Aphrodite

Some of the best academic discussions can come from tangents though!

What i find intrequing is that as the army progressed into its alter form, conditions were made better, pay was increased, the men were allowed to marry and smalled units meant they had bigger living space - archelogical evidence of forst in england indicate that by the forth century soliders may of had their own chalet with fire place, rather than sleeping in bunks with numerous men squeezed into a small space... So taking into account all these factors, they still had problems recruiting. Maybe this indicates that materialistic pleaseures do not equal happiness and high moral

Correct me if i'm wrong as its been over a year since i studied this, but didnt constantine bestow certain powers on officals from Constantinople, that the rest of the western empire would not accept or acknowledge for some time?

Since first posting this i have found out more about women in positions of power, and read somwhere that alexander the great was influenced by the elevated postions of persian queens, so setting the trend! His mother was allowd to wear a special robe.

The arcani operated to the north of Hadriens wall in Roman Britain. They were the first element of the northern defensive system, and they were paid to move amongst the tribe who occupied the scottish lowlands and try and stop any trouble before it started. They were also to send warnings back to the Roman side if trouble was brewing. They were not roman citizens, they were generally mercenaries from other barbarian countries which meant they were easy to bribe into silence, something that happend around 360 when all the tribes around britain form a sort of coalition to mount on massive attack on its frontiers. Considering that the true origin of 'Arthur' is open to conjecture and guesswork, why would you believe such supposed detail as to the nature of his knights? The Sarmatian cavalry in Britain (one of the theories in the origin of Arthur's knights) were just that... cavalry. Admittedly they were exceptional horseman and the Sarmatians held a natural affinity with their horses, but otherwise the rest of it sounds a bit hollywoodish. The ledgend of king aurthur is said likely to come from the dark ages after the Romans left britain, during the time when numerous small kindoms and kings sprung up, and i too have read theories that the remaining samaritan horsemen may have contributed to this legend. He is beleived to originate from the south of england in the cornwall area i beleive. When i was little and used to go swimming in lakes i used to always imagine Id be the one to find excaliber!

Constantinople had the ability to survive under seige against the ottomans for years. There were vast water holders that collected water beneath the city, and people were not allowed to live within its walls unless they had means to feed themselves for two, or four (i forget) years. They kept their morla high while under seige by rally around religious images of saints that were paraded around on the walls. The idea of a seige is to outsit the attacking enemy until it can no longer feed or support its attack. Constantinople was a long way from the Ottoman capital which meant getting supplies found it difficult to get through. The ottomans finaly beat the byzantines after they managed to build a fortress on the other side of the water.

Also, do you agree that the changes septimius Severus made were the start of the downfall of rome?

I have read arguments that the final changes constantine made, and the abandonment of the old tactics, and introducing large numbers of german troops, were the final nails in the coffin of the roman empire...

Excuse me if i'm being dumb... but have a load of posts been deleted from this thread? I'm sure there was a a heated debated going on about beer!

I am very much into ancient clothing, infact I'm doing a module on ancient dress and identity at uni! Last week we went to the British Museum with uni to put on a reconstruction of ancient clothing and dressed up in outfits made using anceint techniques, I was a Minoan Snake Queen, my freind was Helen of Troy - some of the outfits featured have been used on BBC documentaries! I get to work with some academics who are experts in their fields!

What do think was different about Byzantine culture, from other ancient cultures, that allowed women such as Theodora to hold postions of imperial power?

Be aware that on the dispute about the quality of the later Roman army Elton generally comes down on the side of the argument that believes it remained at a high level. I think he tends to be in the minority of historians on this question. Thansk i'll bear that in mnd Be aware that on the dispute about the quality of the later Roman army Elton generally comes down on the side of the argument that believes it remained at a high level. I think he tends to be in the minority of historians on this question. LoL, indeed... and I share his view on the quality being high with the Late Roman Army... Aphrodite, I ask because having read the book and taken much information away from it, I'd like to know what is said to be unreliable... I don't know i'm afraid, that comment was just from a comment I saw in someone elses bibliogrpahy.

Ahh i see!

If anyone does want to buy any of them and you dont live in the uk, let me know and i'll change my settings!

What is grad school? I get confused by all the american terms! I'm in my second year at uni. The route of education in England goes sort of like this: Primary School (4-11yrs) Secondary School (11 - 16yrs) College/6th Form (16-18 or 19yrs) University (18+) The average degree here lasts for 3 years. 4 years if you choose a year of study abroad or do a work placement. After undergraduate you can go on to further study that can last for up to a further 3 years. I did things a little different by starting work at 16 and then deciding I wanted to go to uni, so doing my A Level at night class while working full time as a secretary and living in my own house!

What is your new essay title?

I can't remeber now, i think it was in the bibligrpahy of another book. Just said it could be unreliable in parts. Why the interest?

I will get back to you on that when i've finished reading all the material, i've read in some places that the work can be unreliable in places, but the book was on a university reading list so that makes me trust it somewhat more.

No i haven't, what is it about?

Happy Birthday!

oh no! Let me check... thanks for telliing me... The link is working for me, and my freind tested it and he can see the list... try again maybe? Or maybe try this link to my profile, and then click the list of books at the top left... Click HERE

Well the ancient sources say that many of the stolen women ended up marrying in love to the romans, i like a good romance!

I have found the following article on the definition of a Metic.... As the Greek polis evolved it sought to differentiate, amongst its inhabitants, between insiders and outsiders. Insiders par excellence were its own members, the citizens; palpable outsiders were its slaves, indigenous or imported (see slavery); but this simple dichotomy would have sufficed only for communities like Sparta which discouraged immigration. Elsewhere it was necessary to recognize free persons who lived, temporarily or permanently, in the polis without becoming its citizens. Several-oikos words are attested of such persons, with metoikos (

There was a point when it looked like Rome would not survive though, as they had no women! But they overcame that by nicking a few from neighboring towns

Clcik HERE for list of titles.... This poor student is reluctently selling on some of her books from last year, as she needs to buy new ones for this year.... All great books, check them out and buy at your will