its that time again...
676 AUC
- The Romans are defeated by Mithridates at Tyana.
- A reinforcement army, under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius, crushes the Pontic army under Mithridates, at Antioch.
- Tigranes II negotiates peace with Rome, who recognize his conquest of Osroene and enter into an alliance with him.
- Gallia Cisalpina is incorporated as a Roman province.
- Menander II succeeds Philoxenus as the Indo-Greek King.
677 AUC
- The Romans, under Pompeius, defeat Mithridates again at Tyana, and Mithridates sues for peace.
- Tigranes II builds his new capital of Tigranacerta.
678 AUC
- The Romans and Armenians invade Parthia to assist Orodes I in gaining the Parthian throne.
679 AUC
- The Sunga Empire collapses.
- Alexander Jannaeus of Judea dies and is succeeded by his wife, Salome Alexandra.
680 AUC (74 BC)
- Phraates III is defeated outside of Ctesiphon by the Romans.
- Orodes I becomes king of Parthia and has Phraates III killed.
681 AUC
- Salome Alexandra re-establishes the Sanhedrin.
682 AUC
- The Helvetii invade Gallia, including Gallia Narbonensis, the Roman province in the area. [12]
- Ptolemy XI succeeds Berenice III as Pharaoh of Aegyptus.
683 AUC
- Quintus Servilius Bibulus invents the first printing press in Rome. [13]
- Zhao Di reforms the tax system of Seres. The new taxation system combines an income tax and a low property tax. [14]
684 AUC
- Roman forces, under Lucius Sergius Catilina, invade Thracia.
- Malichus II succeeds Rabbel I as King of Nabatea.
- Zhao Di resumes sending envoys to distant countries, specifically including the Roman Republic. [15]
685 AUC
- Creta is incorporated as a Roman province.
- Orodes I invades the Indo-Scythian tribes to the east of Parthia. [16]
- A military expedition from Seres is sent to subdue the southern Korean peninsula.
686 AUC
- Marcus Licinius Crassus is dispatched to negotiate with the Helvetii.
- Zhao Di orders the construction of a canal between Beijing and Hangzhou.
687 AUC
- The Roman Republic declares war on Pontus.
- The Helvetii are allowed to settle in Gallia, in exchange for military service.
- Ptolemy XII succeeds Ptolemy XI as Pharaoh of Aegyptus.
- Upset with Zhao Di's reforms against the nobility, many rise up against him.
688 AUC
- Thracia is incorporated as a Roman province.
- Zhao Di signs an alliance with the Yuezhi confederation, affirming them as tributaries of Seres. [17]
689 AUC
- The Romans, under Crassus, are defeated by a Suebi-Marcomanni army.
- Orodes signs an alliance with Menander II against the Indo-Scythians, and affirms a common border between their two empires.
690 AUC (64 BC)
- At the battle of Amisus, Mithridates VI is defeated and captured by the Romans, under the command of Pompeius.
- Mithridates is forced to sign over his kingdom to the Roman Republic, and is brought to Rome for Pompeius' triumph.
- Hyrcanus II succeeds Salome Alexandra as ruler of Judea.
691 AUC
- Cilicia is incorporated as a Roman province.
- Aristobulus rebels against his brother, Hyrcanus II.
692 AUC
- Roman forces, under Caesar's command, invade the Dacian kingdom of King Burebista.
- The Indo-Scythians are defeated near Alexandria [18] by the Indo-Greeks and Parthians.
- The first envoys from Seres reach Rome.
- The Kingdom of the Bosporus becomes a Roman client state.
- Zhao Di defeats a major noble army outside of Louyang, ending the uprising. [19]
693 AUC
- The Romans and Helvetii, under Crassus' command, defeat the Suebi and Marcomanni army and annihilate it.
- The southern Korean peninsula is united under a tributary state of Seres, known as Silla.
694 AUC
- Mauretania becomes a Roman client state.
- The Roman forces, under Caesar, defeat Burebista at Sagadava. [20]
- Roman envoys reach Chang'an.
695 AUC
- Antipater I assumes the throne of Judea, with the support of Rome and the Nabateans. [21]
- Mithridates III succeeds Orodes I as King of Parthia.
- The printing press reaches Seres.
696 AUC
- The Roman forces under Crassus' command conquer Aquitania.
- Menander II expands his territory into the lands of the former Sunga empire.
697 AUC
- Rabbel II succeeds Malichus II as king of Nabatea.
698 AUC
- Artavasdes II succeeds Tigranes II as King of Armenia.
699 AUC
- Cotesti, the capital and last major fortress of the Dacians, is taken by the Romans and Dacia is annexed to the Roman Republic.
- The knowledge of paper making reaches the Roman Republic. [22]
- The Grand Canal of Seres is completed.
700 AUC (54 BC)
- The Lex Licinia is passed, limiting the power of provincial governors. [23]
*****
[12] This invasion is more of an armed migration. Various Germanic tribes, such as the Suebi and Marcomanni were pushing into their lands and the Helvetii could not withstand them.
[13] This printing press, inspired by a wine press, proves only mildly popular, due to the lack of a cheap and plentiful medium on which to print. It does attain popularity, however, with libraries and the government of the Roman Republic.
[14] The property tax is set exceptionally low, to protect the peasantry in times of poor harvests. Meanwhile, the income tax ensures that much of the wealth tied up in the nobility becomes taxed. Zhao Di also enforces these taxes on the nobility who are notorious for avoiding taxes whenever possible.
[15] In the time of Wu Di, envoys were sent to some countries, such as Parthia, on an annual basis. Zhao Di wishes to extend these annual envoys as far as Rome.
[16] The Indo-Scythians were nomads that effectively ruled much of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Orodes invades them to gain both valuable territory and to improve relations with his eastern neighbor.
[17] The Yuezhi confederation was made of the Xiumi, Kushan, Shunmi, Xiduni, and Dumi tribes (my own latin transliterations, I took liberties).
[18] The Alexandria in Afganistan, Alexandria in the Caucasus.
[19] After this, Zhao Di is able to implement his reforms much more effectively.
[20] From this point on in the Dacian War, the Dacians fight on the defensive, as Caesar methodically besieges their major fortifications. The Dacians are noted for their impressive fortified cities. constructed in the Murus Dacicus style.
[21] Antipater had been a general of Hyrcanus and had ambitions to become King of Judea. His ascension to the throne marks the beginning of the Herodian dynasty.
[22] It is interesting to note that paper appears in Rome before any of the countries between Rome and Seres. This development is due, most likely, to the appreciation of Zhao Di for the Roman printing press.
[23] This law was passed in responce to Caesar's conquest of Dacia. It increase the restrictions on the governors' military options. While this hinders the ability of the Republic to fight their enemies, Rome was used to such restrictions. Whenever the armies of both Consuls were required to fight an enemy, the Consuls would alternate the command on a daily basis, which often weakened the Roman force. Though this law was prompted by the actions of Caesar in Dacia, Caesar himself supported the law, nominally out of his love for the Republic, but likely to make it more difficult for anyone to surpass his glory.
