25 Jun 2011, 5:13 pm
Henbane wrote:
Booyakasha wrote:
tangomike wrote:
Hmm sure the Middle Ages might have not been as bad as Hollywood made us to beleieve......but surely Europe under Roman rule was much more safe and much more advanced.
They were the first to invent indoor plumbing, had flushing toilets, their aqueducts provided the cities with 1 million cubic metres of water each day, sufficient for 3.5 million people even in modern day times; they even invented concrete.
Europe may have been safer, for the Roman citizens. Not sure it was so safe if you fancied not being invaded by them. I'm not a great fan of concrete anyway.
But I suppose my ancesters didn't really need aqueducts and concrete, as they were too busy running up and down mountains and painting their faces with woad. Or something like that.
Actually they were good to their provinces - anyone from any part of the Roman empire was treated equally, once they put their SPQR sign, every free man was a Roman citizen - from Hispania to Dacia and northern Africa.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso&feature=related[/youtube]
25 Jun 2011, 5:32 pm
CockneyRebel wrote:
I've enjoyed reading that. It was straight forward and to the point. I also had no idea that The Middle Ages started in the 5th Century. I thought that they started in the 13th Century. 
They started in 476 AD when the western part of the Roman empire fell into the hands of Germanic tribes led by Odoacer.
it was also the time that brought religious prosecution and later on inquisition and so many people burned at stake for alleged witchcraft, scientists such as Hypatia were torn apart by an angry mob, not to mention the victims of crusades etc etc.
25 Jun 2011, 6:12 pm
Booyakasha wrote:
Henbane wrote:
Booyakasha wrote:
tangomike wrote:
Hmm sure the Middle Ages might have not been as bad as Hollywood made us to beleieve......but surely Europe under Roman rule was much more safe and much more advanced.
They were the first to invent indoor plumbing, had flushing toilets, their aqueducts provided the cities with 1 million cubic metres of water each day, sufficient for 3.5 million people even in modern day times; they even invented concrete.
Europe may have been safer, for the Roman citizens. Not sure it was so safe if you fancied not being invaded by them. I'm not a great fan of concrete anyway.
But I suppose my ancesters didn't really need aqueducts and concrete, as they were too busy running up and down mountains and painting their faces with woad. Or something like that.
Actually they were good to their provinces - anyone from any part of the Roman empire was treated equally, once they put their SPQR sign, every free man was a Roman citizen - from Hispania to Dacia and northern Africa.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso&feature=related[/youtube]
Yea I thought Romans were all free citizens and were treated equally within the Empire. Sure the Romans would come and defeat your nation and then incorperate you, but once incorperated all the petty inter-traibal wars stopped and bandits were regulated by the Roman legions and auxiliaries. Also no offense but id rather live in a nice paved city with plumbing, literacy, currency, markets and laws rather than running around the a non-roman territory fighting other iron age tribes. I wish the Chinese had conquered Japan during the time of Christ, Japanese culture would have been far more advanced at the time instead of being viewed as backwater barbarian provincials....much like the Romans viewed external states.
26 Jun 2011, 10:21 am
26 Jun 2011, 11:51 am
