Constanus I of Rome.
The Wise
396 A.D. to 446 A.D.
April 6th, 402 A.D.
Midnight.
A shadowy figure stepped slowly forward. "My son...Am I crazy for putting myself through this? To save a broken empire? Who's to say it won't crumble with or without my help? If I wait, it will crumble and I will be blamed. But if I act too fast, the same will happen. I just don't know anymore." He walked over to the wine cabinet, grabbed a bottle and poured the purple liquid into a tall glass. "The people no longer wait to see my face every morning as they did years ago. At least they've grown inspired enough to keep fighting in the Gothic War. They've even pushed them back to Adrianople, back to a battle we lost years ago...against those demon barbarians." He lifted up the glass. "How could have emperors before me have misjudged these people? They walked into our lands illegally and we make them farmers? Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if my father's mission failed." He took a sip of the wine."Tomorrow I will enact legislation that will finally end this war. I have to. We'll lose a damned lot of empire territory through this...but it just might save this land."
He walked up to the gleaming window, the moonlight peered through revealing the gray hairs peeking through his dark blond mane. "I have to go with them. They cannot do it alone. I'll come back for you Servius. I will not let you grow up without your father as I did."
Servius answered with unintelligible babble. Constanus walked near the golden crib and picked up his son. "Your son will be emperor one day, Servius." The infant smiled as he was set back down.
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7:32 am, Rome
Walked up the golden pedestal, he spoke, "Subjects, good morning to you!"
The audience applauded this welcome.
"I, Constanus I of these great empires hereby decree new acts which will once again let the Roman Empire flourish into the great land it once was!"
The audience roared with cheering and excitement.
"This will be hard to take in, but with the following rules being implemented into Roman law immediately, we will save the wondrous culture of this fair land. First, I plan to end this horrific Gothic War which eats up our economy and resources every day.
All was silent. The audience was stunned by this proclamation.
"You may have heard that we have recently gained the upper hand in this war and that we could win. This is true, but it would leave us wide open in the West, and Rome could very well be attacked in the upcoming years. The Visigoths are temporarily pushed back to Adrianople, but even though we wish to push them North, entirely out of our lands, that is just plain impossible. Our armies are weakened, and we have no choice but to retreat."
This late line was greeted with multiple boos and hisses.
"My people, listen please! This retreat will lead to a prosperous Rome, lower taxes, and less deaths. But it will all take some careful planning. I hereby demand that Titus Sergius of Florentia be placed before me in one week's time. I have heard of this man's influence in the city of Florentia and it has been confirmed that he has become one of this empire's great military advisers. Now onto other affairs...
"As many of you know, Christianity has grown to be the majority religion in Rome and the empires alike. This type of unity is exactly what we need here and I will continue to applaud such efforts. However, we must not discriminate anyone based on religion, and therefore, any religious crimes between upon anyone of Christian or Paganism beliefs will be dealt with harshly. We will forever have no national religion in order to respect all religious beliefs here."
The crowd cheered, some feeling that the old Republic is beginning to return.
"Thirdly, and many of you will not like this decree, we will decrease the size of the empire. The specifics are not made yet, but my royal advisers and I will draft a map of the new empire shortly. The reason for this: outside of the peninsula, there is not a large Roman population. In other words, not too many live outside of the direct empire any longer. We are decreasing the size for security reasons, but anything can change."
Once again, the crowd was silent. Waiting further news.
"One last thing I would like to address. It seems with all of these barbaric tribes about, that every foreign group out there is out to get us. Do not fear any longer, for we have a new ally! After a long, strenuous war history, the Celtic people of the North have agreed to be our economic and military ally. They have forgiven us for invasions centuries ago, and we now both realize that these barbarians will destroy both of us if they takeover Europe. So, my people, remember that we are not alone in this fight!"
The crowd thunderously applauded their emperor.
"Thank you all for listening. I will let you all know when further decisions have been made."
He stepped down and returned to his offices.
April 14th, 402 A.D.
Titus finally arrived in Rome and walked into Constanus' chambers. He walked up to the emperor and gave him an expected hug.
Titus had been a friend of Varengellius up to his death. Even though the latter had multiple issues, Titus always stood by him through his decisions. He was aging as everyone does, but was still fit as a fiddle at 43 years. Constanus was the only one who knew his family secret, thanks to a certain diary he keeps with him, and since Titus was never found to be Valentinian's killer, nobody had heard his name before.
Together they discussed how to end the Gothic War and more importantly, how to save Rome from destruction. Titus advised Constanus to abandon Constantinople and only fortify Rome, but Constanus rejected that idea as quickly as it came. Constantinople, he believed, was as essential to the empire as Rome was. The only solution was to find a separate ruler to govern Constantinople and, effectively, the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
"My son is heir to both thrones at the moment," Constanus told Titus, "but because we need to split this empire, I suggest we make you the Eastern's emperor!"
Taken agast, "But sire, I am only an adviser! There's no way I can govern a whole emperor! Who would have been the emperor if Valentinian didn't...erm...die?"
"Theodosius' child, Arcadius. But he died before I became emperor."
"Right...right..."
"Well there's got to be someone. There's no way I can govern both sides of the empire...wait! I got it! It might be disputed, but what if we give the throne to Aelia Eudoxia?"
"Who?" answered Titus with a perplexed look on his face.
"Aelia Eudoxia! She's the daughter of Rufinius, one of the old consuls during Theodosius' rule. I would have chosen him...but he's deceased."
"Well that answers that. A Roman Empress has never ruled by herself before, but desperate times call for desperate measures."
"Appoint her to the throne immediately and make sure she produces an heir as soon as possible. You can help her with that." Constanus stated, grinning.
"Risky move, sir. But if you say so..." Titus said while starting to walk off.
"Hold it!" yelled Constanus. Titus immediately froze. "About the war, Titus. Are you sure shortening the Western Empire will work?"
"Your father did the same thing. Always unsure of things." Titus turned to Constanus. "As long as you're careful, it will. Do not do anything to hastily or we'll lose you as we lost your father."
Aelia (pictured above, in the window) was crowned, to the chagrin of the Eastern populous, as the first Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire. Titus had the opportunity to be crowned emperor, but opposed to doing so, he refused. She proved to be an excellent ruler, cutting off supply lines used by the Visigoths, successfully ending all chances of a Visigothic Kingdoms in the East. She only ruled for a few years, but her administration was strong. When she became Empress, she bore Titus' child, who would be named Sergius I, named after Titus (who died in 410 A.D.), of the Eastern Roman Empire.
From 404 A.D. to 445 A.D., Constanus spent his administration ending the Gothic War and trading with the Celts. Because of his careful thinking, he was able to finally fortify the Western Roman Empire's borders with over 50,000 Celtic army members. For the next fifty years, the WRE would be in debt to the Celtic Kingdom, but that will be explained in more depth later.
The Western Roman Empire's borders were now much smaller than they were in 380, but defense was now manageable. The Alps kept invading forces at bay now that the Romans had newer technology. The Vandals witnessed many of the battles during the Gothic War and decided to traverse Iberia and set up a small kingdom in North Africa.
Constanus was given the Caesar surname for bringing honor and stability back to the empire. Statues were constructed, but he never let it go to his head. He knew such a thing was what emperors before him had done and it only hurt the empires.
Constanus I Caesar was seen by many as a hero who sacrificed in order to keep stability. He lowered taxes due to a smaller army required to fortify borders. There were little assassination attempts only being contracted by those related to Theodosius I. The capital was officially moved to Rome, with Florentia, Ravenna, and Aquileia remaining as the largest cities in the WRE.
Throughout Constanus' reign of fifty years, no barbarian army breached the now-small borders of the empire. The Ostrogoths attempted to set up a kingdom, but it lasted a mere 2 months before it fell. The Visigothic invasion ultimately failed and they retreated East only to be vanquished by Sergius I's forces. Some of the remaining Visigoths escaped into Iberia where they set up a small kingdom. The Vandals were hardly a threat in the South, knowing that what happened to the Visigoths could happen to them. The Franks marched into Gaul as planned and set up their kingdom. Constanus drew up a fast treaty with the Franks forging an alliance. Gaul had not been a part of the empire for years, so they did not care if the Franks had it. The alliance was a security.
Constanus died in his sleep the morning of March 5th, 446 A.D. He died the most successful emperor of the Roman Empire in centuries. His son was already in his 30s, so he passed on the throne. Constanus' grandson would gain the throne as Constanus II at the age of 9. A brown diary was inherited to him the day he was crowned. An adviser reported saying that he saw among other things, an advanced map of Europe in the diary with plausible battle plans for the next hundred years.
