Gaius Paulinus Maximus

True but the Jullii and Claudii families have strong roots going back to the very foundation of the Republic, so although in a way they were the founding members of the Empire, they had also been heavy involved in the Republican years too

A fantastic source of information, cheers PP I've just been browsing through it and there's one part that puzzles me a bit (granted that's not very hard), it's in book I : Selection and training of levies, it states that the standard for the cavalry of the wings and for the infantry or the first legionary cohorts was fixed at six feet tall or at least five foot ten inches Now i was under the impression that the ancient Romans were quite a small race in general with the average height of about 5ft 8", is this just a myth or a figment of my wild imagination

There has been many great families in the history of Rome but who do you think has been the most influential? I've recently been reading up on Scipio Africanus and came up with quite an interseting fact that in less than a hundred years the members of this family alone gained no less than twenty-three consulships for themselves, their surviving epitaphs place overwhelming emphasis, not only on public office and military success, but on genealogical descent as well. This just set me thinking about other families in Roman times, there's the Claudii, Grachii, Julians etc etc Who's the greatest.....you decide!

Totally agree, yes the classic's are pretty hard going but if you persevere with them you'll soon get used to the wording and writing style and then i think you'll start to enjoy them more and appreciate them for what they are. I know i did They're not called classics for nothing!!

A very good selection of books. If i were to be one of the lucky one's then my choices of books would be (in no particular order) Nero's Killing Machine, i've already got Caesar's Legion by Dando Collins so this would be a welcome addition. Caesar by A Goldsworthy, i've already got Christian Meirs version so it would be good to get another pespective. The First Man In Rome, i've always fancied this series but never actually got round to reading them Fingers crossed, cheers

Ok then so how do i get this wonder that is firefox??

I thought with patricide they did the dog and chicken thing then threw you in the Tiber??

A bit too late notice for me, i've already made plans involving all-day drinking on sunday so will be about as useless as a chocolate fireguard on monday :drunk: :beer: Late sept, early oct will be good though

Executions are pretty rare in the U.k but they do happen, shootings and gun crimes are becoming more and more apparent, i think it's just a matter of time before we see all our police force carrying guns just like the majority of the rest of the world do. It's pretty sad but i think it's inevitable

I dont mind the ad's at all, like A of S says they are quite helpful in pointing you in the right direction for further reading. The fact that they are all history related too instead of just random books is also a good idea

The motive was to restore the Republic. There may have been jealousy and other emotional responses involved, but it was clear that the reason for the assassination was because they believed Caesar was a tyrant. Additionally, Brutus may have been shamed by Caesar's apparent affair with his mother, Servilia. Brutus probably saw assassination as the perfect means to avenge such opprobrium. Also i think he was pushed into it by the other conspirators mainly Cassius who knew he could use Brutus because of his closeness to Caesar

The only tornado that happens where i liive is when the kids come home from school!!! Well the house looks like its been hit by a tornado anyway Thats about as close as we in the U.K get anyway

Internet explorer all the way for me I've not even heard of the other one's

Is there any textual evidence for the existence of King Caradoc? I can't find any textual evidence of a king Caradoc especially from 42-51AD, i know that Caratacus was in the area around that time so i'm thinking maybe they could be the same person....Caradoc......Caratacus looks and sounds pretty similar, also in the Boudica series of books by Manda Scott (i know its pretty unreliable as historical fact but...) the character Caratacus was known to his own people as Caradoc , Caratacus was the Roman name for him. I could be way of the mark here but it's definately something to think about???

Could this not be the hillfort where caratacus made a stand against Scapula in 50AD, he had taken refuge with the Ordovices which were a tribe situated in mid wales Ostorius Scapula moved Legio XIV Gemina from its base at Manduessedum (Mancetter, Leicestershire) to a new legionary fortress at Viroconium (Wroxeter, Shropshire) close to the mid wales border. The legion marched west and was joined by the Twentieth marching up from the south, and somewhere in in mid Wales- the site has yet to be identified- the forces of caratacus were soundly defeated. this story is narrated in Tacitus' annals XII 33-37 here

My word Cato!! I hope you feel better after that rant I;m gonna take a stab in the dark here and say that your not a member of the Julius Caesar fan club, please correct me if im wrong but i think i will state my mortgage on it!

What a fantastic piece of propaganda this declaration is, i bet it had even the mildest mannered of citizens screaming blue murder and vowing to avenge Caesar's death at whatever cost This guy sure knew how to stir up emotions

I have read all the Eagle books and just absolutely love them, Macro and Cato have had more lives than a cat!! I think the books have got everything you want in a novel, action ,adventure, humour, sorrow etc etc Can't wait for the next installment

most of the heavy artillery that the Romans used with such effectivness was also invented many years before like the ballista, onager and the scorpio, these were invented in around the early part of 400's b.c one of the main leaders in this field was Dionysius of Syracuse, he used these weapons of war in the many wars he fought against the Carthaginians

You're an ignorant man..! My word!

What a fantastic site, it's got everything and more! Nice 1 viggen

I've just returned from a romantic anniversary week-end in venice and i must say it is one of the most beautiful cities i have ever been in and thats now in the year 2006 so to imagine what it must have been like in 1400 it must have been a pretty amazing city to be in. The city is so old that when you're walking through the tiny streets and alleyways you could almost be back in 1400 (apart from the price's they charge!!!)In St Marks square i paid

Michael Grant's History Of Rome book is a pretty good read, it charts Romes history starting from the Etruscan period right the way through to the eventual decline of the empire, im sure you will find everything you need to know in that book If not, then like Octavius says try the persus site that too is pretty damn good (when it actually works)

Where is your site stuk? You'll have to give us an address so we can check it out

I agree Lake Como is a wonderful place, i spent a few days there a couple of years ago, i was on a football trip to watch Leeds utd v AC Milan, our hotel in Milan had been double booked so we were out on the street, after hours of being turned back from other fully booked hotels we were told to try Como, when we finally arrived it was closing in on mid night and most places were closed apart from one bar near the train station, the very kind lady sorted us all out (about 10 of us) with drinks and bar snacks while she spent about 1/2hr ringing round hotels trying to find us a bed for the night which she suceeded in doing! We spent the next four days in Como and had a fantastic time, we were made very welcome and the glasses were always kept full! :beer: :drunk: