World of Darkness -- Pax Romana
“Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.” ― Yasunari Kawabata
Contents
- 1 The Roman Empire
- 2 Barbarians: All Those Beyond the Boundary of the Empire
The Roman Empire
Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, though it did not expand outside the Italian peninsula until the 3rd century BC. Then, it was an "empire" long before it had an emperor. The Roman Republic was not a nation-state in the modern sense, but a network of towns left to rule themselves (though with varying degrees of independence from the Roman Senate) and provinces administered by military commanders. It was ruled, not by emperors, but by annually elected magistrates (Roman Consuls above all) in conjunction with the Senate. For various reasons, the 1st century BC was a time of political and military upheaval, which ultimately led to rule by emperors. The consuls' military power rested in the Roman legal concept of imperium, which literally means "command" (though typically in a military sense). Occasionally, successful consuls were given the honorary title imperator (commander), and this is the origin of the word emperor (and empire) since this title (among others) was always bestowed to the early emperors upon their accession.
Rome suffered a long series of internal conflicts, conspiracies and civil wars from the late second century BC onward, while greatly extending its power beyond Italy. This was the period of the Crisis of the Roman Republic. Towards the end of this era, in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was briefly perpetual dictator before being assassinated. The faction of his assassins was driven from Rome and defeated at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC by an army led by Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son Octavian. Antony and Octavian's division of the Roman world between themselves did not last and Octavian's forces defeated those of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, ending the Final War of the Roman Republic. In 27 BC the Senate and People of Rome made Octavian princeps ("first citizen") with proconsular imperium, thus beginning the Principate (the first epoch of Roman imperial history, usually dated from 27 BC to 284 AD), and gave him the name "Augustus" ("the venerated"). Though the old constitutional machinery remained in place, Augustus came to predominate it. Although the republic stood in name, contemporaries of Augustus knew it was just a veil and that Augustus had all meaningful authority in Rome. Since his rule ended a century of civil wars and began an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity, he was so loved that he came to hold the power of a monarch de facto if not de jure. During the years of his rule, a new constitutional order emerged (in part organically and in part by design), so that, upon his death, this new constitutional order operated as before when Tiberius was accepted as the new emperor.
The 200 years that began with Augustus's rule is traditionally regarded as the Pax Romana ("Roman Peace"). During this period, the cohesion of the empire was furthered by a degree of social stability and economic prosperity that Rome had never before experienced. Uprisings in the provinces were infrequent, but put down "mercilessly and swiftly" when they occurred. The success of Augustus in establishing principles of dynastic succession was limited by his outliving a number of talented potential heirs. The Julio-Claudian dynasty lasted for four more emperors—Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero—before it yielded in 69 AD to the strife-torn Year of Four Emperors, from which Vespasian emerged as victor. Vespasian became the founder of the brief Flavian dynasty, to be followed by the Nerva–Antonine dynasty which produced the "Five Good Emperors": Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and the philosophically-inclined Marcus Aurelius.
Augustus
Augustus (Latin: Imperator Caesar Divi filius Augustus; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) was a Roman statesman and military leader who was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, reigning from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. His status as the founder of the Roman Principate has consolidated an enduring legacy as one of the most effective and controversial leaders in human history. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries, despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession.
Augustus was born Gaius Octavius Thurinus into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia. His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesar's will as his adopted son and heir. Along with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, he formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart by the competing ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian in 31 BC.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward facade of the free Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative assemblies. In reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and those of tribune and censor. It took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen of the State"). The resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire.
Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania, but suffered a major setback in Germania. Beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian Guard, created official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and rebuilt much of the city during his reign. Augustus died in AD 14 at the age of 75, probably from natural causes. However, there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as emperor by his adopted son (also stepson and former son-in-law) Tiberius.
Great Illyrian revolt
The Bellum Batonianum (Latin for "war of the Batos") was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in which an alliance of native peoples of Illyricum revolted against the Romans. There were two regions in this Roman province: Dalmatia and Pannonia. The rebellion began among native peoples who were recruited as auxiliary troops for the Romans. They were led by Bato the Daesitiate (central parts of today's Bosnia). They were joined by the Breuci (a tribe in Pannonia) led by Bato the Breucan. Many other tribes in Illyria also joined the revolt.
The Romans referred to this conflict as bellum batonianum (Batonian war) after these two leaders with the same name. Velleius Paterculus called it the Pannonian and Dalmatian war because it involved both regions of Illyricum. In English it has been called the "Great Illyrian revolt", "Pannonian-Dalmatian uprising" and "Bato uprising."
The four-year war, which lasted from 6 AD to 9 AD, saw a large deployment of Roman forces in the province, with whole armies operating across the western Balkans and fighting on more than one front. In 8 AD the Breuci of the Sava valley surrendered, but it took another winter blockade and a season of fighting before the surrender in Dalmatia in 9 AD. The Roman historian Suetonius described this war as the most difficult conflict faced by Rome since the Punic Wars two centuries earlier.
Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Camerinus (762 Ab urbe condita)
- Suppression of the Bellum Batonianum (Great Illyrian Revolt) in Dalmatia.
- First record of the subdivision of the province of Illyricum into lower (Pannonia) and upper (Dalmatia) regions.
- In order to increase the number of marriages, and ultimately the population, the Lex Papia Poppaea is adopted in Italy. This law prohibits celibacy and childless relationships.
- Roman finances become strained following the Danubian insurrection and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, resulting in the levying of two new taxes: five percent of inheritances, and one percent on sales.
- Cunobeline is first recorded to be king of the Catuvellauni at Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester) in Britain.
- Approximate date – Claudius marries Plautia Urgulanilla following the death of Livia Medullina.
- Battle of the Teutoburg Forest -- [AD 9] -- Three full legions under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus were ambushed and destroyed by Germanic tribes led by Arminius.
Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Appuleius (767 Ab urbe condita - AD 14)
Barbarians: All Those Beyond the Boundary of the Empire
Celts: An Ancient People
The Celts were a collection of tribes with origins in central Europe that shared a similar language, religious beliefs, traditions and culture. It’s believed that the Celtic culture started to evolve as early as 1200 B.C. The Celts spread throughout western Europe—including Britain, Ireland, France and Spain—via migration. Their legacy remains most prominent in Ireland and Great Britain, where traces of their language and culture are still prominent today.
The existence of the Celts was first documented in the seventh or eighth century B.C. The Roman Empire, which ruled much of southern Europe at that time, referred to the Celts as “Galli,” meaning barbarians.
However, the Celts (pronounced with a hard “c” or “k” sound) were anything but barbarians, and many aspects of their culture and language have survived through the centuries.
3rd Century B.C.
By the third century B.C., the Celts controlled much of the European continent north of the Alps mountain range, including present-day Ireland and Great Britain.
It is these islands off Europe’s western coast in which Celtic culture was allowed to survive and thrive, as the Roman Empire expanded on the European continent. Beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in the first century B.C., the Romans launched a military campaign against the Celts, killing them by the thousands and destroying their culture in much of mainland Europe.
Caesar’s Roman armies attempted an invasion of Britain at this time, but were unsuccessful, and thus the Celtic people established a homeland there. As a result, many of their cultural traditions remain evident in present-day Ireland, Scotland and Wales, even now.
Galatians
Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. Indeed, the Gaels, Gauls, Britons, Irish and Galatians were all Celtic tribes.
The Galatians occupied much of the Asturias region of what is now northern Spain, and they successfully fought off attempted invasions by both the Romans and the Moors, the latter ruling much of present-day southern Spain.
Evidence of Galatian tradition remains in the region today. Descendants of the Galatians still participate in ancient outdoor dances, accompanied by bagpipes, an instrument that is often associated with more well-known Celtic regions such as Scotland and Ireland.
In addition, a Celtic symbol called the “Cruz de la Victoria” (similar to a Celtic cross) adorns the regional flag.
The Galatians also settled in nearby Galicia, a region on the northwest coast of Spain.
Britons
Britons and Gauls settled in the northwestern corner of present-day France, the region known today as Brittany. Celtic tradition survived in the region as it was geographically isolated from the rest of France, and many festivals and events can trace their origins to Celtic times.
Many of the French “Bretons” also wear traditional Celtic hats called coiffes (which means “hats of lace”), and roughly one-quarter of the region’s residents speak Breton, a Celtic language similar to Welsh.
Although Caesar’s invasion of Britain was unsuccessful, the Romans eventually mounted a successful attack against the Britons following Caesar’s murder in the first century A.D. This incursion effectively pushed the Britons on the island west to Wales and Cornwall and north to Scotland.
In fact, the Romans built Hadrian’s Wall (remnants of which still stand today) near what is now the border between England and Scotland, in 120 A.D. The wall was designed to protect the conquering Roman settlers from the Celts who had fled north.
Celtic Languages
In Wales, called Cymru by the Celts, the native tongue—Welsh—is a Celtic language, and it is still widely spoken in the region. Similarly, in Cornwall (the westernmost county in England, and near Wales), many residents still speak Cornish, which is similar to Welsh and Breton.
And, in Scotland, the Celtic language Scots Gaelic is still spoken, although by a minority, and the local affiliate of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is known as BBC Alba, the Celtic name for the region.
Of course, the bagpipes, the musical instrument for which Scotland is arguably best known, can also trace their origin to Celtic times.
Celtic Religion
Neither the Romans nor the Anglo-Saxons, who took what is now England from the Romans in the fifth century A.D., were able to successfully invade Ireland. This enabled the Celtic tribes that had settled there—namely, the Gaels and the Irish—to survive, and allowed their culture to flourish.
When Christianity arrived in Ireland with St. Patrick in 432 A.D., many Celtic traditions were incorporated into the “new” religion. In fact, it’s said by some historians that Catholicism was able to take over as the dominant religion on the island following the mass killing of Druids, the religious leaders of the Gaels.
However, even with Christianity’s new-found prominence, traces of Celtic culture remain. Ireland’s national symbol, the shamrock (a green, three-pronged leaf) represents the “Holy Trinity” of Catholic tradition—the Father (God), son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.
The Celtic cross represents the region’s unique take on the Catholic cross. In addition, many Celtic folklore stories, such as the legend of Cu Chulainn, are still told in Ireland.
Like Welsh, the Irish language of Gaelic is a Celtic language. Gaelic largely disappeared in the 19th century, when the English colonized Ireland, but the language is still spoken in the western part of the country.
Otherworld
In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the deities and possibly also of the dead.
In Gaelic and Brittonic mythology it is usually described as a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. The Otherworld is usually elusive, but various mythical heroes visit it either through chance or after being invited by one of its residents. They often reach it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, or by going under water or across the western sea. Sometimes, the Otherworld is said to exist alongside our own located beyond the edge of the earth and intrudes into our world; signaled by phenomena such as magic mist, sudden changes in the weather, or the appearance of divine beings or unusual animals. An otherworldly woman may invite the hero into the Otherworld by offering an apple or a silver apple branch, or a ball of thread to follow as it unwinds.
The Otherworld is usually called Annwn in Welsh mythology and Avalon in Arthurian legend. In Irish mythology it has several names, including Tír na nÓg, Mag Mell and Emain Ablach. In Irish myth there is also Tech Duinn, where the souls of the dead gather.
- Caer Sidi -- The Four-Fold Fortress
Celtic Designs
Across Europe, the Celts have been credited with many artistic innovations, including intricate stone carving and fine metalworking.
As a result, elaborate Celtic designs in artifacts crafted from gold, silver and precious gemstones are a major part of museum collections throughout Europe and North America.
Sources
The History Channel [www.history.com] = (https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/celts) [All Rights Reserved]
Who were the ancient Celts? Shoreline Community College.
Roberts, Alice. “The Celts: not quite the barbarians history would have us believe.” The Guardian.
“Where the Celts come from and have lived for 3,000 years.” IrishCentral.com.
“The Celts: Blood Iron and Sacrifice.” BBC Two.
“Local Legends: the Hound of Ulster.” BBC.
The Germanic Tribes
- The Germanic people were a diverse group of migratory tribes with common linguistic and cultural roots who dominated much of Europe during the Iron Age. When the Roman Empire lost strength during the 5th century, Germanic peoples migrated into Great Britain and Western Europe, and their settlements became fixed territories.
- Various Germanic tribes migrated into Italy, Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. Many Germanic tribes merged, including the Jutes with the Danes in Denmark, the Geats and Gutes with the Swedes in Sweden, and the Angles with the Saxons in England.
- Germanic peoples had a strong military, and warriors were fiercely devoted to their military leaders, or chieftains.
Origins
The Germanic peoples (also called Teutonic, Suebian, or Gothic in older literature) are an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of northern European origin. They are identified by their use of Germanic languages, which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.
The term “Germanic” originated in classical times when groups of tribes living in Lower, Upper, and Greater Germania were referred to using this label by Roman scribes. These tribes generally lived to the north and east of the Gauls. They were chronicled by Rome’s historians as having had a critical impact on the course of European history during the Roman-Germanic wars, particularly at the historic Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where the vanquishment of three Roman legions at the hands of Germanic tribal warriors precipitated the Roman Empire’s strategic withdrawal from Magna Germania.
As a linguistic group, modern Germanic peoples include the Afrikaners, Austrians, Danes, Dutch, English, Flemish, Frisians, Germans, Icelanders, Lowland Scots, Norwegians, Swedes, and others (including diaspora populations, such as some groups of European Americans).
Northernmost Europe, in what now constitutes the European plains of Denmark and southern Scandinavia, is where the Germanic peoples most likely originated. This is a region that was “remarkably stable” as far back as the Neolithic Age, when humans first began controlling their environment through the use of agriculture and the domestication of animals. Archeological evidence gives the impression that the Germanic people were becoming more uniform in their culture as early as 750 BCE. As their population grew, the Germanic people migrated westwards into coastal floodplains due to the exhaustion of the soil in their original settlements.
The Tribes
By approximately 250 BCE, additional expansion further southwards into central Europe took place, and five general groups of Germanic people emerged, each employing distinct linguistic dialects but sharing similar language innovations. These five dialects are distinguished as North Germanic in southern Scandinavia; North Sea Germanic in the regions along the North Sea and in the Jutland peninsula, which forms the mainland of Denmark together with the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein; Rhine-Weser Germanic along the middle Rhine and Weser river, which empties into the North Sea near Bremerhaven; Elbe Germanic directly along the middle Elbe river; and East Germanic between the middle of the Oder and Vistula rivers.
Some recognizable trends in the archaeological records exist, as it is known that, generally speaking, western Germanic people, while still migratory, were more geographically settled, whereas the eastern Germanics remained transitory for a longer period. Three settlement patterns and solutions come to the fore; the first being the establishment of an agricultural base in a region that allowed them to support larger populations; the second being that the Germanic peoples periodically cleared forests to extend the range of their pasturage; and the third (and the most frequent occurrence) being that they often emigrated to other areas as they exhausted the immediately available resources.
War and conquest followed as the Germanic people migrated, bringing them into direct conflict with the Celts who were forced to either Germanize or migrate elsewhere as a result. West Germanic people eventually settled in central Europe and became more accustomed to agriculture, and it is the various western Germanic people that are described by Caesar and Tacitus. Meanwhile, the eastern Germanic people continued their migratory habits. Roman writers characteristically organized and classified people, and it may very well have been deliberate on their part to recognize the tribal distinctions of the various Germanic people so as to pick out known leaders and exploit these differences for their benefit. For the most part however, these early Germanic people shared a basic culture, operated similarly from an economic perspective, and were not nearly as differentiated as the Romans implied. In fact, the Germanic tribes are hard to distinguish from the Celts on many accounts simply based on archaeological records.
Military & Religion
Germanic people were fierce in battle, creating a strong military. Their love of battle was linked to their religious practices and two of their most important gods, Wodan and his son, Thor, both believed to be gods of war. The Germanic idea of warfare was quite different from the pitched battles fought by Rome and Greece, and the Germanic tribes focused on raids to capture resources and secure prestige.
Warriors were strong in battle and had great fighting abilities, making the tribes almost unbeatable. Men began battle training at a young age and were given a shield and a spear upon manhood, illustrating the importance of combat in Germanic life. The loss of the shield or spear meant a loss of honor. The Germanic warrior’s intense devotion to his tribe and his chieftain led to many important military victories.
Chieftains were the leaders of clans, and clans were divided into groups by family ties. The earlier Germans elected chieftains, but as time went on it became hereditary. One of the chieftain’s jobs was to keep peace in the clans, and he did this by keeping the warriors together and united.
Military chieftains relied upon retinues, a body of followers “retained” by the chieftain. A chieftain’s retinue might include, but was not limited to, close relatives. The followers depended on the retinue for military and other services, and in return provided for the retinue’s needs and divided with them the spoils of battle. This relationship between a chieftain and his followers became the basis for the more complicated feudal system that developed in medieval Europe.
Sources
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory/chapter/the-germanic-tribes/
Artes Ingenio
- -- Lore: Ghilan
Imperatoria Provinciae: The Imperial World
Beyond the Edges of the Know World
The Snickelways
Since before the time of the gods, there have been forgotten and largely abandoned passageways that crisscross all of reality. No surviving god or demon remembers the origin of the Snickelways, whether they are a random phenomenon of early creation or if they were created with a purpose. They have been described as fractures forming on the cooling skin of creation, giving access to every facet of reality on all possible realities, but touched in part by the void that existed before creation. Because they lay on the borderland between creation and nothing, the rules of reality tend to breakdown and are unreliable and downright suspect. Some of the divine claim that the Snickelways are the fractured remnants of earlier acts of creation or that they served as the framework for this current cycle, but whatever the truth, the back-roads of reality are a dangerous and confusing place to wander.
Underworld
- ~ Ne'Avalon -- Underworld Refuge
- :Todesstadt -- Subterranean City of the Undead
Urbes Imperatoria
- Roma -- The Imperial Capital
- [[]]
- [[]]
- [[]]
- Mogontiacum -- Regional Capital of Germania Superior
Citizens of the Empire
- ~ Gaius Octavius -- Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen of the State")
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ [[]] -- '
- ~ Publius Ovidius Naso -- AKA: Ovid (Roman Poet)
- ~ Pax Romana Prototype -- '
PANTHEONS
- ~ AESIR -- Norse Pantheon
- ~ CRUACH
- ~ THEOI -- Greco-Roman Pantheon
Pax Romana ~ Character Sheets
---
---
---
MONSTRI VOLUMEN: A Bestiary
- ANIMALS -- Mundane beasts.
- BANSHEES -- A Wailing Woman
- BAOBHAN SITH -- A female vampire, not of Caine's brood.
- BERSERKERS -- Warriors who bind themselves to animal remains in order to fight with bestial fury. (Cults = Bear, Wolf & Wild Boar)
- DOKKALFAR -- Dark skinned Fae who dwell under the ground.
- DRACOLICH -- The Undead dragon {Sárkány}.
- DRAUGR -- Norse Undead
- GHILAM -- Creatures born of the Underworld who feed on the flesh of humanity (living or dead).
- HUNGRY DEAD -- A hungry corpse is a ghost who has been bound into her mortal form, reanimating it as a feral, cannibalistic creature.
- LAESTRYGONIANS -- Man-eating giants.
- LARES -- Ghosts
- LEMURES -- The evil dead, i.e (specters)
- MAENAD / SHIKOME -- Wild Women of the Ancient World
- NYMPH -- Beautiful Fae-women who are associated with natural features like rivers, trees, lakes and forests.
- PANES -- Creatures of the forest with the heads and torsos of men, the legs and tails of goats, goatish faces and goat-horns.
- SPARTAE -- Malevolent spirit born from violence. Spartae are normally depicted as a skeletal being with some form of a weapon and military attire.
- UNDEAD -- The higher undead who can pass for the living and who feed from mankind in various ways.
- VALKYRIE -- A host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. {Hrund}
- VANARGAND -- Monstrous wolves
- WERWOLFEN -- Cursed shape-shifters who hunt mankind.
- ZOMBIE / MUMMY -- Simple undead animations.
Novum Annales: Strangers in a Strange Land
Like the Ouroboros, a chronicle's beginning can also be its end. The temporal rift that made time travel possible between
2043 C.E. and 9 C.E. is no more, or more accurately, never existed. But the effects of causality do not allow certain events,
people or items to disappear completely. Sometimes such massive paradoxes leave behind wrinkles in the fabric of history,
oddities that never see the light of day and are rarely remembered, but which may constitute entire lifetimes or epic quests
which are arbitrarily assigned to legend and myth. ~~ Welcome to the Pax Romana. ~~
Alienigena (Strangers)
Great Quotes
Siobhán: -- "Did you just say Babecicle?" (to Morpheus after his ghul-girlfriend was frozen solid by an undead dragon's freezing breath)
Morpheus: -- "Lets play follow the leader with the guy who holds the bone-maggot!"
Stories of the Pax Romana
- -- Quincunx -- A Story of Revenge
- -- Et Quinque Anni -- Downtime between Quincunx and
Ultimum Sessionem (Last Session)
Tempus peregrinatione et pretium ejus (time travel and its price)
Movies
- Ben-Hur (1959)
- Spartacus (1960)
- Fellini Satyricon (1969)
- Caligula (1979)
- Titus (1999)
- Gladiator (2000)
- The Last Legion (2007)
- Centurion (2010)
- Clash of the Titans (2010)
- Immortals (2011)
- The Eagle (2011)
- Wrath of the Titans (2012)
Errata
Travel Time Calculator
