Chapter I: A Roman Citizen
(1 January 474 AUC/280 BC)
Senatus Populusque Romanus
(The Roman Senate and People)
This is the Republic. Being a citizen of Rome is a great honour in itself. Some strive for more. This is their story and that of the Roman Republic they seek to lead to glory, each in their turn.
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Territory and Leadership
First, we shall take a quick look at the territory governed by Rome and its immediate environs – especially the great adversary Carthage.
The Republic, 474 AUC/280 BC.
The East is dominated by the successor states of Alexander – especially the Seleucids and Egypt.
In the West, mighty Carthage is the dominant power. Rome is the new middle power on the rise. The rest is largely made up of primitive tribes and uncivilised wilderness, with the exception of Rome’s ally, Massilia.
In legend, Romulus and Remus founded Rome and Romulus was its first King. But this modern Republic will suffer no King to rule it.
Historical Note: Lucius Aemilius Barbula was elected consul for 281 BC and was given a command against the Samnites. He invaded the territory of Tarentum, which called on Pyrrhus of Epirus for help. This is the setting for the start of this game and the reason Rome is at war.
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Infrastructure and Technology
Rome is already a significant and established city with considerable infrastructure. New trade links need to be established, before the war with Pyrrhus can be addressed. Gold and strategic trade resources are vital.
The rest of the Roman provinces are not nearly so developed, at most with road networks and stockades (to give Level 2 fortification). The road network – all of which must of course lead to Rome – is marked.
Roman roads – vital for prosperity and the rapid movement of the Legions.
But at this stage, Roman technology is such that no further improvements (buildings) can be built in any province. So those provinces will remain under-developed until that can be fixed.
Technology is being researched as best it can, with appointees already in place (they cannot be removed for a year and expect to serve two – they will object if removed early). Other than Rome, the rest of the provinces offer only minor assistance. We need to improve this in the future if we are to thrive and improve the Republic.
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Government and Diplomatic Relations
We have already met the Consul (we will treat the leading candidate of the ‘Next Consul’ grouping as the Second Consul, which is of course not directly portrayed in the game. So ‘the Consul’ will be played as having the sole
Imperium [Command] and
Auctoritas [Authority] to rule, while in office).
Below is the representation of the factions within the Senate at game start. The dreaded
Populists must, of course, be opposed at all times! We will look at the establishment of trade routes and see whether it is auspicious to invoke an Omen a little later, in order to decrease their political attraction. But first, two Censors must be appointed.
The Senate of Rome – the true focus of legislative power in the Republic (the other assemblies and all their additional intricacies not being represented in-game).
It is best to have as many office-seeking Senators in positions as possible, lest their loyalty become suspect and they drift towards populism. The current Consul is from the Mercantile faction, so his first pick is a factional colleague, Gaius Julius Bubulcus. The second is a prominent Senator from the Religious faction, Gaius Fabricius Luscinus – who happens to have the ambition of serving as Censor: this should keep him happy.
[Note, there is minimal science to this for now – I just want to fill the positions with some likely looking candidates and get going. I’ll try to figure out the nuances as I go!]
Some Senators are lobbying for colonies to be formed in the bordering provinces of
Liguria and
Bononia – but for now, the barbarians are too strong in both locations. And the army is required for duty in war, so pacifying them will need to wait.
More broadly, our current enemies are Epirus and Magna Graecia. Other than Massilia, no other country or tribe in the known world has a favourable opinion of Rome. So be it! And, of course, everyone takes it as read that Carthage is the true enemy. The Italian peninsula just needs to be sorted out first. And a better fleet will eventually be needed to vie with Carthaginian supremacy at sea, too.
National Ideas, Trade and Religion
As Consul at the beginning of this period, Barbula must choose the key national ideas that will drive Rome forward for the coming years. As a Military Republic, the ‘standard’ mix is two military and one civic idea – which, if chosen, allows the national bonus of decreasing war exhaustion. A useful thing for Rome! There are only two Military ideas available, so they are selected. The choice of Civic ideas is comparatively simple for such a warlike nation: Civic Duty it is. Neither Economic or Religious ideas are considered at this stage.
As mentioned before, initial trade networks are set up – all internal for now. These can be adjusted later and foreign deals (which would be more lucrative) sought, but the key focus now is just getting them going and ensuring Rome has access to key strategic resources (needed if we want to produce anything except militia in the future). It will take a little while for the trade routed to become established.
The Religious faction is also advocating that both the Omens be consulted and a Sacrifice made. While successfully calling on the Augurs to consult the Omens can provide useful benefits (and would put one in the eye of the Populists in the Senate), the Pontifex Maximus advises the Omens are not currently auspicious. But we can afford a Sacrifice, which will increase all-important stability (currently neutral at 0) – now cheaper with the two Censors appointed. It is done.
Let us hope the Gods are appeased. The people like it and the associated feasting and entertainment, anyway – which is what really counts.
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Military Situation
The first requirement is to grant Imperium for the command of the 1st (and currently only) Legion in
Apulia, facing the enemy in
Tarentum. “Who better than myself?” declares Consul Barbula rhetorically. He is one of the better generals available (none are higher than 7 in martial skill) and it is a lifelong ambition of his. He wants any glory from the campaign to fall on him, naturally. The possibility of defeat is not considered!
The fleet command is given to Publius Cornelius Rufinius, a prominent member of the Military faction. He is highly competent, is an original thinker, hungers for an official title and harbours (pun intended) a deep-seated ambition to become a Naval Prefect! Let us see what he can make of it.
Here is a quick country comparison from the ledger: Rome has the edge in manpower, but we need to defeat the renowned Pyrrhus: and we don’t yet know how many troops he is actually fielding, nor where exactly they are.
This is all we know at the moment. The Magna Graecia forces are all in
Tarentum and badly outnumbered – but where is Pyrrhus’s main body? In
Sicily or
Epirus? Will he try a naval landing?
[And its been so long since I played I can’t remember! No-one spoil it for me if you know. 
]
To war! Consul Barbula orders the advance on Tarentum.
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Chapter II will get right into the execution of the war. Given I have two other AARs to write, I hope to keep the updates short, sharp and regular, if not frequent. Thanks for reading - please, comments always very welcome, or just a quick 'subbed' etc, just so I know someone is reading in this little lost corner of AARLand.
Finis
