For the last six years, I've been tackling the classic alternate history scenario of a Roman Republic (in its Principate form) that holds onto its territories long past the Crisis of the Third Century. For this purpose, I have taken a point of divergence in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, on the assumption that the political decline of Rome hinged heavily on the reign of Commodus and could have been prevented had someone more competent been in power. Since full-blown realism is impossible for such a distant PoD, I have striven for verisimilitude and possible outcomes; imo plausibility has little meaning in light of the lack of historical information and the sheer complexity of historical events (as in any alternate history but more so with an ancient PoD).
This project has been undertaken on the first alternate history site that I had found back in the day but I've decided that criticism from an informed audience has been insufficient there (not non-existent but not enough for me). For this reason, I plan on posting my alternate history in a linear format piece-by-piece on this thread. This thread is my first post on the forums here and I'm really looking forward to hearing what this community thinks of my work. Constructive criticism and commentary are MOST WELCOME!
I've got a buffer from the 2nd to the 11th century CE but I want to post slowly to modify the timeline from the ground upward with feedback (I hope!). Whatever pace I set should also work to reformat my writing (right now at >250,000 words) to make the text more concise and less dry. Anyway, I hope that people enjoy the read!
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Between campaigns on the Danubian frontier, Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus toured the eastern provinces of the Republic with his wife, leaving 12-year old Commodus with his tutors and caretakers in Rome. In Athens, a young orphan caught the attention of the emperor, demonstrating a keen memory by parroting back some phrases that he must have heard in the Stoa Poikile. The boy reminded Marcus of him the son he had lost three years earlier, being of an age with the Annius Verus he remembered and even resembling him to a degree [1]. After a conversation left the further impression of the curiosity and memory of this orphan [2], who called himself Sulla, Marcus chose to adopt the boy before leaving Athens.
Over the next five years, Marcus Aurelius grew closer with his adopted son; Commodus was not neglected but his acts of jealousy toward his brother alienated the teenage prince from his father. Sulla accompanied Marcus Aurelius on campaign and, after the death of Faustina, the two were inducted into the Eleusinian Mysteries before a tour of the far eastern provinces. When Marcus Aurelius recognized Sulla as a Caesar alongside Commodus [3], history loses sight of events; Commodus died a year later of unknown causes while the emperor and Sulla were back on the frontier [4]. The death of Commodus saddened Marcus Aurelius but left Sulla as his only male heir.
Returning to Rome a year later in June [5], Marcus Aurelius died on July 2nd in the Domvs Avgvstana surrounded by his four surviving daughters and his son, Sulla. A later encomium by the historian Cassius Dio had this to say of his reign and death:
When Sulla was acclaimed as princeps civitatis and pontifex maximvs under the name Caesar Gaivs Aurelivs Antoninvs Svlla Augustus. Since the Germanic and Sarmatian Wars were unfinished, Sulla did as was expected by the Senate and submitted an order for the generals on the frontier to continue to press the enemy, adding that they were to construct 420 km of fortifications along the Montes Carpates to prevent the return of the Quadi and Marcomanni tribes in the wake of their recent defeat by praetorian prefect Tarutenius Paternus. From here the legions could focus on routing the Iazyges to the west of Dacia. The wars were nearing their end but a few years of work remained to be accomplished before Romans could celebrate the defeat of their enemies.
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[1] A resemblance to Annius Verus may be assumed as one of the parts of the PoD in the birth of Sulla. Consider Sulla as the son of a baker descended from Italian immigrants in Athens.
[2] A keen intellect and curiosity for this boy may be assumed as the other parts of the PoD.
[3] The year of this proclamation is 178 CE and Sulla would be only 13 years old. By this time, Sulla would have spent five years in the camps with Marcus Aurelius and is well-known to the other Roman generals.
[4] My canonical explanation of his death is that a servant girl, Polonia, poisoned him after learning of Commodus' plans to kill Sulla once he had an opportunity. Polonia is the eventual wife of Sulla and two were very close at this point in their lives. The presence of this girl in Sulla's early life and her willingness to kill may also be considered part of the PoD.
[5] The prologue is an experiment in not using Anno Domini or Foundation numbering of years but it is getting a bit cumbersome. Future posts will likely mention years to frame their events.
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I've started it off with a short prologue to set the stage. There isn't much here now but I promise a long post after I have taken some time to prepare the next part for posting here.
This project has been undertaken on the first alternate history site that I had found back in the day but I've decided that criticism from an informed audience has been insufficient there (not non-existent but not enough for me). For this reason, I plan on posting my alternate history in a linear format piece-by-piece on this thread. This thread is my first post on the forums here and I'm really looking forward to hearing what this community thinks of my work. Constructive criticism and commentary are MOST WELCOME!
I've got a buffer from the 2nd to the 11th century CE but I want to post slowly to modify the timeline from the ground upward with feedback (I hope!). Whatever pace I set should also work to reformat my writing (right now at >250,000 words) to make the text more concise and less dry. Anyway, I hope that people enjoy the read!
========================================================================
Sæculum Novum
The New Millennium of Rome: How Rome did not Fall
Prologue
The final years of the reign of Marcus Aurelius
The New Millennium of Rome: How Rome did not Fall
Prologue
The final years of the reign of Marcus Aurelius
Between campaigns on the Danubian frontier, Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus toured the eastern provinces of the Republic with his wife, leaving 12-year old Commodus with his tutors and caretakers in Rome. In Athens, a young orphan caught the attention of the emperor, demonstrating a keen memory by parroting back some phrases that he must have heard in the Stoa Poikile. The boy reminded Marcus of him the son he had lost three years earlier, being of an age with the Annius Verus he remembered and even resembling him to a degree [1]. After a conversation left the further impression of the curiosity and memory of this orphan [2], who called himself Sulla, Marcus chose to adopt the boy before leaving Athens.
Over the next five years, Marcus Aurelius grew closer with his adopted son; Commodus was not neglected but his acts of jealousy toward his brother alienated the teenage prince from his father. Sulla accompanied Marcus Aurelius on campaign and, after the death of Faustina, the two were inducted into the Eleusinian Mysteries before a tour of the far eastern provinces. When Marcus Aurelius recognized Sulla as a Caesar alongside Commodus [3], history loses sight of events; Commodus died a year later of unknown causes while the emperor and Sulla were back on the frontier [4]. The death of Commodus saddened Marcus Aurelius but left Sulla as his only male heir.
Returning to Rome a year later in June [5], Marcus Aurelius died on July 2nd in the Domvs Avgvstana surrounded by his four surviving daughters and his son, Sulla. A later encomium by the historian Cassius Dio had this to say of his reign and death:
...[Marcus] did not meet with the good fortune that he deserved, for he was not strong in body and was involved in a multitude of troubles throughout practically his entire reign. But for my part, I admire him all the more for this very reason, that amid unusual and extraordinary difficulties he both survived himself and preserved the empire. Perhaps only one thing kept him going through many of these hard times, namely that after rearing and educating [Sulla's] person in the best possible way he was greatly pleased with him. This matter must be our next topic; for our history continues to go from a kingdom of silver to one of gold, as we see of our affairs today.
- Historia Romana, book 74, Lucius Cassius Dio
When Sulla was acclaimed as princeps civitatis and pontifex maximvs under the name Caesar Gaivs Aurelivs Antoninvs Svlla Augustus. Since the Germanic and Sarmatian Wars were unfinished, Sulla did as was expected by the Senate and submitted an order for the generals on the frontier to continue to press the enemy, adding that they were to construct 420 km of fortifications along the Montes Carpates to prevent the return of the Quadi and Marcomanni tribes in the wake of their recent defeat by praetorian prefect Tarutenius Paternus. From here the legions could focus on routing the Iazyges to the west of Dacia. The wars were nearing their end but a few years of work remained to be accomplished before Romans could celebrate the defeat of their enemies.
------------------------
[1] A resemblance to Annius Verus may be assumed as one of the parts of the PoD in the birth of Sulla. Consider Sulla as the son of a baker descended from Italian immigrants in Athens.
[2] A keen intellect and curiosity for this boy may be assumed as the other parts of the PoD.
[3] The year of this proclamation is 178 CE and Sulla would be only 13 years old. By this time, Sulla would have spent five years in the camps with Marcus Aurelius and is well-known to the other Roman generals.
[4] My canonical explanation of his death is that a servant girl, Polonia, poisoned him after learning of Commodus' plans to kill Sulla once he had an opportunity. Polonia is the eventual wife of Sulla and two were very close at this point in their lives. The presence of this girl in Sulla's early life and her willingness to kill may also be considered part of the PoD.
[5] The prologue is an experiment in not using Anno Domini or Foundation numbering of years but it is getting a bit cumbersome. Future posts will likely mention years to frame their events.
-------------------------
I've started it off with a short prologue to set the stage. There isn't much here now but I promise a long post after I have taken some time to prepare the next part for posting here.
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