Segestan

They appear to have been buried alive. Clearly young persons, the teeth are in excellent condition. Respect? Hmmm

A realistic take on the EU.

Awesome lecture. Thanks for that link.

Somnia Imperii................ http://www.ancestral.co.uk/romanmusic.htm Roman music composed by ; David Marshall

Thanks for the review. I'll put this book on my list of do's.

Seems the debate is very emotional on both sides, some things never change. "As you know, Congressional representatives, Pentagon, and State Department officials publicly acknowledge Macedonia?s material commitment of blood and treasure on behalf of missions that support the fundamental values of both the United States and Macedonia. They also recognize the rapid progress that Macedonia has made in developing a pluralistic, representative democracy -- characterized by implementation of free market principles and the rule of law -- during its now 20 years of independence. Last fall, nineteen House Representatives and four Senators sent letters to President Obama urging his administration to support Macedonia?s accession to NATO. Moreover, the United States recognizes Macedonia?s constitutional name: the Republic of Macedonia. An additional 131 other countries also recognize Macedonia by the rightful name its citizens have chosen for their country. In stark contrast, Greece

Agree. There is very much to learn from the story of these past cultures. Why and how such advanced peoples rose and fell?

Mr Charles Rollin wrote an excellent book describing the former glory of the east.... http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofegyptia01rolliala#page/184/mode/2up

There is a good deal of research done on this topic............. http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/macedonia/macedonia.html Modern Greek state and local politics is itself an invention of western influence.

What is a good source material for ancient monetary policy. Does anyone know about ancient monetary policies in Rome and the Hellenic world..? Thanks http://www.zerohedge.com/ A topic we covered extensively in the past makes a second appearance, this time courtesy of Abigail Doolittle and The Weekly Peak, whose weekly musings focus on the much fabled ratio between the price of gold and silver. Some observations: * 323 B.C.

Charles Rollin did what I believe was the best retelling of Roman history........ http://www.archive.org/stream/romanhistory...age/n9/mode/2up

Although I'm no expert (and that's obvious ), I think the archaeological evidence (which is quite extensive) supports the theory that gold coinage wasn't produced before this period (the Second Punic War 218-202 B.C.). In fact, gold coinage made in Rome stopped after the end of the Second Punic War and didn't resume until the time of Sulla, more than a century later. Let me plagiarize from Kenneth Harl's book Coinage in the Roman Economy: 300 B.C. to A.D. 700 Gold was not thought necessary for trade and commerce in Ancient Rome, especially after the introduction of silver coinage. Harl quotes Livy as stating that 269/268 B.C. "was the first time the Roman people began to use silver coins" (p. 26). By the first year of the Second Punic War, Rome faced a severe shortage of silver, requiring the lowering of the silver content of coins from 97% to 91%. (p. 30) This could have been one of the pressures for the creation of gold coinage. Romans thought silver was the preferred medium of exchange and the preferred store of value (and not gold). How many of us today think in terms of platinum or palladium coins, despite their high value? In many ancient societies, bartering was still an important part of trade. Stored or implied value was to be found in things other than gold coinage. Harl writes, "Etruscan towns, the most sophisticated centers in Italy during the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. never struck gold or silver coins even though they had extensive trade with the Greeks and Carthaginians. Etruscans reserved gold and silver...for plate and jewelry." (p.21) [Harl is probably incorrect in this assertion. Although bronze was the typical Etruscan coinage found, silver and gold coins attributed to the Etruscans have now been found. These silver and gold coins are in the coastal regions, possibly indicative of the exposure to the Greek and Hellenistic influences of gold and silver coinage. The point of this assertion, however, was that Etruscans did not think of silver and gold coinage as essential to their economy.] According to Harl, Rome preferred silver for their coins and viewed gold as a "regal medal better dedicated to the gods." "The [early] Republic, with no need to hire mercenaries and with limited long distance trade, could afford to dispense with an international gold currency." (p.49) guy also known as gaius Addendum: An interesting blog about the philosphy of gold, also quoting Harl's book: http://seekingalpha.com/article/22732-why-...stand-inflation What proof that the image is that of a Pig? Nice coin... priceless.

I would say the number one element that made or broke an emperors place in being great or killed was .... Gold! With gold all other attributes could be seen for what they were great leadership or a disgrace to Rome. Before the civil wars , at least in the main , the number one element for a great leader was personal bravery and organizational leadership ability.

Great link.... thanks