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Prelude, Rome 240BC
A young slave darted through the narrow streets which formed a dazzling labyrinth in the lower regions of the city. Normally packed with huge crowds, the streets were actually so much less crowded the slave actually saw the pavement in front of him. Pavement was a good sign, It meant he was coming closer to his destination, the Via Sacra, which lead to the heart of the Republic: The Forum Romanum. There he was to search his master, for there had arrived an urgent message for him. Although the house steward knew it was rather pointless, he still sent out a young slave to fetch the master, so the latter could not reprimand him later on.
As the young boy neared the Via Sacra, the buzzing sound of a huge croud, cheers and music drifted towards him. The Senate was in session today, for the first time this month. It had been a week of festivities, in which the whole city revelled. Consul of the year, and triumphator Caius Aurelius Cotta had returned to the city, announcing the news officially from the Rostra: The war with Carthage was over and won.
Though not Roman himself, the young slave, head filled with the heroic fantasies of youth, still felt some sort of pride.
And proud the Romans were. After stumbling into a mere territorial conflict between the Greek city-states on Sicilia and Carthage, the Republic faced one adversity after another. For almost ten years, the Republic fought a frantic battle. Both scale and ferocity were unseen in the already bloody history of the Republic. After subdueing the Italian Peninsula, the Senate had grown cocksure and had looked to its ever-expanding borders to meddle in the affairs of their neighbours. A state of affairs which had brought the Greek city-states on Sicilia to send pleas for help against Carthagenian pressure. What started with a diplomatic round of accusations and verbal abuse, quickly erupted into all-out warfare in 249BC. Cnaeus Fabius Ambustus, who was married to Caiuss Aurelius Cotta's daughter Domitila, had been a military tribune to the legions of his Father-in-Law and had been send to Syracuse to parlay with its leaders.
The young tribune was shown the city and its surroundings, and taken to show the border so he could be certain that the Greeks were in their right. Disaster struck when a Carthagenian roving border patrol stumbled on the group and decided to attack it. A few survivors made it back to the city of Syracuse alive, but the young tribune was not one of them.
A message was sent to Rome with the news. Caius Aurelius Cotta - although a novus homo - was one of the more powerful senators. He had survived the samnite wars in 270BC and had been on the forefront ever since. However he lacked seniority as much as ancestors, so he was passed time and again during the brief but very prestigious wars against the other Italian neighbours of Rome. Not that he wasted time feeling sorry. He was considered one of Rome's best orators of the time, and was to be found on the Forum and in the courts daily. His prestige grew, and so did the group of people who owed him a favour after a succesful defence in court.
When the news of the young tribune's death arrived in Rome, he was to be seen in mourning clothes everywhere, and people grieved with him. Louder and louder the demand was heard that Roman honour should be restored and Carthage was to be footed the bill. Combining his oratory talents with his clouth in the senate, the Republic was slowly diverted from bandying words with Carthage to exchanging blows.
What followed was a horrible struggle for supremacy on the Sicilian Island. After years of losses, the newly Italian Allies from like the Insubrians and the Ligurians were reminded of the treaties with Rome. The Republic threw in their allies, at which point the cours of war slowly shifted. But in the meanwhile, the stakes grew higher. The Greek city-states were reduced to onlookers, as Rome and Carthage fought it out on their soil. Supremacy over Sicily was now the price of the game and in Rome they realised that a Carthagenian Sicily was too much like having a lion in your backyard.
The biggest confrontations took place in 241 and 240 BC, where both sides took terrible losses in both red and blue blood. When the smoke cleared, it was Caius Aurelius Cotta who had lead the Roman Legions to victory. As reward, the public hailed him as consul and triumphator.
Now the triumph was over, and the senate was in session for the first time since peace was declared. For the first time, it was obvious how costly the war had been for the Senate.
Many seats were empty, and those who were present, were wearing mourning togas.
When looking at the four or five prominent families of the last 20 years, the damage shows most.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
(The Aurelii Cotta)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
(The Cornelii Blasio
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
(The Cornelii Scipio
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
(The Cornelii Scipio Asina
The Senate had been called into session by its Pinceps, the venerable Cnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asinus.Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The war was won, but the Republic needed government. Who knows what could happen next? The slave didn’t worry, whatever it was would be dealt with by the Senate.
