This may have been thought of before, I'm pretty new to the forums, but here's the POD:
Emperor Claudius, rather than invading Britain, reoccupies Germania up to the Elbe.
imo, Britannia's cost to occupy weighed in considerably more than any gain the Empire had from it, and the cost of fighting the Picts was apparently phenomenal, with no real way to finish them off, and no plunder to gain from conquering Pictish lands.
From what I've read, Claudius largely occupied Britannia for reasons of propaganda, "Oh, we've conquered the most remote and mysterious barbarian land of them all, etc."
Would it have been as effective to recapture Germania? It would be a decent political move, I feel, due to the fact that Claudius would be outdoing the exploits of his brother, but that's arguable. Is it still possible so many years after Teutoburg Forest?
Or, What would be better, strategically and politically to capture other than Germania or Britannia?
Emperor Claudius, rather than invading Britain, reoccupies Germania up to the Elbe.
imo, Britannia's cost to occupy weighed in considerably more than any gain the Empire had from it, and the cost of fighting the Picts was apparently phenomenal, with no real way to finish them off, and no plunder to gain from conquering Pictish lands.
From what I've read, Claudius largely occupied Britannia for reasons of propaganda, "Oh, we've conquered the most remote and mysterious barbarian land of them all, etc."
Would it have been as effective to recapture Germania? It would be a decent political move, I feel, due to the fact that Claudius would be outdoing the exploits of his brother, but that's arguable. Is it still possible so many years after Teutoburg Forest?
Or, What would be better, strategically and politically to capture other than Germania or Britannia?