Rome

The Creation of a Republic

Rome was one of the most powerful empires of the world. But it wasn't just from it's military might. Rome had any influences from the powerful greek civilizations before it and the Etruscans who had a advanced civilization in the Italian peninsula before the Romans. The Romans took much of its technological and architectural genius from the Etruscans, they used their arch and many other methods, including one which let them drain the swamps where Rome would be built.

There are many myths and legends about the founding of Rome, about the Romolus and Remus twins, who would have lived 6th century B.C.E. having founded Rome in 753 B.C.E. There are legends about how they fought over who would be king, and any how they founded the city. Whatever happened the kings of Rome were eventually pushed out, and a republic was formed. During the kingships Rome had been expanded. The kings fought often with its neighbors and quickly controlled much of the peninsula.

A republic was formed after Tarquin the Proud was chased out of Rome. The republic was ruled by two Consuls who effectively had the power of the old kings, except they could veto each other. The Senate had greater power than before because it controlled the funds. The social order was soon to change as well. The aristocracy, the patricians, began to be challenged by the rest of the population, the plebeians. The plebeians forced the creation of a new office the tribunes and the codification of law.

By 265 B.C.E. Rome controlled most of the peninsula. There struggles began to extend out of the peninsula. One of the most important conflicts was with Carthage. The Punic Wars lasted slightly more than one hundred years but eventually the City of Carthage was destroyed. Though the new Roman territories in North Africa were important the most important thing gained fro the war was the discovery of a new piece of technology. It was a rudimentary steam engine. Though there were versions of it before the one found in Africa was much more powerful. A captured Greek engineer was enlisted to study it. Within ten years he had designed a mechanical legionary: the Miles Ambulator.

The mechanical soldiers took the rest of the Mediterranean and Europe by storm. Rome expanded north and east as fast as the walking statues could walk and there mechanics could walk. By 45 B.C.E. they controlled half of Germania, most of Phrygia, Acedonia, parts of North Africa, Gaul, and Spain.

The Empire

Though Rome was nearly all powerful it wasn't invincible to itself. Constant social and political troubles plagued it. The last consul who had made himself the sole ruler Julius Caesar, was assassinated and his adopted son Octavian, now Augusts Caesar, had an inheritance to take. He allied with Mark Antony and Lepidus. With them he crushed the republicans, the only thing left were his own allies. Mark Antony claimed the east along with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, as his bride. Octavian used this as an excuse to attack him. Using advanced but simple steam powered rowing vessels from Rome he crushed Mark Antony.

Octaivan became a consul and ruled for four years when the Senate gave him the honorary title of iperator. Though little changed it became the standard government as an empire. Rome began to prosper.

The Decline

But all empires fall. One cause was the political corruption and failings of the emperors after Augustus. Another reason was economic problems because of its reliance on slave labor (It is unclear why they didn't adapt their machines to do labor, but they only used it in combat). One major reason was a plague that wiped out half of the Exercitus Molius Romanorum (the Roman Army of Engineers). The Miles depended on the engineers to keep them working. With limited supplies of engineers some legions fell into disarray or got stuck. This let several Germanic tribes that previously had been controlled easily to break through the line of defense and move towards Rome. The tribes managed to actually sack the city causing mass panic. Another cause of decline connected with the miles was the rise of the Christian religion. The Christian church began calling the machines "instruments of the devil," because of its ability to kill nearly instantly. When one of the Emperors converted to Christianity he attempted to replace some of the units with human soldiers, though he faced some resistance. To do it he tried to take men out of the Army of Engineers. This increased the rate of decay for the Miles. By the time the germanic tribes began to attack Rome there were barley any soldiers left. Rome would remain a power, but it had nearly collapsed and its legacy would remain.

The War Between the States

In the year several southern states seceded from the United States of America. The American government in the act of changing over administrations declared it a rebellion.

Though it was documented that the southern states seceded because the president elect

was promoting an abolishment to slavery it is now suspected that british agents planted within the American government had been encouraging both sides to take a stand.

As hostilities broke out amongst the states the Great British Empire decided it was prime time to retake their colonies from the Americans while they were fighting themselves. Using the Trent Affair as an excuse to strengthen it's forces in Canada and the Atlantic. After several weeks of tension between the Union and the Empire the Lincoln administration released the envoys. But when no formal apology was given the Empire declared war on the Union. The envoys, failing to receive diplomatic recognition for the Confederacy, were sent back. A week later it was released that the Empire had also declared war on the Confederacy.

Unsure of which side side the British would attack first the confederates started short on technology wavered. The confederate government panicking begged the Union to provide for their safety promising to reunite the U.S.A.

The Union mechanics devised a way to fortify the south and warn the country of British invaders. They positioned huge boilers in different strategic positions with guard houses built around it. If attacked the steam tower could quickly cover the steam flow putting a break in the steam rising from the stack. any tower seeing the break would do the same until an army garrison was notified. The boiler was used to power appliances for the soldiers and a lamp incase of a night attack.

Unfortunately the British Empire attacked early on the morning of October 3 of 1862 when a cloud bank rolled in obscuring the plumes of steam from the towers situated along the Mississippi river. A journal entry from a soldier garrisoned at the fort at little rock recalls: "On the 4th of october At 12 o'clock the cloudsfinally departed. Celebration did not last long as a lieutenant reported that all but three towers were showing smoke on the Miss until Memphis." Certainly without the fort which had been a last minuet installation, the U.S.A. would be part of the British territories.

Though it seemed peace would be sound it did not last. On September the 12th of 1870 a Union* agent noticed slaves being forced to work for the soldiers in one steam tower. Enraged Lincoln declared war on the Confederates.

The war lasted two more years, until it unexpectantly ended in the middle of the summer of 1872. When a black slave (whose name is not shown) invented a machine that could do the work of ten slaves.

They called it Negro.

*It now has been found that the agent was not from America but a British spy named John Wilkes Booth.

The War to end all Wars

In the years of 1914 and 1917 commenced the Great war or the War to end all Wars. Steam vehicles featured as a center piece of the war. Both the Germans and British used steam engines predominately in there campaigns as well as the french and Italy used some primitive machinery.

Before the war the were already hostilities forming but the real cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

The Archduke and his wife Sophie were driving there Steamhorse (shown here) when the horse exploded mortally wounding both of them. It is rumored that the Archdukes dying words to his wife were "Don't die darling, think of the children."

When news of the Archdukes death reached Austria they presumed it was an attack from Serbia. In fact it was recently found that it was a fault in the boiler that had ruptured.

During the war the Steamhorse was used to transport supplies and cannons to the front lines.

Pioneers of the Aeronautical SteamShip

After extensive research I bring you an account of the history of the Aeronautical SteamShip. Also included are photos of one such vehicle.

The first manned hot air balloon flew on October 19th 1783with the scientist Jean-Francois Pilatne de Rozier and other men of science.

In 1785 Jean Pierre Blanchard, fitted a balloon with flapping wings and a bird like tail for steerage, in which he crossed the English channel. Antique flying machine

In 1851 Dr. William Bland the first pioneer of aviation in Australia created designs for his "Atomic Airship" which was propelled by a steam engine turning two air screws.

Later in 1852 Henri Giffard flew 27 km in a steam powered airship.

During the next two decades after Giffard's flight much progress was made in developing the Aeronautical SteamShip including this antique. This vehicle used the flapping motion of the wings like Jean Pierre Blanchard's balloon but is powered by a steam engine turning a crankshaft. Some photo's from the time have been recovered: