Roman Empire vs. Westeros

A little while ago I found a Reddit post entitled: The Roman Empire Invades Westeros. There was a lot of back and forth between the two sides on who would win in a fight between the two and I quickly found myself pulled into this. I found the topic so interesting because it mixed two of my favorite things, the Roman Empire and the world of GOT/ASOIAF and I wanted to place a blog on it to go, in depth about how I think things would go down. This is purely for fun and to practice my blogging and writing. What I write here is because I'm a nerd for both of these things and want to educate and entertain those reading this. On one final note, there will be little to no organization to this, it will just be me going off what I think about at the time and what I saw in the post. So, with that, I shall begin.

Who do I think would win in a fight between the Roman Empire at the time of Trajan and Westeros at the time of King Robert?

Roman Empire, hands down.

Westeros, even at the time of Robert and the long summer did not have the organization required to be the Roman Empire. Roman legions were the definition of organization and discipline for centuries following their downfall and to this day there are still some signs of their influence. Westeros is made up of 7 kingdoms, all with their own agendas, even when unified under Robert or the Targaryens. Now the Romans had political turmoil as well, no doubt. Caesar became powerful via the political turmoil of his time. But at its peak, under Trajan, such turmoil did not play a big role in the success of military conquests. It may have limited them like Agricola's conquest of Britannia or even gotten the generals killed like with Germanicus, but with Trajan, the emperor himself leading the wars, things at the time were fine or at least not close to the threat of civil war.

Now, on the matter of the soldiers themselves, the Romans still win. Westerosi fighters are more warriors than soldiers. Their fighting style is based around long swords and single fighter style of fighting. Their best warriors are knights. Roman legionnaires, by contrast are soldiers. They fight as a unit and their main weapon, the gladius was perfect for battles when two sides are smashed against each other. The technique of stabbing was far more effective than slashing and Roman legionnaires won against foes of far greater number through this technique. Add the pilium and the fact that legionnaires were more afraid of their officers than their enemies, and you have a force of nearly unparalleled skill in open battle. The Westorosi army is filled with knights looking for glory and sellswords looking for coin. Roman would easily be able to turn the swellswords, if not immediately than after they showed their skill and battle and convinced them to switch sides, and knights, even the best armed and armoured knights, would have a hard time against a wall of Roman scutums.

One of the main arguments for a Westerosi victory was technology, focused primarily around the idea of steel, along with longbows, and crossbows. First off, the Romans had crossbows. They have been around since centuries before Jesus, so by Trajan, you can be sure they had them, if perhaps not in great number, likely because they did not find them advantageous. So that weapon isn't enough, and neither is the longbow. Both of these weapons are monstrously effective against shields and armor, but they have drawbacks. Crossbows are slow, medieval crossbowmen hid behind a shield so they didn't get murdered while they did this. Longbows too are difficult. They take years to learn how to properly use them and gain the strength necessary to use it to its peak effectiveness. Arya would not have been able to pull that bowstring in the show if that had been a real longbow, the tension would have been too great. On the note of steel, once again, the Romans had it. Primitive steel has been around for millennia, it might not have been as good as Valyrian steel, in short supply even in Westeros, it might not have even been as good as regular Westerosi steel, but they had it. Also, the armies of Westeros did not equip all their warriors and soldiers with steel. Mentions of iron weapons were common throughout the series (both show and book) and likely most did not have the funds necessary to buy or equip themselves with steel weapons. Even if they did, as stated above they could not properly use them because of their fighting style in battle. An iron gladius that is able to move, would more effective than a Valyrian steel sword that can't because they user can't swing his arm around.

Finally, there is the size of the forces. From what I've gathered, Westeros could call up, at most, a little more than 400,000 soldiers to fight. Rome had a constant 30 to  35 legions ready at any given time, which equals about  150,000 to 210,000. So, Westeros has the advantage of numbers. Yet again, a fractured enemy that cannot use its numbers to its advantage because of their inner fighting, fighting style, and the quality and fighting style of their foe is not nearly as fearsome. Plus, this was the most generous number I have seen. In the series themselves, the number is lower. The North only called up 20,000 in both series, instead of the generous 40,000 I saw in the article from which the number above is presented. Tywin's army, if I remember correctly was around 30,000, not the 50,000 stated. Even in the article they stated that their were some problems with the numbers, like it would take the North some time to get all its men. Even if, they had them all prepared, all 400,000, I would still place my bets on the 150,000+ Romans. But I digress

The Romans were professionals. They stayed in the legions for 25 years, constantly training and fighting on and off through those years. Westerosi warriors, soldiers, and men-at-arms, are not professionals. They are levies, knights, and mercenaries/sellswords. They go home after every campaign. They have their own lives to go back to when everything is over and that gives them pause to think whether or not they would like to stay and fight or run. Legionnaires face crucifixion and decimation should they run.

On one final note, the Romans were smart. They would see the divided kingdoms of Westeros and play on that. Romans made alliances. Caesar joined with Gauls in this conquest until Vercingetorix united them against him, and the Iceni were allies to Rome before Boudicca led them in a war of liberation. Rome would have looked for the weakest link and exploited it, smashing the strength of a unified Westeros along with it. So, in the end, I have little doubt who would come out on top in this. Some technology and numbers are the only advantage Westeros has, and to me, it is far from enough.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and learned something new today, and I look forward to hearing back from you.