THE THREAD

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

TODAY'S NIK SIGHTING:

Nik, master of disguise, has just had more plastic surgery so that his face can be on more of the posts on the forum:

Nik has an attractive neck. Must have been part of the surgery. [;)]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: USS America

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

TODAY'S NIK SIGHTING:

Nik, master of disguise, has just had more plastic surgery so that his face can be on more of the posts on the forum:

Nik has an attractive neck. Must have been part of the surgery. [;)]

Yeah, i noticed that after posting it... i think he has a manicure as well... [:D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: goodboyladdie

[:D] I particularly enjoy the BC lessons. Did they not elect consuls AD?

Sort of*... but the Emperor's heavy hand sort of made them, er, "redundant"... i don't think they had any power any more, so the old historians would start referring to the year as "the 4th year of the reign of Emperor Vespasian" (or whatever) instead of "The Year of the Consulships of Julius Ridiculosa and Fimbrius Emasculus".

(*i think it varied from year to year (at least at first), and of course, some Emperors such as Nero would appoint themselves Consul).

MORE ON CONSULS:

consul

In the Roman republic, either of two annually elected chief magistrates. The consuls had sacred rights and near-absolute authority. They were nominated by the Senate and elected by the popular assembly; each could veto the other's decisions. As heads of state, they commanded the army, presided over the Senate and assemblies and acted on their decrees, and handled foreign affairs. At the end of his one-year term, a consul was generally appointed to serve as governor of a province. The office continued in weaker form under the empire.


EDIT - found this as well:
Under the empire the title of consul was continued, but only as a title of honor, sometimes conferred on infants or small boys.

i am not sure when the election of both consuls was discontinued entirely, but certainly with at least Nero, at least one of the posts was at the discretion of the Emperor... if you will notice Severius also appointed himself consul.

[Yava]

Hello folks [:)]
The AAR for me vs Dixie is now open too all except Dixie [;)]

[rtrapasso]

More on SPARTACUS (from Answers.com):

Spartacus

Spartacus (died 71 B.C.) was a Thracian gladiator who led a slave war in Italy against the Romans. He plundered most of Italy before being defeated and killed in a pitched battle.

It is not known how Spartacus became a gladiator. He is said to have fought either with or against the Romans. Eventually he found himself in the gladiator school of Gnaeus Lentulus Batiatus at Capua. From there in 73 B.C. some 70 gladiators escaped and fled to Mt. Vesuvius, where they were joined by slaves and farm workers from the countryside. Spartacus with the help of two Celts, Crixus and Oenomaos, led them, forging the motley group into a first-class fighting force.

Roman response to the uprising was at first slow and inadequate. Spartacus defeated local levies led by a propraetor and a praetor in three sharp engagements. The slaves then broke out of Campania and raided all of southern Italy, eventually establishing winter quarters at Thurii and Metapontum in Lucania. There their forces grew to 70,000 men.

In 72 the Senate assigned both consuls and four legions to the war against the slaves. After a minor engagement at Mt. Garganos in which Crixus was killed, Spartacus defeated the two consuls in separate battles in central Italy. At this point he attempted to lead the slaves north to freedom beyond the Alps. But after they defeated the governor of Cisalpine Gaul at Mutina (Modena), they elected to turn back to Italy to plunder and enrich themselves. Spartacus not only threatened Rome itself but again defeated both consuls in a major battle in Picenum. The Romans no longer dared face him in the field. He then returned to southern Italy and again made Thurii his headquarters.

In the autumn of 72 the Senate transferred the command against the slaves to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who held no public office at the time. He recruited six additional legions and took up a protective position in south-central Italy. After an initial defeat Crassus won a victory over a contingent of the slaves. That winter he built a wall and ditch across the toe of Italy to contain Spartacus, whose attempts to escape to Sicily with his army failed.

Early in the spring of 71 Spartacus broke through Crassus' lines but suffered two defeats at his hands in Lucania. He then retired again to Bruttium (Calabria), where he defeated two of Crassus' lieutenants who were following him. Encouraged, Spartacus's men persuaded him to risk a major battle with Crassus. In it Spartacus and 60,000 of his men fell. Spartacus's body was never found. Stragglers from the massacre were caught in Etruria by Pompey, summoned by the people from Spain to help end the war. In a final act of cruelty Crassus crucified 6,000 prisoners along the Via Appia from Capua to Rome.

Although Spartacus has been justly lauded as a bold leader, the slave war was not a revolt of the lower classes against the bourgeois leadership of Rome. Spartacus got almost no support from the Italian population, which remained loyal to Rome.

[Yava]

Good God Robert [:D] now I feel like on a lecture...[:'(]

[Bobthehatchit]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

ORIGINAL: Bobthehatchit

So pure and unsullied...

Yeah....and what're you gonna do about it? [:-]

Who me?????[&:]

[rtrapasso]

i am listening to Cesar's "Civil War" - which has "inspired" me to look various and sundry things up...

and Onime had asked about Spartacus, so i thought i'd throw it into the mix... [:'(]

[rtrapasso]

BTW, has anyone been in touch with DINO? he was very dispirited about events a couple of weeks ago... i haven't seen him since... [:(]

[Yava]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

i am listening to Cesar's "Civil War" - which has "inspired" me to look various and sundry things up...

and Onime had asked about Spartacus, so i thought i'd throw it into the mix... [:'(]

I like all your lessons[:)]
but as for Onime... argh... he should have already started our little game...[:@][;)]

[USSAmerica]

Ahhhh, work.  I missed it yesterday.  [8|]

[rtrapasso]

74 BC
Nicomedes IV, last king of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to the Roman Senate upon his death (75/4 BC).

Roman forces under Lucius Lucullus defeat the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus in the Battle of Cyzicus.

Quintus Opimius is prosecuted for overstepping his authority, and ruined by a conviction.

Cyrene becomes a Roman province.

[rtrapasso]

74 AD/CE

Reattachment of the Black Forest region to the Roman Empire.

The Chinese reestablished a Protectorate of the Western Regions.

Chinese generals Dou Gu (Teou Kou) and Geng Bing (Keng Ping) take control of Turfan.

Mesopotamia -- last known cuneiform text written.

[USSAmerica]

"It's too quiet in here" Tithe.  [&o]

[rtrapasso]

Yeah... half of our stalwarts haven't been posting of late...[:(]

[BrucePowers]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

74 BC
Nicomedes IV, last king of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to the Roman Senate upon his death (75/4 BC).

Roman forces under Lucius Lucullus defeat the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus in the Battle of Cyzicus.

Quintus Opimius is prosecuted for overstepping his authority, and ruined by a conviction.

Cyrene becomes a Roman province.

Who is Quintus Opimius?

[BrucePowers]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

Yeah... half of our stalwarts haven't been posting of late...[:(]

Hey, I've been busy.[:)]

I will try to do better[:)]

[BrucePowers]

See. I am doing better[:D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

See. I am doing better[:D]

[:D] [:D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

74 BC
Nicomedes IV, last king of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to the Roman Senate upon his death (75/4 BC).

Roman forces under Lucius Lucullus defeat the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus in the Battle of Cyzicus.

Quintus Opimius is prosecuted for overstepping his authority, and ruined by a conviction.

Cyrene becomes a Roman province.

Who is Quintus Opimius?

A Roman politician - he spoke out against the laws Sulla had established, and against the conservatives.