Was this show decently researched or is it pure entertainment?

I've been fascinated about Cicero lately. Something about him feels very personal. Unlike other figures in his time, he really comes to life for me.

I finished Anthony Everitt's biography of Cicero, where he often quoted Cicero's personal letters to his friend Atticus. For me, those parts were the peek of the biography, as they turn you into "a fly on the wall" for a moment.

I figured I would want to continue my study of Cicero's life through his letters and other primary sources, but I'm a bit scared I won't be able to really follow without proper context for each text.

I have a good idea of the narrative in the late republic, but not much of the culture.

Is my fear justified? Should I be prepared to go through a lot of research to "figure out" each letter and it's between-the-lines content?

Is there a publication of his letters that includes explanations for each letter?

Any tips on approaching the text?

Thanks!

I am aware the English language used to be a lot less standardized and it was common for people to simply write how they spoke and use different spellings for the same word without abandon. (I think of Samuel Pepys' Diary, he refers to Spain as Spain, Spayne, Spaine, etc.)

In this time, did the idea of a wrong spelling exist? Did people get upset at a wrong spelling or usage of There/Their/They're? Are there any Latin texts of someone criticizing another writer for using the wrong case endings, etc?

For example, the Princess Diana tragedy.

It just seemed kinda suspect to me. On page 535, after a discussion of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, he says, "in the early 1980's, Vietnamese threats to the region has led Southeast Asian countries to strengthen ASEAN." Furthermore, if anyone has read the full biography and wouldn't mind giving a short review, I'd appreciate it greatly.

Why aren't there any ancient ruins in North America? South America has plenty of ancient ruins like Machu Picchu, Kuelap, and Tiwanacku. There aren't any major ancient cities in North America.

Edit: I understand there are technically Aztec ruins in Mexico, but I was more talking about ruins in the United States/Canada.

Did this change over time as Rome expanded, and nearby areas become Romanized, would citizens in Roman provinces consider themselves Romans, or Latins?

Also when did the identities split significantly, as you would observe during the middle ages, as the Byzantines consider themselves "Roman" while calling Roman Catholics "Latins"?

My perception of The American Revolution is that both sides just lined up rows of men and would fight on foot until one side gave up. They would be backed up by a few cannons but I have never heard of cavalry being used.

It seemed odd to me that I have never heard of cavalry being used by either side in this conflict.

So was cavalry used in The American Revolution? If yes, then where are some battles where the cavalry played a key part. If no, then why wasn't cavalry used?

I'm thinking of idolatry as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. If I had an idol of Baal, I wouldn't have believed that it was literally Baal, would I? Especially since there would be other idols of Baal in other cities.

What powers were idols actually believed to have, and where did their power come from?

As a side question, does the bible misrepresent idolatry, and does it do so for political/propaganda reasons?

Was the armor thin enough back then that it could knock a tank out, or only disable it? Once enemy tanks reached the enemy line, did they have any hope of stopping their opponent's assault?

Generally speaking, I've heard and read that Jewish people have done quite well for themselves. In fact, according to many studies they consistently rank greater in wealth and health than the main-stream white Christians of the area. This in turn has resulted in much resentment towards Jewish people such as the pogroms in Russia, expulsion from Spain and the Holocaust.

As a non-jewish person I was wondering why this was so? What habits and social structures allowed Jewish people to attain such wealth?