History - base of Iberia

[Viriato]

\"Accidentaly\" Cadeyrn, in other worlds aka Garik, visited Iberia forum and mud, which \"forced\" me to start inviting other persons to come earlier than I would think (cause code stills in a very early phase) . Due to this, I need to make a presentation of the mud: first in this post, with a brief introduction based on history, and then with another post which explain better the features and my idea for the mud.

*START*

HISTORY:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome

In this site is a nice resume of Roman history. Many things written there are important, but these ones are crucial for the MUD (some things come from wikipedia, other from other books and sites, including portuguese and spanish books):

When expanding for the control of Mediterranean Sea, Rome fought against Carthage in three wars, known as Punic wars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic_wars). In the first one Carthage was defeated. In the next years, Carthage's army lead by Hannibal, and mostly constituted by mercenaries, prepared for invading Rome. The short and more obvious way from Carthage to Rome was by the sea... but to cause surprise, Hannibal lead his army through North Africa and then to Iberian Peninsula, assaulting there cities already controled by Romans. In Iberia (known as well as Hispania), he increased his army's numbers with more mercenaries, and went through Alps mountains to reach Italy (he had affrican elephants in his army, and was successfull to invade Italy with some that survived through Alps). Rome was having heavy defeats in Italy, and decided to counter-attack Hannibal's army in the same way he attacked Rome: invading Carthage from the cities in Hispania. Hannibal wanted to defend his capital city, and retreated from Italy, loosing a decisive battle for Romans, which conquered Carthage - the end of the second punic war (around 200BC).

[Viriato]

IMPORTANT! - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispania and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viriathus


Roman Hispania

The major part of the Punic Wars, fought between the Punic Carthaginians and the Romans, was fought on the Iberian Peninsula. Carthage gave control of the Iberian Peninsula and much of its empire to Rome in 201 BC as part of the peace treaty after its defeat in the Second Punic War, and Rome completed its replacement of Carthage as the dominant power in the Mediterranean area. By then the Romans had adopted the Carthaginian name, romanized first as Ispania. The term later received an H, much like what happened with Hibernia, and was pluralized as Hispanias, as had been done with the three Gauls.

Roman armies invaded Hispania in 218 BC and used it as a training ground for officers and as a proving ground for tactics during campaigns against the Carthaginians and the nations of Hispania, such as the Iberians, the Lusitanians, the Celtiberians and the Gallaecians. Iberian resistance was fierce and prolonged, however, and it wasn't until 19 BC that the Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC-14 AD) was able to complete the conquest.



In the 3rd century BC, Rome started its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. The invasion progressed quite well in its initial phases, conquering most of the peninsula with relative ease.

The consul Servius Sulpicius Galba commanded the Roman troops in Iberia circa 150 BC and started destroying the rest of the Lusitanian resistance. Fearing the destruction of their lands, the Lusitanians sent an embassy to him. Galba received the Lusitanian embassy politely, suspended the offensive and promised to give lands to the Lusitanian people.

[Viriato]

The offer turned out to be a trap. When the unarmed Lusitanians, among them Viriathus, tried to reclaim the lands promised by Galba, many were killed. Viriathus was among those who escaped.

Viriathus never forgot the Roman treachery. Later, when some Lusitanian leaders prepared to make a new agreement with the Romans after a major loss of lives to the Roman army of Caius Vetilius, Viriathus reminded them of Galba's trick and proposed a Lusitanian War against the Romans. The Lusitanians cried with joy.

Viriathus organized an attack against Caius Vetilius in Tribola. Since the Romans were better armed, he organized guerrilla tactics and sprung imaginative ambushes. Charging with iron spears, tridents and roars, the Lusitanians defeated Vetilius. After him, the Lusitanians clashed with the armies of Caius Plancius, Unimanus and Caius Nigidius.

To complete the pacification and humiliation of Lusitania, Rome sent Fabius Emilianus, with 15,000 soldiers and 2,000 horses to strengthen Caius Lelius. The Romans lost most of these reinforcements in Ossuma. When Emilianus risked combat again, he was totally defeated near what is today the city of Beja in Alentejo. This defeat gave the Lusitanians access to today’s Spanish territory, modern Granada and Murcia.

Learning of these events, Rome sent one of its best generals, Servilius Cipianus, to Iberia. Near Sierra Morena, the Romans fell into a Lusitanian ambush. Viriathus did not harm the Romans and let the soldiers and Servilianus go. Servilianus declared Viriathus to be a \"Friend of Rome\" and recognized the Lusitanian rule over their own lands.

The Roman senate did not accept the treaty made by Servilius Cipianus with the Lusitanians. However, the Romans did things differently this time. Knowing that the Lusitanian resistance was largely due to Viriathus' leadership, Marcus Pompilius Lenas bribed Audax, Ditalcus and Minurus, three Lusitanians sent by Viriathus as an embassy to establish peace. These ambassadors returned to their camp and killed Viriathus while he was sleeping. When they returned to the Roman camp for their reward, the consul Servilius Cipianus ordered their execution, declaring, \"Rome does not pay traitors\".

With the death of Viriathus, the Lusitanian resistance began to end, although total pacification of Lusitania was only achieved under Augustus. Under Roman rule, Lusitania and its people gradually acquired Roman culture and language.

*END*

This is a resume, and you can read much more in the links (and even much more in other links on those pages). In chronology, the mud action happens some years after Galba's trap, when Viriathus was forming an army gathering soldiers in the multiple tribes of Iberia, and already attacking Rome's armies (at that time both Rome and Lusitanian armies were kind of balanced, just based in the quantity of victories/defeats). The action also happens in Iberia.

This mud starts in Iberia, in a small and limited portion of terrain at first. Depending on the dimension we want for this mud, nothing prevents us for code and create a world that can even include Italy and Rome. At start, you live in Iberia during the Lusitan war, but who stops us, in the future, make a player live in Rome and be a soldier of a legion, a consul or even the Emperor of Roman Empire?

On a side note, Lusitanian wars existed and so did Viriathus (or someone that at a given time was able to face Roman legions), even though many things written about him are much folk lore, romanticized along the years.

[Cadeyrn]

Im so sorry to have \"forced\" you to write this article

I must also say that I had some fascination for that idea you had in the end of this article

[Viriato]

No! It was due to you, but it should exist a document like this here. With mud down meanwhile, how new persons could arrive here and learn about Iberia? Was something it should be done already.

The idea in the end of the article is my ultimate objective . And as far as I can look, it is an heavy work to do (I want to have things in this mud the more real they can be, and corresponding to reality the more they can): will be much more work to builders than to coder.