The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

Chapter 7
The Late Roman Army
From the first to the third century the Roman Imperial army was a successful
mach i n e , su bj ect to occ a s i onal reor ga n i z a ti ons and su btracti ons and
ad d i ti ons of det a i l , but not needing sweeping reform s . Certain ch a n ge s
came abo ut in re s ponse to military pre s su re s , su ch as the strain on re s o u rce s
caused by the wars in the Danube regions under Marcus Aurelius. This emperor
employed commanders with reference to their abilities, rather than their social
ori gi n s , and thus he open ed up more military careers to equ e s tri a n s . Severu s
was more aggressive in his reforming zeal, preferring equites to senators in legi
on a ry and provincial com m a n d s , i n c reasing the size of the army, giving the
soldiers a pay rise, and reconstituting the Praetorian Guard. With Severus, the
winds of ch a n ge began to bl ow ac ross the Roman Empire , and by the end of
Diocletian’s reign a new world had dawned. A brief overview of what happened
to the army in its later life serves to round off the foregoing chapters, but it is
i m portant to note that while there is doc u m en t a ti on for the fo u rt h - cen tu ry
army in the pages of Ammianus Marcellinus and for the sixth-century army in
the works of Procopius, the major changes to the military organization of the
Empire took place in the fifth century, precisely the era for which there is hardly
any information. The result is that scarcely any conclusion about the late Roman
army can be made without debate.
Po l i t ical Devel opm en t s
The evolution of the Roman army was a reactive rather than a proactive proce
s s , s i n ce em perors and com m a n ders could not pred i ct ex act ly what was to
happen and did not have a blueprint for a steady progress toward the ideal military
machine. This evolution was accelerated during the third century, which
opened with the civil wars that brought Severus to power and closed with those
that created Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. Between these two events, the Empire
almost fell apart in 260 when all the frontiers collapsed, unable to withstand the
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