The Romans Abide

THE ROMANS ABIDE
By RichMill

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The date was January 24, 41 AD, during the very beginnings of the illustrious Roman Empire’s decline, and atop Rome’s highest hill, the Palatine, citizens of the great nation beared witness to one of the most devastating and darkest moments in the cities history; the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; more commonly known as Emperor Caligula.

Reigning since the year 37, being raised to the position of emperor following the death of his adopted grand-father Tiberius, the senate was brought to apprehension due to his corrupt, more-so-often inexperienced rule, and after a number of years, most members of the senate were brought to their knees in an attempt to control, or perhaps just subterfuge the growing power of the princeps. Caligula’s refusal to back down to the senators, and his eventual attempt to expand the powers of the position of emperor saw to him gaining many powerful enemies among the Patricians, an event that would eventually lead to his murder. This build-up in opposition against the emperor over his four years in power eventually transpired into one motion against the supposed tyrant in the year 41. The goal was simple; the death of Caligula and his immediate family.

Headed by a member of the Praetorian Guard named Cassius Chaerea (Cassius also being the name of a conspirator who plotted against the original Caesar eighty-five years earlier), the members of the mass conspiracy now numbers upwards of one hundred, mostly comprising of members of the Praetorian, Patrician, and Equestrian classes, each waiting anxiously for the sign of the emperor’s death. A three man squad, again headed by Cassius, were drawn to the peak of Palatine hill where Caligula was busy being entertained by a young troupe of performers. Whilst addressing the youths, Cassius moved against the emperor, accosting him before taking his knife and plunging it into the tyrant’s body. Over and over again, around thirty times in total, Caligula was forced to the floor in a bloody mess, the entire populace surrounding him and his conspirators watching on as they too took arms against his immediate family, killing the empress Caesonia and their young daughter Julia Drusilla, smashing her head unto the wall.

The murder however, did not stop there, for when the most loyal members of the Germanic Guard were sent the news, a mixture of both rage and disgust swept across them as they brought their pain down onto any assassin, conspirator or even innocent they came across. Whilst this was occurring, Cassius took it upon himself to break the original terms of conspiracy, sending out a “death squad” in search of the remaining members of the imperial family. Sympathetic to the senate’s cause to return both itself and Rome to its former glory as a republic, the conspirator’s leader called for the heads of all reaming imperial family members, and those who could possibly take power as a monarch.

Witnessing the massacre occurring around him, one member of the imperial family, Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus (more commonly known as Claudius), took quick leave of Palatine hill to the palace in an attempt to escape the ensuring royal genocide. Whilst most nobles died over the next few moments, Claudius took to hiding behind curtains in his royal chambers, waiting for a many anxious moments, waiting for a sign that would signal the end of the blood bath. It was, however, not forthcoming for the forty-nine year-old man, as members of Cassius’ death squad arrived at the palace, greeting all they came across with their blades, Claudius being among the victims, his body pierced with at least twenty wounds, laying in a pool of his own blood.

 
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Interesting...what anarchy will ensue?

One nitpick: Claudius was 49 years old, having been born in 10 BCE.
 
Interesting...though I am not sure all members of the extended Julio-Claudian family were in Rome, so this can get hectic and confusing quick, possibly with some men with really loose family ties to the Julio-Claudians making a bid for the principate.

There's also conveniently 3 newly raised legions in Gaul intended for Caligula's future British invasion...Just thinking about the chaos that could ensue makes the civil wars of the past century look bloodless in comparison. Definitely subscribed.
 
Very interesting, will follow with interest!

Quick nitpick, to add to Blurgle's:

Technically all dates AD are positioned after the indicator (AD); so it is AD 41, not 41 AD.
With BC it's the exact opposite; 10 BC is correct, BC 10 is not.

CE and BCE hold the same restrictions.

[Possibly] with some men with really loose family ties to the Julio-Claudians making a bid for the principate.

Just like after Nero's death, with sisters-in-laws' cousins' husbands and great-great-uncles' first-wives' unrelated descendants and the like taking up the banner and proclaiming themselves Caesar.
 
Pretty sure that CE/BCE are always used after the numbers, but the, who really cares?

Gah, you are quite correct!

I, being a true Roman, only use the Ab Urbe Condita system; as should you, and all others loyal to the state!

Point taken...but wouldn't it reduce confusion, to use AUC dates? No counting backwards, no adding years BC at birth to years AD to determine a person's age, etc.
 
Gah, you are quite correct!

I, being a true Roman, only use the Ab Urbe Condita system; as should you, and all others loyal to the state!

Point taken...but wouldn't it reduce confusion, to use AUC dates? No counting backwards, no adding years BC at birth to years AD to determine a person's age, etc.

Most true Romans didn't use AUC dates.

Just stick with BC/BCE and AD/CE, it's simpler for the reader.
 
As the riot began to flare, calls rang out among the crowds of Roman citizens, each calling for the heads of those involved in the assassination of the Caligula, who was still popular among most citizen groups outside of some government institutions. Calls for the appointment of a new princeps were met with no response from the senators, which caused more frequent quarrels between both the senate’s Praetorian Guard, sworn to protect the senators, and the Roman people themselves. By sundown, the senate had convened at the Forum, awaiting them was a contingent of the Roman city garrison, one of the only military groups that had sworn allegiance to the senate, and was perhaps the most important in allowing the senate to stay in power. Able to coerce the generals of the Garrison of Rome through something as simple as coin, the heads of the conspiracy now controlled one of the largest military groups inside the walls of Rome.

By nightfall, almost all the senators had converged on the Forum, were most found awaiting them Consul Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus, who, since the assassination of Caligula, was the apparent de facto head of state and government in Rome. Able to use the new military strength to his advantage; he surrounded the Forum in its entirety, fearful of the citizen horde awaiting them, calling for the blood of the conspirators, of which Gnaeus was a part of. Now in the company of all other senators, as well as a number of Praetorian Guardsmen, Gnaeus made his first moves against imperial loyalists within his midst. Able to root out any rebellion within the room, he used the soldiers standing around the senate as a show of power, able to coerce the last remaining senators in favour of the princeps to sever ties. Calling for a return to liberty, he, alongside a fellow patrician, Publius Pomponius Secundus, used flattery, bribery, fear and intimidation to turn the room in favour of the fall of the imperial family, and the reinstatement of the republic, giving the senators a choice; stand alongside liberty and the republic, or risk imprisonment. Most chose the former.

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Gnaeus speaking to senate, surrounded by members of the Praetorian Guard

With the senate of Rome now firmly loyal to “self-proclaimed liberty”, as well as the majority of the military garrison, Gnaeus had to remove a greater threat to his power; the remaining military who retained ties to the imperial administration. Not helping the situation was the mass discontent among the majority of Roman citizens who were, for the most part, still extremely loyal to the office of emperor, despite no claimant who was willing to push for control of the empire. The last remaining members of the Julio-Claudian line were either in hiding, fleeing the moment Caligula fell to the floor (such as Claudius’ pregnant wife Messalina), or were away from Rome during this period (such as Caligula’s nephew, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, who by far had the most legitimate claim to the principate). The royal family was in exile, disallowing many military groups to make a decisive push against the senatorial regime and with a complete lack of communication or singular goal between the remaining military/Praetorian Guard loyal to the family, they simply backed down against the might of the growing senate guard.

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A statue of Domitius Ahenobarbus, one of the last legitimate claimants to the Roman Empire, aged around 10

This however, did not deter the people themselves. Over the course of the morning, periodic fighting flared up between Roman citizens and the senatorial guard, who, over the course of the night, hunted down, and slaughtered any members of the Germanic Guard they could lay eyes on. Calls were still being made intermediately against the senate, who by now, were subject to semi-truthful rumours of being the major instigators in the assassination of Caligula, and any who were seen by the public eye during the morning of January 25 were subject to the hisses of the Roman people. As day continued to march on, the news of Caligula’s death, the discontent in Rome, and the usurpation of power by the senate was spreading throughout Italia, alongside rumours of a “military uprising” by those still loyal to the Julio-Claudians against the short reign of Gnaeus. Whilst this was not unnecessarily untrue, they were taken as fact when they came across the most noble of ear, especially when the majority of the military in the immediate vicinity of Rome stood hand-in-hand with the office of emperor, and were still willing to fight for the princeps, even if there was none to be found in Rome.
 
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Interesting!

As soon as these news reach the legions, expect some of them marching for whomever. The civil war of 68 AD could just happen a bit earlier. The situation is a bit similar to Neros death, but more of a shock. And this time a quarelling senate likes to reconstitute the republic and is not just asking for a new princeps. Which is the interesting part. If these senators think, that it is feasible to just re-establish the magistrates of the old republic, without some further fundmental changes, they are doomed to fail.

But if Ahenobarbus reaches the legions expect another proscription and the final annihilation of the senatorial class and the guards of Rome. Rome and the roman monarchy would never be the same afterwards.

Or something totally different happens. :D

I am eager to hear more about your timeline.
 
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Excerpt from Rise and Decline: The Story of Democracy in Rome authored by Philip Marcus, 2750 AUC.

"Throughout recent years, many historians have looked back on ancient Rome, or more specifically, the ancient Roman Republic, to pinpoint the moment in time when the liberties of the old died, and aristocratic, absolute rule commenced. Some point to the first dictatorships of Titus Lartius and Marcus Camillus, others to the absolute rule of Julius Caesar, or perhaps the formation of the empire itself by Octavius (later Augustus). However, over the past few years, a small minority have been pointing to another date; Ab urbe condita 794.

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Consul Gnaeus proclaiming Rome's return to liberty

The fall of the republican system, as well as “liberty” itself in Rome could very well be attributed to those that attempted to defend it. The year 794 saw the senatorial conspiracy come to fruition against the young imperial regime, and in what was meant to defend the liberties of the senators, and return Rome to the once glorious republic, turned into its final stand against the forces of aristocracy. The conspirators inabilities to sway the Roman people against the office of emperor, as well as the naiveté of the short-lived-revolution’s leaders, would eventually result in the republic’s final, moral, death.

The first reason for the senatorial conspiracy’s failure was the conspirator’s inability to logically see and deal with the situation at hand, as well as their apparent lack of forethought. Like many other great leaders throughout history, the two, major revolutionary leaders; Gnaeus Saturninus and Publius Secundus, each failed to see clearly the inherent faults that lied within the aborted revolution, and did not deal with the situation as they should/could of. In Rome’s heyday, there oft appeared to be a prevailing belief among many Roman citizens; that Roma, as a city, was the empire-unto-itself; that if one tamed the lion’s jaws, the claws too, would be tame. The conspirator’s failure to see past the walls of the great city, to the mountainous ranges of Hispania, to the boiling-pot known as the Levant, left them at the mercy of almost all legions loyal to the princeps. Indecisiveness reigned during their time in power, and their stand against the imperial regime would eventually see to their own end. Again, whilst this was a major reason for the eventual failure of the conspirators plot, it was also, however, not the only one.

Secondly, the populace; following the assassination of Caligula, and the immediate usurpation of power in Roma, another glaring failure appeared before the senators; their inability to make peace with the (rightfully) indignant population of the city was to become another major force behind the eventual end of the senate’s “rebellion”. After Gnaeus become de facto head of government in the city on January 25, he, alongside the senate itself, held power through a small contingent of ten to twenty thousand men, comprised of garrison and Praetorian Guardsmen, miniscule in comparison to Rome’s population at the time, that being around eight hundred thousand permanent residence. With a populace of such size, the majority of which wanting the heads of each senator (involved in the assassination of Caligula that is), many to most administrators would tread carefully when trying to keep both the peace and the power.

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A fanciful depiction of Gnaeus' "Rape of Rome"

The Consul Gnaeus, however, thought no such thing; for over the course of his two months in power Gnaeus constantly refused to back down to the citizens of Rome. Using strict military force, the Consul’s unwillingness to bend to the citizens of the immortal city would eventually result in massacre. Tens of thousands of people died in conflict with the senatorial guard over the senate’s two and a half week rule, and the complete disregard for the Roman people would eventually turn against them, when the citizens prayer for the arrival of the imperial legions came to be answered."
 
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You know I'm pretty sure six million people is an exageration of Romes actual population. I mean I could be wrong but that seems like a remarkably liberal number given how the highest number I've ever seen during the height of Romes glory was a million people.
 
You know I'm pretty sure six million people is an exageration of Romes actual population. I mean I could be wrong but that seems like a remarkably liberal number given how the highest number I've ever seen during the height of Romes glory was a million people.

Yeah, that was a mistake on my part; I misread the census data and put in the population of the citizens inside the entire Roman empire.:eek:
 
You said from the levant...Publius Petronius was the governor of Syria at the time, so possibly he is coming to save the day for the Roman people.
 
You said from the levant...Publius Petronius was the governor of Syria at the time, so possibly he is coming to save the day for the Roman people.

It is hard to say, which general was a monarchist or republican these times, but Petronius might fit. IIRC he betrayed Nero and supported Galba. But Galba was just a new princeps. Thats a fully different situation. I am afraid we will see 3 main-types of generals commanding legions now:

1. monarchists supporting the last survivor of the dynasty, perhaps Ahenobarbus, if he survives.
2. monarchists applying for the throne themselves
3. republicans supporting the new republican regime in Rome

I expect a big mess, much bigger than 68 AD.
 
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Excerpt from An Early History of the Roman Empire authored by Daniel Bartolomé, 2759 AUC

“…By the end of the month of January, the news of the events occurring in Rome had appeared before most prolific men in the European provinces of the Empire. The speed of the message allowed most generals, and provincial governors, to decide upon both their own, and their nation’s future. The choices were as such;

1. Bend to the authority in the now semi-anarchic Rome, governed by the republican senatorial regime, itself headed by the ambitious yet short-sighted Consul, Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus;

2. Turn to the last remaining vestiges of the Julio-Claudian family line, of which the most viable candidate for the imperial throne being the two-year-old nephew of the previous emperor, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, or;

3. Use any military force at one’s disposal to push for a “claim” on the princepate.


The choice seemed to apparently be geographic; most generals/governors in the eastern regions of the Empire attempted to push for the imperial seat itself, or turn against the Julio-Claudians and support another man’s claim. In the west however, a majority turned against the “consulship” of the city of Rome, to the small city of Katantheros, the home to the last member of the imperial family (before the birth of Britannicus, son of Claudius, on February 12th). The republican senate on the other hand had very little support outside of the immediate senatorial provinces (Sicilia and Corsica et Sardinia) as most proconsuls turned their back on the senatorial republican government once news was received, either placing their support behind Ahenobarbus or a military pretender.

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Aulus Plautius; one of the earliest governor-pretenders to the Princepate

The division and violence that once only spanned the city of Rome now engulfed the entire empire. From the north-east of the Empire, where the Pannonian governor Aulus Plautius took the Seventh and Eleventh Claudian legions, as well as the Ninth Hispanic Legion and began his march on Rome with support from the Governors in both Dalmatia and Macedonia, to the far east, where Publius Petronius was planning to raise a number of troops in favour for a future march against the senate or pretender. He would eventually receive an issue of support from the Egyptian governor, Caius Vitrasius Pollio. The Judean monarch, Herod Agrippa, on the other hand was positioning himself in support of Ahenobarbus, possibly to gain eventual, future favour if he was to take the throne, as did many North African proconsuls/governors, such as the proconsul Lucius Otho of Africa, who had almost always held strong relations with the Julio-Claudians.

In Germania, the situation, very much like the rest of the empire, was getting dire. Caligula’s brother-in-law, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, took leave of Rome a number of days before the emperor’s assassination. After he received the news on January 27, two days after Caligula’s death, he travelled northward, receiving the support of the First legion Germanica, and began his own march southwards. Further north, on the border of Germania and the Rhine, a number of individual legions and auxiliary men found themselves embroiled in a conflict between other legions divided over allegiances.

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Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, one of the most "legitimate" pretenders, being Caligula's brother-in-law

In the west, on the border of Gaul and Hispania, a number of governors and proconsuls, in a similar fashion to Herod of Judea, turned against the senatorial government in Rome and found themselves supporting the two-year-old pretender from Katantheros. The support for Ahenobarbus came more out of the belief they would receive future favour once he took the capital, rather than true support for the Julio-Claudian line...”
 
I don't know a lot about this era of Roman history, but I just wanted to say I've been really enjoying this, and keep up the good work!
 
Herod Agrippa is making an interesting choice-he's surrounded by Petronius and the legions in Egypt yet is putting his weight behind Ahenobarbus. That's a gamble, but it could pay off.

Also, I'm rooting for Corbulo. I always liked him. :cool: Great update, I'm really enjoying this timeline.
 
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