Germanicus and Gaius consider the Roman use of fire, observe the amicability among former emperors at the Carter memorial, and discuss the possible acquisition of Greenland by the United States.
Rich events these last days.
Tragic, but at the same time compelling, because they make it very attractive for us to connect 21st century American Republic to 1st century Roman Empire.
We begin with a big theme: fire. Immediately, when I heard and started reporting on the fires of Los Angeles, I didn't think of Nero right away as much as I thought of Crassus.
Now, Crassus was a member of the triumvirate. Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Crassus had divided up the empire as a republic among themselves, and were happy to rule with some balance. And then Crassus and his son went off on an expedition, to the east, and were circled, ambushed, and destroyed. That very much set Pompey and Caesar on a crash course. We know that led to the civil war, and that led to Augustus, the man who founded the empire.
In the meantime, though, it's important to say Crassus was a member of the triumvirate, not because he was especially adept at the field, hence his defeat and murder by savages. He wasn't a commander like Caesar and Pompey, but he was powerful, because he was the richest man in Rome—actually the richest man in the solar system at the time.
And how did he make his money? He bought up the destroyed parts of Rome after a fire. He bought up distressed property and then rebuilt it, or didn't and sold it for an enormous profit. There was even a remarks—I don't account for them, but I passed them on—that Crassus had agents who helped along the fires.
This is defaming Crassus. It is striking, however, how another wealthy man has come to dominate the conversation with the new emperor, Mr. Trump. Fire is a theme that runs through 1st century Rome, and we know that it will be commonplace against us through the cities of Europe for the next two thousand years.
Crassus I thought of. I did not think of Nero. Let's settle this right away.
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