Gaius Paulinus Maximus

I'm sensing a cover up......

I'm still in. Shame about the Comitatus thing but never mind maybe we'll catch up with them another time. Thanks for all the effort you guys have put into this meet, it's really appreciated

Here you go.......

I suppose this is one of the main reasons why Rome often lost the battle but hardly ever lost the war.

Salve, GPM! Side, Turkey? Salve, Asclepiades Correct!

I love this picture, it was taken during a solar eclipse.

A quick look on Amazon reveals quite a few books of a similar nature by Nigel Rodgers http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-7...o.y=0&Go=Go Looks like I'll be annoying the wife a little bit more then!

Split , Croatia?

I take my hat of to the Triumvir's, you guys really are doing a top notch job of Running this site so efficiently. I second what Nephele said about finding a "home" here at UNRV, I've just recently reached my 500th post (yipeeee!!) which I never thought I would have, but the quality of people at UNRV has made it a pleasure and I'm looking forward to many many more. Cheers Guys

Yet again another excellent review, Ursus.

Well done Asclepiades, another frustrating picture! I'm pretty sure I'm wrong but is it Glanum??

Welcome Miguel! I'm sure you'll fit right in. I'm also loving the chinglish too

I think you've got it spot on Asclepiades

Salve Asclepiades! I agree with everything you say about Augustus, but MPC compiled his list about the leading statesmen of the Republic, about people who believed in the idea of a republic and believed in a state run by elected representatives of the people and not by one man alone. The Republic finally came to an end ( it had been in decline for a while ) when Augustus came to power so you can argue that he did nothing at all for the Republic apart from put the final nail in it's coffin.

Because Rome was such a formidable fighting machine many of their enemies already knew that beating them in an open battle was pretty much impossible, so I'm sure that they would have considered every trick in the book in order to give themselves a slight advantage over the Romans and by laying traps like ambushes etc would give them the chance to catch the Romans unawares and give them a vital few minutes to press their advantage before the Romans got themselves together and re-grouped.

Aren't you forgetting a certain young lady who made an appearance in Sundays episode??? C'mon out with it Augusta, What did you really think about the young Livia??? Did she live up to your expectations or were you so annoyed that you couldn't even bring yourself to write about her??

I can see where your coming from but I still say that they both amount to the same thing. Yes the Romans were aware of the enemy but what they were not aware of was the 1000 infantry and 1000 cavalry under the command of Mago which had been concealed in the underbush under the cover of darkness in order to abush/ surprise / spring a trap (or what ever you choose to call it) the Romans. On my understanding this is what happened, isn't it? Whether it be the whole enemy or a hidden percentage of the enemy it all amounts to an ambush ,designed to catch the Romans off guard and to eventually sway the battle in favour of the Carthagians.

my favorites..... spurcifer! scumbucket! ("bearer-of-filth") nugae! gerrae! fabulae! nonsense! poppycock! fiddlesticks! I'll be using some of these at work later ........."What do you mean you can't do it?? nugae! gerrae! fabulae! Get back to work you spurcifer!!!" Thanks Nephele.

I would say that an ambush is pretty much the same as a strategic trap. An ambush is a kind of trap and you can't set up an ambush/trap with out any strategy or tactics involved. The definition of ambush is - to suddenly attack a person or a group of people after hiding and waiting for them. From wiki.... Ambush is a surprise attack from a concealed position on a moving or temporarily halted enemy. An ambush is a long established military tactic in which an ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy that passes its position. Ambushers strike from concealed positions such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops. The tactic is generally used to gather intelligence or to establish control over an area. Ambushes have been used consistently throughout history, from ancient to modern warfare. An ambush predator is a creature who uses similar tactics to capture prey without the difficulty and wasted energy of a chase. Always these creatures are masters of concealment, even with several of the techniques having been copied, such as camouflage.

I second everything that's already been said It really is excellent work and will become a very useful source in the future no doubt. Just a quick question MPC........ Who on your list do you think was THE most influential statesman, the one who gave the most to Rome, in other words if you were asked to put them in order of the "greatest" who would top your list , and why?

I've no problem with changing dates (I think?) Are we talking the week end either side of the original date or a different date altogether? The only problem we have with changing date's would be that we'd miss out on the meet with Commitas the re enactment people and this would be a real shame. What about Carlisle?? It was mentioned as a possible base camp earlier in the thread.

The Battle of the Trebia in the second Punic War was a prime example of the Romans walking straight into an ambush that could have been avoided with a bit of forward planning i.e. scouting and surveying the area of battle. With Scipio still recovering from wounds from a previous battle the consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus who was eager to take the glory for himself procceded to march his entire army who were cold tired and hungry into the waiting ambush set by Hannibal and his brother Mago, resulting in the Romans losing a third of thier forces and Hannibal recording his first victory against Rome.

Thanks for clearing that up Maty. Secondary road ??

AC - it's not looking great. I have e-mailed 7, 5 have replied that they are full. I have phoned three more who are full. Still awaiting two e-mails from two places in Jesmond, but if they don't get back to me in 48 hours, I'll have to try even more. Has anyone else managed to get fixed up at all? To be honest Augusta I haven't really tried anywhere yet, after our PM's last week I've been kind of waiting to see what you could come up with in regards to us all staying at the same hotel, but from the sounds of it things are looking pretty bleak at the moment. If you send me a list of the places you've already tried, I'll have a scout around myself and see if I can come up with anything.