Lessons From History @Lessons_History

@HabsNation2024 @ivandemigoal He hasn't proven he's a top 6 guy at this point, more of a middle six player. He's more of what they already have.

@HabsNation2024 @ivandemigoal He's not a centre in the NHL. He plays wing. Not a big upgrade, and we didn't want to take the cap dump that came with him.

Rule by elites is inevitable. From ancient Greek city-states to modern nation-states, all societies are steered by the decisions of an elite few. Here’s why “power to the people” is a myth…🧵

@MemoryMedieval Yue Fei

Since it’s the anniversary of Caesar’s death, if you want a book on the decay of the republic and the victory of Caesarism in Rome, do not waste your time with Tom Holland or (God forbid) Mary Beard. Go for Syme’s “Roman Revolution.” I know @Peter_Nimitz also likes this book.

@witte_sergei @Peter_Nimitz It’s a bit outdated, but it’s a monumental achievement and one of the finest accounts of the fall of the Republic and the establishment of the Principate.

The Iliad literally describes Odysseus wearing a kino leather helmet adorned with boar tusks, but Hollywood can never resist the siren song of the generic ancient broom helmet. This helmet is like cocaine to costume designers.

Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi

2 years ago

First look at Matt Damon as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey', in cinemas July 2026.

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@nonregemesse I don't like the helmet.

@nonregemesse I like Echoes of the past.

@cirnosad How many?

@cirnosad I like your contributions, but I think you should be less emotional and a little more detached from what is happening. I observe extreme mood swings and complete 180 degrees in terms of assessment/outlook occurring every few hours/days depending on the latest news.

@DD_Geopolitics FAFO

@thesiriusreport Not an ICBM. Likely RS-26 with no payload or conventional warhead.

@NapoleonBonabot Lepidus.

@TheELongWave Would that drop be in nominal or real prices?

What's that reason? Well, the early Republic was a nation in arms that could mobilize significant amounts of its population and expect them to fight and fight well for the glory of Rome. Its leaders could count on the loyal support of the people and the military at all times.⬇️ The Empire could do none of this. The Roman Empire was not a nation in arms. The Imperial Roman Army was a professional force that routinely intervened in Roman politics at the highest levels - and routinely had to be bribed into submission by Imperial claimants to the ruin of the treasury. The Roman Empire - and particularly the Late Roman Empire after the good times of the 1st-2nd centuries AD had receded - had a degree of coup-proofing (and plotting!), internecine paranoia, and rent-seeking behavior from the military that would have made Scipio's head spin. Over time, and particularly as the economy worsened and endless military rebellions and coup plots became a luxury the Roman state could not afford, this corroded readiness and resulted in a military establishment that was less than the sum of its parts. As such the Late Empire eventually ended up paying ruinous amounts to raise middling-size armies of dubious loyalty to the State. Tied directly to the above, the Roman Empire could not easily mobilize significant amounts of its population. For starters, much of the population was made up of slaves whose loyalty was as dubious as their fitness for combat - and memory of Spartacus and the Servile Wars lasted for a long, long time. Free Roman citizens did not generally possess arms and armor, nor the skills to use them as their ancestors had, and needed to be equipped and trained at public expense. And the late Roman elite were (with the exception of an increasingly separate group of elite soldiers) decadent civilians, far from the aristocratic warriors of the Republican upper-class. Where a hundred Republican men pulled off the street would probably self-organize into a combined-arms unit with its own leadership, a hundred Imperial men in similar circumstances were a mob. Thus, critically, the Empire had little in the way of a military reserve - the professionals were the army, and if they were killed in battle another professional force had to be expensively raised and time-consumingly trained to take their place. Thus we see the two weaknesses of the Late Roman Army - an army that was far smaller than it should have been given the ostensible resources of the State, and one which could not easily recover from losses. As an aside, it's remarkable the extent to which Rome underwent its own Competency Crisis as it lurched onwards through decadence to final collapse. Things their ancestors routinely accomplished turned into Imperial megaprojects, and finally into impossibilities as Roman society slowly consumed itself.

Armchair Warlord @ArmchairW

2 years ago

There's a reason why the loss of 20,000 men at Adrianople in 378 AD was a devastating blow to an Empire encompassing the entire Euro-Mediterranean world while the loss of 70,000 men at Cannae in 216 BC was an operational setback to a Republic that controlled part of modern Italy.

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@squatsons Ok thanks. If this was within Tornado S range, why not use that instead to save Iskander M for longer range strikes?

@HankRearden_37 @witte_sergei Exactly.

@squatsons Syrsky is a genius. He's sacrificing the defense of Donbass for a PR offensive that is turning into another meat and equipment grinder for the Ukrainians. This will hasten the collapse of the Ukrainian army.