guy

Thank you for your response. I agree with everything you wrote. I agree that Valens was Arian. I only disagreed with the nortion that it was Valens who converted the Goths. At least a large segment of Goths had almost certainly converted sometime before Valens and that it was pro-Catholic anti-Arian propaganda that suggested that it was the heretical Valens who converted the Goths to Arianism. guy also known as gaius

Thank you for this interesting quote from Jordanes. It appears that he also denigrates the Arian "heresy" and (mistakenly) blames Emperor Valens for the Gothic conversion to Arianism. Jordanes has a very anti-Arian viewpoint, indeed. guy also known as gaius

Thank you for reading my post and thank you for the very thoughtful reply. I would strongly disagree with the above statement, however. The above statement is the more popular pro-Catholic, anti-Arian rendition of history. With that version of history, it could only be “the will of God” that the heretical Emperor Valens would die at the Battle of Adrianople in AD 378 at the hands of those Goths. According to this history, he had only recently corrupted the Goths with his promulgation of Arianism. But maybe reality is not so neat and tidy. Let’s think about events. The Arian missionary Ulfilas had preached Arianism to the Goths and translated the Bible into the Gothic language several decades before Adrianople and before Valens became Emperor. Ulfilas found a very receptive audience in a tribe probably previously exposed to Arian teachings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulfilas But according to the pro-Catholic views, however, the Goths were converted only later (AD 376) to Arianism by Valens. Of course, these barbarians, with their newly-found heretical faith, turned around and destroyed the Arian Valens and his Roman army. Obviously, this is divine retribution for promoting such a heretical belief as Arianism. Like Julian before him, Emperor Valens would face the wrath of (a Catholic) God. Then, again, maybe Valen's defeat at Adrianople was not divine intervention after all. Maybe it was bad timing, bad diplomacy, and bad luck. Thank you, again, for the responses. guy also known as gaius

Although the Roman mistreatment of the Goths would be an excellent example of Roman greed and malicious dealings with a potential ally and immigrant group, I don't think that all the warm cuddles in the world would have dissuaded the Huns and Sassanians, for example, from their belligerent ways. Remember, by the time of mistreatment of the Goths mentioned above, the Goths were mostly Christians (although mostly Arians) and ready for a more settled life within the Empire. The Huns were more nomadic and the Sassanians were both intolerant and more rigidly ideological. These two groups would have never assimilated into the Empire. guy also known as gaius

Although many migrant groups potentially wanted to be allied with the Romans and even to be incorporated into the empire, some groups (such as the Huns) certainly did not. Many barbarian groups prided themselves on their independence and maintaining their culture, thriving on mayhem and destruction. They did not have some dream of assimilation and enculturation with the Roman Empire. guy also known as gaius

An interesting article that possibly smacks of elitism by an author I respect: According to the author: http://www.wsj.com/articles/ancient-rome-and-todays-migrant-crisis-1445005978 guy also known as gaius

Thanks to the guys over at cointalk (Cyrrhus and Arnoldoe) for bringing this latest find to our attention: http://sofiaglobe.com/2015/09/04/bulgarian-archaeologists-find-nearly-3000-coins-in-clay-pot-at-sofia-dig/ http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/09/04/archaeologists-discover-treasure-of-silver-roman-coins-during-excavations-of-ancient-serdica-in-bulgarias-capital-sofia/ guy also known as gaius

Yes, indeed. That last book listed by a certain Mr. Hughes looks especially interesting. I already have several of his books. He always creates an illuminating and enjoyable read about some nebulous times in Roman history. Strong work, Ian! guy also known as guy

Interesting article. One can only wonder how, when, and why these cool Alexandrian tetradrachms traveled thousands of miles to end up in London. guy also known as gaius

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11819760/Islamic-State-destroy-ancient-temple-at-Palmyra.html An Isil flag fluttering atop the circular wall bounding the orchestra at the Roman theatre of the ancient city of Palmyra guy also known as gaius

Somewhere I had written about the surprising intact genetic idenity of Italians despite the numerous interactions with "barbarians." Here's a cute summary from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_Italy guy also known as gaius

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/18/middleeast/isis-executes-antiquities-expert/index.html guy also known as gaius (Thank you Ancientnoob for helping to bring this story to our attention.)

Good luck with the book. I can only imagine how exciting but also how stressful all this can be. guy also known as gaius

Although glass making was know in the Ancient world centuries before the Roman Empire, glass blowing started around 40 BCE. This is the famous Ennion piece from the first-century A.D.(just over 9 inches tall). It is thought to be a wine jug and has the Greek inscription ENNIWN E OIEI (Ennion made it) : Here is the related video: Here is another related video: Interesting stuff, guy

guy also known as gaius

An occasionally humorous (but sometimes annoying) rendition of history by one of Britain's leading comics Wow. I just got back from Las Vegas and I had a chance to see Eddie Izzard. For people who aren’t familiar with him, he is an English comedian and quick-witted polyglot…as well as a heterosexual transvestite. He is also a proud British Labourite and atheist. (Izzard cross-dressing during a previous tour) I went to see him because of his amusing renditions of history, especially ancient history. He opened his act by describing the regicide of Charles I of England, followed by an interesting recounting of King John and the signing of the Magna Carta. Izzard later gave a light account of Caesar’s victory over Vercingetorix and his Celtic allies at Alesia. (His portrayal of Marc Antony as a robo-chicken was more bizarre than funny, however.) He emphasized the later genocide and enslavement of at least a million Celts. He quickly segued into a funny and campy version of Caesar’s murder. As a leftist, he made several references to “right-wing extremists.” This included the usual litany of suspects: Nazis, fascists, racists, etc. Strangely, this group of extremists also included anyone who didn’t want higher taxes, Austrian economists, and the Tea Party. Izzard also made some hardly topical references to Reagan, Thatcher, Nixon, and Bush the younger. As someone who isn’t religious or Catholic, even I felt that the (presumably former Anglican) atheist may have gone too far when he equated modern Christianity (especially Catholicism) with the worst of religious extremism. He listed some of the abuses of the Catholic Church, including the Spanish Inquisition from four hundred years ago, for example, as evidence. He reminded everyone that the previous Pope had even been a member of the Hitler Youth. Being politically correct, however, Izzard failed to mention by name the one extremist fringe of a religion that today most threatens Western freedoms. For some there is one extremist group that they dare not speak its name. Eddie Izzard can be quick-witted and entertaining. I found his preachiness somewhat off-putting, however. The audience was very appreciative of his act, however. He has a very loyal following in Las Vegas and he shares his time with the audience after the show. Hopefully, many in the audience will be motivated by Izzard to google Caesar and Alesia, discovering the joys of Ancient Roman history. Then, maybe they will dig deeper and find that history is far more nuanced than Izzard imagines. guy also known as gaius

I found this video really interesting: guy also known as gaius

I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend to see Eddie Izzard. I might even get a history and Latin lesson (see below): guy also known as gaius

It's always good to review the confusing succession of emperors during the unstable Third Century of Crisis of Ancient Rome. Here's a nice review article on the numismatics of that tumultuous period. http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=4675 guy also known as gaius

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11655510/Colosseum-killing-machine-reconstructed-after-more-than-1500-years.html guy also known as gaius

I imagine that most the texts salvaged will just be more philosphical musings. Hopefully, some of the "lost" Greek plays will be discovered. We can hope, as Romanophiles, that the scrolls include important lost works such as lost parts of Livy's history or the Emperor Claudius's works on Carthage or the Etruscans. It is sad to think that many of the carbonized papyrus scrolls were carelessly destroyed by more modern "researchers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Papyri http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ancient-scrolls-blackened-vesuvius-are-readable-last-herculaneum-papyri-180953950/?no-ist guy also known as gaius

I hope that this isn't a repost, but it is interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpTunZJ845I guy also known as gaius

I agree. I almost gave up on this site when I couldn't find the forum. Make the "forum" its own column. guy also known as gaius

In the past ten or so years: Ancient/Medieval- Gladiator Although I agree that the movie "Gladiator" was not historically accurate (and bordered on the ridiculous), the opening battle scene in Germania was impressive. guy also known as gaius

Watch the included video: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/concerns-grow-for-fate-of-palmyra-one-of-the-middle-easts-most-renowned-sites/2015/05/21/45e47ec2-ff8b-11e4-805c-c3f407e5a9e9_story.html guy also known as gaius