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    Book Review by Michael Mates

     

    The course of Empire often runs like a normal distribution curve, with success and failure measured on the vertical axis, and time, usually a few centuries or so, on the horizontal. The Byzantine Empire, by contrast, looks like a sine wave, a succession of up-and-down roller coaster curves, lasting 1,123 years, from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD to its fall in 1453. (The Byzantines themselves, with some justification as self-described Romans, would claim 1,480 years, from the establishment of the Roman Empire in 27 BC.)

     

    Romane’s book examines one of the political-military high points, the period from 959 to 1025, showing how the Empire benefitted from relative stability of rule; protection of core territories; strategic use of tribute; and skilled use of heavy cavalry, combined-arms tactics, siege warfare, stable rule (with only one emperor assassinated during the period), and clever and profitable alliances to ensure survival...

     

    ...continue to the review of Byzantium Triumphant: The Military History of the Byzantines 959-1025 by Julian Romane

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    In her new book, SPQR, Mary Beard writes about the history of the first millennium of ancient Rome – roughly covering the period of time from Rome’s foundation, on the implausibly precise date of 21 April 753 BCE, to the year 212 CE when the Emperor Caracalla made every free inhabitant of the Roman Empire a full Roman citizen. Yet she chose to begin the book roughly three-quarters of the way into that millennium, with a discussion of the suppression of the Catiline rebellion by Cicero in 63 BCE. Why did she do that?
     
    ...continue to the review of SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
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    First part in our emperor series on Elagabalus` life
     
    Only one emperor has managed to surpass Caligula's reputation for deranged behaviour and homicidal debauchery, and that is the man who takes his name from the god he attempted to impose on Rome – Elagabalus. During his four-year rule, Elagabalus' behaviour alternately outraged and delighted the people of Rome, while behind the scenes the Roman empire was competently governed by his mother and grandmother. It was only when these two women fell out that Elagabalus' short but flamboyant reign was brought to an end...
     
    ...continue to the full article on Elagabalus - Origins of a Syrian Emperor
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    Well it’s another presidential election year in the good ole US of A! Fun and games; reality TV at its finest! Will the voters choose the Trump card? Will America’s favorite socialist get high Marx on Election Day? Will the Republicans host a broken convention? Uh, sorry – brokered.  Or will it simply be politics as unusual?  Seems like a particularly appropriate time to revisit Democracy’s Beginning, which is the title of Thomas Mitchell’s excellent book. The book tells how far democracy has come in the last 2,500 years, give or take, from its birthplace in Athens. And it has come a long way indeed! To the modern mind, it’s hard to imagine such primitive practices as...
     
    ...continue to the review of Democracy's Beginning: The Athenian Story by Thomas N. Mitchell
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    What does the horse mean to you? A beast of burden? A cultural symbol? A faithful pet or companion? Or perhaps something to wager upon every weekend? The relationship between man and horse is a long one and for many, it's the romantic ideal of that relationship that is more important than the actual result. It does seem however that our concepts of that relationship date from much more recent times.  But Duncan Noble isn't talking about our modern experience. He goes right back to the very beginning of our relationship with the horse and in particular its place and function in military pursuits...
     
    ...continue to the review of Dawn of the Horse Warriors by Duncan Noble
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    The Anglo-Saxon World by Nicholas J Higham & Martin J Ryan
     
    Book Review by caldrail
     
    As we look around the British landscape we often see evidence of former times. Crude stone monuments to our distant prehistoric ancestors. Hill forts of the Bronze and Iron Ages. The regular stone foundations and occasional walls of Roman civilization. Huge churches and castles of the Middle Ages. Yet there is a long period of history that hasn't really left much in the way of permanent reminder, a period of history we often call the Dark Ages. Anglo-Saxon Britain...
     
    ...continue to the full review of The Anglo-Saxon World by Nicholas J Higham & Martin J Ryan
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    The Baiuvarii and Thuringi by Fries-Knoblach, Steuer and Hines
     
    Book Review by Ian Hughes
     
    Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire there is a scarcity of written sources with which to trace the emergence of the ‘barbarian’ kingdoms which arose on Rome’s ashes. This resulted in historians calling this period the ‘Dark Ages’, due to the lack of light that written sources could have shone on the period. Although the term ‘Dark Ages’ has now been superseded and is seen as being too simplistic, there remains the problem of piecing together a chronology for the period stretching from the mid-fourth to the tenth century from the scraps of information in the written sources and archaeology. Thankfully, recent breakthroughs in the interpretation of both the written and the archaeological evidence has resulted in major headway being made in the analysis of the period....
     
    ...continue to the review of The Baiuvarii and Thuringi by Fries-Knoblach, Steuer and Hines
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    For five days only, from  Tuesday, February 9 through Saturday February 13, Alex Johnston is offering a free Amazon download of his new book Caesar’s Grief:  Vale Julia.
     
     
     
    To download the book for no charge from Amazon, please click on one of the following links:
     
    US link:  Caesar's Grief_US
     
    UK link:  Caesar's Grief_UK
     
    If for some reason the links don’t work for you, just search Amazon.com for Caesar’s Grief, by Alex Johnston.
     
    From The Author:
     
    Caesar’s Grief is the sixth book in his Marcus Mettius series.  Well-grounded in the history of the late Roman Republic, the books celebrate the largely fictional exploits of the eponymous bit player mentioned in Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War. He envisions Marcus as a smart, funny, and savvy operator, who hobnobs with the elite of his day.  I hope you like his portrayal of him!
     
    And if you need to catch up on earlier volumes in the series, please visit his author page on Amazon, where all of the books in the series are offered: http://amazon.com/author/alexjohnston
     
    If you are on Facebook you can like him there
    https://www.facebook…AJohnstonAuthor
     
    Below you will find the link to the interview we did with him a few months ago:
    Interview with Alex Johnston
     
    Enjoy!
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    Today we have the distinct pleasure to interview noted author and historian Philip M. Matyszak about his latest book A Servant of Aphrodite. UNRV: By all accounts your first novel The Gold of Tolosa, published Sep 2013, and its protagonist, Lucius Panderius, was very well received. Since then you’ve published, at least, four books, but we haven’t heard a peep from Lucius. That is until 2015 when Lucius reappears in The Servant of Aphrodite. Will readers have to wait another two years for another book starring Lucius...?
     
    ....continue to the interview with Philip Matyszak on The Servant of Aphrodite
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    It takes an exceptional author to write an intriguing and suspenseful book like The Servant of Aphrodite. Professor Philip Matyszak (Maty) is definitely such an author. He possesses the necessary writing skills, intellectual brilliance, experience, and background to write a novel that is not only gripping, but also educational, and interesting. Since 2003 he has authored over twenty successful books.  The Servant of Aphrodite is a reflection of Maty’s extensive travel, interesting background, and in-depth knowledge of ancient Rome. The storyline of A Servant of Aphrodite is built upon the aftermath of the Roman military disaster at Arausio in 105 BC and is a sequel to Maty’s earlier book The Gold of Tolosa. Lucius Panderius is the protagonist in both novels that also feature other notable historical personalities such as Consuls Caepio, Marius, and Sulla....
     
    ...continue to the full review of A Servant of Aphrodite by Philip Matyszak
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