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Birrin's avatar

This is a brilliant article. Happy I found this.

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Linus Pulcher's avatar

You're glossing over a few decades of Roman history that I believe are most relevant of all - the career of Gaius Marius.

Marius emerged about a decade after the Gracchi Brothers's murders. He got famous fighting the cunning North African Jugurtha with young Sulla as his overshadowed lieutenant.

Gaius Marius was the prototype "new man" (non-aristocrat) populist who served a record seven times as Consul (most men only served 1 year) due to his wealth/generosity and fame.

He reformed the military, turning it from a profession for the wealthy who bought their equipment to a force of common men issued equipment they carried themselves.

Sulla's civil wars, march on Rome, and proscriptions were primarily attempts to purge Rome of Marius and his supporters. A very young Julius Caesar, aligned with Marius by family, narrowly avoided Sulla's death squads.

Trump fits the mold and position of Gaius Marius the best. Space Force could end up his "Marian Military Reforms." Perhaps America is different from Rome in our use of technology and psychological warfare and less brute force meaning the 21st century won't necessarily be as deadly.

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