Roman Timeline

[DominusNovus]

And our next update...

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Claudius Nero Germanicus reigned from AD 54 to AD 65. While he ruled Rome, the Vandali were conquered and work was begun of the Claudian Amphitheater. Claudius also made several reforms to the government and enfranchised many provincials.

Claudius' decision to campaign against the Vandali is intriguing. On the one hand, he felt that Rome had expanded enough along that border and that his time would be better spent focusing on administrative details, or at least conquering Britannia, which he saw as more valuable. On the other hand, the Vandals did just kill the emperor, and many cried for revenge, plus the Vistula river would make a better border, as its source was close to that of the Tyras, providing an almost complete natural border. Claudius eventually did decide to attack, and in the year AD 55, the campaign had begun. The Romans only had the Carpi to the south as allies, while the Vandali had rallied the Lugii, Burgundiones, Lemovii, and Rugii to their cause. Just beyond the Vistula, the Gothones and Sciri had pledged not to interfere, but that was the extent of Roman support in the region. The early campaign focused mainly Lugii and the Burgundiones, to divide the Vandali from their allies, while the Carpi kept the Vandali from threatening the Roman thrust. This phase was finished by AD 57, at which point the Romans focused on the Rugii (defeated by 58), leaving the Lemovii completely surrounded by Romans. They held out until AD 60, and the Vandali were defeated later that year. Though the campaign was relatively quick (5 years compared to the Dacian campaign's 13), it was one of the bloodier wars fought by Rome against the barbarians (about 30% more casualties than the Dacian campaign), which is surprising when one considers how relatively lightly populated the area was. Because of this (and due to a nasty winter that Claudius experience while he was touring the forces), Claudius decreed that Rome should expand no further in this direction. The Legions agreed holeheartedly. The conquered territory was divided up into the provinces of Lemovia (in the north), Burgundia (in the center), and Vandalia (in the south).

Work was begun on the Claudian Amphitheater when Claudius returned from the campaign shortly in AD 58. It would not be completed until AD 72, and was the largest amphitheater in the Empire, capable of holding 80,000 spectators (compared to the 55,000 person capacity of OTL's Flavian Amphitheater).

While Empreor, Claudius reformed much of the empire, centralizing it while simultaneously increasing the standing of the provinces, by appointing several provincials to the senate, as well as granting citizenship to many loyal and romanized provincials. He also converted several client kingdoms into provinces, including Mauretania, Lycia, Noricum, Tracia, Carpia, and Anglia.

Claudius would eventualy die of old age in AD 65 (at 75 years old) and leave the empire to his son Tiberius Claudius Vandalius, named in honor of his father's conquests (OTL's Britannicus). Claudius would be remembered well by the provinces and lower classes, but not very well by the Senate and aristocracy.

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Any comments this time?

 

[Diamond]

Hmmmm....

Now, Roman history is not one of my stronger points, hence my lack of constructive criticism.

Just one thought here: it seems that the Emperors have started a tradition of almost complete independence from the wishes of the Senate. Of course it was much the same in OTL, but here they seem even more arrogant. So there appears to be three roads:
-the Emperors cave in and become puppets of the Senate
-the power of the Emperors keeps growing until they eventually become equivalent to the God-Pharoahs of Egypt
-a mish-mash roughly equal to OTL.

The position of Emperor does seem more stable though; it doesn't appear that this TL will have as many wackos (at least not immediately).

What's going on in the east, in Parthia, Armenia, etc? Anything majorly different from OTL? Or did I just miss it?

 

[DominusNovus]

Now, Roman history is not one of my stronger points, hence my lack of constructive criticism.

Just one thought here: it seems that the Emperors have started a tradition of almost complete independence from the wishes of the Senate. Of course it was much the same in OTL, but here they seem even more arrogant. So there appears to be three roads:
-the Emperors cave in and become puppets of the Senate
-the power of the Emperors keeps growing until they eventually become equivalent to the God-Pharoahs of Egypt
-a mish-mash roughly equal to OTL.

The position of Emperor does seem more stable though; it doesn't appear that this TL will have as many wackos (at least not immediately).

What's going on in the east, in Parthia, Armenia, etc? Anything majorly different from OTL? Or did I just miss it?

Nothing's goin on in the east yet, but wait just a bit. As for stuff majorly different from OTL, I made up a map to show what they've conquered so far. Dark red is what they conquered in OTL (except for Britain, cuz that hasn't been conquered yet in TTL), lighter red is stuff that they never conquered (well they did have dacia for awhile, and germania to the elbe for a few years) in OTL, but did in TTL.

 

[DominusNovus]

As for the Emperors, it'll be a mish mash, and then the senate will get alot more power. As for the absence of wackos, there'll be a few pretty soon (which is one of the reasons the Senate gains power), but not until the Empire gets a bit bigger. By that point, it'll take a skilled man to run it, and that'll be the time that the wackos come around.

 

[DuQuense]

black sea

given that roman influence extented beyond their border, Greece had a few Crimia Cities, and Rome controlls the Straits, & the south shore ?will the Black Sea have more settlement on the north shore? a total roman lake

 

[LDoc]

In this TL it seems that britian is going to be a lot more romanized even before the romans get their. Historicly britian as always had close trading ties to the low lands and other coastel areas because of britians natural resources. I could see some roman ideas getting into the british culture of the time. This could prove to make Britian easier or harder to take over depending on how and what the Britians incorperate from their romans neighbors.

 

[DominusNovus]

Onward to Britain.

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Tiberius Claudius Vandalius ruled from AD 65 to AD 79. His reign would see the completion of the Claudian Amphitheater, the conquest of Britannia, and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

Vandalius decided in AD 67 to conquer Britannia. A few fabricated tales of piracy and he was off to secure the region for the Roman Empire. With the support of the local Trinobantes, the legions conquered the coastal tribes of the Centii, Belgae, and Duranonii by AD 69. The Iceni fell in early 71 and the Silvres were conquered in 72. The only remaining opposition in the region were the Ordovices and Brigantes, who stood together under the leadership of the charismatic leader, Ariovistix. He proved to be a formidable opponent and it took the Romans until 75 to conquer the Ordovices. The Brigantes (who now included many of the Ordovices among their number) still stood defiantly and the Romans, decided to offer Ariovistix a peace treaty. He accepted, which ensured his people's independence for the time being. The conquered territory was organized into the province of Britannia and Vandalius returned to Rome a hero.

Upon his return, the Senate awarded him the title Brittanicus, which he also insisted be bestowed upon the general who was actually responsible for most of the success, Marcus Flavius Verus. Vandalius also adopts Verus as his son and heir, making him Tiberius Claudius Vandalius Flavianus Britannicus. Vandalius did this because he had no heirs of his own. He had only two children, one boy (who died a few years before), and a daughter (who he married to Britannicus to further cement the relation). Many historians have theorized that Vandalius was a homosexual, which would help to explain why he and his wife, Valeria Quinta, did not spend much time together (and why Vandalius had no objections to Valeria's frequent affairs).

The rest of Vandalius' reign would be mundane, until the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79, which buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculanium. Vandalius happened to be visting the area at the time and helped to organize the evacuation of Pompeii (though the Praetorian guard wanted to leave the area, for his safety and, of course, their own). Sadly, Vandalius would die within the week, almost certainly due to the eruption.

Vandalius was yet another Emperor who earned his fame by conquering new territory and, except for his dramatic death, does not stand out much. He was the last Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, though some consider Brittanicus and his son to be the last members, as he married into the family (though the son was actually born to a previous wife). Still, Vandalius was the last blood relative of Caesar and Augustus to rule the empire, and he ruled well enough.

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As for the sea of Pontus Euxinus, the south and west shores are Roman territoy, while the north is mostly controlled by the Regnum Bospori (Kingdom of the Bosporus), an ally of the Romans. The area is mostly a Roman Lake, though the eastern shore is still fairly indepedent.

Britain was more prosperous than in OTL at the point of Roman conquest, due to increased trade, as well as the fact that it lasted another 20 years before Rome turned its attention in that direction.

So, any new thoughts, imputs, ideas, etc.? Any and all responses are appreciated.

 

[Beck Reilly]

Dominus, where'd u get that map? Do you have a blank version of it?

 

[DominusNovus]

Dominus, where'd u get that map? Do you have a blank version of it?

I'll post the blank version on the help forum, with the other maps.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Okay, so the Vandals aren't going to bring the house down as OTL. So, who will? I figure the Huns and Magyars might be involved, plus we can have an Islam-like entity (Mohammed is probably going to be butterflied, but some other prophet can arise) unite the Arabs against Roman Africa and Syria.

Hmm...how much of Britain will remain unconquered? Perhaps the unconquered Celtic peoples there can swoop down on Roman Gaul as it falters and establish some kind of Celtic Empire? All we need is a High King, possibly with some religious backing (hmm...the Celtic Church?).

The concept of unconquered British attacking late Rome is mine; however, the need for a High King to unify the factions and to use religion to do so originally came from someone else (it was on the old board--"Romans Never Conquer Britain" or something similar).

 

[DominusNovus]

Okay, so the Vandals aren't going to bring the house down as OTL. So, who will? I figure the Huns and Magyars might be involved, plus we can have an Islam-like entity (Mohammed is probably going to be butterflied, but some other prophet can arise) unite the Arabs against Roman Africa and Syria.

Who ever said anything about anyone bringing the house down? The Empire will fall, I assure you, but it'll fall in a much different way than it did in OTL. As for a Muhhamed analogue, there will be one (though he'll occur a century or two earlier), but that's all I'll say for now.

Hmm...how much of Britain will remain unconquered? Perhaps the unconquered Celtic peoples there can swoop down on Roman Gaul as it falters and establish some kind of Celtic Empire? All we need is a High King, possibly with some religious backing (hmm...the Celtic Church?).

Our next installment will see the conquest of the rest of Britain (including scotland), so not much will remain unconquered. Though there might still be some form of Celtic (or Gallic?) empire coming around eventually...

 

[DominusNovus]

BTW, after I finish the next two installments (Brittanicus and his son), I'm going to take a break and go into detail on the barbarians to the northeast, such as the Heruli, Gothones (who I'm 99% sure are the Goths), Sarmatae, and others. I might also do a short installment on Christianity, though it won't be really important for a couple centuries (which I can't cover, unless I want to give anything away).

 

[DominusNovus]

Yet another.

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Tiberius Claudius Vandalius Flavianus Britannicus was Emperor from AD 79 to AD 96. During his principate, the Brigantes would be defeated and Caledonia (Scotland) and Hibernia (Ireland) would be conquered.

In AD 81, Britannicus made an alliance with the Caledonii, a tribe which had been attacked frequently by the Brigantes and was on the verge of collapse. Britannicus, along with his son, Manius Flavius Varus, then campaigned against the Brigantes. Though the Brigantes put up a tough fight, they could not withstand the combined offensive and were crushed in AD 85. Ariovistix was sent back to Rome as a captive, and his people's territory was split up between the Roman province of Britannia and the Regnum Caledonii (Kingdom of Caledonia), the new client kingdom form there.

Britannicus then established a few forts along the coast of Britannia and on the Hibernian coast, to defend against the Hibernian Brigantes, who held a grudge against the Romans for the conquest of their Britannic brethren. Britannicus then returned to Rome, leaving the Legions in Britannia under the command of his son. Manius, eager for glory of his own, decided to conquer Hibernia. He campaigned against the Brigantes and their allies, the Eblani and Robogdii, in AD 90, claiming that they had raided one of the coastal forts. By AD 95, the entire island was under Roman control as the new province of Hibernia. For this, Manius was given the title Hibernicus.

In that same year, Britannicus died. His reign was almost totally marked by military matters. The Principate would then pass on to his son who was still in Hibernia.

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Comments? Opinions?

 

[DuQuense]

Back to Nature

Remember Early Christianity was a Jewish sect And a Back to Nature Cult [in Reponse to the urbanization of the Persians, then Greeks, Then Romans.

 

[DominusNovus]

Tree Hugging fools

Remember Early Christianity was a Jewish sect And a Back to Nature Cult [in Reponse to the urbanization of the Persians, then Greeks, Then Romans.

Knew of course about the Jewish sect part, but not about the back to nature thing. Idealistic morons, gonna have to beat some sense into them in TTL. Why is there no angry face on the new board?

 

[DominusNovus]

I'm running out of ways to introduce my installments.

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Hibernicus rule Rome from AD 96 to AD 98. Nothing particularly interesting happened during his reign, though Hibernicus himself is an interesting character.

Hibernicus devoted most of his reign to pleasure, leaving major administrative details unattended. He squandered much of the large surplus left by previous emperors, most of it spent on the large and lavish estate he built for himself in Rome (the palace would be torn down after his death and the grounds would be opened to the public as a large park/zoo). He also picked up the bizarre habit of wearing pants (perceived as feminine or barbaric clothing in ancient Rome) while living in the north, and he even once forced the entire Senate to wear pants for a session. He also humiliated the Senate by proclaiming his wife, Justina, consul (though she actually did a good job in that capacity, especially in contrast to her hedonistic husband).

Eventually, he alienated the Senate enough that they murdered him in late February of AD 98. Upon the assassination, the Senate briefly considered restoring the republic, but the praetorian guard was opposed to such an idea. Therefore, they proclaimed a popular Senator, Decimus Viridius Aurelius, as Emperor.

Hibernicus went down in history as a lazy hedonist, though he was an apt military commander. Perhaps if he had actually put his military talents to use during his principate, he would have been remembered in a better light. As it was, he has the dubious distinction of being the first Roman Emperor to be assassinated.

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Thoughts? Comments? Next installment will be either barbarians or early church up to this point, probably church, just cuz I know more about it.

 

[DominusNovus]

Rome's Neighbors

Not much here, just a list of the people's neighboring the Roman Empire, who're pretty much the same as in OTL. Basicly, the east is pretty much the same, while the barbarians to the northeast are beginning to civilize and become more prosperous.

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At the turn of the second century, the Roman Empire stretched from the coast of the Suebican Sea (Baltic Sea) to North Africa, from Hibernia to Anatolia. Its borders were secure, its population was booming, trade flourished, and times were good.

To the north, across the Suebican were the Heruli, who had conquered their neighbors, the Sviones and Finni. They had begun to look to the sea for their future, and would eventually develop ships superior even to those of the Roman galleys that patrol the coasts. On the south shore of the Seubican, along the border of the Empire were the Gothones, who were allid with the Sciri and Aestii (who were also formidable mariners). They were usually at war with the Venedae tribes to the east. The tribes had prospered due to trade with the Roman Empire and, as such, remained fairly peaceful with the Romans. The northern Venedae tribes prospered even more and were trying to expand, at the expense of their neighbors.

The southern Vendae also were expanding, at the expense of their neighbors to the south, the Navari, and the Bastarnae. The Bastarnae were beginning to settle more and more along the coast of the Sea of Pontus (Black Sea), which caused concerned in the Kingdom of the Bosporus, a staunchly loyal Roman client state. To the east of the Bosporus were the the Alani, Hunni, and other warlike tribes.

To the south of these, along the Caucasus mountains lay the nations of Colchis, Iberia, and Albania (most likely unrelated to the regions of the same name in Europe), all loosely allied to Rome. To the south of these kingdoms lay Armenia, a relatively powerful client state of Rome. To their south lay the Parthian Empire and the Parthian-leaning state of Osrhoene. Further to the south were the Nabatene, arab nomads who had settled down and become important traders.

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Any thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? I've got a good idea of the basics for the next hundred year, and a rough idea of where I want to take it beyond that, but I could easily fit in some of your ideas guys.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Very good so far. You've described Rome at a very high point...when will the big shake-ups come?

These things always start out with "Rome was at the peak of its powers, with borders stretching from Point A to Point B. Then..."

 

[Tom_B]

Apollonius of Tyana

A semithyical character. If you're trying to decelerate the growth of Chrisitianity, then you may want to take a look at him. Domitian gave him a hard time. You might have an Emperor who is a fan instead.

 

[DominusNovus]

Onward to the second century and destiny! and infinty! and beyond! and, whatever's beyond tha... I'll shut up now.

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Decimus Viridius Aurelius reigned as Emperor of Rome from AD 98 to AD 115. His reign would be mostly uneventful, except for the reception of a envoy from the Han Empire of Serica (China), Gan Ying.

We must now take a brief interlude to examine events to the east. From AD 80 to AD 97, the Han General Ban Chao had campaigned along the silk road, so that the nations lying on it would be under the control of the Han. The campaign culminated with a crushing victory over the Hunni. Based on the shores of the Mare Caspium (Caspian Sea), Ban Chao sent out an envoy, Gan Ying, to make contact with the empire known to them as Da Qing; the Roman Empire. Gan eventually reached the Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea). He then decided to board a ship to reach his destination and was almost dissuaded by a local sailor who told him exaggerated stories of the dangers of the voyage. However, Gan was a man of duty and decided to continue on, though he went by land. He journeyed through Armenia, into Roman Anatolia, and on to Italia.

Gan Ying eventually reached the Eternal City in the year AD 99. He and his entourage created quite a stir in Rome. Rome impressed them equally, with its tall buildings, gardens, and gigantic public works. Gan Ying would tell stories of Han Serica, to the delight of his Roman hosts. It was soon realized that both empires would have much to offer each other. In fact, in a letter written by Gan to Ban Chao stated that Rome and Serica were "but opposite sides of the same coin".

Gan would eventually return home in AD 103, leaving some of his entourage behind, and taking some Roman envoys along. Over the course of Aurelius' reign, diplomatic missions would be sent back and forth, strengthening relations between the Han and Roman Empires, to the growing concern of the Parthians, who did not wish to be surrounded by an alliance of the two most powerful nations in the world.

Aurelius died a peaceful death in AD 115, after a peaceful and prosperous reign that gave Rome time to breathe after its many conquests to the north, and was succeeded by his adopted son Tiberius Quintus Cosmus, a popular politician. Though Aurelius was a firm supporter in the republic and actively made reforms to expand the power of the Senate (largely by making many Imperial provinces into Senatorial provinces), the military (and, to a lesser degree, the Roman people) wanted an emperor, and Aurelius had to adopt Cosmus, renaming the future emperor Decimus Viridius Aurelius Cosmianus.

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Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Money? Concubines? Food? (forgive me, but its late, and I'm bored outta my mind).

Things are going to heat up soon, I hope to be able to do justice to the next section. And as for Appolonius, he seems to be an interesting character. However, I'm not planning on impeding the growth of christianity. If I'm feeling like being a jerk when I get around to writing the bit on the growth of the church (I'm putting it off, as nothing's really happened by this point), I might have him convert, just to screw around with things. Probably not though, given his semimythical status.