Nice, looking forward to this.

Not bad at all. A few tense problems though. Rome had fallen, not felt. The other families were expected to surrender, not surrendered (unless you want to change the tense of the whole sentence). There should be a comma not a full stop after "Tiberius Brutus" and before "Who was garrisoned..". Carthage held the other two cities, not hold (given that the sentence is in the past tense).

That's just minor stuff though, the body of the story is good.

Thanks for pointing those out. I will write the rest of the story soon and provide more pics.

A new era begins

The end of the Civil War brought a sign of relief to Romans across Italy. It got to the point where many citizens could care less who would come up victorious. Fifteen years of fighting among each other had taken a toll on the people. Romans had been used to the Republic and it took some time to adjust to the new political system. The death of Flavius Julius brought great indifference among the roman people; some were upset and mourned for months, others were glad and labeled him as a butcher, not publicly of course but during the daily bath gatherings. Flavius didn’t have the time to help in the adjustment process, but the right man for the job came to power. Lucius Julius wasn’t as skilled as Flavius, he lacked the military talents. And during the civil war he was left in charge of Arretium and later moved to Rome. He kept politics under control so to speak while others did the dirty job. While his father was out campaigning and bringing Italy under his control, Lucius took care of the daily paperwork and safety of the people. Lucius was very intelligent, born with the political attributes that many would kill for. He was soft spoken but utilized the right words and many would do as he said. He would make more friends by saying no, than people accredited him to. He felt uneasy over the way the people would portray him once he became supreme ruler, he wanted to keep his father’s ideas but perhaps be a bit more careful. He made sure he was not seeing as a king, during speeches he would always say: “The times of kings and bureaucrats are over…and a new era is upon us…” as if to reassure the Roman people that he was not to become a king and neither would his successors. Flavius had ordered the complete annihilation of the Senate, as a symbol that its use was not needed. His son Lucius, however, always felt that the people needed representation and for one man to have complete power could bring complete chaos if the wrong man was chosen. During a intimidate meeting with his assistants, many claim he said “…future roman leaders may not be as bright as my father or myself…” he was aware that power had to be shared, perhaps not equally but shared. Thus he created a new Senate of only 300 members, after what had happened with the last Senate not many were desperately looking for a position there. The new Senate was composed of personal friends of Lucius, and those that had remained loyal to him and even helped out his family financially during the conflict. This new Senate was to be in office for three years and then run for reelection as often as they pleased. Unfortunately Rome had felt into the same customs that had made the Senate so unpopular, only the rich, powerful and influential could run for office, those that could “afford” to buy some voters. But at least there was some feeling that the people had a say in the daily politics, and one man didn’t have full control. At least that what it seemed like, Lucius still believe that the Imperator had the last word and his word was law, he would consider the Senate’s opinion but not let him be influenced by them. To Lucius, the Senate was a way to make the people feel better during this transition of power, but he had complete rule over the Roman Empire and he made sure his successors would enjoy the same privileges. And it worked, Rome slowly started getting used to having one man become the supreme ruler with some representation from the Senate, and it was not time to move on.

Time to expand

Leaving politics aside, Julius decided that it was time to expand the newly Roman Empire. The war had left Rome financially cripple and with soldiers looking for pay after years of fighting. Lucius Julius was not military expert so he let those decisions to his brothers and war veterans Quintus and Vibius. The main focus was northern italy, gaul held territory and Illyricum, rich in silver and gold. The town of Segesta had moved to Julii via diplomacy and a “nice” reward in exchange for loyalty. The Julii despised the gauls tremendously and such hatred became worst when these barbarians besieged the city of Arretium, former Julii capital. Roman forces quickly went to their aid and the focus was now on northern Italy and the cities of Mediolanium and Patavium. Forces scattered throughout Italy were quickly gathered and two full divisions were sent each to take in a respective city. Small gauls forces were quickly overwhelmed in each city and within one year, Rome had complete control of northern Italy and the Alps as a nice natural defense from possible gaul invasions. During this time, both the Illyrian cities of Segestica and Salona joined the Romans via diplomacy, adding two very rich territories.
Things seemed to be going smoothly for the Romans but as they expanded, the greater the threat became of bringing new enemies. A rather weak alliance with the Macedonians brought some relief that the east could be somewhat protected. But the Greeks did not take Roman expansion very well. And the city of Salona was besieged by them, starting a new conflict with the Greeks. A conflict the Romans were going to start eventually, in order to acquire the rich greek lands. During this conflict, Romans took the city of Apollonia. During the battle of Apollonia, Romans showed their supremacy over the greek phalanx, a turning point in the conflict that showed the Greeks that the Romans meant business. While the Romans thought to themselves that the phalanx is not unbeatable after all, and thus encouraging the Romans to head deeper into Greece. Over in the northeast the Thracians had started trouble attacking and winning a battle against the Romans, Rome knew they had a new headache in their hands but it quickly dissipated, at least for now. Over in the west, the Gauls hadn’t made any moves since their losses at Patavium and Mediolanium, but Romans decided to take the city of Massilia creating a gateway to Gaul territory and eventually the rich lands of Spain. It was in the year 272 BC that the Romans started their invasion of Sicily, under complete Carthaginian control. With newly built onagers and a small Carthaginian army, the city of Messana felt quickly into Roman hands, it was matter of time before the rest of Sicily will follow.
Rome was after Sicily and Corsica for pride, and after Greece, Gaul and Spain for riches, whatever the reason was, a new power had emerged from the civil conflict and now the world would know what the Romans were capable of when brought together under one cause, an Empire forever! Roma Victa!

The Roman Empire as of 271 BC.


I've play the campaign up until this point, as I continue, I will update this thread and provide more pics. I didn't have that many pics at the beggining because I wasn't thinking about doing a AAR so I should have more battle pics as I go, hope you enjoy and please feel free to comment on my stories. Thanks.

So will this be a Historical action report? Or an AAR? I rather like the format like it is now. Great campaign! Keep it up. Also, are you going to stop after Sicily in the Mediteranean? Or are you going to continue with a three front war?

Wow, you took on the Senate right away! That takes some serious ingenuity...and ambition.

This looks like a good HSR in its early stages- nice! We have too few of them and need more.

Don't let our nitpicking over grammar get you down or depressed. That's how we got as good as we are now- by submitting material, having our comrades find the faults, we fix them, and then next time we do better. Each cycle the erros become less and the quality as a whole improves.

A tip about formatting- hit the [Enter] button twice to separate paragraphs. It makes a space between them which is easier for the readers to identify where one ends and the next begins.

[This message has been edited by Terikel Grayhair (edited 02-17-2009 @ 10:14 AM).]

Quoted from Hoppylyte:

So will this be a Historical action report? Or an AAR? I rather like the format like it is now. Great campaign! Keep it up. Also, are you going to stop after Sicily in the Mediteranean? Or are you going to continue with a three front war?

Thanks! I think it will be a combination of both AAR/HSR but mainly a HSR where I look at the decisions from a modern historian perspective. By saying you like the current format, you meant the HSR?
I don't want to give a lot of info about future moves, that's for you to find out later.

Quoted from el_bandito:

Wow, you took on the Senate right away! That takes some serious ingenuity...and ambition.

Thanks, the Senate army is a pain in the butt.

Thanks for the tips, Terikel. It makes a lot of sense about formatting, it's easier on the eye. I will try that. Also, sometimes I write so fast that I leave a typo here and there, I need to proofread before I post the story.

And BTW, I was thinking about not putting battle screens, I think that takes the feeling of historical telling, I meant wouldn't we wish we had seen the battles from back then? Just a thought, let me know what do you guys think. Thanks for the comments!

[This message has been edited by Imperator Romano (edited 02-17-2009 @ 10:37 AM).]

A picture now and again helps break up the monotony of text. I am not saying illustrate your tale so much that the pictures overwhelm the words, but a few here and there can really help the reader understand what is going on and keep the story 'fresh'.

It's all about clarity. If the words are not sufficient to get your idea across, use a pic. It helps.

About proofreading (another tip)- read what you wrote aloud. If it makes sense then and sounds right in your ears, then it will do the same in our eyes. Yours will also find the typos and errors, which you can then fix yourself without us nitpicking an prodding. It really works. Also, try to wait a day between writing and posting. That gives your brain a break and helps it reset, so the words when you proofread (always proofread before posting!) they are fresh and new- and easier to identify mistakes.

Keep up the good work, Noble Lord. We would like to see more of this intriguing tale.

[This message has been edited by Terikel Grayhair (edited 02-17-2009 @ 11:43 AM).]

Solid advice, Terikel, thanks. I'm currently still playing the campaign and a lot of things have happened since, so I can't wait to write it and post it soon.

The Gallic Wars

War against the gauls had started as early as the Roman civil war had ended. Immediately after finishing the conflict against one another, the Romans decided to wage war against their immediate threat and fierce enemies. The Romans early on had shown no interest in the northern gallic provinces, many didn’t see it as profitable and even worth losing men over them. Until one man was put in charge of the west army. His name is Marcellus Rex.



Rex had come to the Julii family after marrying one of the Emperor’s granddaughters. He had shown great military skills early on and he seemed like a perfect fit into the Julii family. Immediately upon his marriage, Rex’s skills were proven in a quick battle against rebels in northern Italy. His victory amazed many in the family and word quickly spread of his poise during battle. Word reached the Emperor and he immediately put him in charge of the west army and war against the gauls.

Marcellus Rex knew that in order for Rome to stop worrying about the gauls, they needed to be annihilated. He quickly ordered two divisions to head up north and sweep across the entire gallic cities, killing everything on their way. The Roman army quickly gained victories in gaul territory reaching all the way to the English channel. Only one city stood in the way of complete roman control of modern France. And Rex himself decided to take the task. Only a thousand peasants stood in the way of Rex and his roman army. He underestimated the peasants, whom despite their lack of armor and weapons; they were well trained and fierce fighters. Another advantage is that they’ve chosen the battlefield. On a rainy day, Rex took his men, mostly mercenaries, deep into the forest where the peasants were patiently hiding, and waiting. Rex did not hesitate and gave the order to charge at the enemy, he wanted the battle over quickly. Many ancient writings describe the battle, “the peasants had outsmarted one of the greatest generals of Rome, they had waited on a hill inside the tall and very deep pine trees, only one ingredient was needed and their gods smiled upon them as the day quickly turn dark and it started to rain.” Rex did not want any roman blood to be spilled in the fields so he ordered four divisions of mercenaries forward. As they engaged the peasants, many of the mercenaries panicked and quickly ran away from the battlefield. Rex, in desperation, ordered his cavalry to charge into the forest. It was unsuccessful and many found themselves trap between the barbarians and tall trees. Rome had lost an embarrassing battle. Rex in anger ordered the execution of every man that ran away from the battlefield. “Why do I pay you for? You’re nothing but a waste of money.” He said as the men were killed. Those who had stood and fought were awarded lands on newly conquered roman cities. It was unheard of for mercenaries to be given land during these times. Many roman soldiers, citizen themselves recruited from roman lands frowned upon this but could not do anything. Rex knew what he was doing. Months later, Rex bribed the peasants and told them that their lives would be spared as well as those in the city. The city still resisted but after two years of siege, the city felt into Roman hands. Now all of Gaul had fallen into roman hands, and only one city in Iberia would bring their complete annihilation. The Gallic Wars were nearing the end.

The Punic Wars

The invasion of Sicily had sparked a conflict with a new enemy, Carthage. Within a few years, Rome had taken complete control of all of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Palmas. But they were hesitant to invade Africa. The man in charge of the southern army (later called the African legions) was Cornelius Horatius.



Horatius had come into the family the same way many did during the time. The only way for you to be considered for marriage of adoption was if you had youth, reputation and skills. Horatius indeed did meet those requirements. And was quickly assigned to deal with the Carthaginians. He waged successful campaigns in Sicily, he personally fought on every single battle and took part on the siege of every single city in Sicily. He gained a reputation of ruthlessness and dedication.

Now Rome had complete control of the Mediterranean. Many in the capital were hesitant of an invasion of Africa, during this time Rome was fighting several fronts and fighting off invaders on every single corner of the Empire. But Horatius was able to convince the Senate and especially the Emperor that Africa had great resources and the income would improve the roman economy and be able to finance the wars in other fronts. Horatius especially said that as long as the cities in Africa were under Carthaginian control, Carthage would have the resources to build a fleet and army, therefore becoming a threat for years to come. The Emperor Lucius, now an old man, gave the okay for an African invasion. Horatius took his veteran soldiers from Sicily and invaded the city of Thapsus. He could not siege the city of Carthage because it was already under siege by the Numidians. Once the city of Thapsus felt under roman hands, Horatius patiently hoped and waited for an unsuccessful conquest of Carthage by the Numidians. He knew that city would become a financial powerhouse for Rome. After two years, the Carthaginians were able to fight off the Numidians, Horatius quickly seized the opportunity and besieged the city. Within a few months, a Carthaginian small cavalry division attacked the besieging roman army. Horatius didn’t see anything new and quickly took on the attacking army. Victory was Roman once again. Now Rome had small coast of Africa with two cities.

The Greek Wars

From the beginning, Rome was after the rich Greek lands and had started the conflict with them. Two men were in charge of the war against the Greeks. Servius Caepio and Numerius Tettius.




Both men had shown their ingenuity against the Greek phalanx early on the campaign during the victories in the cities of Apollonia and Thermon. One man left an impression on Emperor Lucius, so much that he would become an important part of Rome’s legacy.
Both generals knew that the invasion of Greece was going to be a difficult one, the cities of Athens, Corinthia and Sparta held strong fierce warriors and more importantly, strong defenses. During this time, Greece was at war against Macedon for complete supremacy of the lands. Rome took advantage of this once the Greeks made the mistake of taking the armies off their cities and plan an invasion on Macedon cities. Caepio and Tettius knew that they couldn’t afford to siege the Greek cities because reinforcements will quickly come to their aid. So they planned to wait for catapults to arrive from Rome, take the cities very quickly and then focus on the armies out on the countryside. It took at least 3 years for the catapults to make the trip from Rome to Greek lands. But they finally did.

Both generals took their respective armies and launched a surprise naval invasion of Sparta and Corinthia. Both cities had a small division of soldiers and were quickly overwhelmed by the Romans. Only Athens and the island of Rhodes remained greek. Athens felt within months but not before fighting the remaining greek armies in the country side. The island of Rhodes, the last remaining greek garrison proved to be a though task for the mighty Roman army, since it took a couple tries for the city to finally fall, Tettius personally took on the task. Now the mighty Greek nation was conquered, though the Romans decided to keep some of their culture while implementing their own. Riches, lands and culture were brought all the way from Greece for Romans to enjoy.

Old enemies…new enemies

With new lands came new enemies. As the Empire expanded, riches were pouring into the capital. The old enemies were slowly conquered but new ones always came up. An aging Emperor Lucius said “you kill one…and two arise from the ashes.” This was exactly the case as Rome became the greatest nation on earth.

Despite Roman efforts to establish trading and an alliance with the Numidians. The Numidians did not take the Roman invasion of Africa lightly. They besieged the city of Thapsus and were nearing Carthage. Although both invading armies were fought off, Rome now had a new enemy and headache in Africa.
It was the same circumstance in Greece. The Macedons betrayed the Romans and cancel the alliance by besieging the city of Apollonia. A new conflict had started in Greece just as one was ending; it would later be known as The Macedon Wars.
The Thracians had been a threat to Rome since the beginning. The Thracians had waged successful campaigns against Dacia, conquering all of their territory. Thracians troops were always spotted looming in the northern lands just waiting for an opportunity. Only a river and a small stretch of lands protected Roman lands but it would be matter of time before a conflict started against them, again…
And let’s not even mention the Germans and Britons way up north, the only two things stopping these two barbarians from invading Rome was the Alps and a war against each other.
All the previously mentioned conflicts were not started by the Romans but it would be different this time. Rome has had their sights on Iberia for a long time. They were after the rich mines but knowing that both the Gauls and Carthanigians held cities there, it became an extra motivation to finally annihilate their civilizations. It would be just a matter of time before Rome invaded Iberia to fight the civilizations that held lands there. Marcellus Rex, veteran of the Gallic Wars would be in charge of the invasion. He would fight Carthage, Gaul, and Iberians, all in the same lands. The task was immense but he was up for the challenge.

Politics as usual…

Back in Rome, the Emperor Lucius was always updated on the conflicts in the different corners of the Empire. He was aging fast due to the constant pressure and responsibility that being Emperor brought. He was now seventy-three and looking for a suitable heir to the throne. At the beginning, he had named his own son, Marcus Julius, heir. But as time passed he realized that this might not be a good decision for Rome afterwards. Marcus had shown no interest in the military victories that Rome had achieved and this concerned Lucius greatly. Marcus had inherited his father political skills. He was a good manager and skillful politician but lacked the social skills and charisma that had made his father so popular. It seems as he was more concerned in partying and enjoying the riches than about running an Empire.



The Emperor was quickly looking for a person better suit for the job, and it hurt him tremendously knowing that he was going to disinherit his own blood. He did everything he could to keep Rome under the rule of a Julius family member but he couldn’t do it. Emperor Lucius was aware that as the Empire expanded, a military-minded person was needed to hold it together, someone that knew what the limits of the army was and how to organize it, someone that will be able to keep the newly conquered lands under Roman rule and under control. One man rose to the occasion. Numerius Tettius had shown the great military skills and talents that many lacked at the time, his word was law for roman soldiers across the Empire and many had heard of his victories against the great greek phalanx.



The naming of Tettius as heir brought turmoil among many men across the Empire. But especially from Lucius’ own family. The news was taking pretty hard by his son Marcus, who thought was going to inherit the Empire and enjoy the power that it brought. He said to his father once “you chose a man outside our family? Instead of your own son? Such insult would never be forgotten.” It is said that the only thing stopping Lucius from murdering Tettius was distance. Even then, Tettius did everything he could to protect himself by surrounding himself with loyal bodyguards. The Emperor himself sent a division of praetorian guards to protect Tettius at all times during his campaign in Greece.

But Marcus was not the only one outraged by the news. Many generals across the Empire that had waged successful campaigns against their enemies thought they could’ve been future emperors just as much as Tettius. Tettius’ own co-general in Greece, Caepio, thought he should’ve been given the honor. But he remained loyal to Tettius regardless, after all, they had fought in several battles together and he was amazed by Tettius’ skills and bravery. Many other generals didn’t take this lightly but they still remained loyal to Rome and especially the Emperor. Cornelius Horatius thought to himself “my time will come…until then I shall continue to give them reason to notice me…”

But with the Roman army being overworked and the lack of Roman citizens willing to serve the army. It was clear that things needed to change the way the military worked. A man called Gaius Marius introduced his military reforms, giving a chance to any roman to join the army and become citizen after years of service. Now Rome had a professional army, and they would need it as the Empire embarked into more conquests.

The Roman Empire in 271 BC and 258 BC.



Hope you enjoyed this new chapter, I'm still playing the campaign and I'm into it so much. As always, comments are always encouraging. Thanks!

I think it's a bit rushed but that's just me, I haven't finished reading yet.

You're right. But sometimes it's just too much to cover because so many things happen I just try to put things into perspective and write a general point of view. I'm not much of a writer so it's hard to go into greater detail about the battles, characters and such. So I just cover what most people are interested in.

But I did rush it at times, it got to points when my mind was exhausted and my imagination reached its limits. I also sometimes get ahead of myself on the game because I really get into it and then I remember that I have to write about it. So I will try to take things slowly and be a bit more patient and detailed when writing. Thanks for the comment though, I thrive from criticism so I can improve.

May I ask what year you're currently on?

I think this is pretty good overall, but like Stormer said it is a bit rushed in some places. Keep up the good work!

May I ask what year you're currently on?

Just finished up playing, currently on 256 BC.

I think this is pretty good overall, but like Stormer said it is a bit rushed in some places. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! I don't think it's too bad considering it's my first try ever but I'll def keep an eye on rushing some parts, so many wars so hard to sum up all of them.

I think AAR is not the right name for this, perhaps if a mod sees this, you could change it to HSR. Thanks!

This is a well written AAR, I really like it.

My first impression was that it reminded me of this.

Keep up the good work!

Zav, I've been looking for that for years. It first inspired me to keep notes on my RTW campaigns

Good job- I can't wait for more

Thanks for the feedback guys.

My first impression was that it reminded me of this.

Wow, now that's a good AAR. Very detailed, I bet it took quite a bit of time.
Now I've been thinking about not including that many battle pics to kind of keep that feeling of history, I like to put the pics of the characters I'm talking about so you can have a face to go along with a name and traits. It would also be similar to reading about Julius Caesar or Augustus and then look at one of their busts. Same with the map. But that's my opinion, suggestions are always welcome.

Very good; I always enjoy a good HSR. It does feel a bit rushed, and I, personally, would like more detailed descriptions of the battles, but it's fine without it. Perhaps be a bit more thorough in the proofread. Not really much else to complain about. Keep it up!

The Macedonian Conflict

The conflict against Macedonia was not brief for the Romans, nor bloody. It lasted nearly 4 years but there isn’t a recorded battle during this time. Right after conquering the Greeks. Macedonia initiated the conflict by besieging the city of Apollonia which was quickly fought off by a Roman army. The Romans did not take being attacked very well. They saw it as insulting and complete disrespect to Roman peace. So when the Macedons attacked the Roman settlement, the Emperor himself ordered the complete annihilation of their civilization. Ironically, the Romans were after those territories and the only thing preventing them from taking them was the alliance they had with Macedonia. Rome proud itself in keeping alliances and remaining truthful to their word. So this attack was rather convenient for Rome.

Once the war against the Greeks was over, Rome quickly turn their heads to the Macedons. Macedonia at the time only held three cities, Bylazora, Thessalonica and Larissa. Two men would be in charge of dealing with the Macedon problem. Kaeso Nasica and Tiberius Paelignus.




Both men had much in common. They both were young rising military geniuses. They were separated by merely three years in age. But especially, both had come to the spotlight the same way. Simple captains in their respective army, their duty was to command an entire army and defend the Roman frontiers. Paelignus was stationed in Segestica and his sole purpose was to defend the border from increasing Thracian invasions. He did this successfully twice. But as the conflict with the Macedons progressed, faction heir and military extraordinaire Tettius quickly called on a small force to come from the Illyrian province and take on the city of Bylazora. During the travels towards the city, then Captain Paelignus found himself against a rebel army that had been creating havoc for several years in the Thracian frontier. Paelignus quickly took the high grounds, and rained arrows on the enemy. Not a single Roman got to face a rebel soldier that day. “Keep your swords, men. You will not be using it today”, he said according to historian Sautonius. And that was the case, arrows rained on the rebel army as they quickly routed looking for a place to escape. The battle lasted a little less than an hour while the archers slowly decimated the rebels and the cavalry finished off those who ran away.



After such victory, Tettius quickly promoted Paelignus to general and adopted him as son. With such a promotion it came more responsibilities and he will try to prove that it was the right decision by taking on the city of Bylazora.

Then Captain Nasica found himself in the same situation, he was in charge of a small Roman force near Apollonia. And when the Macedons decided to besiege the city, he took on the task to liberate the Roman people from such tyranny. The Macedons had decided to send an army of only three cavalry divisions after Apollonia. Nasica quickly trapped the Macedon army in a coast with nowhere to run. He utilized the same tactic, popular by many generals and captains. Decimate the army with arrows before engaging them. Nasica positioned his archers in a hill and watched as the lighting arrows felt into unprotected Macedon cavalry, it is said that during the first attack, half of their men and horses lied dead on the coast. Nasica did not expect such effectiveness during the first attack so he ordered the archers to keep firing. “Unleash hell to them, not a single man and horse shall survive this battle, only the sea will know what happened today…” And so they did, within matter of minutes the Macedon army had been decimated to a few men.
Tettius heard of such achievement and Nasica was named general. He was quickly ordered to take on the Macedon capital, Thessalonica. Such moves by Tettius were rather controversial, while many believe Nasica and Paelignus to be deserving of the promotion, their victories were overwhelming but against a small army. There have been several other captains that had achieved far more heroic victories but never received promotion. Current historians argue that Tettius was in need of commanders in the east front as he and Caepio were reaching their fifties. And these two captains happened to be a convenient coincidence to Tettius at the time. Of course nobody could argue the military capabilities of the both of them and they would prove that as history went on.

The cities of Thessalonica and Larissa were now under siege. While Paelignus forces headed towards Bylazora. The remaining Macedon forces out in the country were easily bribed once they realized that their civilization was nearing end. It was just matter of time. During the siege of Thessalonica, the Macedon leader died of old age and the city quickly surrendered without a single fight. Larissa now had the only remaining Macedon general and current leader. After only six months since the fall of the capital, Larissa with a small force of archers, a scorpion and the Macedon general decided to take on the huge Roman force. Onagers were use to destroy the cities defenses. An overwhelming amount of cavalry soldiers and mercenary hoplites took the city and killed the last remaining soldiers of the Macedon civilization. The Macedons were conquered by the greatness of Rome, once a feared civilization that reached all the way to Asia was now in the history books.

Paelignus found himself with a rebel force in the city of Bylazora, he knew that to fight against them in the streets of the city could mean that he would lose several men so he besieged the city until it finally felt to his hands without a fight in matter of two years.
While this happened, Rome added another island to its control. Caepio took the trip from Sparta to the island of Crete to take on the rebel forces there; it only took a little less than three years for the city to fall to their hands. The Roman Empire continued to expand.

The Thracian headache

Thracia seemed to be the biggest threat to Rome during the early years of the Empire. The Thracian Empire reached from the vast lands of Russia to modern Bulgaria and northern Greece. They had conquered both the Dacians and Scythians. They were the words of concern for Roman citizens during the time. The Romans had been able to do a good job keeping them off their Illyrian province but skirmishes with Thrace intensified by the year. It never got to the point of turning into a full out war because of ceasefires and lose alliances with the German tribes, allies of Thrace.

As Rome conquered Greece and Macedonia, Thrace saw the Romans as an increase threat to their own Empire. It would just be matter of time before these two giants collided. And so it happened, Rome with the approval from the Senate and an aging Emperor, declare an all out war against the Thracians. It was the year 252 BC, and Rome would add another enemy to their already increasing resume.

Old and wise…

Emperor Lucius was now seventy-nine years old, he has been in power for over thirty years. He had seen Rome go through a civil war, and then nearly triple its size. He had heard about pretty much any enemy on the world. “I’ve been alive so long…I feel as old as the world itself” he wrote to his grandson. Lucius was the face of Rome and many couldn’t see another ruler coming to power and fulfilling his shoes. Nobody could see Rome becoming any greater than it already was. Lucius had surpassed his own father’s expectations, although he regretted his entire life losing his father so early. “My father would’ve been a great ruler, two times better than myself or any other of his children. He died before his time; just imagine what Rome would be right now, son.”

The increased pressure that being ruler brought was taking a toll on the Emperor. “I’ve seen my father die, I’ve seen my wife die, brothers, nephews, grandsons and granddaughters…nobody is suppose to live this long, I feel like I’m cursed.” He wrote to his son Marcus. As he aged, Lucius started becoming more and more depressed and overwhelmed by the vastness of the Empire. At times he was paranoid that enemies would come pouring into Roman cities and kill every single citizen. He had constant nightmares of mythical beasts surrounding the city. Many claim hearing screams at night yelling to protect the city gates, his own guard would rush into the balcony looking for enemies to find no one at sight.

Such thoughts started affecting his decision making, he ordered the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula to be stopped until the Greeks and Macedons are taken care of. Once those nations were conquered, he still ordered the invasion to a halt until the Thracian borders were secured. Marcellus Rex, commander of the west army couldn’t do anything but wait for the Emperor’s order. He himself sent a letter to heir Tettius asking for an immediate invasion of the Peninsula stating that the more they waited, the harder the invasion would be. He constantly got a negative response from Tettius. “I’m not the Emperor yet…” he replied in a letter. Although Tettius himself thought that Spain should be under Roman control by now, but he could not go against the Emperor’s order.
The only thing that brought relief to Lucius was the news that the African provinces seemed to be secured and neither the Numidians nor the Carthaginians had made any attempts to attack the cities there.

Nobody knew for how long would Lucius live but he could feel his end seemed near. He organized a smooth transition of power; he made very clear that Numerius Tettius would be heir to the throne. He publicly demanded the loyalty of the people, senate, army and his own family. Tettius had indicated that he would not make the trip to Rome if he were to become Emperor, “I have too many things to take care of in the east, Imperator. I’m a military man, I cannot see myself running a city such as Rome.” He wrote to Lucius. Lucius took this well and decided to name his own grandson Governor of Rome. Many historians believed the Empire was ran by several men during the time, although Tettius was to become Emperor he would be in charge of the military while own Lucius’ son and grandsons would be in charge of the politics and running the increasingly growing Italian cities. Tettius did not mind not taking part in the administrative decision making; he knew that he commanded the loyalty of the army and that would be enough. “The Army is the what makes this Empire run, let them deal with the politics.” He said to his co-general Caepio. Many believe this division could bring instability to the system, but only time would tell.

The Roman Empire in 271 BC, 258 BC, and 252 BC.

BTW, I feel so dumb. I just figured out the screens get saved into the .tga folder, so I will be posting more battle pics soon. And perhaps even some videos if I can figure out how to work the program.

Always read the sticky's in the forums.

Pretty nice job, I like this. Keep it up...

Why didn't you just use fraps? The free version+irfan viewer equals quick and easy jpgs for our viewing pleasure.

Pretty nice job, I like this. Keep it up...

Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

Why didn't you just use fraps? The free version+irfan viewer equals quick and easy jpgs for our viewing pleasure.

Just found out about fraps reading the sticky on the forum. I will use either that or the .tga and convert them, both should do fine. I feel kinda odd taking screen from battles as it will take that historical feeling out, but I think it would be nice.
I'm looking into videos too, the free version of fraps only uses 30 seconds but that should do, the only problem is that it's not recording audio on my system so I'm working on that.

Hopefully I will be providing you guys with some nice battle videos.