Introduction
The year is 280 BC, and Europe stands at the crossroads of destiny.
In the East, the Mauryan Empire stands ready to dominate India under the rulership of Bindusara, son of Chandragupta. While local dominance is assured, it still remains to be seen whether Mauryans will strike against the Hellenic Kingdoms to its West.
Those Hellenic Kingdoms have never been so fractured. Just a mere year ago Seleucus had conquered Makedonia and Thrace, and was making plans to conquer Egypt and unite Alexander's Empire. But with his assassination by Ptolemy Keraunos, his own vassal king of Makedon and brother of Ptolemy II of Egypt, Seleucus's dream lay broken on the sand. Now his son Antiochus makes plans to reclaim the West, even as the East falls further and further out of his grasp.
On the other side of the Mediterranean, Carthage lies battered, but recovering. Issue with colonial unrest and political infighting from the previous century still hamper their expansion into Syracuse, but with the ongoing events in Magna Graecia the Mediterranean power may now have another shot at complete naval supremacy.
The barbarous lands of Britannia, Gallia, and Germania lay divided as ever. Without a strong leader, they will remained divided and weak, waiting for a Mediterranean power to venture northwards and try their hand at controlling the tribes.
Greece itself is a period of great upheaval. With the sudden collapse of Seleucus's domain, the Greeks have once again regained independence from Makedonian overlords. Yet with Ptolemy Keraunos's reestablishment of the Kingdom of Makedon, and his alliance with both his brother and the ascendant lord of Epirus, Pyrrhus, many wonder how long it will last. Even so, the reformation of the Aetolian, Achaean, and Arcadian Leagues spells a great cataclysm that will soon take place in the birthplace of the west. But that is not where our story starts.
It has been 474 years since the founding of Rome by Romulus. While at first a city-state ruled by the family of Romulus, the monarchy would be abolished after the assassination of Servius Tullius, who reformed the city's army into a phalanx structure, by his arrogant son-in-law Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Replacing the monarchy would be the Senate, made up of the elite patricians, and later on, the plebeians. Rome would slowly expand, conquering their neighbors of Veii and Antium before seizing the rich Etruscan mining cities to the north, while fighting many long and difficult campaigns against the adaptive Samnites, who still remained independent in the South of Italy.
In 282 BC (or 472 by Roman Standards), the Greek city-state of Thurii in Southern Italy requests a Roman garrison. The local power in Magna Graecia, Taras, was outraged at this perceived encroachment on their sphere of influence, and attacked Roman supply ships to their new ally in the South. Over the next year, hostilities continued to grow as Rome established garrisons in Locri, Croton, and Rhegium. With this, the city of Taras sent pleas to Phyrrus, King of Epirus, and legend of the Greek world, to intervene on their behalf and reclaim Southern Italy for the city. Phyrrus, planning on expanding his realm into Magna Graecia, accepted, and in late 281 BC would go to the South. There he would reaffirm his alliance with the Aetolian League, request and receive aid and guarantees from his Ptolemaic allies, and consult the Oracle of Delphi on his plans.
That meeting would change the course of history.
---
Table of Contents
The Pyrrhic War (280-277)
The Invasion of Epirus (277-275)
Omnium Rerum Principia Parva Sunt (275-269)
Lords of Graecia (269-266)
Rome Ascendant (266-254)
The Ashes of a More Glorious Time (254-240)
Interlude: A World Divided (240)
Securing the Republic (240-228)
The Iberian Campaigns (228-218)
The Rise of the Populares (218-214)
The Second Makedonian War (214-210)
---
Hello, and welcome to my AAR of the Imperium Universalis mod for EU4 as Rome. With all the news about the upcoming game Imperator, I decided to start a game as Rome, with plans to play a game as Rome when Imperator comes out and compare the two games. This AAR will feature narrative portions written in either a history book style like above or in a person account style for major characters. I will also occasionally comment on the mechanics of EU4 and the mod, saying what I think it does well, poorly, and how I think Imperator could improve off the mod.
Big shout out to Zenphoenix. His Hohenzollern Mega Campaign inspired my first AAR on this site and he has helped me a lot when it comes to writing, both from advice and from reading his work. Check it out if you haven't.
In the East, the Mauryan Empire stands ready to dominate India under the rulership of Bindusara, son of Chandragupta. While local dominance is assured, it still remains to be seen whether Mauryans will strike against the Hellenic Kingdoms to its West.
Those Hellenic Kingdoms have never been so fractured. Just a mere year ago Seleucus had conquered Makedonia and Thrace, and was making plans to conquer Egypt and unite Alexander's Empire. But with his assassination by Ptolemy Keraunos, his own vassal king of Makedon and brother of Ptolemy II of Egypt, Seleucus's dream lay broken on the sand. Now his son Antiochus makes plans to reclaim the West, even as the East falls further and further out of his grasp.
On the other side of the Mediterranean, Carthage lies battered, but recovering. Issue with colonial unrest and political infighting from the previous century still hamper their expansion into Syracuse, but with the ongoing events in Magna Graecia the Mediterranean power may now have another shot at complete naval supremacy.
The barbarous lands of Britannia, Gallia, and Germania lay divided as ever. Without a strong leader, they will remained divided and weak, waiting for a Mediterranean power to venture northwards and try their hand at controlling the tribes.
Greece itself is a period of great upheaval. With the sudden collapse of Seleucus's domain, the Greeks have once again regained independence from Makedonian overlords. Yet with Ptolemy Keraunos's reestablishment of the Kingdom of Makedon, and his alliance with both his brother and the ascendant lord of Epirus, Pyrrhus, many wonder how long it will last. Even so, the reformation of the Aetolian, Achaean, and Arcadian Leagues spells a great cataclysm that will soon take place in the birthplace of the west. But that is not where our story starts.
It has been 474 years since the founding of Rome by Romulus. While at first a city-state ruled by the family of Romulus, the monarchy would be abolished after the assassination of Servius Tullius, who reformed the city's army into a phalanx structure, by his arrogant son-in-law Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Replacing the monarchy would be the Senate, made up of the elite patricians, and later on, the plebeians. Rome would slowly expand, conquering their neighbors of Veii and Antium before seizing the rich Etruscan mining cities to the north, while fighting many long and difficult campaigns against the adaptive Samnites, who still remained independent in the South of Italy.
In 282 BC (or 472 by Roman Standards), the Greek city-state of Thurii in Southern Italy requests a Roman garrison. The local power in Magna Graecia, Taras, was outraged at this perceived encroachment on their sphere of influence, and attacked Roman supply ships to their new ally in the South. Over the next year, hostilities continued to grow as Rome established garrisons in Locri, Croton, and Rhegium. With this, the city of Taras sent pleas to Phyrrus, King of Epirus, and legend of the Greek world, to intervene on their behalf and reclaim Southern Italy for the city. Phyrrus, planning on expanding his realm into Magna Graecia, accepted, and in late 281 BC would go to the South. There he would reaffirm his alliance with the Aetolian League, request and receive aid and guarantees from his Ptolemaic allies, and consult the Oracle of Delphi on his plans.
That meeting would change the course of history.
---
Table of Contents
The Pyrrhic War (280-277)
The Invasion of Epirus (277-275)
Omnium Rerum Principia Parva Sunt (275-269)
Lords of Graecia (269-266)
Rome Ascendant (266-254)
The Ashes of a More Glorious Time (254-240)
Interlude: A World Divided (240)
Securing the Republic (240-228)
The Iberian Campaigns (228-218)
The Rise of the Populares (218-214)
The Second Makedonian War (214-210)
---
Hello, and welcome to my AAR of the Imperium Universalis mod for EU4 as Rome. With all the news about the upcoming game Imperator, I decided to start a game as Rome, with plans to play a game as Rome when Imperator comes out and compare the two games. This AAR will feature narrative portions written in either a history book style like above or in a person account style for major characters. I will also occasionally comment on the mechanics of EU4 and the mod, saying what I think it does well, poorly, and how I think Imperator could improve off the mod.
Big shout out to Zenphoenix. His Hohenzollern Mega Campaign inspired my first AAR on this site and he has helped me a lot when it comes to writing, both from advice and from reading his work. Check it out if you haven't.
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