In the fourth century CE the Roman Empire was still the most important
state in both the east and the west of Europe. It was coming under
increasing pressure from migrating groups. This pressure would break the
empire into two halves. The western half did not survive but the eastern
half of the empire, based in the city of Constantinople, would renew
itself. It would grow to become a famous empire in its own right. For
almost a thousand years it would fight against pressures from both
inside and outside the empire. It finally succumbed to the power of the
Ottoman Turks in the fifteenth century CE.
From the third century CE, the Roman Empire had been fighting against
the Sassanid dynasty of Persia. Neither side had managed to achieve a
decisive victory. The period covered by 'The Rise of Byzantium'
continues this long running conflict. At the end of the period there was
a decisive victory but it did not belong to either the Byzantines or the
Sassanids. The victor would be a new power, the Arabs, that emerged from
the southern Arabia. They were driven by religious fervor and would
sweep all before them over the next 200 years.
During the early part of the period covered by this expansion, the
armies of Byzantium set out to recover some of the lost territories of
the Roman Empire. Sometimes they were successful and reestablished
control, but in most cases any recovery was only partial. Byzantium
alone was not always strong enough to hold off the pressures of the
migrating groups. As with the later Roman Empire, there were often times
when Byzantium needed its allies to be able to defeat these invaders.
These migrating groups would include traditional enemies such as the
Franks, Goths, and Vandals. During the period new migrants would arrive
such as the Avars, Bulgars, Lombards and Slavs. Each new threat was
dealt with in its turn and the Byzantine army gained in experience. At
the start of this period, the Byzantine army looked much the same as the
Late Roman army, but by the period's end it had changed to a more
flexible and resilient structure based on a series of provincial
forces.
This book provides an expansion to the 'Three Ages of Rome' wargames'
rules. The six historical scenarios span 'The Rise of Byzantium' and
link directly into the last period of the 'Three Ages' rules. The new
army lists introduce armies from across the period of the expansion set.
They complement the armies in the original set of rules enabling players
to recreate more battles from the ancient period.
As in the 'Three Ages', in battle nothing is certain but generals that
practice their skills are more likely to be victorious.
