Emperor Goblinus

My first language is English. I can read some Latin, and I can read and speak some French.

Just curious, but is the good doctor every coming back?

To a certain extent, I would say so.

Augustus or Constantine. It would be interesting to see what the empire had become in his day.

Were the emperors following Diocletian still given the powers of greater consul and first citizen by the Senate, or did they just ascend to the throne like any monarch?

I agree to some extent. However, with the collapse of imperial military authoirty, I would think that in fact the Germanic tribes would be able to exert some force in the reverse direction. The implosion of imperial authority did benefit the Pontifex Maximus, but it also gave the Germans more leeway in deciding their own fate.

Really? What city do you live in? I'm from Alexandria. I'm in Charlottesville because I'm attending UVA.

Briefly. During the conflict between Vitellius and Vespasian. But the Gallic cheiftains were always bickering and it soon fell apart.

I guess a being a senator is not for me. I'd probably end up being what I am now; someone that just does his own thing. I'd probably do best being something practical, like a baker, potter, scribe, or farmer. Someone non-controversial.

That's really tragic about the little boy. I am currently in Charlottesville, Virginia. We've gotten some sleet and snow, and expect some more, though it's not too bad. Virginia fortunately is not known for really vicious winters.

I think a good movie would be one about the last leg of the civil war beginning with the death of Nero, which would be about the formation of the Empire of the Gauls, and the Roman efforts at reconquering them with famous people like Civilis, Caecilia, Antonius, and Mucianius.

When Diocletian took the throne, one of the major changes he initiated was dropping all pretense of republicanism by adopting Persian court ceremony, calling himself "Dominus," and sitting on an elevated throne. Did all emperors after him keep these regal trappings, or were any of the characteristics brought back by Constantine and all emperors following him, including the Byzantine emperors? Or was all constitutionalism abolished forever in the empire by Diocletian?

Probably in terms of sheer devastation and scope. I for one think that the one in the Year of the Four Emperors was the worst.

From it's beginning to 476 A.D., which of its many civil wars do you think was the worst?

A senator in the imperial period, so I don't really have to do much except have fun and rubber stamp the emperor's projects.

It was called Holy Roman, but it was not Roman. It was German, and it's founder Charlemagne had little connection to the ancient Romans. His Germanic tribe, the Franks, I believe in fact had helped to lead to the decline of Rome. As time went on, it slowly went from an empire to a local German principality. While all of the other western European nations were centralizing their governments, the Holy Roman Empire was becoming more decentralized. Others here I think are more knowledgeable about this than me.

I would do a movie about the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. Yes, I know, it would probably end up paralleling Kingdom of God, but who cares. Or I might make a movie about the conflicts of the second century crisis, or the conflicts of Diocletian, the Tetrarchy, and the final unification under Constantine.

Law, followed by religion, more specifically, the spread of Christianity.

Why did you choose the current avatars and signatures that you have? For me, the avatar is just something I found when I Googled "emperor avatars." It's dark and mysterious and is reminiscient of Star Wars' Palpatine, but not too blatant. As for the signature, this famous picture of Justinian was in my 10th grade Western Civ textbook, when I first became interested in Roman history. The quote is what Justinian alledgedly said when he saw the inside of the completed Hagia Sophia.

Hello, I am currently a freshman at the university of Virginia. I took Latin from sixth grade up through eleventh grade. The stories and history lessons there, as well as what I learned in my 10th Western Civ class, fueled a mild interest in ancient Rome. When we studied Rome this year in my college Western Civ class, I became even more interested and starting checking out books from the college's humanities library. I was searching for a forum where Roman history and culture was discussed, and this was what I found.

I'm from Alexandria, Virginia.

On some other forums I belong to, I go by the username Blue Hobgoblin. I simply took the word goblin and latinized it. As for the emperor part, I just had to add it.

Happy holidays, everyone. As soon as finals are over, my winter break shall last from Dec. 16 to Jan. 22. I honestly don't know what I will do, and that's a good thing.

Professor Ward Perkins, First, thank you for coming to the site. I don't think that I'm too familiar with your work, but I hope to get around to reading your work soon. You said that a number of Roman aristocrats fled to the Eastern Empire when the barbarians took full control. I personally don't blame them. However, I've always wondered; what happened to the Senate? I do know that its power had waned over the centuries with the increased centralized control of the emperor. However, once the barbarians had more or less seized power in Italy, what happened to the Senate? Edit: Whoops, didn't see that it was over. Oh well, I'll leave this question here for anyone who wants to answer.

I joined this site just a few months ago. It's awesome. I hope it grows and I can make meaningful contributions.