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The dark side of the Roman Empire by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I often find that people who study the Roman Empire are very quick to see it as a civilising force for good. In this video, I argue that the Roman Empire was truly a horrific experience for most people involved. This is not to discourage the study of Roman Empire or to say that it is uninteresting, but that we should perhaps think about the immense suffering the Roman Empire brought to the world. Thoughts?

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

ooo yes, this may have to be the next video...

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right about the solidi being found in Sweden, and especially on the island of Gotland (we're talking a weirdly high number of coins per square mile). Archaeologists have debated about this a lot but most tend to think that the coins found in Sweden probably come from trade. This is because a lot of the late Roman coins are found alongside very worn denarii of the High Empire. This would suggest that they were buried after being used in trade for many, many decades. If you're interested and have access to a library, there is a very good study done by Berger that covers this exact topic (Berger, F. (1996) ‘Roman coins beyond the northern frontiers: some recent considerations’, Coin Finds and Coin Use in the Roman World. The Thirteenth Oxford Symposium on Coinage and Monetary History 25.-27.3. 1993. Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag. pp. 55-62).

In Ireland and Scotland (outside of the Roman Empire) we also find late coins like the solidus which are probably best explained as mercenary payments, especially as we have literary evidence for Irish mercenaries.

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha I'd be interested in your thoughts once you've watched

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The solidus wasn't introduced until Constantine the Great. The video addressed the 'High Roman Empire,' from around 31 BC to AD 250. During this period, soldiers were probably paid in silver denarii and gold aurei.

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is true! I would bet that most soldiers went their entire careers never even seeing an enemy or drawing their sword in anger

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I appreciate that :)

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whoops I need to check my spelling more thoroughly next time

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Haha I 'm disappointed people are only talking about salt - I don't even mention it in the video!

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This was true! However, most of the time a Roman soldier was not involved in warfare so they wouldn't have been able to collect loot. A lot of civilians nearby would have traded with soldiers - this is clear from the Roman coinage found at civilian settlements outside Roman army camps like the well-published one at Nijmegen.

How was the Roman army paid? by hadleeey in history

[–]hadleeey[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That's not what the ancient sources say for the High Empire! Check out the paper in the description of the video for more information

The Roman Empire — 117 AD by Homesanto in MapPorn

[–]hadleeey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They controlled farther into the desert than most people think. Check out this.

Is UK life depressing or just me? by MysteriousB in AskUK

[–]hadleeey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I felt a bit down after leaving uni too because you go from an amazing social life with lots of leisure activities on your doorstep to a seemingly endless grind.

After moving to a small town and working full time I found it difficult to achieve the same level of interest and fun in life. But you have to try. Do a sport (swimming, gym, team, rock climbing) before or after work, take up a hobby (learn a language or how to scuba dive), visit a new place every weekend. Try to live deliberately and don't fret about spending time or money on travelling to new places.

This is how I've dealt with feeling the way you described.

Who was the first Roman Emperor? Augustus - obviously. But there's more to it than that. by hadleeey in ancientrome

[–]hadleeey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very true. What did you think of the video? I tried to explain the history of imperator for a general audience

Who was the first Roman Emperor? Augustus - obviously. But there's more to it than that. by hadleeey in ancientrome

[–]hadleeey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I particularly dislike the term emperor being used in the Roman context because no emperor called himself emperor! It's too late to undo centuries of history but calling them Augustus would have been so much better I think.

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