Gaius Paulinus Maximus

Wouldn't the Praetorian and Imperial Guards be classed as specialized units? The Roman emperor had several guard units at his disposal. The most important of these were the cohortes praetoriae or praetorian guard. During the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty the Germani custodes corporis or German bodyguard provided additional security. From the accession of Traianus the equites singulares Augusti recruited among the auxiliary cavalry formed the emperor's horse guard. The majority of these men served as guards, i.e. picked troops, rather than bodyguards directly watching over the person of the emperor. These elite forces at the emperor's immediate disposal formed the nucleus of the field armies assembled for imperial military expeditions. Smaller numbers of soldiers were selected among the guard units for personal protection duties.

Told ya so!!!

Haha bring it on Cecil! But I think I might be on to something though, after all I did write that comment over 3 months ago and you've just got round to commenting on it, what happened? Did you see it back in October and think "I'm gonna get you for that , GPM!" But then something else caught your attention ,then**POOF** it's gone!! Then lo and behold a few months down the line you come across the same post and think to yourself....."I'm gonna get you for that GPM!!!!!" Now I've got you thinking haven't I!!

Horatius by Thomas Babbington Macaulay Lars Porsena of Closium By the Nine Gods he swore That the great house of Tarquin Should suffer wrong no more. By the Nine Gods he swore it, And named a trysting day, And bade his messengers ride forth, East and west and south and north, To summon his array. East and west and south and north The messengers ride fast, And tower and town and cottage Have heard the trumpet's blast. Shame on the false Etruscan Who lingers in his home, When Porsena of Clusium Is on the march for Rome. The horsemen and the footmen Are pouring in amain From many a stately market-place, From many a fruitful plain, From many a lonely hamlet, Which, hid by beech and pine, Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest Of purple Apennine; From lordly Volaterr

I've just finished "Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome" by Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins. The wealth of information contained in this book is amazing, it's got to be a must for anyone interested in ancient Rome.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DDICKEY!! Drink and be merry!

OK - it is now 24th January and apart from Doc, no one has PM'd with a definite yes or no. Do I take it that no one is coming? Or would you like a bit longer to think about things? Many thanks everyone. Sorry Augusta, I must have missed your last post. Count me in too.

I suppose this can be seen a pretty accurate if you take a look at the many wars that took place in that 500 year period, the Normans and Saxons invasion's, the rise of Ottoman power, the Crusades alone lasted in excess of 200 years so if you look at it like that than it does seem to be all about warfare and vendetta. But on the other side the cities and towns of medieval Europe began to expand from simple defensive settlements into cosmopolitan centres of trade, power and art. In Italy, the cities became independent states, some building their own empire's like Venice and Florence for instance and in Northern Europe the towns of Flanders became a major centres of manufacturing. So while there were many bloody wars and fighting through out the middle ages there was also major advancements in other areas of the age as well.

Here's another interesting ( or boring!!!) camel fact....... Australia is the worlds largest exporter of camels!

I've just snapped up a copy of Don Quixote from Amazon for the princely sum of............wait for it!...........1p, yes that's right , a penny! I do love a bargain. If this book is as good as you guy's say it is then it would be a crime not to add it to my collection.

I seem to have missed that entire discussion last year, most likely because I wasn't able to watch the series at the time, being in the U.S. as I am. Thanks for that link! I see you, nevertheless, stuck with the entire series, night by night, GPM. And I noticed that a few folks commented that the bits with Nero were done well. Sean Pertwee was cast in the role of Caesar? Now, that I'm having difficulty picturing. I think I'll give it a go, nonetheless. Eh, it's cheap enough, being on sale at HMV. -- Nephele Yeah I stuck with it but I'm a sucker for anything Roman be it good or bad. The series on the whole wasn't bad I just felt it was all a bit rushed and some of the major facts were sacrificed in order to make the 1 hour show. By all means buy it Neph, you must always make up your on mind on things like this, every ones tastes are different and for that price why not?? If you don't like it you can always carry it in your bag as a weapon of defence if you get attacked by any raving mad racist old hags! (again!)

This series was shown in the UK about 18 months ago, we thoroughly discussed the highs and lows of each episode and unfortunately there were more lows than highs! Take a look HERE

Hi Neph, I may be wrong but didn't the cognomen "Niger" also indicate that who ever carried this nickname was also looked upon as the 'black' sheep of the family i.e. a bad lad, a bit of a rogue etc? By the way, excellent list Nephele, can't wait to see the next in the series!

Disco? Disco? I can't stand noise of any kind!!! Put me down for classical, Romance language folk, Standard American (Easy Listening). How could any human being stand for any of those rackets? Hah? Come now Cecil, Don't you try telling me that back in the 70's you never slipped into your White flared suit, open shirt, medallion and platform shoes and strutted on down to the Brooklyn discotheque to bust a few moves on the illuminated dance floor! I bet Travolta had nothing on you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NN! Have a great day and don't get too drunk!........Ok go on then!

Lady Margaret Thatcher.....It will certainly brighten many ex miners day when the Iron Lady finally pops her clogs! Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne....... hopelessly drug and alcohol addicted ex football genius

I'm a big fan of Indie/Rock music, Oasis, Killers Stereophonics etc. My favorites have got be The Stone Roses, an indie rock band from Manchester who have unfortunately split up now, this was the kind of music I grew up listening to. Check out my favorite song HERE

Here's a pretty good layout of a Roman camp. http://www.roman-empire.net/army/camp2.html Wikipedia also gives a pretty good description ins and outs of a Roman camp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castra

You have to add an individual entry to each date, which is time consuming. Later today I will add the most important of the religious festivals for the year, but I will omit the many minor ones. I someone could compose a list of the most important political events, I could add that as well. What about a list of the date of birth's and death's of the most prominent men and women of the republic/empire?

Welcome to UNRV Saphira! Like Gaius says I'm sure Flavia (aka Caroline Lawrence) would be only too happy to give you a few tips on children's novels or then again she might see you as a literary rival and want to scratch your eye's out for encroaching on "her patch"!! Good luck with the book.

Swindon and Rushey Platt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Swindon http://www.swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/mor.html

Football (or soccer as you guys across the pond call it ) is by far the greatest game on the planet, you can keep your funny shaped ball, shoulder pads, helmets, games that go on for hours on end. Just give me a proper shaped ball a pair of boots and shin pads any day!!

What I wouldn't give for a massive downfall of snow and for it to stop just long enough for the kids to try out their new (well it was 2 years ago!!) "Speed Demon" sledge that grandad got them for Christmas many moons ago. it's still on blocks in the garage! Can you believe it, my youngest is 3yrs old and she's never seen snow!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOC! Hope you had a fantastic day.