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A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Socii This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V),...
a year ago
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a year ago
This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V), we’re going to take a look at how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which it does not inhabit. These are Rome’s ‘allies’ (socii), a euphemistic label for the...
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? This week, in part as a follow-on to our series on the contest between Hellenistic armies and Roman...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
This week, in part as a follow-on to our series on the contest between Hellenistic armies and Roman legions, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about Alexander III, who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. But I want to discuss his reign with that title, ‘the...
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Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? Part II This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. Last week, we looked at the sources for Alexander’s life, the historiography (that is, the history-of-the-history) of his modern reception and...
A Collection of...
Gap Week: December 27, 2024 (Year in Review) Hey folks! Year is coming to a close, so once again I’m going to offer a bit of an end-of-year...
a month ago
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a month ago
Hey folks! Year is coming to a close, so once again I’m going to offer a bit of an end-of-year reflection on the state of the project, along with a brief ‘what’s on the stove’ coverage of what may be coming up. Also, here’s a cat picture: In terms of the project itself, 2024 was,...
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Collections: Coinage and the Tyranny of Fantasy ‘Gold’ This week on the blog I want to take a brief detour into discussing historical coinage, particularly...
a month ago
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a month ago
This week on the blog I want to take a brief detour into discussing historical coinage, particularly in the context of modern fantasy and roleplaying settings. In particular, the notions I want to tackle are first how did ancient currency systems work in terms of value (what...
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Collections: Ancient Greek and Phoenician Colonization Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis...
a year ago
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a year ago
Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis verba fecit… This week we’re taking a brief look, by ACOUP Senate request, at Greek and Phoenician colonization in the ancient Mediterranean. In particular, the focus requested was...
A Collection of...
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part II Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the films chronology and its portrayal of the Roman army of the early third century, both in its equipment and in its battle tactics. This week, we’re going to move forward to the main...
A Collection of...
Gap Week: April 19, 2024 (Manor Lords First Impression) Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society for Military History (and, indeed, by the time you read this, I will be there). Normally, I post the abstract of my conference talk for these sorts of things, but since I …...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic, Part V: The Courts This is the fifth part of our five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV) on the structure of the...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is the fifth part of our five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries BC, the ‘Middle Republic.’ Last time we looked at the odd but very important role played by the ROman Senate as the central...
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Fireside Friday, July 12, 2024 Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for this week, but it has been a bit stubborn and I do not want to derail my book writing/revising schedule in order to push it out before it is ready. So that will almost certainly...
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Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and... For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in contrast to the way that ancient (or later) states raised armies. As moderns, we are so familiar with the way that states function that the far older systems of non-state organization and...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part Ib: Subjects of the Successors This is the second part of the first part of our four part look at the context between the...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is the second part of the first part of our four part look at the context between the Hellenistic army and its Macedonian phalanx and the Romans with their legions. Last week, we looked at the weapons, organization and fighting style of the Macedonian phalanx, the infantry...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, June 28, 2024 Fireside this week! My hope in terms of the upcoming schedule is to have my usual July 4th post next...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
Fireside this week! My hope in terms of the upcoming schedule is to have my usual July 4th post next week (we’re discussing political philosophy in an election year, so I am sure everyone will be very chill; regardless let me repeat you will be civil) and then after that to dive...
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Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part III: Going To War With the Army... This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples – particularly the Celtiberians, Gauls and also many Germanic-language speaking peoples on the Rhine and Danube- raised armies to fight the...
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Collections: On Bread and Circuses Coming off of some of the discussion of Gladiator II (I, II), this week I want to discuss the place...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Coming off of some of the discussion of Gladiator II (I, II), this week I want to discuss the place of ‘bread and circuses’ in the narrative of Roman decadence and decline. This is one of those phrases which long ago entered the standard lexicon, but which gets used and...
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Collections: On the Gracchi, Part I: Tiberius Gracchus This week, we’re going to talk a bit about the brothers Tiberius (trib. 133) and Gaius (trib. 123-2)...
a month ago
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a month ago
This week, we’re going to talk a bit about the brothers Tiberius (trib. 133) and Gaius (trib. 123-2) Gracchus, the famous Roman reformers of the late second century. There’s actually a fair bit to say about both of them, so we’re going to split this treatment over two weeks,...
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Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly,...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples raised armies to fight the Romans (and others) in the third through first centuries BC. Last time, we looked at the subsistence basis of these societies...
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Fireside Friday, May 31, 2024 (Academic Departments) Fireside this week! I am spinning up to write a Teaching Paradox series on Imperator later this...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
Fireside this week! I am spinning up to write a Teaching Paradox series on Imperator later this week, but not quite ready to get started yet. I’m also thinking, perhaps before that, of doing a short post or set of posts on the organization of non-state ‘tribal’ societies in...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Provinces This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II,...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V, A1). Having discussed how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which were not part of the Roman Republic itself, we now look at how the Romans...
A Collection of...
Gap Week: December 29, 2023 (Year In Review) Hey folks! I had planned to do a Fireside for this week with a sort of ‘year-in-review’ musing, but...
a year ago
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a year ago
Hey folks! I had planned to do a Fireside for this week with a sort of ‘year-in-review’ musing, but between the holidays and the whole pedant household coming down with a nasty cold, I’m a bit short of the time and energy to put together a full fireside with...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVb: Antiochus III This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa)...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa) look at the context between the Roman military system based on the manipular legion and the Hellenistic military system structured around the Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the...
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Collections: The Philosophy of Liberty – On Liberalism It is once again the week of July 4th and so, as is customary here, I am going to use this week’s...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
It is once again the week of July 4th and so, as is customary here, I am going to use this week’s post to talk about the United States or more correctly this week about the political philosophy the United States was founded on: liberalism. Now an immediate clarification is...
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Fireside Friday, January 10, 2025 Hey folks, Fireside this week! I’m currently working on a post “On the Gracchi” taking a somewhat...
a month ago
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a month ago
Hey folks, Fireside this week! I’m currently working on a post “On the Gracchi” taking a somewhat darker look at everyone’s favorite Roman reformers (though hardly the same black takedowns Alexander and Cleopatra got) , which will hopefully be ready for next week. Before we dive...
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Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIa: Pops and Chains This is the first half of the second part of our three part look at Paradox Interactive’s...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
This is the first half of the second part of our three part look at Paradox Interactive’s Hellenistic-era grand strategy game Imperator: Rome. I had hoped to do this part in a single post, but my book writing schedule intervened and so it became necessary to split it up. Last...
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Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part I: Divisa in Partes Tres This is the first part of a three-part (if I can keep it) series, examining the historical...
7 months ago
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7 months ago
This is the first part of a three-part (if I can keep it) series, examining the historical assumptions of Imperator: Rome, a historical grand strategy game by Paradox Interactive, set during the rise and collapse of the Roman Republic from 304-27 BC and covering the broader...
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Continues the Hiatus, 2024 Friends, Readers, Countrymen, lend me your eyes! As sadly expected, the hiatus is going to continue...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Friends, Readers, Countrymen, lend me your eyes! As sadly expected, the hiatus is going to continue through October. I am making good progress on my writing, but still need to keep focusing. I am currently, I believe, on track for us to go back to normally scheduled posts in...
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Fireside Friday, August 16, 2024 Fireside this week! I find I have my thoughts more or less together for the last part of the...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Fireside this week! I find I have my thoughts more or less together for the last part of the Imperator series, but I have not yet gotten them into a satisfying order – a common hazard of writing – so they will have to wait for next week. It’s not yet clear to me if … Continue...
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Comes the Hiatus, 2024! Dear Readers! As I’ve noted during the summer, I was planning on a one to two month hiatus towards...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Dear Readers! As I’ve noted during the summer, I was planning on a one to two month hiatus towards the end of this year in order to allow me to focus on finalizing the manuscript of my book project, a study of the cost of fielding armies in the third and second centuries BC. That...
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Gap Week (January 24, 2025) Hey, folks. As much as I hate doing it, I have to pull a ‘gap week’ this week, as the second part of...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Hey, folks. As much as I hate doing it, I have to pull a ‘gap week’ this week, as the second part of the Gracchi series (on the younger brother, Gaius Gracchus) isn’t done yet and I have some academic travel that I need to prepare for which is going to demand most of my …...
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New Acquisitions: 1933 and the Definition of Fascism Today we’re going to look at definitions of fascism and ask the question – you may have guessed – if...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Today we’re going to look at definitions of fascism and ask the question – you may have guessed – if Donald Trump is running for President as a fascist. Worry not, this isn’t me shifting to full-time political pundit, nor is this the formal end of the hiatus (which will happen on...
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Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIIb: This is the second half of the third and final part of our three-part (I, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
This is the second half of the third and final part of our three-part (I, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at Paradox Interactives ancient grand strategy game, Imperator: Rome, which covers (inter alia) the period of the collapse of the Roman Republic, which we generally call the Late...
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Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I This week, I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
This week, I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review of the film for Foreign Policy, which you can find here (behind the paywall). I also discussed it with Jason Herbert and Sarah Bond over at Historians at the Movies, which is a...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVc: Perseus This is the third part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa,...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
This is the third part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb) look at the how the Roman military system and its manipular legion were able to defeat the Hellenistic military system and its Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the third and...
A Collection of...
Gap Week: August 2, 2024 Hey folks. We’re talking a mulligan this week, as the pedant household has gotten (one by one)...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Hey folks. We’re talking a mulligan this week, as the pedant household has gotten (one by one) whatever fresh COVID-19 variant is going around. Everyone is fine, but being sick left me pretty exhausted over the past few days with fewer productive writing hours available. Since I...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, May 10, 2024 Fireside this week! Next week, with luck, I’ll have my ‘On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon’ up...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
Fireside this week! Next week, with luck, I’ll have my ‘On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon’ up as an addendum to our discussion of Hellenistic armies. But in the meantime, it is a fireside, and I thought, since it was just recently May the Fourth, we might talk some Star...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part V: Epilogue This is the fifth part of our four(ish) five part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc) look...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
This is the fifth part of our four(ish) five part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, IVc) look at how the Roman legions were able to overcome the Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the third and second centuries BC. We have covered the decisive battles in the story, although...
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Fireside Friday, November 22, 2024 (Roman Naming Conventions) Hey, folks. Another Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the science fiction body armor post...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Hey, folks. Another Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the science fiction body armor post ready to go this week, but in addition to the continued work on the book project, I was asked to write a review of the now-out-in-the-USA Gladiator II and that consumed a fair bit of...
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Collections: The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor This week we’re covering the winning topic from the latest ACOUP Senate poll, which is a look at...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
This week we’re covering the winning topic from the latest ACOUP Senate poll, which is a look at some of the odd designs and mechanics for futuristic science fiction body armor, particularly rigid ‘hardsuits.’ Naturally, this post isn’t going to cover every variety of armor that...
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Fireside Friday, March 29, 2024 (On Roman Values) Fireside this week! Apologies for having two of these in a row, but as I noted last week, I’ve had...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
Fireside this week! Apologies for having two of these in a row, but as I noted last week, I’ve had some unexpected (but good) travel, which has made a bit of havoc in my schedule and I am still trying to catch back up. Nevertheless, I wanted to use this week’s fireside to muse a...
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Collections: The Afterlife of the Roman Republic This week we are taking a look at what ended up being the ‘runner-up’ in the latest ACOUP Senate...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This week we are taking a look at what ended up being the ‘runner-up’ in the latest ACOUP Senate poll (we’ll also do the winner, “The Problem with Sci-Fi Body armor” before year’s end, worry not), the “Afterlife of the Roman Republic,” which is to say a look at the continued...
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Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIb: Built in a Day This is the second half of the second part of our three part (I, IIa) look at Paradox Interactive’s...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
This is the second half of the second part of our three part (I, IIa) look at Paradox Interactive’s ancient grand strategy game Imperator: Rome which covers the broader Mediterranean and South Asia from the very late fourth century through to the end of the first century BC, the...
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Fireside Friday, April 12, 2024 Fireside this week! Apologies for having so many of these so close together, but the recent car...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
Fireside this week! Apologies for having so many of these so close together, but the recent car troubles I’ve had have eaten into my time quite a lot. At the same time I am getting ready for the annual Society for Military History conference coming at the end of next week. In an...
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Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIIa: De Re Publica This is the first half of the third part of our three-part (I, IIa, IIb) look at Paradox...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
This is the first half of the third part of our three-part (I, IIa, IIb) look at Paradox Interactive’s ancient grand strategy game Imperator: Rome, running from the late fourth through the first century BCE, a period that, relevant for today’s discussion, covers the Middle and...
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Fireside Friday, October 27, 2023 (On Politics in Strategy) Fireside this week! Next week we’ll finally close out the addenda to the How to Roman Republic 101...
a year ago
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a year ago
Fireside this week! Next week we’ll finally close out the addenda to the How to Roman Republic 101 series with a look at provincial governance, but I don’t think that will be done in time for this week, so I’m throwing a fireside in here in the meantime. That said, I thought it...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIIa: Peak Pike-Phalanx This is the first part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
This is the first part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the triumph of the Roman legions in the third and second century over the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander. Last time, we looked at some of the operational and strategic...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIIb: Pyrrhus This is the second part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
This is the second part of the third part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa) look at the performance of the Roman army and its legions in the third and second century BC against the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander. Last time, we sought to assess some of...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part Ia: Heirs of Alexander This week on the blog we are starting what is a planned four-part series looking at the twilight of...
a year ago
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a year ago
This week on the blog we are starting what is a planned four-part series looking at the twilight of Hellenistic warfare and the triumph of the Roman legion. Our core question is a really common one: why was the Roman legion able to decisively defeat the Hellenistic...
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Fireside Friday, November 15, 2024 Hey folks, Fireside this week! For the musing this week, I want to talk about, at least for a...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Hey folks, Fireside this week! For the musing this week, I want to talk about, at least for a humanities field, what ‘research support’ from a university means and why it is valuable, but before we get to that, I just want to make a note going forward. In particular, there have...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVa: Philip V This is the first part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb) look...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
This is the first part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb) look at why the thing to use to beat a Macedonian sarisa phalanx is, in fact, a Roman legion in the third and second century BC. Last time, we finished our look at the third-century...
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Collections: The Mediterranean Iron Omni-Spear This week, on a bit of a lark, we’re going to discuss the most common weapon, by far, in the Iron...
a year ago
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a year ago
This week, on a bit of a lark, we’re going to discuss the most common weapon, by far, in the Iron Age Mediterranean (focusing on the period from the 8th to the 1st centuries BC): the humble, effective and ubiquitous thrusting spear. In particular, I want to discuss the striking...
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Gap Week: December 1, 2023 No blog post this week, folks, as I am both fiercely busy and – by the time this goes up – out of...
a year ago
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a year ago
No blog post this week, folks, as I am both fiercely busy and – by the time this goes up – out of town. We’ll be back to our regular schedule next week, with the next big topic I want to tackle being what a shield wall is and how it actually functions on a … Continue reading Gap...
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Fireside Friday, January 12, 2024 Fireside this week! The semester has started up in earnest and I am pushing hard to try to finish a...
a year ago
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a year ago
Fireside this week! The semester has started up in earnest and I am pushing hard to try to finish a draft of something I have promised by the end of the month (so this may not be the only Fireside this month). That said, it seemed like a good time to discuss trade, the sea and...
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Referenda ad Senatum: November 1, 2024: Ancient Weapons, Lost Works and Roman Spooky-Stuff! Welcome back! At last, the hiatus has ended and we are back to regular weekly posts. As we’ve done a...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Welcome back! At last, the hiatus has ended and we are back to regular weekly posts. As we’ve done a few times before, this week I am breaking the hiatus by taking a chance to answer a few shorter questions posed by my patrons over at Patreon who are the Patres et Matres...
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Collections: Roman Infantry Tactics: Why the Pilum and not a Spear? This week’s post is intended to answer a question which came up in response to the last post looking...
a year ago
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a year ago
This week’s post is intended to answer a question which came up in response to the last post looking at the most common type of Mediterranean spear, which to put it simply is: what is up with the odd Roman heavy infantry kit built around a sword and two javelins (albeit two...
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Fireside Friday, November 17, 2023 Hey folks! Fireside this week! I was hoping to have a post on Roman infantry tactics this week, in...
a year ago
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a year ago
Hey folks! Fireside this week! I was hoping to have a post on Roman infantry tactics this week, in particular the oddity of the Romans not using spear-and-shield infantry (much), but it isn’t ready yet and other things have me quite busy, so fireside it is. Fortunately, we have...
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Fireside Friday, February 2, 2024 (On City Building Games) Fireside this week! I have just finished up a draft of a chapter (to be in one of those...
a year ago
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a year ago
Fireside this week! I have just finished up a draft of a chapter (to be in one of those multi-multi-author companion volumes) on how video games (particularly more abstract simulation games) depict the ancient world. Writing that chapter led me to reengage with ancient city...
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Fireside Friday, March 22, 2024 Fireside this week! The ACOUP schedule might end up being a little unstable for the next few weeks...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
Fireside this week! The ACOUP schedule might end up being a little unstable for the next few weeks as the coincidence of illness, the dense part of the teaching semester and unexpected travel are playing havoc on my schedule. I can only promise that we will finish the series on...
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Collections: On the Gracchi, Part II: Gaius Gracchus Last time, we started our retrospective on the Gracchi looking at the elder brother Tiberius...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Last time, we started our retrospective on the Gracchi looking at the elder brother Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and his term as tribune of the plebs in 133 BCE; this week, we’ll wrap up this look by discussing Tiberius’ younger brother Gaius Sempronius Gracchus and his terms as...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IIa: How a Legion Fights This is the first part of the second part of our four? four part look at the great third and second...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is the first part of the second part of our four? four part look at the great third and second century BC contest between the Hellenistic armies of the heirs of Alexander and the Roman legions. Last time, we looked at the Hellenistic army as a complete system, incorporating...
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Collections: The Journey of the Roman Gladius and Other Swords This week I want to do something a little different and discuss the evolution and development of a...
a year ago
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a year ago
This week I want to do something a little different and discuss the evolution and development of a specific weapon, in this case the famed Roman gladius, the sword of the legions. As we’re going to see, this is going to entail a journey covering quite a bit of both time and space...
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Fireside Friday, February 23, 2024 (On the Military Failures of Fascism) Fireside this week! We’ll pick up looking at some of the successes of Hellenistic armies next week....
12 months ago
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12 months ago
Fireside this week! We’ll pick up looking at some of the successes of Hellenistic armies next week. For this week’s musing, I wanted to take the opportunity to expand a bit on a topic that I raised on Twitter which draw a fair bit of commentary: that fascists and fascist...
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Fireside Friday, September 29, 2023 (On Academic Hiring) Fireside this week! I know we’re all anxious to get to the last part of our look at the Roman...
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Fireside this week! I know we’re all anxious to get to the last part of our look at the Roman Republic – a discussion of Roman courts and the legal system – but academic job season is upon us and I needed to take a week to focus on getting some of those applications out. …...
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Collections: The Strange Armor of Dragon Age: The Veilguard This week we’re going to have a bit of fun looking at some of the interesting armor choices for the...
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This week we’re going to have a bit of fun looking at some of the interesting armor choices for the recent Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In a way, this is an extension of the post on “The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor,” because I think Veilguard provides a pretty exceptional...
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Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triump, Part IIb: Handfuls of Maniples This is the second part of the second part of the second part of our four part look at the great...
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This is the second part of the second part of the second part of our four part look at the great third and second century BC contest between the Romans and the heirs of Alexander, asking the question, “What can defeat a Macedonian sarisa-phalanx?” Last time, we started looking at...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part I: SPQR This is the first of a planned five-part series looking at the structure of the Roman Republic as...
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This is the first of a planned five-part series looking at the structure of the Roman Republic as another example of civic governance structures in antiquity, to match our series on the Greek polis. As with that series, we’re going to start by defining our community and its...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic, Part IV: The Senate This is the the fourth part of our our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc) on the...
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This is the the fourth part of our our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries, the ‘Middle’ Republic.’ Over the last few posts we looked at the role of Roman magistrates who carried out a...
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Collections: Shield Walls and Spacing: Hollywood Mobs and Ancient Tactics This week, we’re going to take a look at a different aspect of ancient infantry tactics: how heavy...
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This week, we’re going to take a look at a different aspect of ancient infantry tactics: how heavy infantry shield formations work. While I’ve framed this around ‘shield walls,’ not every kind of shielded heavy infantry fought that way and in practice the line between what is a...
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Fireside Friday, August 4, 2023 Hey all, Fireside this week, as I look to take a bit of time to focus on getting some writing done...
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Hey all, Fireside this week, as I look to take a bit of time to focus on getting some writing done and some syllabi written before the semester begins in earnest later this week. Also before we dive in I want to note that it appears that Patreon has been having some trouble...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part II: Romans, Assemble! This is the second of our planned five-part look (I) at the nature and structure of the Roman...
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This is the second of our planned five-part look (I) at the nature and structure of the Roman Republic, particularly the governing institutions of the Middle Republic, the period of the republic’s height from c. 287-100 BC. Last time we discussed the component parts and nature of...
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Collections: How Many People? Ancient Demography One of the first questions anyone asks about past societies is, ‘how many people were there?’ It is...
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One of the first questions anyone asks about past societies is, ‘how many people were there?’ It is one of those basic bits of information and generally speaking those of us who teach these societies are usually prepared with an estimate to answer the question. But what we often...
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Michael Taylor on The Development of the M1 Garand and its Implications This week, Michael Taylor, Associate Professor of History at SUNY Albany, returns to offer an...
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This week, Michael Taylor, Associate Professor of History at SUNY Albany, returns to offer an interesting argument about the longterm impact of the M1 Garand, the US army’s extremely successful World War II and Korean era battle rifle, introduced in 1936. A fantastically...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic, Part IIIc: Ten Tribunes, Two Censors and Twenty-Six Guys This is the third section of the third part of our our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb)...
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This is the third section of the third part of our our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries, the ‘Middle’ Republic.’ Last time we looked at the top of the Roman political career in the republic,...
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Fireside Friday, December 8, 2023 Apologies for running a fireside so quickly after the gap week, but with the end of the semester...
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Apologies for running a fireside so quickly after the gap week, but with the end of the semester coming as the job market gets busier, I haven’t had time to finish the next post on shield walls just yet. That will come out next week for sure though, as it is close to done. For …...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part IIIb: Imperium This is the second section of the third part of our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa) on the...
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This is the second section of the third part of our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries, the ‘Middle’ Republic. Last week we discussed the overall structure of the ‘career path’ for a Roman politician...
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Collections: The Gap in the Armor of Baldur’s Gate and 5e This week we’re taking a bit of a detour to critique some video-game armor, in this case the armor...
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This week we’re taking a bit of a detour to critique some video-game armor, in this case the armor of Baldur’s Gate III. I have been meaning to do a general critique of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition armor system from a historical perspective for a while, and the massive...
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Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part IIIa: Starting Down the Path of Honors This is the third of our planned five part series (I, II) on the structure of the Roman Republic...
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This is the third of our planned five part series (I, II) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries. Last time we discussed Rome’s popular assemblies, which at least notionally expressed the will of the people. One of the key tasks those...
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Fireside Friday, February 14, 2025 (On Grant Funding) Hey folks! Happy Valentine’s Day. Fireside this week and then hopefully next week we’ll start into...
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Hey folks! Happy Valentine’s Day. Fireside this week and then hopefully next week we’ll start into our look at the Siege of Eregion in Season 2 of Rings of Power and also the larger Tolkien legendarium. I confess, watching the show, my suspension of disbelief fell much faster...
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Fireside Friday, September 1, 2023 Fireside this week! Depending on the order that things get written, we may have a few weeks of...
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Fireside this week! Depending on the order that things get written, we may have a few weeks of ‘break’ from our How to Roman Republic series, but do not fret: we will finish it. The one thing I am looking to ‘slot in’ as it were is a look at the armor of Baldur’s Gate … Continue...
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Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part I: What Logistics? This is the first part of our [I don’t know; a few?] part series looking at the Siege of Eregion...
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This is the first part of our [I don’t know; a few?] part series looking at the Siege of Eregion sequence from the second season of Amazon’s Rings of Power and what we can learn by pointing out its missteps. And I’m not going to bury the lede here: this entire sequence is a mess....