Roman Empire Fan loyalty was fierce and at times erupted into sports riots. Racing was perilous, but charioteers were among the most celebrated and well-compensated athletes. One star of the sport was Diocles, from Lusitania (present-day Portugal), who raced chariots for 24 years and had career earnings of 35 million sesterces. Horses had their fans too, and were commemorated in art and inscriptions, sometimes by name. The design of Roman circuses was developed to assure that no team had an unfair advantage and to minimize collisions ("naufragia," "shipwrecks"), which were nonetheless frequent and spectacularly satisfying to the crowd. The races retained a
RMS Lusitania exchanged between the U.S. and German governments. German Foreign Minister Von Jagow continued to argue that "Lusitania" was a legitimate military target, as she was listed as an armed merchant cruiser, she was using neutral flags and she had been ordered to ram submarines – in blatant contravention of the Cruiser Rules. Von Jagow further argued that "Lusitania" had on previous voyages carried munitions and Allied troops. Wilson continued to insist the German government apologise for the sinking, compensate U.S. victims, and promise to avoid any similar occurrence in the future. The British were disappointed with Wilson over his failure