Gaius Paulinus Maximus

Count me in too. The summer holidays haven't been booked yet but at least now we have a date for the meet I've got something to work with. Doc, whether rain or shine, all will be fine! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- double post......... SORRY!

Count me in too. The summer holidays haven't been booked yet but at least now we have a date for the meet I've got something to work with. Doc, whether rain or shine, all will be fine!

Thanks for the 'heads up' Spittle, I'll record it because no doubt the wife will want to watch "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here!"

I found these clips on youtube, after watching them I'll have to agree with everything said in this thread......... THIS FILM IS S*** http://youtube.com/watch?v=JU2ACd_Yc1c http://youtube.com/watch?v=EYLv9vnpxsk

Great idea MPC. Maybe where possible you could include a description of the battlefield, i.e. open plain, desert, shrub land, mountainous etc. I know it's probably a bit much but if we had this sort of info then it would certainly help to visualise the battle a bit more.

Happy birthday O'Lord of the Weeds! Have a fantastic day!!

Firstly, it's good to see documented evidence on both sides of the story, great work Melvadius. I agree, some evidence to back up their arguments would have helped but what about your opening article in the case against child sacrifice by Hassin Fanter which begins with....

Better late than never!!!! Happy birthday Moon!! So come on then, what did you get up to ??

A while ago I read a book about the great Byzantine general, Belisarius. After reading and thoroughly enjoying the book I did a bit of research and came up with these paintings which have become firm favorites..... by Jacques Louis-David (1781) by Francois Andre Vincent (1776) by Jean Francois Pierre Peyron Taken from Wiki.......

This painting by Jean-L

Gauis Paulinus Maximus!!

I've just finished Roma Eterna by Robert Silverberg, The Roman Empire never fell. Driven by political ambition and internal dissent, thrown into turmoil by rebellion and civil war, it changed and adapted, but it never fell. It's basically a book of short stories following different characters through the trials and tribulations of the empire's fight for survival all the way through to modern times. I was a bit disappointed with the book really, just as I was getting to know and like the characters, that particular era would come to an abrupt end and then the story would jump forward a couple of hundred years to the next set of characters and storyline. Some of the stories were excellent and some of them to be honest I found pretty dull, and the ending for me was a big let down, it was the kind of book that when you get to the end you think to yourself "well I'm glad that's over!"

You got lucky there MPC, Asclepiades seems to have forgotten his second cousin twice removed!

It dosen't quite fit the criteria but it's an excellent book non the less, it really does take you back to ancient Rome. Well worth the read anyway. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancient-Rome-Five-...9572&sr=1-1

Libius Severus II

Mmmmm (GPM licks his lips) I can almost taste those tasty little sheep , never mind locking up your wives and daughters, the Brigantians are on their way, and we're mean, lean and hungry fighting machines!!

Justinian?

I think the official stance is that Lucius Verus died a natural death probably brought on by his opulence and over indulgence in banqueting and vice.it was a sickness known as Apoplexy that finally did him in. Historia Augusta, Life of Lucius Verus "When the war in Pannonia was settled, they returned to Aquileia at Lucius' insistence, and then, because he yearned for the pleasures of the city, they hastened cityward. But not far from Altinum, Lucius, while in his carriage, was suddenly stricken with the sickness which they call apoplexy, and after he had been set down from his carriage and bled, he was taken to Altinum, and here he died, after living for three days unable to speak."

Julia Domna??

Does this mean that your going to go around sacrificing bulls??? I certainly hope not LW! I've had a search around the net but to no avail, from what I can gather Mithraism may have survived up into the fifth century but after that traces of the cult are very scarce, but I did come across this which I thought you might enjoy...... Mithras: God of the Morning Mithras, God of the Morning,our trumpets waken the wall!' Rome is above the Nations, but Thou art over all' Now as the names are answered, and the guards are marched away, Mithras, also a solider, give us strength for the day! Mithras, God of the Noontide, the heather swims in the heat, Our helmets scorch our foreheads; our sandals burn our feet, Now in the ungrit hour; now ere we blink and drowse, Mithras also a solider, keep us true to our vows! Mithras, God of the Sunset, low on the Western main, Thou descending immortal, immortal to rise again! Now when the watch is ended, now when the wine is drawn Mithras also a solider, keep us pure till the dawn! Mithras, God of Midnight, here where the great bull dies, Look on thy children in darkness. Oh take our sacrifice! Many roads Thou has fashioned: all of them lead to the Light, Mithras, also a solider, teach us to die aright. Rudyard Kipling

True, you did predict the springboks would take the title, and I also warned you not to write off the chances of the OAP's from England (albeit in a mocking tone!!). After the 36-0 drubbing we received in the group stages everybody wrote us off and even said we'd struggle to make it out of the group!!!! HA!!! Those people under-estimated the strength and determination of the English, our team is packed with quality and experience and with the right boot of Johnny Wilkinson we were always going to be hard to beat. As far as the final goes I think the best team won, you're right in saying the springboks are the kings of the line outs, we just couldn't compete in that department and that's where the game was won,, but if you look at the game on the whole I'd say we were pretty unlucky, we gave away 6 early points through silly mistakes which could and should have been prevented and what about that dis-allowed try from Cueto!! That try should have stood, there was nothing wrong with it! If it had been allowed and the kick converted then it would have been 10-9 to us with 20mins to play, South Africa were on the back foot and we were firing on all cylinders, at that stage of the game there was only going to be one winner, then we lost Mike Catt and Jason Robinson, arguably two of our most influential players and not to mention our skipper not coming out for the second half etc etc etc. But at the end of the day that's rugby and those things happen so I'll just leave it there by congratulating South Africa on winning the World Cup. I'm just glad that after the poor start to the tournament England gave a good account of themselves and rammed the views of press back down their throats!

Drussila??

Thats the brand name of the first DVRs introduced here in the states. Don't know what I'd do without one. My wife and I have a rather aggressive television viewing schedule. It's tough to keep up. Ahhh thought so, we have the same thing over here but it's called Sky+, I totally agree with your inclusion, this thing really is the best thing since sliced bread, I don't know how we managed before we got ours.

From what I understand it was by all accounts an imperial partnership, but probably with Marcus Aurelius having the final say in things. Marcus seemed to be the one making the decision as to who would go and fight where, it was Aurelius who sent Verus to Parthia. Verus was the younger and more suited to the military demands of the empire, so I suppose it made sense to send the better suited man to war. Aurelius speaks highly of Verus and makes it clear in his writings that he considered Lucius Verus as his partner in governing the empire and commanding it's military forces. The one thing that does gives us an indication that Marcus Aurelius had the edge over Lucius Verus is that Marcus carried the title "Pontifex Maximus" while Lucius was simply "pontifex". so although they were classed as co-emperors I think it's very probable that Marcus Aurelius was the dominant force.

Custom officers did in deed exist in ancient Rome, they were there to check the quality and quantity of all goods coming into Rome. Taken from Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries by Rodolfo Lanciani........