As the Romans did
Empires rise and fall, and are replaced by empires that rise and fall. How they — we — have gone about it holds fascination among a good many scholars who tirelessly research the archives in dead languages.
Few people could care less. Fewer still remember the names of personages of the time dredged up by historians. Arguably, we’re more intelligent and cultured when we know who did what thousands of years ago. And then there were the close calls, when empires were on the verge of falling but managed to survive a while longer.
Rome went through three major stages during its millennium-long existence. We pat ourselves on the back for being able to name two of its primary historical figures: Julius Caesar, a soldier murdered for some reason or other, and Nero, a musically inclined emperor who played the fiddle while Rome burned.
Reading histories, however informative, can be boring. Aware of this, historians spend years accumulating enough information to present events in narrative form. Their challenge is to make them as interesting as novelists can.
Some are more successful at this than others. Take Oxford University Professor of Antiquities Harry Sidebottom, whose speciality is Ancient Rome.
For his subject this time — in Blood And Steel: Throne Of The Caesars — the professor has chosen an obscure event from 238 AD, an attempted coup d’etat. The Gordias family, father and son, mean to displace the current ruler, sure they can do better. Each side lines up support.
The ensuing battle is vividly described, legionaries on both sides. A lot of the losers commit suicide rather than become prisoners. We are given titbits on the Romans who killed themselves and how they did it. Historical notes and a glossary fill the latter pages. History buffs will go for it.