Tobias

I must say, although i have little time for Cato and the other Optimates, it would have been extremely interesting to see Caesar meeting the Optimates in a clash of wits and legal skill. However, it's hardly unfair to say that the Boni would not allow Caesar to have a fair trial; Pompey eventually had the Senatus Consultum Ultimatum in effect, and i have little doubt that he would use that to rush Caesar through a staged trial, strip him of all his powers and force him into exile, or use it to proscribe him.

The methods of Capital Punishment have always been a little iffy-how do you legally kill someone properly? I'd just like to give an example of a method of Capital Punishment in Indonesia, which (hopefully) in the near future, the captured Bali Bombers will be facing. The main method of Capital Punishment in Indonesia is firing squad, but the way they do it is rather interesting. A group of soldiers (usually around 12 men) are chosen. They each pick a rifle at random from a rack provided. All but two of the rifles are loaded with blanks. That way, who fired the killing shot is usually kept anonymous. The downside of this-the condemned does not necessarily die instantly. Reported cases of a condemned person taking two or three minutes to die after being shot have reached us. Not particularly pleasant, but then, i think i'd prefer that to hanging.

So you should too, you could be the next J. K. Rowling...

Some truly fascinating pictures there Ludovicus, i must thank you for the link to that site. I was especially interested in the land walls, and the Forum of Constantine ( I was unaware that the statue of Constantine fell off the pillar-quite interesting!)

Well everyone, i think the problem is solved. Whilst reading today's "Daily Telegraph", i noticed the front page story was that two high profile rugby league players (a Lebanese chap and a chap from Cronulla) have got together to publicly condemn this racism. The voice of sports superstars ought to calm down the masses We're quite used to them by now. I've got a lot of Indian friends that i work with during the school holidays, and in general they're alright. The only time you don't like them is when you ring Telstra and you get an Indian operator (99% of the time). I'm not racist, but they can be exceptionally difficult to understand over the phone, and when you ring Telstra, you expect to get Telstra, not end up in Bombay or somewhere Seriously though, we don't mind Indians. But then, i'm speaking for myself, others may have different opinions.

I read that at some stage in the history of Rome, some recruits of the guard were prisoners, also that sometimes gladiators were offered a position after a successful career in the arena. Is there any truth in this?

He didn't do particularly well in the defence of Milo, i believe...

Hmm, i suppose a bullet proof vest would be useful in ancient Rome if a gunfight broke out.... Maybe we could waive the "De ea re ita censuerant" temporarily and start up a thread entitled "Augustus vs the Time Travelling Mafia" In all seriousness, I haven't come across a report on Augustus constantly wearing an undercoat of armour before, and would seriously doubt the accuracy of such a report. Although when one thinks about it, it might not be an impossibility, just unlikely, given the power that Augustus wielded.

That sounds like an interesting idea, but i've detected a certain amount of dislike of the idea of turning into a roleplaying community from some of the Upper Echelons, so that idea may not be well received...

Ursus beat me to it by quite a bit, surely it's from Dr Who though? I'm glad this rule was brought in. It was reasonably interesting to compare rather different forces for a time there, but after a while it just got monotonous.

Well, that is certainly one of the most comprehensive accounts i have ever read of the fall of Constantinople. That was very interesting reading Fox Hound- well done. A legend i read about was that when Turkish soldiers broke into the Saint Sophia Cathedral, during the slaughter, several priests were supposed to have gathered up the chalices and a few other things, and disappeared into the back wall. It was later said that these priests would re-appear and continue the service where they left off when St Sophia and Constantinople was again ruled by a Christian ruler. It is of course a fanciful legend, but it's an interesting thought nonetheless. I know that Mehmet's soldiers had to be satisfied, and they certainly took a few hard knocks from the Byzantines, but Constantinople was such a beautiful city, and although i have no cultural relation or descendancy from the Byzantines, it makes my blood boil to think of that great city being subjected to the terrible whims of the conquerors. Surely the city was worth more to Mehmet relatively unharmed? But there you go, what was done was done, and i guess nothing can change it.

After following the Van Nguyen Case, i am inclined to agree with you Germanicus, as far as drugs trafficking is concerned. However, i would have to say that for serial murder or serious terrorism (i.e. September 11 calibre, if any terrorists were left alive that is), i would support the death penalty. As far as rape is concerned, well, how well would castration work? (Joking) Just out of interest; A fellow told me that in the state of New York, the punishment for attempted suicide used to be death-- was this true? If so, that's a bit of a weird way of carrying on is it not?

No need to get alarmist Sextus In an Australian Newspaper called the Daily Telegraph, i read a story about how two blokes of Lebanese descent were cornered on a beach in this area by one of these mobs. The mobs were giving all that spiel about how "our Grandfathers fought for our flag and our country, not so that you can come and pollute the country", and the moment one of the chaps said that they were born in Australia, and that the Australian flag was theirs as well, they were just set upon by the mob. If there weren't a few police around, they would have killed this pair of people, who were Australian born. None of these riots are indicative of the true feelings of the majority of Australia, but i'm afraid it does point out that many are not happy about multiculturalism, and don't worry, after i followed the case of the Lebanese Gang Rapists, i was ready to condemn multiculturalism as well, but i've long realised that these riots are definetly not true blue Australian. By the way Germanicus, just to let you know in advance, i'm aspiring to be Prime Minister one day, keep an eye out for me

Lost Warrior, i had no idea you had the makings of such a good author! I sincerely enjoyed that short story, and i'm usually not into short stories. It's interesting that you take the view of a female who becames a gladiator, as all the views one usually sees is of male ones. It is, perhaps, a little fantastic, but i think it'd by just the sort of story that'd get younger people into Roman history. At any rate, i congratulate you on a very nice piece of work

Hmm, sort of an undercoat of plate, scale or chain mail armour was it? That sounds interesting. If it is true, did he often wear this around? If so, i believe that would argue either a kind of "Semper Paratus" temperament for Augustus or a mite of insecurity

I believe it was either the huns or the goths, (not sure which) that wanted to adopt the Roman's laws and administration systems, and continue running the empire as best as possible. Many peoples outside the empire looked at Rome's great institutions, it's buildings, technology and grandeur and wanted to be part of it. When they asked for this, usually it was either denied or rewarded for military service or allegiance. Of course, peoples would tire of this and eventually just attack the empire and take the grandeur by force. This was happening before the huns arrived-imagine what it must have been like when they did arrive

Ah, so that's how you get into the reviewing side of things. Although i'm not particularly confident in my reviewing skill, i love reading books on ancient Rome, and i didn't get 97 out of 100 for my English Exam in the NSW School Certificate Exam for nothing....

Are you sure it wasn't the fiddle?

Well, i live out in the bush just west of Central NSW, so i'm not that close to it, but it's all over the news here as well. It all began with a few Australian Lifeguards being beaten up by a group of people of "Middle Eastern Appearance" on Cronulla Beach. Well, recently here in Australia, a few people of middle eastern appearance have been causing fury amoung the people (Multiculturalism is sure as hell not the blessing Paul Keating and Al Grasby said it was according to them), and multiplied with the thoughts of terrorism and the thought of foreigners hijacking our country, this anger just bubbled over. A mobile phone text message reached the local Shire offices declaring that a "Lebanese and Wog Bashing Day" had been declared by the people, and suggested that they bring friends to help them do just that. Since then, it's just been riots all over the place on the NSW coast, mainly places like Cronulla. You have to remember that the Australian culture is predominantly British in nature, and a lot of people largely resent what they see as Muslim or Foreign Intrusion. It's pretty much under control now, but it indicates that a certain amount of Australians are not happy with Multiculturalism. Myself, i don't have anything against foreigners, one of my best mates is from Egypt. Just must be those crazy city dwellers, it's so much better in the bush Can you add anything i may have missed Germanicus?

I think you've summed it up pretty well Favonius. The creation of a Consular "hierarchy" would just bring about chaos in the end, or at least a certain amount of dispute. I don't see anything wrong with the current system, and the current moderators seem to be able to handle the workload well. Anyway, that's just my two bob's worth, don't let me stop reform

Being a true blue Aussie, i can speak fluent Australian Also, a few years ago, when i entered high school, it was compulsory for us to take a language class. The language we learnt alternated with the year, and that year we were to study Indonesian. I picked up a smattering of Indonesian, and could probably ask my way if i ever got shipwrecked over there, a not impossible occurence considering how close Australia is to Indonesia I would love to learn latin, as well as either Egyptian, Greek or Turkish (one of those three)

There should be a bit of distinction here. Charlemagne's Empire and the Holy Roman Empire were two different empires. Charlemagne, King of the Franks and annointed "Emperor Governing the Roman Empire" by Pope Leo III, conquered the majority of Continental Christian Western Europe, and once he died, his territories fell to pieces until all that was left was the Kingdom of Italy. This Empire began with Pepin, King of the Franks, defending the Papacy from the Lombards, (beginnning around 754 AD) and began to disintegrate after Charlemagne's death in 814 AD. The Holy Roman Empire came into being when "In the West, most of the lands of Charlemagne's Empire were reunited, and this time the Empire proved far longer lasting. In 952 Otto I, King of Germany, had taken the Kingdom of Italy by force. In 962, the Pope crowned him Emperor in Rome. The connection between Italy and Germany was made secure by the addition of the Kingdom of Burgundy (south-east Gaul) in 1033. The Holy Roman Empire gained Sardinia in 1046, but lost the Duchy of Spoleto (central Italy) in 1144. It also expanded eastwards into Poland, making Silesia a dependency in 1163 and annexing Pomerania in 1181. Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg recognized the Popes' declaration of independence of the Papal States in 1278" -via http://4umi.com/image/map/rome/19maps.htm#338%20BC The Holy Roman Empire was thus effectively deprived of the right to call themselves "Roman", if they ever had it in the first place. it existed as a state for quite some time.

The Huns have interested me considerably for a long time, mainly because it is amazing how a tribe of horseback warriors could utterly bring an (at the time) unsteady footed by nevertheless powerful empire to it's knees. I've haboured an increasing admiration for the Roman General Flavius Aetius. As most will know, he was at one stage a hostage of Rugila, King of the Huns, and it is said that he gained military inspiration and vigour, that was certainly lacking in the Roman Empire at the time, from the Huns. Aetius used the Huns to consolidate his own power throughout the Empire, and when Attila the Hun did invade Europe, Aetius and Theodoric the Goth moved to attack him, which of course resulted in the famous Battle of Chalons on the Catalunian Plains. It was, i believe, Attila's worst defeat, although tactically it was an indecisive battle. The Huns were interesting. Even after causing so much damage and causing other tribes to revolt from the Empire, they continued to seek battle and cause destruction. Of course, it all lead to the deposition of Romulus Augustus and the passing of the West into Odovacer's hands. I'd have to say that the Huns could claim to be the largest influence on Europe at the time.

Those are some extremely interesting links supplied there. I'm interested in that Tulane Roman Empire Population link though; is the setting (Constantine to the Crusades) of the population figures the time the Empire had it's peak in population? If so, that is rather a useful list of figures.

I agree wholeheartedly with that, a lot of posts i've seen by various people are single sentence, rather useless replies or posts in a subject that help no-one and can even discourage conversation. I suppose, as Viggen said, the usergroup is a more accurate representation of how much a person has contriubted to the site, which is a good thing.