Primus Pilus

Yes, I read that they had some sort of internal squabble within the team. They moved the domain to www.rometotalrealism.org

Its just a modern interpretation vs. a 19th century one.

They were impressed by their resolve, and most the Romans deep down had a strong sense of ethics. So just like Kennedy, they defaulted and eventually submitted to Christianity. I'm not advocating the stubborness of the Martyrs. I doubt that most modern day Christians would be willing to die for their faith, but it does show the power of stubborn resolve. 15159[/snapback] Indeed, even the rumors and stories of this bravery and conviction of spirit had to play a part in Christianity's ultimate spread, whether people witnessed anything or not.

There is the story of Crassus' Carrhae survivors eventually finding their way to China... Roman descendents in Gansu There are also stories of Chinese expeditions sent to Rome that were mischeviously diverted by Persians and other eastern kingdoms. Both sides were seemingly well aware that a mysterious powerful nation existed on opposite sides of Eurasian land mass, but true contact was quite limited. Most trade seems to have taken place between silk road middlemen.

Hmm an interesting theory... but I don't think so. I can't imagine they will want to split these guys up or kill one off. They will certainly have conflict but I'd imagine something will happen to Vorenus to make him a true Caesarean. (Pompey's boys coming to see him probably helped that along.) As for how the show ends... I'm trying to figure out how far season 1 will go. I thought originally that it would go through the death of Caesar, but judging the pace so far, I can't see it getting that far. I suppose things could pick up considerably over the next few episodes, but we still have the civil war to fight between Caesar and Pompey, the entire egyptian affair (including Pompey's death which will probably take an entire episode to build into), Caesar at Zela, Africa and Hispania, conspiracies to develop, more development between fringe characters like Vorenus and Pollo, etc.

The police were going to hand them over to the insurgents? WTF is the point if the police apparantly support the other side? Its certainly hard to blame the Brits for going after their own.. especially when they know exactly where they are. Its the only thing that makes sense to me. By the way don't mistake American patriotism (when we say we can do it ourselves, because we believe we can) for a lack of appreciation. The participation of those involved is always welcomed and appreciated. We are your illegitimate bastard children after all.

North East experts are to investigate reports that a mosaic from Roman times is buried 15ft underground opposite the site of a former Sunderland brewery. Archaeologists are now hoping to search for the ancient relic on the Vaux brewery site before it is redeveloped. If they find the mosaic, it would confirm long-held suspicions by some local historians that there used to be a Roman settlement in the city. The brewery closed in 1999 and will not be redeveloped until digs are complete. Generations of people from Sunderland have grown up hearing stories of a Roman outpost that used to stand high above the River Wear... From BBC

Oh lord... that's fabulous. Who's the maniac that thought that one up. Looks like I'll have to try some Carlton Draught just to help them feel like it was worth the effort My favorite part is when they get stuck on the fence =P

Furius Camillus was named the second... Plutarch's lives from Bill Thayer's Lacus Curtius site. What's interesting to me about Marius being named 'Third Founder of Rome' is that this title was given to a man despised by the Optimates. Not only is it a testament to the changing times, the rising power of the people, but is a true indication of the great anxiety Rome felt in facing the Cimbric/Teutonic horde. For Marius to be given such an honor in such a turbulent time period clearly indicates the great fear brought on by these migrating tribes. (I apologize for a semi off-topic rambling )

Hello Cyrus and welcome to the forum. I can't speak for anyone else of course, but I'm finding that text color terribly hard to read on our background. Is it just me?

Quite frankly, that is my understanding from only simple encyclopedic style sources. I am not a linguist and have not studied this in depth, so I freely admit that I don't know the depth of these conditions and how everything was played out. I eagerly anticipate clarification or correction from others who do have more insight.

I'm not sure why there is such a rush of defense for Christianity in this thread. Nobody seems to have blamed it for the fall of Rome, but simply pointed it out as a single contributor among many. Perhaps I should have been more clear in my initial reply that I see it well down the list of these contributors, but it still has a place in the unraveling of the social system. I can easily and willingly agree that invasions, incompetent leadership, economic collapse, barbarization of the legions, etc. can far outweigh the 'blame' of Christianity, but I can never be convinced that it played no part, or that is wasn't a symptom of a collapsing society.

Certainly this was the slowest paced episode (#4), as I found myself waiting for something to happen. I was disturbed by the implication that Caesar and Octavian will be suspected of having 'relations'. Regardless, I am thoroughly enjoying the banter between Pollo and Vorenus and look forward to seeing how they develop the myriad of storylines they've built. It's an excellent example of doing historical fiction correctly. Mixing in just enough fiction with a general consideration for historical accuracy. I am still applauding the attention to detail.

It was during the tumultuous period of the civil war which Pompey's ultimate superior, Sulla, won. Without Sulla's support Pompey certainly could have been prosecuted, but since he essentially ruled Rome with his victory, there was nobody who could take Pompey to task.

Agreed, I would prefer a bit more eloquence than your choice of words there, but there's no question that the Italian/Roman legionary was a thing of the past in the later stages of the empire.

And keep in mind that Latin was not the primary language of the area on a continual basis since the fall of Rome. However, thats not to say its root has not been Latin since the Roman conquest. Slavic migrations altered the language for several centuries, but the persistent Romanians have continually gone back to their Latin roots and even purged Slavic nuances from their vocabulary. The last major re-introduction of Latin occured as recently as the early 20th century. Why did Dacia become such a strong point of Latin? Largely because of two major factors. Unlike some places like Britain, Dacia was a major recruiting area for new legionaries quickly after its conquest. As recruits became Romanized including the learning of Latin, they eventually returned home seemingly having fully embraced it, and spread it amongst its families and tribes. Additionally, since Roman Catholicism took a firm hold in Romania it helped the people readily hold on to the tongue used by the church.

Absolutely agreed, calling the purge of paganism revisionist is simply denying the facts that history has presented. Its a known entity regardless of our religious preferences. One might say what goes around comes around, but it still does not change the fact that the Christians brutally purged pagan culture. As for it being a contributing factor to the fall of Rome, how can we deny the overwhelming alteration it had on Roman political, social and even personal life. While we understandably may call the rise of Christianity a sympton of a crumbling social and economic condition, rather than a cause, denying its effect is also failing to look at the entire picture. All IMO of course.

It would be interesting to set up something similar to a VCoins where a collection of merchants can host their wares in a single place. I honestly wouldn't mind compiling a complete list and host a page. It would be nothing more than a link page with descriptions to the various vendors, but it might come in handy.

Except for Ciaran Hinds... there is not an actor who I dont like in their roles. Pompey, Brutus, Antony, Octavian, Pollo, Vorenus, Atia and Servilia are all brilliant. Octavia seems a bit too 'modern' for my taste but that is the script, not the acting. Cicero seems a bit too young and soft spoken.. he should be more vocal, but I do like the acting. Did Cato have a stroke? Still he is very effective despite the twisted sneering. I do think Cato though when I see this guy... a crotchety SoB.

Just an amusing google satire story.. courtesy of The Onion. Google Announces Plan to Destroy All Information It Can't Index

No, I agree completely and mentioned a similar feeling in my first post a while back. Ciaran Hinds seems a fine actor, but somehow he's not making Caesar into the legendary, energetic and charismatic leader that we know he was. 'Weary' is an excellent description. I think perhaps that he is trying so hard to make Caesar so refined and patrician that he is coming across in this other direction?

Natural causes should be mentioned as a possibility as well.

Hence the German word Kaiser (among others) which is far closer to the correct pronunciation than our own English See zar.

Because google loves to read what everyone has to say about Rome The googlebot (and others) regularly check our pages to index them.

It's certainly a strange investment for ebay. The market doesn't seem to be so sure about it either. Talk about a complete different direction from their core business.