AHC. A Roman state in Italy outlives the Western Empire.

[libbrit]

Essentially, we all know the history of the collapse of the empire-tribes moving in for variosu reasons (migrations, invited in as an army for the empire etc), changing the racial, linguistic make up of various parts of the empire

So the challenge is to have a Roman state IN Italy, presumably based around Rome, survive the collapse of the empire, and not become the property of one of the `barbarian` chieftains. If this involves the survival of the senate, latin, an emperor, all the better.

Go.......

 

[Basileus Giorgios]

It's possible, but I think that such a state is going inevitably experience "de-Romanisation", with the loss of the complex hierachical bureaucracy of the Late Empire than was IOTL supported by an efficient tax machine. Certainly, by the later seventh century, the Exarchate of Ravenna was moving in this direction, even as the rest of the Empire folded ever more tightly around the city of Constantinople and the imperial administration based therein.

Really, to keep a functioning Western Roman state, I would suggest that you need to keep Sicily and Africa in the fold, as the wealthiest provinces of the West that required an efficient administration to be able to easily hold, and which would provide the taxes to pay for this administration.

 

[Magnum]

How about a deal between Zeno, Odoacer and Julius Nepos, whereby Nepos is recognized as western emperor by Odoacer and moves to Ravenna, while Odoacer is appointed Magister Militum ?

(instead of OTL where, Odoacer was named Rex Italiae and Nepos, despite technically regaining the throne, stayed in Dalmatia, only to be murdered and forgotten)

Thus, you could maybe prolong the tradition of a powerfull Magister Militum exerting often total levels of control over the Roman Emperor.

The institution of the Emperor is kept, as is that of the Senate [which the barbarian Magister Militum would support (as did the Ostrogothic Kings OTL) as a potential counterweight to any uppity Emperor]. Latin remains the language spoken, and, if they're lucky, they'll survive the turbulent times of the plagues without being a battleground for a generation.

Once that's over, they should have an infrastructure superior to any of their neighbours to the west, and their barbarian element would have been romanized by then, meaning another round of conquests out west is possible.