Gregory Aldrete

Gladiator games, we associate those very intensely with the Romans. Well, they probably stole that from the Etruscans. A lot of Roman religion, Jupiter is a thunder god, all sorts of divination. The Romans love to chop open animals and look at their livers and predict the future. That comes from the Etruscans. watching the flight of birds to predict the future. That comes from the Etruscans.

Gladiator games, we associate those very intensely with the Romans. Well, they probably stole that from the Etruscans. A lot of Roman religion, Jupiter is a thunder god, all sorts of divination. The Romans love to chop open animals and look at their livers and predict the future. That comes from the Etruscans. watching the flight of birds to predict the future. That comes from the Etruscans.

So there's a lot of central elements of what we think of as Roman civilization, which actually are borrowings, let's say, from these older, slightly mysterious Etruscans.

So there's a lot of central elements of what we think of as Roman civilization, which actually are borrowings, let's say, from these older, slightly mysterious Etruscans.

So there's a lot of central elements of what we think of as Roman civilization, which actually are borrowings, let's say, from these older, slightly mysterious Etruscans.

Yeah, and I think you've exactly put your finger on one of the, let's say, secrets of Rome's success, which is that they're very good at integrating non-Romans or non-Roman ideas and kind of absorbing them.

Yeah, and I think you've exactly put your finger on one of the, let's say, secrets of Rome's success, which is that they're very good at integrating non-Romans or non-Roman ideas and kind of absorbing them.

Yeah, and I think you've exactly put your finger on one of the, let's say, secrets of Rome's success, which is that they're very good at integrating non-Romans or non-Roman ideas and kind of absorbing them.

So one of the things that's absolutely crucial early in Roman history, when they're just one of these tiny little mud hut villages fighting dozens of other mud hut villages in Italy, why does Rome emerge as the dominant one?

So one of the things that's absolutely crucial early in Roman history, when they're just one of these tiny little mud hut villages fighting dozens of other mud hut villages in Italy, why does Rome emerge as the dominant one?

So one of the things that's absolutely crucial early in Roman history, when they're just one of these tiny little mud hut villages fighting dozens of other mud hut villages in Italy, why does Rome emerge as the dominant one?

Well, one of the things they do is when they do finally succeed in conquering somebody else, let's say another Italianate people, they do something very unusual because the normal procedure in the ancient world is you conquer something. Let's say you conquer another city. You often kill most of the men, enslave the women and children, steal all the stuff, right? Yeah.

Well, one of the things they do is when they do finally succeed in conquering somebody else, let's say another Italianate people, they do something very unusual because the normal procedure in the ancient world is you conquer something. Let's say you conquer another city. You often kill most of the men, enslave the women and children, steal all the stuff, right? Yeah.

Well, one of the things they do is when they do finally succeed in conquering somebody else, let's say another Italianate people, they do something very unusual because the normal procedure in the ancient world is you conquer something. Let's say you conquer another city. You often kill most of the men, enslave the women and children, steal all the stuff, right? Yeah.

The Romans, at least with the Italians, conquer the other city, and sometimes they'll do that, but sometimes they'll also then say, all right, we're going to now leave you alone, and we're going to share with you a degree of Roman citizenship. Sometimes they'd make them full citizens. More often, they'd make them something we call half citizens, which is kind of what it sounds like.

The Romans, at least with the Italians, conquer the other city, and sometimes they'll do that, but sometimes they'll also then say, all right, we're going to now leave you alone, and we're going to share with you a degree of Roman citizenship. Sometimes they'd make them full citizens. More often, they'd make them something we call half citizens, which is kind of what it sounds like.

The Romans, at least with the Italians, conquer the other city, and sometimes they'll do that, but sometimes they'll also then say, all right, we're going to now leave you alone, and we're going to share with you a degree of Roman citizenship. Sometimes they'd make them full citizens. More often, they'd make them something we call half citizens, which is kind of what it sounds like.

You get some of the privileges of citizenship, but not all of them. Sometimes they would just make them allies. but they would sort of incorporate them into the Roman project. And they wouldn't necessarily ask for money or taxes, which is weird too. But instead, the one thing they would always, always demand from the conquered cities in Italy is that they provide troops to the Roman army.

You get some of the privileges of citizenship, but not all of them. Sometimes they would just make them allies. but they would sort of incorporate them into the Roman project. And they wouldn't necessarily ask for money or taxes, which is weird too. But instead, the one thing they would always, always demand from the conquered cities in Italy is that they provide troops to the Roman army.

You get some of the privileges of citizenship, but not all of them. Sometimes they would just make them allies. but they would sort of incorporate them into the Roman project. And they wouldn't necessarily ask for money or taxes, which is weird too. But instead, the one thing they would always, always demand from the conquered cities in Italy is that they provide troops to the Roman army.