich and fertile land in southern Gaul. Year after year, it produces some of the most abundant harvests on all the continent. Once a people settles in this wonderful area, they fight with determination to keep it. Everyone either wants it or to have ties to it, given the great bounty it produces.

Aquitainians are descended from Visigoths, a barbarian tribe originally from the eastern part of the Roman Empire. They had alternately fought against, allied with, and been betrayed by the Eastern Roman Empire, only to renew the cycle. Ultimately, they were pushed by the Romans into Italy. There, under their leader Alaric, they sacked Rome, to the shock and horror of the remains of the Roman Empire. But Alaric died soon after, and his successor took his people north, over the Alps and into Aquitaine. Here they settled, grew and flourished, despite continued pressures from other barbaric tribes.

The rich land and extensive Roman population allowed them to leave their barbarianism behind. As a result, the Aquitainians have fused the best of the Visigothic and Roman worlds to make themselves both a strong and a civilized people, known hereafter as the Aquitainians. Already fierce mounted fighters, they have taken Roman technological and cultural refinements to fortify their own heritage. The Aquitainians have the luxury of devoting their time to more than just honing their war craft. They enjoy rich foods, fine linen, and soft furs. They are lovers of beauty and patrons of the arts, with a particular interest in poetry and song. They believe in reading, writing, and fine speech as much as in horsemanship, the sword, and the lance.

The land is of two main kingdoms. The Kingdom of Toulouse has traditional Visigoth leaders under King Theodoric I, and the vassal Kingdom of Ganis is ruled by King Lancelot. Although separate kingdoms, they act as one against foreign invaders. In battle, they turn to Theodoric, and for missions of peace or diplomacy, they entrust themselves to King Lancelot, who has begun to put forward an ideal of civilized comportment for knights both on and off the battlefield. A knight should always act with honor, even with his foes. Aquitainians have also eschewed rough wooing for notes, flowers and sweet whispered verses declaring love. Instead of forcefully taking a woman, the knight instead lives for but a favorable glance from his lady.

While Aquitainian knights do not have much connection with Britain, both lands have ties to Rome, although not always peaceful ones. Aquitainian culture and ideals are spreading through Gaul and are even heard of in Britain, through the poetry and ballads of the far-traveling Aquitainian troubadours. It is a rare (although not-unheard-of) event for a knight of Aquitaine to leave this fertile land and establish roots elsewhere.

## History

### 3rd Century era vulgaris

Goths settle in Scythia and take advantage of the Roman civil wars by launching raids into the Roman Empire. The raids and border warfare continue to the end of the 4th century.

### 4th century era vulgaris

**c. 370:** Goths have split into Western Goths (Visigoths) and Eastern Goths (Ostrogoths). Huns invade and subdue the Ostrogoths, while the Visigoths flee westwards.

**376:** Visigoths arrive to the Danube River and ask for asylum in the Roman Empire. They are allowed in, but rapacious Roman officials seek to make a profit and extort the Visigoths in return for the promised food shipments. The Visigoths rebel and start plundering the countryside.

**378:** Visigoths defeat the Roman Emperor Valens and his army at Adrianople, which ushers in the dawn of the heavy cavalry dominance of the Middle Ages.

**382:** After years of fighting, the Visigoths and the Eastern Roman Empire under Emperor Theodosius make peace. The Visigoths are allowed to live as a people within the Roman Empire rather than be broken apart and assimilated piecemeal.

**383-388:** A Roman general of Britain, Maximianus (the father of Constantin and grandfather to Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther) takes his legions and his Cymri followers into Gaul, slays the Emperor Gratian, and rules the Empire until slain in turn by Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius.

**394:** A rising Visigoth, King Alaric, and his followers fight alongside the army of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius as it fights in the West. During the campaign, the Visigoths are deployed in a manner designed to weaken both themselves and their enemy at the cost of many Visigoth lives. The uneasy peace between the Visigoths and the Romans is soon broken by distrust.

### 5th century era vulgaris

**402:** Continuing hostilities between the Roman Empire and the Visigoths under King Alaric lead Roman General Stilicho to recall one of the two legions remaining in Britain to assist with the defense of Italy. The legion departs, never to return to Britain, leaving the island’s defenses weakened.

**408:** Unrest and uneasy succession in the Eastern Roman Empire unsettles both East and West. The Roman army responds with violence to various barbarian soldiers and slaves in Italy, causing many of them to flock to King Alaric’s banner. The Visigoths begin raiding Italy and begin one of three sieges of Rome ~ still a cultural icon even if no longer the official capital of the Western Roman Empire. (It had been moved to Milan and then to Ravenna.)

**410:** Alaric and his Visigoths sack Rome, ending their siege of the city. The Empire is in shock. King Alaric and his forces then journey south where they expect to embark on ships to Africa. The ships are destroyed in a storm, and King Alaric dies at around the same time. His successor, Ataulf, instead leads the Visigoths north into Gaul, where they settle in Narbonne.

**415:** The Visigoths move to Hispania due to the Roman aggression.

**418:** Emperor Honorius gives the Visigoths Aquitaine. After this, they are identified as Aquitainians.

**426:** Count Aetius defeats Theodoric I of the Aquitainians, lifting the siege of Arles.

**430:** General Aetius defeats the Aquitainians led by Anaolsus at the Battle of Arles. General Aetius accuses his colleague, Felix, of plotting against him and has him killed. He becomes the senior magister militum of the west.

**436:** The Aquitainians take advantage of Roman preoccupation elsewhere to try to conquer Narbonne. The city is placed under a siege.

**437:** General Litorius relieves the Siege of Narbonne, forcing the Aquitainians to retreat.

**438:** Roman General Aetius wins the Battle of Mons Colubrarius against the Aquitainians. General Litorius pursues them to Toulouse and places the city under a siege. Aetius continues on to Hispania to fight against the Suebi

**439:** Still fuming from the lifting of the siege by the Romans, King Theodoric draws in the Roman army who now have Hun allies, and soundly defeats them. Their general is captured and later dies of his injuries in captivity. Aetius, magister militum (supreme commander) of the Western Roman Empire, hastens back to Aquitaine and defeats the Aquitainians in a battle. Avitus, a Gallo-Roman nobleman and a frequent visitor to the Aquitainian court, negotiates a treaty. There are some conflicting stories regarding whether this was a night battle. King Rechila of Suebi invades Roman Lusitania and captures Merida. The Vandals sack Carthago.

King Lancelot requests volunteers to visit King Constantin in Britain to ensure that there is no reason the two nations have difficulties. While there, the emissaries are requested to attend the King when he is forced into battle against Irish raiders. Some offer to help militarily.

**440:** The Aquitainians lick their wounds after the warfare of the previous year. King Theodoric I sends a delegation to accompany Avitus to the Western Empire’s capital, Ravenna, to formally present the treaty of friendship between the Aquitainians and the Romans.

News reached Aquitaine that High King Constantin of Britain has been murdered, plunging Britain into chaos.

**441:** Aquitania is at peace. King Lancelot is sending some trusted men to check the situation in Britain, curious about the interregnum.

**442:** Looking worriedly to the expansion of the Suebi, Theodoric I decides to seek an alliance with the Vandals. An agreement of marriage between Theodoric’s daughter and Vandal King Genseric’s son, Huneric, is made, and a group of Aquitainian warriors are selected as part of the princess’ escort to Carthage.

Attila the Hun invades the Danube provinces. General Aetius, who now controls the Western Roman Empire, settles Burgundian foederates to block the Huns; the Burgundians feud with the continental Saxons.

**443:** In Brittany, King Aldronius suddenly dies. King Lancelot attends Aldronius’ funeral with a large escort of Aquitainian noblemen, and meets with Aldronius’ son, King Budec, to give his condolences.

**444:** The Vandal Prince Huneric, son of King Genseric, who wed the daughter of King Theodoric of Aquitaine, now accuses his wife of trying to kill him in an effort to free himself for marriage to the daughter of a Roman Emperor. He mutilates the princess by cutting off her nose and ears, and sends her back to her father. King Theodoric vows to avenge this atrocity. The alliance with the Vandals is off, but since they are now in Africa, vengeance must wait.

**445:** King Theodoric needs a fleet to get at the Vandals and a port to depart from. He decides he must employ a new strategy in the coming year ~ he will seek Roman help.

**446:** King Theodoric honors the new alliance with the Romans and sends men to fight with the Roman commander, Vitus, in Hispania against the Suebi. The Suebi put up a fierce defense, and King Rechila routs the Romano-Visigothic force at Guadalquivir. Vitus flees in disgrace.

**447:** After much discussion in court with fellow King Lancelot, King Theodoric decides to change tactics again. In light of the Vandals’ strengthening ties to the Roman Empire and the Suebi’s recent success, Theodoric ceases hostilities toward the Suebi and tries to get an alliance with them against the Vandals instead.

**448:** As news of the Hun expansion westward arrives, Theodoric I sends a small army under Prince Thorismund to help the Alamanni in an attempt to stem the Hunnic tide before it reaches Gaul. The death of King Rechila of the Suebi opens up an opportunity; Theodoric dispatches a delegation to the new Suebi king, Rechiarius, offering his daughter in marriage and an alliance.

**449:** Suebi King Rechiarius marries King Theodoric’s daughter and then visits his father-in-law in Toulouse to discuss common attack on the Romans. Theodoric helps his new son-in-law lay waste to northern Hispania threatening the remaining Roman possessions in the Ebro River valley, allying with the local Bacaudae and attacking the Basques.

**450:** King Theodoric now has bigger concerns, so vengeance must wait as the Huns threaten all of Europe. He builds up his forces so that he can thwart the growing threat of the Huns. Rumor has it that Romans and Huns are allied against the Aquitainians due to their support of the Suebi.

King Lancelot also hears of some British nobles reestablishing ties with Budec, leader of Brittany (and nephew to Constantin, the first High King).

**451:** The Hun army heads into Gaul, scouring the land of its wealth and slaughtering as it goes. While Aquitaine has thus far been spared, King Theodoric knows it is only a matter of time. Avitus, a Gallo-Roman nobleman and a guest-friend of the Aquitainians, visits Toulouse and convinces Theodoric I to help the Romans against the Huns. The allied army of Romans, Franks, Burgundians, Bretons, British, and Aquitainians meets the Huns and their Germanic vassal tribes at Chalons, where, due in large part to the Aquitainian forces, the Huns are shattered and driven from Gaul ~ but not without cost. King Theodoric lays slain on the field of battle. Instead of celebrating victory, the mournful Aquitainians bury their great king with honor on the battlefield. Thorismund hurries back to Toulouse to secure the throne before one of his brothers beats him to it.

**452:** It is a time for Aquitaine to rest and recoup after the devastating loss of their king. The succession is a fractious affair, but Thorismund is a favorite of the Aquitainian warriors ~ thanks to his heroics in the Battle of Chalons ~ and manages to suppress the resistance to his rule.

The newly crowned king, Thorismund, is reminded by his knights of a certain oath taken for the princess. Thorismund reassures the knights: honor will be restored in due time. A few notice that his younger brother, Theodoric, is also in court and does not receive those words (nor the tone in which they were uttered) well.

News arrives that Huns invaded Italy, but were eventually turned back by the plague or by the pope.

**453:** King Thorismund defeats the Alans at Valence, on the banks of Rhône River, and then besieges Arles. Aetius appears with a small army, unable to break the siege. Aetius doesn’t engage the Aquitainians, but persuades Thorismund to withdraw. But then to the surprise of many Aquitainians, King Thorismund announces that the campaign is over, and he brings the army back home. Many Aquitainians grumble about the sudden retreat. Thorismund summons his brother, Theodoric, to him. Theodoric II becomes king after killing Thorismund, and improves the relationship with the Romans.

Attila the Hun dies! His kingdom is divided among his sons. With the successful rebellion of the subjugated tribes (such as the Gepids and the Ostrogoths) in the following year, the Hunnic Empire is no more.

**454:** Theodoric II reminds Aetius of an earlier treaty for a fleet (and/or port) promised to them for their help in securing Hispania. Aetius agrees and campaigns with Prince Frederic (Theodoric II’s younger brother) against the Suebi and the Bacaudae in Hispania. After the successful campaign, Aetius reassures Theodoric he will honor Rome’s pledge. However, when Aetius returns to Ravenna, Emperor Valentinian III accuses him of plotting to seize his throne and murders him during a meeting of the Imperial Council. After this assassination, the Western Roman Empire has no effective defender against its hostile barbarian neighbors.

**455:** Theodoric II sees opportunity in the wake of Aetius’ death, and begins raiding to expand Aquitainian lands to the north and specifically to the east to secure a port on the Mediterranean. King Lancelot continues sending emissaries throughout Gaul and Britain to gather information. In Britain, his emissaries witness High King Vortigern redistributing various Cymric tribal groups, Picts, and Saxons to better secure the island and keep the Irish out.

Avitus, sent on a mission to get Aquitainian support for new Emperor Petronius Maximus and to stop the raids, arrives in Toulouse. The news of the Sack of Rome by the Vandals and of Petronius’ death reaches Toulouse soon after, and Avitus is proclaimed the new Emperor of the Western Roman Empire by his friend, King Theodoric II, who also sends Aquitainian warriors to help the Romans fight against Vandals ~ and to help Avitus fight against any domestic opponents, too.

**456:** Acting on Emperor Avitus’ orders, Aquitainians and Burgundians attack the Suebi, finally defeating them at the Battle of Astorga. Braga falls, and King Rechiarius is executed. Aquitainians occupy Hispania, ostensibly as foederati of the Roman Empire, and brutally sack the countryside.

In Italy, the Aquitainians join the Roman army led by Count Ricimer and they defeat the Vandals in Sicily. Ricimer then takes command of the navy and proceeds to defeat a Vandal fleet off the coast of Corsica. When the victorious Ricimer returns to Italy, he raises a rebellion with another general, Majorian. They murder Remistus and then defeat Emperor Avitus and the Aquitainians in battle. They capture the Emperor and later kill him, too.

**457:** The surviving heroes of the battles against the Vandals are honored by the Aquitainians. Theodoric II is upset by his friend Avitus’ overthrow and murder and prepares to war against the usurper, Majorian. However, he needs to consolidate the recent land gains (including Hispania Baetica, Carthaginiensis, and southern Lusitania) from the Suebi.

**458:** King Lancelot discovers that the Western Roman Emperor Majorian is building a fleet in Italy and hires many mercenaries. The Vandals, having been thorns in the Romans side, and the rebellion in Gaul are the obvious targets. Against King Lancelot’s advice, King Theodoric II marches his army against Arles, a strategic city on the Rhône River. However, Majorian’s army is reinforced by that of Aegidius of Soissons, and together they defeat the Aquitainians. In the aftermath, a humiliating new treaty with Rome requires Aquitaine to give up its recent Hispanian gains as well. Majorian, with Aegidius’ help, then defeats the Burgundians and reclaims the rebel city of Lyon, fining it heavily.

**459:** As per the previous year’s treaty with Majorian, Aquitainians send an army under Sunieric to join a Roman army under Nepotianus to fight the Suebi Kingdom in Hispania (Galicia). Furthermore, the Breton Prince Aurelius, with a small contingent, comes to court and pledges himself and his followers for this year. He campaigns with the army.

**460:** Emperor Majorian raises a large army of mixed forces, including barbarians, in Liguria and does a long march to Aquitaine where he visits King Theodoric II in Toulouse. After much discussion ~ and being reminded by King Lancelot about the chance of getting at the Vandals ~ King Theodoric II agrees to add more of his Aquitainians to the Emperor’s forces. Prince Aurelius joins the army again this year. Together they enter Hispania and Majorian’s generals deliver Lusitania into his hands as the Suebi are defeated and become foederati to the Romans. However, the Roman fleet is destroyed by the Vandals with the help of treachery, bringing the campaign to a halt.

**461:** King Theodoric II is furious when he hears that Majorian has received emissaries from Genseric and has concluded a peace treaty with the Vandals, especially without even asking how the Aquitainians feel about it. It is obvious to Theodoric now that they cannot trust the Romans, and that the Aquitainians need a fleet of their own. He turns to King Lancelot, who has been building ships for some foreign prince for a while now, to build him a large fleet, even if it will take years to complete.

King Lancelot sends ships to Vortimer, a Briton rebelling against the corrupt King Vortigern, with sailors and fighting men as part of the fleet-building agreement.

On his return to Italy, Majorian is deposed and killed by Ricimer who then installs Libius Severus as a new Emperor. Only those inside Italy recognize his title. Aegidius rebels against Ricimer and Emperor Severus.

**462:** With Majorian dead and the new Emperor encouraging the attack on Aegidius in Gaul with a bribe of Septimania and Narbonne, Theodoric II leads the Aquitainians to advance to the Rhône River. Unfortunately, Aegidius defends Arles successfully, stopping the Aquitainian invasion of Provence.

**463:** With the Western Roman Empire fatally weakened by internal bickering, civil war, and general chaos, the time is ripe for Aquitaine to expand its borders even further. King Theodoric II decides to move further into Gaul, conquering up to the Loire River with the help of King Lancelot’s eldest son, Prince Galahad. Benoit is added to Ganis, and some families move there. The army meets a coalition of Romans, Franks, and Bretons at the Battle of Orleans.

**464:** Theodoric II sends a message to Aegidius to come and meet with him at a peace conference. However, Theodoric II sends warriors to ambush Aegidius on the road, and they kill him and his escort. Aegidius’ son, Syagrius, becomes the ruler of Soissons. With Aegidius out of the way, Theodoric II launches a new campaign on the Loire River at Angers. However, the Romans and their Frankish allies are ready for them. Prince Galahad perishes in the fighting. King Lancelot is heartbroken and takes to his bed. He delegates more of the running of the kingdom to his two living sons, Bors and Ban.

Remismund, the new King of the Suebi, marries the daughter of Theodoric II.

**465:** King Lancelot’s fleet is finally ready, but the king is still grieving. Many graybeards come and remind the king of his oath of vengeance for the princess. Agreeing, he sets sail from Bordeaux. The fleet bears the first invasion army, especially the oath-takers from 444, who will attack Hippo Regius near Carthage and establish a foothold. Then the fleet will sail to Narbonne, gathering the army of Theodoric II, before sailing back to Hippo Regius. However, when the rest of the Aquitainian army waits at Narbonne, only a few ships arrive. The Vandal fleet was waiting for them at the Pillars of Hercules, and the Aquitainian fleet, with King Lancelot, was lost. Ban and Bors split their father’s kingdom according to his wishes, with Ban ruling Benoit and Bors ruling Ganis.

Prince Aurelius comes to Toulouse to hire mercenaries for his invasion of Britain, to reclaim the High Kingship of Britain that was his father’s and his older brother’s before the usurper Vortigern. The courts are full of gossip about whether Theodoric II will involve himself in yet another military campaign, as his previous four have all been inglorious defeats.

King Remismund of Suebi continues the friendship with Aquitaine and promotes the conversion of his people to Arian Christianity. A church is built.

**466:** Many Aquitainians decide to join Prince Aurelius of Brittany's invasion of Britain as mercenaries, convinced by the prince's visit last year. After all, while God clearly disfavors Theodoric II, a kinslayer, surely He blesses the Prince reclaiming the throne of his father, the High King Constantin, from the tyrant Vortigern?

Later, news reaches Britain that King Theodoric II was killed by his younger brother Euric, and a series of civil wars engulfs the land as Euric cements his rule.

**Sometime between 473 and 480:** The Aquitainian Kingdom was formally recognized when the Western Emperor Julius Nepos signed an alliance with King Euric. In this treaty, the Aquitainians are granted the lands south of the Loire and west of the Rhône in exchange for military service and the lands in Provence (including Arles and Marseilles). The lands in Hispania remained under de facto Aquitainian control.

## Places

* Ganis (Aquitainian/Arian Christian)
* Benoit (Aquitainian/Arian Christian)
* Toulouse (Aquitainian/Arian Christian)
	+ Ganis (Aquitainian/Arian Christian)
* City of Trèbes (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Bayonne (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Limoges (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Saintes (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Bordeaux (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Toulouse (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Auch (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Cahors (Roman/Roman Christian)
* City of Rodez (Roman/Roman Christian)