alternatehistory.com

A very short TL, based very much on this discussion thread, on a subject we often return to: what if Rome had been broken early on? This question can have many answers, based on countless variables. The exact cause of Rome's defeat or destruction not least among them! In this instance, I'll present a scenario wherein the Pyrrhic War leads to the complete annihilation of Rome. My chief interest lies in imagining a Hellenistic Age that is not interrupted by Roman expansion. Since this what I call a "concept TL" (designed to explore an interesting notion), there will be far more historical parallelism than can really be justified. That's on purpose. Nevertheless, this does largely show the shape of developments as I would have expected them (up to a point).

Really, this is going to be a short one. Few thousand words in total, and some maps near the end. Handful of updates, to appear over the next few days.

-----------------------------

The Wars of the Greeks

-----------------------------​

It was in the year 280 Before the Revelation that Pyrrhos, king of Epeiros, was called upon by the Hellenes of Taras to aid them in their war with the Roman Republic. Five years of bloody war followed, which would forever consolidate the image of star-doomed Pyrrhos, the glorious and meteoric figure who would ultimately prove a tragic figure as well. It is the origin of the term "Pyrrhic victory": the feat of one who wins completely in his endeavour, but never lives long enough to truly enjoy his success.

And the victory of Pyrrhos was complete. Not only did he fight like a lion for his Greek kinsmen, the gods of his age favoured his boldness and punished the insolent Romans on his behalf. Disaster struck that enemy at every turn. Their commanders died in combat, one after the other. Pyrrhos succeeded in forcing battle to be given on flat terrain that allowed the phalanx to function optimally. The Romans began to panic, and this led them to make mistakes, which only caused them further defeats. Finally, a plague broke out among their ranks, killing many of the soldiers they had left. Desertion in great numbers was the inevitable consequence, and this made matters far worse still.

Deserters found their way back to Rome, bringing the plague to their mother city, and causing its population to collapse. By this point, the native peoples of Italia—formerly under the Roman yoke—rebelled against Roman hegemony. The Tyrrhenoi declared their unfettered independence, and the Saunitai swore bitter vengeance against the rivals who had so humiliated them less than half a century before. As the war drew to a close, these Saunitai burned Rome to the ground.

Pyrrhos thus saw his goals achieved beyond what he had ever expected. Having come to Italia a foreign king, he returned to Epeiros as the hegemon of Syrakouse, the lord of Taras and the protector of all Megale Hellas. Wreathed in glory, he was hailed as Megas Alexandros born again. Not satisfied with even this, he cast has gaze east, marched against Antigonos II Gonatas and took the throne of Makedon for himself as well. Already we can hear the goat-song! Hubris! Yet had Pyrrhos halted there, he might have lived and prospered. But in 272 BR, Kleonymos the Spartan asked king Pyrrhos to aid him in conquering his native city. In return, Kleonymos would rule as a vassal of Pyrrhos. The victory-drunk king agreed readily, perhaps secretly planning to take the Peloponnese for himself.

Yet here he took a step too far beyond the bounds that his unforgiving gods set out for mere mortals. Strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta. On the retreat he lost his firstborn son, Ptolemaios, who had been in command of the rearguard. This austere warning could even then have led him still to abandon his too-hungry ambitions. But no, a new opportunity for greatness presented itself in a chance to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos. Loath to let his rival Antigonos Gonatas take the role of wise arbitrator for himself, Pyrrhos sped for Argos. Sped too fast. Within sight of the gates, his horse slipped on a rock, crashing down and dragging the king down as well. The fall broke his spine, and the ambitious conqueror died pinned beneath his crippled steed. This is how the old gods punished arrogance and greed, even in the greatest of men. In this respect, they do not differ much from our god, although the ways of our age are often more subtle.
Top