I'm studying the military practices of early Slavs (6th-7th centuries), and I have a question: Could they have used captured, gifted, or traded Byzantine equipment, like swords or helmets, especially among leaders? As far as I know, there’s some mention of this in the Strategikon of Maurice, a Byzantine treatise discussing various peoples, including the Slavs, though I’m not entirely sure if this is the correct source. Any insights or references to sources would be greatly appreciated!

Season 1: Rise of Julius Caesar up to his assassination

Season 2: Second Triumvirate and the rise of Augustus

Season 3 could focus on the Romans in Germania, the battle of Tuetoburg Forest, the death of Augustus, and the assassination of Arminius.

Season 4: Nero and the Year of Four Emperors

Season 5 could start with the death of Marcus Aurelius, the reign of Commodus, and the Year of the Five Emperors.

Season 6 would introduce the Crisis of the Third Century, Aurelian's efforts to restore stability and prosperity to the empire, and the season finale would include his anticlimactic assassination.

Season 7: Rise of Diocletian, division of the Roman Empire under the Tetrarchy, "My cabbages!"

Season 8 would focus on Christianity in the Roman Empire, persecution of Christians, the Battle of Milvian Bridge, and Constantine the Great.

Season 9 would focus on the barbarian invasions of the 5th century, Honorius in the Western Roman Empire, and the sack of Rome in 410 AD.

Season 10: Vandal conquest of North Africa, the sack of Rome in 455 AD, barbarian mercenaries in the Roman army, and the deposition of Romulus Augustulus.

My main historical interest is the medieval Roman state (c.e. 622-1204) and obviously they’re writing everything in Ῥωμαϊκή. But I was curious, since Greek was widely used in every period of the Roman Res Publica since its foundation. We all know of figures like Marcus Aurelius, Hadrianus, Iulius Caesar, Augustus, Diocletianus, and Constantinus, and Iustinianus who were all (except for Diocletianus) native Latin speakers who learned Greek. That all wrote and spoke in Greek on many occasions as well. I also know that at various times Greek was the language of scholars, philosophers, some historians, and artists. Would it be fair to say that most of the surviving Roman literature is in Greek? Would it also be fair to say Greek was a more commonly used language than Latin (especially because of the eastern cities)? Thanks I appreciate the help🙏

Okay, I know Terry Deary is best known for his child-friendly history books but my God is this book entertaining!

Dare I say, one of my favourite books I've read about Ancient Rome!

It seemed that when Julius Caesar had a mission he would go with whatever men he had at the time. even his war with Vercingetorix in Gaul he initially raced to meet the Gauls with 2 inexperienced legions/militia, and it worked. its mazing to read

An earlier post by u/pattycake-bakerman regarding Pompeii had answers that the eruption of Vesuvius changed the coastline of what we now call the Bay of Naples dramatically.

Does anyone know where I can find a decently accurate map of the Bay of Naples before 79 AD? Not just showing Pompeii on the coastline, but also the different coastline around Baiae.

Online resources would be great, but book recs are also more than welcome.

I never understood why everyone was absolutely awestruck when Fontana uncovered Pompeii. Like yes, it was an incredibly discovery but shouldn’t we have known about it already?

Over 10,000 Romans lived in Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted and many of them survived. Why didn’t word of the destruction spread across the empire? You’d think historians all over Italy and the Mediterranean would’ve recorded the event.

It just seems weird from 79 to 1599 all memory of Pompeii was lost.

If anything is inaccurate, please correct me.

I have been spending time learning about Aurelian and the crisis of the third century and by the gods I need a show to be made. The story of a lowborn commoner dedicated to Sol Invictus rising the ranks of the Roman military during one of the empire’s lowest points would be beyond interesting. The show would cover Aurelian’s entire life covering both massive battles and politically intrigue in an age where emperors drop like flies. He also has enough missing information about his character and history for the writers to have some creative freedom on how they present certain events or not. I feel like the story of Aurelian is begging to be told and needs to be displayed in a high budget epic tv show

I’ve always imagined those Niederbieber helmets with lorica segmentata, and I know the 3rd century is the end time for the use of such armor, but I cant help but wonder if anyone was using it as late as the 270s during Aurelian’s tome. Or did we start to see full body mail with spangenhelm’s and spathas like we’d see in Constantine’s time?

Even if the army didn’t exactly look like the picture below, it’s still one of the coolest looking armors I’ve stumbled across. I can imagine during the reigns of Geta and Caracalla that many soldiers looked like this (I know its a corbridge type in the picture, and it would likely be a newstead type, but its still so cool).

And if soldiers looked like Ancient Tanks in this insane armor, why did the movie have such shitty props? Scott did a more or less decent job with the soldiers in the first movie, but i don’t understand why they cant make things historically accurate. I know Maximus has a spikey helmet to look cool, but why do that when fact is even cooler than fiction.

Maybe its nitpicking, but if you’re gonna inspire people about real history, why do you need to make things up when real life was even better? When i visited Rome, literally every store sold that stupid spike helmet mustache thing, and none of them had anything close to a resemblance of their ancestors.

So, Vae victis is Latin for “woe to the vanquished” or “woe to the conquered”. In 390 BC, Gauls captured Rome except for the Capitoline Hill, which they besieged. The Romans agreed to ransom their city with 1,000 pounds of gold. When the gold was weighed, the Romans accused the Gauls of using rigged weights. In response, a Gaul threw his sword onto the scales, declaring “Vae victis!”, forcing the Romans to provide even more gold.

Vae victis is said twice in Gladiator II, and I have issues with both instances. Marcus Acacias says it after burning the dead in Numidia. He then doubles down and says “woe to the conquered” right after… (I personally like the translation of woe to the vanquished instead but who cares). He says it again to himself before he starts fighting in the coliseum.

I have a couple gripes about this. First, he pronounces it “vay” instead of “vye”. Latin Vs are also apparently pronounced as Ws but I won’t be too harsh about that. Second, the words were famously spoken by a Gaul, and I just don’t like hearing that from a Roman. Like, would it make sense if a Soviet soldier said some quote from a founding father in a war film?? Maybe it’s just me, but I thought it was just a thrown in, “cool” Latin phrase and it annoyed me. Finally, why the hell did he say vae victus to himself in the coliseum… what the hell did that even mean…

Anyways, I’m done venting. Let me know if any of you had the same thoughts, or if I’m just being hypercritical.

What was Roman life and culture like in the mid 300s ( post Constantine making Christianity the official religion) as opposed to the Rome of Julius Caesar and Brutus?

Did the senate still meet? Did people know or care about republican values and romes founding? Did anyone have any idea that the Germanic tribes would one day destroy the empire?

How closely ( more or less) did the Rome of ancient antiquity resemble the Rome of the golden age?

I'm guessing it was the Goths in the 380s but I'm not sure.

There was a great show on The history channel a while back called "Barbarians Rising: Rise and Fall of an Empire". it showed how Rome rose to power using these "Barbarians" as allies and trading partners, but Rome never stopped looking at them in contempt. and as the western empire was year by year nearing its end it seemed Rome became more "ellitistic" and became more hatful and contemptuous of all non Italians. In the end as we all know, it just couldn't fight so many of them at the same time until the Vandals sacked Rome in 455 AD.

So, as the title says, didn't romans realize that these "Barbarians" are the reason they were so powerful and so wealthy?

Let's say that one emperor saw the possibilities of free trade, corporations and put a lot of money into science and inventions. Could it have been enough to start a revolution?

The Roman Kingdom, which existed before the Republic and Empire, was ruled by seven legendary kings. One of the most fascinating of these was Numa Pompilius, the second king, who is credited with establishing many of Rome's religious and cultural institutions.

Here are some of his accomplishments;

1. Establishment of Roman Religion:

• Organized the Roman religious calendar, creating fixed days for worship and festivals.
• Introduced the concept of "peace through piety" by focusing on religious and moral development rather than conquest.

2. Creation of Priesthoods:

• Established the major priesthoods of Rome, including:
  • Pontifex Maximus: The chief priest.
  • Flamines: Priests dedicated to specific gods (e.g., Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus).
  • Vestal Virgins: Priestesses who maintained the sacred fire of Vesta, symbolizing Rome's eternal life.

3. Temple of Janus:

• Built the Temple of Janus, symbolizing peace and war. The temple's doors were open during wartime and closed during peacetime. Numa's reign was so peaceful that the doors remained closed throughout.

4. Codification of Laws:

Replaced arbitrary decisions with codified laws based on justice and fairness.

Focused on civil rights, social harmony, and reducing conflict among the citizens.

5. Cult of Jupiter Elicius:

• Introduced rituals to invoke divine will, including the practice of consulting Jupiter during times of decision-making.

6. Reorganization of Land and Society:

• Divided Roman land into districts for more organized governance.
• Promoted agricultural development and peaceful livelihoods.

7. Sabine Influence:

• As a Sabine by origin, Numa is credited with blending Sabine and Roman traditions, fostering unity between the two groups.

8. Foundation of Religious Rituals:

• Introduced many rituals and ceremonies that became central to Roman religion, such as augury (interpreting the will of the gods through the behavior of birds).

Coin of Numa Pompilius (2nd king of Rome)

I created a group in Ancestry where people will talk together about the families and relatives of the Roman emperors

I’m a big Ammianus Marcellinus fan, he’s similar to Tacitus but for the late empire.

I can understand Southern and Central Italy's gain of Roman citizenship following the Social War, especially considering the likeness between Romans and fellow Italic peoples (as well as to Etruscans due to heavy cultural similarities). Cisalpine Gaul was a Gallicized region yet they attained citizenship 261 years before the Gauls of modern France, why is that?