When in Rome 7: Seek Power
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You can assume N44 and W89
Ancient Rome originally was a small village, founded by Romulus and Remus; two brothers who were placed into a basket which was then floated down a stream. According to legend, a she-wolf discovered and cared for them before a shepherd found them and raised them.
As adults, they decided to found a city on the spot where the wolf had found them. Because they could not agree on the site for the city, they found and Romulus killed his brother. He then created the city he named after himself: Rome.
With this violent birth, it is no wonder the rulers of Rome were worried about gaining and maintaining power over their subjects. From the earliest leaders, kings who ruled over the city and expanded its area to eventually control all of the Italian peninsula, to the Roman Republic and finally the time of the emperors, violence was a means to the ends of keeping power and building your base.
Intensive research into the most powerful leaders in Rome has led to the discovery of a heretofore unknown ranking from a previously unknown source: Noonanius. According to Noonanius, Romans judged past rulers upon the base they had accrued (on a scale of 1 through 9) and then the number of supporters this base had - which he called the power. He then performed a mathematical calculation, not recorded in his texts, which created a number that was used to create a leader’s power ranking. Because he was writing about people that had supporters who were still very much alive at the time, he was careful about the names he used. None of the names he records in his writing are actual names of Emperors or Consuls.
Noonanius
Perhaps a clue into his method for creating his scores can be found from his ranking of Emperor Ignotius. This emperor was said to have a base of 8 and a power of 46247 has a score of 2. Another Roman power broker, identified only as Arcanuim has a base of 2 and a power of 5653463. He also had a score of 2. Surprisingly, a Proconsul with the pseudonym of Ignotus had a base of 9 and a with 0 followers has a score of 1.
Powerful leaders he combined into a group he called the Septentriones. The top five leaders in Roman history, according to Noonanis are:
- Decimus Septentriones - Base: 3 Power: 24545352
- Unusius Septentriones - Base: 7 Power: 346343
- Decimatio Septentriones - Base: 9 Power: 134664
- Centesimaius Septentriones - Base: 8 Power: 846563
- Millesimeus Septentriones - Base: 2 Power: 876430
Leaders that often struggled to maintain control over the people he called the Occidens. The bottom five leaders in Roman history, according to Noonanis are as follows:
- Decimus Occidens - Base: 4 Power: 975732455
- Unusius Occidens - Base: 2 Power: 129564327
- Decimatio Occidens - Base: 8 Power: 23473428
- Centesimaius Occidens - Base: 4 Power: 57986088
- Millesimeus Occidens - Base: 7 Power: 679054547
Unfortunately, the scores for these individuals in missing, so we are not certain which one is the top of the top, or the bottom of the barrel. Perhaps decoding this mystery will give us a hint and allow us to be the first ones to find more Ancient Roman treasures!
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This cache brought to you by the students enrolled in the Ancient European History and Mathematics Departments of Midstate Travel Bug University as well as the Advanced Computer Coding class of 2022 at Adams-Friendship High School.
Part of the "When in Rome" series of mystery caches.
When in Rome 1: Do as the Romans Do
When in Rome 2: Chickens Rule
When in Rome 3: Ancient Rome!
When in Rome 4: #AMA
When in Rome 5: Roman Tic Tac Toe!
When in Rome 6: Show Your True Colors!
When in Rome 7: Seek Power!
When in Rome 8: Arm Yourself
When in Rome 9: Find a Nice Quiet Place to Retire
When in Rome 10: Relax and Read a Good Book