Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
Maybe if the Romans arrive near Mulhorand and face off against Pharaoh Cleopatra...
I think Thay would just wipe out any nearby legions with magic "artillery".
It does depend where the first Romans arrive - there are plenty of areas in FR that are disorganized / unorganized that could be swept up piecemeal. If the legions are seen as restoring order and providing safety, they will get farther than if they are marauding interlopers. They could for instance barge into the Tethyr civil wars and set up a king. (See also Grand History of the Realms, the sidebar page written by a farm family watching the Shoon - Cormyr War armies pass through.)
Something that might help the scenario:
Imperial Rome was a steady-state society. They could not get up the resources or ambition to conquer Scotland and Ireland thereby removing 'pirate' raids from the Atlantic coasts of Gaul and Hispania. The effort saved would have amply paid back the effort made, over time. I don't see that Empire being able to grab whole new province-sized areas. There is also Caesar Augustus, "Oh give me back my legions!" after the disaster of Teutoburger Wald. The Empire bled itself white trying to hold on to everything, conquests were increasingly beyond Rome's resources.
HOWEVER, the Roman Republic that had just out-lasted everything Carthage could throw at them (Hannibal), defeated the greatest power in the Western Mediterranean, and sown salt on the fields to prevent a relapse - those Romans might make a go of it and be able to see success within their grasp.
I think Thay would just wipe out any nearby legions with magic "artillery".
It does depend where the first Romans arrive - there are plenty of areas in FR that are disorganized / unorganized that could be swept up piecemeal. If the legions are seen as restoring order and providing safety, they will get farther than if they are marauding interlopers. They could for instance barge into the Tethyr civil wars and set up a king. (See also Grand History of the Realms, the sidebar page written by a farm family watching the Shoon - Cormyr War armies pass through.)
Something that might help the scenario:
Imperial Rome was a steady-state society. They could not get up the resources or ambition to conquer Scotland and Ireland thereby removing 'pirate' raids from the Atlantic coasts of Gaul and Hispania. The effort saved would have amply paid back the effort made, over time. I don't see that Empire being able to grab whole new province-sized areas. There is also Caesar Augustus, "Oh give me back my legions!" after the disaster of Teutoburger Wald. The Empire bled itself white trying to hold on to everything, conquests were increasingly beyond Rome's resources.
HOWEVER, the Roman Republic that had just out-lasted everything Carthage could throw at them (Hannibal), defeated the greatest power in the Western Mediterranean, and sown salt on the fields to prevent a relapse - those Romans might make a go of it and be able to see success within their grasp.