[b]Leader Name:[/b] Theophilius Melissenus (Theophilos Melissenos)

[b]Faction Name:[/b] Roman Empire

[b]Map Province:[/b] Dicose of Egypt

[b]History/Bio:[/b] The Dicose of Egypt suffered under heavy taxation and religious differences, although for several reigns, the Emperors have tried to find a compromise that would please both East and West, sometimes favoring the West, sometimes favoring the East. The latest compromise was Monothelism, the idea that Christ had two natures, but one will, which in turn was seen as a 'lukewarm' and 'watered-down' version of Chalcedonian and Miaphysite doctrines. The reason that the Early Church was so insistent on dividing itself via debates on the nature of Christ was because of their adoption of Pagan Roman Philosophy, most prominently Neoplatonism, whose distinction between the material and spiritual influenced people from Origen and St. Augustine.

Needless to say, this adoption made even the slightest of differences into a philosophical, life-and-death situation, literally. Not merely that, but the adoption of Pagan Roman Mores, including the rule that Women must adopt the surname of their closest male relative or husband, also permeated Christianity, turning it from a religion that made widows and unmarried women relevant, to a religion that lynched Pagan Female Scholars in Alexandria itself. 

Okay, enough lecturing. My point is, the conflict between the Melkites (Semitic name for Orthodox/Catholic/Chalcedonian) and the Miaphysites in Egypt itself was divisive and destructive, but at the same time, more managable than it looked as long as one concilated the landed families that held all the power. And that was what Theophanes Melissenos, once he came to power in Egypt, started to do.

Born to the Urban Elites in Constantinople, Theophilus was no genius, but still a bit of a savant, who rose up in the ranks, including in the last great war against the Sanassids. Enduring several defeats before final victory, Theophilus learned much about war, but at the same time, from the final campaigns at Cestiphon, also about how superior tactics, mobility, and yes, deception, are vital to turning the tide of a battle.

In Egypt, Theophilus began hearing words from Arab Merchants of the actions of Muhammad, as well as his battles. At first disdainful of this new 'Prophet', he nevertheless retained enough presence of mind to know that as exhausted as the Roman and Sanassid Empires were, they might be caught by a surprise attack. Not merely that, but the fact was that he was prescient enough to know that the normal Roman treatment of the Arabs in Arabia, which inovlved using them as pawns in the Roman - Sanassid conflict, and, like all pawns, casting them aside when they're no longer useful, created much resentment. Therefore, his current advice is to treat the Ghassanids and other Christian Arabs more fairly instead of treating them with disdain.