Senatus Populusque Romanus, A History

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EMPIRE UNDER JULIUS II


Wickedness frames the engines of her own torment. She is a wonderful artisan of a miserable life. - Plutarch​

Introduction

December the 26th, 1066, began much like every other passing of the winter solstice since time immemorial. The glorious festival of Sol Invictus drew to a close and all across the Empire from Britannia to Aegyptus the common peoples grudgingly returned to the brutally oppressive poverty of their daily lives. Emperor Julius II retired to his Domus Aurea on the Esquiline Hill where even more women and feasting awaited. The slaves began the laborious process of cleaning the massive celebration from the streets of Rome and the merchants of the Forum Romanum unveiled their wares for the great throngs of people that meandered through the square. Praetorians made their daily patrols and the Magistratus began the unending work of maintaining a cosmopolitan city. Acolytes prepared the daily sacrifices and incantations while the street thespians entertained anyone willing to stop and watch for a short while. It would seem to the uninformed observer like any other day in Rome’s prestigious history. But, like all great occurrences in history, this seemingly ignominious day would set the stage for one of the most profoundly influential turning points in Roman history. December the 26th, 1066, would live on in the popular consciousness alongside such events as the crowning of Augustus Caesar and Nero’s skillful extermination of the Christian rebellion.

Rome - The center of the world.​

This day the great Flavian Amphitheatre stood host to no gladiatorial games or distinguished classical performance but a single wooden cross. The harried man on his knees before the monolith of pain and suffering could have easily been any other common criminal as seen any other execution day. If the condemned himself was not unusual the brooding figure of Julius himself helped to shatter any illusions held by the thousands of spectators. The man who lay before them was Marcus Catalus, Senator, and one of Julius’ most vocal opponents. Two weeks before he had been the most respected man in Rome, one of only a few to rise through the Senatorial ranks without succumbing to the Emperor’s flagrant nepotism. Fourteen days later he was preparing for his journey to the underworld. Addressing the plebs of the city in an open speech outside the Curia, he eloquently denounced Julian’s brutal massacre of plague victims in the Greek quarter and called on the great masses to petition their ruler for greater Senatorial powers. Utterly enraged, Julian ordered Catalus’ immediate arrest and swiftly sentenced him to death by crucifixion.

Catalus is arrested in the Curia.​

Rising to his feet, Marcus proudly faced the crowd assembled to watch as the life drained from his body. He raised his shackled hands over his head and the raucous mob instantly froze. The prisoner wished to speak. His voice thundered throughout the Coliseum with the authority only possessed by the greatest of statesmen and the worst of demagogues. Appealing to their sense of honor and duty as proud citizens of Rome he presented a stirring call to end the centuries of gluttonous murderers that had called themselves “Emperors”. More than once Julius ordered the Praetorians to end the fiery exposition but a chorus of thirty thousand angry plebs was more than enough to make each man fear for his life if he touched the prisoner. By the end of his plea the stage had been set for the greatest conflict the Empire had ever known. The attending Senators, cordoned off in their private section, stood and applauded their colleague. They were slowly joined by an ever increasing number of commoners. Sensing a serious threat, the Emperor was forced to act. The scholar Linnaeus records that Julius removed a gold dagger from his sash and plunged it into the base of Catalus’ neck. He died instantly.

The Coliseum gave birth to a revolution against the very notion of Emperor.​

In that moment the inevitable tide of dissatisfaction burst forth and thousands of enraged men were soon set upon the Emperor and his guard. The delaying sacrifice of his Praetorians was enough to allow Julius to flee on a chariot. The city itself was alight with the fires of rebellion and sectarian violence ran rampant. He would escape Rome with his entourage and seek haven at a nephew’s home in the Gallic prefecture only to discover that the heart of the Empire itself had been captured by the Republicans. The free men of Rome elected Marcus’ protégé Lucius Marus as their Consul and by the beginning of January the provinces had all declared themselves. Macedonia, Hispania, Judea, Italiae, and Aegyptus pledged themselves to Lucius while Britannia, Illyria, Africanus, Anatolia, and Gallica reaffirmed their loyalty to the Emperor. The Roman Civil War had begun.



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.
II.

 

[EvilSanta]

Interesting start. Civil War at the very beginning.

 

[stnylan]

Nothing like starting a tale in a crisis. Looks interesting.

 

[Nikolai]

Looks very interesting. I'm hooked from the beginning!

 

[LlywelynII]

W00+!

[subscribed] & hopeful your starting file ends up as a mod someplace

 

[HannibalBarca]

Damn Romans.

 

[unmerged(10971)]

Ah, Romans. Gotta love surviving Romans.

What does the lack of successful Christianity mean for Islam?

 

[Nikolai]

It doesn't look like the Caliphate ever got hold of any Roman land. Which isn't particulary weird, considering how and why the RL conquest happened.

 

[LlywelynII]

What does the lack of successful Christianity mean for Islam?

Judging from the Empire's SE'rn border, that Muhammad (pbuh) had a very successful career as a caravan leader.

 

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EvilSanta, stnylan: Anything less would be just plain boring.

Nikolai, Llywelyn: Thank you for the support! The scenario is evolving as I work out kinks but I would definitely be open to sharing it later.

HannibalBarca: I, err, the Carthaginians have a...cameo. Yeah, that's it!

Please don't hurt me.

Judas Maccabeus: ...Islam? Oh, you mean those religious dissidents the Roman puppet government slaughtered.

Update next!

 

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I.

The world was torn asunder and convulsing with a severity that shattered mountains and would decide the fate of a quarter of the world’s population. Mighty legions now clashed against each other for their Emperor or Senate in the frozen fields of Gallica and the scorching deserts of Tunisia. By February Rome was thoroughly in the hands of its citizens and the Consul was able to convene the first truly free Curia in over a millennium. The urgent session hearkened back to the Punic Wars as the free men of the city spent over ten straight hours devising a clear strategy for liberating the prefectures still under the oppression of Julius and his puppet governors. Well after midnight it was eventually settled that Lucius himself would take the peninsular Legions loyal to the Republic and make a great thrust for Lutetia and its strategic position on the Seine. Most of the high ranking commanders in the Legion were political cronies of the Emperor and were now advancing with their men into Hispania from southern Gallica and the encircled Macedonia out of Illyria and Anatolia. The eastern portion of the empire was predominantly made up of wealthy burghers that had chafed under Julius’ brutal policies. When the chance for freedom arose they were quick to grasp it and now like Greece in the east Anatolia was thoroughly outnumbered. There were still thousands of men willing to spill their blood in the name of their Generals but the struggle was more an issue of applying the correct amount of pressure without exposing their own borders. The wastes of Africanus and the wreckage of Old Carthage loomed over the bread basket of the Empire while the Imperial stronghold in Gallica prepared to march south with over 60,000 men. Should Aegyptus and north Italiae fall, the young Consul would soon find himself reunited with his mentor.

The events in Rome would fracture an Empire.​

The numbers involved in the Civil War were the largest forces ever to see combat in Europe. On each side stood roughly 200,000 heavy legionnaires, horsemen, archers, auxilia, and siege weapons. Fortunately for the local populations as the frontiers stabilized over the centuries the construction of advanced fortifications in most areas was unnecessary and impractical eliminating the possibility of costly and drawn out sieges. The Rhine and Danube marked the largest series of strongholds and barriers ever erected in the history of mankind. The waning of eastern invasions ushered an end to the constant migration westward that almost brought the Empire to its knees in the third and fourth century but the Romans would never stop watching the border and waiting for the onslaught. No longer holding the wild barbarian men at bay, these mighty walls of stone would feel the sting of their own technology for the first time in history. Every one of them was garrisoned by men loyal to Julius and they constituted a considerable obstacle in Marus’ path. A similar series of works exists on the Persian border but in all other areas the battles would be fought in the open. The fact that the two systems were now open to Seljuk and Germanic incursions never seemed to worry anyone in either court.

Warfare during the conflict would mostly take place in open expanses of Europe, avoiding the massive frontier fortifications.​

Lucius and his four Legions were penetrating south eastern Gallica by early March while the reserve legions finally began to form and equip themselves. The first true battle of the conflict occurred on the eleventh. Overall commander of the legions of Hispania, Maximus Decimus, took 20,000 men across the Pyrenees Mountains and attempted to make a stab into a reportedly disorganized militia. He instead found seven heavily entrenched legions. Quickly encircled and under constant bombardment from heavy scorpion weapons, Decimus was forced into a head-on collision with the main body of the enemy. Contemporary scholar Linnaeus again serves as the only record of what occurred with the Republican salary system being voided until the end of the war. If they prevailed any man who survived would then be paid his due. In his eminent work Of Titans he describes tales of the “encircled comrades marching to their death as proud Romans should”. Soon the free lines were abuzz with the rumors and images of a 20,000 man testudo valiantly crashing into whatever could be thrown at them could not help but be conjured. That Linnaeus was a known Republican supporter and could not have been present at the battle was ignored by the populace at large.

The testudo formation, seen here etched in Trajan's Column, became synonymous with early Roman warfare.​

Amid the praising of the men for their heroic deaths it seems that few people acknowledged exactly what had happened. A sizable chunk of the combat ready Republican forces were annihilated with little to show for it besides an estimated 15,000 Imperial casualties. The brunt of the conflict, though, had not even approached beginning. Legions were ferrying in to the continent from Britannia on a constant basis and Julius slowly gathered his men in the north of Gallica in preparation for the assault on Rome itself. Greek males joined the legions en masse and desperately attempted to stem the Illyrian tide from washing over them. Aegyptus began experiencing serious civil unrest and was unable to muster any large amount of manpower for the time being. The Senate then held an emergency session and granted Jews, considered second class citizens by the Imperial government, full legal rights for their entire family if they served during the war. Men flocked from all over central Judea to the Eastern Legion by the thousands. General Septimus Verus assumed control of the new force and made great haste for Alexandria. The Imperial governor of Africanus, Severus Albinus, was moving on the undefended Egyptian capital at the head of thirty thousand legionaries. In every theatre but Anatolia the Republicans were in danger of being overrun.

Everywhere, that was, but under the Consul himself. Lucius and his 35,000 men were rapidly advancing down the Via Aurelia highway picking up more auxilia as he went. They had circumvented the imposing barrier of the Rhine but the legions were falling deeper and deeper into the Emperor’s vice…

 

[stnylan]

This is just like the manoeuvre stage of a CK battle. Lot of noise and fuss, but nothing much actually happens. Indeed, I wonder if we could push that analogy further to this entire war. Interesting thought....

But in the meantime the civil war appears to be progressing in an appropriately uncivil manner

 

[LlywelynII]

One of the problems with using CK to model the Roman period - besides the inability to model innerprovincial politics - is that you simply can't show standing armies.

But I suppose it's fair enough to say that once civil war is widespread enough, it becomes every region (and its levy) for itself.

Wonder if everyone's waiting to see how the two titans come out or if more groups will split away. Obviously, both sides should have realm duress , but the current version would have all of their provinces repledging within a month or so...

Also, glad Veld fixed your CTDs - waiting for the mod.

j.

 

[CatKnight]

Wow. That's quite a war you have going! It almost conjures visions of World Wars I and II with two mega-alliances fighting for control of the continent on multiple fronts.

 

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stnylan: Aye, I took the largest armies I could and tried to grab some territory early, but for the most part the first months were spent just trying to bring in all the small armies far-off from the line.

As for being uncivil, well, what else did you expect?

Llywelyn: Well yes, there are numerous problems. The most glaring being the game optimized for dark age populations. The supply limits are much too small and I've been forced to split up legion "groups" across multiple provinces and then move them into battle lines or reinforcement once the initial wave dies off. The province values are based on population and the RL areas worth, but increasing the population to extrapolated Roman levels just unbalances the cost of things in game. (And increasing cost to balance is simply gold-flation, so I've avoided that)

As for levies, given the population discrepancies I just view each province's manpower as the amount of legionaries currently on garrison duty in that area. And realm duress, well, I agree they should have it as a civil war rule but it would as you say just mean repledging. I think if it is appropriate it will happen via disloyalty events etc, RD doesn't really add anything.

Its not perfect, but its workable.

And thanks, the save insta-CTD is fixed, but I still get frequent CTDs from just playing. Autosaving every week minimizes the problem, though.

CatKnight: I certainly do feel like I'm playing HOI2 at times, having to pause every five seconds and direct attacks in 18 different areas...

Update next, but a general question to all readers. I can continue to refer to places in their Roman Latin names for historical flavor and realism, or for the sake of clarity and ease of reading I can use the modern day regional names. Preferences?

 

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II.

Fervor, the Senate was quickly discovering, did not necessarily equate to victory. Republican soldiers were hunted down and annihilated in Hispania, Verus and his Eastern Legion was weeks away from the besieged provincial capital of Alexandria, and the fate of Lucius’ mission still hung in the balance. Victory in Anatolia seemed hollow when it was discovered that the province’s manpower was completely depleted and the dueling armies in Greece were only one defeat away from utterly collapsing. Still, the mighty Roman war machine had not yet begun to fully conduct its bloody business. For each man that lay dead on the field of battle there stood two more willing to take his place. New recruits from outlying city centers trickled in to the regional processing centers by the thousands and quickly set out to join their comrades already on campaign. Mid-June, six months after the death of Catalus, marked the true beginning of the conflict as the last of the Cohorts were finally consolidated into the Republic’s armies and the full weight of their strength could be leveraged. Gone were the weeks of maneuvering and small skirmishes, giving way to the first of the massive battles that would define the era.

Fighting outside Thessalonica. Everywhere in Europe the Republican lines were being slowly pushed back.​

Aurelianum, founded by Emperor Aurelian in 275 CE, sits on the Liger River in north-central Gallica. Marus and his now 40,000 man army were preparing for their final thrust towards Lutetia, 80 miles northeast, when one of the fundamentally earth shattering turning points of the war was perpetrated under the cover of night. The legions made their camp on the southern bank of the river on the 29th of June and by all accounts the makeshift city was as secure as any other day on the campaign. It is not known, then, how they were so thoroughly infiltrated or why they proved so inept in their response to the event. What information is available paints a picture of disbelief, confusion, and anger. The Consul’s Praetorians, abolished in the Imperial sense but still serving the traditional role of personal guards, Quintus Scapula and Salvius Aper entered the imposing central tent upon the dawn only to discover the long dead bodies of Marus and his personal retainer. It was officially declared that Julius had ordered the assassination. In a little over half of a year the first Consul of free Rome was slain but his mission was critical to the outcome of the war. Failure here would mean death for their dream and so the tenuous Republican military structure was put to the ultimate test. Motivated by honor, greed, pride, and everything else under the sun, the numerous legion commanders vied for the position and many in the camp were convinced the proceedings would only result in the election of a new Caesar. A general vote was put forth to the thousands of gathered soldiers between several patrician candidates, the sons of well known Senators. Here, though, like the Coliseum on that fateful 26th of December, History had other plans.

Modern-day Liger river, site of Lucius Marus' murder.​

A man of unknown name and unknown rank began the revolution. Disgusted by the flagrant display of the nepotism he was fighting to end, he stood, and roared the words that would define every assembled man’s future: “Titus Antonius pro-Imperator!”. Titus Antonius was the commander of Legio X Gemina, the Hero of Vada Sabatia, master tactician, and the son of a blacksmith. Men not only from the tenth legion but from every Cohort in the army erupted in agreement. They had all witnessed his miraculous flanking thrust into the mass of Imperial Ballistae at Genova but to the more privileged aristocracy present in the ranks of command he was nothing but a plebe. The formal dissolution of class-restrictions could not wash away a millennium of entrenched discrimination. Even so, the resounding chorus of the men could not be ignored. Titus was given an impromptu Triumph and declared Imperator of the Northern Legions. Linnaeus notes that during the process the enigmatic but brilliant man was completely silent. He accepted his award without fanfare and immediately set about his work in coordinating the strike on the Imperial stronghold.

Bust of Titus Antonius, seen today in Athens.​

The Imperator had intended to depart on the first of July and arrive in Lutetia by the fifteenth. That was, of course, before it was discovered that during the upheaval caused by the death of the Consul not a single person had noticed the lack of incoming reports from forward sentries. The main imperial body under Julius himself of 60,000 men, spread over a 100 mile front, was advancing on Aurelianum. Antonius erected basic fortifications around the encampment and looked to the defense of the southern bank. But where Marus was chiefly a statesman and orator, Titus’ mind had been forged in decades of conflict. He was outnumbered, outflanked, and in all likelihood faced annihilation if he retreated. It was decided that they could only survive if they crossed the river and, like Alexander at Gaugamela, attempt to kill the Emperor. July 2nd was born to the thunderous reverberations of over five hundred Ballistae hurtling indiscriminate death across the Liger.

 

[LlywelynII]

the Liger River

Ah. The mighty liger.

​

It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.


[Also, what's up with that room of busts in Athens? It looks like the Head Museum from Futurama - only they forgot to thaw everybody... ]
j.

 

[stnylan]

You know, for a moment there I read the new Imperator as being Titus Andronicus, which rather startled me, but then I read it again. Antonious is enough of a name however.