Emperor Julius Aelius Darius
Princeps of the Rasenna Julius Aelius Verus (a.k.a. Darius (Conqueror of the Drassids)
Grandson of Emperor Marcus Aelius, the great conqueror of the east, the great Rasennan eagle and whirlwind to his enemies as well as among the greatest benefactors to his people.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Noted as short and stout, Darius was a ruddy and muscular commander of men during his time as Legate, governor, and finally Emperor.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The son of the future co-emperor Julius Aelianus, son of the senior Marcus Aelius, Julius Aelius Verus was supposedly born beneath a flaming "war banner star" a common motif in imperial biographies and one that has strong connections to the east where a war banner star was said to herald the birth of great kings. In other retellings of Julius' birth, his birth was heralded with the sounding of a nearby Cornu, a legionary marching horn that sounded to announce the arrival of Julius' father Julius Aelianus. Julius also shares auspices like these with Emperor Arno, the last emperor the empire would see who was born beneath the shade of eagle's wings and to the sound of military drums.
The future emperor Julius Aelius Verus would grow up in the capital of the empire and be tutored by philosophers of Mykran origin who had found employment in the court of his grandfather Marcus Aelius. However, despite their moral ponderings and philosophical dialogues, Julius would take after the martial men of his family and develop a keen interest in the military affairs of the empire. It is said that during the reign of his grandfather, Julius distinguished himself as a commander during the expedition of 804 B.E when he saved the imperial sigil of the emperor from falling into enemy hands, rallying his men, and driving the enemy off. It's said that a battered and bloody Julius brought the image of his grandfather to his commander, Hiatus Caicinus Caudine, and presented it to him who acclaimed the young man for his courage and leadership.
Despite his young age, Julius was given command of an entire legion and marched east to the river Ignome, the Rasennan term for the Soklyraka river, plundering and destroying as he went. Julius' expedition to the edge of Rasennan civilization captured the imagination of the Rasennan populace who loved tales of their young conqueror venturing east slaying barbarians and returning with riches. By 802 B.E, Julius was deployed west to the province of Galukia Martii where he was made governor of the province. In only two years, Julius would lead an army to his southwest and capture most of southern Galukia, displacing the Galukian hill tribes and incorporating the provinces of Galukia Meridionali and Intus, provinces unofficially called "Provinciae a Iulio victae" or "The Provinces conquered by Julius". As Julius finalized these conquests, he returned to the capital where his father was named co-emperor years prior, in a bid by Marcus Aelius to clear the way for his grandson to inherit the empire. When the senior emperor finally passed in 799 B.E, Julius' father abdicated in favor of his son, and Julius was made acclaimed Princeps.
Upon his ascension, Julius Aelius Verus adopted the name Marius, after the ruling dynasty and made a large donation to the people of the capital which boosted his already considerable popularity. Julius also provided the traditional donative made to the army upon the ascension of a new emperor but cut the payment in half to accommodate his previous payment to the proletarii of the city. Julius seems to have evaded disgruntling his soldiers in part due to his popularity among them and in part due to their contentment with the smooth transition of power. In spending money, Julius also began commishioning building projects in the city where he rebuilt the aquaduct of Marian which had fallen in disrepair, he began construction on the Via Dendra, a road that connected the capital to its provinces in Agrihenia by connecting to the city of Dendra. The Emperor formalised the alimenta, a welfare program began under his grandfather, that helped orphans and poor children throughout Lakia by providing cash, food, and subsidized education.
In 789 B.E, warfare broke out between the empire and the eastern Drassid empire of the Ivanshar over territorial rights along the mighty Aulon river. Julius mustered troops and led his armies east and clashed with numerous Drassid armies in the first war that saw the Emperor victorious at Battles near Durisia and Getusa. These victories made the Drassids sue for peace and the Emperor established a series of tributary states along the Natreshan coast made of disgruntled satraps of the former Drassid holdings. However, just three years after the conclusion of hostilities, these satraps united and with Drassid aid, revolted against Rasennan rule. The reigniting of war in the east angered the emperor so greatly that he declared,
The future emperor Julius Aelius Verus would grow up in the capital of the empire and be tutored by philosophers of Mykran origin who had found employment in the court of his grandfather Marcus Aelius. However, despite their moral ponderings and philosophical dialogues, Julius would take after the martial men of his family and develop a keen interest in the military affairs of the empire. It is said that during the reign of his grandfather, Julius distinguished himself as a commander during the expedition of 804 B.E when he saved the imperial sigil of the emperor from falling into enemy hands, rallying his men, and driving the enemy off. It's said that a battered and bloody Julius brought the image of his grandfather to his commander, Hiatus Caicinus Caudine, and presented it to him who acclaimed the young man for his courage and leadership.
Despite his young age, Julius was given command of an entire legion and marched east to the river Ignome, the Rasennan term for the Soklyraka river, plundering and destroying as he went. Julius' expedition to the edge of Rasennan civilization captured the imagination of the Rasennan populace who loved tales of their young conqueror venturing east slaying barbarians and returning with riches. By 802 B.E, Julius was deployed west to the province of Galukia Martii where he was made governor of the province. In only two years, Julius would lead an army to his southwest and capture most of southern Galukia, displacing the Galukian hill tribes and incorporating the provinces of Galukia Meridionali and Intus, provinces unofficially called "Provinciae a Iulio victae" or "The Provinces conquered by Julius". As Julius finalized these conquests, he returned to the capital where his father was named co-emperor years prior, in a bid by Marcus Aelius to clear the way for his grandson to inherit the empire. When the senior emperor finally passed in 799 B.E, Julius' father abdicated in favor of his son, and Julius was made acclaimed Princeps.
Upon his ascension, Julius Aelius Verus adopted the name Marius, after the ruling dynasty and made a large donation to the people of the capital which boosted his already considerable popularity. Julius also provided the traditional donative made to the army upon the ascension of a new emperor but cut the payment in half to accommodate his previous payment to the proletarii of the city. Julius seems to have evaded disgruntling his soldiers in part due to his popularity among them and in part due to their contentment with the smooth transition of power. In spending money, Julius also began commishioning building projects in the city where he rebuilt the aquaduct of Marian which had fallen in disrepair, he began construction on the Via Dendra, a road that connected the capital to its provinces in Agrihenia by connecting to the city of Dendra. The Emperor formalised the alimenta, a welfare program began under his grandfather, that helped orphans and poor children throughout Lakia by providing cash, food, and subsidized education.
In 789 B.E, warfare broke out between the empire and the eastern Drassid empire of the Ivanshar over territorial rights along the mighty Aulon river. Julius mustered troops and led his armies east and clashed with numerous Drassid armies in the first war that saw the Emperor victorious at Battles near Durisia and Getusa. These victories made the Drassids sue for peace and the Emperor established a series of tributary states along the Natreshan coast made of disgruntled satraps of the former Drassid holdings. However, just three years after the conclusion of hostilities, these satraps united and with Drassid aid, revolted against Rasennan rule. The reigniting of war in the east angered the emperor so greatly that he declared,
"Nulli parcetur, genus expelletur, Nostraque capiet terras, aurumque, suumque decusque.
"None shall be spared, those of their race will be expelled and our own shall take their lands, their gold, and their glory"
In the 2nd of the emperor's eastern wars, the imperial armies would contend with guerrilla warfare that prolonged the conflict. However, by 782 B.E, the Emperor had finally caught the enemy and fought the Battle of the Iron Gates where the rebel satraps were utterly annihilated and the war was brought to a close with the annexation of the Natreshan east finalized. When the emperor returned home, he was met with joyous acclaim and bestowed the titles Drassidius, Natresianus, Barbarianus, and the grand title of "Maximus Princeps" or simply the Greatest Princeps. In later centuries, the emperor's title of Drassidius would be mistranslated and morphed into the name Darius with which he is now known today. Emperor Darius would then launch a new building program funded via the great excesses of gold and silver he captured in his eastern wars, his building program revitalized and restructured the Rasennan road network, and he raised a large triumphal column in the center of the capital which would later be known simply as, "Columna Imperatoris" or "The Column of the Emperor". Darius is also said to have ordered the imprisonment of numerous former rebel satraps and instead of having them publicly executed, sentenced them to the mines of the east, where according to the author Melius Tourkos,
"The Emperor Darius sent his enemies to produce the metals from the lands they had formerly ruled and further strengthen the glory and wealth of the empire firsthand."
During the later years of the Emperor's life, he did little in slowing his rabid building programs and played a heavy hand in the daily running of the state. However, in 779 B.E, the Emperor is said to have fallen ill on the road back to the capital. The Emperor ceased his journey and stayed at a villa near the town of Neratia where he called for his family to join him. Here, the Emperor nominated his son Victor as his rightful heir and urged those in authority to honor his dying wish. Darius' final year was spent in agony over the extreme discomfort and pain he experienced due to his illness. According to rumors of his death, quiet nights were interrupted by the violent screaming of the Emperor who awoke from sleep in pain and called for his doctors to administer poison to finally kill him. The emperor would have to be prevented on occasion from committing suicide and finally, in early 778 B.E, he would finally pass in the night and his son Victor would succeed him as Princeps.
Julius Aelius Verus Drassidius would leave a towering legacy as, among the highest honored Emperors of the Rasenna, his ashes were brought to the foot of his imposing triumphal column and left before it for a decade before they were reinterred in the newly constructed Red Palace. Darius' character is portrayed as overwhelmingly positive, in life he made few enemies and constructed a persona as a benevolent and enlightened figure whose accomplishments in life were dwarfed by his presence in death. Every Emperor after him would ceremonially be prayed over by an imperial auger with the blessing, "Dario benedictus manete" or Remain Blessed by Darius". Darius is recalled in certain circles as the first Rasennan Kosmokrator or "Universal Ruler" who ruled the empire without the often prejudicial disdain for provincials that his predecessors possessed. This concept can explain the ascension of the Amelliai family in a few decades who came from Galukian provincial stock, military settlers who had likely been settled by Darius during his time as Galukian governor.
Julius Aelius Verus Drassidius would leave a towering legacy as, among the highest honored Emperors of the Rasenna, his ashes were brought to the foot of his imposing triumphal column and left before it for a decade before they were reinterred in the newly constructed Red Palace. Darius' character is portrayed as overwhelmingly positive, in life he made few enemies and constructed a persona as a benevolent and enlightened figure whose accomplishments in life were dwarfed by his presence in death. Every Emperor after him would ceremonially be prayed over by an imperial auger with the blessing, "Dario benedictus manete" or Remain Blessed by Darius". Darius is recalled in certain circles as the first Rasennan Kosmokrator or "Universal Ruler" who ruled the empire without the often prejudicial disdain for provincials that his predecessors possessed. This concept can explain the ascension of the Amelliai family in a few decades who came from Galukian provincial stock, military settlers who had likely been settled by Darius during his time as Galukian governor.
Education
Tutored by his grandfather's Mykran philosophical circle
Employment
Legate in the Legions of the Rhor
Provincial governor of Galukia
Imperial Heir
Princeps of the Rasenna
Provincial governor of Galukia
Imperial Heir
Princeps of the Rasenna
Accomplishments & Achievements
Military victories across the Rhor, in the interior of Galukia, and in the east
Massive building projects and refurbishments
Construction of Darius' Column
Restoration of the Aquaduct of Marian
Construction and expansion of the Rasennan road network
Massive increase in the imperial treasury via his eastern conquests
Massive building projects and refurbishments
Construction of Darius' Column
Restoration of the Aquaduct of Marian
Construction and expansion of the Rasennan road network
Massive increase in the imperial treasury via his eastern conquests
Failures & Embarrassments
Began the debasement of the Rasennan currency
Conquests were notably brutal, even in their day
Physically and emotionally abused his son Victor
Conquests were notably brutal, even in their day
Physically and emotionally abused his son Victor
Morality & Philosophy
To the Victor go the spoils and the glory
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Conquests and bringing prosperity and betterment to his empire and its subjects
Virtues & Personality perks
Prudent
Ambitious
Energetic
Capable
Experienced
Ambitious
Energetic
Capable
Experienced
Vices & Personality flaws
Distrustful
Wrathful
Emotional
Impetuous
Demanding
Stubborn
Wrathful
Emotional
Impetuous
Demanding
Stubborn
Social
Family Ties
Son of Julius Aelianus and Caesia Thurina
Grandson of Marcus Aelius and Labiena Urbana
Father of Victor
Grandson of Marcus Aelius and Labiena Urbana
Father of Victor
Religious Views
While a publicly dutiful and pious ruler, Darius is not as religiously acclaimed as other Emperors and may have held a distaste for the pageantry and ceremonial aspects of his role as the chief religious leader of the empire. In religious matters he delegated often and entrusted the divine care of the empire to men with the attitude for it.
Social Aptitude
While he is often depicted as a magnanimous master of war and statecraft, this is often clouded through the lens of his chroniclers who were often of Curial rank. Darius was immensely popular with the rich and poor alike but he was not perfect in any sense. Rumors persisted of the treatment of Darius' son Victor at his hand and these stories paint the picture of the Emperor as a spiteful, hateful, and cynical man who was forceful and wrathful when he did not get his way.
Relationships
Ethnicity
Date of Birth
9th of Cavelt
Date of Death
22nd of Herrena
Life
833 B.E
778 B.E
55 years old
Circumstances of Birth
Son of Julius Aelianus, coemperor with his father Marcus Aelius and his wife Caesia Thurina
Birthplace
Cimrianum, Southern Lakia
Spouses
Napia Iovina
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Dark Brown
Hair
Short, Curly, Black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tan
Height
5'9
Weight
200 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
"All my enemies are vanquished, my friends are content and my betters are none."
Belief/Deity
Manus and the Rasennan Pantheon
Aligned Organization
Mykran
Character Prototype
Trajan
(Darius' Rhor expeditionary forces are met by Herodi falx wielders)
(A Trophaion of Drassid arms and armor, depicted on Darius' Column)
(The Drassids, Darius' eastern foes and from whom he conquered the east)
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