Sextus Roscius

I love NC and go down there atleast once a month. My son lives in Wilmington, and am anxious to move there. Trouble is finding a job, the place is one heck of an economic desert! I think you are right, there are hardly any jobs avadiable in NC if you try to find a good one that intrests you. It also depends on where you look though, I live in the peidmont region and we always have people moving to my town, mostly becuase its a university town, but I'm sure if you look in near by Raliegh you can find something. Depends on the field.

Thank you for correcting me Flavius, I was clearly in the wrong mind set when I wrote. Looking back I see I'm refering more to midieval periods rather than the Roman Empire. This is probley becuase I was just reading about the Inquisitions and other things, so I apologize for my large incorrectness.

I much like Roman bl00d's dream. Though personaly mine are a bit different, becuase I never hear (or imagine, which ever which you perfer) sound, which is a shame becuase I would love to hear what everyone is saying. My favorite and most detailed of my dreams or daydreams is this I imagine myself as a great politician speaking at the rostra before hundreds of Roman citizens and their slaves. As I speak on I work the crowd into a frenzy, each person following my every word as though the entire crowd, in their silent amazment, is intently foucused on exactly how my wordless mouth moves. So all the while, I walk back and forth before them, speaking what must truely be a inspiring speak, for as I talk to the crowd, more and more people join the crowd bellow, chanting my name and my glory in noiseless unity. Finaly, as I finish speaking, the crowd comes to a climax and is on the verge of rioting. With one calming stroke of my hand, the entire crowd becomes completely still, and slowly disappears and blurs as the next image comes into sight from the disapating crowd. For the next image, is almost scary. I'm walking through a large open forum surrounded by a marble colonade. Following behind me is a huge crowd of citizens, not a army, but citizens with daggers and other such weapons, bearing torches. As we walk further, the surroundings change gradually, as houses wihout warning collapse and the streets and building become dirtied from the clean marble they used to be. Upon these collapsed buildings, as I walk further, grow newer, larger, buildings than those of before. These are clad, all in the same drapping purple flag, and people cheer and wave out of the white marble buildings as the crowd and I walk by, completely and seemingly unaware of whats happening to the forum around us as we walk through it. As we near the end of the Forum, there is temples, and what is clearly the senate house. It is only then, that the Forum we are walking through becomes the Forum of Rome, and from the Senate house flee fat, greedy men, surounded by extravagantly clad female slaves. So right as the last of these Senators flee, the Crowd behind me finaly comes to a stop at the steps of the Senate house, and I walk forward up the steps, from which I speak to the crowd. I rasie my arms out to the crowd, and then do a Roman salute. My view flips around to show from behind me, and as it does, once the view from which I see finaly faces the crowd again, there is no crowd. I am clad in a senatorial toga, surounded by others like me on a balconey over looking a large, open square, with one side facing out to see, a gate on another, and two walls of houses from which people cheer, and from which the same purple flags drap. In the square itself, are thousands of Roman Legionaries, lined up in perfect military position, all facing towards us as though for a inspection of some sort. Seperated into blocks of Centuries, open spaces are like a grid inbetween the different Centuries, through which horse mounted Roman Officers walk back and forth. and in the middle, aligned with the gate and leading up the building from which we look down, is a open area. The gates are then thrown open, and in are marched the same fat, greedy senators from the previous area, who are whining, and whos slaves are being carried a pushed by soldiers along up to the building from which we stand. But, as view is foucused on them, the vast army seems to disappear to some where, and only a small line of soldiers protecting the walk way are left to keep people from running out onto the walk way. The huge army has been replaced by thousands of Roman citizens, hurling things at the former senators being paraded through. Then, while all this is happening, a slave from behind me runs up with a glass of drink, which I take and down. After drinking it, I feint or die (not sure which) and fall over the balcony ledge, but before I hit the ground, the dream foes black.

Interesting question, and I'm sorry to say that I don't have a exact answer, just assumtions and guesses at the moment, but I will look into it more percisely. Well, as for my assumtions and guesses, I assume that the Church wouldn't have taken them in and that few "homes" if any were created for the disabled. The church I beleive at that period of time would've been more suspicious than just about anyone else about the disabled becuase of the view that God created Earth and meant humans to be a certain way, it would only make logical sense to them that those who were disabled were hellspawns of some sort becuase they were not as the Lord had meant humans to be. Though this is just what I think. If anyone can correct me or reassure me I'd be pleased.

I'm still awaiting my fabulous book with anticipation, I'm hoping it will arrive before christmas. I just hope the delivery people don't have too hard a time finding me in good old North Carolina. Once again thanks.

Congrats Spurius, I wish you blessing from sweet Fortune in your new child. Personaly I always had a strong attraction to the name Melissa (greek) but also Alexa Caelia (likely to be mispelled, and a paly off of the latin word Caelum) Roscia (after myself, but it sounds pretty, at least to me) I'm lost for others at the moment. Anyways, Congratulations Spurius.

I must agree with Lost Warrior, The Roman advantage lay in its superior training and military disipline which was the most advanced until boot camps in the 1900s. The Roman Recruit was trained with materials far heavier than what they actually weilded, so when they got onto the battlefield, that about 100 pounds (roughly) of armor seemed surprisingly light, along with this, the Romans were subjected to constant physical upkeep unlike other armies of the time, becuase they were used to build the infastructure and when on the march they had to build a camp at night, which would require considerable effort.

Interesting point, its simply put, that the Roman Legion was not designed to be foucused around the idea of largely calvery or archer warfare, but instead foucused on the used of infantry, and used archers and calvery to tip tides, rather than do most of the battle. This can be seen in the battles with Hannibal who the Romans only finaly defeated at Zama by effectively using calvery, which they were effetively lacking in previous battles. This also can be pointed out with the huns who where another form of calvery archer warfare like the parthians who the Romans were effectively tromped by becuase their legions were not designed to face hordes of horse-mounted arrow slingers, but hordes of foot mounted barbarian warriors. The Parthians were also, as the Huns, horse-mounted archers who knew that while the Romans had a certain style of warfare which the parthians could easily counter. What one must simply do, is bring in calvery archers and mounted swordmen. The swordmen attack and destroy the Inferior Roman calvery (it was only meant for tactical advantage, not this type) and have the calvery archers come in and open fire on the Roman Legionaries. This would cause the comander to order his men into the defensive testudo formation, in which the Romans could no longer attack a enemy effectively in and eliminated the Legionaries Cheif advantages in hand to hand line fighting and flexibility, along with not allowing them to hurl the pilum, which were their most effective anti-calvery weapon. The calvery archers then open fire to aid the swordsmen-calvery in their fight against the Roman calvery and support units while keeping any Roman legions from going out of testudo formation. Once the Superior Parthian Sword-Calvery had wiped out Roman archers and calvery and most likely the general, the infanty's testudo would be easy pray for the swords, becuase for the Roman legionaries to fight a sword using oponent, they would have to break testudo and be vulnerable to archers. Simply put, this was an obvious flaw in the Roman strategy.

Personaly, I'd like to start dating things off the founding of Rome but I can't remember the year. BC 760 something, I was always faultering on that date. You are wrong. I beleive (and will bet on) that it stands for Christ's Era and Before Christ's Era and so I refuse to use it.

Yes, you are certainly right Lost Warrior. Though, many features that are a smidge more complicated are only able to be used by us equestrians and up, and at that point one has probley gotten used to this site. And when you are promoted, the Triumvirate graciously offers to answer your questions. Though I most certainly agree with the general principal, I'll post ideas as they come to me.

In deed, I must agree with you Andrew. Humans can easily have minor inbuilt prejudices escalate into something much larger than they are really worth.

Good for you Lost Warrior, hope you enjoy the gift. But, thats a gift in itself isn't it. Anyways I know I will enjoy mine.

Well, I saw the section on the Roman Empire, its rather hysterical. Centurion "Well, does anyone know the punishment for attacking a Roman citizen" Crowed raises hands Centurion "yes you, you had your hand up first" Citizen "Oh, I know, we chuck um off a rock" Centurion "No, we did that last time, you, do you know the punishment?" Citizen #2 "We shove a snake up their rear" Centurion "No, but thats creative, yes you over there!" Citizen #3 "we feed um to the lions" Centurion "yes thats right! to the lions"

Indeed, thats well more than I can imagine. Perhaps we could guess, I'll say some where in the thousands. Estimates?

Don't be too sure Sextus; i was quite secure in my knowledge that the up and coming Flavius Valerius Constantinus would not catch me in my post count. He showed me a thing or two lol With no doubt, very wise Tobias. Though I think flavius has surpassed all of us. I was in the runnin with him for a while since we joined about the same time, but he took off. And his post count is inexplicably high. As for futurehistorian, I welcome the challenge.

One younger than me, quite honestly I'm surprised. Ah well, no match for me anyways... Nah just kidding...

Yep, I think that puts a finger on it and why it's easy to find racial prejudice in all groups. Indeed, personaly I beleive that all people are born Racist becuase thats how humans work, we are naturaly scared of something different from what we have. If I were to walk into your house speaking in Klingon uttering something that sounded like complete giberish, it could really translate to something civilized and if you too spoke Klingon then we could go on to have a completely civilized and cultured conversation in our language of Klingon, but since you don't speak Klingon, you would be taken agasp and most likely look at me as if I were an idiot and then go on to do something rude or angry. All said, I think Germanicus stated it perfectly in saying that it is a built in mechanism.

Salvete! Today is the great and wonderful Saturnalia! May we feast and drink the whole day through!

The Julio-Cluadian Dynasty is highly controlversal in the fact that it had both great (Agustus) and horrible Emperors (Caligula!) and so can be noted as the best, or worst, depending on who you refer to. All in all I'm opose to the Roman Dynasties simply becuase they were almost in a sense heredic, so I like to call it "selective hereditary rule".

The Romans most likely had the greek idea of healthy body, healthy mind and so there was naturaly some distaste towards the disabled. But as mentioned by WotWotius there is a perfect example in the great Emperor Cluadius who was crippled but a man of great intelect. It is clear becuase he became Emperor that in Rome, even if one had a physical disadvantage, could go very far. I think mainly the Romans viewed them with suspicion but accepted that they weren't complete idiots. It might depend on how one was disabled too....

hahahaha, You make a good point Lost Warrior

While the Praetorian Guard were certainly crack troops, they were mainly a use for control. A emperor was just as easily protected before they were around, personaly I see no point in having them. Thought they certainly were elite, and the true rulers of Rome in my opinion. They could choose who they wanted Emperor and such. There was nothing to stop them. Though I don't know much about them in other terms, I think that they were important becuase if a insane Emperor was ruling, they could easily kill him without having to bring in a army or a riot which is certainly good.

Highly agreed, I loved the book and am I fan of Steven Saylor who i think does a good job of tieing his characters in with history without disturbing how everything turned out. I've read "The Venus Throw" but I find that the first of the Roma Sub Rosa series, "Roman Blood" is much better, and It inculdes the person I'm named after, the infamous, Sextus Rocius! By the way Flavius, have you read the other Roma Sub Rosa, and I agree with Cincinnatus that Catalina's riddle is good, but I still recomend that you read "Roman Blood" before you read the others or the plot might get confusing.

Might you care to elaborate, oh mighty Ursus

Personaly I just put up the picture "Roman Decandence" for my background, but I think I'm going to change it as soon as I do picture... Now its changed to this picture Scaled down the image size. I like it...