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Post by Admin on Jun 7, 2016 22:24:47 GMT
Reports reach Constantinople that a recent trading expedition to Britannia has failed to return with the anticipated payload of copper and tin, and as such the legions will have to procure emergency supplies from elsewhere. Many notable members of the court have lost money on this venture, including the Chamberlain Eusebios.
The Emperor may choose to withdraw his sponsorship of such operations, and see extra-Mediterranean trade fall by the wayside, no doubt costing some small amount to the tax revenues of the empire and effectively cutting off the oxygen from the remaining bastions of British Romanitas. He may also choose to continue his sponsorship of such expeditions, securing the Roman affiliation of the Britons and maintaining a far-reaching influence across the seas, though this may require larger trade fleets for safety, and the furnishing of some military vessels for further protection.
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Post by Imperium Romanum (Orientalis) on Jun 8, 2016 23:16:02 GMT
"To think some envy the Emperors...", Anthemius thinks to himself, sat at his lamp-lit desk in the Imperial Palace in Constantinople. The first light of dawn could be seen, pale and wan above the hills beyond the Horn. He wiped his eyes on his tunic, being sore with lack of sleep and the strain of reading by candlelight. "To think Constantine and Theodosius ruled the West too. They must have been superhuman to have managed".
The Regent is becoming increasingly exhausted with the burden of ruler-ship, ageing well before his time, he determines that he must split more of the responsibilities... Perhaps Pulcheria could help.
In the meantime, he drafts some options to put before the council, one idea that he has been milling over in his mind for a number of years, the other a issue that is at the heart of the Empire.
The issue, as he states, is the complete lack of an Imperial Navy, the Mare cannot remain Nostrum if the Empire hasn't the ships to hold it... the Lombards were proving that point. And now some unknown power is preying on the Britannian trade.
Quite simply, it seems impossible to maintain the link with Britannia with the West in such disarray. No news has reached Constantinople since the pretender sailed for Gaul.
None the less, the Empire will have to find the money for ships, he will put it to the council to begin the construction of a number of dromons, 4 full sized warships to be begun this year, potentially some smaller patrol-craft the year after. Anthemius new enough of Rome's history to know that it was Rome's naval supremacy, not its armies, that truly won the Punic Wars, and he was not about to lose the Mediterranean to anyone.
But this does nothing to solve the problem of access to copper and tin. To that end, the regent begins in earnest the planning for an enterprise that has been at the back of his mind for an age. He commissions a large trading vessel in Aelana, one of the largest ports on the Red Sea. Anthemius prepares to create an Imperial Trade Company, owned directly by the Emperor, to expand Roman trade with subcontinent, rich as it is in spices, minerals, and skilled labour.
Summary:
Abandon support for trade with Britannia for the short term
Construct 4 Dromons @ 8000 Aurei
Construct 1 Sekeuphoria on the Red Sea @ 1500
First Imperial Indian trade mission to be financed with remaining 200 aurei (mostly a fact finding mission to make contacts and establish rates of return and such)
OoC:
Will it be possible to build different size Dromons? For instance, I would quite like to produce a number of small ships for the purposes of patrolling and escort roles (would also be cool to build some large ones too, to act as flagship...)
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Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2016 13:09:29 GMT
OoC: The Dromons are left fairly abstract for unit simplicity, it is assumed that they vary in size, but average out, with some smaller vessels and some being quite large. The general trend is for smaller more flexible ships, so almost all Dromons will be smaller than the giant warships of the Hellenic and Republican periods. The Dromon is usually assumed to be a good all-round patrol vessel and anti-pirate ship, and the Skeuophora is a large ocean-going vessel. In larger fleets, feel free to roleplay a capital ship or a few larger vessels.
IC: Construction begins and is expected to be completed within 12 months, with the efforts of the finest shipbuilders from the Mediterranean world.
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Post by Imperium Romanum (Orientalis) on Jun 9, 2016 13:40:23 GMT
OoC: very good, thank you.
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Post by Imperium Romanum (Orientalis) on Jun 26, 2016 14:25:08 GMT
The Regent commissions two further Dromons to be constructed: the Theodosius I, and Constantinopolis
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Post by Imperium Romanum (Orientalis) on Jul 4, 2016 19:39:56 GMT
The Imperial Navy is to be split into two fleets, with current Praefectus Classis Ioannes Iulianus elevated to the position of Dux Classis, the supreme commander of naval forces, with seat upon the council, with overall responsibility for all aspects of Roman sea power.
The fleets are as follows:
The Classis Constantinopolitana, of 4 Dromons, based in Constantinopolis will patrol the Bosphorus and beyond as capacity allows, under the command of Praefectus Classis Horatius Lituus
and
The Classis Salonicus, of 2 Dromons, based in Salona which will continue to provide support to the Italian Campaign, under the command of Praefectus Classis Ioannes Aubreius
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