Beyond the Limes - Western Imperial Foreign Relations

[Barry Goldwater]

This thread will be used to keep track of the WRE's relationships with its neighbors.

Eastern Roman Empire

Ruler: Procopius, Augustus in Constantinople Relationship with the WRE: Suspicious The eastern half of the Roman Empire, stretching from the banks of the Danube to the headwaters of the Tigris and from Dacia to Egypt, has long been its wealthier and stabler half: there are very good reasons as to why Constantine the Great, may God bless his soul or Pluto gnaw on his bones depending on which side of the religious divide you fall on, established his second capital at Byzantium half a century ago. Egyptian grain and exotic goods from the farthest reaches of the Orient, including spices from India and silks from China, keep the East's people content and its coffers overflowing even as the poorer West groans under blow after blow from barbarians the Easterners often just bribe to go home. And while Rome sinks further into decay and squalor every year, the already gleaming Constantinople seems to shine a little brighter day by day. At present, the late Julian's maternal cousin Procopius occupies the Eastern Roman throne. As the western legions refused to acknowledge him as their Emperor too, he is unsurprisingly suspicious and even a little hostile towards the West. The Eastern Empire's extent, relative to the Western one: http://operamundi.uol.com.br/media/i...o%20romano.jpg

The Franks

Rulers: Marcomer, king of the Salians Genobaud, king of the Chamavi Charietto, king of the Bructeri Sunno, king of the Chattuarii Relationship with the WRE: Neutral, except for the Salians who are Friendly The Franks are a collection of Germanic tribes who speak the same language, living along the banks of the Lower and Middle Rhine and bounded to the east by the Cherusci (of Teutoberg fame), to the north by the Frisians and to the south by the Alamanni. They're best known for their mastery of the francisca throwing ax, from which they derive their name, and have an ambivalent relationship with the Romans: sometimes they are hostile, raiding and pillaging as far as the gates of Trier, and at other times they are sources of mercenaries and even officers for the Late Roman army. They are also not a united lot, being divided into several tribes that can be further organized into Salian (western) and Ripuarian (eastern) groups, and while one tribe can be hostile or friendly to the Romans there is no guarantee that their neighbors share their sentiments. The four strongest tribes of Franks in the mid-4th century are the Salians, Chamavi, Bructeri and Chattuarii; of these, the Salians are already on Roman soil, having been settled as foederati in Toxandria in 358 AD by Julian the Apostate. Here is a map of where the Frankish tribes are located: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...3%A8cle%29.svg Disregard the positioning of the Salii on that map, they're already in Roman territory and the ground on which they live as federates can be seen here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Foederatus.png

The Alemanni

Rulers: Macrian, king of the Bucinobantes Hariobod, king of the Hermunduri Vadomar, king of the Suebi Vestralp, king of the Varisci Relationship with the WRE: Hostile The Alemanni, or 'all-men' in their rough language, are a confederation of many Germanic tribes living beyond the eastern banks of the Upper Rhine, occupying the territory between Germania Prima and Rhaetia. They are thought to be fiercer and wilder than the Franks living to their northwest, and no matter how many times Roman armies cross past the Limes Germanicus to smack them down and kill or capture their tribal kings, it seems they always bounce back to burn, rape and pillage a bloody path through the provinces of Germania and Gaul - in an extreme case, the 3rd-century Alemannic king Chrocus once drove through eastern Gallia and almost reached the Mediterranean coast before he was finally stopped. More recently, the Alemanni breached through the Limes under King Chnodomar's command in 357 but were fortunately stopped at Argentoratum by Julian the Apostate before they could do too much damage. Among their ranks there are four great tribes of note: the Bucinobantes, Hermunduri, Varisci and most dreadfully of all the Suebi, sons and daughters of the same Ariovistus who troubled Julius Caesar around 400 years ago. Today, the Suebi are still the most aggressive, most formidable and most numerous of the Alemannic tribes, and their language influences those of other Germans living between their lands and the Elbe River. Map of the Alemanni confederacy, relative to their neighbors: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ury_AD.svg.png

The Quadi

Ruler: Gabinius, high king of the Quadi & Marcomanni Relationship with the WRE: Suspicious The Quadi are a prominent Germanic tribe living in the northern Carpathians and the territory that a modern observer may recognize as Bavaria. Earlier this century they absorbed the Marcomanni, a once-great tribal confederacy that never quite recovered from the thrashing Rome gave them in the 2nd century, and now they pose an ambivalent presence at the empire's northeastern border. Quadi raiders have already struck at the Limes Pannonicus time and time again, though these so far have been just independent warbands of glory-and-loot-seeking individuals rather than any organized effort on the part of King Gabinius and his cohorts to make life difficult for the Romans. Location of the Quadi, relative to the Pannonian Limes: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-Limes4-en.png

The Iazyges

Ruler: Gesander, king of the Iazyges Relationship with the WRE: Hostile The Iazyges are a Sarmatian tribe living in the eastern Carpathian Basin, on the eastern flank of the Pannonian Limes. These ferocious horse-lords were once allies and clients of the Roman Empire, aiding them in defeating the Dacian Decebalus in the early 2nd century, but this relationship soured later into the century and they have fought wars with Rome since the time of Marcus Aurelius. And yet - for all their duplicity and rapacity, the Iazyges are still a useful buffer to shelter Pannonia from the even worse threats posed by more distant (and more savage) Germanic and Sarmatian people such as the Heruli, Goths and Roxolani. Location of the Iazyges: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Iazyges-en.png

The Angles, Jutes and Saxons

Rulers: Wlencing, king of the Saxons Wermund, king of the Angles Wægdæg, king of the Jutes Relationship with the WRE: Hostile The Angles, Saxons and Jutes are three tribal confederacies living along the Jutland Peninsula and the northwestern Germanic shoreline. The Angles and Jutes who share the peninsula are fairly small fish compared to larger Germanic groupings such as the Alemanni and Franks, and while the Saxons are as large and respectable as any of them, the segment of Saxons most relevant to the Empire (those living in the Schleswig area) aren't much bigger than their northern neighbors. All are hostile to the Roman Empire, sending ships full of murderous raiders across the North Sea to plague the coasts of eastern Britannia and northern Gallia time and time again, and unfortunately due to their remote location Rome cannot retaliate beyond leaving the corpses of as many of those marauders as they can on their beaches to deter the next year's war parties. Location of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...xons_jutes.png

The Picts and Scotti

Rulers: Gartnait Duberr, king of the Picts Lughaidh, king of the Scotti Relationship with the WRE: Hostile Not all of the Celts in the West were brought to heel by the Roman war machine. Beyond Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall lurk the Picts, headhunters who paint themselves with woad and are descended from the Caledonii, and in Hibernia to the west the Gaels can be found, of whom none are more troublesome than the Scotti. These untamed peoples are a perpetual menace to Roman Britain: the Picts constantly needle its northern border, having already forced the Romans to withdraw from the Antonine Wall after the reign of Septimius Severus, and Scotti war parties frequently land on the island's western shores to plunder British homes. The former, at least, can be held back by the British tributary kingdoms of Alt Clut and Gododdin, which lie between Hadrian's Wall and the ruined Antonine one; the latter, much like the Angles, Saxons and Jutes from the east, are a menace with nothing but the sea and the strength of Roman arms to keep them at bay. Map of the division of the British Isles into Roman Britain (red), the Picts (blue) and the Gaels/Scotti (green): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...hons_Picts.png

Kingdoms of Alcluyd and Gododdin

Rulers: Cynhyl, king of Alcluyd Cyndeyrn, king of Gododdin Relationship with the WRE: Friendly (both are vassal states) The land between Hadrian's Wall and the old Antonine Wall has been abandoned by Rome for more than 200 years, and even when Rome did occupy it it didn't stay nearly long enough to make much of an impact on the locals. As a consequence, the native British tribes of the area regained their independence peacefully and have since organized into two kingdoms under loose Roman protection: Alcluyd in the west, occupying what is called Strathclyde today and centered on the eponymous fortress-town of Alt Clut on Dumbarton Rock, and Gododdin in the east, occupying modern-day Lothian and centered on the fortified hill-town of Din Eidyn. Both are Roman Britain's de-facto first line of defense against the Picts, though the poverty of their remote homelands, lesser numbers than the ferocious Picts and the porous tribal nature of each kingdom's inner workings mean that Pictish raiders are still able to routinely romp past their lackluster defenses and menace Hadrian's Wall directly. Approximate map of where Alcluyd (the Damnonii + Selgovae tribes) and Gododdin (as an evolution of the Otadini tribe) are: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped....north.270.jpg

The Berbers

Rulers: Nubel, king of the Mauri Aksil, king of the Gaetuli Tabat, king of Garama Relationship with the WRE: The Mauri & Gaetuli are Suspicious, the Garamantes are Friendly Various independent Berber tribes and kingdoms can be found in the sands, oases and mountains beyond the boundaries of Roman Africa. Of these, the three most prominent and best-organized are the Mauri who live west of Numidia and along the Atlantic coast; the Gaetuli, who live along and beyond the southern slopes of the Atlas Mountains; and the Garamantes, who dwell in the Fezzan south of Roman Tripolitania. The Mauri and Gaetuli, being mashups of largely pagan and Donatist tribes, are suspicious of the officially Nicene Roman Empire, while the more heavily pagan Garamantes care not for the inter-Christian disputes between the Donatists and Nicenes and have enjoyed a positive trading relationship with the Romans since their last war over 200 years ago. Location of the Gaetuli and Mauri relative to Roman Mauretania/Numidia: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...et_Numidia.jpg Location of the Garamantians relative to Tripolitania: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...conquests1.jpg