This is my old Tl, based on the pod that Alexander Severus wins against the Sassanids.
I change te«he title and grouped the small text bits
First Years of Alexander Severus
After several year of caos the Roman Empire finally had a competent Emperor in charge. But in the beggining Severus didn't rule alone. He had a great collection of advisors, chief among them Cassius Dio, personal friend of the Emperor and author of a great history of the reign of Alexander. Other influencial advisor was Ulpian who would ultimatelly die at the hands the praetorian guard during the several small revolts in the beggining of the new emperor reign.
Despite the several revolts in the army, the people generally liked Severus and the only group who didn't liked him was the soldiers he had reduced the salaries.
But great feats awaited Severus.
Sassanid raids and Severus counter-offensive
After the fall of the Pathian Empire, the new Sassanid Emperor Artaxerxes aspired to conquer all the Roman East and started raiding the roman territory on the west side of the euphrates. Severus didn't attack imediatelly and instead send diplomats explaining Artaxerxes that he was attacking roman territory and thus risking war. The diplomat also explained that the Emperor would forget all this if the sassanid returned back to the east side of the Euphrates because Artaxerxes was a new emperor and perhaps didn't know that he couldn't raid roman territory.
Artaxerxes replied that he knew what he was doing and that he wanted to conquer the east.
Alexander then set to attack the Sassanids with a three front attack. One would attack through Armenia and would attack from the north, another front would attack from the south and the third and largest front led by the emperor would attack from the center.
Alexander set with some Rhine legions from Rome and reached the Euphrate in the summer of 231 and the planned attack started imediatelly. The first two fronts did their mission well and some time after the great persian army had to be broken in three one to defend the north another the south and other to defend the border in the euphrates. But Alexander quickly attacked and in a short time he had faced and destroy the persian center army and killed their King Artaxerxes. after great triumph the Emperor let is soldiers raid some towns and then advanced to the capital of ctesiphon, sacking it and almost destroy it. But it wasn't all roses. The northern roman army had after an hard passing of the caucasus forced to retreat after a minor defeat against the Persian Northern army led by Shapur son of Artaxerxes but he wasn't a great general and the motivated and reinforced central roman army, who had been reinforced by the southern army defeated and captured Shapur.
The soldiers now with spoils and treasures where happy and celebrated their new favourite Alexander who gained the title of Persicus Maximus. Shapur, know humbled brokered an humiliating deal with Alexander that ceded all sassanid territory west of the tigris to Rome, formal control over Armenia, and an immense tribute in money.
Apart from this great defeat Shapur had to face revolts all over his empire.
The now know as Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Armeniacus Mesapotamicus Persicus Maximus had started a great reign but some dark clouds were aprouching
the blue is the territory annexed by rome and the yellow is armenia who as annexed the res is self explaining
A- Northern roman army movement
B - Alexander army ( central) movement
C - Southern army movement
d- sassanid army and it's moves
e- sack of ctesiphon
f- last of the war aginst an reorganized sassanid army
the maps are a bit large
The Triumph and the Rhine problem
For years Germanic tribes pressed at rome's borders and Alexander Severus reign was no exception.
After is smashing victory against the Sassanids Alexander returned back to Rome after leaving some trusted advisors in the East to run the new provinces he conquered and a new governor in Mesopotamia. When He arrived in Rome the population came til the 50 kilometer mark to greet the great Alexander Severus, waving olive branches. Upon his entrance he celebrated a great triumph, showing the most spectacular treasures seized in the campaign,this was the first real triumph in many years ( the last had been mock triumphs). Alexander also constructed a great monumental arch wich still stands today and his a little bigger than the arch of Septimius Severus.
But the celebrations where interruped when notices arrived of germanic raids in the rhine provinces, perpetrated by Berengar, leader of a new germanic coalition forged in the abscence of some rhine legions in the east.
How would the great Alexander Severus deal with this coalition
Alexander Germanicus
Following the news of the Invasion of the roman province of lower rhine led by a leader who is know as Berengar, probably leader of the Allamani or other tribe near the Alamani, who were eyeing rome since caraccala had killed several of their warriors and sent a legion agaisnt them. Berengar had convinced several tribes from the Lower RHine to unify in a coalition and decided to strike because of the absence of the Rhine legions who were with the emperor.
Alexander quickly set off with the Rhine legions plus some eastern auxiliaries. Arriving only few weeks after leaving Rome the emperor launched a small expedition agaisnt the allamani while he attacke the small tribes allied with the allamani. The expedition was a disaster and among the dead was the rising star of the legions a certain thracian named Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus. Cassius Dio who was going with the espedition to write about it in his histories was captured. Alexander who managed to defeat the samaller tribes in a decisive battle was furious when he learned that his favourite historian had been captured and the expediton was a disaster and quickly launched an brutal campaign against the Allamani managing to the defeat and kill Berengar in a battle know as the battle of the Severiana Allamania, after the Roman name for the city who is located at the site of the ancient battlefield.
The Allamani after beign defeated sued for peace and Alexander knowing that any land conquest beyond the Rhine would be suicidal imposed that the allamani would be forced to provide many auxiliaries, never attack rome or one of her allies or friend nor lend support to those who attacked rome. The new allamani king know by his latin name of Julius was a fervorous supporter of the Roman and remained loyal till his death.
This end the first chapter of the reign of the now Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Armeniacus Mesopotamicus Persicus Maximus Allamanicus
Happy Days
After is great victory agaisnt the Allamani, Alexander went to Rome were he celebrated another triumph. His triumph was spectacular and at the end the senate, lead by Cassius Dio, recently saved by the Emperor. The senate bestowed the new title Magnus Optimus (the best of the great as my latin dictonary tells me). The relation between Cassius Dio and the Emperor was well know and Cassius Dio dedicated is book to " My good friend and best emperor Alexander". Another happy new quickly followed as the empress Sallustia Orbiana ( her father was never a usurper in the TL and she wasn't exiled) gave birth to twins named Gaius and Julius and became know by theirs cognomen, Germanicus and Persicus, in honor of his father triumph in Germania and Persia. The following years are a bit obscure, mainly because Cassius Dio writings about it were lost, but we know that Julia Mamaea died in 238 (she lasted three more years) and she was gave a very nice funeral.
Reforms
As Alexander entered into his thirties we was a good general, excellent lawyer and a good orator. After his sons were born he moved to the capital and spent the next years raising his sons and to reform the empire.
Persicus and Germanicus were growing up nicely and becoming intelligent and serious young men.
The first reforms were about the army. Soldiers who had served a full time were sent to the new provinces in the east were new land was available and Alexander tried to create a new generation of soldiers, not used to excessive bribes to remain loyal. In order to calm the old and demanding and to give experiance to his new soldiers he ordered that anual raids should be done in Brittania past the Antonine wall and in Germania.
The 16 years from the birth of the twins were among the most peaceful in Roman history. Speaking of the twins which were now 16 were sent to brittania to participate in a military campaign against the uncoquered north.
Their forces were composed of the three brittanian legions, plus two Rhine legions and numerous auxiliariaries from all corners of the empire.
Helping the twins with the campaign was Gnaeus Aquila, one of the best general distinguested in the Rhine and Eastern campaigns with Alexander (who was staying in the capital). The preparations for the conquest of the North took two years of soldier transport and a new fleet was created, now know as Brittanian fleet.
Brittania and Reforms
In the dawn of 246 the Brittanian campaign was going very well after the Romans had defeated the main Caledonian army and drive them to the Highlands were they continued to hide. Discovering that he couldn't defeat all the Caledonians in one battle because they wouldn't show up the General Aquila decided to make a "siege" of the Highlands, controlling the main roads to the South and blockin the sea, cutting off any suplies from the Caledonians. After several months of cruel winter the Caledonians that hadn't died either fled through the blocade in small ships to Hibernia or surrendered to the Romans. With this escape in mind the biggest leader of the Caledonians, Know by his latin name of Ballista organized a resistence movement with many Hibernian Kings and started raiding the newly incorporated province of Caledonia. Aquila, Persicus and Germanicus were annoyed by this movement and Started to prepare for an invasion of Hibernia.
Meanwhile back in Rome the Emperor Alexander wasn't just resting he was trying to improve the empire and reform it. One of his biggest plans was to try to "cure" the disease that had runned deep in the army, the hunger for huge amounts of money. He made this to his Persian veterans by settling them in Mesopotamia and he planned to settle Allamanian and Britannian veterans in Hibernia and Caledonia and then creating a new generation of soldiers, not used to get much money.
In Hibernia he invasion happened in 250 with two legions and a huge fleet. The campaign started bad for the Roman as some ships were set ofcourse by a storm and ended in an unknown island baptized Vita island (otl Mann). The island was inhabited by a large number of people but hadn't a big army so the acidental conquest of Vita island occured. But as this happened in Hibernia the Legions were attacked with guerrilha attacks that were not much effective but were extremely annoying but the Caledonians and Hibernians, thinking that the legions were now weak attacked in a traditional land fight and were severaly defeated. The Hibernian highest chief died but Ballista had escaped and took refuge in the swamps. The rest of the campaign was hard do to both constant guerrilha attacks and diseases, having the commander Persicus died of one unknown disease in 253. In anger do to the death of his brother Germanicus attacked the base of Ballista and captured him throwing him from a 150 metre high clif in the west of te island.
The conquest of both Caledonia and Hibernia were great news and Alexander quickly started his program of settling the veterans and Germanicus was bestowed with the Caledonicus and Hibernicus title and he and Aquila held a triumph in Rome. Germanicus was then sent to Hibernia to be the new governor and creating a new provincial bureocracy.
I change te«he title and grouped the small text bits
First Years of Alexander Severus
After several year of caos the Roman Empire finally had a competent Emperor in charge. But in the beggining Severus didn't rule alone. He had a great collection of advisors, chief among them Cassius Dio, personal friend of the Emperor and author of a great history of the reign of Alexander. Other influencial advisor was Ulpian who would ultimatelly die at the hands the praetorian guard during the several small revolts in the beggining of the new emperor reign.
Despite the several revolts in the army, the people generally liked Severus and the only group who didn't liked him was the soldiers he had reduced the salaries.
But great feats awaited Severus.
Sassanid raids and Severus counter-offensive
After the fall of the Pathian Empire, the new Sassanid Emperor Artaxerxes aspired to conquer all the Roman East and started raiding the roman territory on the west side of the euphrates. Severus didn't attack imediatelly and instead send diplomats explaining Artaxerxes that he was attacking roman territory and thus risking war. The diplomat also explained that the Emperor would forget all this if the sassanid returned back to the east side of the Euphrates because Artaxerxes was a new emperor and perhaps didn't know that he couldn't raid roman territory.
Artaxerxes replied that he knew what he was doing and that he wanted to conquer the east.
Alexander then set to attack the Sassanids with a three front attack. One would attack through Armenia and would attack from the north, another front would attack from the south and the third and largest front led by the emperor would attack from the center.
Alexander set with some Rhine legions from Rome and reached the Euphrate in the summer of 231 and the planned attack started imediatelly. The first two fronts did their mission well and some time after the great persian army had to be broken in three one to defend the north another the south and other to defend the border in the euphrates. But Alexander quickly attacked and in a short time he had faced and destroy the persian center army and killed their King Artaxerxes. after great triumph the Emperor let is soldiers raid some towns and then advanced to the capital of ctesiphon, sacking it and almost destroy it. But it wasn't all roses. The northern roman army had after an hard passing of the caucasus forced to retreat after a minor defeat against the Persian Northern army led by Shapur son of Artaxerxes but he wasn't a great general and the motivated and reinforced central roman army, who had been reinforced by the southern army defeated and captured Shapur.
The soldiers now with spoils and treasures where happy and celebrated their new favourite Alexander who gained the title of Persicus Maximus. Shapur, know humbled brokered an humiliating deal with Alexander that ceded all sassanid territory west of the tigris to Rome, formal control over Armenia, and an immense tribute in money.
Apart from this great defeat Shapur had to face revolts all over his empire.
The now know as Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Armeniacus Mesapotamicus Persicus Maximus had started a great reign but some dark clouds were aprouching
the blue is the territory annexed by rome and the yellow is armenia who as annexed the res is self explaining
A- Northern roman army movement
B - Alexander army ( central) movement
C - Southern army movement
d- sassanid army and it's moves
e- sack of ctesiphon
f- last of the war aginst an reorganized sassanid army
the maps are a bit large
The Triumph and the Rhine problem
For years Germanic tribes pressed at rome's borders and Alexander Severus reign was no exception.
After is smashing victory against the Sassanids Alexander returned back to Rome after leaving some trusted advisors in the East to run the new provinces he conquered and a new governor in Mesopotamia. When He arrived in Rome the population came til the 50 kilometer mark to greet the great Alexander Severus, waving olive branches. Upon his entrance he celebrated a great triumph, showing the most spectacular treasures seized in the campaign,this was the first real triumph in many years ( the last had been mock triumphs). Alexander also constructed a great monumental arch wich still stands today and his a little bigger than the arch of Septimius Severus.
But the celebrations where interruped when notices arrived of germanic raids in the rhine provinces, perpetrated by Berengar, leader of a new germanic coalition forged in the abscence of some rhine legions in the east.
How would the great Alexander Severus deal with this coalition
Alexander Germanicus
Following the news of the Invasion of the roman province of lower rhine led by a leader who is know as Berengar, probably leader of the Allamani or other tribe near the Alamani, who were eyeing rome since caraccala had killed several of their warriors and sent a legion agaisnt them. Berengar had convinced several tribes from the Lower RHine to unify in a coalition and decided to strike because of the absence of the Rhine legions who were with the emperor.
Alexander quickly set off with the Rhine legions plus some eastern auxiliaries. Arriving only few weeks after leaving Rome the emperor launched a small expedition agaisnt the allamani while he attacke the small tribes allied with the allamani. The expedition was a disaster and among the dead was the rising star of the legions a certain thracian named Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus. Cassius Dio who was going with the espedition to write about it in his histories was captured. Alexander who managed to defeat the samaller tribes in a decisive battle was furious when he learned that his favourite historian had been captured and the expediton was a disaster and quickly launched an brutal campaign against the Allamani managing to the defeat and kill Berengar in a battle know as the battle of the Severiana Allamania, after the Roman name for the city who is located at the site of the ancient battlefield.
The Allamani after beign defeated sued for peace and Alexander knowing that any land conquest beyond the Rhine would be suicidal imposed that the allamani would be forced to provide many auxiliaries, never attack rome or one of her allies or friend nor lend support to those who attacked rome. The new allamani king know by his latin name of Julius was a fervorous supporter of the Roman and remained loyal till his death.
This end the first chapter of the reign of the now Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Armeniacus Mesopotamicus Persicus Maximus Allamanicus
Happy Days
After is great victory agaisnt the Allamani, Alexander went to Rome were he celebrated another triumph. His triumph was spectacular and at the end the senate, lead by Cassius Dio, recently saved by the Emperor. The senate bestowed the new title Magnus Optimus (the best of the great as my latin dictonary tells me). The relation between Cassius Dio and the Emperor was well know and Cassius Dio dedicated is book to " My good friend and best emperor Alexander". Another happy new quickly followed as the empress Sallustia Orbiana ( her father was never a usurper in the TL and she wasn't exiled) gave birth to twins named Gaius and Julius and became know by theirs cognomen, Germanicus and Persicus, in honor of his father triumph in Germania and Persia. The following years are a bit obscure, mainly because Cassius Dio writings about it were lost, but we know that Julia Mamaea died in 238 (she lasted three more years) and she was gave a very nice funeral.
Reforms
As Alexander entered into his thirties we was a good general, excellent lawyer and a good orator. After his sons were born he moved to the capital and spent the next years raising his sons and to reform the empire.
Persicus and Germanicus were growing up nicely and becoming intelligent and serious young men.
The first reforms were about the army. Soldiers who had served a full time were sent to the new provinces in the east were new land was available and Alexander tried to create a new generation of soldiers, not used to excessive bribes to remain loyal. In order to calm the old and demanding and to give experiance to his new soldiers he ordered that anual raids should be done in Brittania past the Antonine wall and in Germania.
The 16 years from the birth of the twins were among the most peaceful in Roman history. Speaking of the twins which were now 16 were sent to brittania to participate in a military campaign against the uncoquered north.
Their forces were composed of the three brittanian legions, plus two Rhine legions and numerous auxiliariaries from all corners of the empire.
Helping the twins with the campaign was Gnaeus Aquila, one of the best general distinguested in the Rhine and Eastern campaigns with Alexander (who was staying in the capital). The preparations for the conquest of the North took two years of soldier transport and a new fleet was created, now know as Brittanian fleet.
Brittania and Reforms
In the dawn of 246 the Brittanian campaign was going very well after the Romans had defeated the main Caledonian army and drive them to the Highlands were they continued to hide. Discovering that he couldn't defeat all the Caledonians in one battle because they wouldn't show up the General Aquila decided to make a "siege" of the Highlands, controlling the main roads to the South and blockin the sea, cutting off any suplies from the Caledonians. After several months of cruel winter the Caledonians that hadn't died either fled through the blocade in small ships to Hibernia or surrendered to the Romans. With this escape in mind the biggest leader of the Caledonians, Know by his latin name of Ballista organized a resistence movement with many Hibernian Kings and started raiding the newly incorporated province of Caledonia. Aquila, Persicus and Germanicus were annoyed by this movement and Started to prepare for an invasion of Hibernia.
Meanwhile back in Rome the Emperor Alexander wasn't just resting he was trying to improve the empire and reform it. One of his biggest plans was to try to "cure" the disease that had runned deep in the army, the hunger for huge amounts of money. He made this to his Persian veterans by settling them in Mesopotamia and he planned to settle Allamanian and Britannian veterans in Hibernia and Caledonia and then creating a new generation of soldiers, not used to get much money.
In Hibernia he invasion happened in 250 with two legions and a huge fleet. The campaign started bad for the Roman as some ships were set ofcourse by a storm and ended in an unknown island baptized Vita island (otl Mann). The island was inhabited by a large number of people but hadn't a big army so the acidental conquest of Vita island occured. But as this happened in Hibernia the Legions were attacked with guerrilha attacks that were not much effective but were extremely annoying but the Caledonians and Hibernians, thinking that the legions were now weak attacked in a traditional land fight and were severaly defeated. The Hibernian highest chief died but Ballista had escaped and took refuge in the swamps. The rest of the campaign was hard do to both constant guerrilha attacks and diseases, having the commander Persicus died of one unknown disease in 253. In anger do to the death of his brother Germanicus attacked the base of Ballista and captured him throwing him from a 150 metre high clif in the west of te island.
The conquest of both Caledonia and Hibernia were great news and Alexander quickly started his program of settling the veterans and Germanicus was bestowed with the Caledonicus and Hibernicus title and he and Aquila held a triumph in Rome. Germanicus was then sent to Hibernia to be the new governor and creating a new provincial bureocracy.