dennischqne

[dennischqne]

Look at me, I am the Consul now.

Gaius Julius Caesar is one of the most known rulers in history. Becoming part of the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus in 60 BC, he then went on to serve as consul in 59 BC. The point of these three forming this group was so that they could each increase their individual power. But allowing Caesar to become consul was unintentionally a fatal mistake. As great as Caesar was, he extremely power hungry. After becoming consul, he did whatever he wanted with or without senate approval. He passed laws in the senate that strengthened his influence, started a war with all of Gaul, expanding Rome’s Empire as Southern England, declares that he is dictator for life, then is assassinated. Ultimately, Caesar trying to increase his power in the senate caused him to have a lot of enemies. This could have been his underlining reason why he started his campaigns in Gaul. Feeling threatened, he wanted to distance himself from those who did not want him in power anymore. And want better place to go than a place surrounded by your own personal army? Then as his campaigns increased further into Gaul’s territory, so did Caesar’s army. This was due to the fact that more and more people chose to join in the riches that came from Caesar’s campaigns. What resulted from these campaigns was not just Caesar’s increased power, but also the creation of a Gaulic William Wallace, an incredible military tactical victory of Rome completing a siege while being sieged, and an increase in Caesar’s self-cockiness. It is incredible that the fall of this man was the first domino in a long line that eventually led to the fall of the one of history’s greatest empires.

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Facepalm

How is it that a civilization that built everything by hand was able to create roads and other architectural masterpieces, that still stand today, yet I can not drive down half the streets in NOLA in the 21st century without having to get my car’s suspension realigned? Seriously, the Romans were geniuses when it came to building. Every time that I go to visit England I get to see their creations. Walking along Hadrian’s Wall and then getting to travel down a road that was built centuries before is literally like a walk-through history. It is absolutely mind blowing that you can still find Roman structures all over Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. There are some resent civilizations that do not even have ruins!  It really makes you think what caused parts of society to back track in. Roman had underground sewers, massive buildings constructed out of stone, marble columns, and a coliseum that had an underground system with trap doors and elevators. Even their sense of personal health was much higher, which allowed for people to live much longer than during times within the last few hundred years.  

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Nobody at all: Catullus to people he was mad at:

Catullus really goes from zero to one hundred really quick at times in his book of poetry. At first, he starts off with poems about the love of his life, Lesbia. Although it is a little creepy that he is writing sexual poems about this woman, it is fine. It is normal for people to have fantasies and thoughts about others. But what the hell happened to cause his reactions to people like Aurelius and Furius? Catullus literal says he will face fuck them! To be fair, I have cursed people out in similar manners, but I have never made a poem about it. And then he goes back to writing poems about Lesbia and other topics. The overall organization of this book is very random. Did he just write the poems as they came to him day by day? Or was the book organized this way on purpose? Another thing to consider, when did this book of poems become available to the general public? Because if it was during the time that these people were still alive, I am sure that it could have caused some awkward situations or even started a fight or two.

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Marius and his army

Most people would agree that the Roman army was one of the greatest military forces in history. Without the power of its armies, the Roman empire would have never reached to the size that it did. And under Marius, the army really became an unstoppable force. But most importantly, he created an army that did not fight for the glory of Rome, but fought for him. He essentially created a personal army that would follow every one of his orders without question. With how much Rome was against people becoming too powerful, it is a little crazy that he was able to reach the level that he did.

Marius’ reforms did not just affect the military, but indirectly changed how the average Roman felt about his duty to Rome. Prior to Marius, Romans served in the army and fought for Rome because they felt that it was duty. They fought to bring glory to Rome. They were extremely patriotic and Rome’s never ending expansion further fueled this passion. But under Marius, and with the creation of his “personal” army, the ideology that one serves Rome went away. His army would have walked through Hell if he asked them too. And why was this? How was Marius able to create soldiers that would follow every one of his orders to their last breath? The accounts really do not tell how he did this. It could have been that he allowed his soldiers to pillage and loot lands more aggressively. Or maybe he just treated his soldiers really well and did not use them as expendable pawns. Creating a bond that was built on respect.

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If you ever needed an example of someone who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, Cato the Elder is the prime example. Cato was born a pleb and grew up a farmer. Like many Romans, Cato spent time serving in the military. Working his way through the ranks, Cato began to make a name for himself. Eventually working his way into the Senate, everything that Cato did was for the better of Rome. Cato was a true patriot. Cato saw Rome as the greatest nation and hated the idea of Rome being influenced by foreign cultures. Because of this, Cato was xenophobic. Cato was known for having foreigners thrown out of Rome just for being tourists. When Rome became on the same level as Carthage, instead of seeing this nation as a potential ally, all Cato saw was a threat. When Cato would give his speeches in the Senate, he would end them with “Carthago delenda est,” calling for the destruction of Carthage. Because of this, Cato more or less is responsible for the destruction of an entire nation. Roman had already fought the Carthaginians out of Italy and Spain and had pushed them back into Africa. The Third Punic War would have never happened if Cato was not so head strong on destroying Carthage. When not serving in the military or in the Senate, Cato would spend his time working on his farm and writing. Cato is known for being the first historian to write in Latin. This makes you wonder what everyone else in Rome was writing in before Cato.

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Only the Audacious

The seemed like the moment Hannibal was given command over an army he only saw one target, Rome. Now why did Hannibal have such a vendetta against Rome? While his reasons are not explained, it could be that he wanted revenge against Rome for winning the First Punic War. Whatever the reason, Hannibal decided to campaign against Rome making, in my opinion, some of the craziest decisions a military commander could make.

There are many ways to fight and win a war. Having been brought up from a military background at a young age, Hannibal knew the ins and outs of running a successful campaign. With this knowledge, I ask you, why did he decide to first engage Rome in Spain? If the endgame was Rome, he could have just as easily started his campaign in Sicily and then moving through Southern Italy and up to Rome. But no, Hannibal marches his army through the Roman cities in Spain and continues east through the Gaul territories and finally reaching the Alps. But his campaign doesn’t end there. Hannibal then makes the insane decision to lead his army through the Alps. An important asset of Hannibal’s army was his access to elephants. He marched elephants through one of the greatest mountain ranges on the planet! 

Hannibal then spends the rest of his time marching around Italy and never advances on Rome. It makes me wonder that if he had taken a different route or actually attacked Rome after crossing the Alps how much different history could have been. Maybe Carthage would have replaced Rome as one of the most powerful empires to ever exist in the world. 

So, was Hannibal just an absolute madman with crazy ideas? Or did he actually have a plan to take over Rome but was recalled to soon?

[dennischqne]

For The Republic!

Titus Manlius Torquatus made his claim to fame after getting permission to fight a massive Gaulic soldier who was taunting the Roman Army. After defeating the Gual, he despoiled only a collar, or torque, from his fallen foe. For his actions he was given the cognomen Torquatus. He then went on to have a very successful career serving as Consul in the years 347 BC, 344 BC, 340 BC and as well as Dictator in 353 BC, 349 BC, and again in 320 BC. During his last service as Consul in 340 BC, Rome is fighting in the Latin War. In a similar scenario, a Tuscan cavalryman challenged the Romans to a duel. Disregarding orders to not engage, Torquatus’s son, Titus Manlius, accepted the challenge, wins, and despoils the cavalryman. Upon his return, instead of being greeted with praise for his victory, Manlius was instead bound and executed by the orders of Torquatus. 

Patriotism was an important part of Roman culture. If this is the case, why did Torquatus make the radical decision to have his son executed for disobeying orders when Manlius was just trying to live up to his father’s name and bring glory to Rome? It isn’t hard to think of of alternative consequences for Manlius’s actions. Torquatus could have stripped him of the spoils that he took from the defeated Tuscan. Or he could have had him whipped and removed from the battlefield for some time. Or any other punishment. If he felt that Manlius was such a disgrace he could have just disowned him. 

Why did Torquatus decide to have his son executed? Maybe his son was a disgrace to his name prior to the war and this gave Torquatus an opportunity to break his connection to Manlius permanently. Or maybe Torquatus thought that a lighter punishment would caused further disobedience between him and the other soldiers. Or maybe he was just a terrible father. 

Regardless, I sure after hearing the story of Torquatus, many people are happy to say “Well, at least my parents aren’t that strict.”  

[dennischqne]

Rome wasn’t built in a day

It is sad to think about the fact that the founding of one of the greatest cities in the world and the start of one of history’s greatest empires began in with betrayal. The story of Romulus and Remus is a story of myth and legend. Their story starts as being born twins to a virgin mother. The then king, in fear of one of the boys overthrowing him, ordered the twins to be executed. The twins were placed in the river and survived and then were adopted by shepherds. The boys grew up to be energetic men who were not afraid of a fight. Hunting beasts and taking on bandits, the twin brothers were not scared to fight. Their popularity then grew as more people joined them. Eventually the king that ordered their execution all those years ago found out that they were still alive after capturing Remus. Romulus then led their supports to rescue Remus and killed the king in the process. The twins then decided they would construct a city where they had been raised. Since they were twins, they could not find a civil way to end disputes between them about the city. After much debating, the argument turned violent and the story of Romulus and Remus ended with Romulus striking down Remus.