DecimusCaesar

Excellent Article! When I first saw it I was rather shocked as I thought it referred to our very own Pertinax! You are very knowldgeable about this era PP, considering the other articles you've written on Commodus and the society of his times. They are all brilliantly written and very informative!

That one more nail in Richard Rudgley's theory that the Stone-agers were a peaceful bunch. He also said the same about Otzi the Iceman in the early days, before it was revealed that Otzi had indulged in some violence. Wasn't he actually killed by an arrow in the back?

This book might be useful. I think it's a number of Osprey books on ancient siege warfare (such as Greek and Roman Siege weaponry) being sold as one book: Besieged: Ancient Siege Warfare Hopefully that will be of some use to you.

It is strange that of all empires, it is the Roman that is the most imitated. After all, whether it was the Ottoman Turks of the sixteenth century, The Prussians of the eighteenth or the British and French of the nineteenth century, they all based themselves on Rome. Why Rome and not Greece? After all the Macedonians/Greeks created an Empire that ruled a large swathe of the Earth for centuries, and all this at a time when Rome was just a village. All in all, I think it comes down to symbols. The Roman images such as the Imperial Eagle with the lightning bolts in its claws has been imitated by numerous countries. So has the Fasces, the symbol of unity through strength; an image mostly associated with the Nazis today (Fascists) but it can still be seen in Government buildings in the US, Britain, France etc. The Greco-Roman architecture has come to be associated with power and wealth (what with banks and government buildings) and it is the the most obviously 'western' style of architecture. Similar to the way we associate Pagodas with the far east. It is these symbols and images that have endured in modern America, rather than the US being a copy of Rome in its hayday. As many have already pointed out, there were numerous significant differances between the two nations.

The Late Republic/Early Principate is arguably the juiciest era of Roman history. In trying to determine which form of government was the best you risk falling into the trap of thinking that the Republic HAD to collapse in order for the Roman state to survive (the old belief that the Romans would have destroyed themselves through civil wars if Octavian hadn't been made Princeps). Perhaps for the ordinary man in Rome, the Principate would have been preferable, seeing as certain Emperor's made attempts to win over the favour of the common man. For the Patricians and the rich members of the senate, the Republic would have been preferable as it would have been an oppurtunity to weild power, albeit briefly. No such oppurtunity existed in the Principate, unless the Emperor was overthrown. Therefore I believe that whatever form of government was best, it is all down to the social position of a person in Roman society.

I would like to see some books published on the Scholae Palatine and Auxillia Palatine of the Dominate era. Perhaps an Osprey one would be good, seeing as they have already published an elites title on the Praetorian Guards. This could be a great follow up to that title, seeing as the Scholae Palatine were founded by Constantine I after he'd disbanded the Praetorians. Another good book would be one about Roman Cataphracts and Clibanarii. There are quite a few books on the Roman Cavalry of the early empire but next nothing on the later period. Another good one would be a book following the developments of fashion through the Roman era, starting with the Pre-Republican era and ending with the Age of Heraclius (600s AD). It could show the developments of fashion, from togas and sandals to trousers and boots, as well as the differing hairstyles from certain periods, such as the beards and curly hair of the Hadrianic era through to the Shaved head 'Hunnic' style of later ages. I'm sure that a book of that type (which should be well illustrated) would show Rome's past to be more exotic and strange than we could imagine. It would also help to illustrate the amount of change that occured through the centuries; and therefore remind us that Romans didn't always wear kilts, sandals and lorica segmentata. If a book of that type was created it should be handed to future Hollywood directors, in the hope they'd create a factually correct representation of a certain era.

I'm not sure Imperial Eagle (aquila) standards were still in use by the army during Maxentius' age. By that time soldiers carried the Draco standard into battle.

The most importnat question is, can he turn wine into water or water into beer? If he can, then the party's on! :drunk:

Zeus had a change of heart when some hippies stuck flowers on his lightning bolts. These days he shoots rainbows down at mortals instead.

There seems to be an explosion of important archaeological discoveries these days...from the Neolithic to the Roman. Is it the excavation season for archaeologists in Italy? They are very lucky to come across these artifacts (Maxentius insignia, Gladiator murals etc) and palaces. Here's hoping this streak will continue.

I searched on Youtube on the hope of finding the documentary...Hmmm, hopefully they'll have it up some time soon. Either way I found this: Hadrian's Wall I'm sure Gaius Octavius will enjoy this!

Just seen it on BBC news right now. Oddly enough Dr. Julian Richards was interviewed and he said he was skeptical of the new theory. Even so, they said that excavations shall continue in the near future. They even suggested there might be more Neolithic villages in the surrounding countryside.

An amazing discovery! Hopefully this will solve many of the mysteries surrounding the construction of Stonehenge. I imagine Horizon might do a program on this discovery in the near future, perhaps hosted by Dr. Julian Richards (seeing as he is frequently associated with this site).

Same here! I was feeling tired so i went to bed earlier than usual...and I ended up missing the show. Hopefully Google videos will be kind enough to post the video in the near future.

Great to see that the Gladiator murals were rescued from the black market, considering the fate of the Etruscan tomb from a few months back. It's a shame to think that Rome's ruins are under threat from all sorts of things, including Tourists! Hopefully the archaeological and restoration groups will be able to repair any damages made to the buildings on the Palatine. As for the 8th Century palace, that looks like a very interesting find. Perhaps they will discover similar sites in the near future, that might extend Rome's monarchy even further back in time. It just goes to show that there might be some truth to the legends after all. Thanks for posting these stories Gaius!

Need to make a special note...Hopefully I'll be able to catch it. Thanks Pertinax!

If the Romans could use camels for warfare, I believe they could have harnessed them to do some agricultural work. Then again, that farmer might be using camels becuase they were the only animals available to him. Perhaps there were no horses or mules to be had.

It would have caused all sorts of social problems, I would assume. If the Romans began construction on numerous industrial factories, it would have lead to many slaves being junked by the state. They would no longer serve a purpose, as would many other members of society. This might have led to all sorts of rioting and social problems: ex-slaves developing in large gangs and turning against the state, the dominant position of the patrician class would be under threat etc. Sort of like what happened in the 18th Century with the Luddites and the numerous revolutions of the period. Imagine if the Romans could develop massively destructive weapons during the early years of the first millennium AD. Would it have caused catastrophic destruction to the low level population density of that time? After all, consider the deaths caused by industrial age weapons on the population of Europe during World War One...it was in the millions. Now imagine that same damage being caused by a primitive people with a completely different moral outlook on life. The Romans did have different attitudes to us, they saw mercy as a weakness, they glorified warfare etc. I wonder what those attitudes combined with industrial weaponry would have caused... Just like the First World War, the technology could develop faster than than social and moral attitudes. And this could cause all sorts of damage. Imagine if a Tyrant Emperor had that sort of weaponry at his disposal...would we be seeing uncontrolled killing sprees? Another problem you have to consider is this: to what extent would there be a growth in technology? Would we be seeing Roman Steam engines in AD 100? Electricty in AD 200? Would they develop automobiles? Sewing machines? Or would there be no significant jump in technology? The impact on history would have been less great if Romans could sew clothes at a faster rate, compared to having steam engines transporting people across the Empire. There are all sorts of problems you encounter when trying to tackle a question like this. But, perhaps it's better that Romans didn't make the necessary step to becoming industrialized. Perhaps their society, would have imploded under the strain of the changes, both technological and political that would have come with an industrial revolution. Then again, if they would have been successful...we might have had a better future.

I definately need a haircut! I haven't gone in weeks and it's starting to get a bit too long.

Congratulations on taking the first step to Blogdom! ( I have yet to start)

An excellent review Augusta! It's Really well written. It sounds like a great read on a very interesting character.

Does this mean that 2,000 years from now 'Cocktail' will be considered Gospel? Will we be reciting words from Jerry Maguire in Scientology temples?

Cameron starts the book with Diocletian in AD 284 and ends it with the sack of Rome in AD 410. She has written another book called 'The Mediterranean World in late Antiquity' which covers the period from AD 395-600. That is about 250 pages long, and it deals a lot with Byzantium rather than Ravenna or Rome.

I don't know if this has been mentioned on this site before, but they have released Asterix and the Vikings in the Cinema recently. Asterix et les Vikings at IMDb