The Revenge of Remus - A Derailed Rome

[willbell]

Chapter 1 - The Calm before the Storm

Part 1 - The World Tomorrow

When the lecturer looked at the hall that laid out before him he was surprised by the luxury it carried, it shouldn’t have came as such as surprise but he had never taught in an institution such as the ones in the city of Kryptopolis, his cousins in Megara told him that this university was known in Ellás as dysprositos (hard to get at) because it was almost impossible to get accepted. And he was giving a lecture! It took much of his restraint to hold back his desire to run around the campus and examine every nook and cranny, he wanted badly to know everything about the world he had found himself in. What a shame it was that he wasn’t going to be able to stay long, he may not have liked the dampness and the cold air, but it was still much more interesting than Poseidonia, an ironic name considering it was always dry and set in from the shore, he had lived in Poseidonia his whole life and now more than ever he wanted to leave. Maybe even go to Ellás to explore the old city in Athenai and Korinthos. At the very least it must be more interesting than the aboriginals living on the Atlantean terrain.

The original Platonic Academy.

Those were all no matter to him now however, he had come prepared with a lecture and he was going to deliver it in this theatre, designed after the reconstructed Platonic Academy in Athenai.

He stood on the raised platform in the centre of the room with the students in every direction around him. He picked up the microphone and began his lecture, “Lennic culture has grown enormously over the last few decades, and in your lifetimes it will continue to grow. Kryptopolis has become a centre of trade worldwide and has allowed our civilization to reach a form of maturity. This all is very important, not only for you people here tonight, but for the world. However saying that I must emphasize that my purpose here tonight will be to tell you how everyone in this room fits into that greater Lennic society and that unexplored world that we live on, you people in this room tonight are standing on the cusp of revolution and you will be able to glimpse into the world tomorrow with the ideas you create and the people you become. Just a decade ago we saw no reason to believe that indentured servitude was going to begin to decline as an institution but ordinary people like you and me were the ones who made that change, now it could be banished in most of the Ellás Union. In fact it has already been removed across Italiotai. What I am here to tell you is that you should not be frightened by the prospect of being the leaders of tomorrow, perhaps one of you will champion the cause of ending racial segregation or campaign for the freedoms of religion that the Atlantean colonies have already endorsed!”

He paused to take a breath, he had always had trouble remembering lines so that had been quite an accomplishment, now he allowed his attention to stray towards his audience, “Have any of you known the experience of leading? Perhaps a team or a club?”

He waited in silence, it continued for a moment before somebody finally raised their hand, “I was part of a club supporting finding a peaceful end for the conflicts between the Italiotai and Motya during the war.”

“Good, good. That is a great example, a very good cause!” I said ecstatically.

The girl who had raised her hand smiled and soon after several more students was raising their hands to talk about their experiences. Perhaps I thought to myself, I could manage this. He could get these people to be as enthusiastic as he had hoped.

 

[willbell]

This is a reboot of The Appeasement of Ares: A Derailed Rome and is going to for several updates run close to the original timeline, but we will begin to see divergences as the story progresses from both OTL and my earlier timeline.
I am looking forward to producing a higher quality work this time, and hopefully more plausible as well.
If anybody reading this is a reader from the original I hope you enjoy the reboot, and to any new readers may I just say welcome and enjoy the ride.

 

[willbell]

This post is for footnotes and expanding the ITTL vocabulary.

When the lecturer looked at the hall that laid out before him he was surprised by the luxury it carried, it shouldn’t have came as such as surprise but he had never taught in an institution such as the ones in the city of Kryptopolis, his cousins in Megara told him that this university was known in Ellás as dysprositos (hard to get at) because it was almost impossible to get accepted.

Kryptopolis is a major Greek city in the New World on our Chesapeake Bay. It means "private city" is greek (krypt - concealed or private, polis - city or city state).
Megara is an OTL city in Greece that still exists today, it is smaller that Corinth or Athens in our world and still retains its ancient name in OTL/ATL. I believe (and you can correct me on this) it is also the name of a daughter of Creon, king of Thebes who can be seen in Disney's Hercules.
Ellás is another word for Greece, it is changed to Hellas in OTL because that is easier to say.

Poseidonia, an ironic name considering it was always dry and set in from the shore, he had lived in Poseidonia his whole life and now more than ever he wanted to leave. Maybe even go to Ellás to explore the old city in Athenai and Korinthos. At the very least it must be more interesting than the aboriginals living on the Atlantean terrain.

Poseidonia is named for Poseidon, god of the ocean. Athenai is Athens. Korinthos is Corinth. Atlantis (i.e. Atlantean terrain) is the name for the New World.

The original Platonic Academy.

Thank you wikipedia for Raphael's "School of Athens".

Those were all no matter to him now however, he had come prepared with a lecture and he was going to deliver it in this theatre, designed after the reconstructed Platonic Academy in Athenai.

The Platonic Academy was founded by Plato outside the city limits of Athens, Athens in the ATL is a supercity that has incorporated our site.

He stood on the raised platform in the centre of the room with the students in every direction around him. He picked up the microphone and began his lecture, “Lennic culture has grown enormously over the last few decades, and in your lifetimes it will continue to grow. Kryptopolis has become a centre of trade worldwide and has allowed our civilization to reach a form of maturity. This all is very important, not only for you people here tonight, but for the world. However saying that I must emphasize that my purpose here tonight will be to tell you how everyone in this room fits into that greater Lennic society and that unexplored world that we live on, you people in this room tonight are standing on the cusp of revolution and you will be able to glimpse into the world tomorrow with the ideas you create and the people you become. Just a decade ago we saw no reason to believe that indentured servitude was going to begin to decline as an institution but ordinary people like you and me were the ones who made that change, now it could be banished in most of the Ellás Union. In fact it has already been removed across Italiotai. What I am here to tell you is that you should not be frightened by the prospect of being the leaders of tomorrow, perhaps one of you will champion the cause of ending racial segregation or campaign for the freedoms of religion that the Atlantean colonies have already endorsed!”

Lennic means Greek ITTL.
The Ellás Union is the entity (federation) that includes most of the Lennic world.
Italiotai is an independent state in OTL Italy.

“I was part of a club supporting finding a peaceful end for the conflicts between the Italiotai and Motya during the war.”

Motya is the phoenician state that now is dominant (and independent) on Sicily.

 

[willbell]

No comments? That is disappointing. Anyways, for what its worth here is another update.

 

[willbell]

Chapter 1 - The Calm before the Storm

Part 2 - A Legendary War

Case Study - Archaeology and Mythology

Myths are perhaps the oldest form of narrative, the earliest stories are not of the every day but instead are grand epics of adventure, the stories are not meant to be realistic or very morally ambiguous. They are stories meant to entertain us and perhaps even teach us. They are adventures in a world where gods walk among us, they are stories of politics, and they tell us of a world that is larger than life. Myths also sometimes have basis in fact, and this is where it crosses with Archaeology, many of our oldest legends have helped us to explore History with new eyes, even make fascinating discoveries.

One such myth is about a young city called Roma, it was said to be the largest of the cities of Latium, this region, due to the over use of the Tiber River for irrigation is swamp land and it was thought for many years that it had been that way so long that it was difficult to imagine any civilization ever having lived, even urbanized in the now dense swamps of Latium.

The myth goes something like this; long ago in the time when the Rasna were young, and had not yet settled the lands south of the Tiber River there was another society that called itself the Latins. The Latins were warriors and farmers but also intelligent, and two brothers who called themselves Romulus and Remus and were raised by the beasts of the land decided they would build a great city. Both brothers wished to name the city after themselves and they began to fight over what the city would be called. Finally when the city had been built Remus leapt over the new walls of the city as an insult. And his brother enraged at Remus killed him. Later there was many kings of Roma but they soon came into conflict with the city of Veia on the opposite side of the river, after a Veiente tried to take the throne, the violent Romans who were angry with the Rasna went to war with Veia. And after several supernatural battles the Veientes destroyed Rome.

A picture of ruins in the city of Roma in a now drained swamp on the Tiber River.

About a decade ago when a developer decided to drain part of the swamp, hoping to put in a new extension of existing roads through the area, he discovered something amazing, the site now believed to be the mythical city of Roma. This discovery ignited a renewed interest in Archaeology across the Italiot Peninsula. Myths of old became more famous and since then the Campanian provinces have gone about creating a database of folk tales and mythology native to their corner of Italiotai, an operation that has proven very successful to the level that any candidate opposed to it has been unable to get elected in the province. The region has discovered how valuable their history truly is and has gone about recording it for generations to come.

Roma and Latin Civilization

It is not every day that you get to investigate a previously unknown culture, and hundreds of people are now working full-time to investigate the ruins and new sites are being excavated in the hopes of discovering other previously unknown cities that are left over from the original inhabitants of the Italiot Peninsula. An old myth has lead us to new sites and even helped us rediscover an ancient society. Our Latin vocabulary grows, and with every new discovery there is the potential to revolutionize our knowledge of the balance of power in Campania, Latium, and meχl-Rasnal.

The Latins however continue to remain enigmatic; we do know that the Rasna considered the Romans the most courageous warriors who were said to endure any torture without being broken in. Although we do not know how much of this is true, the stories of the Rasna continue to fascinate many and the mythologies of the ancient peoples of Italiot are now almost never simply ignored and continue to be taken into account when searching for archaeological remains.

 

[willbell]

One such myth is about a young city called Roma, it was said to be the largest of the cities of Latium, this region, due to the over use of the Tiber River for irrigation is swamp land and it was thought for many years that it had been that way so long that it was difficult to imagine any civilization ever having lived, even urbanized in the now dense swamps of Latium.

Roma is another name for Rome, its Italian but from Latin.
Latium in the topographically flatter region between Tuscany and Campania where Rome exists.

The myth goes something like this; long ago in the time when the Rasna were young, and had not yet settled the lands south of the Tiber River there was another society that called itself the Latins. The Latins were warriors and farmers but also intelligent, and two brothers who called themselves Romulus and Remus and were raised by the beasts of the land decided they would build a great city. Both brothers wished to name the city after themselves and they began to fight over what the city would be called. Finally when the city had been built Remus leapt over the new walls of the city as an insult. And his brother enraged at Remus killed him. Later there was many kings of Roma but they soon came into conflict with the city of Veia on the opposite side of the river, after a Veiente tried to take the throne, the violent Romans who were angry with the Rasna went to war with Veia. And after several supernatural battles the Veientes destroyed Rome.

That is the PoD in there if you missed it.

About a decade ago when a developer decided to drain part of the swamp, hoping to put in a new extension of existing roads through the area, he discovered something amazing, the site now believed to be the mythical city of Roma. This discovery ignited a renewed interest in Archaeology across the Italiot Peninsula. Myths of old became more famous and since then the Campanian provinces have gone about creating a database of folk tales and mythology native to their corner of Italiotai, an operation that has proven very successful to the level that any candidate opposed to it has been unable to get elected in the province. The region has discovered how valuable their history truly is and has gone about recording it for generations to come.

Campania is another region of Italy that includes Naples as part of it.

The Latins however continue to remain enigmatic; we do know that the Rasna considered the Romans the most courageous warriors who were said to endure any torture without being broken in. Although we do not know how much of this is true, the stories of the Rasna continue to fascinate many and the mythologies of the ancient peoples of Italiot are now almost never simply ignored and continue to be taken into account when searching for archaeological remains.

That is partially based on true/semi-mythological accounts, the Romans were indeed mighty warriors, although most of the OTL legends developed during the early Roman Republic and their conflicts with Veia.

 

[willbell]

Any comments at all are welcome. Is anybody at all reading this? Anybody?

 

[willbell]

Chapter 1 - The Calm before the Storm

Part 3 - Alliances and the Axis of Power

“Ch. 6.1 – The Economics of the meχl-Rasnal, History of the Rasna Ed. 5”

The meχl-Rasnal had an important and unique role in international trade, they were positioned in between the rapidly modernizing Keltoi peoples to their North (however trade with this group would only really pick up in the 5th century BCE), and the economic centre of Lennic society outside of Ellás, known at this time as Megálē Ellás referring to the wealth of many of the Italia colonies.

There was a confluence of interests, trade, and powers in the city of Ushiluna; this city controlled all passage between the northern city-states of Megálē Ellás such as Neapolis, Poseidonia, and Cumae, and the meχl-Rasnal (especially Veia). These interests were often trying to slant the government of Ushiluna towards the favour of one, one ruling family would prefer to Rasna and tax the Lennic people while another ruler would do the opposite. This balance of interests meant that the city was rife with corruption.

The Rasna in this period of time had one thing that particularly made them unique, this was the fact that they were mostly land-based all but two of the major Rasna cities (those being Fufluna and Pisae) are all on normally top of hills and nowhere near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, this meant that almost all trade was done over land at least to begin with. In the 6th century BCE, alliances began to diverge from what they had been previously, the Carthazas and Rasna, now allied together against the growing numbers and strength of Lennic people that had moved into Massalia and other apoikia. This culminated in multiple battles, the most important of which was the Battle of Alalia sometime mid-century; this battle in which approximately 130 Rasna and Carthazan ships fought 60 pentekonters that were protecting the city. This battle saw the near destruction of the Carthazan/Rasna fleet and as a result of the navy of Alalia being crippled we also see the hasty evacuation of Alalia, which was almost immediately claimed for the Rasna.

The coins minted by the Rasna are unique when compared to other currency from this time period.

The Rasna were growing and their sphere of influence soon began to conflict with their former allies the Carthazans, these conflicts escalated in 4th century BCE but died down during the Senone War and by the First Safineis War were no longer a serious concern for the people of meχl-Rasnal. Most of the conflict seemed to be a feud between Ushiluna seemingly emboding both the Lennic and Rasna elements that the Carthazans saw as a threat.

A Condensed History of Ushiluna up to the Battle of Alalia

The city of Ushiluna was the first major Rasna city established in Campania, it was formed by the Veientes supposedly shortly after their defeat of the city of Roma, its early history is semi-mythological and often untrustworthy but it is said in some folktales that the first ruler of the city was a dictator who defeated the ancient cities of Latium and drove off the early Oscans in the area known as the Safineis. His replacement was said to be less cruel, a good king who started a dynasty that lasted many generations and over a century. Those who take it to be true call this period the golden age of Ushiluna. Unfortunately the last king was killed by someone who sought to transform the city into a city more like that of the Lennic people. He was brutal and a disgruntled cook poisoned him during a banquet within a year of him taking power.

The people of Veia established a new dynasty that as we will see lasted longer than any of the earlier dynasties, and it was perhaps what allowed the Rasna to come back from a time when they were in steep decline and might have infused them enough to last them another century.

 

[willbell]

The meχl-Rasnal had an important and unique role in international trade, they were positioned in between the rapidly modernizing Keltoi peoples to their North (however trade with this group would only really pick up in the 5th century BCE), and the economic centre of Lennic society outside of Ellás, known at this time as Megálē Ellás referring to the wealth of many of the Italia colonies.

meχl-Rasnal is the Etruscan name for what we now call tuscany.
Keltoi is greek for the celts, and the beginning of trade between the celts and etruscans is the same as OTL.
Megálē Ellás is our Magna Graecia in Greek, it means "Greater Greece" for the relative prosperity the region experienced.

There was a confluence of interests, trade, and powers in the city of Ushiluna; this city controlled all passage between the northern city-states of Megálē Ellás such as Neapolis, Poseidonia, and Cumae, and the meχl-Rasnal (especially Veia). These interests were often trying to slant the government of Ushiluna towards the favour of one, one ruling family would prefer to Rasna and tax the Lennic people while another ruler would do the opposite. This balance of interests meant that the city was rife with corruption.

Ushiluna means "South River" AFAIK in Etruscan, and is a major Etruscan city in the location of OTL Campeva, the difference being that the also Etruscan Campeva was established over a century later IOTL.

The Rasna in this period of time had one thing that particularly made them unique, this was the fact that they were mostly land-based all but two of the major Rasna cities (those being Fufluna and Pisae) are all on normally top of hills and nowhere near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, this meant that almost all trade was done over land at least to begin with. In the 6th century BCE, alliances began to diverge from what they had been previously, the Carthazas and Rasna, now allied together against the growing numbers and strength of Lennic people that had moved into Massalia and other apoikia. This culminated in multiple battles, the most important of which was the Battle of Alalia sometime mid-century; this battle in which approximately 130 Rasna and Carthazan ships fought 60 pentekonters that were protecting the city. This battle saw the near destruction of the Carthazan/Rasna fleet and as a result of the navy of Alalia being crippled we also see the hasty evacuation of Alalia, which was almost immediately claimed for the Rasna.

Fufluna is an Etruscan city now called Populonia. Pisae is also Etruscan and became Pisa.
The Tyrrhenian Sea is the same as OTL, and this might actually be a plausible name for it ITTL because tyrrhenian is Greek for Etruscan.
Carthazas is Etruscan for Carthage.
The Battle of Alalia is the same as OTL Battle of Alalia.

The coins minted by the Rasna are unique when compared to other currency from this time period.

At least that is what I here.

The Rasna were growing and their sphere of influence soon began to conflict with their former allies the Carthazans, these conflicts escalated in 4th century BCE but died down during the Senone War and by the First Safineis War were no longer a serious concern for the people of meχl-Rasnal. Most of the conflict seemed to be a feud between Ushiluna seemingly emboding both the Lennic and Rasna elements that the Carthazans saw as a threat.

Everything here is true until the Senone and First Safineis War.

A Condensed History of Ushiluna up to the Battle of Alalia

The city of Ushiluna was the first major Rasna city established in Campania, it was formed by the Veientes supposedly shortly after their defeat of the city of Roma, its early history is semi-mythological and often untrustworthy but it is said in some folktales that the first ruler of the city was a dictator who defeated the ancient cities of Latium and drove off the early Oscans in the area known as the Safineis. His replacement was said to be less cruel, a good king who started a dynasty that lasted many generations and over a century. Those who take it to be true call this period the golden age of Ushiluna. Unfortunately the last king was killed by someone who sought to transform the city into a city more like that of the Lennic people. He was brutal and a disgruntled cook poisoned him during a banquet within a year of him taking power.

The people of Veia established a new dynasty that as we will see lasted longer than any of the earlier dynasties, and it was perhaps what allowed the Rasna to come back from a time when they were in steep decline and might have infused them enough to last them another century.

This is all lifted off my older ATL because that is simpler, and I fleshed it out quite a bit in that timeline (went for about a chapter).
Any questions are welcome.

 

[Pururauka]

The concept seems interesting. I'll keep an eye on this.

 

[willbell]

The concept seems interesting. I'll keep an eye on this.

Thanks. fill

 

[euromellows]

This is a reinvigorated timeline is it not? I seem to remember reading this before.

Either way good work.

 

[Zireael]

Add me to the chorus of voices saying 'Good work, interested!'

 

[willbell]

This is a reinvigorated timeline is it not? I seem to remember reading this before.

Either way good work.

Yes, you seemed to enjoy the last one, thank you.

 

[willbell]

Add me to the chorus of voices saying 'Good work, interested!'

Great to see some interest.

 

[hasdrubal barca]

The coin is halarious

 

[willbell]

the coins halarious

It is... quite unique.

 

[willbell]

Chapter 1 - Calm before the Storm

Part 4 - Brave New World

The battle of Alalia [1] was fought between approximately 130 ships from Qart-Hadast and meχl-Rasnal on one side, including the young navy of Ushiluna, and the Lennenes on the other side with 60 pentekonters that protecting their settlement at Alalia and Corsica itself, the importance of this battle is that it stopped the expansion of young Lennene colonies in the western Mediterranean, the annexation of the formerly Lennic city of Alalia was because of this battle. At the same time it saw the once mighty leagues of meχl-Rasnal have their influence wane, from a sea power, trading as far away as the Near East, to a regional power in their corner of the Western Mediterranean Sea.

Qart-Hadast had become the commercial centre of the West Mediterranean region in this period. The city had conquered most of the old Phoenician colonies, subjugated the Numidian and Moor tribes, and taken control of the entire North African coast from modern Morrecesco to the borders of Egypt. Its influence had also extended into the Mediterranean, taking control over Sardinia, Malta, the Balearic Islands, and into Sicily. Important colonies had also been established in Iberia, even if at points they were not under direct control of Qart-Hadast itself [2].

Defeating the Lennic colonies once however was not enough, in the next century the people of Qart-Hadast, Ellás, and meχl-Rasnal would continue their fight for the Mediterranean.

Ushiluna: The City of Crossroads

A Rasna artifact found in Anatolia, this particular piece of pottery is a stunning example of Lennic culture bleeding through.

Set between the cities of meχl-Rasnal and of Megálē Ellás, Ushiluna was positioned well to act as a middle man. Lennic influence was contracting in this period allowing for their expansion, at the Battle of Kuma [3] the Ushiluna navy played an important role in the defeat of Syrakoussai [4] and Kumae’s combined navy, and the Rasna formed the new government of Kumae from the family of Ushiluna’s rulers. There was further expansion into the already declining city of Parthenope [5], and later on into Dicaearchia [6], consolidating their power over the northern extreme of Megálē Ellás on land.

Pithekoussai [7] would remain the one hold out, lasting a decade longer than the other cities by the virtue that it was an island, and due to heavy support from Zankle [8], Poseidonia [9], and Syrakoussai, all of which had a fundamental interest in keeping the looming kingdoms of the north at bay and supported the city successfully once but were foiled on a second encounter.

All-and-all the city of Ushiluna proved itself to be a dynamic power between two great yet contracting powers, and by virtue of their flexibility and expansionist regime they managed to construct a base of power from which to project their influence across the Mediterranean Sea, we see once again remnants of Rasna cultural products as far away as anatolia, and with a hint of Lennic artistic styles bleeding through. Between two dwindling leagues of city states they managed to prove themselves as important as either.

That also lead to their growing conflicts with the other great seafaring empire that was still at the top of its game, Qart-Hadast was powerful and they were the original seafaring empire, and they began to adapt to the new order of things very quickly. They tried several times to defeat the city, even sponsoring Latin rebellion on the hope that this strategy would create situation where the city was surrounded from all sides.

[1] Fought around 540 BCE IOTL/ITTL.
[2] Mostly reworded from Wikipedia.
[3] Happened around 474 BCE IOTL, around 485 BCE ITTL because expansionism is driving Ushiluna to grow. Also Kuma is greek for Cumae.
[4] Syracuse.
[5] Became Neapolis, became Naples.
[6] Became Pozzuoli IOTL.
[7] Ischia IOTL, founded Cumae.
[8] Became Messina.
[9] Became Paestum, it was in National Geographic.

 

[willbell]

That felt good, getting back into the rhythm of updating, I hope that it catches some attention, I hope this year that (despite exams, etc) my timeline will keep going, my reward if I can make this keep going until next december is I plan to celebrate with nominating this timeline for a turtledove, hopefully my writing will be improving through my time here, we'll see.

 

[willbell]

Chapter 1 - Calm Before the Storm

Part 5 - Chance, Wind, and Waves

“Chapter 4.4 - Italiotai, The Mediterranean: Geopolitics Ed. 2”

The entire framework of Italiot trade had changed from the decades and even centuries before. There was two methods of travel, by land or by sea, and in this time period people were experimenting in both to stay ahead of the chaotic forces that had begun to establish divisions between the different nations now playing a part on the ever smaller world they shared.

Inland Transportation

Several inland transport routes were utilized and trade flowed to five Rasna ports, these were Pisae, Fufluna, Ushiluna, Alalia, and Kuma. They exported their wealth to the world, other inland routes circumvented the sea and went to cities such as Rhegium, Taras, as well as other Lennic cities in Southern Italiotai entirely through a network of roads, the first of its scale. Several roads passed near by the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Sea Coasts and supported trade in the worst periods of Ambrone piracy. This road system is now the basis for the roads of not only southern Italia, but for much of the Italiot Peninsula and inspired the road networks in areas of the New World.

The roads were very experimental in both scale and design, and because of this they vary greatly. Roads along the Adriatic Coast have a 4 foot-high wall on their side facing towards the coast (as far as can be identified from archaeological digs), which is where there would be the most risk considering most (Illyrian) pirates would have to land on the coast. The Tyrrhenian Coast has several very wide roads, with little cover even today for bandits and the like, they were more used and the number of eyes was often considered an advantage against thugs preparing to steal from wagons and carts. Another road has been found leading straight through Umbria as well however it is considered small and insignificant, it would have been very dangerous if you were unprotected but would have been extremely quick travelling if you needed a quick route between South-Eastern Italiot and Ushiluna.

Ramps (lupumarish) used in battle.

Oversea Transportation

Oversea transportation was much faster than inland transportation and allowed people to get across the sea, to trade with Egypt, Ellás, Sicily, and even Qart-Hadast. The port cities of Kuma, Fufluna, Ushiluna, and Pisae collected resources from across Italiotai, including Keltoi [2] items from even further north. There was one risk that dominated all others for the sea traders, the fact was that the pirates were very able mariners, more so than the Rasna, and it showed in their ruthless raiding of the Rasna vessels. The Carthaginians helped finance these expeditions of terror to economically isolate meχl-Rasnal. However all it forced them to do was to innovate, many vessels had large numbers of Latin crew members, who were cheap workers and easy to toss around. They were also often good warriors, at least in hand to hand combat, the trick was to develop a way to board an enemy ship without risk of ramming sinking the ship.

This lead to the lupumarish [3] a device used on the front of Rasna vessels that could be knocked down onto the side of an opponent’s boat, allowing a boarding crew to overtake a pirate ship and possibly even collect the loot from the opposing ship. Even the ships themselves were often taken. The Ambrones [4] used every piece of silver they got [5] on expanding their operation, and they took pride in their well made vessels. The invention of the lupumarish greatly increased the success of Rasna operations and cut down on piracy, just enough to allow the water ways to be a viable alternative to land travel.

Zankle and Rhegium [6] because of the need of the Rasna to access the Strait of Rhegium (to avoid Carthaginian Sicily en route to Ellás and Egypt) became needed allies and great trading partners. Even though there was occasional bumps when either side got greedy. Poseidonia, despite originally being concerned by the hostility shown by the Rasna in their expansion into Kuma and other Lennic cities, quickly established a relationship with Ushiluna. Poseidonia grew a network of roads and sea lanes leading to the rest of the Mediterranean because of the relationship that it had not previously had. Though both Megálē Ellás and meχl-Rasnal were in decline, by no means were they dead yet, in fact they were managing to grow as a consequence of the relationship they shared through Ushiluna, Poseidonia, and other ports.

[1] Greece.
[2] Greek for celts.
[3] Slave of Death in Etruscan.
[4] The Ligures.
[5] This shows they are pretty desperate, considering that normal currency was leather bags with cheap alloys inside (here)
[6] Reggio.