Turn 1
Turn 2
Turn 3
Turn 4
Turn 5
Turn 6
Turn 7

The Romans were never a race that loved the sea, wary of its ever changing moods and faces. Late Spring -- when good sailing weather normally arrived -- saw two events at sea that alternately brought wailings of grief and shouts of joy to the Forum. Off the coast of Italy, a storm wrecked the fleet of ex-Consul Drusus. Almost one quarter of his men drowned. While in the far East, his colleague Gracchus triumphed over a coalition of Mediterranean pirate fleets. This year's barbarian-bashing Junior Consul, Incitare, scored another victory over the Germans, while his senior colleague Tauruscrania consolidated his army in Asia...

Incitare

After establishing his bridgehead across the Rhine earlier in Spring, Incitare's reinforced legion drove deep into the forests of Germania. The fierce tribes soon collected an army to face the invaders. The struggle waged back and forth beneath the trees, with Incitare's men eventually outlasting the undisciplined warriors (winning 6-5 over an equal size force, +1 prestige point). Incitare's star in the Forum continued to rise. His second victory over the Germans, joined with his three over the Gauls, made him the Republic's most prolific conqueror of barbarians.

Gracchus

The proconsul's spies had kept an eye on the huge fleet of Mediterranean pirates dogging the coastline of Cyprus. So, when the fleet turned south for Alexandria and the Nile, Gracchus laid a trap for them. His small garrison slipped out of the city and marched south, joining the cohorts that had secretly marched from Cyrenaica to reinforce him. When the pirate fleet landed and attacked Alexandria's walls, Gracchus sprang northward and cut the pirates off from their ships, forcing them to give battle. Though outnumbered, Gracchus' veterans cut the pirates to pieces, slaying nearly half their number (7-0 victory, 5 Roman SPs defeating 7 Pirate SPs, +7 prestige points). The routing remnants fled east along the Judaen coastline. Alexandria's citizens threw open their gates to Gracchus, forgiving his earlier transgressions, while back in Rome, the Senate voted the proconsul a triumph.

Tauruscrania

As the Parthian raiders ravaged their way into Pergamun, Tauruscrania's legion in Sardis force marched northeast to join up with the consul's two other legions. As his forces massed outside his capital of Nicomedia, Tauruscrania smiled. The scouts had returned to say the Armenians invaders were less than half his army's size. And the Parthians were maybe a third. In summer he would march east and drive the Armenians back across the border. Then, he could turn back and scatter the insolent Parthians. He chuckled as he noticed the change come over Nicomedia's citizens. Seeing his massed legions ready for battle, they no longer taunted or complained of his inaction. They KNEW the might of Rome when they saw it.

Drusus

When Drusus heard the news of the shipwreck, he shaved his hair in mourning. Of the reinforced legion that had sailed from Campania, more than half had died. His friends, loyal subordinates and Roman citizens were gone, swallowed by heartless sea. He officiated over the funeral rites in Rome as the most senior magistrate present. Rome saw his tears, but Drusus saw something else in their eyes. With the successes of the Junior Consul Incitare and Proconsul Gracchus, his status was slipping. His supporters had bragged he was the "First Man in Rome," something Drusus tried vainly to deny was his lifelong goal. Now, though, he was merely the first of a group of popular men -- all rivals for Rome's affection and respect. As he galloped north to join his Dalmatian legions, Drusus wondered if he had lost the Goddess Fortuna's affection -- was he no longer one of her favorites?

Late Spring had seen the Prestige Points contest begin to heat up, as Gracchus and Incitare continued to gain on the leader Drusus. Would his maritime disaster impair his ability to keep his rivals at bay? Summer would see this and also the Pirates rally for a second attempt on Egypt, Tauruscrania's legions finally unsheathe their swords to defend Asia, and Germans, Illyrians and Moors marching to war.

More 1st Century BC Campaign

Turn 1 (Herald 42)
Turn 2 (Herald 43)
Turn 3 (Herald 44)
Turn 4 (Herald 45)
Turn 5 (Herald 46)
Turn 6 (Herald 47)
Turn 7 (Herald 48)
Turn 8 (Herald 49)
Turn 9 (Herald 50)