Introduction

Welcome to my new blog. I have read over eleven centuries of classical history using ancient sources (I take the founding of Rome as my starting date, roughly in 750 BCE, and have reached the death of the emperor Gratian in 383 CE). This blog will be my vehicle to attempt to explicate both what I have read and what I have learned. In addition, I will discuss some larger theories about why history unfolded as it did. For example, I posit that Hannibal of Carthage was among the most responsible of actors for the downfall of the Roman Empire, despite losing two wars to them. Stay tuned to read how.

Beyond pure history, I will delve into other fictional and non-fictional sources that elucidate how life was lived in the period. While a reliance on ancient sources incorporates the limitations of the authors, including both their ignorance and biases (no different from a modern there), such writing tells us what the ancient people understood. False knowledge may better explain future action when the truth was unknown. Considering that, I take what I read from ancient historians as effectively true as long as there's not another ancient historian who disagrees, or a modern editor or translator whose help I rely on has not made a compelling argument about why they should be taken as a complete legend.

I very much welcome comments and hope this will be an opportunity to meet new people who have some of the same interests I do. I was a minor in history in college, but I think that this kind of learning can be a lot more enjoyable reading when it is only done for fun rather than for class. If similar people are out there, then let's make this a two way street.