Roman culture

Book Review: Rome’s Revolution by Richard Alston

by

The end of the Roman Republic and founding of the Empire is one of those events in history that has been recounted so often in histories and also in stage and theater that everyone thinks they know what, why, and how it happened. Rome’s Revolution by Richard Alston will show you that you don’t necessarily know what you think you know and that most accounts of the fall of the Roman Republic are simplistic accounts at best.  The author is a professor of Roman History and brings an expert’s perspective to the story that is missing from many popular accounts. The book itself is 337 pages of text with extensive notes, … More after the Jump…

Pompeii and Herculaneum

by

I recently visited Pompeii and Herculaneum on a visit to Italy with my family.  This is my report of the visit. We went to Herculaneum first, mainly because I knew it was the smaller site and our hotel was in Pompeii itself so I wanted to get to the hotel quicker after a day of slogging around in the hot sun.  Herculaneum is also the more interesting site to me because it is better preserved.  In many of the buildings in Herculaneum you can still see the charred wood beams sticking out.  Unfortunately, neither Pompeii nor Herculaneum have anything remotely resembling a museum displaying artifacts found in the ruins, there … More after the Jump…

Emperor Augustus Passes Away

by

On this day 2,000 years ago the reign of the first Roman Emperor IMPERATOR CAESAR DIVI F AVGVSTVS born Gaius Octavius ended when he passed away at the age of 75 at Nola after a short illness.  Supposedly his last words were – “Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit.”  His reign had lasted for 41 years and he had brought true stability and peace to Rome for the first time in almost 100 years. After his death his body was transported to Rome where he was cremated and his ashes were installed in the Mausoleum he had had built on the Campus Martius for the remains of himself … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Men, Women & War by Martin van Creveld

by

I picked up Men, Women & War: Do Women Belong in the Front Line? by Martin van Creveld at the library recently because it looked like a good book about a topic I have found interesting ever since I was a private back in the early 90’s when I first joined the military.  For this debate van Creveld’s book is about as topical as it gets.  He examines the historical examples of women in combat and makes a valiant attempt to separate the fact from the fiction.  The book is separated into three sections and includes extensive source notes and an index.  It was written in 2001 so does not … More after the Jump…

Back from Vacation, posting to resume shortly

by

I just returned from vacation in Croatia and will be back to posting updates soon.  I also got some pretty good material and photos while on the trip to be used in some upcoming posts.  I got a very good fix of Roman history this trip as Illyria and Dalmatia were both conquered during the Republic and stayed Roman for almost 8 centuries.

Book Review: The Roman World by Nigel Rogers

by

The Roman World by Nigel Rogers is one of the best surveys of the Ancient Romans I have run across in years. This is not a military history of Rome, or even a history at all. It is rather a description and explanation of Roman life and culture as we understand it was lived. The book itself is 249 pages long and divided into 12 chapters that are thematically organized. There is a small six page index but no bibliography. The lack of a bibliography does not really detract from the book because this is not meant to be a scholarly work so much as a detailed introduction to Ancient … More after the Jump…