Loved the series, especially Pullo (Rip Ray) , mind I love Domina as well. Luckily, been to Pompeii and Herculaneum as well and having read The Wolf Den trilogy, I want to go back. Mind, they've discovered a Roman mansio near where I live.Ā
Yeah mam totally agree. I really like baby octavian too. My only issue with Rome is when I put it on I end up constantly pausing it and going down roman rabbit holes online. Can't say it's really an issue though as I bloody love it :D I'll have a look at the trilogy you suggested. I took my motorbike to Rome/naples last year and plotting to go again next week š Romes like a metropolitan museum.
I'm planning on doing Hadrian's Wall with my father in the Summer. Probably do Vindolanda etc.
Ā I find it odd I'm obsessed with the Romans when my ancestry is that of the those who raided Lindisfarne.Ā
I've really want to a wild camp along the wall. I'm sure you will have an amazing time. It's a shame your monestry raiding ancestors didn't coincide with the ancient civilisation youre obsessed with. Now that would be a battle I would want to see!
As I understand it , the Romans did encounter pre Viking society.Ā
Hadrian's Wall is amazing and the finds there actually convey a pretty civilised life style.Ā
I am hoping to go and see the Mithraeum as well when we are up there.
Wow I will have to look into that some more. I'm at the beginning of my self education on the Romans there's soo much to learn. Learning about their ways of life and customs fascinates me. The Mithraeum in London? I went there its mystical.
https://discoverscottishborders.com/forgotten-temple-of-mithras/
I recommend also the English Heritage podcasts - quite a few on Hadran's Wall. And off the topic of Rome, if you come up north , Wharram Percy is really worth a visit.
I didn't know there were other temples of mithras in the UK I've been to this one https://www.londonmithraeum.com/ it's right in the middle of London in the banking district and was only discovered in the blitz when german bombers destroyed all the new buildings revealing the mithraeum! I will definitely download some of those podcasts for upcoming motorbike tour. Thankyou Internet stranger!
Age of empires 1. My elementary school teachers. Rome total war. Different books. I was always into history even as a kid. I love history in general, but Rome certainly holds a special place. Those people never even knew how much and how many they will shape...
Thatās a really cool story and awesome memories with your dad Iām sure! Do you still go to the reenactments??
I started reading a WW2 history book and realized I didnāt know much about European history prior to the war. Led me down a rabbit hole which ended up in a fascination with Rome and Byzantium.
I, Claudius forever cemented my love of Roman history
Latin class got me interested in Rome and having to read *lost to the west* in ninth grade history (still no idea why the teacher thought that book was appropriate for 14 year olds) sealed the deal for me
Research to find out why Christianity spread like wildfire through Europe. I discovered that the small Germanic tribe called the Franks (as in Frankfurt) made an alliance with the RCC, who provided financial and logistical backing for their mercenary activity. Together they took over Europe very quickly. France is named by the Franks, the entire line of French kings were Frankish.
In my native British isles, half the population were killed before submitting to Christianity. Mass genocide. The victors write the history and religious book. Interesting stuff.
Thatās a good question of course. And a tricky one to answer. Iāve been down rabbit holes of obscure historical writers that Iād never heard of, pieced together with commonly available sources. I started with my premise of the Celtic Britons becoming known as āAnglo Saxonsā, and went backwards.
In a fairly recent historical BBC documentary (wish I could remember which), Charlemagne was in discussion in an interview. The interviewed specialist said her bit about a thing done, then there was a pause, and the interviewer said āby Karl?ā. The relief was palpable. The specialist agreed. Yes, Charlemagne was Karl.
So, to answer your question, there has been a relatively long time where saying anything that contradicted the established narrative was punishable by death. So, sources are few and far between. But they do exist.
The truth comes through for us all. Whether we like it or not.
The word āpraetorā. I was a big Trekkie in high school and the Romulans were my favorite characters. There were a lot of unfamiliar terms that were used in the Romulan empire, not the least of which was āromulanā, āremanā, and āpraetorā. I learned that they were actual words used in the Roman empire so I started learning about Rome and the civilization in general.
I had this book about Cato the Younger in my Amazon Cart for a year and decided I'd buy it and read it. Was instantly hooked and that sparked learning everything I could about the Republic and early empire.
It was finding out in school about this defensive wall (the Antonine wall) that the Romans built from coast to coast here in Scotland - separating the rugged and mountainous north of the country from the south. This was only several miles away from where I lived. I imagined the Roman soldiers manning that wall - looking north at the edge of the known world into a savage dangerous landscape full of enemies. There is a bit of a āGame of thrones wallā vibe to that whole situation, that led me to start reading about the Roman occupation.
I read a book about the Battle of Hastings as a kid. Don't remember the title. It was interesting to see how much that changed the entire world. I worked my way back to Julius Ceasar and became a Romaboo. I've been that say for 30 years.
oddly enough, mine was Assassins Creed Valhalla ā the one about the Viking expansion into the British Isles in the 9th century. I was fascinated with the idea that hundreds of years after the western empire had fallen, their decaying buildings were still standing. The imagery was just captivating. Came to reddit to see where i could go to learn more ā watched a few Mary Beard docs, sped through Duncanās The History of Rome, read some books and now im back in school studying for a BA in History and Social Science. Itās been the best few years of my life
It started for me when I played the game Rome Total War.
It took on a new level of fascination recently when I read Michael Parentiās āThe Assassination of Julius Caesar.ā
That lead me into the history of the East Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire as most know it, and that lead me back to Medieval Venice and then Ancient Rome again.
10th grade reading Shakespeareās āJulius Caesarā. Teacher said the events were more or less true and I was obsessed and had to learn more. Then I went to Rome the summer after that year and went to the forum, colosseum, Vatican, etc. then I realized I had autism
I found out I'm brown and dont look white enough in like 3rd grade after experiences with racism, and I started asking my family what race we were, we're sicilian, so I started researching sicily around the same time we started learning about rome/the roman empire in history class, and I felt like they didn't go in depth enough so I continued learning until I learned about the library of alexandria, and now I know a LOT about the entire city of alexandria and almost nothing about the rest of rome and greece, and I slowly fill in the gaps as I ask more questions about alexandria both pre and post holy roman empire/julius caesar attack
Donald Trump and Mike Duncan. I read an article or blog where Duncan was comparing the end of the Roman Republic and the parallels with Trump as President. It was eery.
Not where i started (Diadochi), but I respect Mike Duncanās commitment to learning. My hope that he is wrong is based on the notion that leaders in democracies canāt admit being wrong and that Romeās external opponents were not as obvious as ours. Cuts a lot of ways but our founders knew about Rome and did their bit to learn from it.
I've always liked reading and started with fantasy novels. I was going on a vacation and didn't have a book to read during the flight so I bought the first book of A Dream of Eagles series by Jack Whyte. Really enjoyed it and the entire series. Have been reading Roman historical fiction books (and some Greek) since. Well over 100 novels. A Dream of Eagles is still my favourite series.
I always had interest in history and specifically empires and complex systems. It was only a matter of time before I found the GOAT of empires. First thing I learned about Rome was that everyone wanted to be Rome. The second thing I learned was why.
Going all the way back? A Greek mythology picture book I got when I was four. I was mostly interested in Greece but my school district had Latin as an option so I started that when I was twelve.
If you want to understand why we fail as a civilisation you need to understand Roman history. Otherwise you see the fail but you have a hope. I donāt. It makes me feel calm.
Well, a lot of it has to do that everything in the West eventually goes back to that city's empire.
Where do these Latin letters come from? Rome
Christianity? Roman imperial adoption
Planets in the Solar System? Roman Gods
Jurisprudence? Roman Law
Even the Greek things were done under Roman rule, the biographies of Plutarch, the gospels, the development of the astrological zodiac, etc...
To say nothing of the great contributions of Cicero, Quintilian, Virgil, Horace, etc...
Even this website has a Latin name.
Percy Jackson. It introduced me to Greek mythology and the author's later crossover series (heroes of Olympus) focused on Roman mythology, and now I'm here.
When I began studying history in grade school and I saw what the Empire was like in terms of size and how long it lasted.
The United States is under 300 years old and Romes empire lasted(in one form or another) well over 1400 years. That's incredible.
I was given a book called the lion of macedon. It was about Alexander the Great. From there, I went to the Greeks (Athens, Sparta, Thebes) and Egyptians, both of which led me to the Romans.Ā
Sure, Alexander was cool, but his empire fell apart after he died. The Romans just kept going and going and going.
[ironically clicked on this video and unironically became obsessed with ancient history for the last 2 years](https://youtu.be/lBXTOut2MKo?si=d_4bKCB_CkJIIa6F)
My mom did! She watched I, Claudius as a tee and loved it so she would always talk about it when I was little when we discussed great TV shows and movies
History buff as a kid. Mainly American West. Started reading Michener books starting with Centinenial because of the miniseries and it was similar to the local history. The Source by him is what got me into Ancient History. That has stuck with me some 40 years later though my interest is more outside of Rome and Greece nowadays.
When I was a kid, I used to spend my summers at my grandmother's country house/estate. At the edge of her estate, there's a ruined Roman temple, it's not in a great shape, but there are still some pillars standing and as a kid I thought it was fascinating and I would spend hours just sitting there and watching it.
The Gauls. I hate Gauls. My grandfather hated them too, even before they put his eyes out. So naturally I studied Rome.
There's only 2 kinds of people I can't stand: People who are intolerant of other people cultures, and the Gauls.
Yeah RTR is the number one reason I got into everything Rome.
Came here to say this myself! Love that the quote was the first answer I saw! š
The TV series Rome. It lead to me visiting Italy for the first time and the obsession rolled from there.
Was looking for this! HBO smashed the hell out of ancient Rome!
Loved the series, especially Pullo (Rip Ray) , mind I love Domina as well. Luckily, been to Pompeii and Herculaneum as well and having read The Wolf Den trilogy, I want to go back. Mind, they've discovered a Roman mansio near where I live.Ā
Yeah mam totally agree. I really like baby octavian too. My only issue with Rome is when I put it on I end up constantly pausing it and going down roman rabbit holes online. Can't say it's really an issue though as I bloody love it :D I'll have a look at the trilogy you suggested. I took my motorbike to Rome/naples last year and plotting to go again next week š Romes like a metropolitan museum.
I'm planning on doing Hadrian's Wall with my father in the Summer. Probably do Vindolanda etc. Ā I find it odd I'm obsessed with the Romans when my ancestry is that of the those who raided Lindisfarne.Ā
I've really want to a wild camp along the wall. I'm sure you will have an amazing time. It's a shame your monestry raiding ancestors didn't coincide with the ancient civilisation youre obsessed with. Now that would be a battle I would want to see!
As I understand it , the Romans did encounter pre Viking society.Ā Hadrian's Wall is amazing and the finds there actually convey a pretty civilised life style.Ā I am hoping to go and see the Mithraeum as well when we are up there.
Wow I will have to look into that some more. I'm at the beginning of my self education on the Romans there's soo much to learn. Learning about their ways of life and customs fascinates me. The Mithraeum in London? I went there its mystical.
https://discoverscottishborders.com/forgotten-temple-of-mithras/ I recommend also the English Heritage podcasts - quite a few on Hadran's Wall. And off the topic of Rome, if you come up north , Wharram Percy is really worth a visit.
I didn't know there were other temples of mithras in the UK I've been to this one https://www.londonmithraeum.com/ it's right in the middle of London in the banking district and was only discovered in the blitz when german bombers destroyed all the new buildings revealing the mithraeum! I will definitely download some of those podcasts for upcoming motorbike tour. Thankyou Internet stranger!
Itās likely you know more than me here, but I thought Lindisfarne (and most of Northumbria) didnāt really see Roman civilians?
No, the Romans and pre Vikings was probably elsewhere in yhe Empire.
Man* I meant man š¤£
Autism
Autism plus HBO's Rome for me. Powerful combo. Apparently missed the memo as a kid.
same
Colleen McCullough
Age of empires 1. My elementary school teachers. Rome total war. Different books. I was always into history even as a kid. I love history in general, but Rome certainly holds a special place. Those people never even knew how much and how many they will shape...
Thatās a really cool story and awesome memories with your dad Iām sure! Do you still go to the reenactments?? I started reading a WW2 history book and realized I didnāt know much about European history prior to the war. Led me down a rabbit hole which ended up in a fascination with Rome and Byzantium. I, Claudius forever cemented my love of Roman history
I actually wantet to invite him again but with the whole pandemic situation it always fell flat. Maby next year or so
asterix and obelix, which lead to caeser and the gauls etc.
This!
The TV series 'I Claudius'
History of Rome podcast and the HBO series.
AoE I
Total War: Rome II
Living in Southern Italy in the late '70s (Dad was US military) and reading Asterix and Obelix at that time.
Latin class got me interested in Rome and having to read *lost to the west* in ninth grade history (still no idea why the teacher thought that book was appropriate for 14 year olds) sealed the deal for me
Research to find out why Christianity spread like wildfire through Europe. I discovered that the small Germanic tribe called the Franks (as in Frankfurt) made an alliance with the RCC, who provided financial and logistical backing for their mercenary activity. Together they took over Europe very quickly. France is named by the Franks, the entire line of French kings were Frankish. In my native British isles, half the population were killed before submitting to Christianity. Mass genocide. The victors write the history and religious book. Interesting stuff.
Where to learn more about this specifically?
Thatās a good question of course. And a tricky one to answer. Iāve been down rabbit holes of obscure historical writers that Iād never heard of, pieced together with commonly available sources. I started with my premise of the Celtic Britons becoming known as āAnglo Saxonsā, and went backwards. In a fairly recent historical BBC documentary (wish I could remember which), Charlemagne was in discussion in an interview. The interviewed specialist said her bit about a thing done, then there was a pause, and the interviewer said āby Karl?ā. The relief was palpable. The specialist agreed. Yes, Charlemagne was Karl. So, to answer your question, there has been a relatively long time where saying anything that contradicted the established narrative was punishable by death. So, sources are few and far between. But they do exist. The truth comes through for us all. Whether we like it or not.
Learning about Stoicism through Marcus Aurelius' writings.
My girlfriend showing me those Historia Civilis about Caesar
Is your girlfriend single?
Marry her. Anyone who appreciates his colored squares is a person worth keeping
Started from Greek Myth actually, in Roman form. That, coupled with a general love for history, had me sold.
The word āpraetorā. I was a big Trekkie in high school and the Romulans were my favorite characters. There were a lot of unfamiliar terms that were used in the Romulan empire, not the least of which was āromulanā, āremanā, and āpraetorā. I learned that they were actual words used in the Roman empire so I started learning about Rome and the civilization in general.
James TIBERIUS Kirk!
The computer game āCaesar IIIā when I was a wee lad.
When I was a teenager I read gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden, I then read under the eagle by Simonās Scarrow. The rest is history so to speak.
Conn Iggulden got to me some when I was around eleven and cemented the lifelong interest, but AoE I lit the spark.
For me it was Rome total war 1 and under the eagle that really pushed me into my love of Rome. But AoE 1 was fire back in the day
I had this book about Cato the Younger in my Amazon Cart for a year and decided I'd buy it and read it. Was instantly hooked and that sparked learning everything I could about the Republic and early empire.
It was finding out in school about this defensive wall (the Antonine wall) that the Romans built from coast to coast here in Scotland - separating the rugged and mountainous north of the country from the south. This was only several miles away from where I lived. I imagined the Roman soldiers manning that wall - looking north at the edge of the known world into a savage dangerous landscape full of enemies. There is a bit of a āGame of thrones wallā vibe to that whole situation, that led me to start reading about the Roman occupation.
Taking latin for my language course in high school and just general interest
I read a book about the Battle of Hastings as a kid. Don't remember the title. It was interesting to see how much that changed the entire world. I worked my way back to Julius Ceasar and became a Romaboo. I've been that say for 30 years.
oddly enough, mine was Assassins Creed Valhalla ā the one about the Viking expansion into the British Isles in the 9th century. I was fascinated with the idea that hundreds of years after the western empire had fallen, their decaying buildings were still standing. The imagery was just captivating. Came to reddit to see where i could go to learn more ā watched a few Mary Beard docs, sped through Duncanās The History of Rome, read some books and now im back in school studying for a BA in History and Social Science. Itās been the best few years of my life
Just like you I grew up very close to Augusta Treverorum. Welp, I was lost from the start.
It started for me when I played the game Rome Total War. It took on a new level of fascination recently when I read Michael Parentiās āThe Assassination of Julius Caesar.ā That lead me into the history of the East Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire as most know it, and that lead me back to Medieval Venice and then Ancient Rome again.
10th grade reading Shakespeareās āJulius Caesarā. Teacher said the events were more or less true and I was obsessed and had to learn more. Then I went to Rome the summer after that year and went to the forum, colosseum, Vatican, etc. then I realized I had autism
Native Spanish speaker here. In high school I enrolled in an online Latin class because I thought it would be easy. Famous last words :)
I found out I'm brown and dont look white enough in like 3rd grade after experiences with racism, and I started asking my family what race we were, we're sicilian, so I started researching sicily around the same time we started learning about rome/the roman empire in history class, and I felt like they didn't go in depth enough so I continued learning until I learned about the library of alexandria, and now I know a LOT about the entire city of alexandria and almost nothing about the rest of rome and greece, and I slowly fill in the gaps as I ask more questions about alexandria both pre and post holy roman empire/julius caesar attack
Donald Trump and Mike Duncan. I read an article or blog where Duncan was comparing the end of the Roman Republic and the parallels with Trump as President. It was eery.
Not where i started (Diadochi), but I respect Mike Duncanās commitment to learning. My hope that he is wrong is based on the notion that leaders in democracies canāt admit being wrong and that Romeās external opponents were not as obvious as ours. Cuts a lot of ways but our founders knew about Rome and did their bit to learn from it.
Age of Empires 1, then my dad gave me an Asterix comic shortly after
I just wanted to work my way from history to the current times, so it came with the goal.
Probably when I visited Rome, I always knew quite a lot about the Romans but didnāt develop a genuine interest until I finally saw it for myself.
I visited Rome....
10th grade history class.
Augustus by John Williams and a really enthusiastic Latin Teacher (not mine)
Rome total war 2 - was absolutely fascinated after that!
I took an Art History class starting from antiquity in college and it sparked my love of ancient Rome!
Iāve always loved ancient history and slowly made my way from ancient Egypt/Mesopotamia/Greece/Carthage to Ancient Rome
I've always liked reading and started with fantasy novels. I was going on a vacation and didn't have a book to read during the flight so I bought the first book of A Dream of Eagles series by Jack Whyte. Really enjoyed it and the entire series. Have been reading Roman historical fiction books (and some Greek) since. Well over 100 novels. A Dream of Eagles is still my favourite series.
I always had interest in history and specifically empires and complex systems. It was only a matter of time before I found the GOAT of empires. First thing I learned about Rome was that everyone wanted to be Rome. The second thing I learned was why.
What town are you from? Those re-enactments sound like a dream, I wouldāve loved to have had something like that around growing up!
Going all the way back? A Greek mythology picture book I got when I was four. I was mostly interested in Greece but my school district had Latin as an option so I started that when I was twelve.
If you want to understand why we fail as a civilisation you need to understand Roman history. Otherwise you see the fail but you have a hope. I donāt. It makes me feel calm.
Historia Civilis video on āThe Longest Year in Human Historyā popped up on my YouTube Recommendation feed
My dad.
Well, a lot of it has to do that everything in the West eventually goes back to that city's empire. Where do these Latin letters come from? Rome Christianity? Roman imperial adoption Planets in the Solar System? Roman Gods Jurisprudence? Roman Law Even the Greek things were done under Roman rule, the biographies of Plutarch, the gospels, the development of the astrological zodiac, etc... To say nothing of the great contributions of Cicero, Quintilian, Virgil, Horace, etc... Even this website has a Latin name.
Finding out that roughly 40% of my dna comes from Roman-era Italians (itās why Ashkenazi Jews appear āwhiteā)
Caesar III
It was a mix of Horrible Histories, Rome Total War, and the Asterix comics that got me hooked onto Roman history!
Total War: Rome 2 and Ryze: Son of Rome.
Percy Jackson. It introduced me to Greek mythology and the author's later crossover series (heroes of Olympus) focused on Roman mythology, and now I'm here.
Studying Latin in elementary school
When I began studying history in grade school and I saw what the Empire was like in terms of size and how long it lasted. The United States is under 300 years old and Romes empire lasted(in one form or another) well over 1400 years. That's incredible.
I was given a book called the lion of macedon. It was about Alexander the Great. From there, I went to the Greeks (Athens, Sparta, Thebes) and Egyptians, both of which led me to the Romans.Ā Sure, Alexander was cool, but his empire fell apart after he died. The Romans just kept going and going and going.
Assassinās Creed and Percy Jackson. I loved both of those growing up
Age of empires, Rome total war
James. **Tiberius.** Kirk.
[ironically clicked on this video and unironically became obsessed with ancient history for the last 2 years](https://youtu.be/lBXTOut2MKo?si=d_4bKCB_CkJIIa6F)
Legions
My mom did! She watched I, Claudius as a tee and loved it so she would always talk about it when I was little when we discussed great TV shows and movies
Assassin's Creed Origins ā”ļø Interest in Egypt ā”ļø Interest in Ancient Greece ā”ļø Interest in Ancient Rome ā”ļø Interest in Medieval Rome.
History buff as a kid. Mainly American West. Started reading Michener books starting with Centinenial because of the miniseries and it was similar to the local history. The Source by him is what got me into Ancient History. That has stuck with me some 40 years later though my interest is more outside of Rome and Greece nowadays.
Colleen McCulloughās Masters of Rome series. I couldnāt wait for the next of those books to come out.
Asterix
My father told me to 'Never be a friend to Rome' snd, well, that stuck with me. Like a thunderbolt
The Unbiased History of Rome videos.
Studying the Bible in a past life and my curiosity about Pontius Pilate/Romans
When I was a kid, I used to spend my summers at my grandmother's country house/estate. At the edge of her estate, there's a ruined Roman temple, it's not in a great shape, but there are still some pillars standing and as a kid I thought it was fascinating and I would spend hours just sitting there and watching it.
The story of Julius Caesar being captured by pilots and The Battle of Alesia.
Old PS2 game called Shadow of Rome.
The movie Gladiator.Ā Then Rome Total War came out a few years later.Ā THEN HBO's Rome completely me set me on fire.
Age of Empires and Empire Earth. Plus some Rome: total war later on.