AHC: Have a united Roman Empire with at least Constantine borders exist by 1600

Step 1.
Have Alexander Severus rampage through Persia during their Parthian-Sassanian civil war. Annex central Mesopotamia, balkanise the rest and make sure it stays that way.

Step 2.
Reform currency and military to lessen hyperinflation and disloyalty

Step 3.
Create advisory body to rival the Senate, made up of representatives of the local assemblies of the major cities (hopefully this would grow into a sort of parliament down the line)

Step 4.
Conquer Germania up to the Elbe. 3rd-Century pre-Crisis is perfect for this, as Germania is neither as backwards as in the 1st Century, nor as militarily powerful relative to Roman strength as in the 5th. Thus, any local tribes outside of Roman borders by the time of the great migration (so everyone except Goths and steppe peoples) would still be too primitive in their social structures to pose a significant threat

Step 5.
Conquer Scotland and Ireland. Enslave everyone. Immensely expensive in the short term, this eliminates the need to keep a substantial military presence on the isles ready to revolt at the drop of a hat.

Step 6.
??????

Step 7.
Profit !
 
Step 1.
Have Alexander Severus rampage through Persia during their Parthian-Sassanian civil war. Annex central Mesopotamia, balkanise the rest and make sure it stays that way.

Check.
But the last half sentence is the challenge.


Step 2.
Reform currency and military to lessen hyperinflation and disloyalty

Why should Severus do this? Actually, his intention is the contrary.

Step 3.
Create advisory body to rival the Senate, made up of representatives of the local assemblies of the major cities (hopefully this would grow into a sort of parliament down the line)

Why any roman emperor should get this crazy idea?

Step 4.
Conquer Germania up to the Elbe. 3rd-Century pre-Crisis is perfect for this, as Germania is neither as backwards as in the 1st Century, nor as militarily powerful relative to Roman strength as in the 5th. Thus, any local tribes outside of Roman borders by the time of the great migration (so everyone except Goths and steppe peoples) would still be too primitive in their social structures to pose a significant threat

Check.
But it is no cakewalk. And Severus is probably not living long enough for this conquest. And after him, we get Caracalla and Geta. You know this story.

Step 5.
Conquer Scotland and Ireland. Enslave everyone. Immensely expensive in the short term, this eliminates the need to keep a substantial military presence on the isles ready to revolt at the drop of a hat.

Check
That was probably Severus' intention. Or not, because his actions were not that offensive. But he died in Britannia. See Step 4.
 
Oops sorry. I misread Septimius Severus.

Of course Alexander was young, when he was murdered. So he would have had some decades to go. But he was no vir militaris like Septimius. It is hard to say, what this emperor is doing, once he becomes older and rules without domination by his advisors.

But almost all of my comments are valid for every emperor.

The crisis of the 3rd century and the later fall of the empire is based on 2 groups of factors: external threats and internal issues. The external threats are pretendedly "easier" to adress:

- With conquering Caledonia and Hibernia you could use about 30-40.000 men for other borders in the long run.
- With conquering Germania up to the Elbe you halve the free german population and create a not that economically important bufferzone for Gallia and northern Italy.
- With provincialising Mesopotamia (and Armenia) you get another very rich province (comparable to Egypt or Asia), which is able to fund a huge army to almost defend itself. Hard to defend, but therefore a balkanisation of at least Media, Susiana and Persis is needed desperately.

But with all this expansion, you increase the internal issues even more. So no solution without solving the structural, political, social and economical issues of the empire. And this is the tricky part without ASBs or implausible proposals. Alexander sounds a bit late for solving the empires internal issues. You better start with Augustus or even earlier.
 
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Ireland is rather pointless conquest compared to interior Mauretania (Morocco), which will get you comparable amounts of agricultural land in North Africa for Roman elites minus most of the naval transports needed to supply it (versus Ireland), as well as equally capable locals as soldiers. But grab both if you really want a Roman wank. And Nubia while you're at it, since Nubia seems to have been a possible conquest for Rome going by the Nile.
 
Ireland is rather pointless conquest compared to interior Mauretania (Morocco), which will get you comparable amounts of agricultural land in North Africa for Roman elites minus most of the naval transports needed to supply it (versus Ireland), as well as equally capable locals as soldiers. But grab both if you really want a Roman wank. And Nubia while you're at it, since Nubia seems to have been a possible conquest for Rome going by the Nile.

Is Nubia still rich in gold?
 
Is Nubia still rich in gold?

Honestly, not sure. I'd assume if it was more inviting, the Romans would've done much more there than OTL. It was in decline, though, at least the more famous Nubian kingdom of Antiquity compared to the medieval Nubia kingdoms.
 
Honestly, not sure. I'd assume if it was more inviting, the Romans would've done much more there than OTL. It was in decline, though, at least the more famous Nubian kingdom of Antiquity compared to the medieval Nubia kingdoms.

If it's still rich in gold an emperor could send an army to conquer it. But since it wasn't it probley ran out
 
If it's still rich in gold an emperor could send an army to conquer it. But since it wasn't it probley ran out

It would be pretty far from the Roman powerbase, in an environment they aren't familiar with. The whole enterprise would be really costly as well, and would require men actively needed elsewhere.

That said, it's not exactly impossible, and the Romans did launch an expedition in the general area during the time of Augustus:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanirenas

There is also the benefit that by having peaceful relations with the Nubians, there isn't any need for a whole lot of troops to be stationed in Egypt. Not that they couldn't afford them - quite the contrary, they could afford them too well. Having an ambitious governor in far-off Egypt controlling both a large army and the wealthiest province of Rome with which to pay the said army isn't really something desirable IMO.

Ireland is rather pointless conquest compared to interior Mauretania (Morocco), which will get you comparable amounts of agricultural land in North Africa for Roman elites minus most of the naval transports needed to supply it (versus Ireland), as well as equally capable locals as soldiers. But grab both if you really want a Roman wank. And Nubia while you're at it, since Nubia seems to have been a possible conquest for Rome going by the Nile.


And what about colonization of the new world?
No ships that could really make the journey reliably. Also, lack of land area wasn't exactly a major problem for Rome.



And this is the tricky part without ASBs or implausible proposals. Alexander sounds a bit late for solving the empires internal issues. You better start with Augustus or even earlier.

IMHO it's not too late.

Let's look a bit at Alexander:

1. He was on his way to converting to Christianity, thanks to being tutored by Origen , and was open to erecting a "temple to Jesus"
2. He took measures to control inflation by increasing silver purity in coinage
3. He was open to delegating power and creating powerful advisory bodies - according to Cassius Dio, he created a select board of sixteen senators

To me, this shows great promise. Comercial integration of the Roman world was probably at its highest during his reign (just before the 3rd Century crisis), and its not unreasonable to assume that continued peace would have both prevented the hyperinflation that followed and lead to greater monetization of the economy and urbanization of society.

If the energy of the army can be directed outwards, mainly by either having him be a great general or having a great (and loyal) general by his side winning him great victories, allowing Alexander to focus on domestic issues, I believe the entire crisis could have been prevented.

Also, what's so implausible about the creation of an advisory body by an Emperor already favorable to such an idea. Title inflation was a real thing - by creating this body, Alexander would provide an avenue of advancement for local politicians and dignitaries and a reliable source of information on how the major communities of the Empire felt about any number of things, as well as a method of ensuring their support by providing them an avenue to voice their ideas and concerns. He could also use it as a means of delegating certain tasks.
 
Also, what's so implausible about the creation of an advisory body by an Emperor already favorable to such an idea.
There is nothing implausible about an advisory board. They almost always existed since Augustus.

I wrote that a plausible solution solving the structural, political, social and economical issues of the empire is hard to find. The later you start, the harder to solve these internal issues.
 
It would be pretty far from the Roman powerbase, in an environment they aren't familiar with. The whole enterprise would be really costly as well, and would require men actively needed elsewhere.

That said, it's not exactly impossible, and the Romans did launch an expedition in the general area during the time of Augustus:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanirenas

There is also the benefit that by having peaceful relations with the Nubians, there isn't any need for a whole lot of troops to be stationed in Egypt. Not that they couldn't afford them - quite the contrary, they could afford them too well. Having an ambitious governor in far-off Egypt controlling both a large army and the wealthiest province of Rome with which to pay the said army isn't really something desirable IMO.





No ships that could really make the journey reliably. Also, lack of land area wasn't exactly a major problem for Rome.





IMHO it's not too late.

Let's look a bit at Alexander:

1. He was on his way to converting to Christianity, thanks to being tutored by Origen , and was open to erecting a "temple to Jesus"
2. He took measures to control inflation by increasing silver purity in coinage
3. He was open to delegating power and creating powerful advisory bodies - according to Cassius Dio, he created a select board of sixteen senators

To me, this shows great promise. Comercial integration of the Roman world was probably at its highest during his reign (just before the 3rd Century crisis), and its not unreasonable to assume that continued peace would have both prevented the hyperinflation that followed and lead to greater monetization of the economy and urbanization of society.

If the energy of the army can be directed outwards, mainly by either having him be a great general or having a great (and loyal) general by his side winning him great victories, allowing Alexander to focus on domestic issues, I believe the entire crisis could have been prevented.

Also, what's so implausible about the creation of an advisory body by an Emperor already favorable to such an idea. Title inflation was a real thing - by creating this body, Alexander would provide an avenue of advancement for local politicians and dignitaries and a reliable source of information on how the major communities of the Empire felt about any number of things, as well as a method of ensuring their support by providing them an avenue to voice their ideas and concerns. He could also use it as a means of delegating certain tasks.

I ment colonization in the future when ship building gets better
 
Here's a fun one: Arab conquests go and take Asia Minor and the Balkans instead of Persia. Roman Caliphate established. Subsequent conquests of Spain and Italy followed by conversions of France and England, submitting them to the Caliph-Emperor.
 
Here's a fun one: Arab conquests go and take Asia Minor and the Balkans instead of Persia. Roman Caliphate established. Subsequent conquests of Spain and Italy followed by conversions of France and England, submitting them to the Caliph-Emperor.

I'd read that
 
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