National Geographic's Roman Empire: A Review

National Geographic's Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire is a 126-page special publication filled with photos and a brief overview of the empire.


Most of the emperors and major events are touched upon covering many areas from running the empire to the the rise of Christianity to slavery to daily life.

However, if you are very interested in Roman military strategy and details of specific battles, this publication does not cover them.

I think Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire is a great overview of the empire. It identifies different areas that you may want to explore in depth in the future.

Unlike Edward Gibbon's six volume The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the authoritative tome on Rome, you can read National Geographic's Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire within a week and you'll have beautiful pictures to enjoy along the way.

National Geographic's Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire was available in stores in December and January and is still available on National Geographic's website here.

Ancient New Year's Celebrations

Until the widespread incorporation of the Julian calendar, cultures throughout the world, including the Romans, each had their own day to start the new year.

The Romans new year's celebrations used to coincide with the vernal equinox - March 20th this year. 

The Babylonians celebrated the rebirth of the natural world following the first new moon of the vernal equinox - March 30th this year.

The Egyptians tied their new year's celebrations to the Nile's annual flood-typically in July.(1)

The recent Chinese New Year started over 3,000 years ago as a celebration of the spring planting season-February 19th this year.

Nowruz or Persian New Year started around the 6th century B.C. under the Achaemenid Empire coinciding with the vernal equinox-March 20th this year.

So if you fall asleep before the drop of the ball in Times Square, you have a number of other dates during the year in which you can celebrate the start of a New Year.

For more information on these customs and festivals, click on the link to History.com's:
 5 Ancient New Year's Celebrations

(1) Synonym.com, Traditional Ancient Egyptian Celebrations, Michelle Lee

The History of Christmas

The History Channel's interesting 5-minute video discussing Nordic, Roman and Christian traditions as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. The History of Christmas

Roman Aqueduct Hunters

Ever since I saw the 93-foot tall Roman Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, I have always been fascinated by the ingenuity of the Roman water system.

In 2008, Robert Harris in Pompeii wrote in great detail about the water works of the doomed city through the eyes of his protagonist, a hydraulic engineer for the city. The level of knowledge, math and engineering that went into water system was eye-opening.

It's no wonder Europe entered the dark ages after the Western Roman Empire fell - all of those centuries of knowledge lost.

Today I came across a video from AqueductHunter.com on their research and exploration of the Roman aqueduct, Aqua Traiana.

Enjoy!

Flooring the Colosseum

An article in the Los Angeles Times discussed installing a new floor on Rome's iconic Colosseum.

That is a bad idea.

Tourists by the millions come to view the ancient ruins. Being able to view the pens and chambers that once held animals, supplies, humans and who knows what else enhances that experience. Covering it, means only a handful of people will be able to view them on space-limited ground-level tours.

Also, adding a large new installation that is not part of the original Colosseum will stand in stark contrast to the ruins around, Already, a portion of the Colosseum has been floored for small productions and is bright and cheery compared to its surroundings.

Click on the link to read the full article.

Rome officials consider reinstalling floor of Colosseum



Photo by Alessandra Tarantino / Associated Press

Imperium

I just finished the historical novel, Imperium, by Robert Harris. It is the story of Cicero's rise to his first consulship, also known as Imperium, in 63 B.C. as told by his secretary Tiro. The novel is a fascinating read about Cicero's rise to power in the political hotbed that was Rome.

I normally need to see swords drawn and armies clashing to find a historical novel engaging, but through Harris' descriptive powers and being able to bring characters to life on the page, he was able to show just how exciting and lethal words and oratory could be.

One only has to look at our recent elections to see how effective an extremely good speaker can be in mobilizing the populace.

I highly recommend this book.

My only lament is that I wanted to see how the next twenty years of Cicero's life played out.

Needless to say I read about it on Wikipedia before I wrote this blog.

I really hope Harris will write a sequel to the rest of Cicero's amazing life.

Pompeii

I finally finished reading Pompeii by Robert Harris. I say finally, because it took me almost a month to finish it.

The first hundred pages were loaded with great details, but so many that I found myself skimming. The lack of connection with any of the main characters in the first third of the story was my principal problem and allowed me to set the novel aside and read something else to often. But then the next two hundred pages blew me away. (No pun intended.)

It wasn't the protagonist who saved the story, but the antagonist and how he impacted/influenced those around him. And whether it just took me awhile to get used to Harris' writing style or finally feeling for his characters, his excessive attention to details really served him well once Vesuvius blew its top.

I'm extremely glad I didn't put the novel down for good before I finished the first third of the book. But man, was I close.