DecimusCaesar

Hope you have a great Birthday Doc!

I'm late on the Saturnalia, so I'd like to wish all members of UNRV a Happy Brumalia, Christmas, holiday etc!

For a moment there I thought that this was one of those Onion news stories, especially when the Doctor mentioned he wanted to create a Mickey Mouse.

I'm still waiting for the first series to come out on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Last film I saw was Joyeux Noel, a French film about the Christmas truce of World War 1, The last game I played was the Sci-fi shooter Half Life 2 (I'm still stuck on one level), I'm currently reading my way through Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier by Raffaele D'Amato and Graham Sumner.

Thanks for the link Viggen! I noticed that this film will come out on my birthday, although I doubt I will go see it on that day. I'm a bit nervous about the fact that the film is centered on Channing Tatum, who I think isn't strong enough to carry a central role, although who knows I might be pleasently surprised by his portrayl of Marcus Aquila. The trailer doesn't give me much hope though.

I'd recommed Adrian Goldsworthy's book too, although its length (about 700 pages) might put you off. A good short book about Julius Caesar is from the Command Series by Nic Fields. It's about 64 pages long and covers Caesar's military career. Despite its length and the fact it has illustrations, it isn't really what I'd call a kids book (it's geared towards adults), but it does give you a very short intro to Caesar's career as a general (but doesn't really cover his private or political life). Another book you could try is Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier & Tyrant by the British General J.F.C Fuller. It's around 300 pages long and gives you a good overview of Caesar, especially on military matters considering Mr. Fuller was a general with battle experience from the First World War as a Tank commander. Some bits on logistics tend to be dry though, and the book is a good 45 years old, so keep that in mind.

Caracalla could be a good candidate considering he was tyrannical and vicious, but I doubt he was one of the worst (compared with Commodus, Nero and Caligula). Petronius Maximus was a very weak and ineffectual ruler who ended up getting killed and mutilated by the Roman mob as he tried to flee the city after the Vandals attacked in AD 455. He ruled for just two months.

Interesting. I've been reading about Arsinoe II recently and she comes across as a fascinating but ruthless woman. Her life story is tragic in someways too, such as how her half brother had her two children killed in order to have her deposed from the Macedonian throne after the death of Lysimachos. She did good in Egypt with her brother though, even if their rule offended many Greeks.

Hope you had a great day Kosmo!

I think the Dark Ages started in different areas at different times. For instance in Britain you could argue it started in AD 410 when the Romans withdrew. It then continued in its 'darkest' period (an era where we have virtually no writing) until the Conquest of Britain by Gildas around AD 590. Perhaps in italy the period could start with Romulus Augustus getting deposed by Odoacer in AD 476, although Theodoric the Great still attempted to keep latin culture alive for many years after the fall.

Thanks Bryaxis and Ursus. I'll be sure to check out the Michael Grant book as I've enjoyed his books in the past. Interesting how the Germans seem to dominate the field of Hellenistic studies. I'm pretty sure the Germans are the main experts on the Hittites too.

I think Marcus Aurelius chose Commodus as it would have made for a smoother transition of power. There weren't many great candidates for the position outside of the Imperial family, so Aurelius might have chosen his own son rather than an another weak leader, as by choosing his son he could have avoided a civil war after his death, something that might have broken out with another heir. Civil Wars between claimants to the Imperial throne were endemic in later times. Perhaps Aurelius thought that having Commodus in power would make for a better long term option rather a civil war.

Great review! This one's going to go on my Christmas wishlist.

Thanks for the review. Dando-Collins has a new book out next month called Legions of Rome. It's supposed to be a history of all the Imperial Legions. I'd like to get it but I'm wary considering his other books on individual legions (such as the tenth legion) have been criticised for all their baseless statements and inaccuracies.

Does anyone here at UNRV know of any good narrative histories of the Hellenistic World? I've got F.W Walbank's book on the subject, but his book is more of a thematic guide to the era rather than an account. Other books like Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World touches upon the lives and times of the Ptolemaic pharaohs but doesn't cover the Seleucids, Macedonians etc. It seems odd that there is no popular account of this important period, although that might be down to me not searching hard enough for them. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Here's the trailer to the film: Eagle trailer (2011)

Just caught this on Steam this week, a newly released strategy title about Philip of Macedon's conquest of Greece by a low budget independent developer. The game was made on a shoestring budget - and it shows. The graphics are about a decade old, although it's still a fun, charming and addictive game. I found it hard to get into at first as it didn't look particularly appealing although the more I play the more engrossed I become. It sort of combines the Total War series' strategic and tactical maps into one seamless interface so that you can have a grand strategic view ,based around a Risk style map of Greece, and a tactical battle view by zooming down on the map, so there's no need for loading screens between both sections. One thing I find original and great is how they implemented supply lines into the game. Your army needs to be fed and paid, so you must link up your food/gold sources to your local towns or cities. The food is then transported to your army - although enemy soldiers can raid your supplies, while you can raid their's. One thing I do find frustrating though is how the battles are handled. You can mass an army of phalanxes, hypaspists, companion cavalry and peltasts; although when you send them to battle only one battalion can engage the enemy forces at a time, while your other soldiers stand back and watch the outcome. I also find the real time element frustrating on the strategic map as it can be difficult to deal with so much going on at the same time, although there's a pause button for that I suppose. In the end though I find it difficult to to be overly harsh on such a low budget independent game. Whether it's going to hold my attention as the game gets harder is another matter, and it is already a difficult game... Anyone else played this, any thoughts on it? A link to the game's page - Hegemony: Philip of Macedon

I have seen brief clips of this on the internet. It does seem to jumping on to the 300 wagon, although I must admit to being pleasently surprised that the History Channel still covers ancient history. It was pushed to the margins by World War 2 programming a few years back, and with other shows on ce Road Truckers, UFOs and Ghosts It does seem like a good sign that ancient history is making a comeback on the channel.

I agree it does sound interesting, especially the sheer length of the series and the ground it covers. I'll probably get this for Christmas.

Who knows perhaps the Hollywood executives might pull an 'Age of Mythology' on us and have a mix up of various Greek, Norse etc Myths all in one movie (technically they did that with the Norse Kraken). Although I still find it hard to see how characters from Arthurian literature fit into Greek myths/history. Perhaps in the last part of the trilogy Perseus can team up with Don Quixote to take on Spartacus.

I find it strange that he managed to trace his ancestors back directly to a famous historical event nearly 2,000 years ago. Genetic history has really started to become popular in the last few years what with books by Stephen Oppenheimer, Brian Sykes etc; TV Shows (100% English? I Think it was called on C4) and now stuff like this.

A very late birthday hails to you JGolomb.

Couldn't think of a name to use so I just chose 'Decimus'. If I remember correctly the name was already taken, so I tried to think of a surname. Being unimaginative I just went with the most famous and obvious cognomen 'Caesar'. Thinking back I wish I had taken the time to think up a more imaginative name.

Great movie, I enjoyed watching it (although I'm not sure if enjoyed is the right word). As for the ending (no spoilers), that did happen although the details of the event are incorrect.