On the eve of the conflict with the Aztec, the Roman Empire had expanded dramatically in size, compared to where it had been upon Alexios ascending the throne. From a war-torn and tired city with fewer than a third of the population it had once had, to a growing state constantly expanding. Sailing up the rivers leading into Elysium Bay, the Romans found land so fertile- if untamed -that it almost seemed impossible. Land that took to their crops in ways that the overfarmed Greece or Anatolia never had. Even the Natives, relatively few in number, proved more helpful than harmful in this expansion. The Valley of Elysium was so fertile and perfect that the Romans could be forgiven for believing, despite evidence to the contrary, that they were in Eden.
It is true enough that, by the time the Aztec and
Purépecha were encountered, the Romans had been broken of this notion. Even with this, there is little point in denying that the land they found was perfect for rapid growth. More fertile soil and bountiful rivers than the Romans could farm in a dozen generations. So many mighty trees that the Roman Navy could function for decades off of just the
leftovers from construction of frontier villages and towns. Grasslands and plains that stretched as far as the eye could see, before ending at the foothills of grand mountains.
Of course, this was already known. As early as twenty years after the Romans arrived in Elysium, they already knew of the Valley. Perhaps not the extent of it, nor how truly fertile it was, but they did know
of it. As has been covered previously.
However, it is important to reiterate just how
valuable this land was. The Roman Empire was, even fifty years after arriving, still relatively compact. Expansion to the North or South was limited. Both by the rising mountains and relatively little easily usable land on the coast and, perhaps more importantly, by how useful the Valley was. Alexios was a man eager to explore, however, he was also a man who saw the value in improving the Roman society before moving too far afield. With so much prime land to settle, as well as the fact that Constantinople had plenty of spare room for growth inside the Theodosian Walls? It made perfect sense to the Emperor and his advisors to focus on exploiting the Valley and the Mountains first.
In this regard, the core of Roman territory remained the area around Elysium Bay. To the North and South, land had been claimed and was slowly being exploited along the coasts, for quite some distance from the City. Not so far as the Romans had explored, however. To the South, only a few islands- with fisherman at best -and a pair of outposts existed of any note. One of these, of course, being the port of Dragases. In these early days, it was a frontier settlement that was important by virtue of being the closest land to the
Purépecha and Aztec. In later years, it would become the Second City of the Empire, in a way that Thessaloniki once was.
Beyond these outposts, Roman control was...loose, at best. Inland control around them was strong, at least to the Natives who curiously watched the strange pale men. In the area around Constantinople herself, Roman direct control encompassed most of the Valley and the foothills of the mountains. Exploration of the Mountains themselves, primarily hungry searches for iron, had claimed a loose sort of control over the passes. It was arguable that Roman hands controlled all the land that the Romans had seen, as there was no unified force that could contest this control. Physical realities limited direct control by virtue of the lack of manpower to manifest it.
Even with a baby boom of massive proportions and continued strong growth rates, the Roman population had yet to exceed what had called Constantinople home in the greatest days of the Empire.
[1]
Despite this fact, the Roman Empire was well along towards consolidating control of Elysium and- at the time -Arcadia. It was evident, even at the time, that the Empire was soon to reach a tipping point. Even with the reluctance of some to leave Constantinople, the population was continuing to expand rapidly. With the
Purépecha and Aztec demonstrating that some in Arcadia
could potentially fight the Empire, it became imperative to claim as much land as quickly as possible. This would only become more relevant, when contact with Europe was restored. The Roman military had to be prepared
[2]. And the Roman state would have to expand further than they had, cautiously, allowed themselves to this point...
1. The Roman Population was, in the most generous estimates, nearing 250,000 by the turn of the 16th Century. At a growth rate nearing 2.5% at times, with the integration of Natives and the baby boom after the initial event, this is generally accepted as an accurate estimate. With the lack of a proper census for centuries to come, it is difficult to confirm, however. Generally speaking, it is safe to assume the Romans had yet to reach 300,000 again. With Constantinople, at times, hosting over half-a-million people alone, the Empire had yet to truly recover to its once-soaring heights.
2. The Roman Military, of 1500, was stronger than any group in Elysium. However, it was still a shadow of what it once was. General estimates range towards:
12000 Men under Arms, not counting Militia or potential reserves
Ten 'Carrack'-style warships, with perhaps two times as many Galleys
These are simply estimates, though based on relatively strong fact. Most of the Roman military was occupied in expanding the Empire and with the Navy as small as it was, there was little real ability to send a strong force to the aid of the
Purépecha.
AN: This is relatively short, I admit.
It is really intended as two things: a short little primer on the state of the Empire, and something I can get up before Star Wars hits this Thursday and my free time dies a horrible death.
(Teacher I may be by degree, I'm currently working at a theater for lack of any job openings. It...is not going to be a fun month.)
Now, for the explanations: The Roman expansion seems, to me, to be a fairly logical path. They've got the Central Valley, as I've said before, and with that much great land? Even with potential flooding issues since they don't have the dam and irrigation systems California does? Yeah. There's
very little real need for the Romans to move very far afield, quite yet. They've explored a fair bit of the California coast, and even the mountains, but
control of that land? Constantinople itself could hold the entire Roman population with room to spare. There just hasn't been the impetuous to expand that far out yet.
That will change soon enough.
Population: I ran this through the
Population Calculator. Starting with my rough '75k' estimate, the Romans at a population growth of 2.2%-ish, end up somewhere around 200-210k by 1500. Toss in the integration of natives, though not too many between disease and how relatively small the native population of California was, I'm eyeballing around 250k for the Roman population in 1500. This growth rate is
ludicrously high for their technology, compared to European rates of the time period. However, you've got a miracle from God saving them from certain death (hello, baby boom) and
hilariously great land to expand into, and lots of it. I think it's fairly reasonable.
It'll level out...just in time for immigration to be a thing
Military: Seemed like a fairly reasonable number. The Romans had 7k men under arms, though 2k were foreign mercenaries, during the Siege. While that was an emergency situation, I see Constantine and Alexios pushing hard for a continued strong force. Paranoia doesn't die that easily. Couple this with the need to garrison the frontiers and explore? Yeah, it seemed reasonable to me.
Next update will move to the Aztec area, and will cover in more detail the Roman force sent to that region, along with their interactions with their new allies.
(also, a map maker I am very, very much
not. The modern Cali border is just still there for reference)
