The King's Coin: Ambition is the only faith (Visigoths of Spain Book 2)
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The King’s Coin
Ambition is the only faith
Paula Constant
Copyright © 2021 by Paula Constant
All rights reserved.
Edited by www.thehistoryquill.com
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For Chloe and Taylor
Who kindly indulge my delusion of being a parent figure in their lives
Contents
List of Primary Characters
Visigothic Kings, AD 586 - 687
Visigothic Spania, AD 690
Lælia and Theo family trees
Yosef’s Journey
Prologue
AD 687, several months later
Athanagild
1. Three years later
2. Lælia
3. Yosef
4. Oppa
5. Theo
6. Letter from Athanagild to Shukra
7. Laurentius
8. Alaric
9. Lælia
10. Yosef
11. Theo
12. Lælia
13. Letter from Athanagild to Shukra
Letter from Shukra to Athanagild
Letter from Athanagild to Shukra
14. Shukra
15. Laurentius
16. Theo
17. Yosef
18. Lælia
19. Theo
20. Oppa
21. Lælia
22. Letter from Athanagild to Shukra
Letter from Shukra to Athanagild
23. Yosef
24. Lælia
25. Theo
26. Lælia
27. Yosef
28. Theo
29. Theo
30. Letter from Athanagild to Alaric
31. Alaric
32. Lælia
33. Yosef
34. Theo
35. Yosef
36. Theo
37. Alaric
38. Yosef
39. Theo
40. Alaric
41. Lælia
42. Athanagild
43. Yosef
44. Athanagild
45. Theo
46. Oppa
47. Lælia
48. Theo
49. Laurentius
50. Alaric
51. Bishop Felix
52. Oppa
53. Alaric
54. Oppa
55. Athanagild
56. Lælia
57. Shukra
58. Yosef
59. Lælia
Afterword
List of Primary Characters
For the most part character names have been anglicised. There are some exceptions, notably Count Ilyan of Septem. Rightly his name should be rendered as Julian. However, as there was already a Julian of Toledo, I kept the Spanish pronunciation for ease of reference.
A note regarding fictionalisation of characters
All kings are verified by church records of the time. Unless stated below as fictional, all those mentioned as ‘count’ or ‘duke’ are equally attested, usually as signatories to the well documented Councils of Toledo. That said, I have in many cases created the family relationships between characters, based upon my understanding of geographical, political, and genealogical associations. My characterisations are not meant to be definitive but are rather my own perceptions. The Visigoths of Spain series is a work of my own imagination, interweaving fictional characters and events with what is known from primary sources of the time.
Lælia of Illiberis
Fictional
The township of Illiberis is attested in numerous church records (please see ‘Place Names’ following this page), as is a Count of that place. Evidence of horse worship in the area is plentiful, and horses from the region are mentioned from Roman times, both in Spain and on foreign shores. Lælia herself is a fictional character.
Count Paulus of Illiberis
Actual
Count Paulus is attested as one of King Reccesuinth's seniores, or senior advisers, in the Councils of Toledo records, but not associated with a particular place. His association with Illiberis is fictional as are his personal relationships.
Acantha of Illiberis (Baeticus)
Fictional
The name 'Baeticus' is found on early Roman graves in the Illiberis area, denoting the local chiefs/power holders found when Romans first arrived in the region. Acantha is a generic Gothic name. The tradition of female inheritance was both Gothic law and associated with tribes indigenous to the area.
Yosef ben Radhan
Fictional
The Rhadanite merchants are famous, though largely associated with southern France. The Jews of Garnata are well attested, however, and a man named Yosef from Garnata became well known in Moorish Spain. Yosef is a fictional amalgamation of those elements.
Arun ben Radhan
Fictional
Arun is entirely fictional.
Theudemir of Aurariola
Actual
Count Theudemir is well attested in numerous documents as the Count of Aurariola, later Orihuela, on Spain's west coast. I have created a fictional backstory for him, as there remain no truly reliable records of his lineage. His relationship to rebel king Geila is my creation.
Alaric
Fictional
I created Alaric to represent the military expertise of the time.
Athanagild
Fictional
Athanagild was created to represent the Church culture of the time.
Count Suinthila of Aurariola
Fictional
Since Geila's descendents are unknown, I made him the patriarch of Theudemir's family, and Suinthila's father (Geila's brother was the great king Suintila). The circle of nobility was small and highly interconnected during the period, meaning most noble families were familiar with one another if not directly linked by blood or marriage.
Geila (Iudila)
Actual
Geila (Iudila) is described as 'one of the greatest generals' of Visigothic Spain. His brother, King Suintila, was also described as great military strategist, who during his reign oversaw the unification of Spain and expulsion of Greek Imperial forces. Coins minted in Illiberis and Emerita named Geila as king in opposition to Sisenand, suggesting his support was found in the south of Spain.
Duke Theodofred of Corduba
Actual
Theodofred was a son of King Chindasuinth, and Duke of Corduba during the reign of Egica. He is widely attested in documents of the period as the husband of Riccilo and father of Roderic.
Riccilo
Actual
Attested as wife of Theodofred and mother of Roderic. Her relationship to Illiberis is fictional.
King Erwig
Actual
Attested as son of Ardabast (a Greek), husband of Liuvgoto, and father of Cixilo.
Liuvgoto
Actual
A formidable figure, Liuvgoto is well attested as the daughter of King Sisebut; wife of King Erwig; and mother of Cixilo. Her relationships to Sunifred and Suinthila are fictional, however her very interesting backstory allows fertile ground for speculation.
Cixilo
Actual
Liuvgoto and Erwig's daughter, wife of King Egica, and mother of Wittiza.
King Egica
Actual
Well attested as the son of Ariberga (son of King Tulga), husb
and of Cixilo, and father of Wittiza, Egica is also strongly regarded as fathering the illegitimate Oppa.
Oppa
Actual
One of the most shadowy figures of the era, Oppa is nonetheless well attested in varying roles throughout history, including as a Bishop of Hispalis. His parentage was murky, though it is generally accepted he was a royal son.
Wittiza
Actual
Wittiza was Egica and Cixilo's legitimate son and co-ruled with his father for several years.
Giscila
Actual character, gender unknown
Giscila is often considered as having been female, however in Gothic nomenclature the name is a masculine one, and evidence is nebulous at best. I have heavily fictionalised this character so whilst a 'Giscila' certainly existed as Egica's offspring, the rest is my invention.
Ariberga
Actual
Ariberga is attested as Tulga's son and Egica's father. His treason is my invention based upon the disappearance of Tulga’s infant sons following Tulga’s forced tonsuring by Chindasuinth and the brutal coup surrounding his fall from power.
Wamba
Actual
Archbishop Julian of Toletum wrote 'The Book of Wamba' on this king's rule, one of the few intact documents of the time.
Dahiya (or Diya, Dihiya, Kahina, Al Kahinat)
Actual
Dahiya (or Diya, Dihiya) was an Amazigh leader, or amgar, in the Sahara attested by multiple sources.
Bagay and Khanchla
Names attested, characters fictional
Dahiya’s sons are spoken of in legends of the time, but their existence cannot be verified. Their lives are my creation based on my research.
Count Ilyan
Actual
(Anglicised, 'Julian') was an actual Governor, or Count (known as both) of Septem.
Mohammed bin Marwan
Actual
Mohammed bin Marwan was the brother of Caliph Abd al Malik bin Marwan, and a great military general in the armies of the Caliphate.
Neboulos
Actual
Head of the Slavic contingent of the Imperial army at Sebastopolis.
Leontios
Actual
Leader of Imperial army at Sebastopolis, Byzantine Emperor AD 695-698
Archbishop Julian of Toletum
Actual
Attested in church records.
Bishop Felix of Hispalis
Actual
Attested in church records.
Bishop Sisebut
Actual
Sisebut's role in the church and in Sunifred’s rebellion is attested, however his proclivities are my creation - based on decisions made in the 16th council of Toledo.
Bishops Idalio, Maximo, and Mumulo
Actual
All attested in church records.
Laurentius Severianus
Name attested, character fictional
A scholar by the name of Laurentius is mentioned as possessing 'one of the best libraries in Toletum' in writing of the period. A Count Severianus appears repeatedly as a signatory to the Councils of Toledo. I have associated Laurentius with this name, as it is a Roman one, and the name itself with the lineage of Isidore of Seville, as this house was well known as one of Roman aristocracy and scholarship. The connection is of my making and used as an example of the old Roman ruling class that still held (symbolic) power two centuries after Gothic conquest.
Shukra
Fictional
Entirely fictional but based on Zoroastrian warriors attested in Imperial forces of the time who escaped the Arab conquest of Persia or were simply conscripted. In Shukra’s lifetime there was widespread destruction and burning of Zoroastrian fire temples under the Arabic conquest.
Apsimar
Actual
Apsimar is known to history as the Greek Emperor Tiberius III.
Sunifred
Actual
Sunifred is attested in coins minted in his name and records of the time as a rebel King during Egica's rule. I have made him a son of Ricimer, which would make him Liuvgoto’s cousin, and give him the perceived right to make a bid for the throne. Given the small circle of nobility and his lofty position, he must have been related or connected in some way to the ruling families of the time.
Frogellus
Actual
Attested in church documents during the rebellion against Egica.
Egilona
Actual
Egilona is an extraordinary character who plays a larger role in later books in this series. She is attested in multiple records. However her origin story as Theo's sister is one of my creation.
Rekiberga
Fictional
Alaric's betrothed is a fictional creation. I named her for King Chindasuinth’s wife.
Visigothic Kings, AD 586 - 687
Visigothic Spania, AD 690
Lælia and Theo family trees
Yosef’s Journey
Prologue
Laurentius
AD 687, eight months before the coronation of King Egica
Toletum, Spania
Toledo, Spain
His father’s library smelled of parchment, cedar, and cinnamon. The familiar scent struck Laurentius Severianus in a way nothing else had since news of his father’s death had reached him in Constantinople. He clutched the door frame, breathing deeply to steady himself, glad there was none but the spring breeze to witness his homecoming.
The servants had made ready the villa for his arrival, but at his request none had entered the library. Long accustomed to the arrival of cedar chests from distant shores, they knew better than to handle the contents. The family of Severianus held one of the most esteemed libraries in all Spania. Now the son of the house had returned with new treasures to grace its shelves, but the one man who would have revered them was gone, and the chests that had been meant for him lay unopened on the stone floor.
Laurentius traced the chestnut shelves and the books they contained. The air seemed to quiver with his father’s presence. He felt the old patrician in every dust mote and leather casing. A large, purple-covered copy of the Gothic monk Ulfila’s translation of the Bible lay in pride of place on a stand by the desk. It was open at Romans.
“For if the first fruit be holy, the branch is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches: þandei ufarskafts weiha, jah daigs, jah jabai waurts weiha, jah astos,” he read aloud.
The Gothic words sounded soft on his tongue. He tried them again, letting the round, purring sounds trill through his throat.
Every language is a treasure. He heard his father’s voice as clearly as if Severianus stood before him. Its gifts remain hidden until your tongue can unlock them. Spania is a Gothic country now. Our laws are made by Goths, our customs dictated by theirs. Learn their tongue, or you will never understand either their treasures or their fault lines.
“I learned it well,” whispered Laurentius aloud. “Gothic at your knee, Greek at sea, just as you taught. And so much more, Father, that only you would have understood. But you are no longer here.”
It was this that hurt the most: that all he had learned, all he had striven to understand and acquire in the long years wielding both sword and pen in the furthest and strangest of lands, could not be shared with the one person who would value the endeavour. With whom would he now share his ideas, his vision of Spania’s future, the almost unbearable weight of the knowledge he carried about the enemies they might soon face?
Pressing his forehead against the iron lattice of the window covering, Laurentius gripped the shutters so hard they cut into his hands, his chest tight with emotion. Laurentius Severianus was twenty-six years old. He had not stood in this house since he was half that age and preparing to sail for Constantinople. The study was just as it had remained in his mind, its scent present in the rare letters that had reached him over the years, treasured rolls of vellum so dear he had held them to his face at night and breathed in the presence of
his father, feeling his strength and wisdom contained in the wry humour of words written in his own hand.
He was almost unaware that he was striking the lattice repeatedly with his forehead until a noise at the door disturbed him. Laurentius swung about with lightning swiftness, sword drawn and at the ready.
“Athanagild.” Laurentius smiled ruefully. “I have been too long amongst men and steel. I jump at shadows, I am afraid.”
The young man hovered hesitantly at the door. Although yet to be formally admitted as an acolyte, he wore plain homespun robes that hung loose on his slender frame, the dark colour throwing his pale skin and auburn hair into sharp relief.