Defending The Roman Frontier My thoughts have turned to the many, varied and often tiny Roman border outposts. Think of the many American Westerns with small and always undermanned frontier forts. The local garrisons were on alert 24-7 against Indian raids targeting local farmers and commercial traffic. The borders of the Roman Empire were enormous. Protecting Roman citizens from barbarian raids was as close to impossible as you can get.  Doubtless there were thousands of stories to be told of heroism, slaughter and sacrifice, but those stories are all lost to the mists of time. T ..read more

Corruptus in Extremis Looting the treasury was, and is, a favorite hobby of kings, presidents and government officials. In his Secret History Procopius unloads of the massive corruption of Emperor Justinian and his dictatorial rule. The endless wars and building programs of Justinian drained the Imperial Treasury forcing the Emperor to financially rape his subjects and confiscate estates. By Procopius of Caesarea 500 - 554 AD The Secret History He also had contrived other ways of plundering his subjects (which I will now describe as well as I can) by which he robbed them, not all at onc ..read more

The Lighthouse of Alexandria The Lighthouse was badly damaged in the earthquake of 956, and then again in 1303 and 1323. The two earthquakes in 1303 and 1323 damaged the lighthouse to the extent that the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta reported no longer being able to enter the ruin, when he visited it in 1349 AD. Finally the stubby remnant disappeared in 1480, when the then-Sultan of Egypt, Qaitbay, built a medieval fort on the larger platform of the lighthouse site using some of the fallen stone. The Death of the Ancient World The Beginning of the End  for Roman Africa, Part ..read more

Emperor Justinian a Fiend? Justinian's historian was there to see for himself what he viewed as an out of control Emperor. The endless wars, taxes, torture, murder and the stealing by the Emperor himself of everything not nailed down. By Procopius of Caesarea 500 - 554 AD The Secret History Now the wealth of those in Constantinople and each other city who were considered second in prosperity only to members of the Senate, was brutally confiscated, in the ways I have described, by Justinian and Theodora. But how they were able to rob even the Senate of all its property I shall now reveal ..read more

  Roman Reenactors The Beginning of the End  for Roman Africa, Part II What if . . . . ?????? In 425 BC the Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote:  "Ah! the Generals! they are numerous, but not good for much!" So true. Most generals appear to be vaguely aware that it is best to point their army in the general direction of an enemy. Beyond that "generalship" is often seriously lacking. The bulk of generals are little more than career bureaucrats who specialize in shining chairs with their asses. Add or take away one or two key generals out of any war and resul ..read more

  From The Barcarii Facebook page The Late Roman army used archers or sagittarii extensively in the infantry and cavalry units and these ranged from light all the way up to heavy units, often mixed or intermingled with the main troops or raised as dedicated sagittarii units. In terms of the equipment used by a sagittarius, the main bow is generally understood to be the composite bow, sometimes referred to as the Hunnic bow, which used asymmetric limbs. The lower limb was the shorter of the two. This composite bow was reinforced with bone or antler laths - 2 on each limb a ..read more

  This article falls under the "You can find anything on the internet."  I love sharing information from experts. by John Dandoulakis (BA War Studies, MA European and International Politics) (Illustration by: Greg Owen)  After almost two decades of research on the subject of byzantine arms and armour, and military history, as well as experience with re-enactment and experimental archeology, this presentation marks the culmination and fulfilment of a long-due obligation. The thesis of this presentation aims to provide an archeology-based, evidence-based and profoundness-based ..read more

Orestes and Pylades The relationship between these two men was celebrated by Greek scholars as a tale of the wonder of homoerotic romance. One of the great problems in studying the history of sexuality in the past, as with other areas of human personal life, is that the vast majority of sources come from sources left by social elites. In many areas and periods only the elites could write, and even where a wider section of the population could write (as, probably, in classical Greece), the texts that have been preserved, usually by monastic copying and in monastic libraries for Gr ..read more

You can find anything on eBay Armour Byzantine #2. X-XII A.D. € 268 Byzantium / Balkans / Rus X-XII century Specific kind of lamellar reconstructed by Timothy Dawson basing on medieval miniatures. Possible options: different colours of leather, shoulder cops, spaulders and tassets, leather scallops. Scales may be riveted to the base. Source: http://truehistoryshop.com/shop/armour-byzantine-2 Byzantine armor - Byzantine - 10-12 century €280.00 Armor description Byzantine armor from depictions. The set includes the torso part, as well as shoulders and arms protections. All ..read more

Circa 1890: French actress Sarah Bernhardt in costume as Emperess 'Theodora'. In her youth Theodora was made to work in a brothel.  By Claudine Dauphin Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris There were two categories of Byzantine harlots: on the one hand, actresses and courtesans (scenicae), on the other, poor prostitutes (pornai) who fled from rural poverty and flocked to the great urban centres such as Constantinople and Jerusalem. There, even greater destitution pushed them straight into the rapacious hooks of crooks and pimps.  Actresses and courtesan ..read more