The Roman Empire

A scenario for Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds by Michael Jeszenka.

Description

"Before, members of the senate, we only had a route through Gaul. All the other territories were occupied by peoples who either were hostile to us or could not be trusted. Caesar has fought very successfully against the fiercest of peoples in great battles and made them part of the Roman state."

- Cicero

The scenario starts 58 B.C. This is the year Caesar invaded Gaul. At the time he shared the most powerful position in the Roman Republic with Pompey (important character that will be involved later) as consul. In 52 B.C. Caesar won tow very important battles at Alesia and Agedincum thus defeating the Celtic Gauls for good. Julius Caesar commanded a very powerful army which loved him. Caesar's rival, Pompey the Great, became envious. Pompey earned his title from defeating the pirates and crushing their strongholds in the eastern Mediterranean. Pompey won favor in the senate and persuaded them to order Caesar to disband his army. Julius didn't and civil war broke out. Julius quickly moves on Rome. With Rome in his hands he declares himself "dictator for life", just what the senate feared would happen. But Pompey wasn't defeated yet. He still had support in Macedonia, Spain, Africa and Asia minor. Caesar launched a series of successful campaigns through these Roman territories. The war broke out in 49 B.C. and a year later Pompey was assassinated in Alexandria (very ironic. The two consuls fought for control end up assassinated). But the war lasted until 45 B.C. when Pompey's sons were defeated at Munda in Spain.

44 B.C. Caesar is assassinated by senate members. But this did not bring back a Republic or even worse, peace. A second civil war broke out. Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, journeys to Rome to follow in Caesar's footsteps. He wasn't a dictator but was still very powerful. In 31 B.C. the Roman Empire was split in two with Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony) governing in the East. Octavian and the senate disapproved of this so war was declared and Octavian won. In 28 B.C. he is appointed "leader or the senate". By 27 B.C. he is considered all powerful and is given the title "Augustus" (a person to be respected). He extends the borders to the Rhine and Danube rivers. In 14 AD, a month after his death, he is declared a god by the senate. Now begins the Pax Romana. Great Emperors ruled during this time such as Claudius,Trajan, Hadrian and Diocletian. The emperors after Augustus were given formal titles so the words "Caesar" and "Augustus" became words for Emperor. The emperors increased Roman influence to Britiania, Dacia, Arabia, Mauretania, and Thracia.

The empire collapsed after the reign of Emperor Constantine. I won't go into much detail about this because it isn't part of the scenario. The empire split into the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (East). The West was destroyed by a series of economic problems and barbaric invasions. In this scenario the successful barbaric invasions will occur after around 100 turns. If anyone plays that long they will be challenged by better barbaric warriors that move faster and ignore city walls. Also, the Huns will enter the scene under Attila with some incredibly powerful cavalry.

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