1. The Greek and the Biblical chronology

12. The mediaeval Duke Walther as the “ancient” Xerxes the Great

And now to continue our movement forward along the “ancient” part of the time axis. Our next step discovers a vivid parallelism in the biographies of the “ancient” Xerxes the Great, the successor of Darius Hystaspis, and the mediaeval Duke Walther II de Briennes, the successor of Frederick II of Sicily.

59a. Duke Walther II in the XIV century a.d. Duke Walther II became the de facto ruler in 1337 a.d., when Frederick II of Sicily had died, and reigned until the year of his own demise which was 1356 a.d. ([195]). His reign duration thus equals 19 years. Nominally, Walther became a duke as early as in 1311 a.d. ([195], page 378). Another version of his ducal title is “Herzog”, which transcribes as HRZG unvocalized.

59b. The “ancient” Greece. Xerxes the Great. The Persian king Xerxes the Great had reigned for 22 years between the alleged years 486 and 464 b.c. ([72]). This is close enough to the 19-year reign of the mediaeval Duke Walther. A 1810-year shift of dates upwards moves the “ancient” Xerxes the Great into the epoch of 1324-1346 a.d. - close enough to 1337-1356, the period of Walther’s reign. The unvocalized transcription of “Xerxes” yields XRX, which might be a distorted version of the word “Herzog” (duke), or, alternatively, a corruption of X-Rex, or Caz-Rex (possibly King of the Cossacks?) See more in re the name Caz in Chron5. One sees an old miniature portraying Xerxes in fig. 3.4.

Fig. 3.4 An ancient picture of king Xerxes from Hartmann Schedel’s Liber Chronicarum, dating to the alleged year 1497. A propos, Xerxes is portrayed holding a chessboard. Taken from [90], page 27.

60a. The third Frankish invasion in the XIV century a.d. The Franks invaded Greece for the third time in 1331 a.d. Their expedition lasted about a year (see [195], pages 236-240).

60b. “Ancient” Greece. The third invasion of the Persians. The third Greek expedition of the Persians took place in the alleged year 480 b.c., and its duration had roughly equalled a year ([766], page 94; see also [258], page 184). Once again we see the Franks identified as the PRS. A shift of 1810 years demonstrates ideal concurrence, since 480 b.c. becomes 1330 a.d.

61a. The French Duke Walther in the XIV century a.d. Duke Walther II is French, and “was considered one of the most prominent public figures in France and Italy” ([195], page 236).

61b. The “ancient” Greece. Xerxes the Persian. King Xerxes was Persian (P-Russian?) According to Herodotus, Xerxes (Herzog, or King Caz?) is a figure of great eminence and one of the most popular “ancient” heroes. Superimposition of the “ancient” Persians (P-Russians?) over the mediaeval Franks (the inhabitants of France = PRS) after an 1810-year shift has become so frequent that we can hardly consider it a random phenomenon.

Commentary. It is remarkable that Duke Walther was raised under the guardianship of Constable Gautier de Porcienne ([195], page 236). Bear in mind that we are still located in the temporal vicinity of the XIII century war. One of its main heroes in Livy’s Tarquinian rendition is Larth Porsenna (L-Horde Porsenna), qv in [482]. The Tarquins were also known as the Goths; therefore, what we encounter here under the name of Gautier may well be a reference to the Horde.

We have now reached the moment in mediaeval Greek history when the “ancient” Persians will become identifiable as the Turks (Tartars?) or the Franks/P-Russians – TRK and TRT sans vocalizations, respectively. Let us point out that the names of the Franks and the Turks are all but identical to one another unvocalized – TRNK and TRK; the name is the same. The advent of the “Persians” to Asia Minor is possibly explained by the invasion of the P-Russians and the Tartars in the XIV-XV century (the invasion of the “Mongols”). Let us also reiterate that the word PARS interpreted as “area” or “part” nowadays could be a derivative from the name of the mediaeval P-Russian Empire.

62a. One of the greatest invasions of the Franks and the Turks in the XIV century a.d. The simultaneous invasion of the Franks = PRS/TRNK and the Turks = TRK into Greece is one of the key events in Greek history of the XIII-XIV century a.d. The expedition of Duke Walther was prepared meticulously, and in good time ([195], pages 236-237).

62b. “Ancient” Greece. The third Persian invasion is the most dangerous one. It was also conceived and arranged with great care ([258], pages 184-185).

Commentary. What one calls the “mediaeval Turkish menace of the XIV century a.d.” nowadays is described by historians in exactly the same terms as the Persian menace to the “ancient” Greece of the alleged V century b.c. Gregorovius, for instance, tells us that:

“The potential conquerors of Greece were beginning to look more and more menacing. The islands and the mainland coast were barren due to Turkish pirate raids. In 1329 they raided and looted Eubea and the coast of Attica. It appears that these fleets of brigands were employed by Anatolian princelings, who have founded a multitude of small states amongst the ruins of the Seljuk kingdom… the impendence of the Turkish invasion was growing” ([195], page 236).

63a. Duke Walther’s grandiose preparations for the XIV century campaign. In 1329 a.d. Duke Walther begins to arrange matters for the Greek expedition.

“In 1330 John XXII [the pontiff – A. F.] complied with the request of the aspirant [Walther – A. F.] and addressed all good Christians, urging them to support the Duke of Athens in his attempt to regain his Greek heritage, financially as well as personally, offering plenary indulgence in return… Henceforth Walther begins to gather ships from everywhere. The missive of John XXII had been sent to all the rulers of Western Europe [sic! – A. F.]” ([195], page 237).

The great scale of preparations for the expedition gives us reasons to call it a crusade. In 1330 Pope John XXII had “ordered the very same prelates, as well as the Archbishop of Corinth, to sermonize [sic! – A. F.] the crusade against the lot of schismatics [the Catalans in Greece, that is – A. F.]. Walther de Briennes was preparing for the conquest; all the vassals of King Robert were helping him at the order of the latter. The aspirant had sold most of his French [PRS – A. F.] estates to obtain the funds for the recruitment of mercenaries as well as naval equipment and freight carriers in Brindisi. The brilliant French [PRS – A. F.] and Apulian knights – indeed, even the Toscan guelphs, were all congregating under his banners. This campaign had been thought out well enough. Upon hearing of such arrangements, the Catalans [in Greece – A. F.] also began industrious preparations for warfare” ([195], page 237).

63b. “Ancient” Greece. Large-scale preparations for the third Persian invasion. “Ancient” authors also emphasize the detailed preparations for the campaign against the “ancient” Greece initiated by Xerxes, King of Persia. Herodotus gives several pages to the description of the Persian (P-Russian?) troop population, using the same terms as we encounter in the Gregorovian rendition of Walther’s expedition.

This is what a modern textbook tells us: “no other campaign of the Persian kings was arranged as systematically and with as much elaboration as the expedition of Xerxes. Extensive military and diplomatic preparations occupied three years (483/480)… Persian diplomacy succeeded in making Thessalia and Boeotia acknowledge the supreme power of the “King of kings”… the military preparations weren’t any less impressive… the powers collected by Xerxes against the Greeks were truly enormous” ([258], page 185).

The preparations for the campaign began while Darius (of the Horde?) had still been alive. This is what we learn from Herodotus: “the king became even more enraged with the Athenians, although he had already harboured a great animosity against them for the assault at Sardes. He ordered for the preparations for the expedition against Hellas to be accelerated, sending envoys to every city bearing orders for the troops to be readied. This time each city had to provide an even greater army, with more battleships, horses, provision and freighters than before. When this order was heeded, the entire Asia set into action for three years; the most valiant men were rounded up and equipped for the march against Hellas” ([163], 7:1, page 313).

64a. Margaret in the XIV century a.d. The second most important character is Walther’s wife Margaret who remains by his side all the time – MR-Donna yet again, that is ([195], page 236). She is not to be confused with her predecessor and namesake.

64b. The “ancient” Greece. Mardonius. We see Mardonius as the second most important figure alongside Xerxes, King of Persia. He is supposed to be the “closest military advisor” of the latter ([258], page 185). Thus, we can identify another mediaeval woman as the “ancient” Mardonius. However, “ancient” history of the alleged V century b.c. tells us of one and the same Mardonius who takes part in both campaigns led by Darius (Horde?) and Xerxes (Duke/”Herzog”, or King Caz?), whereas in the mediaeval version these two Margarets (identifying as a single Mardonius) are different women, albeit close to each other chronologically.

65a. The fiasco of Duke Walther’s expedition in the XIV century a.d. In 1331 a.d. Duke Walther marches forth with his troops, transporting them to Greece on his fleet. The campaign lasts for one year and turns out a disaster. Walther departs from Greece. The forces of invasion suffer defeat ([195], pages 239-240).

65b. The “ancient” Greece. The troops of Xerxes are put to rout. In the alleged year 480 b.c. Xerxes begins his campaign. His troops invade Greece by crossing the Hellespont. The expedition takes a year and ends with the defeat of the Persians. The Greeks crush the army of Xerxes completely ([163] and [258], pages 185-195).

66a. Walther’s initial success in the XIV century. In the first phase of the war the Greeks and the Catalans defending their estates in Greece could not devise a good enough defence strategy, preferring to “remain in their fortresses, leaving the open country to the enemy” ([195], page 240). Mediaeval historians explain this with the cautiousness of the Greeks and the Catalans: “Giovanni Villani, the Florentine historian, claimed that Walther de Brienne, whose cavalry was better than the mounted troops of the Spaniards and the Greeks, could have easily defeated them in open battle; however, the latter were sufficiently cautious” ([195], pages 239-240).

66b. “Ancient” Greece. The Persians were winning during the first stage of the war. It is supposed that the Greeks didn’t manage to assemble a combat-ready army at the beginning of the war. Xerxes conquers a part of Greece as a result. Greek infantry hardly opposes the Persians (P-Russians?) at all. “The entire Middle Greece was open to the enemy; Persian army moved through the land destroying and burning everything on its way” ([258], page 190). Presumably, if an open conflict took place, the Persian forces, which were a lot larger in numbers, would simply crush the Greeks. This scenario where the Greeks neither have confidence nor consolidation initially is virtually identical to the mediaeval description of Walther’s first campaign, qv above.

67a. Middle Ages in the XIV century a.d. Walther loses the war nonetheless. The death of his son. The war soon reaches a break point. The French, or the Franks, are defeated: “In 1332 Walther gives up his attempts and returns to Lecce with his banners lowered” ([195], page 240). The son of Walther, who had accompanied him, died during the war in Greece.

67b. “Ancient” Greece. And yet Xerxes suffers defeat. The death of his brothers. After the initial period of bad luck, victory is on the side of the Greeks. The character of the war changes, and the Persian army is defeated. Xerxes (“Herzog”, or “King of the Cossacks?”) comes back to Persia (Prussia?) none the wiser; two of his brothers die in Greece during the war ([163], page 373).

Commentary. As we have already pointed out, we are often better familiar with the “ancient” phantom events than their mediaeval originals. For instance, Greece of the early XIV century a.d. is hardly represented in the documents at all; the details of Duke Walther’s grandiose campaign remain thoroughly beyond our ken. Gregorovius says that “we don’t know anything about how deeply the duchy was penetrated by the French troops” ([195], page 240). However, we now have the voluminous History of the “ancient” Herodotus at our disposal, which gives us the unique opportunity to summarize all of these descriptions. What we end up with as a result is a lot more circumstantial and plausible picture of the invasion into Greece led by Walther de Briennes, a. k. a. Xerxes.