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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

I n t r o d u c t i o n 15 eign wars of conquest, he made certain that the military elements received little or no em phasis on this arch . Be s i des this del i bera te su ppre s s i on of too mu ch martial propaganda, the sculptural evidence is more misleading than ever, since the roundels and sculptured figures were taken from other, older monuments, chiefly from Trajanic and Hadrianic buildings of the late first and early second centuries ad. Therefore, the sculptures do not necessarily depict the contempora ry pre s en t a ti on of Con s t a n ti n e’s fo u rt h - cen tu ry ach i evem en t s , or his en emies, or his troops. Perhaps the most intensively and extensively studied monuments concerning the Roman army are the columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, with their con ti nuous sculptu red spirals doc u m en ting the Danu bian Wa rs of these two em perors . These rel i ef s c u l ptu res have been label ed strip cartoon s , but it is probably more pertinent to compare them, at least in terms of political and mili t a ry prop a ga n d a , with the Bayeux tape s try, wh erein Wi lliam the Con qu eror presented his pictorial narrative of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Every scene on these columns is worthy of study, and there is a large corpus of modern work describing every aspect of them from artistic, social, political, and military viewpoints (Lepper and Frere, 1988). Trajan’s Column commemorates the Dacian Wars of the early second century ad, which ended with the annexation of Dacian territory and its conversion to a Roman province, more or less co terminous with the bo u n d a ries of m odern Rom a n i a . The co lumn was ded i c a ted in ad 1 1 3 . The rel i efs spiral upw a rd from the base in a con ti nu o u s pictorial narrative, showing various scenes from the wars that presumably could be authenticated by the men who took part in the events. The many scenes on the co lumn show the army on the march , l oading ships, d i s em b a rking from s h i p s , c rossing a river on a bri d ge of boa t s , building forts and camps, fell i n g trees, fighting battles, besieging cities, having their wounds dressed, taking animals to religious sacrifices, listening to addresses by the Emperor Trajan. The rel i efs show the details of m i l i t a ry dre s s , a rm or, s h i el d s , a va ri ety of we a pon s , standards, and soldiers carrying their kit on poles. Different types of troops are included, possibly in stylized form. Not only legionaries and auxiliary infantry and cava l ry are shown , but also there are scale-arm ored Sa rm a ti a n s , s c a n ti ly cl ad Numidian hors em en , and clu b - wi el d i n g, tro u s ered , l on g - h a i red native troops fighting on the Roman side. Attempts have been made to recognize specific units known to have been in Trajan’s army. In particular, the native troops fighting with clubs have been equated with the numeri, small units not strictly cl a s s i f i edas the usual a u xi l i a , wh i ch are atte s ted on the German fron ti er and el s ewh ere , but it has to be em ph a s i zed that there is not en o u gh evi den ce to identify any of the troops represented on Trajan’s Column so closely as this. Another monument that commemorated the Dacian Wars of Trajan was set up in Romania itself, at Adamklissi. There are three monuments on this site— one a mausoleum that may not be of Trajanic date; an altar that commemorates
16 The Roman A rmy Trajan’s Column commemorates the Dacian Wars of the early second century ad. The reliefs spiral upward from the base in a continuous pictorial narrative, showing various scenes from the wars. (Library of Congress) a Dacian war, but because the name of the emperor is missing it is not securely dated; and the Tropaeum Traiani, or trophy of the Emperor Trajan. This is not a single column like the monument in Rome. The trophy was mounted on a flattopped cone situ a ted on a large dru m , with fifty - four rel i efs in panel s , or metopes, all around the drum. Although it is indisputably connected with Trajan, no one knows for certain whether it predates or postdates the column in Rom e . The sculptu res are mu ch more cru dely exec uted than the sharp ly detailed scenes of the column, and may have been carved by provincial sculptors. One scene shows a Roman soldier in chain arm or battling against a Dac i a n , who is armed with the notorious falx, a sword with a curved tip like a large bill-
Page 2: The Roman Army
Page 5 and 6: Copyright © 2006 by Pat Southern A
Page 7 and 8: vi C on ten ts Guard Troops: The Eq
Page 9 and 10: viii C on ten ts Britain in AD 83/8
Page 11 and 12: x The Roman A rmy and listened, to
Page 14: The Roman Army
Page 17 and 18: 2 The Roman A rmy new adversaries,
Page 19 and 20: 4 The Roman A rmy con tro l , co u
Page 21 and 22: 6 The Roman A rmy tives asking for
Page 23 and 24: 8 The Roman A rmy Bowman, 1983; Bow
Page 25 and 26: 10 The Roman A rmy the overall pict
Page 27 and 28: 12 The Roman A rmy Perhaps by way o
Page 29: 14 The Roman A rmy The inner panels
Page 33 and 34: 18 The Roman A rmy build up a pictu
Page 35 and 36: 20 The Roman A rmy freedom and inde
Page 37 and 38: 22 The Roman A rmy vers and battles
Page 39 and 40: 24 The Roman A rmy the tri bes of s
Page 41 and 42: 26 The Roman A rmy Titus Livius (Li
Page 43 and 44: 28 The Roman A rmy his work provide
Page 45 and 46: 30 The Roman A rmy Hyginus cannot b
Page 47 and 48: 32 The Roman A rmy 371 to 392 (Bran
Page 49 and 50: 34 The Roman A rmy a rmy, f ron ti
Page 51 and 52: 36 The Roman A rmy Prosopographia I
Page 53 and 54: 38 The Roman A rmy Rome was founded
Page 55 and 56: 40 The Roman A rmy supplies was vit
Page 57: 42 Map of the Roman Empire in the m
Page 60 and 61: The term p ro v i n c i a did not o
Page 62 and 63: H i s t o r i c a l Ba c k g r o u
Page 66 and 67: Ancient sources for the regal perio
Page 74 and 75: intended to keep to himself, as wel
Page 76 and 77: Sharing power with a colleague was
Page 78 and 79: set the total at 600, a figure that
Page 80 and 81:
The principal duties of the consuls
Page 82 and 83:
the ri ght of i n terce s s i o, or
Page 84 and 85:
H i s t o r i c a l Ba c k g r o u
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
During the Republic there were two
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
The Army of the Roman Republic Chap
Page 104 and 105:
class (classis means “calling”)
Page 106 and 107:
n euvers but could also provi de ac
Page 108 and 109:
total of 600 men, but the numbers o
Page 110 and 111:
tilius Rufus, had assembled an army
Page 112 and 113:
The Roman A rmy 97 Roman soldiers e
Page 114 and 115:
have been awarded its title Victrix
Page 116 and 117:
as h a s t a tus po s teri o r, t h
Page 118 and 119:
The Roman A rmy 103 There was no ex
Page 120 and 121:
of the ba ll i s t a ri i , u n der
Page 122 and 123:
From time to time soldiers could lo
Page 124 and 125:
The Roman A rmy 109 Standardization
Page 126 and 127:
The military records were scru p u
Page 128 and 129:
The Roman A rmy 113 Local provision
Page 130 and 131:
nu s , h ad been sent to ga t h er
Page 132 and 133:
The Roman A rmy 117 wise at the acc
Page 134 and 135:
Troops in Rome: The Urban Cohorts a
Page 136 and 137:
The Roman A rmy 121 constantly move
Page 138 and 139:
L i ke the ju n i or of f i cers in
Page 140 and 141:
these were the legionary centurions
Page 142 and 143:
The Roman A rmy 127 The normal tour
Page 144 and 145:
the other five were equestrian trib
Page 146 and 147:
Recruitment Ot h er Ra n k s The Ro
Page 148 and 149:
ashing. For the majority of recruit
Page 150 and 151:
The Roman A rmy 135 Ha n n i b a l
Page 152 and 153:
chosen, or whether they had to appl
Page 154:
The Roman A rmy 139 Ch ee s m a n ,
Page 157 and 158:
142 The Roman A rmy manders usually
Page 159 and 160:
144 The Roman A rmy original recrui
Page 161 and 162:
146 The Roman A rmy from battle, le
Page 163 and 164:
148 The Roman A rmy unit prob a bly
Page 165 and 166:
150 The Roman A rmy Alaudae (the la
Page 167 and 168:
152 The Roman A rmy does not imply
Page 169 and 170:
154 The Roman A rmy mental chronolo
Page 171 and 172:
156 The Roman A rmy the knee , but
Page 173 and 174:
158 The Roman A rmy verted bowl mad
Page 175 and 176:
160 The Roman A rmy Holidays and Ob
Page 177 and 178:
162 The Roman A rmy The purely mili
Page 179 and 180:
164 The Roman A rmy m i s s i o) .
Page 181 and 182:
166 The Roman A rmy skirts are laid
Page 183 and 184:
168 The Roman A rmy As noted above,
Page 186 and 187:
Chapter 5 The Roman Army at War Doc
Page 188 and 189:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 173 ref u s
Page 190 and 191:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 175 Soldier
Page 192 and 193:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 177 Undated
Page 194 and 195:
Map showing the locations of the fr
Page 196 and 197:
Plan of Wallsend fort, which stood
Page 198 and 199:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 183 Arch of
Page 200 and 201:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 185 the fro
Page 202 and 203:
tail, chiefly from Britain and to s
Page 204 and 205:
• Mules carrying the sections of
Page 206 and 207:
On the march, the eight men of a c
Page 208 and 209:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 193 Tem por
Page 210 and 211:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 195 The Rom
Page 212 and 213:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 197 could t
Page 214 and 215:
t h em . A good example of this is
Page 216 and 217:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 201 ti on c
Page 218 and 219:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 203 closely
Page 220 and 221:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 205 the wal
Page 222 and 223:
The Roman A rmy at Wa r 207 36 bc,
Page 224 and 225:
Chapter 6 Tools of War We a pon r y
Page 226 and 227:
shield unwieldy and therefore usele
Page 228 and 229:
spatha in an archaeological dig doe
Page 230 and 231:
Engraving after The Catapult by Edw
Page 232 and 233:
took rep l ace a ble spri n gs so t
Page 234 and 235:
Tools of Wa r 219 animals by foragi
Page 236 and 237:
Tools of Wa r 221 down to 5,000 men
Page 238 and 239:
Tools of Wa r 223 and Tiberius as t
Page 240 and 241:
individual soldiers or were corpora
Page 242 and 243:
Tools of Wa r 227 3 5 . 2 - 4 ) . G
Page 244 and 245:
e s pon den ce , dealt with em b a
Page 246 and 247:
Tools of Wa r 231 s en t . As Po ly
Page 248 and 249:
their own decisions about how to re
Page 250 and 251:
Tools of Wa r 235 Several of the at
Page 252 and 253:
V-shaped cut, and if the bullet is
Page 254 and 255:
the majori ty being the legi on a r
Page 256 and 257:
Tools of Wa r 241 Title page of a m
Page 258:
Tools of Wa r 243 Dixon, Karen R.,
Page 261 and 262:
246 The Roman A rmy The hard-presse
Page 263 and 264:
248 The Roman A rmy of the late thi
Page 265 and 266:
250 The Roman A rmy ing the third c
Page 267 and 268:
252 Map of the later Roman Empire r
Page 269 and 270:
254 The Roman A rmy Danube may owe
Page 271 and 272:
256 The Roman A rmy ti ons should c
Page 273 and 274:
258 The Roman A rmy PROFITEERING IN
Page 275 and 276:
260 The Roman A rmy of ad 366 refer
Page 277 and 278:
262 The Roman A rmy In the later Ro
Page 279 and 280:
264 The Roman A rmy The late Roman
Page 282 and 283:
Chapter 8 Great Soldiers and Battle
Page 284 and 285:
iography surely starts with him, an
Page 286 and 287:
G r e at S o l d i e r s a n d B at
Page 288 and 289:
Page 290 and 291:
Page 292 and 293:
Page 294 and 295:
The greatest general of his day, Po
Page 296 and 297:
Page 298 and 299:
Page 300 and 301:
Page 302 and 303:
Page 304 and 305:
Page 306 and 307:
Page 308 and 309:
scription comes from the pen of Sue
Page 310 and 311:
Page 312 and 313:
Page 314 and 315:
Page 316 and 317:
Page 318 and 319:
Page 320 and 321:
Page 322 and 323:
tri be s , he cut of f the hands of
Page 324 and 325:
ing one cohort from the third line
Page 326 and 327:
Page 328 and 329:
Page 330 and 331:
conquered the rest of Britain after
Page 332 and 333:
Page 334 and 335:
Page 336 and 337:
e fe r e n c e s a n d f u r t h e
Page 338 and 339:
Chapter 9 Current Assessment Ma j o
Page 340 and 341:
C u r r e n t A s s e s s m e n t 3
Page 342 and 343:
C u r r e n t A s s e s s m e n t 3
Page 344 and 345:
of Rom a n s , provi n c i a l s ,
Page 346 and 347:
Appendix Rank Structure in the Roma
Page 348 and 349:
160 men. The five centurions were r
Page 350 and 351:
Glossary acetum: sour wine ad signa
Page 352 and 353:
G l o s s a ry 337 constitutio anto
Page 354 and 355:
G l o s s a ry 339 in command to a
Page 356:
G l o s s a ry 341 tribunus plebis:
Page 359 and 360:
344 B i b l i o g r a p h y PBSR Pa
Page 361 and 362:
346 B i b l i o g r a p h y Develin
Page 363 and 364:
348 B i b l i o g r a p h y Robinso
Page 366 and 367:
Index A note on Roman names: the Ro
Page 368 and 369:
Arch of Severus, 14, 107, 321 (phot
Page 370 and 371:
Black Sea, 241 Block-and-tackle, 23
Page 372 and 373:
Cavalry, 91-92, 93, 94, 101-102, 14
Page 374 and 375:
Cornelius Celsus, Aulus, 236-237 Co
Page 376 and 377:
Elections, 2 Elginhaugh, 223 Elite
Page 378 and 379:
and transmission of orders, 203 Gen
Page 380 and 381:
Javelin. See Pilum Javolenus Priscu
Page 382 and 383:
Librarii, 105, 333 Liccaius (rival
Page 384 and 385:
and treatment of wounds, 236-237 an
Page 386 and 387:
Patrimonium, 74-75, 78 Pax Romana,
Page 388 and 389:
Pulcher, Commander under Arrian, 20
Page 390 and 391:
Senate, 59 and decision to go to wa
Page 392 and 393:
water, 111, 114, 221 See also Food
Page 394 and 395:
See also Food supply; Supplies Trea
Page 396:
and Praetorians, 117 and Urban Coho
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?