PUBLICA INFERIOR: A Republic of Etruria AAR

Italy, 309 BC. While Alexander the Great’s Diadochi successors squabble for dominion of the east, the shadow of war looms large over the Italian peninsula.





Over the last several hundred years the central city of Rome has grown into the richest and most powerful state in Italy. Its inexorable expansion has driven the Roman Republic into conflict with its neighbours. In recent years, tension with the Samnite people of the eastern coast has boiled over into open warfare. Rome has been joined in the war by the tribal Kingdom of Picentis, a Roman vassal which was subjugated after Rome’s last war in Italy.

Some years into the conflict, the minor Republic of Etruria makes the bold decision to join Samnium in the war against Rome and Picentis. Etruria is a democratic confederacy of modestly sized towns (including its capital, Tarquinia) and smaller rural settlements in northern Italy. It occupies a vulnerable position, being exposed to the hostile Gallic tribes across the Alps while lacking any large cities from which to draw wealth or manpower, giving it limited resources and a smaller standing army than its more affluent neighbours to the south. Its motive for joining the war lies in a dubious hope of halting the on-going expanse of the Roman Republic, which if left unchecked would surely swallow Etruria in years to come.

Etruria’s constitution is comparable with that of Rome – it is presided over by a single Consul elected by the Senate to serve a 2 year term in office. However, despite its constitutional similarities, the Romans do not consider Etruria their equal and refer to it as the Publica Inferior – the ‘lesser Republic’. The Romans consider the Etruscan culture of the north to be barely more civilised than that of the Gallic tribes beyond the Alps. Poised precariously between scornful southern neighbours and the savage tribes to the north, the citizens of Etruria forever live in fear of being overrun.

But the Etruscans had once dominated Italy. Theirs was an ancient and unique culture native to the Italian Peninsula, unlike that of the Romans which was more influenced by foreign Greek ideals. Before the rise of mighty Rome, Etruscans had once reigned from the Po Valley in the north all the way down to Campania in the south, and could even boast the island of Corsica beneath their dominion [see this map]. However, since their golden age during the 6th Century BC Etruria had been in serious decline. The fragile Republic was all they had left.

Will Etruria be consumed by the insatiable ambition of Rome or will it rise once again to new glories, yet untold?


FURTHER READING ON ETRUSCAN BACKGROUND AND HISTORY:
http://www.mysteriousetruscans.com/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization

In January 309 BC, the Senate of Etruria elects Spurius Vitellius Valens as its Consul for the coming 2 years. Senator Valens is the leader of the Populist faction and has been a strong vocal critic of his predecessor’s decision to join the war against Rome. Valens’s anti-war sentiments are largely reflected by the Etruscan people who have quickly become frightened about the slim chances of victory against their more powerful opponents. Valens gains the Consulship on the back of his popular support after pledging to end the war with Rome as quickly as possible.


Consul Valens


Immediately after being sworn in as Consul, Valens gathers the Senate to discuss the strategic situation facing the Republic in the advent of war with Rome.
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STRATEGIC SITUATION JANUARY 309 BC:

The Auxilia Etruria, the Republic's modest army, stands at a paltry 4,000 men led by General Quintus Octavius Ignatius, a confident and capable leader but not a particularly great tactician. These will be supporting the 7,000 strong Samnite army led by the socially obtuse yet tactically effective General Faustus Julius Brutus.


Generals Octavius and Brutus with their respective forces


Opposing them are the Roman Legions led by the Roman Consul, Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus. Fabius Maximus's forces are currently depleted and total a mere 6,000 men, but the Romans have the wealth and manpower to recruit far more given time. Rome's vassal-allies in Picentis have mustered 7,000 men under the command of the legendary General Decius Domitius Dives, an innovative tactician and the most feared of all the Generals in Italy.


Fabius Maximus and his much-feared ally Domitius


Valens decides that the quickest way to end the war is to attempt to force the Kingdom of Picentis out of the conflict, leaving Rome exposed to attacks from both northern Etruria and Samnium in the south. He summons General Octavius and orders him to march immediately east to Perugia, a large city in Picenti Umbria, and force its surrender. Valens hoped this would give Etruria the necessary leverage to knock Picentis out of the war.
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The Etrurian Senate, however, disagrees with Valens's decision and demands an immediate attack on the city of Rome itself.




Valens remains hopeful of ending the war quickly by any means and expanding Etruscan settlements into Gallia Cisalpina as the best means of advancing the Republic’s cause. To this end, he secretly hires a small group of mercenaries to enter Gallia Cisalpina and scout locations for future Etruscan settlements there.

Meanwhile the Auxilia Etruria marches eastwards to battle, carrying the anxious hopes of the fragile Republic’s citizens with them. Back in the Capital, Consul Valens remains fearful of Etruria’s precarious position and begins entreating the Lucani, a small Kingdom to the south of Rome, to ally with Etruria and join the war. The Lucani agree to a provisional alliance with Etruria but make no promises to join the war for the time being.

In early February Octavius and his men arrive at Perugia and lay the city under siege. However, in the south the war goes badly for the Samnites who have been driven from their homelands and forced south by the combined forces of Rome and Picentis. The Roman Consul Fabius Maximus orders an immediate assault on the Samnite capital, but the attack is rushed and poorly planned – the defenders throw back the Romans from the walls leaving the attackers to lick their wounds. Samnite General Brutus sees his opportunity and marches his forces back north to engage the weary Romans, causing Fabius Maximus to panic and flee along with his entire army. The army of Picentis has now been abandoned to face the Samnites on their own, which they are forced to do on 30 April. In a fierce engagement the Picenti forces are driven from the field in disarray, and suddenly the tide of war turns in favour of the allies.


Abandoned by the Romans, Domitius is defeated by Brutus at the Battle of Samnium while Octavius maintains the siege of Perugia in the north
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Further good news follows as the Lucani, emboldened by the Samnite victory, formally enter the war against Rome on 24th May.




With Perugia about to fall to Octavius, their army in retreat and now facing another enemy in the war, Picentis accepts peace with the allies only a few days later.




Rome now stands alone against the Samnites, the Lucani and the Republic of Etruria.
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Consul Valens immediately sends word to Octavius, ordering him to respect the peace with Picentis and to march south on Rome. But Brutus arrives first with the Samnite army, and defeats Fabius Maximus’s forces in the open field days before Octavius arrives. Fabius retreats south to Campania. When the Roman Consul attempts a counter-attack in early October, he finds himself facing the combined Samnite/Etrurian army (in total 14,000 strong) with only 9,000 men at his command.



The Allies join forces under the overall command of General Brutus to defeat the Romans outside their capital


The Battle of Roma (6 October 309 BC) results in the routing of the Roman army which is then pursued south to Capua by Brutus and destroyed utterly. Octavius remains at Rome while Brutus puts Capua under siege. With both major Roman cities under siege and their field army destroyed, the situation suddenly looks truly dire for the Romans. The Etrurian Senate holds its breath, hardly daring to believe that victory is on the horizon. The Kingdom of Picentis meanwhile remains angered at their abandonment by the Romans at the Battle of Samnium and seeing Rome’s grave situation, decide to formally cancel their vassal status in December. Celebrations begin to break out in Etrurian towns and villages as victory is surely guaranteed.


Octavius commands the siege of mighty Rome while Brutus besieges Capua. The Romans are now isolated and vulnerable
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March 308 BC. The new year brings changing fortunes. With the Republic’s citizens buoyant from the impending victory over Rome, a new threat on the horizon suddenly shatters their illusion of security and sends cold ripples of panic throughout the realm. Contact has been lost with Valens’s mercenary scouts in the north. The reason soon becomes apparent. A massive horde of Gauls from the Semnones tribe have crossed the Alps and are marching south to invade Italy. Estimates put their numbers in the region of 16,000; around 3 times larger than the entire Etrurian army.


The Semnones bear down on Italy, dwarfing any of the Italian armies


Struck with this new horror facing the Republic, Consul Valens immediately negotiates a soft peace with Rome and recalls Octavius’s forces to the capital, ready to make a stand against the coming onslaught. Despite the new crisis, the Senate widely disapproves of Valens’s reactionary handling of the situation and the Populist faction loses a great deal of influence from not imposing a harsher settlement on Rome. The Samnites remain at war with the Romans.



The Senate disapproves of Valens' handling of the war
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Relief pours through the Republic in a grateful deluge as it soon becomes apparent that the Gauls are ignoring the Etrurian towns to the west and instead march south east to Perugia, only recently vacated by the Auxilia Etruria. While Etruria’s citizens rejoice, Perugia is subjected to a brutal assault which smashes through the city’s defences before the true savagery of the horde is unleashed upon the doomed populace. For several days the city is sacked and looted before the horde marches onwards to the south, leaving behind wailing echoes of lamentation from the victims of Perugia.




With the crisis temporarily averted, Valens attempts to regain the initiative in the Senate by announcing the construction of major settlements in Bononia with the intention of significantly expanding Etruscan influence towards the Alps. Construction of the initial settlements is expected to be completed within a few months.

Meanwhile, the Gallic horde in Italy has been encouraged by the weak resistance offered at Perugia and roams further south seeking plunder and glory. They now march directly on the great prize of Rome itself, which has recently been placed under siege by Brutus and the Samnite army, now 10,000 strong. Realising the danger presented to the Samnites, Valens hurries to send warning to Brutus of the incoming barbarian horde, which gives them time to prepare for the coming battle. On 23 July the two forces clash outside the city walls, watched from the ramparts by the beleaguered Roman city guard.




In the fierce battle that follows, Brutus succeeds in defeating the Gauls but sustains heavy losses, enough to force him to return to Samnium to consolidate his forces. The Gallic horde soon returns to put Rome under siege once again. The Samnites, with their resources running low, decide to make peace with Rome on 20 October.




The Second Samnite War is now over, with the status quo before the war largely being maintained.
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Summary
In conclusion, the war ended with few objectives being achieved by either side and could easily be considered a stalemate. However, for the Etrurians and Samnites the outcome was an undoubtable achievement. Together they had forged an alliance that had effectively beaten the established power of Rome as well as their allies in Picentis and together could be considered a force to reckon with in years to come. However, things could have ended so differently. The key moment in the war was the Samnite victory at Samnium on 30 April 309 BC. Had the Samnites been defeated there, their Kingdom would have been laid open to conquest by the Romans and the Republic of Etruria would surely have followed. Similarly if it had not been for the intervention of the Gallic horde at the Samnite siege of Rome, the Romans could potentially have been subjugated beneath a Samnite dominion of Italy. As it is, an uneasy peace now lingers over Italy as both sides look to consolidate and prepare for future conflict.

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As Valens concluded his term as Consul, he reflected on what could have been. He had restored the Republic to peace and relative safety, despite squandering potential opportunities to annex territory from its enemies and gain greater glory for the realm. He had acted in the best interests of the people, but had allowed his career to suffer as a result.

Just before his term ended, the new settlements in Bononia became fully established and began interacting with the Gallic natives in the region.

loki100 said:

you're a brave person starting with the Etruscans ... last Rome AAR using them ended in a wonderfully entertaining (for us the readers) disaster when Rome stomped all over them

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Yeah - up to this point I got lucky with the Romans. I started at war with them but they had only 6,000 men to begin with and poor military leadership. I was also lucky that the Samnites won a key battle over Picentis. Without the Samnites I'd have been doomed. But so far the Republic of Etruria lives on!

Thanks for all the kind comments. Another update coming shortly...

January 307 BC. The uneasy peace that settled after the Second Samnite War has been in place for only a few short months. A climate of fear lingers over Italy as the great city of Rome still cowers under the siege maintained by the powerful Semnones horde.

Against this backdrop, Spurius Horatius Gorgonius of the Military faction is elected as Etruria's new Consul.


Etruria's new Consul, Gorgonius


Gorgonius's mandate for his 2 year term in office is to strengthen and protect the Republic's northern frontier against further potential barbarian attacks, giving it time to consolidate its new settlements in Bononia.
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STRATEGIC SITUATION JANUARY 307 BC:

The new Etruscan settlements in northern Bononia are already well established. To the south, the beleaguered city of Rome is at the mercy of the Gauls. In desperation, Rome has offered citizenship to the peoples of Sabini on the central Apennines mountains in an attempt to bolster their manpower outside the city walls. So far no help has arrived.


Dark times for the Roman Republic
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Gorgonius's first act as Consul is an attempt to reform the Auxilia. He passes a major new law, the Lex Civitas Deses, to encourage wider recruitment for the army and instil greater discipline through more regular drills and training.




The need to reform the army soon becomes clear. In June, anxious whispers spread word that another great horde has arrived to pillage Italy. A chilling total of 15,000 Germanic warriors from the Quadi tribe have crossed the Alps and are marching south. The Republic's settlements in Bononia are suddenly in mortal danger. Gorgonius summons General Octavius and orders him to intercept the horde before it can threaten the Bononian colonists.

Despite facing seemingly insurmountable odds, Octavius rallies his forces to defeat the Quadi during several savage assaults, forcing them to return to their homelands empty-handed. The Republic has once again been saved...for now.


Octavius defeats waves of Quadi attacks in the valiant defence of Bononia
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Rome is not so fortunate. On 28th October, the Semnones finally break through the beleaguered city’s defences. The Gauls storm into the city in their thousands and inflict a brutal sack of the entire area. For days, the citizens of Rome are subjected to mass slaughter, rape and enslavement by the merciless Gallic conquerors. The Sack of Rome (307 BC) would be a devastating blow to Roman power and prestige. With their glorious city irreparably damaged and its people cowed into submission beneath Gallic savagery, it remained to be seen whether Rome would ever recover from this great catastrophe. The Semnones leave Rome a shadow of its former self and, weighed down with Roman loot, they march deeper into Italy and lay waste to much of Samnium before they are finally wiped out in another pitched battle by Samnite General Brutus.


Romans attempt to recover from the Sack of Rome (307 BC) while Samnite General Brutus finally annihilates the rampaging Semnones


South of these events, the Lucani exploit the distractions caused by the Semnones to quietly annex their neighbours in Ager Brutii, practically doubling their holdings in Italy.


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Gorgonius completes the remainder of his term successfully, having defended the Republic from the Quadi and strengthened the Auxilia Etruria.

In January 305 BC, new elections are held and Tertius Vitellius Vitalis, a Propraetor (former Praetor) and distant relative of former Consul Valens, becomes elected Consul for the coming two years under the mandate of maintaining the peace begun under Valens's leadership, which has now been in place for several years.


Vitellius, a prominent member of the Civic faction


The majority of Vitellius's Consulship passes without major incident. While successfully maintaining the peace, Vitellius expands the Auxilia Etruria to 7,000 men.


The reorganised and expanded Auxilia Etruria

He also passes a major law of his own; the Lex Aelia et Fufia, to encourage more favourable omens.




In January 304 BC, a weakened Rome re-establishes diplomatic ties with Picentis as the two formally declare a new alliance.
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Going into his final year in office, Vitellius hoped to maintain the well received period of calm and make a dignified exit from the Consulship.

His hopes would be dashed in terrible and spectacular fashion.

In September, another gargantuan horde of Gauls from the Allobroges tribe make a quiet crossing of the Alps into north-western Liguria and immediately embark on a determined march towards Volaterrae, a major Etruscan town north of the capital. The horde is estimated to be 17,000 strong, making it the largest ever to enter Etrurian territory and surely posessing the might to sweep away General Octavius's modest forces.

But Octavius cleverly shadows the Gallic horde right until they arrive outside the walls of Volaterrae. When the Gauls move to storm the walls, Octavius launches his attack and manages to take the Gauls by surprise, forcing them to retreat back to the north. The humiliated Gauls regroup at the base of the Alps to plot their revenge.


Octavius succeeds in driving away the Allobroges
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303 BC. By the turn of the year, the barbarians remain skulking around the base of the Alps but have yet to make a second attack. With the Allobroges still a major threat to the Republic the Senate elects Secundus Claudius Mercator as the new Consul. Mercator is the leader of the Military faction and a respected Army Quaestor who is considered the best candidate to lead the nation to safety with his leadership skills and good military knowledge.


Consul Mercator, a popular and proficient military leader


A bold and decisive leader, Mercator sees his chance to gain glory for himself and immediately announces that Quintus Octavius Ignatius is to be replaced as General of the Auxilia, with Mercator himself taking personal command. The new Consul then demonstrates his ability by defeating the second assault by the Allobroges in early February.




However, by now the Republic’s valiant soldiers have been wearied by repeated attacks and the Gauls inflict a decisive and costly defeat on the Auxilia during their third assault with over 3,000 men (half the Republic's army) left dead on the field.


General Mercator retreats to Bononia after suffering a heavy defeat

Mercator rallies his troops to once again drive the horde away from Etrurian settlements in September but the victory is a costly one, with the Auxilia again sustaining heavy casualties.


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302 BC. Despite being kept at bay, the persistence of the Allobroges inspires other tribal groups in the area and in May 2,000 men of the Menapii muster in Bononia, only to be quickly driven back towards the Alps by Mercator’s forces.

With the Auxilia weakened and weary, disaster is looming and eventually occurs in July. The fourth assault by the Allobroges completely overwhelms Mercator’s forces despite a valiant defence in which thousands of Gauls were slaughtered. As Mercator is forced to retreat south to Tarquinia, the Allobroges lay Volaterrae to siege while the Menapii in the north return to Bononia to besiege the Etruscan settlements there.


Following costly defeats, the Republic is now in grave peril


With everything north of Tarquinia now under barbarian siege the Republic finds itself standing upon a precipice. Panic spreads like wildfire throughout the realm. The Auxilia Etruria is in full retreat to the capital, battered and demoralised. Several costly battles have depleted the Republic's manpower reserves and confidence in new General Mercator has been shaken. This is indeed a time of great crisis. The Republic could soon be extinguished for good.

loki100 said:

oh whoops ... ah well these things happen

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It was unavoidable really. Since colonising Bononia I'd become the only potential target for barbarian hordes from the north. My population is so low that I can only field around 7,000 men. So far the average horde has been over twice that size, so its really difficult to defend against.

Wave said:

Huum.. Perhaps you should let barbarians take over your capital and continue the game as a tribe? :rofl:
Hopefully Mr. Mercator can push the barbies back to Gallia.

Nice traits for the ruler Cruel, yet forgiving and epileptic consul could have some nice side effects Thanks for the mod idea...

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Lets just say I won't be giving up the Republic without a fight! Mercator is a great leader but fighting all these barbarians has exhausted my manpower reserves. Its a tough position - I'm the weakest of all the Italian states while I'm also the one most likely to suffer a barbarian invasion. But as you say - hopefully Mercator can bring us back from the brink, else I'll have to change the name of this thread to 'A subjugated peoples of Etruria AAR' or something...
EDIT: Just realised that Gorgonius, not Mercator, was the 'schizophrenic' Consul you were referring to. Certainly a strange combination of traits...I'll be interested in seeing how you interpret that through a mod!

Camara said:

At least they sacked Rome too...

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Haha yeah! They took around 20% civilisation from the city after they sacked it. I was really hoping the Semnones would capture the remaining Roman cities and make Rome a tribal kingdom, but instead they invaded the Samnites and got a jolly good spanking. Still, always nice to see Rome suffer!

JDMS said:

Looks like you've got your hands full! Subscribed.

And yeah, the last Etruscan AAR was mine, though I used a different mod. Good luck!

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Thanks! I'd be interested to compare your experiences with my own. Could you send me the link to your AAR please? EDIT: Never mind, I found it in your signature. I like your writing style, the mix of character dialogue and historical narrative works really well. You were unlucky to be swallowed up by Rome but it was a good read. Ironically the Romans are the least of my worries at this point...

July 302 BC.

The battered remnants of the retreating Auxilia arrive at the gates of Tarquinia.

General Mercator bivouacs the exhausted troops outside the city walls before proceeding inside towards the Senate chambers. There are no cheering crowds awaiting his arrival. The streets of the capital lie empty, the people cowering in their homes in fear. Dark times have fallen upon the Republic.

Upon entering the Senate chambers, Mercator finds the Senate already gathered and embroiled in a heated debate. A deadlock hangs between two opposing groups arguing over the best course of action in the aftermath of the recent catastrophic defeats to the northern barbarian hordes.

The first group is led by prominent Populist Senators including Proconsul Spurius Vitellius Valens and his close political ally, Tiberius Julius Gracchus.


Former Consul Valens and his close ally, Gracchus

They argue that Consul Mercator has failed to defend the Republic, which has now been effectively overwhelmed by Gallic invaders. They are also keen to remind the other Senators that it was Mercator himself who chose to replace the previously successful General Quintus Octavius Ignatius and take personal command of the Auxilia, a decision which they argue has only contributed to the current crisis. Not only was everything north of the capital now under siege, but the Republic’s resources and manpower had been exhausted in the recent struggles and defeat was inevitable. Valens, Gracchus and their allies call for Mercator to be stripped of command and for the Republic’s immediate surrender to the Gauls in the hope that the beleaguered citizens of the northern townships might be spared.
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These demands are being furiously rejected by the opposing Senators, primarily led by Senator Mamercus Ulpius Nasica.


Mercator is defended by his supporter Nasica

A trusted lieutenant of Mercator, Nasica is a novus homo; a man born outside the established elite of aristocratic Etruscan families. Despite his humble origins he has become a close ally of Mercator and thanks to the Consul’s influence he has risen through the ranks to attain the office of Praetor.

A charismatic and eloquent orator, Nasica leads the opposing group of Senators in arguing for the Republic’s full support of the Consul who, he argues, can yet lead Etruria to victory in these dark times. In direct opposition to Valens and Gracchus, Nasica calls for emergency powers to be placed upon the Consul and for him to be declared Dictator of the Republic. Such extraordinary measures had never before been undertaken in Etruscan history, and the fierce debate continued to rage as the Senate sought agreement upon a decision.

Mercator’s timely arrival brings some much-needed consensus to the dispute. He addresses the gathered Senators in bold tones, arguing that the Allobroges had themselves suffered catastrophic losses during their last battle (several thousand) and that one more engagement would surely break them. The Menapii further north were only a few thousand strong and could also be realistically dealt with. The Consul reminds the Senate that no settlements had yet fallen to the Gauls and the situation could still be recovered. With these confident words, the Senators begin to throw their support behind Mercator. An agreement is finally reached when Mercator swears not to undertake the Dictatorship and to formally relinquish his Consulship when it expires in 5 months time.

Having gained the support of the Senate, Mercator puts the gears of war back into motion. He depletes the last of the Republic’s meagre reserves into the Auxilia and musters his forces to once again march north to engage the Gauls.
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Dawn, 18th August 302 BC. The Auxilia has arrived at Volaterrae and is deployed on the plains outside the city walls, facing off against the Allobroges horde. The beleaguered Etruscan defenders manning the ramparts of the town look on and cheer as the Consul leads his men charging into battle. It is all over in less than an hour. The Gauls, their numbers thinned from previous battles and the subsequent, gruelling siege of Volaterrae, are quickly broken by the determined Republican forces and driven from the field in disarray.


Mercator defeats the Allobroges at Volaterrae


Volaterrae was now relieved and with the Allobroges defeated, Mercator prepared to march on the Menapii besieging Bononia. The Senate rejoices in the victory, and deciding that the victory is a good omen, they agree to immediately dispatch colonists to the north-western region of Liguria to establish Etruscan settlements there.

By early October, Mercator had smashed the Menapii that were skulking in Bononia and relieved the final Gallic siege of Etruscan settlements. But before the crisis could be declared over, yet another mighty horde from the Quadi tribe crossed the Alps and marched against the Auxilia in Bononia.




Many feared that this would be the final straw to break the back of the Republic, but General Mercator leads a tactically brilliant defence which sees over half the Quadi dead (9,900 in total). Immediately after the battle, word arrived from the Senate that the Etruscan settlements in Liguria had been successfully established. When Mercator wiped out the last of the Quadi soon after, his victory was complete. The Republic had been saved!



While Etruscan settlements expand into western Liguria, Mercator wins a great victory over the Quadi...


...And with the Quadi annihilated, the Republic finally breathes a collective sigh of relief
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Conclusion
The barbarian invasions of 304-302 BC would become known as the Great Crisis. The Republic of Etruria had been brought to the brink of annihilation, yet thanks to the valiant determination of General Mercator, the Etruscans had been rallied to drive off the barbarian hordes and emerge stronger than ever (taking into account the recent expansion into Liguria). Manpower reserves were still flat-lined and it would take many years to fully recover, but on the positive side an abundance of slaves had been seized from the invading tribes which would contribute greatly to the economy.

Further effects of the Great Crisis included the redemption of Mercator, whose leadership skills had been called into question by Valens and Gracchus in the Senate, but who now found himself extremely popular with the army and the people alike. Following his gallant defence of the realm he would henceforth become known as Mercator Audax – ‘the Valiant’.

But the Crisis had also ignited greater conflict within the Senate itself. The fierce debate between Nasica, Mercator and their Populist antagonists back in July had drawn a permanent line in the sand within the Etruscan Senate. Two opposing groups of Senators had begun to form, each representing an entirely opposing outlook on the evolution of the Republic, and the deepening divide between these two groups would come to dominate the actions of Etruria in years to come.

For now though, the Republic began to enjoy a rare glimmer of peace. With his term at an end, Consul Mercator made his final act to invest in major fortifications at Bononia to help ensure that another crisis might never again occur.
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January 301 BC - Numerius Vitellius Vitalis of the Religious faction is elected consul. An intelligent and crafty statesman, Numerius is cousin to former Consul Tertius Vitellius Vitalis. His mandate is to begin the rebuilding process following the Great Crisis.


New Consul Numerius of the Religious faction



A terrible number of citizens and soldiers had died during the recent barbarian invasions, and it was of paramount importance that the Republic be given time to recover. With Etruria’s manpower at an all-time low, another Italian war now would be disastrous.

The strategic situation on the peninsula was precariously balanced.


STRATEGIC SITUATION 301 BC:


The world at large, 301 BC. Carthage dominates the western Mediterranean.



A closer look at Italy shows the Etrurian/Samnite/Lucani Alliance holding a strong tactical position surrounding Rome.

The Republic had formed strong and proven alliances with both the Samnites and the Lucani to the south, and between them they held a strong tactical position in Italy. However, since being sacked by the Semnones in 307 BC Rome had re-established its alliance with the Kingdom of Picentis and together they formed a dangerous adversary. The great Picenti General Decius Domitius Dives, who fought against the Etrurians and Samnites in the Second Samnite War, would himself ascend to the throne of Picentis later in the year.


The great General Domitius becomes the new King of Picentis


As for the Republic of Etruria, it had geographically doubled in size since the last war with Rome but its new physical size was deceptive – it still lacked any large population zones and thus experienced lower overall manpower than the southern Italian states. Crucially, it was still vulnerable to rampaging barbarian tribes from Gaul and Germania.
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Thankfully, Numerius’s term as Consul remains uneventful as the Republic quietly rebuilds and consolidates. His final act in office is to appoint General Mercator as a Censor of the Republic in honour of his continued glorious service to the state.

In January 299 BC, Tiberius Claudius Martialis of the Mercantile faction becomes the new Consul. Martialis is a popular and well-spoken Senator who holds great influence in Tarquinia’s Forum thanks to his many vested business interests in the city.


Martialis becomes Consul for 299-298 BC.


Martialis is an experienced and skilled administrator and utilises his influence in the merchant quarter to great effect, running the economy with great efficiency and generating record profits for the treasury. In turn, he uses the profits to expand the Forum in Tarquinia to enable even more trade to take place there.

With the economy running smoothly, Martialis begins to turn his attention to domestic and foreign affairs. In the few short years since the end of the Great Crisis, the opposing political groups within the Senate had become formalised into a discordant status-quo entrenched within the hierarchy of the Republic. Martialis is an active member of the group that has become known as Mars Imperito, which is dominated by militarist expansionists including Mamercus Ulpius Nasica and Mercator Audax. They share a common belief that since defeating the barbarian invaders during the Great Crisis the Republic was now ready to conquer and reclaim its ancient borders of the Etruscan golden age during the 6th century BC. They are opposed by the predominantly Populist group now known as Pax Etruria which includes Spurius Vitellius Valens and Tiberius Julius Gracchus, bitter rivals of Mercator and his protégée Nasica. Their belief was that further wars would be calamitous to the fragile Republic and that a peaceful colonial expansion towards the northern Alps would be in Etruria’s best interests. Not every Senator was affiliated with these groups, since the groups themselves were based more on a ‘shared belief system’ rather than a formal membership like that employed by the Religious, Military, Civic and Populist factions. Nevertheless, the impasse between Pax Etruria and Mars Imperito was escalating as Senators vied to keep the Republic at peace or drive it to war, respectively.

A staunch advocate of Mars Imperito, Claudius Martialis firmly believed that the only way the Republic could survive was if it somehow managed to annex one or more of the heavily populated cities that lay to the south, thus providing a richer source of manpower for Etruria’s understrength army. Etruria had come close to capturing the great city of Perugia in the Second Samnite War but narrowly failed to do so. For advocates of Mars Imperito the problem is a catch-22 situation. Etruria needs greater manpower, which means capturing large population zones is a major priority, but it lacks the manpower necessary to confidently prosecute a war with its southern neighbours in Rome and Picentis.

Martialis’s solution lay with the Greek Republic of Massilia to the west. Massilia had an army as large as anything in Italy - 11,000 men in total - and had the ear of other, larger Greek states to the east. However, relations between the two Republics had never been close and were decidedly less than cordial since Etruria’s recent decision to establish Etruscan settlers right up to the Massilian border throughout Liguria. Despite the cultural and religious differences between the two Republics, Martialis was keen to explore the possibility of an alliance with Massilia. His initial address on this issue was met with hostility in the Senate, particularly by the Religious and Populist senators who either distained an alliance with Greeks or feared the momentum to war that such an alliance might bring. Massilia had only recently become embroiled in a proxy war between Diadochi squabblers in the east and Etruria couldn’t afford to be dragged in to a war just yet.


Massilia now shares a border with Etruria but the Etruscan Senate is reluctant to enter talks of an alliance


Nevertheless, Martialis was not to be deterred and began making secret ‘donations’ from the state treasury to prominent Massilian senators in the hope of eventually gaining the support needed to enact an alliance when the time was right.




He was convinced that with Massilia’s support, Etruria could confidently engage in a new campaign against Rome and its allies. However, with his term at an end, his plan would have to be postponed for now.
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297 BC - Tiberius Julius Gracchus, the charismatic Populist senator and close political ally of Proconsul Valens, is himself elected consul.


Populist and Pax Etruria advocate Gracchus becomes the new Consul


He gains the Consulship on the back of the Etruscan people who, troubled at the rumours of another war looming, back the Populists to look to their interests and maintain the peace.

Gracchus’s reign is quiet and entirely uneventful as he successfully maintains the peace.
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295 BC - Populist leader Spurius Vitellius Valens is re-elected for a second term as Consul, capitalising on the well-received period of calm enjoyed during Gracchus’s reign to gain election through promising to continue the peace.


Valens becomes the first Etruscan Senator in recent history to gain a second term as Consul.


Valens focuses his second term on construction, building a series of temples throughout the recently settled lands near the Alps in the belief that the sight of these great buildings would awe the savage Gallic natives into following the Roman gods, and subsequently imitating the culture of the Etruscans.

Valens and his fellow Pax Etruria advocates (including his predecessor Gracchus) believed, in contrast to Proconsul Martialis and his fellow Mars Imperito associates, that the future of the Republic lay in developing internally – by civilising the Gauls of Liguria and Bononia, developing their infrastructure and perhaps eventually even extending settlements to the far side of the Alps.

On 5th April, Valens officially declared the Pax Etruria policies a success, announcing that the Republic had fully recovered from its appalling losses during the Great Crisis. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Valens then announced that the army was to be expanded to 9,000 to help protect the Republic from future barbarian raiders.


After 7 years, the Republic has finally recovered from the Great Crisis of 304-302 BC


Valens’s internal policies seemed to be reaping further dividends, as the native population in Bononia were quick to abandon their heathen gods and follow the Roman religion.




Valens maintained an otherwise uneventful term.
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293 BC - Spurius Horatius Gorgonius was then elected for his own second term as Consul after a flat election contest with none of the candidates gathering large numbers of votes. Gorgonius, a committed Mars Imperito advocate, emerges the victor but because he failed to achieve a significant majority of support, he is unable to implement significant changes while in office. His attempts to rally the Senate to another war against Rome consequently fail to gather enough support to be carried out.


Gorgonius is fortunate to become the new Consul.


The only notable incident of his Consulship occurred when he oversaw the full conversion of the Gauls of Bononia to Etruscan cultural values. The region now became accepted into the Republic as a full territory with citizenship status.
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Conclusion
Since the emergence of the two opposing political groups in the aftermath of the Great Crisis, Pax Etruria had largely dominated Etruscan politics on the back of widespread public support for a sustained period of peace.

But all this was about to change...



*WritAAR note – some of the details of this chapter (particularly the emerging discord between Pax Etruria and Mars Imperito) might seem unnecessary but I hope will prove to be increasingly relevant in future updates...