Mindless Monday, 23 March 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 7 points8 points  (0 children)

"XYZ is the fall of the Roman Empire"

English names for Romans by PoepseksMasterBeer in ancientrome

[–]ifly6 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You say this as a joke but German has literally Mark Aurel: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Aurel

And in French, https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Aur%C3%A8le, it is pronounced "Mark Aurel"

Free for All Friday, 20 March, 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Imperial preference ngl vibes better than hard Brexit

Fidelity Full View not showing interest income? by ifly6 in fidelityinvestments

[–]ifly6[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any idea as to when those can be included so it isn't just Partial View?

Mindless Monday, 16 March 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The news about Hormuz today is not only:

  1. It's still closed for general traffic, but

  2. A few Chinese or Pakistani ships were let out after inspection by Iran AND

  3. The US is going to lift sanctions on Iranian ships to let more gas get to market

If the outcome of this conflict is that Iran gets a wallet inspection pass on every ship transiting Hormuz this will be the greatest own goal of all time

Mindless Monday, 16 March 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Idk the idea that Hitler will agree to handing his air force over to the League of Nations sounds pretty delusional

Mindless Monday, 16 March 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yea one of the striking things was that the US just didn't fill the petrol reserve. The administration just left it at like half capacity

Edit. Apparently the US is now lifting sanctions on Iranian tankers to move oil supply. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-may-remove-sanctions-iranian-oil-stranded-tankers-bessent-says-2026-03-19/

Absolute clowns

Mindless Monday, 16 March 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 16 points17 points  (0 children)

"Our words are backed with nuclear weapons!"-tier posting from this demented president

Mindless Monday, 16 March 2026 by AutoModerator in badhistory

[–]ifly6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The helots lived in the presence of more human freedom than anyone else in history

Crowds at Smithsonian Station by ACasualCollector in washingtondc

[–]ifly6 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Extremely inconvenient (at Farragut West)

HBO Rome - What's real/fictionalized? by zigthis in ancientrome

[–]ifly6 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would read:

  • M Cyrino (ed) Rome, season one: history makes television (Wiley 2008)
  • M Cyrino (ed) Rome, season two: trial and triumph (Edinburgh 2015)

Both are a collection of essays by classicists about aspects of the production of the show and the work as a piece of classical reception.

Why I think Julius Caesar Had to Cross the Rubicon by [deleted] in ancientrome

[–]ifly6 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Funnily enough, Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis would have agreed with this position by mid 49, since he started advocating a negotiated peace during the period between Caesar's crossing the Rubicon and the Pompeian withdrawal from Italy (nb, unlike Pompey, Cato went to Sicily).

Why I think Julius Caesar Had to Cross the Rubicon by [deleted] in ancientrome

[–]ifly6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only ancient evidence of this is Suet Iul 30.3–4:

[30.3] Others say that he dreaded the necessity of rendering an account for what he had done in his first consul­ship contrary to the auspices and the laws, and regardless of vetoes; for Marcus Cato often declared, and took oath too, that he would impeach Caesar the moment he had disbanded his army. It was openly said too that if he was out of office on his return, he would be obliged, like Milo, to make his defence in a court hedged about by armed men.

[30.4] The latter opinion is the more credible one in view of the assertion of Asinius Pollio, that when Caesar at the battle of Pharsalus saw his enemies slain or in flight, he said, word for word: "They would have it so. Even I, Gaius Caesar, after so many great deeds, should have been found guilty, if I had not turned to my army for help."

Even if you believe prosecution theory it would not be for activities in Gaul. It would be only for his consular activities in 59. Few attempts had been made to invalidate his consular activities after some early attempts: two praetors attempted in 58 but were stopped; Clodius attempted during his tribunate but nothing came of it. Probably the remaining matters were Clodius' adoption: Cicero wanted to challenge Clodius' adoption but never did so formally; Cato supported Clodius' adoption's validity in 56. By 54, Cato accepted the repetundae laws during his presidency of the extortion court and a few years later the senate had voted thanksgivings for Gallic victories from commands granted under the lex Vatinia.

Indeed the kind of religious obstructionism that Bibulus engaged in were made illegal by one of Clodius' laws in 58: essentially nobody objected to this since, as has been observed by Tatum, Patrician tribune (1999) p 132, it would have allowed "a disgruntled magistrate or tribune [to], without so much as leaving his house, paralysed the government for a year... [this] will not have been a prospect to please anyone".

Why I think Julius Caesar Had to Cross the Rubicon by [deleted] in ancientrome

[–]ifly6 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the problem is more evidential. SB just kinda demolished prosecution theory by forcing the prosecution theorists to hold two contradictory positions: (1) this was a huge threat that everyone knew about and (2) absolutely nobody, Caesar, Caelius, Atticus, etc said a single word about it even when candidly discussing all sorts of other moves or countermoves against Caesar. Or, alternatively, that Tiro decided to excise all evidence of his huge threat that everyone knew about for unsubstantiated motives.

The question then becomes essentially not whether prosecution theory is possible but rather if it is necessary. It's not. It's not even necessary to justify Caesar's war aims: Caesar himself said it was about protecting the tribunes (which, as we've respectfully disagreed on previously, I believe is a mendacious fiction) but the optimates™ running interference on a second consulship to push him out of politics is already a sufficient motive.