Bret Devereaux
Ancient & military historian specializing in the Roman economy and military. PhD @UNChistory. More impressive credential is that I have beaten Dark Souls.
View on 𝕏Threads
@SashoTodorov1 That's actually in the game, to a degree. Pops below 14 wealth can consume fabric rather than clothing to satisfy their clothing need, reflecting household producti...
So this is actually a neat question that gets at a continuing debate about the origin of cities (and from there, states): what were cities for? There tend to be three answers to t...
So I think this article in FP today (https://t.co/KLWvg9ht3F) is...well, I think it's really quite bad? The idea is that the Ukraine War is like WWI in that everyone is all-in on...
@SashoTodorov1 To be fair, France is hardly the only country struggling to cope with the apparent fact that the 'you must be this tall to ride' great power bar is apparently north...
@SashoTodorov1 It's almost like all of these countries think that the United States might be the more reliable and consistent actor, given that it has consistently sided with allia...
@JasonLHughes It has been so foundational to modern fantasy literature that I don't think folks realize how subversive/transgressive it was for the hero of the Lord of the Rings to...
So I think this essay makes some really good points regarding @PDXVictoria, particularly in how the game's focus on large-scale movements and aggregate economies can leave out the...
Since apparently we're doing this again - this whole thing, which connects railway gauge to 'Roman war chariots' is bunk. There are lots of railway gauges, many of which emerged i...
Today on the blog: Victoria III (@PDXVictoria ) confirmed! I give my impressions and/or review after about 80 hours with the game and then I look back at my analysis and critique...
Length limits on writing samples make sense, but I've seen a few 'no more than 20 pages' limits this season and maybe that's a bit too short? My shortest article runs 23 pages (wi...
If there is a 'secret' to effective public scholarship, I think it is that you do not need to give people the answer they want, but you do need to answer the questions they have....
This is a really good answer by @Roelkonijn - I wouldn't be a good Talbertian if I didn't note that the Romans did have maps, but Roel's description of how limited their use in mi...