history – Remember, My Lord

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:1-9

Who is Jesus? If you’ve ever been to church, you might have a ready answer. Maybe something along the lines of He’s the Son of God. Or maybe He’s a nice teacher, or even He’s a figment of our imagination.

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Should we call them Byzantines or Romans? (video version of this post)

A time lapse illustration of a Roman auxiliary cavalryman, from the early 2nd century AD.

A time lapse illustration of infantrymen from several different parts of the empire after the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Introduction

The ‘barbarisation’ of the Roman army has become a popular explanation for the end of the Roman Empire. While the empire possessed a strong army of professional Roman soldiers, it could not fail; therefore its end in AD476 was the result, directly or indirectly, of the failure of the army. And since by the fifth century AD the army had come to incorporate many non-Romans into its ranks, logic follows that this ‘de-romanisation’ of the army – the deterioration of Roman military discipline, the end of the legions of the Principate – made the army ineffective and weak.¹

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Byzantine or Roman?

I recognise that there are lots of reasons for calling them Romans — possibly I’d even say that’s the label that on balance makes a bit more sense. But I still lean toward calling them Byzantines.

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Immortals, 300-style vs Persian Wars-style

A vaguely rhyming A to Z of warriors from all over the world, from the Bronze Age to today.

Speed draw of a Mongol lancer, terror of the 13th century.

William Wallace is one of the great names of Scottish history, quite possibly the country’s George Washington (though unlike Washington he didn’t survive his War of Independence to rule the new country — that would fall to Robert the Bruce). Like Washington, Wallace’s ghost has been periodically called up to support this or that cause. This essay will briefly explore how Wallace’s legacy has been handled and manipulated in the centuries after his death. Continue reading “on William Wallace’s ghost” →

Tag: history

which Jesus?

byzantine or roman? (vid)

speed drawing — Roman cavalryman

speed drawing — After Rome

How much can we blame barbarisation of the Roman army in leading to the end of the western empire in AD476?

byzantine or roman?

speed drawing – Immortals

A-Z of Warriors

speed drawing – Mongol Lancer

on William Wallace’s ghost