by D. N. Carter
With Alisha sat close by his side holding Arri, Paul sat opposite Theodoric. Sister Lucy was travelling with Princess Stephanie trying to confirm if she was indeed pregnant. Tenno and Taqi were again sat up front steering the caravan. Paul had offered to drive but Tenno and Taqi enjoyed the chance to sit up front and talk about all manner of things. Tenno had taken Taqi under his wing, almost like a surrogate father figure to him.
“Hold on!” Tenno shouted from up front as the caravan bumped up hard from the dirt track to a paved large flag stoned road…a leftover system from the Roman and early Byzantium period.
The caravan rocked hard as the wheels bumped up and several items fell from their positions in the side wall niches.
“So tell me…you have been to this castle we are to stay at. Why is it that we have to stay there for a few days? Why can we not proceed onwards?” Paul asked Theodoric as he picked up some candles from the floor as they rolled about.
Dust swirled in through the back door and Alisha covered Arri’s face to shield him from it. The air was hot and very humid and only seemed to increase the nearer they travelled downhill towards the coast.
“No idea. I shall speak with Balian later and find out why. And yes I have been there before.”
“You also knew Balian, I understand,” Paul stated.
“Yes. He is a good man. He is much like you in many ways.”
“Really…how so?” Alisha asked.
“He is a man who is gentle, compassionate, intelligent, and funny and would favour peace over war any time,” Theodoric answered and raised his eyebrows.
“You flatter me,” Paul replied shaking his head no. “Is there anything special about this castle we are to stay at for I have never before been inside one,” Paul asked as he looked at Arri, checking on him. Alisha pushed Paul away as he listened closely to Arri to see if he was breathing.
“He is fine. Stop fussing over him,” Alisha said quietly and gently hit his arm.
“Korykos Castle and Kizkalesi are not that far from Tarsus, where St Paul was born. Well, supposedly born, and I know a lot of myths and legends were started relating to Kizkalesi Castle, especially about a buried item hidden by the gods a long time ago. But much of that has been forgotten and deliberately erased,” Theodoric explained as he picked up Arri’s little horse, Clip clop, and looked at it smiling.
“You said supposedly born there for St Paul,” Paul commented quizzically.
“Did I? Oh…just old habits die hard. Speaking of habits…has my Luce cleaned mine or thrown it away. I tire of wearing Taqi’s silken shirts,” Theodoric replied as if deliberately changing the subject and avoiding the question.
“You did…Paul…supposedly born?” Paul frowned.
“I do not wish to bore you both to death on the matter, so let me just say that there are those who claim, as well as documents of old, that St Paul is one and the same person as Jesus himself. That Jesus was in fact a Roman citizen and after his crucifixion and resurrection, he went off to tend his other sheep. The story of St Paul then got overlaid upon the Jesus we know of, as he was in fact one and the same person but continuing his ministry. ’Tis why the Paulian Church teachings clashed with those of St Peter. But I digress, we can cover that later when we get to Alexandria. At least there I can show proofs.”
“Proofs. How so?” Alisha asked.
“Because there are so many ancient libraries that still hide the wisdom of the ancients and so many scrolls from the period of Jesus…many of which are known about and deliberately suppressed by the Church. And at one time certain items connected with who we know as Moses and Jesus, and by association Paul, were in fact hidden where Kizkalesi Castle now stands. But I also know that Abi, she at one time recovered much of what was left there. That was a long time ago.”
“Why was that? What items?” Alisha asked and looked at Theodoric intently.
“Several very ancient artefacts from antiquity. There was once a time when large parts of what is now under the sea was not so. In fact a lot of Anatolia, or Asia Minor as some of our more learned friends prefer to call it, this entire region that is, was once home to a very ancient and advanced culture. Swords such as you now possess were commonplace as well as even more powerful weapons,” Theodoric paused as he looked at Taqi’s embroidery skills on Clip clop. “I once travelled to a place in the north east with Abi and your father. So you know that the oldest known reference to Anatolia was ‘Land of the Hatti’ and that reference was found on an ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet from the period of the Akkadian Empire around 2350 to 2150 BC. Though you will not find those details readily available to confirm unless you get the Pope to allow you to read their vast vaults of ancient wisdom,” Theodoric explained and shook his head.
“I recall my father once taught me that most of the languages we use today had their origins in the region. That is all I know of the place,” Paul commented.
“Did you also know that Eastern Anatolia contains the oldest monumental structures in the world? For example, the monumental structures at Göbekli Tepe. I would love to take you both there. Huh, your father and I were nearly killed there…but for Abi,” Theodoric recounted and sighed as his thoughts drifted back to that time.
Alisha held Paul’s hand and looked at him. She still had many questions racing through her mind. She had seen all the blood that had covered him during the attack, yet she still could not quite picture it in her own mind…Paul actually killing someone. But if nothing else, it had settled the question in her mind as to whether Paul would and could defend her as Nicholas had done. She bowed her head feeling slightly ashamed for having ever doubted him on that front. She sighed and Paul looked at her. She flicked her hair up and out of her face and smiled at him.
“Perhaps one day you shall take us. All of us as a family,” Paul finally remarked.
“No. I shall never return there. I did what was necessary of me at the time. I need never return but it would still have been nice to take you.” Theodoric said and paused for a few moments. “Do you know the earliest records of Anatolia derive from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamia-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the twenty-fourth century BC? That is a long time ago. Abi could read all the languages of the ancients. I envied her for those skills… still do, bless her. And I hate the fact she looks no older whereas everything I have is either falling out or falling off,” Theodoric joked.
“Hold on!” Tenno shouted again from outside as the caravan hit another large bump in the road.
“My father said that one day, when I understood about the Akkadians, I would learn the beginnings of a great truth. He still has not told what that is though,” Paul explained.
“Did he now? Then perhaps I can bore you with the basics. You have now heard of and are aware of the ‘Crimson Thread’ yes?” Theodoric said and Paul nodded yes quickly. “Then know that its origins go way back to before the Akkadians, but it was they who carried its secrets across time so we have it still today.” Theodoric coughed and shuffled to sit more comfortably on the bench. “I shall explain this simply…I hope. The earliest peoples of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The Hattians spoke a language of unclear affiliation, and the Hurrian language belongs to a small family called Hurro-Urartian, all these languages now extinct, though Abi knew them. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian- and Hurrian-populated southeast Anatolia were colonised by the Akkadians. There is a great gate, called ‘The Lion Gate’ at Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire. The city’s history dates to before 2000 BC. But after the fall of the Akkadian empire in the mid-twenty-first century BC, the Assyrians, who were themselves the northern branch of the Akkadian people, colonised parts of the region between the twenty-first and mid-eighteenth centuries BC and claimed the resources, notably silver. One of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa twentieth century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading a
nd credit lines. Unlike the Semitic Akkadians and their descendants, the Assyrians, whose Anatolian possessions were peripheral to their core lands in Mesopotamia, the Hittites were centred at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia by 2000 BC. They were speakers of an Indo-European language known as the ‘language of Nesa’. Originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the eighteenth century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. The Hittites adopted the cuneiform written script, invented in Mesopotamia. Around 2000 BC, they created an empire, the Hittite New Kingdom, which reached its height in the fourteenth century BC, controlling much of Asia Minor. The empire included a large part of Anatolia, northwestern Syria and northwest upper Mesopotamia. They failed to reach the Anatolian coasts of the Black Sea, however, as another non-Indo-European people, the Kaskians, had established a kingdom there in the seventeenth century BC, displacing earlier Palaic speaking Indo-Europeans. Much of the history of the Hittite Empire was concerned with warring with the rival empires of Egypt, Assyria and the Mitanni. The Mitanni Empire was also an Indo-European and Hurrian speaking and Anatolian-based empire. The Mitanni appeared in the seventeenth century BC and spoke an Indo-Aryan language related to the Indo-European languages eventually to be found in India.” He paused for several moments before continuing. “Make a special note if you will, of the word Aryan…for that is really one of the biggest keys you will ever have to unlocking and understanding our true past. But let me continue…the Egyptians withdrew from the region after failing to gain the upper hand over the Hittites and becoming wary of the power of Assyria, which had destroyed the Mitanni Empire. The Assyrians and Hittites were then left in the field to battle over control over eastern and southern Anatolia and colonial territories in Syria. The Assyrians had better success than the Egyptians, annexing much Hittite and Hurrian territory in these regions. After 1180 BC, the Hittite empire disintegrated into several independent ‘Neo-Hittite’ states, subsequent to losing much territory to the Middle Assyrian Empire and being finally overrun by the Phrygians, another Indo-European people, who are believed to have migrated from the Balkans. The Phrygian expansion into southeast Anatolia was eventually halted by the Assyrians, who controlled that region. The Phrygians kept alive many of the ancient ways of metal craft and even now their weapons and helmets are the best in the world,” Theodoric explained enthusiastically then realised that Alisha had her eyes shut as she rested her head against Paul’s shoulder.
“We did not sleep well last night,” Paul explained quietly as he put his arm around her.
“Shall I continue?” Theodoric whispered. Paul nodded yes.
“Okay, in central and western Anatolia, another Indo-European people, the Luwians, came to the fore around 2000 BC. Their language was closely related to the Hittites’. The northwestern coasts of Anatolia were inhabited by Greeks of the Achaean, Mycenaean culture from the twentieth century BC, related to the Greeks of southeastern Europe and the Aegean. By the end of the second millennium BC, the west coast of Anatolia was settled by Ionian Greeks, usurping the area of the related but earlier Mycenaean Greeks. Over several centuries, numerous Ancient Greek city-states were established on the coasts of Anatolia. Greeks started Western philosophy on the western coast of Anatolia as Hurrian kingdoms, such as Nairi and the powerful state of Urartu, arose in northeastern Anatolia from the tenth century BC, before eventually falling to the Assyrians. During the same period the Georgian states of Colchis and Tabal arose around the Black Sea and central Anatolia respectively. Colchis you should try and remember, Paul, as it will prove to be another key in unlocking part of a secret later. ’Tis connected with the Golden Fleece and Jason and the Argonauts…as well as connections to the Grail myths, especially in regard to the so called location of the mythical Camelot.”
“Really?” Paul asked as his interest rose.
“Thought that may grab your attention…and yes it does. But I digress again. Where was I?…ah yes. Let me keep this short by saying that various factions fought over the area, the biggest and most obvious being the Assyrians but even that empire collapsed due to a bitter series of civil wars followed by a combined attack by Medes, Persians, Scythians and their own Babylonian relations. The last Assyrian city to fall was Harran in southeast Anatolia. This city was the birthplace of the last king of Babylon, the Assyrian Nabonidus and his son and regent Belshazzar. Now Anatolia is acknowledged as the birthplace of minted coinage, as opposed to unminted coinage, which first appeared in Mesopotamia. The use of minted coins continued to flourish during the Greek and Roman eras. During the sixth century BC, most of Anatolia was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Persians having usurped the Medes as the dominant dynasty in Iran. Also in the sixth century BC, the Indo-European Armenians founded the Orontid Dynasty in Urartu. In 499 BC, the Ionian city-states on the west coast of Anatolia rebelled against Persian rule. The Ionian Revolt, as it became known, initiated the Greco-Persian Wars, which ended in a Greek victory in 449 BC, and the Ionian cities regained their independence. In 334 BC, the Macedonian Greek king Alexander the Great conquered the peninsula. Alexander’s conquest opened up the interior of Asia Minor to Greek settlement and influence. Following the death of Alexander and the breakup of his empire, Anatolia was ruled by a series of Hellenistic kingdoms and a period of peaceful Hellenization followed, consequently the local Anatolian languages had been supplanted by Greek by the first century BC. In 133 BC the last Attalid king bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman Republic, and western and central Anatolia came under Roman control, but Hellenistic culture remained predominant. During the first century BC the Armenians established the powerful Armenian kingdom under Tigran, who reigned throughout much of eastern Anatolia between the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas. Areas of the southeast such as Harran and the Hakkari mountains continued to be inhabited by remnants of the Assyrians, but these regions remained under Parthian and then Sassanid Persian rule. After the division of the Roman Empire, Anatolia became part of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Anatolia was one of the first places where Christianity spread, so that by the fourth century AD, western and central Anatolia was overwhelmingly Christian and Greek-speaking. It was during this period that many scrolls were brought to this region…with several important ones being hidden within the Kizkalesi Castle and area. For the next six hundred years, while the rest of Europe suffered barbarian invasions, Anatolia remained the centre of the Hellenic world. Byzantine control was challenged by Arab raids starting in the eighth century but in the ninth and tenth centuries a resurgent Byzantine Empire regained its lost territories and even expanded beyond its traditional borders, into Armenia and Syria, ancient Aram. In the ten years following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk Turks from Central Asia established themselves over large areas of Anatolia, with particular concentrations around the northwestern rim. The Turkish language and the Islamic religion were gradually introduced as a result of the Seljuk conquest, and this period marks the start of Anatolia’s slow transition from predominantly Christian and Greek-speaking, to predominantly Muslim and Turkish-speaking. In the following century, the Byzantines managed to reassert their control in western and northern Anatolia. Control of Anatolia was then split between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm, with the Byzantine influence gradually being reduced,” Theodoric detailed as Paul tried to listen and take it all in, Alisha by now soundly asleep resting against him.[24]
“Why do you tell me all this detail…is this history relevant?” Paul asked tiredly.
“It is if you want to fully understand why so much of the Christian history was buried and hidden in these areas,” Theodoric replied, looking offended.
“I am sorry Theo…I do not wish to sound uninterested. I think I am just over tired and I am still not over what happened yesterday,” Paul sighed and pulled Alisha against him tighter as he placed his other arm around her to support her head.
“No, ’tis I who must apologise. A history lesson right now is the last th
ing you need to hear from an old fool like me.”
“You are no fool…old perhaps!” Paul replied jokingly. “And I value your immense wealth of knowledge,” Paul remarked and paused as he pondered how best to ask him a question. “Theo…can you give me any real advice on what path and choice of work would best suit me, for I am utterly at a loss to decide. I mean, I love ships, but I love my family more and I will not leave them for the seas. I thought I wished to be a knight, but Alisha changed all of that…and I take no pleasure in killing that I know for certain. A map maker would also take me away, so what is it that I can do? I have to support my family somehow for what we have will not last forever,” Paul explained.
“My dear young Paul, that is a question that I am still asking myself at my ripe old age. But as my father told me, and his before him,” Theodoric started to answer then paused as he tried to recall the exact words. “There are three acts in a man’s life which no one should advise him either to do or not to do. The first is to get married, the second is to go to the wars and the third is to go to the Holy Land. These things are all good in themselves, but they may all turn out ill, in which case he who gave the advice will be blamed as if he were the cause of it. And I do not wish to have that apportioned to me for I value your friendship too much.”
“Thank you. It doesn’t help, but thank you.”
“When is little Arri due his next feed?”
“About another two hours…if we are lucky.”
“Good…then let me take him. I will travel with the clucking ladies in Stephanie’s caravan and you two get some sleep while you can. And do not worry, I shall not let him out of my sight,” Theodoric said as he leaned over and started to lift Arri up carefully. He had just managed to pick him up when the caravan bumped heavily again.
Alisha opened her eyes briefly, looked at Theodoric with Arri and simply closed her eyes again resting against Paul. As Theodoric climbed out of the door with Arri in one arm, he stepped off the moving caravan and walked for a few paces, waved at Paul and gently shut the door closed without applying the latch. Paul looked down at Alisha and held her tightly as he lay back upon the wide bench supporting her so she was lying beside him resting her head upon his chest. She was exhausted. He knew Theodoric would take great care of Arri and no one would dare attack the caravan again whilst it was travelling along an open and exposed main track with all the attendant knights in full fighting order. He closed his eyes and within moments he fell asleep.