🟡 DECIUS DECEIVED “Suffering from an affection of the eyes and distrusting the physicians of Rhegium, Decius sent for a medical man who had migrated from Rhegium to Messana so long before that it was forgotten that he was a Rhegian. The latter persuaded him that, if he wished speedy relief, he should use certain hot drugs. Having applied a burning and corrosive ointment to his eyes, he told him to bear the pain till he should come again. Then he secretly returned to Messana. Decius, after enduring the pain a long time, washed off the ointment and found that he had lost his eyesight.” Appian, the foreign wars

🟤 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.”

🔶 NUMIDIAN SUCCESSION “In spite of all, that faction of the senate prevailed which rated money and favour higher than justice. It was voted that ten commissioners should divide Micipsa's former kingdom between Jugurtha and Adherbal. The head of this commission was Lucius Opimius, a distinguished man, who was influential in the senate at that time because in his consul­ship,⁠ after bringing about the death of Gaius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, he had made cruel use of the victory of the nobles over the people. Although at Rome Opimius had been one of Jugurtha's opponents, the king received him with the greatest respect, and soon induced him, by many gifts and promises, to consider Jugurtha's advantage of more consequence than his own fair fame, his honour, and in short, than all personal considerations. Then adopting the same tactics with the other envoys, Jugurtha won over the greater number of them; only a few held their honour dearer than gold. When the division was made, the part of Numidia adjoining Mauretania, which was the more fertile and thickly populated, was assigned to Jugurtha; the other part, preferable in appearance rather than in reality, having more harbours and being provided with more buildings, fell to Adherbal.” Sallust

🔺 CLAIMING ROYAL LINEAGE “There was a certain person who dared to affirm that he was born of the womb of his (Augustus) most dear sister Octavia; saying that, on account of the infirmity of his body, he was put out to the person that bred him, and that person's son was taken in his stead. Thus at the same time he attempted to deprive a most sacred family of the memory of their true blood, and to contaminate it with the contagion of a lie. But while he was ascending to the utmost heights of boldness, he was condemned to row in a public trireme by order of Augustus.” Valerius Maximus

🔘 CONFIDENCE OR ARROGANCE? “Gnaeus Domitius, whom Scipio the Great appointed in his stead as a colleague for his brother Lucius in the war against Antiochus, when he had inspected the battle-line of the enemy, and the officers of his staff urged him to attack at once, said that there was not time enough to hew down so many thousands, plunder their baggage, return to camp, and enjoy their usual comforts; but all this they would do on the morrow at the right time. And on the next day he engaged the enemy, and slew fifty thousand of them.” Plutarch, Sayings Of The Romans

I made things today

🔵 MAN, MYTH, LEGEND “And so — to return to the course of events — Aurelian, born of humble parents and from his earliest years very quick of mind and famous for his strength, never let a day go by, even though a feast-day or a day of leisure, on which he did not practise with the spear, the bow and arrow, and other exercises in arms. As to his mother, Callicrates of Tyre, by far the most learned writer of the Greeks, says that she was a priestess of the temple of his own Sun-god in the village in which his parents lived; she even had the gift of prophecy to a certain extent, for once, when she was quarrelling with her husband and reviling him for his stupidity and low estate, she shouted at him, "Behold the father of an emperor!" From which it is clear that the woman knew something of fate. The same writer says also that there were the following omens of the rule of Aurelian: First of all, when he was a child, a serpent wound itself many times around his wash-basin, and no one was able to kill it; finally, his mother, who had seen the occurrence, refused to have the serpent killed, saying that it was a member of the household. Furthermore, it is said, the priestess made swaddling-clothes for her son from a purple cloak, which the emperor of the time had dedicated to the Sun-god. This, too, is related, that Aurelian, while wrapped in his swaddling-clothes, was lifted out of his cradle by an eagle, but without suffering harm, and was laid on an altar in a neighbouring shrine which happened to have no fire upon it. The same writer asserts that on his mother's land a calf was born of marvellous size, white but with purple spots, which formed on one side the word "hail," on the other a crown. I remember also reading in this same author much that has no importance; he even asserts that where Aurelian was born there sprang up in this same woman's courtyard roses of a purple colour, having the fragrance of the rose but a golden centre. Later, when he was in military service, there were also many omens predicting, as events showed, his future rule. For instance, when he entered Antioch in a carriage, for the reason that because of a wound he could not ride his horse, a purple cloak, which had been spread out in his honour, fell down on him in such a way as to cover his shoulders. Then, when he desired to change to a horse, because at that time the use of a carriage in a city was attended with odium, a horse belonging to the emperor was led up to him, and in Thracia he mounted it. But when he discovered to whom it belonged, he changed to one of his own. Furthermore, when he had gone as envoy to the Persians, he was presented with a sacrificial saucer, of the kind that the king of the Persians is wont to present to the emperor, on which was engraved the Sun-god in the same attire in which he was worshipped in the very temple where the mother of Aurelian had been a priestess. He was also presented with an elephant of unusual size, which he then gave to the emperor, and Aurelian was the only commoner of them all who ever owned an elephant. But, to omit these and similar details, he was a comely man, good to look upon because of his manly grace, rather tall in stature, and very strong in his muscles; he was a little too fond of wine and food, but he indulged his passions rarely; he exercised the greatest severity and a discipline that had no equal, being extremely ready to draw his sword. And, in fact, since there were in the army two tribunes, both named Aurelian, this man and another, who later was captured with Valerian, the soldiers gave him the nickname of "Sword-in‑hand," so that, if anyone chanced to ask which Aurelian had done anything or performed any exploit, the reply would be made "Aurelian Sword-in‑hand," and so he would be identified.” Historia Augusta

🟣 THE ORONTES RIVER “The Orontes River flows near the city. This river has its sources in Coelê-Syria; and then, after flowing under­ground, issues forth again; and then, proceeding through the territory of the Apameians into that of Antiocheia, closely approaches the latter city and flows down to the sea near Seleuceia. Though formerly called Typhon, its name was changed to that of Orontes, the man who built a bridge across it. Here, somewhere, is the setting of the mythical story of the Arimi, of whom I have already spoken. They say that Typhon (who, they add, was a dragon), when struck by the bolts of lightning, fled in search of a descent under­ground; that he not only cut the earth with furrows and formed the bed of the river, but also descended under­ground and caused the fountain to break forth to the surface; and that the river got its name from this fact.” Strabo

⚪️ A CONSEQUENCE OF TAX COLLECTION “As part of the command of Marius against the Cimbrians, the senate had given him a commission to raise men from the countries beyond the seas; to which end, Marius sent envoys to Nicomedes king of Bithynia, requesting him to send some men as auxiliaries; but Nicomedes replied that most of the Bithynians had been taken away as slaves by the tax-collectors, and were dispersed throughout the provinces. Upon hearing this, the senate decreed that no freeman belonging to any of the Roman allies should in any province be forced to be a slave, and that the praetors should take care to see that they were all set free.” Diodorus Siculus

🟢 WAR IS DECEPTION “When Appius Claudius, consul in the first Punic War, was unable to transport his soldiers from the neighbourhood of Regium to Messina, because the Carthaginians were guarding the Straits, he caused the rumour to be spread that he could not continue a war which had been undertaken without the endorsement of the people, and turning about he pretended to set sail for Italy. Then, when the Carthaginians dispersed, believing he had gone, Appius turned back and landed in Sicily.” Frontinus: The Strategemata

⚫️ NEW LAWS FOR EXILES “As there were many exiles who were either living outside of the districts to which they had been banished or living too luxuriously in the proper places, he ordered that no one who had been debarred from fire and water should live either on the mainland or on any of the islands within fifty miles of it, except Cos, Rhodes, Samos, and Lesbos; for he made an exception in the case of these alone for some reason or other. Besides this, he enjoined upon the exiles that they should not cross the sea to any other point, and should not possess more than one ship of burden having a capacity of a thousand amphorae and two ships driven by oars; that they should not employ more than twenty slaves or freedmen, and should not possess property to the value of more than half a million sesterces; and he threatened to punish not only the exiles themselves but all others as well who should in any way assist them in violating these commands.” Cassius Dio

As a kid i always thought that adults were happy

🟡 THE HYDRA HEADACHE “The Senate made answer to Cineas as Appius advised. They decreed the levying of two new legions for Lævinus, and made proclamation that whoever would volunteer in place of those who had been lost should put their names on the army roll. Cineas, who was still present and saw the multitude hastening to be enrolled, is reported to have said to Pyrrhus on his return: "We are waging war against a hydra." Others say that not Cineas, but even Pyrrhus himself said this when he saw the new Roman army larger than the former one; for the other consul, Coruncanius, came from Etruria and joined his forces with those of Lævinus. It is said also that when Pyrrhus made some further inquiries about Rome, Cineas replied that it was a city of generals; and when Pyrrhus wondered at this, he corrected himself, and said that it seemed more like a city of kings. When Pyrrhus saw that there was no expectation of peace from the Senate, he marched toward Rome, laying everything waste on his way. When he had come as far as the town of Anagnia, finding his army encumbered with booty and a host of prisoners, he decided to postpone the battle. Accordingly he turned back to Campania, sending his elephants in advance, and distributed his army in winter quarters among the towns.” Appian, the foreign war

I currently use only NOSTR for social media.

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” -Martin Luther

🟤 VIA APPIA The Via Appia, or "Queen of Roads," is one of the most significant Roman roads, connecting Rome to Brindisi in southeastern Italy. Constructed in 312 BC primarily for military purposes, it quickly became a vital artery for trade and communication. The road consisted of layers of compacted stone and volcanic rock. The Via Appia passed through several important Roman cities, Rome itself, Capua, Beneventum, an important crossroad and a significant military base; Tarentum, a major port city in southern Italy; and finally Brundisium, a crucial port for trade and military operations in the eastern Mediterranean.

Forgive me, God.

🔶 THE FARTHEST ROMAN OUTPOST? In Farasan Islands close to modern day Yemen two latin inscriptions were discovered in 2003. The first inscription attests the presence of a vexillatio of the Legio Traiana Fortis in 143-144 AD moved from the roman province of Egypt under the emperor Antoninus Pius while the second inscription attests the presence of the Legio VI Ferrata in 139 AD moved from the roman province of Arabia Petrea under the emperor Hadrian. This would make the Farasan Islands the farthest Roman outpost (until at least the third century), being nearly 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from Rome itself.

🔺 THE FATE OF ROMAN PRISONERS OF WAR “Their general Hannibal, whose greatest virtue consisted in cruelty, made a bridge over the river Vergellus with the bodies of the Romans, and thereby led over his army, so that the Earth might experience the wickedness of the Carthaginian soldiers, just as Neptune had beheld the barbarity of their sailors. Those of our men who were taken as captive, he wore out with heavy burdens and long marches, and then left them on the road, with the lower part of their feet cut off. Those whom he took into his camp, picking out the nearest of kin that he could find, he compelled to fight in pairs, and did not relent in his thirst for blood until just one of them was left as victor.” (Hannibal 247-183/ 181 BC: Carthaginian general. Invaded Italy via the Alps, won key battles against Rome (Cannae), but ultimately lost at Zama and died in exile. Renowned military strategist). Valerius Maximus