Full Nation Name : Western Roman Empire
Latin Empire
Holy Roman Empire
L'impero romano d'Occidente (It)
Il Senato e il popolo romano (It)
Saran e Suant Impero (Da)
I depotuti e el poplo viaspro (Da)
Juan Raigno (Da)
Majority/Official Culture : In official terms, the official terminology used is "Romani", a counterpart to the Eastern "Romaic". The Westerners pride themselves on their Latin heritage, and exploit it to its full extent. The state does not recognize regional languages, only dialects of "Lingua Latina Nova", otherwise called "New Latin" or "Modern Latin". They insist that the Italo-Dalmatian languages are just the natural progression of the Latin language, compared to the "Gallic speech" or the "Hispanic language". Natives will often call themselves by local or regional terms, sometimes with classical reference. Some might say "We are
Liguri", others might say "We are
Etrusci" or "We are
Tusci", and so on. Interestingly, the African Latins have adopted the name
Punici for themselves, in contrast with the remaining Punic speakers around Syrte, who are called
Cartaginesi.
The Western perception of
Romanitas varies from the Eastern one in some ways, but aligns in most. It is not necessarily fixed to any particular ethnic group, but it is more pluralistic in forgetting religious boundaries as well. In Italy, a mosaic of Christendom exists, with Catholics, Orthodox concentrated in the South, some traces of Arianism in the North, all conflicting with the Caesaropapist question of whether the emperor or the pope should rule the other. This is to say nothing of remnant pagans, or attempts to incorporate the Jews (and, in the same idea, the Carthaginians) for a slew of reasons. However, for political reasons, Latins are given more arbitrary and imaginary points regarding
Romanitas, especially in relation to the Greeks.
A more demotic and republican tradition, brought about by the relative lack of courtly grace in the early military government and, just perhaps, a higher confidence in their own
Romanitas as Latins, has allowed this more pluralistic view of to flourish over the ages. The relative liberty of the West has led it to pin former atrocities on the East - claiming to the Jews that it was the East which harmed them, and currying their favor through resettlement in somewhat autonomous communities as Carthaginians, just for example. Few attitudes are so universalist as in the East, and thus they are more often opportunistic, relative, contextual, and at times arbitrary. Perhaps the only constant is that 'we' are more Roman than 'them', which
especially includes the East.
Territorial Core : You know
Territorial Claim : Technically the whole WRE but let's just say Spain and North Africa for now, with some revanchism regarding Gaul but that's a bit more distant by now.
Capital City : Rome
Population : ~43,200,055
35,000,000 (Italy)
3,000,000 (Africa)
5,200,000 (Balkans)
55 (Tavolara)
Government Type : Exarchate
Government Ideology/Policies : Nationalism, Commercialism, Mercantilism
Government Focus : Culture and wealth are the main focuses of the Italian Caesardom. With a long tradition of craftsmanship and trade, with autonomous polities feuding back and forth over who had better paintings and architecture being but one example of this tradition continued throughout time. Despite being, under its foundation, a military governorship granted by the crown in Constantinople, it has been long since any expansion has occurred, the resources instead devoted to the aforementioned culture and wealth.
Head of State : Cesara Alessandra Udina Belisaria
Head of Government : Above
Government Description : Originating as a military governorship granted by the crown in Constantinople, the ravages of time and government have long since rendered this to exist only in name - the title is now more-or-less hereditary, in the classic Roman tradition. It has gained an administrative and perhaps bureaucratic bent under the influence of the East, though a Latin Senate still exists to provide senators, advisers, consuls, and delegates, highly influential but wielding little hard power.
Majority/State Religion : Latin Christianity (Catholic-Chalcedonian) with guaranteed freedom of worship
Religious Description : Under the watchful eyes of Rome, the Great Schism never fully split the two churches, and a unified Chalcedonian creed exists in theory if not always in practice. It remains tolerant of Imperial authority and Hellenic idolatry, and minority pagan and Judaic practices are protected by the state.
Economic Ideologies : Regulated State Capitalism
Major Production : Dyes, leather, other such luxury items, fine and finished manufactured goods.
Economic Description : A specialized economy for turning raw goods into fine things to flaunt, turning water into fine, the Italian economy is quite competitive and broadly prosperous, albeit highly specialized. They are known, at the moment, for hand-built and fine-tuned machinery (as compared to mass-production, industrialized machines), exquisite leathers, and promulgating locally-dyed and embroidered Byzantine silk to the Western market. These all come in both individual or 'raw' components, as well as finished products.
Development: Modern
Development Description : The Western economy and industry has adapted well to the ages. Although the appreciation for decadent luxury has led to a great many things being built in a hand-crafted, rather than mass-produced, fashion, the industrial capability is still there all the same. As a foremost power of Europe, the West has had to keep up with the rest of the continent by necessity - and for spite of any reliance on their Eastern counterpart. The troublesome terrain of Italy meant that the old Roman highways were a godsend in times past, as they are maintained today, but alternative infrastructure has been in demand for some time. Where terrain is flatter, trains have sprung up to allow movement, but in no small part shipment across the empire is reliant on waterbound transport, with some limited train lines or highways connecting the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian. In Africa, sheer size has forced the use of trains across its much more favorable landscape to get from one end to the other.
Army Description : The army is a carry-over from the Eastern themata, with military subdivisions and land grants ensuring a localized and battle-ready force is always prepared to be drawn up on the borders. Unlike the Eastern Empire, however, the themata follow regional powers and centers of conflict, conforming to what was, at times, only nominally subject city-based powers. Each city, thus, carries its own military legacy and rivalries. The military is largely modernized, perhaps moreso than the Eastern soldiers, due to proximity to the West and even the legacy of the Latins upon it. Being a frontier region, an exarchate, also gave an early emphasis on military development within it to the court at Constantinople. As a result of the localized military, the army as a whole is generally decentralized and grouped by place of origin, rather than forming large and diverse regiments. The discipline, however, suffers not. They are not often grouped into larger legions incorporating people from more than one region, however this allows a smaller-scale, more squad-based style of warfare similar to how the Romans defeated the Phalanx in antiquity. Malleable and focused.
Army Weakness :The army is highly decentralized and localized, leading to smaller units with less diversity. In this regard, a single squad will rarely be able to perform particularly diverse functions, even if as a formation they are more malleable than rigid lines. Being grouped with their regional fellows might incentivize more camaraderie, it also can take a toll on communities if an entire group is injured or killed. Moreover, it is not an effective offensive force, largely being trained to defend the hills of Italy and the sands of Africa, able to defend and garrison an urban setting well but perhaps struggling to capture it to begin with. Cavalry and reconnaissance is largely left to African auxilia, who often have their own equipment and training, and pose a linguistic barrier much stronger than inter-regional ones suffered by the Italians and Dalmatians.
Naval Description : The navy originated as an anti-pirate measure, but grew with the prominence of trade. Once reliant on the East for naval protection during the Middle Ages, the reunification and consolidation of power in the Renaissance allowed the individual shipbuilding traditions of the maritime cities to conglomerate into a more effective navy. The navy plays a much more prominent role in the West accordingly, and just as well considering the larger need for such a thing. The navy is, for the most part, fairly well modernized, and deals with much of the same equipment as the Eastern one. The ships are strong and well-equipped, the sailors often being recruited or conscripted merchants with generations of seafaring experience. A fully functional blue-water and green-water force, it makes an effective offensive force all the same. Hinterland tribes of Slavs and Albanians, though often somewhat neglected by the West, are valued as a source of marines.
Naval Weakness : The navy must compete with the army in many regards, with many preferring the comfortable life of a garrison at home instead of a working one of seabound patrols. Language barriers among the tribal marines and the 'civilized' mariners can lead to some issues as well. The cost of the fleet is substantial, and is partially subsidized by its role as a Merchant Marine as well. This dual purpose means that trade will suffer more than necessary in times of war, while strictly naval peacetime activities are limited. The ships sacrifice some military capability in favor of cargo space and speed, and might be supported by wooden ships when in need.
Further Military Description : Experimental technology National Goals : Ascendancy to co-emperorship, perhaps even dominance. Glory and wealth, of course.
National Issues : Having less land and manpower than the East, diplomatic barriers, and not being exactly the best at industry even if technically industrialized. Let's not forget the ever-lasting problem of language barrier.
National Figures of Interest : Tuone di Ragusa, Giorgio da Firenze, Leo d'Arezzo, Antonio Farantouri, Asdruele Barco
National Ambition/Aspirations : Gloria in excelsis populo
History : The Greek general Belisarius was said to have been offered by the Ostrogoths the position of the Western Emperor when he laid siege to them. He accepted, only to turn against his Goths and betray them in the name of the court in Constantinople. For this, he was awarded the title Caesar of the West, reflecting his great accomplishment in battle and his everlasting loyalty to the Empire. He had been made the Exarch of Italy appropriately, and when he could no longer conquer and age beset his old bones, he settled in old Rome with his family. The great city had long since lost its importance, replaced by Ravenna and Mediolanum and other sites, but as the glory of all he knew originated with the city of Rome, it only seemed fitting that perhaps, just perhaps, it be given one more chance. Thus, it was born. Belisarius would live only so long to see the Lombards invade, and to personally drive them away with his son by his side.
Under the rule of the son of Belisarius, Nicephorus, there was conflict with the Patriarch of Rome. Nicephorus Belisarion had known the Greek Rite for much of his life. Furthermore, raised by the greatest general of the empire and mothered by the confidant of the empress, Nicephorus had of himself an ego rivaled only by the breadth of the imperial domain. The Roman Patriarch, who demanded submission and humility in accordance with the Latin tradition, grew to despise the decadent Nicephorus, but never dared to challenge him openly until the year 600, upon which a duel was held between the two. Nicephorus won, and the Patriarch was maimed. In but a few short weeks, he passed- and Nicephorus gained the epithet "Slayer of the Latins", known for his disrespect of the Latin ways. What had began initially as a glorious salvation from the hands of the Goths by a great general had quickly turned sour as the struggles between the Latins and Hellenes were emphasized once more. Rejected by his court, one by one, the Exarch grew anxious. Nicephorus, seeing his peril, married with a Latin woman and had five children with her- this gesture a symbol of the unity he had hoped to bring. Although he continued with the Greek Rite for his life, he took special precaution to help mend the wounds between Latins and Greeks. Naming his children in the local Latin, he passed his throne to his eldest Severius.
Verus, the first "Latin" emperor from his Greek brood, and the first since the collapse of the West near 150 years prior, grew in his life as a proper Latin. He spoke Latin, he dressed Latin, and he celebrated Latin holidays with his Latin court- the Italians had regained their position in the world, it had seemed, until all remembered the true power lay at Constantinople. It was by their grace alone that the breed of Belisarius continued to hold the throne, and by their favor towards his grandfather that Verus was allowed to govern the land. He took measure to ensure his fitness in the eyes of Constantinople- reinstating the old legions and fortifying the Alps being his major accomplishments. The fortification he had built on the Alps became known as the Veran Wall, and would be the first of many, many additions in the area. Verus, in his dying days, took the conquest to Africa. Launching an invasion out of Egypt, he bribed his way through Berber tribe after Berber tribe as he went, eventually gathering a great nomadic host. This carried all the way to Carthage, from the siege of which proved decisive. The Vandals who had settled were relocated, partially among the Lombards in the north, partially throughout the Italian cities as slaves, and in no small part back north across the Alps and beyond Roman borders. His triumph was said to be legendary, including the parade of the recovered relics of the Jewish temple.
Drawing from his predecessor, Honorius celebrated his ascension by adding to the Veran Wall. His additions were few, consisting primarily of nearby barracks to help garrison the wall- it was a gesture of support for the defense of the border, but furthermore connected him to his predecessor. This connection would become important, and the next few kings would all follow suit in making some additions to the Veran Wall, be they towers, extra layers, or even an extension entirely. The original, facing only against the lands of the Bavarii and incorporating the mountains of the Alps to fill gaps, would soon become a wonder in itself. It was also during this time that the refugees taken in from Judea and Samaria were redistributed, with promising programs set forth for them in Africa among the dwindling Carthaginians. Set up among these last Phoenicians, the Jews and Samaritans here converted them and kept their culture alive. Indeed, it began to flourish under autonomous rule. Honorius gifted the Temple Relics to the community, and the city of Carthage was repopulated with this Neo-Punic elite. While some scolded the emperor for his restoration of the Carthaginians, the peace and prosperity it brought to Africa paid itself off in interest. By his death, Honorius was celebrated by his old Senatorial enemies, and a new age of stability came.
Time came and went like the tides of the ocean, but in the year 712, the during the Ides of March, the Exarch Caesar Belisarion Severius dies in Venice after succumbing to his wounds by a Germanic blade. He has yet to proclaim a proper heir, and the unity of Italy begins to fall. His twin sons, Antonius and Nero, each take command of a section of the land. Nero, a brave general by heart, takes station in Venice by his father's bedside- here he garrisons the Wall alongside his men. Antonius, meanwhile, moves to Rome as the first properly administrative, non-military, ruler of the land. The court in Constantinople watches eagerly, as if an experiment, to see which of the brothers takes charge over the other, but neither does. It is in this divided reign that the Illyrian Betrayal happens, and many cities of Illyricum simultaneously declare a league of their own separate from the Italian influence. Nero moves quickly with his army, and warns of the precedent should Antonius let such events pass idly. Although Nero secures the loyalties of the Illyrians once more through 6 years of campaigning, the previous state is never recovered and they retain autonomy. It is in this new autonomy that the Dalmatian language, and its regional identity, begins to develop- as well as acting for a breeding ground for the mercantile city-republics that would come to dominate. A small town, Ragusa, begins to dominate by the end of the decade.
Antonius appeared to have won the battle of the brothers, but in his age his council turned against him. Slain by conspirators and with only a single daughter to claim the throne, the Italian cities followed the example of the Illyrians. The rule of Agrippa was rough, and only through the most cunning diplomacy and the most ruthless military action in conjunction with the elderly Nero was she able to, similarly to Nero, regain the allegiance of the Italians under different conditions. Unlike Illyria, however, the Italians failed to produce a single strong city to overcome and dominate the others - remaining divided instead. This played to Agrippa's favor, and she learned a "Divide and Conquer" tactic that she would later write about in her Codex Italicum. She would marry off her children to the local mercantile nobility, the lesser patricians, of her vassal cities and those of Nero to secure a general allegiance, but this would only serve to strengthen the autonomy of the cities.
As the world entered into the Middle Ages, the West began to brace for the changing world. While the East struggled against the Eastern hordes, the West was faced with age-old barbarian enemies. Old Roman attempts to maintain control over Caesar's Province in the south of Gaul were losing their effect, the Mohamedan regime seeming to counter Roman influence at every turn. A soft war began, a war of words, of faith, of influence. Meanwhile, to the far north, Frankish warlords slowly consumed both Roman and Muslim influence, spreading barbarity to the corners of Gaul city by city. When a Frank declared himself the new emperor, Agrippa was furious at the Papal response of relative neutrality and even some minor support. Though the debate continued to rage of emperor versus pontifex, it was mostly her gender that was called upon for support of the new Frank. Calling on the support of the Carthaginians and her sons-in-law, her position as the unequivocal leader of the Western Romans was reaffirmed. When it was reaffirmed as such by the Senate, the Pope quieted to a fully neutral position. To avoid any more such disturbances, the unusual circumstance of nominally appointed military governorship having been passed to a woman hereditarily, Agrippa took to law to reaffirm herself and her position. It was thus decreed that, like the Etruscans on which Rome had built itself, the Italians would make official that which had been known since the days of Ulpia Severina, and since Theodora: the rights and dignity of women. Although women were not allowed in the Senate or to participate in its vote, many offices were fully legalized in an official capacity. Thus, no barbarians or treasonous pontifeces could question her leadership.
With the collapse of central authority in Gaul, the Romans made their move once more. With some military conquest, ostensibly to "Restore order" to the region, and a large deal of Soft Power politics. Emperor after emperor, using the weight of merchant connections, injected
Romanitas into Occitania. It was said that the people of that region spoke much more proper Latin, quite closer to the Latin of Italy than the barbaric "French" tongue. With his armored legions, the Emperor took to court in that land, sending senators and even himself as a judge to resolve disputes among the petty lords of Occitania. Land disputes between cities, resource rights over fields, guilds here and there, the Romans had an answer for everything. The affirmation of the Roman church in these lands grew stronger by the day, and the French were starting to seem not so bad after all. These wild barbarians had embraced a very Roman sense of things, broadly speaking, and the emperors began to refer to the lands of the French lords as
Aeduia, in memory of Caesar's closest allies in his Gallic campaign. The free republics of the empire enjoyed increasing relations, and without an imperial title to threaten them, the emperors grew into it too.
Then came the Crusades. Holy wars to reclaim lost imperial territory for the East. While many in the West initially saw the pleading of the East as something worthy of mockery on stage, the cries of
Deus Vult from Rome itself led the way to a turn of opinion. When asked for a show of support for the Crusades, Emperor Valente gave a speech at the Apostolic Palace to get the assembled Italian, Dalmatian, French, Spanish, even African, crowd to roar in approval. So the wars went, the empire focusing its soft power in Gaul, its hard power supporting the East, interrupted only by the rise of a peasant commune in Rome to remove Papal authority from the city. The emperor made a move from Ravenna with his personal retinue to seize Rome from the peasants. With a mixture of negotiation, siege, and threats, the city was recaptured. Instead of handing it back to the Pope, he instead moved the capital to that eternal city - declaring that the people of Rome had spoken, that it was the true heart of everything the West stood for, and that it was long past time to reclaim the city instead of the East's preferred Ravenna or the autonomous Milan. To appease the peasants, however, he also extended the Senatorial vote from patricians to commoners all, even if in practice the patricians were the vast majority of senators regardless. It was in the context of these holy wars to restore lost Roman territory that Africa was reclaimed as well, a more imminent concern for the Westerners, and a triumph was held down the streets of Carthage upon its recapture.
Not all in the Crusades was well, though. The Free Republic of Venice sacked some Dalmatian counterparts, culminating in the sacking of Constantinople and the founding of a rival Latin Empire in the East. Although the Western empire somewhat appreciated the sentiment of the emperor in Thessalonike, the East demanded the support of the West. Sympathizing with the East over its
Frankokratia, recalling when such was threatened upon Agrippa, the emperor sent some forces to aid the East in its efforts. In the tradition of Belisarius, the West restored order across Epirus and Hellas, isolating the
other Latin Empire from potential allies. When the East won, the West returned its Greek territories, with a few new trade ports established along the way. Venice faced no punishment for its role in the fight. Time marched ever onward.
The fourteenth century was a period of expansion. Influence in Gaul reached a critical peak, and the jurisdiction of the Western emperor was being steadily formalized on a city-by-city basis. As more disputes came to be solved, more influence gained, more tithe sent, the emperors began to twist things to their favor. If land came into dispute, it might go to the West. If a city needed an appointed leader, it fell to a senator to rule. If a war came to be and simply could not be determined, the Western legions helped the side most favorable to them. When the Plague rolled around, this only got worse, as the West grabbed for land and people not under the effects of the vile blight. By the fifteenth century, it began to slow, but any semblance that the Occitans were not under Western dominion was quickly fading. Like the free cities of Italy and Dalmatia, the people of
Provincia were brought into the fold as autonomous holdings. In the classic fashion, they likewise began to compete with the Italian and Dalmatian free cities. Mercenary armies flew between them all, as did the daggers of assassins and the ships of great trade. While the previous century saw a rise of the Italians in dominance, the rise of the
Rinascimento, a rebirth where Italian powers began to consolidate their plague-rattled countrysides, directly contributed to increasing centralization. Venice, Genoa, Ragusa, Vicla (Veglia), Florence, Naples, and Amalfi together owned the majority of Italy and Dalmatia, and most of the country's wealth.
Over the course of the fifteenth century, the exploratory nature of the Italo-Dalmatians in their previous capital ventures to other lands brought them further and further. By 1492, the first Italian had set foot in the New World. It was under this prospering that the Italians finally began to eclipse the Dalmatians, gaining a factor of exponential growth. However, the line of Belisarius was running thin- the Republican politics had all but killed the Italian half of his line- leaving behind the Viclasun line to take charge. Stemming from Vicla, also called Veglia and, in Latin, Curicum, this unlikely progeny of the great Belisarius through no less than 4 cadet branches had managed to survive purely because their republic had long ago been eclipsed by the nearby Ragusa. Rising to the throne due to their well-recorded, if distant, lineage, the first Dalmatian Exarch went by Domagna.
Domagna Udaina was a ruthless and cunning man. Long suppressed by his neighboring Venice and Ragusa, he gained an enmity for the free republics of the exarchate. Cooperating with the Medici of Firenze, Domagna established a power base in Central Italy, a strong alliance across the land. He first chose to reign in Genoa, who stood distant from the others and with a distrust for their own duxe, the citizens of Genoa sold their city out to Domagna. Using this power base, he reaffirmed the loyalty of the traditionally monarchical Napoli to move on Amalfi. Half of Amalfi's patricians were of Greek origin, and despite a notable military presence, none was needed for Domagna to seize power. His ties to the Greek emperor, as well as his relatively nonpartisan origin, meant a nonviolent swearing of fealty. As Venice made its move against Ragusa, historically held back by the limited influence of the exarch but now with a doge reckless enough to ignore it, their city was invaded under the cover of night. In the year 1543, the "Night of Tears" occurred- Domagna infiltrated Venice with his combined Italian army and wrecked havoc upon the streets. Many of the town guard were slaughtered, and their bodies thrown into the canals. The island flowed in red for 3 days after the fatal event, and the doge was forced to surrender. As he had captured Ragusa and even appointed a new Rector, that republic had been cleared out of the way as well.
Domagna, in his violent reign lasting from 1516-1552, became known as "the Slayer". His son, Jugno, tried initially to rule with a soft hand, but in the second month of his reign realized the error of this. He chose instead, to invite all the dukes of his realm- the duxe, the doge, the rettore, to watch him compete in games. He raced for Blue in chariots, and won a tzykanisterion tournament. The games, lasting a full month on their own, ended with Jugno inviting any patricians who wished to assert their independence a duel to the death for the opportunity. He went so far as to promise his crown to any who would fight him. After the demonstration of his abilities in the games, however, none stood forward. All throughout his life, Jugno would insist the offer was always on the table, and made it to each newly elected duke of his realm. Through such shows of force and fearlessness, as well as his well-meaning heart and his administrative excellence in improving the unity and strength of his realm, the Italians and Dalmatians alike took to calling him agosto, the first Exarch since Belisarius to ever be called by such a title in any capacity.
Jugno would attempt an invasion of Gaul to restore the lost Roman hegemony there. Senatorial support was strong, with Catholic elements wishing to crush the heretics, and an increasing Neoclassical faction inspired by Gemistus Pletho, the lingering pagan peasants in the Italian countryside, and the
Rinascimento movement, called to restore Roman rule to Gaul more broadly. They were sort of Latins, were they not? Aeduia, the allies of Caesar? Jugno acted swiftly and decisively, only to be met with a strong and unexpected resistance from a new conglomerated republic. The first war that the Western Romans would undertake as a fully reunified power would test the strength of their unity, and Jugno would die before it finished.
In the chaos of succession, Empress Catarina took the throne only to learn that, without leadership, without certainty, without their unifying emperor, the Veran Wall had been passed, the legions stationed there weakened by their divisions. Rallying up an army in the center, she had the navy attempt to cut off any supply lines while she met the French army on the field of battle over and over again. Facing defeat, she agreed to the humiliating surrender in 1601 to recognize French independence once and for all, at which point she is said to have stated "So be it, the Gauls choose
barbaritas". The internal divisions within the country were initially blamed for the defeat, but Catarina shifted the blame to rest on the shoulders of the senate, which had acted in regency at the time of the fall of the Veran Wall. Furthermore, she blamed the Pope for instigating the war in the first place, and exercised her imperial authority to have him removed from office. This was the first demonstration of Caesaropapism in near a millennium, apart from the minor example of the proper annexation of Rome centuries prior. This strengthened the Neoclassical movement, which had been gaining strength since the 14th century, among the elites of Roman society, and Catarina became known as
Catarina the Pagan. In the elections of 1605, the senate was a pagan majority. With this pagan majority, Catarina enacted further reforms for the rights of women, teetering the precarious position of the pagans over a vastly Catholic populace. This included conditional female suffrage, for those of the Patrician class and those who acted as the heads of their families. It was said that the 'vote of every man' enacted earlier had been renamed by her to the 'vote of every family', thus by her logic that as the man was not always the head of the family, was not always the main moneymaker, and way not always the most influential, women should gain the right if they meet the conditions. As patrician families had always enjoyed special privileges, and patrician women were more likely to lead families, the suffrage was thus universal for them.
The great changes brought by the Treaty of Pavia and Catarina's rule, her conformity to the
Rinascimento, inspired new theatrical and operatic works. Well past her death in 1647, Roman culture flourished. Although the 15th century brought many new and contemporary stories to the stage, this new theater brought grand epics of old, stories of emperors and demigods, classical mythology in total, to life. Names like Hercules and Ovid and Democritus flew at balls and on stage, as well as at convivia and in the senate. This all came to a head in 1755, when a Corsican senator by the name of Pasquale Paoli advocated universal female suffrage. The emperor took kindly, and this law became known as the Livian Reform, after the first empress in Roman history.
It was a golden age. Science, philosophy, and art flew as it never had before, with the printed word spreading these teachings faster than the ancients could've dreamed. The Library of Alexandria was little in comparison. Patricians and imperial family members heartily adopted the patronage system once run by the free republics of the land, while interfaith dialogue between pagan and Christian elites, as well as the Judaized Carthaginians, provided an exceptional home to tolerance in the West. The names of great polymaths were on the tongues of everyone, from the centuries-old work of Leonardo da Vinci, to Leon Battista Alberti, the economics of Luca Pacioli, the observations of Galileo and Zucchi, the shocking discoveries of Volta and Galvani, not to mention contributions by Dalmatians such as Giorgio Armeno, Stefano Gradi, the Nicolas of Nale and of Gozzi, and even from non-Latins such as Ruggiero Boscovich. A true flourishing throughout the 18th century, grounded in the works of the past and the peoples now reviewing them.
This came to a halt with the French warlord, Guerin. He brought a great reckoning to everything Roman. He broke past the Veran Wall, he tore through the north. The Roman army struggled to face him, it turned into a war of attrition. It is said that, as the Roman army continually retreated south, and he followed, his troops were jeered by passing towns. They had not forgotten the humiliation centuries prior, they chanted to them - "Gaulois vont chez", during which a French officer at one point rounded up the men of the village and gave them a lesson in French grammar. One stole the officer's horse and rode south in the middle of this, and from then on the villages they passed near and through told them the same message correctly. The Romans fought all the way to Rome itself, but there too were forced to retreat. The French navy, en route, was crushed by the Italian pride, and his supplies are thereon cut off. Running low, he establishes the vassal republic of Etruria and makes an ordered retreat back past the Alps. With the aid of Eastern troops, he is pushed until gone from Italy, and the French prisoners are triumphed through the the Eternal City that they had terrorized not long ago. It was made explicitly clear to them that, since their republic had declared its full separation from Rome those centuries prior and acted in atrocity against the Romans, that whatever kinship medieval Latins might've felt towards the Gauls was severed, that they had proven their lack of
Romanitas through these actions and confirmed the fears of the Italians that the Gauls had not abandoned their barbarian nature after all.
The bloody warlord from France died, and his puppet republic immediately fell into trouble. The emperor, Jugno, sent a letter to them in Etruscan - the language preserved in the dictionaries of Claudius still preserved in Rome - to hold a vote. When it was held, the citizens, remembering their
Romanitas, voted Jugno as the new leader. After only a matter of months, the republic was peacefully re-annexed. The French prisoners were paraded through northern Italy, being told to go home by the people of Tuscany, of Genoa, and finally by the border garrison as they were dumped on the other side of the Alps, at the exact spot the wall had been beaten prior. It was, in essence, a "de-invasion".
The 19th century saw much change, but also much the same. The Western Empire never recovered from the invasion, and their golden age ceased. Although classical scholarship of that age's like still continues strongly, the great debates, the treatises, the reports, the convivia, have all been reduced to but memory and ceremony, no longer feeling as if a living practice, but instead on life support. Italian technology began to fall behind, and the empire spent more of its money playing catch-up with the newest inventions, meaning less was devoted to patronage. It was not until the 1850s that the empire gained a more secure position in the world, settling in as a major power once again, if slightly behind the rest of Europe on more than few things. The luxury market was resolidified in its new form of furs, silks, and leathers, as it had been for centuries and yet breathed life anew. As we enter into this new age, perhaps the Romans will try to claim their place once more, or perhaps they will begin once more to fade. Only time will tell if the Romans, both West and East, will see another century yet.
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