Roman Republic's survival and effects thereof

I've finally emerged from months of lurking to become a registered member of this board. So...hi!
For quite a while, I've mulled over various AH scenarios which should become clear as this thread evolves. The necessary condition that I've come up with is the long-term survival of the Roman Republic. The bare bones of this superscenario already exist up to the 1200's, but I need the help of you good people to help me put some meat on these bones.
The POD is that Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus the Elder dies before his time, failing to have either of his two famous sons. The first 90 years of the scenario (up to Mithridates Eupator bursting on the scene) are complete, but not nearly polished enough for me to feel comfortable with continuing.
Basically, I took a timeline of the Roman Republic and changed events as I felt warranted, but a long and serious look at both the butterflies and the effects outside Rome's borders is in order. I hereby submit for your approval: Untitled Scenario I, Part I

Untitled I, Part I

179 BC: Propraetor Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus is assassinated by Iberian rebels. Aemilius Paullus takes over government of the rebellious province, and by a combination of swift military reprisals against rebels and rewards for cooperative tribes, pacifies the peninsula, which remains a model of efficient Roman government. "Proconsul Iberiae" is considered one of the most honorable posts in the Roman government.

171 BC: Rome declares war on Macedon at the behest of Pergamum. Initially, Roman armies suffer defeat at the hands of the Macedonians.

168 BC: Aemilius Paullus defeats Macedonians at Pydna. Macedonians surrender, and Illyria, Macedon, and Epirus pass into the Roman orbit.

150 BC: Cato does not head the commission [butterflyed away by conditions in Iberia] mediating between Carthage and the Numidians. Recognizing that further Numidian attacks will force Carthage into armed response [noble Roman] makes a judgment somewhat in Carthage's favor. [how does the noble Censor react?] While the Numidians are furious, Carthage's politics makes a notable swing, with many powerful Carthaginians in favor of trade and association with Rome (the "Roman" party) in opposition to anti-Roman groups (the "Barcids")

150 BC: Rebellion fails to break out in Iberia.

148 BC: Q. Caecilius Metellus defeats the pretender Andriscus of Macedon. War with Achaean league.

147 BC: Scipio Aemilianus becomes Consul

146 BC: Forces under Q. Caecilius Metellus sack Corinth. Greece and Macedon annexed by Rome.

144 BC: Massinissa of Numidia dies, and his three sons ignore the [noble Roman] treaty and attack Carthage. A Roman army under Scipio Aemilianus swiftly conquers Numidia with the aid of Carthaginian auxiliaries and adds Numidia and Tripolitania to the Roman Republic as provinces. Scipio assumes the name "Scipio Numidianus" and later becomes Proconsul of Africa, with responsibility over all Rome's North African posessions as well as being a special emissary to Carthage.

142 BC: To head off Iberian revolt, the Lusitanian chieftain Viriathus is made a special Roman ally. In spite of this, the Celtiberians and certain other Iberian tribes revolt. Viriathus and his Lusitanians destroy Numantia alongside Caepio, who rewards his ally by allowing him to join in the triumph. Viriathus and several other loyal Iberian chieftains are given Roman citizenship.

140 BC: The Carthaginian factional struggle comes to a head as the Barcids attempt to block new resolutions calling for trade and association with Rome in the wake of the Numidian war. While the republic comes to the brink of civil war and the Roman Republic watches greedily, Hasdrubal, a leading member of the Barcid party, leads 5000 Carthaginians away from the city and founds [Phoenician name] on OTL James Island at the mouth of the Gambia, far from any possible Roman influence. The Roman party takes firm control of Carthage and signs a treaty making Carthage largely subordinate to the Proconsul of Africa.

134 BC: Scattered Iberian revolts continue. Scipio Numidianus is named Proconsul of Iberia, which is technically illegal coming on the heels of his proconsulship in Africa, but the comitia tributa approves his appointment unanimously.

133 BC: King Attalus III of Pergamum grants his kingdom to Rome after his death.

132 BC: Sicilian slave revolt suppressed brutally by Fulvius Flacchus. Iberia officially declared pacified, and Scipio returns to Rome, where no legal position can be found for him.

131 BC: Scipio in retirement observes the depopulation of the Roman countryside due to the reduction in the Roman landowning class after the Punic, Macedonian, and Iberian wars and the corresponding expansion of slave-based megafarms owned by nobles and growth of dispossesed in the cities. In conjunction with the emerging populares faction [TTL without the leadership of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who has been butterflyed away] and Appius Claudius Pulcher, he proposes a series of military and social reforms to restore the virtues of "old Rome."
The first step was allocating the vast tracts of public land which had come into Roman hands according to traditional Roman laws, with limits to the amount of property. Compared to Gracchus, Pulcher's party plays politics better and the ultra-rich nobles do not raise a fuss.
Military reform was then proposed by Scipio. Every Roman tribus and allied Italian factions were expected to provide a number of cohorts based on population. The intent was that all males of landowning class* from 18-24 would be serving in Rome's military around the expanded commonwealth, so their families could continue to hold their land. Older and younger cohorts would be organized and drill under the direction of [tribal officers]. Eventually, this concept would apply to all Roman allies outside Italy. This met with more opposition, but was recognized as a wise measure, and was also adopted completely by 120 B.C.
*Permanent cavalry alae would also be provided by equestrians

125 B.C.: Fulvius Flacchus moves that Italian citizenship be extended to all Italians, and their tribes be placed equal to Roman tribes. Flacchus is sent to assist Massalia by opponents of the measure, and conquers Narbonese Gaul.

125 B.C.: New Roman territory in Iberia, Africa, and Illyria is opened to Pulcher's land reforms. Roman cities emerge among troublesome tribes. A proposed measure to subsidize grain for the city of Rome is NOT approved, the 'populares' faction prefers to encourage Roman settlement in new territories, despite the reluctance of many to leave Italy. Roman citizenship is also offered to any Italian who settles in these new territories, reducing tension among Rome's allies.
Major public works projects are launched in Italy, to the benefit of the equestrian class. Populares and optimates factions within the Senate and other public assemblies continue cooperation for the benefit of Rome. The political climate generally opposes the expansion of noble privilege without curtailing existing privilege

118 B.C.: Jugartha, a Numidian nobleman, starts a revolt in the Numidian hinterland. Carthage is allowed to mobilize and sends auxiliaries, but still Lucius Calpurnius Bestia's forces fail to make headway against Numidian light horse. The war is inconclusive for 9 years.

115 B.C.: [Phoenician Name] expands its trade network, placing settlements up the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Pillars of Hercules, but avoiding any entanglement with Roman affairs in Mediterranean Africa and Iberia. Trading posts are set up along the Gambia River and around the curve of Africa, triggering development of states in these regions.

109 B.C.: Rumors of corruption among Roman officials in Numidia result in a purge in the province. Quintus Metellus and Gaius Marius take command against Jugartha. Among the government reforms, Carthage is officially made a Roman client. Jugartha is decisively beaten and driven into refuge in Mauretania.

109 B.C.: Teutones and Cimbri defeat Roman consul Silanus in Gaul.

108 B.C.: Metellus and Marius invade Mauretania. Troops under Marius' command decisively defeat the Numidian and Mauretanian armies and capture Jugartha and Mauretanian king Bocchus. Mauretania is annexed to Rome and Metellus is made proconsul of an expanded Africa. Numidian tribes continue rebellion for years to come, and Africa becomes the proving ground for generations of Roman cohorts stationed there. Carthage never disarms after the rebellion, but its army and navy have become mere adjuncts to the forces of the Roman Proconsul. Alae of light horsemen from the allied Numidian tribes become a common feature of Roman armies around the world.

107 B.C.: Helvetians defeat the army of the consul Cassius.

105 B.C.: Marius is named consul [for the first and only time]. Inactive cohorts are recalled to duty, and Marius forms the first permanent cohorts from among the urban poor and Italian allies, equipped at public expense. A massive Roman army meets the Teutones, Cimbri, and Helvetii at Arausio, destroying those tribes' power and driving them beyond the Alps. Marius and his successor Catullus continue the reforms set in place by Scipio and Pulcher. Now, ten years' service in the permanent cohorts equipped by the Senate is required for Roman and Italian dispossessed to be placed in coloni. Legions are formed in all the outlying provinces of Rome, consisting (at first) of 6 tribal cohorts and 2 Senatorial cohorts, under the command of the provincial legate. The proconsulship in pacified Iberia is abolished and replaced by one in Gaul, which Marius assumes after Catullus takes the consulship

103 B.C.: The consul Catullus stamps out a second Sicilian slave revolt, though parts of the island remain in rebellion for the next three years. A promising young military officer called Lucius Cornelius Sulla is assassinated in his tent by Sicilan rebels, for which Catullus exacts gruesome revenge.

91 B.C.: Tribune Livius Drusus revives the proposal to extend Roman citizenship to Italian socii. Due to the demand for tribal cohorts to check the threat of military takeover by the permanent cohorts (the ratio is intended to be 3 to 1, which will not change for some time), the proposal passes almost with little opposition. The socii tribes hold the same legal status and duties as the old Roman tribes. [membership in official bodies besides senate? not sure.]

90 B.C.: Mithridates Eupator of Pontus, with Armenian aid, invades Cappadocia. Bithynia applies for Roman aid, and Proconsul of Asia Manius Aquilius asks Mithridates to depart, which he does.

89 B.C.: Manius Aqulius is relieved for incompetence and replaced by Lucius Cornelius Cinna. [The question is, would Cinna incite the invasion of Pontus by Bithynia? And would he lose Asia if he did?]

89 B.C.: Suplicus Rufus, popular tribune, engineers the Sulpician Compromise. The Senate's membership is expanded to 600 with the admission of many equestrians and nobles from the new tribes, and a new requirement for a member to have served at least as quaestor improves the merit of the body. The Senate's power is expanded to veto decisions of other bodies, and the courts of Rome are managed by senior senators. The idea of "senatorial" rank is nearly dead in Rome, but in practice, the Senate is still led by a handful of ultra-rich Roman families. Though the legal prohibition against serial office-holding is still observed scrupulously by Rome, the example of Scipio's and later Marius' "behind-the-scenes" influence means that one man's power can remain for a long time. [perhaps a new official office is created, maybe a smaller "super-senate" of these grand old men, with little official but much actual power]

Geetings. I admit to knowing much less about Rome than I think/should but any scenario that can unite Europe without turning it into a near-socialist anti-American force is good by me.

Of course America would probably end up as a Roman colony/province.

Roma Eterna!!

ES

I really doubt that Rome will survive to the present day in any form. The economy and social structure of this Republican Rome are going to be almost unrecognizable in a few centuries compared to OTL, where the guilds and feudalism of medieval Europe were laid down by the late Empire. The more expansionist Republican government is going to check the Migration Period, and possible even halt the Huns and other steppe nomads. But the Republic's chances of expanding beyond the Vistula and the Ukrainian Steppe, and the Zagros Mountains in Asia, without radical changes, are virtualy nil. The best case scenario for Rome still leaves the Mongols with a big tasty target. Even if the Romans check the Mongols initially, they won't be able to stop them from setting up a base within striking distance of Roman territory and possibly even shattering the Republic completely.
I also consider the chance of Rome settling the New World to be pretty small, but we'll see where the TL takes us. I see trade colonies in the Caribbean as possible, and probably even some level of relations with Native American states, but the Roman model of diplomacy is going to do a lot more to strengthen the Natives than the Renaissance European model of "Convert...Assimilate...or Kill"
Any questions or comments, however nitpicky, about the first 90 years are welcome. I'm currently in the process of revising what I've done so far, and hope to have a completed version of the first 90 years by the end of the week.

Mithridates stepping back that easily... I don't know. The man was the Saddam Hussein of that time. He hated the Romans (IOTL they took away parts of his country his father had acquired earlier for helping them, IIRC) and killed ~80,000 of them when he conquered Greece.

Mithridates withdrawing at Rome's request did happen OTL. The Roman proconsul of Asia, Manius Aqulius, then persuaded the Bithynians to attack Mithridates, who destroyed the Bithynians army and then Aquilius', conquering the Roman province of Asia (which is where he slaughtered the Roman citizens, his troops were blocked from ever entering Greece and all the Romans faced there were rebellious locals). However, there had been an attempt to remove Aquilius from office due to corruption which succeeds in the more honest Rome of TTL.
I'm currently thinking Cinna is going to be proconsul of Asia, in recognition of the Pontic threat. Whether he incites the Bithynians to attack Mithridates or not I don't know, but I plan to have Mithridates whipped after only one war with Rome (despite the butterflying away of Sulla), though Rome's future in the East is going to far from rosy. There are still plenty of well-armed and plucky leaders far from the Roman heartland, in a good position to give these Romans a good reversal of the excellent luck they've enjoyed thus far.
Kudos to Dominus Novus for the inspiration, but I think my vision of Rome in Asia is going to wind up very different from his...

It is an interesting timeline

Please you can continue this timeline, I like a lot the ancient timelines (and the romans or greek more even).

As I read Mithridates will be defeated in only one war, but as you say "There are still plenty of well-armed and plucky leaders far from the Roman heartland, in a good position to give these Romans a good reversal of the excellent luck they've enjoyed thus far" hmm, it seems that we could have a Carrhae in TTL.

Like your start very much. I've always believed that the Roman Republic already was dead by the time Sulla and later Ceaser seized power. So i was worried after reading your title. But after actually reading the timeline I am happy to see that you put your PoD way before that and took steps to prevent the patricians becoming a horde of tyrants even worse than one tyrant.

I haven't been working nearly hard enough on this (not enough to do an actual update), but I'll let you know what I'm thinking right now.
First, Neroon, I decided that the brothers Gracchus and their 'reforms' actually sealed the fate of Rome. But a definite leadership vacuum existed at the time. So I had the Iberians kill their father, which enhanced the military career of Scipio Aemilianus and butterflied away Cato inciting the Third Punic War. So Scipio did come to Africa as a result of the treaty between Carthage and the Numidians, but on the side of Carthage (BTW, Carthage is probably going to be directly annexed by Rome in the next 100 years). When he returns, he becomes Consul again (I don't know how clear this is from the beginnings of my timeline) and transcends the optimates/populares split with compromise politics and a policy of expanding the Republic. Of course, the current political situation won't last forever, but it will do a lot to ensure that no Sullas or Caesars take power, and by the early ADs when things start getting rough, Rome will take a very different tack.
I didn't put it in the first part of the TL, but Marius conquers Rhaetia and Aquitinian Gaul, whomping the Helvetii and possible the southwestern German tribes. I'm not completely sure how to keep him occupied until Mithridates.
I haven't decided yet what to do with the first Mithridatic war (which is why I stopped there), but somebody, possibly Marius, decides to conquer Armenia one Mithridates is dealt with, with disastrous results. My goal is to keep Rome's Asian ambitions confined on the near side of the Halys, and possibly give Seleucid Syria to Egypt, which will be a Roman client, and not annexed.
I feel bad about butterflying Sulla away, but I'm not really sure what to do with him. Any ideas?
Oh, and a young consul Caius Iulius Caesar invades not Gaul, but Burebista's Dacia, making Dacia a Roman possession earlier. Caesar will be kept from returning to Rome for fear of a takeover, and will probably become a gray old man putting down tribal rebellion in Dacia before he can retire back to Italy and write "De Bello Daciorum." Because of the unstable nature of Dacia, Rome will probably not launch a major campaign in Gaul, which should have interesting effects through Armorica, Belgica, and Germania. Also, consider what having Rome bordering the Goths before their cultural flowering will do.
One more important thing. The continuation of the Tribal assemblies and the compulsory military service are going to change Rome more than anything. Once I'm done writing about Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, and Cicero, Rome is probably going to become unrecognizable to someone from OTL. And keep an eye on the Carthaginians in Africa.

If the Republic continues to work you might not have to sideline Ceaser. I think he's smart/pragmatic enough, that he only did what he did in OTL because he knew he had the neccessary popular support to overthrow the Senate and wouldn't have tried otherwise.
In Confucianist terms: In OTL by the time Ceaser came about the Senate and the old Republic had already lost the mandate, he just picked it up instead of seizing it from them.
Anyways i'll gracefully let you decide that one .

One thing that might be really good for Rome in the long run would be a "new aquisistion" submitting to Rome without a fight in exchange for citizenship for all non-slaves and a certain number of Senators from their city/kingdom/whatever. Which then becomes a precedent.

The first 80 years, slightly revised but by no means complete

179 BC: Roman dominion in Iberia suffers a serious setback when Praetor Lucius Postumius Albinus is defeated by Lusitani tribes. Propraetor Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus is ambushed and killed by Iberian rebels as he rushes to fight the Lusitani. Wars in Iberia continue.

Phillip V of Macedon dies and is succeeded by Perseus.

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus becomes both censor and princeps senatus.
Emmenes II of Pergamum defeats Pharnaces I of Pontus

178 BC:
Lucius Aemilius Paullus is named Proconsul of Iberia, and defeats the Lusitani, annexing their territory to Rome.

177 BC:

Romans conquer Istria.

176 BC:

Ptolemy VI becomes sole ruler of Egypt
Phraates I becomes King of Parthia

171 BC: Rome declares war on Macedon in 171 BC, at the behest of Pergamum. King Perseus defeats a Roman army led by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus in the battle of Callicinus

168 BC: L. Aemilius Paullus is elected consul again and defeats Macedonians at Pydna. Macedonians surrender, and Illyria, Macedon, and Epirus pass into the Roman orbit.

167 B.C.: Maccabeus revolt of Judea against Seleucids. Judea becomes independent by 160.

150 BC: Cato does not head the commission [butterflied away by conditions in Iberia] mediating between Carthage and the Numidians. Recognizing that further Numidian attacks will force Carthage into armed response Scipio Aemilianus makes a judgment somewhat in Carthage's favor. [how does the noble Censor react?] While the Numidians are furious, Carthage's politics makes a notable swing, with many powerful Carthaginians in favor of trade and association with Rome (the "Roman" party) in opposition to anti-Roman groups (the "Barcids")

[Rebellion fails to break out in Iberia.]

148 BC: Q. Caecilius Metellus defeats the pretender Andriscus of Macedon. War with Achaean league.

147 BC: Scipio Aemilianus becomes Consul

146 BC: Forces under Q. Caecilius Metellus sack Corinth. Greece and Macedon annexed by Rome.

144 BC: Massinissa of Numidia dies, and his three sons unite to attack Carthage. A Roman army under Scipio Aemilianus swiftly conquers Numidia with the aid of Carthaginian auxiliaries and adds Numidia and Tripolitania to the Roman Republic as provinces. Scipio assumes the name "Scipio Numidianus" and later becomes Proconsul of Africa, with responsibility over all Rome's North African posessions as well as being a special emissary to Carthage.

142 BC: To head off Iberian revolt, the Lusitanian chieftain Viriathus is made a special Roman ally. In spite of this, the Celtiberians and certain other Iberian tribes revolt. Viriathus and his Lusitanians destroy Numantia alongside Caepio, who rewards his ally by allowing him to join in the triumph. Viriathus and several other loyal Iberian chieftains are given Roman citizenship.

142 BCE First Stone Bridge with Arches The Pons Aemilius bridge, first bridge to use stone arches, was built across the Tiber River.

140 BC: The Carthaginian factional struggle comes to a head as the “Roman” party attempts to ban human sacrifices to Melqart. While the republic comes to the brink of civil war and the Roman Republic watches greedily, Hasdrubal, a leading member of the Barcid party, leads 5000 Carthaginians away from the city and founds Byrsa on OTL James Island at the mouth of the Gambia, far from any possible Roman influence. The Roman party takes firm control of Carthage and signs a treaty making Carthage’s foreign affairs and military largely subordinate to the Proconsul of Africa.

134 BC: Scattered Iberian revolts continue. Scipio Numidianus is named Proconsul of Iberia.

133 BC: King Attalus III of Pergamum grants his kingdom to Rome after his death.

132 BC: Sicilian slave revolt suppressed brutally by Fulvius Flacchus. Iberia officially declared pacified, and Scipio returns to Rome, where he is declared Princeps Senatus.

131 BC: Scipio observes the depopulation of the Roman countryside due to the reduction in the Roman landowning class after the Punic, Macedonian, and Iberian wars and the corresponding expansion of slave-based megafarms owned by nobles and growth of dispossessed in the cities. In conjunction with the emerging populares faction [TTL without the leadership of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who has been butterflied away] and Appius Claudius Pulcher, he proposes a series of military and social reforms to restore the virtues of "old Rome."
The first step was allocating the vast tracts of public land which had come into Roman hands according to traditional Roman laws, with limits to the amount of property. Compared to Gracchus, Pulcher's party plays politics better and the ultra-rich nobles do not raise a fuss.
Military reform then proposed by Scipio. Every Roman tribus and Italian socius are expected to provide a certain number of cohorts, which generally include all men of landowning class* from 18-24. These cohorts are age-based, like the Zulu impis, and rotate every six years, though expired cohorts can be kept in service on the authority of anyone holding imperium. The intent is that young men will serve the Republic, and their families will continue to hold their land. Older and younger cohorts would serve as an organized reserve and drill yearly under the direction of [tribal officers]. This measure met with more opposition, but was recognized as a wise measure in light of the Republic’s growing manpower needs and the dangers of a permanent army, and was also adopted completely by 120 B.C. Eventually, this concept will apply to new socii outside Italy.
*Cavalry alae would also be provided by equestrians

125 B.C.: Fulvius Flacchus moves that Italian citizenship be extended to all Italians, and their tribes be placed equal to Roman tribes. Flacchus is sent away to assist Roman ally Massalia by opponents of the measure.

125 B.C.: New Roman territory in Iberia, Africa, and Illyria is opened to Pulcher's land reforms. Roman colonies emerge among troublesome tribes. A proposed measure to subsidize grain for the city of Rome is NOT approved; the moderate faction prefers to encourage Roman settlement in new territories, despite the reluctance of many to leave Italy. Roman citizenship is also offered to any Italian who settles in these new territories, reducing tension among Rome's allies.
Major public works projects are launched in Italy, to the benefit of the equestrian class. Populares and optimates factions within the Senate and other public assemblies continue cooperation for the benefit of Rome. The political climate generally opposes the expansion of noble privilege without curtailing existing privilege.
Scipio Numidianus named Censor.

121 B.C. Due to the conquests of Fulvius Flacchus, Transalpine Gaul becomes a Roman province.

118 B.C.: Jugartha, a Numidian nobleman, starts a revolt in the Numidian hinterland. Carthage is allowed to mobilize and sends auxiliaries, but still Lucius Calpurnius Bestia's forces fail to make headway against Numidian light horse. The war is inconclusive for 9 years.

115 B.C.: Byrsa expands its trade network, placing settlements up the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Pillars of Hercules, but avoiding any entanglement with Roman affairs in Mediterranean Africa and Iberia. Trading posts are set up along the Gambia River and around the curve of Africa, triggering development of states in these regions.

109 B.C.: Rumors of corruption among Roman officials in Numidia result in a purge in the province. Quintus Metellus takes command against Jugartha. Among the government reforms, Carthage is officially made a Roman client. Jugartha is decisively beaten and driven into refuge in Mauretania.

109 B.C.: Teutones and Cimbri defeat Roman consul Silanus in Gaul.

108 B.C.: Metellus invades Mauretania, decisively defeating the Numidian and Mauretanian armies and capturing Jugartha and Mauretanian king Bocchus. Mauretania is annexed to Rome and Metellus is made proconsul of an expanded Africa. Numidian tribes continue rebellion for years to come, and Africa becomes the proving ground for generations of Roman cohorts stationed there. Carthage never disarms after the rebellion, but its army and navy have become mere adjuncts to the forces of the Roman Proconsul. Alae of light horsemen from the allied Numidian tribes become a common feature of Roman armies around the world.

107 B.C.: Helvetians defeat the army of the consul Cassius.

105 B.C.: Gaius Marius is named consul. Inactive cohorts are recalled to duty, and Marius forms the first permanent cohorts from among the urban poor and Italian allies, equipped at public expense. A Roman army of 100,000 meets the Teutones, Cimbri, and Helvetii at Arausio, destroying those tribes' power and driving them beyond the Alps. Marius and his successor Catullus continue the reforms set in place by Scipio and Pulcher. Now, ten years' service in the permanent cohorts equipped by the Senate is required for Roman and Italian dispossessed to be placed in coloni. Legions are formed in all the outlying provinces of Rome, consisting (at first) of 6 tribal cohorts and 2 Senatorial cohorts, under the command of the provincial legate. The proconsulship in pacified Iberia is abolished and replaced by one in Gaul, which Marius assumes after Catullus takes the consulship.
*Marius may not have as much political capital in ATL, due to his lesser role in the Jugarthine rebellion.

103 B.C.: The consul Catullus stamps out a second Sicilian slave revolt, though parts of the island remain in rebellion for the next three years. A promising young military officer called Lucius Cornelius Sulla is assassinated* in his tent by Sicilan rebels, for which Catullus exacts gruesome revenge.
*I don’t really see how I can keep Sulla alive without serious disruption to the Republic.

100 B.C.: Marius, Proconsul of Gaul, forges a network of alliances with tribes across the southern half of Gaul, laying plans for eventual conquest. These plans are interrupted when Helvetii pour out of the Alps in force again, accompanied by various German and Celtic tribes, including the remnants of the Teutones and the Cimbri. In a series of brilliant campaigns, Marius’ legions, along with many Gaulish auxiliaries, destroy the invading tribes. In a move that foreshadows Rome’s foreign policy for years to come, small pockets of Teutones and Helvetii are scattered through Rome’s possessions (mainly Iberia, in this case) and their place taken by a mix of friendly tribes and Roman coloni.
Western Raetia and Aquitania are annexed to Rome in the wake of these victories, and again foreshadowing Rome’s imperial policy, leading families of friendly tribes are given Roman citizenship.

98 B.C.: Marius returns to Rome triumphantly, taking office as Consul again. Illyria is formally annexed as a Roman province, and Pannonia and Noricum become Roman client kingdoms.

97 B.C.: Quintus Sertorius conquers Iberian holdouts and embarks on extensive Romanization program within the peninsula. Iberian tribal groups are broken up and scattered throughout the Republic, their place taken by a mix of voluntary and involuntary migrants from all over.

95 B.C.: Gaulish Parisii tribe expands to cover most of Rome’s northern border, supported by the Romans in Transalpine and Aquitinian Gaul. Nucleic Belgic, Armoric, and Suebii confederacies form in response.

91 B.C.: Tribune Livius Drusus revives the proposal to extend Roman citizenship to Italian socii. Due to the demand for tribal cohorts to check the threat of military takeover by the permanent cohorts (the ratio is intended to be 3 to 1, which will not change for some time), the proposal passes almost with little opposition. The socii tribes hold the same legal status and duties as the old Roman tribes, though do not [yet] receive Senate membership alongside Roman nobiles.*
*Yes, this will change, very soon.

Neroon said:

One thing that might be really good for Rome in the long run would be a "new aquisistion" submitting to Rome without a fight in exchange for citizenship for all non-slaves and a certain number of Senators from their city/kingdom/whatever. Which then becomes a precedent.

Click to expand...

Because of the increased settlement of Roman/Italian citizens in new possessions, as well as the tendency to absorb foreign tribes as socii and award citizenship to their leaders, I think Rome is going to move slowly towards provincial representative government. It's going to be very interesting once the number of Roman citizens outside Italy outweighs the number in Italy.

Hi and welcome. I mean, Wow! Talking about starting well.

I am really enjoying the read thus far. Not much help as far as meating anything out (don't know Roman history before Caesar well at all). However, I did want to say "Keep up the good work".

To keep Rome from getting bogged down in the East, I want to leave Oriental kingdoms Seleucid Syria, Judea, and of course, Egypt, independent. Rome's disastrous defeat in Asia Minor (not in the TL yet) will be giving them impetus to keep a network of buffer states between them and the Parthians, which will create
Egypt is fairly easy to keep independent, but I'd like to hear some suggestions from the Seleucid partisans in here as to how to keep Syria strong for at least another 100 years before I dive into morass of history websites.
A few ideas I've had are a resurgent Seleucid empire that takes control of much the Levant, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, becoming a minor-league rival to Rome and Parthia, and even a possible Seleucid-Ptolemaic dynastic union. Any suggestions?

Besides wanting to hear from anyone who has expertise on the Middle East, I'd like more information on Roman technology and economy, so that I can make intelligent guesses about how the provinces are developing, rather than simple-minded modifications to real events.
I've also got a challenge: How do will Rome develope a class of "Mandarins" or professional civil administrators/military staff officers outside of the cursus honorum? The Imperial solution (using freedmen) seems unlikely.

Happy to see that you continues with this thread

originally posted by The Bald Imposter
Rome's disastrous defeat in Asia Minor (not in the TL yet) will be giving them impetus to keep a network of buffer states between them and the Parthians, which will create
Egypt is fairly easy to keep independent, but I'd like to hear some suggestions from the Seleucid partisans in here as to how to keep Syria strong for at least another 100 years before I dive into morass of history websites.
A few ideas I've had are a resurgent Seleucid empire that takes control of much the Levant, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, becoming a minor-league rival to Rome and Parthia, and even a possible Seleucid-Ptolemaic dynastic union. Any suggestions?

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Hmm, disastrous defeat in Asia Minor, it seems as you suggest that is because the parthians, but and Mitridates VI Eupator? he won´t intervenes in this disaster of Rome in Asia Minor?.

Apart a resurgent Seleucid Empire and Parthia, it could be possible to make an alliance of Mitridates VI of Pontus with Tigranes of Armenia more succesful than in OTL against the romans so we could bring another actor to the Middle East: we would have Rome, Parthia, Seleucid Empire, Pontus, Armenia and Ptolemaic kingdom in an interesting situation of alliances, equilibriums and well a more diversified Middle East than in OTL.

Originally posted by The Bald Imposter
Besides wanting to hear from anyone who has expertise on the Middle East, I'd like more information on Roman technology and economy, so that I can make intelligent guesses about how the provinces are developing, rather than simple-minded modifications to real events.
I've also got a challenge: How do will Rome develope a class of "Mandarins" or professional civil administrators/military staff officers outside of the cursus honorum? The Imperial solution (using freedmen) seems unlikely.

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Aaah, my knowledge in roman history is not so great, surely in the board the member most adequated to answer this question would be Dominus Novus (we need the special book of invokation, yes this with pictures of the muses in bikini ), seriously Dominus would be one of the most adequated persons to answer this question.

Although I could try to help a little about technology and economy, I don´t know if you know about the book "History of Rome" of S.I. Kovaliov (in my opinion a very good book about the history of Rome) I have also the book: "The Roman Empire and his neighbour peoples, the Mediterranean World in the Ancient Times, Fourth Tome" (in my search of second-hand books or discounted books I find these two jewels, Kovaliov in two tomes cost me only 3,60 euros the two tomes, and the little jewel of " The Roman Empire and his neighbour peoples" only 2 euros, in total only 5,60 for two very cool books about Rome), I could search in those books and in some Histories of the world in a lot of tomes that I have at home in the tome about Rome if they say something interesting about the technology and economy of ancient Rome.

Ooohh, I've got some competition. Check out my Historia Mundi timeline (its in my sig). I've got a somewhat similar idea, except that I basically have the Optimates thoroughly discredited and the Populares become the champions of constitutionalism, helping secure plebian support for the Republic. Of course, its in danger at the current moment of the timeline (ad 100ish).

Dominus, I don't think I have the writing to compete with your timeline, which I have read both versions of with great admiration. Your timeline and mine may look a little similar to start with, but after the first 100 years, the surviving Republic will look very different from the surviving Principate. Both the Optimates and the Populares are almost gone already, replaced by two much more conservative parties.
Inaki, you got my intention for the alt-Mithridatic wars perfect. These next two updates will introduce massive ripples in the Orient, and throughout the Roman world.
So, without further ado, I present for your pleasure, Part II Mod 0, "B.C. 95-92: Rising Star In The East"

Alt-Mithridatic Wars, Pt. 1, 95-92 BC

95 B.C.: Gaulish Parisii tribe [expand, war with specific tribes] supported by the Romans in Transalpine and Aquitinian Gaul. Nucleic Belgic, Armoric, and Suebii confederacies begin to form in response [you had better expand this].
Tigranes I of Armenia buys his freedom from Mithridates of Parthia by awarding the “Seven Valleys” of Atropatene to that monarch and returns to his country, annexing Sophene and forging an alliance with the rising star Mithridates Eupator of Pontus.

94 B.C.: Nicomedes III of Bithynia dies and was succeeded by Nicomedes IV Philopator. Mithridates wants to install Philopator's brother Socrates Chrestus in Bithynia and formally annex Galatia and Cappadocia, but the Romans fear that Mithridates, whose empire includes all of the countries surrounding the Black Sea, would cannot be allowed to absorb the last independent states in Asia Minor. The Parthians and Armenians, however, have no such reservations, and support Mithridates in a bid to check the Republic’s headlong expansion.
Manius Aquilius, proconsul of Asia, invades Cappadocia with 4 legions and a roughly equal number of auxiliaries to support a revolt of the Galatian Celts and place a Roman puppet on the throne of Cappadocia.

93 B.C.: Mithridates overruns Bithynia, sending a thrust towards Roman Asia. Manius’ shortsightedness has left him with the unenviable choice of losing either Cappadocia or a Roman province. He flees for Asia, but his army is caught and overwhelmed by Mithridates near Pergamon. Asia Minor lies at Mithridates’ mercy, but he uses his newfound breathing room to stamp out resistance in Cappadocia, massacring the Galatian Celts and sending the survivors fleeing for the coastal areas still held by Rome. His trusted general Archelaus leads another army into Rome’s client kingdom of Lycia to the south.
The Roman Senate recalls the hapless Manius to Rome and has him executed for his spectacular incompetence. The old warhorse Gaius Marius is dispatched to save the day, accompanied numerous troops (including four complete legions and Marius’ beloved Teutonic allies) from Africa and Iberia, and a joint Roman/Carthaginian fleet under the plodding patrician Sextus Camillus Furius, ably assisted by a fiery young Carthaginian and fanatical “Roman party” supporter named Gaius Melcartius Magius, or “Mago” to his Punic troops.
Marius spends the winter training his troops and calling up new cohorts from surrounding areas, while Mithridates solidifies control over his new possessions, including longtime Roman ally Pergamum, whose leading families are massacred and replaced with Pontic nobles. The Anatolian countryside is widely depopulated by Mithridates’ brutal tactics. In Lycia, however, Archlaus is tied down by fierce native resistance.

92 B.C.: Marius marches to save Pergamum in the spring, several weeks earlier than Mithridates expected. The city falls quickly, and Pontic resistance melts away as Marius advances on Sinope.
Marius dispatches the fleet and its marines, along with several Iberian cohorts, to aid Lycia. Cilician pirates under the influence of Seleucid Syria, which sees Rome as a greater threat than Mithridates attacks the Roman fleet near Xanthos. The inept seaman Sextus Camillus allows his flagship to be isolated and boarded by pirates, but Magius boldly leads his own ship to the rescue and boards Camillus’ ship personally at the head of his Carthaginian clansmen. Camillus is gravely injured despite the rescue attempt, but the Cilician fleet is destroyed by the daring leadership of Magius, who takes command and lands in Xanthos. His allies gone, and Lycian rebels pressing him on all sides, Archlaus flees north into Cappadocia, pursued by a Roman/Lycian army under the Carthaginian admiral.
Mithridates, believing that his best hope lies in his possessions to the north, decides to defend Sinope, sending a token force to assist Archelaus in his headlong retreat towards Sinope. Another Pontic army is obliterated by Marius at Zela, but this is only a token force to allow Mithridates to gather troops from his allies to defend the Pontic shore.
The Roman Senate, receiving news of all these victories at once, awards the Grass crown and Roman citizenship to Magius and his family, naming him commander of the Classis Lyciaticus until such time as the Seleucid and Cilician naval threat shall end, and funds a total of twelve new permanent cohorts to assist Marius, as well as calling up twenty cohorts who have finished their time from Roman and Italian citizens. The recall of inactivated troops to fight a battle causes discontent and unrest throughout Italy, especially Rome’s Socii. A full thanks for Marius awaits his return to Rome, where he is already being feted as the greatest commander since Scipio Numidianus.
Tigranes of Armenia invades Cappadocia, gambling that Marius will not mind losing a little bit of mountainous ground while the dangerous Eupator lurks to his north, especially as the country is mainly depopulated due to recent Pontic depredations. Tigranes, though named “The Great”, was grievously mistaken in his estimate of Rome’s greatest general. Marius leaves the trusted Teutonic cohorts to hold open to mountain passes into Trebizond, and a few alae of Numidian and Aquitanian light cavalry to harass the Pontic shore, and marches south to meet Tigranes. The ad hoc Lycian army of Magius comes north to join him. Rather than allow the two Roman armies to unite, Tigranes strikes in the direction of Marius.
Narrative: The Battle of Arshamashat
At a mountain pass near Arshamashat, 40,000 Armenian light infantry and 15,000 cavalry met a Roman force of six legions, accompanied by 30,000 auxiliaries, of whom 10,000 were cavalry, almost all light cavalry as opposed to the heavily armored Parthian-based Armenian cataphracti. The canny Marius realized his army’s advantages as opposed to the Armenians, and had the newly formed Legio XXV, supported by most of his cavalry launch a spoiling attack on the Armenians’ right cavalry wing near dawn as the Armenians assembled their forces on the plain at the base of the pass. The young Armenian commander, Artabazes, could hardly believe his luck in catching so many Romans at a disadvantage, and gave hard pursuit to the Romans, who withdrew their forces up the pass in good order, despite over an thousand legionaries being killed. When the sun had fully risen, Tigranes realized he would have to move the rest of his forces forward several miles to line up with Artabazes’ wing.* This placed him directly opposed to a full Roman line on the site Marius had chosen the night before, a line of hilltops with deep draws in between, where Illyrian and Iberian auxiliaries, trained from birth to fight in rough terrain, filled in the gaps between the Romans. The Armenians would have to advance up slopes of broken rock, effectively nullifying both the power of a heavy cavalry charge, and breaking up clusters phalanx-type infantry like the Romans had at Pydna and Cynoscephalae. Even with the terrain on his side, over ten thousand of Marius’ Romans and allies would be killed, and the old warrior could not give pursuit as the broken Armenians rode away, though his failing to advance deeper into Armenia probably saved the remains of his army.
*No, Marius could not have stolen this idea from Stonewall Jackson at Second Bull Run. That would involve ASBs. Rather, Jackson must have received this idea from Confederate sympathizers in this timeline who build a time machine and come to OTL. Or Marius and Jackson were both just very sharp boys.

Marius moved his broken army back into Trebizond to overwinter on the Pontic coast and wait for reinforcements, as Archelaus and a cadre of Pontus’ most elite troops secretly sailed for Thrace. *cue ominous theme*

Good TL. Keep up the good work!