Research Case: Why did Rome not punish the three men of the Fabii, but instead elect them as military tribunes with consular power?

A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 5 1. Question Why did Rome not punish the three men of the Fabii, but instead elect them as military tribunes with consular power? This question is not simply about why Rome made a bad decision. Rather, it asks why Rome, at the moment when … Read more

Research Case: Why did the actions of the Fabii envoys give the Gauls a legitimate reason to attack Rome?

A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 5 1. Question Why did the actions of the Fabii envoys give the Gauls a legitimate reason to attack Rome? This question is not simply about why the envoys acted rashly. Rather, it asks why the actions of envoys, who should have helped Rome avoid … Read more

Research Case: Why did the Roman envoys fail as a diplomatic interface in their contact with the Gauls?

A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 5 1. Question Why did the Roman envoys fail as a diplomatic interface in their contact with the Gauls? This question is not simply about why the envoys acted rashly. Rather, it asks why the envoys, who should have helped Rome avoid war, failed to … Read more

Research Case: Why did Rome choose to send envoys instead of military reinforcements in the crisis at Clusium?

A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 5 1. Question Why did Rome choose to send envoys instead of military reinforcements in the crisis at Clusium? This question is not simply about why Rome did not send an army. Rather, it asks why Rome did not treat the Clusium crisis as an … Read more