Onasander

I remember reading that they had the ability to veto a peace treaty, is that true?

Ya, that's true. What a tough decision to make, which town to raze.

I've been getting them for a few years it seems, just seems this new one changed his tactics, mabey thier upgrades, like the agents from Matrix, Reloaded.

Thier not asking me for my credit card numbers or bank accounts, what's up with this new tactic?

So, this Rome series, your saying it's good? I never seen it.

Life must of been terrible for that soldier from that point on.

I feel that martial responsibilities of comprehending and choosing to stick to a rank and file system can only develope once survivalbility becomes a exclusive group activily, like in the desert tribes and early city states where subsistance and defence was no longer readily available to the lone homestead but rather only possible to the larger, socially minded human co-operatives. The greater the dependancy of the family on the group, the more willing was the soldier to put himself into formations that used the strength of those neighboring him in battle than his own capabilities, as well as put himself in harms way for thier defence. I'm sure there are are hundreds of varients humans used over thousand, if not hundred of thousand years of tribal warefare ofther than rank and file, it's just the rank and file proved itself the most succesful in early historical times to recent times, though by World War I, it had quickly lost it's favor over more dynamic and fluid formations.

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a series of outposts ahead of the walls? Like stables or a few dozen infantrymen holding ground valued to the enemy's operation or a roman offensive? A bend in a local waterway ahead of the wall, a naturally fortified hill, occupying the enemies traditional lines of communications, ect.

The expansion pack of Age of Empires I deals with this in one of it's senerios. Odenathus was assassinated by his wife Zenobia, who was later pimp slapped by Marcus Aurelius. I don't know much about Odenathus other than he was a client prince, known as the Duke of the East.

I'm sure if it's peacetime and thier new recruits, ya, the cherries went without slings, and after the drills, if they didn't perform to standard, got raped by thier seniors. But in actual combat, sling, slings, slings, and more slings. Thier slings had slings. I suspect the sling was the reason the romans tended to get the better of the hoplites, it obstructed thier local slashing movements when thier spears failed to keep the Romans away.

What kind of evidence would you need from that remote period of time? Texts? Mosaics? I don't think that stuff ever exsisted. Mabey if we find a frozen Mithra priest and thaw him out, he can give us some anwsers!

Quick question.... how do you convince a legion that it should be decimated?

I think even in battle you can duke it out even with a sling. It would make targeting so much easier, especially if your doing it one handed. Think about it, a sling loaded right under your armpit, hanging with some slack will be supported so much the better by the whole of your upperbody. You can either fight face foreward or easily turn your right sideforeward (but not left, the base would dig into the back and deny that direction of movement). Using a sling makes perfect sense, you wouldn't need hulk arms, can better target your opponent, weild your shield a lot easier since your not continously weighing it down with your spear and the three-four spears behind you (I can guarantee this is what happened more often than not, no matter how much their commanders would disapprove of it) as well as turning it vertical for regular marching. I see absolutely no reason why they wouldn't of had slings. I can see why they wouldn't mention it, it's not manly to write about such unheroic measures (many US army and Australian military schools refuse the right to trainees to use slings).

I just read an article recently in the Army Times (USA) that their building video stimulated rifle ranges within the Walter Reeds Medical Clinic (I think that's what it's called) for amputees to see if they can someday return back to work. Given that the casuality rate for a couple years of war in Iraq is barely over two thousand and I'm seemingly at more risk of dying in garrision than in the combat theater (honestly, every friday before we get off, we're given a safety meeting for the weekend.... I hear of more people dying from drunk driving or drowning in the Army than I read about combat deaths in the whole of the armed forces), I'm a bit more willing to stick my neck out on the line figuring so long as a got good cover and backup, even if I get hit, I'll still get the chance to recover, even if I lose a limb, and return to duty. If Luke Skywalker can do it, why can't I?

Or, you can outdo the moderators by stealing thier thunder and creating a superior class (population 1) by dazzeling the likes of me with superior essays, links and insights, and then you can laugh in the moderators faces when they try to humble you with the position of moderator in a effort to stem you ambitions. I would volunteer to be a moderator, but I would only want it in certain areas, like the legion or the Temple.... plus as another negative to the current regiem, I care not for proper speling, and if a topic gets to large to fast, I'ld stop reading it. Not to mention my sudden lack of internet in my place plays a factor (I'll remedy that here soon). In other words, I'ld be better off as a honored advisor instead of a fulltime moderator..... UNRVs first Tribune perhaps.

I recently had to carry a bunch of 4x4s over a miles, and from this experience, I couldn't help but wonder about those old hoplite soldiers weilding extreamly long spears, if pointed horizontally, even if rested on you buddy's shoulder infront of you, your own sholders, back, and calves are going to be hurting after a while. I'm pretty certain they must of had slings just as modern armies do for rifles, I remember Macheivalli complaining trying hoplite stances out, but finding it very uncomfortable..... I'm sure he could of managed it if it was properly slung.

What was the major differances between Iphicrates Shoes and Roman military Sandles?

Did the Romans maintain any forts ahead of static defensive lines like Hadrians wall? The more I think about it, the dumber it seems. They had to of maintained forts north of their walls.

I read in Brian Campbell's book the Roman Army that the first exclusively auxilary fort known within the Roman Empire is in Valkenburg, Holland, 40 A.D. Now, me's so dumb it never occured to me that the Roman's would ever of allowed, or for that matter, ever thought of this. How were independent Auxilary forces maintained, provided for, trained, and what of thier leadership?

I know that in Ethopia, until modern times the military there couldn't count! They came up with a system where everyone would bring a rock with them, drop it in a spot, then go into battle, come back, and then pick it back up. What was left in the pile was the casualties. They used this as a system of accounting in camp as well to make sure they had everyone. I'm reading the Histroy of Armenia, a isolated little Christian country itself. I'm having trouble understanding it the first read through, but so far it appears they went on a joint crusade with the Byzantines against the Iranians and convinced the Iranian Shah to convert.... I gotta read it again cause it's so very confusing. I don't know who's who, or when.

natural economy?

Hmmm, I don't remember.... just know that it did somehow.... oh ya, I was trying to do a search for that website someone asked for earlier, and found that stuff, it's somewhat related and is of interest in a weird paralle way.... ok, I'll be quite now.

Damn French, they missed his neck!

Flavius, Wargammer, come on, let's use roman era philosophy/ theology if we're going to debate religion. It's the right forum, but remember, their's plenty of Apologetics out there for varius christian stances, as well as later islamic and Jewish ones just perfect for this discussion. This is no place to make enemies, we can easily defend our personal religious views if we really choose to do so (but why?), but let's use a variety of interesting sources if we're to do so.

Decimation was used in cases other than desertion, I have a thread in the Religious forums about the Saint of the Infantry that describes this how it was done.