Roman colony in the Horn of Africa

All Rounder

All Rounder

Gone Fishin'
As we know Rome at it's height in 117 CE was one of the largest empires in the world stretching from Britain to Egypt. It had relations with many of the nations/empires of the Middle East and Africa, one of which being Ethiopia. Merchants traded, but not often so contact was limited. But, what if a ship that sailed out from one of the sea ports of Petrea (Arabian Peninsula) with the goal of establishing a permanent colony in Eastern Africa made it to the HoA and settled along the coast (Likely somewhere in Eritrea, Djibouti or Somalia).

Could it survive long enough to gain a permanent foot hold in Africa and if so, what would the impact be on the Old World?
 

RogueTraderEnthusiast

As that thread suggests, you need a good reason, and those are far and few between - and it wouldn't be an easy conquest. I originally suggested it'd be a good way to cycle gold back to the Roman treasury, but a better option might be an "Exile Campaign" (i.e. send a commander who is TOO popular away for a hard campaign, so that if they fail, they're mocked, or if they succeed, they're so far out of the way that they can't be a threat). I would happily suggest Belisarius for this in a "Faster Conquest of Italy Scenario")

As to the locals - I don't actually think they're insurmountable problems - heck, if your TL has enough cunning in its commander, being able to bring some of them onside could be a powerful boon. Especially as realistically the campaign would be focused on conquering coastal trade cities that already exist.

However, the real value of such a campaign is that that 'Colony' (it'd probably be considered in a similar way to an Exarchate), would be able to apply pressure on S.Arabia - both in trade and military force. I think I've even had a thread where I suggested a potential capital site for such a conquest.

However, if in some way you can provide peace, and control over the southern Somalian farmlands you've got the beginnings of a polity. The biggest impact I think the Romans can have is that with windmills and aqueducts (I have no knowledge of those existing in the region). It'd be interesting to see if they'll try and take Aristotles observations on desalination and try and apply it in some way with wind-powered water lifting, if only to try and "Romanise" the region.

Alternatively they could just try and experiment with saltwater agriculture - which the extreme environs combined with the way the Romans would likely try and use the land could be interesting. (Note : I say this because the Romans fundamentally were settled non-nomadic and likely to not change their ways, too much. They'd still try and farm the north.)

Another alternative is if the Romans had an understanding of saltwater wetlands they could try and create artificial wetlands that way.

Or, if they have the knowledge, set up Marib Dam style water capture based on the Monsoon on a larger scale than ever happened locally.

All are possible, and if you've got some General stuck in what is to him the back end of nowhere they'll try and make it less back-end.
 

The Undead Martyr

When considering conquests the two most important factors are logistics and politics.

Can Rome project power into the Horn of Africa, and why would they bother?

The first question I think is tentatively "possible but difficult for a Justinian that turns east". The second question is rather obvious- trade with the east and gold from Africa itself.
 
All Rounder

All Rounder

Gone Fishin'
Perhaps a large group of Christians could take a galley from Berenice and settle somewhere on the Horn to avoid persecution.
 

cmakk1012

This colony/exarchate would very quickly become an independent state, as in within a generation. Regardless I’d also love to read such a TL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top