Is Rome Worth One Man's Life? 2.0-A Roman TL

[SlyDessertFox]

Sucks to be Orodes right now. On an unrelated note, will you later on elaborate on Fulvia's stubborn loyalty, even after discovering Antony's affair with Cleo?

Well for the moment it is in her best interests to be on his side: He's arguably the most powerful man in the empire right now, so it has its benefits. Though she's bitter about it personally-OTL, it is speculated that she got sick and died as a consequence of Antony basically telling her to come no further east than Greece, and then all but ignoring her when he came back to settle his dispute with Antony in 40 BC.

Btw, the style seems good to me. Any plans to have narrative bits sometime?

I might try and work some narrative in here and there. I just don't know where I'm gonna fit it in yet.

 

[King Henry]

Just read through all of this, and I'm really liking it! Currently rooting for the Parthians, Pompey, Cleopatra and everyone but the other two triumvir's in that order.

 

[RyuDrago]

I suspected that the victory in Dalmatia in some way will be placed in shadow by the progress of the Parthian campaign.

And so, Cicero's legacy seems destined to survive...while the advance of Antonius seemed instoppable. Anyway, the outcome of the Parthian campaign (I see surely Roman Mesopotamia, and Persia as puppet state for the moment, but there could still be surprises) will probably be the seed of a new crisis, as Antony's (and Cleopatra) power in the East will become too great respect to that of Sextus and Vispasian in the West...

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Just read through all of this, and I'm really liking it! Currently rooting for the Parthians, Pompey, Cleopatra and everyone but the other two triumvir's in that order.

Glad to see you are enjoying it. The Parthians are in a tough spot, so they need all the support they can get.

I suspected that the victory in Dalmatia in some way will be placed in shadow by the progress of the Parthian campaign.

Yes, indeed.Vipsanian's not very happy about that, though he's trying his best to censor as much good news from the east as possible-it's a losing battle in that regard.

And so, Cicero's legacy seems destined to survive...while the advance of Antonius seemed instoppable. Anyway, the outcome of the Parthian campaign (I see surely Roman Mesopotamia, and Persia as puppet state for the moment, but there could still be surprises) will probably be the seed of a new crisis, as Antony's (and Cleopatra) power in the East will become too great respect to that of Sextus and Vispasian in the West...

Yeah, Vipsanian especially has to be very worreid about what this means for him. Sextus has more reason to expect that if push comes to shove, he can always align himself as a subordinate under Antony thanks to their past cooperation and his friendly disposition towards Cleopatra. Vipsanian though...

 

[SlyDessertFox]

New update should be up tomorrow.

 

[Geordie]

New update should be up tomorrow.

Good news!

 

[stevep]

Good news!

Agreed. Looking forward to it.

Steve

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Chapter XVII: The Invasion of Parthia Part III: Game of Thrones
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Herod was nearly at his wits end with powerful women. During a brief stay at the Egyptian court, Cleopatra had earned Herod’s enmity, and made a few important friends within his court. Among them was Herod’s mother in law, the Hasmonean princess, Alexandra, which was reason enough for Herod to earn Herod’s resentment, as if he needed any more reasons. The two had a mutual antipathy , Herod being Jewish on the wrong side of the family, and being an Idumean, new converts to Judaism, whereas Alexandra’s family were noble-born descendants of generations of Jewish high priests. When the post of high priest opened in 37 BC, however, instead at appointing the obvious candidate, his brother in law Aristobulus, he ventured outside of the family. An undistinguished and loyal official was preferred by Herod. The official was fitted with the usual high-priest regalia-a gold-embroidered diadem, a floor length, tasseled blue robe, set with precious stones, and hung with golden bells. A purple, scarlet, and blue cape was fixed with two brooches and studded with gleaming gems upon his shoulders. It was truly captivating enough to make the sight of the high priest seem like one was actually in the presence of a man belonging to a different world.

This slight was not lost on Alexandra and the rest of his household, and she took this as nothing less than an insult of the highest order. She smuggled word to Cleopatra of Herod’s indignant appointment, knowing Cleopatra detested Herod as much as Herod detested the Egyptian queen. More importantly, Cleopatra could intervene on her behalf with Antonius, and convince him to allow her son the priesthood. For all the accusations that can be brought against him however, few could accuse him of being too lax on his own royal household. During a hunting trip, Herod arranged for an accident to befall his unfortunate brother-in-law, thus removing a thorn in his side. For as long as he had lived, Aristobulus had a far more legitimate claim to the throne than Herod, and would serve as the center of the scheming of his in-laws.

Herod arranged an expensive and dignified funeral for Aristobulus. No matter how obvious his involvement may have seemed to everyone, most of all the royal family, Herod was intent on sticking to his story and making it look like he legitimately had nothing to do with the death of his charismatic brother-in-law. Alexandra’s scheming was far from over however, as this only emboldened her resolve to continue to plot Herod’s downfall.

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Sapadbizes in the Yuehzi capital
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With their capital on the northern shore of the Oxus River, Yuehzi rule extended across eastern Baktria, Paropamisadae, and a large part of Arachosia. Knee deep in a bloody succession struggle with his half brother Pseigacharas, Sapadbizes sensed his turn of fortunes in the decline of the Parthian Empire. Son of the Yuehzi chieftan Hyrcodes and his Indo-Scythian wife, Sapadbizes had an impeccable pedigree. His paternal grandmother Thais, was the sister of the deposed Greco-Baktrian king, Hermaeus. As such, he had ties to the Greco-Baktrian elite, his Yuehzi clansmen, and the Indo-Scythian tribes bordering the Yuehzi lands.

Heavily influenced by the hellenic ways of his mother, Hyrcodes was responsible for spurring the hellenization process of the Yuehzi. He was careful to adopt Greek dress and customs. At his urging, intermarriage between his Yuehzi clansmen and the Greco-Baktrian became more common-place, setting the groundwork for the future plans have Sapadbizes had for his kingdom. Coins were minted in similar style to the Greco Baktrian kings, including engravings in Greek, the Greek alphabet being formally adopted under Hyrcodes rule. Increased Parthian pressures on his border had encouraged Hyrcodes to take for a wife an Indo-Scythian princess to assure good conduct between the two tribes. His conflict with the Parthians would be inherited by Sapadbizes and Pseigacharis after his death.

Lacking the necessary support at home, Pseigacharis was forced to take the unprecedented step of petitioning the Parthians for support for his claim to the throne. A small contingent of Parthian horse succeeded in assisting Pseigacharis in driving Sapadbizes out of the Yuehzi capital, intervening intermittently on his behalf when necessary. Despite having been on the verge of total victory, Sapadbizes soon found himself between a rock and a hard place, facing the prospect of more Parthian assistance of Pseigacharis, and his chances of success waning. With the empire collapsing in the west however, the Parthians had little interest in a succession dispute on the eastern fringes of their domain, their focus elsewhere. With this stroke of luck, Sapadbizes now had new life breathed into his cause, and fully intended to exploit the change of fortunes. [1]

In Ctesiphon, Orodes position was nigh untenable, and opportunists were quick to capatalize on this instability at court. A plot was hatched by his son and crown prince Mithradates to kill and overthrow him. The conspirators were able to bribe some of the king’s personal guards to murder Orodes. In early march of 37 BC, the guards carried out the conspirators’ demands, and stabbed Orodes in his sleep. Mithradates was crowned king, but if he was hoping for a swift and relatively bloodless coup, he would be sorely mistaken. In true Arsacid fashion, his family members also had their eyes set on the throne.

Mithradates time on the throne was brief. He would barely make it to the end of march, before his brother, also named Orodes, stabbed him during a meeting discussing how to deal with Antonius. Orodes quickly realized his folly, as the guards did not take kindly to their king of kings being murdered in cold blood right in front of him. He was immediately taken down and finished off. A brief interregnum lasting about a week took place, and was ended when Tigranes rose to the occasion and was crowned King of Kings. Fortunately, this would be the end of the Arsacid game of thrones.

Coins minted commemorating the coronation of Tigranes
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Still, Tigranes inherited an already shaky position at best, not helped by the rapid rise and fall of self-proclaimed kings. The shakeup in the royal court seriously disrupted Orodes original plans for garrisoning the passes into Ekbatana. When Antonius and company moved out of winter quarters in early April, the small forces standing between him and Ekbatana were forced into using hit and run tactics in the mountainous terrain. The result was an agonizingly slow march to the strategic city, while inflicting heavy losses on the Parthian horsemen. This is where Artavasdes’ (of Media) soldiers recruited over the winter proved their worth-every bit an equal to the Parthians on horse, the Median cavalry benefited from being experts of the terrain in their own rights. As the march dragged on, the Median horsemen gradually hunted down and drove off their Parthian adversaries, eventually forcing them to seek refuge behind Ekbatana’s walls.

Tigranes’ lack of a direct response to move against Antonius is understandable, as he was dealing with more problems closer to home. Monaesus Surena, encouraged by Antonius and already having large arrays of land and connections in Mesopotamia, was wreaking havoc on the region with his 10,000 personal cavalrymen. While Antonius moved on Ekbatana at a snail’s pace, Surena kept Tigranes pre-occupied in Mesopotamia. His motives were not entirely based on helping Antonius-recognizing Tigranes already shaky position, he was hoping the Parthian elites in Ctesiphon would get frustrated with Tigranes, and overthrow him in favor of Surena himself. Realizing Tigranes had little answer to Surena's raids, some Parthian satraps began declaring for Surena, throwing the entire area into turmoil as the satraps broke into pro-Arsacid and pro-Surena factions.

Upon reaching Ekbatana in early May, Antonius tried to quickly take the walls, but was repulsed after heavy fighting. The siege looked like it would turn into a slog like that of Phraaspa the year before, until Artvasdes of Media Atropatene pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Using his connections with a few of the elites in the city, Artavasdes convinced them to open the gates the next night. The city garrison awoke in the middle of the night to find Romans pouring into the streets, but unlike at Phraaspa, they were far more pragmatic. After brief fighting, the garrison leader saw the way the wind was blowing and negotiated a surrender, allowing his men to remain as the city garrison, augmented by Roman and Median troops.

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[1] This background on Sapadbizes is fictional. The background is heavily borrowed from Velasco in "After Actium" and I thank him for his permission

 

[stevep]

slydessertfox

Well it sounds pretty fatal for the Parthians. Just about everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. We could end up with a total melt-down of the state.

However this doesn't necessarily mean everything is going right for Antonius. He still have to establish some form of stability, either as direct rule or probably more likely one or more client kings. However keeping control of them and getting revenue out of them could be a whole different kettle of fish. He has however had a huge boost to his moral.

I suspect that he will have a crisis in Palestine to deal with as it sounds fairly explosive there. If Cleopatra tries removing Herod, or is seen as interfering in Jewish affairs we could end up with a major rebellion, although possibly Egyptian forces could handle much of this itself.

The other possibility might be that Sextus and Vipsanian decide that they have to form a closer alliance to counter what appears to be the huge power of Antonius. However, given their own deep disputes I think this is unlikely or if anything is attempted it would probably be deeply unstable.

Steve

 

[SlyDessertFox]

slydessertfox

Well it sounds pretty fatal for the Parthians. Just about everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. We could end up with a total melt-down of the state.

Yeah, Parthia is in a sorry state right now. Though Tigranes is far from incompetent-he managed to hold his own against the best of Parthian commanders in Surena, which is no mean feat.

However this doesn't necessarily mean everything is going right for Antonius. He still have to establish some form of stability, either as direct rule or probably more likely one or more client kings. However keeping control of them and getting revenue out of them could be a whole different kettle of fish. He has however had a huge boost to his moral.

I suspect that he will have a crisis in Palestine to deal with as it sounds fairly explosive there. If Cleopatra tries removing Herod, or is seen as interfering in Jewish affairs we could end up with a major rebellion, although possibly Egyptian forces could handle much of this itself.

Well if there is any unrest, it would likely be against Herod-he is not very popular with the Jews, and it doesn't help that they don't even consider him Jewish.

The other possibility might be that Sextus and Vipsanian decide that they have to form a closer alliance to counter what appears to be the huge power of Antonius. However, given their own deep disputes I think this is unlikely or if anything is attempted it would probably be deeply unstable.

Steve

Yeah, that's always a possibility. Maybe they could pull an Antony-Octavian and put their differences aside long enough to get somewhere.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Okay I made one minor change: Instead of leaving in early May (Which I think is just way too late to break winter quarters) I made Antony break winter camp and set out for Ekbatana in early April a couple weeks after spring starts. So instead of reaching Ekbatana in June, he reached it in May.

Also, expect an update either tonight or tomorrow.

Edit: I also changed up the effectiveness of Surena's raids.

 

[Pururauka]

Damn Antony and his success!

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Damn Antony and his success!

I bet Tigranes is thinking the same thing right about now.

 

[Geordie]

Tigranes is in quite a bit of trouble right now. He could do with somebody distracting Antonius. Cleopatra and Herod's machinations against each other might give him a bit of breathing space, but probably not a lot. Even if Antonius did have to turn back, Surena and Artavasdes can probably cope with defending against Tigranes until the situation swings in their favour once more.

Keep up the good work, Cunning Vulpine!

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Tigranes is in quite a bit of trouble right now. He could do with somebody distracting Antonius. Cleopatra and Herod's machinations against each other might give him a bit of breathing space, but probably not a lot. Even if Antonius did have to turn back, Surena and Artavasdes can probably cope with defending against Tigranes until the situation swings in their favour once more.

Keep up the good work, Cunning Vulpine!

Well Antonius is not really in a position to return back-he's deep in Persian territory at this point.

Thanks!

Sorry for the delay in the update guys, I've been doing a little research on Baktria and the Indo-Scythians, plus I needed to make sure it was okay with Velasco if I could use his background of Sapdabizes for my TL (since we don't know much about Sapadbizes).

I do have summer work I have to do, but being the epic procrastinator that I am, I'll probably continue putting that off. I'll probably get an update out tomorrow now that I've got everything ready.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Chapter XVIII: The Invasion of Parthia Part IV: The Road To Persis

After taking Ekbatana, Marcus Antonius decided the best course of action was to split his army. Taking 35,000 men, Publius Ventidius was to march east towards Apamaea, then south down the Zagros into Persis and its capital, Persepolis. Meanwhile, Antonius would march south from Ekbatana down the old Persian Royal Road to capture the strategically important city of Susa. From Susa, the plan was for him to advanced on the Characene Kingdom and its capital, Charax, and from there, the two armies were to meet up in Persis. The over-arching goal was to cut off Tigranes retreat, of which Antonius was certain he would attempt in order to gather another army from the eastern satrapies.

This pincer movement resembled on a much larger scale the stratagem used by Julius Caesar during the Gallic revolt, leading to Titus Labienus’ defeat of the Gauls and then subsequent rendezvous with Caesar at Alesia. No doubt Antonius was borrowing a page out of the book of his former mentor. It was a sound strategy that ran a very low risk of disaster, due to the size and morale of the Roman army compared to their much more battered and demoralized Parthian opponents. There was little that stood in the way between Antonius and Susa, and the former Achaemenid capital soon fell into his hands, along with the rest of Susiana. Ventidius’ campaign also got off to a good start, with Apamaea unable to put up any effective resistance, allowing him to begin his descent down the Zagros with his rear relatively secure.

Tigranes and an unkown man, probably a guard, sneak out of Ctesiphon

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In Ctesiphon, Tigranes position became untenable. Surena had made it a point to avoid any decisive conflict much to his frustration, content with simply pillaging the Mesopotamian countryside and being careful to leave the lands of important noblemen untouched. Recognizing that remaining in Mesopotamia any longer would leave him isolated from the rest of his empire and trapped between Surena and the Romans, he decided now was the time to act. All but abandoning Mesopotamia to Surena and his supporters, he made a beeline for the Characene Kingdom.

With its capital at the important trading emporium of Charax, the Kingdom of Characene was founded in 127 BC by Hyspaosines. The son of a certain King of the Arabs by the name of Sagdodanacos, Hyspaosines was initially installed as satrap of Characene by Antiochos IV Epiphanes. As the eastern half of the Seleucid Empire crumbled from the weight of Parthian invasions in 141, Hyspaosines declared independence for his satrapy. Having had success in conquering parts of Mesopotamia and Persis, we first hear of him being referred to as “King”, in 127 three years before his death in 124. Characene was and continued to be an important trading center between India and Mesopotamia, and provided Susa with lucrative port facilities. Under Parthian rule, it was a nominally independent vassal kingdom.

Having already sent ahead to the Characene King Atambelos I to supply him with ready troops upon his arrival, Tigranes was taking a risky yet necessary move. With the Romans bearing down on Characene, Atambelos may very well have been inclined to choose this moment to defect, seeing as how he’d have nothing to gain by remaining on Tigranes side. Although the 9,000 or so men left with him would likely be enough to prevail over anything Atambelos could throw against him, he could not afford to be held up, lest Antonius catch up with him. To his great relief then, Tigranes was welcomed with a fresh force of 6,000 Characene soldiers for his flight east. Atambelos decided on staying behind with 4,000 men to prepare for the defense of Charax.

With Antonius hot on his trail, Tigranes departed Charax no more than a few days before Antonius’ arrival. Initially planning to hold out, Atambelos was pleasantly surprised when Antonius made him an irrefusable offer. He was allowed to maintain his rule over his Characene kingdom, becoming an ally of Rome. The generosity was partly due to Antonius' desire not have to undergo a costly and lengthly siege while Tigranes was on the run, and partly due to understanding the consequences a violent removal of a King from power would entail. Atambelos jumped at the offer, securing Antonius' supply lines and freeing him up to continue his pursuit.

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The deafening blare of the trumpets signaled the archers to draw their bows. “Ready!” the auxillia commander barked. “Loose!”

Centurion Spurius Naevius Atellus[1] stood and watched with the rest of the Legio VI Ferrata[2] as the arrows pierced through the sky above, raining down on the defenders on the walls. He could faintly make out the soldiers hastily raising their shields to cover themselves from the arrow storm, those being too slow screaming out in agony and collapsing as the arrows hit their mark. The trumpets bellowed once more. “Advaaaance!” the order rang out across the lines, as Atellus and the other ceturions gave the orders to the men to begin their march.

The familiar and fearsome sound of legionaries marching in unison rippled across the landscape, even sending chills through Atellus’ own spine. He could only wonder what psychological effect it must have had on the men on the walls. Unintelligible shouts from the walls by what Attalus presumed to be the officers could be made out. As the legions approached the walls, the sight of the drawn bows and twirling slings came into sight. “Get ready men.” Atellus prepared his troops.

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As if on cue, an intense scream rung out , followed by a hail of projectiles streaming out from the walls. “Shields! Shields!” Atellus cried out. Even without his order, the men knew what to do, and already they were arranging their shields to meet the threat. The first row immediately knelt down, locking their shields, followed by the second and third line locking their shields on top of their other. Despite the nearly invulnerable protection this formation afforded, it was still terrifying as projectiles of all shapes and sizes clanged off his shield and those of the soldiers around him.

As the projectile storm subsided, Atellus gave the order to charge, bursting out of the formation and screaming at the top of his lungs with everyone else. The men carried the ladders clumsily placed them against the walls, and a battle of strength ensued, as the men on the walls attempted desperately to push the ladders over while legionaries on the bottom used all their muscle to keep it up against the walls. Taking the initiative, Atellus grabbed hold of the ladder, and began pulling himself up, dodging javelins and rocks on the way up.

Reaching the top of the ladder, Atellus instinctively ducked, a sword swipe grazing above his head. He quickly realized he was the only one to have attempted the climb, placing himself in a dangerous position. “Come on you cowards!” he screamed, impaling a careless defender who had failed to protect his midsection. Ashamed and spurred on by their centurion’s courage, the men began scaling the ladder, and soon gained a foothold on the wall. Taking a quick glance at the other parts of the wall being scaled, Atellus was relieved to see the same success being achieved.

The opposing officers must have recognized that they were losing the fight on the wall and would be surrounded if they didn’t act quickly, for the defenders began a fighting retreat off of the walls. Reaching the inside of the city, Atellus was not surprised to see them retreating back through the city. He found it frustratingly troublesome to control his soldiers, the shouts and screams that accompanied a battle making hearing orders difficult. All he could do was pour into the city along with the rest of the army, raising his shield over his head to deflect missiles coming from men on the rooftops.

He almost wished he did not have strict orders not to sack the city, for it was mightily hard to restrain himself breaking into the houses and helping himself to some loot. As he reached the citadel, Atellus recognized the assault was beginning to slow down. Having lost discipline, some of the legionaries made easy pickings in the open square for the archers and slingers above. Atellus recognized immediately however that the defenders, still streaming into the citadel, had failed to close the gates in time, and a gruesome struggled erupted at the entrance.

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Leading the small group of men still sticking with him, Atellus through his weight into the fight, breaking through and clearing the way for the rest of the legionaries to flood into the citadel. A slaughter ensued, with the defenders being swarmed and cut down from all angles. A few holdouts were surrounded and soon surrendered. Atellus smiled in satisfaction, the siege had gone better than he ever could have expected.

[1] Atellus meaning dark-haired or dark skinned. He’s of Punic descent from North Africa-his family gained citizenship after his father’s service as an auxillia soldier.

[2] Sixth Ironclad Legion which historically fought in Antony’s Parthian campaign.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Bump............

 

[Geordie]

Bump............

Thanks for that, Vulpine one! I had missed this update.

Antonius' triumphal march continues on... That's going to upset Vipsanian and Sextus quite a bit.

Is Atellus going to be a regular POV character, or would any such information be classified at present? As always, I like the writing, and am glad to see it continue.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Thanks for that, Vulpine one! I had missed this update.

Antonius' triumphal march continues on... That's going to upset Vipsanian and Sextus quite a bit.

Is Atellus going to be a regular POV character, or would any such information be classified at present? As always, I like the writing, and am glad to see it continue.

Welcome.

Yeah, neither Pompeius or Vipsanian is going to be happy about this, but probably moreso Vipsanian because he has the most to lose.

I'm honestly not sure what I am going to do with Atellus. I am probably going to come back to him, but the Legio VI Ferrata didn't move around much-it garrisoned Judaea mostly around this time period. I'll see what I can do with him, but my guess is as good as yours at the moment lol.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Sorry for the lack of updates guys. I am trying to gather together a large update (or series of updates) to nudge things along at a faster pace. I made some edits to part 17, specifically on Sapadbizes.