I enjoy Herodotus because, as he prefaces, he is recording the stories people told him. Now, I know he got the order of the Pharaohās completely wrong, but I was quite entertained. I didnāt read it expecting actual history until I got to the more contemporary accounts.
Both, but I usually I end up super interested in one Roman phase, then another. For example, for a few months iām really interested in the Republic, then some time later I somehow end up researching Byzantine history, then the Crisis of the Third Century, and so on. Really thereās just so much to learn about Rome I canāt stay focused on one period for more than a few months or weeks.
I tend to not focus on one person too much, yea. Iāve been meaning to read Caesars Gallic Wars and Procopiusās works (especially The Secret History) for a while now though.
Iām a pretty big fan of Suetonius personally, though I personally prefer Republic stuff. Overall though, Roman history is rather intriguing to me, especially the culture and engineering.
I come from Italy, which as some of you may know is basically a synonym for History, so everywhere I go thereās always something new to discover: ancient barbarian culture in the north, greek colonization in the south (Magna Grecia), the Roman Republic and Empire, the great medieval castles and cathedrals, Florence and other cities with their amazing works of art from the Renaissance, and much more.
But honestly Iām much more interested in the natural environment, and all the great sites located all over the country.
WWII easily, with a close second being the civil war. Having relatives in both conflicts makes it more interesting.
But WWII wins because it makes me feel more pride in my country. My great uncle served on Iwo Jima in the marine corps and my Great Grandfather was in the navy at that time. When I think of heroes I think of them and it reminds me of the struggles my country has gone through to preserve freedom.
Not sure if Iāve ever made it known, but, I love history. The early Iron Age to the split of the Roman Empire is probably the period of classic history I enjoy studying the most, but the Renaissance has also captivated me as well. Recently though, Iāve become captivated with any and all things WWI: its effects, the flourishing of new and strange weaponry, as well as battles beyond the Western Front.
Iām not sure if this is the case with anyone else, but I feel WWI is exceedingly overlooked when compared to WWII. Sure the US saw combat for only a year and its effects lingered on into the far deadlier WWII, but thereās so much new content being discovered from that era. Itās also raised misconceptions that all the fighting was majorly done on the Western Front, or that Serbia was the main cause for the war.
How generals and commanders like Von Hotzendorf were able to manipulate their countries into declaring war was always an interesting concept to me. This also raises questions of numerous hypothetical scenartios, like, what if Ferdinandās driver hadnāt made that wrong turn? Would war still be inevitable? Would military technology and tactics have progressed by a different means, or would they still stuck in the 19th century?