Steele Brand

And that means you can have...

maybe up to four, even five or six commanders in the field at a time that all basically have the same level of legitimacy, even though the consuls are going to be the ones in charge at the top.

Pro consuls have just as much authority in the field and are kind of like independent branches.

So Rome's at a pretty good place at around 320, but not a perfect place.

So they're a rising power.

Okay, well, I'll just sort of stop there and we'll give you a chance to explain what's going on with all the amazing accomplishments of the Macedonians.

Yes.

It's the Italiots.

So there's the Italics.

These are the mountain peoples that are in Italy, but then they're distinguished from the Italiots.

And these are the Greeks in the south.

And the culture for Rome comes from two places.

It's either the Etruscans in the north.

We're not entirely certain who they are, have been related to where they come from.

or the Italians to the south.

And they had this like rich, deep culture from these Greek colonies.

And when they look on the Lucanians or the Samnites or any of the Oscans or the Romans, the Greeks are like, man, these guys are crazy barbarians.

They're so backwards.

Of course, they call the Persians barbarians too.

I think the Persians probably have a much better claim to civilization than that.