Rasenna

The Kingdom of Rasenna (359- BCE), was a theocratic kingdom located in central Italy. It was established after the Rasennans rose up against the Gallic Senonian Kingdom in 360 BCE. The Gallic army, and the Italian army, clashed together near Veia (OTL Veii), and the unorganized Gauls were defeated. The Rasennans and their Italian allies managed to push the Celts into retreat, and the former routed them. The already old Brennos of the Senones was killed a year later and his kingdom collapsed, leading the way for the Kingdom of Rasenna.

As the Celtic invasions constantly devastated the North, the Rasennans had to rely greatly on Carthage's protection. However, in return, the Carthaginians vassalized Rasenna in 319 BCE, in result of their dependency. After betraying the Phoenicians, following the Padanian War (236-237 CE), Rasenna managed to assert its independence in 237 CE.

Villanovan Culture
The Rasennan civilization begins with the Villanovan culture, regarded as the oldest phase. The Rasennans themselves dated the origin of the Rasennan nation to a date corresponding to the 11th or 10th century BCE. The Villanovan culture emerges with the phenomenon of regionalization from the late Bronze Age culture called "Proto-Villanovan", part of the central European Urnfield culture system. In the last Villanovan phase, called the recent phase (about 770–730 BCE), the Rasennans established relations of a certain consistency with the first Greek immigrants in southern Italy (in Pithecusa and then in Cuma), so much to initially absorb techniques and figurative models and soon more properly cultural models, with the introduction, for example, of writing, of a new way of banqueting, of a heroic funerary ideology, that is, a new aristocratic way of life, such as to profoundly change the physiognomy of Rasennan society. Thus, thanks to the growing number of contacts with the Greeks, the Rasennans entered what is called the Orientalizing phase. In this phase, there was a heavy influence in Greece, most of Italy and some areas of Spain, from the most advanced areas of the eastern Mediterranean and the ancient Near East. Also, directly Phoenician, or otherwise Near Eastern, craftsmen, merchants and artists contributed to the spread in Southern Europe of Near Eastern cultural and artistic motifs. The last three phases of Rasennan civilization are called, respectively, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic, which roughly correspond to the homonymous phases of the ancient Greek civilization.

According to legend, there was a period between 600 BCE and 500 BCE in which an alliance was formed among twelve Etruscan settlements, known today as the Rasennan League, Rasennan Federation, or Dodecapolis.

Expansion
Rasennan expansion was focused both to the north beyond the Apennine Mountains and into Campania. Some small towns in the sixth century BCE disappeared during this time, ostensibly subsumed by greater, more powerful neighbours. However, it is certain that the political structure of the Etruscan culture was similar to, albeit more aristocratic than, Magna Graecia in the south. The mining and commerce of metal, especially copper and iron, led to an enrichment of the Rasennans and to the expansion of their influence in the Italian peninsula and the western Mediterranean Sea. Here, their interests collided with those of the Greeks, especially in the sixth century BCE, when Phocaeans of Italy founded colonies along the coast of Sardinia, Spain and Corsica. This led the Rasennans to ally themselves with Carthage, whose interests also collided with the Greeks.

Around 540 BCE, the Battle of Alalia led to a new distribution of power in the western Mediterranean. Though the battle had no clear winner, Carthage managed to expand its sphere of influence at the expense of the Greeks, and Rasenna saw itself relegated to the northern Tyrrhenian Sea with full ownership of Corsica. From the first half of the 5th century BCE, the new political situation meant the beginning of the Rasennan decline after losing their southern provinces. In 480 BCE, Rasenna's ally Carthage was defeated by a coalition of Magna Graecia cities led by Syracuse, Sicily. A few years later, in 474 BCE, Syracuse's tyrant Hiero defeated the Rasennans at the Battle of Cumae. Rasenna's influence over the cities of Latium and Campania weakened, and the area was taken over by the Samnites.

In the early 4th century BCE, Rasenna saw a Gallic invasion end its influence over the Po Valley and the Adriatic coast. The Kingdom of Senonia was founded in 388 BCE by the Gallic war-leader Brennos, after he sacked and subdued most Rasennan cities, taking in massive amounts of loot. It controlled most of the Rasennan territory, stretching from north of the city of Sena, all the way to Veia.

After the Rasennans rose up in 360 BCE, numerous Italians joined the revolt. The Gallic army, and the Italian army, clashed together near Veia, and the unorganized Gauls were defeated. The Rasennans and their Italian allies managed to push the Celts into retreat, and the former routed them. The already old Brennus was killed a year later and his kingdom collapsed. Most Senones retreated to northern Italy, where they continued living as a tribe. Rasenna thus asserted dominance in the region.

Kingdom of Rasenna (359-319 BCE)
The Rasennans, after pushing the Gauls out of central Italy, established trade with those that lived in the foothills of the Alps. Gold, silver, amber, wool, and iron weapons were among the many things traded between the two. Indeed, soap was introduced to the Rasennans by these Celts, and an uneasy alliance formed. Both were hungry for expansion, and both valued the other's goods, but both were too preoccupied with subduing the many Italian tribes in and around their territories to launch such an invasion. Not yet, at least.

In the 340's BCE, Italy was divided between three main forces. The Gauls in the North, the Rasennans in the center, and the Greeks in the south. The Rasennans, for a long time, had an alliance with Carthage to work together against the Greeks. With Carthage's maritime power and Rasenna's field army, they were a huge problem for the Greeks. Still, the Greek cities of Neapolis and Syracuse continued to prosper.

In 343 BCE, Rasenna brought the last of the Sabines under their dominion. To win over the Sabine nobles, the Rasennans gave them Gallic women from the remnants of the Gallic invaders.

In 336 BCE, a Greek scout reported the movement of Carthage's army stationed in Sicily. The army was moving quickly to the east, towards Italy. Syracuse sent its army to meet the Carthaginians. However, it was too late for Syracuse to withdraw its army when they heard of the sacking of Neapolis, a fellow Greek colony. The Rasennans to the north were responsible, and they were on the move. When the army of Syracuse finally met the Carthaginians, near the city of Messene, the army of Carthage stalled. They dug in at a local village nestled in the hills. The Greeks were confused, and demanded that the Carthaginians either fought, or left. The Phoenician army did neither.

It was the sixth night of Gemini (ca. 26th May 336 BCE) when the Phoenician army finally moved. The Carthaginian general, *Gisco, split his force in half, and sent one half, under the leadership of his son, in the dead of night to the beach. They were to move without the light of fire to guide them, and any man who spoke would have his tongue cut out.

When the Greek army rose the next morning, they saw Carthaginian ships on the beach, and a Rasennan army pouring out, with a Phoenician army meeting them. The following battle is considered the turning point in Greek control of Sicily. The Greeks, now fighting an enemy twice the size as the one they met prior, were utterly crushed. In the heat of the battle, *Gisco's forces flanked the Greek phalanx, and broke it apart. The Greeks were routed, and pushed back to Syracuse.

The Greeks sued for peace, and a treaty was signed between Syracuse, Carthage, and Rasenna by the end of the year. Greek hegemony over the island was reduced to the city of Syracuse, and a few surrounding towns. The rest of the island was now Carthaginian.

In 335 BCE, the Samnites were invaded by Rasenna, with Carthaginian forces attacking from the Adriatic. The two forces caught the Samnites in a vise grip, and soon they were obliterated. The Samnites, except some guerillas in the hills, were completely subdued by the Rasennans in 332 BCE, after the Samnite War (335-332 BCE). The Samnites would remain a rebellious sect in Italy, refusing to be ruled by those men who "spoke like dogs." The phrase in Greece caught on, and the term "to speak like a Rasennan" became an insult, denoting a lack of education, or being too stupid to speak.

Meanwhile, the Celts to the North were growing restless, growing hungry for blood.

By 323 BCE, the Kingdom of Rasenna had consolidated almost all of Italy, except for the lands ruled by the Celts and Veneti in the North, some Oscan tribes in the South, along with a few Greek settlements. The God-King of the Rasennans, *Pesna I, lived in a luxurious palace in the capital, Veia. According to Rasennan belief, the king was humanity’s connection to the divine because of the order he gave them. The many Italian tribes he ruled did not adhere to this belief, but they were forced to worship his statue along with the icons of their other gods.

Rasennan soldiers were spread thin, and in 321 BCE, the Cisalpine Celts struck again. The combined force of the Boi, Salassi, Senones, and Celticized Ligurians, along with other tribes rushed through, terrorizing the Rasennan cities in Central Italy. At first, the Rasennans met the Celts in battle. However, at the battle of Aritim, the Rasennans suffered a crushing defeat, and were routed. The God-King *Pesna I called on his old friend and ally, Carthage, for help and asked for protection.

During all this time, the Republic of Carthage had not been stagnant. The Carthaginians had begun to colonize southern Iberia, and coastal Libya. They had opened trade with the Lusitanians and the Celtic Iberians. Carthage was in sight of a golden age. So, the Senate in Carthage sent an army, and they sent a plan with them.

The Carthaginian fleet sailed across the Tyrrhenian Sea, and made port in Fufluna. There, they were received graciously, though the Phoenician general *Himilco had a mission. He explained to the God-King *Pesna I what this army from Carthage would cost him, but *Velzna didn’t listen. He was eager for war. In 319 BCE, the Carthaginian force, combined with the Rasennans, met the Celts outside a small town near Mantua, which had become a base of operations for the invaders. The Gallic leader, whose name was never recorded by the Rasennans, rode into battle with his chariots, their Celtic chain mail flashing in the sunlight. The Celtic war-horns howled demonically, and their deep, low drums "made the earth shake with each blow." However, the Phoenician army completely crushed them.

One of the Gallic tribes, the Boii, retreated over the Alps to Pannonia, where they then resettled. The Celts that remained were taken prisoner. Among the captured was the Gallic leader of the Senones. Many of the men were sold into slavery. The tribal chieftains were put to death. The captured Gallic leader was forced to swear fealty to the Rasennan God-King before he was crucified outside Veia. The Rasennans retook all of their former land, and even gained territory formerly held by the Veneti, who were also scourged by the Second Gallic Invasion of Italy.

The Rasennans wanted to continue the war and invade further north, but the Carthaginians refused. The God-King, outraged, demanded why. So the legend goes, general *Himilco calmly walked to the Rasennan king, handed him a scroll, and said, "This is the price of your victory."

Satellite state of Carthage (319-281 BCE)
Rasenna had asked for Carthaginian protection, the cost of which was severe. The Rasennans owed Carthage mass amounts of gold and riches, which Rasenna could not pay. If the weak Kingdom of Rasenna was to survive, it needed to have Carthage’s protection. The only way to do this, *Pesna I knew, was to vow loyalty to Carthage. The "divine" Rasennan government essentially became a puppet to Carthage. It was independent, but certainly not free. This political move would set the precedent for Carthaginian foreign affairs for centuries to come. Now, Rasenna is a satellite state of Carthage, far from powerful.

King Bomilcar of Carthage, who wanted to overthrow the government and restore the monarchy to full power, hired an army with mercenaries from across the realm of Carthage and beyond. He hired Iberian horsemen, Nubian light cavalry, Libyan light infantry, and 30 elephants. His army of 40,000 was bolstered by the support of the people when he offered to extend citizenship to all free men in the realm who pledged allegiance to him. The Rasennans backed him with what they could spare. After all, their ideology favored monarchy, and their contract was to pledge allegiance to the Crown and the Senate. When it came down to the choice, they chose the Crown. Bomilcar promised land to his generals, and reform to the corrupt Senate if it were to survive at all. Indeed, the Senate did not like this last part. Bomilcar I succeeded, and reestablished the monarchy to full power.

In 297 BCE, Rasenna had put down a small Samnite rebellion.

Pyrrhic Wars (281-275 BCE)
The Greek colony of Taras, built by the Spartans, was the most powerful city in all of Italy and provoked the Rasennans, a satellite state of Carthage, by attacking their ships and humiliating their envoys. Now worried about Rasenna and Carthage, the Tarentines, who governed democratically at this point, voted to send an embassy to Epirus, asking for assistance in 281 BCE. Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, agreed, but demanded that Taras must pay the costs of the war and give him supreme command of the allied forces. To further pressure his western rival into the going to Italy, so that he could concentrate on the east, Ptolemy Ceraunus "the Thunderbolt" of Macedon offered Pyrrhus 5,000 more Phalangites for the campaign.

In early 280 BCE, Taras sent its fleet to transport Pyrrhus' army to Italy. The force which embarked in Epirus, consisted of 20,000 men, mostly Macedonian and Epirote Sarissa pikemen and possibly some mercenaries, 3,000 cavarly, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers and 20 war elephants. After landing, the King began to militarise Taras and deal with any political enemies there.

Battle of Heraclea (280 BCE)
The Rasennans, with Carthaginian support, wanted to force Pyrrhus into battle, before his Greek allies arrived, and raided the enemy countryside of southern Italy, while pushing south. In mid-280 BCE, their plan succeeded and, learning that the Rasennans were bearing down on the Greek city of Heraclea, Pyrrhus marched to meet his new foe for the first time. The Rasennan army was comprised of 20,000 Rasennan soldiers and 20,000 Carthaginian mercenaries, of which were 15 war elephants. Pyrrhus' army now numbered around 31,000 men, 4,000 of which are elite cavalry from Thessaly. In reserve were his 20 war elephants.

Pyrrhus wished to delay any battle for as long as possible until his allies could rally their forces and join him. Shadowing the larger Rasennan force, he encamped on a plain outside the city, near the left bank of the Siris River, hoping to protect the settlement on the terrain suitable for his phalanx, while the Rasennans encamped on the other side of the river. When his army was resting, Pyrrhus and his friend Megacles went scouting to examine the enemy camp. In order to guard the riverbank, a contigent of light infantry missile troops was sent towards it. This done, Pyrrhus turned to other concerns, thinking he had plenty of time in his strong defensive position. He was about to recieve a nasty shock.

After a few hours of preperation, the Carthaginian officer, ordered his entire army of over 40,000 soldiers to cross the river. The small force of light infantry skirmishes that Pyrrhus had placed on the riverbank pelted the Rasennans with missiles and slowed them down a little, but the noise of an entire army crossing the river deafened them and they were unable to hear what was coming. To their left, the Rasennan cavalry, which had crossed the river further upstream, smashed into the flank of the defending missile units, who quickly retreated after suffering huge losses. The enemy was now coming across, and Pyrrhus, who could not afford losing his river defense entirely before his infantry was readym, organized his phalanx, before charging ahead of them with 3,000 of his best cavalry and straight into the Rasennan infantry.

This slowed them down and gave the Phalangites a chance to catch up. As they approached the battle line, the Carthaginian war elephants crossed the river. In this melee, Pyrrhus was knocked of his horse and almost killed by an enemy rider, which prompted him to pull back. His friend Megacles, swapped his armour and rode back to the frontline. However, the Rasennans were slowly pushed back into the river. His friend Megacles was killed in battle and now the Epirotes thought that Pyrrhus was dead. The morale dropped heavily, while Pyrrhus rode around his army and informed them, that he was still alive. Later, Pyrrhus unleashed his war elephants and the Rasennans retreated.

After a long and bloody battle, Pyrrhus came out victorious and the Rasennans retreated. Pyrrhus lost 4,000 men, including many of his senior veteran officers, while his enemy lost 6,500 men and 1,500 more soldiers were captured. Though Pyrrhus had won his first major battle against Rasenna, it had been a difficult match. He would soon learn, that despite his own martial skills, he had truly met his match. Carthage, dismissing Pyrrhus' offers of surrender terms, began recruiting a new army and the Epirote king began to patch up his own, ready for the next battle, which was soon to come.

Meanwhile, the Rasennan army returned to Veia and was resupplied with Carthaginian mercenaries and Rasennan soldiers. However, this had proven to be a mistake as Pyrrhus was now marching out to besiege Neapolis. The Rasennans were too slow and Neapolis fell without much resistance. Suprised by this, the Rasennan army was again defeated near Neapolis and retreated, while Pyrrhus marched back to Taras.

Pyrrhus' retreat (279-275 BCE)
While he rested in Taras, two embassies arrived, each one with a unique opportunity for the Epirote king. One was from Macedon, back across the Adriatic, where in 279 BCE, Ptolemy Ceraunus "the Thunderbolt", marched out to meet a Gallic invasion and had been killed after falling from his horse. Macedon was in trouble and needed a king who was a proven warrior. The second envoy was from the Greek cities of Sicily, which were beset by enemies including the Mamertine mercenaries and more importantly, the extremly wealthy Carthaginian Empire. Likely tempted by ambitions of invading Sicily as a springboard to conquer Carthage, Pyrrhus opted for Sicilian option, horrifying his Tarentine allies. Rasenna used this to quickly recapture Neapolis and more land east of it.

While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians in Sicily, their subject, the Rasennans had rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh recruits. When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, he found himself vastly outnumbered against a superior Rasennan army. After the inconclusive Battle of Maloenton (OTL Beneventum) in 275 BCE, Pyrrhus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus which resulted in the loss of essentially all the gains he had made in Italy. Still, the city of Taras remained under the dominion of the Epirotes.

Satellite state of Carthage (275 BCE-235 CE)
In 272 BCE, upon hearing the news of Pyrrhus's death, the Tarentinians and later Syracuse, surrendered to Carthage.

The Volcanic Eruption of 44 BCE and aftermath (44-40 BCE)
in 44 BCE, written sources describe a period of unusually cold climate, crop failures, famine, disease, and unrest in the Mediterranean Region. These factors caused food scarcity in Rasenna and Carthage. The reason for this is a volcanic eruption in Okmok, Alaska.

Climate models suggest that seasonally averaged temperatures may have been as much as 7°C (13°F) below normal during the summer and autumn that followed the eruption of Okmok in 44 BCE.

The cooling effects lasted more than two years, resulting in the second and eighth coldest summertime temperatures of the past 2,500 years in 43 and 42 BCE, respectively, based on the European tree-ring climate proxy records. This short "dark age" lasted until around 40 BCE.

Independence (235- CE)
In 223 CE, the Greek colonies in southern Gaul, including Massalia, had fallen to the Christian Arvernian Empire. Carthage now feared an invasion into its territory. By 236 CE, the Gauls had attacked the Carthaginian satellite state of Rasenna, starting the Padanian War (236-237 CE). However, the Carthaginians were defeated at the Battles of Felsina (236 CE) and Sena (237 CE). All land north of Aritim (OTL Arretium), was now controlled by the Arvernians. However, the Rasennans, the Umbrians and the Samnites used this as a chance to rise up and assert independence, annihilating the just defated Carthaginian soldiers and chaotically pushing them back to southeastern Italy, after occupying Corsica as well. The Carthaginians tried to reconquer Italy during the First Italian War (238-240 CE), however, were unsuccessful and retained southeastern Italy. The Umbrian capital Ikuvium at the border of the Arverni, was victim to numerous Gallic skirmishes in the following years.

Source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/barbaria-a-world-without-rome.169251/page-1 (Thank you for inspiration).

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8447745/Massive-volcanic-eruption-Alaska-43-BC-triggered-global-climate-shock.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QBA6ZPmj3Q

Flag credits
This flag was NOT made by myself. Credits to https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/g5iihh/a_flag_for_a_game/ for making this beautiful flag.