Could you also put the dates in BCE/CE and footnotes saying where the OTL locations are?
A Much Larger Rome that Survives until the Present Day Version 2.0
- Thread starter ericams2786
- Start date
About the locations, I'm assuming you mean the provinces. If you want to know where the provinces in the middle east are, just google the Persian Empire and it will give you a pretty good idea of where they are. For the ones in Germania I already put a map of Germania up a few posts ago . Most of the other provinces existed in OTL in the Roman Empire, so just google it. As for the years, my TL starts at 709 AUC or 44 bce. For bce years, just subtract the year from 753 bce (the traditional year for the founding of Rome), that will give you the AUC year. Eventually for ce years, just add the year to 753.
723 AUC
Domestic: The draining of the Pomptine Marshes hits an unexpected obstacle when nearly 5,000 men die after a massive collapse of one of the main drainage canals. Octavian temporarily orders a halt to the project until engineers can devise a way to keep the canals from collapsing (a major problem with the project given the saturated marshlands). Vitruvius completes the foundation and basement area of the Colosseum in June. Octavian makes all of the major Egyptian gods, including Osiris and Isis, an official part of the Roman pantheon. A former optimate and current Senator named Decimus Coruncanius Aesillio begins openly criticizing Octavian and Caesar in the Senate during times of Octavian’s absence. Though ignored as the usual uneasiness of some Senators with the growing power of Caesar’s unique office, some Senators close to Aesillio form a small committee dedicated to defeating Octavian’s legislative agenda. This committee represents the beginning of what will quickly grow into a block of Senators called the “Neo-Optimates” which will be influential in the Iunius Coniuratius against Caesar and Octavian. The Senate passes a resolution annexing Armenia, Adiabene, Atropatene, Mesopotamia, and Scythia south of the River Borysthenes to the Roman Republic (officially making these areas military provinces).
New Praetors:
Armenia: Lucius Gratius
Adiabene: Lucius Herennius Aculeo
Atropatene: Servius Iulius Bubulcus
Mesopotamia: Marcus Labienus
Scythia: Quintus Irminius Dentatus
Military: The Roman campaign in Parthia continues after an initial ceasefire. Antony begins his campaign south into the Caucasus Mountains after resting his army for several months at a makeshift fort on the River Tanais. Antony moves quickly to secure ports along the eastern coast of the Pontus Euxinus in his march south toward Colchis and Iberia. In June, after his capture of Cercetus just north of the Kingdom of Colchis, Antony sends word to Octavian in Rome for the need of additional legions in his conquest of the Caucasus.
Battles:
Battle of Babylon (R)
Battle of Lake Dalmos (R)
Battle of Praaspa (E)
Siege of Charax (R)
Battle of Ctesiphon (R)
First Battle of Susa (E)
Second Siege/Battle of Ctesiphon (R)
Second Battle of Praaspa (R)
Literature, Art, and Science: Bibaculus dies at the age of 57 while sculpting a statue of Octavian with eagle’s wings that was to be placed in the main hall of the Curius Senatus. His apprentice, the 17-year-old Vibius Pontius Macer continues the work of Bibaculus. Macer later becomes Ptolemy Caesar’s court artist and it is believed that he is the distant ancestor of Emperor Urban Pontius. Caesar begins to write his never-finished Commentarii de Bello Parthico.
Foreign: King Rhadapdizes of Sogdiana, the ousted former king of Bactria, secures a peace treaty with the Xiongnu, freeing him to build up his forces to eventually re-conquer Bactria. Characene becomes a protectorate of the Roman Republic.
Domestic: The draining of the Pomptine Marshes hits an unexpected obstacle when nearly 5,000 men die after a massive collapse of one of the main drainage canals. Octavian temporarily orders a halt to the project until engineers can devise a way to keep the canals from collapsing (a major problem with the project given the saturated marshlands). Vitruvius completes the foundation and basement area of the Colosseum in June. Octavian makes all of the major Egyptian gods, including Osiris and Isis, an official part of the Roman pantheon. A former optimate and current Senator named Decimus Coruncanius Aesillio begins openly criticizing Octavian and Caesar in the Senate during times of Octavian’s absence. Though ignored as the usual uneasiness of some Senators with the growing power of Caesar’s unique office, some Senators close to Aesillio form a small committee dedicated to defeating Octavian’s legislative agenda. This committee represents the beginning of what will quickly grow into a block of Senators called the “Neo-Optimates” which will be influential in the Iunius Coniuratius against Caesar and Octavian. The Senate passes a resolution annexing Armenia, Adiabene, Atropatene, Mesopotamia, and Scythia south of the River Borysthenes to the Roman Republic (officially making these areas military provinces).
New Praetors:
Armenia: Lucius Gratius
Adiabene: Lucius Herennius Aculeo
Atropatene: Servius Iulius Bubulcus
Mesopotamia: Marcus Labienus
Scythia: Quintus Irminius Dentatus
Military: The Roman campaign in Parthia continues after an initial ceasefire. Antony begins his campaign south into the Caucasus Mountains after resting his army for several months at a makeshift fort on the River Tanais. Antony moves quickly to secure ports along the eastern coast of the Pontus Euxinus in his march south toward Colchis and Iberia. In June, after his capture of Cercetus just north of the Kingdom of Colchis, Antony sends word to Octavian in Rome for the need of additional legions in his conquest of the Caucasus.
Battles:
Battle of Babylon (R)
Battle of Lake Dalmos (R)
Battle of Praaspa (E)
Siege of Charax (R)
Battle of Ctesiphon (R)
First Battle of Susa (E)
Second Siege/Battle of Ctesiphon (R)
Second Battle of Praaspa (R)
Literature, Art, and Science: Bibaculus dies at the age of 57 while sculpting a statue of Octavian with eagle’s wings that was to be placed in the main hall of the Curius Senatus. His apprentice, the 17-year-old Vibius Pontius Macer continues the work of Bibaculus. Macer later becomes Ptolemy Caesar’s court artist and it is believed that he is the distant ancestor of Emperor Urban Pontius. Caesar begins to write his never-finished Commentarii de Bello Parthico.
Foreign: King Rhadapdizes of Sogdiana, the ousted former king of Bactria, secures a peace treaty with the Xiongnu, freeing him to build up his forces to eventually re-conquer Bactria. Characene becomes a protectorate of the Roman Republic.
I like everything about your TL. But you already know that, right?
Well I do now, but thank you for the reply anyway!
724 AUC
Domestic: A minor slave revolt in Rome leads to a devastating fire that destroys the grain storage buildings and a number of residencies in a poorer section of the city. The revolt is rather easily put down, but the incident prompts Octavius to reorganize the city’s police and firefighting force and restructure the way in which the city is managed. Later in the year, Octavian introduces a bill into the Senate called the Lex Praefectus, which proposes to create a police force known as the cohorts urbanae (urban cohort) and a firefighting force called the vigils. The law also proposes the creation of two new offices: that of the praefectus urbanus (or Urban Prefect), which basically acts as the executive and police chief of the city of Rome and the iudex urbanus (Urban Judge) who has final legal jurisdiction within the city of Rome (this position leads much later in history to the creation of the judicial branch of government for the Empire). Octavian, due to the grain shortages for the first half of 724, imposes the first grain ration in several years, leading to widespread unrest in the city.
Military: Antony conquers both the Kingdom of Colchis and the Kingdom of Iberia by the end of the year and rests his army in preparation for an eventual invasion of Parthia in support of Caesar’s war effort.
Battles:
Battle of Harsi Tabir (R)
Second Battle of Susa (R)
Battle of Persepolis (E)
Battle of Pasargadae (I)
Siege of Pasargadae (E)
Second Battle of Persepolis (R)
Second Battle of Pasargadae (R)
Battle of Lake Zargusae (E)
Battle of Mount Tyraios (R)
Foreign: A former Parthian general named Golgitones establishes an independent kingdom in Osroene after a successful rebellion against the occupying Romans. Herod the Great of Judea finishes building the massive fortress of Masada.
Domestic: A minor slave revolt in Rome leads to a devastating fire that destroys the grain storage buildings and a number of residencies in a poorer section of the city. The revolt is rather easily put down, but the incident prompts Octavius to reorganize the city’s police and firefighting force and restructure the way in which the city is managed. Later in the year, Octavian introduces a bill into the Senate called the Lex Praefectus, which proposes to create a police force known as the cohorts urbanae (urban cohort) and a firefighting force called the vigils. The law also proposes the creation of two new offices: that of the praefectus urbanus (or Urban Prefect), which basically acts as the executive and police chief of the city of Rome and the iudex urbanus (Urban Judge) who has final legal jurisdiction within the city of Rome (this position leads much later in history to the creation of the judicial branch of government for the Empire). Octavian, due to the grain shortages for the first half of 724, imposes the first grain ration in several years, leading to widespread unrest in the city.
Military: Antony conquers both the Kingdom of Colchis and the Kingdom of Iberia by the end of the year and rests his army in preparation for an eventual invasion of Parthia in support of Caesar’s war effort.
Battles:
Battle of Harsi Tabir (R)
Second Battle of Susa (R)
Battle of Persepolis (E)
Battle of Pasargadae (I)
Siege of Pasargadae (E)
Second Battle of Persepolis (R)
Second Battle of Pasargadae (R)
Battle of Lake Zargusae (E)
Battle of Mount Tyraios (R)
Foreign: A former Parthian general named Golgitones establishes an independent kingdom in Osroene after a successful rebellion against the occupying Romans. Herod the Great of Judea finishes building the massive fortress of Masada.
725 AUC
Domestic: Ivo the Goth is freed by Antony’s will after the general’s death and he moves to Tarentum in Italy where he begins writing a memoire. Caesar begins his infamous affair with a former Bactrian princess named Taxiana. According to Livy’s account of the incident, Caesar fathered a second son with Taxiana, though this account cannot be substantiated by any other historian. Despite this, the famous general Gauis Julius Mus (who served during Ptolemy’s reign), also born in this year, is often linked to Livy’s account and many speculate that he may actually have been the second son of Caesar. Upon hearing of the death of Marc Antony, Caesar promotes Gauis Asinius Pollio to the position of Magister Equitum. The Senate passes the Lex Praefectus, with an amendment that would allow for the Urban Prefect and Urban Judge to both be elected offices rather than appointed by the Imperator Perpetuus. Sextus Mocius Celsus is elected the first Urban Prefect and Cauis Didius Flavus, a prominent lawyer and friend of Octavius, is elected the first Urban Judge of Rome. The block of Senators actively opposed to Octavius’ (and thus Caesar’s) political agenda, form a factio or faction of Senators called the Neo-Optimates. The main agenda of the Neo-Optimates is to always vote against the legislation proposed by Octavian or his allies and all members of the faction vote as a block. One of the more radical members, a Senator from Hispania named Quintus Sergius Gurges, begins to plan a plot to overthrow Octavius and restore the Roman state to a truly Republican form of government. Work on the draining of the Pomptine Marshes begins again after a two-year delay. Both Colchis and Iberia are officially annexed by the Senate in July, with Appius Hirtius becoming the Praetor of Colchis and Marcus Licinius Natta becoming Praetor of Iberia.
Military: Agrippa manages to end both the rebellion in Armenia and Mesopotamia. He establishes a well-guarded supply and water train that helps supply the Roman army further east under the command of Caesar and Pollio. Caesar and Pollio continue their campaigns in Parthia. Antony invades Armenia to aid Agrippa in defeating the rebellion sparked by Haerodates, but dies later in the year at the Battle of Artaxata due to a battle wound.
Battles:
First Battle of Amida (E)
Second Battle of Amida (I)
Battle of Armaztsikhe (R)
Battle of Lake Sevan (R)
Siege of Tigranocerta (R)
Battle of Mount Ararat (R)
Third Battle of Pasargadae (R)
Siege of Rhagae (R)
Battle of Pura (R)
Siege of Artaxata (R)
Battle of Gorneas (R)
Literature, Art, and Science: Macer finally finishes the statue of Winged Octavian that was first begun by Bibaculus. The statue is placed in the main hall of the Curius Senatus. Publius Vergilius Maro begins composing the Aeneid.
Foreign: Haerodates of Armenia rebels against the Roman Republic and establishes an independent Armenian state. Golgitones declares the creation of the Golgite Empire. Civil war rages in Parthia as several generals vie for complete control of the Parthian state. The wheelbarrow is invented in China. King Takpahlav-reh of the Kingdom of Gedrosia allies with the Romans after the defeat of the Parthians by Roman general Spurius Hostilius Barbatus.
Domestic: Ivo the Goth is freed by Antony’s will after the general’s death and he moves to Tarentum in Italy where he begins writing a memoire. Caesar begins his infamous affair with a former Bactrian princess named Taxiana. According to Livy’s account of the incident, Caesar fathered a second son with Taxiana, though this account cannot be substantiated by any other historian. Despite this, the famous general Gauis Julius Mus (who served during Ptolemy’s reign), also born in this year, is often linked to Livy’s account and many speculate that he may actually have been the second son of Caesar. Upon hearing of the death of Marc Antony, Caesar promotes Gauis Asinius Pollio to the position of Magister Equitum. The Senate passes the Lex Praefectus, with an amendment that would allow for the Urban Prefect and Urban Judge to both be elected offices rather than appointed by the Imperator Perpetuus. Sextus Mocius Celsus is elected the first Urban Prefect and Cauis Didius Flavus, a prominent lawyer and friend of Octavius, is elected the first Urban Judge of Rome. The block of Senators actively opposed to Octavius’ (and thus Caesar’s) political agenda, form a factio or faction of Senators called the Neo-Optimates. The main agenda of the Neo-Optimates is to always vote against the legislation proposed by Octavian or his allies and all members of the faction vote as a block. One of the more radical members, a Senator from Hispania named Quintus Sergius Gurges, begins to plan a plot to overthrow Octavius and restore the Roman state to a truly Republican form of government. Work on the draining of the Pomptine Marshes begins again after a two-year delay. Both Colchis and Iberia are officially annexed by the Senate in July, with Appius Hirtius becoming the Praetor of Colchis and Marcus Licinius Natta becoming Praetor of Iberia.
Military: Agrippa manages to end both the rebellion in Armenia and Mesopotamia. He establishes a well-guarded supply and water train that helps supply the Roman army further east under the command of Caesar and Pollio. Caesar and Pollio continue their campaigns in Parthia. Antony invades Armenia to aid Agrippa in defeating the rebellion sparked by Haerodates, but dies later in the year at the Battle of Artaxata due to a battle wound.
Battles:
First Battle of Amida (E)
Second Battle of Amida (I)
Battle of Armaztsikhe (R)
Battle of Lake Sevan (R)
Siege of Tigranocerta (R)
Battle of Mount Ararat (R)
Third Battle of Pasargadae (R)
Siege of Rhagae (R)
Battle of Pura (R)
Siege of Artaxata (R)
Battle of Gorneas (R)
Literature, Art, and Science: Macer finally finishes the statue of Winged Octavian that was first begun by Bibaculus. The statue is placed in the main hall of the Curius Senatus. Publius Vergilius Maro begins composing the Aeneid.
Foreign: Haerodates of Armenia rebels against the Roman Republic and establishes an independent Armenian state. Golgitones declares the creation of the Golgite Empire. Civil war rages in Parthia as several generals vie for complete control of the Parthian state. The wheelbarrow is invented in China. King Takpahlav-reh of the Kingdom of Gedrosia allies with the Romans after the defeat of the Parthians by Roman general Spurius Hostilius Barbatus.
726 AUC
Domestic: Throughout the first half of 726, Senators Gurges and Aesillio begin seeking out members of the Senatorial Guard who are sympathetic to the Neo-Optimate cause and as the elected (within the Senate) civilian commander of the Senatorial Guard, Aesillio, fires the Senatorial Prefect (military head of the Senatorial Guard) and hires a radical former optimate named Lucius Herennius Tuditanus (who had previously been pardoned by Caesar during the trials of the conspirators in 709 and 710) to head the Guard. By May, Aesillio and Gurges’ political strength was such that they had attracted nearly 14 members of the Senate to their side and had infiltrated the Senatorial Guard to such a degree that it was a given that any order given by Aesillio was almost destined to be fulfilled. On the night of June 4th, Aesillio ordered the kidnapping of Octavius from his residence and 10 Senators considered his most powerful allies by the Senatorial Guard, thus starting the two-week long Iunius Coniuratius (June Plot), the attempted overthrow of Octavius in Caesar’s absence. The June Plot ends on June 25th, with the defeat of the Senatorial Guard by the Praetorian Guard (headed by Ptolemy Caesar) and the beheading of both Aesillio and Gurges. Octavian restores order in Rome throughout the rest of the year and sends word to Caesar of the plot. Trials of all the Senators involved in the plot occur during the remainder of the year and elections are held in the provinces represented by the Neo-Optimate Senators to fill the vacant Senate seats. The grain supply is once again stabilized, with the grain reserve nearly full from the now completely stabilized grain market. The grain ration ends in April with a full week of games held at the partially-completed Colosseum to celebrate the end of the ration. Though only 12 years old, Claudia Marcella is betrothed to the 20-year-old Ptolemy Caesar to strengthen the ties between Octavian and Caesar’s family lines. Cleopatra begins a rather public affair with a powerful Senator named Marcus Menenius Bulbus. Though rumors abound in contemporary histories of the time that Cleopatra had a number of low-profile affairs during times of her husband’s absence, none are so clearly documented as her affair with Bulbus, which continued for several years. It is mentioned in Maro’s Historia Julia (written c. 782 AUC) that Cleopatra became pregnant with Bulbus’ child, but she miscarried the pregnancy and it was at this point that she decided to end her affair with Bulbus. A mention of this pregnancy also appears in one line of Ovidius’ Amatoria Cleopatra (Cleopatra’s Lovers). In addition, there is rumored in many of the contemporary histories of the time of a son born to Cleopatra by a man she was having an affair with during Caesar’s campaign in Germania, though no proof of a birth is officially recorded (all of the related histories on this topic label the rumor as hearsay). Despite this, the rumor of Cleopatra giving birth to another man’s son would play a pivotal role in the usurpation of the Roman emperorship by Imperator Cnaeus Julius Philadelphus Bucco two centuries later. The famous Roman general, Gauis Julius Mus is born in Rhagae to a distant relative of Caesar and a Persian woman named Zagalia.
Military: The Roman military campaign continues in southern and eastern Parthia with a campaign by Caesar and Pollio north toward Hecamtompylos and the Caspian Gates. A minor rebellion in Colchis is put down by the local Roman military garrison. The famous crossing of the Kavir Desert by Caesar’s army occurs. Caesar allies with the Parthian general Bahardarnes and camps his army in Neh before campaigning north with Bahardarnes against the Kingdom of Bactria.
Battles:
Battle of Tarkala (R)
Battle of Pattala (R)
Battle of the Caspian Gates (R)
Siege of Hecamtompylos (R)
Battle of Alexandria (R)
Battle of Susia (E)
Battle of the Bolan Pass (E)
Battle of Guidola (I)
Literature, Art, and Science: Though only 16 years old, the young Publius Ovidius Naso begins composing several poems that will eventually constitute his famous Heroides.
Foreign: The Indian prince Draupadi crosses the River Indus with the intent of conquering Indo-Parthia and avenging his prior losses at the hands of Phraates IV. Draupadi is defeated at the Battle of Tarkala by an alliance of the Roman general Barbatus and the Gedrosian king Takpahlav-reh and is forced to retreat back across the Indus after another defeat at Pattala. Various factions fight for control of the Parthian state in the wake of the defeat and death of Parthian king Rhaphaeshaz and numerous leaders declare themselves king of Parthia during the first half of the year, as civil war engulfs the rump Parthian state. Rhadapdizes, son of the last king of the former Kingdom of Bactria, re-conquers his kingdom and re-establishes the Kingdom of Bactria while fighting for the title of Parthian king against several other factions.
Domestic: Throughout the first half of 726, Senators Gurges and Aesillio begin seeking out members of the Senatorial Guard who are sympathetic to the Neo-Optimate cause and as the elected (within the Senate) civilian commander of the Senatorial Guard, Aesillio, fires the Senatorial Prefect (military head of the Senatorial Guard) and hires a radical former optimate named Lucius Herennius Tuditanus (who had previously been pardoned by Caesar during the trials of the conspirators in 709 and 710) to head the Guard. By May, Aesillio and Gurges’ political strength was such that they had attracted nearly 14 members of the Senate to their side and had infiltrated the Senatorial Guard to such a degree that it was a given that any order given by Aesillio was almost destined to be fulfilled. On the night of June 4th, Aesillio ordered the kidnapping of Octavius from his residence and 10 Senators considered his most powerful allies by the Senatorial Guard, thus starting the two-week long Iunius Coniuratius (June Plot), the attempted overthrow of Octavius in Caesar’s absence. The June Plot ends on June 25th, with the defeat of the Senatorial Guard by the Praetorian Guard (headed by Ptolemy Caesar) and the beheading of both Aesillio and Gurges. Octavian restores order in Rome throughout the rest of the year and sends word to Caesar of the plot. Trials of all the Senators involved in the plot occur during the remainder of the year and elections are held in the provinces represented by the Neo-Optimate Senators to fill the vacant Senate seats. The grain supply is once again stabilized, with the grain reserve nearly full from the now completely stabilized grain market. The grain ration ends in April with a full week of games held at the partially-completed Colosseum to celebrate the end of the ration. Though only 12 years old, Claudia Marcella is betrothed to the 20-year-old Ptolemy Caesar to strengthen the ties between Octavian and Caesar’s family lines. Cleopatra begins a rather public affair with a powerful Senator named Marcus Menenius Bulbus. Though rumors abound in contemporary histories of the time that Cleopatra had a number of low-profile affairs during times of her husband’s absence, none are so clearly documented as her affair with Bulbus, which continued for several years. It is mentioned in Maro’s Historia Julia (written c. 782 AUC) that Cleopatra became pregnant with Bulbus’ child, but she miscarried the pregnancy and it was at this point that she decided to end her affair with Bulbus. A mention of this pregnancy also appears in one line of Ovidius’ Amatoria Cleopatra (Cleopatra’s Lovers). In addition, there is rumored in many of the contemporary histories of the time of a son born to Cleopatra by a man she was having an affair with during Caesar’s campaign in Germania, though no proof of a birth is officially recorded (all of the related histories on this topic label the rumor as hearsay). Despite this, the rumor of Cleopatra giving birth to another man’s son would play a pivotal role in the usurpation of the Roman emperorship by Imperator Cnaeus Julius Philadelphus Bucco two centuries later. The famous Roman general, Gauis Julius Mus is born in Rhagae to a distant relative of Caesar and a Persian woman named Zagalia.
Military: The Roman military campaign continues in southern and eastern Parthia with a campaign by Caesar and Pollio north toward Hecamtompylos and the Caspian Gates. A minor rebellion in Colchis is put down by the local Roman military garrison. The famous crossing of the Kavir Desert by Caesar’s army occurs. Caesar allies with the Parthian general Bahardarnes and camps his army in Neh before campaigning north with Bahardarnes against the Kingdom of Bactria.
Battles:
Battle of Tarkala (R)
Battle of Pattala (R)
Battle of the Caspian Gates (R)
Siege of Hecamtompylos (R)
Battle of Alexandria (R)
Battle of Susia (E)
Battle of the Bolan Pass (E)
Battle of Guidola (I)
Literature, Art, and Science: Though only 16 years old, the young Publius Ovidius Naso begins composing several poems that will eventually constitute his famous Heroides.
Foreign: The Indian prince Draupadi crosses the River Indus with the intent of conquering Indo-Parthia and avenging his prior losses at the hands of Phraates IV. Draupadi is defeated at the Battle of Tarkala by an alliance of the Roman general Barbatus and the Gedrosian king Takpahlav-reh and is forced to retreat back across the Indus after another defeat at Pattala. Various factions fight for control of the Parthian state in the wake of the defeat and death of Parthian king Rhaphaeshaz and numerous leaders declare themselves king of Parthia during the first half of the year, as civil war engulfs the rump Parthian state. Rhadapdizes, son of the last king of the former Kingdom of Bactria, re-conquers his kingdom and re-establishes the Kingdom of Bactria while fighting for the title of Parthian king against several other factions.
cw1865
Gunpowder
While the Fall of Rome is a complex question in itself. Ultimately the failure of the state to protect the frontiers rendered the state moot. Any 'survival' of Rome thesis has to address this fundamental failure. How could Rome maintain its frontier? An early invention of gunpowder would of course do the trick. If it wasn't the Alans, it was the Franks, if it wasn't the Franks it was the Huns, not the Huns, perhaps the Mongols or Persians.
While the Fall of Rome is a complex question in itself. Ultimately the failure of the state to protect the frontiers rendered the state moot. Any 'survival' of Rome thesis has to address this fundamental failure. How could Rome maintain its frontier? An early invention of gunpowder would of course do the trick. If it wasn't the Alans, it was the Franks, if it wasn't the Franks it was the Huns, not the Huns, perhaps the Mongols or Persians.
You are absolutely correct about Rome not enforcing its frontiers as it should have. I think there are many reasons for the fall of Rome, all of which I hope to eventually address in my TL. Now I realize my TL is improbable, but I don't believe it is totally impossible or ASB. I didn't make it entirely clear perhaps with my first post on this new thread as far as my POD is concerned, but I did link some prior threads which include the first version of my TL and the beginnings of my novel. Both of these links will help clear up where this improved version of the TL is coming from; especially since it is meant to supplement the novel. If I ever think there is enough interest from this thread for me to justify posting new parts of my novel I will, I'm just waiting for this thread to pick up a bit.
As far as my POD is concerned, it's obviously the failed assassination of Caesar. When I first began writing my novel I looked at what the supposed future plans of Julius Caesar were and I'm assuming that he would have eventually pursued them, had he not been assassinated. Of course him living long enough to actually succeed is all me. But here are several things Caesar planned on doing in OTL:
Draining the Pomptine Marshes
Conquering Parthia
Conquering the Germanic tribes
Just to name a few. Here's what Plutarch in OTL says of Caesar:
"Caesar was born to do great things and to seek constantly for distinction. His many successes, so far from encouraging him to rest and to enjoy the fruits of all his labors, only served to kindle in him fresh confidence for the future, filling his mind with projects of still greater actions and with a passion for new glory, as though he had run through his stock of the old. His feelings can best be described by saying that he was competing with himself, as though he were someone else, and was struggling to make the future excel the past.
Julius Caesar
(Musei Vaticani, Rome)
He had made his plans and preparations for an expedition against the Parthians; after conquering them he proposed to march round the Black Sea by way of Hyrcania, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus; he would then invade Scythia, would overrun all the countries bordering on Germania and Germania itself, and would then return to Italy by way of Gaul, thus completing the circuit of his empire which would be bounded on all sides by the ocean.
While this expedition was going on he proposed to dig a canal through the isthmus of Corinth, and had already put Anienus in charge of this undertaking. He also planned to divert the Tiber just below the city into a deep channel, which would bend round towards Circeii and come out into the sea at Terracina, so that there would be a safe and easy passage for merchantmen to Rome [1]. Then too he proposed to drain the marshes by Pometia and Setia [2] and to create a plain which could be cultivated by many thousands of men. He also intended to build great breakwaters along the coast where the sea is nearest to Rome, to clear away all the obstructions which were a danger to shipping at Ostia, and to construct harbors and roadsteads big enough for the great fleets which would lie at anchor there [3]."
http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t15.html
Now some things I'm going to have Caesar do (or initiate) in my TL are:
Redefining of Roman defensive strategy and border philosophy (especially the official use of natural borders) - this plays in to what you where saying about OTL Rome's issue with defending its borders
Official colonial policy of resettling Romans from Italy to Roman enclaves in conquered territories
Building of extensive road systems in the conquered areas as soon as possible, completed with a mail carrier system for faster information flow
Restructuring of the military much like Marius before him, with the wide spread use of the Caesar Cipher, both in the legions and along the frontier to help protect the border
Use of the crisis caused by the Civil War and his attempted assissination to fulfill his ambitions of conquest
Massive building projects to lower unemployment and keep the citizens happy
An actual formal Constitution defining clearly the executive (including succession) and legislative branches of government and a complete restructuring (and simplification) of the civil code (which is something Caesar wanted to do eventually)
Gradual citizenship (and rights) for conquered people as an incentive to not rebel en masse, coupled with a strategy of being more open and accepting of foreigners overall
Overhall and simplification of the tax code (something that Octavian did in OTL that made tax collection less corrupt, increased tax flow, and made the tax burden more equitable among the provinces)
In addition many of the above will be expanded on by Caesar's son Ptolemy (Caesarion) and his descendents. And of course not all will go well; Rome will face many, many problems in its long history, but the foundation that Caesar and his first few successors will lay will allow the Empire to endure.
And bump yet again...so is anyone still interested in this TL? Anyone want me to continue?
709 AUC = 44 BCE
710 = 43
711 = 42
712 = 41
713 = 40
714 = 39
715 = 38
716 = 37
717 = 36
718 = 35
719 = 34
720 = 33
721 = 32
722 = 31
723 = 30
724 = 29
725 = 28
726 = 27
I'll start adding the OTL years in the next update.
710 = 43
711 = 42
712 = 41
713 = 40
714 = 39
715 = 38
716 = 37
717 = 36
718 = 35
719 = 34
720 = 33
721 = 32
722 = 31
723 = 30
724 = 29
725 = 28
726 = 27
I'll start adding the OTL years in the next update.
Are you joking ? You MUST continue.
Well to be honest I wasn't sure. I mean the lack of comments was starting to worry me. That's actually one reason why I took a hiatus before (besides being ridiculously busy); in the past it seemed that every time I spent several hours putting together an update (either for my TL or my novel posted in the Writer's Forum), it'd go days with no comments and just disappear several pages back. I really like contributing to this board, but spending all that time to get basically no response is sort of annoying.