“The division of the Roman Empire has unshackled the East, allowing it to take control of the Roman world.”
The new administrative centre at Constantinople has allowed the Eastern Romans to replace the antiquated systems throttling the economy and enfeebling Rome’s Emperors. As a result, new trade networks and fiscal reforms fill its coffers, all run by a centralised bureaucracy and a powerful state church. The East has safely weathered the storm of barbarian migration, often by diverting them into the West. However, the young Emperor Arcadius will have to negotiate barbarian threats, court intrigues, and the ever-present Sassanid menace to ensure that the last light of the Roman Empire continues to burn.
While the Western Roman Empire ails and withers, the Eastern Roman Empire is an economic powerhouse, and reaps the benefits of this through treasury interest and trade tariffs. Militarily, she begins the campaign in a reasonably capable position, but with a clear and immediate threat as Alaric leads his Visigoth armies into Roman-held Thracia and Macedonia… mere regions away from Constantinople itself.
• Good for players who are:
- Total War veterans
- Seeking a tough challenge
- Happy to manage large, established empires
- Keen to conclude the history of Rome
- Good diplomats or interested in becoming one
Tips:
You face a number of hostile factions from the get-go, some of whom are already marching through your lands, and things aren’t going to get any easier. Make an ally on every front to support possible conflicts and to help buffer you against more-distant threats, tapping into your healthy economy to help grease the wheels of diplomacy if necessary: diverting the Huns and make the Ostrogoths and Visigoths friendly enough to accept peace can be the difference between life and death. Don’t be afraid to cede frontier territories while keeping a strong defence force about your commercial and military centres, mobilising all the while so that you can ultimately overthrow all these pesky barbarians. Mind the Sassanids as well, as if you get into an early scrape with them it could prove pretty tough to keep your south-eastern empire secure. Play nice until you are ready to stab them in the back and claim their settlements as your own.