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Description

Crisis With No End In Sight:

In this world the Romans lost the Battle of Naissus and were unable to resolve the Crisis of the Third Century. The splinter empires that broke from Rome remained independent and the remains of the legitimate Roman Empire continued to flounder through internal strife.

The fragmented Roman Empire never really reunites. Occasionally a talented leader would reclaim areas like Gaul and Egypt but the Empire that stretched from Caledonia to Arabia never re-emerges. Roman culture does spread through trade though with a lot of the Roman splinter states continuing Roman traditions through the products and goods they buy from the Empire. Then the Migratory Period begins. Surprisingly a less overstretched Roman Empire is able to rally in places like Italy, Iberia and Africa whilst everything north of the Alps and the Pyrennes is overrun by German, Slavic and Hunnic peoples. The eastern portion of the Empire also suffers. The descendants of the Palmyrene Empire are mostly taken by the Persians whilst Greco-Roman states rally in Greece, Syria, Anatolia and Egypt.

Christianity never becomes the state religion of the Roman Empire. Though it eventually drops its overtly apocalyptic overtones the faith remains rather fringe, slowly expanding throughout Africa, Arabia, Greece and Persia. They do manage to convert the majority of the region and finally form the first Christian states but derivatives of the old Roman and Germanic faiths persist in Europe whilst new forms of Buddhism grow in size in Eastern Europe.

Eventually the populations of the Arabian and Scandinavian Peninsulas grow too large and the peoples of these lands go on expansionist rampages before slowly dying away and loosing most of the lands they've conquered. A Renaissance of sorts eventually happens which leads to expeditions further down the African Coast and the accidental discovery of the Jeshuans (ATL Americas). The beginning of a great colonial era happens and then continues, new lands and peoples are discovered and conquered. Eventually an industrial revolution happens as do some ideological ones, born of new philosophies and ideas.

By 2015 Rome's legacy has been ensured but it is a legacy torn asunder by the various interpretations that have all vied for legitimacy for centuries.

One of the strongest claimants to the title of Roman Empire is the Empire of Carlissia. Founded by the Hispanian Empire, the Carlissians do consider themselves a Roman successor state thanks to cultural developments that have been a part of their identity prior to their independence. Having been the jewel in Hispania's crown the Carlissians were sufficiently developed by the time their homeland fell to the Italians and Mauritanians.

The Carlissian government is a constitutional monarchy. After so long the rest of the government has managed to leach the crown's power into their own hands and have imposed a strict series of rules and regulations on the royal family's ability to exercise their traditional powers. However the rest of the government is not that democratic. The representative system is based around meritocratic appointments within a province's civil service rather than an elected position. The aristocracy hold most of the positions in the government as well and ensure the system remains relatively exclusive. Of course many concessions have been made for the richer commoners but on the whole it is an elitist system with an oligarchic bent.

Carlissian society is militant and stratified. The class system is firmly in place and national propaganda enforces the idea that certain people belong to certain statuses. Nationalistic rhetoric is blatantly expansionist, encouraging the people to support Carlissia's overseas endeavours through their work. This has hamstrung the economy somewhat, ensuring a substantial disparity between the rich and the poor. Still there is enough social mobility and communal support to prevent outright revolution. Repressive policies also help suppress the dissenting elements of the population. Technological innovation is encouraged in academia and the major corporate conglomerates but, at the same time, people are also discouraged from speculating on social philosophy. This, combined with their engineering approach to scientific research, means that they have fallen behind several other nations in terms of understanding and exploiting high technology.

They follow the Invictine faith, a religion derived from the Cult of Sol Invictus which became somewhat popular during the Crisis of the Third Century. This faith promotes military discipline as a form of personal excellence which is part of the reason why the Carlissians have such an aggressive society. It also promotes duty and loyalty, enforcing the status quo by reminding people that their loyalty to their position ensures their rewards in the afterlife.

Carlissia has still managed to rope together a significant power bloc that they are expanding through the subversion of local governments and their annexation into the empire. Carlissia is post-racial, preferring to focus on a person's ideals and loyalties rather than their skin colour or ethnic background. Of course they have disdain for foreign cultures and will happily eradicate them whilst assimilating the population, teaching them their dialect of Hispanish and re-educating them to be good Carlissians.

Carlissia's rival is the enormous Empire of Yamatae. The Japanese did not undergo a Warring States period like OTL but at the same time they did close their borders and enter extreme periods of isolationism either. When merchants from Europe and the Middle East finally reached East Asia the Yamatae picked up a number of new technological and political ideas. One of the most interesting things they adopted was one of the more aggressive interpretations of Christianity that had emerged in West Asia. This new technology, along with their new religious ideals, allowed them to expand onto the mainland. From there they went on to continue their conquests, turning into a major power in the Pacific.

Yamatae's Empire is the largest empire in the world and about as authoritarian as their Carlissian rivals. The government is aristocratic and exclusive, maintaining the elite's power through a complex ideological arrangement that encourages people to accept the status quo. The bureaucracy and civil service are more meritocratic and allow talented people to excel and improve their social standing. The emperor is supposed to still have all of his traditional powers in theory but a new arrangement f regulations, traditions and unspoken agreements between the other members of the government ensure that, unless its within the confines of his own personal property, he can't exercise it without their permission. The regional governments of Yamatae's many colonies are much more liberal. Most of the traditional aristocracy live in the Home Islands and leave their properties overseas in the hands of the civil service. This has led to the rise of a new class of colonial administrators that have formed into new, younger aristocracy.

Yamatae society is very stratified and ordered with a clear hierarchy that people are expected to respect. The Empire is a little less open to racial mobility than Carlissia and still make it very difficult for foreign people to settle in the Home Islands if they allow them at all (guest workers are a thing though). The colonies are more open to letting people move around but that is a policy that is supposed to make it easier for Yamatae colonists to move in. Yamatae Christianity is a very bizarre, borderline syncreatic, denomination. Many traditional Japanese beliefs, such as the divine relations of the Emperor (just replace Amaterasu with an angel) and a few Shinto features have been incorporated into Christian teachings to produce their own faith. It is not exclusive and has had some traction in the colonies. Of course Shintoism and Buddhism are still rather prevalent and have been recovering in numbers since the state stopped trying to actively convert or remove them.

Yamatae is so large that the empire is hamstringing itself through its own corpulence. Increasingly extreme measures are being taken in order to keep control of so much territory. Finally there are elements of the government that are proposing the political uplifting of the more reliable and acceptable colonial races in order to bolster the loyal population.

One of the more fragile of the great powers is the Empire of Juto-Francia. Formed when the kingdoms of Francia and Jutland formed a personal and political union, the newly formed empire went on to form a successful colonial empire to rival the Hispanians. Their somewhat disjointed rule and culture has hampered them when compared to their major rivals but their hegemonic network of allies and dependencies and their newly reformed federated systems have allowed them to remain a viable if ungainly world power.

The Juto-Francian government is an elitist one but it is largely dominated by urban elite and rich commoners. Most of the older aristocracy have been ousted by the new upper class. Whilst the new elite do adopt many of the fashions and traditions of the old families they associate little with the older aristocracy and most of their interests. The monarchy is strictly constitutional these days with regulations and restrictions on their power. Though the crown still holds some authority in politics and lot of informal influence (and some of the smarter monarchs have used proxies to exercise power) the majority of governmental power is in the hands of the rest of the government. The Jute civil systems, which have been adapted and adopted by the empire at large, are largely responsible for this more liberal and accepting government due to the ease of promotion and general precedence they hold over aristocratic authority when it comes to administration.

Juto-Francian society is much less traditionalist than the other great powers and much more secular. Religion is still important to most of the population but none of the official faiths are involved in politics in any way beyond a community's individual preferences. Social mobility is more likely than in the other major powers as well though it still relies on either the civil service or large-scale businesses as the primary means of increasing status. The nation is officially bilingual with both Jute and Francian taught in schools (which language is prioritised in curricula depends on the region). The largest religions are the Invictine faith and derived Wodenism which was introduced by the Nordic people in the 'Middle Ages' both of these religions were influential in the Empire's expansionism in the past. Buddhism is popular in the south of Britain where Slavic migrants settled and there are healthy communities of Christians scattered throughout their European lands.

The colonies are now equal partners with the homeland and have allowed the indigenous population to participate in government both in the former colonies and even in the heartland itself (rare of course, but possible). Barriers to immigration have been lowered though the permanent settlement of people in other territories is still strictly regulated. The settler colonies do still have more influence than the territories where indigenous populations are the majority though. The Empire is supposedly post-racial in its policies and general attitude and had already been focusing on a person's wealth and status more than their skin colour for a long time beforehand. Of course this policy is starting to unsettle the more conservative portions of the population who are afraid this uplifting of their foreign subjects will displace the more traditionally European ruling class and replace it with their own.

The present Roman Empire isn't ruled from Rome anymore. Though 'Latin' the Empire is in fact descended from the Eafrikan Empire, one of the more successful Roman successor states. They have waxed and waned but about a century ago they finally managed to annex the Italian states including Roma itself, allowing them to directly claim the title.

The Roman government is much more liberal than it's Carlissian rivals. The monarchy have had a constitution imposed on them for a little over a century by now which has put limits on their actual authority. This restriction of their power was a clear result of the rise of the wealthier members of the lower classes. The old aristocracy have now been ousted from many positions of authority and replaced by the class of rich commoners that have taken their place. The Christian clergy, who are the clear majority of religious practitioners in the Empire, do have some power as well but it is strictly non-governmental for several centuries. The various imperial dependencies that the Romans have roped into a loose imperium of sorts all follow their own governments, whether monarchical, oligarchic or republican. However they are expected to maintain some form of constitution that vaguely aligns with the Roman form.

Despite their relatively liberal government, Roman society is rather traditionalist. Their adherence to Christianity helps enforce a conservative culture that uses religious rhetoric to help maintain the status quo. The class system is still very much in evidence despite the increased possibilities for social mobility in the past century. An idea that certain people should be expected to rule over the rest of society still prevails in most of Roman culture. However this attitude has made portions of Rome breeding grounds for the recent incarnation of a technocratic revolutionary movement who have managed to convince people that those rulers should be the intelligentsia instead of the older elite.

Despite the greater levels of authoritarianism and traditionalism this world is actually a few years ahead of OTL technologically. The less complete collapse of Rome preserved more Classical knowledge and presented a stable continuity between the 'Classical and 'Medieval' Eras despite the lack of Christian monasteries to preserve ancient writings. Classical ideas of rule did persist as well but enough of the 'barbarian' flexibility and adaptability also emerged to allow for innovation and the questioning of authority as well.

Nuclear power has been around for half a century now and is more widely used since climate change is more advanced in this world. Of course new techniques of safely handling nuclear material, disposing of it and preventing violent meltdowns have also been sought out, with few viable results. Nuclear fusion is still a decade away from completion and even then most predictions don't see it as a cost-effective fuel source until it has gone through years of further refinement after that. Renewable energy is becoming popular, especially now that climate change and pollution are starting to effect the profits and personal properties of the rich and powerful.

Despite the still somewhat volatile relationship between the major powers the reduction of open hostilities and the general similarities between their societies and governments has allowed an internet equivalent to emerge. This information network is still comparatively vestigial and is often subjected to moderation depending on the region it is working within but it is slowly growing in size and ubiquity.

There was a Space Race between the major powers that the Yamatae won though only due to the sheer volume of resources that they put at their space program's disposal. Currently the most advanced forms of satellites are those that the Romans and Juto-Francians produce and they are responsible for the majority of global communications now. With the 'Cold War' winding down at an increasing rate the international competition has returned to space. Every major power and a few of the stronger middle ranking states are trying to see how much stuff they can put in orbit. A Moon base already exists though it is a cooperative effort under international control. Currently the world is engaged in a race to see who can safely land on Mars and make it back (the Carlissian effort is still infamous for its spectacular and tragic failure).

Credit to B Munro/Quantumbranching's Shikaku-Mon 2012 for the design of Yamatae.

Description

Crisis With No End In Sight:

In this world the Romans lost the Battle of Naissus and were unable to resolve the Crisis of the Third Century. The splinter empires that broke from Rome remained independent and the remains of the legitimate Roman Empire continued to flounder through internal strife.

The fragmented Roman Empire never really reunites. Occasionally a talented leader would reclaim areas like Gaul and Egypt but the Empire that stretched from Caledonia to Arabia never re-emerges. Roman culture does spread through trade though with a lot of the Roman splinter states continuing Roman traditions through the products and goods they buy from the Empire. Then the Migratory Period begins. Surprisingly a less overstretched Roman Empire is able to rally in places like Italy, Iberia and Africa whilst everything north of the Alps and the Pyrennes is overrun by German, Slavic and Hunnic peoples. The eastern portion of the Empire also suffers. The descendants of the Palmyrene Empire are mostly taken by the Persians whilst Greco-Roman states rally in Greece, Syria, Anatolia and Egypt.

Christianity never becomes the state religion of the Roman Empire. Though it eventually drops its overtly apocalyptic overtones the faith remains rather fringe, slowly expanding throughout Africa, Arabia, Greece and Persia. They do manage to convert the majority of the region and finally form the first Christian states but derivatives of the old Roman and Germanic faiths persist in Europe whilst new forms of Buddhism grow in size in Eastern Europe.

Eventually the populations of the Arabian and Scandinavian Peninsulas grow too large and the peoples of these lands go on expansionist rampages before slowly dying away and loosing most of the lands they've conquered. A Renaissance of sorts eventually happens which leads to expeditions further down the African Coast and the accidental discovery of the Jeshuans (ATL Americas). The beginning of a great colonial era happens and then continues, new lands and peoples are discovered and conquered. Eventually an industrial revolution happens as do some ideological ones, born of new philosophies and ideas.

By 2015 Rome's legacy has been ensured but it is a legacy torn asunder by the various interpretations that have all vied for legitimacy for centuries.

One of the strongest claimants to the title of Roman Empire is the Empire of Carlissia. Founded by the Hispanian Empire, the Carlissians do consider themselves a Roman successor state thanks to cultural developments that have been a part of their identity prior to their independence. Having been the jewel in Hispania's crown the Carlissians were sufficiently developed by the time their homeland fell to the Italians and Mauritanians.

The Carlissian government is a constitutional monarchy. After so long the rest of the government has managed to leach the crown's power into their own hands and have imposed a strict series of rules and regulations on the royal family's ability to exercise their traditional powers. However the rest of the government is not that democratic. The representative system is based around meritocratic appointments within a province's civil service rather than an elected position. The aristocracy hold most of the positions in the government as well and ensure the system remains relatively exclusive. Of course many concessions have been made for the richer commoners but on the whole it is an elitist system with an oligarchic bent.

Carlissian society is militant and stratified. The class system is firmly in place and national propaganda enforces the idea that certain people belong to certain statuses. Nationalistic rhetoric is blatantly expansionist, encouraging the people to support Carlissia's overseas endeavours through their work. This has hamstrung the economy somewhat, ensuring a substantial disparity between the rich and the poor. Still there is enough social mobility and communal support to prevent outright revolution. Repressive policies also help suppress the dissenting elements of the population. Technological innovation is encouraged in academia and the major corporate conglomerates but, at the same time, people are also discouraged from speculating on social philosophy. This, combined with their engineering approach to scientific research, means that they have fallen behind several other nations in terms of understanding and exploiting high technology.

They follow the Invictine faith, a religion derived from the Cult of Sol Invictus which became somewhat popular during the Crisis of the Third Century. This faith promotes military discipline as a form of personal excellence which is part of the reason why the Carlissians have such an aggressive society. It also promotes duty and loyalty, enforcing the status quo by reminding people that their loyalty to their position ensures their rewards in the afterlife.

Carlissia has still managed to rope together a significant power bloc that they are expanding through the subversion of local governments and their annexation into the empire. Carlissia is post-racial, preferring to focus on a person's ideals and loyalties rather than their skin colour or ethnic background. Of course they have disdain for foreign cultures and will happily eradicate them whilst assimilating the population, teaching them their dialect of Hispanish and re-educating them to be good Carlissians.

Carlissia's rival is the enormous Empire of Yamatae. The Japanese did not undergo a Warring States period like OTL but at the same time they did close their borders and enter extreme periods of isolationism either. When merchants from Europe and the Middle East finally reached East Asia the Yamatae picked up a number of new technological and political ideas. One of the most interesting things they adopted was one of the more aggressive interpretations of Christianity that had emerged in West Asia. This new technology, along with their new religious ideals, allowed them to expand onto the mainland. From there they went on to continue their conquests, turning into a major power in the Pacific.

Yamatae's Empire is the largest empire in the world and about as authoritarian as their Carlissian rivals. The government is aristocratic and exclusive, maintaining the elite's power through a complex ideological arrangement that encourages people to accept the status quo. The bureaucracy and civil service are more meritocratic and allow talented people to excel and improve their social standing. The emperor is supposed to still have all of his traditional powers in theory but a new arrangement f regulations, traditions and unspoken agreements between the other members of the government ensure that, unless its within the confines of his own personal property, he can't exercise it without their permission. The regional governments of Yamatae's many colonies are much more liberal. Most of the traditional aristocracy live in the Home Islands and leave their properties overseas in the hands of the civil service. This has led to the rise of a new class of colonial administrators that have formed into new, younger aristocracy.

Yamatae society is very stratified and ordered with a clear hierarchy that people are expected to respect. The Empire is a little less open to racial mobility than Carlissia and still make it very difficult for foreign people to settle in the Home Islands if they allow them at all (guest workers are a thing though). The colonies are more open to letting people move around but that is a policy that is supposed to make it easier for Yamatae colonists to move in. Yamatae Christianity is a very bizarre, borderline syncreatic, denomination. Many traditional Japanese beliefs, such as the divine relations of the Emperor (just replace Amaterasu with an angel) and a few Shinto features have been incorporated into Christian teachings to produce their own faith. It is not exclusive and has had some traction in the colonies. Of course Shintoism and Buddhism are still rather prevalent and have been recovering in numbers since the state stopped trying to actively convert or remove them.

Yamatae is so large that the empire is hamstringing itself through its own corpulence. Increasingly extreme measures are being taken in order to keep control of so much territory. Finally there are elements of the government that are proposing the political uplifting of the more reliable and acceptable colonial races in order to bolster the loyal population.

One of the more fragile of the great powers is the Empire of Juto-Francia. Formed when the kingdoms of Francia and Jutland formed a personal and political union, the newly formed empire went on to form a successful colonial empire to rival the Hispanians. Their somewhat disjointed rule and culture has hampered them when compared to their major rivals but their hegemonic network of allies and dependencies and their newly reformed federated systems have allowed them to remain a viable if ungainly world power.

The Juto-Francian government is an elitist one but it is largely dominated by urban elite and rich commoners. Most of the older aristocracy have been ousted by the new upper class. Whilst the new elite do adopt many of the fashions and traditions of the old families they associate little with the older aristocracy and most of their interests. The monarchy is strictly constitutional these days with regulations and restrictions on their power. Though the crown still holds some authority in politics and lot of informal influence (and some of the smarter monarchs have used proxies to exercise power) the majority of governmental power is in the hands of the rest of the government. The Jute civil systems, which have been adapted and adopted by the empire at large, are largely responsible for this more liberal and accepting government due to the ease of promotion and general precedence they hold over aristocratic authority when it comes to administration.

Juto-Francian society is much less traditionalist than the other great powers and much more secular. Religion is still important to most of the population but none of the official faiths are involved in politics in any way beyond a community's individual preferences. Social mobility is more likely than in the other major powers as well though it still relies on either the civil service or large-scale businesses as the primary means of increasing status. The nation is officially bilingual with both Jute and Francian taught in schools (which language is prioritised in curricula depends on the region). The largest religions are the Invictine faith and derived Wodenism which was introduced by the Nordic people in the 'Middle Ages' both of these religions were influential in the Empire's expansionism in the past. Buddhism is popular in the south of Britain where Slavic migrants settled and there are healthy communities of Christians scattered throughout their European lands.

The colonies are now equal partners with the homeland and have allowed the indigenous population to participate in government both in the former colonies and even in the heartland itself (rare of course, but possible). Barriers to immigration have been lowered though the permanent settlement of people in other territories is still strictly regulated. The settler colonies do still have more influence than the territories where indigenous populations are the majority though. The Empire is supposedly post-racial in its policies and general attitude and had already been focusing on a person's wealth and status more than their skin colour for a long time beforehand. Of course this policy is starting to unsettle the more conservative portions of the population who are afraid this uplifting of their foreign subjects will displace the more traditionally European ruling class and replace it with their own.

The present Roman Empire isn't ruled from Rome anymore. Though 'Latin' the Empire is in fact descended from the Eafrikan Empire, one of the more successful Roman successor states. They have waxed and waned but about a century ago they finally managed to annex the Italian states including Roma itself, allowing them to directly claim the title.

The Roman government is much more liberal than it's Carlissian rivals. The monarchy have had a constitution imposed on them for a little over a century by now which has put limits on their actual authority. This restriction of their power was a clear result of the rise of the wealthier members of the lower classes. The old aristocracy have now been ousted from many positions of authority and replaced by the class of rich commoners that have taken their place. The Christian clergy, who are the clear majority of religious practitioners in the Empire, do have some power as well but it is strictly non-governmental for several centuries. The various imperial dependencies that the Romans have roped into a loose imperium of sorts all follow their own governments, whether monarchical, oligarchic or republican. However they are expected to maintain some form of constitution that vaguely aligns with the Roman form.

Despite their relatively liberal government, Roman society is rather traditionalist. Their adherence to Christianity helps enforce a conservative culture that uses religious rhetoric to help maintain the status quo. The class system is still very much in evidence despite the increased possibilities for social mobility in the past century. An idea that certain people should be expected to rule over the rest of society still prevails in most of Roman culture. However this attitude has made portions of Rome breeding grounds for the recent incarnation of a technocratic revolutionary movement who have managed to convince people that those rulers should be the intelligentsia instead of the older elite.

Despite the greater levels of authoritarianism and traditionalism this world is actually a few years ahead of OTL technologically. The less complete collapse of Rome preserved more Classical knowledge and presented a stable continuity between the 'Classical and 'Medieval' Eras despite the lack of Christian monasteries to preserve ancient writings. Classical ideas of rule did persist as well but enough of the 'barbarian' flexibility and adaptability also emerged to allow for innovation and the questioning of authority as well.

Nuclear power has been around for half a century now and is more widely used since climate change is more advanced in this world. Of course new techniques of safely handling nuclear material, disposing of it and preventing violent meltdowns have also been sought out, with few viable results. Nuclear fusion is still a decade away from completion and even then most predictions don't see it as a cost-effective fuel source until it has gone through years of further refinement after that. Renewable energy is becoming popular, especially now that climate change and pollution are starting to effect the profits and personal properties of the rich and powerful.

Despite the still somewhat volatile relationship between the major powers the reduction of open hostilities and the general similarities between their societies and governments has allowed an internet equivalent to emerge. This information network is still comparatively vestigial and is often subjected to moderation depending on the region it is working within but it is slowly growing in size and ubiquity.

There was a Space Race between the major powers that the Yamatae won though only due to the sheer volume of resources that they put at their space program's disposal. Currently the most advanced forms of satellites are those that the Romans and Juto-Francians produce and they are responsible for the majority of global communications now. With the 'Cold War' winding down at an increasing rate the international competition has returned to space. Every major power and a few of the stronger middle ranking states are trying to see how much stuff they can put in orbit. A Moon base already exists though it is a cooperative effort under international control. Currently the world is engaged in a race to see who can safely land on Mars and make it back (the Carlissian effort is still infamous for its spectacular and tragic failure).

Credit to B Munro/Quantumbranching's Shikaku-Mon 2012 for the design of Yamatae.