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Anno Domini,833-February-March-14-15
''Giving them wine until they couldn't drink another drop was a good idea'' said Sigurd as he watched several hundred Varangians massacre the thoroughly drunken hikanatoi.
''I learned that in Bulgaria, when I escaped… A guard who can barely stand can hardly do his job'' I replied.
Knives cut throats, and blood spattered the barracks. My warriors smashed skulls with their blows; others seized the hikanatoi and held their heads beneath the water in their horses' troughs until they drowned.
''What will we do with the Vigla? It seems they took no part in the rebellion, but they weren't here standing by and doing nothing like the noumeroi while the excubitores and hikanatoi rose against the emperor either'' Sigurd asked.
''According to Maurus, the commander of Theophilos's scholai, they were loyal to the emperor. They were outside the walls, guarding the camp prepared for a hunt with which Theophilos intended to entertain several aristocrats. They had no opportunity to prove their loyalty or bare their fangs at us… But considering how strongly some aristocrats insisted on arranging that hunt, I suspect they wanted them away from Constantinople precisely because they were loyal. I will give them the benefit of the doubt'' I replied.
Little remained in the hikanatoi barracks but motionless bodies. The Varangians had already begun stripping the dead.
''Can they keep the spoils?'' Sigurd asked when he noticed me watching his men.
''Yes. I care little for these soldiers' coins. Most will have little more than their pay, though there may be an aristocrat's son among them… But why settle for crumbs when they can plunder their masters' mansions? There are still plenty of skulls to split'' I said with a faint smile.
''Leave that! There's still fighting to be done! You'll find more silver in the houses of Rome's rich than rummaging through those dead men's pockets!'' Sigurd shouted.
His men stopped searching the bodies and trying to salvage pieces of the hikanatoi's armour.
''Let's go… I presume you will have no qualms about entering churches to drag out those sheltering inside and execute them'' I said, looking at Sigurd as I mounted my horse.
''Since when has a church door ever stopped us, Basil?'' he replied with a short laugh.
''I ask out of courtesy. Many aristocrats will seek refuge in them, and my Greek soldiers might refuse to violate the right of sanctuary. There are also priests linked to the iconodules whom we must put to death. Theophilos could never reach them because they remained under the protection of the churches… But I will not let that stop me'' I replied with a smile.
''Theophilos's death has been a tragedy for Rome… But I'm liking this vengeance more and more'' said Sigurd.
He was smiling as we rode on, followed by hundreds of Varangians.
When we reached the market, we found soldiers of the themata and some of our own men trying to force the doors of several businesses belonging to the aristocrats. They hammered at the wood again and again; apparently, the occupants had barricaded themselves inside.
As we passed, one of the doors gave way. Dozens of men rushed inside, hungry for plunder. Shortly afterwards, I heard the screams of men and women mingling with the crash of everything the soldiers broke in their path.
We continued until we reached one of our first targets: a church closely linked to the iconodules. More than once, I had seen Theophilos demand that they surrender the priests who sheltered there after openly defying his authority in religious matters.
''Sigurd, you know what to do. They are inside. Do not spare a single one. They always supported the iconodules, even when they pretended to obey iconoclast doctrine. Let us spare ourselves trouble in the future… But bring them out of the church. Kill them outside'' I ordered, looking at him.
''Very well'' Sigurd replied.
He dismounted, drew a long dagger and advanced towards the church doors, followed by several groups of Varangians.
The screams of men and women began rising from within, mingled with the sound of breaking objects. Shortly afterwards, the first Varangian emerged, dragging a woman by the hair. He threw her to the ground and, without releasing her, drove his dagger between her ribs. Her screams ceased. The warrior left the body where it had fallen and returned to the church.
The scene repeated itself again and again. Priests and aristocrats who had sought refuge in the church were dragged outside and had their throats cut, were stabbed or strangled before its doors.
Sigurd emerged, shoving a priest ahead of him, and knocked him down in front of the entrance. The man rose to his knees and began begging for mercy, but Sigurd cut his throat with a single stroke. Blood soaked his vestments as the priest desperately clutched at his neck.
''Basil… Can we take the gold and jewels inside?'' Sigurd asked as he wiped his dagger clean.
''Not for now. They are Church property and will pass to the imperial treasury. Part of your reward will come from there. Continue with the other churches. What matters to me is that none of Theophilos's enemies survive this day'' I replied, spurring my horse.
Sigurd mounted again, and my hirdmen followed us.
In the streets, we encountered scholai officers leading groups of thematic soldiers and Varangians. Upon reaching an aristocratic neighbourhood near the forum, I saw how far their rage extended. Bodies hung from the façades and balconies of numerous houses.
On other properties, men and women had been crucified on wooden structures. Corpses lay scattered everywhere, and the scholai seemed even more bloodthirsty than the Varangians in their pursuit of vengeance for Theophilos.
The violence continued to spread for hours.
It was a long day. A day of one massacre of aristocrats after another throughout Constantinople.
The city had filled with soldiers of the themata seizing the opportunity to plunder the rich, Varangians seeking spoils, and scholai thirsting for vengeance.
The streets were strewn with the dead. Many belonged to the imperial tagmata, whose men, still drunk, had tried to carry out their duties or resist our troops. The servants and guards of the aristocratic families met a similar fate when they encountered the groups roaming the city under the orders of the scholai officers.
These officers carried the lists I had prepared to identify the guilty.
Before the doors of dozens of churches in the Queen of Cities, the bodies piled up of those who had sought refuge in the sanctuaries that protected the iconodules.
The mansions were plundered until little remained but the corpses of their inhabitants amid the shattered furniture. Meanwhile, the guards continued through the streets, organising the search for the last aristocrats on our lists.
''No, these are already dead. I broke this one's hands with a hammer after slitting his wife's throat in front of him'' said a scholai who was helping identify the dead and determine who was still missing.
''Let's see… I smashed this one's head against a piece of his furniture. I drowned this one in a bucket of water. I slit this one's belly open; he was trying to hold his entrails in with his hands… I haven't accounted for this one. Did any of you kill him?'' asked another officer as he leafed through some bloodstained documents.
''Not me. I only dealt with those in the northern district. I beheaded this one; I beat this one to death; we hanged this one alongside his family…'' replied another scholai, pointing at the names.
''We've already searched every place he might have hidden: warehouses, churches, harbours, barracks… We don't know where he is, but he was inside the city'' said Maurus, who was still compiling the list of those yet to be found.
''Who's missing?'' I asked, approaching the scholai officers, who had gathered in the middle of a paved street with maps and lists of names.
''About fifty aristocrats. We've searched their mansions, warehouses, barracks, businesses and every property we could link to them. The harbours and churches too. But there are too many hiding places in the city. We don't even know whether some have managed to get beyond the walls'' Maurus replied.
''Do you think they might have taken refuge in other people's homes?'' I asked as I examined the maps and the names of those who, for the moment, had escaped their punishment.
''It's possible. Since we started around the palace and worked our way towards the walls, some must have had time to find shelter. We would have to search homes throughout the city, but that could earn us the people's hatred. And if we don't find them before we open the gates, they'll flee as soon as they get the chance. We may never be able to make them pay for Theophilos's death'' said Maurus, stepping closer to me with one hand resting on the pommel of his sword.
''We can regain the people's favour with the gold we'll confiscate from the churches and the properties those aristocrats still own outside the city. Lower taxes, more races at the Hippodrome and a public feast should help bring them over to our side… Though we'll also have to replace the priests with men willing to defend us from their pulpits. Otherwise, our enemies' version will be the only one anyone hears. You have permission to search each and every house in Constantinople. I want those traitors and their families dead as soon as possible'' I ordered before mounting my horse.
As the sun set, the soldiers began entering the houses. In most cases, they met no resistance, and soon they began finding some of those still unaccounted for on the lists. The prisoners were gathered together and handed over to the scholai to do with as they pleased.
The searches continued through the night, house by house. The officers crossed off names as the bodies of the fugitives appeared alongside those of their relatives.
Late that night, we found the last of the aristocrats hiding in a pigsty at a house near the walls. With his death, we had eliminated a large proportion of those who dominated Roman politics.
I had managed to keep my own supporters safe: a few families I could count on the fingers of both hands, and numerous officers whom I had personally appointed to their posts.
Back at the palace, it was the eunuchs' turn. Their involvement had been decisive in the betrayal. They were easier to find. They were gathered together, terrified and willing to swear their loyalty to me.
The men of my hird killed them, staining the corridors with blood once again. We then extended the purge to the imperial offices, having the corrupt officials who remained in the palace and elsewhere in the city executed.
It had been a long day.
We had killed hundreds of priests, thousands of aristocrats and their relatives, and tens of thousands of tagmata soldiers and servants from those households. Constantinople was full of corpses.
Now silence reigned. The only sound was the clatter of weapons and armour as patrols made their way through the streets by torchlight.
''It's done, Basil'' said Sigurd as he entered the room. He looked tired.
''We've killed tens of thousands of people in a single day. People will probably write about this for centuries… It remains to be seen whether they'll do so to praise us or curse us'' I replied with a smile.
''And what does that depend on?'' Sigurd asked.
''Whether we win… That's what matters… Ha, ha'' I said, thinking about what lay ahead.
''What now?'' he asked.
''Major changes and reforms. The time for restraint is over. Hjalmar will arrive in five days with thirty thousand Slavic horsemen and five thousand Varangians. Together with our sixteen thousand Varangians, twenty thousand Slavs, the three thousand men of the Vigla and forty thousand soldiers from the themes, we'll have a considerable army. But the strategoi can also muster large forces. I intend to recruit in the provinces still under my control; perhaps we can raise another four thousand men. For now, that will be all we can muster, so we must choose our next battles carefully'' I replied, running a hand over my chin.
''An enormous army… Are we going to need it to fight the entire Empire?'' Sigurd asked with a smile.
''We might. We'll have to extend the purge to the themes and remove their governors. I've already sent a letter to Crete asking for the students who finish their training this year to come here. We need men who can read, write and keep accounts to fill the vacant posts… Oh, by the way, I have a new suit of armour for you. I also want you to choose two thousand of the strongest, most powerfully built Varangians. Completely trustworthy men you would be willing to vouch for'' I said, looking at him.
''What for?'' Sigurd asked with a grimace.
''I've spoken to Maurus. The scholai will be disbanded, and their survivors will be transferred to the Vigla. Their unit will die with Theophilos. Those two thousand men you choose will form my imperial guard: the Varangian Guard. Then I'll speak to your brother about finding northern warriors who know how to fight on horseback, so we can also form an imperial Varangian cavalry tagma. I need loyal men around me. It has become clear that even the scholai were not free of traitors. Those two thousand will join my personal hird'' I replied.
''I'll bring you the candidates'' Sigurd said.
''And you'll be their commander, of course. I considered offering you a higher command, but I know how little you enjoy accounts, reports and administrative duties. I'll spare you an offer you would end up refusing. I'll find someone who can take over my former duties at the head of the Roman armies'' I added.
Sigurd nodded as I spoke.
''Thank you… Then I'll go and find men we can trust'' he replied, heading towards the door.
''Oh, Sigurd. Take this decree as well and have it proclaimed. Anyone who performs castrations to turn others into eunuchs will be sentenced to death. Furthermore, from this moment on, eunuchs are forbidden from holding posts in the imperial administration'' I said, handing him the documents I had signed.
''As you command'' Sigurd replied, taking the papers before leaving the room.
''Don't worry, Theophilos… I'll fulfil your dream and your father's, even if I have to kill half the Empire to do it'' I murmured, looking at the bust of my friend I had placed beside my desk.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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