Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 2d

King Rhoimetalkes of Thrace, ca. 40 AD.

Description in the Alt-Text

#RomanHistory #AncientBlueSky #AncientHistory

Reconstruction of King Rhoimetalkes of Thrace, ca. 40 AD.

This one is based on the findings from a tomb in Vize (ancient Bizye, one of the major Thracian cities of the 1st century BC into the Roman principate).
The tomb is generally dated to the period before the Roman takeover of Thrace after the death of the last King Rhoimetalkes III (ca. 44 AD - Mansel (1940), ‚Les Fouilles de Thrace‘, p. 139).
First I wanted to depict the equipment found at Karanovo (Ignatov, Gospodinov (2013)) but it seems to remain unpublished and it’s hard to access literature on the analogous items of Thrace in the first half of the 1st century AD. The quality of the image of the helmet was very good in Mansel (1940), but I relied on the reconstruction of the hybrid armour of Negin (which I found in Wijnhoven (2022), p. 158), but chose to depict the original finding, which I saw in Miks (2015): ‚Eine späteisenzeitliche Spatha in des Kaisers Diensten‘, p. 297.
The tomb at Vize did not contain a shield umbo and the ones from Karanovo were unpublished so I chose the bronze umbo from Bryastovets, which is dated more towards the late of the 1st century AD, which I got from the Flickr pictures of Dan Diffendale. For the shield decoration I vaguely chose a number of somewhat contemporary Thracian rider as inspiration, but not a specific one.
Last but not least, I‘m no expert on Roman horse equipment, so I chose a minimalist approach, sticking to the drawing of a Tiberio-Claudian harness in M. Bishop‘s (1988): ‚Cavalry Equipment of the Roman Army in the First Century A.D.‘, p. 113 (though I think I remember seeing some similar elements in a burial from Serdica, which would be fitting) and checked the wall painting of Alexandrovo for some colour choices.

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 12d

The Pompey joke gets me every time

1

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Dr. Jeremy Swist @metalclassicist.bsky.social · 16d

I've been doing an AMA all day on r/AskHistorians if you care to jump in:

From the AskHistorians community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the AskHistorians community

www.reddit.com

7 20 89

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 17d

(A question out of pure ignorance btw. I wrote a class paper in like my 2nd semester about Alaric, so I only really remember that there was a debate about the Goth‘s origin and that there are a lot of opinions on that topic)

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 17d

What do you think about the whole Gutones - Goths debate?

1

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Michael J. Taylor @drmichaeljtaylor.bsky.social · 20d

Arendt famously noted that mechanisms of internal oppression developed in a colonial context soon get directed at folks at home (concentration camps, etc.).

These slobs apply *the aesthetic* of the Iraq/Afgan occupations to unconstitutional oppression at home.

Instagram fascism.

2 16

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 20d

Thracian Hoplite, 4th century BC.

Details in the ALT-Description

#ancientbluesky #art

Thracian Hoplite, 4th century BC.

When hearing Thrace, most of you probably have in mind the famous Thracians peltasts of the Classical Period, or the rhomphaia-bearing thureophoroi of the Third Macedonian War.
This reconstruction, however, is more speculative, working with the vague and unspecified mentions of “Thracian infantry“ or simply “Thracians“ in the literary records of the latter half of the 4th century BC and the ambiguous weapon‘s findings from the area. The shield remains are from Vishegrad Peak, Yambol region (Stoyanov 2015, p. 430), the machaira is from Kabile (also Yambol region), dated to the 4th century BC (Getov 1991, no. 55, in: Velkov, V. Kabile Vol. 2), and the helmet from Zareva Tumulus in the Kazanlak Valley (I did not find literature on it, though the helmet is shown by Archaeology Bulgaria here on Facebook, also dated to the 4th century BC). This type of helmet generally found a lot of popularity in Thrace, particularly in the Rhodopes, though occasionally findings of it - like this one - can be found beyond the mountain range. The scene of a fighting warrior with Phrygian-type helmet and aspis is from a quite obscure wall painting in the Alexandrovo Tomb, which I first saw in Webber‘s Gods of Battle (2011), but since I don’t own the work of Kitov on the Alexandrovo Tomb, I’ve not seen this particularly scene discussed very often. The switch of Thracians from using their native colourful clothing to the typical Macedonian Hellenistic chitons and exomides can be well observed in visual sources like Alexandrovo or Kazanluk.
Lastly, the spearhead and sauroter are from the site of Dragoevo castle, which contained a lot of significant military findings, among them 150 spearheads and 7 sauroter (Nankov (2021): Thracian Warfare, p. 229). (Photographs of the items from Dragoevo, among others, can be found in Atanasov, G. (1995), 29-91.

3

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele @drdragases.bsky.social · 21d

Delighted to share more feline news since, after the Indian Tiger, our British Lion is now out as well with Ancient History Magazine!

3 19

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Velite Aquila @veliteaquila.bsky.social · 21d

Mexica Cuāuhtli warrior

1 2 10

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 22d

It was the same problem when both AfD and BSW gained popularity (though the latter luckily didn’t make it into parliament in the end) that they were criticised for their pro-Russian stance instead of both being staunchly anti-migration

1 2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 23d

bsky.app/profile/jott...

Besides this, I always loved how Livy first chose to depict the death of Remus in the context of a clan war where he dies in a skirmish, and only then mentions the other version

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Jun 3

„Tribune Cossus was the second guy who killed an enemy leader and took his armour. Great Caesar told me, he saw the cuirass and that it says that Cossus was a consul and not a tribune at the time. And who would dare deny an eye testimony of our great Caesar … anyway, tribune Cossus then went on-…“

1 2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 23d

So I guess to avoid AI cannibalizing itself, they now go to publishers to just feed anything written by a human into it, if accepted or not...
What a horrible practice

1

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 29d

Dardanian warrior of the late 4th century BC
(see alt text for more info)

#ancientbluesky

Last one of „Southern Illyria“ for a while now probably (unless I manage to convince myself to squeeze a horse into this format).

What we learn from the written sources about the Dardanian military is basically … nothing at all, except a few mentions here and there.
They are often handled a bit as their own thing though broadly understood as being Illyrian or Illyrian-related. This is also reflected in the archaeological findings. In modern Kosovo, where a large part of ancient Dardanian land was located, the archaeological findings of militaria are still pretty sparse, though the record often includes items and elements of the Glasinac-Mat culture. In terms of militaria, these include Illyrian type helmets, small knives, axes and a preference for spears.
Due to the scarcity of such findings, however, this piece is a bit cobbled together of items from the second Iron Age period of Dardania (6th-4th c. BC):
the helmet is a III-A2 type from Korishë
the bracelet is from Lubozhdë
the axe necklace from Gadine e Epërme, as is the 18cm large knife
the javelin tip (11.1 cm) is from Cernicê and the spear tip is from Përçevë
(Due to the hard accessibility of literature on items found in Kosovo, most info of these I got from the doctorate thesis of Premtim Alaj (2020): Les habitats de l‘âge de der sur le territoire de l‘actuel Kossovo)
Lastly, this reconstruction builds mainly on one finding: the coinage of Patraos: https://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=patara
I chose to identify this defeated warrior with a Dardanian though this is of course easy to argue against, hence my long preamble.
The small shield, the bare top and the javelin tip finding made me want to depict more of a skirmisher, though a heavy infantryman would’ve also made sense given the information in our sources. Since my last drawing was already a pikeman, however, I went for something more dynamic.

1 5

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 14

Illyrian warrior reconstructed from the Bosnian tomb of Arareva Gromila (excavated by Truhelka in 1890); second half of the 6th century BC.

1 2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 25d

So did they change their mind on this or did that develop because they already had the view that there is a continuous connection between Ancient Greece and them?

1

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 26d

What did you say

1

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 27d

Publius Claudius Pulcher in shambles

Robin Bougie @robinbougie.bsky.social · Sep 20

Someone was trying to take a portrait of their two fave Chickens, and this happened.

2

Reposted by Jan on a train 🚈

Dr. Jeremy Swist @metalclassicist.bsky.social · Sep 18

Author copies have arrived from @oxfordacademic.bsky.social ! At long last, I’ve achieved my dream of placing my own book in my library of books on Julian. I recorded an unboxing video so you can share the experience.

JULIAN
AUGUSTUS
Platonism, Myth, and the Refounding of Rome
nan

NIVERSITY PRES
The Pieties of An
Cloistian TAvaleer and ix Ra
for the tiest new scholanhir Roman emgire to the Byzai
Late Amiquity has unined whi chronidagical, and geographik
Series Faite
OXFORD STUDIES
SALSADAV NVIINI
ISIMS

EMEROR JULIAN
ROBERT BROWN
SWIST
JULIAN AUGUSTUS
D-N•FL•
BCBW 5
UaLG
161
Baker-
KAISER JULIAN, AUF DIE GÖTTERMUTTER
Michael Schramm
A COMPANION TO JULIAN THE APOSTATE STEFAN REBENICH & HANS-ULRICH WIEMER (Eds.)
Brian and
Tougher (eds.)
EMPEROR AND AUTHOR

7 12 120

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · 29d

Dardanian warrior of the late 4th century BC
(see alt text for more info)

#ancientbluesky

1 5

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 18

Hellenistic South-Illyrian Hoplite, ca. 3rd-2nd century BC.

The main inspiration for this reconstruction is the belt plate found at Gostilj, on the northern shore of Lake Skadar, which would have been inside the territory of the Illyrian tribe of the Labeates, the centre of power of King Genthios (reign: 180-168 BC).
Hoplites among the Illyrians are already mentioned in the army of Kleitos, son of Bardyllis, and Glaukias, the king of the Taulantians at the battle of Pelion against Alexander the Great (335 BC, Arr. Anab. 1.5.12). This is increasingly emphasised in the Hellenistic Period, like in Akarnania (233 BC), where the heavy infantry of the Ardiaean king Agron rout the Aitolian forces due to the “weight of their arms [τὰ βαρέα τῶν ὅπλων.]“.(Pol. 2.3.3), at Sellasia (222 BC), where the Illyrians are paired with the Chalkaspides in alternating lines and pushed the Spartans off the Euas, who “were forced back by the weight of their adversaries‘ weapons and formation [βάρει τοῦ καθοπλισμοῦ καὶ τῆς συντάξεως]“ (Pol. 2.68.9) or on Pharos, where the Romans saw the Illyrians „advancing resolutely and in good order“ (Pol. 3.19.5).
A large amount of graves had been excavated at Gostilj and 130 of them recorded by Duro Basler in 1969 in the Bulletin Glasnik Zemaljskog Muzeja Bosne I Hercegovine U Sarajevu (GZM) Vol. 24 (pp. 5-107), which is available online on the website of GZM.
The speartip I used here is from grave 125 (approximate original length 300mm) and the sauroter from grave 126 (approximate original length 195mm). The coin is a typical Labeatan coin (Basler: Kenotaph 1/1, p. 44) of the helmet/shield type which - like the belt plate - depicts the Illyrian helmet without crest, and the helmet itself is from Dushk in the hinterland of ancient Epidamnos, dated to ca. the 4th century BC (Neritan Ceka, in: Arme Eggebrecht: Albanien. Schätze aus dem Land der Skipetaren (1988), p. 284).

1 2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 15

What a random thing to ask… but we do have quite a few castle ruins haha

2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 14

Illyrian warrior reconstructed from the Bosnian tomb of Arareva Gromila (excavated by Truhelka in 1890); second half of the 6th century BC.

1 2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 14

Still not over the fact that an American shot Jesus

1 9

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 13

Illyrian Warrior based on findings from Rechitsa, from the 6th-5th century BC

#AncientBlueSky

1 2

Jan on a train 🚈 @jottel.bsky.social · Sep 11

„Engraved with transgender ideology“ is such a dumb statement that it’s laughable if it weren’t for the sad reality that enough people believe such bs

3