Savage City

by Sophia McDougall

  Xanthe – Daughter of Tancorix.

  Z

  Zhu Li – the Grand Preceptor in Bianjing, Sina.

  Ziye – a former gladiatrix of Sinoan origin. Escaped to the Holzarta refuge camp in 2754. Freedom granted by Marcus, living with Delir and Lal in Rome.

  [ A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE ]

  933 TO 2700 AUC

  (180–1947 CE)

  ‘To heal, as far as it was possible, the wounds inflicted by the hand of tyranny, was the pleasing, but melancholy task of Pertinax’ (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon)

  CE

  AUC

  180

  933

  Death of Marcus Aurelius.

  His son Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus succeeds as Emperor.

  192

  945

  Commodus’ bloody and extravagant reign leaves Rome impoverished and riddled with corruption. He is murdered by a group of conspirators including his chamberlain, concubine and Laetus, the head of the Praetorian Guard (the urban army whose formal function was to protect the Emperor).

  The conspirators claim that Commodus died of apoplexy, and install as Emperor 66-year-old Publius Helvius Pertinax, the son of a freedman who had risen through merit to become a General, a Senator and minister of justice.

  HELVIAN IMPERIAL DYNASTY

  192–204

  945–957

  Early in Pertinax’s reign, Laetus, disgruntled by Pertinax’s independence, encourages a plot by the Praetorian Guard to assassinate him.

  The plot is discovered1 and Laetus banished. Pertinax disbands almost all of the Praetorian Guard, hand-picking the remainder for loyalty. At the same time he increases the powers and numbers of the Vigiles to create a counterweight police force, reasoning that any future conspiracy against the Emperor in one body will be detected and exposed by the other.

  Pertinax remits Commodus’ oppressive taxes. He halves the expenses of the Imperial household, grants tax-breaks to farmers and lifts restrictions on commerce.

  He taxes the urban aristocracy more heavily, but the cities benefit from the wealth generated by the farms, and he restores to the Senate some of the authority it had lost.

  204

  957

  Death of Pertinax

  After the disastrous succession of Commodus, Pertinax was reluctant to name his young son Publius Helvius Pertinax II, ‘Venedicus’, as Caesar and heir to the Empire until just before his death. The senate approve the succession.

  204–220

  957–973

  Pertinax II continues his father’s economic reforms, gradually rebuilding the Empire’s finances. When the economy permits it he restructures the army, detaching the legions from the frontier garrisons to create a mobile force. He ties pay to the rate of inflation, stabilising the income of the soldiers and rendering them less susceptible to bribery, whilst attracting a higher standard of recruit.

  225

  978

  Ardashir, the Persian king, kills the last king of Parthia and creates the Sassanian Persian Empire, with Zoroastrianism as its state religion.

  238

  991

  Renewed attacks from Germanic tribes along the Rhine and Danube. The revitalised army resists and pushes the barbarians back. To deal more fully with the threat, and despite protests from Roman Britons, Pertinax II pulls the legions out of Britain and leads a massive force into Germany and Sarmatia.

  230–240

  983–993

  Ardashir invades India, and Roman territory in Syria. In 240, his son Shapur succeeds to the Persian throne.

  238–242

  973–978

  Pertinax II completes the conquest of Germany and Venedia, pushing up into Fennia and Gothia.

  242–256

  978–992

  Skirmishes with Persia over Armenia. Roman recapture of Syria.

  256

  992

  Death of Pertinax II, accession of Lucius Helvius Pertinax Sarmaticus. Rome’s victories over the Eastern European tribes continue into Sarmatia and Alania.

  260–265

  996–1009

  Still feeling the elation of their German victory, Roman troops, augmented by huge numbers of German barbarians and with support from Palmyra, attack and conquer Shapur’s Persian Empire.

  265–291

  1009–1044

  Occasional Persian uprisings and fluctuating borders in Roman Persia, but Rome’s grip remains generally firm.

  291–313

  1044–1066

  Under Sarmaticus’ adopted son Gaius Flavius Sulpicianus, Rome loses Persia and Mesopotamia.

  313–345

  1066–1098

  Marcus Flavius Sulpicianus Cruentus reconquers Persia and Mesopotamia.

  Slaughter and enslavement of thousands of Persians. Persecution of Christians, Zoroastrians and Jews throughout Empire.

  Invasion and conquest of Arabia.

  Cruentus exports the Roman religion, or a Roman interpretation of local deities, to the enlarged Eastern Empire.

  347–447

  1100–1200

  From here on it will be convenient to summarise the major gains, losses and technological advances of each century.

  SECOND FLAVIAN DYNASTY 1066–1234 AUC

  Reconquest of Britain, with Hibernia and Caledonia. There has been a revival of Celtic culture, but a sustained British nostalgia for Roman rule makes victory fairly easy.

  Sporadic incursions by Huns, but they are either repelled or absorbed by Rome, resulting in gradual, unsystematic Roman expansion into Scythia.

  447–547

  1200–1300

  ACILIAN DYNASTY 1234–1618 AUC

  Continued conquests of territory in Scythia. Expansion through Persian territory into India. Lengthy wars to secure it. Romanisation of Indian Gods.

  547–647

  1300–1400

  Quelling more uprisings and rebellions in India and resulting instability in the region keep the military fully occupied – no expansion.

  647–747

  1400–1500

  Attempted expansion into Sina (China) unsuccessful, and there are continuing problems in Syria, Persia and India.

  747–847

  1500–1600

  Border disputes with Sina. India and Persia subside into uneasy peace, but tensions will flare up at any sign of weakness in the Empire for centuries to come. By this time the once-significant Christian sect has more or less died out of existence.

  Active persecution of Jews and Zoroastrians has ceased, although they are still denied full citizenship.

  847–947

  1600–1700

  CORDIAN DYNASTY 1618–1836 AUC

  Libya and other Roman states in North Africa attempt to devolve peacefully from the Empire, but Africa is essential to feeding the Roman world. Heightened military presence there.

  947–1047

  1700–1800

  Song Dynasty unifies and stabilises Sina.

  Rome is initially concerned about Sina’s growing power, but the Emperor feels that Rome is now unassailable, reattempted conquest of Sina would be costly and futile, and that therefore there is no need to jeopardise profitable trade with Sina. Relations remain cordial – especially since Sina supports Roman rule in India.

  1047–1147

  1800–1900

  BLANDIAN DYNASTY 1836–2176 AUC

  The Romans defend the Song against the Jurchen uprising.

  Rome introduces various Sinoan innovations, such as paper money, banking, Romanised versions of certain fashions in clothing – and gunpowder.

  1147–1247

  1900–2000

  Quicker to see the military application of the new discovery than its Sinoan inventors, Rome sides with Sina against the Mongols, saving the Song Dynasty. First Roman contact with Nionia (Japan), and Rome welcomes the new source of coveted oriental goods, but has little political interest as yet in the chain of islands, which is riven with internal
divisions and wars.

  1247–1347

  2000–2100

  Armed with cannons, Rome invades Ethiopia. Sina watches this new phase of expansion with concern.

  The Nionian Emperor Go-Daigo visits Rome, learns about Roman exploration and conquest, and brings the secret of gunpowder back to Nionia.

  1347–1447

  2100–2200

  Go-Daigo leads the Kemmu Restoration, using firearms against the powerful Hojo regency. The new firepower helps him to see off opposition from his erstwhile ally, Ashikaga Takauji. He restores the powers of the Emperor and unites Nionia.

  Continued exploration/conquest of interior Africa runs into difficulty when Roman African states unexpectedly turn against Rome.

  Roman explorers return from an attempt to circumnavigate the globe with news of a brief landing on a huge new landmass in the West. They call it Terra Nova, but this is no time for a military adventure there.

  Plague in Europe and in parts of Sina. The Emperor Blandius Postumus dies suddenly and there is a struggle for power unprecedented in over a thousand years.

  1447–1547

  2200–2300

  The first electrostatic machine.

  After a succession of short-lived Emperors, the Senate votes Sextus Vincius Sacerdos into power.

  VINCIAN DYNASTY 2204–2509 AUC

  Sacerdos is still trying to secure his position when Nionia invades Corea and attacks Sinoan territory. Sina appeals to Rome for help, but the call comes at exactly the wrong time. Rome is struggling to survive in the face of its internal rifts, African entanglements, renewed Indo-Persian problems and the decimating effects of plague. The Empire is in no position to assist.

  Sina battles Nionia alone but concedes large tracts of territory. Roman relations with both Sina and Nionia are damaged.

  Rome tries to repair the damage of the last century. In an attempt to rebuild Roman solidarity, Sacerdos extends full citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire, regardless of nationality or religion, withholding only the right to hold office from freedmen.

  1547–1647

  2300–2400

  Meanwhile, Nionia is still in the ascendant. Nionian explorers sight the Southern island continent and call it Goshu.

  When Nionia begins to colonise Goshu, Rome becomes seriously alarmed. Nionia is beginning to look like a serious rival to the Empire. Rome puts pressure on Nionia to cease expanding and urges Sina to do the same, but since becoming a buffer state between Rome and Nionia, Sina has become increasingly introspective, and the Sinoan government refuses to get involved. Rome completes the conquest of Africa. More experiments in electricity and magnetics. Rome at last begins a serious invasion of central and southern Terranova, spreading cautiously into Mexica, Maia, and inland into Aravacia.

  Nionia follows suit, entering Terranova in the far north. Rome is more uneasy than ever and begins seriously to debate war but for the moment, and to the dissatisfaction of many, does nothing; there is still a huge amount of land, with its own peoples to contend with, between the two powers.

  1647–1747

  2400–2500

  Nionia pushes south, until Rome’s fears that she is not only allowing her rival to claim valuable territory but that her existing Terranovan provinces are under threat become intolerable. Conflict is now inevitable and is to dominate the next century.

  The two armies sweep towards each other across the country – the Romans pushing north from the southeastern coast of the northern continent , each trying to cajole or force the indigenous peoples to side with them.

  The ensuing sequence of wars, although they vary in intensity and are divided by short, unsuccessful peace agreements, is brutal and often chaotic, with naval battles in the Atlantic and around Nionia itself. Tracts of land change hands several times, at vast cost in Roman, Nionian, and Terranovan lives. The Camian peninsula in Mexica is of particular importance since for Rome to allow the Nionians to claim it would amount to their being permanently flanked.

  The Emperor Vincius Arcadius dies in suspicious circumstances and his brother, Nasennius, seizes power.

  The Roman military and economy has been damaged. During a brief lull in the Roman–Nionian conflict, in the final years of the 25th Century, the first African Uprising takes place in the province of Lundae in Africa.

  The first – very slow and inefficient – electrically powered vehicles to run on magnetic rails.

  1747–1847

  2500–2600

  Madness first appears in the Novian family. The Africans are temporarily subdued.

  In the second African Uprising of 2503, a poorly equipped Roman legion is massacred near Musitania (Mosi-oa-Tunya) Falls. Nasennius is widely blamed for the disaster.

  Oppius Novius, Nasennius’ nephew by marriage, gains in popularity in the Senate.

  After an outbreak of smallpox in Rome, Nasennius commits suicide leaving no children. Oppius Novius takes power.

  NOVIAN DYNASTY 2509 AUC – PRESENT

  Rome secures Northern half of Africa. Southern Africa claims independence.

  Although bringing the conflict to an end and holding onto Northern territory are significant successes for Rome, this is the first serious loss of territory for the Empire in centuries. Cracks appear elsewhere in the Empire: there is conflict in Terranova, and old tensions in India stir again.

  In 2512, Oppius’ brother Servius succumbs to family madness.

  Oppius works to rebuild international stability. He succeeds in reversing Roman fortunes in Terranova, where the Romans advance north. His task is eased by new technology such as longscript – a method of transmitting codes through electric pulses invented in 2511. This allows direct government of overseas territory. Longscript lines are laid under the Atlantic, and through Africa. Thirty years later come longdictors. Rome will be able to respond far more swiftly to any future unrest.

  There are accelerated attempts to find a reliable form of air-travel.

  Rome’s military might is, just, superior to Nionia’s, but it looks as though it will be impossible ever to expel the Nionians from the Terranova altogether. Therefore, Rome finally comes to grudging terms with Nionia and northern Terranova is divided between the two Empires. Under the Mixigana Treaty, a huge wall is built across the continent to separate them. Trade between Nionia and Rome resumes, but there is a persistent distrust and rivalry. Rome develops new high explosives. Nionia seems always on the verge of catching up with Roman technology.

  Rome begins to expand through Southern Terranova. Rome works to improve the network of roads, whilst simultaneously building a vast system of magnetways throughout the Empire.

  1847–1947

  2600–2700

  Development of flight using circling wings powered by engines – the first volucer.

  Continued colonisation of North and South Terranova. The arms race with Nionia goes on.

  1 This is where my history of the Roman Empire departs from the usual one. In reality, the plot was successful. The talented and conscientious Pertinax (who planned many of the reforms indicated here) was murdered after only eighty-six days in office and the Praetorians auctioned the throne to the highest bidder. Didius Julianus bought the title of Emperor, but was deposed and executed shortly afterwards by Septimius Severus, who returned to Rome from Pannonia to avenge Pertinax.