Primus Pilus

This doesn't make any sense. The purpose of this site is to discuss ancient Rome which includes Hispania (Baetica, Lusitania and Tarraconensis) It was populated at the time by several peoples including Celts (of several tribes), coastal Greeks, Phoenicians and Latins (and perhaps the Basques as nobody seems to know their complete origin). The argument over Spain vs. Portuagal is ridiculous in the context of this site and does not belong here. I didn't mind changing the verbage of Spain to Hispania to use it in the correct historical, as per the original complaint of this thread, but aside from that, this topic has run its course.

I don't know where you live of course but compare Roman provinces to any US state, European country, etc. today. Each has many cities with a single capital (which in the ancient world was generally the largest city). Generally speaking, there weren't as many cities as there are today, but in most cases there was assuredly more than one city, and at the very least several 'towns'.

That single list is a brutal reminder of the near complete failure of the Roman system in the late 3rd century. Think what we will about Constantine, but the man did save the empire.

I suppose, considering I'm not particularly fond of heights, that my most 'extreme' moments include bungee jumping over a cement parking lot and sky diving. I'm not rather proud of an ill advised attempt to ski at Vail, CO since I'm a novice skiier at the very very best. Sure it was fun, but considering my extreme lack of skill, I'm lucky I'm still not laying in a broken lump in the Colorado foothills. I like to consider myself fairly athletic and I've been fortunate never to have been seriously injured (except for one major knee problem playing American football). I seem to have more problems stepping on my children's toys and twisting my ankle than playing a few hard games of racquetball. I think when we are doing some athletic, are minds and bodies are focused on the task at hand and we are prepared for the bumps and bruises that come. Just living day to day we aren't really on the look out for the little things that can cause us physical trouble I suppose.

[Mod Note] the post quoted by Hamilcar above was deleted due to the user name.

And this brings us sort of into contact with that other thread, with your last post details why I respect Cato, while also despising him. He was not an opportunist and stood by his rather flawed and deconstructive ideals until the very end. His steadfast nature forces my respect, despite inherently disagreeing with him. Though I suppose Caesar truly felt the same way about his most capable enemies. Alas I digress though.

Yes, by the standards of other victorious generals and elected Dictators Caesar was quite mild -- although there were a number of Gauls with only one hand who might disagree. Indeed, but in this case, Caesar was conqueror, not quite the same as standing ruler. As we've already alluded to, he treated his Roman 'subjects' quite well... Regardless, the Roman view of the word Tyrant was different from its modern connotation. It simply meant someone who seized power in an illegal manner. In this respect, Caesar was most definately a tyrant from the ancient perspective.

I saw the previews for this show last night. It's set at the end of the Republic just after the death of Caesar and apparantly follows the rise of Octavian. From the rather short bit of information that we can get from a preview I must say that this looks rather impressive. Because of that its hard to judge the authenticity of costumes, sets, etc., but I'm hoping even the most hard core Romanophile will be pleased. It begins June 28, so we shall see.

Unfortunately the judges aren't big poetry guys... otherwise based on popular opinion, the poems would've finished much better. Alas.. if we ever do this again I think we will use some community input for the prizes.

I don't know what made me think of this, but Scanderbeg was apparantly a contemporary of the Romanian Vlad Tepes (Dracul), fighting for much the same goals for their respective countries. I wonder, had Bram Stoker chosen Skanderbeg as the basis for his novel a century ago, would that name be an infamous part of popular culture. Although it doesn't sound as if Scanderbeg was quite as, how shall we say, brutal as his northern neighbor.

Indeed, I cannot argue on Cato's behalf because of my own personal admiration of Caesar, but I still think its important to view the man from an ancient perspective. He was trying to preserve something that had worked (albeit with some rather tenuous situations) for over 400 years. Though his methods were foolhardy certainly did help bring about the ultimate demise of the institution he loved (or did he just love himself?).

Cato was a classical hero to many of the founding fathers of the United States, and 'his Republic' helped form the basis of the United States constitution. As a 'fan' of Caesar, I certainly don't have any love for Cato, but the man was a staunch idealist with a backbone that is sorely lacking among many modern politicians.

It's a Microsoft Excel file. If you don't have MS Office, than you can download Open Office

Well here's the file. Germanicus suggested some improvements (like additional time line headers) but doesn't have the time to put it all together. I'm sure he doesn't mind if someone wants to make modifications and repost. This is an excellent little survey, I once did something similar for a school project regarding US presidents (many moons ago ) and this sort of thing appeals to me. Thanks Germanicus! Emperor List

Since there are no problems with the hosting of re.net, my guess is that he isn't much of a technical expert and could be completely baffled by whatever is wrong with his php forum. Its my understanding that he isn't a regular poster on the forum anyway.. maybe he simply isn't concerned about it?

I wouldn't mind doing it, but my contribution would sort of defeat the purpose of this very site. I will however, openly promote and support any said project.

There is also speculation that Sulla dubbed him Magnus in a semi sarcastic effort. The youthful Pompeius may have had an inflated ego, but he did prove valuable to the dictator.

With Livy, we always need to stop and think... his numbers aren't always realistic, and perhaps his description of an event may be a little slanted, but I've never seen any reason to believe he would report complete fiction. (Not including the earliest history of Rome, which was anyone's guess even in Livy's time) The events of the Second Punic War would've been reasonably known to him and to other writers, so the events he described surely happened. Fortunately, in the case of the Punic Wars, Livy probably drew heavily from Polybius' work, which is generally considered among the more scholarly of Roman Historians. Unfortunately, there is so much lost ancient literature regarding this period. Polybius' entire account of those years is lost, (though likely preserved in part by Livy). The work of Dio Cassius is fragmented, and that period is also mostly lost, and so on and so forth.

Please post the spreadsheet Germanicus... I'd really like to look at your study

I've won that lottery a few times as well. I have yet to see any money though

I suppose the correct question would be... was there any images on the arch? Since the great majority of the arch is lost we will likely never know all the details, but I suppose (comparing it to the surviving structures of Titus and Severus) we can make the assumption that there were some images/sculptures.

Oops, I guess I left out a vital piece of information. The Phillipus we are discussing, the one of 56 BC that Fatboy detailed a bit, was not actually featured on the coin in question in any way other than his name. The images are those of his ancestors described above.

The coin of 56 BC was minted by the man you mention. Moneyer's of that era often glorified a famous ancestor for political/propoganda reasons, much like they would issue coinage reflecting a great conquest or deed. His family was thought to have been descended from Ancus Martius (the Marcia family), the traditional 4th king of Rome (and the image on the obverse of the coin). In addition, the aqueduct shown on the reverse signifies another Marcia ancestor, Q. Marcius Rex, who was responsible for the building of the Aqua Marcia while Praetor in 144 BC. The equestrian mounted above the aqueduct is a representation of the actual statue of Marcius Rex that adorned the aqueduct. I'm not sure the reasoning for the connection to a King of Rome... a political taboo in Roman society... but it certainly shows Phillipus as an important and ancient player in Roman society.

This topic is better suited for another forum... or if it was posted by a regular member just taking a short break from historical pursuits. Keep in mind this forum is dedicated to discussion of ancient history... with Rome being the primary focus.

I've just read all my email and haven't seen any questions regarding the map. Mail can be sent to primuspilus@unrv.com.