Aevum Barbarorum et Partitio Europae - Regnum Suevorum - - - History Thread - The Many Manly Men of History, War and Civilizations

The Social Lounge
#1

Straightforward: What is your favorite Civilization or Culture?
Why is it your favorite? Why do you like it (or them)?
I’m not going to reduce the question to semantics, you can search for definitions of Civilization or Culture in so many places.
Mine is the Roman one, they excelled at many things (minus industrialization :joy: and other things, hmm, coughing, hmm, slavery, at least compared to post renaissance Civilizations), they were like China of the West, they copied from all their enemies, they innovated, especially in terms of combat and military organization.
Their Empire (even before they had an Emperor) was huge, at it’s peak it stretched from Britain to Irak, had many cultures and languages, it wasn’t racist (just to add this, since it’s a very popular subject in the media, mostly in the United States and in a few other countries), like at all (it indulged in slavery though, but it was the norm back then), the romans always tried to romanize the conquered people, to assimilate them into their Empire, they spread literacy, culture, roads, commerce, urbanization and architectural wonders everywhere they went (hmm conquered), …, among the cities that they built (they built many cities) are London (Londinium), Paris (Lutetia), Wien (Vindobona), Barcelona ( Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino), York (Eboracum), …, anyway, later came their fall, in 2 historical moments, 476 A.D. for the Western Rome (the Empire was split at some point, to make it easier to manage it) and 1453 for the Eastern Empire (later named/renamed Byzantine Empire by historians) …
It would be absurd to add more details to the list, study about Rome if you want to know about it’s great civilization.
I should add this: the European countries that are still existent today are a result of a long and bloody history, but for historical purposes, I would say that the “Big Daddy” of Europe or it’s Great Ancestor (in terms of culture, law, religion, politics and military organization, among many things) was Rome (although there were other Great Ancestors, including The Ancient Greeks, The Germanic Tribes, The Celts, The Slavic Tribes and The Thracians).

EDIT: Among the things they left behind, their Legacy includes: Romance Languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, among others; although English is a Germanic Language, over 50% of English words are of Latin origin, mostly through French borrowings), Architecture (Neoclassical one is inspired from Greco-Roman architecture), Modern Law ( “Modern civil law systems essentially derive from legal codes issued by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century” - quote from Wikipedia), Christianity (it spread from the Roman Province of Judea to the entire Roman Empire and later to the many places of the World: The Pope, also known as Pontifex Maximus still rules from Rome, well from Vatican, to be precise) and many other things, including Citizenship and People, whose ancestors were romans (all free residents of the Roman Empire were given citizenship by/with the decree of Emperor Caracalla).
That’s enough info for today! :joy:

EDIT/just to add this as well: The Senate and The Republic are Roman in origin as well, The “Official Name” of Rome was SENATUS POPULUSQUE ROMANUS - THE SENATE AND THE PEOPLE OF ROME; today the vast majority of Nations are Republics; To quote from worldatlas(dot)com "Latin is an alphabet type of script and the most widely used in the world. Around 4.9 billion people or 70% of the global population relies on this alphabet, which generally consists of an average of 26 letters, to write a range of languages. This script originated in present-day Italy and has since spread around the world with the help of several historic events, most notably: the Roman Empire, Christianity, and European colonization. "

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#2

The romans Was my favourite empire

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#3

They were The Empire! :+1:

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#4

I don’t know… I like a lot of cultures… if I sit with them for a while find different elements that I really like, I find that I like almost all of them.

I like the backdrop of the Roman empire when i hear about Biblical stories (though Rome, writ large, was pretty nasty from a Biblical perspective).

I like the Rishi and Sadhu culture of India, the martial/monastic culture of China, the Samurai and Ninja culture of japan, I think the different South American cultures are interesting—but this is mostly from the distilled stories I hear about shamans. I’ve had a fondness for the university culture of Europe from the medieval period onwards and I’ve had an appreciation for middle eastern mythology as well.

If I look at modern culture, I like the traditional strains that still exist and can be traced back to different enlightened teachers in the past. Lots of people like to complain about Christianity in the west or Confucianism in the east, but they have both brought immense spiritual light into this world and it still exist as active forces in modern culture. Many people that I have seen have been kept on a good track in life because of their connection to older spiritual traditions (even if they have fallen away from the institutions).

But I think the commonality is that I like every civilization/culture for the parts of it that embody good ideals and things that resonate with the forces of Heaven/the Heavenly Realms.

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#5

I like a lot of cultures and civilizations as well (actually I don’t explicitly dislike any culture), I feel like they all brought something to the table, some aspect, some element, some idea or some practice, they all shared with others, they all opened to the World (at least the vast majority of cultures today are kind of open to other cultures) and of course, they all brought something good to us, with or without our knowledge or understanding.
I agree with you and I think all civilizations and cultures aspire to embody Heavenly Ideals, as you said.

EDIT:

I became in love with Indian Spirituality (mostly Yoga) and Culture (some elements of it), the Indian practices make me feel like Heaven is here, make me feel the Divine Presence like no other practices (subjective statement) and I really like the Innocence and Surreal Feel of Bollywood movies and songs, up to 2000’s.

I actually want to study the whole Bible, just to get a better view of Judaism and Christianity, plus I like the stories told there, however we may view them.

I couldn’t agree more; many people complain about Christianity and only see the bad parts, not how much change it can bring in peoples’ lives, many people become so much better because of their beliefs.

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#6

Earth: Roman Empire
Milky Way: Arcturians

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#7

That’s cool.
I need to study about them, since I have no knowledge about ET.
EDIT: well, I have read some articles here and there, but I’m not really knowledgeable on the subject, especially on what other Intelligent and Advanced Species there are in Our Universe (perhaps even on Earth).

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#8

Me personally I wouldn’t really have a favourite or would of liked to live in the past because everything throughout history were absolutely horrible to live in. The further back you go the worse it gets and the Roman Empire isn’t really something to admire because there ambitions were just pure inhumanity.

When I was younger though I kind of used to be really drawn or attracted (especially back in school) to life in the 14th century late medieval England and Tudor civilisation (15th-16th century and Queen Elizabeth/King Henry) for some strange reason. I don’t know the actual name of the era but it looks like this :laughing:… Teaching an idiot basic maths | Blackadder - BBC - YouTube

I just enjoyed everything about this era from it’s fashion, culture, way they spoke, social mobility and architecture etc.

Rome was too still around in those times because it was later revived/morphed as the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ which covered certain parts of Western and central Europe (Germany, Netherlands and Austria etc). If you like anything to do with Roman history, research up the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ and it’s rule within the Middle Ages because it played quite a different role to it’s pre succession from it’s heyday.

I also think Ancient Egypt and Native American civilisations would be quite interesting to study about.

Edit: When you watch the clip I linked above just listen to how elegant they speak to each other. I’d love to be able to experience a form of nobility and even talk the way they do :laughing::ok_hand:

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#9

Well, they certainly were barbaric, even though they considered the unconquered tribes barbaric, I mean gladiator games and even making innocent animals to suffer, for entertainment, BUT, except for really modern (even contemporary) laws, weren’t people killed in horrible ways as punishment, weren’t even animals (still are) executed or hunted for some people’s ambitions or pleasure (?) and how much violence and even violent sports we have Today, still for the same purposes, to entertain, …, so yeah they had really horrible tortures and ideas and practices back then, but society really hasn’t advanced that much for centuries, even millenia, in terms of human or animal rights …
I look at it this way, because of their positive actions we had a European and even a Global culture in the first place (with many things inherited, material and spiritual), so if we want, we can see the good in their existence, not only the bad parts and to be honest except for a few cultures, the vast majority were bloody as hell throughout history.
Just to give an example, the romans didn’t like human sacrifice, plus the idea of virtues in the west spread because of their existence and actions (“pagan” virtues and Christian as well), there were many virtuous romans, not just killing machines.
I see Rome as a means to an “end” or rather an important link in our evolution as a Species.
I have studied about the Holy Roman Empire and I personally consider them as a continuation of Ancient Rome, but I didn’t mention about them because I already wrote quite enough; Charlemagne was magnificent, in terms of reviving culture in Western Europe, he brought an early Renaissance through his actions, although, just like the previous Caesars, his actions were soaked in blood, …
I also like England around the Tudors dynasty, although I’m not that familiar with their customs or culture (except some ideas from media); to be honest, England was far better than Ancient Rome, in terms of the quality of life that it offered it’s citizens (the english were the pioneers of Modern Industrialization), although the circumstances and times were different.
EDIT: Still, England took part in the colonial race, they stole so many resources from many many places (at least from a quarter of Earth) and oppressed the conquered populations, …, still, again, I focus on the good that England brought to this world and it has brought a lot of good things (still does).
I will watch the link. :smiley:
Thank you for sharing.

ANOTHER EDIT, from your link: " -This is called adding. If i have two beans and add two more beans, what do I have?

  • Some beans." :rofl: hilarious - Rowan Atkinson and the others.

I wouldn’t want to live in the previous Eras either (no electricity, no modern transport, no internet, no phones, no cars, no radio, no tv, no modern medicine, no modern rights, no Sapien Medicine, etc.), I only like to study about them. :slight_smile:

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#10

Forget the 5000 A.D. part (estimates and pure speculation) and just watch until current times, it is quite a good video (remember that GDP is a modern way of assessing wealth, so anything from the past 1 A.D. up to Renaissance or rather Industrialisation/Industrial World is based on approximations, not absolutely accurate data);

Some Interesting things: India (Cholas, Guptas, etc.) and China (Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms and the following dynasties) were On Top of The World for Most of Our Recent History, the Only Western Powers comparable to those being The Roman Empire, The Byzantine Empire (off-shoot of Rome, it was the surviving Eastern Roman Empire, which lasted for 1000 Years after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire) and The Caliphates which followed Islamic Conquests in the 7th Century, the Caliphs conquered and ruled over the biggest Empires/Territories the World had seen, up to that point; only after the discoveries of Americas and the rest of the World by European Powers, did the West truly started to see a Huge Rise in GDP, especially since the Industrial Revolution, when The West and Russia started to reach their peak expansion(s), economically and otherwise; nowadays we see huge economic/GDP changes, after the American Hegemony, as Asia (China, India, etc.) and other places/powers are now on the Rise (again; full circle?).

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#11
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#12

It’s only bad when/if “White People” conquered, otherwise it’s perfectly acceptable; I liked the video already, but I’ve just started watching it minutes ago - I like how he mentioned the Moorish conquest of Iberian Peninsula (previous Suebi and Visigothic Kingdoms), plus the fact that they ruled Hispania for Centuries (but it doesn’t matter, they were not originally from Europe, so no crime), then he mentioned the Turks reaching far into Europe and sieging Vienna TWICE, then he mentioned an Actual African Empire, Mali, which subjugated ALL Neighboring Kingdoms and was trading slaves, but, hey, it’s not Europe…, and last, I should mention the Mongols, who created the Greatest Empire by land area (before the British Empire took the first spot) and OMG, were they cruel to those who did not submit to their might, Eastern Europe being one of the furthest conquests of that Colossus…

They massacred huge swaths of people, in all the territories they conquered.

Anyway, I’ll watch further.
Thanks for sharing.

Edit: this is no excuse for the Transatlantic Slave Trade, for Racism or any horrible deed European Empires did to their enemies or even their Colonial Subjects, but it was not Just European Powers who were bad, any Conquering Power did some horrible deeds, some more than others.

And to end on this note: Demonizing ANY People, Ethnicity, Country, Religion or Race is Bad…
And now it looks like in Western media, from movies and internet to books, from articles to Science, Europeans and their Descendants were or Are THE BAD Guys…

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#13

Some more debunking of woke historical shit…
…very cringe to watch :laughing:

Metatron is a great history channel btw for anyone interested in Ancient Rome, Medieval and Samurai stuff.

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#14

He is Awesome!
Thanks for sharing!

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The Manly Man by Manhattan
#15

@Dr_Manhattan If You are willing to, can you answer any of the following questions?

How do you view France, for example since when/what point in History, would you say “this is France”?

Do you identify France (or the French people) with Ancient Gauls or with the Frankish people?
How about the Romans, how much of the Roman Civilization was embedded/ingrained in France?

In essence, how do you view France and the French people?

Also, what is your view on the Normans and the English, especially in relation/when relating to France?

Is your country the biggest contributor to Europe and European History?

How about the World, how much did France contributed on the World Stage and What Legacy did they leave, both in the past, as well as in present day(s)/time(s)?

Thank You.

#16

Didn’t the Romans teach you French Gauls to shave yourselves?
What happened to civilization? :laughing:

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The Manly Man by Manhattan
#17

That’s thousands of years old Roman Propaganda.

  1. There were no “Gauls”, that a Roman disinformation campaign, it was just a big land with many different tribes (different languages, cultures and ethinicity) and in many of them, the aristocrates already shaved. It’s just easier to trash talk savages.
  2. It was never organized into any type of unit until the Franks came out and created the Frankish kingdom.

What you talking about ?
lol

Though they learned how to make simple stuff like barrels from the “savages” cause the Roman had been carving huge stones to carry water for centuries, so…
Shame on who ?

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#18

Okay, that’s one thing the Romans learned from the savages.
Versus 1000 things the savages learned from the Romans when they “joined” the Empire.
That would probably be an interesting convo for another thread…

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#19

@JAAJ I wouldn’t mind going into that convo. I always loved history.

We can go into how the Roman started small and copied other. The French did too. Then we can compare the contributions of each and how the French kickstarted the Holy Roman Empire succeeding the the Romans and kept going until the French colonial empire got bigger than the Roman could have dreamed of, terrorizing other European powers until the British came along. The Frankish Jerusalem and The Templar stuff in between (with some loses)

There were some pushes and then each had the man power of their times.

But hey, French people are still the most militarily successful people in history thus far. That’s a fact.

Just not tonight

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#20

That’s interesting, because I always thought it would be rather this one:

grafik

More territory, held for a much longer time in total.
Starting at 700 BC and going up to 1500 AD with the end of Byzantium.
That’s 2200 years.

Yeah, somewhen later mate :v:

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