Roman Timeline

[DominusNovus]

Well, I'm going into more detail now, at least for this particular part. So this entry won't be an entire reign of the current Emperor.

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Decimus Viridius Aurelius Cosmianus' principate lasted from AD 115 to AD 134. The majority of his reign would be consumed by the war with Parthia, lasting from AD 118 to AD 132.

The war came about for a variety of reasons, the most important of which were the Parthian's fear of losing control over the trade routes between Rome and Serica, and a dispute over the succession of the Armenian throne. As the Han and Roman Empires worked out various trade treaties, they began to look for ways to circumvent the Parthians, who had grown rich simply by being in between the two Empires. Cosmianus had been sending out exploratory fleets around Africa and Arabia, in the hopes of replacing the land route through Parthia with a sea route. He even considered sending ships west, and reach Serica that way, but that plan was eventually deemed unfeasible. Still, it was only a matter of time before the Parthians lost complete control of the silk trade. So Parthia wanted to ensure its safety from Rome, and Rome (and to a slightly lesser degree, the Han) wanted to eliminate Parthia from the silk trade.

Then, in Armenia, disaster struck. Armenia was the main buffer state between Rome and Parthia, sometimes siding with one, sometimes the other. In the year 116, the Armenian king Arsaces I died without an heir. The nation was under the influence of Parthia at the time, so a Parthian candidate,Tiridates, who happened to the nephew of the Parthian King, Osroes. This was an intolerable situation for Rome, as it could lead to Armenia becoming integrated into the Parthian Empire. So, in AD 118, the Roman Empire went to war with the Parthians, and the fate of the world changed forever.

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Aren't cliffhangers a bitch?

 

[Diamond]

Aren't cliffhangers a bitch?

Yes, they are. More. Now.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Will China be able to hold onto its gains in Central Asia, or will it end up losing them like in OTL (there was a Chinese general who campaigned to the Caspian, but he went home)? Could Rome and China end up with a common border somehow?

Will our "Mohammed-analogue" appear during the wars with Parthia? That seems like a good time, esp. as you've hinted that SOMETHING big is about to occur.

 

[DominusNovus]

Will China be able to hold onto its gains in Central Asia, or will it end up losing them like in OTL (there was a Chinese general who campaigned to the Caspian, but he went home)? Could Rome and China end up with a common border somehow?

Will our "Mohammed-analogue" appear during the wars with Parthia? That seems like a good time, esp. as you've hinted that SOMETHING big is about to occur.

That general was Ban Chao. Right now, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with China, but I'm pretty sure I'll have them become more expansionist eventually.

As for our Mohammed analogue, he won't be appearing yet, as Christianity isn't a major player on the scene.

And the next update will be coming along shortly.

 

[DominusNovus]

Here we go, the big war updated (and it is definately big).

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The Roman plan was to launch a two pronged attack into Parthian territory, one army attacking to the north, and the second army attacking to the south. The northern army, under the command of Quintus Domitius Nepos, was to secure Armenia, then march eastward through Media, towards the Parthian homeland. The southern army, under the command of Gaius Barrius Avitus, was to hold the border until the northern army had most of the Parthian military after it, at which point they would invade Mesopotamia and head along the Persian coast, securing the prosperous Parthian subkingdoms of Elymais and Persis. The Parthian strategy was to take Judea and Egypt, thus preventing Rome from trading with the Han by sea. Losing Armenia would be an acceptable setback, if it came to that.
[to have an idea of what's going on, you might want to check out these pages.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/csr/nnc/parthia/frames/imapki.htm
http://members.aol.com/ahreemanx/images/map parthian empire.jpg]

In the first year, Nepos marched uncontested into Armenia, where his and his legions were relatively well received. He then continued into the subkingdom of Atropatene in Media. There, he face some stiff resistance. Meanwhile, the Parthians marched into Judea, meeting the determined Jewish forces first at Tyre, where they managed to force the Jews back. The Parthian army pursued them, leaving part of their forces behind to lay siege to Tyre. The two armies clashed again at Caesarea, where the Parthians won a narrow victory again. However, as they lay siege to the city, the Jewish forces regrouped and attacked. The two sides would fall into stalemate for a time, though the Parthians outnumbered the Jewish army and would eventually win.

However, at that time, Avitus' legions began to march south, to meet the Parthians, who had split again, one group marching towards Eqypt, while the other went for Jerusalem, in order to secure a Jewish surrender. This allowed Avitus to meet up with the Jewish army (which was still in good order after Caesarea) and defeat the Parthians outside of Jersulam in the summer of AD 119. Avitus then turned north to Mesopotamia and laid siege to Arbela, the capital of the subkingdom of Adiabene, near the beginning of AD 120. The Jewish forces consolidated their positions and bled a large portion of the other Parthian group as it marched back to meet Avitus.

Arbela fell to the Romans just days before the Parthians reached the city. Neither side could gain a significant advantage and the situation turned into a stalemate. The situation was the same to the north, where Nepos' legions had made little progress. The war would continue in this way for until the fall of 123, with the Romans making gradual headway into Parthian territory, but having a hard time of it.

In that year, the impressive citadel of Hatra, to the southwest of Arbela, fell to Avitus' forces, and Nepos finished off the conquest of Atropatene. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Cosmianus was beginning to consider ending the campaign, after seeing how costly the early phase of the war was. However, before he could decide on this course of action, news came from Han messengers.

The Han had been eying the subkingdom of Saka (who's king was also a member of the Parthian Suren family), on the very eastern edge of the Parthian empire, hoping to collect tribute from them. The king of Saka, Gotarzes, seeing that the majority of the Parthian army was tied up in the east, decided to revolt and, hopefully, expand his kingdom (and, if things went very well, become the king of Parthia himself). He sent envoys to the Han saying that he would accept the Han Emperor as suzerain, if they would sent assistance to him. His offer was accepted and, in September of AD 123, a new front was opened in the Parthian war. When Cosmianus heard of this, his hope for the war was restored, and he ordered his commanders to renew the offensive.

As some of the Parthian forces withdrew to attack the Saka, Avitus managed to break through and march down the Tigris-Euphrates, reaching the city of Selucia by January. Selucia was a predominately Greek city which was dissatisfied with the Parthians and, therfore, welcomed Avitus. However, Ctesiphon, a major Parthian city which lay just across the Tigris, was not as welcoming and his forces were tied down for some time assaulting the city. Meanwhile, Nepos, who now had to deal with the majority of the western Parthian forces (who were worried about the northern Roman force linking up with the Saka) had won a string of small victories and was assaulting Rhagae.

When Ctesiphon fell, Avitus sent out envoys to the Subkingdoms of Elymais, Characene, and Persis, proposing that they become client states allied to Rome. Only Persis refused, though Characene only accepted to avoid being invaded by the much larger Elymais. Avitus then marched towards Susa and lay siege to the city. Nepos, meanwhile, found himself again in a stalemate, facing the Parthian armies outside of the Caspian gates.

Meanwhile, to the east, the Parthians were battlying the Saka outside of Asaak, to the northeast of Hecatompylos, the Parthian capital. The Parthians pushed back the Saka offensive and persued them through Nisa, Dara, and Merv. By AD 125, the Saka city of Bactra was under seige and Persian forces were attacking the south, hoping to gain territory from the rebellious subkingdom.

Despite all of these losses, the Parthians were holding their own valiantly well against increasingly bad odds. Though they only had one major subkingdom still loyal to the Parthian king, they held their own, inflicting significant losses on the Romans. Granted, most of the battles against the Romans were losses for the Parthians, but in the majority, the Roman forces suffered more casualties. In the east, the Parthians were slowly grinding away at the Saka, while they had all but completely halted the Roman forces.

Susa would not fall until 126 and Avitus would then attack Tabae, which would hold out until 128. Nepos had not gained any ground, though he inflicted more losses on the Parthians. Meanwhile, the Saka had lost Bactra and were on their last legs, even though the Han were pouring more and more support into them, and were being squeezed between the Parthians in the north and the Persians to the south. The Parthians had finally found a commander that could lead them to victory, General Sanabares, and they were optimistic that the course of the war would soon turn.

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I don't want to sound conceited, but its looking good, isn't it? I was going to do more, but when I wrote that last sentence, I realize it made a fantastic cliffhanger, and I had to use it as such. Any thoughts before I wrap up the final years of the war?

 

[Diamond]

I don't want to sound conceited, but its looking good, isn't it?

You arrogant bastard! LOL, just kidding.

This is really great so far; the hot/cold cooperation between Rome and the Han against the Parthians sort of reminds me of the US & USSR attacking Nazi Germany and tearing it to pieces one bit at a time. Is there a Rome/Han 'cold war' on the horizon?

Are any of the remaining northern european tribes taking advantage of Rome's preoccupation to revolt or otherwise make a nuisance of themselves?

 

[DominusNovus]

You arrogant bastard! LOL, just kidding.

This is really great so far; the hot/cold cooperation between Rome and the Han against the Parthians sort of reminds me of the US & USSR attacking Nazi Germany and tearing it to pieces one bit at a time. Is there a Rome/Han 'cold war' on the horizon?

Are any of the remaining northern european tribes taking advantage of Rome's preoccupation to revolt or otherwise make a nuisance of themselves?

Rome and China are gonna get along for the foreseeable future. As for the barbarians, they're still facing significant border garrisons. Besides, they're doing pretty well trading with the empire.

 

[DominusNovus]

You arrogant bastard! LOL, just kidding.

This is really great so far; the hot/cold cooperation between Rome and the Han against the Parthians sort of reminds me of the US & USSR attacking Nazi Germany and tearing it to pieces one bit at a time. Is there a Rome/Han 'cold war' on the horizon?

Are any of the remaining northern european tribes taking advantage of Rome's preoccupation to revolt or otherwise make a nuisance of themselves?

Rome and China are gonna get along for the foreseeable future. As for the barbarians, they're still facing significant border garrisons. Besides, they're doing pretty well trading with the empire.

 

[DominusNovus]

For the sake of suspense and storytelling, I should wait on posting the end to the war. However, I just can't resist posting it now that its written. So, here we go, the end of the Parthian War.

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The war did turn, though it was not to turn in the Parthian's favor. An epidemic suddenly swept through the Parthian's horses, devastating the predominately calvary armies. This disaster enabled Nepos to break through the Caspian Gates and march towards Hecatompylos. Meanwhile, the Saka began to push the Parthians out of their territory, not a difficult task, considering the Parthians were rushing to defend Hecatompylos. To the southeast, Avitus was marching on Persepolis, causing the Persian armies (which were not as dependent on calvary) to also vacate Saka territory.

The year 129 would see both Persepolis and Hecatompylos under seige and the Saka expanding along all of their borders, taking Merv and Dara to the north, and pushing back the Persians to the straits of Hormuz. Sanabares reached Hecatompylos in late 129 and attacked the Romans, forcing them to abandon the siege. Sanabares began to push Nepos' legions back and would have crushed the Romans. However, while retreating, Nepos split his forces into 3 groups. The main group would continue to retreat, while the other two groups would split off to the north and south and would circle around the Parthians.

Sanabares, seeing the size of Nepo's main force, thought that the Romans must have suffered serious casualties and his army surged forward, allowing the two other groups to slip behind them and attack them just as the Parthians began to attack Nepos. Sanabares, realizing that he had been tricked, turned his troops around and charged at the rear attackers. The Parthians managed to break through and head back to Hecatompylos.

To the south, the Persians had managed to push back the Saka to their former borders again, while trying to lift the siege of Persepolis. Persepolis would ultimately fall in 130, allowing Avitus to attack the Persian forces, which, in turn, allowed the Saka to force the Persians back again, crushing the last Persian resistance by late 130.

Meanwhile, Nepos and Sanabares were going back and forth at each other. Nepos would besiege Hecatompylos, Sanabares would attack and break up the Roman forces, which would regroup and drive the Parthians off and besiege the city again, at which point the Parthians would regroup and attack. Avitus sent up half of his forces to assist Nepos, allowing him to hold the siege while attacking the Parthians. It would take until the summer of AD 132 before the city fell, at which point Osroes commited suicide, rather than be captured by the Romans. Upon hearing this, Sanabares met Nepos and surrendered his forces to the mercy of the Roman Empire. The Parthian War was over.

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[DominusNovus]

Come on people, I just took out the Parthian Empire! Say something! argh!

Seriously, what do you guys think of it so far?

 

[MerryPrankster]

So...what's left of Parthia is a collection of Roman client states. Might we see more Greco-Roman cultural influence in the Middle East? Come Christianity, will we have a Christian Persia and much of Central Asia when our Islam-analogue arrives?

 

[DominusNovus]

Small update, mainly dealing with how the Parthian Empire got divided up.

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Armenia would become a client kingdom of Rome, as would the neutral Osroene, and the former subkingdoms of Characene and Elymais. The Tigris-Euphrates region would be divided up into the the provinces of Adiabene, just east of Osroene, then Assyria to the south, and then Mesopotamia, further to the south, bordering Characene and Elymais. To the east of Adiabene was the province of Media Inferior. East of that was Media Superior. South of Media Superior and north of Elymais was the province of Susiana. East of Elymais and Susiana lay Persia Superior, and then Persia Inferior, both along the Persian Gulf. East of Media Superior, along the Caspian coast was Hypercania. After that lay Parthia Superior and then Parthia Inferior to the south. South of Parthia Inferior and north of Persia Inferior lay the province of Carmania. East of Parthia Superior was Margiana, with Aria to the south of that. The res of Parthian territory was now the the Regnum Sakae (kingdom of Saka). Saka was bound by treaty to pay tribute to the Han, as well as promising not to interfere in anyway with trade between its neighbors.

Avitus and Nepos would return to Rome as heros and participated in the greatest triumph Rome had ever seen. In recognition of their achievements, the Senate gave Nepos and Avitus the titles of Parthicus and Persicus, respectively. Cosmianus now had to choose one of the generals as his successor or he would certainly face the wrath of the army. He decided to choose Avitus, as Nepos was too hotheaded and blatantly ambitious, while Avitus was methodical and softspoken, and well liked by the Senate. Cosmianus would rule Rome for another 2 years and then die of old age, leaving the principate to Decimus Viridius Aurelius Avitianus Persicus.

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Input? Where would you guys like to see this go from here?

 

[DuQuense]

On ward and upward [or at lest northward]

So TTL has a major Roman presense on the west back of the black sea, and now it's ready to move into the Caspian, one thrust up the calcasian mountains, and maybe into arabia, ?A Roman Great Canal [suez]?

 

[DominusNovus]

So TTL has a major Roman presense on the west back of the black sea, and now it's ready to move into the Caspian, one thrust up the calcasian mountains, and maybe into arabia, ?A Roman Great Canal [suez]?

I'd like to do a suez canal, but what technology would we need to do that? Also, as for further Roman expansion, they're already on the south shore of the Caspian. Expanding into the Caucasus would be a logical move, as it is relatively close and has some prosperous states there.

 

[Diamond]

Also, as for further Roman expansion, they're already on the south shore of the Caspian. Expanding into the Caucasus would be a logical move, as it is relatively close and has some prosperous states there.

That could make things interesting a few centuries down the road, when (or if) the Empire splits. If it does in TTL, the split would probably be further east, assuming the Caucasus region is romanized. The Huns, Magyars, etc. might never get past the Caspian, leaving Europe proper to develop radically different.

If a strong Islam analog arises in the mideast, the 'Eastern Roman Empire' of TTL might let the muslims have Anatolia and focus to the north, expanding into the Ukraine and Russia...

 

[DominusNovus]

If a strong Islam analog arises in the mideast, the 'Eastern Roman Empire' of TTL might let the muslims have Anatolia and focus to the north, expanding into the Ukraine and Russia...

Well, seeing as I'm going to have the Islam analogue actually be a form of Christianity, if there's an Eastern Empire (which would probably be called a Persian Empire, considering how far east Rome has spread), it might very well adopt this religion.

 

[DominusNovus]

Here we go, a new, moderate sized, update.

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Persicus would rule Rome between AD 132 and AD 138. He was a moderate man, though somewhat of an idealist. His reign was most noted for vast public works projects and trade expeditions.

Persicus' building projects in the city of Rome were so grand that the city of Rome was almost unrecognizable to many. When a fire broke out shortly after the beginning of his reign, he responded by rebuilding the area in a more orderly (grid) fashion and instituting stricter building codes to lessen the chance of such infernos. He also had several of the poorer sections renovated in the same way, with wider streets and public gardens. He bolstered the defenses of the city and built several public buildings, such as the Avitian Baths, Avitian Forum, and Avitian Theater.

Persicus also built such projects across the empire, though mainly in the less populated west. He established an unprecedented number of colonies, to increase the population of the European provinces, to balance out the Asian provinces larger populations. He had several new roads built, greatly increasing the overall level of commerce.

Though Persicus was tired of war and did not wish to extend the empire's borders anymore, he did expand the empire's influence. He sent out expeditions to create trading posts in various regions beyond the empire. Several posts were established along the coasts of eastern Africa and Arabia, as well as western Africa and the Prosperian Islands (Canary). Roman ships continued to carry out expeditions along the coasts, though they did not achieve Persicus' dream of circumnavigating the continent. Under his reign, the Nabatene became a client state of Rome.

In the north, the Sciri, and Aestii, and Gothones had been united into one kingdom, the Regnum Gothonia, under the charismatic chieften, Atreu. Persicus forged a defensive alliance with the young kingdom, mainly to avoid the hassle of having to go to war.

Persicus' death in AD 138 was most likely due to poisoning. His death was mourned by almost the entire empire, and his reign was marked by peace and prosperity. Around the time of his death, Parthicus happened to be visiting family in Rome, after being the governor of Mesopotamia. He also happened to have connected with the legions who had been under his command in the war, who were stationed in Africa at the time. While the Senate was debating what to do about the death of Persicus, Parthicus issued an ultimatum. Either the Senate would peacefully name him emperor, or his legions, which were now in Italy, would march into the city and he would forcefully become emperor. The Senate conceded, and Parthicus become the new Emperor of Rome.

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Thoughts? Comments? Beer? Please?

 

[DuQuense]

Canal

Rome built canals, some of which [french-beligum area] are still working today.

The engineering knowledge [especilly givien your Alexander library POD], is there.
what would be needed would be some kind of Political-ecomonic reason, to entergize the WILL To. [??Red Sea Settlements??]

As I pointed out in the Barbarian Horde thread Rome was Sacked by Internal Hordes, I read some where that several of the Emperors wanted to forcefully remove Rome's [city] excess population. perhaps your more secure Rome can do this, to prevent its collaspse.

 

[DominusNovus]

Rome built canals, some of which [french-beligum area] are still working today.

The engineering knowledge [especilly givien your Alexander library POD], is there.
what would be needed would be some kind of Political-ecomonic reason, to entergize the WILL To. [??Red Sea Settlements??]

Drat. And here I just killed off the kind of guy that would do that. Guess I'll have to wait for Persia to rebel and start interfering with trade again.

 

[Sargon]

This is an excellent timeline, and I am thoroughly enjoying it

Yes, you have just killed off a ruler who could have built the canals, especially since he obviously had a passion for public works. A little rewrite perhaps? Or just an addition to the above text...after all it could be part of the reign you omitted to mention I'm sure no-one would mind.

I'd like to see more development of the Roman-Han relationship...these two great powers working together could accomplish a lot.


Sargon