I was browsing through the many and various timelines where the roman empire survives and becomes a globe spanning empire. And so far i've only found timelines where the empire conquers everything before 500 or variations of that. So I figured that i''d try to make , what I perceive as a sensible alternative timeline. its my first tl, be gentle 
Pod: 176 Commodus is badly hurt in Athena. the wound causes excruciating pain and renders him utterly mad. For instance, he makes a slave a general over a bag of apples.
181 Commodus is made Emperor. It quickly becomes apparent that he is completely mad.
184 Commodus is killed by praetorians.
184 Pescennius niger becomes Empereor. he spends far too much money and goes to an extremely costly campaign to Parthia.
192 victory over Parthans. Pescennius builds thirty extravagant castles around the empire, most of them concentrated in Gaul or on the German front.
195 Pescennius is killed, Severius Septimus becomes emperor.
202 Septimus killed, Maximus Severus becomes emperor.
202-223 maximus decreases the centralization by giving governors more freedom to govern and protect their provinces the way they see fit.
212 -217maximus sends a large army against the Germans. the Germans defend their borders and the campaign ends in a stalemate. several tribes unite in emergency under one king to defend their land.
217. the Alamans are the main reason for the stalemate on the German front, they break through the roman ranks until they are defated as they are marching into Italy.
223 a civil war erupts as the governors treat their provinces as their own personal kingdoms and pursue vendettas and claim land from each other.
223-227 centralization fails completely and Maximus is shown to have no power after his reforms. he is forced to put the army under the senate which establishes the rank of a general who controls all the imperial armies for the senate. eventually peace is restored but the emperor loses much of the trust of the people.
228 a few more Germanic tribes are united by a powerful king who won a great victory over the romans.
229-233: Maximus and the senate reorganize the empire. the senate has greater control over most internal matters, while the emperor has the final say, the emperor can go to war if she pleases but the senate controls the army. greatrer centralization than ever before.
231 "king of Germany" attacks and claims considerable land until defeated.
232 Germany is attacked by two legions who are almost destroyed.
234 Maximus leads several legions against the "king" and wins. a ceasefire is negotiated and a ten years peace on the German front ensues.
244 Maximus dies by natural causes, his son septimus becomes emperor. the Germans attack several of their castles, but fail in all but one instances.
245 Persians insult the romans and attack them in the ensuing crisis.
246 Septimus does nothing and the senate forces him to attack the Persians.
246-253war with Persia.
247 Septimus is killed , a general named Postumus becomes emperor.
253 postumus throws the senate out of the city. he becomes hugely popular with the people becaus of his victorius past and his great addiction to gladiator fights.
253 a great plaque strikes the empire.
254 the senate gathers a a large force , attacks Rome and defeats Postumus.
254 the senate makes its general an emperor after the citizens demand it. the genral is named augustus and has very limited power.
254-287 the "reign" of Austus is a peaceful and prosperous one ,relatively speaking. he begins as a puppet emperor but becomes directly involved after a while and shows great leadership.
255 the Goths and Alamans invade almost simultaneously.
255 the Alamans invade Italy and appear unstoppable. Goths trample through Germanic and roman territory on their way to Gaul, the German king seizes the opportunity and attacks a castle, but is narrowly defeated. the German kingdom crumbles.
256 the Gothic onslaught is stopped at Lorraine and the Alamans are stopped at medolanium
260 unusually tough battles in Germania lead to Augustus building several massive castles at the border and in gaul.
267 Augustus forms special cavalry divisions based on the Alaman tactics. they become the police of the roads and despite being not much more than robbers they get a knight-like reputation.
269-275the grandson of the German king becomes the leader of his tribe and starts to unite the Germanic tribes in a peace treaty. they will no longer fight each other unless by battle of champions, they will co-ordinate their attacks on roman land, and help if necessary. raids become more and more precise and effective.
269 a roman galley is lost at sea when it si trying to sail north of Scotland. they finally make it back to civilization but they claim to have seen an island rise from the ocean and the mythical island is dubbed Atlantis. despite the interest the story gets no one attempts to find it as the waters beyond Scotland are far to treacherous for most.
271 the senate tries to have Augustus killed because he is believed to be becoming to powerful.
271 the summer of knifes. more than half of the senate is killed and many try to kill Augustus.
272 Augustus reorganizes the senate and its powers. the senate is in charge of most internal day to day business. the entire army is under the emperors direct control but war cannot be declared nor organized without a senate voted war council.
270s raids in roman territory become more frequent and stronger.
276 the final castle is finished and Augustus cavalry units make a difference at the borders.
283great fire burns a great part of Rome, Christians are blamed for the fire and Christians are enslaved in greater number than ever before.
285 Augustus promotes games to be held throughout the empire where Christians are slaughtered.
287 Augustus dies, his son Marcus takes over.
287 Marcus gathers a large army that has the explicit purpose of conquering Germany. The main reason for the gathering is to get more slaves but the Romans are slowly running out of slaves.
289-298 the Germanian campaign, the Germans, now united under the Treaty defend their lands vigorously with the help of many other tribes including the Goths. Without the help of the castles the new lands prove difficult to hold on to. Claudus Germanicu wins many battles against the Germans and becomes famous throughout the empire.
294 marcus has the entire detailed history of the empire written and the scrolls fill up a temple.
298 the war doesn't have the desired effect on the slave situations and a shortage on slaves becomes troublesome slave uprisings are beaten down. Claudus secretly becomes Christian.
301 Marcus sends Claudus to attack Persia.
301-305the Persian sand war ends with the roman siege of Susa.
309-324 the Britain crisis, an uprising in Britannia shakes the empire until Claudus son Decimus is sent and beats the entire island to submission in a seven year long war including Scotland.
314 Claudus Germanicus dies from a plaque in Byzans.
324-327decimus becomes enormously wealthy from his fathers wealth and from his victories in the Britannia crisis.
329 the “bloodless” coup, 25000 people die in the streets of Rome as Decimus seizes power from Marcus. Decimus kills everyone in Marcus's family, makes Christianity state religion and makes a deal with the senators to keep their loyalty. Three generals rise against his power.
330 Decimus bribes the generals and avoids civil war.
338 the Senate holds a holds a council for the church to decide upon many matters which are not clear in the new religion. It is decided that to pacify the masses that Christ led a “bloodless coup” similar to Decimus against Jupiter and every other pantheon. Furthermore the emperor is the messenger of Christ on earth and a new emperor requires the blessings of the senate and the church. Otherwise the message of Christ is unchanged.
338-386 not everyone likes this new theological world order and many secret societies spring up, plotting how to remove the emperor, they slowly wither until the largest one is raided and destroyed in 386
339 Decimus forms a citizen police in Rome to uphold the law. It takes the police several decades to get the respect itr requires but it becomes a model for are later police forces in army Roman cities.
341 Decimus has new citizenship laws installed. Roman citizens cannot be enslaved because of their debts or any other crime. Roman citizenship is available to anyone who serves for five years in the military.
344-351 Decimus invades the west coast of Africa and Carpathia.
346 Decimus is almost killed in what is known as the trinity conspiracy by religious philosophers and engineers , members of the trinity the larges secret society. Decimus bans all new technology and new thought, this leads to uproar amongst the intellectual elite and is almost impossible to enforce.
349-377 the Germanic crisis. the Goths invade , great German force coming in its wake along with many other tribes. The unprecedented overwhelming force is too much for the initial border legions to withstand. an ambitious German general come pretty close to raiding Rome. Revolts among the Gallic and Hispanic populace paralyze the western half of the empire.
366- 373 the Persian war of reclamation. The Persians invade their old provinces and with the romans increasingly occupied on the western front victory comes easy After several skirmishes the romans and the Persians negotiate a peace agreement. Many points of the agreement are kept secret from the general populace and the deal gains the nickname peace pact under roses or just the rose pact.
365 Decimus becomes sure that the reason for his losses are the many federati there are in his army. He promises reform after the war.
371 Decimus dies in a battle for Mediolanum, the senate decrees that his son may become emperor in these dire times. Regulus Calva Germanicus becomes emperor and leads romans to victory. After the war he reforms the army and allows the implementation of new technology.
379 Regulus reforms. Regulus changes the structure of the military and its equipment. He reforms the army as a western and eastern legions and general legions. The western legions are equipped and trained to deal with the western barbarians, the eastern legions are trained to defend against Persians and “civilized” enemies. The general legions are fit to travel around the empire for invasions, defense and to beat down revolts.
380-409 Regulus gives money to many new invention to promote them and their implementations. The most important of them is the heavy plough which is invented in Sicily and quickly spreads to the rest of Italy thanks to the emperor. With the many new and efficient inventions a minor industrial revolution makes mass production easy and cheap.
383-390 "the walls of the world" massive walls are built on the barbarian fronts around Carpathia. Castles are built in the east. Visigoths invade and are defeated in a number of skirmishes proving the Regulus reforms to be a success.
409 Regulus dies and Decimus the second becomes emperor. The reign of the bad emperors begin
309-442 ”the reign of the bad emperors” by improving agriculture with the heavy plough and making Rome finally independent on imported grain from far away the common farmer working on the lands of the nobles become richer than ever before. As Decimus the second grows weary of the senate he attempts to kill them all at once but one quarter of the senate survives and disappears into the countryside where they have allies among the farmers. A new civil war erupts
414-420 the civil war razes Medolianum and Rome loses control of the empire as Italy becomes a battlefield. The rose pact holds but the barbarians raid even further into roman territory.
421 Camillus Capito Carvo general over the senate army becomes an emperor and becomes a puppet for the senate. the senate decrees that all lands in italy will become free from the reign of noblemen, allowing all farmers to own their own land completely. the noblemen are furious and flee to Byzantium and form the order of the eagle. the senate now governed almost entirely by plebeian elitists free many slaves, believing that free farmers will cultivate the land completely by themselves.
422 the order of the eagle masses an enormous army and declare the eastern half of the empire to be under its rule. the rose pact is maintained by enormous bribes while the eastern armies rally under their cause.
425 the order of the eagle suddenly has to deal with massive slave revolts after news of the free slaves in italy. while Italy itself is beset by plaques and famine, leading indirectly to the deaths of massive amounts of slaves.
427 the western front lines finally buckle and Germans,vandals Suebans and Burgundians charge through and raid the Gallic countryside, Italy is kept safe by armies raised to fight against the eagle order. Africa is raided by the vandals but they are defeated in the siege of Carthage. one legion under general Flavius Aetius resides in one of the last remaining castles and protects a large portion of Gaul by his very effective cavalry division.
425-441 Rome is taken four times during the time and changes emperor with alarming an frequency. Camillus Capito Carvo kills the senate and achieves complete control over the city. he is killed by his praetorians who appoint their captain an emperor. the mob of Rome revolts and appoints a merchant to be the king. the order of the eagle lands in italy and marches down to Rome and half-burns the city to the ground. the order itself begins to tear itself apart when they argue over who should be emperor and whether the senate should be brought back. in the eastern half of the empire revolts begin to tear the countryside apart and several governors begin to employ Persian military as mercenaries. Ravenna is razed down in a battle between the imperati and the senati, the ones who would like to restore the senate and others who want to appoint an emperor. a pope is voted to control the church he becomes a semi emperor asking the people to calm down.
435-436 the Hunnic horde is largely stopped by the Germans and their truce master Alrec, the huns defeat them in the end and invade roman territory
427-440 Flavius keeps his castle and refuses to return to Rome when the civil war heats up. he plays his enemies against each other, employs large quantities of Germans and Burgundians to protect the borders. he begins to get a legendary status with the populace of Gaul Hispanic and Britannica as he declares "his lands" fto b under true rule and protection. in 437 he defeats Attila in the "battle of the last castle" or battle of trier. when the lands appear calm he leaves for Italy with three legions in an attempt to settle things down.
441 the battle of Genua Flavius defeats the remains of the original senate army and takes their gold. stories have been told about the victories and benevolence of Flavius and he is hailed as the conquering hero.
442 Flavius defeats the order of the eagle and appoints himself emperor with a promise to bring back the senate. he promises military help to any governor who wishes promising to bring stability to the empire. he brings back slavery which had been cut back in the civil war and says that the empire will fall back unto more traditional times now. all barbarians who settled in their land are promised citizenship through two years of military service.
442-453 minor uprisings and sects are quelled as Flavius grabs complete control over the empire and restores the senate, this time the senate has officials who come from all provinces of the empire, and they run the day to day business. a near perfect post service is established and fast communications bring the empire closer together. the German fronts begin to quiet as the Germans increasingly raid the northern Slav villages and sell to Rome which needs the labor immensely. the Germans after uniting against the many and various hordes that rode through their lands begin to hold fast to that unity after the truce master appoints himself king over the German tribes. their land covers much of the northern roman border and slowly expands to the north.
457-460 flavius becomes curious about the world around the empire and sends expeditions to the east, the south and the north, and another to find the island Atlantis that a roman galley supposedly saw some two hundred years ago.
458-500 the minor industrial revolution of Regulus is largely revived by a small and primitive steam engine which is brought to the rest of the empire along with the heavy plough. industry and trade booms and roman manufactured goods become the main bargaining chip in the expeditions to the east.
461 after continuous failures and sunken ships the romans finally reach the island called Atlantis. closer examination reveals patches of fertile lands and natural strongholds. in the next hundred years the island was slowly populated mostly by monks, reclusive philosophers and roman/Gaul farmers. this pushes the navy engineers to rebuild the galleys over the course of the decades. roman ships become increasingly Nordic in appearance.
463 after a long and treacherous journey, the roman "explorers" reach china while it is still in civil war. even still trade routes are established with the increasingly sophisticated roman goods and the silk trades.
469-473 a massive slave uprising cripples Asia minor and forces Flavian to look at the fact that slaves are becoming so many in numbers that they are almost impossible to contain. Flavius however does nothing as he is intent on bringing Rome to its "roots".
472-477 Flavius leads an army into Africa, adding enormous tracks of land to the empire, he stops when reaching the middle of the continent, and was quoted saying: the roman will is great, but not endless.
477-485 through a series of campaigns the empire is extended to all of Arabia, Scotland and Ireland.
479 the great games are held for the first time in Rome. A great coliseum is built around them. it is a competition in the spirit of the Olympic games with athletes coming from all over the empire. it was henceforth held every ten years.
486 Flavius dies in a freak horse chariot incident. his adopted son , Magnum Carvo Aetius. he sees that with increasing productivity that slavery is slowly becoming obsolete. he begins reforms that make ti easier to a slave to get his freedom and impossible to make a roman citizen into a slave.
493 raids are becoming rarer and rarer on the German front while the "wall of the world" is raided increasingly more from the endless supply of nomadic hordes.
500 magnum Carvo Aetius dies, his adopted son takes over and continues his fathers attempt to make slavery more practical in cohesion with industry.
500s-810s Metallurgy improves vastly as industry requires better and better metal to build better factories.
560s-590s the rose wars, increasing tariffs by the Persians on the silk road force the romans to attack. after a long war the Persians are defeated and Rome suddenly shares borders with india.
587-639 reign of Flavian Magna "the mad builder" using the money gained from the rose wars Flavian Magna reconstructs Rome and several key cities of the empire. seven massive statues of Ceasar, Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, Regulus, Flavius Aetius,Decimus and Flavian magma are built on the seven hills of Rome. statues, Colosseum, towers and large buildings become the norm in all major roman cities, with Rome gaining the nickname city of giants, because of the statues. these buildings however almost bankrupt the empire.
607Germania becomes a vassal of Rome. all nations surrounding the Mediterranean have become almost completely Romanized.
632 Mohammads great grandfather is killed in the wars over arabia so islam is never established.
660s roman explorers discover Greenland. an outpost is established to hunt the mystical whales that inhabit the sea around them.
680s America is discovered by going from Greenland to northern Canada. America is named Europa Novus.
700s the "old empire" of Gaul, Britan, Hispania, Greece, Asia minor and northern Africa is almost completely romanized.
740s increasing population problem because of greater living standards, increased production and general peace lead to massive exodus of romans to Europa Novus. printing press is discovered revolutionizing the way information travels through the empire shaking its foundations .
770s a large scale civil war erupts and the Flavian dynasty is toppled. the senate grows in power and the emperor becomes more ornamental. Rome becomes a federation with seven senates governing seven parts of the empire with one high senate operating in Rome along with the emperor.
790s the roman immigrants form eleven colonies on the east coast largely independent from Rome.
Excuses and clarifications
first of all I know there are a few asb's in this timeline, especially in the later half. I know that the romans had no practical way of finding Iceland(Atlantis is Iceland). But the fact is that from the north coast of Scotland there isn't that long a way to Iceland. Also the vikings found the country by similar accidents so at lest tome I think this is perfectly plausible.
Although it would appear that way this timeline is not ”let the roman empire continue so Flavian Aetius can take over” in fact when I began this timeline I had almost no idea who this guy was. It wasn't until I was knee deep in the civil war that I realized that I needed a hero to get things right. The roman protectorates during that era were mostly roman in name only as several new tribes settled in those provinces regardless whether or not Flavius thougt the lands were under his control.
Also regarding the minor industrial revolution. I'm not talking about full blown steam engines. its more of a more efficient way to make and build things. The heavy plough is a good example of a tool that revolutionizes the world without making machines. Imagine the romans knowing the basis for steam engines but not having the metallurgy for it.
Pod: 176 Commodus is badly hurt in Athena. the wound causes excruciating pain and renders him utterly mad. For instance, he makes a slave a general over a bag of apples.
181 Commodus is made Emperor. It quickly becomes apparent that he is completely mad.
184 Commodus is killed by praetorians.
184 Pescennius niger becomes Empereor. he spends far too much money and goes to an extremely costly campaign to Parthia.
192 victory over Parthans. Pescennius builds thirty extravagant castles around the empire, most of them concentrated in Gaul or on the German front.
195 Pescennius is killed, Severius Septimus becomes emperor.
202 Septimus killed, Maximus Severus becomes emperor.
202-223 maximus decreases the centralization by giving governors more freedom to govern and protect their provinces the way they see fit.
212 -217maximus sends a large army against the Germans. the Germans defend their borders and the campaign ends in a stalemate. several tribes unite in emergency under one king to defend their land.
217. the Alamans are the main reason for the stalemate on the German front, they break through the roman ranks until they are defated as they are marching into Italy.
223 a civil war erupts as the governors treat their provinces as their own personal kingdoms and pursue vendettas and claim land from each other.
223-227 centralization fails completely and Maximus is shown to have no power after his reforms. he is forced to put the army under the senate which establishes the rank of a general who controls all the imperial armies for the senate. eventually peace is restored but the emperor loses much of the trust of the people.
228 a few more Germanic tribes are united by a powerful king who won a great victory over the romans.
229-233: Maximus and the senate reorganize the empire. the senate has greater control over most internal matters, while the emperor has the final say, the emperor can go to war if she pleases but the senate controls the army. greatrer centralization than ever before.
231 "king of Germany" attacks and claims considerable land until defeated.
232 Germany is attacked by two legions who are almost destroyed.
234 Maximus leads several legions against the "king" and wins. a ceasefire is negotiated and a ten years peace on the German front ensues.
244 Maximus dies by natural causes, his son septimus becomes emperor. the Germans attack several of their castles, but fail in all but one instances.
245 Persians insult the romans and attack them in the ensuing crisis.
246 Septimus does nothing and the senate forces him to attack the Persians.
246-253war with Persia.
247 Septimus is killed , a general named Postumus becomes emperor.
253 postumus throws the senate out of the city. he becomes hugely popular with the people becaus of his victorius past and his great addiction to gladiator fights.
253 a great plaque strikes the empire.
254 the senate gathers a a large force , attacks Rome and defeats Postumus.
254 the senate makes its general an emperor after the citizens demand it. the genral is named augustus and has very limited power.
254-287 the "reign" of Austus is a peaceful and prosperous one ,relatively speaking. he begins as a puppet emperor but becomes directly involved after a while and shows great leadership.
255 the Goths and Alamans invade almost simultaneously.
255 the Alamans invade Italy and appear unstoppable. Goths trample through Germanic and roman territory on their way to Gaul, the German king seizes the opportunity and attacks a castle, but is narrowly defeated. the German kingdom crumbles.
256 the Gothic onslaught is stopped at Lorraine and the Alamans are stopped at medolanium
260 unusually tough battles in Germania lead to Augustus building several massive castles at the border and in gaul.
267 Augustus forms special cavalry divisions based on the Alaman tactics. they become the police of the roads and despite being not much more than robbers they get a knight-like reputation.
269-275the grandson of the German king becomes the leader of his tribe and starts to unite the Germanic tribes in a peace treaty. they will no longer fight each other unless by battle of champions, they will co-ordinate their attacks on roman land, and help if necessary. raids become more and more precise and effective.
269 a roman galley is lost at sea when it si trying to sail north of Scotland. they finally make it back to civilization but they claim to have seen an island rise from the ocean and the mythical island is dubbed Atlantis. despite the interest the story gets no one attempts to find it as the waters beyond Scotland are far to treacherous for most.
271 the senate tries to have Augustus killed because he is believed to be becoming to powerful.
271 the summer of knifes. more than half of the senate is killed and many try to kill Augustus.
272 Augustus reorganizes the senate and its powers. the senate is in charge of most internal day to day business. the entire army is under the emperors direct control but war cannot be declared nor organized without a senate voted war council.
270s raids in roman territory become more frequent and stronger.
276 the final castle is finished and Augustus cavalry units make a difference at the borders.
283great fire burns a great part of Rome, Christians are blamed for the fire and Christians are enslaved in greater number than ever before.
285 Augustus promotes games to be held throughout the empire where Christians are slaughtered.
287 Augustus dies, his son Marcus takes over.
287 Marcus gathers a large army that has the explicit purpose of conquering Germany. The main reason for the gathering is to get more slaves but the Romans are slowly running out of slaves.
289-298 the Germanian campaign, the Germans, now united under the Treaty defend their lands vigorously with the help of many other tribes including the Goths. Without the help of the castles the new lands prove difficult to hold on to. Claudus Germanicu wins many battles against the Germans and becomes famous throughout the empire.
294 marcus has the entire detailed history of the empire written and the scrolls fill up a temple.
298 the war doesn't have the desired effect on the slave situations and a shortage on slaves becomes troublesome slave uprisings are beaten down. Claudus secretly becomes Christian.
301 Marcus sends Claudus to attack Persia.
301-305the Persian sand war ends with the roman siege of Susa.
309-324 the Britain crisis, an uprising in Britannia shakes the empire until Claudus son Decimus is sent and beats the entire island to submission in a seven year long war including Scotland.
314 Claudus Germanicus dies from a plaque in Byzans.
324-327decimus becomes enormously wealthy from his fathers wealth and from his victories in the Britannia crisis.
329 the “bloodless” coup, 25000 people die in the streets of Rome as Decimus seizes power from Marcus. Decimus kills everyone in Marcus's family, makes Christianity state religion and makes a deal with the senators to keep their loyalty. Three generals rise against his power.
330 Decimus bribes the generals and avoids civil war.
338 the Senate holds a holds a council for the church to decide upon many matters which are not clear in the new religion. It is decided that to pacify the masses that Christ led a “bloodless coup” similar to Decimus against Jupiter and every other pantheon. Furthermore the emperor is the messenger of Christ on earth and a new emperor requires the blessings of the senate and the church. Otherwise the message of Christ is unchanged.
338-386 not everyone likes this new theological world order and many secret societies spring up, plotting how to remove the emperor, they slowly wither until the largest one is raided and destroyed in 386
339 Decimus forms a citizen police in Rome to uphold the law. It takes the police several decades to get the respect itr requires but it becomes a model for are later police forces in army Roman cities.
341 Decimus has new citizenship laws installed. Roman citizens cannot be enslaved because of their debts or any other crime. Roman citizenship is available to anyone who serves for five years in the military.
344-351 Decimus invades the west coast of Africa and Carpathia.
346 Decimus is almost killed in what is known as the trinity conspiracy by religious philosophers and engineers , members of the trinity the larges secret society. Decimus bans all new technology and new thought, this leads to uproar amongst the intellectual elite and is almost impossible to enforce.
349-377 the Germanic crisis. the Goths invade , great German force coming in its wake along with many other tribes. The unprecedented overwhelming force is too much for the initial border legions to withstand. an ambitious German general come pretty close to raiding Rome. Revolts among the Gallic and Hispanic populace paralyze the western half of the empire.
366- 373 the Persian war of reclamation. The Persians invade their old provinces and with the romans increasingly occupied on the western front victory comes easy After several skirmishes the romans and the Persians negotiate a peace agreement. Many points of the agreement are kept secret from the general populace and the deal gains the nickname peace pact under roses or just the rose pact.
365 Decimus becomes sure that the reason for his losses are the many federati there are in his army. He promises reform after the war.
371 Decimus dies in a battle for Mediolanum, the senate decrees that his son may become emperor in these dire times. Regulus Calva Germanicus becomes emperor and leads romans to victory. After the war he reforms the army and allows the implementation of new technology.
379 Regulus reforms. Regulus changes the structure of the military and its equipment. He reforms the army as a western and eastern legions and general legions. The western legions are equipped and trained to deal with the western barbarians, the eastern legions are trained to defend against Persians and “civilized” enemies. The general legions are fit to travel around the empire for invasions, defense and to beat down revolts.
380-409 Regulus gives money to many new invention to promote them and their implementations. The most important of them is the heavy plough which is invented in Sicily and quickly spreads to the rest of Italy thanks to the emperor. With the many new and efficient inventions a minor industrial revolution makes mass production easy and cheap.
383-390 "the walls of the world" massive walls are built on the barbarian fronts around Carpathia. Castles are built in the east. Visigoths invade and are defeated in a number of skirmishes proving the Regulus reforms to be a success.
409 Regulus dies and Decimus the second becomes emperor. The reign of the bad emperors begin
309-442 ”the reign of the bad emperors” by improving agriculture with the heavy plough and making Rome finally independent on imported grain from far away the common farmer working on the lands of the nobles become richer than ever before. As Decimus the second grows weary of the senate he attempts to kill them all at once but one quarter of the senate survives and disappears into the countryside where they have allies among the farmers. A new civil war erupts
414-420 the civil war razes Medolianum and Rome loses control of the empire as Italy becomes a battlefield. The rose pact holds but the barbarians raid even further into roman territory.
421 Camillus Capito Carvo general over the senate army becomes an emperor and becomes a puppet for the senate. the senate decrees that all lands in italy will become free from the reign of noblemen, allowing all farmers to own their own land completely. the noblemen are furious and flee to Byzantium and form the order of the eagle. the senate now governed almost entirely by plebeian elitists free many slaves, believing that free farmers will cultivate the land completely by themselves.
422 the order of the eagle masses an enormous army and declare the eastern half of the empire to be under its rule. the rose pact is maintained by enormous bribes while the eastern armies rally under their cause.
425 the order of the eagle suddenly has to deal with massive slave revolts after news of the free slaves in italy. while Italy itself is beset by plaques and famine, leading indirectly to the deaths of massive amounts of slaves.
427 the western front lines finally buckle and Germans,vandals Suebans and Burgundians charge through and raid the Gallic countryside, Italy is kept safe by armies raised to fight against the eagle order. Africa is raided by the vandals but they are defeated in the siege of Carthage. one legion under general Flavius Aetius resides in one of the last remaining castles and protects a large portion of Gaul by his very effective cavalry division.
425-441 Rome is taken four times during the time and changes emperor with alarming an frequency. Camillus Capito Carvo kills the senate and achieves complete control over the city. he is killed by his praetorians who appoint their captain an emperor. the mob of Rome revolts and appoints a merchant to be the king. the order of the eagle lands in italy and marches down to Rome and half-burns the city to the ground. the order itself begins to tear itself apart when they argue over who should be emperor and whether the senate should be brought back. in the eastern half of the empire revolts begin to tear the countryside apart and several governors begin to employ Persian military as mercenaries. Ravenna is razed down in a battle between the imperati and the senati, the ones who would like to restore the senate and others who want to appoint an emperor. a pope is voted to control the church he becomes a semi emperor asking the people to calm down.
435-436 the Hunnic horde is largely stopped by the Germans and their truce master Alrec, the huns defeat them in the end and invade roman territory
427-440 Flavius keeps his castle and refuses to return to Rome when the civil war heats up. he plays his enemies against each other, employs large quantities of Germans and Burgundians to protect the borders. he begins to get a legendary status with the populace of Gaul Hispanic and Britannica as he declares "his lands" fto b under true rule and protection. in 437 he defeats Attila in the "battle of the last castle" or battle of trier. when the lands appear calm he leaves for Italy with three legions in an attempt to settle things down.
441 the battle of Genua Flavius defeats the remains of the original senate army and takes their gold. stories have been told about the victories and benevolence of Flavius and he is hailed as the conquering hero.
442 Flavius defeats the order of the eagle and appoints himself emperor with a promise to bring back the senate. he promises military help to any governor who wishes promising to bring stability to the empire. he brings back slavery which had been cut back in the civil war and says that the empire will fall back unto more traditional times now. all barbarians who settled in their land are promised citizenship through two years of military service.
442-453 minor uprisings and sects are quelled as Flavius grabs complete control over the empire and restores the senate, this time the senate has officials who come from all provinces of the empire, and they run the day to day business. a near perfect post service is established and fast communications bring the empire closer together. the German fronts begin to quiet as the Germans increasingly raid the northern Slav villages and sell to Rome which needs the labor immensely. the Germans after uniting against the many and various hordes that rode through their lands begin to hold fast to that unity after the truce master appoints himself king over the German tribes. their land covers much of the northern roman border and slowly expands to the north.
457-460 flavius becomes curious about the world around the empire and sends expeditions to the east, the south and the north, and another to find the island Atlantis that a roman galley supposedly saw some two hundred years ago.
458-500 the minor industrial revolution of Regulus is largely revived by a small and primitive steam engine which is brought to the rest of the empire along with the heavy plough. industry and trade booms and roman manufactured goods become the main bargaining chip in the expeditions to the east.
461 after continuous failures and sunken ships the romans finally reach the island called Atlantis. closer examination reveals patches of fertile lands and natural strongholds. in the next hundred years the island was slowly populated mostly by monks, reclusive philosophers and roman/Gaul farmers. this pushes the navy engineers to rebuild the galleys over the course of the decades. roman ships become increasingly Nordic in appearance.
463 after a long and treacherous journey, the roman "explorers" reach china while it is still in civil war. even still trade routes are established with the increasingly sophisticated roman goods and the silk trades.
469-473 a massive slave uprising cripples Asia minor and forces Flavian to look at the fact that slaves are becoming so many in numbers that they are almost impossible to contain. Flavius however does nothing as he is intent on bringing Rome to its "roots".
472-477 Flavius leads an army into Africa, adding enormous tracks of land to the empire, he stops when reaching the middle of the continent, and was quoted saying: the roman will is great, but not endless.
477-485 through a series of campaigns the empire is extended to all of Arabia, Scotland and Ireland.
479 the great games are held for the first time in Rome. A great coliseum is built around them. it is a competition in the spirit of the Olympic games with athletes coming from all over the empire. it was henceforth held every ten years.
486 Flavius dies in a freak horse chariot incident. his adopted son , Magnum Carvo Aetius. he sees that with increasing productivity that slavery is slowly becoming obsolete. he begins reforms that make ti easier to a slave to get his freedom and impossible to make a roman citizen into a slave.
493 raids are becoming rarer and rarer on the German front while the "wall of the world" is raided increasingly more from the endless supply of nomadic hordes.
500 magnum Carvo Aetius dies, his adopted son takes over and continues his fathers attempt to make slavery more practical in cohesion with industry.
500s-810s Metallurgy improves vastly as industry requires better and better metal to build better factories.
560s-590s the rose wars, increasing tariffs by the Persians on the silk road force the romans to attack. after a long war the Persians are defeated and Rome suddenly shares borders with india.
587-639 reign of Flavian Magna "the mad builder" using the money gained from the rose wars Flavian Magna reconstructs Rome and several key cities of the empire. seven massive statues of Ceasar, Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, Regulus, Flavius Aetius,Decimus and Flavian magma are built on the seven hills of Rome. statues, Colosseum, towers and large buildings become the norm in all major roman cities, with Rome gaining the nickname city of giants, because of the statues. these buildings however almost bankrupt the empire.
607Germania becomes a vassal of Rome. all nations surrounding the Mediterranean have become almost completely Romanized.
632 Mohammads great grandfather is killed in the wars over arabia so islam is never established.
660s roman explorers discover Greenland. an outpost is established to hunt the mystical whales that inhabit the sea around them.
680s America is discovered by going from Greenland to northern Canada. America is named Europa Novus.
700s the "old empire" of Gaul, Britan, Hispania, Greece, Asia minor and northern Africa is almost completely romanized.
740s increasing population problem because of greater living standards, increased production and general peace lead to massive exodus of romans to Europa Novus. printing press is discovered revolutionizing the way information travels through the empire shaking its foundations .
770s a large scale civil war erupts and the Flavian dynasty is toppled. the senate grows in power and the emperor becomes more ornamental. Rome becomes a federation with seven senates governing seven parts of the empire with one high senate operating in Rome along with the emperor.
790s the roman immigrants form eleven colonies on the east coast largely independent from Rome.
Excuses and clarifications
first of all I know there are a few asb's in this timeline, especially in the later half. I know that the romans had no practical way of finding Iceland(Atlantis is Iceland). But the fact is that from the north coast of Scotland there isn't that long a way to Iceland. Also the vikings found the country by similar accidents so at lest tome I think this is perfectly plausible.
Although it would appear that way this timeline is not ”let the roman empire continue so Flavian Aetius can take over” in fact when I began this timeline I had almost no idea who this guy was. It wasn't until I was knee deep in the civil war that I realized that I needed a hero to get things right. The roman protectorates during that era were mostly roman in name only as several new tribes settled in those provinces regardless whether or not Flavius thougt the lands were under his control.
Also regarding the minor industrial revolution. I'm not talking about full blown steam engines. its more of a more efficient way to make and build things. The heavy plough is a good example of a tool that revolutionizes the world without making machines. Imagine the romans knowing the basis for steam engines but not having the metallurgy for it.
i kept on going until at 1407 if figured out that i had created a world of roman steampunk. it was not intentional, but awesome. to recap, so you don't have to read the last post; following commodus's early death, the senate was given larger and greater power, centralization is increased and the emperor is not as powerful as before. following a great civil war war in the fifth century the empire is largely reborn, metallurgy and industry boom and a minor age of exploration follows. in 800 the empire is more or less a federation of nine "nations" still under the strict control of the emperor. in 790 a new imperial dynasty rises, proclaiming themselves the descendants of jesus.
801-832: Tatian becomes emperor. He enforces the devolution of the power of the throne and sells a great deal of imperial lands and possession on the way.
804 the empire is decisively divided into nine regions, each more or less self-governing. the senate rules over the council of region ministers.
807Gainus Dier is born into slavery. increasing tension on the indian border lead to small scale skirmishes over the next ten years known as the teapot crisis.
811 Tatian is almost killed by a slave. the incident leads to large scale uprising in some regions. proposals are made to drop slavery altogether.
817 The Trillian affair. Long and extensive financial fraud is uncovered by roman detectives leading to a showdown in the coliseum.
819 Gainus Dier is sold to a metallurgist in Britannia.
820s-850s rich and powerful men rise from the Trillian affair and the extensive sale of Government property. corruption becomes far more rampant and shameless. Official positions are bought and sold as commodities.
832 Tatian dies. his cousin,Talius, becomes emperor and leaves Rome to go campaigning in Africa.
833-851 the war over bushes. For almost twenty years Rome is more or less without an emperor as Tatius has no flair for governance and takes a large portion of the army to conquer all of Africa. the campaign fails to take the jungles, the Savannah or any meaningful part of the continent. Eventually the council of ministers has Talius killed and most gains in Africa are eventually lost.
835 Gainus Dier shows uncanny ability to work metals which is not lost on his owner who becomes famous for his discoveries.
842 Gainus develops the printing press, his masters name Caeral becomes a household name.
851 Dinius is appointed to emperor by the council of ministers, now known as the council of nine.
the council is now more or less filled by the richest men in the nine regions.
851-928 Dinius begins a long line of emperors who do basically nothing in office while the state is governed by the senate and the council of nine. The infrastructure of the empire begins to crumble under the weight of its corruption. Increasingly the church becomes a beacon of purity and stable governance.
854 Gainus develops the plans for the first steel mill. Neither the technology nor sociological backing exists to build one. however the plans influence the production of steel in Britannia, mostly for armor and weapons.
859 The Byzantine controversy, a large scale criminal secret society of sons of rich men is discovered but is hushed up. It doesn't take however and the public is outraged at the incident. riots erupt in both Rome and Byzantine.
863 Gainus Dier dies in a freak smelting accident.
865 The buddhist movement takes root in roman society and becomes a fad.
871 Dinius dies, Triekel takes over.
880s Despite the new buddhist movement the church is becoming ever more popular "in these dark and dire times".
895 Triekel dies, Tatian the second takes over.
898 Lumer rex writes his book: On the origin of man, where he explains his belief of man being created by god to rule the world and more controversially that all men are born with the free will from god and that none should be able restrict that will but god. Although his theories are aimed at young men who should break free from the bonds of their families and traditions and join the church, slaves quick to grab the idea of the divine free will.
900s-920s the increased popularity of Buddhism starts to clash with imperial interests as Buddhists seek reform. Small scale riots erupt .
901 Tatian the second reads on the origin of man and is fascinated by its ideas. He starts talking about it publicly.
902the council of nine has Tatian the second killed for his new believes. His cousin is made emperor and takes the name Tatian the third. Lumers writings are banned and he is killed.
903 Following Lumers death a large scale Lumerite rebellion erupts but is severely beaten down.
907 the council of nine decides upon a new capital in Byzantine, citizens of Rome are furious but do little, Byzantine becomes the fastest growing city in the world while Rome deteriorates.
913-927 following the “spice assault” incident, tensions rise and the first very real war between Rome and Inda. India fares better in the beginning but after some regains later the war becomes a stalemate deep within roman territory. Both sides want piece and frequently meet to negotiate but the atrocities committed by both sides lead to a deep hatred between both nations. Peace is finally negotiated during the battle of turing pass.
916 a small sect of Buddhists start “fighting for peace” within the empire usually forcible converting people.
920s Britannia and Londinium undergoes an industrial boom after the council of nine invests heavily in their iron production leading to the discovery of easily produced steel.
926 Tatian the third dies, Decimus the second takes over at age thirteen. He is deeply religious and believes that he the empire is holy and therefore he must be its holy emperor. He is therefore god's chosen leader and son on earth.
929-945 “the darkest night”a leader rises from the midst of the slaves and preaches teaching of Lumer, a surge of Lumerian ideology leads to a full scale revolt. Many cities are safe due to the armies being near but much of the countryside rises up against their masters. Gaul and Germany are first to fall to chaos in the following years, Hispania follows , large parts of Africa and Asia minor join later. They are often aided by Buddhists, not because of their religious views but because their original goals coincide. This changes later however. The slave armies are inferior to the imperial armies, but they dare not move far from the cities they protect and after the first indo-roman war the army is depleted. India attacks and takes a great deal of land from the eastern provinces.
Gaul and Germany are ripped from the empire by the slaves, with Hispania and Africa to follow. Although the separation is in theory legal, the empire declares war on the slaves. The empire wins some impressive victories in the beginning but the slaves defeat them by pure attrition. The slaves are quick to kill the nobles and the slave masters and force the former free citizens to do slave work. Britannia and Hybernia are not excluded from these troubles but they are able to break the revolt down because they had not been truly dependant on the slaves but rather on their machines.
On the mainland industry effectively stops and mass panic sweeps through the land. The empire seems to be falling until the emperor wins several truly miraculous victories in Africa, beating the slaves down. When he retakes Hispania in 939 he is truly becoming a godly figure and so he uses the opportunity and writes his own book. The book however is short as the emperor cannot write and he has very little patience. The book is a 16 page religious rant on who's to blame on how things are: the slaves, the Buddhists and the agents of Satan. The agents of Satan are the council of nine and its underlings. The book is printed in more than a million copies and given to the populace and leads to widespread riots. Slaves, Buddhists and businessmen are stoned, stabbed or burned. The power of the council crumbles while Decimus leads his ragtag armies to gaul. The slaves fight hard and very few surrender. It takes five years for Decimus to regain his old provinces. The empire is in flames except for few provinces like Britannia, Hybernia and Italy.
In a mesmerizing speech in Tvemter the emperor calls this time the darkest night and what must comes after is the brightest dawn. The heavy religious tone in this war leads to a great deal of the empire becoming devout and priests become greatly respected figures. ¾ of the slaves are dead and henceforth slaves become more of a commodity and are mostly used in richer homes and mines. The Roman empire is effectively never the same.
945-991The brightest dawn.
Britannia becomes a very heavy center of industry in the empire while rebuilding. The primitive factories however require much coal and a great deal of iron. Decimus calls for a crusade on Scandinavia in 951. Sweden falls and lower Norway but no need is seen to take northern Norway.
Seeing how easy it was to call a crusade Decimus decides to retake the eastern provinces. In the second crusade957-971, he invades the eastern part of India and then India itself. In the long and bloody war Decimus is defeated several times but each time it is supposedly because the agents of Satan further strengthening the resolve of his men.
After and during the war Rome enters an unprecedented era of upheaval, riches, ideas and artifact pour in from India. Priests become increasingly more powerful figures and Decimus himself is idolized beyond recognition. Before he dies he predicts the end of the world in 1000. His son Daelicous takes over.
1000 the world doesn't end, diminishing the godly image of Decimus.
1004 Daelicus dies, his son Tatius the Fourth takes over.
1007-1008 a plaque strikes the empire, devasting it. Largely responsible for the lack of Indian rebellion, the plaque kills one third of the empire, leaving its infrastructure in tatters. The emperer goes mad after seeing the streets of rome riddled with the dead.
1009 “the declaration of heroes” is written by the emperor calling for the citizens to rise up to rebuild the empire and to keep the peace by themselves. The response is unenthusiastic and the priests grow worried about the godly image of the emperor.
1010 Tatian the fourth dies in a freak cutlery accident. His nephew Tatius takes over. Originally put upon the throne as a puppet Tatius takes firm command of the empire and diminishes the power of the clergy, while allowing the new scientific elite to grow and flourish.
1010s-1098 “the war under the roses” under Tatius several scientific secret societies are created in direct response to senate and church control. After the death of Tatius the skirmishes between the three sides flare out in a fully fledged secret war. Assassinations, public humiliation, sabotage and conspiracies become the norm. The senate wishes to regain all its power lost to the church, while the church wishes to become the ruling power in the empire. The church cannot respond with an inquisition without the senate and the senate finds it difficult to control without the backing of the religious community. Meanwhile the scientific community responds to threats and limitations set in place by the church by congregating together in powerful but hidden communities.
1014 uprisings in Africa threaten the stability of the southern regions as the empire doesn't have enough manpower to respond to the crisis.
1017 a foiled assassination attempt on the emperor leads to him secluding himself.
1020s gunpowder is “discovered” from the Chinese, although mostly used in fireworks and construction works, the scientific community gains greatly by producing it and continuous research leads to more powerful explosives and eventually guns.
1021 the emperor is assassinated by his mistress, kickstarting the war under roses. His cousinchristhianus takes over only six years old and does little during his entire reign. The senate and the church effectively rule.
1022 a riot in Byzantine is engineered by the the order of Leonidus to raid several cathedrals. The stars aligned secret society is discovered and destroyed by the church.
1023 the college in Rome is burned after a dead bishop is found in the principals office. The order of orders is formed by the three largest secret orders; the order of leonidus,the illuminators and the society of forgotten elements.
1024 a large scale pedophile scandal cripples the church. The senate purges the army of supporters of the church.
1027 the city of Ravenna erupts in flames after an assassination attempt on the bishop there.
1028 in Sicily gangs identifying themselves with the senate and the orders begin fight to the death in a large scale battle. The following investigation brings down the society of forgotten elements.
1029 surviving members of the society of forgotten elements are rescued by their comrades. The order of shining stars succeeds the society in the order of orders.
1031 the senate is stormed by church fanatics, demanding the church to be in control of the empire. For a few days the empire is effectively without government since the church cannot assume control for they do have not have the support of the army.
1034 the order of orders unofficially assumes control over Lundunum. Britannia becomes a safe haven for scientists.
1036 large scale uprisings in Africa leads to portions of the southern regions declaring independence.
1037-39. the southern regions are retaken. The head of the order of Leonidus is killed. Two months later three cathedrals burn in Rome .
1042 a legion under the command of the Illuminators and a legion under the command of the church almost fight in India. The senate deals with a minor rebellion in the army when they try to purge the church out of the army.
1044-1049 the Indian rebellion. India flares in rebellion after brutal conversions and destroyed cultural artifacts. After the rebellion all “heathen” temples, scrolls, statues and priests are burned down. Much of the Indian heritage withers and dies.
1047 using a complex mechanism of mirrors and lenses called “the appolo” the order of leonus burns down several churches from afar.
1048 after having burned down almost fifteen churches the church finally tracks down the majority of the order. Large scale inquisitions are proposed but stopped by the senate.
1051 the senate initiates hearings on corruption in the church.
1052 a fight ensues in the hearings, leaving fifteen dead and hundreds wounded. The emperor calls for peace in the empire. Tensions mount as the church deems many of the senators agents of Satan and the senate begins to purge the army once again from the influence of the church.
1053 the order of orders begins building the city Kronos, nicknamed the city of silver. They city is supposed to be built on three layers with spiraling towers and a sophisticated elevator system. A massive supply of marble and iron is brought to the deserts of Persia where the city rises. The first prototype gun is made.
1055 Ravenna burns after fanatics try to “purge” the city of “senate followers”
1058 A large list of forbidden and “satanic” books is published and the possession of them invites public prosecution. Owning them is not criminal though. Many of the books are basic principles of science.
1060 the library in Kronos is completed, a massive building at the center of the city. Many unique and priceless books are moved there.
1061 a sudden slave rebellion led by gladiators grips the northern and the northeastern part of the empire.
1062 the rebellion has much effect on the intellectual elite, and many believe that slavery is immoral and wrong. The slaves are believed to be an unused intellect that could help to advance the world. The slave Gainus Dier becomes the poster child for such unrewarded potential after his story is told by his freed descendant.
1065 the order of orders bans all slavery within their ranks, this halts the construction of Kronos and increases the cost tenfold. Kronos is more or less ready now.
1066 tenth of July Several large explosions rock Kronos on the day it is declared complete. Parts of the city lie in ruin ,although not nearly destroyed the idea of Kronos is destroyed, many of the greatest scientific minds are killed, the library is buried under marble, and an army under the control of the senate marches in to prosecute the surviving leaders and bombing the city. In the following weeks the remnants of the orders rally an attack on the army and defeat them, largely thanks to their guns, although many die using the very unstable devices. This marks the first time guns are used in battle. The orders are disbanded afterwards,Kronos is evacuated after many buildings fall down in the aftermath. The loss of intellect and manpower transforms the orders from things of progress and advance to petty terrorist and insurgence units. Those who do not like it are forced to flee to Britannia or even further westwards towards nova Rome.
1070s the senate renews its battle with the church under the leadership of Khahel Dimisticus. A legislation is passed in 1075 that bans the church from any other real estate other than the churches. This leads to a civil war commonly referred to as the graveyards war since graveyards were supposed to be the only thing the church should own. The empire is in flames as the armies under the control of the senate clashes with those of the church which will not give up its lands. The emperor calls for a ceasefire but is unceremoniously put down. The people lose faith in the emperor who retreats to Sicily where he stays until he dies.
1078 the senate scores a major victory in asia minor when churches are destroyed in byzantium. This “barbarism” however doesn't help their cause as the church calls for a crusade against the senate in the wake of this act.
1079 the Indian provinces rise up in rebellion after the church and senate forces exhaust themselves against each other.
1080s the Indian rebellion, the graveyard war, and the sudden invasion from the north and the south from many barbarian tribes and nations lead to a troubled decade of violence and decadence.
1082 the senate is kicked out of Rome and the senate house is burned.
1083 the church finally forms a short lived war council following a disastrous defeat at Athens. A pope is declared once again against the wishes of the emperor.
1085 Gaul burns in the wake of the catian invasion. As the forces splinter they are defeated one by one.
1087 the Indian subcontinent is almost lost. The only thing that helps the romans is the fact that the Indians cannot decide upon a leader or in fact a cause to rally behind.
1089 the emperor dies. After a short bout between candidates Julianus the third is declared emperor. Julianus is religious and supports the church and wants the church and senate to reconcile.
1091 Khahel dies in a horrible defeat in the battle of Baghdad. The senate is left leaderless and is engulfed in a competition for power. The emperor dies and the church declares the aged Dimitrius the emperor. The eastern armies rebel and declare their leader Marximin emperor.
1092 the senate throws in with the eastern armies, giving Marximin legitimacy. Dimitrius marches east.
1094 a huge battle is fought on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The senate wins a decisive victory, Dimitrius dies in the field. India is more or less abandoned for now.
1095 the grandson of Dimitrius, Delevem is declared emperor by the church. A rising power in Africa starts invading the African provinces. The church council is killed by the order terrorists.
1097 the church employs barbarian troops and ships and completely destroy the senate army in the naval battle of Crete.
1098 holed up in the fortress city of Kaelum the senate negotiates for their own release. The civil war known as the graveyards war finally ends. The church is completely in control over the power structure of the empire.
1099 A speech by the pope makes it clear where the power lies. New laws completely forbid any and all attempts to belittle the church, the very informal and indiscriminate freedom of speech is absolutely revoked and all writings of the scientists of the past century is declared heresy.
1100s an inquisition in Britannia burns well over twenty thousand tomes in all the libraries of the isles. More than thirty thousand scholars die in torture or flames. Very few books survive in Britannia but around the empire small remains of the orders go underground to preserve and protect the knowledge.
1100-1150 the church does not gain full power immediately and the provinces rage in rebellion over the first fifty years. India is embroiled in a fierce civil war, and Roman merchants sell them weapons and protection. Slowly over the course of the century, with protection contracts, missionaries and profitable war business Rome “buys” India while still being occupied in its own civil war. As the flames of rebellion cool down and the borders are re -established.
1150-1200 the golden age of the church. The theocracy of the church is now completely in control of the empire. They maintain the peace and pacify the provinces as they work out a way to get out of the dept the state is in. Rome itself is no longer important, Jerusalem and Antioch are named “the twin capitals”. The power of the church is shaken in 1179, when the grand cathedral of Cairo falls down after centuries of deterioration. In 1196 the puppet emperor Tatian the fifth leads his armies into china after a Chinese envoy gravely insults him. The Sino-Roman war marks the first time guns were actively used by both parties.
1196-1202 the Sino-Roman war ends in stalemate as the Chinese are divided and the Romans unused to fighting on Chinese soil. The Delfi peace of 1202 establishes basically the same borders as before.
1218-20 The mongol horde crashes through china.
1223 the Mongols invade India through central Asia. The third grand legion numbering over twohundred thousand men is completely wiped out in the battles of Padresh in September. An emergency is declared and troops drawn from all over the empire towards Jerusalem.
1233-25 the Mongols plunder and decimate India. Attempts are made towards some kind of ceasefire without results.
1226 the Mongols start moving west after the khans heir is killed in the battle of Punjab.
1227 The holy legion led by church leader Innocentius and Tatian the fifth, meet the Mongols near Baghdad. The romans reliance on infantry leads to their demise. In a devastating defeat the romans lose over three hundred thousand men,and the emperor is taken hostage. The Mongol victory however is a Phyrric one, they are not in better shape and intend to fall back when the Romans plead to get their emperor back and bribe the khan with hundreds of women and vaults of gold. The khan agrees and the horde leaves for central Asia and India.
1227-1332 for over a century the Mongols repeatedly invade roman territory, sacking cities and taking bribes to stay away. The armies of Rome evolve to defend against them, developing heavier armor, better cavalry tactics and greater guns. Nevertheless,the horde always get through.
In 1234 Asia minor is savagely plundered, in 1239 Antioch is burned to the ground, in 1256 Gaul, Hispania and Italy are scorched. Rome is spared only by its extensive walls. In 1263,1266,1278,1284,1297,1302, 1312, 1315 and 1330 roman provinces and cities are plundered, not only by the Mongols but also by many barbarian tribes to the north and the east seeing opportunity in the state of things. Britannia secedes from the empire,along with the northern provinces of Scandinavia in 1271. the ensuing civil war breaks down the empire and drains its coffers. In 1309 the state is effectively bankrupt. The capital is moved to Rome, once again the most prestigious of cities. Industry more or less dies down during the thirteenth century but revives again after the 1302 raids. Hispania and the African provinces are leading in the new industry standard. The central authority of the church is increased tenfold and the emperor is now only a powerless puppet. The empire Is transformed into a complete theocracy,corruption runs increasingly rampant and the public begins to hate the church for tis cruel ways. After the barbarian raids, the great plaques of 1278 and 1299 the imperial inquisition begins to terrorize the citizens, looking for scapegoats and traitors.
1338 Christhianus the second is born.
1342 The Romans regain complete control over the Mediterranean world.
1343 The musket is introduced, named Buthanki after its creator Alexander Buthanki Maesta. Considered centuries ahead of its time Alexanders name is renowned throughout the empire as the Saviour of the empire.
1348-1358 Christhianus is tutored by the philosopher Titialis who is a member of remnant secret society from the eleventh century. He teaches him the histories of the old orders and the war against the church. Christhianus becomes very anti-church, much to his tutors liking, but starts believing the very common myth that he and his house are descended from Christ, a myth that had been surrounding his house since the days of Decimus the third. Religious tension is mounting as the public grows ever wearier of the two faced morality of the church.
1357 Christhianus's father dies. He becomes emperor and his first act is to call together a church council to decide upon whether or not the emperor is the descendant of Christ.
1358 after seven months of extensive research and negotiations it is decided by the church that the emperor is indeed the descendant of Christ and the leader of the faith, but not the church. Mere moments after the resolutions is passed guards appear and kill every member of the church in the council room. At the same time in many cities in Gaul, Greece, Africa and Dacia every man of the cloth is killed. Christhianus, now an emperor and a divine figure, has decided to exterminate the church and its bloated bureaucracy. This predictably sparks a civil war which will rage for almost twenty years.
1358-1377 the military at first seems to follow the church but then splinters amongst themselves as some decide to follow the emperor and others still wait for orders from the now leaderless church. It takes almost a year and a half to decide upon the new church leader but afterwards the emperor faction has committed so many atrocities that the common people of Asia and Greece flock to the church's cause. Africa, Dacia, Hispania and Egypt follow. After the catastrophic battle of Sicily in 1361, the emperor seems to be losing. A disastrous chain of battles follows and Germania secedes from the empire. In 1362 the church lays siege to Rome for three months until the people of Rome break the siege themselves. In 1363 the emperor beats the church out of Italy and then proceeds to take Hispania. In the Hispanic campaign of 1363-1366 the resolve and morale of the emperor faction is tested. After the fall of Tithminis in 1366 the emperor delivers a great speech that rouses the people all around the empire against the church and to the cause of the one true leader of the faith. In 1367 the revolutionary breech loader is engineered in Germania by a legendary inventor Calikulus Buthanki Timon. Guns are forever revolutionized and the emperor manages to convince him to join his cause. From 1365-1374 Greece is half burned to the ground in increasingly desperate battles.
In 1372 the church advances from Africa to Hispania where they wreak havoc and defeat many of the emperors legions. They secure Hispania and advance to gaul where many cities are put to the torch until they are decisively stopped in the battle of Athica in 1375 where Icarus the first military balloon is used. The army crumbles and the emperor takes back the lost provinces and advances into Africa. In 1377 a peace treaty is signed. The church will no longer have anything to say in the matters of the empire and is under complete control of the emperor. Tens of thousands of priests are executed for treason and the church's coffers are emptied. The roman people, weary of war begin to rebuild.
1380s following the end of the war an influx of positivity enchanges roman society. Industry had boomed in many places during the war and now the success of the factories spreads throughout the empire. Railroads, which had been important for the emperors victories in Greece are laid out everywhere. Massive military surplus and wreckage creates a new generation of engineers and inventors who use the obsolete or disbanded projects of the civil war for financial gains.
As trade booms and the roads fill with brigands the rich take to the sky in airships, first designed in 1379 and built in 1385. In 1387 the first artificial fertilizer is made. In the reunification war of 1386 Germania is forcibly rejoined and the success of the war sparks an interest in further advancement of the empire in all directions, to reclaim lost provinces an stolen honor. From 1388 to 1407 the empire reclaims near all lost provinces. In1389 the empire is connected by railroad from the Atlantic to black sea to Cairo to the Indian ocean. Old and forgotten manuscripts from the eleventh century filled with the technologies of the past surface all over the empire and leads to great expansion in not only archeology and industry but in art and science. “The secrets of the past” becomes a catchphrase through which new products and ideas are marketed. Although the actual scientific effect is negligible they lead to interest in both the past and the natural sciences.
1390s industry booms as trade is made easier by railroads and airships. The Britannian coal craze of 1391 leads to an incredible number of greedy prospectors to move to Britannia. Germanian goods and slaves from all the lost provinces flood the markets of Rome. Talk of a new golden age is common. The black flux of 1394 diminishes those ideas as 30 million die but the expansion continues. The sudden depopulation of cities and increased industrialization in the farmlands lead to massive migrations to the cities and into the factories. This almost instantly creates a new kind of middle class that speaks with relatively one voice. Inventors and engineers are slowly becoming heroes to the people as more complex airships take to the skies, factories are made safer and more efficient. In 1396 the emperor declares that the empire shall take back India and in 1400 his massive armies enter India.
1401india turns out to be a greater task then previously believed, although the romans have technological advantage, the Indians are not too far behind. Reckless behavior and advances into the subcontinent unite the various kingdoms which have formed over the last centuries against Rome. Although they gain some great victories the romans are almost pushed back out at the end of the year. The emperor commences the search for Kronos to look for the libraries of the ruined city.
1402 Marcinius duvii takes command of the grand legions in India and reaches an important treaty with few of the Indian kingdoms. Rome pumps soldiers to the frontier and almost two million soldiers are in India by the end of the year.
1403-1405 the war escalates as the Indians unite and major battles are lost again and again. Only one man wins almost every battle, General Dieter Larson. He starts painting the airships as demons or dragons, utilizing terror and fear to subjugate many cities. The cities who surrender at the sight of the flying fortresses are spared but those who resist are mercilessly burned to the ground. He takes command of the legions and the tide begins to turn.
1404 the northern kingdoms of India fall. Rome is shaken by the so called byzantine scandal when a number of scholars are implicated in a plot to restore the church to its former glory. Public fear over the return of the church's oppression leads to the “free religious institutions act” which make the church as a institute practically inoperable.
1405 a massive invasion south goes very well to start with, until a new and unprecedented plaque hits the armies. Over two thirds of the roman soldiers die. Fresh soldiers are transported from the west faster than ever before. Indians do not suffer in the same way but are not completely unaffected. In the south millions die.
1406-1407 the south is conquered by Dieter Larsson. hundreds of cities burn before the end. Dieter becomes the hero of the empire, capable of creating victory from thin air with immensely disciplined and organized legions.
1407the south is conquered, Kronos is uncovered and its libraries unveil shocking truths regarding the linage of the emperor. Empereror christhianus ,who has no son, is killed in a freak zeppelin/ assassination attempt the end of the year as the city rejoices over the reconquest of India. Gael Levocus a local scientist in Rome is killed in the arena after his heliocentric theory makes many fear the return of the church. A book from Kronos leads to conflict between the emperors agents, the church's and a shadowy faction under the control of Dieter. The first airship pirates appear, and a massive chemical explosion rocks Londinium making the city unfit for inhabitation for several months.
i don't think i'll work more on this one, i like the idea of a steampunk rome and i don't want to see it end, which it gradually will.those of you who read the last post will note that i had Rome colonize the Americas and never mention them in this one. i kind of just abandoned the idea of romanized america. so the colonies are still there but after the catastrophes of the tenth century i had them just abandon all pretenses of control over that continent.
to many, technology might seem to advance a bit to fast in the thirteenth century, but this is because of the rise of many great scientists similar to newton and leanardo da vinci, plus that many of the principles of those discoveries had been set in the 11th century.
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