The Roman Empire was not a big historical topic in South African school history during my youth.
We heard about Caesar in the Shakespeare plays, or in a Biblical context, but much of the teaching was very general.
Nowadays we have historical soap operas, movies and popular conspiracy theories, which broadly claim that the Babylonian royalty went from Rome, to
London and then Washington.
But what was Rome all about?
Was it all about insane kings like Caligula and Nero?
We hear mostly about the resistance of the Semitic peoples against Rome.
This is great, and we should hear more, but the northern people also resisted - not only in Britain but also in Germany.
Some say that the cosmopolitan scene created by Rome allowed localized ideas, plants, cults and religions to spread, so the social setting provided by
Rome is significant.
What is less mentioned is the resistance of the forest-dwelling Germanic tribes, especially the defeat of the Roman army by Arminius in AD 9.
This battle in the Teutoburger Forest would establish a border between Rome and the "barbarians" that would hold after AD 17.
Was Rome really the first border between "civilization" and "barbarism"?
I'd love any history, debate, music, clips or general feelings about the Romans and their Empire, and also about the various people they
fought.
edit on 11-9-2012 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)