Death of Augustus & Rise of Tiberius
Octavian, later Caesar Augustus. Adopted stepchild and favored heir to Caesar; had ruled for decades over an empire stretching from Gaul to Syria. Bringing the vicious murderers of Caesar to their knees. Encouraged massive projects across the lands and exploration across the known world. Patron to monuments and art. Triumphant over man and gods, ruler of the world, and first among equals. His might will echo across the ages. Augustus was a god among men; With the might of Hercules, will of Achilles, intellect of Odysseus, and Heart of Prometheus. He will join Alexander and Romulus in the halls of heroes and will protect Rome when evil comes our way.
Those were the words of the obituary of the dead Caesar. Augustus had ruled for decades over the empire, however his age had caught with him. By 16 AD he was confinded to his bed, where he peacefully awaited his fate. The last words from his mouth willing his stepson, Tiberius to take the purple. Now he laid with all the aristocracy of Rome surrounding him. A silence fell on the ceremony only to be broken by the crying of men and women. Their leader had died, and people let out their emotions to show their sadness. Augustus, to them was like the she-wolf who fed Romulus and Remus. Rome was weak, and needed the warm support of a proud wolf in order to survive hardships. The empire knew that transition to the new emperor would be long and hard. Tiberius seemed a calm enough person during his leadership against Bato. He wasn't afraid of his duties and was already preparing for the day where he would rule. A hardened man of 56, he was ready to lead the empire through hardships. Although he didn't have Augustus's charisma and personality, he would make it up with an intelligent reign. He just needed to have a stable first 5 years of rule, and he would be able to rule without conflict.
The first few decrees that Tiberius established was the creation of the of the imperial school of environment and exploration in the city of Sabrata. This school would serve as the future center of research for the changing of environment in the great desert. While originally planned by Augustus; the school was built and finished by 52 AD. It would be a place of debate among experts on the specific ways the desert could be claimed back. Scribes could collect records taken from Berber and Egyptian traditions in irrigation and farming. This academy was the center of canal-building research and had archives of potential areas of exploration in the desert. Funded by the many different sources it was known that the school was a great supporter of slavery, and the use of it in constructing great canals.
Maximus of course, knew the day would come when Augustus would pass. Augustus was getting old, and weaker from the strain of ruling. This Tiberius was much more malleable and flexible than the stingy late emperor. Tiberius was weak willed but intelligent, giving in to Maximus's demands of starting the construction of Lake Tiberia. Which was found in a deep depression in the deserts. The lake would need much more time to build as it was much farther from sea than lake Augusta. The material conditions were plentiful, Aegyptus had already done great projects before in the name of old monarchs. Aegyptus was also a big province with many people, so slaves and legionaries were readily available. After the lake was done, colonists would enter the shores of the lake to make a living in the lakeshore.
The project begun in 19 A.D, once again from the last lake. Several Legions were brought in to the project. over 15,000 soldiers participated in the project, while over 60,000 slaves that once worked on Augusta were also brought in to work on the project. Local tribesmen in digging sites as well as Nubians were also hired because of their experience in the desert and their sun-resistant abilities. In exchange, Maximus gave them a sum of silver from his own personal treasury. Which led the Nubians and tribesmen to work along with the soldiers on the project. The main base of operations was stationed in Ammonium, a isolated settlement near the basin where the Roman legion held a garrison. Maximus requested that the garrison's men help in the canal's construction which Tiberius later approved. Direct control of the operation was granted to Maximus as he had proved himself in the previous project. Maximus did what he had done in Augusta with having the slaves go out to the desert and the soldiers to the sea. They planned to converge at a point and from there begin their parties at a point in the desert. From there, the seawater of the Mediterranean would be released to the depression and the lake would be formed. Ammonium and it's oasis would become a lake-front settlement where settlements and irrigation could be established.
The first few months were smooth as the slaves began work. These slaves were from lands such as Gaul, Dacia, Thracia, Pontus, Scythia, and Ethiopia. For the most part, slaves from this point were from the originals who worded on Lake Augusta. Those who survived the horrors were hardened and toughed by the ordeal. Discipline was key in effectiveness, most slaves were prepared to work by having Berber cloaks and head protection. While newer ones from Aegyptus were left to their own devices. They would have to make due with the horrid sun and the burning desert sand on their bare feet by themselves. For a slave, there was no hope. Escape by day would mean either you get captured and executed or die in the blaze. While escape at night means almost guaranteed capture by slavers or desert wolves. They were lost in the sea of sands and the only way to possibly escape was through the Romans. Which left the slaves with no option but work.
The soldiers were also disciplined, but comfortable as well. Their sleep schedules adjusted to the high heat during noon. They were able to socialize and form bonds with themselves and their other. The Nubians were especially diligent as they knew this sort of terrain. Many of the workers were once soldiers in the Kushite army. And led to Romans knowing them a quite but honorable people. The sun didn't bother them as much as it did the Romans, and Maximus always had them as his bodyguard. Work continued for a while until the winter of 21 A.D, where the weather got increasingly wetter and dangerous. Work continued, but the dark stormclouds rose much anxiety in the Nubians and Berbers. Both had told Maximus that if they didn't get to high ground, flash floods would engulf the entire workforce and drown everyone. In the end, the Nubian's advice was listened to. Maximus retreated both camps to the upper hills while waiting for the rains to come. And the rains came; swallowing the canal and bringing any hope of a few years of completion to an end. Once the waters fell, the canal was intact but left without any depth. They were supposed to big enough to swallow an entire warship. Frustrated from his incompetent choice of schedule and reliance on foreigners for help. Maximus had no choice but to continue digging. He would have to add depth later once the canal was done. This at least brought the slaves' morale up as the water meant that they could have something to drink. Water was less of a hassle since before the flooding they relied on water from Ammonium. All the workers had to do was to take nearby water and purify it.
Excavation went on to the date of 23 A.D. when there was news from Rome. The messenger stated that Juba II had died and that his son Ptolemy of Mauretania was now king of Mauretania for a few months. However, Tiberius was able to convince Phtolemy to dissolve the kingdom and let the Roman Empire annex the territory. Phtolemy would still rule since he was a partial Roman with a citizenship. He would instead be governor of Mauritania instead of king. The condition was that Rome would take 2/3rds of the kingdom's treasury, and the royal army would be converted to a legion. Maximus was pleased as the news went to his ears. Rome now directly controlled the Mediterranean,
mare nostrum indeed.
24-26 A.D were uneventful as the workers were able to dig all the way to their desired point. From there the legion would begin re-digging the points of the canal damaged by the flood. The slaves would also help in building with the Nubians. This process took about a year as the canal was expanded to it's desired proportions. With the end result being that by 28 A.D the canal was done and all that was needed was for the last barriers to be opened...
Disaster at Ammonium
city of Ammonium on the shore of lake Tiberia
Once the project was completely done, Maximus arranged a ceremony to commence the excavation of the Tiberian canal. Patricians and many other important figures were present. As rumors had spread that Augustus had made a lake out of desert spread across Europe. Even emissaries from Parthia were present; who among other things wanted to see what the Romans were capable of. The ceremony was elaborate as the priests of Neptune called upon their god out of admiration. The ceremony ended with an applause as the participants saw a few slaves climbing down. They were responsible with opening the last 2 meters of canal. From their sacrifice to Neptune, they opened the water to the canal. The torrents of water flowing across the canal as far as the eye could see. a flush of water smashing against the walls of the canal.
But what they didn't know was the horror those people of Ammonium would experience...
The water flushed into the depression, thousands of kilograms of water flushing across the barren wasteland. The torrents instead of slowing, only diminished it's speed by a portion while still going straight to Ammonium. The town had no time to evacuate as half of the city was engulfed by the tidal wave. Only half of the frontier town survived the flooding. While the other half was drowned into the sea, killing thousands of people. Families were cut in half as mothers, fathers, siblings, and infants were lost to the sea. This wasn't known to the dignitaries who only saw the water entering the canal. However, Berber merchants from the isolated corners of the sandy sea saw the devastation. Many thought that the gods were angered at them for some reason, leaving Ammonium to never see the cursed city again. When Maximus learned of the catastrophe, he was furious. He ordered all merchants from the city to be shot with no exceptions. The new of the catastrophe would be sent to Tiberius and blamed on a freak earthquake
before the completion of the canal. Septimus Maximus was not willing to be executed by Tiberius or have his emperor's reputation ruined. So for a few years the legions would rebuild the town in hopes of making any traces of the accident disappear. Something that Maximus had to do in order to preserve the propaganda power of the emperors.
Maximus also knew of the strange traditions the city had, and he offered Tiberius the option of making a false story about the Ammonians. All they had to do was to say that one of the berbers stole a slave girl who was actually a mermaid. Who then proceeded to rape the god's daughter. Neptune punished the city by pushing the city down to the sea. Either way, the news would spread. But the only way the emperor could preserve his reputation was to make a false story.
