How do you keep the Roman Empire alive for 1500 years?

[kedamono]

So the title says it all: How does one keep the Empire of Rome around for 1,500 years?

The snark answer is: "Just don't let if fall..."

My snark reply is: "Which fall of Rome are you referring to?"A case can be made that when Diocletian split the empire in two, into the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire, the original Roman Empire fell... or in 54 CE when Claudius was made emperor by the Praetorian Guard in a form of a military coup? Or when Rome had two emperors at one time? Or every time the legions picked the next emperor?

The trick is that we don't save the Roman empire from falling. We just do the same thing we did with the Chinese and Egyptian empires: Ignore the gaps in the record. The Chinese empire officially ended in 1912, but that ignores the time the Mongols ruled, or when the Qin dynasty's rule was ended way back when. And Egypt! That's an empire that was invaded and taken over a couple of times. Yet we speak of it as though it was a continuous empire. Heck, the last pharaoh, Cleopatra, was Greek, inheriting her position from the conquests of Alexander, and she claimed to be of the same divine line that was created thousands of years before her.

So, yeah, Romana Universa that is in the game, the new Roman Empire, based in Rome, is probably at best 200 to 300 hundred years old, and yet... and yet, claims to be the same empire founded by Spartacus Licinius Thracius in 71 CE... yes, that Spartacus.

Why Spartacus? Mainly because I want a different group involved in founding the empire. Yes, Gaius Julius Caesar was around, but at the time of Spartacus's War, he was a 30 year old priest, working on the fast track to a consular seat. As a former slave, Spartacus puts in a lot of slave reform in place, mostly to make it so that being a slave is easier to gain freedom. Hereditary slavery is abolished, children of a slave are automatically a freedmen. Land reform, Roman citizenship for all, and other reforms. Some of these reforms probably came from Caesar, and others were from Spartacus. (Yes, the crafty Caesar found a way to be an advisor to the new emperor. He's too good of a grand vizier to pass up.)

And I give this glorious empire maybe 200-300 years before it collapses. Or more correctly, has a soft fall that can be picked up by the new empire. There may have been three or four empires between the current empire and Spartacus's. Everyone of them claims to have lineage to the first empire, though the current empire looks nothing like what Spartacus founded. Slavery is on the way out, and with the advent of new technology from British Empire Earth, Nord, and UN Earth, it won't last long. It won't completely disappear, much like it hasn't in our world, but it won't be institutional, just illegal.

So thoughts?

[Wasahbe]

This would make a good Spotlight article.

[kedamono]

I decide to have Bard.ai write up how Spartacus could have become the emperor of Rome:

In an alternative history, Spartacus could have managed to take Rome and become the first emperor of Rome in a number of ways. Here are a few possibilities:

• He could have won the Battle of the Metaurus. In the real world, Spartacus was defeated by the Roman general Crassus at the Battle of the Metaurus in 72 BC. However, in an alternative history, Spartacus could have won this battle and continued his march on Rome. With the Roman army defeated, Spartacus would have been in a strong position to take the city.

• He could have gained the support of the Roman people. Spartacus was a popular figure among the Roman people, who were tired of the corruption and oppression of the Roman government. If Spartacus had been able to gain their support, he could have used it to overthrow the government and establish himself as emperor.

• He could have formed an alliance with other enemies of Rome. Spartacus was not the only enemy of Rome in the 1st century BC. There were also a number of other groups who were opposed to Roman rule, such as the Gauls and the Germans. If Spartacus had been able to form an alliance with these groups, he could have posed a much greater threat to Rome.

Of course, there are also a number of factors that could have prevented Spartacus from taking Rome. For example, he could have been defeated in battle, he could have lost the support of the Roman people, or he could have been betrayed by one of his allies. However, if things had gone differently, Spartacus could have become the first emperor of Rome.

Here is a more detailed account of how Spartacus could have taken Rome and become the first emperor:

• Spartacus wins the Battle of the Metaurus. In the real world, Spartacus was defeated by the Roman general Crassus at the Battle of the Metaurus in 72 BC. However, in an alternative history, Spartacus could have won this battle. He had a much larger army than Crassus, and he was a more experienced general. If Spartacus had won the Battle of the Metaurus, he would have been in a strong position to take Rome.

• Spartacus gains the support of the Roman people. Spartacus was a popular figure among the Roman people, who were tired of the corruption and oppression of the Roman government. If Spartacus had been able to gain their support, he could have used it to overthrow the government and establish himself as emperor. He could have done this by promising to improve the lives of the Roman people and to end the corruption in the government.

• Spartacus forms an alliance with other enemies of Rome. Spartacus was not the only enemy of Rome in the 1st century BC. There were also a number of other groups who were opposed to Roman rule, such as the Gauls and the Germans. If Spartacus had been able to form an alliance with these groups, he could have posed a much greater threat to Rome. Together, they could have defeated the Roman army and taken the city.

If Spartacus had been able to achieve all of these things, he would have been in a strong position to become the first emperor of Rome. He would have had a large army, the support of the Roman people, and the alliance of other enemies of Rome. With all of these factors in his favor, he would have been able to overthrow the Roman government and establish himself as emperor.

[Wasahbe]

This is really cool. Can we use it in the next Spotlight?

[kedamono]

Because it's AI generated, I'd have to clean it up and rewrite it in a more natural format. There are holes to fill in, and while I wouldn't do a perfect history of this Alt Rome, I would cover the basics, and how it evolved.

[kedamono]

I did another pass at Bard AI and made sure to include Julius Caesar.

In an alternate history, Spartacus managed to take Rome and become the first emperor of Rome by following these steps:

1. He gathered a large army of slaves and gladiators who were willing to fight for their freedom.
2. He defeated the Roman army in a series of battles.
3. He entered Rome and declared himself emperor.
4. He established a new government that was based on the principles of equality and freedom.

Julius Caesar would have played a key role in Spartacus's empire. He was a skilled politician and military leader who would have been able to help Spartacus consolidate his power and expand the empire. Caesar would also have been able to help Spartacus to address the challenges that the empire faced, such as economic inequality and political instability.

Here is a more detailed account of how Spartacus might have taken Rome and become the first emperor of Rome:

In 73 BC, Spartacus led a slave revolt against the Roman Republic. The revolt began in Capua, where Spartacus and a group of gladiators escaped from a gladiatorial school. The rebels quickly grew in number, and they soon had an army of over 70,000 men. Spartacus led his army on a series of successful campaigns against the Roman army. In 72 BC, the rebels defeated the Roman army at the Battle of Mount Vesuvius. This victory gave Spartacus control of most of southern Italy.

The Roman Senate was alarmed by the success of the slave revolt. They sent two of their best generals, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, to defeat Spartacus. Crassus and Pompey defeated the rebels at the Battle of the Silarus River in 71 BC. Spartacus was killed in battle, but his army continued to fight on. The rebels were finally defeated at the Battle of the Metaurus River in 70 BC.

In an alternate history, Spartacus might have been able to defeat the Roman army and take Rome. He was a skilled military leader, and he had a large and loyal army. If he had been able to defeat Crassus and Pompey, he would have been in a strong position to take Rome.

Once Spartacus had taken Rome, he would have faced the challenge of governing the city and the empire. He would have needed to establish a new government and to deal with the many challenges that the empire faced. Julius Caesar would have been a valuable asset to Spartacus in this task. Caesar was a skilled politician and military leader, and he would have been able to help Spartacus to consolidate his power and expand the empire.

The empire that Spartacus and Caesar founded would have been a very different one from the Roman Republic. It would have been based on the principles of equality and freedom, and it would have been more tolerant of different cultures and religions. This empire would have been a powerful and influential force in the world, and it would have left a lasting mark on history.