Thank you! To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to make this timeline at first, having spent more time on the first one than I ever thought I would. But so far, I'm liking the experience of writing this one, even if it is a remake. As cool as it was to to see how much some people liked my depiction of Romulus Augustus in the first timeline, I have to admit I like the way I've developed the character more in this timeline. For me as a writer, it makes it more interesting (and challenging) to keep him alive in this alternate version of his reign. Lol
Gloria Romanorum: A Roman Timeline
- Thread starter Romulus Augustus
- Start date
Thank you! To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to make this timeline at first, having spent more time on the first one than I ever thought I would. But so far, I'm liking the experience of writing this one, even if it is a remake. As cool as it was to to see how much some people liked my depiction of Romulus Augustus in the first timeline, I have to admit I like the way I've developed the character more in this timeline. For me as a writer, it makes it more interesting (and challenging) to keep him alive in this alternate version of his reign. Lol
Part 8: AD 483
A Reconciled Empire
A Reconciled Empire
During the co-reign of Romulus Augustus and Leontius, the two Roman governments minted solidi bearing the images of their respective emperors as part of a political effort to promote reconcilliation between West and East.
The new year began with the two governments of the empire of the Romans—the East, centered in Constantinople; and the West, headquartered in Rome since the de facto abandonment of Ravenna—recognizing their respective appointees to the consulship for the first time since the fall and exile of Julius Nepos. Unsurprisingly, the two reigning emperors—Leontius of the East, and Romulus Augustus of the West—chose themselves and recognized each other as such. Though the office of consul was long since a ceremonial post, treasured for the great honor it retained but also devoid of any real power, both emperors claimed it for the same reason: to use all necessary means for the purpose of consolidating their reign after rising to power through open rebellion.
Romulus had been made to wait for several years. During his uncle Paulus’ regency, the consulship was promised to several influential members of the senatorial aristocracy in the hope of gaining the Roman Senate’s support for the new western emperor. Despite the death of Paulus, Romulus and Ovida, the emperor’s new magister militum—and in some regard, Paulus’ successor as the power behind the throne—honored the arrangement so as to keep the nobility in line. But now that Manlius Boethius completed his term as consul during the previous year, the western emperor was free to add his own name to a historic list that spanned across centuries of Roman history. The fact that his first consulship coincided with that of his colleague, the first eastern emperor to acknowledge Romulus as a legitimate co-sovereign, was a bonus that highlighted their alliance and did much to reassure the Romans that a sense of normalcy was returning to their world after years of uncertainty.
However, the reality of their situation was that security and stability were still relatively low in the West. Banditry persisted in the countryside like a plague, while looting and other various acts of public disturbance undermined imperial authority in several cities across southern Italy. Containing civil unrest remained a priority for the Roman administration, although the task was almost entirely dependent on maintaining the loyalty of the Roman army in Italy—or rather what remained of it. The majority of the army’s ranks remained barbarian-born; some of these troops had not supported Odoacer’s coup; others returned to Roman service after the death of their would-be king, followed by more non-Romans who preferred to serve as federate soldiers of the West while the leaders of various Germans fought each other for the domination of the north.
The western government supported its federate soldiers with food subsidies, but both Roman and barbarian units required monetary compensation for their service. Naturally, part of the tax revenue was used for the army’s upkeep but this in itself was insufficient to meet the demands of the military. Prior to his fall, Paulus borrowed large sums of money from the senatorial aristocracy, and as a result he increased the government’s debt; part of which he sought to repay by dispensing patronage to his aristocratic benefactors, and thus appointed them to offices within the imperial court. Furthermore, prospective candidates for the consulship were required to pay a substantial fee in order to acquire the hold the ceremonial, yet prestigious post. After Paulus’ death, Ovida opted to maintain his predecessor’s fiscal strategy.
Despite the political fallout that followed in the wake of Nepos’ death, the West essentially gained a new lifeline through Dalmatia, a region which had been secured through Ovida who now supported Romulus Augustus with his army. The money from that province was used to repay some of the government’s debts; the additional tax revenue proved to be a much-needed resource in order to meet the West’s military demands. With relations restored between the western and eastern courts, the former began borrowing money from the latter, although not as much as they would have preferred due to Leontius’ focus of the ongoing war between himself and Zeno.
At this point, the western government turned to another potential source of income: the Catholic Church. Through the Edict of Thessalonica, the Catholic Church had become the state church of the Romans. All forms of paganism were banned by Theodosius the Great; Arians and other unorthodox groups were branded with the ignominious name of heretic. Having grown increasingly wealthy and powerful, the church’s political, financial and religious influence was felt throughout the Roman world. Although the church itself continued to struggle with internal disputes over varying political and theological views, in general its western and eastern branches were theoretically united by their mutual support of the Holy Trinity as expressed through the Nicene Creed.
In order to persuade the Pope to support the western government with occasional loans, Romulus dispensed patronage to members of the Roman clergy of Italy. As imperial power weakened across the western empire, the line between civic administration and ecclesiastical jurisdiction became increasingly blurred, enabling the clergy to fill the consequent vacuum of power by taking on additional authority and responsibilities normally wielded by temporal officials. In Italy, this blending of church and state would become official, at least at the local level in which clerics became leaders of their communities both in a spiritual and political capacity. Across the Italian Peninsula, numerous churches would become centers of civic administration in addition to their religious function.
Political offices were not the only incentives that the western government used to gain access to church finances. As the largest landholder in the realm, the state possessed an array of palaces, villas and other properties, some of which it began to sell to the church in order to replenish its coffers. For instance, the Villa of Domitian—a vast and luxurious palatial complex located in the Alban Hills, approximately 20 km beyond the walls of Rome—was purchased by Pope Felix III and would henceforth serve as the pontifical summer residence.
The Basilan Palace was constructed on the site of the Villa of Domitian during the papacy of Pope Alexander III in the early 11th century AD. A scion of the senatorial aristocracy, the holy father named the new papal summer residence in honor of his illustrious ancestor, Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius (a 5th century nobleman and contemporary of Romulus Augustus). The palace's design was inspired by an architectural style most commonly found in the eastern half of the empire.
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Part 9: AD 484
The Death of Syagrius
The Death of Syagrius
The Cathedral of Saint Memmius, named for a Gallo-Roman citizen consecrated by Saint Peter and tasked with the mission of evangelizing the peoples of Gaul, is the seat of the Archbishop of Noviodunum. Construction on the cathedral began roughly a hundred and fifty years prior to its consecration in the early 14th century AD. Today it is the third largest cathedral, behind the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople and ultimately St. Peter’s Archbasilica in Rome.
In Noviodunum Dux Syagrius was found dead in his chamber. An investigation ensued and ultimately determined that assassination was the most likely the cause of death, the examiners having ruled out natural causes. Imperial authorities conducted a vast manhunt for the assassin and their compatriots. Unfortunately, they failed to conclusively determine the identity of Syagrius’ killer, and as such multiple suspects were arrested and put to the sword.
Outside of the diminished borders of Roman Gaul, several notable individuals were suspected of having either direct or indirect involvement in the assassination of Syagrius. This list of suspected outsiders included Clovis, king of the Salian Franks; Gundobad, a king of the Burgundians; and Euric, king of the Visigoths. These Germanic monarchs each ruled a part of Gaul and it was conceivable that at least one of them desired to extinguish the last remnant of Roman power in that region.
Believing such allegations besmirched his honor and reputation, Clovis publicly denied the rumors and declared that his enemies died by the sword. Gundobad ignored the gossip altogether. Compared to Clovis and Gundobad, Euric actually held some favor with the Roman community of Gaul, largely due to the inclusion of Gallo-Roman noblemen in his court. They would attest to the integrity of his character, as would the Visigothic king’s friends in Noviodunum.
In spite of failing to prove that a single individual among the number of alleged assassins was guilty beyond doubt, by and large the Gallo-Roman community was satisfied with the results. Not wishing to spend further resources on the investigation, the leaders in Noviodunum decided that Syagrius’ death had been “adequately” avenged. In truth, certain political and military officials could have cared less for their fallen dux. There were those who only used his death as an opportunity to settle old grudges or acquire more wealth and power by affixing the names of their enemies to the proscription list, almost everyone of which was most likely innocent of the charges leveled against them.
Before ultimately choosing a new leader, however, the western court submitted—nay, appointed—their own choice to succeed Syagrius. The new dux and magister militum of Gaul was none other than Anicius Probus Faustus, the Roman nobleman who recently married into the family of the late Syagrius. This familial connection, combined with his own famous heritage as a son of the Anicii, made him an acceptable replacement to both the Gallo-Roman community and their Italian brethren.
Faustus and his wife took up residence in Noviodunum, but were required to leave their newborn son, Flavius Anicius Syagrius in Italy where he would be raised in the household of Romulus Augustus, emperor of the Romans in the West. To be brought up in the imperial household was a tremendous honor in and of itself. However, it was also the emperor’s insurance policy against potential acts of betrayal. Romulus was still smarting about this alliance between the Anicii and Syagrius’ clan. In private he firmly believed that both houses insulted their lord and master (i.e. himself) by not asking for his permission first. But regardless, he was not about to give command of the last Roman army in Gaul to a potential rival for the throne—at least not before securing the means to control Faustus by holding his son and heir in reserve as a de facto political hostage. The boy would be raised alongside the emperor’s children, Anthemius and Leontina, and given the best that Roman life had to offer, provided Faustus never forgot that his allegiance was to the one true emperor in the West.
Shortly after the death of Syagrius, the Vandal king Huneric initiated a new wave of persecution against the African bishops of the Catholic Church. At first, the Arian monarch grudgingly tolerated the faith of his Roman subjects out of fear of Constantinople if nothing else. But with the East embroiled in a civil war between Leontius and Zeno, Huneric became emboldened to act on his anti-Catholic sentiments by threatening Catholic bishops with exile and even death unless they converted to Arianism. Refusing to either sanction or join heresy, several Catholic clergymen and wealthy merchants were exiled to Corsica where a few of them ultimately suffered the fate of martyrdom.
This new wave of anti-Catholic persecution enraged the Papacy as well as the western government. Both institutions formally protested Huneric’s actions, but in their current state the thought of war was almost as unbearable for the western Romans, some of whom were old enough to have lived during the Vandal Sack of Rome in AD 455. If it indeed came to war, there was the very real possibility that the eternal city could be subjected to yet another sacking, which would be for the third time in one century. Even so, the more war-like members of the court began lobbying for military action.
From the Romans’ perspective, the timing could not have been worse. In northern Italy the Germanic federate tribes were all but united under the leadership of Onoulphus, brother of the late Odoacer. Over the last several years that followed the Romans' de facto abandonment of Ravenna to the foederati that betrayed Romulus’ father, five would-be successors tried to claim Odoacer’s legacy and all met a very bloody end due in part to the infighting that ensued between the various Germans. A former federate officer in the Roman eastern army, Onoulphus ultimately deserted his post in the hope of gaining power over the remnants of his brother’s army in Italy. Although the Scirian maintained a nominal allegiance to the Romans, he effectively established himself as a king in all but name after successfully claiming Ravenna from his rival.
Onoulphus was the brother of Odoacer, the German federate officer who nearly established himself as king of Italy. A former officer in the Roman eastern army, Onoulphus' rise to power in Ravenna was regarded as a direct threat to Rome and the western empire.
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Silver: Thanks! It’s good to hear from you again. Unfortunately, the updates have slowed down but I still plan on updating whenever I can. Regarding Tufa, this update should answer your question. Truthfully, I haven’t decided what kind of role he should play in this timeline but if you have any suggestions I would certainly take them into consideration.
Arch of Romulus Augustus
Dedicated to His Serenity, Our Lord Romulus Augustus, the Pious and Blessed Emperor by the Roman Senate and People
In the Year of the Second Consulship of Leontius and Romulus Augustus
A triumphal arch was constructed in Rome—the first since the Arch of Constantine the Great—and dedicated to Romulus Augustus, emperor of the Romans in the West. Officially, the project was conceived and financed by the Roman Senate to honor the tenth anniversary of the emperor’s ascension to the imperial throne. The latter was true; Romulus commanded the Senate to bestow this honor unto him at their own expense.
After years of living as a figurehead for one power behind the throne or another, the emperor felt emboldened by the “resilience” of his reign, especially in comparison to his predecessors, none of whom achieved this particular milestone in their time. In fact, the last western emperor to survive the first decade of his reign was Valentinian III, a Theodosian who wore the imperial diadem for thirty years before ultimately falling victim to assassination.
His newfound confidence was galvanized by the elation he felt upon learning that his “beloved” wife, the empress Leontia Porphyrogenita was with child. Thus far their marriage was a bitter disappointment for the emperor, whose dynastic ambitions would only be realized in the form of a natural son and heir. Instead, his wife provided him with a stepson and a daughter—Anthemius and Leontina, respectively—neither of whom he cared much about. In his zeal to produce an heir, Leontia became pregnant twice more only to result in a miscarriage on both occasions.
But now the emperor’s persistence would finally be rewarded, or so he told himself. In his eagerness to celebrate the first decade of his reign and the imminent birth of his “son,” Romulus announced that all of Rome would celebrate with a hundred days of chariot races in the Circus Maximus and animal hunts in the Flavian Amphitheatre. An expensive endeavor to say the least, the cost would be borne by both the senatorial aristocracy and the general population via a substantial increase in their taxes.
The combination of Romulus’ budding independence and willingness to help himself to their wealth—absent any attempt to reimburse their investments with money (borrowed from another source) or patronage jobs—undermined the aristocracy’s support for his reign. While the magister militum’s support for the emperor did help to keep the senators in line, in general the aristocracy tolerated Romulus because he had proven to be a useful puppet. But now his self-aggrandizing projects were affecting their interests in addition to draining the state treasury.
The sentiment of the general population was somewhere in between; on one hand the Romans loved the games and festivities provided a much needed diversion from the toil of everyday life. Moreover, they had much to celebrate in addition to Romulus’ first decade on the throne. War with the Vandals had been narrowly avoided by the timely death of Huneric, which allowed Gunthamund to succeed his unpopular uncle. By adopting a more tolerant policy with regard to his Catholic subjects, the new king diffused the diplomatic crisis between his people and the Romans as well as the Church.
However, these expensive distractions necessitated an increase in taxes, a result which did not go over well with the common people. Without even realizing it, Romulus made matters worse by siphoning money from the chariot racing factions, also known as demes in the Greek-speaking eastern half of the empire. The chariot teams were at the core of the Romans’ greatest sport; their popularity and influence reverberated throughout virtually every facet of the Roman world, including politics. By raising their ire, the emperor had truly overreached himself.
Hence, it was not a senatorial conspiracy that almost caused him to topple from his throne—although there were at least a few plots in the works at the time—but rather a popular uprising consisting of the mob and amongst them, their favorite chariot teams, wayward senators who refused to wait any longer, and disgruntled soldiers who rebelled as their subsidies had been set aside to pay for Romulus’ entertainment program. Fortunately for the emperor, the mob itself was a disorganized rabble united only by his rising unpopularity. This did not prevent the disparate segments of the mob from fighting with each other during the chaos that swept through the city.
Gang warfare raged from the circus to the streets as the chariot teams and their supporters fought in an all-out bloody brawl. At the same time, many influential aristocrats and politicians took the opportunity to settle old grudges with lethal consequences. The average, desperate people of Rome embarked on a looting spree while the city garrison was all but helpless and overwhelmed by the breakdown in law and order. In the midst of this semi-anarchic state, Romulus disguised himself as a priest and fled to the sanctuary of St. Peter’s Basilica on Vatican Hill. His family was captured by a group of mutinous soldiers who sought to proclaim Anthemius as his successor.
The riots raged for nearly four days before Ovida and his soldiers finally suppressed the mob with brutal efficiency. As many as five thousand people had been killed by the time the worst of the fighting had passed. Romulus refused to leave his sanctuary, however, and given the level of his unpopularity, Ovida now considered abandoning his alliance with the emperor. In lacking unity, the various factions that now controlled the fate of the western empire squabbled over their next move.
Some people wanted to march into the basilica, drag the emperor out of hiding and kill him the moment he was no longer standing on sacred ground. Yet cooler heads prevailed insofar as more people wanted Pope Felix III to surrender Romulus into the government’s custody. Even the government and the military were divided on what to do with Romulus himself; their options being to keep him on, but as a puppet once more; or to replace him with Anthemius or another of their choosing. At this point, Romulus begged the pope to mediate the negotiations on his behalf.
However, another party soon entered the fray at the emperor’s invitation. Prior to the suppression of the riots, the emperor dispatched a loyal slave to Ravenna with a request for military assistance from the Germans who dominated northern Italy, which was still theoretically part of the empire. Onoulphus ultimately accepted the invite and brought with him a federate army of Sciri, Heruli and Torcilingi. Their arrival created a shock-wave of fear and panic that reverberated throughout the entire city, having borne the pain and humiliation of two sackings in one century.
Onoulphus had no intention of taking the city; he only wanted to use the fear of that option to motivate the populace into compelling the city’s leading parties to stand down. After he joined the negotiations, it was agreed that the various ringleaders should be put to death and Romulus would remain emperor. However, he and his family would also be taken to Ravenna “for their protection.” The unspoken benefit was that, with the emperor and his court removed from Rome, control of the eternal city reverted once more to the authority of the papacy and the senatorial aristocracy.
In return for his services, Onoulphus was recognized by the emperor as viceroy of Italia Annonaria, and thereby gained the titles of patrician and dux. At Onoulphus’ request, Romulus dispatched an envoy to his colleague in Constantinople, requesting Leontius to legitimize the Germanic warlord’s status as well. With the emperor and his court restored to Ravenna, the northern Italian city became the western capital once more, although ironically it was in effect controlled by the Germans whose allegiance to the empire existed only in a nominal capacity.
Having returned to the city where he was first proclaimed emperor, Romulus and the imperial family were quartered in the imperial palace of Honorius "Ad Laurentum" (At the Laurel Grove). There they would reside in a gilded cage under the protection of Onoulphus’ men, including his trusted lieutenant Tufa. The only thing that would vindicate this entire ordeal in Romulus’ mind was the birth of his son. He knew that his stepson had been considered as a possible replacement by some of the rioters. It was only his narrow survival and fear of another uprising that stayed his hand for he gave serious consideration to killing Anthemius.
Despite his restraint, he still considered putting Anthemius to death as a possibility. A blood heir had a powerful claim on the throne, but Roman history proved time and again that even an emperor’s lineal descendant could fall by the wayside if confronted by another claimant, such as in Anthemius’ case. By late November, the empress went into labor. With bated breath, Romulus waited to hear the announcement of the birth of his first son; his first real, actual “born of his loins” son.
After hours of waiting, the news of the baby’s condition—and more importantly, its gender—was brought to the emperor not by the praepositus sacri cubiculi (provost of the sacred bedchamber; i.e. “imperial chamberlain”), but by some low-level palace official who came in his stead. Standing before the emperor of the western Romans, he announced that Leontia had given birth to a healthy girl—the princess Verena (a variant form of her namesake and grandmother, the empress Verina). Romulus had this message communicated to the public by having the messenger’s head impaled on a pike and displayed just outside the palace entrance.
Rome Riots: The Third Sack of Rome
By Konstantinos Katrares, 20th Century AD
* * * * *
Part 10: AD 485
The Tenth Year in the Reign of Romulus Augustus
The Tenth Year in the Reign of Romulus Augustus
Arch of Romulus Augustus
Dedicated to His Serenity, Our Lord Romulus Augustus, the Pious and Blessed Emperor by the Roman Senate and People
In the Year of the Second Consulship of Leontius and Romulus Augustus
A triumphal arch was constructed in Rome—the first since the Arch of Constantine the Great—and dedicated to Romulus Augustus, emperor of the Romans in the West. Officially, the project was conceived and financed by the Roman Senate to honor the tenth anniversary of the emperor’s ascension to the imperial throne. The latter was true; Romulus commanded the Senate to bestow this honor unto him at their own expense.
After years of living as a figurehead for one power behind the throne or another, the emperor felt emboldened by the “resilience” of his reign, especially in comparison to his predecessors, none of whom achieved this particular milestone in their time. In fact, the last western emperor to survive the first decade of his reign was Valentinian III, a Theodosian who wore the imperial diadem for thirty years before ultimately falling victim to assassination.
His newfound confidence was galvanized by the elation he felt upon learning that his “beloved” wife, the empress Leontia Porphyrogenita was with child. Thus far their marriage was a bitter disappointment for the emperor, whose dynastic ambitions would only be realized in the form of a natural son and heir. Instead, his wife provided him with a stepson and a daughter—Anthemius and Leontina, respectively—neither of whom he cared much about. In his zeal to produce an heir, Leontia became pregnant twice more only to result in a miscarriage on both occasions.
But now the emperor’s persistence would finally be rewarded, or so he told himself. In his eagerness to celebrate the first decade of his reign and the imminent birth of his “son,” Romulus announced that all of Rome would celebrate with a hundred days of chariot races in the Circus Maximus and animal hunts in the Flavian Amphitheatre. An expensive endeavor to say the least, the cost would be borne by both the senatorial aristocracy and the general population via a substantial increase in their taxes.
The combination of Romulus’ budding independence and willingness to help himself to their wealth—absent any attempt to reimburse their investments with money (borrowed from another source) or patronage jobs—undermined the aristocracy’s support for his reign. While the magister militum’s support for the emperor did help to keep the senators in line, in general the aristocracy tolerated Romulus because he had proven to be a useful puppet. But now his self-aggrandizing projects were affecting their interests in addition to draining the state treasury.
The sentiment of the general population was somewhere in between; on one hand the Romans loved the games and festivities provided a much needed diversion from the toil of everyday life. Moreover, they had much to celebrate in addition to Romulus’ first decade on the throne. War with the Vandals had been narrowly avoided by the timely death of Huneric, which allowed Gunthamund to succeed his unpopular uncle. By adopting a more tolerant policy with regard to his Catholic subjects, the new king diffused the diplomatic crisis between his people and the Romans as well as the Church.
However, these expensive distractions necessitated an increase in taxes, a result which did not go over well with the common people. Without even realizing it, Romulus made matters worse by siphoning money from the chariot racing factions, also known as demes in the Greek-speaking eastern half of the empire. The chariot teams were at the core of the Romans’ greatest sport; their popularity and influence reverberated throughout virtually every facet of the Roman world, including politics. By raising their ire, the emperor had truly overreached himself.
Hence, it was not a senatorial conspiracy that almost caused him to topple from his throne—although there were at least a few plots in the works at the time—but rather a popular uprising consisting of the mob and amongst them, their favorite chariot teams, wayward senators who refused to wait any longer, and disgruntled soldiers who rebelled as their subsidies had been set aside to pay for Romulus’ entertainment program. Fortunately for the emperor, the mob itself was a disorganized rabble united only by his rising unpopularity. This did not prevent the disparate segments of the mob from fighting with each other during the chaos that swept through the city.
Gang warfare raged from the circus to the streets as the chariot teams and their supporters fought in an all-out bloody brawl. At the same time, many influential aristocrats and politicians took the opportunity to settle old grudges with lethal consequences. The average, desperate people of Rome embarked on a looting spree while the city garrison was all but helpless and overwhelmed by the breakdown in law and order. In the midst of this semi-anarchic state, Romulus disguised himself as a priest and fled to the sanctuary of St. Peter’s Basilica on Vatican Hill. His family was captured by a group of mutinous soldiers who sought to proclaim Anthemius as his successor.
The riots raged for nearly four days before Ovida and his soldiers finally suppressed the mob with brutal efficiency. As many as five thousand people had been killed by the time the worst of the fighting had passed. Romulus refused to leave his sanctuary, however, and given the level of his unpopularity, Ovida now considered abandoning his alliance with the emperor. In lacking unity, the various factions that now controlled the fate of the western empire squabbled over their next move.
Some people wanted to march into the basilica, drag the emperor out of hiding and kill him the moment he was no longer standing on sacred ground. Yet cooler heads prevailed insofar as more people wanted Pope Felix III to surrender Romulus into the government’s custody. Even the government and the military were divided on what to do with Romulus himself; their options being to keep him on, but as a puppet once more; or to replace him with Anthemius or another of their choosing. At this point, Romulus begged the pope to mediate the negotiations on his behalf.
However, another party soon entered the fray at the emperor’s invitation. Prior to the suppression of the riots, the emperor dispatched a loyal slave to Ravenna with a request for military assistance from the Germans who dominated northern Italy, which was still theoretically part of the empire. Onoulphus ultimately accepted the invite and brought with him a federate army of Sciri, Heruli and Torcilingi. Their arrival created a shock-wave of fear and panic that reverberated throughout the entire city, having borne the pain and humiliation of two sackings in one century.
Onoulphus had no intention of taking the city; he only wanted to use the fear of that option to motivate the populace into compelling the city’s leading parties to stand down. After he joined the negotiations, it was agreed that the various ringleaders should be put to death and Romulus would remain emperor. However, he and his family would also be taken to Ravenna “for their protection.” The unspoken benefit was that, with the emperor and his court removed from Rome, control of the eternal city reverted once more to the authority of the papacy and the senatorial aristocracy.
In return for his services, Onoulphus was recognized by the emperor as viceroy of Italia Annonaria, and thereby gained the titles of patrician and dux. At Onoulphus’ request, Romulus dispatched an envoy to his colleague in Constantinople, requesting Leontius to legitimize the Germanic warlord’s status as well. With the emperor and his court restored to Ravenna, the northern Italian city became the western capital once more, although ironically it was in effect controlled by the Germans whose allegiance to the empire existed only in a nominal capacity.
Having returned to the city where he was first proclaimed emperor, Romulus and the imperial family were quartered in the imperial palace of Honorius "Ad Laurentum" (At the Laurel Grove). There they would reside in a gilded cage under the protection of Onoulphus’ men, including his trusted lieutenant Tufa. The only thing that would vindicate this entire ordeal in Romulus’ mind was the birth of his son. He knew that his stepson had been considered as a possible replacement by some of the rioters. It was only his narrow survival and fear of another uprising that stayed his hand for he gave serious consideration to killing Anthemius.
Despite his restraint, he still considered putting Anthemius to death as a possibility. A blood heir had a powerful claim on the throne, but Roman history proved time and again that even an emperor’s lineal descendant could fall by the wayside if confronted by another claimant, such as in Anthemius’ case. By late November, the empress went into labor. With bated breath, Romulus waited to hear the announcement of the birth of his first son; his first real, actual “born of his loins” son.
After hours of waiting, the news of the baby’s condition—and more importantly, its gender—was brought to the emperor not by the praepositus sacri cubiculi (provost of the sacred bedchamber; i.e. “imperial chamberlain”), but by some low-level palace official who came in his stead. Standing before the emperor of the western Romans, he announced that Leontia had given birth to a healthy girl—the princess Verena (a variant form of her namesake and grandmother, the empress Verina). Romulus had this message communicated to the public by having the messenger’s head impaled on a pike and displayed just outside the palace entrance.
Rome Riots: The Third Sack of Rome
By Konstantinos Katrares, 20th Century AD
Note: The artist expressed his disdain for people of Germanic descent through this painting, which depicts Onoulphus and his men as stereotypical “barbarians” and not as the Romanized federate soldiers they actually were at this time. Furthermore, Katares erroneously portrayed the Rome Riots as the “Third Sack of Rome,” apparently unaware of two facts: 1) Onoulphus’ army never entered the city; 2) Rome had been pillaged three times in her history prior to the riots (the Senones were the first people to sack Rome, followed centuries later by the Visigoths and Vandals), which would have made this incident the fourth had it actually been a sacking.
Eastern Events
John the Scythian and his army suffered a crushing defeat against the combined forces of Areobindus and Illus, the victors of the Battle of Zenopolis. After capturing Zeno’s namesake city, the exiled emperor was dragged out of his hiding place and hacked to pieces by several federate soldiers of Gothic descent. Shortly afterward, a group of soldiers found Ariadne and attempted to rape her, but were restrained by Areobindus at the last second. The same level of protection was not afforded to the population of Zenopolis.
With the civil war effectively concluded, Areobindus returned to Constantinople along with Ariadne as his prisoner, as well as the decapitated heads of John and Zeno, both of which were showcased as trophies and symbols of Leontius’ triumph. Illus remained in Anatolia where he formally assumed the post of magister militum of the East. Areobindus was rewarded with the consulship for the next year, the title of patrician, and command of the emperor’s elite bodyguards known as the Excubitors.
In the Battle of Naissus, Theodoric Strabo and his Thracian Goths fought and achieved a close victory against Theodoric the Amal and his Pannonian Goths. Despite their rivalry, Strabo refrained from eliminating his nemesis once and for all. In the aftermath of his defeat, the Amal sought to negotiate a cessation of hostilities between them, and thus emphasized the cost both had borne under the reigns of Zeno and Leontius in turn, as well as the common interests held by their peoples. In truth, Strabo was not so very moved by this plea for mercy, although it did please him to see his greatest enemy essentially begging for mercy. He was, however, angered that Leontius failed to send the reinforcements he promised, and therefore blamed the emperor for the casualties he sustained in battle.
Ultimately, Strabo grudgingly spared the Amal for two reasons. First, victory was no longer a foregone conclusion, given the number of soldiers he had to sacrifice in order to prevail on the battlefield. The second reason was to spite Leontius, who now inherited the “Ostrogothic Problem” from Zeno. After setting aside their rivalry, at least for the time being, the two Gothic leaders went their separate ways. The Amal fortified his position near Naissus and billeted his men on the Dacian diocese’s population, while Strabo encamped his army near the Thracian border.
Eastern Events
John the Scythian and his army suffered a crushing defeat against the combined forces of Areobindus and Illus, the victors of the Battle of Zenopolis. After capturing Zeno’s namesake city, the exiled emperor was dragged out of his hiding place and hacked to pieces by several federate soldiers of Gothic descent. Shortly afterward, a group of soldiers found Ariadne and attempted to rape her, but were restrained by Areobindus at the last second. The same level of protection was not afforded to the population of Zenopolis.
With the civil war effectively concluded, Areobindus returned to Constantinople along with Ariadne as his prisoner, as well as the decapitated heads of John and Zeno, both of which were showcased as trophies and symbols of Leontius’ triumph. Illus remained in Anatolia where he formally assumed the post of magister militum of the East. Areobindus was rewarded with the consulship for the next year, the title of patrician, and command of the emperor’s elite bodyguards known as the Excubitors.
In the Battle of Naissus, Theodoric Strabo and his Thracian Goths fought and achieved a close victory against Theodoric the Amal and his Pannonian Goths. Despite their rivalry, Strabo refrained from eliminating his nemesis once and for all. In the aftermath of his defeat, the Amal sought to negotiate a cessation of hostilities between them, and thus emphasized the cost both had borne under the reigns of Zeno and Leontius in turn, as well as the common interests held by their peoples. In truth, Strabo was not so very moved by this plea for mercy, although it did please him to see his greatest enemy essentially begging for mercy. He was, however, angered that Leontius failed to send the reinforcements he promised, and therefore blamed the emperor for the casualties he sustained in battle.
Ultimately, Strabo grudgingly spared the Amal for two reasons. First, victory was no longer a foregone conclusion, given the number of soldiers he had to sacrifice in order to prevail on the battlefield. The second reason was to spite Leontius, who now inherited the “Ostrogothic Problem” from Zeno. After setting aside their rivalry, at least for the time being, the two Gothic leaders went their separate ways. The Amal fortified his position near Naissus and billeted his men on the Dacian diocese’s population, while Strabo encamped his army near the Thracian border.
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Glad to see this timeline back. I haven't gotten through it all yet; just the first coupe of updates, but it's already looking great and is addressing my pet peeves from the still excellent original version well.
Interlude: The Imperial Family (AD 485)
Emperor of the Romans (West)
Accession: October 31, AD 475 (in opposition to Julius Nepos; recognized by the East in AD 483)
Predecessor: Julius Nepos (West; deceased since AD 479)
Co-Emperor: Leontius (East; since AD 483)
Born: c. AD 460 (age: mid-twenties)
Spouse: Leontia Porphyrogenita (since AD 479), daughter of Emperor Leo I (East)
Issue:
1) Anthemius (b. AD 479, stepson by Leontia)
2) Leontina (b. AD 480)
3) Verena (b. AD 485)
Father: Orestes (deceased since AD 476), western magister militum (master of soldiers)
Mother: daughter of Comes Romulus (emperor's maternal grandfather/namesake)
Religion: Christianity (Catholic Christian)
The emperor of the Romans, Romulus Augustus rules over the shattered remnants of the western empire now reduced to Italy, the Dalmatian coast, and northern Gaul. His father, Orestes originally served as a secretary in the court of Attila the Hun prior to attaining the rank of magister militum during the reign of Julius Nepos. His mother is the daughter of Comes Romulus, a Romano-Pannonian nobleman whom the emperor is named after. Driven by ambition, Orestes usurped the throne from Nepos; but instead of claiming it for himself, he chose to pass the imperial diadem to his adolescent son. Despite the title, however, Romulus was—for all intents and purposes—emperor in name only. The real power was exercised by a succession of generals throughout the first decade of his reign; Romulus was merely the tool to legitimize their regimes.
Having risen to the throne in the wake of the rise and fall of several emperors, the prospect of assassination is never far from the young emperor’s mind. Ten years have since nurtured his fear which, in turn, led to paranoia and distrust of everyone around him. His puppet masters also took note of the fate of Romulus’ predecessors and chose to shut him away from the world for his own protection. But in the absence of any real responsibility or role model, Romulus was left to his own devices. In all that time, his character would be influenced and shaped by an inner circle of mistresses, social climbers, and sycophants. These consummate fawners provided the emperor’s low self-esteem with a much needed boost; however, such servile displays of exaggerated flattery and affection gradually made him more egotistical and parochial.
A decade of self-indulgence has crafted Romulus into a selfish, indolent, and pleasure-seeking young man. His fear of assassination turned him into a survivor, albeit at the cost of his sense of empathy, without which he can neither receive or offer genuine affection to others; nor does he sympathize with the plight of the people he is supposed to rule, but has never known. His sense of self-preservation will allow him to sacrifice anyone he must in order to survive, a goal which he believes is directly linked to his ability to remain in power. Although he is prone to bad judgment, making rash decisions and acting on his temper, Romulus possesses a slyness that has so far enabled him to avoid the fate of his immediate predecessors, be it death or banishment. From the senatorial aristocracy and the military counts to the magister militum of the western empire, he has managed to convince most of the power players that he is more useful to them alive than dead or replaced, mainly by playing up his part as a puppet ruler.
Unsurprisingly, he was nearly toppled from his throne not long after he finally began to rule in his own right. In desperation, he invited the Germanic federate tribes of northern Italy to rescue him from the insurgents and rioters in Rome. Their leader, Onoulphus answered the emperor’s plea, only to effectively claim him and his entire family as political hostages. While he is no longer in any immediate danger from the Senate, Romulus now finds himself at the mercy of the brother of Odoacer, the man who killed Orestes and nearly overthrew Romulus a decade ago.
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Empress of the Romans (West)
Born: c. AD 457 (age: mid-twenties)
Spouse(s):
1) Julius Patricius (AD 470–471; annulled), son of Magister Militum Aspar
2) Marcian (AD 471–479), son of Emperor Anthemius (West)
3) Romulus Augustus (since AD 479), western emperor
Issue:
1) Anthemius (b. AD 479, by Marcian)
2) Leontina (b. AD 480, by Romulus Augustus)
3) Verena (b. AD 485, by Romulus Augustus)
Father: Leo I (deceased since AD 474), eastern emperor
Mother: Verina, empress-consort of the Romans (East)
Religion: Christianity (Catholic Christian)
As the consort of Romulus Augustus, Leontia Porphyrogenita is the empress of the Romans in the West. The daughter of Emperor Leo I and Empress Verina of the East, Leontia was married twice before becoming Romulus’ empress-consort. Like her elder sister, Ariadne, Leontia was a pawn in her father’s plan to bind the eastern imperial family to the most powerful elements of the military through marriage, having possessed no blood relationships to the haughty Roman aristocracy. Whereas Ariadne was married to the Isaurian-born general Zeno, Leontia was given to Julius Patricius, the son of the Alan magister militum Aspar. The alliance with Aspar’s house did not last, however. As such, Leontia was remarried to Marcian, a distant relative of the revered House of Theodosius. Soon after her new husband made a failed attempt to seize the throne from Zeno, Leontia was forced to flee westward in the hope of finding sanctuary in Rome. This she received, but only after Romulus killed Marcian and forced Leontia to marry him.
The marriage between Leontia and Romulus has been a significant endorsement of the latter’s claim to the western throne, albeit a coerced one and yet it is still far more prestigious than anything he had at the time of his accession. Regardless of how their union came to be, her status as an eastern emperor’s daughter has done much to further Romulus’ quest in gaining recognition for himself as the legitimate emperor in the West. The fact that Leontia is also a porphyrogenita—a princess born to the purple, or rather born during the reign of her father—adds even greater prestige to Romulus’ reign, something which had been sorely lacking at the beginning of his rule.
For her part, Leontia hates Romulus and always will. He killed her second husband—the father of her first-born—and forcefully became her third partner. The brutal murder of Marcian and the coercion of her remarrying notwithstanding, Leontia was no stranger to being used as a marriage tool. If anything, it was expected of someone in her position. What she found truly insufferable about Romulus was the delight he took in offending her with the seemingly endless affairs he maintained with various mistresses, prostitutes and female servants. That in itself was not the problem; an emperor could take as many lovers as he pleased. It was the fact that he did not even bother to hide his indiscretions that so affronted her dignity. Leontia was an emperor’s daughter, born to the purple and an empress of the Romans no less; and yet Romulus found great amusement in making her feel like she was less than the average whore he would take and discard at a whim. He was the son of provincial aristocrats from Pannonia of all places; born in Italy and therefore an acceptable figurehead to the Italian aristocracy, but still a provincial by origin, hailing from a comparatively mediocre background.
Compared to Leontia, Romulus was socially inferior to her in almost every way that mattered. The hatred is mutual; the emperor naturally views himself as the greater half of their marriage, by virtue of being an emperor and a man if nothing else. Romulus especially hates that his wife’s pride eclipses his own because, at his core he knows that the consolidation of his reign is largely owed to Leontia’s royal status, whereas he may as well be a nonentity. Although Romulus has long suspected Leontia of plotting against his life, the empress has grudgingly bided her time in order to secure the succession of her son by Marcian.
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Anthemius (Flavius Valerius Procopius Anthemius; b. AD 479) is the only son of Leontia Porphyrogenita by her second husband, the usurper Marcian. Shortly after his birth, he became the stepson of Romulus Augustus who forced Leontia to marry him after killing Marcian in cold blood. At barely half a decade old, Anthemius has no memory of his natural father. Ironically, Romulus is the only father he has ever known. The emperor keeps him close and treats him relatively well, but only to keep Leontia under his control. Although he is not of the emperor’s blood, Anthemius’ highborn status has added significant prestige to the man who began his reign as a usurper. He is the direct descendant of several emperors on both sides of his family, sharing blood with the House of Leo and an artificial link to the House of Theodosius.
In lieu of a natural-born son, Anthemius is the emperor’s de facto heir presumptive. As such, those who wish to control the western empire’s future seek to do so by controlling the boy who is next in line to the throne. His mother, Leontia is well aware of her son’s importance and has made good use of him by discreetly forging secret alliances with key political, military and religious officials who could be counted on to support Anthemius’ claim when the time finally came. Unfortunately for her faction, the Rome Riots severely upset the empress’s plans and also resulted in the deaths of some of her supporters.
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Leontina (b. AD 480) and Verena (b. AD 485) are the daughters of Romulus Augustus and Leontia Porphyrogenita. Like their mother, both princesses possessed a claim on the honorific title of porphyrogenita, having been born after the accession of their father. As part of the propaganda effort to legitimize Romulus’ claim on the imperial throne, the names of both his daughters reflect their blood connection to the House of Leo, the ruling dynasty of the eastern empire. While their existence has made his rule more acceptable to the Romans, the birth of two daughters has frustrated Romulus’ ambition to create a dynasty in the hereditary male line. Nevertheless, the princesses are obvious assets to anyone who wishes to secure the future of the western empire. With the exception of their half-brother Anthemius, the emperor’s stepson and heir presumptive, whomever marries Leontina or Verena will gain a powerful claim on the throne.
In theory, both daughters are equal to each other as a porphyrogenita. However, Leontina was born prior to her father gaining the recognition of the eastern court in Constantinople, without which he was technically a usurper under Roman law at the time. Verena, on the other hand, was born after the East officially recognized Romulus in his capacity as the western emperor. In that regard, she is theoretically her elder sister’s superior, although it can also be argued that in conferring legitimacy on Romulus, Constantinople has acknowledged that he was always legitimate even prior to the East officially admitting as much. In that case, Leontina would be considered the greater of the two, by virtue of her royal-born status in connection with her age. While Verena is a newborn, Leontina is approximately five years old. In half a decade’s time at most, give or take a few extra years, she will be suitable for marriage. There are prospective candidates abound, East and West, but Romulus has yet to decide to whom he will give his first-born child to, and possibly by extension the throne as well.
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Emperor's Mother
Born: c. 5th Century Anno Domini
Spouse: Orestes (deceased since AD 476), western magister militum
Issue: Romulus Augustus (c. AD 460)
Father: Romulus (deceased), western comes (count)
Mother: N/A
Religion: Christianity (Catholic Christian)
The Emperor’s Mother is one of the powers behind the throne of her son. Born the daughter of Comes Romulus, a Roman nobleman from Pannonia, at some point in the 5th century AD she married Orestes and gave birth to a son, who was named in honor of her father. After her husband usurped the western empire and enthroned their son, the boy adopted the title augustus in conjunction with his given name, and hence became Romulus Augustus. Following the death of Orestes, his brother Paulus took custody of the young emperor in order to maintain control over the West, becoming the new regent in effect. This action put him in direct confrontation with his sister-in-law, who also sought to claim the regency for herself, believing it would be the most effective way to protect her son and their family. When Paulus effectively banished Romulus to the Castellum Lucullanum under the pretense of security, he forbade the emperor’s mother from accompanying him out of concern that she would turn the boy against him.
By the time she reunited with her son after Paulus’ death, Romulus had become a cold and cruel young man who cared for nothing and no one but himself. At that point he had formed an alliance with his late uncle’s successor, the general Ovida. Having spent most of his rule at that point as a figurehead, he vowed never to let another regent rule in his place and was particularly annoyed by his mother’s efforts to gain a hand in the governing of the western empire. Despite his own eccentricities, Romulus thinks well enough of Roman tradition insofar as he rejects the notion of women meddling in politics. To that end, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that an emperor’s mother is afforded every respect, but has absolutely no right or power to meddle in the affairs of the state.
In the aftermath of the Rome Riots, Romulus and his family were taken to Ravenna where they were placed under the “protection” of Onoulphus, the de facto ruler of northern Italy. Bereft of real power once more, Romulus is now more receptive to his mother’s assistance. Since their arrival in Ravenna, she has been canvassing the political and military establishments in the north to see who can be persuaded or corrupted into supporting Romulus, and thereby re-securing his reign. Their situation has also made Leontia more amenable to her mother-in-law’s advice. Although there is no love lost between the empress and her husband, Romulus’ mother has somewhat convinced Leontia that it is in her interest to keep Romulus alive in order to secure the succession for her son; to make Anthemius emperor one day, they must save Romulus from himself.
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Family Tree
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I'm excited to see how this dying zombie of an empire will be reborn like a phoenix. 
I like the appearance of Romulus from the old timeline.
This guy is the best Romulus:
This guy is the best Romulus: