The Roman Army

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

The Roman Army has long been seen as a fascinating and possibly the worlds most well-known military force. Its advanced fighting tactics for the time coupled with superior leadership, armor, and weapons created an army that was able to dominate much of the known world. For the Roman citizens and subjects, the army formed an integral part of the lives and hearts of the people. Government labels such as republic and empire accurate as they may be, do not entirely describe the heart and sole of the Romans. In essence, they remained a military state throughout the life of the empire.

From the early republic to the late empire, the Roman army directly influenced society and balance of power within the empire and out. In this paper, I will discuss in detail why the Roman army was so powerful on and off the battle field and also how it affected the lives and society of the Roman Empire. The Army in the Roman Republic

Since the Early Roman Republic, the army was becoming a major part of the lives of the people. Wars and battles were fought just about every year, and it was common to have rituals to signify the beginning and end of the campaigns for the year. During the time of the republic, the army was solely a citizen army, and all citizens were liable for service (provided they were financially able to own some land) within the considered military age of seventeen to forty-six. Every year a selection process took place called dilectus. All men of military age were required to visit the capitol of Rome for possible recruitment. Citizens with property valued at over 400 Denariia silver coin which was the principle form of payment in the Roman times were liable for service.

When enrolled in military service, the men were required to serve a maximum of sixteen years, but often were only expected to serve six years with a callable period for the remaining ten years. Some went into service only one year at a time, and then would attend the selection process every year until their six years were up. It was not uncommon that all youths who were eligible for military service served in a campaign for a few years during their lives.

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Mars Comes Once in a Blue Moon

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

A once in a lifetime event for astronomers is forever worth waiting for. while the Mars opposition occurs once every twenty-six months, it can still be regard as once in a lifetime event if you take into consideration the last time that a Mars opposition occurred on the correct same night as a blue moon. Planetary opposition is an occurrence that take place when the planet rise as the sun sets. This typically occurs when the Earth is in a straight line between the sun and the planet, causing the planet to go after the same elliptical path as the sun. put in that the moon will be full twice in the month of January, called a blue moon, then there is much to get excited about. What is the cause for all of the excitement? The second full moon of the month of January is on the 30th, the similar day that Mars will be in direct opposition.

The planetary opposition of Mars in connection to the sun has fascinated stargazers for centuries. Most astronomers took the chance to simply observe the passing of this phenomenon, while watchmaker David Gill, in 1877, used the chance to use exact measurement devices and calculation to calculate the solar parallax cleanly by observing Mars. This was an wonderful astronomic breakthrough as it was responsible for redefining the calculations for finding the distance from the earth to the sun. The parallax has recently been restructured with more accurate calculations, but using the same formula that brought David Gill to his conclusion.

,Not only does the opposition and Blue Moon happen on alike night, Mars is just a hand span (7 degrees of arc) away from the Moon. It is necessary, then, to document the actions of this night to say that you were there. maybe even some Photographs to mark the occasion. After that time this occurs, you children or grandchildren will be the ones to witness it.,.

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