What did the Romans think about Egypt?
Yes, for real.
I've let this whole thing rest for awhile, for two main reasons:
1. I found a source so good it took the fun out of it
2. I'd have to discuss the Fall of the Roman Republic
"The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity" by Benjamin Isaac did too much of my work for me. While I will obviously be upfront about this in the video itself, it takes a lot of fun out of the work itself. The book lists out Roman negative attitudes towards Egyptians in the most straightforward and well-cited manner imaginable, taking all the sport out of it for me. However, the book does not cover the POSITIVE attitudes Romans had towards Egypt, and there certainly were many of these, so that's good.
The Fall of the Roman Republic is both one of the most famous historical events in history, and also a complicated one. The question with all my videos is: how complex should I let this get? Do you need to know who Lepidus was? Do I need to discuss Antony and Octavian's ever-evolving negotiations? Should I cover it all, going back to Caesar's conquest of Gaul?
I, naturally, do not want to dwell on subjects the viewer already knows, but there is no other period of time which better illustrates Roman attitudes towards Egyptians. Aegyptophobia (trademarked) flavored the last days of the Roman Republic, and allowed Octavian to turn a civil war into a foreign one which defended "Roman Values".
It's a story about how fear is the soil in which tyranny grows and I want to do it justice while also not repeating a story most of my viewers know well. I think that via an expository segment and some creative editing that I can make the story feel fresh, informative, and entertaining.
Thank you for your patience. "The Mad God of the Yucatan" performed far beyond my expectations and gives me the confidence to move forward on larger projects which I'll share more details about soon. Your support makes this possible, and it means the world to me.
Roma Aeterna,
DJ PC
Comments (16)
Sooo, no more ai in this right?
I can’t wait!!!
talk about crucifying dogs
I understand the impulse to not want to tread old ground and bore viewers—but imma be real, if we’re here we’re probably down to listen to someone talk about the fall of the Roman Empire even if we know most of it
Its up too you, but i would appreciate if he went in a deep down with octavian and Mark Anthony relations and negotiation, i do enjoy when cobbler takes the perspective of the people in the story like Cortes or Flavius Josephus, so Antony and Octavian would be interesting, but idont know if that would go too far from the main topic.
I think the subject is a popular one, but the more meaningful and well-intentioned historical perspectives out there (especially on a subject rife with misunderstanding and contextual biases after being so "well documented") is just as impactful. If you find the subject uninteresting due to the existence of other material, that's a different story.
Awesome! Glad the new video did well, it was worth the wait ^^. Now, I'm going to make 2 selfish suggestions: 1) could you please post on Patreon when a new vid goes live? 2) could you make the Patreon tiers meaningfully different for people who don't use discord? I don't know how many of your patrons, like me, dislike YouTube notifications and discord/social media, but I always end up seeing you posted a few days after the fact when I happen to open YouTube. I think early views on videos can boost performance so could be worth considering for that too. And then the Patreon post for said video release can act like a Patreon only comment section to give you different feedback vs YouTube and discord comments. As for ideas for tier rewards, I'm not sure my ideas would be useful, but they all boil down to either giving patrons a peak behind the scenes of production or a window into your life. But you are absolutely entitled to your privacy and preferences and these are just suggestions. If you like things as is, that's fair.
Do you have any good books or sources on praetorian guards?
Nothing like a Roman video, but honestly your videos no matter the topic are so consistently funny and thoughtful that the topic IMO is secondary to your presentation.
I would genuinely love to see you go in-depth on the fall of the Roman republic. It's very well-known topic, but honestly, it's not that often that we learn in school or that I see people discuss *why* it happened (outside of Caesar's involvement), and even from the little bit you have talked about it, I can tell it would be quite the spicy video.
That sounds extremely interesting and I'm definitely looking forward to it! It's certainly not as obscure as the story of Diego de Landa but the second triumvirate is definitely an interesting part of the roman empire's history. Hell, HBO made a show out of it.
Optima fortuna tibi, honorabilis DJ Peach Cobbler
Do it! Do whatever! Our cravings are so bad that we would listen to you narrating dandelion varieties!
I would actually be really interested in ecology or a Cobbler herbarium
I hope this wasnt that one you needed the sand in the wind effect for lol
No way man, this has to be a prank