Brainstorming session: Obviously, Rome needs to travel the sea of time, to rip off SM Stirling’s excellent book.
Which Rome, though and where do we want to put it?
Which Rome? Rome during the Punic Wars has its attraction, as does the late Republic, maybe on the eve of Julius Caesar’s launching his wars against the Celts. The full-blown empire could also be fun to move around.
Where could we move it? Do we want to move the whole of Roman-controlled territory or just a fleet or a couple legions?
Let’s give ourselves maximum flexibility. Any part of Rome from any period from 500 BC to 500 AD can appear any place in the solar system at any time since the solar system formed. Rome in the very early, potentially life-supporting Mars? Sure. On Venus before it got paved over and became a hellhole? Why not?
Brainstorming is just tossing out random ideas without initially judging how useful they are, so with no judgments whatsoever, here is what springs to my fevered mind:
Late Republic Rome pops into 1519 Mexico. We now have Julius Caesar and his legions against Cortes and his men, and eventually probably an invasion from Europe if the Roman beat the crap out of the Spanish initially, which I suspect would happen. How much of Rome comes over? Maybe just a couple legions, so they’re competing with the Spanish for control of Aztec Mexico. Could be fun.
Punic War Rome and Carthage in the Mediterranean in say 1630 to 1760, the age of sail. Maybe just their fleets and a few seaports show up—enough to give them a place in the game of empires. How fast do they adapt to superior European technology? Can they compete?
Late Roman Republic to the last interglacial: Legions invade France and find Neanderthals. It could be fun to try the empire at its height or Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars there too. Climate would be a lot like it is now. Britain would, I believe, be uninhabited. Cave bears and Wooly Mammoths would be around. Neanderthals on horseback in a hundred years? Rome spreads throughout the Old World? Interesting possibilities.
Same options: only put them back to the glacial maximum around 22k years ago or at the very end of the ice age, just after the Younger Dryas, where climate was a lot like ours, but sea levels were a little lower.
In any case, feel free to run with those ideas or any others you come up with. The only restriction is that it has to be Roman and it has to be roaming in time or space.
Which Rome, though and where do we want to put it?
Which Rome? Rome during the Punic Wars has its attraction, as does the late Republic, maybe on the eve of Julius Caesar’s launching his wars against the Celts. The full-blown empire could also be fun to move around.
Where could we move it? Do we want to move the whole of Roman-controlled territory or just a fleet or a couple legions?
Let’s give ourselves maximum flexibility. Any part of Rome from any period from 500 BC to 500 AD can appear any place in the solar system at any time since the solar system formed. Rome in the very early, potentially life-supporting Mars? Sure. On Venus before it got paved over and became a hellhole? Why not?
Brainstorming is just tossing out random ideas without initially judging how useful they are, so with no judgments whatsoever, here is what springs to my fevered mind:
Late Republic Rome pops into 1519 Mexico. We now have Julius Caesar and his legions against Cortes and his men, and eventually probably an invasion from Europe if the Roman beat the crap out of the Spanish initially, which I suspect would happen. How much of Rome comes over? Maybe just a couple legions, so they’re competing with the Spanish for control of Aztec Mexico. Could be fun.
Punic War Rome and Carthage in the Mediterranean in say 1630 to 1760, the age of sail. Maybe just their fleets and a few seaports show up—enough to give them a place in the game of empires. How fast do they adapt to superior European technology? Can they compete?
Late Roman Republic to the last interglacial: Legions invade France and find Neanderthals. It could be fun to try the empire at its height or Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars there too. Climate would be a lot like it is now. Britain would, I believe, be uninhabited. Cave bears and Wooly Mammoths would be around. Neanderthals on horseback in a hundred years? Rome spreads throughout the Old World? Interesting possibilities.
Same options: only put them back to the glacial maximum around 22k years ago or at the very end of the ice age, just after the Younger Dryas, where climate was a lot like ours, but sea levels were a little lower.
In any case, feel free to run with those ideas or any others you come up with. The only restriction is that it has to be Roman and it has to be roaming in time or space.