Videssos
Encyclopedia
Videssos is a series of fantasy
novels series by Harry Turtledove
.
. The Videssian Empire is very similar to the Byzantine Empire
, and much of its history and geography is analogous to Byzantine history. The main differences are the religion, the existence of magic
as a usable force, and some details of the history of surrounding states. These states strongly resemble neighbours of Byzantine Empire - for instance Makuran is Sassanid Persia
and Vaspurakan is Armenia
. The map shown of the known world in the time of the various Videssos stories is a very loose east-for-west flip-flop of the Mediterranean.
Like Byzantium, Videssos is an absolute monarchy
, ruled by an Emperor
. The Emperor is assisted by a numerous, influential bureaucracy
, which is powerful enough to have been able to enforce its choice for the throne, even in the face of military opposition; the bureaucracy and military are traditionally rivals for power and influence. Even videssian offices and titles are the same as Byzantines (autokrator
, sebastokrator
, vestiarios, drungarios
).
The Videssian emperors and their history strongly resemble the Byzantine emperors.
The Videssian Empire is rather feudal, with powerful landowners wielding great influence. The class of yeoman farmers, who provided much of the best recruits for the military, is dwindling, analogously to what happened at several stages of Byzantine history.
The basic prayer of those who follow Phos is "We bless thee, Phos, Lord with the right and good mind, by thy grace our protector, watchful beforehand that the great test of life may be decided in our favor." To this those of the Dutchy of Namdalen append "On this we stake our very souls."
It is postulated by Gorgidas in the Videssos Cycle that the variants of the Phos beliefs have to do with political and ethnic reasons rather than true belief. He states that the Vaspurakanur belief in their direct decendance from Phos was a way to separate themselves from Videssos and maintain a separate social structure. The Balancer beliefs are flat out stated to have come out of the barbarian invasions of areas of the Empire. Those who survived these centuries of attacks were no longer certain of the inevitable victory of Phos.
There are no noted variations of the followers of Skotos.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novels series by Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
.
The Videssos novels
- The Videssos cycleVidessos cycleThe Videssos cycle is a fantasy novel series by Harry Turtledove and set in the Videssos fictional universe...
- The Misplaced Legion (1987)
- An Emperor for the Legion (1987)
- The Legion of Videssos (1987)
- The Swords of the Legion (1987)
- The Tale of Krispos Series
- Krispos Rising (1991)
- Krispos of Videssos (1991)
- Krispos the Emperor (1994)
- The Time of Troubles Series
- The Stolen ThroneThe Stolen ThroneThe Stolen Throne is a fantasy novel written by Harry Turtledove and set in the Videssos universe. It is the first book in the Time of Troubles tetralogy. The events depicted are strongly based on the historical interaction of Sassanid Persia and Byzantium in the 6th and 7th century...
(1995) - Hammer and Anvil (1996)
- The Thousand Cities (1997)
- Videssos Besieged (1998)
- The Stolen Throne
- The Bridge of the Separator (2005)
Background
"Videssos" can mean either the Empire of Videssos, or its capital cityCapital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
. The Videssian Empire is very similar to the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, and much of its history and geography is analogous to Byzantine history. The main differences are the religion, the existence of magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
as a usable force, and some details of the history of surrounding states. These states strongly resemble neighbours of Byzantine Empire - for instance Makuran is Sassanid Persia
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
and Vaspurakan is Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. The map shown of the known world in the time of the various Videssos stories is a very loose east-for-west flip-flop of the Mediterranean.
Like Byzantium, Videssos is an absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
, ruled by an Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
. The Emperor is assisted by a numerous, influential bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, which is powerful enough to have been able to enforce its choice for the throne, even in the face of military opposition; the bureaucracy and military are traditionally rivals for power and influence. Even videssian offices and titles are the same as Byzantines (autokrator
Autokrator
Autokratōr is a Greek epithet applied to an individual who exercises absolute power, unrestrained by superiors. In a historical context, it has been applied to military commanders-in-chief, and to Roman and Byzantine emperors as the translation of the Latin title imperator. Its connection with...
, sebastokrator
Sebastokrator
Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
, vestiarios, drungarios
Drungarios
A droungarios, also spelled drungarios or, in its English form, drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine Empires, signifying the commander of a droungos.-Late Roman and Byzantine army:...
).
The Videssian emperors and their history strongly resemble the Byzantine emperors.
- Genesios is the usurper PhocasPhocasPhocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
- Maniakes, the main protagonist of the Time of Troubles series is emperor HeracliusHeracliusHeraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
, and the name recalls the famed general George Maniakes - Anthimos III is Michael III the DrunkardMichael IIIMichael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
- Krispos of the Tale of Krispos series is Basil IBasil IBasil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
and Basil IIBasil IIBasil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated... - Mavrikios Gavras of the original Videssos Cycle resembles Romanus IV Diogenes, but the two rivalling imperial families, the Gavras and the Sphrantzes, are analogous to the KomnenosKomnenosKomnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...
and the Ducas dynasties.
The Videssian Empire is rather feudal, with powerful landowners wielding great influence. The class of yeoman farmers, who provided much of the best recruits for the military, is dwindling, analogously to what happened at several stages of Byzantine history.
Religion
Everything within Videssian life centers around religious beliefs. There are varied types of beliefs from pantheons of gods, spirit/demon worship, and dualist belief. The most widespread belief is in the dualist faith of Phos, the god of light, and Skotos, the dark god. The core of this faith is that Phos and Skotos will battle and only one will emerge. Even in this belief there is nuanced variations that lead to enmity between different countries.- Empire of Videssos - Believe that in the end Phos will be victorious. Slang "Cocksures." This is the original, orthodox, belief. Videssian religion is dualist, with a good god, Phos (GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
for light) and his evil counterpart, Skotos (Greek for darkness). In some ways, this religion is very similar to Orthodox ChristianityEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, with nearly identical organization, veneration of icons and saints. In other ways, it resembles ZoroastrianismZoroastrianismZoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, in particular with its belief in a narrow bridge walked by all souls upon death; the wicked tumble off, unbalanced by their sins, to Skotos' icy hellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, while the souls of the virtuous make it across. - Duchy of Namdalen - the fight between the two gods is balanced, but you should stake your soul on the favorable outcome of Phos. Slang "Gamblers."
- Thatagush, Khatrish, & the Kingdom of Agder - the fight between the two gods is perfectly balanced and what you believe or do makes no difference. Slang "Balancers."
- Vaspurakan - believe that they and their land was founded by Vaspur, son of Phos. Slang "Princes." Vaspurakan is not a proper country, lying in between the Empire of Videssos and Yezd. It has been torn claimed by both sides at numerous times.
- Yezd - Skotos will emerge victorious. Yezd is the resulting country from a nomad invasion of Makuran. The Makurani had followed a religion which venerated a creator deity known simply as "The God", represented on earth by the Four Prophets.
- Haloga - Believe in a pantheon of gods roughly analogous to the Norse deities of the real world Vikings. Though heathen, they are afforded a degree of grudging respect by the mostly intolerant residents of the Empire of Videssos. They are mostly accepting of the Halogai's beliefs, believing that at the very least their worship practices instill in them a sense of courage and justice, though many Videssians still believe the Halogai to be damned to the inevitable fate of all heathens and non-believers.
- Nomads of Pardrya & Shaumkhiil - spirit/demon worship.
The basic prayer of those who follow Phos is "We bless thee, Phos, Lord with the right and good mind, by thy grace our protector, watchful beforehand that the great test of life may be decided in our favor." To this those of the Dutchy of Namdalen append "On this we stake our very souls."
It is postulated by Gorgidas in the Videssos Cycle that the variants of the Phos beliefs have to do with political and ethnic reasons rather than true belief. He states that the Vaspurakanur belief in their direct decendance from Phos was a way to separate themselves from Videssos and maintain a separate social structure. The Balancer beliefs are flat out stated to have come out of the barbarian invasions of areas of the Empire. Those who survived these centuries of attacks were no longer certain of the inevitable victory of Phos.
There are no noted variations of the followers of Skotos.