The House Of Julii

Rome is a place where tradition and history count for much. The legends of the city’s founding are important, and the powerful patrician families are directly descended from the first followers of Romulus. These heroic times demanded harsh, decisive action, and this is a tradition that the often-conservative Romans have maintained to this day. The Romans, including the Julii family, are people for whom politics and war are all or nothing affairs. 

The Fates have not always been kind to the Julii. They are a patrician family but one whose star has not always been in the ascendant. The family’s fortunes have declined and then risen over the centuries, so much so that they may almost be considered vaguely parvenu: upstarts newly arrived to wealth, power and authority. With the loss of position and status in the past, the other powerful factions of Rome look down (if only ever so slightly) on these ‘new men’ of Rome. The Julii have had to adjust to the realities of politics and power in Rome, and have cultivated their popularity with the common people. The rule of Rome may lie with the Senate for now, but the Julii know that the people also have a say in government. The Senate and the patrician classes need the plebeians to at least go along with their actions. 

This populist attitude to the common people puts the Julii at odds with the other great families. Which approach will lead to great power within Rome has still to be decided. The Julii have a commanding position in northern Italy that means they will be in vanguard of any struggle against barbarians. Success there can be translated into political power in Rome itself, as the mob always loves winners...
