Well, I've been working on this essay for the better portion of a week now, and I think I've gotten it into a somewhat coherent piece. Please note: This is not exhaustive as I decided to cut it off where I did because I figured I could write MANY of these and only scratch the surface.
So just how Roman are the Coryani?
This is a question that I have been contemplating for quite some time owing to 1) my playing of a Coryani character, and 2) as a writer of adventures. As much as I love the works of Mr. Lopez, and though we have a decent amount of information about the societies of the nations of Arcanis, there is a lot of blank holes in the culture and society of the various human nations (and non-human nations) within the universe. This is mostly due to the fact that he is one man, and unless he decides to subcontract out his universe to others, there is only so much writing that he can get done. However, he did us one favour when it comes to interpreting his vision in that he assigned to many of his nations a real-world analog from which we can gain at least some insight beyond that which he himself has written. In Milandir we have a Germanic nation, based on medieval knightly ideals such as chivalry, and in the Coryani we have the Roman Empire.
But, as the question above goes, just how Roman is the Coryani Empire? Well, we know that they use a lot of Roman traits and tropes. They organize their forces into Legions, Latin is used as the basis for High Coryani, there is a difference between Patrician and Plebian (noble and commoner) classes, and many other tropes which carry over. That said, due to the mechanics of the universe, there is a lot which ISN’T the same.
For one, the Roman Empire had its origins as a Republic, and a fairly . . . insistent one at that. The Romans actively opposed the idea of a King, or a Tyrant, or the accumulation of power into one man or family, with the name “King” being used in the same way that “Dictator” or even “Terrorist” is used today among the Western nations. In pursuit of this, the Romans—at least the ruling Patrician senatorial class—made ambition as the primary driving force of their society. All Romans of Senatorial rank wished to make a name for themselves, winning victories, owning land, and fighting to be the top of the political heap in the position of Consul. It was this lust for glory and power and to make a name for themselves and their families which was what helped push Rome into its position of dominance of the Mediterranean region. This fell somewhat by the wayside when Rome transitioned into its Imperial period, where the ruling Patricians and their senate was supplanted by the Emperor, but there was still a cultural imperative to expand the Empire, win glory, have Triumphs (big parades meant to show off all your victories), etc.
The Coryani, on the other hand, were never a republic. They have always been descended from nations with Kings and Queens and Emperors. In fact, the only portion of its Empire that WAS based on Republican or democratic ideals was the region of Altheria, and that was a fairly small (but powerful) force within the Coryani territories at their greatest extent and power. Similarly, the power struggles between the various ‘noble families’ seemed much less prominent due to the near monopolization of power in the Arcanis universe by the Val families. Unlike in Rome, where it was entirely possible that you could come from nothing and earn a spot of power, the Vals have been the hereditary rulers of all of humanity from the time of the Gods’ War, and there has never really been a need for them to really have much in the way of ambition to attain power for their families within the Empire (or the Kingdoms and other regions which preceeded it). Their right to rule was guaranteed by the Pantheon itself, and who was going to question the Gods?
So, what about ambition? Without the need to make a name for themselves and to bring honour to their Clans in order to upstage their rivals for what might have been perceived as a finite amount of power. There are some instances of this, such as when the val’Dellanov family managed to wrest control of the Empire from the val’Assante’, but for the most part each family had its own domain, and the overall hierarchy of the families fell in line with the Divine source of their power. Throughout recorded Coryani history, the val’Assante’ ruled because they were the scions of Illiir (head of the Pantheon), and therefore had the Divine Right to rule, while the other families maintained their own holdings, sent Senators to the capitol, and generally maintained an almost feudal control over their possessions and territories.
That being said, not all Vals were created equal, and it appears to be relatively common for Vals to have been born in poverty, even in a world where their very blood makes them nobility. One way to rationalize this is that, like some of the more prolific regal houses of Europe (and presumably other areas of Earth), there was a main branch from which the ruling line was held, and satellite branches started by younger siblings and those who never inherited the official titles such as King of Naeraanth or Emperor of Coryan. As the bloodlines of these families was extremely apparent, owing to the rather homogeneity of the Val families in appearance and powers, these side branches couldn’t just fade into obscurity as politics and influence waxed and waned. The further you are from the ruling line, the fewer opportunities you have to better yourself, and the fewer opportunities you have to win glory. What must have happened was, not able to pay their debts or earn the influence they wanted, at least some of these Vals must have either been sold into slavery (which is almost unthinkable!) or somehow found themselves ‘demoted’ in class because we know there are common-born Vals out there. Maybe these Vals of minor lines of the family were criminals, and that is how they were demoted, or were disowned by the more powerful Val lines of their families because of some indiscretion and maybe even exiled from their family’s holdings, effectively forcing them into the Plebian and commoner classes (depending on the nation.
However, the Vals who somehow lost their ‘noble, patrician’ status weren’t without hope. Unlike in Rome, there are two Patrician classes within Coryan: The normal, vanilla Human Patricians, and the Val-family Patrician Imperialis. All a Patrician family needs to do to be ‘upgraded’ to Patrician Imperialis is marry a Val—even a common-born Val—and they are instantly upgraded in the social hierarchy. Presumably, this newly (re)created Val Patrician Imperialis has been sufficiently distanced from the ruling lines of the Val families in their great feudal holdings, but this has not been particularly well established for lack of need thus far.
But what, you may say, is the role of the humans in the Coryani Empire? As it stands, there is a monopoly of power held by the Vals, and the Patricians seem to be fairly minor players in this stage. Part of this, we can draw a connection to the Roman institution of the client, or vassal. Basically, as Patrican families in Rome acquired power and lands and estates, they had numerous families belonging to other social classes which owed them favours and whatnot. One historian has compared the Patrician class as basically being Godfather-style Mafioso. We know that the Val families have their vassal families of humans, and that a significantly portion of these Vassal families are Patrician class in the Empire. As such, instead of being the ruling class in their own right, the Patricians are simply more of a landed nobility, occupying the ‘middle ranks’ of nobility which would be more akin to the Equestrian class of Rome (those being the rich individuals who were raised above the Plebians either by wealth or—later—by military service) than the Senatorial class of the Roman Republic. Later in the Roman Empire, the Patricians had lost much of their power as the Senate became a less-important organ of the government as the Emperors consolidated power in their own offices, which is also a similarity between the Roman and Coryani Empires, where the Coryani Senate seems to be a much less powerful body than it was in the Roman Republic, but seems to serve a similar role as a prestige assignment. As a Canadian, I draw attention to my own country’s senate, which is effectively stacked by the Prime Minister at the time with their political cronies and other partisan appointments rather than it being representative of any actual constituency.
So, if the human Patricians represent the powerful, rich, but ultimately politically ineffectual class, what about the other social classes of the Coryani Empire? Well, we know that the Coryani Empire has its own Equestrian Class—named for the fact that they made up a large portion of the cavalry used during the Roman Republic as they could afford a horse—which would have been the equivalent of the Roman middle (or, at least upper middle) class. These were individuals who came from money, but were not from the Patrician class themselves. They typically were the business owners, traders, and other entrepreneurs which sprung up in the Roman Empire as, though the acquisition of wealth was important to any Patrician, the acts of commerce and trade was viewed as beneath them. A REAL noble inherited his money, and his assets consisted of property, not through trade! In the Arcanis game, the Equestrians are also a monied class, but are not counted as any form of nobility. They cannot become Tribunes or Legates or (presumably) hold high office in the Senate, but are functionally Plebians/ commoners. They may be RICH commoners, but there doesn’t seem to be any advantage to their actual title aside from having money.
So, at the top of the heap in the Coryani Empire we have the ruling Val lines (the val’Assante’ of Illonia and the Empire, the val’Sheem of Cafela, etc) as the pinnacle of the Patrician Imperialis class, followed by the non-ruling Patrician Imperialis and the normal Patricians which form the upper crust of society (more as ‘old money’ and historical aristocracy than direct ruling lines as the Senate is—at best—coequals to the Coryani Emperor in Coryan rather than the ruling body of that nation), followed by the Equestrian order of monied commoners. But what about the common people? These commoners are known as Plebians in both Rome and Coryan, and functionally they seem to be effectively the same. In fact, the only difference seems to be that in Coryan, the Plebian class seems to include what the Romans would have called the Equestrians as well as just the Plebians. I make this point because we’ve seen super-rich individuals in the Empire who are notably NOT Patricians in the storyline, but they are not described as Equestrians.
The final class is that of Slave, and to be honest, I cannot think of a single example which makes a Coryani slave different than a Roman slave. If anything, I’m shocked by how FEW slaves have shown up in Coryani-based stories in the Arcanis universe, with a far more insistence in using the more relatable Plebian- and Equestrian –level individuals, with Slaves made to be little more than window dressing. We have instances of many Freedmen in the story, including the “Former Slave” background in the game, which means that the position of the slave is alive and well in Coryan. Additionally, while people view Slavery through the eye of the sensationalism associated with American slavery, by and large the Coryani treated their slaves the same way we would treat a car today, or a dish washer: While some individuals abuse their slaves, torture them, etc, most individuals would treat such a valuable possession, keeping the slave healthy, generally happy (if not free), and safe.
So what about upwards mobility within the system? Well, we know that Slaves can be freed, making them free Coryani. Additionally, in Rome we know that Plebians can move up to the Equestrian class if they gain additional money (and have Patrician or Imperial connections) or if they work their way up to the rank of Prefect of a Legion (3rd in Command), with Prefects typically ‘retiring’ into the Equestrian Class. Reading the fluff of the Equestrian background we also know that the rich Equestrians—upon reaching a certain amount of wealth—could be inducted into the Patrician class, and that Patricians could become Patrician Imperialis by marrying (and presumably, breeding with) a Val of ANY birth. So what are these social classes in Coryan? Overall, the differentiation between Plebian, Equestrian, and Patrician appears far less rigid then it did in Rome, with intermarrying between the classes not only not unknown, but encouraged in the case of Patricians wishing to bring their bloodlines into the Imperialis class. As such, instead of thinking about the Coryani having social classes per se, I think the actual distinction is more akin to Lower, Middle, and Upper class in a modern society. This may be a relic of the fact it is being made by a person and group with a modern, American social perspective for other people with a modern, American social perspective, but it is a separation between Rome and Coryan. That said, in Coryan the only people who can vote and hold office are those of the Patrician and Patrician Imperialis class, so maybe not that free. . .
What about citizenship? Well, during the Republican period immediately leading up to Julius Caeser’s time, the only people in Rome who had citizenship were those from Rome. Even their Italian allies who had been ‘Roman’ for decades, even CENTURIES, but they were not included in the Roman social hierarchy. They were not able to join the Equestrian Class, they were not able to join the Patrican class, and they had no representation in the People’s Assemblies or the Senate. In fact, the desire for the Italians to gain Citizenship in Rome was one of the root causes in the destruction of the Roman Republic. By the time of the Empire, Citizenship was spread more widely, with some of the Provinces of the Empire represented in the Senate (as disempowered as it was) during the Imperial period.
But what about Coryan? Instead of being an Empire that was conquered, the Coryani Empire was founded almost as a Confederation of allies under the First Emperor (and later, the val’Assante’ family of the city of Midea Tridueae, later named Old Coryan), so was there ever a period where people were NOT citizens? Well, we know that Milandir raised Legions and had Senators, and in modern times there does not seem to be any policial difference between an Illonian, a Cafelan, and a Balantican. As such, Citizenship (and the right to assembly, legal protection, and all) seems way more widespread in Coryan then it did in Ancient Rome. In fact, the only ‘conquered’ territories that weren’t provinces at the formation of the Empire seem to have been Abessios/Toranesta/Myrantia, Eppion in the Western lands, and some parts of the Hinterlands. To that end, there was never really the citizenship issue with places like Altheria and Milandir, and arguably even Canceri (though the Nierites probably lost theirs when they were banished to Nier’s spine from the rest of the Empire), and all these were “core” Coryani Provinces.
So, what else is “Roman” about the Coryani Empire? Well, we know that they use Legions! Alas, these legions seem to have a different genesis as the ones used by Rome, and how close the legions are is subject to debate (see the Chronicler’s Board for more on that). The short form version is that Roman Legions were created by Rome to be all-Infantry formations, utilizing heavily regimented formations with large shields and fast short swords. This came in handy against the Greek forces which dominated the Mediterranean during the rise of the Republic, where there were large formations of phalanx troops who do well against mounted troops, but long pikes don’t do well against Infantry who can use large Tower Shields to take the ranged hit from a pike, and when cheek-to-jowl, nine-foot pikes are next to useless. Combine this with a nearly professional military (it later became fully professional), good Generals spurred on by the ambition said earlier, and a willingness to adapt tactics on the fly, the Romans conquered the Mediterranean region.
For centuries, Roman armies were also mostly made up of property owners, mostly of the Equestrian and Patrician classes as property ownership was necessary for citizenship, and they felt that if you weren’t a citizen, you had no stake in the system (this changed before Julius Caeser as Rome was running out of landholders to arm, so common Romans were recruited and then GIVEN land). It was also a prevailing attitude in my readings that a lot of Mediterranean cultures (particularly the Greeks) did not like missile warfare (archers specifically), considering it ‘effeminate.’ The manly way of warfare was to get up close and personal, stabbing them with a spear or a sword! Though they were able to out-professional and out-skill many other cultures, the Romans seemed to hold a similar opposition to archers, keeping archers and slingers and other ranged weapons into auxiliary and militia troops that were attached as needed while the Infantry heavy troops marched on, and the Patrician and Equestrian cavalry acted as flankers. This eventually came to bite Rome on the ass with the increased use of Heavy Cavalry tactics, as the Legion block was not effective against heavy horse (ironically, they needed the very phalanxes which they tore up when they conquered the Greeks!).
For Coryan, we have a completely different genesis of the Legion. For one, many “Coryani Legions” are reborn First Imperium “Legions” (how ‘Legion-ish’, in the Roman style, these forces are is open to debate) which the Coryani have co-opted by retrieving the Legion Standards from that time. This means that the basic Legion formation dates back at least several thousand years and that the Coryani style is not as impressively unique as the Roman Legions were at their time. That said, the Coryani make use of many permanent formations of Legions in a way the Romans could only DREAM of (especially in the Republic era). The forges of Enpebyn are nigh Industrial Revolution sophisticated manufacturers of Legion arms and armours, the Legions are supported by the Church, powerful Patricians, Provincial governors, and the Emperor himself, though all (titually) under the control of the Emperor in times of war. The Coryani Legions are formations of such power and history that the Romans could only dream of such glory attached to them!
As for organization, as has been discussed before the Coryani Miltiary seems to be a far more ‘modern’ formation than the Roman legions were. Roman legions were homogenous Heavy Infantry formations, which were backed up by militia and mercenary auxiliaries and noble cavalry to fill out any roles that were needed. Coryani Legions, on the other hand, seem to be (at the Legion level, at least) combined arms groups which included Cavalry (as specified in the Equestrian background), Scouts (as specified in the Former Scout background), Infantry, and even the missile troops that Rome scoffed at as mere auxiliaries in the same formations. It probably doesn’t break them down into mixed Centuries, or possibly even Cohorts though, as Legions work best in formations, and the more mixed your lines are, the less effective as a Legion they are. That said, you will probably have 7 Cohorts of Infantry, and 3 Cohorts of ‘special troops’ as full Legionnaires rather than just auxiliaries, making the full 10 Cohorts of a ‘typical’ Legion.
Why the difference? Well, this is up to Henry, but from my perspective this comes a lot from the Gods of the Pantheon. While many of the Martial Gods (Hurrian, Nier, Illiir, etc) use melee weapons as their ‘Divine weapons’, others like Cadic do NOT (necessarily) use melee weapons. The Gods and the need to keep them all sacred means that simply stating that one is less important than another could bring up more social problems than looking ‘effeminate’ for being an archer. Of course, Coryan did something very similar when they banned the worship of Nier, but there were probably extenuating circumstances (assassination of the Patriarch, Nier’s roll in the destruction of the First Imperium, etc) which. . . pushed things that way. So, if no weapon is overtly disliked due to the worship of Gods who use what the Romans would consider ‘effeminate’ or ‘cowardly’ weapons, this could explain the more mixed-forces Legions of the Coryani.
So what about war? Well, the information we have is that the Coryani are a fairly war-mongering group. After all, they have conquered the Myrantian Hegemony, they exerted their imperial power in the Hinterlands and the Western Lands, and they have been moving their sphere of influence further and further into the Blessed Lands. But, you have to remember: These foreign wars were over the course of a MILLENIA. The Coryani as stated above, there doesn’t seem to be as much of the ‘traditional’ Roman drive to ambition in the Coryani as there was in the Romans, and this was made even more apparent by the fact that the Coryani were pretty much at the top of the heap of the Known Lands for centuries. Unlike Rome, which came to Empire after its warmongering had effectively strained the ability of the Roman democracy to rule its nation and failed to adapt fast enough to the changes, the Coryani Empire was founded as a coalition of allies who fought against a common foe which united them.
While Rome fought battles for glory and to keep the Plebs occupied (bread and circuses and all that), Coryan does not seem to do that. Oh, yes, Coryan DOES act as an Empire, but most of its conflicts have been internal. There were decades between major wars between Coryan and other parties, while Rome could barely go years without staging major campaigns. Hell, MILANDIR is much more of a war mongering nation than the Coryani are, having pushed for the Heretic Wars, the 5th and 6th Crusades of Light, as well as having to fight off Menisis val’Tensen’s invasion in the last century alone! This could be compared to the Pax Romana, I suppose, the period of time when Augustus Caesar consolidated power over the Roman world, but his peace was only about 250 years, whereas Coryan (as stated) has gone close to one Millenia with only two major, decisive wars against major powers (both cases, the Khitani). All other wars seemed more to be wars of influence rather than wars of conquest.
So, as I approach 4,000 words now, I should probably wrap up. To summarize, the more you look into the Coryani, the less “Roman”, or at least classically Roman they look. I base most of my comparisons on the Roman Republic and earlier Empire as that is the portion of history I am mostly familiar with, but I think it is quite telling. The Coryani seem less ambition-driven then the Romans, and more. . . peaceful overall. There appears to be less civil discourse than the Romans faced, there is much more equality among the various Coryani Provinces than at any time during the Roman Empire that I’ve read about, and there appears to be at least as much (if not more) upwards mobility within the society. The Coryani, despite their apparently peaceful nature, maintain a large standing military probably owing to their genesis as a military alliance and an effort to be more like the First Imperium, but I honestly do not see how their Legions are more than ceremonial formations most of the time due to the lack of political ambition and desire for glory that drove the Roman mind. While Rome started out as a beleaguered City State which had to claw their way to power among their neighbours, Coryan was the home base of the military commander of an allied force and simply became the First among Equals of their new Empire. While superficially they are similar, the overall driving forces of the two cultures are not the same.
_________________ Cody Bergman Legends of Arcanis Campaign Staff Initial Author Contact/Adventure Vetting
Haakon Marcus val'Virdan, Divine Holy Judge of Nier Ruma val'Vasik, Martial Crusader and Master of the Spear Jorma Osterman, Arcane Coryani Battlemage
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