Nova Roma (Rome Ne Forte Cadet)

Nova Roma, formally known as Nova Respublica Imperium Roma, is a consitutional empire around the Mediterranean Sea. In Europe, to the north and east of its border is the nations of Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Moldavia, while in the Middle East, the nations of the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Assyria, and Saudi Arabia border it to the east, while to the south in Africa, it borders Sudan, the Sahara Confederacy, and Mauritania.

The nation as it exists today goes back to 478 CE when Romulus Augustus was desposed of by the barbarian Odoacer and the Roman govenor of the Balaerus Islands, which had weathered the Barbarian invasions nearly intact, declared himself the new Emperor. However, Rome as a nation goes back to 753 BCE when Romulus founded the city of Rome. The Imperial dynasty has only changed hands once since 478 CE, leading to a remarkable stability in the new Rome, with the current, modern dynasty being that of the Valasparian Dynasty.

A major military power in the modern world, Nova Roma assists in peacekeeper operations for the United Nations as well as ensuring the stability of border nations that request its help. It has a notable manufacturing sector and has full heartenly embraced enviromently friendly technology, making use of whatever it can get, with the major power contributions coming from nuclear, wind, and natural gas.

Nova Roma is a major contributor to scientific research, and quickly tries to make use of new ideas to ensure its future relevance in the new world. The reason for this is that it believes the reason Rome collapsed was that it failed to keep up, remaining to sure its own proven ways until they were too outdated to help Rome survive. Due to its embracement of science, Nova Roma is a technologically advanced nation compared to most and has a thriving technology and information tech sector.

Provincial Times (10 BCE - 478 AD)
The Province of Palmania (Belaerus Islands) was bought by the wealthy Roman aristocrat Avus Caliavii, who had a dream to turn the sleepy backwater of the Islands into a gleaming example of Rome. He spent lavishesly on the Provinicial captial of Palma. He is quoted as stating after Emperor Augustus passed in 14 CE, "He may have turned Rome from a city of brick to a city of marble, but I turned Palma from a town of wood and thatch to a city of marble and concrete.". Avus' investment paid off, as Palma became an important center of trade for the Western Mediterranean, handling all oversea trade and commerce from Iberia, western North Africa, and any shipments that entered the Atlantic. It also served as a major naval base, as it's position in the Western Mediterranean made it a great position to launch anti-pirate raids from Corisca and Sardinia to the Towers of Heracles.

Avus arranged to have his position of Proconsol of Palmania to his decendents, who would each make the Belearus Islands stronger, wealthier, and more fortified. Soon, on top of the legio of Legionaire marines, two private legios under the command of the Proconsul helped to guard the Islands. When the Troubles of the Third Century came around, the preparations made both on accident and on purpose on the Islands made them a gleeming example of Roman civilization at its best. This continued until 425 AD, when the Vandals invaded Iberia and attempted an attack on the Balearus Islands. After several attempted attacks, the three legios and naval fleet defeated the Vandals, forcing them to leave the Belaerus alone, with next to no damage done to the cities of the Islands.

The Islands then fell into a period of peace while the rest of the Roman Empire went up in smoke, becoming safer than even the Eternal City of Rome itself. The flood of refugees soon posed a larger problem than any invasion, and the Proconsul Gaius made the decision to round up most of the refugees and "escort" them to the Island of Corisca, and any refugees that weren't skilled in some needed field would be turned back. While the Emperor disapproved of this, he was in no shape to enforce his will upon the Islands.

When Augustus Romulus was desposed of in 478 CE, Gaius Caliavii decided that while Rome in Italy was finished, Rome as a nation was not finished as the Belaerus still stood, so he had himself crowned Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, thus, in the eyes of modern historians, marking the beginning of Nova Roma.

Early History (478 - 820 CE)
Despite now technically being known as the Emperor of the Western Empire, the Caliavii remained inactive in pursing reclaiming their "rightful lands" for nearly four centuries, showing themselves quite content in ruling over their world of Balaerus. In this time, slavery was abolished, a standard of six years of education for all, and a standardized tax rate was established. However, come 780 CE, the Caliavii Emperor Nalus realized their seemingly untouchable world was about to come crashing down, the Balaerus were becoming too populated to maintain a stable food supply and soon would have far too many mouths to feed, so Nalus became the first Emperor since 478 to raise new legions. With a force of three brand new legions, over 15,000 soldiers, and the fleet needed to transport them, Nalus lead an invasion of Corisca in 782 CE, knowing that there were many who still saw themselves as Roman due to the number of refugees left there from the Fall.

The Invasion was brutal and swift, the disorganized populace didn't stand a chance against a drilled, well-oiled machine that was a blast from the past of the glory days of Rome, but with the weaponry to be very much in the now. All who couldn't prove Roman heritage were killed, a total of nearly 30,000 out of a populace of around 45,000. Following the Invasion, immigration from Balearus was highly encouraged, and Nalus drained much of the coffers rebuilding the island to a "Roman standard". When he died in 820 CE after an illustreous fifty year reign at the age of 78, the investment had only just started to pay back, 30 years after rebuilding efforts began.

The Late Caliavii Period (820 - 1123 CE)
The Late Caliavii Period is marked by the taking of the other major islands of the Western Meditterrean and the laying of the foundation for the future recovery of the Roman Empire. However, expansion was still population driven, instead of idealogic. The advances in medical science that Nova Roma was making while the rest of Europe flounded in the late Dark Ages meant the difference in average life span grew as wide as 20-30 years in some cases, and the longer lives of Nova Romans meant that there was more population around at any one point. By 964 CE, under the Emperor Sulus Caliavii, with a population nearly 200,000 on the Balearus and Corisca, the decision was made to retake and rebuild Sardinia.

This invasion resulted in the raising of five new legions, on top of the five already maintained as a defensive force. Once more, the reformed Roman war machine was unleashed upon an unexpecting, disorganized opponent. The armored legions swept the island, clearing out the non-Roman identifying and pagan populations, before three were disbanded to begin to encourage the resettlement of Sardinia, and many, eagar to escape the now overcrowed cities of Corisca and the Balearus. To commemerate the achievement of recovering Sardinia, Sulus built the Sulus Oblisiek in Palma, a 100 foot solid marbe monument to commemerate the recovery of Sardinia and the first re-establish province of Corisca et Sardinia. Sulus would pass away in 975 CE, after twenty years of rule and a mostly completed rebuilding of Sardinia.

The Romans fell into a period of 200 years of peace, in which the metal type printing press was invented, a variation of greek fire that exploded on impact rather than merely catch fire (this formula, often called Belaerus flame, is used in conjunction with Greek fire, as the explosion catches the Greek fire alight and spreads it over a larger area, making it an effective area effect weapon in both seiges and open warfare), and the discovery of sanitizing wounds with alcohol drastically reduces injury rates.

In the year 1091 CE, after hearing of the Norman conquest of Sicily, the emperor Ceasari Caliavii decided to prove the new Roman legions against the battle-hardened Normans. He began to raise five new legions, only these legions were slightly differently organized. Rather than the traditional 4,000 legionaires, 500 arches, and 500 calvary, he doubled the size of the "support" roles, reducing the number of legionaires to 3000, and training two different kinds, one spearman, one with the traditional gladius.

By 1095 CE, the new legions were ready to be unleashed, and a shock campaign was launched upon the unsuspecting Normans of Sicily. In what is now referred to as the Battle of Nicosa Fields in 1099 CE, two legions marching on Syracuse came face to face with a Norman army of nearly 40,000. Despite being drastically outnumbered and with both sides in heavy armor, the slightly lighter, more maneuverable Roman armor proved superior in close combat, and the archers and spearmen made Norman calvary charges ineffective at best. Then, taking a lesson from history, the general directing the battle, Vatesii Valasparian, ordered his troops into a cresent formation, with the bulge facing the enemy. What happens next is often compared to when the same formation was used against Rome by Hannibal in the Second Punic War, of the 40,000 Norman soldiers that marched onto the field, only 3,000, mainly calvary, made it out alive. The Battle is often seen as the beginning of the end of the Reconquest of Sicily, and within a few years, the conquest was complete. Caesari Caliavii would die childless in 1123 CE, so he declared the Conqueror of Sicily, Vatesii Valasparian as his heir, and thus ended the Caliavii Dynasty and the beginning of the Valasparian.

Early Valasparian Dynasty (1123 - 1450 CE)
The Nova Romans and the Normans in Naples came to have an unofficial ceasefire until 1139 CE, when the Normans took the last holding in Naples from Byzantium. Then, the Nova Romans declared that they "had to retake the areas stolen from a fellow Roman nation" and subsequently invaded Naples, lead by the aging Vatesii. In the Battle of Vatesii Hill, three Roman legions lead by Vatesii come head to head with an army of 30,000 Normans. While the battle ended in Roman victory, a Norman arrow caught Vatesii in the throat, and he died near instantly.

Vatesii's son, Lazarus, then took his father's place at the helm of the invasion, and while not the tactical master of his father, he defeated and killed off every Norman that dared raised arms against him in Naples by 1150 CE. However, this campaign brought Lazarus teasingly close to being the first western Roman commander to take Rome since Rome fell in 478 CE. He prepared an army to take the city, then sent an envoy to Pope Eugene III, stating bluntly, "Give up the city, or give up your head.". The threat worked, and the Pope ordered the gates of Rome be opened to the Roman army. In thanks, Lazarus granted Eugence and the Papalcy control of Vatican Hill and took over the Papal States.

After this momentous achievement, Lazarus had himself crowded Emperor of Rome, blessed by the Pope, and took the name Romulus. He would soon quickly pass away in 1163 CE from an injury sustained in the taking of Naples, but now, Rome was truly re-established.

Peace would continue in Rome for nearly three hundred years, before a desire to reclaim more lost land started to grow irresistably strong...

Renaissance Valasparian Dynasty (1450 - 1700 CE)
When the Renaissance began in earnest in Northern Italy, as interest finally started to grow in the neighbors to the south and their history, Rome was in an Enlightment Age. For example, in 1456 CE, Galvius Galliva pointed a primitive telescope skyward and discovered the solar system was heliocentric. The Emperor applauded the man for his work, investing directly into the further study of the stars and planets, much to the annoyance of the Pope, but being in a small fort-nation in the middle of the new capital of a growing empire was proving more of a nice prison instead of a generous offer of independence.

In 1484 CE, sensing the rising interest in Rome, Emperor Alicus Valasparian offered unification with Rome to the northern states. In the 1485 - 1490 CE Councils of Rome, one by one every city-state of Northern Italy agreed to join their ancestor nation. Then peace would once again set in the Roman nation, the Enlightment age sending Rome ahead technologically far ahead the rest.

Industrial Valaparian Era (1700 - 1910 CE)
By 1732 CE, the first commercially viable steam engine was invented by Jonus Lochartius, which lead the the Industrial Revolution of Rome. The secrets were guarded jealously, hiding from everyone why they needed so much coal and how they were able to produce items that looked nearly exactly the same. In this time, the Imperial Armed Forces of Rome underwent a major overhaul. Ironclad warships began to patrol Roman waters instead of wooden ones, the flintlock was cast away for the new percussion cap firing mechanism, and special paper cartridges were introduced so that one did not have to ram down black powder then the bullet as well in order to fire. When the reforms were completed, Emperor Elazius Valaparian decided to field test the new Roman military in 1743 CE, raising ten legions for the event, from the ten already in place.

The armies invaded the Balkans in 1745 CE, and in the course of three battles, absolutely crushed the defending Ottoman troops. The war quickly devolved into a wild retreat, only turning around to try to put up a fight at Constaninople/Instanbul. The city fell quickly to the vastly superorly equipped troops. Elazius then ordered the destruction of all Mosques in the newly conquered lands and the expulsion of Turks and Muslims to the lands left in control of the Ottoman Empire. He also ordered the construction of a three hundred foot tall oblisek in Constantinople to celebrate its retaking after 300 years in enemy lands.

Fighting with the Turks and Berbers of North Africa would continue sporadically until 1916 CE.