This sentence is at the core of my work as a Roman historian. My main aim in life is to hurt the image of the Roman empire as a glorious place. Not by suggesting they were all sexual deviants or decadent beyond imagining or implying that that those things came from nowhere... https://twitter.com/swgannon/status/1260461816775393282

But by taking the view that they were a martial, imperialist empire who stood on the backs of those they colonised and oppressed and looking at their heroes and "success" through that lens.

The Romans were bastards and even now historians are too willing to agree with the Romans own view of themselves as civilizers and civilized and the Roman view of what, indeed, civilization is.

I love Roman history. It is in my very bones and I'll read and write about them till I die. But I have no respect for the Romans or their culture or their empire and I'd prefer it if everyone else had a little less respect for their accomplisments too.

If you want to commission me on this please do because I'll write about it always.