G-Manicus

BSBA (Finance, with an Economics minor). My wife also indicates I have a Masters Degree in Sarcasm and a PhD in Wiseguy, but I usually don't put those on my resume'.

(Edited because now I know what he's talking about ... I can be a little slow on the ol' uptake at times)

What about the German invasion circa 110 BC +/-? They wiped out several armies before Marius' army stopped them at Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae. You guys would know better than me, but the readings I've done indicate that had they failed to stop them there, then nothing would have stood between them and Rome.

Jerry Seinfeld Bill Cosby George Carlin The Blue Collar Comedy Tour guys

Never heard of him.

I go by "G Man" on other message boards, so G-Manicus is a romanization of that. And besides, it sounds a little like Germanicus to boot.

Carthage They could've conquered Rome had Hannibal headed there following Cannae.

Along the documentary/educational lines, some other good television shows are "Rome: Power and Glory" (I know, I know ... they show the same schlocky, grainy B movie clips over and over) and "Engineering an Empire." I also get a kick out of "What the Romans Did For Us" as well.

PPS - I found this site to be a useful resource when reading the book. Personally, I had a tough time keeping track of who all the (numerous) characters were. But then again, I'm not the brightest lamp in the living room.

PS - I thought it would be bad form to start a new thread without searching first. 5 pages later I found one.

I've just recently started this series and I love it. I got the first 3 books off of eBay for $6 (incl. shipping! ). I have about 100 pages to go in "First Man of Rome." Was never much of a fan of the Marius / Sulla period but I'm hooked now. According to Wikipedia btw:

I, Claudius is the standard against which all others are measured IMO. After that, my personal fave was the Jeremy Sisto version of Julius Caesar. I could have made do with some different casting choices, but all told I thought it was historically accurate in large part and the sets were first rate (particularly the siege of Alesia)

I'll offer up "The Battle of the Cowpens" in the American Revolution. American General Nathaniel Greene, being pursued by a vastly superior British force lead by Lord Cornwallis, goes against conventional wisdom and splits his army in two, with the other half given to the command of General Daniel Morgan. The idea was to try and split Cornwallis' army in two as well in order to avoid an all out confrontation. Greene is pursued north by Cornwallis while Morgan is pursued by notorious British Cavalry office Banastre Tarleton. Morgan then decides to make a stand at a place called The Cowpens in South Carolina, backed up against a river so that his men would have to stand and fight. Saddled with a high number of inexperienced infantrymen, Morgan knows they will panic when the British cavalry charges. He comes up with a brilliant plan (ala Hannibal at Cannae) and puts these inexperienced troops front and center of his line, in front of two full lines of experienced militia types, and tells them after they fire their 2 shots that it is okay to turn and withdraw to the rear. Greene correctly banks on Tarleton's aggressive tendencies and sure enough Tarleton charges straight for the center line upon arriving at The Cowpens. After watching the Americans fire their two volleys and turning to withdraw to the rear, Tarleton incorrectly believes he has them in a panic retreat and heads straight into the brunt of two full lines of colonials who annihilate his forces in a double envelopment. A devastating defeat for the British. Morgan then proceeds back after Cornwallis, who has been desperately trying to catch up to Greene's forces. The hunter then becomes the hunted and Cornwallis is forced to head to Virginia and holes himself up at a little place called ... Yorktown. And the rest as they say ... is history.

No, but if you want to tally them all up, be my guest. -- Nephele *crickets chirp*

That must be why the rest of the kids in my Youth Chariot League called me G Man! (Hopefully Mom and Pop have enough $ stashed away to get me into the Senate) Thanks, Nephele! Do you keep track of who is part of what tribe here?

Truthfully, I never saw one I liked.

Hope I did this right ... wngriymegiolldaeehrny Kramer Victor!

I have a number of faves: 1) Julius Caesar - His siege at Alesia was simply brilliant. One of my favorite moments in all of history. Throw in the Rubicon, the bridge across the Rhine, Civil War against Pompey, etc., and he's clearly at the top of my list. 2) Marcus Agrippa - From virtual nobody to Augustus' top general who won the decisive battle at Actium, signaling the end of the Republic. Throw in his engineering / architectural work to boot. 3) Cincinnatus - The farmer general who surrendered Dictatorial power voluntarily, setting the example which would later be followed by Washington. 4) Gaius Marius - His campaigns against Jugurtha and later the Germanic tribes helped to save Rome. His comprehensive military reforms and Civil War with Sulla were a contributing factor in Rome's shift from Republic to Empire 5) Scipio - The dude beat Hannibal. 'Nuff said!

I wonder if they looked like this? Just do it!

Interesting read. Thanks.

LOL!

The original series was recently named one of the 100 Best TV Shows of Alltime by Time Magazine. I've got a DVD copy of it. Some of the best television I've ever seen. ("Cl-cl-cl-claudius ..." ) HBO's "Rome" did not make the list (nor did Barney Miller, The Brady Bunch, or The Andy Griffith Show! Bastards!)

I live in Cincinnati, OH ... named after Cincinnatus.

Greetings. The G Man has arrived.