User talk:PericlesofAthens

This user is one of the 4000 most active English Wikipedians of all time.

• 
  Battle of Normandy, June of '44, quite possibly my favorite pic on Wiki.
• 
  Animated naval gun turret, this pic has to be my favorite animated illustration on wiki.
• 
  Pangea breaking up into the continents we know today. Amazing.

Hey guys, and welcome to my user talk page. Feel free to ask anything on your mind, or any general help with articles. If you would like to look over old talk page discussions, simply view the archive links in the box to the top right. -->

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A star for a star!

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Long time no see, buddy :) Unlimitedlead (talk) 05:54, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

@Unlimitedlead Thanks! Much appreciated. Pericles of Athens^Talk 04:03, 25 July 2024 (UTC)

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Question about an old contribution

Hello, and Happy Holidays!

This is a bit of an odd request, but I would like to know more about a door that you had mentioned in an old article edit, specifically the first foot-sensor-activated automatic door from China. I was looking through the book "Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering" by Joseph Needham, but I couldn't find a mention about the door. If you remember what section of the book that it is mentioned in I would really appreciate you letting me know.

Best wishes,
-SpeepySoprt SpeepySport (talk) 23:33, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

(talk page jaguar) Could you link the specific article? I'm curious. Remsense ‥ 论 23:36, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Sure thing! It's the page for Door https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door SpeepySport (talk) 23:40, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Found it! The description is on page 162. Remsense ‥ 论 23:48, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Thank you so much! :D SpeepySport (talk) 00:09, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

@Remsense Thanks for finding it! I don't visit Wikipedia very often anymore, way too busy for that unfortunately, but I appreciate you helping him with the Needham reference. Happy holidays to you and to @SpeepySport, best of luck on Wikipedia, and I wish you all the best. Pericles of Athens^Talk 13:28, 12 December 2024 (UTC)

Least I can do! Happy holidays to you as well. Remsense ‥ 论 13:29, 12 December 2024 (UTC)

Exciting news!

Greetings, old friend :) It's been a hectic few months, but now that I've accomplished what I needed to, I plan on making my return to Wikipedia content. If you wouldn't mind shooting me a personal email via my user profile, I have personal news to share with my one of my longtime friends on Wikipedia. Take care, Unlimitedlead (talk) 21:46, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

@Unlimitedlead Hello there! Sounds great. I'm not really editing Wiki anymore, way too busy these days unfortunately. I should honestly put the semi-retired banner back up, which is sad, but I just don't have the time to commit to things like I used to given my new job and oddly renewed social life (strangely I have more friends now than I did back in high school, and I started dating a new woman, LOL). I'll give you my email for sure, though! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:48, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

@Unlimitedlead I said it via email, but I'll say it again here. Congrats, my friend. Proud of you! We're both busy, of course, but I hope to offer you help on any project that you're working on in the near future. I can still find some time for it despite my work schedule, dating, and social commitments. Whether or not I decide to put the semi-retired banner back up, I don't think I ever want to give up entirely on my role here as an editor. Neither should you! Let's stick it out together. Let's do what we can to improve history articles and lift them up to Good and Featured status! Cheers. Pericles of Athens^Talk 19:35, 25 January 2025 (UTC)

@Unlimitedlead Hi there! Hope you're doing well these days. I know you're busy with school, naturally, but if you could possibly take a look at the page for Augustus and lend a helping hand with some of the work there, I would be eternally grateful. It is one of my older FA articles that passed all the way back in 2007, and it is currently under FA review. There are some significant hurdles to cross in order to appease the editors/reviewers there, to make sure it keeps its shiny pristine FA status. I unfortunately don't have a lot of free time to address all of the concerns, but I have made a concerted effort starting today to add citations from at least one additional secondary source by Roller (2010). There are more to come! Hope to speak with you again very soon, my friend! And best of luck with your courses this year! Regards, Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:37, 22 April 2025 (UTC)

Featured article review for Augustus

I have nominated Augustus for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets the featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" in regards to the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 10:41, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

@AirshipJungleman29 Thanks for letting me know! Pericles of Athens^Talk 10:57, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

Discussion at Talk:Ancient Macedonians § Correcting Nature of sources section 176

 You are invited to join the discussion at Talk:Ancient Macedonians § Correcting Nature of sources section 176. SolderUnion (talk) 04:11, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured article review/Augustus/archive1

Sorry, I'm unlikely to get to this - like you, I edit less and less here. Let me know if there's a real crisis, but I don't have the level of sources for this you need these days. Johnbod (talk) 16:29, 18 May 2025 (UTC)

@Johnbod Hey, old friend! Thanks for letting me know. I understand the feeling, I barely have time for it, but since it's one of my Featured articles I feel compelled to salvage it. I'm using The Wikipedia Library and through it Cambridge Core to gain access to high quality academic sources. If for any reason you change your mind and feel like lending a helping hand in the near future, those are incredibly useful resources! Way better than trawling through Google Books in desperation (LOL). Thanks for all the help on other matters throughout the years, though. Take care and best wishes! Pericles of Athens^Talk 12:32, 19 May 2025 (UTC)

Thanks! You too. I think we have enough editors with real knowledge of he subject to do a better job than me; I'm more art history than history. Johnbod (talk) 02:16, 20 May 2025 (UTC)

The World Destubathon

Hello. You're invited to participate in The World Destubathon. We're aiming to destub a lot of articles and also improve longer stale articles. It will be held from Monday June 16 - Sunday July 13. There is $3338 going into it, with $500 the top prize. If you are interested in winning something to help you buy books for future content, or just see it as a good editathon opportunity to see a lot of articles improved, sign up on the page in the participants section if interested.♦ Dr. Blofeld 16:14, 1 June 2025 (UTC)

@Dr. Blofeld Hey there! Long time no see! It's a pleasure to know you're still around on Wikipedia. Sadly I cannot participate in this. I barely have time for Wikipedia these days, and what little time I do have for it is spent on improving the article Augustus, currently under Featured Article Review. For me that is priority number one, unfortunately, and until that's squared away I cannot commit to other projects. It could literally take me until August just to do everything I need to do there, since I can only spend a few hours a week on it. Thank you kindly for considering me, though! I hope you're doing well. Kindest regards, Pericles of Athens^Talk 00:33, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

Good article reassessment for Roman Republic

Roman Republic has been nominated for a good article reassessment. If you are interested in the discussion, please participate by adding your comments to the reassessment page. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status may be removed from the article. —GoldRingChip 21:28, 9 June 2025 (UTC)

Input requested

Hi, and sorry to bother you with this, but as one of the more knowledgeable editors in the topic area, could you please have a look at this discussion [1] and weigh in if you don't mind? Khirurg (talk) 18:37, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

@Khirurg Unfortunately not tonight and perhaps not even this weekend, but I will try to do so by Monday! Good to hear from you regardless and thanks for considering me. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:31, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

Take your time, glad to see you are still active. Thanks, Khirurg (talk) 22:32, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

A question for you

@PericlesofAthens: I've asked you a question at Talk:Horse collar § Citation style.   ▶ I am Grorp ◀ 18:30, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

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Revenge of the Seven Daughters

Hello Pericles, I hope life and semi-wikiretirement has been treating you well! A long, long time ago, I objected to you adding this striking image of a battle on a bridge that you uploaded to an article about a Three Kingdoms article. "Not very relevant," I said. Imagine my surprise when I found out the same motif was found within the newly-discovered Cao Cao Mausoleum years later! And that the story behind the scene was actually identified! I just had to write an article about it. Just wanted to share. Take care! _dk (talk) 08:38, 8 December 2025 (UTC)

@Underbar dk Hah! Well isn't that a surprise! Thanks for your due diligence. The article looks great! I'm glad you added the pic of the stone carved relief of the Cao Cao Mausoleum into the Revenge of the Seven Daughters article. Great stuff! I added the same pic to the Cao Cao Mausoleum page itself. As for my current work here on Wiki, I'm trying to save the article on the Roman emperor Augustus, one of my very first Featured articles (way back in 2007), since it is currently undergoing a Wikipedia:Featured article review process. Cleopatra and Mosaics of Delos were my latest featured articles, but those were promoted back in 2018 (I don't have the time to write entirely new ones anymore, sadly). I've been working on it since April! I'm also busy in real life with a job in AI and have Christmas season stuff to do with my girlfriend, friends, and family. I hope you're doing well these days, my friend! Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:02, 8 December 2025 (UTC)

Glad to see you're still contributing to Wikipedia in some way! Goes to show that one can never truly quit Wikipedia, for better or for worse, but Wikipedia is better off with your presence. I have always been amazed with the wide breadth of topics that you write here on the Wiki, as someone who mainly sticks within East Asian topics. I used to think that there is so much more about Asian topics we could cover here, especially compared to what we have about the West. Then I went on a trip to Greece this year and realized Wikipedia's coverage on Greece isn't that complete either! Thank you for all you do here to make Wikipedia and the world a better place, and a Merry Christmas to you! _dk (talk) 01:30, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

@Underbar dk Thank you kindly! For your comments and your commitment to improving Chinese history related articles and wider East Asian topics on Wikipedia. And merry Christmas to you too! Pericles of Athens^Talk 02:17, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Possibly useful for Augustus

There was a recent review of an edited collection on the early principate: https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.21/. Possibly useful for Augustus, though I would caution against adopting Wiseman's views whole cloth. Ifly6 (talk) 19:39, 17 December 2025 (UTC)

@Ifly6 Thanks for sharing this review by Heiko Westphal! As for Wiseman's chapter "Caesar Augustus: A Call to Order" in Kuhn's The Julio-Claudian principate: tradition and transition, I certainly wouldn't incorporate his views whole cloth into the article, but it's important for his input to be included, especially juxtaposed with Goldsworthy's analysis in the "Principate" subsection. For issues where there is clear scholarly consensus we don't need to highlight the opinions of individual scholars so much, but to me the inclusion of Wiseman's voice is simply presenting the reader with a proper array of academic opinions. I certainly wouldn't consider it an exercise in introducing fringe material to the article, especially if we limit it to one statement for readers' consideration. I think that's a well balanced and totally fair approach. I'll cite Westphal's review shortly and keep it suitably short. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:42, 17 December 2025 (UTC)

@Ifly6 Via Westphal's December 2025 review in BMCR, I have now added T. P. Wiseman's input about the contemporary popular perception and seemingly widespread approval of Augustus's principate and how he was not attempting to overtly disguise his intentions as princeps. It's certainly an interesting argument! Personally I would say that, regardless of the efficacy of Augustus as a statesman/reformer who brought stability, this argument by Wiseman is somewhat flawed given how most people wouldn't stick their neck out to criticize Augustus. If only for reasons of self-preservation, given his tendency as Octavian to be ruthless with his foes during the triumvirate, but also his tendency to exile people during his reign as emperor Augustus. I don't have a ready statement from a reliable source to counter Wiseman's argument, so I'll just leave it be and allow readers to infer what they will. Pericles of Athens^Talk 03:15, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Hi, I saw that you managed to get Sino–Roman relations promoted to Featured Article. That’s really impressive considering how far apart those two civilizations were, you still expanded the article so much.

I was thinking it might also be worth looking at Roman–Iranian relations. right now it’s just a stub, but the topic has a lot of potential and could definitely be developed further. ~2025-41429-12 (talk) 15:43, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

If there are any problems with the way I wrote this message, I apologize. Im not very familiar with wikipedia yet. ~2025-41429-12 (talk) 15:49, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Hello! That's a very good suggestion. Unfortunately at the moment I'm busy with Augustus and must focus all of my attention there for the time being. I will certainly consider your request, though, especially since I am the one who wrote and nominated "Parthian Empire" for featured status. ;) Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:58, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for your kind reply. I understand you are busy.

Wherever you are, I wish you success. ~2025-41665-72 (talk) 16:18, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

@~2025-41665-72 Thank you kindly! Very nice of you to say that. I have recently edited Parthian Empire and Arsaces I of Parthia, but I'm still largely focusing on the article for Augustus. Roman-Iranian relations will have to wait until sometime next year, I'm afraid, as I'll be busy for the holidays. I do intend to improve it here and there, though. Glad you enjoyed Sino-Roman relations! The topic of ancient Chinese and Roman interactions is an obscure but fun topic. Cheers. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:25, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

parthian empire

Hello. I noticed that you've made the majority of edits to the Parthian Empire article, so I thought it would be best to reach out to you directly. I recently came across a paper from the University of Tehran (one of the most reputable academic institutions in Iran) that discusses the origins of the Arsacids. It focuses on the question of whether they were of Parni or Parthian origin, and concludes that they were more likely Parthian, though it does not definitively rule out a Parni background. I was considering adding this perspective – alongside the Parni origin view – to the Persian Wikipedia article, but then I saw that the English version is a featured article, which led me here. Since you clearly have deep expertise in this area, I thought it would be best to share this with you first and hear your thoughts. And if you’d prefer not to include it, that’s of course entirely respectable.

The article is in Persian, but you can use AI tools to help translate the PDF (though AI isn't always fully reliable).

Btw you have a beautiful user page Wahbarz01 (talk) 09:57, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Hello! Thanks for the compliment and for bringing this article to my attention. I have it open now and am thankful that the abstract is at least in English. I'll translate the body of the article later when I get a chance, but unfortunately I'm starting work for the day, and will be busy this weekend. I'd be glad to include the cited input of the authors Hashem Kazemi and Mostafa Dehpahlavan in an appropriate section of the Persian and Parthian Empire Wiki articles when I get a chance to do so. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:50, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your reply and for taking the time to look into the article. I completely understand how busy work can get, so there’s absolutely no rush.

I really appreciate your attention to the suggestion and your willingness to consider it.

Wishing you all the best and a great week ahead.

Best regards: Wahbarz01 (talk) 15:14, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Although I had very little time to do it, you may be happy to know that I added the input of Kazemi and Dehpahlavan 2023 to the article Parthian Empire, in an appropriate place at the beginning of the prose body. Not sure if you wanted it added to the article on "Persians", though I find it to be less relevant there than the article on the Parthian Empire. Perhaps we should add it to Parthia as well? Also to the article on Arsaces I. However, keep in mind this is a fringe theory in academia, so I have made their statement very brief and only noted the argument for readers' consideration. I placed most info about their argument into a footnote. As for now I have to run and will unfortunately be too busy to address this again any time soon. Kind regards. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:03, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you very much for adding it so quickly; i truly appreciate the time you took despite your busy schedule 🙏. I fully agree with and respect your cautious approach and the way you presented it as a fringe view. Yes, I did not mean the Persians article, and adding it to Parthia and Arsaces I sounds perfectly reasonable to me whenever you find the time.

Many thanks again, and kind regards. Wahbarz01 (talk) 15:45, 20 December 2025 (UTC)

You're very welcome! Glad to help, and to provide readers with fuller perspectives about academic debates. I'll be working on Augustus a bit today, but I'll find time either today or tomorrow to incorporate Kazemi and Dehpahlavan's views into those other two articles. Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:57, 21 December 2025 (UTC)

I don’t know enough English words to express how grateful I am for your kindness. Even though the Augustus article has been featured, you still care about it, and that’s truly admirable. by the way, Merry Christmas in advance! Tonight is an ancient night in Iran, Yalda Night, which has a fascinating historical connection to Christmas. I find it so beautiful that, even from opposite sides of the world, we share this kind of cultural connection. You're truly the best

thank you for helps. Wahbarz01 (talk) 16:36, 21 December 2025 (UTC)

You're most welcome, thanks for the well wishes, and I hope you have a wonderful Yalda Night. Happy holidays to you as well! Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:52, 21 December 2025 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Happy to announce that I've updated the page on Arsaces I of Parthia to include the alternative theory. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:21, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

Oh, thank you so much. I just added the translation to the Persian article right now! Wahbarz01 (talk) 22:51, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 No problem! You're very welcome. Let me know if you'd like to collaborate on anything else in the future. And I hope you stay safe if you're in Iran. Also, apologies on behalf of Americans for the currently hairbrained president my country decided to elect. I hope relations improve sometime in the future after he's out of office. Warm regards, Pericles of Athens^Talk 00:39, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

I was truly moved by your message. thank you so much for your kindness and solidarity. Things here have been growing more tense each day. As of now (11 days into the protests), at least 33 people have lost their lives, including two under the age of 18. It’s heartbreaking.

I really appreciate your honesty about your country’s leadership. Whether the U.S. president’s comments on Iran are right or wrong, its clear he’s pursuing his own interests. much like what happened with Venezuela. But I’ve never confused governments with the people they represent. What matters most is the human connection, and I’ve always held deep respect and affection for the American people.

Internet access here has been severely disrupted, and I honestly don’t even know how I managed to open Wikipedia today.

Thank you again for your support, and for your kind offer to collaborate, it truly means a lot

With heartfelt thanks, Wahbarz01 (talk) 07:38, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 You're most welcome, and thanks for letting me know about your thoughts and your personal situation. It is dire indeed. I'm wishing the best for you and your family during these troubled hours. Also yes, the operation in Venezuela was shocking, but almost unsurprising given the sordid history of US involvement in Latin America over previous decades, especially during the Eisenhower and Reagan administrations. That sort of thing always tends to remind me of Mohammad Mosaddegh for that matter. Please let me know when things have calmed down and Internet connections are stable once more. I look forward to working on Iranian history topics with you in the future. Best wishes! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:21, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Hi, after 17 days.

Hope you’ve all had a good 17 days. Thank God I’m physically fine, nothing happened to my body, but mentally… man, it really hit me hard. I don’t even know where to start talking about everything that went down.

On the day the internet got cut, it wasn’t just the internet. All the local messaging apps, SMS, calls, everything was completely gone. I literally had no way to check on anyone’s safety that crazy, chaotic night, not even site comments were working. Every day without internet was causing businesses like $20.7 million in losses. People were trying to get online in the weirdest and most frustrating ways.

I didn’t have a business or anything, but the timing sucked: the school exams started right when the internet went down. I couldn’t access any educational videos and honestly messed up my exams. I couldn’t even focus on studying because I was just constantly checking news and events, so I ended up reading comments on a tech site that somehow was still online. And honestly, out of like 200 comments, every single one and even the news was sad and full of complaints. Reading those comments actually became my entertainment.

The internet cut put so much mental pressure on me and so many others whose only fun was online. I basically had no other distraction, and all I could see were official news channels that called protests riots, labeled people as terrorists, and only showed armed individuals constantly painting them as bad. It messed with my head so much that I actually started believing it.

On January 22, I was in the 2% who managed to get global internet back using a VPN and configs that people shared for free. It felt like they were testing something because it got cut again really fast. Then on January 24, with help from others who were like generous config sharers, I got a few configs and connected again.

Telegram felt like a dead, silent graveyard at first, but gradually videos from the protests started showing up. It was horrifying. I can’t stop thinking about the morgues full of bodies. I saw so many videos of officers shooting people, bodies riddled with pellets and blood, and it completely changed my perspective. I think some of you might have seen some of them too.

Before the 12-day war and the war itself, news in Telegram channels, usually run by people opposing the government, used to get negative reactions, but now everything’s changed. Most people there actually support foreign intervention, and I don’t think it’s because they’re unpatriotic, it’s because they’re exhausted from what the government has done to them.

Even now, regional movements smell like a new war coming. According to the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, a government-linked organization, the protest death toll is 2,427. For reference, during the Islamic Revolution from 1340 to 1357, there were over 2,800 deaths. The actual numbers now are probably much higher, but that’s what the official source says.

Meanwhile, the Iranian rial got slightly stronger. 1 USD went from 145,000 IRR down to 141,000 IRR. Schools were mostly closed for a few days in most provinces during the protests. For example, my school shut down for a full week because of “cold weather,” even though it wasn’t that bad.

Even now, the internet isn’t fully back. About 65% of domestic sites are still down. And the reason I’m even able to access Wikipedia is because they’re using a whitelist instead of a blacklist.

Ahh, I dont even know what else to say. I just know there’s so much I haven’t told yet. Sorry for the long text with all the scattered topics and for linking Persian sites. If you can, try translating them with AI, and make sure to read the comments. Wahbarz01 (talk) 16:41, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Btw in the article about the Parthian Empire, the infobox mentions that the Parthians reached their greatest extent during the reign of Mithridates II. However, this is incorrect. The Parthians actually reached their largest extent under Orodes II, during the Parthian invasion of 40 BC, when Jerusalem and almost all of Anatolia became part of the Parthian territory. Wahbarz01 (talk) 16:50, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Hello once again! It's a relief to hear from you. Thank you so much for letting me know that you are alive and safe, and for explaining your personal situation and the protests.

I have read about the chaos in Iran in the news, though American media where I'm located is currently hyper-fixated on Donald Trump's use of ICE to harass and deport immigrants, and in some recent cases they have killed American citizen protesters in places like Minnesota. The death toll is small for now and nothing like what is going on in Iran, but it has started. One protester was basically executed, an ICU nurse who takes care of US military veterans, and he was shot in the back while restrained by ICE agents who act more and more like Nazi Gestapo, or Revolutionary Guards I suppose. However, Trump hasn't attempted anything drastic like taking down the entire Internet, which would crush the US economy far more than his current tariff policy nonsense.

I'm sorry that you have to live in these dangerous and unsettling conditions. I hope you're able to finish your exams peacefully. I wish you and your family the best of luck in that regard.

As for the article on the Parthian Empire, I totally agree! The Parthian realm clearly expanded after 94 BC, especially given the 40 BC invasion. Also yes, they even installed a client ruler in Judea to replace the Roman one (very reminiscent of the Roman and Parthian tug-of-war struggle to replace client rulers in Armenia). I have amended the lead section's image caption to remove that erroneous comment. Thanks for pointing it out! Pericles of Athens^Talk 17:29, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

First i want to apologize for that long text, it was more like an essay. I know you’re really busy, and after sending such a long reply, I regretted it because I knew you’d read the whole thing and it would take a lot of your time.

thank you so much for your kind word, they really mean a lot to me. I just want to be honest, hope this doesnt sound weird:) you’re truly an amazing person. Even though we’ve only talked a few times, it’s clear how great you are in so many ways. I hope you’re doing well and succeed in everything you’re involved in right now. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you the very best.

I’ve been following the news in the America, especially since the government-aligned media are focusing on it to portray Trump in a negative light (Of course, I don’t have an opinion on this matter). Thank also for sharing your thoughts about the situation in the America , it was really interesting to read. I hope things calm down soon and that you stay safe and healthy. Please really take care of yourself

I really respect and admire the America and its people, and I hope one day I’ll get to visit and see it in person. Here’s to a brighter tomorrow for everyone, especially you! Wahbarz01 (talk) 22:48, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Many thanks, and same to you! No need for apologies. It's probably easier/safer at the moment to visit Europe, but I hope your wish comes true someday and that you get to see the US. I'd certainly suggest seeing the West Coast, Big Sur in California, very beautiful there. I'm one of those Americans fortunate enough to not only see parts of Europe and live there for a time (Northern Ireland, UK), but also see parts of East Asia, and even live in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan) where I served as a US Peace Corps volunteer teaching students English and training counterpart teachers at the same time. I can still speak some Russian and Kyrgyz as a result, and an ethnic Tajik neighbor of mine in the Kyrgyz Republic taught me some words in their Eastern Iranian language once, but I have since forgotten them.

Best of luck with exams, and I look forward to working with you on articles sometime in the near future. Be omide didar به امید دیدار Pericles of Athens^Talk 06:01, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

Principate

Hello @PericlesofAthens

Letting you know that it is good to see you back and working on Augustus. I'm not a very experienced editor but I did go through a long FAR for the Byzantine Empire until it was dislisted this year (despite this, it's now in the best shape it's ever been, just needs another push), so can I appreciate the work needed.

I took a break as I'm a pretty busy guy, but an editor recently pulled me back in with the Byzantine Greeks article with a long-running dispute that I'm trying to resolve (that started with the FAR work). For some reason not very logical reason, now I'm working on principate and want to let you know I recently copied the great work in the Augustus article under that heading. May do more of this as I expand the history section as I see the development of the principate as a system of government directly overlapping in the current Augustus article. By the way, you should know I've discovered the system is better termed "Augustan Principate" in the scholarship (versus Principate, which is a periodisation).

Sorry for the long winded answer to say I copied the text!

Best of luck on the FAR. Biz (talk) 00:28, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Hi, Biz! Thank you for letting me know about Byzantine Greeks! Sorry to hear about Byzantine Empire, that's a huge shame. You're right about the page looking much better these days. I think it's wonderful that my work on Augustus has allowed you to improve the page on the Principate. I could certainly provide further information from Southern 2014, Goldsworthy 2014, Galinsky 2012, etc. if you need any clarification on anything or want to expand on certain points further. If so, please let me know and I'd be glad to help! Cheers, Pericles of Athens^Talk 00:57, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

And also yes, thanks for letting me know about the copying of text per Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia! Pericles of Athens^Talk 01:10, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

My apologies that I did not attribute in the edit history per the standard recommendation so thank you for sharing that. What I can also do now is for any future copying -- you have a lot of good stuff that is very useful for the Augustan Principate the more I read -- confirm who the author was and specifically tag you. Would you like that?

Also, "Augustus Principate" -- that decision is based off the following article after a long search to find support.

• Cooley, Alison E. (2019-07-04). "From the Augustan Principate to the Invention of the Age of Augustus". Journal of Roman Studies. 109: 71–87. doi:10.1017/s0075435819000674. ISSN 0075-4358.

If you have any source to confirm or invalidate that, that would be helpful as this is an important decision to determine this. The research I've done on principate and dominate has unwittingly made me a specialist expert, but I'm no expert. (I have a habit of going a little too deep into the scholarship...) Biz (talk) 01:29, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Sure! That sounds good about future copying. As for the Augustus Principate versus later iterations, I don't see a problem highlighting this in the Principate article. As far as I know Cooley's views are not fringe ones per se, even if they aren't explored very often. Pericles of Athens^Talk 01:39, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Copying is now done. Used about 10% of the Sole Ruler section on top of the principate section! Thank you for your work, it's transformed the principate article faster than I imagined with perfect, well-sourced detail. Looking forward to reading some of these sources as well one day.

I do have one question, though. What are your thoughts on Jochen Bleicken? I notice you do not reference him in the article and put him as further reading. Biz (talk) 06:43, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Hurray! Congratulations, and good job! Looks good, and thanks for the attribution in the edit summary. Also, did you mean to get rid of the statement and citation by Wormersley 2005 in this edit? It's not an inaccurate statement and pretty much sums up the powers amassed during the second settlement in 23 BC (aside from the greater proconsular authority in the provinces and over the pomerium in Rome). Perhaps you thought it broke up the narrative flow? In either case, sadly, I have not had the chance to read the works of Jochen Bleicken! As far as the German classicists go, I have read works by Werner Eck, Klaus Bringmann, and of course Theodor Mommsen and the like (also Ernst Badian, though he was Austrian, not a German national). I don't think I've read any of the works by German Byzantinists, come to think of it. Quite frankly, if I had access to Bleicken 2016, I probably would have cited it! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:50, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Hi @PericlesofAthens thank you calling that out! While the statement is good, I assumed the new content covered it more accurately but good idea I will add it back in. My bad for not reflecting on it more after reading the Augustus article.

Regarding Bleicken, two years ago I came across a reference to him when hunting down a concept i was researching for the Byzantine Empire called Nomos empsychos, a fascinating topic that blends classical philosophy, medieval political theory, and historiography (also a concept Augustus explicitly rejected, for kingly reasons). Spent months looking for his book, only to discover it's out of print. Of all the scholarship I've read, I found his work the most refreshing so I've been keen to read his biography on Augustus. Hence the question! If you have time, it's a short read and you'll understand what I mean. Biz (talk) 15:31, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that and for providing a translation! I'll try to read it today, though I will unfortunately be busy all afternoon and potentially the entire evening. I'll certainly read it by tomorrow. I will try to hunt down Bleicken's biography on Augustus, since it would make a fine addition to the cited sources. Also, I'm editing the Principate a bit just to move things around a little, add a pic, add a link in the lead, and will end it all by just adding a bit of info about Augustus acquiring the office of pontifex maximus. Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:52, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Appreciate you contributing! I think principate needs to be more focussed as "age of Augustus" or similar. I want to read a bit more scholarship of course, but I'm basing this view due to "Theodor Mommsen and His Legacy in the Study of the Early Roman Empire: A Critical Review" by Wang Zhongxiao which looks like a good tertiary source and which aligns with Alison Cooley's proposal (2019-07-04). "From the Augustan Principate to the Invention of the Age of Augustus". Journal of Roman Studies. Biz (talk) 16:07, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Great find! Yes, by all means cite Wang in the article (by the way, Wang is his Chinese surname which appears before the personal name Zhongxiao in the Chinese naming convention, so the bibliography in Principate needs that correction, since it currently shows "Zhongxiao" as his surname). I enjoyed reading the rest of Principate considering how it evolved quite a bit after Augustus. I think the lead section perhaps needs to be expanded to reflect all the salient points in the article, but you're on the right track. Great job! Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:12, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Actually, I just went ahead and fixed it, since I was adding Bowersock 1990 anyway! Cheers. Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:16, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Thank you! As for the rest of the article, doing it in stages. Not there yet, still trying to scope the content. I prefer the lead work to come last but yes jumped the gun as it needed a big update from what was there before. Need to reflect a bit more on the content. Biz (talk) 16:38, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz I'm actually really glad you preserved a bunch of information in the Principate article, because just today I was warned on the FAR page that Augustus is now way too long at 18,000 words, per WP:LENGTH. Oh no! Such a shame. It will be delisted as a Featured article if I do not get it back under 12,000 words. That means some of the critical analysis by academics will have to be shoehorned and hidden away in footnotes, including some of the scholarly commentary on the Principate. Thankfully the full body of information can be seen in your article on that subject! Pericles of Athens^Talk 18:27, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@PericlesofAthens Don’t move that into the foot notes! That’s the good stuff!! I definitely think there are places you can cut words but also please also lean on principate to be a main article. You know best but also happy to help with this. Consider ~5k words yours on principate, with another ~3k to cover the post Julio-Claudian dynasty. Biz (talk) 18:38, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Hello again. I won't cut it too much, and will preserve most of it, but some details have to be moved into footnotes in virtually every section of the article to get it back down to an agreeable size, unfortunately. Let me know if you have any specific objections to certain edits. For instance, I used summary style for the third paragraph that was in the Principate subsection of Augustus and reduced it to a single but still substantial sentence instead. I'm also trimming some fluff and tangential details that exist in all sections, not just the "Sole ruler of Rome" one. I think the rules about WP:SIZE are very arbitrary and unfair, but those are the guidelines we have to observe, unfortunately, if we wish to retain the FA status of Augustus. Pericles of Athens^Talk 03:29, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

Hi @PericlesofAthens yes I feel your pain! Size is what triggered the Byzantine Empire FAR, we rewrote it because we had to, and ended up expanding the coverage significantly... and then we managed to cut down the words to under 10k. It's possible! (Though I credit the magician Airship for most of that.)

Part of the challenge is when you are the main editor/writer, you have an emotional attachment so you need someone else to do it that's detached. After going through that process, I now appreciate the rule generally (even though some articles, like Augustus and the Byzantine Empire, should be exceptions).

I saw what you did with the principate subsection, and that works. I suggest you keep doing what you're doing. But I also think there is an easier way. The entire Sole ruler of Rome section could become an article in itself. I discovered today "The Augustan Age" for the last 20 years has been the dominant phrase to describe this period. You could create a main article spin off with that title. Both Augustus and principate could then have summary style for that article. Just a thought.

https://academic.oup.com/book/32431/chapter-abstract/268753523 (https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190901400.003.0001). Biz (talk) 04:20, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz That's a great idea! You know what? I'll preserve what's there now in a new article called "Reign of Augustus", similar to my article "Reign of Cleopatra" for its main article Cleopatra (which I also wrote). After the split, I'll even expand upon it, and it would be great if you could help me flesh out the new sub article. I'll delay slashing any more of it for the time being until I get that new article started and sorted out. Unfortunately I'm super busy this weekend with my girlfriend, but I'll do my best to get things shifted over soon, if not tonight. Also, thanks for sharing that article on Oxford about the "alternative" Augustan age. Unfortunately I do not have access to it, but the abstract sounds very fascinating. Cheers. Pericles of Athens^Talk 04:31, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

@PericlesofAthens Awesome! The gods had this preordained. I have to say, I'm generally pretty busy myself. Which means at minimum, I should not commit to anything here. (But I do love learning and history so I'll see you there.)

Re age of Augustus: You can access it via the Wikipedia library in the Oxford collection. They do a survey of how its become common usage in scholarship (despite complaining about needing alternative views) A reminder to me of how much scholarship has consensus and yet the world does not know about it.

On a related question, I notice you've quoted Godldsworthy who is published by Yale Press. How did you get access to his books? I've bought too many due to this wikipedia habit of mine, if there is a way to access it for free for the few pages I need to validate in principate "other developments" section, that'd be ideal. Biz (talk) 05:40, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

I did it! Madman that I am, I just now created the new sub-article Reign of Augustus and linked it in Augustus, Outline of Augustus, Early life of Augustus, and the Wiki template for Augustus. Feel free to contribute to that article, where we can retain things and expand upon points in ways the main article cannot (now that we have to worry about size limitations). And thanks for letting me know about the Oxford collection. I will definitely check it out once I get the chance. Also, good question about sources: for both Southern 2014 and Goldsworthy 2014, I accessed them through my old university library, which is still in driving distance from me! If you need to know a particular point made by Goldsworthy feel free to ask me. Same for Southern! Her book is also a true gem. Pericles of Athens^Talk 07:04, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Hey, not sure if you got a chance to see my response, but I'm gonna let the people on the FAR page know about the article split. Let me know if you think we should add anything substantial to the new sub-article Reign of Augustus. Pericles of Athens^Talk 01:26, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

I saw, but yet to process it. Happy you did this: 7794 words! Well done sir. Solving the word count problem for Augustus, and creating an article that deserves to be a FA in it self. Biz (talk) 02:46, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Thanks for the encouragement! Also, a couple other reviewers pointed out that these are somewhat flexible guidelines, and that the article doesn't necessarily have to be under 12,000 words exactly. The WP:SIZE guidelines say that an article over 15,000 should almost certainly be trimmed and split into sibling/sub articles, not that it's a hard limit for determining the FA status of articles. It's only one consideration, and has to be placed within context (Augustus is a hugely important figure in Western history and must be given a comprehensive treatment that involves a litany of topics found in academic works about him). Pericles of Athens^Talk 03:52, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

@PericlesofAthens I still think it's a good idea to cut word count to make the content accessible. And especially in that section: it's become a whole focus of scholarship in itself. To be honest, the first two sentences of the "Principate" section do a great job summarising the "Sole ruler of Rome" section. You could make this three paragraphs summarising the main points and let people click to get the detail of his reign in acquiring power. Biz (talk) 05:14, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

Yep, I said as much to the other reviewers on the FAR page that I will continue moving some details into the footnotes. I will try my best not to move critical details into footnotes, and all the details of the "Sole ruler of Rome" and "Death and succession" sections are preserved in Reign of Augustus. The problem is that we only have an "Early life of Augustus" article and not one dedicated to his rise to power (i.e. from 44 BC to 30/27 BC). I almost don't want to touch that section until a new article has been made for that. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:07, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz In either case, thanks for the suggestions! Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:08, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Hi again! Just letting you know that I updated the article on Crisis of the Third Century with information about the Principate versus the Dominate. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:35, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

oOmmf! You know how to pull me back in. Will take a look at it now. Biz (talk) 03:51, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

@Biz Haha! Thanks, and if you want to see a bit more, check out all the various little tidbits I've added to the sub-article Reign of Augustus, where the juicy good stuff is located. Enjoy! Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:28, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

Good article reassessment for Architecture of the Song dynasty

Architecture of the Song dynasty has been nominated for a good article reassessment. If you are interested in the discussion, please participate by adding your comments to the reassessment page. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status may be removed from the article. Min968 (talk) 18:06, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 Hello! I'm busy with the FAR process for the article Augustus for the time being and won't be able to address this until February. I left a comment over there on the GAR page saying as much and a reviewer said this was fine. Thanks for the heads up! Pericles of Athens^Talk 03:25, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

@PericlesofAthens Thank you for your feedback. I always appreciate your articles and use them as a model. For many years (since I first learned about wiki over 15 years ago), you have always been a user whom I greatly respect. Min968 (talk) 16:16, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 Thanks! Much obliged and appreciated. I'm glad to know you have enjoyed reading my various articles. It'll take me some time to trim things down in Architecture of the Song dynasty, and provide proper sourcing, but rest assured I will whip it back into shape. The Wikipedia Library should help a bit in finding sources. It proved to be a huge help with the article I'm working on now, Augustus. Cheers and talk to you again soon. Pericles of Athens^Talk 04:23, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 Thanks once again for assessing and approving the GA status of Architecture of the Song dynasty. Much appreciated! I'll see to it one day that the Ming dynasty also has a suitable sub-article on Architecture of the Ming dynasty. Kind regards, Pericles of Athens^Talk 03:08, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

@PericlesofAthens Thank you. This is very good news for me, and it's worth the wait. Min968 (talk) 05:11, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 I finally did it! I created a new article on the Architecture of the Ming dynasty, though it is just a stub article for now. Feel free to add cited information to the article as you please. I've already provided links to it in several other articles. Pericles of Athens^Talk 18:43, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

WP:RX

Hi, you can download the first book from Anna's Archive here (you may have to use a VPN to access that link), no luck on the second one Kowal2701 (talk) 12:19, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

@Kowal2701 Thank you! I appreciate that greatly. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 17:06, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

@Kowal2701 I'm a bit confused about how the downloading process works there. Could you maybe walk me through it? I tried clicking on the recommended one at the top but the redirect page for it doesn't seem to actually include any download option at all. Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:31, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

Yeah it's not that intuitive. You click one of the "Slow partner" servers because they're free, wait the time counter out (usually 30 seconds or so) and click download. It'll either download a pdf which you can open like normal, or an epub file (on Windows it shows an Internet Explorer logo instead of a pdf logo). For the epub file it's easier to convert it to pdf using something like this. Lmk if there're any issues Kowal2701 (talk) 17:14, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

@Kowal2701 Thank you so much! It appears that a PDF version is now downloading and it is indeed slow, will take about 32 minutes total to download, but that's fine by me. I really appreciate the instructions. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 18:43, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

First settlement of Augustus

I think it would help to shrink the first settlement section. It is a little long, and of course the article length needs to be shortened anyway. Векочел (talk) 18:55, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Hi there! Thanks for helping reduce the WP:SIZE of the article Augustus through rewording. Believe it or not, I've already shrunk the First Settlement subsection, since the longer version is retained in the new sub-article I created called Reign of Augustus. Some of the information placed into footnotes in the main article previously existed in the prose body! If you can tinker with it a little bit that's great, but I don't necessarily want to remove more critical information from that particular subsection. Aside from that, I've tried to reword the "Marcus Primus affair" subsection, but I've had trouble doing that for the most part in a way that's more satisfying than how it currently stands. Pericles of Athens^Talk 20:49, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Still, the article length as of now is unwieldy, as the FAR reviewers have noted. I have done some fairly light copyediting, but I think it is best to leave certain things to the main editor. I have compiled a list of sections I thought were too lengthy and could use shortening and moving of material to the main articles under the relevant sections.
"Early life", "First conflict with Antony", "Perusine War, marriage alliances, and Brundisium", "War with Sextus Pompey and exile of Lepidus", "War with Antony and Cleopatra", "First settlement", "Conspiracy, titles, and the share of power", "War and expansion", "Early modern and modern perspectives" Векочел (talk) 23:11, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Yes, more work is to be done for sure, but also please keep in mind the concerns you are reading about on the FAR page were raised before User Ifly6 started a huge culling of prose body text on 12 January. He significantly reduced the size of the prose body in those series of edits on that day, and afterwards I also removed a bunch of information and shifted it over to the new sub-articles (and moved some bits into extensive footnotes of the main article). Nevertheless, I will see what I can do about reducing the size of the prose in the sections you have outlined, though the "Early life" section has already seen major reductions and shifting of material to the Early life of Augustus article. Pericles of Athens^Talk 05:53, 20 January 2026 (UTC)

I would also suggest you create a subarticle on Augustus's legacy, if you have the time. Векочел (talk) 14:40, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел I could maybe find the time for that, but I currently have open GA nominations for the Augustus sub-articles and a Good Article Review in progress for Architecture of the Song dynasty, which needs a major cleanup (part of my Featured topic on China's Song dynasty). I've been using one of my sandbox pages to rewrite most of that article. Are you suggesting this because you plan on reducing the size of the Legacy section significantly? Please reconsider. That's a touchy subject, because the Wiki user/reviewer "AirshipJungleman29" who started the FAR process mentioned the Legacy sections as one of the major reasons for initiating the review ("Not enough detail on legacy and assessment in post-classical politics"). It's okay to trim the article a bit, but removing details in the Legacy section will likely trigger certain editors to oppose the FA status of Augustus for not being comprehensive enough (reflecting what scholarship has to say about Augustus's legacy). Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:56, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

It's also probably worth mentioning that the Legacy section has already been trimmed several times in the past month or so. Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:03, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

In that case, the Legacy section will have to stay at its current length, although perhaps you might try to cut 500–1000 words from that section. As it looks now, the article as a whole is going to have a hard time meeting the 9000-word standard for length. Still, I would suggest you try to edit out some less significant detail from the sections I outlined above. Векочел (talk) 15:08, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Sure! I will do what I can to trim that section further, and cut 500-1,000 per your suggestion. As for the 9,000-word standard, that's a somewhat flexible guideline as users Ifly6 and UndercoverClassicist point out on the FAR page. Per WP:SIZE, it says the following for articles with over 9,000 words: Probably should be divided or trimmed, though the scope of a topic can sometimes justify the added reading material. As for articles with 15,000 words or more, it says the following: Almost certainly should be divided or trimmed. The Augustus article is currently between 9,000 to 15,000 words, so yes it is quite big, but not exceedingly big anymore, and falls within acceptable parameters per WP:SIZE, which does not use these word limits as hard cutoff points. Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:18, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел As promised, I have begun trimming the Legacy section for Augustus. Small note: the "page size" tool currently says the "prose" of the article contains 14,397 words, but that is inaccurate, since it includes the entire WP:LEAD section as part of the prose. The prose body itself is smaller (roughly 13,800 words), since the lead section alone contains 585 words. Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:32, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

Do you want some assistance in trimming the legacy section, as well as perhaps reducing the length of the article elsewhere? I intend on taking a break for a few days, but I will be back online next week. Векочел (talk) 15:02, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Hi! I think you've done a great job overall, thanks for all your hard work, but by this point I don't think the article needs more trimming. This was really the concern of only one reviewer on the FAR page. It was never an initial concern of the reviewer who started the FAR process, and the other reviewers view the issue as being more flexible, not a huge concern for the FA status of the article. It is more important to have essential details, coverage of salient points, and comprehensive coverage of necessary topics. The person who started the FAR process specifically said that the article didn't have enough details about Augustus's impact on post-classical politics, which I've since added and beefed up. Kind regards and talk to you soon, Pericles of Athens^Talk 15:16, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for January 28

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Architecture of the Song dynasty

added links pointing to Jin dynasty, Insulation, Khitan, Jurchen and Ventilation

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Min968

Hi @PericlesofAthens I'm not sure if you plan to write an article about architecture of the Ming dynasty. Min968 (talk) 05:39, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 Hi! Thanks for passing Architecture of the Song dynasty as a GA article after the reassessment. As for an article on the architecture of China's Ming dynasty, that sounds interesting; it never crossed my mind actually! I raised Ming dynasty to FA status long ago, but only fleshed out History of the Ming dynasty as a sub-article. However, I've got too much on my plate at the moment. I just started a new job, I've got social steady commitments for the foreseeable future, and my article on the first Roman emperor Augustus is still undergoing a Featured Article Review process. The work on it is basically finished, just waiting on reviewers, but in the meantime I've also started GA nominations for my sub-articles Early life of Augustus, Rise of Augustus, and Reign of Augustus.

Until those three GA nominations are passed, I won't be working on any other major projects. I was lucky to cobble together the sources I found for the Song dynasty article. For the Augustus project I literally took several trips to the library for research. I don't have time for that sort of thing now, unfortunately.

In the meantime, I might improve the Dai Temple article I just created (now featured in the Architecture of the Song dynasty article and several others). Pericles of Athens^Talk 06:12, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

@PericlesofAthens Thank you for your feedback. To be honest, I've long hoped you would continue writing about the Ming dynasty, just like you did with the Han or Song dynasties. Min968 (talk) 10:00, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 I'll find time to work on it some day. In addition to the Han dynasty, I also raised Tang dynasty to Featured status, though I never created any specifically Tang sub-articles. I only contributed here and there to some that already existed like Tang dynasty art, but never really touched Transition from Sui to Tang, and only edited Science and technology of the Tang dynasty once, though I wrote most of it since it comprises material that used to exist fully in the main Tang dynasty article (which became too large and got split up a bit). I might refocus my energies on the Tang and the Ming by the end of the year. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 13:09, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

@Min968 Hello again! I've created Architecture of the Ming dynasty as you might have seen already, and linked it in some articles. Feel free to add whatever you can to that article. I'm unfortunately too busy these days with other projects to expand it further, so it is currently only a stub article. I might have some time this weekend to add another section, if I can locate proper sources for it (on Wikipedia Library or elsewhere). Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:42, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Special Barnstar
	Your work on Augustus is exemplary. Bravo mate :D Plasticwonder (Cat got your tongue?) 05:28, 30 January 2026 (UTC)

@Plasticwonder Thank you so much for saying so! I'm honored. If you have time, check out the sub-articles I created on Rome's first emperor as well: Rise of Augustus and Reign of Augustus, as well as Early life of Augustus, which I have almost entirely rewritten. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:09, 30 January 2026 (UTC)

Octavian birth date

Can you please add details, perhaps in a footnote, explaining the dispute over the date of Octavian's birth? Thanks. Векочел (talk) 21:36, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Well, I did have that clarification footnote about Octavian's birthdate in the main article Augustus already, until some other picky editor decided to remove it along with a ton of other footnotes over WP:SIZE concerns. It still exists in the Early life of Augustus article where I moved it. You're welcome to move it back to the main article, but another editor might scoff at this and just remove it again. Shrugs. Your call! Best of luck. Pericles of Athens^Talk 22:35, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of Early life of Augustus is under review

Your good article nomination of the article Early life of Augustus is under review. See the review page for more information. This may take up to 7 days; feel free to contact the reviewer with any questions you might have. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of Matarisvan -- Matarisvan (talk) 10:04, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

@Matarisvan I'm busy this weekend, but I'll have time starting perhaps Monday or even Sunday night to review any comments you have for the article. Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:33, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Pericles, I will start my review on Monday then. Cheers Matarisvan (talk) 14:40, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

@Matarisvan Great! Talk to you then. Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:50, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Trimming the Augustus article

You might consider trimming the "War and expansion" section in the article on Augustus. It is one of the longer sections in the article. I would edit it, but I think it better to leave to your discretion which parts to keep and which to remove. Векочел (talk) 17:03, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Hi! Thanks for pointing this out. Yep, I agree the length is a bit excessive. Thanks for leaving it to my discretion! I'll make sure to copyedit it either today or tomorrow, though I'm very busy and might not have ample time to address it until Tuesday. Pericles of Athens^Talk 17:39, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Thanks for all your hard work improving and condensing the prose in Augustus, without removing essential information. I have reworded various parts of the "War and expansion" section to make it leaner and less verbose. It looks much better now! It used to be even larger, by the way, but all of the original material is retained in my new article Reign of Augustus, thankfully. Pericles of Athens^Talk 04:35, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

I plan on taking a break from editing the article for at least a few days. If you were to continue trimming "War and expansion" and other sections, I think it would please other editors. I do not think the article is too overly long, but I noticed that some editors have a different opinion. Векочел (talk) 09:23, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Thanks! You've done really good work on it, though I think at this point we can stop. My FA on Cleopatra is just as large as Augustus, and for that matter Alexander the Great is also 13,000 words. The 9,000 word limit in WP:SIZE is very flexible, the guidelines even say some articles can warrant larger sizes, but that 15,000 is simply too big. The article has entered acceptable waters, metaphorically speaking. It's really only one editor raising complaints, and he is being somewhat unreasonable in other regards, so I wouldn't take his input very seriously (the other editors there are also not agreeing with him, as you highlight). Cheers! Pericles of Athens^Talk 13:43, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел You may be interested to know that, in regards to Chinese history articles (which you edit here sometimes), I recently rescued Architecture of the Song dynasty from losing its GA status (it has been vastly improved lately), and just today I created a new article: Architecture of the Ming dynasty. I could use some help expanding it if you know anything about the Ming period or have sources for it. Thanks once again for all your work in helping to copyedit Augustus and ensuring its FA status! Pericles of Athens^Talk 19:40, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

With regards to Chinese history articles, I have mostly been reviewing various GAs nominated by Min968 and I do some copy-editing there where I see some issues. Unfortunately, I do not know of any specific quality sources for the Ming, but I think you might ask Min968 about that. Векочел (talk) 18:04, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Okay! I'll ask Min968, who I've been corresponding with for a while now. They just recently reviewed my article on Architecture of the Song dynasty for that matter. Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:29, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of Reign of Augustus is under review

Your good article nomination of the article Reign of Augustus is under review. See the review page for more information. This may take up to 7 days; feel free to contact the reviewer with any questions you might have. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of UndercoverClassicist -- UndercoverClassicist (talk) 11:03, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

@UndercoverClassicist Cool! Good to see you again. I look forward to the review. Pericles of Athens^Talk 14:30, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of Rise of Augustus is under review

Your good article nomination of the article Rise of Augustus is under review. See the review page for more information. This may take up to 7 days; feel free to contact the reviewer with any questions you might have. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of Векочел -- Векочел (talk) 21:04, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Hi once again! Thanks for starting the review of this article. Looking forward to it! Pericles of Athens^Talk 21:23, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

adding the megistanes to the Parthian article

Hi again, hope you're doing well.

The last discussion got pretty long, so I thought it'd be better to start a new thread.

What do you think about adding Parliament Mehstan (the Megistanes, the Parthian Council of Nobles) to the Parthians article? I think it's important since it's about a key part of their feudal structure and which was also influential in medieval Europe

or maybe even a separate article! Wahbarz01 (talk) 18:31, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Hello again! Hope all is well with you these days. Thanks for starting a new thread here. I will certainly consider adding the Megistanes, though I would need to locate proper sources for it online. Unfortunately I'm swamped with work this week and will be busy all weekend, so the soonest I could tackle this would be next week. Great idea, though! Pericles of Athens^Talk 20:54, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

@Wahbarz01 Hey there! I've been busier than I had anticipated lately, but I'm still committed to adding information about this to the article Parthian Empire. Also sending you and your family best wishes to please stay safe as my insane president has decided that he wants to start a vain and unnecessary war with your country to distract from things at home like his various crimes and the release of the Epstein Files. Hope you're doing okay, relatively speaking given the circumstances. Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:04, 28 February 2026 (UTC)

Augustus article

I plan to stop trimming the article once it gets down to 12,500 words. Although it's good to be concise, I don't think it necessary or useful to cut it down past that point. Векочел (talk) 20:24, 5 March 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Hi again! Yes, that's fine, and you're doing a great job condensing things. I also think that's a reasonable figure, though I think it's also safe to say we've trimmed all the fat from the article already. There's really only one reviewer who's made a big deal about the article size, and other editors are not sharing his concerns, plus pointing out that the guidelines are fairly flexible. We're very much in safe territory now per WP:SIZE and I don't think it will hurt the article's chances to maintain FA status. Pericles of Athens^Talk 21:12, 5 March 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел The article is currently at 12,783 words of "readable prose size" (including the lead section). I think it's safe to say we've whittled things down sufficiently, no? As always, though, great job! And thank you kindly for all of your help. Pericles of Athens^Talk 16:56, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

If the FAR reviewers are mostly happy with the size of the article, and you're happy with it, I think the article trimming can come to a stopping point. Векочел (talk) 17:33, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел There was only one FAR reviewer who brought it up as a serious point, and the others didn't care as much, bringing up other issues instead and pointing out that the guidelines per WP:SIZE are flexible, not rigidly enforced. At this point, though, we've gone above and beyond in terms of addressing their prose size concerns. Pericles of Athens^Talk 18:00, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of Reign of Augustus has passed

Your good article nomination of the article Reign of Augustus has passed; congratulations! See the review page for more information. If the article is eligible to appear in the "Did you know" section of the Main Page, you can nominate it within the next seven days. Please also consider reviewing somebody else's nomination to help keep the backlog down. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of UndercoverClassicist -- UndercoverClassicist (talk) 08:03, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

@UndercoverClassicist Thanks for the review! It was a pleasure. Pericles of Athens^Talk 11:43, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Your nomination of Rise of Augustus has passed

Your good article nomination of the article Rise of Augustus has passed; congratulations! See the review page for more information. If the article is eligible to appear in the "Did you know" section of the Main Page, you can nominate it within the next seven days. Please also consider reviewing somebody else's nomination to help keep the backlog down. Message delivered by ChristieBot, on behalf of Векочел -- Векочел (talk) 11:06, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

@Векочел Many thanks for reviewing the article! This is great news indeed. Your hard work and dedication to reviewing and improving history related articles on Wikipedia is also greatly appreciated, by me at the very least! Cheers. Pericles of Athens^Talk 13:54, 9 March 2026 (UTC)