986-1012 CE (Superpowers)

=Emperor Norban (988-1005)= Brought onto the throne following the suspicious death of is brother, which the public learned upon Norban's death that Norban had assassinated him, Norban still had the problem of the Arabs in Africa to deal with. They were inching ever closer to the major Aegyptus population centers and had already taken the cities in Axum province. As mentioned in the previous article, Norban and his troops managed to achieve victory before they could take Thebes and began to slowly push them out of the borders of Rome. All Arabs were pushed out in 995 and all that remained was to expel them completely from the continent. Their Caliph had long since returned to his palace, but the generals and their troops were nonetheless left behind to continue the fighting.

Civil and Military Events
Before getting to military matters, there are several things to cover in the civilian field. The main subject here is of course the development of motor technology. Since the academy in Parisium developed the first functional electric motor in 805, based on the designs of Archaedavincus, there was a gradual improvement of the device for the next 200 years. In 837, a motor was built that could perform about 600 revolutions per minute, finally offering several possibilities for practical applications. Powered by DC like all other electrical inventions of the time, the motor saw its first application in a printing press in Rome in 838. These commercial DC motors were very expensive and only the richest printing companies could afford to use them, as they greatly increased total output. Still, the motor was somewhat faulty, constantly sparking and was only used on one or two machines per city due to the risk and cost.

A more durable design was invented in 886, one which could survive rigorous applications in industry were it to be used there. As well, special metal guards were put in place to reduce the risk from sparks. The new motor quickly replaced all existing instances of its predecessor and within ten years, almost 80 were in use around the Empire. Some were even bought by members of the rich who ordered for them to be used to power a carriage. Although this drained the battery within about 2 hours, the image of a man driven in a carriage with no horse was one which captivated the minds of the public. More and more people were sending their sons to the electrical academy in Parisium to help make the next breakthrough.

Very little changed however, other than minor increases in the efficiency of the devices and interest was already starting to wane by the turn of the XIth Century. However, in 1004, an unknown scientist working from another academy in Alexandria of all places was able to create a DC motor with no sparking and which was very similar in both design and capabilities to those in use in OTL 1900. As with the last breakthrough, this new motor replaced all examples of the old one, whilst also causing a surge in the use of motors in other areas. The best part of his design was that it combined the three central parts of a DC motor into one solid unit, the rotor, stator and commutator were now indistinguishably part of just one motor. Were it not for the coming turmoil in the Empire, something which most importantly cut off any collaboration between the academies in Alexandria and Parisium, this technology may very well have entered far more widespread use a lot earlier. For the moment though, only about 210 were built for use in printing presses, though the split Roman militaries would also research potential applications in war.

Two Legions were sent out of Roman borders into Somalia to continue battering down the Arab forces, including the destruction of most their remaining siege weaponry. After six more years of guerrilla warfare against them, the Romans delivered an ultimatum. They could leave across the Red Sea in their boats, and the Roman Navy would not cause any harm to them, only observe them to ensure that there was no treachery. Tired from years of achieving nothing, and mentally worn down from the losses in Aegyptus, there was almost unanimous agreement among the troops to accept this offer, and accept it they did. The crossing was completed in early 1001 CE and before the end of the year, an official peace treaty was signed between the Romans and the Shi'ite Kingdom. Similarly to one given to the Persians many years ago, this treaty offered one century of unspoiled peace between the two mighty nations.

Not willing to take any chances though, Norban had the Somali Wall upgraded with a second larger wall behind the first, and ordered for the troop contingent there to be doubled, allowing for even more Polybola and Magna Ballistae. Even if a force as great as the last were to attack, the wall could hold them off for weeks, allowing reinforcements to arrive before things got too bad. As well, a massive Coastal Wall was built starting from 1002 in order to make the Empire's Red Sea Coastline impenetrable. A year later, construction began on coastal walls along the north side of the Anatolian Peninsula, thereby blocking any incursions there from either the Federations or the Shi'ites. Although the Empire was now more well defended from outside threats than ever, it was the most internally fragile it had ever been since the time of the Republic.

Public debt was high from the war and reconstruction efforts, and morale was low amongst the populace now that they had seen how useless the government was at protecting them. Furthermore, veneration of the emperor was turning into veneration of the Pope alone, and support for the current government was waning everywhere. Even worse, the wages of legionaries and auxiliaries were being reduced almost every year in order to lessen the debt and many cut-backs were being planned now that the Empire's static defenses were more indestructible. Worst of all, when Norban finally died in 1005, information of his brother's assassination was leaked to the public, and confidence in the emperors fell even more sharply, especially among members of the army. The Empire was about to collapse.

=Emperor Julianus I (1005-1012)= Gaius Julianus Flaminius is historically regarded as the man who lost the Empire. It was during his reign that the Second Imperial Civil War started, giving a roughly equivalent reputation to Nero in that regard. Julianus was not by any means a bad emperor, but he was wholly unprepared for the serious of unfortunate events that started his reign and so he only served to further increase public resentment towards his position.

Civil and Military Events
Finishing the construction projects of Norban in his first year in power, Julianus' reign appeared as if it would be like that of any other peace time emperor, consolidating and enriching the nation. However, he made the mistake of continuing to decrease legionary wages during that same first year, and this was the last straw. A prominent general of the Crusade, General Gnaeus Moratius Brutus was known throughout the Legion as the Hero of Thebes, and so was a very highly respected name. More respected than the emperor it seems. Disillusioned from the war, and bothered by the decreasing wages of his brethren, Moratius organized a meeting of 8 Legion commanders who thought the way that he did. On March 15, 1006, they Rebelled.

Although many legionaries refused to fight against the Empire, Moratius managed to amass an army of 42,000 professional soldiers and his 8 generals. Starting in Hispania, where anti-Roman sentiment was long dormant, he managed to spark an outright rebellion of the Senatorial Province Tarraconensis in 1007. With a new militia force of 30,000 troops added to his legionaries, Moratius moved into Aquitania to raid the country side. Meanwhile, the Emperor and Senate had called for an emergency meeting on March 17, and were deciding what to do about the crisis. A week later, the emperor had decided, against the decision of the Senate, to send 12 Legions to fight them into submission. This was perhaps one of the worst ideas possible as Moratius managed to convince about a third of the attacking force to join him, by offering much higher wages, and the Romans were now faced with about 70,000 rebellious legionaries and 30,000 militia.

With the remainder of the attacking force beaten back, and the possibility of negotiation permanently off the table, the Senate had no idea what they could do. Luckily, perhaps, Moratius decided to move his rebellion to Brittania, leaving behind the 30,000 other revolutionaries to be dealt with by the Empire. Although the main Legion tried hard to contain the Rebels away from Londinium, Moratius and his soldiers won several decisive battles both along the coast and towards the northern end of the island and by 1011 they began to siege Londinium itself.

Taking the city only a few weeks later, Moratius established what he called the Free Republic of Brittania, little more than a military dictatorship over the Roman-British populace. From his nearly impenetrable position, he created a navy of pirate ships and began to raid Roman and Danish shipping routes in the North Sea. Although the Classis, who had higher wages than the Legion and were still loyal, managed to stop them a good deal of the time. Their annoyance over the next few decades would become especially apparent.

Back in Rome, unrest was at its peak. Protests were occurring in the streets and the Senate was in a furor over the ineptitude of their leader. On the August Kalends of 1012, about 300 members of the Senate conspired to assassinate Julianus on the steps of the Senate House, right in front of the Colossus of Sulla. Returning to their other brethren in the Curia, the senators declared a Republic and the dissolution of the Empire. Unfortunately for the people of Rome, things were far from over. Very far indeed.