[Multi AAR] History of men

[dmesa]

Very nice update...that was a really interesting battle!

[sinner]

well written, good information about the second punic war.

[Banzai]

Nice update, you really know how to make a long story interesting, what is, in my opinion, very well done.

[Fixiwee]

Thanks. Things might slow down just a little bit for the Romans. (That rather means that the year will progress faster). But I will aslo start to build up the civil war arch.

[Fixiwee]

What a lovely day, yeah, we won the war.
May have lost a million men, but we've got a million more.
-Portugal. The man

Saneus gambles with Rome and looses

The Roman Empire, by Wolfgang Schreier, Bonn 2003

After the Second Punic war ended in 194 BC the Roman society wanted to recover from the high war effort. Despite this, the Romans still had to fight wars the following years, though those conflicts were much smaller in comparison to the war with Carthage.
Immediately after the peace with the Carthaginians was settled a border conflict occurred with a Celtic tribe called the Turduli. Their king Biurtilaur Alonicoi did not agree with the peace settlement between the two superpowers, thus having to give up some areas of his domain. The Roman presence in the centre of Spain was not big, so Sulla successfully convinced his former enemies, the Carpentani, to hold the Turdulis at bay. For the next years a single Roman legion and the Carpentani fought side by side against the Turdulis.


Map showing the Turduli domain in Spain prior to the war.

In 191 BC the successful Sulla returned to Rome, celebrating his triumph and concentrating on his career. Lucius Iunus Brutus became the new Propraetor of Hispania Ulterior who charged the popular 25 year old Scipio as a Quaestor and as a military legate to deal with the Celtic tribes. Being so young and already leading a legion was only possible due to the legacy of his ancestors. In summer of the same year the young Scipio defeated the Turduli at the Battle of Contasti. The king Alonicoi fled to the north, while the Romans occupied the lands of the Turduli the following spring.


Spain in 190 BC. A great deal is already conquered by Rome.

By 192 BC the Macedonians seemed to give up the treaty it had with Rome. The Macedonian kings had long lasting treaties with the Senate, but after the second Epirote war broke out in 220 BC the relationship seemed to worsen to a certain degree. By 192 BC the Macedon king Dionysianos Saneus publicly demanded to inherit the throne of Epirus, which had been vacant since the end of the second Epirote war in 214 BC. Silanos, the Greek historian, pointed out that this was a ridiculous and obsolete claim.



But the Romans didn’t get to rest after stability was recovered in Spain for the time being. In 188 BC the king Saneus send emissaries to Rome stating that if the Romans would not leave Epirus he would take it by force. The Romans did not think that he would dare attacking a former ally and when Saneus marched into the Epirote city of Ambrakia in early 187 BC, the Roman legion stationed in Epirus stood down and did not prevent his actions, because the garrison commander had no specific orders to attack the Macedonians.



But Saneus didn’t have the support of all the Greeks to fight against Rome. Some thought that attacking an old ally, who in fact helped the Macedonians against the Epirotes during the first Punic war, was a terrible crime. The first Macedon war ended the same year it started. A noble under the name Leocharis Eurypontidos revolted against Saneus, quickly won all the support and arrested Saneus. To show the good will of the Macedonians he turned Saneus over to the Romans. The Senate decided to put Saneus to exile to the Seleucid Empire in the east, where the old and bitter king spent the rest of his remaining years.
While not a long war, the first Macedon war utterly destroyed the once good relationship between the Senate and the Macedonian king.

[sinner]

no rest for the romans, as usual great update.

[dmesa]

nice update as always

[SonOfAlexander]

Really good last two updates You're really developing your style - AAR writing etc. is very good, and the history too. Will do well in the next MAARC

P.S. How come in that last update about the 2nd Punic War I didn't see any mention of the name Hannibal when they are... sort of all about him, to put it mildly.

Lovely otherwise!

[Fixiwee]

P.S. How come in that last update about the 2nd Punic War I didn't see any mention of the name Hannibal when they are... sort of all about him, to put it mildly.

Well Hannibal existed, but he never got to become the great leader he was in reality. He got slain early on in the second Punic war. Nobody ever noticed him. Such is life, in an alternative history.

[Fixiwee]

I have some good and bad news.

The bad: FRAPS once again decided to refuse taking screenshots. So no screens in the next update.
The good: Absolutley nothing happend, beside one small event. So it's not a big loss.

Hence the next update will just be a summary. But stay tuned, there has been some corruption and domnestical policies in Rome latley, which will be the update after the summary.

[gamer20]

When Napoleon Total War comes out you should add it to this aar, that would be sweet.

[Fixiwee]

Yeah but that'll be at least one years from now.

[Fixiwee]

Transcript of the college presentation during the lecture „The Roman Republic“ in 2003, University of Minnesota, USA

[Anna Chow speaking]:
Dear colleges, dear professor, last week we heard about the end of the second Punic war and the first Macedonian war. What was following these wars was a rather calm period without many foreign conflicts for Rome. I will give a short summary for this period that lasted until 166 BC, when the infamous Metellus became consul.
The war hero Spurius Cornelius Sulla became consul in 184 BC. In the first half of the second century BC the Senate was ruled by rich and prestigious families like the Scipions and the Cornelii. Even though the rich families often fought each other for power in the Senate, disputes were – yet - bloodless and civilized. One problem was that young people, like for example Tiberius Cornelius Scipio, were already popular, yet they were to young to have real power in the Senate, despite their influence. Scipio was a good example for this. He led armies to victory at the age of 25 in Spain, when he returned to Rome he was nothing but a young Senator in Rome. Bitter he turned to the military again, going to Greece where tensions were still high after the first war with Saneus. The other problem was that these prestigious families had become quite rich through the second Punic war, corruption and miss governance in the provinces was an untreated issue.



Rome in 180 BC.


Although a rather peaceful period, two smaller armed conflicts happened. At 179 BC the Taurisci, also called the Norici, invaded the northern border of Italy coming from the Alps. Although the numbers of people invading didn’t exceed some 8000 people it was the first barbarian invasion for over 100 years. In the same year consul Publius Denatus defeated the Norici at Ceneta and enslaved the saviours.
The following year the Macedonian king Leocharis Eurypontidos, who restored diplomatic relations with Rome, was murdered by Alexander IV a follower of Saneus, who declared himself king. Tiberius Scipio, always ready to go to war attacked Alexander in 178 BC after being provoked by the new king. In 176 BC he defeated the new king in the battle of Berora. Alexander IV had to agree to accept Roman governance in Epirus and disclaim hegemony over Greece. The Second Macedonian war only lasted for two years, but by now the Macedonian-Roman relationship was terribly hostile.
Scipio returned to Rome in 174 BC to finally become Consul, using this position to accumulate his fame and especially his wealth. His former friend and mentor Sulla, who also became consul in 172 and 170 BC, refrained from Scipio due to personal reasons.
The political situation in the Senate changed when the rather unknown former Praetor Caius Caecilius Metellus came to Rome in 167 BC.

[Fixiwee]

I know this small update is not much, but stay tuned for the next update. It's gonna be interessting again.

[Fixiwee]

“Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the greater one.”
-Marc Twain

The new Roman Nobility

A history of Rome, by Prof Alfred Kennard, 2002 New York

The Second Punic war brought a lot of wealth to the noble families in Rome. The Senate was populated by a few rich and prestigious families like the Aemilii, Cornelli, Fulvii and of course the Scipios. What we can gather from the ancient sources the wealth was not distributed equally between the Patricians and the Plebeians. The economical situation seemed to worsen for the Plebeians from 180 BC onwards, while people like the Scipios built luxury mansions around Rome. Speculations about corruption were daily topic, but unfortunately no one tried to challenge the rich families. Miss governance of the provinces seemed to increase as well, for example the rumour was that Numerius Cornelius Scipio, a cousin of the victor from the second Macedonian war, used his position as a governor in Sicily to put as much money in his pocket as possible.
But the corruption of the noble families was also a possibility for new Senators to reform the system. One of these men was a Plebeian called Gaius Caecilius Metellus. He was born in Rhegion in 207 BC to the Caecilian gens. This Plebeian gens was one of the richer and prestigious families in Rome who had already produced a few consuls. They were known for their rather conservative sense of politics. Metellus served as a soldier in the First Macedonian war and became a Quaestor in Sicily therafter. There he got to know Numerius Cornelius Scipio and became witness to the corruption, while at the same time the cousin of Numerius, Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, came back from the second Macedonian war as a triumphant war hero. Afterwards he served as a Plebeian Tribune and Plebeian Aedile, both positions he used for architectural improvements to Rome (as we will see later). After serving as a Praetor in Sardinia in 168 BC he returned to Rome to fight against the widespread corruption.




Fabius - Ab Urbe Condita
(written at about 50 BC)

Book XXVIII

At the end of the year 586 AUC [168 BC] Caius Caecilius Metellus returned to Rome after serving in Sardinia. His service was superb, he came to a rather troubled region and left with order and morality restored. Magistrates in Sardinia were said to work hard and efficient even 20 years after Metellus left.
When he returned to Rome the corrupt nobility did not take any notice of it at all, despite his public speeches against corruption throughout his years. It is remarkable that Metellus started to work the very first day he came back. For a man of his character, there was never an idle moment. Each day had to be used to work for the best of Rome and its people. He only took a day off to visit friends and relatives he had in Rome, but besides that he already dealt with his clients on the very first day.
Before Metellus could stand up against the widespread corruption and loss of morality by the Senate he had to work with his clients. Since he had been gone for over a year this work took over the first months and it wasn’t until the spring of the next year [167 BC] that he could go to the courts.
In late March Metellus decided that the time was right. The day before making his announcement he organized a small festivity in his house to invite friends and political allies. The next day Metellus publicly announced his actual endeavour with a small speech: “For too long the nobility in the Senate has stood and watched while some men with influence put their power to enrich them selves first before the needs of Rome. As a firm believer in the greatness of the Roman Senate and its people it is my obligation to bring those responsible to court and see them convicted. I therefore announce to put, among others, Caius Cornelius Sulla [Sullas son], Marcus Cornelius Lentulus and foremost Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, victor in Spain and Macedon, before court.






A history of Rome, by Prof Alfred Kennard, 2002 New York

Among the nobility the accusation from Metellus was quite the shock. Even though everyone seemed to know that Scipio was corrupt, his deeds to Rome, his ancestry of two great victors against the Carthaginians was enough to let him live with his flaws. Metellus was a calm man of principle, who wanted to see order and honesty restored to the Senate. But he also had the momentum at his side, his proclamation to bring the corrupt people to court was quite the news and made Metellus instantly popular among the masses. Resisting such a man could mean possible riots and disorder among the Plebeians and the Scipios knew that very well.
The only chance for them was to face Metellus in court and use his weapons against him. The Scipios tried to confront him directly in court and delayed the procedure wherever they could. The sessions went on till October of the same year, when Metellus got unexpected support. The youngest son of Sulla, Marcus Cornelius Sulla supported Metellus in court and spoke out against his older brother Gaius. Spurius Sulla had already withdrawn from daily politics in 169 BC and retired to a villa north to Rome. Fabius interprets that the popular Spurius Sulla, fearing that his name might be put to shame through his son Gaius, told Marcus Sulla to speak out against his brother. While the famous Sulla retired indeed as a rich man, it was said that he did so rather honestly and even if he made money by illegal means, at least he spent a good portion to the public cause.





Eventually Metellus won the case and the convicted Senators, among them Numerius Cornelius Scipio and Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, went into exile. Metellus had become the hero of Rome and immediately the next year he became consul. Within one year the Plebeian Senator became the most prominent member of the Senate and would guide Roman politics for the next years.

[sinner]

loved it, whether its battles or politics, as always it is very well written...

[Fixiwee]

Thank you! I am actually not sure if politics is as much interessting as battles and wars, but I think it is a nice change.

[Banzai]

Nice, keep it up.

[Ace_General]

Good stuff

[Fixiwee]

Cheers.

I need some advice. Since I got a new monitor the resolution changed and I am not sure if the pictures fit into the forum. Please tell me if you people with 4:3 screens see this picture normaly: