AHC: A More Eastern Focused Roman Empire

[killertahu22]

Hello! With a POD no earlier than 509 BCE (the foundation of the republic), make Rome "focus" more on the east! I.e., make Rome's expansion focus shift more towards the east than IOTL. The Romans are still able to conquer western regions such as Gaul and Iberia, but the focus should not be on this region. How far east can Rome conceivably go? How long will the empire last? With a focus on the east, how much of the west will they conquer? What are the political, religious, and cultural impacts of this POD? Do we see the Middle East/Arabia considered more "European" ITTL due to a longer, more permanent Roman influence?

I know that IOTL the east was richer than the west, so I think this is a plausible question- I know that Rome isn't going to China, but I do wonder how far y'all think they could go!

Have fun!

 

[Silver01]

I say the borders of 117 with maybe Yemen added

 

[killertahu22]

I say the borders of 117 with maybe Yemen added

Would they still have conquered all of the west? And you think only down to Yemen would be added?

 

[Silver01]

Would they still have conquered all of the west? And you think only down to Yemen would be added?

Well seen as how Rome conquered the east after the west I still think it would maybe some conquest would not happen but the center of the roman empire is the in the center of the Mediterranean
I say Yemen and maybe Hejaz because crossing the zagros would mean to conquer Persia

 

[Booster Gold]

The East is a lot tougher and more organized and the West. If the Romans go too much sooner than they did they'll get their asses handed to them.

Though I'd love to see Rome vs Alexander

 

[Simreeve]

To get much further east than the Zagros mountains the Romans really need better, & more, cavalry... or maybe firearms.

 

[killertahu22]

The East is a lot tougher and more organized and the West. If the Romans go too much sooner than they did they'll get their asses handed to them.

Though I'd love to see Rome vs Alexander

Ah fair, I had never considered that!

 

[EmperorOfTheNorthSea]

Earlier incursions into Magna Graecia would certainly earn it the ire of Hellenic states much earlier. Maybe allied Gallic chiefdoms could be allowed to exist as allies/puppets to secure the northern border?

 

[killertahu22]

Earlier incursions into Magna Graecia would certainly earn it the ire of Hellenic states much earlier. Maybe allied Gallic chiefdoms could be allowed to exist as allies/puppets to secure the northern border?

This is what I had thought as a good general POD, personally!

 

[Serker]

Roman conquest and long-term holding of Persia is one way- but it would be a mammoth undertaking and probably fundamentally change what the Roman Empire was. Another option is a greater Roman presence in the Indian Ocean trade. Getting Roman soldiers / mercenaries involved in ports as far away as Barigaza may be possible with the right POD.

 

[killertahu22]

Roman conquest and long-term holding of Persia is one way- but it would be a mammoth undertaking and probably fundamentally change what the Roman Empire was. Another option is a greater Roman presence in the Indian Ocean trade. Getting Roman soldiers / mercenaries involved in ports as far away as Barigaza may be possible with the right POD.

They'd need to go through the Red Sea for this right? So this means at least the Arabian peninsula, or at least the majority of it, would be either Roman owned or Roman-client owned?

 

[EmperorOfTheNorthSea]

They'd need to go through the Red Sea for this right? So this means at least the Arabian peninsula, or at least the majority of it, would be either Roman owned or Roman-client owned?

Technically they could just use the Persian gulf, or just go overland like Alexander did.

but it would be a mammoth undertaking and probably fundamentally change what the Roman Empire was.

I don't see how installing client satraps using the previous bureaucracy with the position of shahanshah (likely filled nominally by the Augustus at the time) would change the heart of Rome too much. Maybe it's foreign policy towards the east slightly but with the POD that's a given.

 

[Serker]

I don't see how installing client satraps using the previous bureaucracy with the position of shahanshah (likely filled nominally by the Augustus at the time) would change the heart of Rome too much. Maybe it's foreign policy towards the east slightly but with the POD that's a given.

I guess it depends on when and how the conquest is done. If say, Caesar conquers Parthia, then it butterflies away Augustus and so on, and I think the Roman Empire ends up looking very different long term. I guess if Trajan's conquests were held longer and/or expanded a little it wouldn't change as much.