Primus Pilus

That's a good question. I'm afraid my personal education in Greece is terribly weak compared to that of the Romans. A great deal of research would be needed to get going. Well that, and there is still a ton of work to do here I guess what that means is... we have no timeline. I'd also like to do a medieval and American history site as well, but again, that is some time off.

LOL, well it's a bit more involved than that, but adding the name Caesar certainly helped legitimize Octavian. Remember, Caesar was a god I believe all of Alexander's generals were Macedonian, but I certainly could be wrong. Off the top of my head, his generals were Hephaistion (who died before Alexander did), Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, Nicator, Ptolemy.

Octavian was Caesar's heir and took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. In so doing, the people, who loved Caesar, immediately viewed Octavian with additional interest and support. Alexander was Macedonian, but not how we think of it today. In the ancient world, the Macedonians were of the same Dorian stock as the Greeks. Today, the words get jumbled into arguments of racial and ethnic claims to Alexander, but Macedonians were Greek.

I don't know if it would've fragmented permanently like what happened with the Macedonian generals after Alexander, but without Octavian, and the Caesar name, there certainly wouldn't have been an easy transition. I think civil wars would've continued, along with social disorder for an indeterminable amount of time. The Senate may have been able to wrest control, but it would've been only periodic, mixed in with terms of control under various great generals. Either way, hope for the Republic was dying. Augustus at least preserved the Roman state. Another couple generations of continued strife may have seen the collapse of the 'empire' long before it established itself as we've come to know it.

Dates are important. The legionaries serving in Judaea in the early 1st century AD were mostly Italian and Gallic.

Archaeologists have found strong evidence that wheat and barley were refined into cereals 23,000 years ago, suggesting that humans were processing grains long before hunter-gatherer societies developed agriculture. The findings, including the identification of the earliest known oven and hence the oldest evidence of baking, were described in a recent issue of the journal Nature. "This is an observation of key progress in human society, as the beginning of baking was likely a major step forward in nutrition," says author Ehud Weiss, a postdoctoral researcher in Harvard University

Construction workers in the western German city of Cologne have discovered a priceless Roman-era Venus statue, the director of the city's Roman-Germanic Museum said on Monday. The 1 600-year-old find, unearthed at a depth of five metres during digging for a canal shaft, was "extremely rare for the entire Roman period in Germany", said Professor Hansgerd Hellenkemper. The figure, which is missing its head and legs, features a nude torso of carrara marble. "Because there were neither thermal baths nor temples in this region, we assume that the Venus belonged to a wealthy estate," Hellenkemper said.... Full Article @ IOL

Yes, I've read those. The first is an exceptional book. Tying in the 'Arthur' legend to Roman Britain was very well done, though I prefer the early books to later in the series. There is a great deal of Roman era historical fiction, but unfortunately the author pool is quite limited. Still there are some very good ones. I'm partial to Colleen McCullough's 'First Man in Rome' series, not only because its brilliant, but because of the subject matter... Marius, Sulla, Caesar and the Fall of the Republic. Here's a list of many books in no particular order. Most authors at least are listed even if all their books aren't. If I've left anyone out, please let me know. Roman Fiction Books

The Celts: A History I have always been woefully ignorant of the Celts. In a desperate attempt to remedy that malady, I bought Ellis' book. There is also a certain overlap between Celtic and Roman histories, and I felt as a Romanophile I needed to know something about the other side. Ellis first tackles the subject of the Celt's alleged illiteracy. He then outlines several sectors of Celtic society. He then offers some examples of Celtic high cultural achievements. Finally, he gives us a sketch of Celtic history from distant origins to Christian conversion.... ...read the full review of The Celts: A History by Peter Berresford Ellis

Thanks, Danno. Sounds good to me. Btw, just as a reminder to anyone who visits UNRV. Please keep in mind that the articles are written without the input from an outside proofreader or editor. If anyone has ever written anything before, you know how difficult it can be to sometimes spot what seems like the most obvious errors. Self-proofreading just doesn't always do the trick, so corrections, whether they be spelling, grammar or blatant historical issues, are encouraged and welcome.

Ahh, took me a bit to find it, but it was in a 'did you know'. I honestly can't remember if I wrote that. Those are just little tidbits that we find for a little added thing on each page. Some are written, some are borrowed from existing documents. Still if you have a suggestion for an edit I'd be glad to update it

Higher ranking officers were likely educated in Greek. Just the common legionary serving in the area at the time were likely Latin speakers.

Osco = typo not a translation. I don't speak Italian. As for self-contained... meaning exactly what it says. Its rules and structures were completely within Oscan, and not necesarilly filled with borrowed or adapted pieces of other cultures. Basically a poor choice of words me thinks. Help me out with an edit and I'll be happy to change it.

Mummy hair has revealed the first direct evidence of alcohol consumption in ancient populations, according to new forensic research. The study, still in its preliminary stage, examined hair samples from spontaneously mummified remains discovered in one of the most arid regions of the world, the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Peru. The research was presented at the 5th World Congress on Mummy Studies in Turin, Italy, this month. "It is well known that immediately following ingestion, ethanol can be measured in any body fluid, as well as the expired air in our breath. Detecting exposure to alcohol days, months, or even years later is a more difficult task. You need to find direct, long term biomarks," Larry Cartmell, Clinical Laboratory Director at the Valley View Hospital in Aida, Okla., told Discovery News. via Discovery

A ring worn by worshippers faithful to an ancient Celtic god during the Roman occupation of Lincolnshire has been found. The second century finger ring is just the latest of around 20 silver rings found over the past year with the letters TOT inscribed in them. It is thought that the letters represent the Celtic war god Toutatis and might have been worn to show membership of a tribal cult dedicated to him. Toutatis is often invoked by characters in the French cartoon series Asterix - where tribesmen battle oppressive Roman forces.... More @ Lincolnshire Echo

Roman remains and a gravestone of "national importance" have been discovered during an archaeological dig in the middle of Gloucester. The discoveries - which included the skeletons of five Romans, the cremated remains of three other people, plus Roman and medieval pottery - were made underneath the former Esso petrol station on London Road. The recent excavation also turned up what could prove be a highly unusual find - a gravestone for a 14-year-old slave boy called Martialis. City archeologist Richard Sermon said: "We are very excited about the tombstone. If it does turn out to be a tombstone for a slave, this is quite rare. These finds are of national importance." More @ The Citizen

I can tell you that your reviewed books are receiving some traffic Ursus, so thanks for the additions. I certainly look forward to more reviews. The more the section grows, it's inevitable that more folks will start talking about it

Replicas are certainly easier to get than originals. At least you don't have to worry about forgeries. Unfortunately, other than ebay or googling, I wouldn't know where to look.

Bath's position as a flourishing town in Roman times has been reinforced, thanks to discoveries made during an ambitious excavation project. A two-year dig near the Royal Crescent has unearthed Roman burial sites and buildings, and allowed archaeologists to piece together how the most important road in early Roman Britain cut through the city. The excavation by the Bath Archaeological Trust also revealed the Georgian and Victorian history behind three former coach houses in Crescent Lane.... From The Bath Chronicle

Welcome Gnaeus, glad to have you

Really, the 'nobility' has always served in some capacity. They just had, and in some cases still have the luxury of command positions that aren't always available to the average grunt.

Christianity changed immensely in that time period and it needs more than this forum to truly lay it all out. However, among the most significant of changes was the shift from a small regional cult based on the teachings of the Christ, to that of an aristrocratic system paralleling that of the empire itself. Initially the religion was a simple cult of faith. As time passed and the word spread, the religion grew from a secretive underground 'club' to that of an organized governing body, complete with elected or appointed magistrates and even a figurehead 'ruler'. Theology was debated intensely by the ancient Christian founders and details on rules and organization were hammered out to make the religion more accessable, exclusive or powerful depending on the circumstances. The word of the one 'God' became muddled by this aristocracy and was almost secondary to the original teachings of Jesus. Pagan traditions, stories and holidays were altered or adapted to become part of Christianity (ie the winter solstice becoming Christmas, etc.) The adoption of patron Saints to spiritually oversee various daily functions in the hearts and minds of the people helped ease the transition of replacing the polytheistic gods who originally occupied these roles. Resistant pagans to the monetheistic way could look at Christianity as a less abrupt change than it would've been in its original form. Christianity also altered from that of strict non-violence, to becoming a rallying cry for Constantine in his civil war, and the original peaceful teachings were corrupted into symbols of war. The popularity in the legions of the similar cult of Mithra was fairly easily supplanted by that of Christianity, making the Roman military a virtual army of God. Though this is much later in history, the Christian crusades of the middle ages are a far cry from the original teachings of Jesus. Still though, it shows the process between its founding and the crusades that transformed the organized religion into an aggressive force dictating rules, viewpoints and absolute non-tolerance, rather than spreading the simple teachings. By the fall of the west, the Roman government had collapsed, and though we like to think that suddenly all that was Rome just ceased to exist, it simply isn't true. The aristocracy of the empire was replaced by that of Germanic kings, sure, but the ethical code and law of the common man continued to be dictated by the church. One certainly can't blame the faith for that, as it was the corruption of men who got involved and not the teachings of Jesus that were changed. However, the way Christians lived and behaved in the 5th century AD was certainly a far cry from that of the 1st.

Welcome to the forum agamemnon. I haven't seen it yet, but certainly sounds interesting. Thanks!

I, Claudius, the BBC adaptaption of Robert Graves book is excellent. If I remember right it's a 9 hour or so production. Technically not a 'movie' but well done nonetheless.

I certainly can't disagree with Dy-nasty's choices. I would, however put Adrianople first, simply because it was a decisive back breaker. The other two were recovered from, and in the case of Cannae, actually made Rome stronger in the end. (The entire war that is, obviously the battle itself didn't help )