Primus Pilus

A long but interesting and related article Truthseeker.co.uk

Ahh, the main source on Gaul is Caesar, and his numbers are rather dubious (when provided) when we consider the reasons he wrote De Bello Gallico. Unfortunately, as great as 'The Gallic Wars' as a historical document, Caesar rarely provides detailed numbers regarding single individual engagements, and it has to be deduced based on rather limited mentions (in most cases). There is some of that information available in the Gallic Wars section. If you want more detail than what is provided, you really need to read De Bello Gallico

Some are readily available in the ancient sources, some are detailed here in various pages in the Roman History section. If you list the battles you are interested in I'm sure we can provide some help.

That page reflects the early imperial legion. For the Republican Legion Livius.org has some excellent information on Caesar's legions.

Illyria is the subject of furious debate because of nationalist and ethnic rivalries among modern occupants of the balkan region. There were certainly periods where Illyria seems to have been mostly unified under a central monarchy (such as King Agron and Queen Teuta around the time of the Second Punic War.) There is no question that at this time they had gathered a sizeable fleet and had developed into a regional minor power rivalring Macedon.

Whether he intended to be a historian or not is really beside the point. His attempt at propoganda left us with one of the greatest historical records on some of the most important events in human history. Tainted by self promotion or not, Caesar's words are no less informative than those deliberate historical accounts of Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Polybius, etc.

They've been associated with terror for as long as I can remember. But regardless, we are moving away from original Islam/Christianity question.

[An appropriate one considering the naval discussion happening on the forum ] Italian archaeologists believe they are on the verge of finding the ancient ships downed in the battle of the Aegates Islands more than 2,000 years ago thanks to modern technology and a police tip-off. "This project has an enormous historical value, but perhaps more important is the relevance for archaeology," Sebastiano Tusa, Sicily's chief of marine culture, told Reuters on Friday... From Reuters UK

Unless he's saying Andate = Victory, and that's where the confusion comes from, I've never honestly given it alot of thought.

Dio Cassius Book 62 Chapter 7 Assuming the translation was not altered, then it was an invention of Dio Cassius and not a later British historian. (there is no original Greek version available on the web as far as I can tell)

1000 years? Is there evidence about these Veneti being that much more advanced in naval technology? No, but the destruction of the Veneti, along with the Mediterranean fleets of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Illyrians, Cilicians, etc. wiped out the need for naval advancement for several hundred years and for all practical purposes. Had the Romans not completely dominated the waters of western Europe, and rivalries continued to develop (on a scale forcing necessity), it surely would've inspired continued changes.

The Veneti had a considerable fleet in northern Gaul. Their defeat to the Roman fleet under the command of Brutus paved the way for Caesar's invasion of Britain. Its described in De Bello Gallico, book 3, up to about chapter 20 or so.

Caesar is generally quite subtle in his style and while always giving an impression that treachery is impending at any moment, he is quite low key in his villification of the Gauls. However he does make it quite clear that everything he does is in reaction to one event or another and not because he is an aggressor in any shape or form. I suppose the following passage sets the stage. Before this, essentially the very beginning of 'De Bello Gallico' Caesar points out that the Helvetti had every intention of conquering all of Gaul for their own possession (setting the stage that his intervention is required). Which brings the reader to... Caesar book 1 Chapter 11 He has harsh words for the Belgae and other northern tribes such as the Veneti, after he deals with the problem of Ariovistus. Essentially he paints the Gauls as an ungrateful and untrustworthy lot.

Patience young jedi. Actually, I agree and will lower it.

Agrippa held Proconsular imperium by virtue of his consulship in 37 BC. He functioned as both a Legatus Legionis and a Praefectus Classis (fleet commander)

Mine was Michael Grant (still is I suppose, despite his recent passing). His writing style, light and easy yet vastly informative and on a great number of subjects, made Roman history widely accessable to the masses. As for the ancients, my favorites are Caesar and Livy, but the best I feel is Tacitus.

Can you provide specific examples of how Islam is counter to Christian belief? I think there is a difference between cultures, but when you sit down and read the Koran and the Bible, are the laws and beliefs really any different? There are verses upon verses that not only contradict one another, but that also contradict verses within their own texts (the Koran is filled with contradiction based on the nature of Allah as a transformed deity from a poly to all encompassing monotheistic deity, while the Bible has many problems especially once one starts to include previously discarded books). However, before I blast away too much, as my Koran study is terribly limited and I offer only a semi educated opinion... a simple googling of Bible and Koran (Qu'ran) will probably provide some rather lengthy sources.

It meant Victory/Victorious. Based on the convenience of it, I doubt that it was a 'birth name'.

Sulla > Pompey It makes me so mad that Pompey gets all the credit for winning the Mithridatic Wars... Sulla owned that... And Lucullus rarely gets enough credit for virtually stifling resistance before Pompey even showed up.

I too am a firm believer in 'survival of the fittest'. I do not support, nor do I stand for the systematic destruction of people based on race or ethnicity, but I very much agree with allowing people to die if their lives cannot be supported naturally. (I'm not talking about machine assisted living here on an individual basis but wide scale starvation, disaster etc.) If an area of the earth cannot support human life (ie arid conditions)... what sense is there in encouraging population growth by importing foods, etc? Perhaps I should split this?

'Evil' is subjective and objective. Of course, I view any religion as an invention that attempts to define good and evil by some abstract rules of supernatural defintion, and that they should be avoided, allowing for clarity of thought and individuality. However, more directly related to the topic... Islam, whether it be the dangerous fundamentalism or the more peaceful version, is in direct contrast to many of the moral and societal principals of western society. The two have difficulty co-existing because of daily routine contradictions that make conflit unavoidable (whether it be simple irritation or open violence). These contrasts do not make Islam 'evil' in and of itself and I and won't label it as such because it requires a belief in such things. I just feel that it is simply counter culture to the western norm.

Bronze may be stronger than Iron, but Steel is stronger than both. While the Romans, Celts and others didn't have a vast understanding of carbonizing iron to make steel, they used coal in their furnaces at first simply because it helped create high heat and later as a matter of course. The Romans were working with steel even though they may have thought that it was iron, and may have incorrectly believed it to be a stronger substance than bronze. (I don't honestly know the properties and their comparisons, but am quite comfortable that the primitive steel used was assuredly stronger than both)

True enough I suppose, I just don't wax very eloquently on such philosophic subjects so I thought I should pre-qualify my answer.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but after dsicussing offline with Moon, seems we will have to upgrade software to do this. Unfortunately its not something we wish to do for the time being

Finding themselves in a catch-22 situation, the authorities have decided to forge ahead with the construction of a "removable" canal over a significant piece of archaeology unearthed in Marsa. The Works' Division and the heritage authorities have had to find the middle ground between building a water canal to alleviate flooding problems and exploiting one of the most important historical finds in recent years... From the Times of Malta