Though many factors influence the great migrations currently occurring across Europe, chief amongst them is the Hunnic incursions from the steppes. As Roman control in the northwest of its Empire begins to falter, these great tribal confederations are ready and eager to exploit any opportunity for expansion that is presented to them. Although many have become federates of the Roman Empire in return for their land, they remain fierce warriors who value their independence highly.

The Germanic tribes were the first of many people from beyond the frontiers to settle within Roman territory. The very same ambition that shaped the Eternal City’s birth and rise to domination is now the only thing standing between it and annihilation. Roman ambition however, should never be underestimated. However, now it is divided, and the East and West Roman Empires are mere shadows of their former - united - glory, as internal disputes, usurpers and would-be invaders on all sides threaten to tear them apart completely. Sassanid armies, however, excel in siege conditions - either when besieging enemy cities or when defending their own, and with heavy cataphract cavalry as their backbone, the Sassanids are a formidable battlefield opponent.Īt its greatest extent, the Roman Empire stretched from Mesopotamia to the coasts of the Atlantic. However, as its expansion pushes against the eastern fringes of Roman territory, either subjugation by or war with Rome seems inevitable. Built from the ashes of the Parthian Empire by its conqueror, Ardashir I, the Sassanid Empire has revived Iranian culture in Persia after an extended period of Hellenisation.

Total war age of charlemagne