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tete • yesterday at 8:18 AM • 2 replies • view on HN

Really great channel! I love the "down to earth" history format it provides.

I think there is that huge misunderstanding that people were much different a hundred, a thousand or two thousand years ago, when it's mostly different language, technology. The politics part feels very contemporary.

Eg. soldiers singing rude songs during campaigns or celebrating coming home. Or during Saturnalia some people getting shitfaced all night, while others complaining about these "idiots".

Or politicians trying to make shady deals, or having their own agenda, putting their own people in place. Or talking about food/money for the poorer population (yes, there was free government food for the poor even 2k years ago!) or making bad decisions like giving veterans free land to grow crop on, and people realizing just because they are good soldiers doesn't mean they are great farmers.

Or that obsession of calling every war just and defensive, even when the main goal is expand the empire and being hailed as "imperator".

Or the fact that many actually found the coliseum pretty brutal just like parts of the Triumph (parade after conqueror new land) being upset and demanding to spare various people.

Also love the context that is often added, like whose perspective something is based on and where historians disagree.

Great channel for everyone that cannot stand that whole "Ave, Caesar" style talk or making everything sound grand instead of real.

Really wished history was taught that way in school. Right now it almost feels like anti-history. Instead of events it feels like the thing that's important are names and dates, which (most of the time) is the least important. At least in my opinion "learning from history" doesn't mean getting to know names and dates.


Replies

moffkalast • yesterday at 9:51 AM

Haha yeah it's always fun to see how absolutely nothing has changed in the past few thousand years when it comes to politics.

I think my favorite part is how Caesar got obsessed with making a new calendar as a secret pet project and we're still using that exact setup today with only two or three minor patches. I kinda would've preferred the Egyptian 10 month 30 day setup with an extra week of vacation though ngl.

nephihaha • yesterday at 10:03 AM

I think you misunderstand the purpose of giving soldiers land to farm on. It was normally in conquered territories, so it meant that you had men in those territories who had military experience and were ostensibly loyal. Not just a reward, but pragmatism.