guy

That’s an interesting question. Looking at the conquest by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century AD of the Western Hemisphere might shed some insights. The Spanish had a much smaller force that was equipped with modern weaponry. They faced vastly numerically superior forces that used premodern weaponry made of wood, stone, copper, and bronze. The indigenous tribes were stunned by the presence of horses, steel armor, swords, cannons, guns, and crossbows. The Arabs didn’t have these technological military advantages over their foes. The Arabs frequently didn’t suffer from such numerical disadvantages, either. The Spanish brought new diseases (especially smallpox) that worse-than-decimated the indigenous peoples they conquered. This made the vulnerable and weakened indigenous people more easily subjected. Disease may have played a role in the Arab conquest. The sources are unclear but the Arabs may have benefitted from the Plague of Justinian. The Spanish were able to recruit local tribes to fight with them. This was especially important for the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs who were loathed and feared by the surrounding tribes. This factor was, in fact, important in the Arab conquest of their enemies, including the Sassanians, Byzantines, as well as the Visigoths. The Arabs, for example, were able to elicit support from aggrieved Christian minorities against the Byzantines. The Arabs also had the advantage of facing Byzantine and Sassanian Empires that had weakened each other after decades of bloody fighting, leaving these Empires both economically and militarily exhausted. Like the Spanish, the Arabs were an impassioned and organized military force energized by an ideology. Most importantly, however, they both were able to exploit vulnerabilities in their enemies. Early Muslim conquests - Wikipedia This looks like a good book on the topic:

Late in 2021, a Roman military diploma was found at Perre, in southeast Turkey. (See post below.) This diploma was dated to AD 123 during Hadrian’s reign. There has been a recent find in the area of a bronze object with a Medusa head thought to be a military medal, possibly of Roman origin. https://arkeonews.net/1800-year-old-bronze-military-medal-with-medusa-head-found-in-southeastern-turkey/

Thank you for reading my post. It is amazing that the two dominant empires in the region suffered convincing defeats by an emergent power in such a short time. The bloody conflicts between Rome and the Sassanian Empire weakened both to allow a relatively new power to defeat each one separately in such a decisive fashion in AD 636. By AD 637 the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon fell and the Sassanian Imperial army totally collapsed soon afterwards in AD 642. Here are more pictures of the stunning gold coins discovered: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/10/treasure-hoard-uncovered-at-ancient-paneas/144898?amp

A Roman copy of Hercules has been found in the Greek city of Philippi. https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/statues-hercule-greece-04102022/

Is there room for a Gaius Californicus? If so, I’ll send over £25. guy

The Islamic Prophet Muhammad died in AD 632. Soon afterwards, there was a rapid Muslim Conquest of the then-Christian Levant. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius sent a large army to the Levant in AD 636 to check the Arab advance. He was decisively defeated, however, and the Byzantines were forced to leave the region. Within a few years, the Muslim conquest even defeated and ended the Sassanian Empire. A recently-discovered Byzantine coin hoard was discovered in Israel. It was probably hidden for safekeeping from the approaching threat. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/360698

Reading the article for the first time, I was skeptical about the function of the box as an “ancient refrigerator.” The contents of the box, however, made the belief more credible (see picture below). The discovery of this bottle, however, confirmed the description.

Archaeologists have been excavating a site known as Slaves Hill in the Timna Valley, which was a major center for copper production from the 11th to the ninth centuries B.C. (Image credit: Photo by Hai Ashkenazi, courtesy of the Central Timna Valley Project) The site of suspected mines of King Solomon have been studied in-depth. The reason for the failure of the mines has long been debated. There might now be an explanation: https://www.livescience.com/king-solomon-mines-depleted-firewood Here is a previous thread on the discovery of these suspected mines of King Solomon.

Buck Owen’s music, as much as anyone else’s, epitomizes the “Bakersfield sound.” This video with Dwight Yoakum and Buck Owen captures the sound with this song appropriately called “Streets of Bakersfield.”

The mythical now-extinct ancient plant of silphium has been discussed before. Turkish researchers believe that they have found the ancient plant at last: https://greekreporter.com/2022/09/27/plant-ancient-greece-rediscovered/ https://www.dnaindia.com/science/report-miracle-cure-all-plant-from-ancient-times-that-mysteriously-vanished-2000-years-ago-rediscovered-silphion-2988492

More pictures on the find: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-62989415

The accepted narrative was that Palmyra was destroyed by Aurelian In AD 273 when Zenobia and her son rebelled against a weakened Roman Empire. New studies, however, suggest that climate impact may have played a significant role, also. Poor harvests may have weakened the city’s resolve and ability to defend itself. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/09/archaeologists-give-new-insights-into-final-blow-of-autonomous-ancient-palmyra/144774?amp https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273241

An ancient anchor, possibly of Roman origin, has been found off the British coast of Suffolk during survey works for a wind farm turbine by ScottishPower. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/09/ancient-anchor-found-at-the-bottom-of-the-north-sea/144778?amp https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2022/09/26/anchor-discovered-during-offshore-wind-farm-work-may-date-from-roman-times/

A Roman mosaic in Folkestone, England was reburied due to lack of funding after being discovered in the 20s. It has recently been unburied. Folkestone is a port town on the English Channel in south eastern England. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/09/roman-mosaic-re-exposed-by-archaeologists-in-folkestone/144724?amp Interestingly, the recently-discovered Roman villa in Scarborough has been reburied:

There have been previous posts about the use of opium in antiquity, including the recent finding of opium in a Canaanite grave (see below). Here is a scientific article dealing with the subject of the Canaanite find and conclusions of the research: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/arcm.12806

Thanks for that interesting quote: Here’s an interesting post that deals with the legacy of Nero: https://ancientimes.blogspot.com/2015/08/why-did-optimus-princeps-trajan-admire.html?m=1

Nero a successful emperor (despite numerous faults)? I’ll put you down as a “maybe.”

A cornu mouthpiece has been found at Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/09/roman-cornu-mouthpiece-uncovered-at-vindolanda/144736?amp

Another article on the site: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-evidence-of-earliest-known-opium-use-180980823/

Items found at the site of the Roman baths at ancient Corinth include a spectacular carnelian stone carved with the likeness of a young man. Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture The Greek city of Corinth was known throughout Ancient Greece as a destination known for its rich lascivious lifestyle. It became an important commercial center because of its prominent location on the Greek isthmus. Not unexpectedly, it was destroyed by Rome in AD 146 (the year Carthage was finally destroyed by the Romans) but was soon rebuilt by Rome to become an important city in the Roman Empire. The finding of this Roman bath site at Corinth offers a glimpse into Greco-Roman culture. Interestingly, a Bronze Age settlement was found under the bath complex. https://greekreporter.com/2022/09/22/bronze-age-settlement-roman-bath-corinth/

Pottery vessel with opium found at Tel YehudAssaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority This finding of opium in a Canaanite grave confirms the belief that psychoactive drugs were part of the ancient world. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/360096 This is the 2020 find of cannabis at an ancient Jewish alter. This cannabis find, however, is dated 600 years after the opium discovery:

Here is an exceptionally well-done, but dystopian view of London in AD 500. I imagine a sort of “Mad Max” post apocalyptic scene after the last organized Roman presence abandoned the Island.

A Roman harbor has been discovered off the coast of Barbariga, Croatia. It was used as distribution point for a local olive oil mill that is now submerged by water. I expect more discoveries as underwater archaeology develops.

We have discussed the reassessment of Nero before. (See threads below.) Here is an article that outlines ten positives of Nero; Nero Helped Rebuild Rome After the Fire Nero Set New Urban Rules for Rome He Significantly Lowered Taxes He Built the Biggest Roman Palace at the Time: The Golden House or Domus Aurea Nero Relentlestly Promoted Artistic Expression Nero Backed and Encouraged Athletic Events Nero Allowed Slaves to Complain Against Their Master Millions of People Loved Him… Even After His Death! Nero Enhanced the Greek Culture His Diplomatic Abilities Ended the War Against the Parthian Empire https://listverse.com/2022/09/18/10-positive-qualities-of-nero-and-his-reign-people-dont-know/

This is another great video by Classical Numismatics. This video deals with the history and numismatics of Aurelian, one of Rome’s most successful Emperors who helped to unify a fragmented empire. Here is a previous thread on the deity Sol Invictus. The fifth post delves into the role that Aurelian played in promoting the previously lesser deity into Rome’s major official religion in AD 270.