PRIMVS INTER PARES: A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, 140 BCE--14 AD

[Zaknafien]

Well, I decided to make a new thread and turn this into a proper AAR, of sorts. Sorry for the gap in time but I began playing my campaign and it got away from me with things happening, so I didnt really chronicle most of the events from where I left off. This will begin the history of the Roman Republic from the year 140, BCE and conclude it with the advent of AD 14. I play historically as much as possible, but do not recreate history where its not warranted--i.e., wars will be fought for realistic causes and with realistic goals, not world conquest. Government will be affected by the traits and personalities of the men who need it, and the financial situation of the Republic. Legions are composed historically of 1 first cohort and additional legionary cohots, with accompanying artillery and auxilliaries. Family members must spend 10 years on campaign before being eligible for elected office in the cursus honorum, etc. As we begin, the Roman Republic has just successfully concluded its final wars with Greece and Macedon, and now pursues the remnants of the Antigonid dynasty across the wealthy lands of Asia. I will continue this AAR, or not, based on the amount of comments and feedback as well as work conflicts, so if you find it amusing or helpful, please say so


PRIMVS INTER PARES
"FIRST AMONG EQUALS"


The Roman World at the onset of 140, BCE

"Errare humanum est."
--Seneca the Younger


CHAPTER I: KAESO

Four days before the Ides of Quintilis
Near Ainos (Thracia), Apsinthis
614 Ab Urbe Condita

Kaeso awoke suddenly with sudden, terrifying awareness and crystal clarity. There was sudden rabid sqwaking as a huge crow startled and hopped back from him, dark feathers falling as it lept into the blinding brightness of the flaming sun high in the western sky. He was lying face-down on the cold, wet earth, and all around the sounds of hungry carrion birds calling to one another or flapping about restlessly. His eyes were focused but he could not see in the brightness of the setting sun, and as he tried to prop himself up he realized in sudden horror he could not feel his legs.

He was prostrate upon an cold carpet of churned and muddy grass, and could feel the frost on the wind as his hair ruffled in front of his eyes from it. His fingers were cold and numb, but he propped himself up tentatively. His head swam with blurred memories and stinging pain that rang like a blacksmith’s hammer on iron. Groaning, he managed to shield his eyes from the sun and look about furtively.

The dead lay everywhere.

Strewn about like rag dolls after some giant’s temper tantrum, bodies lie scattered across the plain, still and half-frozen, many lying atop others and some in macabre piles three-men deep. The mud was stained with dried blood except where the new snowfall had obscured it, and tatters of clothing, weapons, and battered coreslets and helms layed like so much flotsam here and there. The crows were feasting lazily, flapping about and fighting over scraps of cold flesh, calling to one another like bickering children. To his right some distance there was the largest mound of death, and there on a slanted pike-staff a tattered banner of crimson and gold was fluttering limply in the small, cold wind. Behind him loomed the corpse of a large chestnut mare, having thrown him before it fell.

He should be dead, but he was not.

He tried to call for help, but the word came out as a dry-mouthed croak that cracked before he could utter the word. His hands were stained blackish-red with dried blood, and he could now feel the swelling pain on his head where something had struck him. He pushed himself up further, shaking the dirt from his back, and with relief realized the feeling was slowly coming back to his legs.

Some in Rome later said a god had visited him that day amongst the dead, though he never claimed as much himself. Nearly seven thousand Roman men lay dead upon that field, and he yet lived, a pawn of Fortuna. And she was a fickle goddess indeed.

He remembered with a pang in his head the crushing press of the battle, the roar of men and beasts and the din of metal crashing. There were screams and cries, and the sky had been thick with javelins and darts that fell like summer rain. One man dragged his comrade away from the line, pink slivers of intestines hanging from his bowels where a Thracian spear had gorged him. Another clutched his face where sprouted the shaft of a feathered arrow fired from an enemy he could not even see.

And then the horsmen--The Roman line had melted away like mist in the sunlight when they unleashed their charge, and what seemed a victory turned quickly into catastrophe and rout.

The wind howled as if to warn him, and he managed to turn himself over with an aching groan. With horror, he saw dark figures behind him--hooded men moving amongst the dead, each carrying a long staff and knives at their sides. They were scavengers or thieves, who had come to liberate the earthly treasures that had not been already taken by the victors of the battle. He tried to call at them for help, mumbled something incoherent instead and groaned as his head swam with dizziness and nausea and then finally collapsed again on his back, staring up into the sun-bright, flame-red sky.

“Dead?” one of the bandits asked, a tall, crow-faced man with deep-set dark eyes and a wisp of beard that hung to his chest.

“Soon enough,” replied the other, raising the hem of his robe and stooping beside him to rummage through the pouch tied to his belt.

“He lives yet though, look at his eyes. Is he wounded?” The bandit leaned on the staff like a walking cane as they looked him over. Overhead a crow called out, as if warning them to leave its prey be.

“I can see no wound, but the cold will kill him sure enough when night falls.” This one was dark of complexion, with a hawk-like nose, heavy brow, and a beard black as coals. Finding nothing of intrest in his belt pouch, he reached into the man’s tunic and there snapped the smaller pouch hanging from his neck, finding a small talisman within.

Suddenly the sound of a long, low horn came from the west, and the rogues looked at one another, a wordless caution exchanging between their eyes.

The dark-bearded one slowly rose, fingering the tailisman he had found within the pouch. He looked hard and long towards the mist-shrouded west from whence the horn came.“Let us be gone then,” he said at length.

Kaeso remembered nothing more, his mind fading into a cold blackness as he saw the scavengers walking away.

[Jurdagat]

Awesome read! :)

Had to smile when I read "Steppe wastelands"!

[paullus]

So does that reflect a major defeat against the Getai? Where does it fit in relation to your map?

[Zaknafien]

More coming soon, just wanted to get the teaser out:

Four days before the Ides of Quintilis
Near Ainos (Thracia), Apsinthis
614 Ab Urbe Condita

[V.T. Marvin]

Great start, Zaknafien. It is not an AAR, it is a great novel born here! The first paragraphs actually evoked in me a reminiscence to the first chapter of The Shadow by K.J.Parker. You deserve a balloon for this story (and countless more for what you are doing for EB, of course! )

Keep on

[Zaknafien]

Each section of Primus Inter Pares will contain two parts (at least); a historical narrative that reads much like any history textbook, and then a narrative story written about one of the characters involved in the events that took place in that time period. I won't clog up this thread with a million screenshots, so expect only pictures of crucial, important battles.

******

Roman History to 141 BCE:

The Roman Republic stood supreme in the lands that bounded the Middle Sea. No other power could challenge it, save for the ancient empire of Ptolemaic Egypt, which was consumed with its own wars of succession in the East. In previous years, the Romans had subjugated and taken control of Sicily, Corisca and Sardinia, Italian Gaul, Illyria and Dalmatia, the eastern coast of Spain, Western Greece and Macedon, and most recently, had destroyed their rival, the mercantile Republic of Carthage, conquering its old lands upon the eastern shores of Africa and founding new Roman colonies and provincia in their stead. The war-party of the Roman Senate, for years led by hawks such as Numerius Scipio and Gnaeus Aemilius Paullus, had advocated wars of expansion and conquest at all points of the map, and for the most part, Rome herself had prospered. In 148, Rome's independently minded Macedonian clients challenged her authority, once again attemping to extend their boundaries at the expense of their Hellenic natives, under the leadership of King Antigonos IV. The Senate chose to respond harshly, sending four legions of hardened Spanish veterans into the region, under the leadership of Kaeso Cornelius Scipio and his legate, Gnaeus Cornelius Sulla. At this point, Rome's constant warfare had nearly bled the Republic dry of freeholding farmers and Italian allies, and the firebrand Plebeian Tribune, Spurus Papirius Carbo, enacted legislation through the Centuriate Assembly allowing the citizens of the capite censi, or headcount, to enlist in the army at state expense. This 'reformation' of the military provided uniform equipment to the new legionaries and an increased system of command and control through cohorts as the primary tactical unit, but was untried, and many in the Senate were bitterly opposed to the new way of manning the army. Scipio and Sulla were brilliantly successful in Achaea and Macedon, however, and in battle after battle the new legions preformed as any Roman could be expected to do. New rulers were appointed in Macedon and Hellas, who were more palatable to the Senate's desires. Most of the Antigonid court and its nobility fled across the sea into Asia, where Macedonian influence remained strong. After an alliance with the Thracian state of Byzantion was concluded, the Roman armies split and one, composed of one legion under Sulla sailed to northern Asia, there to prosecute a campaign against Pergammon, while Scipio sailed south with one legion to harass the Macedonian enclaves there. The Roman reinforcements were led by another of Scipio's legates, Tiberius Cornelius Cinna, an arrogant man of the old school who marched his entire formation, landed Roman citizens of the old style, where they met with a bitter Macedonian counter-attack outside the town of Ainos, and there found Nemesis waiting..

CHAPTER I: KAESO

Four days before the Ides of Quintilis
Near Ainos (Thracia), Apsinthis
614 Ab Urbe Condita

"Kaeso."

The voice was dull and seemed to be coming from a great, black void, echoing as if in a cavern.

"Kaeso, wake up, damn you..I know you're alive, but if you don't wake up now I've half a mind to leave you here to freeze!"

He awoke groggily with blinking eyes, and saw that darkness had begun to fall over the frozen plains. Pushing himself up on his muddy, blood-caked hands, he found his body stiff and numb.

"Ah, I knew you were still alive," the man kneeling over him said with a wry smile.

Kaeso rubbed his brow, still reeling with a thudding pain. His fingers were cracked and pale from the cold. Finally coming to his senses, he inhaled deeply and looked around.

"Marcus? You're alive," he said, grasping the other man's shoulder.

"Indeed, it takes more than a band of half-civilized animals to best me, my friend. Although, from the looks of you..."

"I can't remember what happened.. after the cavalry charge.." he shuddered at the thought, and rolled over to his knees, trying to push himself to his feet with Marcus' assisstance.

"Bastards turned the entire left side of the line, rolled it up like a bolt of fabric, they did. The Macedonians seemed content to retire though, and let the Thracians do the butcher's work. Saw a couple of rough-looking fellows about to finish you off, I did, before coming over here."

Kaeso squinted in the last light of the setting sun, ruddy over the horizon. "I remember.. it seems long ago though."

"A few minutes, more like. There's a few more of us what survived, they're looking for others who yet live now, but come too long we have to get out of this place.. already the wolves are howling."

"How many?" Kaeso asked.

"Not enough," he replied grimly, clasping his friend on the shoulder.

******

Tiberius Cornelius Cinna had discovered that a mere four hundred men out of his column had survived the Macedonians' attack. Four hundred-odd soldiers, out of nearly seven thousand. It was a disaster--perhaps not on the scale of Arausio or Cannae, but for him, a minor legate within Scipio's Macedoninan army, to lose a whole legion-plus worth of good quality Roman soldiers, not the rabble they were enlisting these days back in Rome, but good, landowning soldiers of the classes, well, it was not a laurel in his crown. And so, he brooded.

The hastily made camp for the survivors was just outside the village of Ainos, that which the Romans called Thracia. IT was an ancient place, though it had not grown in size since time immemorial due to the presence of towns better suited for naval trade nearby. Its huddled buildings of thatch and clay squatted near the seaside, protected by spurs of rock and a steep ridgeline to the east. The Romans who had survived the battle had limped, crawled, or ran back into the town by themselves or in groups of two or three men at a time, until some semblance of order could be imposed by the handful of centurions and tribunes that had escaped unscathed from the fight.

Thus they had stockaded themselves with double-lookouts for the night to keep them cautious, the Macedonian army and its feared Thracian cavalry was still nearby, and raids to pursue the beaten Romans were likely. They could see the ominous red glow of the enemy's camp beyond the horizon northeast, and the smoggy din of camp-smoke it created rising into the dusky evening sky.

There was an eerie quiescence over the camp, punctuated only by the screams of the dying, or the shrill cries of the wounded when the medicus would amputate a limb.

Cornelius Cinna sat brooding inside the commander's tent at the center of the Roman camp, not bothering to even post praetoria outside since so few men had survived the battle, and those not on watch needed their rest. The camp slaves had remained here during the battle, and so many of them had been armed and posted along the perimeter as well, and as such, Cinna had to pour his own wine that evening, as he contemplated his next move.

He must write to Scipio, of course, he decided. In the morning he would send for the legion stationed in Macedonia, currently garrisoning a string of border forts in the valley of Serdica. They would be replaced by local Thracian troops loyal to Rome, and the legionaries would march east to meet with Cinna's survivors. He would incorporate the remaining men into their cohorts, and then continue his operation in Thrace. He had no cavalry, though, and no idea of what the Macedonian army's next step would be, nor who their commander was. This, he would need to find out.

[WildthingJr]

Awesome read. Keep up the good work

[kambiz]

Wow Awesome mate I once advanced as far as about 100 BC in my only Romani campaign. I hope you continue yours farther more

I've got a question Zanken ,It's about those Historical Msgs which appear each years. I didn't get them anymore after 210BC Are they still come for you???

Thanks

[Teleklos Archelaou]

That's about as far as I got with the messages kambiz. I may try to extend them in the future, but I've not got the time right this minute.

[CaesarAugustus]

Awesome Zaknafien, I like how you are doing it from a historical perspecitve and one person's, that's a lot of work, so take it easy....


No. I was just kidding. Make another update.

[kambiz]

That's about as far as I got with the messages kambiz. I may try to extend them in the future, but I've not got the time right this minute.

Oh I hope you extend them till the end of the mod time line ,As Imo these messages were one of the best EB1 addition Please more of them Teleklos

[Tarkus]

Teleklos -- I must agree with kambiz...the "Year in History" piece of 1.0 is outstanding! I'd love to see this expanded beyond the present state...but (as always) understand the time constraints...any way to gather together a team to do this?

(This seems out of place in this thread...perhaps a dedicated new one should be started elsewhere?)

[Tarkus]

Great read, Zak!! Keep it coming...really enjoying this.

[Meneldil]

Teleklos -- I must agree with kambiz...the "Year in History" piece of 1.0 is outstanding! I'd love to see this expanded beyond the present state...but (as always) understand the time constraints...any way to gather together a team to do this?

Yeah, one of my favorite new features.

[Bootsiuv]

Fantastic work....I especially like all of the informative maps....very cool. Please continue, if work permits.

[Geoffrey S]

I'm loving this AAR. Well-written, and shows just how much difference it can make if you roleplay carefully and take the time to allow other factions to build up.

[Zaknafien]

Ephesus
Caria, Asia
(a.d. III Non. Sextilis)
614 Ab Urbe Condita

"Fire!" The centurion said calmly, lowering his rod with a wave. The engineers released their machines at once, and a line of torsioned ballistae released their charges, sending bolts streaming sulfurous fumes of smoke behind them sailing through the evening skies, arcing upwards silently and seeming to hang for a moment until they crashed into the battlements of the city on the hillside with a cloud of smoke and debris. The noise was barely audible, from this distance.

Ephesus had sided with the Antigonids, and thus it must fall; so said Cornelius Scipio, Proconsul. For the past two months since landing south of Halicarnassos, the Roman general and his legati had sent their legion and its auxilliaries against city after city, capturing strongpoint after strongpoint of the Macedonian king Antigonos.

The Senate of Rome was impatient; it seemed every week a messenger arrived, with inquiries into the status of Scipio's prosecution of the war. Scipio thought them all fools, who wouldnt know the first thing about leading troops into war. It was not as if you could capture one city and the entire countryside would suddenly call you master.

A dozen cities had he brought to the Roman side in his two months on the shores of Asia, half of them through negotiation, the others through devastation and military assault. His army, the soldiers of the I Legio SPQR, a newly formed legion of capite censi soldiers, and the only of its kind to have seen action thus far (though the II Legion SPQR was en route to Asia with Blasio, he knew), had preformed its duties admirably, for being men of no value or worth. Now their life was the army, and he was proud of them for showing themselves Romans true, to a man.

Overall, the war was going well. Cinna had informed him of his defeat in Thrace, but reinforcement legions were coming from Macedonia to strengthen him before his eventual move into Asia.

He had not heard from his Legate Sulla in some time, however..

[Leão magno]

It could become a very good book!

[Long lost Caesar]

amazing AAR, love how youve made it a historical story more than anything. keep working...work...HARDER!

[Leão magno]

Pity we lost the third punic war!!!! please ZaKnafien consider a punic wars history in future

[Zaknafien]

Well, I dont have time for a narrative style update today fellas, but here is a rundown of whats going on on the world from 140--130 BCE.

PRIMVS INTER PARES
"First Among Equals"


The Roman world in 130, BCE

The decade 140 to 130 BCE saw tremendous changes in the Res Publica. Proletariat citizens of the headcount were enlisted in the armies in massive numbers, virtually replacing the older citizen-farmholder army in a few years. Professional, organized legions became standardly equipped and bore eagles and names to rally their troopers. For instance, the 1st and 2nd Legions Apollonia became the guardians of the Dacian frontier, while the III Legion Feratta, based in Ariminium, won itself great honor in the Asiatic wars. Veterans were settled in newly conquered territories, and Macedonia and Achaea were both turned into full provincia with Roman governors after their client-rulers rebelled against Rome's rule the last time. Asia province, centered on Ephesus and Pergamon, was incorporated in 146, with a Roman governor from the beginning--the Senate was quickly learning that local rulers could not always be relied on. An excellent case in point was the rebellion of the Carpetani in Hispania in 144, who sacked and enslaved a Roman city. Response took time, but in the end Further Spain was added to the Republic's Empire, and the Carpetani were virtually extinguished through slavery and crucifixion. The Third Punic Wars erupted when Roman war-hawks got approvcal for naval invasions of Africa, and by quickly buying off Numidian and Mauretanian allies, Carthage was destroyed utterly. The Asiatic wars cenered around Anatolia, which was a hotbed of intrigue and strife with the Pontic rulers, Hellenic city-states, and Gallic tribes. At the close of the decade, Rome was still embroiled in the Second Asiatic War with Antigonid cities on the coast of Cilicia, and their allies, the despots who ruled Egypt. Roman legions, primarily the I and II SPQR, as well as the III Italica, campaigned extensively in Syria, as you can see from the map above, Antioch and Damascus as well as other cities were captured and turned over to more responsible rulers.. Rome's next target was Jerusalem, which it planned to liberate and hand over to its Nabatean neighbors..


SCENES FROM THE DECADE


The Wildlands of Pannonia and Dacia were a thorn in the Romans' sides


Third Punic War, 146 BCE


1st Asiatic War; Rome v. Antigonid Pretenders; 145 BCE


2nd Asiatic War, 142 BCE; Rome V. Antigonid Remnants and Ptolemaic Allies

[paullus]

hehe, nice screenies Zak...(those Getic mountains sure look pretty, don't they?)

i still want to hear a more detailed story about Cinna's army, sounds crazy.

[Zaknafien]

thanks--Cinna's story would be a good one. Basically him and a few hundred survivors rampaged through Thrace and across into Bithynia hiring locals here and there, ending up with a cavalry force of roman citizen equites, thracian and thessalian cavalry, about 5 units altogether. he became more of a radier/harasser, despoiling tiles, attacking small armies and harassing them before withdrawing, etc. pretty cool stuff, really.

Theres a happy ending though, as of 130 he was governor of Halicarnassos, and now has two young children :)

[burn_again]

This AAR is really great and encouraged me to play the Romans myself, which I haven't done for a long time. The new naming system really makes a difference, its so cool to have a Cicero or a Iulius Caesar as FM.
But what did you do to get such a great Ai expansion?
And did you change the names of some cities? Your screenshot of greece looks like that...

[Zaknafien]

Yep, whenever I capture a city I re-name it in a Latinized way, or imagine it to be another city--Thessalonica instead of Pella, for example. You just have to have options_bi enabled and you can click on the name and type in whatever you like. I also do things like make names for all my first cohorts, all first cohorts trained in Capua are I Italica, II Italica, etc. Theres alot of other little adjustments and house rules I play by. As for AI expansion, if one faction gets too out of control, I send a diplomat over and use force diplo to take some of their cities, then I dole them out accordingly to whomever I feel needs to have that territory. I use some factions, like the KH, to represent many different city-states and minor factions not in the game--like Cyrenacia, Tarsus, the Bosphoran kingdom, etc.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

You're changing the city names? How are you going to deal with the reforms?

[Zaknafien]

It doesnt really seem to affect the internal name of the city.. well, maybe a little. Only issue thus far is the MarianControl spread, I get the advisor pop up every few turns as it spreads to a new city, but I still have reform barracks in my changed city names and can recruit first cohorts, cohors reformata, antesignani, etc.. so it doesnt seem like a big deal. I may have to go around changing the names back for a few turns when I want the Augustan reforms though.

[Leão magno]

Nice pictures of the decade! impressive tale

[Boyar Son]

Great AAR Zak! as always!

[Warmaster Horus]

I still have reform barracks in my changed city names and can recruit first cohorts, cohors reformata, antesignani, etc..

Did I read right? First Cohorts?

Great story Zak!