The Imperial Roman Army

Yann Le Bohec

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135955137
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia antigua

The Emperor Augustus believed that the Roman army occupied a crucial lace at the heart of the empire and it was he who made it a fully professional force. This book looks at the structure and development of the army between the Republic and the Late Empire, examining why the army has always been accorded such a prominent position in the history of the Roman Empire, and whether that view is justified.
The book is divided into three sections. The author first examines the major divisions of army organization - the legions, the auxiliary units, the fleet - and how the men were recruited. Secondly he looks at what the army did - the training, tactics and strategy. Finally he considers the historical role of the army - how it fitted into Roman society, of which it was only part, and what influence it had economically and politically.
In exploring these themes, the author gives equal weight to epigraphic, documentary and archaeology evidence. With tables summarizing detailed information, Yann Le Bohec provides a synthesis of current knowledge of the Roman army from the first to the third century AD, putting it in its context as part of the state structure of the Roman Empire.

NOTES

Notes to Introduction

1 Suetonius, Augustus XXIII,4.

2 Y. Garlan, La guerre dans l’Antiquité, 1972; J. Harmand, La guerre antique, de Sumer à Rome, 1973.

3 G.R. Watson, The Roman Soldier, 1969; G. Webster, The Roman Imperial Army, 1969. Most recently M. Bishop and J.C.N. Coulston, Roman Military Equipment, 1993.

4 See Conclusion.

5 See ch. 5, pt. II.

6 P. Petit, La paix romaine, 1967.

7 Y. Garlan, p. 3.

8 P. Veyne, Le pain et le cirque, 1976.

9 In a work as general as this it is not possible to make systematic use of prosopography or onomastics; see Y. Le Bohec, La IIIe Légion Auguste, 1989.

10 V. Giuffre, La letteratura ‘De Re Militari’, 1974.

11 A. Neumann, Classical Philology 41, 1946, 217–25.

12 Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (henceforth CIL), esp. xvi and supplement; L’Année épigraphique; M. Roxan, Roman Military Diplomas, 1978 and 1985,

13 H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae no. 2341.

14 P. Le Roux, L’armée romaine … des provinces ibériques, 1982, p. 28.

15 J.-J. Hatt, La tombe gallo-romaine, 1951; M. Clauss, Principales, 1973, pp. 114–15 and Epigraphica 35, 1973, 55–95; J.-M. Lassére, Antiquités Africa aines 7, 1973, 7–151.

16 M. Clauss, loc. cit.; D.B. Saddington, VIe Congrès international d’épigraphie, 1973, pp. 538–40, and Aufstieg II,3, 1975, pp. 176–201; Y. Le Bohec op. cit.

17 R.O. Fink, TAPA 84, 1953, 210–15.

18a H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, Roman Imperial Coinage I-IV, 1923–1933, and Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum I, 1923-.

18b R.O. Fink, Roman Military Records on Papyrus, 1971.

19 Y. Le Bohec, pp. 81–116.

20 A. Poidebard, La trace de Rome dans le désert de Syrie, 1934; J. Baradez, Fossatum Africae, 1949.

21 La vie mystérieuse des chefs-d’oeuvre. La science au service de l’art, 1980, p. 248 (Roman surveying around Montélimar).

22 See Pt. III, ch. 9.

23 Ch. Ardant du Picq, Études sur le combat, 1903, p. 1.

24 Matthew 8, 5–13, Luke 7, 1–10; Josephus, Jewish War IV, 8, 1 (442); Talmud of Jerusalem, Baba Qama III,3.

25 Pliny the Younger, Letters x, 74.

26 Pliny, Letters x, 19–20 and 77–78; CIL VIII, no. 18122; Cassius Dio, LXXVI,10; Historia Augusta: Septimius Severus XVIII,6.

27 HA: Caracalla III, IV, VIII 4 and 8.

28 Pliny x, 19–20; Talmud, Yebamoth XVI,5.

29 Pliny x, 21–2 and 27–8.

30 See Pt. III ch. 9.

31 Tacitus, Annals IV,41,3 (the official post is called cursus publicus).

32 Theodosian Code IV,14,3 (portorium); there is no evidence that soldiers were involved with other taxes.

33 P. Le Roux, pp. 119–21.

34 See Pt. III chs 8, 9.

Notes to chapter 1: The divisions of the army

1 Tacitus, Annals IV,4,5 and 5.

2 M. Durry, Les cohortes prétoriennes, 1939; A. Passerini, Le coorti pretorie, 1939.

3 Pseudo-Hyginus, De Munitione Castrorum, VI-VIII.

4 Tacitus, Annals IV,5,5; Cassius Dio LVII,19,6.

5 See L’Année épigraphique 1980, no. 24.

6 Herodian 1I1,13,4;...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Plates
• Introduction
• I Organization of the Army
• II The Activities of the Army
• III The Role of the Army in the Empire
• Notes
• Summary Bibliography
• Index of Names
• Index of Subjects