Naldiin

ACOUP Senate Poll II and Open Thread III

Added 2022-05-17 18:13:18 +0000 UTC

Patres et matres conscripti! It is time for another Senate poll and also a good moment for an open thread. As before, feel free to drop questions for future Referenda ad Senatum posts (I do keep a list of questions asked) in the comments.

For the long post topic votes (to be tackled hopefully after the upcoming series on ancient generalship), the options run thusly (note some are returning options from the last poll):

1) "Ancient Polytheism and the State" (from Vitali who asked, "How were Polytheistic religions incorporated into formal state structures?”

2) Mercenaries in the Ancient World! (from Adam who asked, "How did mercenaries work in the ancient world?")

3) "What is the Problem with Science Fiction Body Armor?" (from me, a look at the rigid body armor 'hardsuits' of things like Mass Effect and Dune (2021) and why they look wrong and work wrong).

4) Does Dune's Combat Model Work? (from me, a look at both the fighting style and military organization of Dune probing some of the assumptions of this kind of combat)

5) Why is Egypt the most unusual place in the Roman World? (from Tristan and DW Rowlands - a good opportunity to talk both about what makes Roman Egypt so valuable and also so frustratingly atypical)

6) Why didn't Rome have an industrial revolution? (from Aaron Maenpaa and DW Rowlands; mostly as an opportunity to discuss what the industrial revolution was and what its components were)

As before, the end date for the poll is whenever I start writing the winning topic (probably not for another three or four weeks at least) and feel free to pose new questions in the comments below!