WI: Rome was founded at Pompeii?

The Alban Hills caldera, right outside Rome, had multiple Krakatoa-sized eruptions (strong VE7, 280 km^3 of ejecta) about 400,000 years ago. Just handwave a fresh one in classical times.
 
The Alban Hills caldera, right outside Rome, had multiple Krakatoa-sized eruptions (strong VE7, 280 km^3 of ejecta) about 400,000 years ago. Just handwave a fresh one in classical times.

That's a lot easier, really. It makes no sense for a recognizably Latin culture to found their society so far from Latium, and moving the capital there after founding themselves at Rome just means they can relocate back to Rome after Vesuvius blows, so it's not the kind of epochal catastrophe the OP wants.
 
A way to do it would be to have Rome being founded the way it was, but the capital moving to Pomeii at some point, preferably early enough that Pompeii can reach Rome-size before the eruption.

I was thinking this - either Hannibal raises Rome to the ground, or maybe the Social War goes worse, and the Romans have to fight longer and relocate to a capital further away than (IIRC it was called) Italia (the enemy one)
 
The Alban Hills caldera, right outside Rome, had multiple Krakatoa-sized eruptions (strong VE7, 280 km^3 of ejecta) about 400,000 years ago. Just handwave a fresh one in classical times.

Agree. This would be logical option. It is ratherly difficult just put Romans move their capital out of Rome. Rome was too important city that they just would move that without hellish good reason.
 
Well, conglaturation. You've managed to put the Doom of Valyria into our world, now with a much shorter Roman imprint on the European continent (Gaul and Brittania in particular) than IOTL
If not only the top of Vesuv had exploded but the whole Pflegrean fields erupted the doom of Rome would have been the consequence.
 
Rome is founded at Rome. The Alban Caldera blows, covers the city in ash, lots of people dead, etc. THEN, they move the capital to Pompeii, rename it "Nova Roma", get settled, and Vesuvius blows - city covered in ash, lots of people dead, yadda yadda yadda. And then, either:

  1. Everybody thinks Rome is cursed, they blame the Christians - Christianity is reviled more than ever and remains an underground, secret religion
  2. Everybody thinks Rome is cursed, think the Christians might be onto something. Earlier, more widespread adoption of Christianity (maybe focusing on the Apocalyptic aspects and/or rebirth aspects?)
  3. Everybody thinks Rome is cursed, and they blame the Emperor. Rome goes back to being a Republic
 
Rome is founded at Rome. The Alban Caldera blows, covers the city in ash, lots of people dead, etc. THEN, they move the capital to Pompeii, rename it "Nova Roma", get settled, and Vesuvius blows - city covered in ash, lots of people dead, yadda yadda yadda. And then, either:

  1. Everybody thinks Rome is cursed, they blame the Christians - Christianity is reviled more than ever and remains an underground, secret religion
  2. Everybody thinks Rome is cursed, think the Christians might be onto something. Earlier, more widespread adoption of Christianity (maybe focusing on the Apocalyptic aspects and/or rebirth aspects?)
  3. Everybody thinks Rome is cursed, and they blame the Emperor. Rome goes back to being a Republic
Path of least resistance, they'd probably just blame the current emperor and his relatives, so the Flavian dynasty is out and Romans regroup at a nearby city while trying to fight rebellious provinces.
 
Rome is founded at Rome. The Alban Caldera blows, covers the city in ash, lots of people dead, etc. THEN, they move the capital to Pompeii, rename it "Nova Roma", get settled, and Vesuvius blows - city covered in ash, lots of people dead, yadda yadda yadda.

"Screw this, we're moving to Iceland. Take that, volcanoes!"
 
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