I just fixed the bit about Clovis and am working on the next update.
The Western Flame Burns On: A Majorian timeline
- Thread starter Flavius Iulius Maiorianus
- Start date
Just discovered this TL. Looking forward to it continuing on! 😁
Interlude I
Interlude I
Historians see things in trends. They try to draw lines between events and connect everything into one large narrative. This is partially a reaction to the old tendency to place a few “great men” on pedestals, as if the entirety of history revolved around them. Nowadays, we tend to place economics, societal, cultural, and ideological beliefs and shifts, and the environment as the primary drivers of historical events. This, while more helpful for our understanding of history than the Great Man theory, also has flaws, as it deprives humans a say in how things happen. And while history doesn’t revolve around great men, it is undeniable that actions taken by humans have a great impact on the course of history. Perhaps no better example of this is the emperor Majorian.By the time he took the throne in 457 AD, decades of poor leadership had hollowed out the Western Roman Empire. What had once been the superpower of western Eurasia was now a husk, rapidly losing territory, and with it population and revenues, to waves of Germanic invaders, enabled by seemingly constant civil wars. By all means, the Western Roman Empire should have been either fully conquered or rendered inert or defunct before the turn of the century. And yet, Majorian reversed this trend. His competent management and military genius turned the tide for Rome, even in the face of the environmental, demographic, and economic trends we love to point to. There was nothing inevitable about Rome’s fate in this period. This was one of the relatively few cases where the course of history turned on the actions and choices of a great man.
-Kyle Harper, The Fate of Rome*
*Obviously not OTL's book, but an ATL book of the same name
Yeah, I'm ass at writing. I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been suffering from a serious case of writer's block, along with a somewhat messy home life, three AP tests, and plain laziness. I also went into this without very much research, so I've gathered a list of books to read. Hopefully I'll start updating more frequently soon. I created a spoiler/planning thread here if anyone wants to pop on over and help me out. Thank you all so much for your patience
No worries! Glad to see a sign of life, to see that this isn’t dead! So so sorry life is like this rn and I pray for the best!
Interlude I
Historians see things in trends. They try to draw lines between events and connect everything into one large narrative. This is partially a reaction to the old tendency to place a few “great men” on pedestals, as if the entirety of history revolved around them. Nowadays, we tend to place economics, societal, cultural, and ideological beliefs and shifts, and the environment as the primary drivers of historical events. This, while more helpful for our understanding of history than the Great Man theory, also has flaws, as it deprives humans a say in how things happen. And while history doesn’t revolve around great men, it is undeniable that actions taken by humans have a great impact on the course of history. Perhaps no better example of this is the emperor Majorian.
By the time he took the throne in 457 AD, decades of poor leadership had hollowed out the Western Roman Empire. What had once been the superpower of western Eurasia was now a husk, rapidly losing territory, and with it population and revenues, to waves of Germanic invaders, enabled by seemingly constant civil wars. By all means, the Western Roman Empire should have been either fully conquered or rendered inert or defunct before the turn of the century. And yet, Majorian reversed this trend. His competent management and military genius turned the tide for Rome, even in the face of the environmental, demographic, and economic trends we love to point to. There was nothing inevitable about Rome’s fate in this period. This was one of the relatively few cases where the course of history turned on the actions and choices of a great man.
-Kyle Harper, The Fate of Rome*
*Obviously not OTL's book, but an ATL book of the same name
Yeah, I'm ass at writing. I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been suffering from a serious case of writer's block, along with a somewhat messy home life, three AP tests, and plain laziness. I also went into this without very much research, so I've gathered a list of books to read. Hopefully I'll start updating more frequently soon. I created a spoiler/planning thread here if anyone wants to pop on over and help me out. Thank you all so much for your patience
it's nice to see that the story continues to progress anyway, perhaps I could advise you to show us how Majoran will work to rebuild the foundations of the Empire : with things like resolving religious controversies ( maybe call a council, to resolve once and for all the events between Donatists, Arians, Orthodox and other minor heresy ), begin the strategy of assimilation of the barbarians in small steps, carry out construction works throughout the Empire ( mainly for restructuring / propaganda or for defensive purposes ) reform the imperial administration ( let's streamline the obsolete provinces, such as the two in Germany, the Noricum and Rhaetia and the Agri Decumanes ) try to actually build the Rhine - Danube canal ( which in addition to being an excellent improvement for defensive purposes, would also give an important boost to the local economy ) the possibilities are vast even without seeing for a some of the war campaigns ( after all, the Empire still has to catch its breath )
Yeah. The problem is, it's hard to find sources that go into depth on the laws he passed and the plans he had. I'll also have to find information on potential marriage candidates, since from what I've read he didn't marry, although Valentinian III planned to have him married before his death.
Thanks for the support!