DecimusCaesar

Very interesting, thanks for posting PP! I was reading about Carausius and Allectus quite recently in Guy De La Bedoyere's Roman Britain. It's a fascinating period in Romano-British history that is often ignored. I always find it odd how some documentaries (and even some history books) claim that Roman Britain suffered no wars after Boudica in AD 60. The defeat of Allectus led paved the way for Constantine I, considering it was his father Constantius Chlorus who was given command in the province.

I wish you a very late Happy Birthday Neil! I hope you had a good time.

I'm currently reading 'The Origin and Deeds of the Goths' by Jordanes, translated by Charles C. Mierow. The book was first published in 1908, but this is a reprint that was launched a few months back by Dodo Press. The link to the book is here . Jordanes is very interesting, even if his work is pretty questionable. The sections on Attila the Hun were informative, although he does lend far too much credit for victory at Chalons to the Visigoths rather than the Romans. Interestingly a new work claims that Jordanes belief that the Goths came from Scandza (Sweden) is false.

I was reading Mary Beard's blog a while ago when I came across a quote by British Historian David Starkey, he said: "The Roman empire is a greatly exaggerated virtue. That

I enjoyed Orwell's novels, but I don't read much fiction. I enjoy the novels of Frank Herbert, Bernard Cornwell, Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff and a few others.

I read it some years back. I really enjoyed most of it, although I did have to force myself to not skip the section where one man recounts a story of an affair. That part just dragged on for a long time. I also have a copy of the Don Quixote story on DVD.

There is an old 1968 film about the life of Belisarius called the Last Roman . The film stars none other than Orson Welles as the Emperor Justinian. Can't say I have seen it though, so I don't know if it is any good. But it is very hard to get a copy of it.

I saw some clips of it on Youtube, but the sound had been edited out (It was a fan's music video). Apparently it portray's Nero in a rather positive light. The actor who plays Nero looks nothing like the real man of course. It is safe to asume that the movie will play fast and loose with the facts, as films on ancient Romans tend to do.

Just came across this on Amazon. It looks interesting for those interested with the Late Republic's relationship with Parthia: The Defeat of Rome: Crassus, Carrhae and thr Invasion of the East The book's synopsis: In 53BC the Proconsul Marcus Crassus and 36,000 of his legionaries were crushed by the Parthians at Carrhae in what is now eastern Turkey. Crassus' defeat and death and the 20,000 casualties his army suffered were an extraordinary disaster for Rome. The event intensified the bitter, destructive struggle for power in the Roman republic, curtailed the empire's eastward expansion and had a lasting impact on the history of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It was also the first clash between two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. Yet this critical episode has often been neglected by writers on the period who have concentrated on the civil war between Pompey and Caesar. Gareth Sampson, in this challenging and original study, reconstructs the Carrhae campaign in fine detail, reconsiders the policy of imperial expansion and gives a fascinating insight into the opponents the Romans confronted in the East - the Parthians. Due for release in early 2008.

The book is by Robert Harris, the author of Imperium. If I remember correctly, the book follows an aquarius called Marcus Attilius who is sent from Rome to see why the Aqua Augusta has ceased flowing. While staying in the countryside and towns around the bay of Naples, he gets involved with a ex-slave turned millionaire called Ampliatus (I think I got that name right) who basically runs the town. Attilius lusts after Ampliatus's daughter Corelia, although he's resigned himself on never geting her as she's being married off to Ampliatus' ex-master. Attilius spends most of the book on the trail of the missing engineer of the local aqueduct after the man disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Along the way he meets Pliny the Elder and crosses paths with some of the seedier residents of the town. All the while he is convinced that something terrible is about to happen. I quite enjoyed the novel, it is very evocative and well written although it might be too slow paced for some. If I remeber, I don't think that Vesuvius blows its top until well over 300 pages into the book. Then again, the eruption is not the point. My only wish was that the characters be better developed - but other than that I really enjoyed it.

I'd really like a copy of that one too. The 'Barbarian migrations' book also looks rather interesting, even though it's slightly expensive. I still haven't got round to purchasing a copy of Adrian Goldsworthy's Caesar biography, and that's the least expensive of the books listed. I might get it soon.

I believe I saw "Barabbas" a long time ago. Was just another bad 60's movie, but it wasn't horribly soulless like the productions discussed above. There are copies of Barabbas available on DVD. I might get it one day if I have any spare change. While reading this thread I remembered a film that was even worse than USA network's Attila. If you ever come across 'Boudica' starring Alex Kingston floating around somewhere on the TV schedules then avoid it like the plague. It was dire in almost every way - from the plastic sets and costumes to the utterly nonsensical story. The film is more fantasy than history, with druids using magic powers to defeat the Romans, Boudica's daughter travelling through time to 21st century London, and children defeating Roman legions in battle.

Last I've heard is that all of the actors have pulled out of the film as well due to the writers strike. There is a good chance this project could be put on an indefinate hold.

It is a subject that's been covered in art on numerous occasions, but I quite like the depiction of Cincinnatus leaving the plow on the orders of the Senate. Cincinnatus This is not the image I originally wanted to post, as the painting I actually admired was the one by Felix Barrias, which won the Prix de Rome in 1844. Sadly I can't find a single copy of that image. This one is quite close in apperance to Barrias' painting, although unfortunately it is too small. If you want to see Barrias' painting there is a small black and white illustration in Phil Matyszak's 'Chronicel of the Roman Republic' pg. 60.

From Ancient Inventions by Peter James and Nick Thorpe: Following the conquest of Britain in AD 43, Roman legionairies took to tatooing and spread the custom throughout the empire. The art flourished until the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor. Early Christians marked their faces with the sign of the cross, but tattooing later came to be seen as a pagan practice; Constantine banned facial tattoos on the grounds that they disfigured "that fashioned in God's image".

I don't have the History channel, but I remember watching and enjoying a program called 'The Roman War Machine' back in 2000/2001. Of the ancient Roman programs that I have seen since, most have been rather inaccurate. Then again I must have missed out on some rather good shows over the years.

The Vandals were immortalised as destroyers after the Gordon Riots in London in 1780. The poet William Cowper used the term to describe those who attacked the supporters of the Catholic emancipation group. Cowper, who had been given a Church education had read about the sacking of Rome in AD 455, and he imagined the Vandals as sackers of the churches of the city. The word Vandal has since stuck in the English language to describe anyone who attacks or defaces property. Oddly enough the ancient Vandals were not renowned for their military prowess (having lost 20,000 warriors and their king in a battle against the Franks), and were certainly considered to be rather meek in comparison to the Goths or Huns. They would later prove that image wrong when they invaded Hispania, captured Carthage and sacked Rome.

Have a very Happy Birthday Doc!

Season's greetings to everyone at UNRV! Hope you've had a great day!

Have a Merry Christmas JP! Thank you for all your great illustrations over the year!

The cover does look very cool. I think the Trojan Wars have already been made into a comic book series called 'the Age of Bronze'. Here's a link to the main site - Age of Bronze Interestingly the author's have decided to make it as "Historically accurate" as possible by using actual archaeological reconstructions from the Minoan/Mycenaean period, so that the costumes and architecture are of the period.

I wasn't sure if Gauls ever served in Alexander's army. I knew that he faced Celtic peoples in the Balkans, but I never thought that Gauls served in his army. Wouldn't the coins have reached Gaul through trade with Greece and Macedon?

I read about this exhibit in a newspaper today. Looks very interesting. I always thought that these paintings looked like they were from the 18th century. It jsut goes to show how much the Classical world influenced the art of the time.

Has anyone here seen some of those old 'peplum' films of the 50/60's? Anything like Demetrius and the Gladiators, The Robe, Barabbas? I saw a few on TCM many years ago, but I can't seem to remember them very well. I do have some vague memories of a film set around the Colossus of Rhodes - with a Greek soldier being tortured by being put in a bell. I can't recall the film's name though. As for historical accuracy, I can over look it if the film is entertaining. My problem with Attila is that it has so many historical inaccuracies it might as well have been a fantasy film. The film simply does not look or feel like the Roman Empire in the mid fifth century.

I'd like to visit Diocletian's palace at Spit in Croatia, when it was at its height. I'd also like to see the Palaces at Ravenna, or maybe Hagia Sophia when the church was first built by Justinian. If I could see a battle, I'd might go with the Battle of Milvian Bridge, 28th of October AD 312.