Gods and Empires

[galileo-034]

Gods and Empires




Trial of Iehochua the Nazarene

Chapter I

Noone knows truly why.
Some said that a roman legionary had raped his partner.
Iehochua of Nazareth was an ordinary carpenter.
And yet, he transformed himself into a fierce warrior.

In the first times, he was nothing more than one of these agitators that we can often find in this country.
But there was something of different in his case.
The hope, I guess.

People began quickly to rally him, wanting to put an end to the so-called oppression of the Romans and of their puppet kings.
Thus, firstly chief of a gang of twelve bandits, the 'Twelve Firsts' as the Jews called them, who operated around Nazareth, he became the leader of a revolt which spread across Galileia and Samareia.
It was only at this moment that the roman authorities really began to fear him.
Fortune seemed to smile on him.
He managed to defeat a tentative from the roman procurator to supress the uprising. The Romans were even about to be thrown into sea but they resisted in the fortified coastal towns. Thereafter, he made preparations to free Hierosolyma, a Holy City for these Jews.

However, in his rise, he hadn't won only allies among the Jewish people.
Since its independance from the Seleucid empire, Iudaea was plagued by divison between factions as Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, among others. It's for this reason that we have conquered this country so easily. Of course, conquer is not the same thing that hold.
In the wave of his victories, the Nazarene, claiming to descend from David, a king who is said to have reigned over Iudaea several centuries ago, proclamed himself King. What's more, he proclamed to be the Prophet of Iahweh, their god, while some of the most fervent followers believed to see in him their Messiah, a saviour.
But his fall was as quick as his rise.

The Romans, desparate to put down the rebellion had offered a reward of several thousands of pieces of silver.
Finally, he was betrayed by one of his most trusted lieutenants, one of the 'Twelve Firsts', who is reported to have realized the madness of their enterprise.
Guided by this traitor, the Romans ambushed the Nazarene just before he begins his march upon Hierosolyma, and captured him.
He was brought at Caesarea before Pontius Pilatus, the procurator of Iudaea. After a quick trial, his crucifixion was ordered.
It was during the Passover of 783.

A few days after, Iehudah of Kerioth, the traitor, was found hanged. It is said that taken by remorses, he committed suicide, although others said that the followers of the Nazarene had him murdered.
Without their charismatic leader, the rebels began to lose ground.
Lucius Vitellius, named by Tiberius Caesar as legate of Syria, definitively put down the rebellion one year later.
The surviving 'Twelve Firsts' who attempted to pursue the fight were one by one killed. The last, Shimon, was executed while Herod Agrippa was being crowned King of Iudaea.

Quote from Letter 52
Letters of Gnaeus Ambrusius

*****

Nota Bene

About dates:
783 AUC = 30 AD

[Yonatan]

Interesting, so in this TL Jesus starts the Roman Jewish war earlier with a swifter ending, changing if not butterflying Chirtianity completley.

But why would the Romans crown a new Jewish king? Judea was already a province with a Roman governer?

[galileo-034]

This brief uprising have not the scale of the war of 65-73. ITTL, Iehochua the Nazarene is betrayed by Iehudah of Kerioth before the attack upon Hierosolyma.
ITTL, Christiannism will never appear as Jesus is a warrior.

[Ahab]

I beg for more!

[Yonatan]

Originally Posted by galileo-034

This brief uprising have not the scale of the war of 65-73. ITTL, Iehochua the Nazarene is betrayed by Iehudah of Kerioth before the attack upon Hierosolyma.
ITTL, Christiannism will never appear as Jesus is a warrior.

So, just to get this straight, Jesus is a warrior, fails, gets double crossed, is executed, and the Romans then place a new King of the Jews?

Why would the Romans crown a new king? its not like the Jews liked the last one?

[Cuāuhtemōc]

This looks pretty good. I'm subscribing to this.

[VictorLaszlo]

So we will most prabably end up with Sol Invictus as the main Roman deity by AUC 1100.

[galileo-034]

Originally Posted by Yonatan

So, just to get this straight, Jesus is a warrior, fails, gets double crossed, is executed, and the Romans then place a new King of the Jews?

Why would the Romans crown a new king? its not like the Jews liked the last one?

Herod Agrippa will simply inherit of the territories of Herod Phillip II and Herod Antipas thanks to Caligula as IOTL.
For Judea and Samaria, it's less certain.

[Darth_Kiryan]

Oh my god! I think you just ruined Christianity. Not sure whether to laugh of cry. I'll settle for this..

Anyway, brilliant. Like to see where this goes.

[galileo-034]

King Herod Agrippa Ist

Chapter II

At the death of Herod the Great, the jewish kingdom was divided between three of his sons, the Tetrarchs as they were called from this moment.
In 787, the death of the tetrarch Herod Philip Ist caused a crisis of succession.

His brother Herod Antipas wanted reunite the territories of his brother to his tetrarchy.
To legitimate his claim, he decided to marry Philip's widow, Herodias.
However, the repudiation of Phasaelis had angered his father-in-law, the king Aretas IV of Nabataea. As a result, the Nabataeans broke the alliance created under Herod the Great and opened the hostilities.
Herod Antipas' army was routed near Gamla. Aretas was prevented from penetrating deeper in jewish territory only by the arrival of a roman army.

Neverthless for the Galilean tetrarch, this was the beginning of the fall. For his nephew, Herod Agrippa, this was the beginning of the rise.
This man hadn't yet the stature to become king at this time: he was ruined, disgraced and imprisonned in Rome.
But Herod Agrippa did need a single thing: the friendship of the Caesars.
In his youth, he had become a friend of the future Gaius Caesar, and had been educated alongside of the future Claudius Caesar.
So, when the first was elevated to the Purple, he was freed of the prison where he had been sent justly for having supported the new master of Rome against his predecessor.

What's more, he received from the Princeps the former territories of Herod Philip Ist, and even the title of King.
Two years after, he accused his uncle of having plotted against the Romans, forcing the Tetrarch to exile and wining his territories.
After the assassination of Gaius Caesar, Herod Agrippa who is said to have helped Claudius Caesar in his way towards the Purple, received from him Iudaea and Samareia, annexed several years before by Augustus Caesar because of the incompetence of its tetrarch.
Thus was reunited the kingdom of Herod the Great.

Quote from Book 7
Kings of Asia by Publius Orestes

*****
Nota Bene

About dates:
787 AUC = 34 AD

[Cuāuhtemōc]

This is exceptionally written. The update is amazing. Please continue.

[NothingNow]

So, the Jesus Analogue gets more militant, gets offed, and now we're talking a longer, renewed Herodian dynasty? Hells Yes!
Subscribed.

[stevep]

galileo-034

Interesting. Short chapters but effective and a lot happening. No major butterflies noticeable yet, although Nero might need to find another scrap-goat if the fire still occurs in Rome shortly.

However, since Jesus was a short lived military leader and his main followers hunted down we have the small factor of no Christianity, which is going to be big latter on.

Will we still have a Jewish revolt or will that be butterflied by the revived Herodican dynasty? If so what future for the Jewish kingdom? Will a later emperor swallow it, or some Jewish monarch of religious leader get too confident of his position and do something rash.

Steve

[galileo-034]

In the next update, you will see the first noticeable differences from OTL.
There will be an ATL version of the revolt of 65-73, a revolt only delayed ITTL.

[galileo-034]

Death of Cornelius Caesar

Chapter III

The intrigues within the imperial court were so numerous that relate all would be impossible.
Every mean was good to reach, and hold, the power.

When Claudius Caesar acceded to the Purple, he was confronted to the hostility of the Senate, and became dependant of his freedmen to govern the Empire. Thanks to this, these men became the key of the power struggles.
Two particularly distinguished themselves: Pallas and Narcissus.
Pallas, at first a slave of Antonia Minor, was become at the beginning of the principate of Claudius Caesar charged of the Treasury, what permitted him to amass a great fortune. It was by his intermediary that the wedding between Claudius Drusus and Iulia Agrippina was settled. Thereafter, he got closer to the party of the imperial heir, mainly to the imperial heir's wife. Thus, it was him who organized the wedding of Domitia Agrippina, daughter of Agrippina the Younger by her former husband, to Claudius Caesar's second son.
Narcissus was loyal only to his interests and to the Princeps.
In 801, he intrigued against the empress. Messalina and her lover, the consul Gaius Silius, accused of plotting the death of Caesar were executed. On the advice of his trusted secretary, the emperor married Aelia Paetina, whom he had divorced some years before. To strenghten its position threatened, he knew, by the enmity with Pallas and Agrippina, he even arranged the wedding between Claudia Antonia and Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix.
The struggle between the two freedmen came to its conclusion with this hot and fatal summer of 817.
Several years before, the second son of Caesar was died of apoplexy.
Thus, at the beginning of this year, there were only three contenders for the imperial Purple: Claudius Drusus, Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, and Lucius Iunius Silanus.
On his deathbed, Claudius Caesar expressed the will to see his son govern the Empire alongside his two brothers-in-law.
But some months after, while the Romans were still in mourning for their beloved emperor, a gigantic fire broke out. During six days and seven nights, Roma was ravaged.
As in the great fires which had stroken the Eternal City in the previous centuries, a scapegoat was necessary.
Empress Agrippina and Pallas immediatly jumped at the opportunity. Narcissus being a real estate owner, they spread rumors across Rome: he is said to have triggered the fire to buy the ruins at a very low cost, thus consolidating his hold over the city in order to take the power.
So, using the pretext of satisfy the popular will, the plotters had convinced Drusus Caesar to order the arrest and the execution of the freedman.
Less than a week after, Cornelius Caesar, accused to have been a member of the conspiracy, was victim of the same fate.

Silanus Caesar, in Aegyptus during these events, was relatively untouched by the plot.
However, with his return to Rome two years later, the intrigues took a new turn. The events following the Great Fire had made the relations between the two Ceasars a little more strained.
Finally, in spring of 823, Drusus Caesar fell ill from plague and after some days of death throes, ceased to live.
Agrippina, fearing for the future of her son made the first move. Keeping secret the death of her husband during a few days, she poisoned the competitor of her son.
The day after, Nero Claudius was presented to the Praetorian guard and became Nero Caesar.

But the fortune is fleeting in the court of the Princeps: today, all, and tomorrow, nothing.
Iulia Agrippina wasn't an exception.
After four years of principate, Nero Caesar, tired of a too ambitious mother, ordered her execution.

Quote from Letter 15
Letters of Gnaeus Ambrusius

*****
Nota Bene

About dates:
801 AUC = 48 AD
817 AUC = 64 AD
823 AUC = 70 AD

[galileo-034]

Comments?
This is the first great difference from OTL.

[stevep]

Originally Posted by galileo-034

Comments?
This is the first great difference from OTL.

galileo-034

Must admit that I don't know enough of the background to tell that much apart from the fact that a different scrapegoat is found for the file and Nero doesn't become emperor immediately after Claudius. Unless this is a different Nero, it was a rather common name. Hope so as the OTL was such a disaster.

A couple of points I'm unclear of in the text. When you say "In 801, he intrigued against the empress. Messalina and her lover, the consul Gaius Silius, accused of plotting the death of Caesar were executed. On the advice of his trusted secretary, he married Aelia Paetina, whom he had divorced some years before" who is the he? Is that Claudius remarrying or Narcissus?

Also when you say "Several years before, the second son of Caesar, him, was died of apoplexy" did you mean to insert a name here?

It sounds like Nero's mother Agrippina married Claudius's son Drusus rather than Claudius himself?


Steve

[galileo-034]

Excuse me, I forgot to include a notice.

The Caesar's second son is the OTL Britannicus. As I think that the cognomen would be given to Drusus since he is still alive, and as I didn't know what name he thus would have, I prefered to not name him. The 'him' you've mentionned is an error of writing, and I've corrected it; thanks.

IOTL, Iulia Agrippina, nicknamed 'the Younger', married Claudius Caesar.
However, ITTL, the first son of Claudius Caesar survives, but he died IOTL in adolescence (Claudius XXVII, Life of the twelve Caesars). I hadn't date, but with the elements I have, 30 AD seems to me a good approximation; so, after the POD.
So, Iulia Agrippina married Claudius Drusus and not his father ITTL. I think they had about the same age.
The Nero of this TL is their son.

But remember the ATL character of Domitia Agrippina. ITTL, instead of having a son with Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, she has a daughter.

EDIT: Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, Lucius Iunius Silanus and their wedding to Claudius' daughters are OTL. IOTL, however, they are victims of intrigues from Agrippina the Younger.

[galileo-034]

Battle of Rhandeia


Chapter IV

Since the disaster of Carrhae in the last times of the ancient Republic, the eastern frontier was become one of the major preoccupations of Roma.
In this perspective, Augustus Caesar had set up a system of client kingdoms in this frontier, to act as buffers between the Romans and the Parthians.
The kingdom of Armenia was surely the most important of these ones. Its control was crucial.
After the fall of the Artaxiad dynasty, there was a succession of pro-roman and pro-parthian kings.

In 787, the Parthians had imposed their candidate, Arsaces, on the armenian throne to succeed to Artaxias III, but Tiberius Caesar, unwilling to abandon Armenia ordered the poisonning of the so-called usurper. Shortly after, the Iberians driven by the Romans to invade Armenia. Thus, the prince Mithridates, who belonged as the rest of his family to an iberian branch of the former Artaxiad dynasty, was crowned king.
But soon, King Artabanus II of Parthia tried to impose a second of his sons, the prince Orodes, as king.
However, he was was overthrown by pro-roman magnates who crowned Phraates VI, son of the former king Phraates IV. But shortly after, this one fell ill and died. Supported by a roman army under Lucius Vitellius, the prince Tiridates III, a grandson of Phraates IV, took the succession.
But this king, appearing to be almost a puppet of Roma, couldn't manage to maintain himself. Profiting of this, the deposed king Artabanus levied an army of scythian mercenaries in Hyrcania then retook power.
But still unable to wage a war against Roma, he had to recognize Mithridates of Iberia as legitimate king of Armenia.
Although this was a great victory, the situation in Armenia was still far from be definitively settled.

Thus, in 804, fearing the ambition of his son, the king Pharasmanes Ist of Iberia convinced him to invade Armenia and take the throne for himself.
Rhadamistus quickly overran the Armenians. King Mithridates, refugee in the fortress of Gorneas, was betrayed by the roman garrison which had been bribed by his nephew and surrendered, only to be executed.
Claudius Caesar, desiring to avoid provoking the Parthians, demanded only nominally that the Iberians withdraw. An incursion from Cappadocia was of course led, but an expedition from Syria was cancelled to prevent the war.
But the year after, the events took a new turn which will force the Romans to intervene directly.
Taking the opportunity, the parthian king Vologases invaded Armenia and put his brother Tiridates on the throne. Nevertheless, in winter, the Parthians are victim of epidemics and the new of the revolt of the prince Vardanes drove them to leave, what permitted to Rhadamistus to retake advantage.
However, his tyrannic behaviour caused a rebellion and less than two years after,he was forced to flee at his father's court where he was put to death. Tiridates was then recalled to the throne by the Armenians.

At the same time, Claudius Caesar prepared the war. Indeed, by invading Armenia, Vologases had broken a treaty signed with Roma seventy years earlier which accorded to the Romans the right to appoint the armenian kings. Forced to react, the Princeps sent in 808 one of his better generals, Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in Oriens with the control of Cappadocia and Galatia to organize the offensive.
During more than two years, he trained his troops in the eastern anatolian mountains, acclimatizing them to the snows of Armenia.
In the diplomatic scene, however, none of the attempts from the Princeps did succeeded.

So in 811, the war broke out.

Occupied by nomadic incursions in his eastern provinces and a revolt in Hyrcania, the king Vologases was unable to support his brother. So, with three legions and a great number of auxiliaries given by client kings of Pontus, Armenia Minor, Iberia, Sophene and Commagene, Corbulo entered in Armenia. At first, the Romans advanced unopposed as the king Tiridates wanted avoid an open battle.
Although harassed, they arrived before the walls of Artaxata, one of the two armenian capitals. Forced to do battle to not lose face in the eyes of his subjects, Tiridates was defeated.
Then, Corbulo marched south, towards Tigranocerta, Armenia's second capital. After an exhausting march through the harsh and dry terrain of northern Mesopotamia.
Tigranocerta was quickly taken.
Indeed, it seems that during the march, a plot to muder Corbulo was uncovered and several armenian nobles, falsely rallied to Roma, were executed. The Romans, once arrived to their goal launched the heads in the town, heads which are said to have landed right where the city council was assembled; thus, the town is said to have surrendered.
Now in control of Armenia, the Romans crowned their own candidate on the throne, Tigranes VI, the last descendant of the former cappadocian royal house.
Thereafter, they left the country, letting only some thousands of men to protect it.

The situation seemed settled but two years later, Tigranes VI launched an attack upon Adiabene, theorically a vassal of Armenia but de facto a parthian vassal. Reluctant before to attack again Armenia bacause of the roman success, King Vologases decided to counter-attack.
In 815, after having made peace with the Hyrcanians, he attacked quickly Tigranocerta but, having failed to take the town by assault, he was forced to besiege the town.
Corbulo, become legate of Syria, attempted to convince the Parthians to leave Armenia, but the negociations failed and the war resumed.

Fearing to see Syria invaded, he requested from Roma a separate commander for the armenian front. Lucius Caesennius Paetus, consul of the previous year, was thus sent.
Although Corbulo made progress by establishing a bridgehead on the parthian bank of the Euphrates, the situation in north was a disaster.
Indeed, with the arrival of Paetus, the discipline became low. What's more, the new commander made a great error by dispersing his troops. This led to the battle of Rhandeia where two legions were almost annihilated by King Vologases.

Unfortunately for the Parthians, far to lower the will of the Romans, this setback drove Claudius Caesar to give exceptionnal powers and reinforcements to general Corbulo.
So, by spring 816, he was ready to launch an other offensive which will never come.
Indeed, aware of the abilities of Corbulo as general and of the size of its army, the Parthians accepted to negociate a peace. They met at Rhandeia.
In the end, Tiridates accepted to travel to Roma and seek confirmation of his crown from the Princeps.
Thus ended the war.

Quote from Letter 40
Letters of Gnaeus Ambrusius


*****
Nota Bene

About dates:
787 AUC = 34 AD
804 AUC = 51 AD
811 AUC = 58 AD
815 AUC = 62 AD
816 AUC = 63 AD

Excepted the presence of Claudius Caesar, all this chapter is OTL.

[galileo-034]

As you've surely noted it, this TL begins to diverge from OTL, but in the form and content, there are no many differences.
My objective for this TL is not to have a roman empire which lasts until our days, but to have stronger roman rump states, and a more romanized world.
So, I will follow roughly the same historical movements (prosperity in second century, military anarchy in the third). The main difference will really appear in the fourth century, due the absence of christianism. An exemple is the survival of the Library of Alexandria.
The next update which will be about a less brutal and more total conquest of Britannia is one of the first important step towards my objective.
The more total conquest of Dacia I've mentionned and that I will develop in future updates is an other important step.
Comments?