Heir of Aurelian

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The long-term goals of Marcellus was to simply save the Empire from its near collapse, and build a foundation which would ensure its survival for many centuries to come. The barbarians at the gates a had been dispelled from Rome’s borders, while the frontiers had been fortified to prevent further aggression.

Meanwhile, the Empire had been reunited beneath a single banner, all while the economy had begun to recover from its severe depression which had had previously been facing prior to Marcellus’ rule. In the eyes of the emperor, all that was truly left for him to do was to rebuild the political system into a stable foundation, and then, he could finally retire to the countryside, with his wife, lover, and family where they could all live a peaceful existence.

Unfortunately, this process was neither easy, nor simple, and in all actuality, would probably take several years before a true successor would reveal themselves to Marcellus. At the moment, he was molding Theodosius to be a proper leader, but the boy was still young, and far from the age necessary to take the responsibility of an emperor.

Thus, for the time being, he decided to establish a proper legislative branch. With public education in the process of being implemented nationwide. Marcellus could expect at least a reasonably educated electorate within the upcoming years. However, in order to ensure that the masses did not simply elect people into power who promised them free stuff at the expense of the taxpayer. Marcellus had developed specific requirements to be eligible to vote.

First and foremost, in order to vote for representatives for the legislative branch, one must be an actual a free roman citizen, secondly they must be over the age of majority, thirdly they must be male, and fourthly they must have served in the Roman Military for a minimum of four years.

This both incentivized people to continually join the Armed Forces, while also ensuring only those who have chosen to make sacrifices for the good of the nation are eligible to vote. As for who the representatives were, Marcellus decided the Senate into a bicameral legislature.

There would be the House of Plebeians, which would consist of representatives voted from amongst the Plebeian class, while there would also be a House of Patricians, whose membership would be voted from among the Patrician class.

Essentially, the House of Plebeians would draft the legislation, which would then be voted upon by its representatives where a simple majority vote would determine whether or not it would pass. From there, that legislature would travel to the House of Patricians, who would carefully examine and modify the document if necessary. Where again, it would be voted upon by a simple majority, and then finally after being approved by both houses, it would end up on the Emperor’s desk, who would either sign the bill into law, or veto it.

This new and improved Roman senate would in theory represent both the interests of the common man, as well as the wealthy elite, and would hopefully form some kind of balance. As for whether or not a Senator could be dismissed, that could only occur as the result of corruption or criminal behavior, and would require both the input of the emperor, and a tribunal formed from members of the Senate who were selected by the emperor.

With this first draft, of the reformed Imperial Senate including its overall structure, responsibilities, and criteria for selection. Marcellus had formed a critical component of the upcoming Roman Constitution, which he intended to implement as a way of stabilizing the Roman government once and for all.

Once he was finished with the draft, Sigefrida conveniently knocked on the door, and in doing so took his mind off of other matters. After opening the door to reveal his beautiful lover, he noticed that the woman had a document in her hand, which she handed to the man without waiting for a response. While reading the details of the folder, Sigefrida gave a brief overview of the material.

“The Ghassanids have made contact with Narseh. As of right now, a small influx of Roman luxury goods is being sold throughout Ctesiphon by the Narseh and those who are backing him. This has done some good in regards to building the man’s war chest.

However, the bad news is that Shapur is gaining more and more support, both military and economically. It won’t be long before he directly challenges the other contenders for the throne. When he does, Narseh will be defeated, and we will have to prepare for another invasion from the Sassanid Empire.

I suggest waiting until after the upcoming war with the Persians, before implementing these government reforms you have been working on. We are not yet settled into an era of peace, and as it stands, the military dictatorship which you have created is the most efficient form of combating our many enemies.”

Marcellus looked over the document and sighed heavily. It would appear with the way things were headed that Shapur’s rise to the position of High King of Persia, was inevitable. Thus, he could not help but agree with Sigefrida’s assessment of the overall situation, which he was quick to voice.

“Very well, the reformation of the Roman senate, as well as the other branches of government I intend to create, will have to wait until after the final battle has been won. In the mean time I will continue to improve upon my ideas until something solid is already in place for the day that we finally achieve peace. Was there anything else you wanted, or was that all for now?”

A look of hesitation appeared on Sigefrida’s face, which instantly alerted Marcellus to her thoughts and thus he nodded his head in silence, permitting her to speak further.

“I think it is about time we extract Mitra from the field. When Shapur marches against his enemies, she will be caught in the crossfire, and thus far, she has proven to be a reliable agent. It would be a pity if we lost her so soon.”

It took only a moment for Marcellus to agree to this concern as he briefly pondered the ramifications of such an action.

“Inform Mitra to prepare herself for extraction, and while you’re at it, have her convince Narseh to send her on a diplomatic visit somewhere outside of Ctesiphon. The last thing we need is for Shapur to become suspicious of his sister’s loyalties.

If Narseh does emerge victorious, despite the odds against him, then we can always send the girl back into his court. But you are right. For now, it is far too dangerous to leave Mitra in the Sassanid capital.”

Sigefrida nodded her head in acceptance of her orders, before departing from the room. Like Marcellus, she had many things which she needed to do at the moment, and not enough time to do them in. As for Marcellus, he got back to making revisions to his draft.