Ludovicus

Try this free site. I use it all the time for my upper level italian course. It's much better than any dictionary I have in my bookcase. http://www.wordreference.com/ Here's what it offers: Spanish: English to Spanish Spanish to English French: English to French French to English Italian: English to Italian Italian to English English Only: English definition What's more, often you can click to see how a word looks in context. There are forums where you can ask questions about how a word is used, what the connotations may be.

Here's my vote for Heraclius, too.

Perhaps an important benchmark on the Eastern Empire's march to becoming a total Greek state, at least administratively, would be the loss of the large Latin-speaking provinces of Africa. I believe we're at the end of the reign of Heraclius at this point.

Heraclius was the first emperor to abandon the Latin title "imperator" in favor of the Greek "basileus." This may make him a candidate for the first emperor of a "recognizable" Greek state. But wait! After he defeated the Persians the Senate gave him the title of "Scipio." Go figure.

Hi, After over a year as a member of UNRV I realize that I have yet to introduce myself. My father is a Goth. My mother, a Roman. He complains that I speak Gothic with a Latin accent. She maintains my Latin is not classical. Could it be that I'm a transitional figure pointing to a post Roman society? The whole village thinks so. Justinian's forces passed through here the other day and what a mess they made of everything!! Even the Latin speakers curse them. Seriously, I'm a retired teacher from Philadelphia. "Philadelphia maneto." I love to hang out in the "Postilla Historia Romanorum" forum. Ludovicus or Ludowicus, as Dad prefers.

http://emmm.co.uk/amphitheatre/ Above you'll find the Chester Conference on Roman Amphitheatres website.

Fascinating posts! What about Constantinople in regard to animal shows? My limited knowledge of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire tells me that chariot races were the only public spectacles that were performed in the hippodrome there. What about animal fights? Did the Christian founders of the city prohibit cruelty to animals as well as to prisoners and criminals?

In regard to relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs, there is an article posted on the JSTOR site entitled: The Relations between Byzantium and the Arabs: Report on the Dumbarton Oaks Symposium of 1963 Hamilton A. R. Gibb Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 18, 1964 (1964), pp. 363-365 doi:10.2307/1291220 You can read the first page of the article but you'll need a subscription to go further. There is an account of an Arabian embassy in Constantinople: "The description in the Book of Ceremonies of a reception for an Arabian embassy, that was held there in 946, suggests that the Magnaura was not basilical in shape, as this has usually been assumed, but rather a cross-in-square building with a dome, possibly as the result of Justinian's reconstruction." The above is from the website: http://www.byzantium1200.com/senato.html

Try this site for computer enhanced renderings of many of the buildings in Constantinople before 1200: http://www.byzantium1200.com/introduction.html Don't forget to hit "contents."

There may be information in the Notitia Dignitatum, a very late Roman document, showing illustrations of shields and listings of the officers, among other things. Somewhere in the resources of UNRV there should be a link to the ND.

Primus Pilus, Thanks so much for the link to the Archaeology Channel. There are dozens of interesting short videos to watch there. I've just finished enjoying "The House of Julius Polybius"

Bingo! I appreciate it on both levels: a literary classic and an ode to Augustus. In the libri section, one of the new books out this month deals with Propaganda in Augustan Rome. Might be of interest to some of you. Thank you. Yes, I view the work in the same way. And thanks for the "heads up" about the book!

Can a work of propaganda also be a world classic? What do people think about Virgil's Aeneid?

"In 12th-century Toledo, in Spain, a group of Christian monks, Jewish sages and Muslim teachers gathered to study a new translation of Aristotle's De Anima (On the Soul). In Rubenstein's dazzling historical narrative, this moment represents both the tremendous influence of Aristotle on these three religions and the culmination of the medieval rediscovery of his writings." From Publishers Weekly, quoted on Amazon Rubenstein's book is an eye opener. You'll never think of the Middle Ages in the same way again.

Now that the "first Pompeii" seems to be Samnite , not Etruscan, do we need to review our study of graffiti from the ancient city? Not a few show non-classical spellings. Do they hint at the Samnite dialect of Oscan? Has this been considered yet? (ANSA) - Rome, February 1 - The origins of the famed buried city of Pompeii have emerged from years of excavations, an international conference in Rome was told Thursday. The first Pompeii was not built by the Romans or even by the Greeks who preceded them, but by an ancient people called the Samnites, Pompeii heritage Superintendent Piero Guzzo told a packed audience of archaeologists and scholars. http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/en...1_10134893.html On Oscan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscan

Interesting... PP, I always thought that Pompeii was founded by the Etruscans and was a major haven for them as they fled away from the capital city as they were getting "romanized" and thoroughly absorbed into Roman society at all levels. The Etruscans had their own culture / traditions etc. many of which were adapted or "romanized" and over time, lost their original identity. The arch, haruspicy, the practice of lictors, various other customs -- all were of Etruscan origin. This is an important discovery for the study of the Latin language, too. All those hundreds of graffiti in Pompeii, not a few showing non-classical usage and spelling, may have to be seen now as Samnite (Oscan) influenced.

Spittle, I agree!

This is all from Islamic accounts who made everything look bad to a higher degree. Today many Muslims in the Middle East rave about how they killed the Crusaders. Also remeber, although the Crusades were heavily influenced for politics there was still a certain desire to avenge the Christians who were brutally slaughtered to Muslim hand. That, you just can't deny. Perhaps you need some evidence to the contrary, Ramses. The account that I cited of the atrocities committed by the crusaders at the Battle of Jerusalem, 1099, was written by Christians. One source is the "Gesta Francorum" and another, see below, is that of Raymond d'Aguiliers, also Christian. "Strange to relate, however, at this very time when the city was practically captured by the Franks, the Saracens were still fighting on the other side, where the Count was attacking the wall as though the city should never be captured. But now that our men had possession of the walls and towers, wonderful sights were to be seen. Some of our men (and this was more merciful) cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious services are ordinarily chanted. What happened there? If I tell the truth, it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much, at least, that in the Temple and porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins. Indeed, it was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers, since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies. The city was filled with corpses and blood. Some of the enemy took refuge in the Tower of David, and, petitioning Count Raymond for protection, surrendered the Tower into his hands. From another Christian witness at the same battle, Fulcher of Chartres: "Some Saracens, Arabs, and Ethiopians took refuge in the tower of David, others fled to the temples of the Lord and of Solomon. A great fight took place in the court and porch of the temples, where they were unable to escape from our gladiators. Many fled to the roof of the temple of Solomon, and were shot with arrows, so that they fell to the ground dead. In this temple almost ten thousand were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared." Get many of them here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cde-jlem.html#gesta2

Christian behavior in the Battle of Jerusalem, 1099, First Crusade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_%281099%29 "Once the Crusaders had breached the outer walls and entered the city almost every inhabitant of Jerusalem was killed over the course of that afternoon, evening and next morning. Muslims, Jews, and even a few of the Christians were all massacred with indiscriminate violence. Many Muslims sought shelter in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where, according to one famous account in Gesta, "...the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles..." According to Raymond of Aguilers "men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins." Tancred claimed the Temple quarter for himself and offered protection to some of the Muslims there, but he could not prevent their deaths at the hands of his fellow crusaders. The Fatimid governor Iftikar ad-Daula withdrew to the Tower of David, which he soon surrendered to Raymond in return for safe passage for himself and bodyguards to Ascalon. [1]"

Here's a remarkable article from the New York Times on St. Francis of Assisi's visit to the Egyptian court of al-Malik al-Kamil, nephew of the great Saladin. By THOMAS CAHILL Published: December 25, 2006 AMID all the useless bloodshed of the Crusades, there is one story that suggests an extended clash of civilizations between Islam and the West was not preordained. It concerns the early 13th-century friar Francis of Assisi, who joined the Fifth Crusade not as a warrior but as a peacemaker. Francis was no good at organization or strategy and he knew it. He accepted the men and women who presented themselves as followers, befriended them and shared the Gospel with them. But he gave them little else. He expected them to live like him: rejecting distinctions of class, forgoing honors of church or king or commune, taking the words of Jesus literally, owning nothing, suffering for God

I see my error. I should have written "Latin Patriarchy." I've corrected the mistake.

Thanks for the question. I mean that most Christians from the City of Rome would have been under the Pope, Patriarch of the West. The city of Constantinople was under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a different religious leader. From time to time these two patriarchs would disagree with serious consequences.

I know that once Constantine established Constantinople that many senators and the well-to-do from Rome moved there permanently. Did these Western Romans, Latin-speaking and former residents of the Latin Patriarchy, constitute a separate community in the Eastern Empire's capital? Does anyone have any sources on what became of these transplants?

It's probably worthwhile to recall that relations between Muslims and Christians, both within the Byzantine world and without, were much more complex than is generally appreciated. I know that El Cid of Spain was a mercenary of Muslim princes at least once in his life. The wonderful Italian Benedictine monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno was destroyed by Muslim raiders whose attack was encouraged by Athanasius II of Bari. " Ma nell'881 un nuovo gruppo di Arabi, al servizio del duca-vescovo di Napoli Atanasio II, attacca il complesso monastico saccheggiandolo e mettendolo a fuoco brutalmente." But in 881, a new group of Arabs, in the service of the Duke-Bishop of Naples, Athanasius II, attack the monastery complex brutally sacking and burning it. (my translation) http://www.sanvincenzoalvolturno.it/pg/sez1_0.htm (This site is in Italian)

I know that Islam was spread in a military blitzkreig totally different to Christian teaching... It's not difficult to find Christians acting in the same way that Islam is frequently presented. Here just a few examples: "During the 15th century, Jews in Spain were frequently pressured into converting to Christianity. This culminated in their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Subsequently, in 1497, the Jews in Portugal were forcibly converted to Christianity." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_conversion On Charlemagne's forced conversion of the Saxons: "The King, however, pressed them with unvarying purpose despite great difficulties and either took the field against them himself, or sent his counts against them with a host to wreak vengeance and exact due satisfaction. The war that had lasted so many years at last terminated when the Saxons gave way to the terms proffered by the King; namely, the renunciation of their native religious cults and devil-worship, the acceptance of the Christian sacraments, and union with the Franks into one people." http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard-wars1.html On the French Wars of Religion: " The Guises, for their part, understood what this religious tolerance was all about and quickly clamped down on it. In March, 1562, an army led by the Duke of Guise attacked a Protestant church service at Vassy in the province of Champagne and slaughtered everybody they could get their hands on: men, women, and children