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So on a more upbeat note, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only does the new Empire Divided expansion for Total War: Rome II include the Kingdom of Palmyra as a playable faction, but I totally get to wreck the Eastern Empire as my main girl Queen Zenobia! (Can I get a ‘Hell Yeah!’?)

And completely unlike Rome II’s treatment of Cleopatra VII in the Imperator Augustus campaign (where her only role in game-play is she fills the ‘wife’ card slot on Marc Antony’s character sheet, which does nothing more than give Antony’s faction a diplomacy bonus with Egypt), Zenobia leads her own army and gets a kickass scythed chariot to cruise around on and chop up Roman and Sassanid invaders:

#Total War: Rome II #Empire Divided #Queen Zenobia #history #Roman history #warrior queens #computer games

#rome #total war #empire divided

The new dlc for Rome 2 total war comes out this week, empire divided.

#empire divided #rome 2 #total war

Tetricus Campaign: August 271 to May 272

Where we left off, armies loyal to Emperor Tetricus captured the city of Rome, which then became the new capital of the Tetricus faction - as is befitting the only proper claimant to the Imperial throne. The Senate faction was weakening rapdily, as it fought to keep Aurelian’s armies at bay in Sicily. Aurelian himself was faltering under extreme pressure from several Germanic kingdoms, such as the Marcomanni and Gothi, who established favorable relations with Tetricus. Furthermore, Aurelian’s loyal allies in Asia Minor - Galatia and Lydia - were being squeezed hard by Queen Zenobia’s Palmyrene Empire as well as the independent Kingdom of Armenia. Zenobia, however, was also facing difficulties against Aurelian’s strongest local ally - Egypt.

Tetricus’ First and Second Legions continued their southward offensive down the Italian peninsula against the Senate faction, facing little resistance on land but on several occasions needing to retreat further north to deal with threats by Senate faction navies.

Meanwhile, a new Fifth Legion established on the southern coast of Gaul was attached to the navy and led on an expedition to Corsica and Sardinia to capture the islands from the Senate faction, which it accomplished without much resistance.

Emperor Tetricus himself led the Third Legion headed southward down the Adriatic coast towards the Aurelian faction’s capital.

The Senate faction was crumbling, but in truth, so was Aurelian’s faction. His vassals in western Africa were being dismantled by Hispania Citerior (a Tetricus vassal) with some help from the independent Mauri tribe. Aurelian’s vassals in Asia Minor were on the brink of total loss to Queen Zenobia’s forces. Even his power base in the Balkan region was receding due to the advance of the large Gothi Kingdom. The only part of Aurelian’s domain which was healthy, it seemed, was Egypt, but even there Queen Zenobia was able to halt the Egyptian advance and begin pushing back.

Scouts spotted a large army led by Aurelian himself fortified in his own capital city of Narona. Emperor Tetricus took the opportunity and surrounded Narona with his own legion, and a months-long siege ensued. No reinforcements ever arrived to help Aurelian, so he did the only thing he could do: exit the city and attack Tetricus’ army. In this battle of two Emperors, Aurelian was dealt a resounding defeat - although Aurelian himself was able to escape, wounded. The city of Narona surrendered to Tetricus, and the city was burned to the ground as a symbolic gesture. If it wasn’t already, the end was now fully in sight for Aurelian.

#total war rome 2 #empire divided #tetricus campaign #playthrough

Tetricus Campaign: July 270 to August 271

Rome, 270 CE - Emperor Tetricus’ faction, based in the Gallic city of Bibracte, was involved with wars on many fronts. The Germanic Franci and Alemanni tribes were openly hostile, on top of the more pressing war with Aurelian and the Senate faction. An additional concern was the questionable loyalty of Hispania Citerior, Lusitania, and Britannia, who are supposed to be subordinate to Tetricus but may have delusions of independence.

A diplomatic summit granted us peace with the Franci without bloodshed, but the Alemanni would not hear of peace. Emperor Tetricus personally led Legio III Gallica to battle against the Alemanni. A back-and-forth battle with the Alemanni King occurred; Tetricus gained the upper hand only after retreating across the Rhine. The Alemanni attempted to pursue, and badly lost an attempt to attack Tetricus’ army across the river. Emperor Tetricus chased down the Alemanni remnants, forcing them to submit to his Empire.

The First Legion, meanwhile, went on an early offensive against the Senate faction, capturing the coastal town of Genua. However, Legio I Equestris found itself under two counter-attacks from the Senate faction’s armies. It defended against the first, but could not survive the second. The Senate faction therefore retook Genua, and Legio I had to be re-instated back in Massilia.

When it was back to a respectable strength, Legio I Equestris made a push for Genua again. At the same time, Legio II Alpina, led by the Emperor’s son, Caius Tetricus, attacked the Senate faction from the north to capture the fortified city of Mediolanum. Both attacks were successful. These two legions continued their southward march down the Italian peninsula, picking up more territory from the floundering Senate faction. This culminated in Legio I Equestris attacking the city of Rome. The attack was a success, although commanding officer Quintus Aquilinus died in the assault. With the Eternal City under Tetricus’ control, he has been vastly legitimized in his capacity as the one true Emperor of Rome.

Emperor Tetricus himself, after subjugating the Alemanni tribe, marched towards Aurelian’s territory and captured the border city of Noreia. Aurelian’s faction had been frustrated by wars on many fronts, and had yet to organize a defense against Tetricus’ forces.

In foreign affairs, Aurelian’s forces in Africa had begun invading the Senate faction from the south by making a landing in Sicily. Queen Zenobia, in the far eastern territories of the Empire, was making headway against Aurelian’s allies in Asia Minor, while she lost ground to Aurelian’s Egyptian allies. In Germania, the Franci were conquered by the neighboring Langobardi tribe. The Langobardi had harsh relagtions with Tetricus’ faction; accordingly, a fourth legion was organized in northern Gaul in case the Langobardi should attempt to attack. Tetricus’ subordinates in Britannia ended up at war with the Caledonii tribe in the far north, which has not progressed in either direction. However, one of Tetricus’ other subordinates, the Hispania Citerior faction, staged a successful invasion of Aurelian’s subordinates, Mauretania, on the north African coast.

#total war rome 2 #empire divided #tetricus campaign #playthrough

New Campaign Intro

Okay so I fired up the ol’ Samnite campaign but couldn’t bring myself to keep playing it. The challenge was gone and I was no longer feeling any accomplishment from going any further. And I know I said I’d take a second crack at the Roman Republic faction in that campaign afterwards, but I wasn’t feeling motivated to do that either. So instead I’m doing a campaign that I haven’t done before. We’re switching gears entirely to the Total War: Rome II Empire Divided Campaign.

Empire Divided brings us into the Crisis of the Third Century, wherein the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. Border instability, a smallpox pandemic, and an unstable, rapid succession of Emperors prefaced the crisis. It came to a head in the year 260 when Emperor Valerian was captured by the Persian Sassanid Empire. Valerian would later die in captivity. The same year as Valerian’s capture, a large portion of the western territories of the Roman Empire fractured away, creating its own Senate and institutions, and operating as an independent empire. By the year 270 (when the campaign begins), this Roman breakaway state in the west was led by Emperor Tetricus.

In the chaos, the Sassanid Empire continued pushing against Rome. With no clear leader, the eastern provinces of Rome had to fend for themselves against the Sassanids. The local Roman command managed to defeat the Sassanids, but thereafter decided to no longer answer to Rome. Therefore, the eastern territories of Rome splintered off as well in the year 267, under the leadership of Queen Zenobia, who claimed the title of Emperor in 271.

By 270, the remaining Roman territories recognized Emperor Aurelian - a military man who owed his rise to power from the military’s backing. He consolidated the loyalty of Roman North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Balkans.

However, in Italy, the Senate had other ideas. Painfully aware of the fact that they’d lost control of the nation for the past 200 years, the Senate in Rome propped up a pretender emperor who had effective control of Italy.

In my campaign, I will be playing the Tetricus faction on hard difficulty.