The streets of Kathmandu ran with blood yesterday after police opened fire on crowds protesting a nationwide shutdown of almost all social media platforms in Nepal. At least 19 have been confirmed […] The post 19 Killed as Nepal Free Speech Protests Turn Deadly first appeared on The Expose.

Julia Child cooked on television for decades, and was known for her French recipes. To perfect these signature dishes, she relied on a prized possession.

from The Jimmy Dore Show: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

  In the 300s CE, the Church had come out of a period of persecution and into favor directly with the Roman Emperor. At this point, various factions were forming based around particular emphases on theological matters, including the Antiochians and the Alexandrians.   The Antiochians in Syria Antioch at Orontes, the capital of the Seleucid Empire following the loss of eastern provinces, by Jean Golvin. Source: jeanclaudegolvin.com   The Antiochians were a school of theologians in the 300s based out of Antioch, in Syria, now modern-day Turkey. Their original leader, Lucian, is mostly unknown. The emphasis of their theology was on the literal meaning of scripture. A literal view of scripture brought them to focus on the humanity of Jesus Christ, and the distinct separation of natures of the human and divine natures of Jesus.    Antioch, by William Leighton Leitch, 1804-1883. Source: National Galleries Scotland   The Antiochians believed a separation was necessary to keep the divine aspects of Jesus with his divinity and human aspects attributed to his humanity. These Antiochian views were also heavily influenced by Aristotle. Among the Antiochian school were figures such as John Chrystosom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Ibas of Edessa, Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Nestorius.   Heresies and the Antiochians Nestorius, the founder of Nestorianism.   While many Antiochians could be considered as to conforming to standard Christianity, some heresies did arise out of the movement. Probably the best known is Nestorianism, which at its most extreme denies what is known as the hypostatic union – that Jesus Christ is one person with two distinct natures, human and divine. Nestorianism holds that Jesus was two separate persons, human and divine. The Council of Ephesus in 431 CE dealt with the heresy of Nestorianism.   The Alexandrians in Egypt Engraving of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, by Philip Galle after Maerten van Heemskerck, 1572. Source: National Gallery of Art   The Alexandrians were a group of theologians based out of Alexandria, Egypt, originally under the leadership of Pantaenus. Their emphasis was on the deep, allegorical meaning of scripture, and their view led them to believe that every action of Jesus Christ was attributed to His divinity, even any that appeared human.    Origen, by Andre Thevet, 1584. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Some of the adherents went so far to hold that the humanity of Christ was a mere “shell” that contained the divine Logos, as described in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Platonism and Neo-Platonism were heavy influences in Alexandrian theological development. Origen, Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria, and Apollinaris are members of the Alexandrians.   Heresies and the Alexandrians Saint Apollinaris. Source: Catholic World News   Apollinarianism was the most prominent heresy to arise out of the Alexandrian theologians. It held that the human mind in Jesus Christ was completely replaced by the divine Logos, as the humanity of Christ would have been too corruptible and could not have obtained the perfection in the flesh of Christ. Apollinarianism would be condemned at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 CE.   Conflicts Between the Alexandrians and Antiocheans Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, by Vasily Surikov, 1876. Source: Wikimedia Commons   While some might view the differences between the Antiochians and Alexandrians as squabbling over insignificant details, the Christological fights brought about a theological bulwark in the Christian church that stood the test of time.      The Church was forced to deal with scripture and issues that required a precision in language and study to come to definite conclusions, as well as work out a system by which the Church could make decisions that could generally be accepted throughout most of Christian churches.   Present Day Influences   In the present day, the creeds and Christology (the theology of who Jesus Christ is) produced by the early church are still accepted by most of Christianity, both Protestant and Catholic alike. Even in the turmoil of the Protestant Reformation over a thousand years later, the problems that Christians fought over were more related to soteriology (how people are “saved,” or made right with God) than with Christology.

  A land of mystery and wonder, ancient Egypt existed as a state for thousands of years. Over the course of its history, dynasties rose and fell, as did political and religious movements. So too did the populations of Egypt’s greatest cities. Through periods of peace and of war, huge urban centers were built, some of which have vanished to dust, while the ruins of others have echoed through the millennia that have followed. Some even evolved into places that are still populated today.   Some of these cities grew to immense size and grandeur, sprawling with houses, workshops, and temples that defined so much of Egyptian society. Here are 5 of the biggest cities (in no particular order) that grew on the banks of the Nile.   1. Memphis: Egypt’s First Capital The Temple of Ptah in Memphis. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Located in modern-day Mit Rahina, about 12 miles south of Cairo, Memphis was the first capital of ancient Egypt, serving as the seat of power and major religious center for a unified Egypt over the course of six dynasties.   The city is thought to have been established around 3000 BCE, and according to legend, was founded by King Menes (also known as Narmer), who may be a mythical figure in much the same way that Romulus is to Rome, and who is said to have unified the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt.   For around a thousand years, Memphis sat at the center of the Egyptian world. Located on the Nile Delta, the city lent itself to becoming an important and prosperous economic hub in ancient Egyptian society, spreading its influence far and wide. Reaching its peak during the Fourth Dynasty (c. 2613-2494 BCE), Memphis presided over the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is part of the Memphis Necropolis.   Memphis was also an important religious center and was especially linked to the worship of Ptah, who was the god of artisans, and can be considered a creator god. Ptah was said to have created humans.   Statue of Ramesses II from Memphis. Source: Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons   The 5th dynasty (c. 2465 to c. 2325 BCE) presided over what seems to have been a slow decline of the city over the following centuries, in part caused by the rise of the sun cult centered at Heliopolis. By the end of the third millennium BCE, Egypt entered a period of political instability, and Memphis lost influence, although it continued to be an important cultural and religious center throughout the centuries that followed, even after Thebes became the capital at the end of the third millennium BCE, and right up to the Ptolemaic and Roman eras.   Memphis was conquered by the Islamic Arab army in 640 CE, and thereafter went into steep decline until it was eventually abandoned. Among the architectural, religious, cultural, and political achievements associated with the city, perhaps the most incredible thing about Memphis is that it existed as an inhabited city for well over 3,000 years, surviving invasions from the Hyksos, Assyrians, and Persians.   Of course, an accurate population estimate is difficult to ascertain given the age of the city and the timespan through which it existed. The population would have fluctuated significantly throughout the course of history. Historian Tertius Chandler estimated the population to be 30,000, while numbers as small as 6,000 and as high as 100,000 have also been suggested.   2. Thebes (Waset) The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut. Source: Wouter Hagens / Wikimedia Commons   Now part of the modern city of Luxor, situated on the east bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt, Thebes represented a major part of Egyptian Civilization during the Middle and New Kingdom periods.   Thebes was inhabited from around 3200 BCE, but the area was likely inhabited much earlier. While Memphis grew large and became the capital, Thebes’ growth was much slower. It was a small trading post, but still served as the capital of the Waset nome (territorial division of ancient Egypt). At the end of the third millennium BCE and at the beginning of the second millennium BCE, Thebes frequently served as the capital of Egypt.   During the middle of the second millennium BCE, the Hyksos invaded Egypt and seized dynastic power, but they had little control over Thebes, and it was from Thebes that Hyksos power was challenged and eventually overthrown. Afterwards, Thebes entered a period of prosperity. Great palaces and temples were built on both sides of the Nile, and grand   mortuary temples were built on the west bank where the city’s necropolis was located.   Entrance to Karnak Temple in Luxor. Source: Belmahdy / Wikimedia Commons   Central to the religious prosperity of Thebes was the worship of Amun, the god of Thebes, who was also associated with fertility and creation. Of note was the Karnak Temple complex, which was built and altered over the course of many centuries, from around 2000 BCE to 100 BCE. As such, the structures showcase the progression in architectural design through much of ancient Egypt’s existence.   In the 14th century BCE, under the rule of Amenhotep III, Thebes reached a peak of prosperity, but subsequently fell into a short period of decline during the reign of his son Akhenaton (1353-36), who proscribed the worship of Amun in favor of Aten at the heart of a new, monotheistic belief. Akhenaten moved the capital to his new city of Akhetaten, now known as Amarna. His son, Tutankhamun, moved the capital back to Memphis, but Thebes continued to prosper and grow. By around 1200 BCE, Thebes reached a population of about 120,000.   Soon after, however, Egypt, and the city of Thebes, entered a period of decline as the city was gripped by scandals of maladministration. Riots became common, and the population of the city dropped significantly as the millennium drew to a close.   In the first millennium BCE, Thebes came under the control of the Kushites, and then the Assyrians, and finally the Romans, and never regained its former status.   3. Alexandria: A Fusion of Culture Ancient Alexandria by Adolf Gnauth, 1878. Source: Rice University   Given the timeframe of the Egyptian civilization, Alexandria can be considered a very young city, despite being founded as long ago as 332 BCE by Alexander the Great, who, obviously, gave the city its name. It was built on and around the ancient settlement of Rhakotis, which had existed on the Mediterranean coast since around 1500 BCE.   Within a century of its founding, during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, Alexandria grew to become one of the most prosperous cities in the Mediterranean. It blended Greek and Egyptian culture, and was home to the famed Library of Alexandria, as well as the Pharos Lighthouse, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.   Roman amphitheater in Alexandria. Source: ASaber91 / Wikimedia Commons   In the 1st century BCE, Alexandria played an important part in the end of the Ptolemaic Dynasty and the transfer of Egypt to Roman rule. Cleopatra courted Julius Caesar there, and is said to have borne him a son before Caesar was assassinated. She tried to restore Ptolemaic power by supporting Marc Antony in the civil war that followed, but Marc Antony’s forces were defeated by Caesar’s great-nephew, Octavian (later Augustus). In 30 BCE, Alexandria and Egypt became part of the Roman Empire, and served as a vital source of grain for Rome.   Alexandria was part of the Byzantine Empire until 641 CE, when it was captured by the Muslim Arabs under the command of Amr ibn al-As. Today, Alexandria is Egypt’s second-biggest city, and has a population of around 5.7 million people. Many of the ancient ruins are still evident in the city, and the archaeological finds are still being made, even off the coast, where sunken ruins continue to provide great interest.   4. Akhetaten / Amarna: Center of a New Religion North palace ruins of Amarna. Source: Olaf Tausch / Wikimedia Commons   Established in 1346 BC on the orders of Pharaoh Akhenaten, Akhetaten’s growth was rapid. Located on the east bank of the Nile, the site of the ancient city lies roughly halfway between Cairo and Luxor (modern-day Thebes).   It was built with the purpose of being Egypt’s new capital, and the center of a new monotheistic religion revolving around the worship of Aten, the sun disk, a deity representing the life-giving power of the sun. The urgency of the project required quick work, and most of the buildings of the city were constructed out of baked mud-brick.   The religion, however, was short-lived, and the city was abandoned in 1332 after Akhetaten’s son, Tutankhamun, moved much of the governance of Egypt back to Memphis, and restored the religion in Egypt back to its traditional gods. The city lay uninhabited for over a thousand years until the Roman period, when it was re-inhabited under the name of Amarna.   Aten, Nefertiri, and their three daughters beneath Aten, and its outstretched hands. Source: Wikimedia Commons   While the period of Akhetaten as capital may have lasted little more than a decade, one of the city’s lasting legacies was its art. The artistic style diverged greatly from traditional depictions of human beings in that people were portrayed in a more lifelike, almost caricaturist form. Elements of this style were incorporated into later Egyptian art.   It is difficult to estimate what the population of Akhetaten was, and estimates vary from 20,000 to as high as 50,000 people. Today, the site is home to several towns near the archaeological ruins, with a total population of around 25,000 people.   5. Pi-Ramesses: A New Capital Not much is left of the once-grand city of Pi-Ramesses. Here, what remains of a colossal statue of Ramesses II can be seen in the town of Qantir. Source: Iri-en-achti / Wikimedia Commons   Founded by Ramesses II in the Delta region in the 13th century BCE, and intended to be the new capital, Pi-Ramesses became a massive metropolis and grew to be the home of an estimated 300,000 people. Its close association with the nearby city of Avaris (which served as the capital of the Hyksos rulers) also granted the city prestige, and it was considered the greatest city in Egypt at the time, rivaling that of Thebes to the south.   Pi-Ramesses served as a staging point for Ramesses’ war against the Hittites, and provided many resources for the war effort. The war culminated in the Battle of Kadesh, the site of which is located in modern-day Syria, and which resulted in the first recorded peace treaty. After the war, Ramesses spent his long reign turning Pi-Ramesses into a beautiful city, with opulent palaces and gardens.   The city was built on a number of mounds that turned into islands every year when the Nile flooded. Thus, the city’s roads became canals, which were served by a transport system of boats. Monuments and temples in the city were built to impress, and the city served as a grand gateway to the rest of Egypt.   The ever-changing nature of the Nile River Delta was a major contributor to the demise of Pi-Ramesses. The Pelusiac branch of the river, upon which the city was established, rose in salinity, leaving the residents of Pi-Ramesses with depleted access to fresh water. When the river changed its course, it spelled the end for Pi-Ramesses, and much of the city was physically relocated to Djanet (Tanis), which became the new capital of Lower Egypt.   Today, there is not much left of Pi-Ramesses to see. Much of it was dismantled and its stone used to build the city of Tanis, while what is left resides below the town of Qantir.

  The evangelization of the Americas is the historical process through which Spanish colonizers converted Indigenous people to Christianity, beginning with Christopher Columbus’s 1492 arrival in the Americas. The expansion of Christianity had the support and sponsorship of the Pope and the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, who believed that every colonizer had a right to the land in exchange for evangelizing the Indigenous workforce.   Christianizing the Americas: Early Steps “The First Landing of Christopher Columbus in America” by Díscoro Teófilo Puebla y Tolín, 1862. Source: Museo del Prado   European colonial powers believed that their societies were more developed than the rest of the world and that they were responsible for civilizing people they saw as barbarians or savage communities. In this regard, conversion to Christianity was the primary tool used to not only instruct conquered peoples in a new faith but to force them to adapt to the new “civilized” society. The evangelization of the Americas was, therefore, not only a religious process but also a political, economic, and cultural one that facilitated the project of colonialism.   For centuries before Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas, Christianity had been at the center of European societies, and it was intrinsically related to the development of civilization, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, characterized by fighting against non-Christian cultural and religious expression, including Islam and Judaism.   When Columbus arrived in the Americas, a Franciscan friar named Pedro de Arenas celebrated the first mass in the newly “discovered” lands, specifically on the island of Guanahani. This was the first island where Columbus landed, and the Taino Indians already inhabited it. The island was renamed San Salvador and is now part of the Bahamas.   Columbus had met Arenas in Spain, where he asked him to be his confessor and to join his adventure. Building the first altar for worshiping the Christian God in these lands, Arenas initiated a long-lasting process of evangelization of the Americas, which accompanied the imposition of Spain’s colonial societal structures and systems of beliefs.   Portrait of Alexander VI by Pedro Berruguete, 1492-1503. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Dominicans and Franciscans were the first missionary orders that arrived on the American continent, followed by the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, the Order of Saint Augustine, and the Jesuits. In spreading Christian knowledge, the priests and friars who traveled from Spain to the Americas studied Indigenous people’s cultures and languages, resulting in multiple historiographic chronicles that account for the first years of the conquest of the Americas.   In 1493, Pope Alexander VI had issued a papal decree called Inter Caetera, where he authorized Spain and Portugal to own the lands of the Americas and enslave its inhabitants. This, together with Jesuit beliefs that the world was close to its end and Boniface VIII’s papal bull of 1302 declaring that nobody could be granted salvation without baptism, pressured the arriving missionaries to provide the sacrament to as many Indigenous people as possible. Missionaries firmly believed that any Indigenous person could become a Christian.   When the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, learned about the Indigenous communities living in those faraway lands, they found in Columbus’s travels an opportunity to spread Christianity through cultural and religious indoctrination. In 1524, the Spanish Empire created an administrative organ in charge of the conquest of the Americas called the “Council of the Indies,” which a priest often led. This illustrates how the church was closely related to the project of colonial expansion and its cultural, economic, and military facets.   Statue of Fray Bernardo by Manuel Fuxà, 1888. Source: Wikimedia Commons   On Columbus’ second trip, in 1493, another Benedictine friar, Bernardo Boyl, accompanied him with other priests recruited in Seville. Boyl had been assigned as a pontifical delegate by Pope Alexander VI for the “New World” mission. However, after unsuccessful trials of mutual understanding with the Indigenous communities of La Española (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and clashes of opinions with Columbus, Boyl returned to Spain one year later. He left behind three Franciscan priests, one of whom was called Jerónimo Ramón Pané, known for being the first European to try to learn the local Indigenous language to facilitate the transmission of Christian knowledge.   Expansion: Christianity in Central and South America Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Incarnation, Archdiocese of Santo Domingo by Julio González, 2007. Source: UNESCO   The island of La Española was where the first Franciscan and Dominican priests crafted a plan to expand their missions on the continent. Churches were built in the capital, Santo Domingo, and later, priests traveled to neighboring Antilles islands.   The first diocese in the Americas was created in Santo Domingo in 1511, followed by Puerto Rico the same year and Jamaica in 1515. In 1513, the diocese of Panamá was created, known to be the first ecclesiastical center on the continent, from which missionaries traveled to Central America and towards South America.   After the Catholic church settled in Central America and expanded to Mexico, facilitated by the arrival of Hernán Cortés in 1519, more than a decade later, in 1531, Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru, home of the Incas. By 1534, when two priests, Vicente de Valverde and Juan de Sosa, arrived, Pizarro had captured Cuzco. De Valverde was assigned as the first bishop of Cuzco, the first diocese of South America. As a result, a convent was built over the ruins of an Incan religious temple dedicated to the adoration of the Sun, Qoricancha.   Detail of “The Victory of Cajamarca” portraying the bishop of Cuzco, Vicente de Valverde, unknown artist, 1650. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Later, in 1541, the Diocese of Lima was founded, which became an archdiocese in 1547 and was the leading Catholic center of South America. From there, missions expanded to Quito, with Fray Hernando de Granada leading the evangelization of Ecuador and Colombia. In 1546, the diocese of Quito in Ecuador opened, and another in Popayán, Colombia, was founded. Later on, the church traveled southward to what are today Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile with Diego de Almagro and the priests Antonio Solís, Antonio de Almansa, and Cristóbal Molina. In 1552, the Diocese of La Plata was founded, becoming an archdiocese in 1609.   While Catholicism was expanding across the lands colonized by the Spanish crown, the Portuguese evangelized the territories of present-day Brazil. In 1551, a diocese was founded in Salvador de Bahía, which became an archdiocese in 1676, ruling over the newly founded dioceses of Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Mariana, and Sao Paolo. Through Brazil, the Franciscans, Capuchins, and Jesuits reached and expanded further into South America, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest.   Evangelizing Among the Indigenous: Tactics Photo of the archaeological site of Tlatelolco in Mexico City showing the Church of Santiago Tlatelolco, built over Prehispanic Mexica sacred sites, Greg Schechter, 2012. Source: Wikimedia Commons   When Europeans arrived in the Americas, every aspect of Indigenous religious adoration practices was considered pagan and a threat to Christianity. Because of this, Spanish conquistadors and friars destroyed Indigenous sacred places and monuments. For instance, the first masses took place in Mexico in Indigenous temples. Moreover, it has been found that churches were built by reusing the remaining stones from Prehispanic Mexica temples or Teocallis. To facilitate conversion, crosses were anchored over the ruins of old sacred sites so places of adoration would not change, but instead, foreign beliefs, images, and symbols were imposed.   Because of linguistic differences, catechesis was challenging. Towards the middle of the 16th century, the Council of Trent, convoked by Pope Paul III between 1545 and 1563 as a response to Protestantism, forbade the translation of the sacraments to Indigenous languages, which prompted missionaries to teach the Spanish language to the locals.   During the 16th century, most indigenous people’s evangelization happened through the encomienda, an economic system that granted colonists the right to Indigenous lands and their workforce. Under this model, Spanish conquerors were able to impel Indigenous people to forced labor in exchange for protection. The colonizers had the duty of instructing them in Christian beliefs and the Spanish language, as requested by the crown. It was the encomenderos who were responsible for not only evangelizing Indigenous people, who, after conversion, could participate in viceroyalty society, but also to condemn and punish any remaining expressions of pagan cultural, religious, or linguistic practices.   Illustration of an encomendero abusing an Indigenous person from the Tepetlaoztoc Codex, c. 1550s. Source: British Museum   In places the system of encomiendas could not reach because of hostile environmental and geographical conditions, missionaries would explore terrains to reach more isolated indigenous tribes. When this was the case, a rudimentary chapel was built on-site, probably after violent exchanges between the missionaries and the local people. If successful, an Indigenous community would be dispossessed of their native beliefs and converted to Christianity. Around the chapel, converted Indigenous people grouped, forming what was called a doctrina. A doctrinero was the priest in charge of teaching the Christian doctrine, many times using reinforcement methods of punishment and torture.   Photo of a doctrina in Sáchica, Colombia, by Carlos Martínez, 2010. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The excesses of violence exercised by Spanish conquistadors and missionaries were well documented by Friar Saint Bartolomé de las Casas, who in 1552 published “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies,” a collection of manuscripts sent to Prince Philip II of Spain.   Another method used by the Jesuits, Franciscans, Capuchins, and Dominicans to evangelize the American Indigenous communities was the reducción. These were small population centers where nomadic Indigenous people congregated. These small villages had independent governmental systems led by missionaries and aimed to “protect” people from the encomenderos.   The Christian Faith in Latin America and the Caribbean Today Photo of Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations in Popayán, Colombia, Junta Pro Semana Santa Popayán, 2024. Source: Semana   Catholicism has accompanied the development of Latin American societies and cultures through to the present. Catholic beliefs and practices are today intrinsic to people’s culture, expressed in yearly celebrations and holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and many saints’ commemorative events. The church also shaped how Latin Americans conceive moral and social institutions such as family, marriage, and reproduction. On the continent, most Catholic believers are concentrated in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, while Protestantism and Evangelism have gained relevance in Brazil and Venezuela.   Catholicism has also influenced Latin American architecture, literature, and music. For instance, when visiting South and Central American cities and villages, it is common to see a church in the central square, a remnant of colonial urban planning that placed Catholicism at the physical center of social, religious, and political life.   Photo of Bolívar Square in Bogotá, Colombia, showing the Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá at the right. Source: Visit Bogotá   However, syncretisms have been present alongside the historical development of the Catholic faith in different regions and amongst different communities, in particular, due to the transatlantic slave trade and the subsequent introduction of African religious practices.   During the 19th century, the relationship between people and Catholicism changed. Independence and consolidation of modern states separate from the Spanish Empire accompanied a paradigm shift in how people now conceive of religion as an individual choice when it became a facet of life no longer bound to civil rights. After five centuries of Catholic domination, this has caused the Church to lose power and believers.   Many Catholics have converted to Protestantism in countries such as Brazil, where Catholic representation dropped from 95% to 61%, and in Mexico, falling from 99% to 81% between 1970 and 2014. A decrease in the Catholic population is even more pronounced in some Central American countries, such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Chile, where non-believers increased rapidly.

  Rome was built with the edge of the sword. They carved out their empire with a ruthless military machine that laid low all before them. Perhaps the greatest reason for Roman military success was the willingness to innovate. The army was constantly evolving its fighting forces as it expanded its borders or defended itself against a rising tide of foes. From the aggressive phalanx in central Italy to the border forts on the edge of the frontier, Rome’s legions were in a constant state of evolution.   Roman Army: Mythic Past and Early Republic Capitoline She-Wolf, Rome, c. 5th century BCE. Source: Musei Capitolini, Rome   From its beginnings in the mythic past, Rome was at war. Rome’s legendary founder, Romulus, waged constant battles against neighboring city-states in an effort to expand Roman territory and influence. This era is shrouded in mystery, with fact and myth inseparably mixed. From what we can glean from the early sources, the military of the early kingdom seemed to be ad hoc militias, farmers, and tradesmen putting down their tools and picking up spears to fight in limited campaigns against nearby enemies.   The first real attempt at organizing the Roman military was during the reign of King Servius Tullius. The army was first organized into a cohesive unit, which was divided according to wealth and social class, as well as what equipment the soldier could afford. They fought as hoplites, no doubt inspired by Greek colonies in southern Italy. These infantrymen were equipped with bronze or linen armor breastplates, face covering helmets, and a circular shield called a hoplon, which gave the soldier their name. Their main weapon was a spear, and the hoplites fought in a dense block of men called a phalanx. With their shields overlapping, the phalanx was a solid wall of steel, bronze, and flesh that attempted to push aside the enemy.   The Romans also used other troops, such as skirmishers who tried to break up the enemy phalanx before the main body closed in. Cavalry was also limited in number and reserved for the richest citizens who could afford to own a horse.   The Birth of the Legions Reproduction of Early Republican Armor. Source: Museo Storico-Didattico del Legionario Romano   Early in the 3rd century BCE, the Roman Republic was reorganized into a new fighting force, with the first mention of a unit called the Legion, or legio. Meaning “levy,” it originally meant all of Rome’s citizens under arms, but eventually evolved into a unit of around 4,200 infantry men and 300 cavalry. The legion was made up of a number of classifications of soldiers based on age and property ownership. Equipment was provided by each soldier from their own finances, so there was a wide variety of types and quality of gear found in any army of the mid-Republic. Cavalry was drawn from the wealthiest soldiers who could afford a horse. They were equipped with a long spear, sword, round shield, helmet, and armor. They rode without stirrups, as these had not been invented yet and, in all likelihood, charged the enemy at a trot. The bulk of Rome’s forces, however, were infantry.   The first ranks of foot soldiers were made up of the youngest and poorest of the men in the army called velites. These soldiers were equipped with a bundle of javelins, a sword, and a small round shield. They also wore wolf pelts as a way for commanders to easily identify them in the confusion of battle, which may also have had a totemic or religious significance. The velites acted as skirmishers, advancing in front of the main body of troops, throwing their javelins to disrupt the enemy before falling back.   The first main line of battle was made up of men in their late teens to early twenties called the hastati, which translates to “spearmen,” though they did not use this weapon. The name was possibly a holdover from an earlier time. They were equipped with a pair of javelins called pilum, which had long iron shafts attached to a wooden handle. When thrown, the pilum would pierce the enemy’s shield easily, hitting the man holding it. Even if it didn’t cause a serious injury, the iron shaft would bend, fixing it in place, making the shield cumbersome to use and the pilum impossible to throw back.   Bent Pila heads, pugio dagger, gladius blade, and sheaths, Roman, c. 1st century BCE. Source: British Museum   They were also equipped with a short stabbing sword called the gladius, which was used in close quarters. For defense, the hastati wore a wide array of armor, from mail made from interlocking metal rings to scale armor to bronze plates strapped to the chest with leather strips. They were also protected by conical bronze helmets.   The second line of troops consisted of the princeps or “leaders,” though they were not the first ranks, and again was probably a name from an earlier time in Rome’s history. They were similarly equipped to the hastati, but were made up of older men in their late twenties and thirties, the prime of life, who had accrued the necessary wealth for better equipment than their younger counterparts. In battle, they were the principal offensive arm of the army. After the hastati ground down their enemy, they advanced and delivered the finishing blow to the exhausted enemy.   The third and final line was manned by the triarii, or “thirds.” These were the oldest and most experienced soldiers in Rome’s army and weren’t expected to see combat, being wealthy land owners, politicians, and others deemed too valuable to risk in the front lines. Instead, they acted as a reserve, only being deployed in times of crisis, their experience hopefully bringing order to a chaotic situation. Unlike their compatriots, they were equipped with long spears instead of pilum.    Replica of Roman Armor and Weapons circa 400 BCE. Source: University of Auckland   All of these ranks were divided into centuries of sixty men each, and the hastati and princeps were grouped into pairs of centuries called a maniple, or “handful.” These were tactically flexible units that were easier to maneuver and deploy than the cumbersome phalanx. This time period also saw the origins of dedicated officers, the centurion to lead them, the optio as second in command, and the signifer who carried the century’s standard. These positions carried over into later evolution of the army.   There were a few modifications over the centuries, but this basic method saw Rome through the existential crisis of the Punic Wars and the conquest of much of the western Mediterranean. By the end of the 2nd century BCE, it became apparent that Rome’s reliance on part-time militiamen was no longer adequate for the needs of the state. The famous Roman general Gaius Marius (c. 157-86 BCE) instituted the so-called Marian reforms, completely overhauling the Roman Army.   The Legions Become Professional The Triumph of Marius, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1729. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Marius’s most important policy was removing the property requirement to serve. Any Roman could join, serving 20 and later 25-year terms of service paid for by the state. To ensure uniformity, the recruits no longer had to provide their own equipment but had their weapons and armor subsidized at state expense. The militia force raised for a specific campaign was replaced by a standing professional army whose only occupation was warfare.   The maniple system was also overhauled. Centuries of 80 men would be placed in groups of six, called a cohort, and ten cohorts would form a legion. The class and age distinction made in the earlier army was done away with, with men grouped in each unit without regard to wealth or experience. Like their predecessors, they would be primarily heavy infantry and were equipped with a large oblong and later rectangular shield called a scutum, an open faced helmet, pilum, gladius, pugio, a type of dagger, and armor, most often in the form of mail, but also lorica segmentata, made from overlapping bands of steel.   Glass Relief Fragment First Century ACE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Each legion also contained specialist troops, such as artillery crews who were trained to use various types of ballistae and catapults designed to hurl stones or large bolts long distances. Cavalry were armed with lances, javelins, large shields, mail armor, and the spatha, a long, straight bladed sword. Cavalrymen were drawn from citizen recruits or foreigners who made up the auxilia. The auxilia were non-Romans who served in specialist roles, such as cavalry or archers, and would gain their citizenship after their term of service. This basic structure served Rome from the tumultuous late Republic to the farthest extent of the Empire, from the shores of the British Isles to the sands of the Middle East. But Rome’s military would undergo one final major change before its fall.   The Army at the End of the Roman Empire Roman Ridge Parade Helmet, c. 4th century CE. Source: Museum of Vojvodina, Serbia   In the waning days of the Empire, the once mighty legions were but a shadow of their former selves. The most drastic change was the operational role of the army, which switched from conquering foreign lands to maintaining the border, and later holding back the inevitable tide of barbarian invasions. In light of this defensive posture, the legions were reorganized broadly into the comitatenses and the limitanei.   The limitanei were stationary border troops, who manned garrisons at the extent of Roman boundaries. They had multiple roles, including customs duties, border security, and driving off small-scale raids from the ever emboldened barbarians outside of the Empire. These were comparatively poorly paid troops who were not expected to be able to withstand a major invasion.   The comitatenses made up the field army and, unlike their limitanei counterparts, did not have a fixed base of operations. They moved from crisis area to crisis area as needed. They were more highly paid and of a higher status as well. Instead of conquering new lands, the army fought defensively, the limitanei throwing back small scale raids, and providing early warning of larger incursions. Should they not be able to withstand an invasion, they would send word, and the comitatenses would arrive in force to drive off the enemy that was already weakened by the limitanei and their forts. Through this strategy of defense in depth, the Romans of Late Antiquity were able to hold their borders with fewer troops, forestalling the end of the empire.   The equipment of soldiers of the late empire changed significantly from their heyday. After over a century of civil wars, foreign invasions, and economic turmoil, Rome was no longer able to provide the same quality of weapons and armor it had in previous centuries. The legionnaires still utilized large, oblong shields and mail armor, but the helmet, once made from a single piece of metal, was now made in the Intercisa pattern, using two separate plates joined together by a metal band, as well as spangenhelms, which were made from three or more plates forged together, which is much cheaper and easier to produce. There is also some evidence for the appearance of nasal guards, which had not been utilized before in Roman helmets.   Vercingetorix Throws Down his Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar, by Lionel Royer, 1899. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The pilum was still used, but more conventional javelins and plumbata, weighted lead darts, were becoming more common. These darts were lighter, could be thrown further, and could be clipped to the back of a shield for ease of carrying. The gladius, the short stabbing sword that carved out Rome’s empire, was replaced with the spatha, a longer-bladed weapon once used by cavalry troops, as were spears.   Even with these reforms, it was not enough to stem the inexorable decay of the Empire, and Rome would crumble under tides of barbarian invasions. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Roman war machine, whose origins stretched to the mythic past, whose mighty legions laid low all who opposed them, now fell silent. An echo of their might lived on in the Eastern Roman Empire, which would rule for another thousand years.

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