Favonius Cornelius

By the time the empire split, you were already beginning to see what later would become Byzantium from the Eastern Empire. The Western Empire could still call on the solid stock of men from the Dalmatian and Pannonian areas, as well as Gaul and Iberia. Thus the rank and file of the legions and limitani could probably be expected to be a bit tougher in the west. In the east they drew their quality men probably mostly from Moesia, but then the rest from places like Asia Minor to Syria, which did not breed the toughest of men with the exception of perhaps Cilicia. When you consider the tactical requirements of each empire, you see clearly why each carried out war as it did. In the west they faced the Caledonians in Britannia, and the Franks and other Germanic tribes across the Rhine who stressed the martial prowess of their warriors in hand to hand combat. Also considering the terrain of forests, mountains and hills, the western specialized mostly in infantry warfare. The Eastern Empire on the other hand had to face the Goths and the Persians, both of whom were great cavalry warriors, so in the east you see a heavy stress on cavalry. The archers of the eastern nations beyond the empire also left their imprint on the Eastern Empire, for it is from there you get the best archers. So, in the west solid infantry much as it always had been from the beginning, with the east being more flexible with better cavalry and archers.

I would choose middle empire myself. By this point Roman arms and armor have reached a pinnicle of perfection with perhaps the exception of the rise of the cataphract in the east in later history. Archers and artilliary were even well used. Moral was high, the legions were dedicated and the best men chosen from all across the still robust empire. While it is true to say that Caesar's 10th was late republic and were quite extraordinary soldiers, I take this question to mean that you were given a general assortment for the time, thus my answer.

Ah interesting, I had no idea. You know it just occured to me, Titus Pullo will be for Octavian, and Lucius Vorenus for Antony in times to come. Season 2? What do you think?

Ah very cool! I mean, what is a title but vanity, but it makes things fun nonetheless. :2guns:

Certainly. With that in mind, ever think about putting out a series of maps, say one for later republic Rome, another 117 as you have, and another near the fall so some other arrangement?

I might buy it if it had more detail. Also notating the locations of areas troops were stationed would be a huge plus for me.

But why would Pullo care to pay homage to Bes?

Live long and prosper!

Obviously a man of refined taste!

Google is your friend: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=roman+baths Also: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=881&hl=baths http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1723&hl=baths

The Punic Wars are interesting to me in that each can be seen as generally focused on a particular area of the art of war. The first known for its great sea battles, the second with Hannibal, Scipio and their land battles, and the third the siege of Carthage. It's as if the two great powers had to test each other in each to prove who is the most mighty.

The Theocracy of Sacred Science welcomes relations with all logic loving nations. http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index...._sacred_science

Interesting! I will have to check this out. Can you war with other nations?

I forget the exact year but starts 364 I believe with Valentinian and Valens on the thrones of the western and eastern empires, until 476.

Antony's invasion sure would make for a fun mini-campaign.

While a single great battle is always a crowd pleaser, I like to remember the slow and steady resolution of the Roman war machine that in many ways won so much more than these single spectacular battles. Mostly sieges, slow and steady in very many cases wins the race, especially when facing an enemy who is passionate or undisciplined. Jugurthine War The Roman Republic was constantly plagued with incompetent generals being fielded due to their family history. After two years of little accomplished by Quintus Caecilius Metellus 'Numidicus,' Gaius Marius took over the situation with the realization that chasing the fast Numidians across the desert on their terms was not the solution. Despite their mobility, the Numidians still had to yet rely on distinct points of supply across the Numidian grasslands and desert to support their many horses. The key to Marius' victory was by painstakingly controlling each and establishing forts in key areas such that a network of control was realized across the wide and unwieldy area. Eventually the Numidians were cornered and forced to terms. Siege of Numantia The consolidation of Iberia was a slow and painful process that lasted centuries for the Romans, particularly because of the rough and easily defensible terrain. One of the epicenters of Celtiberian resistance was the mountain stronghold of Numantia. In rebellions past, a number of Roman commanders conveniently bypassed the idea of besieging the stronghold, widely believed to be impenetrable, or at worst failed miserably in assaulting it. Scipio Africanus the Younger realized that pacifying the area clearly required its capitulation, but rather than storming the walls for a quick and glorious victory, completely sealed off the area with a fantastic siege network. It was eventually razed. http://spainforvisitors.com/sections/celtiberianwars.htm Masada Judea had always been a problem throughout Rome's control of the area. Religious differences, zealotry and the rough landscape made it difficult to pacify, with perhaps hundreds of thousands of Greeks, Jews and Romans dieing in the process. Masada was the ideal stronghold to resist the Romans in: it had an isolated water storage which was virtually bottomless, copious room for food supply, fortified and situated on top of a totally unassailable plateau, far from outside supplies or wood for siege materials. Flavius Silva the governor of Syria at the time was yet not deterred by the odds and out of the very rock that made the land built a ramp right up to the walls which still exists today. The scope of such a feat perhaps was not seen since Alexander's siege of Tyre.

Cremona. Always been a scar of Roman civil war to me. Almost makes you wonder if the word 'cremate' came from this dark episode!

Thanks for the link Lacertus. I just crushed the Quadi last night in RTW, so interesting to see who I defeated.

This is the third week now trying to get this Rome Total War Barbarian Invasions to work. I have patched, driversized, reloaded and rearranged every possible iota of my computer to no avail. One last resort will be tested tonight: perhaps my vid card and computer need a better or new powersourse. Please deliver me from my pain oh mighty and new 650W PSU! I swear, the west shall not fall. The barbarians shall not pass!

Elaborate?

I guess the answer to your question is simply brute strength, organization and endurance. These are soldiers who are use to building a fortified camp every time they march out from point to point. Building siege works is not that much different. People generally accredit Caesar with almost inventing the Roman style of siege mastery. While he did use it with genius, it was a work in progress over the centuries handed down from one general to the next. For instance the siege of Numantia by Scipio Africanus was every bit as brilliant as Alesia I think. The fundamentals were total encirclement, cutting off supplies and creating for the besiegers themselves a situation where they could defend themselves easily, as seen with Caesar's double-faced siege works. Once you have them starving, you can force a breech at your own convenience with bombardment or undermining walls.

Just because he founded a dynasty does not have to mean he had a ton of children who had tons of children themselves. Not only that but the fact that he was around 1500s makes me seriously wonder about all that! How does one line consistantly and preferably get bred when there are so many others around? At any rate, the proof has to be actually showing that the Y gene really comes from Giocangga. If they cannot do that then it is all speculation. Even people who claim there are millions of decendants of Ghengis Khan are speculative because they cannot even remotely prove that it is his gene. Considering the methods scientists use to get their funding, and the respect for ancestors of the Chinese, I cast considerable doubt on these supposed genetic relations.

What more does a general need to do other than promise a heafty percentage of the spoils? Money almost always works.

The last two paragraphs have the most potency for me. The fall of the empire is a sad chapter for all peoples.

It might almost be worth waiting a few months anyway: seems tons of people have crashing problems, myself included. I've never met a game that had as many crashing issues as RTW, but I put up with it because the game is great.