Apologies for the very long time this update has been coming. Rest assured, this TL is most certainly not dead.
I'll try and make another map for Western and Northern Europe. I really need to give my map-making skills practice, and this would be a great opportunity.
As for the Britons and Gaels, there's not much they can say as they're too busy fighting each other. The sea provides them protection but also insulates them from the need for centralization. In light of this, Britain may well fall behind their continental cousins in terms of development, and the internecine low-level warfare between British chieftains can't really help with that.
Citizenship is slowly expanding, with a mastery of Latin and a certain amount of property being the main requirements. Caesar was unusually keen on integrating non-Romans into the state so it's likely under his system that this would be further encouraged.
Regarding the stability of the system, I really don't see it lasting as long as the principate. There may still be the desire among some to be the "top man", which is only implicitly recognized in this system in the form of the Italian consul.
Indeed there will be a bigger exchange of ideas. The fact that Iran and Mesopotamia are part of an administratively effective Empire will also have a big impact on the formation of ideas too. Expect the religious and ideological landscape of the world to be rather quite different. The impact that Dharmic thought will have on the west will be interesting, as the Mediterranean will have a more sustained contact with Hindus and Buddhists.It's a weird but awesome world where the Pontic Empire feels more enduring than the Roman Empire.
Will these strengthening trade networks see a trade of ideas as well?
Unified Gaul is going to change a hell of a lot of things, far beyond its own borders too. The relationship with Germany will mean that the land beyond the Rhine may well be unrecognizable by a certain point in the future.And a world where the unlikely chance of a united Gallic state is a thing.
Arkathiakerta is the only new city. The other four Royal cities are cities that have been there before. Babylon, Alexandria, Sinope and Ekbatana are the other royal cities. This set up will obviously change as time goes on, and it's not really an indication of the most important cities. Although Alexandria is the largest city in the Empire, cities such as Ephesos and Charax are definitely more important than Sinope and Ekbatana.What are the names of the Pontic Royal cities?
Utica will be the domineering city of Roman Africa, which means that its prosperity could go on even longer. Anything is possible..So Carthage never really re-rises, and Utica takes its place?
ME LIKE IT! Utica had so much potential that didn't happen otl!
I think a detailed map of the Mediterranean and north Europe would be useful to understand the current situation at this time. Perhaps even the populations of the largest cities in each "country".
What do the Gaels have to say about their cousins the Gauls now? (by Gaels I mean all British and Irish Celts)
I'll try and make another map for Western and Northern Europe. I really need to give my map-making skills practice, and this would be a great opportunity.
As for the Britons and Gaels, there's not much they can say as they're too busy fighting each other. The sea provides them protection but also insulates them from the need for centralization. In light of this, Britain may well fall behind their continental cousins in terms of development, and the internecine low-level warfare between British chieftains can't really help with that.
There has been a limited redistribution of votes, but it's still the case in some elections that the lower centuries don't even get a vote at all because the election has already been decided by the upper centuries. The growing middle classes are a bit more empowered, though it remains a political system dominated by the aristocracy.And family name - don't forget family name. Clientage will be extremely important in this quasi-republic, and as Rome's empire solidifies, the patron-client networks will extend outward to the provinces as they were beginning to do by this time IOTL. Every provincial who has Roman citizenship, and even many who don't, will be plugged into the system through a particular senator, and some senatorial families' voting blocs will be enormous.
Speaking of which, did Caesar do anything to shift the balance of voting power away from the senators and toward the equestrians and, to a lesser extent, the second and third census classes? Given where his support came from, it would seem natural for him to give the middle classes a few extra voting centuries. Also, has he expanded the citizenship, and if so, how far?
Anyway, I'm not sure this system can last as long as the Principate, because an oligarchy based on competition between powerful families has a lot of built-in instability. But if the Principate could survive the Julio-Claudians and Domitian, then a reformed oligarchic system might last a century or two.
Citizenship is slowly expanding, with a mastery of Latin and a certain amount of property being the main requirements. Caesar was unusually keen on integrating non-Romans into the state so it's likely under his system that this would be further encouraged.
Regarding the stability of the system, I really don't see it lasting as long as the principate. There may still be the desire among some to be the "top man", which is only implicitly recognized in this system in the form of the Italian consul.