Chapter 63 Submission of Africae

The next day, Marcellus worked on the designs of his new vision, alongside a large distillery to be established in the city of Rome. Ravenna was a temporary capital as far as Marcellus was concerned. It only existed in such a prestigious position because times were desperate. When the past glory of the Roman Empire was restored, naturally its capital would be moved back to Rome.

It was imperative that he begin the process of adding new sources of revenue to his Empire. After all, the treasury was looking very thing these days, even after stealing the wealth of the senators who had opposed him. Inflation was on the rise, and the only real way to combat this was via a stronger currency. However, he lacked the gold and silver required to do such a thing.

Currently, the common currency was so debased that the only real coins worth any value were the Solidus, which was slowly but surely becoming less and less pure as the years passed by. To combat this, Marcellus had ordered that all new Solidus’ being produced must be pure gold. The same standard was to apply to the Miliarense and Siliqua, which were the two silver coins in use by the Empire.

Once he had established his distillery and porcelain manufacturing plant, he would be able to sell the wares across the Mediterranean and perhaps even to the Germanic tribes. The influx of wealth would hopefully stabilize his crashing economy.

As for now, he had more important matters to deal with, thus after dispatching orders to Rome to implement the new technology in the pottery workshops, and to establish a large distillery. Marcellus descended from his study and entered the great hall where a man of a rather important position was waiting for him.

This man was named Decimus Mamilius Carnifex, and he was the leader of the comitatenses stationed in North Africa. Marcellus had summoned him to Ravenna because he was uncertain where the man’s loyalties lied. If he stayed in North Africa, then it was clear he was in open revolt. If he did as he was instructed, then it meant at the very least he was willing to entertain the idea of following the new emperor. Upon seeing the man in front of him, Marcellus opened his arms wide.

Marcellus was no longer dressed in the trappings of a Roman General. Instead, he wore an imperial regalia made of silk imported from the east, dyed in Tyrian purple, and embellished with golden lining. It was a matter of prestige to wear purple, and Marcellus pulled off the look. He still wore his lorica squamata and quilted leather subarmalis. over the purple tunic. Though he may be in the safety of the Palace, he was still a soldier at heart, and followed the rules that applied to soldiers in the field.

Carnifex gazed at the man in front of him with a stoic expression on his chiseled face. He did not immediately bow to the Emperor, nor salute him. Instead, he was gauging his character. He had heard rumors of Marcellus over the years, and the success the man had in battle. However, he never dreamed that the man would rise in rebellion, after all, he was always known as a loyal roman.

Truthfully, Carnifex did not care who was seated upon the throne in Ravenna, so long as North Africa was left in peace. He was born in the Diocese Africae and had served in its army for many years, rising to his current position.

However, the idea that Marcellus had used an army of barbarians to win his position, and quickly secured his rule by executing the Senate, did not sit right with the man. He only visited Ravenna because he was certain that despite his tyranny, perhaps Marcellus was the best chance of achieving peace in North Africa. Marcellus spoke to the man with a friendly tone in his voice, as he led him to the war room.

“Carnifex, I was worried that you would deny my summons. It appears that was unnecessary. Please follow me. We have much to discuss.”

The North African general remained silent as he followed Marcellus into the war room, where the other Generals of his armies were already gathered. Carnifex gazed upon the two Gothic chieftains, Sarus, and Alaric with a hint of disdain in his eyes. Whatever Marcellus had promised these men to secure their loyalty was a price Rome surely could not pay, or so he thought.

As for the other two generals, one was a mere Dux of the limitanei in Raetia, and the other was an up jumped Centurion who had rapidly climbed the ranks solely because Marcellus had few men he could trust.

Marcellus pointed at the map, which had figures of multiple men from various factions on it. The figures that represented the Gothic Foederati were moved to Noricum, where they sat on the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire, while the figures which represented Marcellus legions were moved to the position of the Alpine passes which existed as the borders between Constantine’s rebellion, and Marcellus’ dominion.

The man could immediately guess what Marcellus had planned and spoke for the first time since entering the room.

“You intend to use the foederati to secure the borders in the east, and make our Eastern brothers think twice before invading your territory. While at the same time using your new conscripts to march into Gaul. A bold move, but do you think your new troops are up to the task?”

Marcellus smiled and nodded his head before answering the man’s question with the utmost confidence.

“Currently, they don’t stand a chance. Constantine’s forces are battle hardened, and well equipped. However, by summer of next year, I am positive that my new conscripts will be a proper legion, capable of overwhelming Constantine’s forces. Besides, there is another factor we can take advantage of!”

At this moment, Marcellus moved three figures representing the Theodosian loyalists in Hispania, moving them into a position to trap and ensnare Constantine in Gaul. When Carnifex saw this, he scoffed at Marcellus before condemning him for his naivety.

“Do you seriously believe that after deposing the Emperor Honorius, that the loyalists of the Theodosian Dynasty in Hispania will side with you? They may be revolting against Constantine at the moment, but you’re the man responsible for the death of the Emperor they swore their allegiance to!”

Carnifex was beginning to fear for the worst as he analyzed Marcellus’ plan. It was feasible for him to win, after some hard-fought battles against Constantine with his conscripts, but then he would have to put down the rebellion in Hispania with weakened forces. Not to mention the foederati could only stall the response of the Eastern Roman Army for a limited time. However, Marcellus had a smug expression on his face as he informed all the men present of his ace in the hole.

“I believe they will see reason when they learn that I have become engaged to Galla Placidia. “

The entire room was filled with shock as they heard this news. If Placidia had truly agreed to marry Marcellus, it was possible for him to convince the Theodosian Loyalists in Hispania that he was the proper man to follow, especially if he maintained the lie that Honorius was only killed because of Olympius’ treachery.

With this in mind, Carnifex had transformed his opinion of Marcellus. Not only had the man deposed Honorius, but he had gained the loyalty of the Goths, and gotten the former emperor’s sister to agree to marry him.

Though Rome had been plunged into further chaos because of Marcellus’ rebellion, the man had quickly stamped out any sign of rebellion after securing his rule and rapidly expanded his forces. In fact, they were in a better position to defeat Constantine’s rebellion now than they had been when Marcellus was first dispatched to bring an end to his reign.

It was because of this that Carnifex believed Marcellus might be the man’s best fit for the position of Emperor. At the very least, he was better than Honorius, who practically led the Empire over the cliff with his inept rule. For now, Italia was secure from its enemies. Leaving the man with one question in his mind.

“Say I join forces with you and submit to your rule. How will you make use of me?”

In response to this, Marcellus merely smirked before giving the man the exact answer he was looking for.

“I want only one thing from you, to guard North Africa from the enemies of Rome. So long as you do that, I will be satisfied. With my current forces, I have no intention of pulling you and your men from the Diocese of Africae.”

Carnifex gazed over at the other men beneath Marcellus’ command. Two of them were goths, one was a semi-experienced frontier general, and the other was a man of little experience in being a lowly centurion. Despite this, the man in the center, who proclaimed himself to be the Emperor, was probably the only man who could effectively lead Rome during its current crisis. If Italia fell, then so too would North Africae, and that would be disastrous for Carnifex. Thus he sighed heavily, before agreeing to Marcellus’ condition.

“Fine, I recognize you, Titus Claudius Marcellus as the Emperor of Rome, and swear my service to you. At the very least you’re a better alternative than that fool Constantine…”

With this, North Africa had submitted to Marcellus’ rule, which until now had been a question of contention for the new emperor. Though Marcellus had no plans of making use of the Legion in the Diocese of Africae, it was still a boost to his army, as well as his economy.