"The Caesariad"

[Emperor of Halton]

I'm not that familiar on Roman history either, but I really enjoyed "A Greater Britain" and "Fight, And Be Right", so I will be following this.

Out of curiosity, Ed, how much time have you spent researching this?

 

[EdT]

I'm not that familiar on Roman history either, but I really enjoyed "A Greater Britain" and "Fight, And Be Right", so I will be following this.

Out of curiosity, Ed, how much time have you spent researching this?

Well hopefully people will enjoy it as much as both of those, although I've adopted rather a different style.

As for the research, I first had the idea for the TL a few years back, and have worried away at it since every time I found myself needing to write more FaBR but feeling sick of 19th century politics. I love the period anyhow, which helps. Hopefully it should be pretty thoroughly researched.

 

[EdT]

Chapter 1
_______________________________________________

(Taken from Book 1 of the Caesariad)

O Muse! The causes and the crimes relate;
What god was provok'd, and whence his hate;
For what offense proud Vulcan began,
To spread war and death across the lands of man?
Can heav'nly minds such high resentment show,
Or exercise their spite in human woe?
Besides, long causes working in his mind,
And secret seeds of envy, lay behind;
Deep graven in his heart the doom remain'd
Of his unfaithful consort, and his form disdain'd;

The grace bestow'd by Venus fair,
Upon her son, the mighty Caesar,
Martian vigour, and Jovian power,
All virtues alien to Vulcan, dour.
Each was a cause alone; and all combin'd
To kindle jealousy in his haughty mind.
For this, far distant from the Latian coast
He found the gallant Roman host;
Who'd emerged victorious 'gainst the vicious Mede,
And onwards to India did seem poised to speed.

Thus the Heav'nly Smith did decide,
To bring Caesar to Heaven, on March's Ides.
So depriving Rome of her leader and king,
And unleashing the horrors of violence and sin.
The children of Caesar were virtuous and kind,
but proud Vulcan would plant mistrust in their minds,
Turning one twixt another, 'till suspicion and fear,
Caused them to war against those they held dear.
So resolving, Vulcan flew to Hyrcania's shores,
And here set in motion his terrible cause...

​

****​

The River Lupia (modern Paderborn),
Germany, March 38BC

Smoke and the smell of burnt flesh filled the spring air. The sun began to rise above what had until the previous night been the sacred glade of the Marsii, and Sextus Pompeius beamed with satisfaction as he surveyed the scene. Piles of German dead- men, women, children- littered the clearing. The Marsii had thought they were safe here, a hundred miles from the nearest Roman force, to celebrate the summer festival of their goddess Tanfana; instead, two legions had embarked on a daring forced march through the night, slipped past the German patrols and massacred practically the entire tribe while they were too drunk to resist.

With the Marsii gone, Sextus Pompeius thought, we have broken the back of the resistance in this part of Germany. We now have unchallenged control west of the Visurgis. So where to now? The Albis? The Vistillus? And all with a sixteen year old directing our military strategy. Who could have guessed? But then with his lineage… He removed his helmet, and rubbed his eyes, sore from the smoke. It was then that he heard the weeping.

Curious, he wandered through the corpses, legionaries busily stripping the bodies of valuables, until he came to a tight knot of men. His eyes widened as he recognised several of his Centurions, an Aquilifer, some of his most grizzled veterans. They all had tears streaming down their faces. Incredulous, he went up to them. “What is it?” he asked.

They looked at him bleakly. “Caligula, Pompeius” they replied, and Sextus, hearing the nickname, felt a stab of panic. What had happened to his brother? Roughly, he pushed men aside. “Let me through!” he shouted, desperately, and fought his way through to the centre of the crowd, where a youth dressed in the uniform of a common soldier- an affectation, Sextus knew, but one the men loved- sat on the grass sobbing his eyes out. Sextus spotted his Primus Pilus and accosted him. “What is wrong with him?” he demanded, and the Centurion shrugged helplessly.

“I do not know, sir”, he said simply. “We were celebrating when he sat down and began to weep. And when he weeps, we weep.”

Sextus felt a shiver of apprehension. Ever since his father brought Quintus along as a boy to campaign with him, the troops had adored him unconditionally. In that he was like Caesar. Their love for him gives Quintus astounding power, he thought. A love like that can bring down civilisations.

The boy looked up and saw Sextus. Lips like Caesar’s quivered. Blue Pompeian eyes were red with tears.

“Oh Sextus, my Grandfather is dead! Caesar is dead! Don’t ask me how I know, but I can feel it. Rome has lost its champion. We need to return home immediately!”

Sextus, by now thoroughly confused, simply knelt and cradled his younger brother in his arms. “Shhh, Quintus,” he said, “I am sure it is just a fancy.” Internally though, he was not so sure. His brother had a strange ability to know these things. As the two brothers sat there, surrounded by weeping legionaries, Sextus suddenly had a thought. He was never as upset as this when father died last year, he realised. He had a vision of his brother as a cuckoo in the next, and fought the urge to recoil from the embrace. So, Quintus. Blood will out. You are indeed a Caesar.

****​

Tamis (modern Qa'em-Shahr),
Northern Iran, March 38BC


Caesar was dead. How could any man not quail at the thought?

The sound of 100,000 men weeping filled the morning air, as Gaius Asinius Pollio tried, and failed, to put stylus to tablet and write. Tears ran down his face. How amazing, he thought with the detachment of a professional historian, that I always manage to be where the great events occur. I was with Caesar- Divus Julius as the troops are already calling him- when the Triumvirs deliberated; I was there when he and Pompeius reformed the Roman bureaucracy; I was there when old King Orodes of Parthia had molten gold poured down his throat to avenge the death of Crassus; and now I am here at the death.

Every man in the Roman force, from the lowliest slave to the stolid legionnaire to Caesar’s inner circle, loved him like a father- or if they did not, feared him like one. Was he not invincible, whether fighting German, Briton, Gaul, or Mede on the battlefield, or fellow Roman on the political scene? But now he was dead, taken completely without warning in the night. A massive stroke, the physicians said; the troops knew better, and said that he had been taken to dwell with the Gods.

Pollio smiled grimly through his tears; Caesar had always said that he would die in his prime, rather than as a pathetic old man. For now he had conquered Persia, what was there left for him to do? If he had lived to return, they would have tried to make him King, he thought, and shuddered. Best for everyone that he entered into myth. If he had gone the way of Marius and descended into blood and senility, he would have destroyed Rome.

The death of Caesar would end the Roman campaign in these parts, but in truth they had already won. Nobody actually wanted to establish permanent Roman control in the rugged lands beyond the Mesopotamian plain, and the new Persian King Pacorus had been taught beyond all doubt that he was no match for Roman arms. So we’re going home, Pollio thought. I wonder what’s going to happen?

****​

That evening, twelve men met in conference in Caesar’s command tent. Like children without a father, Pollio thought, as his eyes went around the room. At the head, behind an antique dining table looted from Ecbatana, sat three men, Caesar’s senior commanders; gigantic, bear-like, dark, Marcus Antonius, handsome Decimus Brutus, Antonius’ negative, his blonde hair shining in the torch-light like a halo, and hard-bitten Aulus Hirtius, Caesar’s oldest and most trusted general. To their sides sat the middle-ranking legates; Titus Labienus, Gaius Cassius, Publius Dolabella, Publius Ventidius and Marcus Agrippa, the young military prodigy who had personally captured King Orodes and won a grass crown for leading his legion unscathed through the burning streets of Babylon. Then came the administrators; Pollio, Gaius Curio the Younger, and Gnaeus Calvinus, who was visiting from Rome. Labienus, who arrived last, gestured to the end of the table. “What the hell is that effeminate pansy doing at a serious meeting of men?”

Hirtius, who had been chosen to preside over the gathering because of his reputation for plan-speaking and apparent lack of political ambition, gave the cavalry commander a sympathetic look. “Gaius Octavius has been invited because he was Caesar’s contubernalis and secretary, so he may be able to answer some questions of fact.”

The gathering soon got down to business, and the preliminaries were disposed of quickly. It was agreed that the campaign should be abandoned immediately and the army should return to Seleucia prior to a general passage westward; nobody wanted to stay in the East any longer than necessary, not with the coming political instability that all clearly anticipated. Hirtius stood. “We need somebody to look after Mesopotamia in the short-term. My nomination is for Cassius to do the job. He’s governed before, and knows the East. Are there any objections?”

Antonius cleared his throat, and carefully taking notes on a wax tablet for posterity- and his memoirs- Pollio smiled. Ahh, finally, the amity begins to drain away and the political maneuvering begins…

“Cassius is an excellent choice, Hirtius,” Antonius agreed, “but as he will be ruling everything from the Sinus Persicus to the Amanus Mountains, he will have a lot on his plate, even for an administrator as skilled as he is. I suggest that he will need a co-governor; that way he can cover more ground and respond to crises if necessary. My nomination would be Publius there.” He indicated Dolabella, who beamed at the suggestion. Cassius looked thunderstruck.

Pollio nodded, impressed. Clever Antonius! The two men had despised each other ever since Dolabella had slept with his first wife Antonia; suggesting an appointment in the East not only gave the appearance of an olive branch, but would leave him with one fewer enemy when he arrived back in Rome.

The suggestion received general agreement, and the meeting moved on to the issue that everyone really wanted to discuss; Caesar’s Will. “It would of course be informative to know the contents of Caesar’s testament,” Hirtius said drily. There was a nervous chuckle around the room; never mind who to leave behind in the East, what everyone really wanted to know was who Caesar named as heir. It has to be either Antonius or Brutus, Pollio mused, preferably Brutus- Antonius is clever when he chooses to be but is otherwise too lazy. “Gaius Octavius, you will have gone through Caesar’s papers. Do you have the Will?”

The youth at the end of the table stood and shook his head sadly. “I am afraid not, Hirtius. I have checked thoroughly, and can find no trace of any such document. If it was there, I would have seen it. I do know that a copy is deposited with the Vestal Virgins in Rome though. Can we wait until then?”

There was a shocked silence; then, uproar as everyone shouted at once. Pollio watched with detached amusement as the meeting descended into chaos. Intriguing, but surely Caesar must have had a copy with him in the camp? I wonder who bribed Octavius- that little mama’s boy would never dare to do something like this on his own. Somebody must know the contents and be keeping it to themselves. His eyes flicked to Hirtius, who was yelling for silence. Or did Aulus order him to burn the thing to preserve order while we’re still in enemy territory? The plot thickens! Presumably somebody will have spirited Caesar’s signet ring away too, I wonder when they will think to ask about that?

Finally, a relative calm fell. Brutus looked quizzical for a second. Ahh, here it comes, Pollio thought. “Octavius, is anything else missing amongst Caesar’s possessions?”

The boy looked downcast. “I am also unable to account for Caesar’s signet ring. Perhaps one of you gentlemen took it into safe keeping?”

Antonius boiled over. “You took it, you little cunnus!” he bellowed, stabbing his finger at Octavius angrily. Brutus rolled his eyes and regarded Antonius with amused contempt.

“Oh, gerrae! The lad might be a pathetic little bum-boy but he’s not suicidal. What would he want the ring for? Even you aren’t normally that dense, Antonius, it’s almost as if you’ve got something to hide…”

Pollio, thrilled and appalled in equal measure, looked on as Antonius and Brutus rounded on each other and the men around the table seamlessly divided into opposing camps, with Hirtius and Agrippa in the middle trying to keep the peace. That set the cat amongst the pigeons, he thought, and while everyone else was engrossed in the spectacle at the other end of the table, he glanced at Octavius. The young contubernalis, not realising he was being observed, had the strangest expression on his face, part contempt, part exultation. Smart lad, Pollio thought. I wonder whose side he’s on?

****​

Decimus Brutus unbuckled his breastplate, sat down heavily in a curule chair and gave Gaius Trebonius an appraising glance. “Well then, Trebonius. What is your assessment?”

The legate paused for thought. “Cassius, Calvinus, Basilus and I will support you come what may. Dolabella will probably back you in order to weaken Antonius, although after tonight, I begin to wonder. Pedius, Pollio and Curio will swing towards Antonius of course, as will Ventidius. Labienus will fall in behind whoever he thinks will win; so will Lepidus back in Rome, although the pompous arse will pretend it’s a decision made on moral principle. We need to watch them carefully.”

Brutus nodded, thoughtfully. “I agree. And the thing you are too polite to mention?”

Trebonius cleared his throat. “Candidly, Decimus? A lot will depend on the contents of the Will. If you are indeed Caesar’s heir, as seems likely given that Caesar would never expect much of that oaf Antonius, you will gain by default all the clients who do not want to take a side. That includes Hirtius and Agrippa; by my reckoning- they are very,” he gave a savage grin, ”-consistent men.”

The handsome blonde head swung round in irritation. “Don’t call Antonius an oaf, Gaius. We cannot underestimate him. Fine, he’s a drunkard and a bully, but he has a fine mind on him, when he can be bothered to use it, and has a good turn of phrase. If he is chosen instead of me, we will have a proper fight on our hands. Frankly, he will be dangerous even if I am Caesar’s heir.”

Caesar’s Heir, Brutus thought, as Trebonius prattled on about which men he could count on in Rome. Did the old goat leave me his name and fortune? Somehow I can’t quite imagine it. But surely Antonius can’t have inherited, so if not me, who? Belatedly, he realised Trebonius had stopped talking and was looking at him as if waiting for a response. He grunted vague assent.

“Yes, very good. I think Calvinus should leave for Rome at first light tomorrow. Things will have changed a lot since we left, and I want to get my feet under the table before Antonius. I also want to know what the Pompeians are up to; this would be a perfect time for that conniving shit Gnaeus Pompeius to make a power grab. I’m not about to abandon Rome to those Picenine scoundrels!”

****​

Marcus Agrippa followed Octavius into his tent without a word. The contubernalis turned and raised an eyebrow at him half-mockingly, anticipating the question. The two men studied each other for a while, then finally Agrippa broke the silence.

“You stole Caesar’s Will and signet ring, didn’t you.” It was not a question.

Octavius shook his head. “Not the ring. That is with Hirtius for safe keeping. I made him promise that he will give it to Caesar’s heir when the Vestals read his testament. But the Will? Of course I stole it. After reading it, I should have burnt it immediately. But I didn’t. I saved it for you.”

He leant over his curule chair, opened a chest, and rummaged through it. He pulled out a scroll, and passed it to Agrippa. “Here. Read. So you know that I’m telling the truth.”

Agrippa took it gingerly. “This is..?”

Octavius waved his hand impatiently. “Yes, yes, Marcus. Read it!”

Agrippa unfurled the scroll and stood there for a minute or two, his beetling brows knitted in concentration. Finally, he rolled it up again, leant down, selected a red hot coal from the brazier in the centre of the tent with a set of tongs, and pressed it to the papyrus. Smoke rose from the scroll, then flames. He held it for a time, then when the flames began to lick around his fingers he dropped it into the brazier and grunted. “You are his heir, then.”

Octavius turned, with a smile as beautiful as Caesar’s. “Yes. He never told me, but I suspected. You see now why I needed to take the Will. If they had seen it here, I would be dead in days. I need it to be announced in Rome, and in public.”

The legate bowed his head. “Don’t worry. I will keep you alive until then, Caesar.”

Octavius looked up, sharply. “You called me Caesar.”

Agrippa nodded, slowly. “Of course I did. You are his heir, Caesar”.

There was a slow exhalation of breath, and Octavius gently placed his hand on Agrippa’s wrist. “Then I will never, ever, forget, that the first man to call me Caesar was Marcus Agrippa.”

 

[EdT]

And here's the first of many maps....

 

[Utgard96]

VERY nice. However, I spot two minor faults with the map. There is no border between Asia and Bithynia, and the border between Cisalpine Gaul and Dalmatia is thick like the Empire's outer border.

 

[Scipio Africanus]

Well, that was just about the coolest thing ever. I am however, a little confused about the first part. Sextus is obviously the son of Pompey and Julia mentioned in the prologue, but what is the lineage of Quintus? You say he is descended from Caesar and Pompey, but how exactly?
Let me just reiterate how awesome this is for good measure.
Scipio

 

[Space Oddity]

Quintus is Caesar's grandson. Sextus Pompey is this guy.

 

[nlspeed]

This is great!

 

[MerryPrankster]

This is cool. I will be keeping an eye on it.

 

[Faeelin]

One nitpick: Reforming the bureaucracy? That seems like a bit of hand waving, because the Republic didn't have anything like a bureaucracy as we'd call it at this point.

(Obviously it had officials, but we're talking about a state that sold the right to tax provinces at auction).

 

[MrP]

That beginning very much brings to mind Allan Massie's Caesar in its evocation of the squabbling of the generals. Nicely done.

 

[MerryPrankster]

One nitpick: Reforming the bureaucracy? That seems like a bit of hand waving, because the Republic didn't have anything like a bureaucracy as we'd call it at this point.

(Obviously it had officials, but we're talking about a state that sold the right to tax provinces at auction).

Maybe they establish something a bit more substantial.

Did Augustus and his successors do anything significant in this regard? Perhaps a longer-lived Julius Caesar means he and not Augustus does certain things.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Question: Caesar has a biological grandson, although I don't know if Caesarion would exist in TTL since Caesar would not go to Egypt to retrieve the dead Pompey and punish his killers.

Why is Octavian his heir? Is it because Caesar thinks he'd be better able to handle the accompanying political responsibilities than TTL's "Caligula," who is rather young and also comes off as rather emo?

One would hope Octavian doesn't murder "Caligula" as a competitor--he's apparently a gifted commander despite being 16 and TTL seems to have avoided the Civil War, so Octavian doesn't really *need* to fear a rival for power.

Plus if Octavian doesn't have children of his own, "Caligula" can be his heir. He can also be a major commander, since Octavian might decide to stay in Rome and handle the political side of things rather than command armies.

 

[rcduggan]

Having finally gotten to reading FABR in greater detail, I am very excited to see another EdT timeline. And an ancient one this time - it should be excellent. Love the map as well. How much of it is not OTL?

 

[Utgard96]

Having finally gotten to reading FABR in greater detail, I am very excited to see another EdT timeline. And an ancient one this time - it should be excellent. Love the map as well. How much of it is not OTL?

IOTL the Romans owned more of Anatolia, but not Mesopotamia or Media, and the Germanian border was at the Rhine. I think Judea was still independent (but a Roman protectorate) at this time as well.

 

[mrmandias]

I'm counting too many sons: Octavian, "Caligula," Brutus, and Anthony makes four, even if my mama did raise a fool. Maybe the Ceasariad takes a good deal of poetic license?

 

[TheBerlinguer]

This TL is going to be EPIC!

(I know, I know, lame pun...)

But it's cunne, vocative.

 

[stevep]

IOTL the Romans owned more of Anatolia, but not Mesopotamia or Media, and the Germanian border was at the Rhine. I think Judea was still independent (but a Roman protectorate) at this time as well.

Ares96

I think the expansion in Germany and the east are due to wars being fought, both that of Sextus and the young Quintus in Germany and Caesar and his main generals having just defeated the Parthians and taken their richest, western territories.

I agree that Judea was a protectorate rather than directly ruled OTL but not sure at the borders in Anatolia at this point OTL.

Steve

 

[stevep]

I'm counting too many sons: Octavian, "Caligula," Brutus, and Anthony makes four, even if my mama did raise a fool. Maybe the Ceasariad takes a good deal of poetic license?

mrmandias

I'm suspecting that either Brutus or Anthony will be disappearing pretty quickly, or possibly that the Ceasariad is initially as dismissive as his fellows about Octavian. [Although since it was presumably written latter and I suspect he's still going to end up on top that does seem a bit unlikely].

Steve

 

[MNP]

Oh, I thought it was going to be super rigorous because I've never read one of your TL's before. But I generally prefer narrative TLs so good to know.