'Furthermore, I am of the opinion that the al-Aida Dynasty must be destroyed.' - Leonardo Marsal of Zaragoza, 1822.
Mirroring the famous words of Cato the Elder 'Carthago delenda est', it was expected that the general involved in the conquest of Algeria and northern Tunisia would be adamant to erase a dynasty he declared troublesome. However, 14 years after his speech in Zaragoza, little has changed. The once-unstoppable pirates of the Mediterranean had been reduced to a minor territorial core and fringe provinces conquered from Egypt and the Fezzanis respectively. As far as most were concerned, the dynasty was now a shadow of its former self. No longer the conquerors of Cordoba, hegemons of Morocco, bane of Atlantic-bound merchants or anything more than a fringe desert state seemingly barely capable of sustaining itself.
In 1836, the Roman Empire as it fancied itself (better known as an overgrown Catalonia) effectively controls the Mediterranean. Holding both straits of entry and exit in its grasp, the strategic conquests have left its economy nearly unmatched on a regional scale. Its stability is a combination of numerous factors. Wealth, decentralised rule to accommodate an expansively diverse empire, and a standing army that makes just about any border state choose its allies carefully, lest they anger a powerhouse.
Attached, on any note, is a trio of maps of the Roman Empire (a term I will probably grow to either resent or accept, I haven't decided yet). A base political, one with cities, and a map attempting to show the spread of the 34 cultures within the empire. I counted.
I have to apologise, this is a thread built on months of reworks to this specific timeline and a lot of hesitation. I really, really hope it's up to scratch with the other threads on this site. May whatever deities exist help me as I begin to update this.
Mirroring the famous words of Cato the Elder 'Carthago delenda est', it was expected that the general involved in the conquest of Algeria and northern Tunisia would be adamant to erase a dynasty he declared troublesome. However, 14 years after his speech in Zaragoza, little has changed. The once-unstoppable pirates of the Mediterranean had been reduced to a minor territorial core and fringe provinces conquered from Egypt and the Fezzanis respectively. As far as most were concerned, the dynasty was now a shadow of its former self. No longer the conquerors of Cordoba, hegemons of Morocco, bane of Atlantic-bound merchants or anything more than a fringe desert state seemingly barely capable of sustaining itself.
In 1836, the Roman Empire as it fancied itself (better known as an overgrown Catalonia) effectively controls the Mediterranean. Holding both straits of entry and exit in its grasp, the strategic conquests have left its economy nearly unmatched on a regional scale. Its stability is a combination of numerous factors. Wealth, decentralised rule to accommodate an expansively diverse empire, and a standing army that makes just about any border state choose its allies carefully, lest they anger a powerhouse.
Attached, on any note, is a trio of maps of the Roman Empire (a term I will probably grow to either resent or accept, I haven't decided yet). A base political, one with cities, and a map attempting to show the spread of the 34 cultures within the empire. I counted.
I have to apologise, this is a thread built on months of reworks to this specific timeline and a lot of hesitation. I really, really hope it's up to scratch with the other threads on this site. May whatever deities exist help me as I begin to update this.
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