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Why Rome?

Started by Queequeg, October 11, 2014, 07:45:36 PM

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Queequeg

Why, in your view, did Rome rise to become the preeminent state in the Mediterranean?
Quote from: PDH on April 25, 2009, 05:58:55 PM
"Dysthymia?  Did they get some student from the University of Chicago with a hard-on for ancient Bactrian cities to name this?  I feel cheated."

Eddie Teach

The gods favored them.
To sleep, perchance to dream. But in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?

mongers

Mussolini knew the reason.
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"

CountDeMoney


alfred russel

All roads led to Rome. So it was a rather obvious location for centralized rule.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

There's a fine line between salvation and drinking poison in the jungle.

I'm embarrassed. I've been making the mistake of associating with you. It won't happen again. :)
-garbon, February 23, 2014

CountDeMoney

Quote from: alfred russel on October 11, 2014, 08:08:08 PM
All roads led to Rome.

But were the roads there before Rome?  And don't lie, or I'll know.

alfred russel

Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 11, 2014, 08:09:27 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on October 11, 2014, 08:08:08 PM
All roads led to Rome.

But were the roads there before Rome?  And don't lie, or I'll know.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

These are mysteries that will never be solved.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

There's a fine line between salvation and drinking poison in the jungle.

I'm embarrassed. I've been making the mistake of associating with you. It won't happen again. :)
-garbon, February 23, 2014

mongers

Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 11, 2014, 08:09:27 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on October 11, 2014, 08:08:08 PM
All roads led to Rome.

But were the roads there before Rome?  And don't lie, or I'll know.

Many amphibians have the answer buried in their DNA.
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"

Viking

Well the Romans would have said it was their "Virtus".

I tend to agree with them. The nature of the med and the economics of the sea trade in the region meant that somebody was going to come out of on top. The attitude the romans had towards the other and the attitude the romans had towards the state and kingship meant that they not only could cope with ambitious men like Hannibal or Alcibiades better than others (a roman Alcibiades would have sacked Syracuse, not defected to the Spartans, then bribed his way out of prosecution, a Roman Hannibal would have gotten re-enforcements to finish the campaign and gotten a tribute and been first citizen for life). It falls apart with Caesar, but by then It all belonged to Rome.
First Maxim - "There are only two amounts, too few and enough."
First Corollary - "You cannot have too many soldiers, only too few supplies."
Second Maxim - "Be willing to exchange a bad idea for a good one."
Second Corollary - "You can only be wrong or agree with me."

A terrorist which starts a slaughter quoting Locke, Burke and Mill has completely missed the point.
The fact remains that the only person or group to applaud the Norway massacre are random Islamists.

Admiral Yi

Inclusive citizenship and resulting manpower advantage.

MadImmortalMan

"Stability is destabilizing." --Hyman Minsky

"Complacency can be a self-denying prophecy."
"We have nothing to fear but lack of fear itself." --Larry Summers

PDH

Probably because they moved around a lot.
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
-Umberto Eco

-------
"I'm pretty sure my level of depression has nothing to do with how much of a fucking asshole you are."

-CdM

Josephus

The weather's nice there.
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Iormlund

Quote from: Josephus on October 11, 2014, 09:23:54 PM
The weather's nice there.

Not really. It was a malarial swamp back then.

Eddie Teach

That's it. Rome rose because they knew how to drain swamps.
To sleep, perchance to dream. But in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?