Devizes Melting Pot

“Protection. Conservation. Restriction. Deep ecology. Give me deep technology any day. They don't scare me. "I'm damned if I'll crawl, my children's children crawl on the earth in some kind a fuckin' harmony with the environment. Yeah, till the next ice age or the next asteroid impact." (Moh Kohn, The Star Fraction)/ "This is the fight between God and the Devil. If His Grace is with God, he must join me, if he is for the Devil he must fight me. There is no third way" King Gustavus Adolphus

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Location: Devizes, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

University graduate, currently working as an Information Assistant for the NHS. Interested in politics, history, sci fi etc.

Monday, September 05, 2005

History Lesson Part 3

The Romans would elect or name a dictator during times of Crisis.

Fabius Maximus was named dictator during the Second Punic War.

Descended from a very ancient patrician family, he probably participated in the First Punic War, although no details of his role are known. After the end of the war he rapidly advanced his political career. He served twice as consul and censor and in 218 BC he took part in the embassy to Carthage. It was Fabius who formally declared war on the city after the capture of Sagonte by Hannibal. The Senate named him dictator in 217 BC after the disaster at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in June of that year; this was unusual, as dictators were usually elected by the consuls.


The general competitiveness between Roman senators had by the 1st century BC erupted into violence and a series of military dictatorships and the repeated outbreak of civil wars helped destroy the Republic.

Another of Rome's Generals Pompey the Great was given total command in the war against the Mediterranean pirates which gave him extensive powers and control over the sea and the coasts for 50 miles inland, setting him above every military leader in the east.

As we all know Ceasar made himself dictator for life.

His assassination did little to restore the Republic and plunged it into civil war again, which ended with Octavian becoming Augutus and creating an Empire.

There is also the example of the Roman General Gaius Marius being given unprecedented power to deal with the northen threat from the Gauls.

Gaius Marius (Latin: C·MARIVS·C·F·C·N)¹ (157 BC - January 13, 86 BC) was a Roman general and politician elected to Consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of unlanded citizens and reorganizing the structure of the legions into separate cohorts.


By the time Augustus died in AD 14 many of its citizens could not recall a time before his reign. Many Romans were grateful for the peace he created and so failed to notice the graual conslidation of power under the Emperors.

They were kept entertained by bread and circuses.

While the Senate had its power curtailed.

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