Recent content by bluestraggler

Chapter 5: Principate to Dominate Due to other commitments, the updates from now on will be shorter and less detailed; at least until I have time for a more comprehensive rewrite. The ATL has now moved clearly out of the Rome vs. Macedonia phase, but rather than starting a new thread I shall...

Oops: Try again - There is nothing so absurd that no AH author has said it.

Cicero: Nihil tam absurde dici potest, quod non dicatur, ab alique AH-auctorum.* * There is nothing so absurd that no AH author has not said it.

The Fall of the Republic, Part 18 On the eve of Varro’s invasion, Tiberius was still outside Rome waiting in mounting frustration for his triumph. The Senate continued to deliberate on the question, in spite of the guarantee made by Metellus at Genua. The legal basis of opposition to the...

Arretium and Perusia

The Fall of the Republic, Part 17 In the early summer of 769, the Republic was in crisis. Terentius Varro was advancing on Rome, having brushed aside the army of Metellus. In the provinces, the proconsuls and legates were sending what men they could spare, but Rome was a long way off, and the...

I shall discuss a few of your points, one by one. Agreed - but the key phrase here is: "if Alexander and/or immediate successors play well their cards". I have to confess that I am not a great fan of Megas Alexandros. He achieved a lot in a brilliant campaign, but I wonder if, in the long term...

Ultimately, the might of Macedonia rested on the ability of its commanders. Philip and Alexander were two of the most talented military leaders in history (although I believe their political skills were not of the same calibre). However, eventually the Macedonians' tactics became obsolete. As...

This is the issue I am attempting to currently address in my ATL, Rome versus Macedonia. Cetainly the Republic was dead, but there may have been alternatives to an Augustan-style autocracy or an Antony-Cleopatra monarchy. The option which might have worked was a constitutional principate, had...

The Battle of Luca

The Fall of the Republic, Part 16 Unlike Tiberius, Varro had no intention of surrendering his legions to Metellus or to any other lackey of the Senate. Visiting each of the camps in turn, he harangued the troops with dire warnings, that the legions would be disbanded and they would forfeit...

The civil war

I don't know about an AH, but this is a fascinating bit of Eurotrivia that I had never come across. Thanks.

The Fall of the Republic, Part 15 The civil war of 769-770 was fought over no great issues of state. Its origins can be found in the personal, self-indulgent rivalries and jealousies which lay at the very heart of the social and political organization which had prevailed in Rome for centuries...

The Fall of the Republic, Part 14 In Rome, Gaius Calpurnius Piso was undertaking his campaign for a second consulship, despite the illegality. His justification was the customary refrain that the safety of the state should override constitutional fidelity. Opposed by the more principled members...