Bust of Caesar Publius Helvius Pertinax Augustus, 19th Roman Emperor (193 - 197 AD).
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"At times, it appears that the debate concerning historiography of the emperor Pertinax, infamous for practically destroying the same Praetorian Guard which brought him to power following their assassination of Commodus, unfortunately overshadows that of any actual facts of his reign, mainly within debates over minutiae which historians are so wont to engage.
"Is it to be considered a continuation of the successes of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, much as Machiavelli implies in The Prince, given that his heir hailed from a branch of the same family and his adoption thereof also followed the same tradition, or had that dynasty been truly well and buried after the excesses of Commodus? Is he instead the founder of the 'Pertinacian' dynasty, which carried Rome peaceably into the next century? Or, as some historians suggest, are these two epochs simply aspects of a greater 'Nerva-Antonine-Pertinacian' dynasty?
"To what extent do these issues of nomenclature actually matter, especially when compared to the next major debate: was he, indeed, a 'good' emperor, in the mold of his predecessors Nerva and Hadrian which he aimed to emulate, much as later sources tend to vindicate his rule, or a 'bad' emperor, such as those criticising him as a 'second Domitian', or worse yet, a 'second Tiberius', due to the purges of the military early in his reign?
"Though his reign lasted a mere four years, due primarily to his already advanced age, the reforms of Pertinax, as further enforced by his successors, undeniably reshaped the Roman Empire. Whether these by themselves would have enough to prevent its eventual fall is indubitably the realm of the counterfactual; what we can say with certainty is that the old grammarian succeeded beyond the expectations of many, if not most."
- Excerpt from Preface to Pertinax and the Praetorians by Prof. Thomas Colton (2015).
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OKAY, WHAT?
Ease on the all-caps, bro!
JVST BE GLAD I'M NOT DISPENSING WITH SPACES TOO.
See, now everyone thinks you're just mimicking Death from Discworld.
BVT ME EFFECTIO THE "U" SVBSTITVTION TOO!
I think you're overthinking this - you're trying to replicate dog latin but you're just sounding like Bizarro. Just get on with it and mock me, all right?
AREN'T VOS SVPPOSED TO BE WORKING ON "GERMANIA WEBERAE", TL VOSTRVM?
I'm taking a break from that until October, so I'm spending it on...writing another timeline. Huh.
DO VOS EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOVT ANCIENT ROMA?
Its greatest hits, yeah. I've also got the Historia Augusta, Roman History by Cassius Dio, Epitome de Caesaribus, New History by Zosimus, this, and, of course, Vicipaedia.
JVPITER ELEISON NOS. FVRTHERMORE, HAVEN'T OTHERS TRIED THIS BEFORE, IN PRINT?
Can you try and be a bit supportive of my first pre-1900 TL? Also, that other one had Rome surviving until the present day. Come on!
OH, FINE. AVE LECTOR, MORITVRI TE SALVTANT.
Oh, fvccant off.
Ease on the all-caps, bro!
JVST BE GLAD I'M NOT DISPENSING WITH SPACES TOO.
See, now everyone thinks you're just mimicking Death from Discworld.
BVT ME EFFECTIO THE "U" SVBSTITVTION TOO!
I think you're overthinking this - you're trying to replicate dog latin but you're just sounding like Bizarro. Just get on with it and mock me, all right?
AREN'T VOS SVPPOSED TO BE WORKING ON "GERMANIA WEBERAE", TL VOSTRVM?
I'm taking a break from that until October, so I'm spending it on...writing another timeline. Huh.
DO VOS EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOVT ANCIENT ROMA?
Its greatest hits, yeah. I've also got the Historia Augusta, Roman History by Cassius Dio, Epitome de Caesaribus, New History by Zosimus, this, and, of course, Vicipaedia.
JVPITER ELEISON NOS. FVRTHERMORE, HAVEN'T OTHERS TRIED THIS BEFORE, IN PRINT?
Can you try and be a bit supportive of my first pre-1900 TL? Also, that other one had Rome surviving until the present day. Come on!
OH, FINE. AVE LECTOR, MORITVRI TE SALVTANT.
Oh, fvccant off.
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Well, this is my crack at extending the lifespan of the man who died pretty much from trying to do the right thing at the wrong time. I don't expect to continue this to the present day, but I hope at least to generate a few interesting short-term butterflies for the Roman Empire. I also don't know exactly how this'll end, but I reckon avoiding the Year of the Five Emperors and/or the Crisis of the Third Century ought to be "good enough".
Feedback and advice on other sources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for dropping by!
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