The Annals of Aelius -- A History of Rome Under the Julian Emperors

[Atamolos]

Julian Family Tree
at the time of the Julian Schism​

Julian and Vipsanian wings of the imperial household:
(Familial ties to the Claudian and Drusillan branches shown in top right corner)

L. Julius Caesar Felix Pius m. Claudia Messalina (daughter of Drusus Nero)
Julia Vipsania m. Dr. Julius Caesar (son of Germanicus)
M. Julius Caesar Fidelis Rufus m. Licinia Crassa
D. Laelius Balbus Minor m. Julia Domitia (daughter of Tiberius)
Julia Aurelia Cotta Caesaris m. M. Claudius Marcellus
G. Julius Caesar Solus Filius m. Julia Livilla (daughter of Germanicus)
M. Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus Aquileanus m. Cocceia
Vipsania Agrippina Postumia m. G. Cassius Longinus
Ant. Vipsanius Agrippa m. Pompeia

Claudian wing of the imperial household:

Ti. Claudius Nero m. Cassia Longina
Claudia Messalina m. L. Julius Caesar Felix Pius
Dr. Claudius Nero Gemellus m. Calpurnia Pisona

Drusillan wing of the imperial household:

Dr. Julius Caesar Germanicus m. Julia Vipsania (daughter of Gaius)
Ti. Julius Caesar Vopiscus m. Junia Silana
G. Julius Caesar Maior m. Cornelia Sulla Faustina
Julia Agrippina m. D. Valerius Asiaticus
Julia Livilla m. G. Julius Caesar Solus Filius (son of Lucius)
Sex. Julius Caesar m. N/A
Julia Drusilla m. G. Galerius
M. Julius Caesar m. Aemilia Lepida
Ti. Julius Caesar Livius Germanicus m. Valeria Catula
Julia Domitia m. D. Laelius Balbus Minor
L. Julius Caesar Germanicus Minor m. N/A


Some nicknames:
Since there's basically 15 new male characters to follow and they only have a couple praenomia between them, here's a handy guide for the new generation

Sons of Gaius, Lucius, and Julia the Younger (Julian wing)
L. Julius Caesar Felix Pius = Felix Pius (named because he survived capture during the Battle of Bononia and refused to renounce his father, thus "Felix" for fortunate, and "Pius" for dutiful)
M. Julius Caesar Fidelis Rufus = Marcus Rufus (named for his unusual red hair)
G. Julius Caesar Solus Filius = Gaius Solus (named for being the only son of Lucius)
D. Laelius Balbus Minor = Balbus Minor

Sons of Agrippa Postumus (Vipsanian wing)
M. Vipsanius Agrippa Aquileanus = Aquileanus (named in honor of his bravery at the Battle of Aquilea)
Ant. Vipsanius Agrippa = Antonius (named for his great-grandfather, Marcus Antonius the triumvir)

Sons of Drusus Nero (Claudian wing)
Ti. Claudius Nero = Nero
Dr. Claudius Nero Gemellus = Gemellus (named "Gemellus" meaning "the twin" in honor of his twin brother, who died in childbirth)

Sons of Germanicus and Tiberius (Drusillan wing)
Dr. Julius Caesar Germanicus = Drusus Minor or Drusus Germanicus
Ti. Julius Caesar Vopiscus Germanicus = Vopiscus (named in honor of one of the first of the Julian clan, Vopicsus Julius Iulus, cos. 473 BCE)
G. Julius Caesar Primus Germanicus = Gaius Primus
Sex. Julius Caesar = Sextus (named in honor of the first Julius Caesar, Sextus Julius Caesar, praetor in 208 BCE)
M. Julius Caesar = Marcus
Ti. Julius Caesar Livius Germanicus = Livius (named in honor of Livia Augusta and her father Marcus Livius Drusus)
L. Julius Caesar Germanicus Minor = Lucius Minor

Chronology of Emperors:
Imp. Gaius Julius divi f. Caesar Octavianus Augustus: 27 BCE - 4 CE
Imp. Drusus Julius divi augusti f. Caesar Claudianus Augustus Germanicus: 4 CE - 22 CE
Imp. Gaius Julius divi augusti f. Caesar Vipsanianus Augustus: 22 CE - 27 CE
Imp. Germanicus Julius divi drusi f. augusti n. Caesar Augustus Restitutor Invictus: 27 CE - ?
Current heirs-apparent: Drusus Julius divi germani f. drusi n. augusti pron. Caesar Germanicus and Tiberius Julius divi germani f. drusi n. augusti pron. Caesar Vopiscus Germanicus

 

[Atamolos]

Land tax: 12% levied on provincial landowners and tenants on imperial land in Italy and the provinces
Govt-owned mines: mostly gold and silver, but also marble, tin, lead, and copper
Portoria: 25% levied on imports, 5% levied on provincial borders and at the gates of Rome, 10% levied on exports
Slave taxes: 8% levied on the sale of slaves, 4% levied on the sale of gladiators, 5% levied on the manumission of slaves
Poll tax: 4% levied on the wealth of non-citizen residents and a 10% levy on the wealth of citizens living outside of Italy
Inheritance tax: 5% levied on inherited wealth
Donations to the emperor: mostly consists of wealth confiscated from senators convicted of crimes
Other taxes: including a tax on unmarried adults, a tax on Jews living in the Empire, and property seized from dead legionaries

Greece and Asia: incl. Achaea, Macedonia, Epirus, Asia Minor, Bithynia et Pontus, Galatia, Cilicia, Cappadocia, and Syria
Italia: incl. Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia et Corsica
Hispania: incl. Baetica, Tarraconensis, and Lusitania
Aegypt: incl. Cyrenaica and Aegypt proper
Gaul and Germania: incl. Narbonensis, Aquitania, Lugdunensis, Belgica, Coloniensis, Cisalbis, Vindelicia, Raetia, and the 4 provincia Alpes
Africa: incl. Africa Proconsularis
Danube Provinces: incl. Illyricum and Moesia

This was immensely difficult to research, so I hope y'all like the budgetary specifics of the early Empire as much as I do

 

[Zulfurium]

This is ridiculously impressive and I can barely fathom the amount of work that must have gone into it, so cudos on it. It is going to be a pain keeping everyone straight but this should give us a pretty good starting point.

 

[isabella]

Great work Atamolos... The only wrong thing I can find in your naming is who Agrippa Postumus children willl not be called with the cognomen Postumus, everything else follow perfectly the roman naming consuetudines during the Principatus

 

[Atamolos]

Great work Atamolos... The only wrong thing I can find in your naming is who Agrippa Postumus children willl not be called with the cognomen Postumus, everything else follow perfectly the roman naming consuetudines during the Principatus

Just named in honor of Agrippa's early death. The cognomen will only carry on for one generation I think, that seems to be within reason, if for no other reason than to distinguish them from later politicians named Marcus and/or Agrippa. I may keep "Postumia" as a name around, just so there aren't too many women named Agrippina, but I think I can get away with it since the Julian family was always pretty cavalier with names (Drusus and Nero as praenomina, etc). I'll try and gradually introduce a wider range of praenomina into the mix, but for now all these absurd nicknames will have to suffice. I'm thinking about having a few characters named after their maternal grandfathers in the near future (similar to Drusus the Elder), rather than their fathers, otherwise we're going to be stuck with nothing but men named Gaius, Drusus, and Tiberius lol

 

[isabella]

Just named in honor of Agrippa's early death. The cognomen will only carry on for one generation I think, that seems to be within reason, if for no other reason than to distinguish them from later politicians named Marcus and/or Agrippa. I may keep "Postumia" as a name around, just so there aren't too many women named Agrippina, but I think I can get away with it since the Julian family was always pretty cavalier with names (Drusus and Nero as praenomina, etc). I'll try and gradually introduce a wider range of praenomina into the mix, but for now all these absurd nicknames will have to suffice. I'm thinking about having a few characters named after their maternal grandfathers in the near future (similar to Drusus the Elder), rather than their fathers, otherwise we're going to be stuck with nothing but men named Gaius, Drusus, and Tiberius lol

Well, maybe that can pass for this time... Do not exagerate with naming for maternal ancestors (unless their are more prestigious than the paternal ones naturally)...
Too many men with the same names is exactly what Roman's naming uses want

 

[Atamolos]

Well, maybe that can pass for this time... Do not exagerate with naming for maternal ancestors (unless their are more prestigious than the paternal ones naturally)...
Too many men with the same names is exactly what Roman's naming uses want

Relax, I'm not gonna go too overboard. It will probably only happen when minor Julians marry the daughters of prestigious generals (i.e. with the descendants of Domitius Ahenobarbus, Marc Antony, the various Sullas running around, or any men claiming descent from the early republicans). It's more for my own sanity than for too much realism. ITTL, I have to avoid setting a precedent of purging the family of any deposed emperor, so the various cadet branches are going to get pretty huge, and keeping track of all those men is gonna get a little crazy. By the end of TTL, the senate is basically going to be entirely made up of Julians

 

[isabella]

Relax, I'm not gonna go too overboard. It will probably only happen when minor Julians marry the daughters of prestigious generals (i.e. with the descendants of Domitius Ahenobarbus, Marc Antony, the various Sullas running around, or any men claiming descent from the early republicans). It's more for my own sanity than for too much realism. ITTL, I have to avoid setting a precedent of purging the family of any deposed emperor, so the various cadet branches are going to get pretty huge, and keeping track of all those men is gonna get a little crazy. By the end of TTL, the senate is basically going to be entirely made up of Julians

I am really happy to hear that

 

[Atamolos]

Movement of the Legions During the Julian Schism​

778 AUC

Troop movements in 778 AUC (orange shows the initial limits of Germanicus' control)

779 AUC

Troop movements in 779 AUC

Deployments After the Schism

Legionary dispositions after Germanicus assumes the throne in 780 AUC (blue = senatorial provinces, green = imperial provinces)​

Key to legionary designations:
1. I Augusta, Germania Cisalbis
2. I Germanica, Cappadocia
3. II Augusta, Africa Proconsularis
4. III Gallica, Illyricum (Pannonia)
5. III Cyrenaica, Syria
6. IV Scythica, Illyricum (Dalmatia)
7. V Alaudae, Germania Cisalbis
8. V Macedonica, Tarraconensis
9. VI Ferrate, Moesia
10. VII Macedonica, Coloniensis
11. VII Tiberia, Germania Cisalbis
12. VIII Hispanica, Germania Cisalbis
13. VIII Augusta, Moesia
14. IX Hispanica, Syria
15. X Fretensis, Aegyptus
16. XI Pius Fiedlis, Italia
17. XII Fulminata, Moesia
18. XIV Gemina Victrix, Germania Cisalbis
19. XV Apollinaris, Illyricum (Pannonia)
20. XVI Gallica, Tarraconensis
21. XVII Germanica, Italia
22. XVIII Thracica, Germania Cisalbis
23. XIX Drusilla, Cappadocia
24. XX Valeria Victrix, Syria
25. XXI Rapax, Illyricum (Dalmatia)
26. XXII Delotoriana, Aegyptus
27. XXIII Illyrica, Syria
28. XXIV Parthica, Syria

 

[Atamolos]

Imperatores Caesar Divi Filii Augusti

Augustus

born Gaius Octavius
later known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
ruled as Imperator Gaius Julius Divi Filius Caesar Augustus​

--Born: 10 days before the Kalends of October, cos. Cicero and Antonius Hybrida
--Died: 1 day before the Kalends of Maius, cos. Lucius Caesar and Vinicius
--Reigned: Ides of Martius, cos. Caesar V and Antonius – Kalends of Sexilis, cos. Augustus IV and Crassus (as triumvir); later ruled until his death as pinceps (14 years, 4 months, 16 days as triumvir; 32 years, 5 months, and 29 days as princeps)

--Relationship to previous ruler: adoptive son of Julius Caesar the dictator (biological grandson of the dictator's sister, Julia)
--Notable reforms: established the office of princeps, established the division between senatorial and imperial provinces, passed the lex Augusta (making all sales, land, and inheritance taxes unchangeable for 80 years), established the Julian dynasty and the precedent of adoption and granting tribunician authority as a succession system, financed the construction of roads and aqueducts around Italy and the provinces, consolidated the praetorian cohorts into a formal organization under two prefects, conquered Aegyptus and Illyricum
--Children: Julia Caesaris, Tiberius Nero (stepson - deceased), Drusus Augustus (adoptive), Gaius Augustus (adoptive), and Lucius Caesar (adoptive)

Drusus

born Nero Claudius Drusus
later known as Drusus Julius Caesar Claudianus
ruled as Imperator Drusus Julius Divi Augusti Filius Caesar Augustus Germanicus​

--Born: 1 day before the Ides of Ianuarius, cos. Pulcher and Flaccus
--Died: 6 days before the Ides of Sextilis, cos. Gaius Caesar II and Lucius Caesar II
--Reigned: 18 years, 5 months, 8 days; held tribunician authority for 10 additional years beginning in cos. Piso and Galba

--Relationship to previous rulers: adoptive son of Augustus (biological son of Augustus' last wife Livia Augusta, and Augustus' nephew-in law by marriage to Antonia, the daughter of Augustus' sister Octavia)
--Notable reforms: re-established the office of censor, transferred magisterial election authority to the senate, transferred the right to hear judicial appeal to the senate, completed the conquests of Germania and Moesia, decentralized the praetorian cohorts into bases throughout Italy, raised the portoria (import tax), passed the lex Claudia (giving all descendants of Augustus the right to hold consular office at age 20 and tribunician authority upon election to any magistracy), annexed Cappadocia, increased the minimum length of service for the legions to 20 years plus 4 years in reserves, levied additional legions
--Children: Germanicus Augustus, Julia Livilla, and Tiberius Caesar

Gaius

born Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa
later known as Gaius Julius Caesar Vipsanianus
ruled as Imperator Gaius Julius Divi Augusti Filius Caesar Augustus​

--Born: 12 days before the Kalends of Martius, cos. Appuleius and Nerva
--Died: N/A, still living
--Reigned: 5 years, 1 month, 24 days; From the death of Drusus to his deposition by Germanicus 11 days before the Kalends of September, cos. Gaius Augustus VII and Pollio; held tribunician authority for 21 additional years beginning in cos. Gaius Caesar and Paullus

--Relationship to previous rulers: adoptive brother of Drusus and son of Augustus (biological grandson of Augustus by his dauther's marriage to Marcus Agrippa)
--Notable Reforms: transferred numerous imperial provinces to senatorial control (incl. Lusitania, Aquitania, and Galatia), established a personal courier service loyal to the princeps, consolidated several praetorian cohorts at Rome, decreased the size of the senate by trying and banishing numerous senators, consolidated the Julian wing of the imperial house as a powerful bloc in Rome (including all descendants of him, his brother Lucius, and his sister Julia)
--Children: Lucius Felix Pius, Julia Vipsania, and Marcus Rufus

Germanicus

born Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus
later known as Germanicus Julius Caesar
ruled as Imperator Germanicus Julius Divi Drusi Filius Caesar Augustus Restitutor Invictus​

--Born: 9 days before the Kalends of Iunius, cos. Drusus Libo and Piso
--Died: N/A, still living
--Reigned: N/A, still reigning, seized power on the Ides of September, cos. Gaius Augustus VII and Pollio; held tribunician authority for 18 additional years beginning in cos. Drusus Augustus III and Germanicus

--Relationship to previous rulers: adoptive nephew of Gaius (brother in-law by marriage to Agrippina and biological third-cousin by their mutual great-grandfather Gaius Octavius Thurinus, the biological father of Augustus), biological son of Drusus, and adoptive grandson of Augustus (step-grandson by marriage to Livia Augusta and biological grand-nephew through Augustus' sister Octavia)
--Notable reforms: N/A, to be established
--Children: Drusus Germanicus, Tiberius Vopiscus, Gaius Germanicus, Julia Agrippina, Julia Livilla, Sextus Caesar, Julia Drusilla, and Marcus Caesar

 

[Atamolos]

Relay of the Britannic Situation
Et de Britannia insula, inter quas res in eo statu sunt gentes
or the occurrences with respect to the island of Britannia including those of the peoples thereupon

An approximation of the political situation in Britannia based on the knowledge of our interpreters​

The island of Britannia has been undertaken by a confluence of considerable distresses in the recent years since the consulship of Gaius Augustus for the second time and Lucius Caesar for the second time. The neglect with respect to preponderances of the insular happenstance propagated by the foolish prince has summoned forth a number of previously improbable potentialities, not the least of which had been the assumption by the Catuvellauni of the mantle of overlordship of Britannia in place of the Trinovantes. This was at the indignance of the Iceni as well as the Atrebates and their Belgic compatriots, yet none of these confederacies have been decisive in their retaliations against these designs by the emergent imperatores. As remedies to these ends, I have delegated from among my entourage a number of decani from my centuries to drill in the civilized fashion a number of the Gauls in their ignorance as well as a number of iron works toward which they might seek forth the displacement of their erstwhile personages of their oppressors.

The barbarians are not disposed to swift accumulation of these skills. They have, during the recent months passed, been ruinous of my patience as well as that of my centurions and optiones, although the legionaries have taken a singular affinity with these Gauls in their ruggedness and anarchy. I have taken measures that they might initiate progress through these channels, although there has been limited success, and I have sufficient officers in my employ to neither stifle the drunkenness of my men nor dissuade the prostitutes that they enjoy.

This island has engendered me and my staff with no particular love of the Gauls nor the enterprise with which the divine Julius was acquainted. Rather the fog and miasma has despoiled for both myself and my wife Vespasia any future prospects of a republican order on this island. It is my advice to the princeps that the legions might never again invest their time nor the treasury at Rome be devoted towards any fruitless adventures on this despicable rock, nor should any valiant sons of Rome be lost to the folds of Mars on behalf of the moss and toadstools which might surely be the only spoils of any such labors.

For his august imperial personage and commander Germanicus Julius Caesar, restorer and undefeated, consul ordinarius for the third time and holding tribunician power for the twentieth time, son of the divine Drusus, grandson of the divine Augustus and divine Augusta, and great-grandson of the divine Julius. From the envoy of the princeps to the island of Britannia, Titus Flavius Sabinus, son of Titus Petro, and praetor in the consulship of Gaius Marsus and Lucius Proculus with imperium for the second time thereafter

A marble bust of the author, Titus Flavius Sabinus, who would later go on to become consul​

 

[Flavius Iulius Nepos]

Lmk if there’s a specific aspect of Parthia/Britain/Africa that you want examined

I would really appreciate some more info about the Parthian empire. By the way great update and excellent style as always.

 

[Atamolos]

I would really appreciate some more info about the Parthian empire. By the way great update and excellent style as always.

So far, I have an extensive king list for Parthia and its various sub-kingdoms (Osroene, Charax, Persia, etc), but I can't think of anything more interesting to write at the moment. That's definitely coming up next though, after I sketch out a few maps

EDIT: also coming up after Parthia is the Horn of Africa and the Eurasian steppe. Still on the fence about doing India or China

 

[Atamolos]

Chronicle of the Eastern Kings
Et album historia de Oriente regum
or a history of the East and a list of kings​

The assemblage of courts and patronages in the East is a considerable and ancient collection thereof, and it is not commonplace for any legionaries, governors, or diplomats, to be acquainted with the likewise histories when it ought be commonplace. To this end, I have compiled a chronicle of the regnal periods thereof in the style of the ancient Aegyptian and Aramaic king lists which may be used by Asiaticus in his governorship of Syria as well as by successive magistracies and by the princeps himself. The current state of the Eastern courts is thus:

King of Kings, Philhellene, King of Parthia, Tiridates III
Ascended after a revolution overthrew Vonones, the heir to Phraates V, whom had been initially succeeded by his cousin, Orodes III

King in Osroene, Abgar V of Edessa
Holding power for the second time after defeating the usurper Ma'nu IV and reclaiming the throne

King in Adiabene, Izates
Adopted Jewish son of the previous Arsacid governor, Artaxares, and first sovereign king of Adiabene

King in Media, Artabanus II
Succeeded Vonones, the eventual King of Kings, whom had been the Arsacid king there previously

King in Charax, Attambolos III
Legitimate son of his predecessor, Abinegros

King in Elam, Orodes
Having usurped the lineage of seven successive Kamnaskirid kings

King in Persia, Pakor
Son of his predecessor, Vahshir, and descendant of the house of Arsaces​

The Parthian Empire, the greatest rival to Rome​

Kings of the House of Arsaces, Philhellenes, Kings of Kings and of Parthia, of Mesopotamia, and of the reaches of Asia with their throne at Ctesiphon​

The house of Arsaces, having decisively defeated the house of Seleucus in the consulship of Lucius Caecilius Metellus for the second time and Numerius Fabius Buteo, assumed for themselves the title of “Shahansha”, which in the language of the Persians is reserved singularly for the king above all kings, acquired the throne of the East, under the banner of Arsaces I, and thereafter all men to hold any likewise title was called Arsaces, although this chronicle will refer simultaneously to their princely names, rather than singularly their regnal names in the year which they took power. These kings also retained direct control over the realms of Hyrcania, Abarshahr, Hatra, Elam, Korduene, and India.

Arsaces I - cos. L. Caecilius Metellus II and N. Fabius Buteo (247 BCE)
Artabanus I (Ars. II) - cos. Gn. Fulvius Centumalus Maximus and P. Sulpicius Galba Maximus (211 BCE)
Phruapatius (Ars. III) - cos. Ap. Claudius Pulcher and M. Sempronius Tuditanus (185 BCE)
Phraates I (Ars. IV) - cos. A. Hostilius Mancinus and A. Atilius Serranus (170 BCE)
Mithridates I (Ars. V) - cos. Q. Aelius Paetus and M. Junius Pennus (167 BCE)
Phraates II (Ars. VI) - cos. P. Popillius Laenas and P. Rupilius (132 BCE)
Artabanus II (Ars. VII) - cos. L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla and L. Cornelius Cinna (127 BCE)
Arsaces VIII - cos. M. Aemilius Lepidus and L. Aurelius Orestes (126 BCE)
Tiridates I (Ars. IX) - cos. Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and G. Fannius (122 BCE)
Mithridates II (Ars. X) - cos. L. Opimius and Q. Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus (121 BCE)
Gotarzes I (Ars. XI) - cos. L. Marcius Philippus and Sex. Julius Caesar (91 BCE)
Arsaces XII - seized power in the same year from Gotarzes I
Mithridates III (Ars. XIII) - cos. L. Cornelius Sulla Felix the Dictator and Q. Pompeius Rufus (88 BCE)
Orodes I (Ars. XIV) - cos. L. Cornelius Sulla Felix the Dictator II and Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius (80 BCE)
Sanatruces (Ars. XV) - cos. D. Junius Brutus and Mam. Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (77 BCE)
Arsaces XVI - seized power in the same year from Sanatruces
Phraates III (Ars. XVII) - cos. Gn. Pompeius Magnus the Triumvir and M. Licinius Crassus the Triumvir (70 BCE)
Arsaces XVIII - cos. M’. Aemilius Lepidus and L. Volcatius Tullus (66 BCE)
Mithridates III (Ars. XIX) - cos. L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Manlius Torquatus (65 BCE)
Orodes II (Ars. XX) - cos. P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther and Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos (57 BCE)
Pacorus (Ars. XXI) - cos. L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus and G. Claudius Marcellus Minor (50 BCE)
Phraates IV (Ars. XXII) - cos. Ap. Claudius Pulcher and G. Norbanus Flaccus (38 BCE)
Tiridates II (Ars. XXIII) - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus IV and M. Licinius Crassus (30 BCE)
Mithridates IV (Ars. XXIV) - cos. M. Valerius Messalla Appianus and P. Sulpicius Quirinius (12 BCE)
Phraates V (Ars. XXV) - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus XIII and M. Valerius Messalla (2 BCE)
Orodes III (Ars. XXVI) - seized power from Phraates V in cos. L. Julius Caesar Vipsanianus and P. Vinicius with the aid of Musa, the former wife of Phraates IV and herself a powerful patron in the Arsacid court (4 CE)
Vonones (Ars. XXVII) - cos. T. Statilius Taurus and L. Norbanus Balbus (17 CE)
Tiridates III (Ars. XXVIII) - cos. M. Cocceius Nerva and Mam. Aemilius Scaurus (21 CE)

The modern political situation in the East, which came about after the Mithridatic Wars​

Kings of Osroene, Arabian vassals to the King of Kings and victors over Crassus and Antonius with their throne at Edessa​

The house of Osroes were originated in their powers at the fall of the house of Seleucus at the behest of both Parthia and Armenia, as well as Pontus, which at that time gave patronage to a great multitude of eastern kings. The kings thereof descended from a sect of the Nabataeans which had migrated into Mesopotamia and were likewise known to speak Greek and Aramaic in addition to their native Arabian languages. The Arabs are most notable in our histories for their slaughter of Marcus Crassus, his son, and his legions at Carrhae and they have since been thralls to the Arsacid court, whom themselves have leveraged the vulnerability of the realm to depose numerous kings including Abgar V of Edessa, whom in addition to reigning concurrently with his august prince Germanicus had been deposed in the consulship of Postumus and Metellus Creticus.

Aryu - cos. P. Popillius Laenas and P. Rupilius (132 BCE)
Abdu - cos. L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla and L. Cornelius Cinna (127 BCE)
Osroes Fradhast - cos. P. Manilius and G. Papirius Carbo (120 BCE)
Bakru I - cos. M. Aemilius Scaurus and M. Caecilius Metellus (115 BCE)
Bakru II - cos. M. Livius Drusus and L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (112 BCE)
Ma’nu I - cos. G. Coelius Caldus and L. Domitius Ahenobarbus (94 BCE)
Abgar I Piqua - seized power from Ma’nu in the same year
Abgar II the Traitor - cos. L. Caecilius Metellus and Q. Marcius Rex (68 BCE), victor over Crassus
Ma’nu II - cos. Gn. Pompeius Magnus III and Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (52 BCE), victor over Antonius
Paqor - cos. M. Antonius the Triumvir II and L. Scribonius Libo (34 BCE)
Abgar III - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus V and Sex. Appuleius (29 BCE)
Abgar IV Sumaqa - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus VIII and T. Statilius Taurus II (26 BCE)
Ma’nu III Saphul - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus XI and Gn. Calpurnius Piso (23 BCE)
Abgar V of Edessa - cos. Q. Haterius and L. Passenius Rufus (4 BCE)
Ma’nu IV - cos. G. Vibius Postumus and Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus (7 CE)
Abgar V of Edessa - seized power from Ma’nu IV in cos. Dr. Claudius Nero and G. Visellius Varro (13 CE)

Kings in Media, themselves in union with the Arsacids and vassals to the King of Kings with their throne at Ganzak​

The Median throne of Atropatene was among the royal houses which emerged following the death of Alexander. The dynasty was founded by Atropates, whom himself was the satrap of Media, and revolted against Antigonus in the consulship of Titus Vetrurius Calvinus for the second time and Spurius Postumius Albinus Caudinus for the second time. However, the ensuing anarchy in the East left the Medians without sufficient written records for the next century, and thus the regnal chronicle will begin a hundred years later.

Atropates - cos. T. Vetrurius Calvinus II and Sp. Postumius Albinus Caudinus II (321 BCE)
--No record for the next century--
Artabazanes - contemporary of Antiochus III Magnus beginning in cos. P. Cornelius Scipio Asina and M. Minucius Rufus (221 BCE)
--Another gap in our records exists for the next century and a half--
Mithridates - came to power as a contemporary of Tigranes Magnus in cos. G. Calpurnius Piso and M’. Acilius Glabrio (67 BCE)
Darius - cos. L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Manlius Torquatus (65 BCE)
Ariobarzanes I - seized power from Darius in the same year
Artavasdes I - cos. Gn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus and L. Marcius Philippus (56 BCE)
Asinnalus - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus III and M. Antonius the Triumvir III (31 BCE)
Ariobarzanes II - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus XI and Gn. Calpurnius Piso (23 BCE)
Artavasdes II - cos. L. Julius Caesar Vipsanianus and P. Vinicius (4 CE)
Artabanus I - cos. A. Licinius Nerva and M. Aemilius Lepidus (6 CE)
Vonones - cos. Imp. Caesar Dr. Divi f. Augustus Germanicus III and Ger. Julius Caesar (10 CE)
Artabanus II - cos. G. Vibius Marsus and L. Voluseius Proculus (18 CE)

Kings and Philhellenes of Charax, themselves vassals to the King of Kings with the throne at Spasinou whom were frequently subsumed in their imperia by the Shahs of Parthia during the numerous interregna​

The realms of Characene, or Charax as it is called by the Greeks who inhabit it, emerged with their royal house, the house of Aspasine, from the auspices of the satrap of Babylon during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. They have thenceforth enjoyed a privileged position in Mesopotamia and have frequently incurred the wrath of the kings of kings in their insubordination. Thusly, the regnal chronicle of this realm is punctuated by interregna during which the kings of kings have assumed direct patronage over this realm in retribution against their Greek vassals.

Hyspaosines - cos. L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla and L. Cornelius Cinna (127 BCE)
Apodakos - held power from cos. M. Minucius Rufus and Sp. Postumius Albinus to cos. G. Marius and L. Aurelius Orestes (110 - 103 BCE)
--Interregnum of eight years during which time Mithridates II, the King of Kings, was also the king in Charax
Tiraios - held power from cos. L. Licinius Crassus and Q. Mucius Scaevola to cos. Gn. Pompeius Strabo and L. Porcius Cato (95 - 89 BCE)
--Interregnum of ten years during which time Arsaces XII was king in Charax for one year, Mithridates III was king in Charax for eight years, and Orodes I was king in Charax for a further year before reinstating their autonomous rights, while each of these also held the title of King of Kings
Tiraios II - held power from cos. P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus and Ap. Claudius Pulcher to cos. G. Julius Caesar the Dictator II and P. Servilius Isauricus (79 - 48 BCE)
Artabazos - seized power from Tiraios II in the above year and held it for one year
Attambalos I - held power from cos. Q. Fufius Calenus and P. Vatinius to cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus X and G. Norbanus Flaccus (47 - 24 BCE)
--Interregnum of five years during which time Tiridates II was the king in Charax while also reigning as the King of Kings
Theonesios - cos. G. Sentius Saturninus and Q. Lucretius Vespillo (19 BCE)
Attambolos II - cos. G. Furnius and G. Junius SIlanus (17 BCE)
Abinergaos - cos. Imp. Caesar Drusus Divi f. Germanicus Augustus III and Ger. Julius Caesar (10 CE)
Attambolos III - cos. Imp. Caesar G. Divi f. Augustus III and M. Aurelius Cotta II (23 CE)

Kings in Elam, themselves vassals to the King of Kings and successors to the Elamite lineage of time immemorial​

Elam is believed to be the most ancient lineage in Asia, drawing their histories from a time preceding the Chaldeans and Assyrians. They were conquered by the house of Achaemanes in the time of the Conflict of the Orders before their later conquest by Alexander and the house of Seleucus. They threw off this yoke during the time of the Macedonian Wars and have been under the rule of the house of Kamnaskires ever since, with numerous of their rulers bearing the same name, and the Kings of Kings have shown deference to their sovereignties in the succeeding centuries.

Kamnaskires I Megas Soter - cos. P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus and G. Livius Drusus (147 BCE)
Kamnaskires II Nikephoros - cos. Q. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus and L. Hostilius Mancinus (145 BCE)
Okkonaspes - cos. Gn. Calpurnius Piso and M. Popilius Laenas (139 BCE)
Tigraios - cos. M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina and G. Hostilius Mancinus (137 BCE)
Darius - ruled for less than one year while claiming to be a descendant of the last Achaemanid king in cos. P. Popilius Laenas and P. Rupilius (132 BCE)
--Interregnum during which time Vadfradad I, king in Persia, and his immediate successors, held dominion over Elam
Kamnaskires III Megas Nikepohorus - rebelled against Vadfradad III in cos. L. Cornelius Cinna III and Gn. Papirius Carbo (85 BCE)
Kamnaskires IV - ruled jointly with his wife, Anzaze, beginning in cos. G. Marius Minor and Gn. Papirius Carbo III (82 BCE)
Kamnaskires V - cos. M. Terentius Varro Lucullus and G. Cassius Longinus (73 BCE)
Kamnaskires VI - cos. G. Julius Caesar the Dictator III and M. Aemilius Lepidus (46 BCE)
Kamnaskires VII - cos. Imp. Caesar Divi f. Augustus VI and M. Vipsanius Agrippa II (28 BCE)
Kamnaskires VIII - cos. G. Julius Caesar and L. Aemilis Paullus (1 CE)
Kamnaskires IX - cos. M. Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus and L. Scribonius Libo (15 CE)
Orodes - cos. Imp. Caesar G. Divi f. Augustus V and M. Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus II (25 CE)

The location of Persis within the old Persian Empire

Kings of Persia of the house of Bazrhangi and successors to the house of Achaemenes, themselves vassals to the King of Kings with their throne at Persepolis​

After the fall of the house of Achaemanes at the hands of Alexander, the house of Seleucus was unable to fully wrest control of the Persian homeland from the newly established royal house. These men did not record the precise breadth of reigns with respect to their subsequent overlordships, and thus their regnal chronicle is imprecise and it is inappropriate to use the traditional calendar, and I will thuswise employ generalities in this respect. The chronicle of Achaemanid kings is likewise included with the subsequent interregnum.

Achaemanes - vassal to the Chaldeans, ascended in 48 ab Urbe condita, or reg. Numa Pompilius X (705 BCE)
Teispes - son of Achaemanes, reg. Ancus Marcius II
Cyrus I - son of Teispes, reg. Ancus Marcius XVII
Chambyses I - son of Cyrus I, reg. L. Tarquinius Priscus XXXVI
Cyrus II Magnus - son of Chambyses I, reg. Ser. Tullius XXV (559 BCE)
Chambyses II - son of Cyrus II, reg. L. Tarquinius Superbus V (530 BCE)
Bardiya - usurper after the early death of Chambyses II, reg. L. Tarquinius Superbus XII (522 BCE)
Darius I - nephew of Cyrus II, seized power from Bardiya in the same year
Xerxes I - son of Darius I, cos. Ser. Cornelius Maluginensis and Q. Fabius Vibulanus (485 BCE)
Artaxerxes I - son of Xerxes I, cos. Q. Fabius Vibulanus II and T. Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus III (465 BCE)
Xerxes II - son of Artaxerxes I, cos. Trib. Ap. Claudius Crassus, L. Sergius Fidenas II, Sp. Nautius Rutilus, and Sex. Julius Iulus (424 BCE)
Sogdianus - brother of Xerxes II, seized power in the same year
Darius II - brother of Xerxes II and Sogdianus, cos. G. Sempronius Atratinus and Q. Fabius Vibulianus (423 BCE)
Artaxerxes II - son of Darius II, cos. Trib. G. Valerius Potitus Volusus III, Gn. Cornelius Cossus II, M’. Sergius Fidenas, P. Cornelius Maluginensis, K. Fabius Ambustus, and Sp. Nautius Rutilus III (404 BCE)
Artaxerxes III - son of Artaxerxes II, cos. G. Fabius Ambustus and G. Plautius Proculus (358 BCE)
Artaxerxes IV - son of Artaxerxes III, cos. L. Furius Camillus and G. Maenius (338 BCE)
Darius III - grandson of Darius II, cos. L. Papirius Crassus and K. Dullius (336 BCE)
Artaxerxes V Bessus - usurper, cos. L. Papirius Crassus II and L. Plautius Venno (330 BCE)
Alexander Magnus - conquered Persia in cos. L. Aemilius Mamercinus Privernas II and G. Plautius Decianus (329 BCE)
--Alexander died in cos. G. Sulpicius Longus II and Q. Aemilius Cerretanus and Persia fell under the regency of Perdiccas, followed by Antigonus, before their conquest by Seleucus
Vahbarz I - led a revolution against the Seleucids at the time of the Samnite Wars
Baykard - capitulated to a reconquest by the Seleucids, although they allowed the Persian royal house to remain in power as satraps
--The precise officeholders in the satrapies are not recorded for the intervening period--
Baydad - satrap of Persia during the time of the War with Hannibal
Ardashir I - satrap of Persia during Macedonian Wars
Vahbarz II - re-established sovereignty in Persia from the Seleucids after the Syrian Wars
Vadfradad I - son of Vahbarz II and ruler of Persia during the Third Punic War, he married into the Arsacid family at this time
Vadfradad II - came to power in cos. G. Laelius and Q. Servilius Caepio (140 BCE)
Syknit - seized power from Vadfradad II around the time of the tribuneship of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus
Darev I - reigned concurrently with the successive consulships of G. Marius
Vadfradad III - reigned concurrently with the Mithridatic Wars
Daraev II - son of Vadfradad III and reigned concurrently with the Civil Wars
Ardashir II - brother of Daraev II and ruled after his premature death
Vahshir - brother the the previous two kings and seized power from Ardashir II concurrently with the accession of the divine Augustus
Pakor (Pacorus) - son of Vahshir and descendant of Arsaces XXI, came to power in cos. L. Apronius and M. Servilius (12 CE)


I will be publish a number of historical manuscripts in the coming years, which I have compiled during my great tenure in Syria and Cappadocia, which I hope will preserve this knowledge for use by the republican auspices for our descendants and successors.

By Tiberius Julius Caesar Germanicus, son of the divine Drusus and brother to Caesar​

 

[Atamolos]

Report on the Far Reaches of Europe and Asia
Negotiis et Bosporon et alius proximus quasque
or the affairs of the Bosporan Kingdom and the neighboring nomadic peoples

An approximation of the inhabitants of inland Europe at the time of our stay in Chara​

The king of the Bosporus, originally called Aspurgus Dynamis, has acclimated to the secured patronage of our imperatorship over their estates by his embrace of a civilized name. He is thenceforth called Drusus Julius Aspurgus Philoromaios, the latter of which refers to his love for Rome itself. This did not ingratiate him to his subjects, although the court at Chara has followed suit in their nomenclatures, adopting such names as Gaius, Claudius, and Tiberius. In this fashion, they style themselves as Roman citizens, although their efforts remain concentrated on their northern neighbors, rather than any concerted effort at the integration of their society into our own. They trade their wares in league with the Pontics and the Bithynians, but there is scarcely another port which might see their vessels more than once in a year.

They greatly fear the cavalry hordes which emerge with considerable force every few years from the sea of grass on the Pontic steppe, whereafter they vanish from view with equal haste. The first of these barbarians were the Scythians, whom have in recent decades subsided their vigor to make way for the Sarmatians, whom themselves hail from the area to the North of Colchis.

However, we have also held court with numerous overland traders, whom have divulged numerous occurrences from the farthest reaches of the Earth. A man who calls himself Diocles, a Greek by birth from the city of Olbia, has traveled by horse to traffic in salt and amber to the numerous reaches of Asia, and he has reported the following:

The Germans themselves do not possess a mastery of Europe after the limits of the Albis. Rather, the bulk of Germans are provincials, and their numbers beyond our borders are paled by the Dacians or the Scythians with whom they share numerous properties.

To the North of the Bosporus there are a multitude of peoples who speak through grunts and hunt along the rivers of their realm. These people, the Venedi [1], are believed to have descended from Hercules, whose labors saw him travel the circuit of the Earth, and they are thuswise imbued with a warrior spirit which bids them hostile to any travelers unfortunate enough to lose their way in the untamed woods of Borealis.

To the East of the Bosporus, and to the North of the Sarmatians, lie the fabled Thyssagetae and the Argippaei, whom are relatives of the Scythians and traffic the finest horses of the steppe, native to a land far to the East ruled by a people called the Songi [2], whom themselves labor in a boundless struggle against the decadent and infirm peoples further South, along the shores of the Great Oriental Sea [3].

The Parthians have also engaged in traffic with the various travelers from the boundless steppes, through the medium of their clienteles in Chorasmia and Bactria. In fact, some believe that the Parthians themselves came from this desolate place, which has caused their great envy of Rome and their hostilities thereafter.

If the mighty Caesar wishes us bid any further wills at the court of the Bosporus, we have the fullest confidence that the Rex Drusus Aspurgus might engage in strict deference to his will thereafter, and in any other circumstance it might surely take but a few cohors and a handful of triremes to reduce the kingdom into their servitude.

By Paullus Julius Germanicus Libertas Fronto and Claudius Antonius Drusus Libertas Primus

*****
[1] Proto-Slavs
[2] The Xiongnu, or possibly the Huns
[3] China, obviously

 

[Atamolos]

Inference on the Wider World by Cartographers and Merchants
Negotiatores universique scruta aurum et ab Aethiopia et ab oriente homines
or a report on the traffic of gold and persons from Aethiopia and the East

Trade routes around Arabia and the Horn of Africa

India on the eve of the rise of the Kushan Empire

The silk road, which was in full swing around 30 CE​

 

[Atamolos]

Volume Six - Birthright Throne
Translated by Clodius Theodoricus Alexander, MDXXXII ab Urbe Condita for the Imperial Universities at Alexandria, Carthage, and Utica​

I would like to begin this installment by expressing my personal condolences for the loss of the Imperial University at Byzantium to the invasions of the Eastern confederacy, and for those that were able to escape to Carthage and Utica, the costs of this translation will be borne by the ministry in Alexandria. The ongoing war is hard on all of us, especially after the death of the emperor, and we can only hope that the new joint emperors, Paullus Aquilla and Galerius Germanicus are up to the task of manning this ship of state. In any case, this and later translations, as well as all earlier installments of these annals will be transcribed and sent to every imperial university in the hopes that they will survive with the chronicles of later rulers, even in the event that the Empire itself falls into disarray once more. We have survived crises such as these before, and there is no reason that we cannot complete such a feat a second time.

A recreation of the villa in Sardinia to which Gaius I retreated after his deposition during the Julian Schism​

We know in hindsight that the reign of Gaius I was merely a stop-gap during the long and prosperous Drusillan dynasty which lasted from the accession of Drusus to the early death of Appian more than a century later, but at the time in which Volume Six takes place, this was far from certain. Germanicus Invictus, who had spent considerable time in the provinces and away from Rome before his ascension, fought resistance at every turn. Volume Six, which covers most of his reign, will establish this dynasty, and set the tone for the next century of Rome, which will see the conclusion of these Annals and their continuation by Callistus.

Chronicle of Volume Six (780 - 793 AUC)​

Germanicus began his reign by awarding many honors to his allies from the civil war. His comrades-in-arms, Gaius Aviola and Valerius Asiaticus were granted consulships and prestigious legionary commands in the early years, and the powerful men who took his side in that struggle would be consistent members of his inner-circle for the duration of his reign. However, behind the scenes, Germanicus engaged in a nonviolent, but considerable, purge of the praetorian guards to rid their ranks of any dissenters. The second year of his reign however, drew great controversy when he arranged for the election of twelve consuls in the span of a single year. Several of these men were allies of him and his family, including Domitius Ahenobarbus, Servius Galba, and Aulus Plautius. However, several of them were not appeased by these token magistracies, and the political upheaval from this year would have far-reaching implications in the subsequent years. In particular, many of the Julian family disengaged from politics at this time, including Germanicus’ younger brother, Tiberius, as well as Lucius Caesar, brother of the previous emperor.

The next few years would be marked by Germanicus taking a considerable and direct effort to engage the younger members of the Julian family, including his own sons, with the politics of the imperial government. Both his eldest sons, as well as the sons of Agrippa, would serve consulships at this time, and subsequently would spend many years serving commands in the legions. However, Germanicus was wary of the charisma and influence of Agrippa, which had only grown since the Julian Schism, and so he sent him to serve a command in Africa where he might be satiated yet politically marginalized.

Another fixture of Germanicus’ early reign would prove to be the reform of the structure of legionary commands. A key fixture of his own rise to power was the contradictory imperium of the various legates and proconsuls serving in the imperial provinces. In order to tame this unwieldy and potentially seditious apparatus, he sought to centralize legionary commands of each region of the empire under a central regional command. This was first undertaken in Germania to great effect, where an escalating war against the Marcomanni would serve as a fertile testing ground. The legions, commanded first by Marcus Vinicius, then Lentulus Scipio, and later Gaius Aviola and Junius Blaesus, prosecuted a war against the Germans with brutal efficiency. The Marcomanni, whom had been the aggressors against the Pannonia garrison, were routed northward, where the legions of Cisalbis intercepted them as part of a unified command theatre. After three years of consistent fighting, the Marcomannic king would be assassinated and several legions would be garrisoned in barbarian territory to defend against future threats. This war would prove a fertile proving ground, not just for the legionary commanders of Germanicus’ inner-circle, but also for the young rising stars of imperial politics, including Domitius Corbulo and Gaius Silius, who were friends of Drusus.

However, the region of Illyricum would soon be gripped by another devastating revolt. The provincial governors in the Balkans, led by the ex-consul Naevius Surdinus, revolted against the martial reforms of Germanicus, which saw themselves stripped of military command in favor of a more professionalized officer corps. The revolt rapidly engulfed the region, and Germanicus’ allies were forced to flee to Italy where a loyalist expeditionary force began to assemble. Germanicus himself traveled with this expedition to quell the rebellion, which he viewed as a severe threat to his regime. Initial successes in Noricum and Pannonia were followed up by a decisive two-pronged invasion of Dalmatia which saw the revolutionaries turn on one another and the war was over as quickly as it had begun. However, Germanicus would quickly learn on the heels of this victory that all was not well in Italy in his absence.

Agrippa had returned to Rome and was resentful at being sidelined by Germanicus after assisting his rise to power. He assembled a group of similar malcontents and, when they seized control of the highest magistracies, they addressed the senate and denounced the regime of Germanicus. This second revolution, consisting of Agrippa’s family, their allies, the leftovers from Gaius’ regime, and several old senatorial stalwarts, quickly seized control of Rome and the surrounding countryside with illegally levied legions. Many allies of Germanicus were murdered as they tried to flee the city, and the remnants of the Julian family fled, including Felix Pius and Marcus Rufus, the sons of Gaius Augustus. These Julians rallied a number of veterans into two impromptu legions which were joined by a token force withdrawn from the garrison in Germania and in winter of the next year, they crossed the Rubicon.

This next civil war was as brief as it was brutal. Germanicus’ second son, Vopiscus, had snuck into Rome and was leading an armed citizens’ insurrection against Agrippa, which resulted in the untimely deaths of both of the consuls for that year. Agrippa saw the installation of Aulus Gabinius and Octavius Laenas as consuls, but this would prove to be a fatal mistake as these men opened the gates of Rome to the besieging legions of Felix Pius. The bloodshed was considerable, and Agrippa as well as Lucius and both of their sons were killed. Most surprisingly, Agrippa’s second son, Antonius Agrippa, took part in the massacre as a legate under the command of Felix, and this drew considerable controversy as he betrayed his father to serve his patron.

When Germanicus arrived back in Rome, he resolved to put the traumatized city at ease from the bloodshed of the last ten years by implementing a monumental reform effort. The censors and consuls together worked to appoint a ten-man “decemvirate” which would be set forth with the task of rationalizing the laws of the later Republic with those of Augustus and Drusus in order to form a more coherent governing structure of the empire. The two men at the forefront of this effort would be Marcus Cato and Sextus Marius, both of whom boasted noble ancestries. The most notable of these laws made official what Germanicus’ efforts had established as a largely informal system. The legions would be commanded by a body of officers wholly separate from the provincial governors, who would be confined to judicial and administrative matters. Most crucially, these laws established a new and powerful magistracy — the praetor patriae — who would oversee all treason trials and serve a unique, eighteen-month term. With this new administrative apparatus, Germanicus could rest easy and re-allocate his attention to grander plans.

Gaius (left), the third princeps, next to his brother, Lucius in a statue commissioned by Lucius to be displayed in Rome​

 

[Atamolos]

Liber Sextius ——— DCCLXXX ad DCCXCIII Annos ab Urbe Condita
Book Twenty Two - Germanicus and the Senate

The imperial palace at Rome, which hosted Germanicus and his entire family, along with Lucius, Agrippa, and their sons in the center of Rome​

—In the consulship of Germanicus Julius Caesar Invictus for the Second Time as Augustus and Gaius Calpurnius Aviola…
The stewardship of the Empire passed from the House of Agrippa to the House of Drusus. Caesar spoke to the auspices of his inauguration before the assembled curia and the senate, “The Republic has weathered a monumental conflagration, and numerous of the tribes assembled here have seen their patres familia cast either thusly out by my uncle in his imperium or by brigands in the stead of legions. These brigands, though they act in kind, shall not be made to govern the gates of this great city, and I will thenceforth act that laws and efforts be made to see these men return to their households, to their wives, and to their estates. For mine is not a reign of terror, and suits thenceforth might not tried nor names proscribed on the Forum walls, but rather might, as I hope will be, a concert of wills that might heal these wounds to which the city has been subjected.”

His co-consul, Gaius Aviola, was selected by the curia in the previous year in the absence of any other candidates, as the consuls designate, Gaius Augustus and Publius Vinicius, had each fled the city and vacated their offices. However, Aviola was hated by the senate, as he had been among the first to have risen in arms against their promagistrates in Galatia, although the advocates of Caesar had conferred upon him much goodwill and the compliance of Gaius Cassius, the consul suffectus of the previous year with Gaius Marcellus. Having leveraged the compliance of the senate, Caesar sought to recall his erstwhile supporters to Rome. His cousin, Drusus Nero, and his brother Tiberius returned to the city at this time, as did many of his friends, such as Servius Sulpicius Galba and Sextus Pompeius. When Caesar offered to his brother to share in the consulship with him the next year, Tiberius refused, expressing his fatigue at his exposure to the political intrigue of the preceding years. He thusly withdrew from public life and into a life of scholarship, whereafter he published a number of historical works regarding the East, wherein he had spent a considerable portion of the intervening years.

Caesar likewise resolved that his sons might travel to Hispania, as he had in his youth, to receive military training in the fashion of their father, that they might assume the consulship at the earliest reasonable juncture. To this end, he entrusted Appius Junius Silanus, the suffect consul of the previous year whom had opened the gates of Rome to Caesar’s legions, to ensure the safe travel of his eldest three sons, Drusus, Tiberius, and Gaius, with many other young men with relations to the family of Caesar. This included Decimus Laelius Balbus Minor, whose father had twice been consul, and Lucius Aemilius Paullus, both of whom had been the children of Julia, the daughter of Agrippa, by different fathers.

While in Rome, Caesar had stepped down from his consulship and been replaced by Lucius Antonius, whom was a cousin of Caesar by his mother, Antonia and her brother, Jullus Antonius, whom had previously been consul. At the urging of Caesar through his freedmen advisors, Antonius and Aviola arrange for the election of the censors who would replace Severus and Piso, whom had been the censors appointed by Gaius, although Severus and Piso would not be tried or exiled but would merely be stripped of senatorial rank. In their place would be elected Marcus Cocceius Nerva, the consul of seven years prior, and Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, the consul of twelve years prior to the censorship, both of whom were fathers-in-law of Agrippa’s eldest son, Marcus Aquileanus, and Caesar’s second-eldest son, Tiberius Vopiscus, respectively.

Caesar spent the last portion of the year traversing Italy in an inspection of the Praetorian castra. The men who would be made prefects, Gaius Rufinius Florus and Publius Scribonius Postumus, whom had previously served as notable tribunes among the praetorians, made knowledgable to Caesar which of their men were loyal to the elder Gaius and whom might rally behind his sons, Lucius Felix Pius and Marcus Rufus, whom were still in Rome at this time. These men were dismissed entirely or otherwise given minor assignments in dispersed locations far from Italy such that they might not want towards revolution against the lawful Caesar. This was executed to the fullest extent of Caesar’s wishes, and he returned to Rome imbued with further confidence in the security of his regime and would concentrate forthright on further matters of consolidation in the city.

One of the numerous consular inaugurations of the year​

—In the consulship of Germanicus Julius Caesar Invictus for the Third Time as Augustus and Lucius Junius Silanus…
There was a crisis of leadership among the consular legates in the provinces. The Schism had provided a great catharsis of leadership among the Empire, with numerous loyalties now in question, and Caesar was not confident in his security thereafter. Cornelius Dolabella remain proconsul in Germania Cisalbis, as did Asiaticus in Syria and Cappadocia, however Caesar feared the tenuous loyalties of the governors in Moesia and Illyricum. He firstly resolved that the province of Illyricum might be partitioned such that the Pannonians might be governed independently of the Dalmatians and that no single proconsul might administer greater than three legions thereby. However, the number of men of consular rank whom might possess both the martial skill and personal loyalty that Caesar desired was insufficient in his foresight. To this end, he divined a solution, with the help of the augurs Lucius Marcus Philippus and Lucius Verginius Rufus. With the aid of the censors, Caesar would install a number of men as consul in the same year such that the senate might not incense themselves by witnessing an affront to the stipulations of proconsular office.

Thusly, Caesar resigned his consulship on the Ides of Januarius and elected Aulus Plautius, whom was a young ex-praetor of excellent repute whom had commanded a legion of Marcellus during the Schism, as his replacement. Plautius, whom was a friend of Lucius Silanus, the consul posterior, became a trusted advisor of Caesar, as there was an urgent matter that commanded the attention of Caesar at Rome. Drusus Nero, the first cousin of Caesar by birth, had considerable difficulty recultivating his network of informants after Gaius Augustus had uprooted them in the consulship of Gaius Augustus for the sixth time and Faustus Sulla. This, coupled with the inexperience of Caesar with the politics of Rome posed a threat to his position in the city, and should he leave, Gaius Augustus might return from exile, or one of the other numerous princes might seize the principate by force of arms.

To this end, Caesar conferred with Lucius, whom had withdrawn into forlorn exclusion with his complicity in the exile of his brother and the bloodshed thereby. Lucius himself sought no further ambitions, as he had been twice consul and grown cynical toward the bloodshed on his hands, and when he was greeted by Caesar, he cast him away, “What have you for me, bloodied Caesar? I have all things, and you have all things, yet we clamor for that which we lost on this path. Do not pity me as service to your ends, nor draw my nephews and sons as pawns in this, the greatest of games. You own all things in this decadent city, but in here I am the imperator invictus, and you shall not wander indiscriminately as you do in these streets, wearing the same fashioned togas of your uncle, and father, and grandfather before him. For though you are the styled master of the world, you shall not come here again, nor shall your envoys, lest they appear bearing wine.”

Caesar, frustrated at the noncompliance of Lucius, turned again to Drusus, whom had recovered his relations with numerous patricians and equites whom had silently opposed Gaius Augustus in the preceding years. Drusus thusly acclaimed the valor of numerous plebeian families whom had become citizens during the reigns of the divine Drusus and Augustus. Caesar thus resolved that a number of these men might be enrolled among the senatorial ranks, and the censors added the numerous men of the Salvii, the Aelii, the Fulcinii, the Annii, and other gentes to the senatorial rolls, and extended patronage thereafter. Their tasks completed, news of a mutiny among the legions in Pannonia incurred Caesar to dispatch Lucius Silanus thereafter, as the governor in the province, Sextus Pompeius, had been unable to quiet the mutiny, as he had at the mutiny in Moesia previously. In his place, Lucius Fulcinius Trio, whom was a friend of Drusus, was elected consul posterior on the Ides of Martius.

During this time, Caesar had corresponded with his sons and their advisors while they were in Hispania, and they recommended a number of citizens from the province for enrollment in the senate, and Marcus Silanus the censor obliged this. Within the year, the patri familii from the provinces of Baetica, Lusitania, and Narbonensis were enrolled into the senate and quaestors. These included Quintus Baebius Macer, Gaius Annius Rusticus, Aulus Pomponius Milo, Servius Rufidius Crispus, Marcus Umbrius Vindex, and Publius Aelius Rufus, all of whom would continue their cursi honora to become praetors and consuls, along with numerous others.

However, Caesar at this time became fearful of Agrippa, whom had remained at Rome in the year since the Schism and was a man of considerable respect and prowess among the patricians at Rome due to his great length spent within the city between his first and second consulships. In particular, the relationships which he shared with Gaius Cassius, the consul of two years prior, Sextus Pompeius, the governor of Pannonia and the consul of nineteen years prior, and Marcus Nerva the censor worried Caesar in his foresightedness, as all of these were men of high repute as well as relatives of his children by marriage, as a courtesy of Drusus Augustus. Caesar sought that he might not force any divorces upon this family as it might act to galvanize these senators and their clienteles against him, so he devised a plan that might mitigate the influence of Agrippa while simultaneously acquiring his influence upon the senate. Caesar made a great effort to encourage Nerva to assign Agrippa to the proconsulship of Africa, which had previously been assigned to himself and which entailed the accruement of great wealth. He likewise encouraged that his sons might remain at Rome where they would receive the utmost charitable treatment, including consulships for each of them in the forthcoming years. He furthermore awarded a consulship suffectus to Lucius Cassius, the brother of Gaius Cassius, on the Kalends of Junius, such that Gaius might welcome the charity of Caesar.

The first of these designs saw great fruition, and Agrippa accepted his assignment with grace, albeit tempered by some reluctance, as he was no fool and foresaw the political marginalization that his proconsulship might entail. Furthermore, at their assigned dates, Lucius Cassius Longinus and Gaius Sallustius Passenius Crispus assumed their consulships, while Aulus Plautius and Fulcinius Trio departed to assume the proconsulships of Syria and Cappadocia, whereas Asiaticus departed for Rome, where he was due to marry the daughter of Caesar, Julia Agrippina. However, Lucius Cassius did not assume his consulship kindly, and was openly cynical of the relevance of his own office, as he was an idealist whom longed for the republican order which was long dead. He resigned his consulship after only seventeen days, in spite of the protestations of his elder brother, whereafter he would be replaced by Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives, whom was the father-in-law of Marcus Rufus, the younger son of Gaius Augustus, although Rufus himself was in Campania at this time. Crassus Dives, the descendant of the triumvir, was also the brother-in-law of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, the censor of Gaius Augustus, and was thusly a man of high repute, despite his considerable miserliness, and he had borne many children which themselves married many patricians of considerable status, including the descendants of Marcus Antonius the triumvir, Lucius Cornelius Cinna the consul, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus the triumvir.

Crassus’ tenure as consul saw his realization with a legislative agenda by which he might secure greater powers for the senate among the provinces, as he was deeply ingratiated among the ranks of the senate and sought greater influence for his comrades. He sought that senatorial promagistrates might be made to levy cohors for their provinces among the less quiescent frontiers of the Empire, such as Lusitania and Cilicia. However, Caesar was not tolerant toward these, and interposed his tribunician personage upon the bill, condemning it to the decrepit fate of so many likewise initiatives of the republicans. Crassus, having expended considerable effort at the passage of this and like bills, resigned his consulship in embarrassment, as did his colleague Crispus, although they were lauded with considerable valor by the senate and granted commands in Moesia and Dalmatia, which they accepted with grace and relief. In their place, on the Kalends of September, Quintus Junius Blaesus, the son of the consul, and Lucius Rubellius Geminus, brother of the exiled praetor whom allied with Gaius Augustus during the Schism, were made consuls.

Caesar was realized, at this time, with a desire to partition the final bloc of legions over which any single proconsul might wield authority. The province of Germania Cisalbis housed six legions, a number of which had been effectively commanded by Marcellus in insurrection against Gaius Augustus. Caesar desired that no general might repeat this act, and resolved that Cisalbis might be partitioned by a border perpendicular to the Albis. The northern portion, which would house three legions, would retain the name Germania Cisalbis, whereas the southern would come to be called Germania Angiliensis, after the largest colonia in the province, the Colonia Augusta Drusilla Angiliorum, or simply Angiliorum. The governor of the province erstwhile, Cornelius Dolabella, was recalled to Rome, where he would serve as a senator and a partisan of Caesar, for Caesar’s earlier use of his tribunician power had enraged many senators, and there had since been whispers of passive resistance, which Caesar feared might escalate in his forthcoming absence from Rome.

Before Dolabella had even arrived at Rome, Quintus Blaesus and Geminus were dispatched to Germania to assume their proconsulships. In their place, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, whom was the first cousin of Caesar by birth and the son of the consul, and Servius Sulpicius Galba, whom had been Caesar’s most vocal ally in the senate during his exile, were made consuls on the Kalends of September. Their consulships passed uneventfully, as the climate of the city had become tense and uneasy, and the senate feared openly challenging Caesar, although they fumed in silence. Galba left to assume the proconsulship of Cappadocia on the Kalends of November, and the final consul suffectus for the year, Marcus Vinicius assumed his office. The two consuls oversaw the election of the eldest son of Caesar, Drusus Germanicus, and the eldest son of Agrippa, Marcus Aquileanus, to a joint consulship in the next year, and they departed for Tarraconensis and Coloniensis respectively. Caesar was uneasy, particularly with the tenuous loyalty of Gaius Petronius, the prefect of Aegypt, whose brother had been an ally of Gaius Augustus during his exile. He resolved that his guard might be heightened, so that no senatorial conspiracy might unseat his birthright office.

A concise consular list for 781 AUC​

 

[vandevere]

Glad to see Claudius is getting back to his books!

 

[Atamolos]

Glad to see Claudius is getting back to his books!

It took a while, but I finally got there! You'll be hearing from him on-and-off for the next 10 years or so, then he'll probably retire (or maybe become censor, I haven't decided yet tbh)