Who Do You Root For: Barbarians or Romans?

[alfred russel]

The Line between Romans and Barbarians gets really blurred as time goes on.

Nothing is more puzzling than the continuous need of nations to invade Rome and China.  And just to add insult to injury after the Slavs rolled in nobody ever invaded Europe again.  The Romans just needed to hold out for two hundred more years.

On that line between Romans and Barbarians--yeah towards the end I don't think there was so much difference.

Don't you think Rome and China were invaded because a) they had cool stuff to take, and b) invading each other is what ancient people did (and not so ancient people too).

[DGuller]

The Line between Romans and Barbarians gets really blurred as time goes on.

Nothing is more puzzling than the continuous need of nations to invade Rome and China.  And just to add insult to injury after the Slavs rolled in nobody ever invaded Europe again.  The Romans just needed to hold out for two hundred more years.

[Valmy]

Ok fine the Mongols.  But that was a respite of almost 600 years.

[Valmy]

Don't you think Rome and China were invaded because a) they had cool stuff to take, and b) invading each other is what ancient people did (and not so ancient people too).

There were other ancient states and Empires and none of the others had those sorts of constant pressures.

[Malthus]

Ok fine the Mongols.  But that was a respite of almost 600 years.

Magyars and Vikings get no respect. 

[Ed Anger]

Ok fine the Mongols.  But that was a respite of almost 600 years.

Magyars and Vikings get no respect. 

The beetlords and the IKEA store owners. Nope, no respect.

[Valmy]

Magyars and Vikings get no respect. 

Fine nitpick all you want.  But that period of massive tribal confederation after another was just nuts.

I remember hearing about when the Mongols invaded the Jin Empire in northern China.  It was a Chinese Empire being ruled by a conquering Nomadic Tribe...who had conquered it from another Nomadic Tribe.  So the Mongols were the THIRD major Nomadic tribe to conquer Northern China in the recent history of that area.

Sort of like the Huns invading Roman Gaul to fight Goths ruling over Franks.  Only in China or Rome.

[Malthus]

Ok fine the Mongols.  But that was a respite of almost 600 years.

Magyars and Vikings get no respect. 

The beetlords and the IKEA store owners. Nope, no respect.

You'll be singing a different tune when IKEA stocks its "FÄRGRIK" line of drinking skulls. 

[Valmy]

You'll be singing a different tune when IKEA stocks its "FÄRGRIK" line of drinking skulls. 

I searched IKEA and I couldn't find one Dragon Ship.

[alfred russel]

There were other ancient states and Empires and none of the others had those sorts of constant pressures.

I don't know...from 100BC to ~175AD I don't know that the Romans were under all that much external pressure. I'm not aware of too many ancient states and empires that went so long without a major invasion or two (egypt excluded due to obvious geographical constraints).

[Valmy]

I don't know...from 100BC to ~175AD I don't know that the Romans were under all that much external pressure. I'm not aware of too many ancient states and empires that went so long without a major invasion or two (egypt excluded due to obvious geographical constraints).

Oh they were under pressure just their enemies were disunited and more easy defeated or they were Persians but for our purposes Persians do not count.  And of course your dates just cut off the massive invasion that nearly destroyed the Rome and made Ed Anger's favorite Roman famous.

[jimmy olsen]

The Line between Romans and Barbarians gets really blurred as time goes on.

Nothing is more puzzling than the continuous need of nations to invade Rome and China.  And just to add insult to injury after the Slavs rolled in nobody ever invaded Europe again.  The Romans just needed to hold out for two hundred more years.

If the Romans had remained strong and rich, wouldn't that have inspired barbarians to keep on trying?

[Eddie Teach]

And just to add insult to injury after the Slavs rolled in nobody ever invaded Europe again.  The Romans just needed to hold out for two hundred more years.

Eh? The Muslims held Spain, Sicily and the Balkans at various times for hundreds of years. And the Mongols conquered Russia(though not sure if that counts).

[DGuller]

Romano-Byzantines.  Barbarians didn't make Hagia Sophia, wouldn't make anything close to it for nearly a thousand years.

But then the reign of the builder of the Hagia Sophia probably did more than any barbarian to set back civilization in the west.

Not to mention that Hagia Sophia had a role in converting Russians to Orthodox Christianity.  Poor Vladimir, he chose:  poorly.

[Razgovory]

And just to add insult to injury after the Slavs rolled in nobody ever invaded Europe again.  The Romans just needed to hold out for two hundred more years.

Eh? The Muslims held Spain, Sicily and the Balkans at various times for hundreds of years. And the Mongols conquered Russia(though not sure if that counts).

And the Turks that came off the steppes of Asia at the time...  Europe didn't really settle down until the High Middle Ages and then it was narrowly spared the Mongol Hordes.