Changes

The books follow Germanicus Julius Agricola, an idealistic ex-solidersoldier. Germanicus can be seen as a reformist against the corrupt and stagnant situation of the Roman Empire.

The world of the Germanicus trilogy is portrayed as being stagnant and technologically backwards compared to our timelinetime-line, a fact that Germanicus blames on the archaic imperial system of government. With a force of slave-labourerslaborers, Rome never industrialisedindustrialized, limiting the extent to which it can modernisemodernize. This means that technology advances only through neccesitynecessity. One of the themes of the novel is the extent to which Rome has stagnated; the imperial system and government has remained virtually untouched for two thousand years. This becomes prevalent in the war against the Aztecae, during which Roman galleys, still reliant on boarding an enemy boat are decisively defeated by the Aztec/Serican fleet who utilises utilizes true [[battleships]]. This conflict provokes a major naval rethink, and Roman battleships start to be developed.

Although inefficent inefficient and lethargic, Rome is the foremost power across Europe, and its territories extend into Africa and across the Atlantis to the Novo Provinces in America. The [[Pax Romana]] maintains peace, although German and Hiberian rebel movements are a constant threat to the Empire. The Empire has stagnated however, and the senators have become completely powerless and are unwilling to change the system. Germanicus, however, dedicates his rule as Caesar to restoring the Senate and Republic, believing that only that will hold together Rome in the future.

After being defeated in the Aztec Sea by Serican (Chinese) supported Aztec vessels, he arrives in the Novo Provinces with Tora, a captured Nihonian. Despite urgings from Rome, and from a native woman, Alope, Germanicus decides to not attack the central Aztec Empire, instead to simply push them out of the Novo Provinces. In order to force his hand, Alope surrenders herself to the Aztecs, so that she would be sacrificed. Germanicus, realising realizing that both Epizelus and Alope are in danger continues to push the Aztecs back, until only Tenochtitlan remains. With help from Tora, he fords [[Lake Texcoco]] with sand-galleys, and sacks Tenochtitlan, only to discover that Alope has already been killed.

When he is betrayed by Nepos, he becomes jaded and remarks that the name "Julius": "means nothing any more". However, supported by the Anatolian Mara, he gathes gathers support and tries to take back the empire.

Formerly Germanicus' praetorian prefer, Nepos seizes the opportunity to take the empire, and shows no regret when this action leads him to face Rolf with little hope of survingsurviving. He says that Germanicus didn't "deserve" the empire, because he couldn't hold onto it, ironic considering that neither could Nepos. Nepos is similar in many ways to Gaius Nero from ''New Barbarians'' in being praetorian prefect and seeking to become emperor, although Nero's plan is foiled whilst Nepos' succeeds in taking control of the empire.

A Native American, Alope tries to use the Romans to destroy Maxtla's Empire and and the Aztec domination of her people, the Indee. Knowing Germanicus' infatuation, she lures him to Tenochtitlan, but is killed on the sacrifical sacrificial altar before the city is taken.

A large tracked "ship" like vehicle that was designed as a siege weapon by Emperor Fabius. It is similar to a real-world tank, although it is a good deal larger. The idea of it being a "sand-galley" is similar to [[Winston Churchill]]'s description of tanks as "land-ships". Sand-Galleys are armed with a single ''ballista'', which is designed to fire only straight ahead, as it was designed primarilly primarily as a siege weapon. When Germanicus has a vision of our timelinetime-line, he notices what seems to be an American tank, and at first mistakes it for a sand-galley.

[[Triremes]], [[biremes]] and [[quinqueremes]] are all mentioned during ''New Barbarians''. Rather than being defined by banks of oars, the names refer to the number of screw propellors propellers on the boats. Despite being armed with near-modern equipment, the ships are still designed to be used as traditional Roman ships; boarding enemy galleys rather than attacking them directly. Contact with the Aztec/Serican fleet forces the Roman empire to develop battleships for the first time during ''New Barbarians''.