sonic 42 Report post Posted February 4, 2022 I am currently writing the last book for which I have a contract ('Thirteen Roman Defeats'). If I ever decide to write another, is there any subject members would like to see covered? No guarantees .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
caldrail 152 Report post Posted February 4, 2022 How about... the little known campaigns of Rome? Like the expeditions to Kush or what is now Yemen. There's some great stories to be told. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonic 42 Report post Posted February 4, 2022 47 minutes ago, caldrail said: How about... the little known campaigns of Rome? Like the expeditions to Kush or what is now Yemen. There's some great stories to be told. Not a bad idea. Not sure if the sources would give the information needed, but the idea deserves some thought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Novosedoff 14 Report post Posted February 5, 2022 It would be interesting to probe the Persian sources on the Crassus defeat, I don't know how comfortable you are with Eastern foreign languages. The whole history of the Roman empire is basically a big propaganda myth. Germans screwed it all over the place, but they barely even documented their defeats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonic 42 Report post Posted February 6, 2022 On 2/5/2022 at 12:58 AM, Novosedoff said: It would be interesting to probe the Persian sources on the Crassus defeat, I don't know how comfortable you are with Eastern foreign languages. The whole history of the Roman empire is basically a big propaganda myth. Germans screwed it all over the place, but they barely even documented their defeats. 'Roman propaganda'? How dare you - the Romans are always fair and reliable!! 🤣 I'm not great at Persian and Armenian sources, but thankfully many of them are now translated. These are also slightly biased, and, as written later, can be difficult to relate historically. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guy 156 Report post Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) One thing that may help to get any academic book a wider audience and exposure is to also create a parallel non-fictional graphic novel version of the academic one. The movie “300” about the Greek and Persian battle at Thermopylae was based on a graphic novel. This movie, as much as anything else, helped to inspire the latest generation of high school kids to take an interest in ancient history. I have been surprised at the number of younger people whose first introduction to great works have been thru the graphic novel. Edited February 6, 2022 by guy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Novosedoff 14 Report post Posted February 6, 2022 8 hours ago, sonic said: How dare you - the Romans are always fair and reliable!! The other day caldrail wrote that "Augustus was republican in his heart", not mentioning anything about how Augustus made his fortune, the proscriptions, the Cicero's destiny, the reshuffle of the senate, assemblies etc. So I shan't be surprised by anything on this forum now 🙂 However the consequences of the Roman intervention still echo with new myths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl?wprov=sfla1 As teenager I lived next to the border with Afghanistan in a small closed military town and have to admit that green-eyed folks would be unusual among the locals Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
caldrail 152 Report post Posted February 6, 2022 Keep it in context mate. All Roman elites were after money, that was how their society worked. And republican refers to res publica, "for the people". He had after all kept his promise to protect the Republic even after he had risen to sole prominence. Yes, the Empire had changed. So what? The Romans changed things whenever it suited them. Now back to Sonic. If you're looking for a meaty subject, a study of how Rome expanded its culture would be useful. There are lots of subtleties and aspects that the popular image doesn't recognise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Novosedoff 14 Report post Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, caldrail said: Keep it in context mate. My remark about the Afghani green-eyed girl was inspired by media and wikipedia quotes, such as the following one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogdia Quote The American historian Homer H. Dubs offered the suggestion that a lost legion from the Roman army of Crassus that fought at Carrhae encountered and even fought a Chinese army of the Han Dynasty in the region: ... [In 36 BC a] Han expedition into central Asia, west of the Jaxartes River, apparently encountered and defeated a contingent of Roman legionaries. The Romans may have been the enslaved remnants of Crassus' army, defeated by the Parthians and forced to fight on their eastern frontier. Sogdiana (modern Bukhara), east of the Oxus River, on the Polytimetus River, was apparently the most easterly penetration ever made by Roman forces in Asia. The margin of Chinese victory appears to have been their crossbows, whose bolts and darts seem easily to have penetrated Roman shields and armour.[39] The girl, in fact, has fled Afghanistan for Italy in the very end of the last year. Edited February 6, 2022 by Novosedoff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
