Imperium Romanum Cimbri

Heraldry of the Imperium Romanum Cimbri

Imperium Romanum Cimbri coloured in red on the Cimbric Peninsula

The **Roman Empire of Cimbri** (Latin: *Imperium Romanum Cimbri*) is a Lutum Latin imperial continuity state that was formed in c. 3 AIE (AD855), 2 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. It is bordered by the Republic of the Spartaci immediately to its south, and by the Kingdom of Cimbri and the Kingdom of Danmörk to its east.

## History

The history of the Imperium Romanum Cimbri starts about 130 years before the fall of the empire. Latin settlers, protected by a Roman expeditionary legion, and given a charter by the Senate in an attempt to overpower the number of non-Romans living within imperial territory, traveled north to the most northwestern point of the Cimbric Peninsula, considered to be unknown and relatively unexplored territory up to that time despite falling within the borders of the empire. The settlers founded the city of Mallitum, named for the head of the expedition, Gnaeus Curtius Mallius. Mallitum would serve as a free city for Roman citizens and freedmen seeking affordable housing as well as a place to work. During this time, Gnaeus Mallius forced a large portion of the Cimbric native population into the Foederati state of the Kingdom of Cimbri.

Gradually, over a period of 50 years, more bands of Latin settlers would travel north to escape the overcrowding Italic peninsula, settling down on land within, and occasionally directly outside, the allotted borders of the colony. With the expulsion of the Jutes in AD 742, more unclaimed land would become available, and this would all be taken by an even steadier stream of Latin colonists. This would continue until the end of the Roman empire.

### Independence

The sudden fall of the Roman Empire in 1 AIE (AD852) forced the status of free independent nationhood to the Roman colony in the Cimbric peninsula. The imperial governors of the colony decreed that their territory, now proclaimed the Imperium Romanum Cimbri, should serve as one of the 'last true bastions of Roman civilization and culture'. A senate was hastily established and two Consuls were elected shortly afterwards. Mallitum was soon thereafter opened to all Romans lost in the Latin Diaspora. Power and the title of *princeps* was granted to the son of Gnaeus Curtius, Antonius Curtius Cimbrius, who had previously served with the garrison of the colony and successfully defended it from incursions on various occasions.

In 50 AIE, *Anno Primus Hadrius Septius Crassus et Fl. Septius Verginius consulibus* (AD902), the Imperium Romanum Cimbri is still a fledgling nation on the brink of the great North Sea which seeks to reclaim the glory days of the old Roman Empire. The son of Antonius Cimbrius, Decius Curtius Mallius Cimbrius, has taken the reigns of princeps from his father by natural inheritance and seeks to expand the Imperium across Europe once more.

## Culture

### Latins

The culture of the Lutum Latins has been gradually melded over the years of its existence to fit the harsher, colder environment of the Cimbric Peninsula. From even the the beginning of the Roman colony and its first settlers, pelts and warm hats had become more common in average clothing, and people began to wear long tunics underneath another tunic or their togas. Leather shoes worn with warm socks made of wool replaced the iconic sandals.

The production of food changed as well. Without easy access to olives or grapes or any other plant or vine that would grow in the more temperate climate of the Italic peninsula, staples of Roman cooking and eating such as olive oil and wine became an import and even more of a luxury. This would be replaced by more self-sufficient cuisine eaten by the natives, including the local fish of the Cimbric Peninsula, and various vegetables that grew well in the colder environment. This included cabbage, onions, garlic, leeks, turnips, peas and beans. A large assortment of livestock was still kept by the Lutum Latins, and they ate beef, goat, pork, mutton, lamb and poultry. There are also recent records by the Spartaci Didict Captiosus claiming that horse meat was occasionally regularly consumed. Captiosus writes in his *Travels in Cimbri*:

*"The eating habits of these Romans is indeed quite bizarre. On occasion, even horse meat is consumed during trying times, or by the more eccentric Lutum Latins, regardless of social standing and wealth, who simply enjoy the taste during a feast."*

It is not known whether or not this is propaganda written against the settlers of Roman Cimbri in an attempt to demonize them by the Republic of the Spartaci, considered to be rivals in the region, or if this is fact.

### Cimbrics

The native Cimbrics of the Imperium Romanum Cimbri are considered to be second-class citizens within the empire, despite making up a majority of the nation's population. The Cimbrics living inside the Imperium Romanum Cimbri receive representation through the Cimbric Collegium and the Kingdom of Cimbri, but even despite this, ethnic tensions remain high between Latins and Cimbrics. Due to this, Cimbrics living in the Imperium are often told and made to believe by the state that the might of the greater Roman Empire still exists, owns large swaths of territory in Europe, and will descend upon the Cimbrics without remorse if they were to engage in an ethnic revolt or advocate for greater home rule and rights.

## Government and Power

The government of the Imperium Romanum Cimbri is very similar to the earlier days of the old empire, with an absolute monarch in the form of a princeps at the head of the government and decision-making, whose position would pass onto a suitable heir of their choosing, typically their son or nephew. This would immediately be followed by the two Consuls who, rather than serve for a single year as in the old empire, instead serve for a period of 4 years.