The Year of the Four Emperors

[Seleukos Helios]

What an incredible teaching idea! A year ago I had thought of making a ‘Year of the 4 Emperors’ mod for Rome: Total War (just for my own enjoyment, no lofty motives of any kind), but gave up on it due to lack of time and energy. I’m not a specialist on that period of history, so I’d like to ask you a historical question. I remember reading that Nero had proclaimed the independence (or was it autonomy?) of Greece, that was later revoked by Vespasian. Were the Greeks a truly independent faction in AD69? And if so, do we have any information on the state of their army (was it modeled after Roman legions or did it revive the phalanx tradition)?

 

[DoctorG]

?<snip>I remember reading that Nero had proclaimed the independence (or was it autonomy?) of Greece, that was later revoked by Vespasian. Were the Greeks a truly independent faction in AD69? And if so, do we have any information on the state of their army (was it modeled after Roman legions or did it revive the phalanx tradition)?

Hi! Thanks for the vote of confidence! As for Nero and the Greeks... Nero loved Greece, and in turn, the Greeks loved Nero... Nero's 'concert tour' of Greece in 67 resulted, strangely enough, in standing ovations at every turn. In return, Nero granted Greece independence from the oversight of the governor of Macedon. So they ended up for a while with a much better financial situation vis-a-vis Rome, but not independence in the sense we're talking about here.

Roman provincial administration was a crazy patchwork quilt of arrangements at different levels (and of course, these all changed over time as well!), with individual cities having different legal and financial relationships with each other, the provincial administration, and Rome herself. Nero might've been trying to emulate the words/actions of Titus Quinctius Flamininus in 196 BC, who was trying to split the Greek cities from the Hellenistic ruler Philip of Macedon (not to be confused with Alex the Great's father, but rather a descendent), by proclaiming self-determination for all the Greeks. Nero was no Titus Quinctius Flamininus.

...I'm hoping to fix this scenario up, make some improvements etc sometime soon....

 

[Sisonpyh]

You sound like the coolest teacher, ever.

Wish I had been that lucky. Oh wait, I live in America! Guess it wasn't bad luck.

 

[Carloquillo]

So I presented 'The Year of the Four Emperors' at the conference yesterday. Generally, a very good reception. So perhaps a few more academics will lurk around here now...

Also in Madrid have been presented lessons of history using the "CIV IV"

http://www.civadictos.com/actualidad/noticias/not_13may2006_01.html

Roman provincial administration was a crazy patchwork quilt of arrangements at different levels (and of course, these all changed over time as well!), with individual cities having different legal and financial relationships with each other, the provincial administration, and Rome herself.

Yes, really, it would be able to say that the Roman Empire was a confederacy of cities.

There are maps existing indicating which legions (and their auxiliaries) were stationed where when, but I didn't have access to the library when I started pounding this out.

This is a relation of the existing legions in the Roman Empire at the year 68, its locations and the Emperor to which followed.



LEGIO-----------------------LOCATIO 68AD------------------------IMPERATOR



I Adiutrix---------------------Misenium--------------------------------GALBA>OTHO>VESPASIANUS

I Augusta Germanica--------Bona--------------------------------------?????

I Italica------------------------Lugdunum-----------------------------VITELLIUS

II Augusta--------------------Glevum----------------------------------?????

III Augusta-------------------Ammaedra (Africa)---------------------?????

III Cyrenaica-----------------Aegyptus---------------------------------????

III Gallica---------------------Moesia----------------------------------VESPASIANUS vs VITELLIUS

IV Macedonica---------------Mogontiacum--------------------------VESPASIANUS

IV Scythica-------------------Zeugma----------------------------------??????

V Alaudae-------------------Castra Vetera----------------------------VITELLIUS

V Macedonica--------------Iudaea-Pontus-Aegyptus---------------VESPASIANUS

VI Ferrata-------------------Raphanea (Siria)------------------------VESPASIANUS

VI Victrix------------------Hispania Tarraconensis-----------------GALBA>>VESPASIANUS

VII Claudia-----------------(Viminacium??) Moesia---------------VESPASIANUS

VII Gemina------------------Hispania---------------------------------GALBA>OTHO> VESPASIANUS

VIII Augusta----------------Novae (Moesia)-------------------------VESPASIANUS

IX Hispana------------------Lindum-----------------------------------VITELLIUS

X Fretensis------------------Iudaea------------------------------------VESPASIANUS

X Gemina-------------------Carnuntum (Pannonia-68AD)-Hispania-69AD--------GALBA>>VESPASIANUS

XI Claudia-------------------Burnum(Dalmatia)---------------------OTHO>>>VESPASIANUS

XII Fulminata---------------Iudaea------------------------------------VESPASIANUS

XIII Gemina-----------------Poetovio(Pannonia)--------------------OTHO>>>VESPASIANUS

XIV Gemina------In Britania--This legion is declared follower of Otho (multiple movements in the civil war 68-69)

XV Apollinaris-------------Iudaea------------------------------------VESPASIANUS

XV Primigenia---------------Castra Vetera--------------------------VITELLIUS

XVI Gallica-------------------Novaesium----------------------------VITELLIUS

XX Valeria Victrix----------Viroconium Cornoviorum-----------VITELLIUS

XXI Rapax---------------------Vindonissa----------------------------VITELLIUS

XXII Deiotariana-------------Alexandria-----------------------------VESPASIANUS ???

XXII Primigenia------------Mogontiacum or Carnuntum-----------VITELLIUS


DoctorG!! If you want I can send you the file "The Year of the Four Emperors.Civ4WorldBuilderSave" with the names of the legions (unit praetorians) and its locations. It will be a pleasure.

 

[DoctorG]

Hi Carloquillo!
You are absolutely brilliant. yes, please do send the file!

I'm thinking of developing another Roman history specific scenario, on the breakaway Gallic Empire in the late third century AD - then of course the game would be for Rome to re-conquer - or for the Gallic Empire to overwhelm its progenitor. No teaching ambitions for this one - just something to have fun with!

 

[LouLong]

You would then have Zenobia's Palmyrian Empire in the East at the same time as the 30 tyrants in Gaul/Britannia.

All the more reconquest to be done.

 

[LaCiencia]

Hi DoctorG,

I gave a try to this scenario, not from the educational purpose point of view, but just for fun.

Indeed without too many resources you were able to produce a fun scenario.

I played as Vespasian , I realize the goal a little late around turn 35. I tried to defeat Volognese, and I didn't insist too much in research as I read previous posts and I was wondering research effort was nonsense.

However I could rearrange priorities and started produce settlers to increase my population. Surprisingly there was no score during the game I don't know why.

I gain the General Secretary of the Senate , and I pass first the resolution for free market, just to make a try. It was approved by unanimity.

Later I was trying the UN Elections of course in order to try to win a Diplomatic Victory. At the beginning i didn't succeed, as i was at war with all my opponents.

I didn't loose any of my cities, I defeated the Volognese, and conquered North African cities to Leptis Magna, and create several cities. As you will be able to see, I get 1st place in all aspects, except military quantity of soldiers (please see demographics screen), and at the end of the game leyend you have been defeated appeared

Honestly I recognize that I don't know anything of this piece of history , but play Civ is a great way to learn both history and geography, from this scenario I concluded:

1) First goal to win is to increase your population the soonest possible
2) You have to reaserch upmost in order to get better units
3) Possibly to produce wonders will help to improve the opinion of yourself in your oponnents,

The above are "normal" goals in Civ,

4) Once you are strong enough is time to make peace and start negotiations with your stronger oponnents (in my case Vitallius)
5) You have to hurry up to kick north african tribes, as 100 turns is not too much time to do so.

Due to the anomaly of the score I ignore if I did well or not.

Finally I would prefer the scenario without no research (or very little), and I would like you to include the wonders already existing for that time.

I want to finish congratulating you for your excellent idea to use the game for educational purpose, and also to congratulate you for your excellent result with the fewer resources. I strongly encourage you to produce other great scenarios, you are not a modder, but you have all what is necessary to become a brilliant one.

Best Regards
La Ciencia

 

[DoctorG]

Hi!

Thanks for the feedback. I have absolutely no idea why the score wasn't working - it didn't use to do that, but I must have messed something up. But I'm glad you enjoy it!

I've made a few changes, fixed up the hispania map part, etc - check out first post in this thread. If anybody felt like trying to make some of the changes I suggest there ('desiderata'), that'd be cool too!

Oh, and if anybody's interested: I've got another scenario off the ground and running, set about seven hundred years earlier in Central Italy, featuring 'Romulus, King of Rome'! Again, for teaching... and 'cause it's fun.

 

[toe1985]

Dr. G -
As a social studies teacher myself I appreciate your efforts. I have been a CIV player for about 10 yrs and I constantly recommend this game. I need to know exactly how to install the files - I don't want to mess anything up! Directions please?
Thanks again.

 

[DoctorG]

How to install -

Unzip the files to a temp folder. Put the world builder save file in your public maps folder (not the subfolders you might find in your 'my games' folder, but the programs->firaxis->sid meier's civilization iv etc folder).

meanwhile, back in the temp folder where you unzipped everything - there is a 'year of the four emperors' folder. go into that. you will find another 'year of the four emperors' folder inside. take THIS folder and put it into the main mods folder. put the year of the four emperors config file in the year of the four emps folder.

then, go back to the temp folder, grab the assets folder (it should have the xml, technologies and text subfolders), and put that in the year of the four emperors folder in your mods folder (it will replace the empty assets folder there).

Sorry, I know this is a bit clumsy, but at least this way I keep track of where everything is. You might wish instead to unzip directly into your main mods directory, and then make sure the assets folder (with technology and text subfolder) is where it is supposed to be. This is my first mod, so more experienced folks out there are no doubt shaking their heads over this!

Anyway, once that's all done, fire up Civ IV, go to scenarios, and select The Year of the Four Emperors.

Enjoy!

 

[HÄI]

You might want to block some technologies from the scenario - researching gunpowder might give some advantage...

 

[LaCiencia]

Hi!

Thanks for the feedback. I have absolutely no idea why the score wasn't working - it didn't use to do that, but I must have messed something up. But I'm glad you enjoy it!

I've made a few changes, fixed up the hispania map part, etc - check out first post in this thread. If anybody felt like trying to make some of the changes I suggest there ('desiderata'), that'd be cool too!

Oh, and if anybody's interested: I've got another scenario off the ground and running, set about seven hundred years earlier in Central Italy, featuring 'Romulus, King of Rome'! Again, for teaching... and 'cause it's fun.

I downloaded the scenario and I will try it asap

 

[DoctorG]

You might want to block some technologies from the scenario - researching gunpowder might give some advantage...

Well, I've gone and made all of the techs super expensive, so it should be next to impossible for somebody to reach things like gunpowder... but it would make for a neat class if that did happen in somebody's game - it'd bring up questions about the nature of Roman science and technology, and why they never took 'the next step' - steam power was not unknown to the Romans, but it was only ever employed for stage tricks, things like making temple doors open at somebody's word of command, that sort of thing. Romans just didn't really go into labour saving devices... there's a guy called Andrew Wilson who's written on this sort of thing if anybody's interested...

....sorry, getting all didactic there...!

...but it'd be kinda cool if Vespasian roared into town, guns blazing. Now we're moving from historical recreation into counterfactuals, which can also be fun!

 

[HÄI]

Gunpowder isn't that expensive to get - I could research in December 68 by building The Oracle

I still decided to aim for Nationalism - the Vespasion nation is perhaps a little bizarre entity but whatever.

 

[Carloquillo]

Hi DoctorG.

You have a PM.

Because I can send you files neither by PM nor by E-MAIL, I place you here the image and the index...

 

[Carloquillo]

The INDEX:

The Roman army in 69 A.D.

Very short introduction.

1. Legiones.

1.1. Short explication.
1.2. List Legiones, locatio, Imperator. (already you know it).
1.3. Military Machines.

2. Auxilliae

2.1. Short explication.
2.2. List Alae.
2.3. List Cohortes.

3. Classis Romae.

3.1. Short explication.
3.2. Locating naval bases.
3.3. Some names of historic Roman ships.

4. The special force of the Urbs.

4.1. Short explication.
4.2. List.

The image:

 

[DoctorG]

Hi Folks,

Got talking to the Dean, and this scenario will be included in one of our classes! So I don't have to sneak it in. In fact, she was so enthusiastic, we're planning on developing one or two more for some of our other courses, which is fantastic. I'll post these here on civfanatics in due course, because the feedback and help I've been getting from everybody out there has really made an enormous difference. Thanks everyone!

 

[Mrdie]

Hi Folks,

Got talking to the Dean, and this scenario will be included in one of our classes! So I don't have to sneak it in. In fact, she was so enthusiastic, we're planning on developing one or two more for some of our other courses, which is fantastic. I'll post these here on civfanatics in due course, because the feedback and help I've been getting from everybody out there has really made an enormous difference. Thanks everyone!

Congradulations. Now YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILING GRADES OF POSSIBLY THOUSANDS!!!!!!!!!

 

[DoctorG]

Actually, I tend to have a fairly good pass rate...!

Well. Some classes are better than others. Honestly: you pay all that money to get a kick at the can, you'd think you'd get off your butt to do the work and so not to waste it.... but that's a rant for another time, another place.

 

[DoctorG]

Hi folks,

New update (which is a bit of a tautology) available. See the first post in this thread. Thanks again to Carloquillo!