The Pontic War continued, with Sp. Octauius and Mn. Caesar fighting the Eastern King across Asia and into the Caucasus Mountains. Octauius hoped that the glory he accrued on campaign would cause the Senate to forget any charges of illegal warfare they might level against him for commanding an Army of the Res Publica sine imperio. Such was not the case however, as defying the Senate combined with his populist politics and made most of the Senate bitterly resent him. Finally the war reached its climax, when Caesar was attacked as he besieged Armauir. At this point his army was a skeleton of its former self. Were they raw recruits they would certainly have fallen. Thankfully, every man of them had been toughened by the long war and after a struggle they repulsed the attack and took the city. Now Pontus was effectively cut in half, with the western portion in Cilicia and the Eastern portion in the Northern Caucasus. Within a few weeks, Octauius had driven the Pontici from Colchis as well, and in the weakened state of the Pontic Kingdom, the two generals were able to resupply and retrain their men. At this point, the two agreed that the Pontici were weakened enough to no longer require eight legions. They advised the Senate as such, and the Senate, assuming that Octauius would soon be returning to them, agreed. However Octauius had no desire to return and suffer a potential prosecution. He entreated Caesar to go back in his stead and let him take over the war. Caesar, for his part, desired a Consulship. He also knew that his brother, Decimus, was running for the Aedileship and could use the support of a war hero in his campaign. Thus the chance to return was a perfect opportunity for him, and the two agreed that Octauius would remain on campaign against Pontus with his four legions, while Caesar would return to Rome. This was only a temporary solution, however, as the war could only continue for so long, and if, when it ended, Octauius had not reconciled the Senate to his command, he would have to either return to a prosecution in Rome or remain overseas in a self-imposed exile. That was assuming he actually agreed to give up his legions, however...
It was around this time that the Proconsul, Tb. Aemilius Paullus died. The war in Egypt had been surprisingly brief. After taking Alexandreia and Memphis from the Seleucids, Paullus sensibly realized that it was unwise to put himself geographically in between the warring Hellenistic Kingdoms. Thus he gave the two cities back to the Ptolemies, although he kept Kyrene and Paraitonion for the Senate and the Roman People. For his (admittedly-aborted) increase of the Res Publica, he was awarded a Triumph, and after celebrating in Rome, he returned to Libya to guard the Republic's holdings for the rest of his life. His death was mourned, although many of the Senators privately saw the vacuum created by his death as an opportunity for themselves. Not the least of these was D. Iulius Caesar, the brother of the famed Pontic War general. Seeing a slow early career - he only achieved the office of Quaestor in his mid 30's - Caesar's inspired rhetorical skills, efficient administrative talent and modest military experience from putting down slave revolts made him one of the most influential men, both in the Senate and with the Plebs. Within six years, he had been elected Praetor, although charges of massive electoral bribery were leveled against him several times along the way. In the early months of his Praetorship, news reached Rome: Sp. Octauius had killed King Apsarius of Pontus. The back of the Pontic Kingdom was broken, though there were still several cities that needed to be taken, and the general could expect to be occupied for another couple of years, at best. Time was running out.
D. Caesar observed Octauius' fading political prospects from a distance, but he had his sights set on different issues. The previous Pontifex Maximus, Quintus Caecilius Metellus, had died and the vacant position was an excellent way to advance Caesar's influence. An immediate election was held, into which the ex-Praetor poured countless resources. As he left for The Field of Mars on election day, Caesar quipped to his wife that he would return victorious, or not at all. "You'd divorce me over that?" She asked, blinking. 
On the down side though, the expenses and time devoted to achieving the prestigious priesthood prevented Caesar from mounting a serious campaign for the Consulship, and he abandoned the campaign for the 610th consulship in the city's history. His rivals offered thanks to the gods. But Caesar was not to be put off forever, and two years later he celebrated a victory in the Consular elections, along with the moderate C. Cornelius Scipio. The year of Scipio and Caesar would not be without its troubles. Byzantium saw some minor riots, but this was just the beginning:
In summer of that year the last of the Pontic cities, Tarsus, fell to Sp. Octauius. The Roman world held its breath for several weeks, wondering what the illegal warrior would do, now that he had no enemies left to conquer. Finally, Octauius backed down. Leaving his legions with the local pro-praetor to guard the province, he traveled to Lesbos in self-imposed exile. Caesar and Scipio breathed sighs of relief. There were other successes this year as well: the two consuls worked well together, with the populist Caesar bringing fresh ideas to the office while Scipio advocated for caution. During the year, new corn laws were passed and construction of the Amphitheatrum Cornelium, Rome's first permanent Amphitheater, began in earnest. Late in the year, the provinces awarded to the Consuls were announced. Scipio was given Libya, while Caesar...
Yes, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm trying to have this follow the storyline of the Late Republic (right down to giving Gaul to a Caesar) pretty closely, although I'm giving myself some leeway for changes and some different political situations. I'm too much of a fan of Caesar to leave him out of this, so while I bring him in, I'm going to try to have the civil war work differently. This whole thing has been really fun, role-playing the various generals and writing down what happens for you guys. Hope you like it. -M
Re: Post your EB empires!
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Although I'm somewhat curious as to some of the spelling - I would think that Olympiades would end in ης, rather than εσ, and the ph in phyllios seems to have been rendered as π- instead of just φ. Is this an alternative Macedonian dialect or something?
-M
Originally Posted by Mulceber
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, but nice empires anyway.
, and I do remember of that greek - etruscan - roman alphabet connection (well yeah the Phoenicians were first with that)
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