Villa of Tiberius Antonius Commodus

**Roxas** · October 10, 2011, 03:04 PM

Villa Commodus

The Commudus Villa is situated on the outskirts of the city of Capua; it is surrounded by hectares of farmland which is owned by the family and will soon be flourishing with crops and slaves at work. The building is overlooking a slightly steep descent and looms over the neighboring villages and is about an hours journey from the center of Capua. The family is usually seen busy with a numerous amount of matters and visitors are a regular occurrence, however they try their utmost to see every guest.

Short Biography.

Finances.

**Magicman2051** · October 10, 2011, 03:08 PM

A message arrives for the new Senator.

No doubt you'll soon be courted by either side in the current conflict, keep your options open, remember if neither of them appeals to you then you don't have to acknowledge either.

With courtesy,
Aulus Ovidius Priscus

**Dark Storm** · October 10, 2011, 04:07 PM

A letter arrives in the scrawled handwriting of Gnaeus, the Consul, of the Senate of Messana;

Ave Senator,

By now you may be wondering why Rome is split, i will take it upon myself to inform you as best as possible.

1. The start of the troubles;
Two years ago, there were troubles with the Numidians, the Pro-Consulate of Africa, was run by Senator Lucullus. The Senate was enflamed over the argument between myself and Consul Corva, over the course of action, in the end it fell too two possible bills being passed;

ProConsul Lucullus as Commander and Consul Gnaeus as Legate

Consul Corva as Commander and ProConsul Lucullus as Legate

The Senate was split between two sides, Tranquillan, my side with many others, and Corvan, the side of my fellow Consul, which included the support of Severus, one of the most influential men in Rome, and the greatest commander we have seen in years.

In the end the bill was passed in my favour, and I was given leave to go too Africa under the command of the Pro-Consul there.

2. The Senate split;
In the next year, the problem was amplified, after a small victory at the gates of Carthage, where Pro-Consul Lucullus tricked the Numidian king Jugurtha, into turning on and destroying his brother, a full hald of his army. While this was a victory, Jugurthas forces, headed out into the desert and laid waste to Africa. Many months past, and due to illness Lucullus was unable to lead his troops into battle. The populace in Africa became angry, and were about to head into full revolt. I tried my utmost to stop this, but it was not enough, and soon Carthage fell to the revolters. While this occurred Lucullus and myself were out in the desert chasing Jugurtha. Upon hearing of the news we headed back to Carthage to retake the city, but we were waylaid by the Numidians in a costly draw, that killed many of our men. We finally arrived at Carthage, and i took command and prepared for the Siege.

Meanwhile within the Senate, the Severan bloc, those supporting pro-consul Severus were pushing for Lucullus' and mine removal from office, to return to Rome, and be charged with treason. They were met with firm opposition, however Severus' power came into it's full potential and he beat down all arguments, and got the bill for our return passed.

By the time i had recieved the missive, i had already besieged Carthage, and was about to assault the city, when I was ordered back to Rome, within the month, and the legions to Sicily. I was informed that failure to do so would result in my immediately being declared an enemy of the republic.

I set of for Rome, and finally, after recieving many mixed messages from various Senators, i arrived.

3. Escalation;
On my return to Rome, i found that the Senate was missing one important member, a Severus Vipsanius Magnus, the man who had pushed for my removal from my Consular office and trial for treason. It also transpired that Severus had gained the allegiance of two Senatorial legions, and had now marched them into Italy, along with most of his vast force, numbering 5 legions in all. Many Senators, also disappeared around this time, to join with Severus, including such notable men as Lucius Titus Regulus, and Cilo, both men outstanding Senators.

Before they left a number of charges were laid against Lucullus and myself, along with other Senators, however these charges were vetoed due to their unfairness, by a member of the Senate, this led to Severus becoming more irritable over the state of affairs.

We tried to establish Severus' reasons, and in worry, we let a Senatorial legion take to Romes streets to defend it's citizens, and then we recieved this bill from Cilo, one of Severus' greatest allies;

Senatus Consultum

We disagreed to this, and in anger we then recieved this order from Severus;

Auctoritas Cincinnatas et Restituere Civilitas

We also disagreed on this, as we did not wish Severus to have full control over all military in the Republic, by the end of the month, Rome was besieged.

4. Fracture;
In the time between Severus' note, and the start of his siege upon Rome, the Senate was in disarray, i as Consul, proposed a bill that would have us move all Senatorial operations to Messana to ensure the republic remained alive, even if Severus turned against us. All Legions still loyal to us moved to Sicily, or remained in Greece under Corva, we managed to escape with most of the Senatorial records and finances, and most of our families.

Severus took Rome, and instantly appointed himself Dictator, he decreed that all the Senators who had moved to Messana, were no longer allies of Rome, and urged his men to destroy one of our legions still in Italy. In his time at the Senate, Severus killed, by his own hands a Senator who directly stood against him, and had his head mounted outside the Curia, then with reasons unbeknownst to the Senate in Messana, he moved to Gaul with his legions and his allies. Before he left, he had the mob slaughter the families of the Senators in Messana and burn their homes and possessions. Many of us lost loved ones to the riots.

From thereon the Senate was split, peace talks were started when the Republic was under attack from outside forces, however Severus' earlier acts left the Senate of Messana unwilling to deal with him. Now he resides in Spain, and part of Gaul, whilst we reside in the East. In the middle is the neutral Senate, those nominated from the republic in lieu of our absence and those who lost nothing to either side, and showed no particular favouritism either way.

I have tried to remain as objective as possible within this, so as to ensure you know the full story, thank you.

Consul Gnaeus Claudius Tranquillus of the Senate of Messana

ooc- My God that took ages, i tried to be as fair as possible, and give the new Senator a chance to pick sides, based on the facts, i'll probably send this from now on

**Roxas** · October 11, 2011, 01:09 AM

Tiberius read both the letters, intently reading the second. He quickly wrote back letters of thanks to the two senators, keeping in mind their names as well. Now he began to ponder, war would be an excellent chance to ~~seize~~ gain power and he knew he would have to join one of the sides...