THEDAILYEAGLE

“For who could keep his hands off Libya, or Carthage, when that city got within his reach, a city which Agathocles, slipping stealthily out of Syracuse and crossing the sea with a few ships, narrowly missed taking?” Plutarch

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Last Notes

2026-08-28 07:47:26 UTC

⚪️ REÏNCARNATION
“They (the Gauls) invite strangers to their feasts, and do not inquire until after the meal who they are and of what things they stand in need. And it is their custom, even during the course of the meal, to seize upon any trivial matter as an occasion for keen disputation and then to challenge one another to single combat, without any regard for their lives; for the belief of Pythagoras prevails among them, that the souls of men are immortal and that after a prescribed number of years they commence upon a new life, the soul entering into another body. Consequently, we are told, at the funerals of their dead some cast letters upon the pyre which they have written to their deceased kinsmen, as if the dead would be able to read these letters.”
Diodorus Siculus
https://blossom.primal.net/250b233c48196ffe4623ffc770afe9e00bdf78fcacd300b0bdcbbad441fce64d.png

2026-08-27 17:05:14 UTC

🟢 WATER MILLS
“Wheels on rivers are constructed upon the same principles as those just described. Round their circumference are fixed paddles, which, when acted upon by the force of the current, drive the wheel round, receive the water in the buckets, and carry it to the top with the aid of treading; thus by the mere impulse of the stream supplying what is required.
Water mills are turned on the same principle, and are in all respects similar, except that at one end of the axis they are provided with a drum-wheel, toothed and framed fast to the said axis; this being placed vertically on the edge turns round with the wheel. Corresponding with the drum-wheel a larger horizontal toothed wheel is placed, working on an axis whose upper head is in the form of a dovetail, and is inserted into the mill-stone. Thus the teeth of the drum-wheel which is made fast to the axis acting on the teeth of the horizontal wheel, produce the revolution of the mill-stones, and in the engine a suspended hopper supplying them with grain, in the same revolution the flour is produced.”
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, de Architectura
https://blossom.primal.net/fa565d36aa9ce5c74d1a7dd1cc50d864a8c0f0c3595a236dc6df675a1aabb73f.jpg

2026-08-27 17:03:45 UTC

⚫️ TREASURE-HOUSE OF ELOQUENCE
“Some regard memory as being no more than one of nature's gifts; and this view is no doubt true to a great extent; but, like everything else, memory may be improved by cultivation. And all the labour of which I have so far spoken will be in vain unless all the other departments be co-ordinated by the animating principle of memory. For our whole education depends upon memory, and we shall receive instruction all in vain if all we hear slips from us, while it is the power of memory alone that brings before us the store of precedents, laws, rulings, sayings and facts which the orator must possess in abundance and which he must always hold ready for immediate use. Indeed it is not without good reason that memory has been called the treasure-house of eloquence.”
Quintilian, The Orator’s Education
https://blossom.primal.net/ce6528d055e929e12298dfe82b685b985131acfc97cb53a6a73d4f6ed80d840e.png

2026-08-27 17:02:35 UTC

Societies where people still get stoned to death should be called stone age societies.

2026-08-24 08:56:35 UTC

🔶 THE WHOLE EASTERN WORLD UNITES AGAINST ROME
“Mithridates formed an alliance with Tigranes, with a resolution at once to go to war with the Romans; and they agreed that the cities and territory that should be taken from the enemy should be the share of Mithridates, and that the prisoners, and all booty that could be carried off, should belong to Tigranes. In the next place, well understanding what a war be was provoking, he sent ambassadors to the Cimbri, the Gallograecians, the Sarmatians, and the Bastarnians, to request aid; for all the time that he had been meditating war with the Romans, he had been gaining over all these nations by acts of kindness and liberality. He sent also for an army from Scythia, and armed the whole eastern world against the Romans. Accordingly, without much difficulty, he defeated Aquilius and Maltinus, who had an army wholly composed of Asiatic troops, and having put them to flight, as well as Nicomedes, he was received with great joy by the various cities, in which he found a great quantity of gold and silver, and vast warlike stores, laid up by the care of former princes. Taking possession of these, he remitted the cities all sorts of debts, public and private, and granted them an immunity from tribute for five years.”
Justinus
https://blossom.primal.net/39fafec1a6cadc01a60d7ee7909e0dc85728c8ce85494c54ca8ebf58cafe976d.jpg

2026-08-23 21:08:44 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/ca8ad564df71f526321376f698b65cff92c32a246ac07e18926847ecdacb1f92.jpg

2026-08-21 22:37:30 UTC

I built things today

2026-08-20 16:03:26 UTC

- reply

She is a Hero.

2026-08-16 10:32:46 UTC

🔶 DEMETRIUS CLAIMS THE SELEUCID THRONE
“Antiochus, on returning to his kingdom, died, leaving a son quite a boy. Guardians being assigned him by the people, his uncle Demetrius, who was a hostage at Rome, and who had heard of the death of his brother, went to the senate, and said that "he had come to Rome as a hostage while his brother was alive, but that now he was dead, he did not know for whom he was a hostage. It was therefore reasonable," he added, "that he should be released to claim the throne, which, as he had conceded it to his elder brother by the law of nations, now of right belonged to himself, as he was superior to the orphan in age." But finding that he was not released by the senate (their private opinion being that the throne would be better in the hands of the young prince than in his), he left the city on pretence of going to hunt, and secretly took ship at Ostia, with such as attended him in his flight. On arriving in Syria, he was favourably received by the whole people, and the orphan being put to death, the throne was resigned to him by the guardians.”
Justinus
https://blossom.primal.net/f733bab5dcff09c9eeac11a26e2d1f13bbd204459d3714375adfa7a77fefe8b4.jpg

2026-08-16 10:31:44 UTC

🔴 WINGS TO IRON
“The most useful and the most fatal instrument in the hand of mankind. For by the aid of iron we lay open the ground, we plant trees, we prepare our vineyard-trees, and we force our vines each year to resume their youthful state, by cutting away their decayed branches. It is by the aid of iron that we construct houses, cleave rocks, and perform so many other useful offices of life. But it is with iron also that wars, murders, and robberies are effected, and this, not only hand to hand, but from a distance even, by the aid of missiles and winged weapons, now launched from engines, now hurled by the human arm, and now furnished with feathery wings. This last I regard as the most criminal artifice that has been devised by the human mind; for, as if to bring death upon man with still greater rapidity, we have given wings to iron and taught it to fly. Let us there- fore acquit Nature of a charge that here belongs to man himself.”
“In the treaty which Porsena granted to the Roman people, after the expulsion of the kings, we find it expressly stipulated, that iron shall be only employed for the cultivation of the fields.”
The Natural History. Pliny the Elder
https://blossom.primal.net/496464caeff0d8fa355e096fb23098344afeb788a323b97166e8de350d281c17.jpg

2026-08-13 23:11:05 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/e0f8965e1008f6767c0401f0ba43527578d3a7176c8d7306efdc6f5c360367a8.mov

2026-08-13 22:02:56 UTC

🔵 BATTLE OF BEDRIACUM, 69 AD
“A shout was raised on all sides, and the soldiers of the third legion saluted, as is the custom in Syria, the rising sun.”
“A vague rumour thus arose, or was intentionally suggested by the general, that Mucianus had arrived, and that the two armies had exchanged salutations. The men then charged as confidently as if they had been strengthened by fresh reinforcements, while the enemy's array was now less compact; for, as there was no one to command, it was now contracted, now extended, as the courage or fear of individual soldiers might prompt. Antonius, seeing that they gave way, charged them with a heavy column; the loose ranks were at once broken, and, entangled as they were among their waggons and artillery, could not be re-formed.”
Tacitus
https://blossom.primal.net/2333f2cd63149c78536059610c68b4c065a7e562229237bfc472948e8d9e49c0.jpg

2026-08-12 20:06:08 UTC

🟣 DEMETRIUS, ROMAN HOSTAGE
“Afterward, on the death of Antiochus the Great, his son Seleucus succeeded him. He gave his son Demetrius as a hostage in place of his brother Antiochus. When the latter arrived at Athens on his way home, Seleucus was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy of a certain Heliodorus, one of the court officers. When Heliodorus sought to possess himself of the government he was driven out by Eumenes and Attalus, who installed Antiochus therein in order to secure his good-will; for, by reason of certain bickerings, they had already grown suspicious of the Romans. Thus Antiochus, the son of Antiochus the Great, ascended the throne of Syria. He was called Epiphanes (the Illustrious) by the Syrians, because when the government was seized by usurpers he showed himself to be their true sovereign. By cementing the friendship and alliance of Eumenes he governed Syria and the neighboring nations with a firm hand. He appointed Timarchus as satrap of Babylon and Heraclides as treasurer, two brothers, both of whom had been his favorites. He made an expedition against Artaxias, king of Armenia, and took him prisoner.”
https://blossom.primal.net/ef34b3794ce0de3287c7e24910654b99ef667a73a2218196817473a269dd9a4a.png

2026-08-04 20:45:18 UTC

🔵 ARMS OF THE VELITES
“The youngest soldiers or Velites are ordered to carry a sword, spears, and target (parma). The target is strongly made, and large enough to protect the man; being round, with a diameter of three feet. Each man also wears a headpiece without a crest (galea); which he sometimes covers with a piece of wolfs skin or something of that kind, for the sake both of protection and identification; that the officers of his company may be able to observe whether he shows courage or the reverse on confronting dangers. The spear of the velites has a wooden haft of about two cubits, and about a finger's breadth in thickness; its head is a span long, hammered fine, and sharpened to such an extent that it becomes bent the first time it strikes, and cannot be used by the enemy to hurl back; otherwise the weapon would be available for both sides alike.”
Polybius, histories
https://blossom.primal.net/0fbbe797320a3b4a3bb38fb713d8218c4443c81201a1286e1c7015942dbd1569.jpg

2026-08-03 18:09:36 UTC

🟣 THE CLIMB
“In the Jugurthine War Gaius Marius was at one time besieging a fortress situated near the Mulucha river. It stood on a rocky eminence, accessible on one side by a single narrow path, while the other side, as though by special design, was precipitous. It happened that a certain Ligurian, a common soldier from among the auxiliaries, had gone out to procure water, and, while gathering snails among the rocks of the mountain, had reached the summit. This man reported to Marius that it was possible to clamber up to the stronghold. Marius accordingly sent a few centurions in company with his fleetest soldiers, including also the most skilful trumpeters. These men went bare-headed and bare-footed, that they might see better and make their way more easily over the rocks; their shields and swords were fastened to their backs. Guided by the Ligurian, and aided by straps and staffs, with which they support themselves, they made their way up to the rear of the fortress, which, owing to its position, was without defenders, and then began to sound their trumpets and make a great uproar, as they had previously been directed. At this signal, Marius, steadfastly urging on his men, began to advance with renewed fury against the defenders of the fortress. The latter were recalled from the defence by the populace, who had lost heart under the impression that the town had been captured from the rear, so that Marius was enabled to press on and capture the fort.”
Sextus Julius Frontinus: Stratagems
https://blossom.primal.net/4b8fef1db1f9bb2aa0ecff3c462227a47f804c8a3a0a88be23ecfc5a51e5ca6e.jpg

2026-08-02 23:16:31 UTC

⚪️ PROMISES MADE, NOT KEPT.
“Yet, when Pompey, who succeeded Leucullus in the conduct of the war, went over, he took for enemies all who had in any way favoured Leucullus, because of the hatred which had arisen between himself and Leucullus; and when he finished the war and returned home, he won so completely that the Senate would not ratify those honours which Leucullus had promised to certain of the people of Pontus, for, he said, it was unjust, when one man had brought the war to a successful issue, that the prizes and the distribution of the rewards should be placed in the hands of another man.”
Strabo
https://blossom.primal.net/b1256d8fc98489d054b6c2d9cce3cbaff52d3ed3bbb59322ff88546d6ec970f7.jpg

2026-07-31 23:40:15 UTC

⚫️ SELEUCID DECLINE AND ROMAN PRESENCE IN SYRIA
“Since all his hopes rested on his alliance with Sampsiceramus, he summoned him to come with his forces. Sampsiceramus, who had secretly agreed with Azizus to kill the kings, came with his forces and sent for Antiochus (the 8th Asiaticus). Antiochus went unsuspectingly in response, but after pretending to welcome him like a friend, Sampsiceramus seized the king; for the time being he held him captive, but later he killed him. In a similar way Azizus, in accordance with their agreement to divide up the kingdom of Syria between them, attempted to assassinate Philippus; but Philippus became aware of the plot, and fled to Antioch.”
“While Pompeius was staying near Damascus in Syria, he was approached by Aristobulus the king of the Jews and his brother Hyrcanus, who were in dispute over who should be king.”
Diodorus Siculus
https://blossom.primal.net/1ce2ebefe28fa693a36f6613ac09eeb47b85f42c09e53b53aa43d3f28bf042e3.jpg

2026-07-29 16:12:23 UTC

🟡 ROMANS FIGHTING GIANT SNAKE
Valerius Maximus, in his work "Memorable Deeds and Sayings," recounts a tale from Livy's "History of Rome" about a remarkable encounter between Roman soldiers and a giant serpent during the First Punic War.
The story revolves around Marcus Atilius Regulus, a Roman general who found himself facing a colossal serpent. This creature, of immense size, was causing significant casualties among the Roman troops.
Regulus ordered his soldiers to construct a massive ballista capable of launching large projectiles. With this weapon, the Romans were able to strike at the serpent from a safe distance.
The serpent lashed out with its tail, striking at the Roman soldiers. the shots from the ballista weakened the creature, and it was finally brought down.
The skin of the serpent was brought back to Rome.
https://blossom.primal.net/f8c9de435eb7803babdf7e7a416e0ae651d80a14769ea9490c0facc990d86afc.png

2026-07-27 19:05:42 UTC

🔶 THE THIRD MACEDONIAN WAR BEGINS
“The Romans carried on the Macedonian war (around 171 BC) with less disturbance to their country than the Punic war, but with more renown, as the Macedonians surpassed the Carthaginians in honour, and were animated, moreover, by their glory in having conquered the east, and supported also by the auxiliary forces of all the neighbouring princes. The Romans, accordingly, both raised a greater number of legions, and called for assistance from Masinissa, king of Numidia, and all the rest of their allies; while notice was also given to Eumenes, king of Bithynia, to aid them in the war with his whole force. Perseus, besides his Macedonian army, which had had the reputation of being invincible, had supplies for a ten years' war, collected by his father, in his treasures and magazines. Elevated by these resources, and forgetful of his father's fortune, he bade his soldiers think of the past glory of Alexander.”
Justinus
https://blossom.primal.net/01c048de8ac4398d05ad020fdba8fa8f1f6f8f982ab47cbe482f04032dc0a7ad.jpg

2026-07-26 16:06:37 UTC

Egyptian history is so misunderstood 🤯
https://blossom.primal.net/9215ccdcb9f576bf37406d6f00add56e2aa778854c12993bda0d9a0bde59b3b0.png

2026-07-26 16:02:54 UTC

🔘 MOTIVATIONS FOR THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE
“It was in Caesar's consulship that there was formed between himself, Gnaeus Pompeius and Marcus Crassus the partnership in political power which proved so baleful to the city, to the world, and, subsequently at different periods to each of the triumvirs themselves. Pompey's motive in the adoption of this policy had been to secure through Caesar as consul the long delayed ratification of his acts in the provinces across the seas, to which, as I have already said, many still raised objections; Caesar agreed to it because he realized that in making this concession to the prestige of Pompey he would increase his own, and that by throwing on Pompey the odium for their joint control he would add to his own power; while Crassus hoped by the influence of Pompey and the power of Caesar he might achieve a place of pre-eminence in the state which he had not been able to reach single-handed. Furthermore, a tie of marriage was cemented between Caesar and Pompey, in that Pompey now wedded Julia, Caesar's daughter.”
Velleius Paterculus, Roman History
https://blossom.primal.net/c7300d234df64713b10e4d087503df8450967e35e514ab894ae6c09394b3eaea.png

2026-07-22 07:28:52 UTC

🔵 ON THE ROMAN ARMY
“After electing the Consuls they proceed to elect military tribunes,—fourteen from those who had five years', and ten from those who had ten years', service. All citizens must serve ten years in the cavalry or twenty years in the infantry before the forty-sixth year of their age, except those rated below four hundred asses. The latter are employed in the navy; but if any great public necessity arises they are obliged to serve as infantry also for twenty campaigns: and no one can hold an office in the state until he has completed ten years of military service.”
Polybius, histories
https://blossom.primal.net/1036972d109b9ced1ecbe5cf0f03747b727d4983f54ef839ce4e41ceefe4cf71.jpg

2026-07-21 10:58:30 UTC

🟣 MAGO
“Mago, general of the Carthaginians, having defeated Gnaeus Piso and having blockaded the tower wherein he had taken refuge, suspecting that reinforcements would come to his relief, sent a deserter to persuade the approaching troops that Piso was already captured. Having thus scared them off, Mago made his victory complete.”
Sextus Julius Frontinus: Stratagems
https://blossom.primal.net/1bc5306c0fb033d0c8544ad9a2313bf18d35f286f4c4a932d421adbc1a80dc4f.jpg

2026-07-21 10:57:07 UTC

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Do you think his views can exist parallel a biblical Christian view? That’s how he says he views it himself, that the book of Genesis is “at LEAST psychologically true”. Regardless if historically true.
I myself have come to “admire” the bible and the depth of scripture much more because of him.
Yet the danger is maybe that as a consequence the bible is used as a self help book and not as a holy book teaching Jesus Christ as our only saviour.
Any comments would be appreciated.

2026-07-19 22:27:20 UTC

⚪️ THE POSESSIONS OF MITHRADATES EUPATOR
“As for Pontus, Mithridates Eupator established himself as king of it; and he held the country bounded by the Halys River as far as the Tibarani and Armenia, and held also, of the country this side the Halys, the region extending to Amastris and to certain parts of Paphlagonia. And he acquired, not only the sea‑coast towards the west as far as Heracleia, the native land of Heracleides the Platonic philosopher, but also, in the opposite direction, the sea‑coast extending to Colchis and Lesser Armenia; and this, as we know, he added to Pontus. And in fact this country was comprised within these boundaries when Pompey took it over, upon his overthrow of Mithridates.”
“Eupator was both born and reared at Sinopê; and he accorded it special honour and treated it as the metropolis of his kingdom. Sinopê is beautifully equipped both by nature and by human foresight, for it is situated on the neck of a peninsula, and has on either side of the isthmus harbours and roadsteads and wonderful pelamydes-fisheries, of which I have already made mention, saying that the Sinopeans get the second catch and the Byzantians the third.”
Strabo
https://blossom.primal.net/4b598f0384b1b970aef7e93055c4f3455c9168941bf5d2d4fb8b33f8f3699b45.jpg

2026-07-19 22:25:34 UTC

Don’t cry for me Argentina.
https://blossom.primal.net/4e7f2a17748ac331bf6fec963e93ec18cb81d868ed96774221fddc64bb29a996.jpg

2026-07-19 19:03:16 UTC

Suppiluliuma I
https://blossom.primal.net/2022a9589c923fc3419b3fc524c49f31b0b18b7e96a0f5fce85e5b61a86a9bad.jpg

2026-07-19 14:19:29 UTC

🟢 FEVER AND BATTLE, NORTH AND SOUTH
“Those who live near the equator, and are exactly under the sun's course, are, owing to its power, low in stature, of dark complexion, with curling hair, black eyes, weak legs, deficient in quantity of blood. And this deficiency of blood makes them timid when opposed in battle, but they bear excessive heat and fevers without fear, because their limbs are nourished by heat. Those, however, born in northern countries are timid and weak when attacked by fever, but from their sanguineous habit of body more courageous in battle.”
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, de Architectura
https://blossom.primal.net/a543eebe58950cc0dbfb3b7bf1e19dc651b1088027044724ac30150c236b4b4f.png

2026-07-19 14:18:24 UTC

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2026-07-18 22:50:26 UTC

⚫️ PLOT AGAINST THE KING
“Because both sides were digging tunnels in the area, they frequently encountered and even talked to each other; and from these encounters he became known to the king's men. Once, when he was caught on his own in the tunnels, one of the enemy pressed him to betray his allies, and he pretended to agree to the suggestion. When the king was informed of this, in his desire to capture the city he promised a reward and arranged a time to discuss the betrayal. Because the Roman demanded a surety for the agreement, the king sent men to settle it on his behalf. But the Roman said that he would not trust the agreement, unless the king gave him an oath in person. Mithridates considered that it was beneath his royal dignity to descend into the mines. But since the traitor said that he would not co-operate otherwise, and he was very eager to capture the city, Mithridates was forced to agree to the request. As a result the king would have been captured, if he had not been protected by one of his friends who, rightly suspecting a plot, produced a device that fitted in the tunneland could quickly be opened and closed. When this had been placed in the tunnel, and Mithridates and his friends went in, the centurion . . . the men who intended to help him seize the king, drew his sword and rushed at the king. But just in time the king closed the gate, and so escaped the danger.”
Diodorus Siculus
https://blossom.primal.net/84b418211bc679e1c95e581f73490b564359c9e49d785821aaa3dbef8f122336.jpg

2026-07-18 22:44:07 UTC

- reply

“As the sun was rising the soldiers of the third legion, called the Gallic, that wintered in Syria and was now by chance on the side of Vespasian, suddenly greeted it according to their custom; but the followers of Vitellius, suspecting that Mucianus had arrived, underwent a revulsion of feeling, and becoming panic-stricken at the shout, took to flight. Thus it is that the smallest things can produce great alarm in men who are already exhausted.” Cassius Dio

2026-07-18 08:35:08 UTC

🟡 PLINY ON SYRIA
“Next to these countries Syria occupies the coast, once the greatest of lands, and distinguished by many names; for the part which joins up to Arabia was formerly called Palestina, Judaea, Coele Syria, and Phoenice. The country in the interior was called Damascena, and that further on and more to the south, Babylonia. The part that lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris was called Mesopotamia, that beyond Taurus Sophene, and that on this side of the same chain Comagene. Beyond Armenia was the country of Adiabene, anciently called Assyria, and at the part where it joins up to Cilicia, it was called Antiochia. Its length, between Cilicia and Arabia, is 470 miles, and its breadth, from Seleucia Pieria to Zeugma, a town on the Euphrates, 175. Those who make a still more minute division of this country will have it that Phoenice is surrounded by Syria, and that first comes the maritime coast of Syria, part of which is Idumaea and Judaea, after that Phoenice, and then Syria.
The whole of the tract of sea that lies in front of these shores is called the Phoenician Sea. The Phoenician people enjoy the glory of having been the inventors of letters, and the first discoverers of the sciences of astronomy, navigation, and the art of war.”
https://blossom.primal.net/ac5008bffb72f923785f23fe4e4b41335a6ac3e01856e127443b801caf06d90d.jpg

2026-07-15 16:55:28 UTC

🔴THE MEDICAL LIBRARY OF PONTUS
“It was he (Mithradates) who first thought, the proper precautions being duly taken, of drinking poison every day; it being his object, by becoming habituated to it, to neutralize its dangerous effects.”
“Among the other gifts of extraordinary genius with which he was endowed, Mithridates displayed a peculiar fondness for enquiries into the medical arts; and gathering items of information from all his subjects, extended, as they were, over a large proportion of the world, it was his habit to make copies of their communications, and to take notes of the results which upon experiment had been produced. These memoranda, which he kept in his private cabinet, fell into the hands of Pompeius, when he took possession of the royal treasures; who at once commissioned his freedman, Lenæus the grammarian, to translate them into the Latin language: the result of which was, that his victory was equally conducive to the benefit of the republic and of mankind at large.”
(Mithridates VI 134-63 BC, King of Pontus, fierce opponent of Rome in the Mithridatic Wars. Known for his ambition and attempts at poison immunity. Ultimately defeated by the Romans).
The Natural History. Pliny the Elder
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2026-07-15 16:53:39 UTC

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”

2026-07-13 20:35:04 UTC

🔘 CAESAR SURVIVES THE SOCIAL WAR
“Then followed the consulship of Gaius Caesar, who now lays hold upon my pen and compels, whatever my haste, to linger a while upon him. Sprung from the noble family of the Julii, and tracing his descent from Venus and Anchises, a claim conceded by all investigators of antiquity, he surpassed all his fellow-citizens in beauty of person. He was exceedingly keen and vigorous of mind, lavish in his generosity, and possessed a courage exceeding the nature, and even the credence, of man. In the magnitude of his ambitions, in the rapidity of his military operations, and in his endurance of danger, he closely resembled Alexander the Great, but only when Alexander was free from the influence of wine and master of his passions for Caesar, in a word, never indulged in food or in sleep except as they ministered, not to pleasure, but to life. To Gaius Marius he was closely related by blood; he was also the son-in‑law of Cinna, whose daughter no consideration of fear would induce him to divorce, whereas Marcus Piso, a man of consular rank, had divorced Annia, who had been the wife of Cinna, in order to win Sulla's favour. Caesar was only about eighteen years of age at the time of Sulla's dictatorship; and when a search was made for him with a view to putting him to death, not, it is true, by Sulla himself, but by his minions and partisans, he escaped from the city at night by assuming a disguise which effectually concealed his rank.”
Velleius Paterculus, Roman History
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2026-07-09 21:11:41 UTC

🔵 ROMAN VS GREEK CAMPS
“It is because the first object of the Romans in the matter of encampment is facility, that they seem to me to differ diametrically from Greek military men in this respect. Greeks, in choosing a place for a camp, think primarily of security from the natural strength of the position: first, because they are averse from the toil of digging a foss, and, secondly, because they think that no artificial defences are comparable to those afforded by the nature of the ground. Accordingly, they not only have to vary the whole configuration of the camp to suit the nature of the ground, but to change the arrangement of details in all kinds of irregular ways; so that neither soldier nor company has a fixed place in it. The Romans, on the other hand, prefer to undergo the fatigue of digging, and of the other labours of circumvallation, for the sake of the facility in arrangement, and to secure a plan of encampment which shall be one and the same and familiar to all.”
Polybius, histories
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2026-07-08 21:56:46 UTC

🟣 THE SIEGE OF CROTONA
“The consul Cornelius Rufinus for some time besieged the city of Crotona, without success, since it had been made impregnable by the arrival of a band of Lucanian reinforcements. He therefore pretended to desist from his undertaking, and by offers of great rewards induced a certain prisoner to go to Crotona. This emissary, by feigning to have escaped from custody, persuaded the inhabitants to believe his report that the Romans had withdrawn. The people of Crotona, thinking this to be true, dismissed their allies. Then, weakened by being stripped of their defenders, they were surprised and captured.”
Sextus Julius Frontinus: Stratagems
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2026-07-08 21:55:20 UTC

⚪️ CYRENÊ
“Cyrenê grew strong because of the fertility of its territory, for it is excellent for the breeding of horsesand produces beautiful fruit, and it had many men who were noteworthy and who were able to defend its liberty in a noteworthy manner and to resist strongly the barbarians who lived above them. Now in ancient times the city was independent; and then the Macedonians, who had taken possession of Aegypt, grew in power and attacked the Cyrenaeans, under the leadership of Thibron and his associates, who had slain Harpalus; and having been ruled by kings for some time the city came under the power of the Romans and is now joined with Crete into one Province. But Apollonia, Barcê, Taucheira, Berenicê, and the other towns near by, are dependencies of Cyrenê.”
Strabo
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2026-07-07 14:20:56 UTC

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2026-07-07 10:53:13 UTC

⚫️ IRONY
“When the proscription lists were fixed up in the forum, a multitude of people promptly came flocking in to read them. Most of them pitied those that were thus condemned to die. But one amongst them, a most malicious and insolent character, gloried over the miserable fate of the afflicted, and yelled out most spiteful remarks against them. Some incensed deity soon repaid him with a just revenge; for he happened to read his own name as one proscribed at the bottom of the list. He covered his head, and tried to run away through the thickest of the crowd; for he hoped in this way to escape detection and reach safety. But someone who stood nearby recognised him, and exposed him as one of the condemned; he was instantly surrounded and seized, and then put to death, to the great joy of all that heard it.”
Diodorus Siculus
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2026-07-06 23:21:56 UTC

🟡 PLINY ON THE GERMAN TRIBES
“There are five German races; the Vandili, parts of whom are the Burgundiones, the Varini, the Carini, and the Gutones: the Ingaevones, forming a second race, a portion of whom are the Cimbri, the Teutoni, and the tribes of the Chauci. The Istaevones, who join up to the Rhine, and to whom the Cimbri belong, are the third race; while the Hermiones, forming a fourth, dwell in the interior, and include the Suevi, the Hermunduri, the Chatti, and the Cherusci: the fifth race is that of the Peucini, who are also the Basternae, adjoining the Daci previously mentioned. The more famous rivers that flow into the ocean are the Guttalus, the Vistillus or Vistula, the Albis, the Visurgis, the Amisius, the Rhine, and the Mosa. In the interior is the long extent of the Hercynian range, which in grandeur is inferior to none.”
“NINETY-SIX ISLANDS OF THE GALLIC OCEAN. In the Rhine itself, nearly 100 miles in length, is the most famous island of the Batavi and the Canninefates, as also other islands of the Frisii, the Chauci, the Frisiabones, the Sturii, and the Marsacii, which lie between Helium and Flevum. These are the names of the mouths into which the Rhine divides itself, discharging its waters on the north into the lakes there, and on the west into the river Mosa. At the middle mouth which lies between these two, the river, having but a very small channel, preserves its own name.”
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2026-07-06 06:25:18 UTC

🔶 THE ROMANS IN ASIA MINOR
“As the Romans were coming from Troy, king Eumenes met them with some auxiliary troops; and soon after a battle was fought with Antiochus; in which one of the Roman legions, on the right wing, being beaten back, and fleeing to their camp with more disgrace than danger, Marcus Aemilius, a military tribune, who had been left to defend the camp, ordered his men to arm themselves, and advance without the rampart, and to threaten the fugitives with their swords drawn, saying that "they should be put to death unless they returned to the field, and should find their own camp more hostile to them than that of the enemy." The legion, alarmed at such peril on both sides, returned to the battle, their fellow soldiers, who had stopped their flight, accompanying them, and, making great havoc among the enemy, were the first cause of the victory. Fifty thousand of the enemy were slain, and eleven thousand taken prisoners. Antiochus suing for peace, nothing was added to the former articles, Africanus observing that "the spirit of the Romans was never broken if they were defeated, and, if they were victorious, they were not rendered tyrannical by success." The cities that were taken they divided among their allies, deeming that glory was more desirable for the Romans than dominions merely for pleasure; and that the honour of victory was worthy of being attached to the Roman name, but that the luxuries of wealth might be left to their adherents.”
Justinus
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2026-07-06 06:24:02 UTC

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2026-07-02 08:54:17 UTC

🔴TROPHY ERECTED ON THE ALPS
“It may not be inappropriate in this place to subjoin the inscription now to be seen upon the trophy erected on the Alps, which is to the following effect:”
"To the Emperor Cæsar—The son of Cæsar now deified, Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, and emperor fourteen years, in the seventeenth year of his holding the tribuni- tial authority, the Senate and the Roman people, in remembrance that under his command and auspices all the Alpine nations which extended from the upper sea to the lower were reduced to subjection by the Roman people—The Alpine nations so sub- dued were: the Triumpilini, the Camuni, the Ve- nostes, the Vennonenses, (etc, etc etc.)”
The Natural History. Pliny the Elder
Note:
The trophy or triumphal arch which bore this inscription is that which was still to be seen at Torbia near Nicæa in Illyria, in the time of Gruter, who has given that portion of the inscription which remained unobliterated, down to "gentes Alpinæ," "the Alpine nations." Hardouin speaks of another triumphal arch in honour of Augustus at Segusio or Susa in Piedmont, which appears to have commenced in a somewhat similar manner, but only the first twelve words were remaining in 1671.
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2026-06-29 20:50:44 UTC

🟣 THE PRODUCTS OF DA QIN
“This country produces plenty of gold, silver, and precious jewels, luminous jade, - 'bright moon pearls, fighting cocks,? rhinoceroses, coral, yellow amber,- opaque glass, whitish chalcedony,& red cinnabar,? green gemstones, drawn gold-threaded and multi-coloured embroideries, woven gold-threaded net, delicate polychrome silks painted with gold, and asbestos cloth.
They also have a fine cloth which some people say is made from the down of 'water sheep,' but which is made, in fact, from the cocoons of wild silkworms. They blend all sorts of fragrances, and by boiling the juice, make storax. [They have] all the precious and rare things that come from the various foreign kingdoms. They make gold and silver coins. Ten silver coins are worth one gold coin. They trade with Anxi (Parthia) and Tianzhu (Northwestern India) by sea. The profit margin is ten to one.
The people of this country are honest in business; they don't have two prices. Grain and foodstuffs are always in good supply. The resources of the state are abundant. When envoys from a neighbouring kingdom arrive at their border, they use the courier stations to get to the royal capital, and when they arrive, they give them gold coins.
The king of this country always wanted to send envoys to the Han, but Anxi (Parthia), wishing to control the trade in multi-coloured Chinese silks, blocked the route to prevent [the Romans] getting through [to China].
In the ninth yanxi year [166 CE], during the reign of Emperor Huan, the king of Da Qin (the Roman Empire), Andun (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), sent envoys from beyond the frontiers through Rinan (Commandery on the central Vietnamese coast),& to offer elephant tusks, rhinoceros horn, and turtle shell. This was the very first time there was [direct] communication [between the two countries]. The tribute brought was neither precious nor rare, raising suspicion that the accounts [of the 'envoys'] might be exaggerated.
It is said that to the west of this kingdom is Ruoshui (the 'Weak River') and Liusha (the
'Shifting Sands') which are close to the place where Xiwangmu ('Spirit-Mother of the West') lives, and which go almost as far as the place where the sun sets.
The Hanshu says: "Leaving Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana), if you head west for more than two hundred days, you approach the place where the sun sets." This does not agree with the books of today. [The reason is that] the Han envoys under the first [Han] dynasty all returned after reaching Wuyi (Arachosia and Drangiana), and none of them went as far as Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana).
It is said, leaving Anxi (Parthia) by the land route, you circle through Haibei (North of the Sea'), and come into Haixi (Egypt), to reach Da Qin (Roman territory). The population there is dense. Each ten li (4.2 km) there is a postal stage, and each thirty li (12.5 km) a postal station. Finally, there is no trouble with bandits, but there are many ferocious tigers and lions on the road that obstruct and kill travellers. If the caravans don't have more than a hundred men carrying arms, they will be devoured.
Also, it is said that there is a raised bridge, several hundred li long, which crosses over to Haibei ('North of the Sea'). They [the vassal kingdoms of Da Qin] produce curious gems and so many other peculiar and bizarre things that I will not record what is reported.”
Book of the later Han
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2026-06-29 20:48:18 UTC

⚪️ CARTHAGE
“Carthage, also, is situated on a kind of peninsula, which comprises a circuit of three hundred and sixty stadia; and this circuit has a wall; and sixty stadia of the length of this circuit are occupied by the neck itself, which extendº from sea to sea; and this, a spacious place, is where the Carthaginians had their elephant-stalls. Near the middle of the city was the acropolis, which they called Byrsa; it was a fairly steep height and inhabited on all sides, and at the top it had a temple of Asclepius, which, at the time of the capture of the city, the wife of Asdrubal burnt along with herself. Below the acropolis lie the harbours, as also Cothon, a circular isle surrounded by a strait, which latter has ship-houses all round on either side.”
Strabo
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2026-06-28 20:21:43 UTC

🟢 CONSIDERATION
“When the forum is placed, a spot as healthy as possible is to be chosen for the theatre, for the exhibition of games on the festival days of the immortal gods, according to the instructions given in the first book respecting the healthy disposition of the walls of a city. For the spectators, with their wives and children, delighted with the entertainment, sit out the whole of the games, and the pores of their bodies being opened by the pleasure they enjoy, are easily affected by the air, which, if it blows from marshy or other noisome places, infuses its bad qualities into the system. These evils are avoided by the careful choice of a situation for the theatre,
taking especial precaution that it be not exposed to the south; for when the sun fills the cavity of the theatre, the air confined in that compass being incapable of circulating, by its stoppage therein, is heated, and burns up, extracts, and diminishes the moisture of the body. On these accounts, those places where bad air abounds are to be avoided, and wholesome spots to be chosen.”
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, de Architectura
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2026-06-28 14:26:32 UTC

Sunday walk ✝️
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2026-06-28 10:15:17 UTC

⚫️ FELIX
“And now that the Marsic war was coming to an end, another great civil war arose in Rome, stirred up by Sulla and the young Gaius Marius, son of that Marius who had been seven times consul. In this strife many tens of thousands of men perished, until at length Sulla prevailed; and being created dictator, he called himself Epaphroditus {Felix}. This boastful title was not wholly inappropriate, because he prospered in all his wars, and died a natural death after his victories. But Marius, although he behaved with great gallantry in the war against Sulla, was at length routed, and fled with fifteen thousand men to Praeneste, where he was besieged for a long time. At length, being totally deserted, and seeing no way of escape, he earnestly entreated one of his faithful slaves to help him put an end to the misfortunes that surrounded him. After much persuasion, the slave at one stroke put an end to his master's life, and then immediately killed himself. And so at length ended this civil war. However, some remnants of Marius' party continued to give Sulla trouble for a while longer, until they too were suppressed, like the others.”
Diodorus Siculus
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2026-06-28 10:13:48 UTC

🟡 THE SIEGE OF ATHENS
“Two Athenian slaves in the Piræus -- either because they favored the Romans or were looking out for their own safety in an emergency -- wrote down everything that took place there, enclosed their writing in leaden balls, and threw them over to the Romans with slings.
As this was done continually it came to the knowledge of Sulla, who gave his attention to the missives and found one which said, "To-morrow the infantry will make a sally in front upon your workers, and the cavalry will attack the Roman army on both flanks."
Sulla placed an adequate force in ambush and when the enemy dashed out with the thought that their movement would completely surprise him he gave them a greater surprise with his concealed force, killing many and driving the rest into the sea. This was the end of that enterprise.
When the mounds began to rise Archelaus erected opposing towers and placed the greatest quantity of missiles on them. He sent for reënforcements from Chalcis and the other islands and armed his oarsmen, for he considered himself in extreme danger.
As his army was superior in number to that of Sulla before, it now became much more so by these reënforcements.
He then darted out in the middle of the night with torches and burned one of the tortoises and the machines alongside of it; but Sulla made new ones in ten days' time and put them in the places of the former ones. Against these Archelaus established a tower on that part of the wall.”
Appian, the foreign wars
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2026-06-24 23:18:50 UTC

🔶 NOSTALGIA
“Preparations for a contest were in consequence made on both sides; and when the Romans, having entered Asia, had reached Troy, mutual gratulations took place between the Trojans and the Romans; the Trojans observing that "Aeneias, and the other leaders that accompanied him, had gone forth from them;" the Romans telling them that "they were their children;" and such joy was among them all as is wont to be between parents and children met after a long separation. The Trojans were delighted that their descendants, after having conquered the west and Africa, were now laying claim to Asia as their hereditary domain, remarking that "the ruin of Troy had been an event to be desired, since it was so happily to revive again." On the other hand, an insatiable longing to gaze on their ancient home, the birth-place of their ancestors, and the temples and images of the gods, had taken possession of the Romans.”
Justinus
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2026-06-24 23:17:44 UTC

🔴 LIVY ON CINCINNATUS
“Now I would solicit the particular attention of those numerous people who imagine that money is everything in this world, and that rank and ability are inseparable from wealth: let them observe that Cincinnatus, the one man in whom Rome reposed all her hope of survival, was at that moment working a little three-acre farm (now known as Quinctian meadows) west of the Tiber, just opposite the spot where the shipyards are today. A mission from the city found him at work on his land - digging a ditch, maybe, or ploughing. Greetings were exchanged, and he was asked - with a prayer for God's blessing on himself and his country - to put on his toga and hear the Senate's instructions.
This naturally surprised him, and, asking if all were well, he told his wife Racilia to run to their cottage and fetch his toga. The toga was brought, and wiping the grimy sweat from his hands and face he put it on; at once the envoys from the city saluted him, with congratulations, as Dictator, invited him to enter Rome, and informed him of the terrible danger of Minucius's army.”
Livy, The History of Rome, Books 1-5: The Early History of Rome
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2026-06-23 22:53:13 UTC

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2026-06-22 22:39:19 UTC

🔘 OLD ENEMIES MEET AGAIN
“A rope was cast about his neck and he was led to the prison of Minturnae on the order of its duumvir. A public slave of German nationality was sent with a sword to put him to death. It happened that this man had been taken a prisoner by Marius when he was commander in the war against the Cimbri; when he recognized Marius, giving utterance with loud outcry to his indignation at the plight of this great man, he threw away his sword and fled from the prison.”
Velleius Paterculus, Roman History
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2026-06-22 18:46:03 UTC

🔵 “THEIR BLADE HAS NO POINT”
“The Tribunes accordingly gave out the spears of the Triarii, who are the last of the three ranks, to the first ranks, or Hastati: and ordering the men to use their swords only, after their spears were done with, they charged the Celts full in front. When the Celts had rendered their swords useless by the first blows delivered on the spears, the Romans close with them, and rendered them quite helpless, by preventing them from raising their hands to strike with their swords, which is their peculiar and only stroke, because their blade has no point. The Romans, on the contrary, having excellent points to their swords, used them not to cut but to thrust: and by thus repeatedly hitting the breasts and faces of the enemy, they eventually killed the greater number of them. And this was due to the foresight of the Tribunes:”
Polybius, histories
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2026-06-20 22:17:41 UTC

🟣 THE KINGDOM OF DA QIN
“The Kingdom of Da Qin (the Roman Empire)- is also called Lijian. As it is found to the west of the sea, it is also called the Kingdom of Haixi (Egypt).? Its territory extends for several thousands of li. It has more than four hundred walled towns. There are several tens of smaller dependent kingdoms. The walls of the towns are made of stone.
They have established postal relays at intervals, which are all plastered and whitewashed. There are pines and cypresses, as well as trees and plants of all kinds. The common people are farmers. They cultivate many grain crops and silkworm-mulberry trees.* They shave their heads, and their clothes are embroidered. They have screened coaches (for the women) and small white-roofed one-horse carts. When carriages come and go, drums are beaten and flags and standards are raised.
The seat of government (Rome) is more than a hundred li (41.6 km) around. In this city are five palaces each ten li (4.2 km) from the other. Moreover, in the rooms of the palace the pillars and the tableware are really made of crystal. The king goes each day to one of the palaces to deal with business. After five days, he has visited all of them. A porter with a sack has the job of always following the royal carriage. When somebody wants to discuss something with the king, he throws a note in the sack. When the king arrives at the palace, he opens the bag, examines the contents, and judges if the plaintiff is right or wrong.
There is a government department of archives. [A group of] thirty-six leaders has been established to meet together to deliberate on affairs of state. Their kings are not permanent.
They select and appoint the most worthy man. If there are unexpected calamities in the kingdom, such as frequent extraordinary winds or rains, he is unceremoniously rejected and replaced. The one who has been dismissed quietly accepts his demotion, and is not angry.
The people of this country are all tall and honest. They resemble the people of the Middle Kingdom and that is why this kingdom is called Da Qin [literally, 'Great China'].”
Book of the later Han
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2026-06-20 14:16:02 UTC

⚪️ STRABO ON THE MAURI
“Here dwell a people whom the Greeks call Maurusians, and the Romans and the natives Mauri — a large and prosperous Libyan tribe, who live on the side of the strait opposite Iberia.” (Mauretania, Morocco).
“However, it is agreed by all that Maurusia is a fertile country, except a small desert part, and is supplied with both lakes and rivers. It is surpassing in the size and in the number of its trees, and is also productive of everything; at any rate, this is the country which supplies the Romans with the tables that are made of one single piece of wood, very large and most variegated.”
“Now a little before my time the kings of the house of Bogus and of Bocchus, who were friends of the Romans, possessed the country, but when these died Juba succeeded to the throne, Augustus Caesar having given him this in addition to his father's empire. He was the son of the Juba who with Scipio waged war against the deified Caesar. Now Juba died lately, but his son Ptolemy, whose mother was the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, has succeeded to the throne.”
Strabo
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2026-06-19 21:09:34 UTC

🟢 PLINY ON THE NILE RIVER
“The country has reason to make careful note of either extreme. When the water rises to only twelve cubits, it experiences the horrors of famine; when it attains thirteen, hunger is still the result; a rise of fourteen cubits is productive of gladness; a rise of fifteen sets all anxieties at rest; while an increase of sixteen is productive of unbounded transports of joy. The greatest increase known, up to the present time, is that of eighteen cubits, which took place in the time of the Emperor Claudius; the smallest rise was that of five, in the year of the battle of Pharsalia, the river by this prodigy testifying its horror, as it were, at the murder of Pompeius Magnus. When the waters have reached their greatest height, the people open the embankments and admit them to the lands. As each district is left by the waters, the business of sowing commences. This is the only river in existence that emits no vapours.”
Pliny the Elder
https://blossom.primal.net/8ff589ea182641f759e9bde4bc817dfc4aba25f7608fb26867b0deb44d72f56e.jpg

2026-06-19 21:07:54 UTC

⚫️ DESECRATION
“In the meantime (82BC), the most eminent persons in Rome were put to death on false accusations. Even Scaevola, the pontifex maximus, who had the highest reputation amongst the citizens, came to an unworthy end. The Romans were fortunate only in one thing, that this venerable priest did not withdraw into the most sacred precinct {the temple of Vesta}. For the cruelty of the murderers was such, that they would have laid him upon the very altar, and cut his throat there, so that by his own blood he would have extinguished that fire, which religious devotion has ceaselessly kept burning ever since ancient times.”
Diodorus Siculus
https://blossom.primal.net/f10867c3021826e99e3925c3fcf3af1fe00b16126d9323cbcb53acaeb6c7433a.jpg

2026-06-19 21:05:57 UTC

🟡 HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE
The "Roman Empire hype" was a 2023 social media trend that started with a Swedish (Saskia Cort) influencer's question about how often men think about the Roman Empire. This question spread rapidly, especially on Instagram and TikTok, revealing that many men think about it surprisingly often. The trend then evolved, with people using the phrase "my Roman Empire" to describe something they think about frequently or are deeply interested in.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a80lHKIbLIY&pp=
https://blossom.primal.net/b70fc164161877b86cff20c365291226fdfdb00716e03463ea1bbcc87290d9c5.jpg

2026-06-14 21:36:04 UTC

🔶 BRITANNICUS AND AGRIPPINA MINOR
“Agrippina herself was dignified by the title of Augusta. When the transaction was over, no one was so devoid of pity as not to feel compunction for the lot of Britannicus. Stripped little by little of the services of the very slaves, the boy turned into derision the officious importunities of his stepmother, whose hypocrisy he understood. For report credits him with no lack of intelligence, possibly with truth, or possibly through the sympathy inspired by his dangers he has retained a reputation which was never put to the proof.”
“Agrippina, on the other hand, in order to advertise her strength to the provinces also, arranged for the plantation of a colony⁠ of veterans in the Ubian town (modern day Cologne) where she was born. The settlement received its title from her name; and, as chance would have it, it had been her grandfather Agrippa who extended Roman protection to the tribe on its migration across the Rhine.”
Tacitus
https://blossom.primal.net/659e3c63e641de2a0fe3133e98097427cbe4a85a66df4fead59b097e8da081ff.jpg

2026-06-14 21:21:07 UTC

🔺 THE CAMPANIAN PROPOSEL
“When these nations which lie between us are subjugated - and your courage and fortune are a guarantee that this will soon come about - you will have an unbroken dominion up to our frontier. Painful and humiliating is the confession which our fortunes compel us to make; but it has come to this, senators, we Campanians must be numbered either amongst your friends or your enemies. If you defend us we are yours, if you abandon us we shall belong to the Samnites. Make up your minds, then, whether you would prefer that Capua and the whole of Campania should form an addition to your strength or should augment the power of the Samnites.”
Livy
https://blossom.primal.net/edccc81ddc864f672991c151bad1404dd3bcb891bf2be35dfce280b30d401898.png

2026-06-14 18:26:08 UTC

🔘 HUSBAND OF AGRIPPINA MINOR
“Passienus Crispus, a native of Visellium, began his first speech in the senate with these words: "Conscript fathers and you, Caesar," and was in consequence highly commended by Tiberius, though not sincerely. He voluntarily pleaded a number of cases in the court of the Hundred, and therefore his statue was set up in the Basilica Julia. He was twice consul. He married twice: first Domitia and then Agrippina, respectively the aunt and the mother of the emperor Nero. He possessed an estate of two hundred million sesterces. He tried to gain favour with all the emperors, but especially with Gaius Caesar (Caligula), whom he attended on foot when the emperor made a journey. When he was asked by Nero in a private conversation whether he had commerce with his own sister, as the emperor had with his, he replied "Not yet"; a very fitting and cautious answer, neither accusing the emperor by denying the allegation, nor dishonouring himself with a lie by admitting it. He was slain by the treachery of Agrippina, whom he had made his heir, and was honoured with a public funeral.”
Suetonius
https://blossom.primal.net/4e98864a09433ec77daed4c9e0a1d2c29145c8ed3941be888c90307fadb492ab.png

2026-06-14 18:23:48 UTC

🔵 THE ROMAN CALENDER
It was originally a lunar calendar with ten months, beginning with March and ending with December. This left a significant portion of the year unaccounted for. King Numa Pompilius is credited with adding January and February, bringing the total to 12 months. The Roman calendar was unique in its method of counting days within a month. Each month had three key markers: the Kalends (the first day of the month, the Nones (the fifth day of most months, the seventh in March, May, July, and October), and the Ides (the thirteenth day of most months, the fifteenth in March, May, July, and October). Days were counted backwards from these markers. For example, the day before the Kalends of March would be called "pridie Kalendas Martias."
The Roman calendar struggled to accurately align with the solar year, leading to the occasional insertion of extra days to correct the discrepancy. Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar in 45 BC, introducing the Julian calendar, which was a significant improvement in accuracy.
https://blossom.primal.net/34c2e31fa376ba17e326bbba7d7dc7262be25f217a605cbc440d9d9735dba5f3.jpg

2026-06-14 17:16:25 UTC

🟣 STRABO ON THE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICANS
“The Aethiopians live on millet and barley, from which they also make a drink; but instead of olive-oil they have butter and tallow. Neither do they have fruit trees, except a few date-palms in the royal gardens. But some use grass as food, as also tender twigs, lotus, and reed-roots; and they use meats, blood, milk, and cheese. They reverence as gods their kings, who generally stay shut up at home. Their greatest royal seat is Meroê, a city bearing the same name as the island. The island is said to be like an oblong shield in shape. Its size has perhaps been exaggerated: about three thousand stadia in length and one thousand in breadth. The island has both numerous mountains and large thickets; it is inhabited partly by nomads, partly by hunters, and partly by farmers; and it has mines of copper, iron, gold, and different kinds of precious stones. It is bounded on the Libyan side by large sand-dunes, and on the Arabian side by continuous precipices, and above, on the south, by the confluence of the three rivers — the Astaboras, and the Astapus and the Astasobas and on the north by the next course of the Nile, which extends to Aegypt along the aforesaid windings of the river. In the cities the dwellings are made of split pieces of palm-wood woven together, or of brick. And they have quarried salt, as do the Arabians. And, among the plants, the palm, the persea, the ebony, and the ceratia are found in abundance. And they have, not only elephants to hunt, but also lions and leopards. They also have serpents, the elephant-fighters, as also many other wild animals; for the animals flee for refuge from the hotter and more arid regions to those that are watery and marshy.”
Strabo
(Note: In ancient Greek and Roman times, "Aethiopians" was a broad term used to describe people of sub-Saharan Africa. It wasn't a specific ethnic group but rather a geographical and sometimes racial designation.)
https://blossom.primal.net/4bfc3bbbb60e759934b84efc7eaa64d64ca2ba6d13e08febf0bc36cc2ff5f3c4.png

2026-06-14 17:14:19 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/772e41d8de66b4416dca395e5abfedc13c88694b23c1e62cdd030533b276199f.jpg

2026-06-14 17:14:13 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/2011b028504ffa1cbe5a156e29864691fd7fc7d8817c50c250d7ba4cd552d756.jpg

2026-06-14 17:14:06 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/67b484049126dc611ff4659d59d0d10dd4a28f18d2bacc1ede4f5afb589087c9.jpg

2026-06-14 17:13:58 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/15f307ea10d4cf625650d06baa3ec86b3c29fcf468c3ca74237c9953454d6ac3.jpg

2026-06-14 17:13:47 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/62a86638cf0100fb50ff82530e88858c3f78256d810c2c98acbe05d5667d5153.jpg

2026-06-14 17:13:36 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/e0672bb35e7a3def728caac8659f466849769b340ea7d50992f0ab1152b7afd1.jpg

2026-06-14 17:13:27 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/e8b50fdbc0df756fba2b3147daac4627f3992805e2f21193906e9674daa5165e.jpg

2026-06-14 17:13:18 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/f371a56673ab9b4d014453a00ca8884019782db0347a2a5aad0121cdf3294b8d.jpg

2026-06-14 17:13:10 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/06e48c8b642ab4a1455974f7631f95f4a3be1b9057143ba8118b7cf556537bd9.jpg

2026-06-14 17:12:58 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/2e5a8d40d4748dc8430194eb61e8f110196e653b0074e8d587acd84b0b22234b.jpg

2026-06-14 17:12:49 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/823c83ad45262a66e22fa3e1be4229dd7a909ebb1c4db088d9dda343b91a920a.jpg

2026-06-14 17:12:38 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/45dd3cc4627d7239b819cf6eabf1217d5e07e8990e3b4afed29f982d234a44b2.jpg

2026-06-09 11:11:04 UTC

⚪️ DEVOTION
“Gnaeus Pompeius devoted himself to a military life, and inured himself to the hardships and fatigues of war, so that in a short time he was acknowledged as an expert in military matters. Casting off all sloth and idleness, he was always, night and day, doing something or other that was useful for the conduct of the war. He was very sparing in his diet, ate his food sitting, and altogether refrained from baths and other such luxurious activities. He allotted fewer hours for sleep than nature demanded, and spent the rest of the night in the concerns of a general, relating to the problems that he faced during the day; so that, by his habitual planning for the uncertain events of war, he became most accomplished in military activities. And therefore, in far less time than another could have prepared himself to take charge of an army that was already raised, in that time he raised an army, trained them, and disciplined them. And when the news of his remarkable exploits was brought to Rome, everybody at first, reflecting upon his youth rather than on his valour, supposed that the messengers were merely exaggerating in their accounts.”
Diodorus Siculus
https://blossom.primal.net/5021f7593a065a7bf874ee6df189b3ada5821b3c7965d58df8b6ec8594b91060.png

2026-06-09 07:53:54 UTC

🟢 STARVING THE CAMPANIANS
“Fabius Maximus, having laid waste the lands of the Campanians, in order that they might have nothing left to warrant the confidence that a siege could be sustained, withdrew at the time of the sowing, that inhabitants might plant what seed they had remaining. Then, returning, he destroyed the new crop and thus made himself master of the Campanians, whom he had reduced to famine.”
Frontinus: The Strategemata
https://blossom.primal.net/1cd53ace12109456c34bdff64d0c1259e0fcb0ac3ed9548193d26d94a8096fec.png

2026-06-07 22:07:39 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/6f7e475852e36ff6b2367662ce13682737fc94ed7260531e6bd29beb29e68861.jpg

2026-06-07 22:07:32 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/bdb256534a8fb5ffef218502c12756d35de033a77bea2a21702feb9d4d31c9f3.jpg

2026-06-07 17:52:33 UTC

⚫️ THE MARSI WAR BEGINS
“The long smouldering fires of an Italian war were now fanned into flame by the death of Drusus. One hundred and twenty years ago, in the consulship of Lucius Caesar and Publius Rutilius, all Italy took up arms against the Romans. The rebellion began with the people of Asculum, who had put to death the praetor Servilius and Fonteius, his deputy; it was then taken up by the Marsi, and from them it made its ways into all the districts of Italy. The fortune of the Italians was as cruel as their cause was just; for they were seeking citizenship in the state whose power they were defending by their arms; every year and in every war they were furnishing a double number of men, both of cavalry and of infantry, and yet were not admitted to the rights of citizens in the state which, through their efforts, had reached so high a position that it could look down upon men of the same race and blood as foreigners and aliens.”
Velleius Paterculus, Roman History
https://blossom.primal.net/438d41a696eb9a7e700dce201779087053f282416dd9741965779d50b41b70a5.png

2026-06-07 16:10:50 UTC

🟡 ABOUT SICILIAN TOPOGRAPHY
“Sicily, then, lies towards Southern Italy very much in the same relative position as the Peloponnese does to the rest of Greece. The only difference is that the one is an island, the other a peninsula; and consequently in the former case there is no communication except by sea, in the latter there is a land communication also. The shape of Sicily is a triangle, of which the several angles are represented by promontories: that to the south jutting out into the Sicilian Sea is called Pachynus; that which looks to the north forms the western extremity of the Straits of Messene and is about twelve stades from Italy, its name is Pelorus; while the third projects in the direction of Libya itself, and is conveniently situated opposite the promontories which cover Carthage, at a distance of about a thousand stades: it looks somewhat south of due west, dividing the Libyan from the Sardinian Sea, and is called Lilybaeum. On this last there is a city of the same name. It was this city that the Romans were now besieging. It was exceedingly strongly fortified: for besides its walls there was a deep ditch running all round it, and on the side of the sea it was protected by lagoons, to steer through which into the harbour was a task requiring much skill and practice.”
Polybius, histories
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2026-06-07 16:04:59 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/1c3bf9e5931379a24bea620334b960f257fa40b4868e7f29902fc6efbccfcd77.jpg

2026-06-07 16:04:43 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/ecada5bb72c094d43c8a45cc36cc33c87b8b1cafb6816349998c5888c7437782.jpg

2026-06-07 16:04:25 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/ccdd4fdefd17fd0dbe82d66bac7d8ea018b0c1ee4fcb018398878cde2b684d53.jpg

2026-06-07 16:02:31 UTC

Was on the march today 🚶🏻‍➡️
https://blossom.primal.net/1c3bf9e5931379a24bea620334b960f257fa40b4868e7f29902fc6efbccfcd77.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/ccdd4fdefd17fd0dbe82d66bac7d8ea018b0c1ee4fcb018398878cde2b684d53.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/ecada5bb72c094d43c8a45cc36cc33c87b8b1cafb6816349998c5888c7437782.jpg

2026-06-06 17:02:31 UTC

- reply

Because a reasonable man would not try to change the world. or something like that I think it was

2026-06-04 21:33:53 UTC

🟤 THE BIRTH OF PONTUS
“Not long afterward dissensions broke out among the Macedonians. Antigonus expelled Laomedon from Syria and assumed the government himself. He had with him one Mithridates, a scion of the royal house of Persia.
Antigonus had a dream that he had sowed a field with gold, and that Mithridates reaped it and carried it off to Pontus. He accordingly arrested him, intending to put him to death, but Mithridates escaped with six horsemen, fortified himself in a stronghold of Cappadocia, where many joined him in consequence of the decay of the Macedonian power, and possessed himself of the whole of Cappadocia and of the neighboring countries along the Euxine.
This great power, which he had built up, he left to his children. They reigned one after another until the sixth Mithridates in succession from the founder of the house, and he went to war with the Romans. Since there were kings of this house of both Cappadocia and Pontus, I judge that they divided the government, some ruling one country and some the other.
At any rate a king of Pontus, the Mithridates surnamed Euergetes (the Benefactor), who was the first of them inscribed as a friend of the Roman people, and who even sent some ships and a small force of auxiliaries to aid them against the Carthaginians, invaded Cappadocia as though it were a foreign country. He was succeeded by his son, Mithridates, surnamed Dionysus, and also Eupator.”
Appian, the foreign wars
https://blossom.primal.net/19e17a24e40e8098f585c39f9c222b37e8f6cd818f297c6ddcaab873590109be.png

2026-06-04 02:45:30 UTC

When you feel hurt seeing dips like this, always remember: it’s just pain.

2026-06-03 11:21:10 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/d2f222de918c9526551afc15c0db03aff35be8033f73e7446d300f4de057d2ac.mp4

2026-06-02 08:05:52 UTC

Wen moon

2026-06-01 22:38:01 UTC

🔶 DISPUTE OVER A RIVER
58 AD
“In the same summer, a great battle was waged between the Hermunduri and Chatti, both attempting to appropriate by force a river which was at once a rich source for salt and the frontier line between the tribes.⁠ Apart from their passion for deciding all questions by the sword, they held an ingrained religious belief that this district was peculiarly close to heaven and that nowhere did the gods give more immediate audience to human prayer. Hence, by the divine favour, salt in that river and in these forests was not produced, as in other countries, by allowing water to evaporate in a pool left by the sea, but by pouring it on a blazing pile of trees, crystallization taking place throughout the union of two opposed elements, water and fire.⁠ The struggle, which went in favour of the Hermunduri, was the more disastrous to the Chatti in that both sides consecrated, in the event of victory, the adverse host to Mars and Mercury;⁠ a vow implying the extermination of horses, men, and all objects whatsoever.”
Tacitus
https://blossom.primal.net/69b2f86a232acec2fdbb3ebbe0c6b87cdb0127235334f0a31ff66a700c587c04.png

2026-05-31 21:02:28 UTC

Daily roman updates:
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https://blossom.primal.net/6817ec5c6ee342c0f458af884a968ac311171d016715f64b1d88fb1efc134b8e.jpg

2026-05-31 20:45:53 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/0321f56b01a8aae03373db1926bfff2fa5b18c45afcfd15b428502e38c0c1bd1.jpg

2026-05-31 20:24:19 UTC

🔺 8,33 PERCENT
“A measure dealing with improper canvassing was for the first time submitted to the people, after passing the senate, by C. Poetilius, tribune of the plebs. It was intended to check the canvassing, mainly by rich plebeians, in the markets and promiscuous gatherings.”
“Another measure, by no means so welcome to the patricians, was brought forward the following year, the consuls being C. Marcius and Cnaeus Manlius. M. Duilius and L. Menenius, tribunes of the plebs, were the proposers of this measure, which fixed the rate of interest at 8 1/3 per cent.; the plebs adopted it with much more eagerness than the Poetilian Law against canvassing.”
Livy
https://blossom.primal.net/6f49fa192be65f19d7f7cf056dc26f4ff4c4145c25dd540f0909ce10f837d7e0.png

2026-05-31 16:52:25 UTC

🔘 SPONGES
“The only thing for which he (Vespasian) can fairly be censured was his love of money. For not content with reviving the imposts which had been repealed under Galba, he added new and heavy burdens, increasing the amount of tribute paid by the provinces, in some cases actually doubling it, and quite openly carrying on traffic which would be shameful even for a man in private life; for he would buy up certain commodities merely in order to distribute them at a profit. He made no bones of selling offices to candidates and acquittals to men under prosecution, whether innocent or guilty. He is even believed to have had the habit of designedly advancing the most rapacious of his procurators to higher posts, that they might be the richer when he later condemned them; in fact, it was common talk that he used these men as sponges, because he, so to speak, soaked them when they were dry and squeezed them when they were wet.”
Suetonius
https://blossom.primal.net/693172d372320cb01c03c4ce1b43c9a3a3b1f00271a5681d3a48a7ed8ddf99c6.png

2026-05-31 16:35:13 UTC

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https://blossom.primal.net/b78007407ff763bb09fcf9e29246f2902fc990823478d673dca1b27724121d94.jpg

2026-05-30 10:40:48 UTC

🔵 GALLIC WALLS
“But this is usually the form of all the Gallic walls. Straight beams, connected lengthwise and two feet distant from each other at equal intervals, are placed together on the ground; these are mortised on the inside, and covered with plenty of earth. But the intervals which we have mentioned, are closed up in front by large stones. These being thus laid and cemented together, another row is added above, in such a manner, that the same interval may be observed, and that the beams may not touch one another, but equal spaces intervening, each row of beams is kept firmly in its place by a row of stones. In this manner the whole wall is consolidated, until the regular height of the wall be completed. This work, with respect to appearance and variety, is not unsightly, owing to the alternate rows of beams and stones, which preserve their order in right lines; and, besides, it possesses great advantages as regards utility and the defense of cities; for the stone protects it from fire, and the wood from the battering ram, since it [the wood] being mortised in the inside with rows of beams, generally forty feet each in length, can neither be broken through nor torn asunder.”
Julius Caesar, the gallic war
https://blossom.primal.net/9c4acd051cba5c480c03ce5843793b5f45572b71e5db5b5d4a19138f985c9f8b.gif

2026-05-29 23:36:57 UTC

🟣 CONFLICT WITH THE AETHIOPIANS
“But the Aethiopians, emboldened by the fact that a part of the Roman force in Aegypt had been drawn away with Ælius Gallus when he was carrying on war against the Arabians, attacked the Thebaïs and the garrison of the three cohorts at Syenê, and by an unexpected onset took Syenê and Elephantinê and Philae, and enslaved the inhabitants, and also pulled down the statues of Caesar. But Petronius, setting out with less than ten thousand infantry and eight hundred cavalry against thirty thousand men, first forced them to flee back to Pselchis, an Aethiopian city, and sent ambassadors to demand what they had taken, as also to ask the reasons why they had begun war; and when they said that they had been wronged by the Nomarchs, he replied that these were not rulers of the country, but Caesar; and when they had requested three days for deliberation, but did nothing they should have done, he made an attack and forced them to come forth to battle; and he quickly turned them to flight, since they were badly marshalled and badly armed; for they had large oblong shields, and those too made of raw ox-hide, and as weapons some had only axes, others pikes, and others swords. Now some were driven together into the city, others fled into the desert, and others found refuge on a neighbouring island, having waded into the channel, for on account of the current the crocodiles were not numerous there. Among these fugitive were the generals of Queen Candacê, who was ruler of the Aethiopians in my time — a masculine sort of woman, and blind in one eye. These, one and all, he captured alive, having sailed after them in both rafts and ships, and he sent them forthwith down to Alexandria.”
Strabo
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