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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,261 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Thought some of you might enjoy this random Arcadius I saw, particularly the 2x2 flip...apparently the seller did not exactly hold Arcadius in the highest regards...   Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
He really was. |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I don't care who you are...that's funny right there. I had to look it up but, apparently true. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
Hmm and all this time I have been including only the coin's date, denomination, diameter, and weight on my 2x2s.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
I actually saw that exact 2x2 maybe a year ago, and had the same reaction then. Wondering if the listing has just been relisted over and over again, or someone else is selling it? |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
That is funny. Thanks for posting. I got a laugh out of that one.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3442 Posts |
Most of the emperors of the fifth century would fall into this category.
The real power lay with the powerful Generalissimos (ie Magister Militum).
Stilicho, Aetius and Ricimer to name but a few
Edward Gibbon cites Adrianople (AD 378) as being the end of the "Empire of the Romans".
The empire as reconstituted by Theodosius the Great was for the most part managed by a series of Romanized German generals commanding barbarian Germanic legions
Arcadius lasted for 13 years.
His equally worthless brother Honorius reigned for 28 years.
More proactive rulers often measured their reigns in mere months !
Given the choice between a short "glorious" reign and a long "ineffective" reign ......
it should not be too surprising that most choose the latter.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
 In the course of building my Roman set and doing the homework behind it, I was amazed at how short the average reign was. Theodosius II was the only one to actually reach the 40 year mark, and only because he became emperor when he was like 18 months old. Fun thought experiment - I wonder how the Empire would have fared had Julian not died of his wounds, and restored the Principate rather than his successors continuing the downward spiral of bureaucratic corruption? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3442 Posts |
The world changes and only one thing is for sure. You can never "go back".
The populations inexorably evolve and people migrate. The imperial regime became onerous and unable to provide any of the benefits of belonging to the "union".
The peoples of Europe had more in common with their Germanic cousins than the rapacious tax collectors sent by Rome.
The barbarians taxed less and in general offered more protections.
When the last emperor of the west "retired" few people if any actually noticed.
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,261 |
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Posted 10/16/2017 12:38 am
