From Null to Now

[Rictiovarus 1]

Crawat, situated somewhere in Northern Europe, has always been involved in politics, economics and culture for over 2000 years. This CJ will display the history of Crawat, every update skipping a bit further in time, starting in the year 0, and ending up in the present, hence the title, from null to now.

Before the year zero, not much was happening in Crawat. A few barbarians living there, it was a bit out of the way. Until the Romans came. When the year zero began, they had built a city there, named Caeputia. Not very big, it served mainly for administrative purposes and local trading with the barbarians.

In the year 0, Caeputia is governed by Gaius Arventianus, a disgraced politician from Rome sent to the backwaters of the Empire for some unknown offence. Not letting this disgrace wear him down, he instead chose to make Caeputia as much as possible like the Rome he missed so much.

As a result, in the year 0, Caeputia is a shining example of Roman citybuilding, all white walls and red tiled roofs, a sturdy wall surrounding the city and overflowing with columns:

It also has a fortified port, built around a local (friendly) barbarian fishing village. It does not do much business though, mainly small fishing boats.

No Roman city would be complete with a shrine and patron god, and for Caeputia it's Apollo. Built in the mountains on a sacred cave, it's sure to call the blessings of Apollo down on Caeputia, right?

The small barbarian village of Balliororum lies along a trade route, and is the only other settlement for miles around. These barbarians are friendly towards Caeputia and the Romans, and often provide guides and scouts for Caeputian interests.

That's it for the year 0, hope you liked it. In the next update, entitled 'Sic Transit Gloria Caeputius', we'll skip forward 150 years.

Mods used:

Columbia terrain

Trees

SAM

Roman buildings by Psycholu and some others.

Citywalls.

Colonial village.

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull start and intro my friend i love the start to your little village,i love also the very colourful buildings,keep the great work going.

[jjune4991 1]

very cool roman buildings! and that fortified port looks sweet!

[ac94 5]

This city is nice. I love ancient cities. Keep up the good work!

[football_fever 6]

Oh man that's awesome.  This is the best Roman city out there.  Great job

[un1 40]

Wow, you're an amazing CJer!! I'm sure this will be very sucessful!!

[felipe 0]

Excellent, when are we going to see more?

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Yes! Rictiovarus, you're back with a successor to Salamium.

Let's hope that this will be even better

[lindsay-akihita-aomori 1]

OMG where did you get all those houses with the red roofs? I really need them!

[tigerplayer91 3]

This CJ totally reminds me of CivCity: Rome. lol its looks awesome!

One suggestion though, if you want to add some liveliness to your streets there 

is a ploppable tile on the STex that creates sims randomly in the streets. 

But besides that youve got a pretty good CJ so far Ill be back for more come 

next update!

Nickk

[Rictiovarus 1]

They aren't houses. They're temples by Psycholu, placed so only the rear and sides are visible. I couldn't find any appropriate Roman-style houses on the Stex, so, yeah...

[packersfan 666]

this looks cool

[edmonton_stinks 5]

I can't believe you've managed to create a Roman city in SC4. Fantastic job!

[Rictiovarus 1]

Replies:

Jacqulina: Thanks

Jjune4991: Thank you.

ac94: Too bad there aren't more ancient lots on the stex.

Football_Fever: There are more? I simply used the Roman style of citybuilding. Straight lines with a square in the middle.

un1: Thank you!

felipe: Right now.

Patricius Maximus: Yeah. And I've visited your new one as well, looking good.

tigerplayer91: I'll give that a try next time.

packerfan: I certainly hope so

edmonton_stinks: Well, thank you!

Update 1: Sic Transit Gloria Caeputanum

We are now entering the year 150. Caeputia, located on the edge of the Empire has survived for 150 years without serious incident, and many civilized barbarian structures now permeate the city. Julius Arventianus, heir to the Arventianus family which has ruled here for 150 years, now governs this city.

The port too has  had it's number of stone buildings increase:

And Balliororum,  profiting wildly from it's advantageous location on the main trade route has grown as well. A number of legionaries now reside there.

And so, all is well. Trade is up, aggression is down. All that can be scryed in the enar future is prosperity.

Or is it?

What was that? The temple of Apollo, burning to the ground!? This is a very bad omen indeed. Have the gods abandoned Caeputia? What horrors will befall her?

Hello!

It's a horde of barbarians, rampaging across the countryside! They've set their eyes on the riches of Caeputia, and nothing will stop them from getting it. They smash the walls and ravage the city, burning looting and pillaging as they go.

 Many of the survivors flee to the port, in hopes of escape, but they're trapped, and subsequently put to the sword. Arventianus and the last few survivors fight in the fortified town of Balliororum,

where they narrowly manage to avoid a grisly fate. For while Balliororum is burning around them, some help arrives

Who proceed to fight off the barbarian horde and defeat them:

And so, a few manage to survive. But Caeputia is burned to the ground, and Apollo's abandonment does not bode well. Rome no longer wishes to build on this location, and leaves the ruins to the wilds.

Yet is this the end for Crawat? No. Not yet. There's still more to come.

[jjune4991 1]

o no! fire!!!!! hopefully they will find better land to settle.

[nottheboss 1]

Cool history lesson

Romans to the rescue

bash the barbarians

[jacqulina 162]

great history my friend i love the way your doing this cj,excellent work and pics.

[feliwi 4]

interesting city concept, comes along very nice!

[dreux28100 2]

wow your east city exenlent

[fern244 1]

Whoa, what can i say? This is one of the best new CJs ive seen in a while...

[Rictiovarus 1]

Jjune4991: Indeed they have!

Nottheboss: I know! Battlescenes always work.

Jacqulina: Thank you.

Feliwi: Thanks

Dreux28100: East city? I'm not sure which one you're referring to...

Fern244: Much appreciated!

Update. "Tempus Volante"

After the rampage at Caeputia, and the fall of Apollo's shrine, Arventianus and the remaining survivors move back to Rome, unwilling to start again after such an ill omen. Without the Roman presence, barbarian culture starts to spread slowly over the terrain...

And 400 years later, the small coastal city of Culvern appears. Basically nothing more than a port and a few houses, it is nevertheless highly important to the local king, Jerrartus, and thus fortified with a wall.

Located a ways out into the bay is the Innesber Church, where the newfangled Christians live. The pagan community of Culvern has little stock with them however...

Jerrartus rules from Castle Culvern, which is a sizable community in it's own right. Only the most loyal and worthy of underlings may live here.

Following both roads leads to the first of many many small villages under Jerrartus' power, a little hamlet called Branselt. Subsisting mostly on small-scale farming and little trading, it is emblematic for these types of settlements.

The mighty redoubt Bergzicht, built before Jerrartus' time juts out over thecliffs. Jerrartus uses it as a measure of last defence and observation place.

The greatest asset to Bergzicht is it's winding single access road, twisting along sheer cliffs. No army is able to mount an effective siege, and bergzicht has several secret tunnels to escape or gather more food...

400 years after the horde arrived, Crawat is once again inhabited. Marcus Arventianus, the youngest in the line yearns for the olden days after hearing the stories. He dreams of returning to Caeputia, and restoring it as a proper city.

All this in the next update. Thanks for watching.

[Simfan34 11]

Wow, this looks absolutely amazing; I find historical/alt history (as mine is) amazing. Keep it up... I shall visit often.

[Rictiovarus 1]

Replies:

Simfan34: Thank you. Yours is great as well!

Update: Nova Caeputia; Carat

After 420 years, Marcus Arventanius is ready. Having made quite a profit, he leaves Rome with a group of likeminded settlers.

After arriving in Culvern, he seeks approval from the local warlord, Jerrartus, who is amused by his quest, and allows him to continue, even providing him with a guide, and after only a few days of searching they come across the ruins of Caeputia. Little remains but the foundations, and many trees block it from most sight.

Undaunted by the lack of, well, anything really, Marcus and his settlers start to build, and 30 years later, Carat is a reality. The old trade routes are starting to reappear, and wealth is starting to flow.

Yet, Jerrartus, now an old stubborn and irascible man is starting to be difficult. He is becoming jealous of Carat's rise of power and is starting to demand greater and greater tribute. Marcus knows that this can only be decided by war. Carat is not yet strong enough to deal with this by itself though, it needs to expand. Marcus figures there are theree options, but only enough time to do two of them.

1. Repair the harbour to gain extra wealth for mercenaries.

2. Drive the local outlaws from Balliororum, and repair the fort.

Or 3. Build a new temple where the Shrine of Apollo once was, and ask for assistance from the Gods.

So, which will it be? Write your selections in your comments, and if you're generous, a reason for your choice.

Thank yopu for watching, good night.

[Gecko_2006 1]

I'm really loving this CJ so far- but I'm a little confused on Crawat and Carat. Is Crawat the Barbarian kingdom, Carat the Roman, or is there simply a problem with typos?

It was actually really entertaining. I love the CJ concept of historical rebirth and economic growth. Keep it up- I'm loving the realism.

And I'll go with option 1. When it comes right down to it, the most important thing (in the material world at least) is $$$.

[The_Hutt 11]

Wow, that is sweet. Great use of custom content!

[Rictiovarus 1]

Crawat is the regional name, and the eventual name of the city. As most city names evolve over time, so does this one.

Also, there are TWO choices that need to be made...

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Hey, I haven't been here in a while. Glad to see the burning of the temple wasn't the end of the city.

I say repair the harbor. It is the best wartime solution.

[jacqulina 162]

wow thats really amazing work and looking fantastic,i love the trails im trying to get the hang of using those ones lol,you done it well.

[Rictiovarus 1]

The SAM trails? I found that if you start making successive (alternating between) lefthanders and righthanders, it automatically suggests a diagonal. Which makes the work a lot easier.

[GMT 389]

for the first time ever, I love a CJ with a historic timeline.

It's simply amazing how well everything you've plopped fits the time it represents. not a single flaw worth mentioning, thus the base you use to recreate "history" implements a modern world.

as I said already, simply amazing!

can't wait to see more