Augustus' Heirs. A TL
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The Son
In 37 BC Livia, newly wife of Octavian became pregnant to the satisfaction of her husband. Late in that year she gave birth to a healthy male. With the succession assured, as Octavian became Augustus, he was able to turn to more pressing matters of state rather than stupid family affairs. The son was followed three years later by a miscarriage, and Livia never became pregnant again. This is where our story begins.
Gaius aged eleven.
Gaius Julius Caesar the younger was an exceptional child from the first and clearly blessed with his father’s intelligence and as well as his mother’s. He was very inquisitive and liked to ask questions from a young age that left his tutors often very angry with him. But he was a quick learner and was reading and writing like an adult from the age of twelve. By fourteen, he was as learned as most aristocrats would ever be in their lifetime. He displayed a quick wit and charisma that endeared him to his parents and he had a very good relationship with his half siblings Tiberius, Drusus, sons of his mother from her previous marriage as well as Julia, Augustus' daughter from his previous wife.
Gaius the younger as we shall now refer to him was constantly challenging his tutors as to why something had to be the way that it was. Why couldn’t this or that be improved? He would go deep into issues, far deeper than they had often contemplated. He was an avid reader, spending hours per day absorbed in Greek books about mathematics, natural philosophy, mechanical engineering to the detriment of his other duties and was often scolded by his parents for his un-Roman behaviour. Proper Romans didn’t ask that many questions, they didn’t obsess over learning, knowledge was only good for the practical use you got out of it. Livia had high ambitions for his son and didn’t want him developing a reputation as a bookworm.
In retrospect it was never in doubt that Gaius the Younger would one day succeed his father. But for a long time his father showed him no preference, unlike that which he gave his stepsons who were allowed into political officers before their age. Gaius would have to wait until he was of the right age to deflect any damaging accusations of favouritism. At twenty he was a military tribunus laticlavius serving in Egypt where he interacted with many intellectuals in Alexandria. By this time he was already corresponding with many of the great minds of his day, having read their works avidly. He brought to his father’s attention many intellectuals that would be of use to the empire.
Afterwards he became a tribune of the plebs for a year, where he made a name for himself defending popular legal cases since he wasn’t a bad rhetorician although his expertise was certainly not law. (And his opponents cowered before him because of who he was.) The people already loved him for being the son of Augustus and resembling his father’s younger appearance, but they now liked him even more.
Next he was sent to Germania as a legate where his slightly older stepbrother Drusus was already in the command of several legions waging a series of brilliant campaigns against the German tribes, subjugating them in the name of Rome. During his stint, he learned much from the much more experienced general and made his first great contribution. Having observed that horses were susceptible to having their hooves split by the rough terrain of Germania, he experimented with hammering iron shoes into new foals. It worked. Their hooves were protected and cavalry and officer riders were protected from falling off their horses as the invention spread far and wide.
Legionaries gambling away their hard-earned wages, this game was banned by Drusus for being unsoldierly but the rule could not be enforced.
After several years in Germania he returned to Rome and became Quaestor. Entering the Senate, he served another year as Aedile to increase his popularity before serving as a proconsul in Gaul. All this time, Drusus continued to win renown for himself in Germania and while many may have feared for their prospects with such a successful stepson to Augustus, Gaius the Younger wasn’t worried. He knew Drusus’ character and he was the last person to desire power for its own sake.
Perhaps Augustus was wary of his son being killed in a military campaign, for he left his conquests in the hands of his capable stepsons instead. Or maybe he just enjoyed his son’s company as well as his family. Gaius the Younger having married Aemilia Lepida daughter of Lepidus the Younger (in order to gain blood ties and alliance with the other family of the Triumvirate) they had produced two daughters but no son. However eventually she did have a son (born AD 2) and after his praetorship Gaius the Younger was sent immediately to Achaia on his own wishes to meet his intellectual idols.
Presumably Augustus had kept Gaius around long enough for him to have a male heir of his own and now wanted to fully be in charge of his grandson’s upbringing. After Gaius the Younger finished in Greece, he was made Consul for the year before being subsequently dispatched to Illyria to serve as governor.
Around this time, Gaius was testing a new weapon that he had been inspired from his stint in Greece. Having observed local boys throwing darts at a game and questioned some of Greece’s intellectuals in Corinth and Athens, he had learned about its utility as a weapon. Apparently the Greeks had used it in some degree in the past but it was cumbersome to drag around so many small pieces.
That didn’t deter Gaius however. He had designed a lead-weighted dart and was now instructing the single legion in his command in their use. The weapon had the advantage over the pilum in range, his primus pilus informed him. But it had no penetrating power and was too difficult to carry in the heat of battle. Probably useless.
Gaius wasn’t deterred. He decided to redesign the Roman shield scutum, so that darts could be safely stored in the hollow of the shield. The shield had to be redesigned for balance and weight issues of course. But it worked. The Chief Centurion was amazed. It took time to be proficient with the new weapon but as the months passed, his men were becoming deadly. The year now was AD 6.
Roman auxiliary spearmen observe the plumbata thrown by their legionary counterparts during practice training sessions.
Gaius aged eleven.
Gaius Julius Caesar the younger was an exceptional child from the first and clearly blessed with his father’s intelligence and as well as his mother’s. He was very inquisitive and liked to ask questions from a young age that left his tutors often very angry with him. But he was a quick learner and was reading and writing like an adult from the age of twelve. By fourteen, he was as learned as most aristocrats would ever be in their lifetime. He displayed a quick wit and charisma that endeared him to his parents and he had a very good relationship with his half siblings Tiberius, Drusus, sons of his mother from her previous marriage as well as Julia, Augustus' daughter from his previous wife.
Gaius the younger as we shall now refer to him was constantly challenging his tutors as to why something had to be the way that it was. Why couldn’t this or that be improved? He would go deep into issues, far deeper than they had often contemplated. He was an avid reader, spending hours per day absorbed in Greek books about mathematics, natural philosophy, mechanical engineering to the detriment of his other duties and was often scolded by his parents for his un-Roman behaviour. Proper Romans didn’t ask that many questions, they didn’t obsess over learning, knowledge was only good for the practical use you got out of it. Livia had high ambitions for his son and didn’t want him developing a reputation as a bookworm.
In retrospect it was never in doubt that Gaius the Younger would one day succeed his father. But for a long time his father showed him no preference, unlike that which he gave his stepsons who were allowed into political officers before their age. Gaius would have to wait until he was of the right age to deflect any damaging accusations of favouritism. At twenty he was a military tribunus laticlavius serving in Egypt where he interacted with many intellectuals in Alexandria. By this time he was already corresponding with many of the great minds of his day, having read their works avidly. He brought to his father’s attention many intellectuals that would be of use to the empire.
Afterwards he became a tribune of the plebs for a year, where he made a name for himself defending popular legal cases since he wasn’t a bad rhetorician although his expertise was certainly not law. (And his opponents cowered before him because of who he was.) The people already loved him for being the son of Augustus and resembling his father’s younger appearance, but they now liked him even more.
Next he was sent to Germania as a legate where his slightly older stepbrother Drusus was already in the command of several legions waging a series of brilliant campaigns against the German tribes, subjugating them in the name of Rome. During his stint, he learned much from the much more experienced general and made his first great contribution. Having observed that horses were susceptible to having their hooves split by the rough terrain of Germania, he experimented with hammering iron shoes into new foals. It worked. Their hooves were protected and cavalry and officer riders were protected from falling off their horses as the invention spread far and wide.
Legionaries gambling away their hard-earned wages, this game was banned by Drusus for being unsoldierly but the rule could not be enforced.
After several years in Germania he returned to Rome and became Quaestor. Entering the Senate, he served another year as Aedile to increase his popularity before serving as a proconsul in Gaul. All this time, Drusus continued to win renown for himself in Germania and while many may have feared for their prospects with such a successful stepson to Augustus, Gaius the Younger wasn’t worried. He knew Drusus’ character and he was the last person to desire power for its own sake.
Perhaps Augustus was wary of his son being killed in a military campaign, for he left his conquests in the hands of his capable stepsons instead. Or maybe he just enjoyed his son’s company as well as his family. Gaius the Younger having married Aemilia Lepida daughter of Lepidus the Younger (in order to gain blood ties and alliance with the other family of the Triumvirate) they had produced two daughters but no son. However eventually she did have a son (born AD 2) and after his praetorship Gaius the Younger was sent immediately to Achaia on his own wishes to meet his intellectual idols.
Presumably Augustus had kept Gaius around long enough for him to have a male heir of his own and now wanted to fully be in charge of his grandson’s upbringing. After Gaius the Younger finished in Greece, he was made Consul for the year before being subsequently dispatched to Illyria to serve as governor.
Around this time, Gaius was testing a new weapon that he had been inspired from his stint in Greece. Having observed local boys throwing darts at a game and questioned some of Greece’s intellectuals in Corinth and Athens, he had learned about its utility as a weapon. Apparently the Greeks had used it in some degree in the past but it was cumbersome to drag around so many small pieces.
That didn’t deter Gaius however. He had designed a lead-weighted dart and was now instructing the single legion in his command in their use. The weapon had the advantage over the pilum in range, his primus pilus informed him. But it had no penetrating power and was too difficult to carry in the heat of battle. Probably useless.
Gaius wasn’t deterred. He decided to redesign the Roman shield scutum, so that darts could be safely stored in the hollow of the shield. The shield had to be redesigned for balance and weight issues of course. But it worked. The Chief Centurion was amazed. It took time to be proficient with the new weapon but as the months passed, his men were becoming deadly. The year now was AD 6.
Roman auxiliary spearmen observe the plumbata thrown by their legionary counterparts during practice training sessions.
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The Illyrian Revolt
As governor of Illyricum, Gaius learned from his father of the need to raise new auxiliaries from Illyria. Tiberius was waging a fierce campaign against the Marcomanni. Due to the manpower shortage, Illyrians were to be conscripted to serve as auxiliaries. Gaius had advised his father against it, as the Illyrian tribes were already getting rebellious, but he was adamant.
Now the worst had come to pass. A rebellion had sprung up led by a man who called himself Bato. The auxiliaries that had been assembled revolted. Gaius was in a hard spot and he had a decision to make. Considerably outnumbered, he could march on the rebels and hopefully defeat them. Or he could wait to gather more men but risk the rebellion fanning more widely.
Gaius the Younger decided to march. He was the son of Augustus after all and it would look very bad if he couldn’t keep control of his province while his step-brothers were such successful military commanders. Trusting in his new weapon, he marched with a single legion and the same number of still-loyal auxiliaries.
Bato had nearly twice his numbers. The ensuing battle was a crushing Roman victory as the new plumbata which was what his men called it fondly devastated the Illyrian ranks. When the two lines finally met, the rear men were able to throw their darts over their comrades at the enemy in a continuous fashion further demoralizing them. The darts seemed to be never-ending and the Illyrians broke. Bato was hunted down by a tuma of German cavalry and killed.
Gaius next marched against the other tribes both to deter them from trying anything but also to check up on their status. The show of force was ultimately successful as none of the other tribes revolted with the exception of the Breuci who was led by their own Bato. Marching on Sirmium, Gaius rendezvoused his army with the governor of Moesia Aulus Caecina Severus and together they crushed the rebels killing the second Bato. The Illyrian revolt was essentially over after Augustus agreed to call off the conscription. Casualties were light and the plumbata was a revelation.
The rebels are suitably punished to deter any more would-be rebellions.
Now the worst had come to pass. A rebellion had sprung up led by a man who called himself Bato. The auxiliaries that had been assembled revolted. Gaius was in a hard spot and he had a decision to make. Considerably outnumbered, he could march on the rebels and hopefully defeat them. Or he could wait to gather more men but risk the rebellion fanning more widely.
Gaius the Younger decided to march. He was the son of Augustus after all and it would look very bad if he couldn’t keep control of his province while his step-brothers were such successful military commanders. Trusting in his new weapon, he marched with a single legion and the same number of still-loyal auxiliaries.
Bato had nearly twice his numbers. The ensuing battle was a crushing Roman victory as the new plumbata which was what his men called it fondly devastated the Illyrian ranks. When the two lines finally met, the rear men were able to throw their darts over their comrades at the enemy in a continuous fashion further demoralizing them. The darts seemed to be never-ending and the Illyrians broke. Bato was hunted down by a tuma of German cavalry and killed.
Gaius next marched against the other tribes both to deter them from trying anything but also to check up on their status. The show of force was ultimately successful as none of the other tribes revolted with the exception of the Breuci who was led by their own Bato. Marching on Sirmium, Gaius rendezvoused his army with the governor of Moesia Aulus Caecina Severus and together they crushed the rebels killing the second Bato. The Illyrian revolt was essentially over after Augustus agreed to call off the conscription. Casualties were light and the plumbata was a revelation.
The rebels are suitably punished to deter any more would-be rebellions.
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Heir to the Principate
Despite his victory Gaius was berated again and again by his mother and father for his recklessness and putting his life on line. Only after that, did his father praise him greatly. Gaius entered the city on a chariot in the first full triumph given to anybody for decades since Augustus had become princeps. He was given a lesser share of Augustus’ full maius imperium as well as tribunician powers and hailed as the man who saved Italy from invasion. It was rather overblown, Gaius thought since his stepbrothers had probably won more impressive victories. But these series of political moves marked him out clearly as Augustus’ heir!
When he was a boy and his father had fallen ill during campaign, Marcus Claudius Marcellus was considered the heir as he was too young and thus married to his half sister Julia. Marcellus had died soon after that from malaria but Augustus recovered. He had remarried Julia to Agrippa in order to secure a stable succession. Agrippa's marriage to his daughter had clearly marked him out as the heir, but since Agrippa's own death in 12 BC however, Marcus had looked likely to succeed his father directly.
After his triumph, his father confided him and said that he had been unsure of his military capabilities previously which was why he denied him from taking an independent command. Unlike his step-brothers, if he failed in battle the political ramifications would have been catastrophic and the succession compromised. But now Augustus decided to trust him again with the province of Germania Magna which had been recently pacified by Tiberius and should pose no problem and no danger for Gaius. So in late AD 6, Gaius was sent to Germania Magna. Drusus was made governor of Moesia with instructions to conquer all the lands south of the Danube. Gaius had been cheated out of a military opportunity again by his overprotective father.
When he was a boy and his father had fallen ill during campaign, Marcus Claudius Marcellus was considered the heir as he was too young and thus married to his half sister Julia. Marcellus had died soon after that from malaria but Augustus recovered. He had remarried Julia to Agrippa in order to secure a stable succession. Agrippa's marriage to his daughter had clearly marked him out as the heir, but since Agrippa's own death in 12 BC however, Marcus had looked likely to succeed his father directly.
After his triumph, his father confided him and said that he had been unsure of his military capabilities previously which was why he denied him from taking an independent command. Unlike his step-brothers, if he failed in battle the political ramifications would have been catastrophic and the succession compromised. But now Augustus decided to trust him again with the province of Germania Magna which had been recently pacified by Tiberius and should pose no problem and no danger for Gaius. So in late AD 6, Gaius was sent to Germania Magna. Drusus was made governor of Moesia with instructions to conquer all the lands south of the Danube. Gaius had been cheated out of a military opportunity again by his overprotective father.
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Germania
Germania Magna, Gaius the Younger soon found out was not the idyllic place his father had thought it to be. He was clearly misinformed. The situation was volatile. The tribes were restless. Rebellion seemed in the air. The first thing Gaius did after arriving at the capital was deal with the intelligence situation. He consulted all the handlers for the spies among the tribes and made sure they were passing on relevant information.
The capital of Roman Germania during the time of Gaius' governorship
To help he centralized military intelligence in the province by creating a corps of men solely responsible for gleaning it and reporting directly to him. Gaius only had 3 Legions under his command, the XVII, XVIII, and XIX. He had an equivalent number of Auxiliaries as well as large contingents of Numidian cavalry. Nearly 40,000 men in all. He immediately began equipping his legions with the newly plumbata that he had manufactured and brought north from Italy. The province which previously had housed over 65,000 troops had been emptied due to the need to service Tiberius’ intensifying campaign against the Marcomanni.
The spies turned out disturbing reports. A conspiracy was apparently brewing. Problem was the spies couldn’t figure out who was behind it. A number of tribes were implicated, minor ones so far. But some of the major ones, the Chatti, Cherusci, Hermunduri, Angrivari, Cauci, ect had to be involved for them to try anything. Gaius decided to sit still and wait for more information before trying anything. Military scouts being sent out were being ambushed regularly by insurgents so he was relying more and more on his centralized military intelligence corps who could better remain innocuous disguised as commoners.
Gaius decided on a light-handed approach because he wanted to win the hearts and minds of as many German tribes as possible rather than alienating them. Among his staff was Arminius, the son of the chieftain of the conquered Cherusci tribe who gave him useful advice and intelligence.
And so passed the next two and a half years. The military situation was tense and Gaius was not willing to try anything risky until Tiberius’ campaign against the Marcomanni was finished. He had plans to develop the province and build roads but he recognized that getting his men to do so now was suicide. The Marcomannic War was dragging on and on even though Tiberius had eight legions under his command by now.
And then a rebellion finally erupted. Arminius gave the report that an isolated uprising had occurred. Unwilling to risk it spreading further, he departed immediately sending his spies and military intelligence officers disguised as Germans (they spoke the language) ahead.
The spies almost universally reported no uprising at all and it was at this instance that Gaius realized he had been deceived by Arminius.
All the tribes of Germany had risen up against him. Arminius had escaped with his German troops after he had ordered his arrest and now he Gaius, heir to the Principate was trudging through unfamiliar terrain trying to make it back to camp. Gaius the Younger recognized their present situation and terrain to be perfect for an ambush which could happen at any time. He had been led here by Arminius whom he trusted to show a good route. He had to move faster to escape but the logistics train was a nightmare. The wagons and carts could not move smoothly in the rough and dilapidated roads.
He was forced to experiment. He had his men break off the wheels off the carts and create one-wheeled carts that could be pushed by a single man and yet carry a huge load. He had remembered his lessons and was thinking back to Archimedes and his lever. Using the large wheel as a pivot to the lever, he could have his men lift the load and push the cart through muddy terrain.
It worked, his troops were moving much faster. And then the battle and ambush began.
The capital of Roman Germania during the time of Gaius' governorship
To help he centralized military intelligence in the province by creating a corps of men solely responsible for gleaning it and reporting directly to him. Gaius only had 3 Legions under his command, the XVII, XVIII, and XIX. He had an equivalent number of Auxiliaries as well as large contingents of Numidian cavalry. Nearly 40,000 men in all. He immediately began equipping his legions with the newly plumbata that he had manufactured and brought north from Italy. The province which previously had housed over 65,000 troops had been emptied due to the need to service Tiberius’ intensifying campaign against the Marcomanni.
The spies turned out disturbing reports. A conspiracy was apparently brewing. Problem was the spies couldn’t figure out who was behind it. A number of tribes were implicated, minor ones so far. But some of the major ones, the Chatti, Cherusci, Hermunduri, Angrivari, Cauci, ect had to be involved for them to try anything. Gaius decided to sit still and wait for more information before trying anything. Military scouts being sent out were being ambushed regularly by insurgents so he was relying more and more on his centralized military intelligence corps who could better remain innocuous disguised as commoners.
Gaius decided on a light-handed approach because he wanted to win the hearts and minds of as many German tribes as possible rather than alienating them. Among his staff was Arminius, the son of the chieftain of the conquered Cherusci tribe who gave him useful advice and intelligence.
And so passed the next two and a half years. The military situation was tense and Gaius was not willing to try anything risky until Tiberius’ campaign against the Marcomanni was finished. He had plans to develop the province and build roads but he recognized that getting his men to do so now was suicide. The Marcomannic War was dragging on and on even though Tiberius had eight legions under his command by now.
And then a rebellion finally erupted. Arminius gave the report that an isolated uprising had occurred. Unwilling to risk it spreading further, he departed immediately sending his spies and military intelligence officers disguised as Germans (they spoke the language) ahead.
The spies almost universally reported no uprising at all and it was at this instance that Gaius realized he had been deceived by Arminius.
All the tribes of Germany had risen up against him. Arminius had escaped with his German troops after he had ordered his arrest and now he Gaius, heir to the Principate was trudging through unfamiliar terrain trying to make it back to camp. Gaius the Younger recognized their present situation and terrain to be perfect for an ambush which could happen at any time. He had been led here by Arminius whom he trusted to show a good route. He had to move faster to escape but the logistics train was a nightmare. The wagons and carts could not move smoothly in the rough and dilapidated roads.
He was forced to experiment. He had his men break off the wheels off the carts and create one-wheeled carts that could be pushed by a single man and yet carry a huge load. He had remembered his lessons and was thinking back to Archimedes and his lever. Using the large wheel as a pivot to the lever, he could have his men lift the load and push the cart through muddy terrain.
It worked, his troops were moving much faster. And then the battle and ambush began.
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Teutoburg
The battle was a massacre for both sides. All was chaos. Gaius was almost unable to glean what was happening and unable to issue orders. His army was stretched out over a thin marching formation. Now all depended on the willingness of his men to fight and the competence of his centurions. Around him he could see his legions hurling their plumbata to great effect but the endless waves of German hordes kept coming along with a rain of javelins. The auxilia were being chewed up. The Numidian cavalry was ineffective in the confined space. Gaius ordered them to dismount and fight as infantry skirmishers.
“Push those wagons to act as barricades,” he bellowed. His men, comprehending instantly obeyed and along the ranks and groups further ahead and behind, the centuries copied each other and pushed the new one-wheeled wagons in place and standing behind them were able to hurl their pilum and plumbata with a degree of protection. Germans who tried to climb past the makeshift barricades were invariably put off-balance which was the perfect opportunity for a soldier to stab him with his gladius.
There was little he could in the ambush. He shouted and gave encouragement to his men. But it was lost over the din of the wild cries of mostly the Germans. His personal cornicen was blowing away like mad issuing orders for the men to regroup into ranks and stand and fight in their centuries.
The groups were holding but still in danger of being overrun. Gaius had certain sections which were not being attacked reinforce those that were. The Germans were falling back. The combination of the wagons acting as effective barricades and the showers of plumbata thrown at them was too much. After hours of battle the Germans began to break and flee. At first it was the lesser tribes or the less enthusiastic but by the end of sunlight the entire German army was in retreat. Gaius was not fool enough to pursue them or even to move from this spot. He immediately had his men dig fortifications and ditches to complement their barricades at their present spot and sent out his scouts and spies. The entire army managed to build a fortified camp within hours.
The spies immediately reported possible ambush spots and traps being set ahead. It began to rain heavily all night and the next day which further dampened morale. Gaius visited the entire stretch of his army and had them consolidate and concentrate their positions while giving rousing speeches. He impressed upon them that they were in an impossible situation, that there was no option for retreat and they had to stand against the enemy or die.
After seeing the enemy fail to advance or try a break out, Arminius attacked again as he was losing support among certain tribes. This attack was a defeat for him as the Romans were prepared and no longer dispersed, and they inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans.
Still Gaius refused to move as he did not know the terrain. He had his men ration their supplies while sending our more and more scouts to look for the enemy as well as to learn the terrain that surrounded them. The German attacks came everyday but they were feebler every passing day. Gaius also noticed that many of the Germans were deserted militiamen who had fought on the side of the Romans before and were wearing Roman provided armour.
At last, having found a favourable route that would not expose them to significant ambush sites; the entire army departed during the night. There was a little fighting with a few German reconnaissance parties but they encountered no major opposition.
The next day, they passed into open clear country. The battle was over.
“Push those wagons to act as barricades,” he bellowed. His men, comprehending instantly obeyed and along the ranks and groups further ahead and behind, the centuries copied each other and pushed the new one-wheeled wagons in place and standing behind them were able to hurl their pilum and plumbata with a degree of protection. Germans who tried to climb past the makeshift barricades were invariably put off-balance which was the perfect opportunity for a soldier to stab him with his gladius.
There was little he could in the ambush. He shouted and gave encouragement to his men. But it was lost over the din of the wild cries of mostly the Germans. His personal cornicen was blowing away like mad issuing orders for the men to regroup into ranks and stand and fight in their centuries.
The groups were holding but still in danger of being overrun. Gaius had certain sections which were not being attacked reinforce those that were. The Germans were falling back. The combination of the wagons acting as effective barricades and the showers of plumbata thrown at them was too much. After hours of battle the Germans began to break and flee. At first it was the lesser tribes or the less enthusiastic but by the end of sunlight the entire German army was in retreat. Gaius was not fool enough to pursue them or even to move from this spot. He immediately had his men dig fortifications and ditches to complement their barricades at their present spot and sent out his scouts and spies. The entire army managed to build a fortified camp within hours.
The spies immediately reported possible ambush spots and traps being set ahead. It began to rain heavily all night and the next day which further dampened morale. Gaius visited the entire stretch of his army and had them consolidate and concentrate their positions while giving rousing speeches. He impressed upon them that they were in an impossible situation, that there was no option for retreat and they had to stand against the enemy or die.
After seeing the enemy fail to advance or try a break out, Arminius attacked again as he was losing support among certain tribes. This attack was a defeat for him as the Romans were prepared and no longer dispersed, and they inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans.
Still Gaius refused to move as he did not know the terrain. He had his men ration their supplies while sending our more and more scouts to look for the enemy as well as to learn the terrain that surrounded them. The German attacks came everyday but they were feebler every passing day. Gaius also noticed that many of the Germans were deserted militiamen who had fought on the side of the Romans before and were wearing Roman provided armour.
At last, having found a favourable route that would not expose them to significant ambush sites; the entire army departed during the night. There was a little fighting with a few German reconnaissance parties but they encountered no major opposition.
The next day, they passed into open clear country. The battle was over.
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The Aftermath
Most of the fifty five tribes in the province had participated to some degree in the great battle though they were split among themselves. Not all their fighters had participated, many had refused to fight under Arminius. Gaius decided to send word for an amnesty for the hostile tribes; if they turned over the leaders of those who did follow Arminius and sent political hostages. This led to more infighting among the tribes which suited Gaius perfectly in his depressing situation.
His army had been badly mauled though the Auxiliaries had suffered most with about half of them killed or missing. His legions were still in decent strength by the time they made it back to the main camp.
He immediately sent word for Rome as to what transpired here though he knew it would take weeks for a message to arrive. He requested reinforcements. Surely the war against the Marcomanni could be postponed.
A letter arrived back from Augustus personally which commended him for his victory in neutral terms and two legions were being diverted and sent back to Germania. Tiberius had finally captured Maroboduus, King of the Marcomanni and upon Livia’s insistence Tiberius would be given a triumph where Maroboduus would be executed. A new client king to Rome would be appointed to rule the Marcomanni.
Once he had the two legions plus additional reinforcements, Gaius marched against the various tribes which divided and split by infighting surrendered to him and submitted to his demands. He had various ringleaders and troublemakers who had supported Arminius executed. He took hostages.
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Gaius negotiating with the various German tribes
Finally he received news from his intelligence corps about where Arminius was located. Many of his allies had deserted him after the hard defeat where over ten thousand Germans had been killed.
The main tribes that had risen up had their territory directly occupied by the Romans, with many client rulers losing their position. The Cherusci, Marsi, Chatti, Usipeti, Bructerii, Angrivari included as they were the major players of the anti-Roman coalition. Then Gaius the Younger marched on Arminius with the rest of his army plus several thousand Germans who were against Arminius. Using the newly developed one-wheeled carts to great effect, they were able to advance swiftly even through difficult terrain while keeping their logistics, much faster than Arminius could have anticipated.
Arminius was caught and besieged, possessing a very numerically inferior force. But he still had allies and messengers had slipped out to alert them. Just like Alesia however, Gaius the Younger knew he would soon be facing a numerically superior foe if he couldn’t flush Arminius out of his hill fort.
Again he was forced to experiment. Taking inspiration from some of the slingers he had in his army, he again applied the same principles to a longer stick and the rule that applied was that you could hurl a much heavier object at a similar or even greater distance. Using that approach, Gaius had his men stop building ballista to siege the hill fort and start building these staff slings. Once they had built a thousand of them, he had them continuously hurl incendiaries at the hill fort setting it aflame until the men inside capitulated and handed Arminius over.
How Gaius managed to turn the regular shepherd's sling into a siege weapon.
His men had killed him because he refused to surrender. Gaius decided to show mercy and allow the awed men to return to their tribes after having them swear an oath not to fight against Rome again. They would return and spread the story and Arminius' allies would disperse. His varied inventions had certainly helped convince the Germans of the hopelessness of resisting the Romans.
Using the rebellion as a pretext, he now enlarged the province by successfully occupying the territories of the treasonous tribes who feared Roman retribution, and thus completed the conquest of the province of Germania Magna, extending the Roman frontier all the way up to the Albis. Using Germania’s many rivers for logistics and transportation as well as the newly developed trusty wheelbarrow, he built fortifications across the country over the next few months to station troops. To save time, he had his troops build unpaved roads first for easy military access with the wheelbarrow. Later the important ones would be paved.
One of the military forts (castra) established by Gaius in Germania, later these would evolve into Roman colonies.
Gaius felt good. Even though the philosopher inside of him wouldn’t let him admit it, he felt great having matched his stepbrothers for once in a substantial military feat and having proven himself as a worthy heir to his father as well as Julius Caesar the Elder himself.
His army had been badly mauled though the Auxiliaries had suffered most with about half of them killed or missing. His legions were still in decent strength by the time they made it back to the main camp.
He immediately sent word for Rome as to what transpired here though he knew it would take weeks for a message to arrive. He requested reinforcements. Surely the war against the Marcomanni could be postponed.
A letter arrived back from Augustus personally which commended him for his victory in neutral terms and two legions were being diverted and sent back to Germania. Tiberius had finally captured Maroboduus, King of the Marcomanni and upon Livia’s insistence Tiberius would be given a triumph where Maroboduus would be executed. A new client king to Rome would be appointed to rule the Marcomanni.
Once he had the two legions plus additional reinforcements, Gaius marched against the various tribes which divided and split by infighting surrendered to him and submitted to his demands. He had various ringleaders and troublemakers who had supported Arminius executed. He took hostages.
Gaius negotiating with the various German tribes
Finally he received news from his intelligence corps about where Arminius was located. Many of his allies had deserted him after the hard defeat where over ten thousand Germans had been killed.
The main tribes that had risen up had their territory directly occupied by the Romans, with many client rulers losing their position. The Cherusci, Marsi, Chatti, Usipeti, Bructerii, Angrivari included as they were the major players of the anti-Roman coalition. Then Gaius the Younger marched on Arminius with the rest of his army plus several thousand Germans who were against Arminius. Using the newly developed one-wheeled carts to great effect, they were able to advance swiftly even through difficult terrain while keeping their logistics, much faster than Arminius could have anticipated.
Arminius was caught and besieged, possessing a very numerically inferior force. But he still had allies and messengers had slipped out to alert them. Just like Alesia however, Gaius the Younger knew he would soon be facing a numerically superior foe if he couldn’t flush Arminius out of his hill fort.
Again he was forced to experiment. Taking inspiration from some of the slingers he had in his army, he again applied the same principles to a longer stick and the rule that applied was that you could hurl a much heavier object at a similar or even greater distance. Using that approach, Gaius had his men stop building ballista to siege the hill fort and start building these staff slings. Once they had built a thousand of them, he had them continuously hurl incendiaries at the hill fort setting it aflame until the men inside capitulated and handed Arminius over.
How Gaius managed to turn the regular shepherd's sling into a siege weapon.
His men had killed him because he refused to surrender. Gaius decided to show mercy and allow the awed men to return to their tribes after having them swear an oath not to fight against Rome again. They would return and spread the story and Arminius' allies would disperse. His varied inventions had certainly helped convince the Germans of the hopelessness of resisting the Romans.
Using the rebellion as a pretext, he now enlarged the province by successfully occupying the territories of the treasonous tribes who feared Roman retribution, and thus completed the conquest of the province of Germania Magna, extending the Roman frontier all the way up to the Albis. Using Germania’s many rivers for logistics and transportation as well as the newly developed trusty wheelbarrow, he built fortifications across the country over the next few months to station troops. To save time, he had his troops build unpaved roads first for easy military access with the wheelbarrow. Later the important ones would be paved.
One of the military forts (castra) established by Gaius in Germania, later these would evolve into Roman colonies.
Gaius felt good. Even though the philosopher inside of him wouldn’t let him admit it, he felt great having matched his stepbrothers for once in a substantial military feat and having proven himself as a worthy heir to his father as well as Julius Caesar the Elder himself.
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Augustus' reaction.
Augustus was not particularly happy. While his heir had managed to subdue the rebellion and tribes he had lost twelve thousand troops. Twelve thousand! Including forty five hundred legionaries! It was perhaps foolish to have trusted him with such an assignment that had come so close to disaster. Clearly his son was more of a naive scholar, not a military man.
Though he was considerably placated by the fact that now the province of Germania Magna was securely under Roman control. Augustus thought that in recent years that he was maybe pushing his armies too hard in expanding too quickly. After his stepson Drusus had finished in Moesia, he resolved to end the wars of expansion once and for all.
Meanwhile he would have to think about a replacement for governor of Germania Magna even though his heir hadn’t done too badly. Someone of a more serious, militarily experienced bent who had knowledge of putting down insurgencies would be required though. Publius Quinctilius Varus had been promised the command until the last minute. Yes, he would send him to replace his foolhardy son in a few months to sort out the whole situation.
From another universe
Though he was considerably placated by the fact that now the province of Germania Magna was securely under Roman control. Augustus thought that in recent years that he was maybe pushing his armies too hard in expanding too quickly. After his stepson Drusus had finished in Moesia, he resolved to end the wars of expansion once and for all.
Meanwhile he would have to think about a replacement for governor of Germania Magna even though his heir hadn’t done too badly. Someone of a more serious, militarily experienced bent who had knowledge of putting down insurgencies would be required though. Publius Quinctilius Varus had been promised the command until the last minute. Yes, he would send him to replace his foolhardy son in a few months to sort out the whole situation.
From another universe
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A couple things
1. The POD: A POD in 37 BCE quite possibly butterflies away the entire concept of the principate. With a stable successive mechanism in place well before Antony's fall from grace, it's possible that the Final War of the Republic would take on a very different shape, and you kinda skipped that part. With a clear heir, both constitutional settlements might be butterflied away completely (if Augustus even wins the war), and the Roman Empire might take on a whole different type of government, or Augustus might even be assassinated.
2. Agrippa: The implications of Agrippa being shut out of the succession are huge. IOTL, Augustus was terrified of what Agrippa could do if he got too ambitious on his own. This is why Augustus arranged for Agrippa to marry Julia, so that he would be firmly within the inner circle with no pretensions to rule in his own right, since Agrippa himself was a capable general, and a very popular politician. Now you might say he still marries Julia ITTL, but that then calls into question whether or not any sons of Agrippa and Julia might have dynastic designs of their own, and whether or not Agrippa might try and arrange for an "accident" to befall Gaius the Younger.
3. Military Credibility: You kinda gloss over Tiberius and Drusus ITTL, but so far, they both have spotless military records, and I have no doubt that the Roman public would love them, and heartily accept if any of them tried to seize the throne. Plus, is there anything to say that Livia herself would prefer Gaius over either of her other biological sons?
It's not a bad TL, and it's actually pretty original as far as early principate TLs go, but it just seems like everything went a little too perfectly
1. The POD: A POD in 37 BCE quite possibly butterflies away the entire concept of the principate. With a stable successive mechanism in place well before Antony's fall from grace, it's possible that the Final War of the Republic would take on a very different shape, and you kinda skipped that part. With a clear heir, both constitutional settlements might be butterflied away completely (if Augustus even wins the war), and the Roman Empire might take on a whole different type of government, or Augustus might even be assassinated.
2. Agrippa: The implications of Agrippa being shut out of the succession are huge. IOTL, Augustus was terrified of what Agrippa could do if he got too ambitious on his own. This is why Augustus arranged for Agrippa to marry Julia, so that he would be firmly within the inner circle with no pretensions to rule in his own right, since Agrippa himself was a capable general, and a very popular politician. Now you might say he still marries Julia ITTL, but that then calls into question whether or not any sons of Agrippa and Julia might have dynastic designs of their own, and whether or not Agrippa might try and arrange for an "accident" to befall Gaius the Younger.
3. Military Credibility: You kinda gloss over Tiberius and Drusus ITTL, but so far, they both have spotless military records, and I have no doubt that the Roman public would love them, and heartily accept if any of them tried to seize the throne. Plus, is there anything to say that Livia herself would prefer Gaius over either of her other biological sons?
It's not a bad TL, and it's actually pretty original as far as early principate TLs go, but it just seems like everything went a little too perfectly
I'm not sure it would be that different because Augustus is careful not to show ANY favouritism towards his son. It's only when he wins an impressive victory against the Illyrians that he is marked out as heir even though secretly the senators thought he was probably going to be the heir. I can see more opposition against Augustus' principate but at least people can't say that he would blindly choose his son even if he were incompetent. In some ways Augustus may actually be more esteemed when people see that he apparently doesn't favour his son at all. They may trust him more with his Principate. After all OTL Augustus could have had a son during the 20s BC potentially and people wouldn't know if he would be treated like a princeling.
Agrippa marries Julia after Marcellus' death like OTL but none of his sons are of sufficient age to be considered for succession. Gaius Julius is like 20 years older than them. Julia is also a daughter and being the direct son of Augustus is a much bigger deal. Also OTL, Agrippa's sons were adopted by Augustus and he propped them up and furthered their careers. This doesn't happen much here so they are even more remote from the succession. Even if Agrippa murders Gaius Julius, it would be the stepsons Tiberius or Drusus that got the nod due to their military successes. They might appoint Agrippa's sons as heir but then so might Gaius. He doesn't have a male heir until AD 2 but Agrippa is long dead by then. Agrippa just trying to overthrow Augustus is a huge stretch, I don't think he would have considered it possible. In fact I believe Augustus not having a son like OTL made him more vulnerable to Agrippa.
I don't think Tiberius and Drusus as particularly ambitious. Tiberius literally ran away and Drusus is a Republican. Livia would get why Augustus wanted his biological son to succeed he would have told her privately. Unless she plans to assassinate her youngest son, I don't think she can do anything about it. Again Gaius has a very good relationship with his half siblings, they recognize him as someone unique and a genius with very high intelligence. They don't feel resentful towards him (cause he's not incompetent), nor has he been favoured by Augustus at all until lately. Unless he rules like a despot, Drusus will be a staunch supporter. But Gaius will be much less authoritarian than his father, they already privately know this. Gaius has shared Republican sympathies with Drusus in the past.
Yup this will be a everything goes perfectly TL for Rome basically. Having Augustus' son as literally a 1 in a million genius inventor is unrealistic, but it's also fun as hell!
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Succession
Gaius was given an ovation in AD 10 for defeating his rebels even though privately his father had misgivings. Since Augustus’ health was failing, Gaius was not to leave the capital to ensure a smooth succession. Augustus had already instructed Drusus to be the guardian of Gaius' son after his death, not trusting his own son to bring him up in case he inherited some of Gaius’ eccentric pursuits and Gaius agreed to respect his father's wishes. In the meantime, Gaius had promised both Augustus and Drusus that Germanicus, Drusus’ promising son would be Princeps after him. Germanicus had just returned from the Marcomannic War serving under Tiberius and he had done extremely well. Gaius agreed not to favour his own son as Augustus’ hadn’t with him and would allow him to prove himself based on his own merits.
Though it was very clear to everybody that Marcus Julius was extremely intelligent just like his father except in a different way. He was moody, haughty, and didn’t like to talk much to anyone beneath him, but was never impolite. Even at the age of eight he was extremely advanced in his studies just like his father had been, but showed much more enthusiasm for military treatises and stoic Latin prose to the approval of his grandparents. Augustus was already hoping that young Marcus would eventually succeed Germanicus though of course he would never voice this out loud.
During the last few years of Augustus’ reign, Drusus won a series of victories against the Getae and Dacians advancing all the way to the Danube delta and he commanded the submission of the Greek cities along the Pontic coast who were incorporated into the Roman empire. Drusus returned and was given a triumph, before being dispatched to Germania Magna again to replace Varus as governor, with Tiberius’ son Nero Claudius Drusus (OTL Drusus Julius Caesar) serving under him.
In AD 14, with Augustus becoming gravely ill, he began to talk intimately with his son and heir about a wide variety of issues. Gaius too was totally open with his father for the first time in his life since he was on his deathbed. The two brilliant men exchanged ideas. The old Augustus berated his son for being too politically naive, too friendly to the other senators, too eager to adapt foreign customs and practices over Roman ones, and he was focusing his considerable intellectual acumen on useless activities.
Gaius responded by saying he trusted Livia to guide him with the politics after Augustus’ death, that Romans had a long tradition of copying the strengths of their enemies, that a Principate that stifled the other senators was bad for Rome and would weaken its competence in the long run. There had to be a trade-off between stability and growth and achievement.
In the end the two men met in the middle. Augustus died thinking Gaius would be a great though unorthodox ruler. Gaius succeeded his father thinking he would have to devote more time to politics and thinking about administration and realities than he had in the past, though he would be open to new ideas from everyone around him. He also knew that with the great Augustus dead, a lot of problems would suddenly emerge; as those who had been waiting for him to die were now willing to test a new and rather inexperienced Princeps.
Augustus consulting with his son and family for the last time.
Though it was very clear to everybody that Marcus Julius was extremely intelligent just like his father except in a different way. He was moody, haughty, and didn’t like to talk much to anyone beneath him, but was never impolite. Even at the age of eight he was extremely advanced in his studies just like his father had been, but showed much more enthusiasm for military treatises and stoic Latin prose to the approval of his grandparents. Augustus was already hoping that young Marcus would eventually succeed Germanicus though of course he would never voice this out loud.
During the last few years of Augustus’ reign, Drusus won a series of victories against the Getae and Dacians advancing all the way to the Danube delta and he commanded the submission of the Greek cities along the Pontic coast who were incorporated into the Roman empire. Drusus returned and was given a triumph, before being dispatched to Germania Magna again to replace Varus as governor, with Tiberius’ son Nero Claudius Drusus (OTL Drusus Julius Caesar) serving under him.
In AD 14, with Augustus becoming gravely ill, he began to talk intimately with his son and heir about a wide variety of issues. Gaius too was totally open with his father for the first time in his life since he was on his deathbed. The two brilliant men exchanged ideas. The old Augustus berated his son for being too politically naive, too friendly to the other senators, too eager to adapt foreign customs and practices over Roman ones, and he was focusing his considerable intellectual acumen on useless activities.
Gaius responded by saying he trusted Livia to guide him with the politics after Augustus’ death, that Romans had a long tradition of copying the strengths of their enemies, that a Principate that stifled the other senators was bad for Rome and would weaken its competence in the long run. There had to be a trade-off between stability and growth and achievement.
In the end the two men met in the middle. Augustus died thinking Gaius would be a great though unorthodox ruler. Gaius succeeded his father thinking he would have to devote more time to politics and thinking about administration and realities than he had in the past, though he would be open to new ideas from everyone around him. He also knew that with the great Augustus dead, a lot of problems would suddenly emerge; as those who had been waiting for him to die were now willing to test a new and rather inexperienced Princeps.
Augustus consulting with his son and family for the last time.
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It may be a little naive of me, but I like to think that Agrippa and Augustus were genuinely best friends, but on a more factual and objective note, Agrippa never had any ambitions for titles, he was no-nonsense, tough as nails soldier who put duty and effectiveness above all else, far more interested in actual power than its vestiges.
I actually don't know much about Agrippa except that he was apparently always loyal to Augustus who treated him as his right hand man despite his humble origins. I also don't know how much political connections he had with other Senators (who I suspect wouldn't like him because of his low birth) or how popular he was among the troops, and whether that popularity exceeded that of Augustus. Ultimately if he rebelled, there would be civil war and Agrippa might win but he would seriously destabilize and harm Rome and I don't know if Agrippa was ambitious enough for that or whether his popularity is enough with the troops to get them to break the peace established by Augustus. Soldiers really wanted peace in this period since they still remember the civil war and so long as Augustus is reasonable why break the peace?
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Back in the late Republic, every general was like a patron to his soldiers, so when Augustus became emperor, it was like he had acquired the patronage of the whole army, and so did Agrippa, under whose command most of Augustus’ soldiers fought, plus he was a successful general, that makes you popular enough, provided you do share the spoils.
The Senate wasn’t what it used to be anymore, both Augustus and Agrippa had many clientes amongst its ranks, with the right connections, and considering that his daughter was married to Tiberius, thus he had shared interests with the Claudii and Livia, Agrippa could very well have staged a coup in 23 BC, were Augustus to die.
But, that wasn’t who Agrippa was. He was a soldier above all else, and, I like to think, Augustus’ best friend. He didn’t have the penchant for all the subterfuge and deceiving involved in usurping the title, plus, as you said, everyone just wanted peace by now, another bout of political chaos would have been unwanted and greatly frowned upon.
An Enlightened Reign
Gaius’ radical actions after succession shocked everybody. He shocked the Senate, his family, even much of the people and mob. First Gaius made no action to deify his father even after his funeral. That was because he despised the imperial cult along with his stepbrother Drusus and wanted to nip it at its bud. Therefore he acknowledged (grudgingly) Augustus’ position as the son of a god (which made him grandson of a god though he would never admit it), but he was never elevated to actual divinity.
Livia of course was furious with him for this and he had to work hard to earn her forgiveness for being so reckless and politically stupid. He of course allowed her to keep the title of Augusta which had religious connotations of its own, but he would not accept for himself the title of Augustus which he said belonged only with his pious father. He was unworthy of it and he accepted only the titles of Princeps (senatus and civitatis) as well as Imperator.
The title of Pontifex Maximus he gave to Tiberius whom he felt was losing out since his son was excluded from the succession entirely, although Tiberius didn’t seem to mind. The title would also be promised to Nero Claudius Drusus (his son) when he died. Next he gave both his popular and militarily successful stepbrothers a lesser form of imperium maius that he inherited from his father in all the imperial provinces. To Drusus he promised that Germanicus would get the same (but only after his father’s death) as he was to be the next Princeps.
Next he went before the Senate and asked them to confirm Germanicus as his heir. Of course Livia had already done behind the scenes work for this and the vote was a mere procedure. Already Gaius had decided on a good cop bad cop approach against the Senate, impressing upon the Senators that he Gaius would be quite lenient towards them, while also letting them know subtly that if they didn’t deal with him, they would have to deal with his mother and her faction.
Germanicus was given the title Caesar which set a new legal precedent for succession in the Principate. Every Princeps would be obliged to go before the Senate to have his heir candidate confirmed. Every heir would then bear the title Caesar. Of course Caesar was Gaius’ actual name but his gesture was that anybody could be Princeps, it was not restricted to family.
Next he abolished the practice of putting the portraits of emperors on coins. All his coins and Roman coins henceforth would bear Roman gods or goddesses on the obverse with SPQR on the reverse. He of course recognized that the symbolic power of coin imagery could be abused in the future by possible usurpers and wanted to delegitimize the practice as soon as possible.
Drusus then approached him and asked permission for his second son Claudius to begin the cursus honorum. He had been denied by Augustus for writing a critical history of the civil war as well as being an embarrassment to the family as he was slightly disabled but Gaius knew the younger son of Drusus was in actual fact just as clever as his elder brother Germanicus. Claudius aged 23 was quickly appointed as a tribunus laticlavius serving in Spain.
He recalled Lucius Antonius, grandson of Mark Antony allowing him to return to Rome as he was impressed with his legal expertise and intelligence. He passed over Sejanus son of Strabo the former praetorian prefect to his father and selected a relative unknown to the position who would be much more loyal as a result.
In a public gesture, he recalled Ovid (the most popular poet in Rome possibly) who had been banished by Augustus, thus immediately giving the impression of utmost tolerance. Gaius wanted to encourage freedom of speech and criticism among artists, writers and intellectuals and he habitually engaged in debates behind the closed doors of the Senate with other senators. Publicly he proclaimed he would never punish constructive criticism of himself saying he has much to learn from others.
He also relaxed Augustus’ adultery laws, now those who commit adultery face only a steep fine payable to the state (amount dependent on their ability to pay) rather than potential capital punishment. This proved to be a lucrative source of funds for the imperial treasury. Members of his own family were not exempt whatsoever and would be fined multiple times without mercy in the upcoming years making many of them impoverished and dependent on the princeps for funds which also reduced the political risk they posed. Since he was generous with money for his family though this was not overly resented.
Gaius then formalized the Consilium Principis as an official high command made up of the consuls, available ex-consuls, the princeps, his heir and discarded the practice of hosting unofficial councils with “friends” of the emperor. Thus he hoped to lower the (gradually increasing) tone of flattery and cronyism that existed in his father’s days. This also had the result of granting deliberative decision-making back to the Senate whereas his father had centralized the process of presenting bills to the Senate through the Consilium Principis. Now however, the Council would only have leeway over military affairs.
Rome's "First" Council
In military matters, he sent a decree that instructed troops to swear loyalty only to SPQR, recognizing that otherwise troops would be even more dedicated to generals and strongmen rather than to any notion of a Roman state with rules of succession in the long run. He similarly abolished the post of imaginifer in the legions. Gaius greatly appreciated what he saw as the potentially powerful symbolism of an abstract Roman state that he wants to impress on people, which goes beyond mere individuals.
He then abolished Augustus’ expensive policy of subsidizing Italian families to have children since it was clearly not working and decided to use all the money to set up public schools for middle class Italian children instead. He would work with local towns and cities to improve urban literacy as much as possible and scholarships would be given to promising students to continue their study. The higher curricula for more advanced students would emphasize Greek mathematics, natural philosophy, as well as engineering. The lower curricular would emphasize Roman virtues, the Roman state and people, citizenship, and inculcate patriotism. Gaius greatly feared that the empire's expansion would dilute Romanitas which although he cared little about for himself, he felt was essential to maintaining a strong Roman state.
Next he created a new corps of men made up of former legionaries who would act as a centralized military intelligence agency for the princeps as well as secret police if need be. These he dispersed to the provincial frontiers requesting regular updates on the forces beyond the empire. They were to be called the Frumentarii (collectors of wheat) because they were often disguised as such when they conducted their business.
His first major challenge would soon arrive though. Mere weeks after his succession, he received reports that the legions of Pannonia and Germania had revolted.
Livia of course was furious with him for this and he had to work hard to earn her forgiveness for being so reckless and politically stupid. He of course allowed her to keep the title of Augusta which had religious connotations of its own, but he would not accept for himself the title of Augustus which he said belonged only with his pious father. He was unworthy of it and he accepted only the titles of Princeps (senatus and civitatis) as well as Imperator.
The title of Pontifex Maximus he gave to Tiberius whom he felt was losing out since his son was excluded from the succession entirely, although Tiberius didn’t seem to mind. The title would also be promised to Nero Claudius Drusus (his son) when he died. Next he gave both his popular and militarily successful stepbrothers a lesser form of imperium maius that he inherited from his father in all the imperial provinces. To Drusus he promised that Germanicus would get the same (but only after his father’s death) as he was to be the next Princeps.
Next he went before the Senate and asked them to confirm Germanicus as his heir. Of course Livia had already done behind the scenes work for this and the vote was a mere procedure. Already Gaius had decided on a good cop bad cop approach against the Senate, impressing upon the Senators that he Gaius would be quite lenient towards them, while also letting them know subtly that if they didn’t deal with him, they would have to deal with his mother and her faction.
Germanicus was given the title Caesar which set a new legal precedent for succession in the Principate. Every Princeps would be obliged to go before the Senate to have his heir candidate confirmed. Every heir would then bear the title Caesar. Of course Caesar was Gaius’ actual name but his gesture was that anybody could be Princeps, it was not restricted to family.
Next he abolished the practice of putting the portraits of emperors on coins. All his coins and Roman coins henceforth would bear Roman gods or goddesses on the obverse with SPQR on the reverse. He of course recognized that the symbolic power of coin imagery could be abused in the future by possible usurpers and wanted to delegitimize the practice as soon as possible.
Drusus then approached him and asked permission for his second son Claudius to begin the cursus honorum. He had been denied by Augustus for writing a critical history of the civil war as well as being an embarrassment to the family as he was slightly disabled but Gaius knew the younger son of Drusus was in actual fact just as clever as his elder brother Germanicus. Claudius aged 23 was quickly appointed as a tribunus laticlavius serving in Spain.
He recalled Lucius Antonius, grandson of Mark Antony allowing him to return to Rome as he was impressed with his legal expertise and intelligence. He passed over Sejanus son of Strabo the former praetorian prefect to his father and selected a relative unknown to the position who would be much more loyal as a result.
In a public gesture, he recalled Ovid (the most popular poet in Rome possibly) who had been banished by Augustus, thus immediately giving the impression of utmost tolerance. Gaius wanted to encourage freedom of speech and criticism among artists, writers and intellectuals and he habitually engaged in debates behind the closed doors of the Senate with other senators. Publicly he proclaimed he would never punish constructive criticism of himself saying he has much to learn from others.
He also relaxed Augustus’ adultery laws, now those who commit adultery face only a steep fine payable to the state (amount dependent on their ability to pay) rather than potential capital punishment. This proved to be a lucrative source of funds for the imperial treasury. Members of his own family were not exempt whatsoever and would be fined multiple times without mercy in the upcoming years making many of them impoverished and dependent on the princeps for funds which also reduced the political risk they posed. Since he was generous with money for his family though this was not overly resented.
Gaius then formalized the Consilium Principis as an official high command made up of the consuls, available ex-consuls, the princeps, his heir and discarded the practice of hosting unofficial councils with “friends” of the emperor. Thus he hoped to lower the (gradually increasing) tone of flattery and cronyism that existed in his father’s days. This also had the result of granting deliberative decision-making back to the Senate whereas his father had centralized the process of presenting bills to the Senate through the Consilium Principis. Now however, the Council would only have leeway over military affairs.
Rome's "First" Council
In military matters, he sent a decree that instructed troops to swear loyalty only to SPQR, recognizing that otherwise troops would be even more dedicated to generals and strongmen rather than to any notion of a Roman state with rules of succession in the long run. He similarly abolished the post of imaginifer in the legions. Gaius greatly appreciated what he saw as the potentially powerful symbolism of an abstract Roman state that he wants to impress on people, which goes beyond mere individuals.
He then abolished Augustus’ expensive policy of subsidizing Italian families to have children since it was clearly not working and decided to use all the money to set up public schools for middle class Italian children instead. He would work with local towns and cities to improve urban literacy as much as possible and scholarships would be given to promising students to continue their study. The higher curricula for more advanced students would emphasize Greek mathematics, natural philosophy, as well as engineering. The lower curricular would emphasize Roman virtues, the Roman state and people, citizenship, and inculcate patriotism. Gaius greatly feared that the empire's expansion would dilute Romanitas which although he cared little about for himself, he felt was essential to maintaining a strong Roman state.
Next he created a new corps of men made up of former legionaries who would act as a centralized military intelligence agency for the princeps as well as secret police if need be. These he dispersed to the provincial frontiers requesting regular updates on the forces beyond the empire. They were to be called the Frumentarii (collectors of wheat) because they were often disguised as such when they conducted their business.
His first major challenge would soon arrive though. Mere weeks after his succession, he received reports that the legions of Pannonia and Germania had revolted.
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I have to say, were an historical Gaius to do all you said he did, imperial power would collapse beneath his feet, but since this is a massive Roman wank, I guess things are going to work out.
Putting SPQR on coins, making soldiers swear loyalty to SPQR, depriving his family members of imperium, denying himself the title of Pontifex Maximus and of Augustus, I get he disdained the imperial cult, Tiberius did too OTL, but still, he didn’t reject outright the title of Augustus, it’s political suicide to do so, it places you on the same level as any other senator on a prestige level, it makes you liable to usurpation by disgruntled family members, since he seems bent on antagonizing them, or a particularly enterprising general, since anybody now could claim to be working in the Senate’s name against the tyranny of Gaius, since he gave members of his council enough power to oppose him. Gaius made himself extremely vulnerable because first he genuinely venerates the Senate, then he establishes Hadrian’s secret police, there’s no coherency in such design, just a more confusing amount of hypocrisy, which would inevitably give way to resentment. Either Gaius does what any smart emperor did in these times and gave the Senate enough power to feel important but not enough to pose a threat, and actually supports his family, or he just relinquishes power outright and gives the Senate it’s old power, inevitably creating chaos.
Propaganda is as much important as military success and popular support. Gaius is an emperor, he can’t just make propaganda for the Senate, not even Tiberius did that. He is an emperor, and if he doesn’t feel like being a good one, he should just give the role to somebody else.
Also, public schools would inevitably fail, those who could afford a teacher went to school, those who couldn’t tendend to the fields, were home schooled and practiced a job, or joined the military, society wasn’t just ready for that. On the other hand, Gaius could anticipate Trajan’s alimenta, a state subsidy to help all impoverished families, that could work.
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Since this is early in the Principate when the norms of the coins and the swearing loyalty to the emperor was relatively new, I don't think it'll have a major impact on the legions. Sort of like returning to Republican norms.
But the point about family members imperium, did all of the Julio-Claudians have imperium? I thought Maius Imperium was restricted to the Princeps and lesser forms were distributed a few key men but not to many family members? Am I wrong here?
The Pontifex Maximus is pretty recent, Augustus only got it after Lepidus died, it didn't come with the Principate. The title Augustus doesn't have much precedent because basically Augustus just died and it was originally supposed to be a one-time thing for him, not a title to be passed down. The Senate would be pleased not angry at him. I don't think reducing the Princeps to the level of a senator in terms of prestige is going to anger them, quite the contrary. But they won't usurp him either, everyone knows he controls all the legions, all the legionary commanders, all the imperial provinces, as well as all the funding for military pay and procurement.
As for antagonizing family members over the prestige of the Julio-Claudians, I'm just going to say that being the son of Augustus and being super unorthodox in the past saves him. They were kind of expecting changes with this crazy person. But considering the lengths that Caligula and Nero were able to go to before being assassinated, I'd say Gaius is safe. Gaius is after all the direct son of Augustus, and the people love him for that and he has political legitimacy there that an usurper would not. (Plus he was never favoured by his father which is another thing he can brag about) An usurper killing him to restore the Julio-Claudian prestige is also improbable since he enjoys the support of Tiberius, Drusus, his mother (who would never be willing to assassinate him), all the important people in the family who count.
As for enterprising generals, so long as he has Tiberius and Drusus on his side he has nothing to fear. There will be fewer conquests now than in his father's day and Gaius will get involved in them or send his stepbrothers. Gaius won't act like a tyrant so he has nothing to fear. In fact he will be the opposite of a tyrant. False stories will be hard to make up when all these true stories about his very un-tyrannical behaviour spreads and amazes people.
Gaius openly venerates the Senate but he only SECRETLY implements the frumentarii obviously. He's not going to make a public pronouncement over it. Also the Frumentarii here is much more a military intelligence agency, they are only a secret police of last resort. Less internal security/intelligence, much more external military intelligence as provinces are consolidated and revolts become rarer. He's not going to use them like Hadrian to spy on senators unless first given good reason to do so.
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