guy

Hearing the reports about the death and destruction from the horrible earthquake in Haiti, I can only imagine the great destruction earthquakes (not to mention other natural disasters such as volcanoes, floods, etc.) would have done in the Ancient world. It reminds us that without proper building standards and an efficient organized disaster response, the death toll can be unfathomable. Certainly, the Ancient world was at least as vulnerable as Haiti to an earthquake's potential destructive forces and its tragic aftermath Our thoughts are with the people of Haiti. guy also known as gaius

I guess I'm watching. Anyone else? http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/re...acus22_ST_N.htm http://www.usatoday.com/video/#/Life/He%20...001/62681139001 guy also known as gaius

As a non-coin collector, non-expert, I find this very helpful: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/glossary.html guy also known as gaius

We've discussed this spectacular coin find before. Here's an interesting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlwae3okhbc...feature=related Here's the video background: One of the UK's largest hauls of Iron Age gold coins has been found in Suffolk. The 824 so-called staters were found, using a metal detector, in a broken pottery jar buried in a field near Wickham Market. Jude Plouviez, of the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, said the coins dated from 40BC to AD15. They are thought to have been minted by predecessors of the Iceni Queen Boudicca. Ms Plouviez said their value when in circulation had been estimated at a modern equivalent of between

Does anyone put credence in the DNA study linking the Etruscans with Asia Minor?: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jun/18/italy.johnhooper The money quote: "The DNA samples from Murlo and Volterra are much more highly correlated to those of the eastern peoples than to those of the other inhabitants of [italy]," said Alberto Piazza of the University of Turin, who presented the research. "One particular genetic variant, found in the samples from Murlo, was shared only with people from Turkey." This year, a similar but less conclusive study that tracked the DNA passed down from mothers to daughters, pointed to a direct genetic input from western Asia. In 2004, a team of researchers from Italy and Spain used samples taken from Etruscan burial chambers to establish that the Etruscans were more genetically akin to each other than to contemporary Italians. guy also known as gaius

Here's the slide show: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thearmaturapr...141128702/show/ guy also known as gaius

Enjoy : Note the typical Zoroastrian fire alter on the back of the Sassanian coins: http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/c...c-sas-879-1.jpg Some other Sassanian coins: http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/c...cs/ancsasan.htm guy also known as gaius (These images are from Bob Reis's site. I can not vouch for the authenticity of the coins he sells...or anyone else's coins, for that matter).

Nice images of Hadrian's wall. http://perlineamvalli.org.uk/images.htm If this is a duplicate of another post, I will gladly delete this. guy also known as gaius

Thank you for the information. I was once asked about the orginal Latin of the famous quote I had posted about Blandinia Martiola. I know the CIL is XIII 1983, but I can't seem to find the orginal Latin. Can you help? Here is the translation in English:

Personally, I have no problem with what you have written. That said, there are other views: http://blog.ancient-future.net/2007/12/09/...s-of-christmas/ Here are sone of the key paragraphs to the article's argument:

A nice array of Parthian rulers: http://www.livius.org/pan-paz/parthia/kings.html Another good site by Douglass Mudd, expert on all things Parthian: http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collecti...ames/parhom.htm A nice review of Rome and Parthia at war: http://www.allempires.com/article/index.ph..._roman_parthian guy also know as gaius

Doug Smith wrote a great article on Parthian coins: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/parthar.html A good quote from the article: "Not being a people to write down their own history, most of what is known about the Parthians comes from writings of their enemies, the Romans. This gives us an incomplete and biased view of what was a very complex civilization. In particular, we are weak in our understanding of things that happened in the Eastern part of their lands and during times when they were at peace with Rome. Included in out list of rulers are a few known only as 'Unknown King' and several about whom we know little more than their name. This is made worse by the practice of most kings to inscribe coins with only the name of the founder of their dynasty omitting a personal name. 'Arsakes' became rather like 'Augustus' on Roman coins. Early legends were in Greek but as time passed these letters become increasingly illegible. Some later issues bear personal names in Aramaic letters." [Emphasis mine.] A professor of Greek Classics looked at my Parthian coins and commented that although the coins had Greek written on them, they were illegible. This site is a fantastic resource for all things Parthian: http://www.parthia.com/ Great source for Parthian coins: http://www.parthia.com/pdc_gonnella.htm guy also known as gaius

As far as I know, we lack the writings to understand all the nuanced forms of Arianism as practiced almost two thousand years ago As mentioned before, the Jehovah's Witnesses have elements of Arianism in their belief system. I think that some (although not all) Unitarians also have elements of Arianism in their faith. (Note the name Unitarian as opposed to Trinitarian.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism guy also known as gaius

Nice pictures from the Ancient world taken from a great site about Ancient Numismatics: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/t...s.php?album=150 guy also known as gaius

I hope this works. Here's my attempt to share the images of Parthian and Roman coins I discussed earlier: Visit My Website guy also known as gaius And several extra Parthians, some with a different reverse: On the reverse of the first coin (Vardanes I AD 40-47), the Parthian King is receiving a palm from the goddess Tyche (meaning "luck" in Greek, called Fortuna by Romans). Tyche was the deity of fortune and prosperity. Unlike the previous Parthian coins with the "seated archer" reverse, two of these coins are Tetradrachms, issued for provincial (local) use as opposed to for imperial (empire wide) use. Also included are three other Parthians: Artabanus III (AD 80-90) Orodes II (57-38 BCE), and Gotarzes II (AD 40-51): (You must be logged in to see the images)

I won't comment on this thread since I don't want to get into any theological debates. I have written, however, sympathetically in the past at this site about the heresy of Arius. For insight how the Orthodox Catholic church became the dominant Christian church in the Western Roman world, I recommend the book AD 381 by Charles Freeman. The bottom line as I see it: The concept of the Trinitarian godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) was created to counter charges of paganism against a faith that believed in potentially two gods (God the creator and his crucified son) but was supposedly monotheistic. The concept of the Holy Spirit was formally adopted only after the Nicene Creed to deal with other theological issues. Arianism survived long after the death of Arius in AD 331 among the

It is debatable whether the Sol Invictus festival on December 25 was the source for the December date of the Christmas Holiday. Nevertheless, coins with the image of Sol Invictus are among the most fascinating Ancient coins: http://rg.ancients.info/constantine/Sol_other.html http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_sol.html

Here's a nice site on Ancient Judaean coins: http://www.menorahcoinproject.org/index.htm guy also known as gaius

I was wondering whether anyone has read the new book by Rodney Stark about the crusades. Alhough it's title is unnecessarily provocative-God's Battalions:The Case for the Crusades, the book seems to have potential. It looks like an attempt to give balance to the view that the peaceful Muslim Empire was unjustly attacked by the murderous Christian zealots. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Gods-Batt...e/9780061582615 It always seemed to me that historians have been too quick to accept the destruction of the remnants of the Christianized Roman Empire in Northern Africa, Asia Minor, and Visigothic Spain by the Muslim armies as inevitable and even a positive event. These same historians are quick to harshly condemn the expected push back by the Christian European forces. History shows, I think, the result of this sharp rupture of the GrecoRoman or even Sassanian traditions in many parts of the world by an invading Muslim force. And the results aren't pretty. One critic of the book wrote: "I would ask Mr. Stark, who historically have been responsible for more "terrorism" and "aggression" than the Christian world?" For many of us on this forum, the answer is obvious. guy also known as gaius

Here's my promo for the future HBO/BBC Galla Placidia miniseries: She was the beautiful daughter of a powerful and great emperor. She was the sister to two young and weak emperors. She was the wife and empress to a brave Roman general. And she was the lover of a mighty barbarian Gothic king. Her story is a true tale of passion, love, scandal, betrayal, and intrigue. Galla Placidia: A woman who witnessed the collapse of the Ancient Roman world around her. Galla Placidia: The woman who tried to save an Empire. Yep. I think the story has potential guy also known as gaius

Galla Placidia (392-450) is one of the fascinating people of the late Roman Empire. She would make a great topic for any movie or miniseries. Her resume is impressive: Daughter of the great Emperor Theodosius I. Younger half-sister of the Emperors Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West. Grew up in the household of the Roman general Stilicho and his wife. Betrothed to Stilicho's son Eucherius until Stilicho's assassination. Captured by the Visigoth king Alaric. Married Alaric's successor, Ataulf till his assassination. Eventually freed to Rome and married Constantius III, eventual co-emperor with Honorius. Involved in the political intrigues of the Roman generals Bonifacius and Aetius. Mother and regent of the feckless Emperor Valentinian III. A potential movie about Galla Placidia would have everything: love, romance, tragedy, war, murder, and political intrigue. I'm not sure who would play the part of Galla Placidia. She would have to be, however, intellegent, scheming, but also beautiful and sensuous. Great movie. Can you hear me, HBO/BBC? Our esteemed author and friend to UNRV, Ian Hughes, could help with the screen play and act as an historical consultant. And I would volunteer my time and render my opinions at the rehearsals for the female lead of this movie. guy also known as gaius

Aurelia: Are you from Belgium? Isn't Dutch already mandatory there? Ik hou van Amsterdam. guy also known as gaius

An expert on Ancient coins wrote this about the longevity of circulation of Ancient coins. The specific coin discussed in this example is the famous Marc Antony denarius from 31 BCE used in circulation for two centuries: "Our final Imperatorial (and Republican) coin was issued in the period just before the Battle of Actium by the loser of this final fight for control of Rome. This final battle was to be at sea and Antony's sailors were paid in these coins showing a warship and military standards. Antony was short on resources to pay such huge sums so he added copper to the silver used for these coins. The alloy was, therefore, debased. After the battle (and Antony) had been lost, these coins remained in circulation. The fact that they were not good silver caused them to remain in circulation until the debasement of the regular Roman coinage reached the same level and made them desirable to be buried in hoards. Legionary denarii of Antony are common in hoards deposited over 200 years after their issue. Many of these coins are worn slick." This is taken from Doug Smith's excellent article on the web: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/voc2.html guy also known as gaius