Re: (ReacTor) Counting the Days: Five SFF Approaches to Calendars

The Horny Goat wrote:

On Sat, 19 Jul 2025 08:57:16 -0700, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
 

This is very confusing, as we appear to be mixing up "the Vorkosigan
Saga" and the Roman Empire. And I don't care which was founded on
what.

  While I've read all or nearly all the Miles books I was pretty sure on
the Roman emperors (surer than on Miles as a matter of fact but hadn't
taken time to look them up again - and all of the following names are
familiar - just couldn't remember whether they were in the same year
or over 12 months over two years. (And read both Tom Holland's
Dominion and his book on Rome since April)
 

Nero was followed by four emperors in the next year (12 months):
Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.
>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Four_Emperors>
>
So, if this is a contest, the Roman Empire wins by 1 Emperor.
>

I suppose the counts might have gotten lucky in having #1 and or #2
keel over before they had to fork it out...

>

Of course there were plenty of Emperors "elected" by no one other than
whichever Legion was based in Rome.

>
They didn't have to be based in Rome. A fair number of Emperors (and
would-be Emperors) were proclaimed to be Emperor by their Legion(s)
and then marched on Rome to expell the current one.

 True though when there were rival emperors backed by different legions
with neither in Rome at that point the usual outcome was that each
marched on Rome and fought it out somewhere nearby.
 

Those were not good times for the Roman Empire. The periods where son
succeeded father for several generations were much better, at least as
far as civil war went.

 Even Nero's reign (which was one of those you cited) was relatively
'good times' for the Empire

It's surprising how few people acknowledge that.
  though I remind you that aging Emperors

routinely adopted their successors. (Which was one of the better ways
of avoiding succession crises)

Hadrian went one better, adopting Antonius Pius, and insisting as a condition that he adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.  Pity he couldn't have picked out a couple of newborns for them to adopt.
William Hyde