P.Clodius

Thanks inimicus, and there it was on my own doorstep. I often forget that we have rich content on the site, choosing instead to head right for the forums! It's interesting that Ambitus was an attack on Catiline.

While we all now what occurred during Cicero's consulship, does anyone know what kind of legislation, if any, was passed?

HAHAHA..this thread brings back memories. Where I'm from we had what I used to generalize as a yorkshire accent, but you could go 2-3 miles down the road and they'd have more Townie accents (Manchester). Wi wer reet brohhd wi wer...Now my accent is a melange. People from the US think I'm British, people from Britain think I'm a yank!

This is a great documentary which offers many insights into this very subject. Try to get a copy if you can.

Nothing..just this statement, and the raising of Carthage proper.

Thanks Andrew! That was really enlightening. Doesn't this undermine the assumption that rome actively sought to eradicate the punic language though? Septimus Severus and Augustine were around what 3-4 hundred years after the 3rd punic war and yet the language appeared to be alive and well, no?

on Iraq. Watch it for free here!

Thought it was 4! edit...wiki says The expansion of Roman authority over other lands required the addition of praetors. Two were created in 227 BC, for the administration of Sicily and Sardinia, and two more when the two Spanish provinces were formed in 197 BC. Lucius Cornelius Sulla increased the number of Praetors to eight, which Julius Caesar raised successively to ten, then fourteen, and finally to sixteen.[

Are you $h1ting me?

Please expand! Jersey = a corruption of Caesar. The State of New Jersey. (Originally, Province of Novo Caesaria). Hmmm...never heard that before, here's wiki says... Formerly under the control of Brittany and named Angia (also spelled Agna [5]), Jersey became subject to Viking influence in the ninth century, one of the "Norman Islands". The name for Jersey itself is sourced from a Viking heritage: the Norse suffix -ey for island can be found in many places around the northern European coasts. However, the significance of the first part of the island's toponym is unclear. Among theories are that it derives from jarth (Old Norse: "earth") or jarl, or perhaps a personal name, Geirr, to give "Geirr's Island".[6] Alternatively support for a Celtic origin can be made with reference to the Gaulish gar- (oak), ceton (forest). It is also said to be a corruption of the Latin Caesarea, the Roman name for the island, influenced by Old English suffix -ey for "island";[7][8] this is plausible if regional pronunciation of Latin implied that Caesarea was not pronounced [kaisarea] but [tʃeːsarea].

Please expand!

GM, if you can, get a copy of Tom Holland's Rubicon, it provides an excellent narrative of these events.

Yes his appointment was legal via a plebiscite.

We are in agreement.

Indeed. The same migration that 'created' the Hebrews created the Phoenicians.

Revisionism, plain and simple. Of course this can be healthy and considered normal as new evidence arises. Current events (at the time of writing) can influence a thesis, an obvious one would be "Naughty dictator/fascist one man rule" thesis of the nineteen thirties and forties, or the "white mans burden/for the good of civilization" thesis of the eighteen hundreds to support imperialism. Unfortunately certain quarters of this forum seek empiricism when as we know empiricism is an impossible thing in ancient history.

No its not on!

Exactly, he was an outsider who showed the 'leading romans' how to do it! Very much so. He had proverbial balls! Holding his cards close to his chest to see how things playout? A SURE sign of a skillful politician, no? That's right, he created his 'victory'. Octavian was the head of a 'committee' of leading caesarians. Early on, this was comprised of Pollio, Antony, Opius, Balbus, Hirtius, and Pansa. Later it was Aggripa, Maecenas, along with family members. His gift was selecting able men and assigning them to tasks. Isn't part and parcel of being an able politician the ability of getting others, perhaps as gifted or more so, to do your bidding?

HAHAHAHA I too have Latin via Ovid but have yet to be disciplined enough to go through it as I should. I also have Rosetta Stone Latin that I 'scrounged' via shall we say 'internet resources'. Its very simple to use and if you can get a copy I'd recommend it. But again, you need the discipline/desire.

"If a man of Caesar's genius could not find a solution who can find one now?" Forget the guys name but its in Cicero's letters. An indication of the potential problems of the post Caesarian government. One of those problems being a highly politicized military. A legion being a self-aware, individual corporate entity...At the end of the conflict with Antony, which was in fact a roman world war, Octavian had, and I'm going from memory here so go easy MPC, 90 legions to contend with, any one of which could have raised the stakes (for the others to follow). Yet Octavian succeeded in reaching equitable agreement with this potentially explosive force. He demobilizes most of them, pays them off or settles them, and there were no mass evictions to make room for the new 'farmers'. This act would have required the finesse of a diplomat, the conviction of a stern commander, the approachability of a 'good friend', in essence this act would have required a politician of the highest order.

"It isn't easy to critisize a man who can proscribe." A. Pollio Pax Romana Arguably the worlds greatest politician

Also remember Vegetius was VERY much late empire, so his writings do not reflect requirements for earlier periods, say scipionic or caesarian legions.

I believe the Primary Sources on which Long formed such an opinion to have been "mistaken".

Then how do people get the idea that Romans were so much shorter than we are today? 5'9 is pretty tall by today's standards even! Not giant, but pretty tall! Their diet was mainly corn/grain based, not as much meat..(queue Pertinax!) I don't think 5'9" is particularly tall, probably average. It was tallish for a roman though, I seem to remember reading 5'4" was the average.