Lysander
– a slave belonging to
Salvius
’ family.
M
Mada
– a woman living in a small town in east Venedia.
Magnus
–Salvius’ son-in-law, married to
Salvia Prima
Makaria
– see
Novii
.
Maralah -?
Marcus
– see
Novii
.
Marcus Kebede
see
Kebede and Salomon VI
.
Minius
– a Roman soldier.
Morokata
– a Nionian Lord.
N
Noriko
– eldest daughter of the Go-natoku Emperor, wife of
Marcus
.
N
OVII
, T
HE
– the Roman Imperial family.
Novia Faustina
, nicknamed
Makaria
– only child of
Faustus
.
Drusus Novius Faustus
– son of
Lucius
and
Drusilla Terentia
, cousin of
Makaria
and
Marcus
.
Lucius Novius Faustus
– brother of
Faustus
and
Leo
, father of
Drusus
, uncle of
Marcus
and
Makaria
. Suffers from the ‘Novian curse’ – excluded from succession.
Marcus Novius Faustus Leo
– son of
Leo
and
Clodia
, nephew of Faustus and Lucius, cousin of
Makaria
and
Drusus
. Heir Apparent to the Roman throne. Married to
Noriko
.
Tertius Novius Faustus Leo
– Youngest brother of
Faustus
and
Lucius
, father of
Marcus
. Heir presumptive to the Roman throne, supporter of the abolition of slavery, murdered along with his wife
Clodia Aurelia
in 2757.
Titus Novius Faustus Augustus
– Emperor of Rome.
P
Pas
– a Roman soldier.
Petreius
– a Roman soldier.
Phanias
– an accountant with abolitionist sympathies in Tamiathis.
Philia
– a slave belonging to
Salvius
’ family.
Praxinoa
– a former slave living in Alexandria.
Psyche
– a slave belonging to
Salvius
’ family.
Q
Quentin, Memmius
, an advisor to Faustus.
S
Sakura
– a lady-in-waiting attending
Noriko
.
Salomon VI
– regnal name of the King of Independent Ethiopia (Marcus
Kebede
).
Salvia Prima
– Salvius’ daughter.
Salvilla
– Salvius’ youngest daughter.
Salvius
– General of the Legions of the Roman Empire.
Sibyl, The
– the Pythia at Delphi.
Sulien
– brother of
Una
. A former slave with healing abilities born in London. Sentenced to crucifixion for rape in 2757, but rescued by Una and later exonerated by the testimony of
Tancorix
.
T
Tadahito
, also (to the Romans)
Tadasius
– The Nionian Crown Prince, eldest son of the
Go-natoku Emperor
.
Takanari
– a Nionian prince, half-brother of
Noriko
and
Tadahito
, and son of the
Go-natoku Emperor
.
Tancorix
– the daughter of the London family that owned
Sulien
. Formerly married to Epimachus, disgraced by admission of an affair with a slave. Now living as a singer in Rome with her daughter,
Xanthe
.
Tenos
– an abolitionist living on Naxos.
Thalna
– the Commander of Public Order Operations in Rome.
Thekla
– a slave in Alexandria.
Theon
– a former slave living in Alexandria.
Tomoe
– a lady-in-waiting attending
Noriko
.
Tulliola (Tullia Marciana
) Former wife of
Faustus
. Arrested for involvement in the pro-slavery conspiracy that killed
Leo, Clodia
and
Gemella
. Died in custody, apparently by suicide, in 2757 (actually murdered by Drusus).
Turnus
– a Roman General.
U
Ulpia
– nurse to
Lucius
.
Una
– sister of
Sulien
. A former slave with strange abilities born in London.
V
Varius, Caius
– friend and senior advisor to
Marcus
. Former director of a free clinic for slaves in Transtiberine Rome. Former private secretary to
Leo
, widower of
Gemella
. Charged with murder and treason in 2757, but later exonerated.
Vituriga
– a landlady at a taverna in eastern Venedia.
Vonones
– a Roman military scientist.
X
Xanthe
– Daughter of
Tancorix
.
Z
Zhu Li
– the Grand Preceptor in Bianjing, Sina.
Ziye
– a former gladiatrix of Sinoan origin. Escaped to the Holzarta refuge camp in 2754. Freedom granted by
Marcus
, living with
Delir
and
Lal
in Rome.
[ A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE ]
933 TO 2700 AUC
(180–1947 CE)
‘To heal, as far as it was possible, the wounds inflicted by the hand of tyranny, was the pleasing, but melancholy task of Pertinax’ (
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
, Edward Gibbon)
CE
| AUC
|
|
180
| 933
| Death of
Marcus Aurelius
.
|
|
| His son Lucius Aelius Aurelius
Commodus
succeeds as Emperor.
|
192
| 945
| Commodus’ bloody and extravagant reign leaves Rome impoverished and riddled with corruption. He is murdered by a group of conspirators including his chamberlain, concubine and Laetus, the head of the Praetorian Guard (the urban army whose formal function was to protect the Emperor).
|
|
| The conspirators claim that Commodus died of apoplexy, and install as Emperor 66-year-old Publius Helvius
Pertinax
, the son of a freedman who had risen through merit to become a General, a Senator and minister of justice.
|
|
| HELVIAN IMPERIAL DYNASTY
|
192–204
| 945–957
| Early in Pertinax’s reign, Laetus, disgruntled by Pertinax’s independence, encourages a plot by the Praetorian Guard to assassinate him.
|
|
| The plot is discovered
1
and Laetus banished. Pertinax disbands almost all of the Praetorian Guard, hand-picking the remainder for loyalty. At the same
time he increases the powers and numbers of the Vigiles to create a counterweight police force, reasoning that any future conspiracy against the Emperor in one body will be detected and exposed by the other.
|
|
| Pertinax remits Commodus’ oppressive taxes. He halves the expenses of the Imperial household, grants tax-breaks to farmers and lifts restrictions on commerce.
|
|
| He taxes the urban aristocracy more heavily, but the cities benefit from the wealth generated by the farms, and he restores to the Senate some of the authority it had lost.
|
204
| 957
| Death of Pertinax
|
|
| After the disastrous succession of Commodus, Pertinax was reluctant to name his young son Publius Helvius Pertinax II, ‘
Venedicus
’, as Caesar and heir to the Empire until just before his death. The senate approve the succession.
|
204–220
| 957–973
| Pertinax II continues his father’s economic reforms, gradually rebuilding the Empire’s finances. When the economy permits it he restructures the army, detaching the legions from the frontier garrisons to create a mobile force. He ties pay to the rate of inflation, stabilising the income of the soldiers and rendering them less susceptible to bribery, whilst attracting a higher standard of recruit.
|
225
| 978
| Ardashir, the Persian king, kills the last king of Parthia and creates the Sassanian Persian Empire, with Zoroastrianism as its state religion.
|
238
| 991
| Renewed attacks from Germanic tribes along the Rhine and Danube. The revitalised army resists and pushes the barbarians back. To deal more fully with the threat, and despite protests from Roman Britons, Pertinax II pulls the legions out of Britain and leads a massive force into Germany and Sarmatia.
|
230–240
| 983–993
| Ardashir invades India, and Roman territory in Syria. In 240, his son Shapur succeeds to the Persian throne.
|
238–242
| 973–978
| Pertinax II completes the conquest of Germany and Venedia, pushing up into Fennia and Gothia.
|
242–256
| 978–992
| Skirmishes with Persia over Armenia. Roman recapture of Syria.
|
256
| 992
| Death of Pertinax II, accession of Lucius Helvius Pertinax
Sarmaticus
. Rome’s victories over the Eastern European tribes continue into Sarmatia and Alania.
|
260–265
| 996–1009
| Still feeling the elation of their German victory, Roman troops, augmented by huge numbers of German barbarians and with support from Palmyra, attack and conquer Shapur’s Persian Empire.
|
265–291
| 1009–1044
| Occasional Persian uprisings and fluctuating borders in Roman Persia, but Rome’s grip remains generally firm.
|
291–313
| 1044–1066
| Under Sarmaticus’ adopted son Gaius Flavius
Sulpicianus
, Rome loses Persia and Mesopotamia.
|
313–345
| 1066–1098
| Marcus Flavius Sulpicianus
Cruentus
reconquers Persia and Mesopotamia.
|
|
| Slaughter and enslavement of thousands of Persians. Persecution of Christians, Zoroastrians and Jews throughout Empire.
|
|
| Invasion and conquest of Arabia.
|
|
| Cruentus exports the Roman religion, or a Roman interpretation of local deities, to the enlarged Eastern Empire.
|
347–447
| 1100–1200
| From here on it will be convenient to summarise the major gains, losses and technological advances of each century.
|
|
| SECOND FLAVIAN DYNASTY 1066–1234 AUC
|
|
| Reconquest of Britain, with Hibernia and Caledonia. There has been a revival of Celtic culture, but a sustained British nostalgia for Roman rule makes victory fairly easy.
|
|
| Sporadic incursions by Huns, but they are either repelled or absorbed by Rome, resulting in gradual, unsystematic Roman expansion into Scythia.
|
447–547
| 1200–1300
| ACILIAN DYNASTY 1234–1618 AUC
|
|
| Continued conquests of territory in Scythia. Expansion through Persian territory into India. Lengthy wars to secure it. Romanisation of Indian Gods.
|
547–647
| 1300–1400
| Quelling more uprisings and rebellions in India and resulting instability in the region keep the military fully occupied – no expansion.
|
647–747
| 1400–1500
| Attempted expansion into Sina (China) unsuccessful, and there are continuing problems in Syria, Persia and India.
|
747–847
| 1500–1600
| Border disputes with Sina. India and Persia subside into uneasy peace, but tensions will flare up at any sign of weakness in the Empire for centuries to come. By this time the once-significant Christian sect has more or less died out of existence.
|
|
| Active persecution of Jews and Zoroastrians has ceased, although they are still denied full citizenship.
|
847–947
| 1600–1700
| CORDIAN DYNASTY 1618–1836 AUC
|
|
| Libya and other Roman states in North Africa attempt to devolve peacefully from the Empire, but Africa is essential to feeding the Roman world. Heightened military presence there.
|
947–1047
| 1700–1800
| Song Dynasty unifies and stabilises Sina.
|
|
| Rome is initially concerned about Sina’s growing power, but the Emperor feels that Rome is now unassailable, reattempted conquest of Sina would be costly and futile, and that therefore there is no need to jeopardise profitable trade with Sina. Relations remain cordial – especially since Sina supports Roman rule in India.
|
1047–1147
| 1800–1900
| BLANDIAN DYNASTY 1836–2176 AUC
|
|
| The Romans defend the Song against the Jurchen uprising.
|
|
| Rome introduces various Sinoan innovations, such as paper money, banking, Romanised versions of certain fashions in clothing – and gunpowder.
|
1147–1247
| 1900–2000
| Quicker to see the military application of the new discovery than its Sinoan inventors, Rome sides with Sina against the Mongols, saving the Song Dynasty. First Roman contact with Nionia (Japan), and Rome welcomes the new source of coveted oriental goods, but has little political interest as yet in the chain of islands, which is riven with internal divisions and wars.
|
