Romans invade Zimbabwe
I dreamt that the Romans invaded Zimbabwe. In the dream, what you saw were the ruins of giant temples in the jungle, all grown over with darkened foliage, and dank inside. There were Latin inscriptions amidst the ruins, celebrating the Roman triumph, and other later carvings of the people who had come after, bemoaning the repeated conquests of their land.
So, the challenge is to have the Romans invade Zimbabwe! Some things shouldn't be too difficult a starting point - there was a Red Sea fleet, and Roman merchants traded with India. IIRC Kush was a country in between, somewhere around Eritrea maybe?
Now, what would lay the foundations for this? I think you need the Empire rather than the Republic, and I think you need to secure the succession on the basis of primogeniture. The heart of the Empire needs to be secure. But so do the vulnerable borders - would it make any difference if Varus doesn't screw up in the Teutoberg Forest?
Does Rome really need to bash the Parthians once and for all?
I certainly don't think that that the route to Zimbabwe leads through Sudan. I don't know off the top of my head how much the acquisition of Ptomelemaic Egypt gave control of the lands South? There were Nubians in the Roman army, but whether this implies Roman rule over Nubia, or if it was a client state I don't know?
I think that the defeat of Kush is going to be a prerequisite - something needs to provide the impetus to go further South.
What is the situation in East Africa at this time? This is before the Arabs, but was Zanzibar etc any kind of trading centre in Roman times? Did Roman merchant ships perhaps even go down there?
So, let's make this possible. The actual Roman invasion of Zimbabwe can be any time in the first three centuries AD, and if we make changes from Augustus onwards then we have quite a bit of leaway.
Best Regards
Grey Wolf
I dreamt that the Romans invaded Zimbabwe. In the dream, what you saw were the ruins of giant temples in the jungle, all grown over with darkened foliage, and dank inside. There were Latin inscriptions amidst the ruins, celebrating the Roman triumph, and other later carvings of the people who had come after, bemoaning the repeated conquests of their land.
So, the challenge is to have the Romans invade Zimbabwe! Some things shouldn't be too difficult a starting point - there was a Red Sea fleet, and Roman merchants traded with India. IIRC Kush was a country in between, somewhere around Eritrea maybe?
Now, what would lay the foundations for this? I think you need the Empire rather than the Republic, and I think you need to secure the succession on the basis of primogeniture. The heart of the Empire needs to be secure. But so do the vulnerable borders - would it make any difference if Varus doesn't screw up in the Teutoberg Forest?
Does Rome really need to bash the Parthians once and for all?
I certainly don't think that that the route to Zimbabwe leads through Sudan. I don't know off the top of my head how much the acquisition of Ptomelemaic Egypt gave control of the lands South? There were Nubians in the Roman army, but whether this implies Roman rule over Nubia, or if it was a client state I don't know?
I think that the defeat of Kush is going to be a prerequisite - something needs to provide the impetus to go further South.
What is the situation in East Africa at this time? This is before the Arabs, but was Zanzibar etc any kind of trading centre in Roman times? Did Roman merchant ships perhaps even go down there?
So, let's make this possible. The actual Roman invasion of Zimbabwe can be any time in the first three centuries AD, and if we make changes from Augustus onwards then we have quite a bit of leaway.
Best Regards
Grey Wolf