Princeps

Seriously though, the death penalty is all about vengeance and expediance. No amont of social conditioning can change society, imho. Countless civilisations throughout history have proved this. They used to feed thieves to ravenous lions in Rome. They still chop peoples hands off in some parts of the world nowadays. Even an agonisingly slow death cannot stop homosexuals in the middle East from acting upon their natural imperatives. Religion did stem the tide for a while there, but in today's society it just doesn't cut it anymore. I don't want to sound too "1981", but genetic manipulation is the way forward, especially as the "sound of mind" tend to realise what a $h!tty world this can be and subsequently procreate less, whereas the dregs of society are the ones who spawn more offspring in their own image. It's a downward spiral I tells ya! (rant over).

I would like to apologise if any of my posts have been off the mark. I agree with your sentiments. Being a relatively new member I don't know what past standards were, but I do try and keep my posts relevant and devoid of spam (ok, the ninth legion was not the best legion, but I tend to do most of my historical reading around individuals as opposed to institutions). My first post was also slightly OT, being about body art, but that was what brought me here in the first place, and it was inspired by my love of Imperial Roman history. As far as spelling and grammar goes, I always do my best. I don't generally resort to a spell checker of thesaurus, but I do try to keep it as accurate as possible and easy to read too. There are always going to be valid reasons for linguistic mistakes (secondary languages, medical conditions etc), but I believe that a lack of respect for this venue is most definately not a valid reason for laxity. p.s, I have also suffered from depression in the past, which lead to insomnia (a vicious circle). I found that excercise was the best treatment for me. It brings a feeling of self-worth and achievement that few other things can match (in my experience). It has also been proven to increase the flow of endorphins and other feel good hormones to the brain and throughout the body. Consequently I now jog 24km every week, it was the best decision I ever made.

The ninth legion!

Yeah, but clever kids always think that they are super intelligent. Just because, for example, they know how to differentiate, or can solve complex quadratic equations, and their mother can't. The fact that they learned how to do it last week, and their parents left school 26 yrs ago, somehow never seems to affect their egos.

Yeah, but he did sanction it though. He wasn't stupid enough to try and force it onto the consulate and the population as a whole, but the benefits he afforded to converts made it very attractive, and his official stamp of approval made mass conversion possible.

I have a bad feeling that they'll just plough straight through it. I'm gonna drive along there before that happens to check it out.

I am usually up for a game, be it a 10min blitz or a 1 move per day. PM or post in this thread if u want to play.

Caesar was known to use tweezers to remove unwanted hair. Barbarians on Trajans column were depicted as shaggy and unshaven, whereas the legionarries were clean cut, so yeah, I'd assume that is a reasonable hypothesis.

I see your point, maybe the Tetrarchy wasn't the best idea (But you can't argue with the way Diocletian became Emperor!)

Western citizens convicted in non-Western nations are always "clearly innocent". (not that I agree with the harsh sentence, I used to smoke a bit myself).

I'm slowly devouring the info in the Emperors list, I've seen a few grammatical/linguistic errors so far. I will post them in this thread if there is any chance of them being corrected. If not just say the word and I shall cease and decist. (p.s, I don't want to seem like an ass, but this site is very well presented with extremely accurate info, it seems a shame to have grammatical errors included in the text). From Severus (very near the bottom of the page)- Severus army, torn between their loyalty of two emperors then mutinied. When even Severus's praetorian prefect turned against him and started promising bonuses to men who would change their allegiance Severus faith was sealed. Little else he could do but withdraw quickly and so he fled with the remaining men that were loyal to him to Ravenna. Maximian pursued him with his troops, cought up with him in Ravenna, and with false promise of safty convinced Severus to surrender. Severus' to Severus' fate caught safety

I really like this forum, because like everyone here I enjoy Roman history. There is lots of great info to be found here. The one thing that I don't like is that there isn't all that much traffic. Are there any similar forums out there that you can reccomend? (I'm not planning on blowing out this forum, but I would like a similar place to visit after I have read the new posts here). Also, what other non-history related forums do you visit? (just out of curiosity).

The main reason I ask is because I have to write a 7000 word short storyfor an anthology called "The cold hand of betrayal". I have a couple of ideas, but whenever I write a story I usually try to find as many historical references as I can. Bear in mind that short stories need a twist, so I'd prefer scenarios where you don't instantly predict the outcome. I would also prefer well documented situations. Thanks for any help you guys can come up with.

Don't know if you've seen this, but I found it very interesting. Probably old news to most of you, if that is the case I apologose in advance. http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm

Yeah I know, but still...

Oh well, it is a shame. Apparently a lot of Roman historians consider him to be the last great Emperor (though I never really saw what marked him as above average). I assume a lot of you guys have seen the "I, Caesar" programmes by Seventh arts? They are repeating them on the history channel this week. I think Justinian is on Friday if anyone has time to catch it. Oh yeah, I think you are being a bit pedantic by not including Julius Caesar on the list

I can't find "Justinian" on the Emperors list. I dunno if he ever wnt by another name, maybe that is what has me confused (or maybe the list doesn't stretch to his reign). How far does the list go? Have I overlooked his entry or something?

I am not a historian. My profile can be summed up like this- 24 year old heterosexual male student living in the UK. 176cm, 79kg, athletic. I enjoy painting, jogging, reading, and drinking at weekends. I am currently single. That's the basic info anyway.

Mine is this statue. Not for aesthetic reasons, but for symbolic reasons. Aesthetically I like this one of Augustus. I think it's the hood that I like the most, it conveys that austere image that Augustus was so keen to prolifigate.

My sentiments exactly. My name is Jonny. I am a 24yr old student of architectural technology. I live in Newcastle, a city in the North-East of England. My hobbies include jogging, painting miniatures, clubbing, and drinking vodka. My main interest is Roman history, particularly Imperial Rome and the Emperors (I am strictly amateur, but whan I finish my studies I may take some kind of night class).

Wow, you certainly know your stuff Primus. I don't have much to add to the debate, apart from "Taccitus - The annals of Imperial Rome" is possibly the greatest book I have ever read, I see you're also a fan. I really wish that his accounts of the Germainc wars had survived beyond antiquity, as I found the brief passages in his more famous works to be the most interesting parts.

fwiw, I think "Princeps" translates to "First among equals".

Despite my total admiration for him, I voted tyrant. I think the reasons are pretty obvious and I'm suprised most have voted in his favour. I'll expand on my reasoning when I finish work.

I went for Caesar. Based on what I know of Roman history, I am astonished that Germanicus hasn't got any votes. If the question had been "who was Romes greatest military leader" I would have picked Corbulo, for his triumph at Actium (I think it was Corbulo, but I have a nagging feeling that Corbulo may have been the guy that Nero forced to commit suicide. Maybe he did both actually). Anyway, I would have gone for the victor at Actium, whoever it was.

I've always felt a bit of a bias towards Hadrian (I live 20km from Hadrians wall, in Northern England). Despite my (mispelled) username, I would go for either Augustus, Dioclettian or Constantine. Diocletian had great foresight. He disbanded the Praetorian guard, and instituted the Tetrarchy, both inspired moves on his part. Constantine was the first truly Christian Emperor. I am not Christian myself, but I am impressed at how he used Christianity as a very effective tool. That battle in particular (the one where the bridge was burned, I think it was against Maxentius) where he claimed to have had a vision from God was a master stroke. H ehad arguably the greatest influence of all of the Emperors on Western Eueopean culture, and for those reasons he is greatest in my eyes. The name Augustus speaks for itself, I won't bore you with why I think he was so great. If Caesar had ever been Emperoe, he would be up there too. I'll go for Constantine, for the reasons stated earlier in this post.