Our boy Crassus

Crassus came in at #9 on the all time wealthiest figures list in Forbes. Heres the the list:

Forbes 2008

Genghis Khan...source of income...MONGOLIAN EMPIRE!!!

I knew he was up there... One of the best Roman generals IMO...He was denied a triumph AND the honor of Spolia Opima, the greatest honor a Roman soldier could achieve... (Stripping the armor of an enemy commander after beating them in 1 on 1 hand to hand combat).

Seary wrote:I knew he was up there... One of the best Roman generals IMO...He was denied a triumph AND the honor of Spolia Opima, the greatest honor a Roman soldier could achieve... (Stripping the armor of an enemy commander after beating them in 1 on 1 hand to hand combat).

John,

Are we looking at the same guy? Crassus was a mediocre general at best IMO. He, after a fashion, learned how to deal with Spartacus, but his greed got the better of him in Parthia. The Battle of Carrhae was a massacre for Roman troops, and it would be many years before Rome felt they were avenged. Perhaps he should have been awarded a Triumph, but in the Late Republic the reason for getting one was not always so just (i.e. defeating other Romans.....hmmm).

I had completely forgotten about the Spolia Opima that he achieved in Macedonia. I'm going to have to go back and read Plutarch. They make a footnote on Wiki that the "lost legion" I've mentioned before was connected with Crassus, whereas I've heard from other sources that it was a lost legion from Anthony just after Actium in 31BC. I think that is one of the coolest things to think that some rouge group of legionaries ends up in China, but preserves the core of who they were.

Read up on this to get a similar idea. The historian Xenophon wrote about this 10,000 man army deep in enemy territory, fighting its way out....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabasis_(Xenophon)

Enjoy

I'm gonna have to say Oda Nobunaga can beat the sandals off all those guys above.

Impressive history for this guy. I know a decent bit about the Japanese shogunates, but not excessive details. That is one reason why I haven't included that in the Warfare class. My expertise is in Roman, Greek, and Celtic warfare. As you go eastward my knowledge gets fuzzier, but I try to absorb all I learn as I go along. The information regarding the Chinese and Japanese military history is so vast, one cannot claim expertise in that AND Mediterranean civilizations. One must give way to the other, but it doesn't mean you can't stop learning.

I've been learning as much as I can about Japanese history these past few months. THERE'S SO MUCH. Haven't even started Chinese.

What got you started on the Mediterranean civilizations Earle?

Always liked history, but my interest exploded for it when I got to USF and took actual history courses. Especially having a professor of Roman history named Tipps, and a Latin professor named Noonan (who is still there atm). The combo of the two of them influenced me to what I do today.

I still have my old blue book exams....lol