The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337: A Sourcebook

Introduction
The sources
There is no history of the Roman imperial army by any ancient
author and little detailed examination of military practices. It is
indeed curious that one of the best descriptions of the army in war
and peace was written by Josephus, a Jewish leader of the revolt
against Rome in AD 66. Roman writers were in the main men of
property and settled respectability who feared the army as a threat
to public order and private wealth and looked down upon the
ordinary soldier, who generally came from the lower classes. So the
traditional respect accorded in Roman society to proficiency in the
military arts was concentrated on the person of emperors and
senatorial commanders, to the neglect of the working of the army
itself. Consequently evidence from our literary sources is deficient
in scope and chronological span, emphasizing the conduct of the
army in civil wars and individual battles. But here too ancient writers
often fail to provide a reliable account of army life, or the
development of military tactics, or the capabilities of Rome’s enemies.
They may have found these topics too dull or difficult, and a wish
to provide an exciting story has in many cases overlaid the real
features of a battle. A problem often associated with sourcebooks is
that extracts from literary sources illustrate an isolated opinion
without establishing the context of the work. But in the history of
the army this accurately reflects the often brief and allusive nature
of the comments of ancient authors. I have tried to explain difficulties
where appropriate in the text.
Roman army studies are well served by inscriptions, which illuminate
the careers of officers, soldiers, and veterans, the location and
movements of army units, recruiting and settlement patterns, the role
of the legions in road and bridge building, and life in military
communities. In particular, bronze tablets (diplomata) listing soldiers’