Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 779 The Ambitious Theodora

Unlike many other commanders of the time, Prokop was a proper priest with a religious background.

This might sound strange, but in this era, lower-level managers, whether called priests, knights, stewards, or lords, are unlikely to be without combat skills. After all, the Shinra region has always been known for its chaos, and someone without some fighting ability simply cannot survive at the lower levels.

In fact, even in the relatively safe and orderly Purple Horde, let alone here, lower-ranking officials and clergy needed some basic martial arts skills. Even high-ranking clergy from Patriarch Zhang to Lama Wang mostly rose through the ranks from the bottom. Therefore, the God Worshipping Society even had its own martial arts schools and training programs specifically for newly graduated seminarians, to prevent them from being easily killed by thieves or enemies as soon as they arrived in the local areas.

This situation is something that people in later generations, and even people in this era who have lived in relatively orderly places for a long time, tend to subconsciously overlook.

Previously, in order to stir up trouble, Theodora had tacitly approved and encouraged the wives and daughters of some bureaucrats and wealthy urban families to establish a number of organizations with various names. As far as Zhu Wenkui and his group knew, there were groups with all sorts of names such as "Women's Study Group" and "Women's Civil Rights Alliance".

Theodora's main goal was to use these people to create momentum.

She believed that while she had gained some power through her status and lineage, she could not advance any further by relying on the traditional hereditary system of monarchs and nobles.

Putting aside other customs, in the traditional system, male inheritance rights are far more important than female inheritance rights. Therefore, no matter how hard she tries, she can never surpass Tuohuan. Even noble heirs like Guo Kang might not take her so-called "noble status" seriously.

Later, when Princess Jeanne arrived in Dadu, Theodora remarked to Guo Kang and Zhu Wenkui that because she was the eldest daughter, her situation was much better than Princess Jeanne's. However, through Princess Jeanne's story, one can see that this status itself is actually quite meaningless, far less important than male offspring, and sometimes even less valued than illegitimate children.

Throughout history, there have been quite a few princesses who were not taken seriously. Therefore, she had to put in a lot of effort to maintain her status.

Guo Kang disagreed, thinking she was overthinking things and making trouble for herself. He wasn't after Theodora's princess title, so there was no need for all this fuss. Zhu Wenku, on the other hand, thought the two of them were being incredibly mushy; thankfully they weren't family, otherwise he wouldn't know what to say to others.

However, Theodora was still very concerned about this. She even developed a theory that one shouldn't focus solely on the power struggles and jealousies within the court, because no matter how much one fought with those nobles, it was all within the rules. Even if one performed flawlessly, one would probably only reach the level of Empress Dowager Helena. To break through this ceiling, one had to go further, step outside the circle of high society, and see a wider world.

The Khanate's power essentially stemmed from the legions, not from Roman law or bureaucratic unspoken rules. On the contrary, the latter were byproducts of military dictatorship. Therefore, power itself originated from the grassroots.

She herself could not exert direct influence on the legion, but the grassroots of society consisted of far more than just legion soldiers.

The church recorded some stories, saying that the earliest popular belief among the legionaries was not actually the Heavenly Brother, but the worship of the sun god Mithra, which came from Persia. Later, the Great Lama Wang, who was quite knowledgeable about Indian religions, even led a special investigation and concluded that Mithra actually originated in India.

Given the striking similarities among many early forms of worship in early India, Persia, and even the eastern Mediterranean region, Wang Da Lama and others suspect that these all share a common origin. In the Indian Vedas, also known as the "Ming Lun" (明论) by the Chinese, the frequently praised "Varuna-Mithara" (вуна-密徒罗) likely refers to the god Mithra.

Of course, this result was not surprising to everyone—India is actually a religious high ground, often in a "superior" position for people from the West, and it is common for things from there to be accepted by others.

From its very early stages, Mithraic religion likely exhibited distinct Kshatriya characteristics. For example, it had a tightly organized sectarian structure, a hierarchical and complex seven-tiered system of enlightenment for its followers, and a system of public communion rituals. Mithraic converts called themselves "those who unite through handshakes," placing great emphasis on mutual contracts, laws, and discipline, and accepting only recommended male members. This warrior-class religion, upon its spread, became very popular among Roman soldiers.

The early Mithraic religion originated in Persia and spread in Roman-occupied Syria and Asia Minor, eventually influencing the Romans. For example, Mithridates, the king of Pontus and one of the Romans' staunch enemies, had a name that means "son of Mithras."

According to later statistics, at least 420 sites within the Roman territory have yielded relevant artifacts. Among the discovered artifacts are 1000 inscriptions, 700 depictions of bull slaughter scenes, and approximately 400 other ancient sites. It is estimated that there were at least 680 Mithras temples within the Roman territory.

Moreover, like the God Worshippers, this sect was also very "grassroots." Soldiers were highly representative among Mithras, and due to the covenantal priesthood, the sect's followers also included merchants, customs clerks, and minor bureaucrats. In the early days, there were few members of noble birth; it wasn't until the 'retrograde renaissance' in the mid-fourth century that converts from noble or senator families began to appear in large numbers, but free men and slaves still constituted a considerable number.

However, to appease the soldiers, the Roman high command did not organize against it, but rather actively accepted it. It is said that Emperor Commodus had already begun to actively accept this sect. At its peak, sun worship had become a mainstream religion of the empire, and Aurelian, the "Restorer of the World," greatly admired it. Mithras's birthday was set by order of Aurelian. Later, this date became Christmas for the Catholic Church, demonstrating its far-reaching influence.

Theodora actually knew a little about these "future" topics.

Zhu Wenkui and Guo Kang once had an all-night talk, discussing serious topics such as "the future" and "prophecy," trying to uncover some important secrets of heaven that would not have a huge negative impact on the present world. However, in Theodora's view, the two of them were being a bit pretentious.

Much of the information Zhu Wenkui learned was already known to her—and Guo Kang was unaware that she already knew it.

Because Guo Kang is actually quite simple and easy to understand—at least that's how she sees him. Given the chance, a little coaxing will reveal his true nature; he simply can't hide it. Not to mention, she has a much greater advantage in getting information from Guo Kang than from Zhu Wenkui…

Theodora gleaned considerable information from their conversation, something Tuohuan and his associates remained unaware of. This information provided Theodora with numerous ideas for later colluding with the local Greeks and initiating trouble.

In order to become regent, Theodora tried various methods, including "women's missionary work" based on church documents and experience. She first won over a group of women who were not highly regarded in noble and high-ranking families.

Even within large families, those who aren't the focus of attention aren't in a good position, and thus, they are often quite frustrated due to their perceived lack of success. The biggest problem is that because she recruited so many people so quickly, these organizations weren't very cohesive. Many members would attack each other, and maintaining their organizations was, frankly, much more difficult than maintaining an army. Therefore, Theodora chose to let go from the beginning, allowing her trusted confidants to create a large number of associations and clubs with different names but similar core functions. In this way, controlled chaos could actually keep everyone together.

However, Guo Kang, who was at the center of the controversy, didn't take it seriously.

Because he was one of the church's key figures and its scribes, some people wrote to him asking these questions. Guo Kang replied firmly that women could not hold positions of real power.

He explained that powerful officials, especially those in charge, must have grassroots experience; but nowadays, few women in Rome can gain a foothold at the grassroots level. This is because the further away from the center of power, the weaker the order and law become; and the more directly violence, the true cornerstone of power, is manifested.

Without this protection, the female officials' very survival would be in question. Even if they managed to establish themselves, it's unclear whether it was due to their own abilities or if they had become puppets of other forces.

The Southern Song Dynasty also allowed women to take the imperial examinations, but they were not granted local official positions; the principle was the same. If this was the case in the Central Plains, it goes without saying that it was even more so in Rome.

Greek noblewomen's involvement in court affairs is a long-standing tradition. There was even Irina, who aspired to be empress, but the Church and the Legion consistently opposed her gaining more power. In fact, if her son hadn't been so exceptionally talented, Irina herself might never have had this opportunity.

Now, no matter how much Theodora schemes, she can't gain more advantages than Rome. Rome is ultimately a military-based state, and this environment of constant warfare won't offer others much opportunity. Without military force, even if the Senate and legions agree to your appointment, the Turkmen and Poles won't allow it.

In Rome, the existing order cannot be abandoned to cultivate powerful women. Therefore, such an opening up of power would only become a tool for local magnates to expand their power, which he could not possibly agree to.

Many people in the imperial court and the church found this to be very reasonable. After that, the uproar gradually subsided.

However, Guo Kang was pessimistic, lamenting that Rome had gradually become corrupt and decadent, leading to its decline. He added that perhaps this historical trend would be unavoidable in the future.

When others asked him why, he said it was because people actually felt they needed to "reason" and were genuinely considering whether Theodora and others were capable of holding power. This meant that if someone's argument ever became "reasonable," the court might actually consider relinquishing power.

On the contrary, he believed that this could not be a problem in India, the birthplace of Mithras—in fact, the rule that religions were based on women, as summarized by Theodora, was not a universal phenomenon.

India is the origin and pinnacle of Indo-European religions. However, in India, religions don't need to follow the path of women; they can thrive even without treating women as human beings. Therefore, this generalization is definitely incorrect.

However, Theodora paid no attention to what he said and did not even bother to refute it.

Because soon after, they got engaged, and one of Theodora's ultimate goals was about to be achieved. She suspected that Guo Kang also dreamed of having a harem, and had even been on high alert for it, but now that was definitely out of the question.

In the war of love, Guo Kang was completely clueless about what he should do or what he needed to focus on, resulting in a utter defeat—perhaps even to the point of being unaware of his own failure. Therefore, she couldn't be bothered to bother with the insignificant sophistry of a loser…

As for those organizations, since Theodora is now getting married, their support for free love has shifted to support Meltem and her group. Therefore, she decisively withdrew her support and asked everyone to stop discussing the topic.

Her followers were furious, believing she had betrayed them. Many were enraged, calling her a "marriage-obsessed cow."

However, these organizations were all established by Theodora herself. She knew perfectly well who was spreading the rumors.

If Theodora discovers someone spreading unfavorable rumors about her, she will send a Varangian to find the person. These people are usually upper-class individuals with their own businesses, so all that is needed is to warn their fathers and husbands to keep a close eye on their families and prevent them from speaking ill of the Khan.

The patriarchs were startled by the sudden knock on the door by the Varyag. As for the request, it was neither unreasonable nor did it involve any loss of benefit; on the contrary, insulting the princess only resulted in a warning, and they should even thank her for her mercy.

Therefore, everyone quickly followed suit and restrained their families. Not only did the offensive remarks disappear rapidly, but Theodora's reputation also improved as a result.

This method was remarkably effective. Soon after, no one opposed her anymore.

Of course, in Guo Kang's view, her line of thinking didn't truly break free from the rules. It's just that she probably wouldn't care, or even be aware, that she hadn't broken free...

As for Zhu Wenkui, he was even less concerned. After all, Sigismund wouldn't listen to any talk of women's rights. The selection mechanism for managers here was also more straightforward—and perhaps even more effective.

(End of this chapter)