IMPERIVM MAIORIANVS
Command the Western Roman Empire in 457. Can you save Majorian from Ricimer’s betrayal?
See the game
SHORT FILMMajorian, as Sidonius Remembered HimWatch on YouTube ↗
The campaign map in April 457, with armies, cities and provinces.
The Ravenna city sheet, with structures and recruitment.
The Chronica Imperii: your campaign alongside history.
Illustrations, portraits, cinematics and narration created with AI tools under artistic direction and historical review. Map, rules, writing and code are original.
The story
Majorian took the throne of the Western Roman Empire in AD 457. He fought to recover ground in Gaul and prepared a fleet to take the war to Gaiseric’s Vandals. In August 461, his own general Ricimer betrayed him on his way back to Italy. Your campaign opens at Ravenna, the year the army acclaimed him (Hydatius, Chronicle, §§200 and 210).
What it does
A turn-based historical strategy game, free to play in your browser, in English and Italian and playable on phones. The campaign opens at Ravenna in 457.
Who it is for
For players who enjoy turn-based strategy and Roman history and want to play straight away in a browser, on a computer or phone, with nothing to download.
The challenge
Ricimer had him killed. Can you save him? The campaign runs from April 457 through September 461, up to 54 monthly turns. Allow about two hours, depending on how much time you spend planning and reading.
What you can do
- March and fight: order armies and fleets across the map, preview the route, choose a tactic and read the outcome after the battle.
- Keep Rome supplied: govern cities, set taxes, raise units and build ports and defenses, keeping enough gold for pay and enough grain for your troops and Rome.
- Negotiate and watch the court: Petrus, your magister epistularum, brings news to Ravenna. Weigh a foedus with the Visigoths and keep watch on Ricimer’s influence.
- Chronica Imperii: what happened in your campaign alongside the historical record.
How it works
On a computer, click to select and drag to pan; on a phone, tap to select, drag with one finger and pinch to zoom. Select an army, choose a destination and confirm the order, then choose End Month to carry out your orders. For cloud saves, sign in on maiorianus.it.
The campaign and the sources
The Chronica Imperii records what happened in your campaign alongside the historical record. The game cites ancient sources for documented dates and events: Sidonius’s Panegyric to Majorian, Hydatius’s Chronicle and the Fasti Vindobonenses priores. Where the sources leave gaps, it identifies reconstructions and gameplay estimates.
Development contribution
Giambattista Sabia developed IMPERIVM MAIORIANVS as a portfolio project. Map, rules, writing and code are original. The game opens in the browser with no download, and offers cloud saves to players who sign in on maiorianus.it.