A Tour of the Great Roman Cities
Londinium (London)
Until the invasion of Britain by the Divine Julius in 698 AUC (55 BC) the island of Britain was shrouded in mystery. In the civilized world, the only accounts of Britain that existed were those of Pytheas of Massilia.
And so when the Divine Julius determined that he needed to pacify Britain to bring stability to the newly conquered land of Gaul, he was practically asking his legions to go to the ends of the earth and face the shades of Hades in battle. Stories had been told of how the people of that misty island were blue-grey like those who wander in the underworld. Invading Britain was no small act of courage (or audaciousness) on the part of commander and legions alike.
The Divine Julius took his legions to Britain twice and secured the submission of tribes in the south of the island. After the second invasion, Britain was secured enough that it did not require a Roman presence.
In 796 AUC (43 AD) the Emperor Claudius decided it was necessary to bring Britain under direct Roman control and launched a full invasion to conquer the island. The city of Londinium was founded by the Romans along the river Thames as part of the process of conquest.
Londinium is the youngest of cities we have talked about today and is a very small one. It is primarily a trading city since the capital of the province of Britain is Camulodunum (Colchester). Unfortunately, Londinium is even younger than its age, since the city was burnt to the ground by queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe during their uprising in 813 AUC (60 AD). Londinium eventually recovered from this but the recovery took nearly ten years.
Londinium continues to grow and expand, building on the momentum of its recovery. Governors, though Londinium is not the capital of Britain, it is eclipsing Camulodunum in size and importance. If it is your responsibility to oversee Londinium you may well be able to help it grow to become the capital of Britain.
Rome
Governors, should you show yourself to be an able administrator of these many cities of the empire, you will find yourself responsible for Rome herself. Though these other cities all have their points of interest, there is no comparison to Rome herself. Rome is the city against which all others are measured.
As we are in Rome and you are good Romans, there is little that I can tell you about Rome that you don’t already know.
But, as you know, Rome is a city of seven hills along the Tiber River. The heart of the city is the Roman Forum situated between the ridges that connect the Capitoline Hill with Quirinal Hill, and the Palatine Hill with the Esquiline Hill. In addition to the forum, it boasts numerous temples, most notably the Pantheon built by Augustus’ general, Agrippa. The Circus Maximus hosts chariot races nearly daily and the Colosseum, built by Vespasian in 825 AUC (72 AD) hosts gladiatorial games.
The Divine Augustus remarked that he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble, and there is truth to that. The glory of the city as it is today is due to the work that the Divine Augustus undertook to make Rome as a city match its glory in establishing the Empire.
Governors, as you take on your responsibilities, you should look most to the example of the Divine Augustus. He understood that the responsibilities of caring for and nurturing a city and its people are more important than conquering new lands. It is far harder and far greater to build a city than to destroy it. And this, Governors, is truly the destiny of Rome. As the poet Vergil said so well in the Aeneid:
"But, Rome, 't is thine alone, with awful sway,
To rule mankind, and make the world obey,
Disposing peace and war by thy own majestic way;
To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free:
These are imperial arts, and worthy thee."
And so, Governors, this too is now your destiny. I wish you well as you go forth to fulfill it.
About the Author
Christopher works in information security and as a writer on computer security in the Pacific Northwest. He has been involved in computer games since falling in love with Adventure on the Atari 2600 in the mid-70's and gaming since the first edition of AD&D (Queen of the Demonweb Pits is still the best!). He has an interest in history, military history and strategy and tactics. In addition, he has an interest in philosophy, with a master's on Nietzsche and has written several articles for a London-based philosophy magazine.
Christopher regularly reads more books at once than he should and is currently reading Charles Freeman’s The Closing of the Western Mind, and Calvert Watkins' How to Kill a Dragon. He's partial to turn-based war-games such as Slitherine’s Legion and Chariots of War and HPS Simulation’s Point of Attack 2. He also still dusts DOOM and Heretic/Hexen off from time to time.
