History of Rome (WOD)

This article contains the history of Rome according to the World of Darkness timeline.

Overview

The history of Rome spans more than 28 centuries, from their beginning as a kingdom to the Roman Republic, its transformation into the Roman Empire and later as the seat of the Roman Catholic Church of the Papal States (though with various interregna) and a center of the Renaissance to becoming part of the newly founded Kingdom of Italy, the short-lived Italian Empire and the contemporary Republic of Italy.

Since the location has a vast and complex history, a timeline is presented to give an overview how the various supernatural factions of the World of Darkness active in Rome evolved and coexisted along mortal history. The timeline will at times examine territories outside the city of Rome proper, when they fell under Roman dominion.

Pre-Roman Era

• 929 BCE: The nation of Etruria is founded.

• 900 BCE - 500 BCE: The Etruscan civilization.

Founding of the Roman State

According to Roman tradition, Rome was founded by Romulus, twin brother of Remus. Legend claims that the pair were nursed in their infancy by a wolf.

The first vampiric society in Rome was founded by Tinia, an Etruscan methuselah; like most of Rome's subsequent rulers (and most Cainite princes in general), she was a scion of Clan Ventrue. Rome was one of the first cities, if not the first city, to grow large enough for Cainites of multiple clans to gather in one place in any significant number – or at least, the first time since the fall of the legendary Second City. This was likewise the first opportunity for the Nosferatu to gather in groups larger than individuals or their broods.

• 753 BCE: Foundation of Rome, either by Romulus or, more prosaically, by Etruscans. Tinia and other Ventrue first arrive on the Italian peninsula.
• 715 BCE: From a gathering of tignarii, architects and artisans, the Brotherhood of the Rule is founded by King Numa Pompilius.
• 548 BCE: Mi-ka-il (as "Beshter") settles in Rome.
• 509 BCE: King Tarquin the Proud is overthrown and exiled, and the Roman Republic is established. May instead occur in 510 BCE.
• 400 BCE: The Archdukes Abaddon and Asmodeus abandon the greek civilizations and plan to relocate to Rome. The Earthbound Lethe prophecies that the roman people will command "all the children of Dust and poison every corner of the world with perversion".
• 4th century: Prince Collat establishes a Roman Senate for vampires: the Eternal Senate.
• 4th century: Collat Embraces Camilla.
• 300 BCE: The Lasombra elder Zinnridi arrives in the Carthage-occupied Iberian peninsula. He rallies local Cainites against Yzabel's Brujah, but she destroys him.
• 300s BCE: Cisalpine Celts defeat Rome; Warders of Men prevent Fianna from cleansing the city of Wyrm Taint.

The Punic Wars and Carthage

The empire of the North African city-state of Carthage was a rival to Rome for centuries. Likewise, the Cainites of Rome and Carthage held a bitter rivalry. The Ventrue ruled in Rome first under Prince Collat and later his childe Camilla, and the Brujah held power in Carthage under none other than their Antediluvian, Troile. The Brujah sought to turn Carthage into the heir to the Second City where Cainites and kine could dwell in harmony, but they instead became tyrants who presided over slavery and infant sacrifice; many blame the presence of the Baali, whose leader, Moloch, had become Troile's confidant. Ultimately, the tide turned against Carthage and her Cainites as more and more clans allied with the Roman Ventrue during the Punic Wars between the two states. The Malkavian seeress Tryphosa counseled Camilla to take action against Carthage; this prompted the Roman Cainites to directly involve themselves in the Third Punic War. An alliance of many clans in the region united under Camilla's leadership: Malkavians, Lasombra, Toreador, Cappadocians, and even the rogue Baali Cybele. Carthage was destroyed by Roman forces at the end of this war; its soil was salted, with Troile and Moloch bound in the earth, entwined in a torpid embrace. The Idealist Brujah would ever after resent the Ventrue for destroying their last, best chance at creating a Third City.

This period also saw the Roman conquest of the Greek city-states. The ruling Romans suppressed many native Greek supernaturals, such as the Black Furies and the Sisters of Hippolyta. Others allied with the ascendant Roman supernaturals out of self-preservation, as is the case with the Greek Toreador and Roman Ventrue.

• 264 BCE: The First Punic War begins. The Malkavian Inanna is among the first of her clan to urge Rome to fight Carthage.
• Mid-3rd century BCE: Roman Ventrue begin to migrate to the Iberian peninsula in the wake of the First Punic War, and are supported against Carthaginian Cainites by Zinnridi's Lasombra childer.
• 220 BCE: The demon Drakonskyr manipulates Tiamat into exacerbating the Punic Wars in the belief that the wars will lead to the destruction of Rome.
• 202 BCE: Cocceius is born, the son of the Roman Senator Civus' rape of a slave girl.
• 190 BCE: Silk Accord negotiated between Roman Daedaleans and the Dalou'laoshi.
• 152 BCE: Rome invades Córdoba; Junius is among the Roman soldiers, and his skill on the battlefield wins him the attention of the Ventrue.
• Circa 150 BCE: The Cult of Mercury reaches the peak of its power.
• Shortly before the Third Punic War: Tanit summons her childe Tanitbaal-Sahar from Rome to her haven in Tyre. He vanishes with his ship during the journey.
• 148 BCE: Cocceius attacks Civus, who is now a vampire, and is fatally wounded; the Brujah Dysos Embraces Cocceius.
• 146 BCE: Rome conquers Greece. Later, Rome destroys Carthage, ending the Third Punic War.

Rise of the Roman Empire

BCE

• 88 BCE: The Social War ends with Roman dominance, thanks in part to Ventrue efforts. The Asiatic Vespers result in the killing of tens of thousands of Romans in Asia Minor; Critias claims some responsibility. Critias soon moves to Byzantium.
• 63 BCE: Romans under Pompeius conquer Palestine, including Judea.
• 54 BCE: Julius Caesar leads the first Roman incursion into Britain, sparking conflicts between Roman and Celtic mages. Retreating druids forge pacts with the fae.
• 44 BCE: Murder of Julius Caesar by Brutus et al. Lucius Casioli changes the Mt. Ossa Calyx to the Collegium Praecepti ("Brotherhood of the Rule"); its headquarters shifts from Greece to Rome, and its craft is dubbed Ars Praeclarus.
• 30 BCE: Cleopatra VII Philopater – last queen of independent Egypt, alleged Setite ghoul, consort of Mark Antony, and former consort of Julius Caesar – commits suicide via poisonous serpent.
• 27 BCE: Octavian becomes Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

CE

• 33: Crucifixion of Jesus by Roman authorities in Jerusalem.
• 43: General Aulus Plautius conquers Britain for Emperor Claudius. Celtic mages rebel against Roman occupiers.
• 61: Boadicea rebels against Romans and is defeated. Her son Ferox is taken as a ghoul by conquering Roman vampires.
• 64: Great Fire devastates Rome. Prince Camilla vanishes. Hermetic Library Mercuris is destroyed; Collegium Praecepti guild hall is spared.
• 100: At this time, hundreds of Earthbound congregate in Rome, organized into stratified ladder of hierarchy with Asmodeus and Abaddon at the top.
• 118: The Lightning Scourge begins: Roman Hermetics under Marcus Fulgurator battle Celtic mages across southern Britain and northern France; many magical beasts are slain.
• 120: Emperor Hadrian builds Hadrian's Wall along the southern border of Scotland.
• 121: The Lightning Scourge ends in a stalemate, with the Celtic mages driven back past Hadrian's Wall.
• 130: October: Hadrian's young lover Antinous commits suicide in Egypt's Nile River; Hadrian has the boy deified. Antinous is secretly Embraced by the Ventrue Methuselah Antonius; the childe takes his sire's name.
• 3rd century: The members of the Eternal Senate are all but forgotten, having become unknown ("Incogniti" or "Inconnu").

Christian Rome

• 310: The Eleusinian Accord between both Archdukes is broken. Both sides send their pawns against each other, resulting in another civil war.
• 312: October 27: Emperor Constantine the Great has a vision of a cross before the Battle of Milvian Bridge. After his victory over Maxentius, he converts to Christianity.
• 313: The Edict of Milan promotes tolerance of Christianity in the Roman Empire under Constantine.
• 320: Claudius Oediticus authors a revelatory work, and later founded the Cabal of Pure Thought (Gabrielites).
• 326: Mi-ka-il/Beshter, having converted to Christianity and taken the name Michael, departs Rome for Constantinople to be with his lovers, the Dracon (Tzimisce) and Antonius the Gaul (Ventrue). Michael proclaims Dominus, an old Traditionalist of Rome, as Inconnu (an insult at the time). The Traditionalists are angered, creating a rift between the Cainites of the Western and Eastern halves of the Roman Empire.
• 410: The Sack of Rome. Hermetic sanctuaries and Collegium Praecepti guildhalls are ruined; their members are scattered, as are the Messianic Voices and the Gabrielites. The Dark Ages begin. Romans withdraw from Britain.
• 476: The last Emperor in Rome dies, and the Western Roman Empire crumbles.

Dark Ages

Rome is a fallen, but restless, a corpse roused by alleged acts of God. Three challenges assail Cainites who dare the Eternal City. First, prideful Roman mortals clutch the scraps of the empire. Once, Rome teemed with residents. They were crushed into apartments called insulae or reigned over slave-filled estates. Their numbers and organization provided blood, power, and anonymity. Now a fraction of the old population lives here, providing less influence and camouflage. Even the poorest believe themselves deposed lords, entitled to the riches of Europe. They resent attempts to manipulate them. The second challenge is faith. Rome is seat of the Catholic Church. The secret Inquisition flowers under its patronage. St. Peter's Basilica is guarded by True Faith and soldiers who can identify supernatural horrors.

The third challenge are the Roman Cainites in their age, pride, and antique dreams. They've increasingly fallen out of touch with the reality of 13th-century Rome. Like Rome's mortals, they often believe the rotten bones of the city are still fully fleshed, with the strength to claim Europe anew. They play obsessive games of faith and ideology. Under Camilla's influence, the Cainite court assumes a defiant anti-clerical position. The Methuselah's only been awake for a short time. He styles himself Pontiff of Sin, and even though many of his followers only pay lip service to his decadent ideals, his eloquence and political skill may transform them into true believers, given time. Such is his power that he dismisses the Gnostic Brujah Thrax, with a laugh and wave. Other Roman vampires of comparable strength refuse to challenge him. The mighty Cretheus might be able to overthrow him, but uses Camilla as an Antipope to pit against the Pope, to inspire the drama of Golconda or the fall of the Church -- both options would please him.

Romans love three things: their lost Empire, their families, and rioting. The order of these preferences depends on current affairs, but they all come before their traditional enemy: high nobility. They got rid of their duke 400 years ago, and found no use for a replacement. Popes, neighboring lords, and even emperors tried in vain to command the people. Italians only respect the ones they break bread with. In Rome, every uncle's a lord. Get enough money and Romans behind one banner and that uncle becomes a patrician. They run the kine's day-to-day affairs. The city needs close supervision; Rome's filled with artisans, thieves, and priests who don’t like to farm, haul shit, or dig trenches. All the pilgrims, officials, and formal retinues wander around and spend money freely, so Romans cleave to gentler professions unless forced to by the patricians. In the 12th century, they cut high nobles out of government completely. They founded a new Roman Republic, complete with senators. They revived the Augustan custom of splitting the city into districts; Cainites adopted these to satisfy old Clan-related customs. Eventually the "Roman Senate" became Papal vassals and were reduced in number until just one existed to agree with the Pope about things. The arrogant dream collapsed into typical Roman chaos. Families indulge in little wars from time to time, so they have a custom of fortified mansions. The building of towers eventually became a war of its own, with rivals competing for height and splendor. When patricians fall, their towers lie abandoned until someone salvages the stone.

• 955: The Earthbound Ala makes Pope John XII a thrall, gaining short-lived control over the papacy.
• 1204: The Fourth Crusade sacks and burns Constantinople; the Eastern Roman Empire (the "Byzantine Empire") becomes the Latin Kingdom of Constantinople under control of Venetian lords.
• 1229: A series of earthquakes devastate Rome. Prince Constantius' haven is destroyed, and the prince himself suffers the Final Death under the sunlight. The earthquake also jostles the Methuselah Camilla out of torpor.
• 1231: The Church formally establishes the Inquisition. Gabrielites and Messianic Voices assist the Inquisition.

Renaissance

• 1453: Constantinople is conquered by Turkish Muslims, eventually becoming Istanbul (a name that was only formally adopted in 1923); the last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire is gone.
• 1666: The Founders dispatch the Children of Isaac from Rome to investigate Giovanni activities in London.