Viggen

The Herbert Art Gallery is hosting the largest ever UK exhibition of Roman artefacts on loan from the British Museum, in Roman Empire: Power & People, so if you have a chance you should go, looks like a real great exhibition... more at Coventry Telegraph

The Roman Empire at its peak was the first great hemispherical power in human history. Over the years, though, this mighty society was torn apart by internal strife and attacks by rival powers. Below, the renowned historian Peter Heather describes the ten most critical turning points which led to the fall of the Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. 242 AD: The accession of the Persian King of Kings http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/1-Shapur.jpgThe Sassanian Shapur I unites Iran and Iraq to create a Near Eastern superpower that inflicts colossal defeats on three different Roman Emperors. After sixty years of struggle, Rome restores stability on its eastern front, but at huge cost in terms of higher taxes to fund the necessary doubling of its armed forces, and the Persian threat is only parried not defeated. There is now little spare capacity left in the Roman imperial system should another major threat arise. August 9, 378 AD: Emperor Valens and two-thirds of his elite field army are killed on one day at Adrianople http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2-Valens.jpgThe root cause is the rise of Hunnic power on the fringes of Europe which caused tens of thousands of Gothic refugees to arrive on the Danube late in 376. At war with Persia, Valens had no choice but to admit them, and, faced with underlying Roman hostility, they effectively reorganised themselves into the new, militarily powerful coalition which destroyed Valens and his army. December 31, 406 AD: A huge mixed force of Alans, Vandals, and Sueves crosses the river Rhine into Gaul http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/3-Vandals.jpgFollowing hot on the heels of Radagaisus’ invasion of Italy the previous summer, this unprecedented breakdown of order on the western Empire’s frontiers is a sign that the epicentre of Hunnic operations is shifting decisively westwards and, in the process, remaking the balance of strategic power in central Europe against Rome’s interests. August 24, 410 AD: The sack of Rome by the Visigoths http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/4-Visigoths.jpgAt the head of the Visigoths - a new coalition built out of the Gothic refugees of 376 and the followers of Radagaisus – Alaric sacks the city of Rome. The Emperor Honorius is powerless to protect the old imperial capital and soon has to write to the British provinces to advise them to look to their own defence. Faced with both Visigoths and the Rhine invaders of 406, the imperial authorities start to abandon outlying territories to concentrate force where it is absolutely needed. Summer 418 AD: A treaty gives Gallia Aquitania to the Visigoths http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/5-Gallia-Aquitania.jpgFl. Constantius, eminence grise behind the throne of the western Emperor Honorius, is forced to cut the Visigoths a deal. They are settled permanently, with full imperial recognition, in southwestern Gaul. The western Empire no longer has sufficient military strength to defeat all the invaders now established on its soil, and wants to use the Goths, perceived as the lessor of two evils, to help defeat the Rhine invaders of 406 who have occupied most of Spain. October 19, 439 AD: The Vandals take a Kingdom http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/6-Vandal-Alan-Kingdom.jpgGeiseric, king of a new Vandal-Alan coalition formed from the survivors of the Rhine invasion, ravaged by combined Gotho-Roman assault, leads them off their current Libyan reservation to take possession of Carthage and the richest provinces of the entire western Empire. This is a direct threat to the continued flow of vital tax revenues which keeps the Empire’s remaining armies in being. Summer 441 AD: The Huns attack http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/7-Huns.jpgAttila and Bleda, new leaders of the Huns, attack cities of the East Roman Balkans. This causes Constantinople to withdraw its forces from a joint expeditionary force gathering in Sicily to restore Carthage and its surrounding Tunisian provinces to Roman control. As a direct result, the western Empire has to recognise Geiseric’s control of the richest parts of North Africa and accept the decline in its own military capacity which necessarily follows from this loss of revenue. July 9, 455 AD: Avitus is declared western Emperor at the Council of the Gallic provinces in Arles http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/8-Avitus.jpgHe wins recognition from the Roman Senate, and is the first legitimate western emperor to rely directly on the military power of recent immigrants – in this case the Visigoths – as a crucial building block of his regime. Rome’s military capacity has declined to such an extent that, from now on, at least some of the new barbarian powers established on west Roman soil will have to be included in the process of imperial regime creation. Summer 468 AD: Rome’s final grab for Africa fails http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/9-Cap-Bon.jpgAn East Roman expeditionary force led by the general Basiliscus is destroyed by Vandal fireships off the coast of North Africa. The last attempt to win back the riches of North Africa from Geiseric fails and the other barbarian powers established on Roman soil realise that the western imperial centre is nothing but a hollow sham. They therefore quickly grab all the territory that they can, often coming more into conflict with one another than the few remaining Roman armies. September 4, 476 AD: Romulus Augustulus is deposed, ending the empire http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10-Augustulus.jpgOdovacar, commander of the last Roman army of Italy, exploits discontent over pay arrears among his soldiers to depose the last western Emperor, Romulus Augustulus. He pays them off in land because so many provinces have now been lost that the surviving tax revenues are insufficient. He also persuades the Roman senate to send the western imperial vestments and diadem to Constantinople with a declaration that the west no longer needed – in fact could no longer support - an emperor of its own. (Pictured: "Romulus Augustulus resigns the Crown," from Mary Yonge's "Young Folks' History of Rome.) Peter Heather is Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London. He is the bestselling author of The Restoration of Rome: Barbarian Popes and Imperial Pretenders, The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe, and numerous other works on late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. ...via OUP Blog

Four years after starting to dig up an ancient Roman outpost in southern Jordan, a team of archaeologists from Tennessee found a unique, and well-preserved, inscription on a rock - revealing that the site is the previously unknown base of a Roman infantry unit involved in crushing the Bar-Kochba rebellion. The outpost, 'Ayn Gharandal, lies beneath the dunes around 70 km north of present-day Aqaba, the Jordanian resort city on the Red Sea, and 40 km southwest of the ancient Nabataean city of Petra. Its location near a spring-fed oasis between these two famous cities made it an important point along an ancient trade route between the Middle East and the furthest reaches of Rome’s empire. more at Haartetz

This month, a report issued by a prominent military advisory board concluded that climate change posed a serious threat to America’s national security. The authors, 16 retired high-ranking officers, warned that droughts, rising seas and extreme weather events, among other environmental threats, were already causing global “instability and conflict.” But Senator James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a stalwart believer that global warming is a “hoax,” dismissed the report as a publicity stunt. Perhaps the senator needs a history lesson, because climate change has been leading to global conflict — and even the collapse of civilizations — for more than 3,000 years. Drought and famine led to internal rebellions in some societies and the sacking of others, as people fleeing hardship at home became conquerors abroad. One of the most vivid examples comes from around 1200 B.C. A centuries-long drought in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean regions, contributed to — if not caused — widespread famine, unrest and ultimately the destruction of many once prosperous cities, according to four recent studies... ...full article at the NY Times

This sequence of photos roughly outlines the progress of the Roman takeover of Greece, from the first beginnings in Illyris (modern Albania) in 230 BCE to the infamous “destruction” of Corinth in 146 BCE. The critical figures of this swift takeover were two Macedonian kings, Philip V and Perseus, who were determined to resist Roman aggression. Many famous generals of the middle Roman Republic were involved with the Greek states as generals and diplomats, but the most critical of them was Titus Quinctius Flamininus. And then off in the wings, especially when he was fighting the Romans in Italy itself and monopolizing their resources, was Hannibal, the Carthaginian general. But Carthage too was destroyed in 146 by the Romans. Their grip on the Mediterranean was secure. - See more at: OUP BLOG

Adrian Goldsworthy, an award-winning biographer and historian, has brought ancient Rome to life through a trilogy of biographies of the leaders of the greatest empire of all time. In Caesar: Life of a Colossus and Antony and Cleopatra, Goldsworthy cut through the traditional stories told of these well-known figures, exposing the complexity of their political maneuvers and providing more human portraits to balance the legends. His new book, Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, to be released this August, holds up the same revealing lens to a character who is less well-remembered, but equally—if not more so—influential in the history of Rome. more at the Yale Blog

An iron tooth implant fitted about 2,300 years ago has been found in the grave of a young woman in northern France. Archaeologists believe it may have been fitted to beautify her corpse, as it would have been too excruciating to have had it hammered into the living jaw. The corroded piece of metal is the same size and shape as the other incisors from her upper jaw – which did not survive as the timber tomb collapsed and crushed her skull – and its appearance may originally have been improved by a wooden or ivory covering. more at the Guardian

...the US hasnt discovered only recently soccer, its already America's second-most popular sport for those age 12-24, outstripping the NBA, MLB and college football. I guess you just never noticed http://www.espnfc.com/blog/_/name/relegationzone/id/262?cc=5739

...and the US coast guard/border patrol is not aggressive, towards illegal immigrants (racial profiling)? ...btw. if you would have paid attention to the election than you would have noticed that you have to "save germans" from the french, there the right wing won, not in germany...

...i found that on the internet... Here are 10 guiding principles that served the armies well and can help your business: http://www.sapientcap.com/uploads/media/10_things_that_propelled_Ancient_Rome_to_greatness_that_can_help_your_business_-_strategy.pdf

...not sure if serious? First this article is full of errors, ...than for starters Germany France and England all speak different language unlike New York, or Rhode Island or Georgia, which is the major difference between USA and Europe we are different, thank god, it is the strongest point we have over the USA our diversity of culture, because once you immigrated to the USA, you are over two or more generations streamlined to be american. The EU is a wonderful project that encourages minorities, minority languages unlike the USA, europe doesnt built a wall against is neighbours (ola mexico?) so its a bit hypocrite from the USA to tell us about immigrants and problems... second, being extreme right wing is by law forbidden in Germany, unlike in the USA, you can run around with a swastika in the USA singing "hurray the Holocaust has never happend" and nothing happens. If you do that in Germany/Austria you go to jail., third, in Germany the by far strongest party were the conservatives 35,3% than socialists 27,3% the green party 10,7% AFD (centric conservativ) 7.9% liberals 3.7% heck even a satire partiy (similar to the Onion in the state managed to get one 1% and a seat, and so got the NPD 1% so seriously, if you in the USA had a electoral system where everyone that has at least 1% of the vote can join the system, how would the parliament in the USA look like? Last time i checked there are plenty of morons, crazy people, whackos out there in the USA, so dont worry about Europe we are doing just fine, we just have a more diverse political landscape than the two party system of the USA

Historians have long puzzled over the explosive growth of the Vikings. Now a new theory is gaining steam. The great achievements of the Viking Age were almost entirely enabled by the impersonal workings of climate. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. All human civilizations are hostage to weather, but none more so than sailors, who must confront both the violent nature of the ocean’s surface and the capricious atmosphere that imparts motion to their wind-powered vessels. When those mariners are surrounded by seas that produce icebergs and pack ice for up to six months of the year, even a few more weeks of warmer weather a year were literally life-changing. ...more at Salon.com

...that is probably an unwelcomed side effect from the server transfer, it seem some special characters didnt take it well, i think you should be fairly easybe able to edit them on your own posts, so basically just a matter of fixing it manually what automaticall was screwed up

For those who think financial fraud or circulating fake currencies is a modern day phenomenon, an ancient Roman coin mould on display at the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage in the city is a startling revelation. The Roman coin mould, which is being displayed for the first time since its excavation in 1993, indicates that fake coins were in circulation around 19 to 20 centuries ago. The terracotta mould is among the most important objects displayed at the exhibition, apart from terracotta figurines, iron objects, bronze dies, stone beads. more at the Deccan Herald

Maryport is emerging as an important part of the Roman Empire long before Hadrian's Wall was built, the latest archaeological dig at Camp Farm is indicating.The Oxford Archaeology North excavation, commissioned by Hadrian’s Wall Trust and funded by philanthropist Christian Levett, has revealed more finds from all over the Roman Empire. ...more at Time and Star

UPDATE by UNRV.com: Win a free download of Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War, comment or asks the author a question below and stand a chance to download it for free Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War ##############################################################

thanks Onasander, the author seems to be very low key, a rare thing, glad you postet the link for everyone to have a look...

...i would still find it exiting to read and work with such an old document... are you a professional editor?

An international team is using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) modelling to assess Julius Caesar's account of his war with a Celtic tribe. According to Caesar, more than a quarter of a million Helvetii were settled in the Swiss plateau before they decided to abandon their territory and invade Gaul in 58 BCE. In his Gallic Wars he says the Helvitii were running out of food. UWA archaeologist Tom Whitley is developing a GIS model to test Caesar's population estimate and is testing geophysical techniques to see if they can detect signs of the migration and war... ...more at PhysOrg

Hello and welcome, thanks for the heads up, could you give us some example links please? thanks and cheers viggen

...never mind raping the enemy

what do you mean no one can drink? You should follow the link, its a crowdsourcing project, if you do donate you get some bottles, they just dont get sold public, only member that donated...

Temporibus is the wine that Julius Caesar and his Senators used to drink during their [very extravagant] Lucullus Dinners. The goal of this crowdfunding campaign is to create a community of fans willing to cover the costs (around $27,500) required to produce a limited quantity of a wine. This wine will transport people on a journey back in time, to re-live the tastes and flavors of ancient vines. Of course, like all dreams, it is not for sale. No bottle will be ever sold [publicly]. In Italy, this is the very first example of a wine which requires the financial support of many people. more at Indiegogo

What can coins minted by the rebels and Jerusalem’s Roman rulers tell us about the chain of events that eventually led to today’s Lag Ba’omer bonfires? The dating of the city’s construction was made possible by coins discovered beneath the layer of paving stones in the city and findings from a pile of trash, apparently from the Roman military camp in the city. This dating confirms an earlier study by Hanan Eshel and Boaz Zisu, which discovered hoards of coins from the Judean Desert that included both coins minted by the rebels and coins from Aelia Capitolina. But this is the first time that dating is based on excavations inside Jerusalem itself full story at Haaretz