Best faction to recreate Rome

[Dude with the Food]

I was thinking about doing a campaign to recreate the Roman empire. Just didn't know who to do it with. I'll choose whatever the first 5 point to but leave it open for others to choose who they think. I'll try and take Rome early (need the capital) so that makes Byzantines more unlikely but I don't want Papal States.

[The Juggernaut]

I've had a lot of success with Venice and France. France is very dangerous if you get off to a quick start, and Milan is a natural enemy giving you a reason to venture into Italy early on. If you fancy a more infantry based play-style, Venice should be your top pick, they've got excellent infantry, a good navy, and easy money. (plus, their colors are already Romanesque)

[Idealess_Dodo]

I agree with The Juggernaugt, in that Venice is the best. In fact, I've already created the Roman empire with Venice, probably my most enjoyable campaign yet.

[Dude with the Food]

Yes I thought Venice. Red, good infantry with flat shields (Venetian Infantry), eagle/carrocio and a bigger range of other units to serve as auxiliaries.

[Kaiser Nonsense]

Holy Roman Empire.

To Venetians:
"Those Venetians don't look much like soldiers, more like a bunch of bankers in fact. Yet the loot from their corpses will be worth all the trouble!"

This is the campaign I am playing right now, my intentions never were to recreate the Roman Empire, rather, simply dominate everything and be the largest Empire on the world.

[Adamat]

Venice. The VHI even look like a legion IMO. That, and they are in a good position to capture Rome fast, something you should do when playing as "Romans".

[Maklodes]

I vote Byzantines are the best to recreate (or rather revitalize) the Roman Empire, but who wants to recreate the Roman Empire? Create an empire in your own name, not as an imitation of past glories. Let the people of a future millennium say "I want to recreate the Empire of [insert your faction here]." Leave pallid imitations of Rome to your contemporaries, and leave pallid imitations of your empire to future millennia. For yourself, create a new empire, vibrant in claiming its own destiny! Let the House of Hauteville rise from its obscure roots in minor Norman nobility, first to claim Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily -- then to claim the whole Mediterranean coast!

P.S. How about the Turks? They can reclaim Rûm with the advantages of jihad, but without fear of excommunication.

[Highlander of Scotland]

I vote Byzantines are the best to recreate (or rather revitalize) the Roman Empire, but who wants to recreate the Roman Empire? Create an empire in your own name, not as an imitation of past glories. Let the people of a future millennium say "I want to recreate the Empire of [insert your faction here]." Leave pallid imitations of Rome to your contemporaries, and leave pallid imitations of your empire to future millennia. For yourself, create a new empire, vibrant in claiming its own destiny! Let the House of Hauteville rise from its obscure roots in minor Norman nobility, first to claim Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily -- then to claim the whole Mediterranean coast!

P.S. How about the Turks? They can reclaim Rûm with the advantages of jihad, but without fear of excommunication.

personally I like to think that when I own the whole of the map that people won't need to recreate my empire and that my empire will still be there

[Incredible Bulk]

FYI Thera mod has a roman faction complete with Roman Empire era units

[Shea O'Gorath]

Why the Papacy of course. They are kinda the natural descendants since Pope Leo prevented Attila from sacking Rome.

[Maklodes]

Why the Papacy of course. They are kinda the natural descendants since Pope Leo prevented Attila from sacking Rome.

And if they're not, they can always just lie about it. "Constantine totally left the Western Roman Empire to the papacy! We've got mad legit documentation to prove it!"

[Silverheart]

Sicily, since they already have a good portion of Italy to begin with. And if you go from their starting position right against the papacy, it would be a little like the ancient Etruscans marched on and occupied the young Roman kingdom.
From Sicily and Naples you are also able to send armies across the Mediterranean as you wish (the young Roman republic also originally expanded southwards and over to Sicily, so it would be similar to their route of conquest to claim southern Italy and the island of Sicily and then continuing from there )

Their army doesn´t match up very well to what the romans had, though, but then again, which factions army does?
Just imagine that the Muslim Archers represent the light missile troops of the early Roman armies, and focus on using Dismounted Knights/Men At Arms with relatively little cavalry, and you would get a military composition similar to the Roman one.

[Pyres Δt Varanasi]

Byzantines Restore the Glory of Rome Once Again !

[Xerrop]

I'll try and take Rome early (need the capital) so that makes Byzantines more unlikely but I don't want Papal States.

But the Byzantines are some sort of 'real' Romans. And as Italy has fallen to the Barbarians your destiny as Byzantine king is to reunite the lost Empire. You can imitate Justinians campaigns during his 'Restauratio imperii', but just six centuries later. And as their rooster lacks good late era units, the endgame might feel more old fashioned (antique style) compared to the HRE or any Italian faction.

edit:
Plus the Byzantines are an orthodox faction. Greater fun to exterminate the dominating Catholics. And again more 'Roman' cause the Roman Emperors ruled their realms alone while the Patriarchs/Popes were subordinated to them. Or can you think about any Roman Emperor who had to ask for the Popes permission whether to fight the Goths, Vandals and Huns or not?

[Kaiser Nonsense]

You all saying Venice, well Byzantine I highly dislike, but... they are (were) romans, so it's right, now venetians?? They have nothing to do with romans, except the colours perhaps, their power was coin, not military, they have always been one of the weakest sovereign states in the middle ages, compared to great powers such as France, England, Holy Roman Empire.

[shikaka]

Byzantines of course. They are the Roman empire after all...

[lolIsuck]

You all saying Venice, well Byzantine I highly dislike, but... they are (were) romans, so it's right, now venetians?? They have nothing to do with romans, except the colours perhaps, their power was coin, not military, they have always been one of the weakest sovereign states in the middle ages, compared to great powers such as France, England, Holy Roman Empire.

Venice was a vassal or somewhat attached to the Byzatine Empire untill somewhere in the 9th century I think, that gives them a better claim than most other factions. Of course we all know the Holy Roman Empire is the only true successor of the Roman Empire.

[Kaiser Nonsense]

Venice was a vassal or somewhat attached to the Byzatine Empire untill somewhere in the 9th century I think, that gives them a better claim than most other factions. Of course we all know the Holy Roman Empire is the only true successor of the Roman Empire.

I don't see any of those as "true successors", the Byzantine Empire was a bunch of Greeks with a "weak and dying" Empire. The Venetians were a bunch of merchants and wealthy bankers. And the Holy Roman Empire were a bunch of franks and germans following the ideals of Charlemagne. Neither of them have anything to do with the ancient Roman Empire. And the HRE is ROMAN because of the Papacy and all that, not due to the fact they thought they were Romans, for a long time they wanted to unite the two things, Kaiser and Pope, being the same person and abolishing the Papal States.

[Choombi]

byzantine empire, it feels right, since they are actually descendents of rome

[Chromium]

Try Genoa (or Milan). I'd have recommended Florence but for the fact that it's rebel- mostly because Machiavelli's works are filled with pleas to everybody with an army to "unify" Italy, "overthrow" the Barbarians & deal with the fraud-with-the-hat in Rome. The unit roster has nothing with the Classical Roman army- but then again neither can the Byzantines or the Germans claim themselves as true heirs of Roman military tradition! Don't forget that it was the seat of the Byzantine Vicar at one point & served as one of the major fronts during the Gothic wars.

Also., let's not forget that Rome started out as one single city- a lone candle in the wilderness & I'm sure that moderate, cultured Italians are a far better option to rebuild Rome as than a bunch of German serfs.