Hellenic League

Official Flag of the Hellenic League. With the Symbol of Athens in the center, the surrounding flags (clockwise) represent the regions of Western Macedon, Eastern Macedon, Peloponnesia, Aetolia, Epirus and Thessaly

### Establishment

* 331 CE
* 453 CE

### Demonym(s)

* Hellenic
* Greek

### Language

* Ancient Greek, including various regional dialects

### Predecessor

* Peloponnesia
* Gothic Kingdom

### Successor

The  **Hellenic League** (331-448 CE; 453 CE-), was a Christian Greek Confederation, merged from various states in the Greek peninsula, centered in the region of Athens. It was founded in 331, after the collapse of the Gothic Kingdom, during the Great Mediterranean War, caused by the combined forces of Peloponnese and allied Persian armies.

The new Greek capital was made Athens, as their traditional capital, Pella, was largely left in ruins. After centuries of Pontic and Gothic authority, the city had lost its importance, and was by now almost uninhabited.

The Hellenic League, was divided into seven autonomous regions, named *"eparchias"*. Those are: The capital region Athens, Peloponnesia, Aetolia, Thessaly and Epirus; Macedonia was divided into East and West, to prevent another rise of dominance and to keep the balance of power.

Numerous magnificent churches were built in the following period, most notably, the Grand Athenian Church. Most of the churches were damaged and even burned down during Hunnic occupation, under Attila, from 448 to 453, following a harsh persecution of Christian believers. However, almost all of them were rebuilt thereafter.

## History

### Prelude and Establishment (228-331 CE)

During the Great Mediterranean War (227-335 CE), the Gothic alliance with Carthage, followed an intervention into the war by 328, when the Germans invaded the Peloponnese, which was allied to the Persians. However, their king, \*Wallia did not believe that the Sassanids would risk a war with them, while at the same time fighting the Carthaginians. The Goths were wrong, and after he landed at Corinth with a force of 80,000 men, the Greeks, commanding 30,000 troops, were outnumbered at the following battle near the city. Quickly, an envoy was sent to the Persian court, asking for help. As their king, Shapur, was currently commanding the Sassanid army in the Levant, right after their victory at Nazareth, he was sent a letter, to which he replied with a detailed plan on how to ambush the Goths by sea, ordering his close friend and general, \*Rastag, who assisted him during his recent conquests, to lead the army.

Seeing this as a chance to return Crimea and Thrace from the Goths, Shapur's general \*Rastag, had set sail and bypassed the Carthaginian naval force guarding Crete, arriving with a force of 40,000 soldiers near the town of Zarax. However, by that point, most of the Peloponnese had fallen to the invaders, and the coast near Zarax was one of the last resisting regions, the most important being Sparta. As the last 15,000 Greek troops approached the 65,000 Goths near Sparta, the center was opened, allowing the Persians to charge forward. \*Wallia was completely taken by surprise, and the Gothic army panicked, slaughtering around 30,000 of them.

The Peloponnese was quickly liberated, and \*Rastag began advancing northwards, pursuing the Gothic king. By 329, their garrisons in Athens were killed by guerilla warfare, and when \*Wallia stood before the gates of Athens, the people refused to open the gate, forcing the Goths to retreat even further. The invaders were once again defeated at the Battle of Larisa, suffering another 20,000 casualties. That same year, a great Illyrian uprising established independence in the kingdoms of Dardania and Ardieai.

As the Goths were routed into the forests of Thrace, in 330, Shapur II, who just finished his conquests against Carthage, decided to invade Gothic Crimea with his battle drilled army, in order to accelerate the collapse of the kingdom. He annihilated a Gothic army of 20,000 men near Theodosia, and swiftly conquered the Crimean Peninsula. By now, the Gothic army was virtually dysfunctional, and Thrace was conquered from both the north and south, in 331, crushing Wallia's army at their capital, Philippopolis.

Crimea and Thrace were vassalized, while their relation with the newly formed Hellenic League at first remained friendly, but slowly decreased over the next decades. The new Greek capital was made Athens, as their traditional capital, Pella, was largely left in ruins. After centuries of Pontic and Gothic authority, the city had lost its importance, and was by now almost uninhabited.

### Golden Age (331-448 CE)

What followed the next centuries is a period of peace, prosperity, wealth and technological advancements, known as the Hellenic Golden Age. Competition in science with the Sassanid Empire was heavily present, which allowed multiple breakthroughs, like modern plumbing and sanitary management. Numerous magnificent churches were built in the following years, most notably, the Grand Athenian Church.

### Hunnic Occupation (448-453 CE)

The year 448, saw multiple incursions into the Greek homeland, which terrorized the Peninsula, carried out by Attila, leader of the Hunnic Empire. Following a harsh persecution of Christian believers, most of the churches and libraries were damaged and even burned down, destroying many crucial works of literature, science, and poetry. Unfortunately, Greece was left in ruins when the Huns finally withdrew in 453.

### Restoration of Greece (454-500 CE)

What followed the next centuries, was a dark age. However, slowly but surely the Hellenic League was rebuilt and once again rose from the ashes as a prosperous nation by 500 CE, yet never managed to fully recover.