The Eagle and the Dragon
- Thread starter Mars
- Start date
LOL!
I know i know, but the Turks where a powerful force, they created the Seljuk empire, and later the Ottoman empire. Think of this as a early form of the Mughal empire and a bit more powerful. The turks have to go somewhere, and Rome sure as heck won't just let them through, so conquering the feuding states in india is a easier alternative and much more realistic than just having the Turks stay in the steppes, they sure as hell didn't do that in OTL.
Maybe i should add a rump vijayanagar tributary to the Turks. How powerful was Vijayanagar at this time anyways? Could they have survived a mass onslaught of nomadic turkish horsemen?
I know i know, but the Turks where a powerful force, they created the Seljuk empire, and later the Ottoman empire. Think of this as a early form of the Mughal empire and a bit more powerful. The turks have to go somewhere, and Rome sure as heck won't just let them through, so conquering the feuding states in india is a easier alternative and much more realistic than just having the Turks stay in the steppes, they sure as hell didn't do that in OTL.
Maybe i should add a rump vijayanagar tributary to the Turks. How powerful was Vijayanagar at this time anyways? Could they have survived a mass onslaught of nomadic turkish horsemen?
So i've started writing what i hope will be a timeline that reaches all the way into the colonization era and the great sino-roman wars (which is what i will probably devote the most time to). I hope to make it as realistic as possible, this is no Rome-wank, and Rome will hold a bit more than in OTL in europe, a lot more in the americas but thats to be expected, but nothing like a massive world empire like in Romanitas or Silverbergs Roma Eterna.
Anyways, here's what i have so far, i hope someone reads it
117 - Trajan captures Ctesiphon and Susa. He places Parthamaspates as a puppet ruler in Parthia and turns west to deal with revolts in by the Jews in mesopotamia. He crushes the revolts with great cruelty, crucifying thousands and returns to Parthia where Parthamaspates has been deposed. He sends the general Lusius Quietus in judea to continue pacifying the province.
117-118 - Heading back to the east, Trajan negotiates with a ambassador from the Kushans, the powerful neighbor of Parthia to the east. Trajan agrees to work together to split the Parthian lands. Trajan quickly recaptures Susa, and lays siege to Istakhr, creating the new Roman province of Persia. Negotiations with the revolting Parthian satrapy of Gedrosia turn out well, and the Gedrosian satrap agrees to send troops to help Trajan in his conquest of Media and Parthia, while Remaining a free ally of Rome. Trajan then takes parthia and media, with Hecatompylos being the last major city to fall to his forces. He establishes Media and Parthia as Roman provinces. He spends the year pacifying his new conquests, visiting all of the major cities and building his power base with the local nobles. Trajan gives his veterans of the parthian and dacian wars some of the best lands in Mesopotamia and Persia, taken from rebellious parthian nobles, who now hang crucified along the persian royal road. He also appropriates alot of that land for himself which he sells to Roman aristocrats.
119 - 123 Trajan enters Rome and receives a great triumph. He spends the next 2 years busy with building projects. In Rome he builds a massive triumphal arch, to celebrate his victory in persia. In his new eastern provinces he builds several Roman colonies and Roman style forums and baths in Susa, ,Ctesiphon and Seleucia. His most intensive project is the ancient city of Babylon, which has been desolate for years after the fall of Alexanders empire. He settles many Romans in the area, and begins rebuilding the city, complete with a Roman style forum, a large garden complex and a monument to himself and Alexander, conquerors of the east. Trajan also constructs a large Roman road network in Mesopotamia and Persia, the Via Trajana Asiatica.
124 - Trajan dies suddenly while inspecting a new bath complex in Babylon. Lusius Quietus, having been adopted by Trajan after his campaing against the revolting jews, becomes Emperor. (In OTL, Hadrian is adopted by Trajan, however its all very fishy, as Hadrian claimed Trajan adopted him in his deathbed and then he rid himself of Quietus as he called him back from Judea. Its quite possible that Quietus - being one of the most popular generals, if not the most popular one, would have been chosen by Trajan instead)
126 - Lucius Quietus invades northern Brittania, tired of the constant complaints by Romano British nobles of their villas being burnt down in raids and towns being attacked, he marches against the powerful coalition centered on the Briganti tribe and crushes them in the battle of the Ouse river. He spends 127 building secure limes against the Caledonian tribes.
128 - Quietus signs several peace and trade deals with the Kushan king Kanishka I, and agree to work together to fight the steppe tribes north of Persia.
129 - Revolt in Parthia, Quietus crushes it and sells thousands of Parthians into slavery.
130 - 134 - Quietus spends this time campaigning in Brittania against the caledonians and other revolting celtic tribes in the new province of Brigantia. However new comes that a large jewish revolt, led by Bar Kochba in judea has destroyed a legion and he and his star general Sextus Julius Severus head to crush the revolt.
134 - 136 - The war against judea is bloody and costly, with heavy casualties for the Romans and thousands of jews killed and hundreds of villages and towns razed. Afterwards the majority of the jewish population was either sold into slavery, or exiled to different corners of the empire as was customary with rebellious populations. Quietus, exhausted by constant fighting manages to make it to brittania to continue his conquest of caledonia, but dies while crossing the channel, his favored general, Sextus Julius Severus becomes Emperor.
137 - 144 - The Caledonian war, Sextus Julius Severus shows his skill as a military commander in his great management of the war against the Caledoni. Despite the rough highland terrain of Scotland and a few minor setbacks at the beginning of his campaign, mainly ambushes by the ever resourceful celtic tribes, Severus and his legions crush all opposition in caledonia and make it a Roman province. He founds a new city in caledonia, Caledonia Augusta and even marries a daughter of a leading caledonian noble to seal the peace with whats left of the Caledonian tribes after the war.
145 - 147 - Severus spends most of this time touring the empire, mainly beefing up border defenses and commissioning new public buildings.
147 - A dispute over trade rights between a Roman governor in Persia and the Kushans escalates to war, and a Kushan army crushes 2 Roman legions and lays siege to Persepolis Trajana. Severus once again heads to war, this time with one of the most powerful empires of the world, a match for Roma herself.
Anyways, here's what i have so far, i hope someone reads it
117 - Trajan captures Ctesiphon and Susa. He places Parthamaspates as a puppet ruler in Parthia and turns west to deal with revolts in by the Jews in mesopotamia. He crushes the revolts with great cruelty, crucifying thousands and returns to Parthia where Parthamaspates has been deposed. He sends the general Lusius Quietus in judea to continue pacifying the province.
117-118 - Heading back to the east, Trajan negotiates with a ambassador from the Kushans, the powerful neighbor of Parthia to the east. Trajan agrees to work together to split the Parthian lands. Trajan quickly recaptures Susa, and lays siege to Istakhr, creating the new Roman province of Persia. Negotiations with the revolting Parthian satrapy of Gedrosia turn out well, and the Gedrosian satrap agrees to send troops to help Trajan in his conquest of Media and Parthia, while Remaining a free ally of Rome. Trajan then takes parthia and media, with Hecatompylos being the last major city to fall to his forces. He establishes Media and Parthia as Roman provinces. He spends the year pacifying his new conquests, visiting all of the major cities and building his power base with the local nobles. Trajan gives his veterans of the parthian and dacian wars some of the best lands in Mesopotamia and Persia, taken from rebellious parthian nobles, who now hang crucified along the persian royal road. He also appropriates alot of that land for himself which he sells to Roman aristocrats.
119 - 123 Trajan enters Rome and receives a great triumph. He spends the next 2 years busy with building projects. In Rome he builds a massive triumphal arch, to celebrate his victory in persia. In his new eastern provinces he builds several Roman colonies and Roman style forums and baths in Susa, ,Ctesiphon and Seleucia. His most intensive project is the ancient city of Babylon, which has been desolate for years after the fall of Alexanders empire. He settles many Romans in the area, and begins rebuilding the city, complete with a Roman style forum, a large garden complex and a monument to himself and Alexander, conquerors of the east. Trajan also constructs a large Roman road network in Mesopotamia and Persia, the Via Trajana Asiatica.
124 - Trajan dies suddenly while inspecting a new bath complex in Babylon. Lusius Quietus, having been adopted by Trajan after his campaing against the revolting jews, becomes Emperor. (In OTL, Hadrian is adopted by Trajan, however its all very fishy, as Hadrian claimed Trajan adopted him in his deathbed and then he rid himself of Quietus as he called him back from Judea. Its quite possible that Quietus - being one of the most popular generals, if not the most popular one, would have been chosen by Trajan instead)
126 - Lucius Quietus invades northern Brittania, tired of the constant complaints by Romano British nobles of their villas being burnt down in raids and towns being attacked, he marches against the powerful coalition centered on the Briganti tribe and crushes them in the battle of the Ouse river. He spends 127 building secure limes against the Caledonian tribes.
128 - Quietus signs several peace and trade deals with the Kushan king Kanishka I, and agree to work together to fight the steppe tribes north of Persia.
129 - Revolt in Parthia, Quietus crushes it and sells thousands of Parthians into slavery.
130 - 134 - Quietus spends this time campaigning in Brittania against the caledonians and other revolting celtic tribes in the new province of Brigantia. However new comes that a large jewish revolt, led by Bar Kochba in judea has destroyed a legion and he and his star general Sextus Julius Severus head to crush the revolt.
134 - 136 - The war against judea is bloody and costly, with heavy casualties for the Romans and thousands of jews killed and hundreds of villages and towns razed. Afterwards the majority of the jewish population was either sold into slavery, or exiled to different corners of the empire as was customary with rebellious populations. Quietus, exhausted by constant fighting manages to make it to brittania to continue his conquest of caledonia, but dies while crossing the channel, his favored general, Sextus Julius Severus becomes Emperor.
137 - 144 - The Caledonian war, Sextus Julius Severus shows his skill as a military commander in his great management of the war against the Caledoni. Despite the rough highland terrain of Scotland and a few minor setbacks at the beginning of his campaign, mainly ambushes by the ever resourceful celtic tribes, Severus and his legions crush all opposition in caledonia and make it a Roman province. He founds a new city in caledonia, Caledonia Augusta and even marries a daughter of a leading caledonian noble to seal the peace with whats left of the Caledonian tribes after the war.
145 - 147 - Severus spends most of this time touring the empire, mainly beefing up border defenses and commissioning new public buildings.
147 - A dispute over trade rights between a Roman governor in Persia and the Kushans escalates to war, and a Kushan army crushes 2 Roman legions and lays siege to Persepolis Trajana. Severus once again heads to war, this time with one of the most powerful empires of the world, a match for Roma herself.
Tea dipping!
What are those random blobs in Mexico? If things follow OTl in the America that should be mostly Toltec or at least Toltec influenced. Also the southern Maya should be more splotchy as the collapse is starting right about now. And the Andes should be divided between Wari and Tiwanaco.
What are those random blobs in Mexico? If things follow OTl in the America that should be mostly Toltec or at least Toltec influenced. Also the southern Maya should be more splotchy as the collapse is starting right about now. And the Andes should be divided between Wari and Tiwanaco.
I'm interested to see how the conquest of the Americas goes. In OTL it was more of close thing than it sometimes gets credit for (Cortes' conquest of the Aztecs was something of a coup, even if he did have guns, germs, and steel on his side.) Will your Romans, if they invade sooner, be able to find a less developed America and so easier pickings? Will they have the same technological advantages (gunpowder)?
Also, why would Rome start heading West? Do they have the same desire for the goods of the east OTL Europe did? If so, why not just conquer eastwards? Or colonize more of East Africa, rebuild the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea and trade via the Indian Ocean? Or just colonize Africa itself--if they get to ocean voyaging presumably they'd do that firs, as the Portuguese did IOTL.
I'm curious to see how things play out: there are certainly good answers hinted at in your outline. Arabia would block Roman expansion via the Indian Ocean. The Turks were probably kind of thorny.
Also, why would Rome start heading West? Do they have the same desire for the goods of the east OTL Europe did? If so, why not just conquer eastwards? Or colonize more of East Africa, rebuild the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea and trade via the Indian Ocean? Or just colonize Africa itself--if they get to ocean voyaging presumably they'd do that firs, as the Portuguese did IOTL.
I'm curious to see how things play out: there are certainly good answers hinted at in your outline. Arabia would block Roman expansion via the Indian Ocean. The Turks were probably kind of thorny.
[smacks head] Ah crap! I messed up on the whole AUC and AD thing. So sorry man. And the toltecs didn't arrive before about 900 A.D. Actually. So sorry!
Alright, time for some Kushan/Rome catfights.
147-151 - First Romano-Kushan war. Severus brings a total of around 14 legions, and meets the Kushan army in the province of Mesopotamia. The Kushan army, tired from campaigning against the Roman garrisons and low on supplies is forced to retreat after a small skirmish. Severus takes back most of Persia, but the Kushans still hold Parthia, and Severus meets them at the Battle of Hecatompylos. The battle lasted 2 days, and it was a long and drawn out struggle. Eventually, the Romans prevailed through their use of superior Persian and Parthian cavarly auxiliaries, the Kushan force is destroyed and sold into slavery.This battle will lead to greater emphasis of cavalry for the Roman army in the future. Severus then decides to invade the Kingdom of Kushan, he waits for reinforcements and recruits several nomadic auxiliaries from the north, then heads into the Kushan empire, capturing Margiana. He pushes into Bactria, but begins to meet stiffer resistance from raids, ambushes and a scorched earth policy by the Kushans. The rough terrain and extended supply lines weaken the army. Severus fights and defeats a small Kushan army near the city of Bactra and lays siege to the city, but his army is so weakened he begins a long and bloody fighting retreat back to Persia. The Roman force emerges from the Kushan empire battered and broken, having lost about 2/3rds of their original manpower to disease, hunger and battle. Rome and Kushan sign a peace agreement in 151 ending the conflict and outlining rules for Kushan-Roman trade.
151-154 - Severus spends the rest of his reign in Rome, with the empire in relative peace despite some troubles with germans and mauretanians which are handled by legates, dying in 154. He adopts army commander Decimus Artorius Falco, commander of the legions in Persia, as emperor.
154 - 160 - Artorius sees trouble in the Danube and Germanic frontiers and puts down several revolts and germanic raiders there, he personally surveys the limes and the legions, and raises 3 new legions for the defense of the frontier against the Germans. Breakouts of a plague in the east will slowly spread west, the Romans will call this plague the Kushan plague (known as the Antonine plague in OTL).
162 - 167 - Several germanic tribes invade Germania superior and Pannonia. Vandals and Sarmatians invade Dacia. The Roman army under Artorius quickly responds and defeats most of the invaders in Germania superior and Pannonia.
168-169 - Artorius fights in Dacia against Sarmatians and Vandals he then moves south to crush the raiders that have moved south to the Balkans and Thrace.
170 - 174 A large coalition led by the Marcomanni entered Noricum and defeated a Roman force there, they then headed into Italy but where defeated by a large force under Furius Victorinus using some of the new legions raised by Artorius. Furius then takes his army north and actually invades the territory of the Marcomanni and later the Quadi, pillaging, burning and taking slaves. The Quadi and the Marcomanni tribes become tributaries of Rome and will never recover from this ordeal. Meanwhile, Artorius crushes the Sarmatian lazyges and joins Furius in Germania and continue campaigning against the allies of the Marcomanni and Quadi.
175-180- Artorius begins a massive building project in the German frontiers, he builds more forts and enlarges others, he creates 4 more legions for a total of 20 legions stationed along the Danube and the Rhine and increases the size and scope of the defensive walls and towers, be builds more limes behind the old ones for greater defense in depth. He also stations several new units called Alae limitanei - elite all cavalry forces used for raids, and quick responses against germanic attacks.
181 - Artorius dies, Furius Victorinus becomes emperor.
183 - Revolt in Dacia is crushed.
183-209 - Relative peace in the empire, though some german tribes continue to trouble the frontier like before, and a small caledonian revolt in brittania breaks out, the pax romana is mainly upheld well at this time. Furius Victorinus dies in 206.
Cultural notes -----2nd century
By 200 eastern cults from Kushan and Persia have begun to gain popularity throughout the empire, this includes Zoroastrianism, Persian deities, and some Kushan indian deities, including a small following of the Buddha.
Marcus Aurelius becomes the most important stoic philosopher of the era, his three major works - Meditations, Emotions, and Freedom will cement stoic Roman though for years to come. He also founded a philosophical school in Rome, which eventually grows to be one of the greatest academies in the empire, next to the akademia founded by Plato.
Persian culture spreads in Rome, Persian style gardens begin appearing in several major cities including Antioch and Alexandria. Persian rugs and textilesalso become very popular, even used to adorn the homes of senators and upperclassmen in Rome.
With the capture of Persia, trade routes from the east become even more important and the empire becomes richer than ever, trading more with India and even China.
209 - 212 - Virius Lupus who had been adopted by Furius becomes emperor. Virius was a leader of the legions in the east and he detested the Kushans. He was also hungry for glory and began preparing for a massive invasion of the Kushan empire. However he was impatient, and his invasion was a disaster from the start. He was defeated by the Kushan king Vasudeva I in Bactria, losing over 3 legions and retreating back to persia in shame.
213 - 220 - Virius Lupus never gave up his dream of defeating the Kushans, though at first he want back to Rome and dabbled in law and senatorial politics, he quickly went back east and began raising new legions. Rome began to worry about their emperor and his eastern adventures, but Virius trudged on. He personally oversaw the training of the new eastern legions and new persian style heavy cavalry wings for his army, he also brought 2 legions from the European limes to the east for this campaign.
220-225 - Virius Lupus invades the Kushan empire, he quickly makes headway into Margiana and Bactria, defeating 2 Kushan armies, capturing Bactra and then Maracanda. He makes use of extensive light cavalry formations adopted from the Parthians and heavy eastern style Cataphracts, heavily armored horsemen. Virius lays siege to Begram, which holds for over a year and eventually falls in 224. In 225, Vasudeva I the Kushan king dies and internal disputes for succession coupled with the Roman invasion mean the Kushans cannot hold back the Roman armies.
226-227 - Virius crosses the Caucasus Indicus (Hindu Kush) and lays siege to Taxila, one of the last major Kushan urban centers. However revolts break out in his newly captured provinces and he is forced to abandon Taxila and retraces his steps back across the Caucasus indicus. He spends the next year pacifying and solidifying his power base in the provinces of Bactria, Margiana, Arachosia, and Sogdiana, mainly installing Roman and indo-greeks into power.
228 - 230 - Virius, seeing himself as the new Alexander, plans to conquer india, he crosses the Hindu Kush again with dreams of glory, his dreams are crushed however, by horrible weather and terrain during the crossing of the mountain ranges, and a newly determined Kushan force who faces him in a narrow mountain pass. The Romans are unable to dislodge the Kushan blocking force, and while looking for a way to flank them continue to be raided by small Kushan forces, more knowledgeable of the terrain than them. Eventually, the Romans begin a retreat, but they find themselves surrounded, and thousands die, including Virius.
231-232 Maximinus Thrax (The Thracian), a successful general and leader in the invasion of the Kushan empire is adopted by Virius before his death. However, Lucius Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus a leading Roman consul, has already forged adoption papers, powerful connections with senators in Rome and has declared himself emperor. Most of the senators support him, especially since Maximinus is of germanic stock. Maximinus makes peace with the Kushans, recruits new legions and local auxiliaries, including some Indian elephants and marches west. Pompeianus calls on legions from over the empire, and marches against Maximinus.
147-151 - First Romano-Kushan war. Severus brings a total of around 14 legions, and meets the Kushan army in the province of Mesopotamia. The Kushan army, tired from campaigning against the Roman garrisons and low on supplies is forced to retreat after a small skirmish. Severus takes back most of Persia, but the Kushans still hold Parthia, and Severus meets them at the Battle of Hecatompylos. The battle lasted 2 days, and it was a long and drawn out struggle. Eventually, the Romans prevailed through their use of superior Persian and Parthian cavarly auxiliaries, the Kushan force is destroyed and sold into slavery.This battle will lead to greater emphasis of cavalry for the Roman army in the future. Severus then decides to invade the Kingdom of Kushan, he waits for reinforcements and recruits several nomadic auxiliaries from the north, then heads into the Kushan empire, capturing Margiana. He pushes into Bactria, but begins to meet stiffer resistance from raids, ambushes and a scorched earth policy by the Kushans. The rough terrain and extended supply lines weaken the army. Severus fights and defeats a small Kushan army near the city of Bactra and lays siege to the city, but his army is so weakened he begins a long and bloody fighting retreat back to Persia. The Roman force emerges from the Kushan empire battered and broken, having lost about 2/3rds of their original manpower to disease, hunger and battle. Rome and Kushan sign a peace agreement in 151 ending the conflict and outlining rules for Kushan-Roman trade.
151-154 - Severus spends the rest of his reign in Rome, with the empire in relative peace despite some troubles with germans and mauretanians which are handled by legates, dying in 154. He adopts army commander Decimus Artorius Falco, commander of the legions in Persia, as emperor.
154 - 160 - Artorius sees trouble in the Danube and Germanic frontiers and puts down several revolts and germanic raiders there, he personally surveys the limes and the legions, and raises 3 new legions for the defense of the frontier against the Germans. Breakouts of a plague in the east will slowly spread west, the Romans will call this plague the Kushan plague (known as the Antonine plague in OTL).
162 - 167 - Several germanic tribes invade Germania superior and Pannonia. Vandals and Sarmatians invade Dacia. The Roman army under Artorius quickly responds and defeats most of the invaders in Germania superior and Pannonia.
168-169 - Artorius fights in Dacia against Sarmatians and Vandals he then moves south to crush the raiders that have moved south to the Balkans and Thrace.
170 - 174 A large coalition led by the Marcomanni entered Noricum and defeated a Roman force there, they then headed into Italy but where defeated by a large force under Furius Victorinus using some of the new legions raised by Artorius. Furius then takes his army north and actually invades the territory of the Marcomanni and later the Quadi, pillaging, burning and taking slaves. The Quadi and the Marcomanni tribes become tributaries of Rome and will never recover from this ordeal. Meanwhile, Artorius crushes the Sarmatian lazyges and joins Furius in Germania and continue campaigning against the allies of the Marcomanni and Quadi.
175-180- Artorius begins a massive building project in the German frontiers, he builds more forts and enlarges others, he creates 4 more legions for a total of 20 legions stationed along the Danube and the Rhine and increases the size and scope of the defensive walls and towers, be builds more limes behind the old ones for greater defense in depth. He also stations several new units called Alae limitanei - elite all cavalry forces used for raids, and quick responses against germanic attacks.
181 - Artorius dies, Furius Victorinus becomes emperor.
183 - Revolt in Dacia is crushed.
183-209 - Relative peace in the empire, though some german tribes continue to trouble the frontier like before, and a small caledonian revolt in brittania breaks out, the pax romana is mainly upheld well at this time. Furius Victorinus dies in 206.
Cultural notes -----2nd century
By 200 eastern cults from Kushan and Persia have begun to gain popularity throughout the empire, this includes Zoroastrianism, Persian deities, and some Kushan indian deities, including a small following of the Buddha.
Marcus Aurelius becomes the most important stoic philosopher of the era, his three major works - Meditations, Emotions, and Freedom will cement stoic Roman though for years to come. He also founded a philosophical school in Rome, which eventually grows to be one of the greatest academies in the empire, next to the akademia founded by Plato.
Persian culture spreads in Rome, Persian style gardens begin appearing in several major cities including Antioch and Alexandria. Persian rugs and textilesalso become very popular, even used to adorn the homes of senators and upperclassmen in Rome.
With the capture of Persia, trade routes from the east become even more important and the empire becomes richer than ever, trading more with India and even China.
209 - 212 - Virius Lupus who had been adopted by Furius becomes emperor. Virius was a leader of the legions in the east and he detested the Kushans. He was also hungry for glory and began preparing for a massive invasion of the Kushan empire. However he was impatient, and his invasion was a disaster from the start. He was defeated by the Kushan king Vasudeva I in Bactria, losing over 3 legions and retreating back to persia in shame.
213 - 220 - Virius Lupus never gave up his dream of defeating the Kushans, though at first he want back to Rome and dabbled in law and senatorial politics, he quickly went back east and began raising new legions. Rome began to worry about their emperor and his eastern adventures, but Virius trudged on. He personally oversaw the training of the new eastern legions and new persian style heavy cavalry wings for his army, he also brought 2 legions from the European limes to the east for this campaign.
220-225 - Virius Lupus invades the Kushan empire, he quickly makes headway into Margiana and Bactria, defeating 2 Kushan armies, capturing Bactra and then Maracanda. He makes use of extensive light cavalry formations adopted from the Parthians and heavy eastern style Cataphracts, heavily armored horsemen. Virius lays siege to Begram, which holds for over a year and eventually falls in 224. In 225, Vasudeva I the Kushan king dies and internal disputes for succession coupled with the Roman invasion mean the Kushans cannot hold back the Roman armies.
226-227 - Virius crosses the Caucasus Indicus (Hindu Kush) and lays siege to Taxila, one of the last major Kushan urban centers. However revolts break out in his newly captured provinces and he is forced to abandon Taxila and retraces his steps back across the Caucasus indicus. He spends the next year pacifying and solidifying his power base in the provinces of Bactria, Margiana, Arachosia, and Sogdiana, mainly installing Roman and indo-greeks into power.
228 - 230 - Virius, seeing himself as the new Alexander, plans to conquer india, he crosses the Hindu Kush again with dreams of glory, his dreams are crushed however, by horrible weather and terrain during the crossing of the mountain ranges, and a newly determined Kushan force who faces him in a narrow mountain pass. The Romans are unable to dislodge the Kushan blocking force, and while looking for a way to flank them continue to be raided by small Kushan forces, more knowledgeable of the terrain than them. Eventually, the Romans begin a retreat, but they find themselves surrounded, and thousands die, including Virius.
231-232 Maximinus Thrax (The Thracian), a successful general and leader in the invasion of the Kushan empire is adopted by Virius before his death. However, Lucius Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus a leading Roman consul, has already forged adoption papers, powerful connections with senators in Rome and has declared himself emperor. Most of the senators support him, especially since Maximinus is of germanic stock. Maximinus makes peace with the Kushans, recruits new legions and local auxiliaries, including some Indian elephants and marches west. Pompeianus calls on legions from over the empire, and marches against Maximinus.
next installment
232-235 - The civil war was short and decisive. Maximinus marched through Asia minor securing his power over that area as Pompeianus gathered his army in macedonia. They met at the battle of Philippopolis in 233, where Maximinus won a great victory, his army from the east being superior in cavalry and having many hardened veterans from the Kushan war. Pompeianus retreated back into Italy and began raising another army, but was killed by his own commanders who then welcomed Maximinus as Emperor. Maximinus was not very popular with the senate, he wanted to make sure that instability and war over succession did not happen again to his chosen successor, as it had happened to him. He created the concilium legatus legionis, council of the legion legates. The council would help the emperor choose a successor making sure that man was not only capable and skilled but also protecting him from usurpers in the senate and in the army. By doing this he also cemented the law of adoption as the main way to chose the next emperor, though technically, an Emperors son could still become the next emperor, if he was the most effective and skilled leader in the army that is. If the emperor died without an heir, the concilium would meet and vote on one, the legates swore an oath to destroy any one who tried to take the throne by force.
236 - 250 - Goths, Vandals, and Alamanni raid the limes and Maximius leads several invasions of the territories defeating several germanic forces along the border, an army of goths is crushed in the battle of sarmizegetusa and dacia is secured once again.
251-257 - The last years of Maximinus reign are spend still on the rhine and danube frontiers, inspecting, building and rebuilding them until his last days, he dies while surveying a new defensive trench system along the rhine. His successor is a young and vibrant general named Gaius Cassius Sabinianus who has spent most of his career on the rhine fighting germans.
258-283 - The entire reign of Sabinianus is spent on fighting off Germans, especially the goths in dacia and the alamanni along the rhine, he is given the title Defensor Germanicus, for his defense of Rome against the barbarians. He further increases the size of the Limes, his reign sees the first stone walls being across key areas in the limes. He sets up an intricate system along the Limes of Carrier pigeons, which will help communication and response times to german raids. Sabinianus also signs trade and mutual defense treaties with the Gupta empire ruler Samudragupta. Gupta and Rome are on good terms as both shared a main enemy, the Kushans, who by 260 have been completely destroyed by the Gupta.
284-312 - Gaius Junius Silanus Torquatus becomes emperor through adoption on the death of Sabinianus. His reign starts off bad, with the total loss of Dacia to the goths. He spends the rest of his reign campaigning in Dacia and reconquering it, as well as fighting the Marcomanni who have decided to break from Rome and stop providing auxiliaries for the empire. The bloody war in Dacia will claim the lives of tens of thousands of Germans and Romans. One year after the end of the Dacian war, he dies in Rome. His adopted son Julius Avitus Alexianus becomes emperor.
Cultural Notes----3rd Century
* Plotinus begins the revival of Platonism which takes off in greece and asia minor, but is resisted by the western Stoic successors of Marcus Aurelius, especially the stoics in Rome and Carthage.
* Greco-Buddhism have been growing even since the capture of Bactria and the Roman Kushan wars. Greco-Buddhism will experience a schism in the late 3rd century with one school, the Bactrian school being closer to Mahayana buddhism today (that is, reaching nirvana through devotion to buddha and other bodhisattvas), and the more philosophical and meditation based Alexandrian school being closer to Theravada (Attaining Nirvana through the four noble truths).
* The increasing trade and contanct Gupta empire will bring even more Indian deities into the eastern part of the empire, and some even begin to develop cults in the west, such as the Chrisna and Shivae cults. The Gupta and the Indian golden age will influence the empire more into the 4th century.
* Manichaeism begins to become popular in Persia and in the eastern empire.
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313 - 317 - Arabs had been raiding Persia and Mesopotamia since the year 300 and 2 legions had already been sent to the area. Alexianu wanted to end this threat once and for all and gathered an army to crush them. By 317, The Arab tribes of the Taglii (Taghleb), Bacwinai (Bakr bin Wael), and the Ablais (Abd Al-Qays) put up stiff resistance, but the Roman army eventually defeats them, thousands are enslaved and killed, and the Arab threat is contained.
320 - 324 Julius Avitus Alexianus decides to try what a Roman army has never completely accomplished, conquer Germania. He gathers forces from all over the empire, eventually he has 17 legions + auxiliaries, totalling over 100,000 men, one of the largest forces ever gathered by a Roman emperor. He takes over 4 years just preparing for the campaign, and making sure the limes are secure before he embarks on his conquest. Along with the Legions, he has nomadic horsemen from the steppes of Asia, eastern style heavy cavalry, several Germanic allies, including Marcomanni and Quadi auxiliaries, Berber horsemen and Arab auxiliaries.
325 - 334 - Alexianus crosses the Rhine into the territory of the Chatti, one of the largest germanic tribes next to Roman lands. The Chatti gathered their warriors and met Alexianus, but suffered a horrendous defeat at the battle of Salinae, several warlords of the Chatti offered their surrender, others fled with their warbands north and joined the Cherusci. On hearing about the vast Roman invasion, the Cherusci had begun forming a coalition to fight off the romans, the Hermunduri, Usipi and Chamavi among others join the coalition. Alexianus by this time had secured the alliances of the Tencteri and Usipetes on the lower rhine and began moving north into the lands of the Cherusci. Alexianus defeats the Cherusci coalition in the battle of the Adrana and most tribes of the coalition submit to him, except the gambrivi, who continue to resist. Alexianus spends 2 months sieging the main gambrivi fortified town of segodunum and slaughters all its inhabitans as an example. Alexianus then heads north, into Frisia and accepts the submission of most tribes there, except the Chauci. Allying with the Frisians and Sturii, he conquers the Chauci , stopping at the german town of Phabiranum for a few months to consolidate his forces and alliances. In 330 he marches again against the alliance of the Semnoni and the Langobardi. Using forces of his new allies, the danduti and the Boii, he conquers the Semnoni and the Langobardi. He barely has time to catch his breath when a Chatti revolt breaks out in 333. He marches west and his exhausted army manages to crush the revolt and almost completely wipe out the Chatti tribe. This effectively marked the end of the Germanic Wars, mopping up operations to secure the new provinces would continue well until 336.
337 - 342 All of Germania east of the Albis (Elbe) is in Roman hands. Hundreds of villages and towns have been razed and thousands of Germans are dead or had been shipped back to the empire as slaves. The Invasion has been very costly for the empire however, the cost of the supplies and loss of men takes a high toll, which is barely compensated by the slaves and the booty. Alexianus begins a building project in Germania, he begins founding Roman colonies and begins a project to "civilize" the Germans, introducing Roman republican government and bringing Roman and Greek teachers to teach latin to many Germans, on state expense. Alexianus believes that the Germans need to be civilized, for the good of the empire. Romanization had always been a slow and decentralized cultural progress, never before had an emperor forced Romanization on such a scale.
343 - Alexianus dies, in Colonia Alexiana, on Roman colony in on the western bank of the Elbe. Gaius Fulvius Nobilior a distinguished Roman general from the Germanic war becomes Emperor. On the death of Alexianus, the Semnoni tribe revolted and was quickly joined by tribes from across the elbe, Fulvius crushes this rebellion with great cruelty, crucifiying several thousand Semnoni along the western bank of the elbe river. On being questioned by a comrade why he had done such a cruel and bloody act, Fulvius responded with the famous quote "Cruelty is the only thing these people understand, it is my duty to teach them otherwise - to make them Roman".
344-349 - Fulvius continues attempts at Romanising the Germanic tribes, meeting with several Germanic chieftains and touring the new provinces.
350 - 351 - Hunnic attacks on Alans and Goths around the river don area drive them west into Roman Dacia. Joined by Dacian Goths, they take over the province and set up several separate Kingdoms. Saxons, angles and jutes have been raiding Brittania for several years now, forts begin to be built along the eastern Brittanian coast.
353 - Fulvius gathers his legions south of the Danube to retake Dacia. Eastern Nomadic Tribes begin attack Bactria and Sogdiana more and more aggressively, amongst them, the Hepthalites and Xionites are particularly powerful and raid as far as Persia.
232-235 - The civil war was short and decisive. Maximinus marched through Asia minor securing his power over that area as Pompeianus gathered his army in macedonia. They met at the battle of Philippopolis in 233, where Maximinus won a great victory, his army from the east being superior in cavalry and having many hardened veterans from the Kushan war. Pompeianus retreated back into Italy and began raising another army, but was killed by his own commanders who then welcomed Maximinus as Emperor. Maximinus was not very popular with the senate, he wanted to make sure that instability and war over succession did not happen again to his chosen successor, as it had happened to him. He created the concilium legatus legionis, council of the legion legates. The council would help the emperor choose a successor making sure that man was not only capable and skilled but also protecting him from usurpers in the senate and in the army. By doing this he also cemented the law of adoption as the main way to chose the next emperor, though technically, an Emperors son could still become the next emperor, if he was the most effective and skilled leader in the army that is. If the emperor died without an heir, the concilium would meet and vote on one, the legates swore an oath to destroy any one who tried to take the throne by force.
236 - 250 - Goths, Vandals, and Alamanni raid the limes and Maximius leads several invasions of the territories defeating several germanic forces along the border, an army of goths is crushed in the battle of sarmizegetusa and dacia is secured once again.
251-257 - The last years of Maximinus reign are spend still on the rhine and danube frontiers, inspecting, building and rebuilding them until his last days, he dies while surveying a new defensive trench system along the rhine. His successor is a young and vibrant general named Gaius Cassius Sabinianus who has spent most of his career on the rhine fighting germans.
258-283 - The entire reign of Sabinianus is spent on fighting off Germans, especially the goths in dacia and the alamanni along the rhine, he is given the title Defensor Germanicus, for his defense of Rome against the barbarians. He further increases the size of the Limes, his reign sees the first stone walls being across key areas in the limes. He sets up an intricate system along the Limes of Carrier pigeons, which will help communication and response times to german raids. Sabinianus also signs trade and mutual defense treaties with the Gupta empire ruler Samudragupta. Gupta and Rome are on good terms as both shared a main enemy, the Kushans, who by 260 have been completely destroyed by the Gupta.
284-312 - Gaius Junius Silanus Torquatus becomes emperor through adoption on the death of Sabinianus. His reign starts off bad, with the total loss of Dacia to the goths. He spends the rest of his reign campaigning in Dacia and reconquering it, as well as fighting the Marcomanni who have decided to break from Rome and stop providing auxiliaries for the empire. The bloody war in Dacia will claim the lives of tens of thousands of Germans and Romans. One year after the end of the Dacian war, he dies in Rome. His adopted son Julius Avitus Alexianus becomes emperor.
Cultural Notes----3rd Century
* Plotinus begins the revival of Platonism which takes off in greece and asia minor, but is resisted by the western Stoic successors of Marcus Aurelius, especially the stoics in Rome and Carthage.
* Greco-Buddhism have been growing even since the capture of Bactria and the Roman Kushan wars. Greco-Buddhism will experience a schism in the late 3rd century with one school, the Bactrian school being closer to Mahayana buddhism today (that is, reaching nirvana through devotion to buddha and other bodhisattvas), and the more philosophical and meditation based Alexandrian school being closer to Theravada (Attaining Nirvana through the four noble truths).
* The increasing trade and contanct Gupta empire will bring even more Indian deities into the eastern part of the empire, and some even begin to develop cults in the west, such as the Chrisna and Shivae cults. The Gupta and the Indian golden age will influence the empire more into the 4th century.
* Manichaeism begins to become popular in Persia and in the eastern empire.
---------------------------
313 - 317 - Arabs had been raiding Persia and Mesopotamia since the year 300 and 2 legions had already been sent to the area. Alexianu wanted to end this threat once and for all and gathered an army to crush them. By 317, The Arab tribes of the Taglii (Taghleb), Bacwinai (Bakr bin Wael), and the Ablais (Abd Al-Qays) put up stiff resistance, but the Roman army eventually defeats them, thousands are enslaved and killed, and the Arab threat is contained.
320 - 324 Julius Avitus Alexianus decides to try what a Roman army has never completely accomplished, conquer Germania. He gathers forces from all over the empire, eventually he has 17 legions + auxiliaries, totalling over 100,000 men, one of the largest forces ever gathered by a Roman emperor. He takes over 4 years just preparing for the campaign, and making sure the limes are secure before he embarks on his conquest. Along with the Legions, he has nomadic horsemen from the steppes of Asia, eastern style heavy cavalry, several Germanic allies, including Marcomanni and Quadi auxiliaries, Berber horsemen and Arab auxiliaries.
325 - 334 - Alexianus crosses the Rhine into the territory of the Chatti, one of the largest germanic tribes next to Roman lands. The Chatti gathered their warriors and met Alexianus, but suffered a horrendous defeat at the battle of Salinae, several warlords of the Chatti offered their surrender, others fled with their warbands north and joined the Cherusci. On hearing about the vast Roman invasion, the Cherusci had begun forming a coalition to fight off the romans, the Hermunduri, Usipi and Chamavi among others join the coalition. Alexianus by this time had secured the alliances of the Tencteri and Usipetes on the lower rhine and began moving north into the lands of the Cherusci. Alexianus defeats the Cherusci coalition in the battle of the Adrana and most tribes of the coalition submit to him, except the gambrivi, who continue to resist. Alexianus spends 2 months sieging the main gambrivi fortified town of segodunum and slaughters all its inhabitans as an example. Alexianus then heads north, into Frisia and accepts the submission of most tribes there, except the Chauci. Allying with the Frisians and Sturii, he conquers the Chauci , stopping at the german town of Phabiranum for a few months to consolidate his forces and alliances. In 330 he marches again against the alliance of the Semnoni and the Langobardi. Using forces of his new allies, the danduti and the Boii, he conquers the Semnoni and the Langobardi. He barely has time to catch his breath when a Chatti revolt breaks out in 333. He marches west and his exhausted army manages to crush the revolt and almost completely wipe out the Chatti tribe. This effectively marked the end of the Germanic Wars, mopping up operations to secure the new provinces would continue well until 336.
337 - 342 All of Germania east of the Albis (Elbe) is in Roman hands. Hundreds of villages and towns have been razed and thousands of Germans are dead or had been shipped back to the empire as slaves. The Invasion has been very costly for the empire however, the cost of the supplies and loss of men takes a high toll, which is barely compensated by the slaves and the booty. Alexianus begins a building project in Germania, he begins founding Roman colonies and begins a project to "civilize" the Germans, introducing Roman republican government and bringing Roman and Greek teachers to teach latin to many Germans, on state expense. Alexianus believes that the Germans need to be civilized, for the good of the empire. Romanization had always been a slow and decentralized cultural progress, never before had an emperor forced Romanization on such a scale.
343 - Alexianus dies, in Colonia Alexiana, on Roman colony in on the western bank of the Elbe. Gaius Fulvius Nobilior a distinguished Roman general from the Germanic war becomes Emperor. On the death of Alexianus, the Semnoni tribe revolted and was quickly joined by tribes from across the elbe, Fulvius crushes this rebellion with great cruelty, crucifiying several thousand Semnoni along the western bank of the elbe river. On being questioned by a comrade why he had done such a cruel and bloody act, Fulvius responded with the famous quote "Cruelty is the only thing these people understand, it is my duty to teach them otherwise - to make them Roman".
344-349 - Fulvius continues attempts at Romanising the Germanic tribes, meeting with several Germanic chieftains and touring the new provinces.
350 - 351 - Hunnic attacks on Alans and Goths around the river don area drive them west into Roman Dacia. Joined by Dacian Goths, they take over the province and set up several separate Kingdoms. Saxons, angles and jutes have been raiding Brittania for several years now, forts begin to be built along the eastern Brittanian coast.
353 - Fulvius gathers his legions south of the Danube to retake Dacia. Eastern Nomadic Tribes begin attack Bactria and Sogdiana more and more aggressively, amongst them, the Hepthalites and Xionites are particularly powerful and raid as far as Persia.
China's doing as in OTL right now that's why im not concentrating on it. Right now im still thinking my POD or butterfly divergence or w/e for China will be during the Ming dynasty, specifically during the Zheng He voyages. China will have heard of America by then from contact with Rome ( im still not sure when Rome will reach the new world, probably somewhere in the 1300s) and will spur Zheng he to send his fleet to the Americas and begin colonizing it. Increasing naval power, trade and riches from the west will help the Ming remain strong so as not to be taken over by the Machus. Im no Chinese history expert, though i'll definitely read up more on Chinese history (which i've been wanting to anyways, got that series from yao to mao from ttc) before i tackle the China side of this TL.
1) What kind of internal improvements are at work to connect all those Eastern Provinces to the Mediterranean ones?
2) Will Roman naval technology be fueled by the attempt to join the two sides of the Empire by sea?
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Interesting idea about the Council of Legates: did you mean it to sound a lot like the College of Cardinals? I'm curious to see if the Empire remains the rather informal autocracy it was under Augustus or continues to alter Republican structures to ensure its stability and good governance?
2) Will Roman naval technology be fueled by the attempt to join the two sides of the Empire by sea?
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Interesting idea about the Council of Legates: did you mean it to sound a lot like the College of Cardinals? I'm curious to see if the Empire remains the rather informal autocracy it was under Augustus or continues to alter Republican structures to ensure its stability and good governance?
Bavarian Raven
Banned
interesting but i was still hoping their would be a "battle of teutonberg (sp) forest...
Hold your horses, Germans aren't out for the count just yet.
I guess i really didn't think much about the new eastern provinces, but basically good old roman road building, the road networks were already fairly developed do to trade with the Kushans before.
Im sure it will, trade with india and china will also bring new developments in naval tech. After Rome stabilizes from the barb invasions things will start to take off technologically.