DecimusCaesar

Good point about the Carthaginians, they should have had the sacred band defending Carthage instead of Iberian style Mercenaries that Hannibal would have employed during the Second Punic War. The Gauls did look too dirty, odd for a people famed for their cleanliness according to Ammianus Marcellinus.

Thanks Pertinax!

It's mind-boggling when you consider population growth in only a few decades. To think that America's population has grown from 100 Million to 300 Million from 1915 goes to show how improved living conditions, food and medicine has caused an explosion in population. Britain's population around a few years before the Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England by the Normans numbered a little over a million I think - a thousand years later and it's around 80 Million people in the UK today (I think).

Well we had David Irving with his holocoust denial theories and then we have Anatoly Fomenko with his Bronze Age/Classical/Medieval denial theories. It's strange to think that so many intelligent people believe his theories. Chronology isn't 100% accurate but it is bizare to claim that Human Civilisation is only 1,000 years old. What on earth does Prof.Fomenko think occured before this era? Does he have a stone age theory?

Great link Pertinax! I wonder how much of the stuff they had were imported as I have read that the Sumerians depended on importing materials from their neighbours, would this have included ingredients for food or just raw materials like wood etc?

Thanks FC!

This is Good News! Several other sites in Britain have been nominated as well but I'm not so sure what those ones are. I have the 'Rome's Northern Frontiers' Book as well Pertinax, it's a good read.

His theories aren't very scientific. In a way he's saying that all scientific tests carried out by archaeologists and the research by scholars for several decades is incorrect and that he is right. He has basically set up a theory where he says that no amount of research by historians or other scientists can be correct, documents, archaelogical finds, scientific dating techniques are all faked so nobody can question his theories. That is the exact opposite of scientific research - you can't claim your own ideas as been 100% truth if they have not been completely accepted by the scientific and academic communities. Fomenko even says he is not a historian, just a mathematician, so there is no way he could have studied all documents, archaelogical finds etc that are from the Ancient/Medieval era as they are just too numerous. His ideas seem to be catching on though as another mathematician has written a book supporting his ideas. The rest of the scientific and historical society have gathered to write a book criticising his theory, the book is based on research gathered by other historians, mathematicians, physicists etc Fomenko himself is a strange figure. He is a renowned mathematician who has written several books on mathematical theories, but he is also known as a Russian Nationalist (strange that according to his book a Russian Empire ruled Europe and numerous famous figures were Russians) and he is also known for his hatred of historians and history, which he has criticised as being ' ruled by emotions' and for not being scientific enough. Either way he has gathered a lot of support and even a world's Grestest Chess player is his disciple.

Then I am sure that you won't like the work of Anatoly Fomenko: History: Fiction or Science? I have never read his book but I had come across refrences to it across the internet for several weeks. I thought it was a joke to begin with, then I realised that this guys books have sold millions of copies in Russia (supposedly). Read the reviews on Amazon if you want to see something funny/depressing. I wonder how many of those reviews are genuine and how many have been written up by Fomenko's supporters. If Fomenko is right then we have all been studying a fictional Empire that is a product of the minds of the Sixteenth century

I had no idea that Peter Weller (of Robocop fame) was an art historian. Seeing as this program looks at the architecture of the ancient world it might provide something new and interesting. Unfortunately I don't have the History Channel any more so I cannot view it.

Perhaps the Senones weren't the unwieldy horde that they are made out to be. Livy says that the Celtic soldiers approach to Rome from Clusium was discplined and that they did not attack any village on the way there, saying that their wrath would be directed towards the Romans. The Hoplite army was still in use by the Romans at this time and as a result it was not the flexible fighting army of the later Republic. The Celts also made use of Cavalry which would have been deadly to the Roman hoplites, especially if they used throwing javelins. Livy says that the Senones army was very large and numbered several thousands, if this were true then maybe an all out charge by a large band of Celtic warriors might have broken the Roman line. Perhaps the Romans lost because they were outnumbered.

Early Greek Culture of the Bronze Age was somewhat influenced by the cultures of the near east and Egypt. The architecture ( the columned buildings - based on those from Egypt) the writing, Linear B made use of hieroglyphic symbols like Egypt, their arms and armour were similar to those used throughout the Near east (Chariot Warfare of the Hittites and Egyptians) although there were some infuences from the north of Greece in these armour styles. The Cultures of about 1600-1100 BC were part of the first globally connected culture in history - their art is a testament to this even if some other aspects of their culture were not. The Greeks had contact with their near eastern and Egyptian neighbours writing Akkadian in cuneiform script for diplomatic purposes. These foreign contacts would have influenced Greece, but even so, they still only had a minor influence on the country. Many other aspects of Greek society would have been home-grown.

A bit late, but better late than never. Happy Birthday Longbow!

Many modern historians such as David Starkey are calling for historians to take this approach, especially in schools. He and Simon Schama say that more emphasis should be made on the characters and the story of history to make children and teenagers intrested. They have often criticised modern history books as being nothing more than footnotes. Starkey even suggested that they should put the footnotes at the top of the page and the narrative in the bottom as the footnotes far outweigh the text. They both believe that more in-depth academic history should only be taught to those who go to study the subject in university. I personally enjoy narrative histories but I also like a few monographs if I want to learn more about the society or military etc. I should like to read more biographies as I don't read much of those.

It kind of reminds me of the pictures I've seen for the new Robin Hood series on the BBC. All the costumes and the hairstyles are modelled on modern stuff, while other costumes look as if they belong in a sci-fi show. It's a tendency in a lot of modern tv shows and films to go for modern styles or stuff that is recognisable to a lot of people. This is evident with 'Troy' where Wolfgang Peterson delibrately ignored historical costume reconstructions and asked the designers to 'make-up' their own clothes and armour. Even the sets were made to look recognisable as the set designers ignored the actual architecture of the Mycenaeans and went for the more recognisable Ancient Egyptian style.

I saw some footage of it playing on the news a while ago. Impressive to see all the armoured Saxons and Normans fighting against each other. I think it was the biggest event of its type ever made.

A few books that you could look up, especially for the later period of Roman Warfare ( AD 200-600) is the books by I. P Stephenson: Roman Infantry Equipment: The Later Empire and Romano-Byzantine Infantry Equipment. Each book has a chapter detailing the different types of equipment the Romans had. For instance one chapter would detail the evolution and use of helmets, another about swords, lorica segmentata, spears, missile weapons etc The author also tells how the Romans were equipment was influenced by other nations, like the helmets being influenced by Sassanian and Sarmatian helmets.

Thanks for the suggestion Pertinax! I had already begun downloading the demo. Needless to say it doesn't work. My computer's RAM, Processor, disk speed, disk space etc were all good enough, yet my graphics card wasn't up to it - it's too primitive. I think it's 64 MB when I need 128 MB. I haven't played any computer games for months so it is not that big a loss.

I once saw the method of making Sumerian style beer on television about a year ago or so. Anyone ever drank it? How does it taste?

Salve Jackson! Which has the better nose?

True, it is in the costumes and sets that the show really shines. The politics are simplified and it breezes through the various characters...at the end of the day I would watch HBO's Rome or Gladiator than the 'Ancient Rome' documentary. I have never seen the 'Caesars' TV series so I can't judge that, but compared with all other documentaries and TV series, 'Ancient Rome' is the most accuarte in apperance (weapons, armour, costumes, sets etc) and that is what I praise. As entertainment it is not very good (it is often quite cheap looking and it lacks characterisation and plot) but then again it is a documentary not a drama like HBO's Rome. Compared to the documentaries on the History or Discovery channel it is a lot better than them - those really are dumbed down. As for your comment that old documentaries were more in depth and intelligent than those today, I would have to agree with you. I was looking at 'In Search of the Trojan War' by Michael Wood, a documentary filmed in 1985. I quickly realised that the BBC wouldn't dare film a series like this today. Numerous scenes in the series sees Wood discussing archaelogical theories with scholars, discussing Hittite diplomatic texts and Mycenaean pottery. We see him in the library searching through and quoting huge academic tomes and standing above maps and charts discussing Bronze Age trading links. I would be shocked to see the BBC commision a series like this today, where the presenter does not dumb down the content and where he has a 10-minute conversation with an academic about Bronze Age pottery and material culture with no special effects or graphics.

Thanks for the link Pertinax...I have added the book to my wishlist and I will be getting it this Christmas!

I can't find a link anywhere to the demo that won't let you download it without subscribing to a site and I can't be bothered doing that...ah, well, I don't think my PC is good enough to play the game anyway. Maybe in the near future I'll have to buy a new PC.

I tried to play Caesar III again recently and the game wouldn't even install on my computer...hmmm, odd...

One that appears prominently in HBO's Rome is 'cac!' which needs no explanation.