guy

Interesting fact. Thank you. Here’s a depiction of the Carthaginian harbor from a previous post:

Here’s another article on the find. Apparently roads constructed with large stones laid in bands was unusual in Britain: https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/25/roman-road-hidden-for-2000-years-of-global-importance-say-experts-17633342/?ito=newsnow-feed

I know very little about the early Christian Church. It is interesting to see excavations in the area that confirm the importance of the early Christian movement in the area. https://arkeonews.net/roman-era-chambers-and-clay-offering-vessels-found-in-antiocheia-ancient-city-in-southern-turkey/ Here is a short video on Antioch. Although focusing on the early Christian Church, it is interesting, nevertheless:

Here is a rather disturbing article about the reason for the small number of bodies discovered in the Waterloo area despite the large number of dead: https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23071063.culloden-colonialism-ptsd-scotland-dark-secrets-bloody-battlefields/ Scientists May Have Found Where the Bodies of Waterloo Went | Discover Magazine

Here is the longer video:

Skeletons wearing Persian jewelry and dating to the 5th century BCE have been discovered in Sparta, Greece. The belief is that these were the remains of the Persian ambassadors murdered by the Spartans (as depicted in the movie “300” above). https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/10/21/archaeologists-discovered-a-number-of-skeletons-in-sparta/?amp

Here’s an excellent video about clothes in the late Roman Empire.

Another article on this wonderful inscription: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/one-of-longest-roman-inscriptions-ever-dug-up-in-uk-goes-on-display-for-first-time-in-1700-years-3883270

The Serbian city of Niš (ancient Naissus) was important in Roman history. A large army of Goths led by Cniva was defeated in AD 268 or 269 by either Gallienus or Claudius II. It was also the birthplace of Constantine I. A recent discovery of over 100 burial sites from the 4th and 5th century were found there. They offer interesting insights to early Christian life in that area: https://www.telegraf.rs/english/3572666-historic-discovery-in-nis-childrens-skeletons-hundreds-early-christian-graves-found-under-torn-down-house

Two large Roman inscriptions to go on display. Translation of the transcription: University of Leeds: 'Superstar' Roman inscription stones on display - BBC News

Here’s a good short on the war chariots in Britain:

The only more acoustic version I could find:

I know little about philosophy; less, about religion. But your premise is wrong (Judaism borrowing monotheism from Egyptians); therefore, your conclusions cannot be true.

We have had a few discussions before about the extent of the Roman Empire. (See below.) This breathtaking head of a sculpture of Augustus (at the British Museum) is unusual in many ways. It was found in Meroë, Sudan below the steps of a Kushite temple. The still-intact insert of eyes is unique and stunning. The background information is interesting, also: It is thought that after the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, the Roman Emperor Augustus tried to expand his control beyond Egypt to the neighboring Kushite Empire in modern Sudan. There, the Romans met fierce resistance and suffered some stunning setbacks. This sculpture head of Augustus is thought to be part of the war booty of a victorious Kushite raid. It was buried in front of a suspected Kushite temple of victory, possibly a symbolic reminder of the triumphant Kushite resistance to Roman incursions. (The head was found in 1912 by a British archaeological team and is currently housed in the British Museum.) After the death of the Kushite King in battle, the resistance against Rome was then led by his wife Queen Amanirenas (reign 40-10 BCE) and their son. Their son was later also killed in battle, but Amanirenas continued the struggle for independence. Sometime in battle Amanirenas lost her eye. She was, however, still able to lead a stout resistance, forcing Rome to come to a negotiated peace. Unlike Boudicca of the Celtic Iceni or Zenobia of Palmyra, Amanirenas was able to resist the might of Rome and force Rome to recognize the independence of her people. Here is Strabo's account of the Roman-Meroitic War from "Geography: Book XVII 54." He refers to Amanirenas as Candacê. https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/amanirenas Amanirenas - Wikipedia Unpublished script for a video about the Roman-Meroitic war : Sudan (reddit.com) https://smarthistory.org/head-of-augustus-at-meroe-kush/ LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XVII Chapter 1 (§§ 25‑54) (uchicago.edu)

Another article on this find: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63240648

Another great mosaic has been found. This one was found in Syria and dates to the fourth century AD. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-syria-rare-roman-mosaic-rebel.html

A pair of Levi’s jeans from 1880s found in an abandoned mine in New Mexico sold for $87,000 at auction Quote from the WSJ: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11307191/Pair-Levis-1880s-denim-archaeologist-New-Mexico-shaft-sell-87k.html

I imagine that many of the worst floods came after a tsunami after a volcanic eruption. There was severe flooding damage, for example, after the eruption of Vesuvius In AD 79. The recent eruption of the volcano on Stromboli, an island off the coast of Sicily, has created a mini-tsunami. https://nypost.com/2022/10/10/italys-stromboli-volcano-erupts-causing-mini-tsunami-video/amp/

Falcon remains. Summary: It is interesting that an Egyptian cult persisted so late in Roman history, long after Christianity was firmly entrenched in the Empire. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/720806 https://www.sci.news/archaeology/berenike-falcon-shrine-11268.html https://www.archaeology.org/news/10913-221007-egypt-falcon-shrine https://www.livescience.com/ancient-egypt-falcon-temple

Here’s a nice short about the forgotten emperor important to the preservation of the Roman Empire during the Third Century Crisis.

The Romano-Gallic Empire lasted fourteen years and was ruled by five accepted rulers: Postumus (AD 260-269) Marius (269) Victorinus (269-271) Tetricus I (271-274) with his son Tetricus II as Caesar (273-274) An important usurper was Laelianus (AD 269) who was unsuccessful against Postumus. Another usurper, until recently unrecognized and relatively unknown, was Domitianus (271). It is recent numismatic evidence that has confirmed the existence of Domitianus. The background story is fascinating. The first coin of Domitianus II was discovered. This is the original Domitianus coin found in 1900. This was the first coin of this emperor and its authenticity was questioned. It was thought to be a retooled forgery. In fact, it was soon "misplaced" at a local museum in Nantes, France. It was only rediscovered more than a century later. So, the debate about the existence of Domitianus II was unresolved ... until a second example was found a century later in an unrelated hoard in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire: Second Domitianus coin found in 2003 in the Calgrove hoard: Eventually, even a third example of a coin of this emperor was found in a hoard in Bulgaria. This is a very readable article below on this mysterious emperor. Domitian II – the Lost Roman Emperor – Antigone (antigonejournal.com) Here is a previous post of about the numismatic evidence of this emperor from more than a decade ago:

A late Roman-era ford has been discovered during excavation for water works in Evesham. At this point, the exact date of the ancient ford has not been determined. It may be related to the nearby Great Whitcombe Roman Villa (about 30 km or 25 miles away). https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/suspected-roman-ford-unearthed-near-evesham-during-waterworks?format=amp

I believe you are correct that the Romans captured Ctesiphon five times. Three of the times was during the Parthian Empire: Trajan (AD 116), Avidius Cassius (164), and Septimius Severus (197). Twice during the Sassanian Empire: Carus (283) and Galerius (299). The Parthian Empire was a decentralized feudal state, so the capture and destruction of Ctesiphon was less meaningful for the Parthians. The Sassanians, on the other hand, were more centralized, so the capture of Ctesiphon had a much greater impact on the Sassanian Empire. These defeats by the Romans were not total and complete, however. They were also early in the Sassanian Empire's history. They quickly retook Ctesiphon and rebuilt the city. By AD 637, the Sassanian Empire had been gravely weakened after decades of relentless wars with the Byzantines. The capture of Ctesiphon by the emergent Arab forces was a devastating fatal blow to an already-weakened Sassanian Empire. Because of the lack of a centralized authority and strong leadership, the Sassanians were unable to mount a capable resistance and quickly fell.

I imagine that the capture of the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon was the death knell of the Empire. Without the benefit of the economic and political center of Ctesiphon, the rest of the Empire withered and soon collapsed. The Byzantine Empire probably survived because Constantinople remained intact, allowing the Byzantine Empire time to coordinate the rearming and rebuilding the Empire. Once the Byzantine capital of Constantinople fell in 1453, however, there was little hope of a Byzantine resurgence.

That’s an interesting question. Looking at the conquest by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century AD of the Western Hemisphere might shed some insights. The Spanish had a much smaller force that was equipped with modern weaponry. They faced vastly numerically superior forces that used premodern weaponry made of wood, stone, copper, and bronze. The indigenous tribes were stunned by the presence of horses, steel armor, swords, cannons, guns, and crossbows. The Arabs didn’t have these technological military advantages over their foes. The Arabs frequently didn’t suffer from such numerical disadvantages, either. The Spanish brought new diseases (especially smallpox) that worse-than-decimated the indigenous peoples they conquered. This made the vulnerable and weakened indigenous people more easily subjected. Disease may have played a role in the Arab conquest. The sources are unclear but the Arabs may have benefitted from the Plague of Justinian. The Spanish were able to recruit local tribes to fight with them. This was especially important for the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs who were loathed and feared by the surrounding tribes. This factor was, in fact, important in the Arab conquest of their enemies, including the Sassanians, Byzantines, as well as the Visigoths. The Arabs, for example, were able to elicit support from aggrieved Christian minorities against the Byzantines. The Arabs also had the advantage of facing Byzantine and Sassanian Empires that had weakened each other after decades of bloody fighting, leaving these Empires both economically and militarily exhausted. Like the Spanish, the Arabs were an impassioned and organized military force energized by an ideology. Most importantly, however, they both were able to exploit vulnerabilities in their enemies. Early Muslim conquests - Wikipedia This looks like a good book on the topic: