Welcome to my alternate history website. I have for many years worked on an alternate timeline for ancient Rome for simple amusement. Having always been interested in history, it was and still is a fun way to tinker with the things I know. Only recently did I realize that I had enough information (maps, government "charts", timelines, various "could-have-been" laws) to actually formulate a story out of it. Unfortunately, my literary talents do not seem to have kept pace with my knowledge of antique Rome. So, I decided to post all my various writings in an organized format on the world wide web.

I have tried to interweave the various pages below (for easier understanding), because I used ancient place names that might have no similarity to their contemporary monickers. For instance, most people probably wouldn't realize that Deva is the ancient Latin name for Chesters, England or Hibernia for Ireland. Through the use of those miraculous "frames" so gloriously added to html, I now have a small hyperlinked gazetteer of place names simultaneously displayed with the timeline, so you will know what is going on where when Latin/Roman place names are used (for authenticity and realism). :) Also, at certain points in the timeline I have made maps to illustrate the growth of the empire. These maps, however, are displayed in pop-up windows, so as to not make the timeline hard to read because of images loading. If you would like to see all the maps, you can go to the specified map page where they are all listed separate from the timeline. (This refers to the now archived "Timeline #1" below)



IMPORTANT NEWS AND UPDATES:


Second Alternate Roman Timeline (in the works)

Coming soon....
The Premise: Constantine starts to build a grand capital in the west at Lugdunum (Lyon, France), not sure if he can fight his way to the east (and everyone knows in OTL he built his new capital in the east). He ends up going east anyway, and abandoning his half-finished capital. But before all that happened, he had started to build the importance and power of the city in some interesting ways. After his death, the city is reoccupied by western emperors, and becomes strong enough militarily and politically to survive the barbarian invasions (think of how Constantinople held off barbarians). The timeline will continue from there, because I dont want to give the whole thing away. But, right now, Ive done about 80% of my research and will start working on the pages/maps soon. The main difference in this timeline and my other is that in the other, Rome remains a goliath empire, but in this one will make her way to the modern age at a "moderate" size, but still weild immense power over europe (something along the lines of the pope in the middle ages). Just imagine it, Rome enters the Rennaisance and sends out ships and colonists just as the other countries do. Roman colonies instead of the 13 original. :)

Third Alternate Roman Timeline (also in the works)

Coming later....
St. Augustine wrote the famous City of God to attack the pagans of his time who claimed Rome was falling because of acceptance of Christianity. The sack of the city in 410 A.D. had been their major rallying cry. But Augustine championed that Rome might fall, and perhaps it didn't matter, for the city of God lay waiting elsewhere (in the heavens) and was more important. St. Augustine, however, had before been a member of various pagan groups, including the Manicheans; and had only converted after terrible personal agony. What if in 410 he too had been convinced Christianity had nothing to offer? And had turned his pen into an instrument for defense of old Roman ways, or, perhaps worse still, into some form of militant Christianity, based on Roman imperialism. Perhaps a religious dictator/emperor figure would emerge and keep the empire going in a very strange form. [N.B.- I want to read the City of God before I get on this one. Its a good 1000+ pages, so give me some time. :) ]


Archived In-Depth Timelines:

Timeline #1


Alternate Roman Timelines (for right now just divergence points).
Constantine rebuilds Rome, instead of Byzantium
Chances are the east still would have held out without a shiny new capital, but maybe with a strengthened imperial Rome, the west could have maintained a tiny principality. The popes certainly wouldnt have become so powerful with an Emperor still present.
Caesar doesnt burn the Library of Alexandria.
Is it possible that there were some truly special secrets in the library? If there were, maybe Hellenistic emperors like Hadrian could have gone exploring in it's corridors and kickstarted an early Renaissance/Industrial Revolution.
Marcus Aurelius appoints a better successor.
Commodus was a failure, and he broke a line of competent emperors. What if someone better had been put in his place? I think he had siblings that died who were very promising.
Claudius dies and the republic is restored.
Historians often say that if the Republic was to have been restored, this was when it had its last chance.
Praetorians disbanded after the Sejanus Plot.
The Prefect of the Praetorians, Sejanus, headed a conspiracy against Tiberius. What if Tiberius had disbanded the entire guard after the plot was uncovered? The fate of succession in the empire would have been much different.
Nerva sets a trend of Senate appointment (and of the Senate as a source for emperors).
Instead, he selected a non-related heir and began the tradition.
Caesar not assassinated.
How would he have finished his "reign." Would the Principate have become a lot less superficially Republican. The Senate would definitely had lost much of its retained prestige under Augustus. How would this affect government?
Republic never falls...
An Empire without Emperors? What would this mean for the empire itself?
Actium not won by Octavian.
An early split of the empire in two? Or would Antony seek to make himself sole ruler, and bring the centers of power to the east?
Justinian successful in reconquest.
Orthodoxy and Catholicism never truly split, and hellenism runs across Europe.
Diocletian's reforms don't collapse.
The empire stays under four "separate but equal" emperors. Will they defend each other and stay quasi-united as a confederation? Or would regionalism have taken control and started the first major nations of Europe/Mid-East, as the split Empire of Charlemagne made Germany and France?
Gallic Empire and Palmyrene Empire weren't suppressed.
A 3rd century fracture of the Empire into thirds?
Adrianople battle not lost.
Barbarians repulsed.
Julian the Apostate doesnt die, reforms hold...
Christianity doesnt triumph, but perhaps the empire still falls. Without the unity of Christianity, can Europe hold the nations of Islam at bay?
Gaul never conquered by Caesar...
First of all, the Empire would have been a great deal smaller, and perhaps weaker. And secondly, would Caesar ever have become popular enough without this great victory?
Constantine builds his New Rome in Rome itself.
With a newly fortified Rome and Italian peninsula, perhaps the empire could have held in smaller form in the west as it did in the east.
Liberators win and re-establish the Republic.
Brutus becomes the leading statesman of the restored republic and restructures it to be capable of governing a large empire. The era of the Over Mighty Generals is over and the republic comes through.
Sibylline Books never burned.
Legend has it that King Tarquinius Superbus was sold three books of prophecies by a sibyl, but only after she burnt six of them. What if he had taken the deal right off? Perhaps these messages had some merit and could have further consulted the Romans throughout their time. (NB- this isnt my typical avenue of alteration. I like to stick with solid, realistic divergences; but this was too interesting to not put up.)
Scipio does not invade Africa...
Hannibal continues to occupy Italy. Eventually, funding from Carthage fizzles out and he returns home, deeply bitter at his inability to crush Rome. The Mediterranean gradually begins to take sides, with Carthage spreading its domination east across Africa and Rome maintaining a hold on the northern shores of the sea (most likely in Anatolia as well). With the "cold war" that develops, both sides hold out against each other and survive intermittent wars. Eventually, Rome is able to take her northern invaders as Carthage deals with her eastern foes, and both sides survive. Tattered, but alive.
Bactria continues...
Had Bactria survived at the edges of western civilization, a counter to Persian/Parthian/Sassanian expansion would have existed to oppose them alongside of Roman resistance. With the Persians thus sandwiched, Rome is free to send troops north to guard the frontier.
Hadrian relinquishes control of Trajan's conquests in Mesopotamia.
Had Hadrian created a new Seleucid-like kingdom, with hellenistic ties, perhaps a better puppet/buffer would have been established. Once more freeing troops to defend the north.
Social War ends in Roman losses.
Depending on how the Social War was won by the Italians, many different outcomes could be extrapolated. Perhaps a Pyrrhic victory on the Roman part would leave the Italians with more rights in the creation of an empire, as opposed to simple voting rights. Perhaps the Romans would be made somewhat inferior to the other states, or, even farther from the truth, maybe the Romans would have been eliminated completely.
Augustus decides Europe is the empire's future.
Though it is hard to see why he would have thought this at the time (Europe was very primeval), what if he had, through his policies, put the imperial emphasis on conquest in the north? Leading to a European Roman Empire? I have a map of some speculative expansion. If you would like me to explain it, write an email.


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This page is maintained by Brad.
All images are property of their creators. Some small modifications have been made by me. Last update: 5/5/02
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