Conditions

Anna seemed to have prepared her remarks long ago and spoke directly. "You should know that during the Ancient Empire, there was once a period of tetrarchy, shouldn't you?"

"Mm. Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire's provinces and military and civil affairs into four parts, appointing a vice-Augustus or Caesar to rule each. You mean Her Majesty the Empress intends to grant me the title of Augustus or Caesar in exchange for sending troops to aid her?"

Lothar could not help but laugh. Titles like Caesar and Augustus, which had once represented supreme imperial authority, had long since become worthless. Many great nobles, even leaders of foreign barbarians, could obtain them.

"Of course not."

Anna cleared her throat. "During the tetrarchy, Diocletian ruled the eastern regions of the Empire from Nicomedia; he appointed Maximian to rule the western regions from Milan; Galerius ruled Thrace and Macedonia, while Constantius ruled Gaul, Britain, and Iberia."

"Now that the Empire has only half its former territory left, Her Majesty wishes to emulate Diocletian and appoint you vice-emperor, with authority over Eguptos and the Eastern Prefecture."

Lothar frowned slightly. "As far as I know, not a single inch of those territories is currently under imperial rule. At such a critical time, a mere title will not be enough to buy my army's aid."

The Prefecture of Eguptos went without saying—it was Egypt.

The Eastern Prefecture included Cilicia, the Fertile Crescent excluding Mesopotamia, and Cyprus. Of these, Cilicia was divided between the Rûm Seljuk Sultanate and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, while the Fertile Crescent was divided between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubids.

Anna said righteously, "You cannot put it that way. At the very least, the Empire intends to hand Cyprus over to you as payment for this deployment."

With Cyprus added to