Areas Of Expertise

[DanM]

I consider myself to be knowledgeable of all areas of the western Roman Empire. I need to learn more of the eastern Roman Empire. If you want me to set a date on it? I'd say 509BCE-200CE the span of what I know, and i'm not saying I know very much of that time period still, I just know more than I do lets say 200CE-450CE, or 753BCE-509BCE and the Etruscan rule of Rome.

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Do you follow north african history during that same period. The Punic and Berber societies of north africa pre and post Roman era are fascinating to me.

[Cyrus]

The only Africa we did was with the Punic wars and the Roman conquest of Egypt. The only pre-Roman Africa we studied was The Aeneid (When Aeneis lands in Phoenicia and the whole Dido [or Alysia] thing) and some early writing studies, the only post-Roman Africa we studied was with random discussions how the world and it

[DanM]

No problem at all. If you are interested, however, there is a very good book on the Berbers. Its titled "The Berbers" and its authors are Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress. I also liked Peter Brown's biography on Augustine of Hippo. It did a good job of explaining daily life in the later Empire as it related to the North African provinces.

 

I can probably find more books that address Roman North Africa even if they are not dedicated to it. If you are interested, let me know.

[Augur]

No expert here, but with an engineering background my life-preoccupation with Rome has focused on identifying the sequence and patterns of events in which direct cause and effect relationships can be identified, e.g.: land policy > Marius' "reforms" > Republican collapse. Thus, I may be less a student of Rome than a deciple of Arnold Toynbee.

[DanM]

No expert here, but with an engineering background my life-preoccupation with Rome has focused on identifying the sequence and patterns of events in which direct cause and effect relationships can be identified, e.g.: land policy > Marius' "reforms" > Republican collapse.  Thus, I may be less a student of Rome than a deciple of Arnold Toynbee.

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Then you would really love reading about the later Empire. There are so many theories on why it fell that you will almost never run out of ideas to ponder.

[L. Valerius Flaccus]

Like many others, I'm in no way an 'expert' on anything, but I am pretty knowledgeable from about 82/83 BCE on until just before Caesar's rise - basically I like to read about the collapse of Sulla's reforms. I've also done extensive research on Sertorius (the second greatest Roman general, in my opinion).

[Onasander]

Pre-Islamic Sudan is of intrest to me, it's a little south of Berber Land.

[Lacertus]

I'm not expert of course but I like Roman history (republic Rome), Egypt and Greece. Hard to say which epoch I like more then other. I find all subjects interesting for me now. As I take part in archaeological digs this theme is interesting for me too.

[Sextus Roscius]

My areas of speciality so to speak are probley around the fall of the Repubilc and a little past the reign of Agustus. This in my mind is the most interesting era of Roman history as it is the epoch turning point in the legacy of Rome. A time where among the best remembered Romans wared for power and the entire whole of the mediteranian was holding its breath for what was to befall it.

 

It is also in this era that the military might of the empire was about the coolest in history. The legions of Rome marching against each other! It must have been a truely scary and eventful time beyond any of our imaginations. Miltary tactics and battles are my favorite area with a very close runner up of politics and culture of the era.

 

A personification of the mediterainian:

 

However i can't deny that the punic wars and other periods are interesting.

[sullafelix]

Gosh well the name will give it away really I guess

 

but The Gracchi, Sulla, that really horrible complicated bit of republican politics that takes in the first "triumvirate" I am also researching the agricultural economy in the first and second centuries BC.

 

Then we skip a few generations and go to the Severi the Third Cenury Anarchy religion at the fall of rome, the barbarisation of the later army and the artistic transformation from classical to medieval.

 

Basically i like all the bloodthirsty ones and the ones with a certain style

[Ursus]

Hmm, well this could be interesting.

[Pertinax]

My specific interests are combat medicine and "medevac" , military technology and psychology(ancient and modern world generally but Rome in particular). My general interests are everyday Roman life in Town and Country -im fascinated by Pompeii in particular and the glimpse it gives of ordinary real lives.