Urbs Aeternam

Welcome to my first timeline, Urbs Aeternam. This timeline will be centred on the rise and fall of Rome, which will be very different than to the history we remember today. Rome may last longer, but its position as a superpower may not succeed in this TL. Read on my friends!

Urbs Aeternam
Fall of the city of Rome

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Foreword
Wikipedia said:
The founding of Rome can be investigated through archaeology, but traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf. This story had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, the one that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
 
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Care for a little nitpicking? It should be Urbs Aeterna, as the form you used is for the object of a sentence.
 
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Part I: Pyrrhic Victory you say?

Publius Valerius Laevinus was prepared for battle with the Epriots. The Romans had defeated the Celts and the Samnites. Everyone in the Senate was appalled by the attempt to attack the mighty Republic their forefathers had built. The Epriot army, under the command of Pyrrhus of Epirus, was not a foolish warrior but a man who wanted to make an image for himself. All knew he was a tough man to break and Publius believed he could do it.

Winter had come and the cool breeze refreshed the legionnaires for their upcoming battle. Little did they know for many of them it would be their last. Pyrrhus set up camp on the Siris river near the city of Heraklea. He had scouts prepared at the river to warn him of a Roman attack. Publius and his army started to cross the Siris and forced the Epriot scouts to flee. As soon as Pyrrhus was aware of the attack, he sent out his cavalry to clash with the Roman cavalry. His attack broke the Roman formation and his infantry swept in. His phalanxes were unable to break the Roman formation and the legionnaires were unable to break theirs. Seeing that he may be targeted by the Romans he swapped armor with one of his bodyguards who was killed not long after. The Romans believed that they had victory. Pyrrhus revealed himself on his horse and gave his men the strength to charge on. Pyrrhus quickly decided to let his elephants break the Roman lines, which he succeeded in doing. The Roman lines were completely shattered and led Pyrrhus into the heart of the battle. He and the elephants were able to cause the Romans to give up hope, sending Publius into a fit of rage. He called off his attack and fled with what remained of his army.

Pyrrhus quickly saw the battle as a complete victory and decided to continue on with his campaign, arriving in Tarentum a few days later. The leaders of the city were grateful for his arrival and defeat of Publius, and offered up their army to assist in staking down the Roman attack. The Senate by this point were amazed by the failures of Publius and ousted him from Consulship on his return from Rome. The Romans didn't give up because of the loss of one of their hopeful consuls, and attacked Pyrrhus at Egnatia on the Appian Way (he was on the approach for Rome). The Battle of Egnatia was a long and gruelling one. Numerous legions flanked the Epriote camp outside of the city and were able to cath them by suprise. The phalanx was almost beaten by Romes sly tactics and tough infantry but finally held out after Pyrrhus broke the Roman lines and decimated hundreds of lives. The 20 elephants under his command broke up the Roman defended and allowed for the Epriotes to flee the battle with most of their army intact. This was not victory for any side as the Epriotes had fled but with Pyrrhus killing almost half of the Roman force of 10,000. The battle was drawn and the army fled south to Brindisum. The city was seized by Pyrrhus in an attempt to open a port to Epirus and retain closer support from home. Tarentums military with the assistance of a portion of Pyrrhus' army defended the city well and cause many casualties for Roman attackers, by sea and land. Pyrrhus' weakness at Egnatia gave the Roman legions hope that victory would come.
 
Part #2: Oscan Uprising

The Oscan people had been oppressed for decades under Roman rule and many of them had joined Roman ranks. Pyrrhus of Epirus was the first to attempt to pull them out of misery as his allies. He sent his own bodygaurds disguised as traders to the key Oscan settlements in southern Italy while his army prepped the defenses Brisindium and Taras. Pyrrhus gained the support of the former allies of Egnatius, the leader of Samnites in the last Samnite War. The Oscan people formed a small formal armies that attacked Roman officials and gaurds breaking the defense of the Appenine area of the Appian Way. This gave Pyrrhus the chance to ride north assisted by his new allies. His men in Taras were worried about a Roman counterattack and Pyrrhus told his men to secure Thurii and the Roman influence would be next to zero on the Gulf of Taras.

Pyrrhus arrived outside the walls of Capua in early Summer, and his entire army broke the city's walls in a matter of weeks. The Roman army he had fought in Heraklea was locate within these walls and under an anonymous general of the time were led into battle within the walls of Capua. The city had been set alight at night and the blaze struck fear into the eyes of the desperate Roman forces. But finally after a week of fighting, Capua had fallen to Pyrrhus' now much weaker army. He continued north to Rome and razed the farmland on its outskirts before being attacked by a large Roman army. The capitoline legions as they'd be known, were able to devastate losses on both sides, with Pyrrhus himself being wounded by an archer in the thick of battle. Pyrrhus rode away and continued to raze the Roman countryside. Publius Valerius Laevinius, the former consul, had been appointed general of the city defended after the wounding of its former general. He followed Pyrrhus south and reclaimed Capua and its inhabitants for Rome. The Oscans had formed a large army by now and try had stationed themselves at the Appian Way, awaiting Publius to ride into his death. Pyrrhus himself went south to gain the support of the Neapolitans who formed new phanalax regiments for his army. They rode south to liberate Calabria from the petty Romabs remaining there. By this point the majority of southern Italy had been occupied by Epriotes or Oscans.
 
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