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The Late Roman Army
Using a full range of original literary sources, modern Continental scholarship, and current archaeological research, Pat Southern and Karen R. Dixon provide a stimulating overview of the historical period, the critical changes in the army, and the way these changes affected the morale of the soldiers.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 3, 2021
Most, if not all, depictions of roman soldiers tend to stick to Laminar armor, it is highly recognizable, has an exotic and yet industrious and uniform feel to it that instantly puts people in the right mindset. This is the Roman Legion.
However this was the Roman legion from the age of princeps augustus until roughly the age of chaos that was the 3th century. Few and far in between are the depictions of the earlier and later Roman military equipment. For the earlier form I would point to HBO series Rome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7MYl... for a later roman army I point to a graphic novel series by Ken Broeders about the enigmatic and spiritual emperor Julian (the apostate) https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostatav whose excellent work and beautiful art provided a nice checklist for things discussed in this book.
Talking about every subject in this book would not do it justice Pat and Karen did an excellent job of dissecting every aspect of the late Roman army, recruitment, training, weapons, siege warfare, military engineering and makes sure to link it to the political, societal and economic context of the times. In particular the chapter on the morale of the army is worthwhile endeavor to reflect upon. They use a wide array of sources from the literary to art to archaeological remains and provide more then adequate pictures, drawings and schematics to visualize it all. What I liked in particular is that they don't stop with the fall of Rome in the 5th century, the 6th century Justinian is presented as the last true Roman emperor and I agree. Sure maybe a few succors of him might still have looked beyond what was fast becoming the Byzantine focus (the eastern Mediterranean) but in effect Justinian was the last Emperor who had the ambition and perhaps the means of the Roman empire as redesigned by emperors Severus, Diocletian and Constantine all of whose reforms and impact is analyzed. What I found useful, was the usage of Justinian records and remains to help bridge the gaps in the 5th century, what did the Justinian forces do and were capable of engineering and tools wise, thus what had survived the chaos of the 5th century.
Although non scholars might not find this an easy book to read; the setup is for further research and that is why my somewhat lackluster score. It is an impressive piece of scholarly research but I do have look at reading enjoy ability and on that front it does not hit the mark. Nevertheless I do recommend the book for anyone interested in the time period be it for academic or mere fascination reasons. I would not be surprised that Ken Broeders might have used this book to help depict the Roman army in his masterful series, I cant imagine how else he would have known about the dragon head standard with the flowing tails used by the later Roman Army. At the times I thought it to be a little fantastical flavor element but I was wrong.
I might be tempted to purchase the book for my personal collection as it feels I can get more out of it then I have now. Might push this review to a fourth star if I do.
However this was the Roman legion from the age of princeps augustus until roughly the age of chaos that was the 3th century. Few and far in between are the depictions of the earlier and later Roman military equipment. For the earlier form I would point to HBO series Rome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7MYl... for a later roman army I point to a graphic novel series by Ken Broeders about the enigmatic and spiritual emperor Julian (the apostate) https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostatav whose excellent work and beautiful art provided a nice checklist for things discussed in this book.
Talking about every subject in this book would not do it justice Pat and Karen did an excellent job of dissecting every aspect of the late Roman army, recruitment, training, weapons, siege warfare, military engineering and makes sure to link it to the political, societal and economic context of the times. In particular the chapter on the morale of the army is worthwhile endeavor to reflect upon. They use a wide array of sources from the literary to art to archaeological remains and provide more then adequate pictures, drawings and schematics to visualize it all. What I liked in particular is that they don't stop with the fall of Rome in the 5th century, the 6th century Justinian is presented as the last true Roman emperor and I agree. Sure maybe a few succors of him might still have looked beyond what was fast becoming the Byzantine focus (the eastern Mediterranean) but in effect Justinian was the last Emperor who had the ambition and perhaps the means of the Roman empire as redesigned by emperors Severus, Diocletian and Constantine all of whose reforms and impact is analyzed. What I found useful, was the usage of Justinian records and remains to help bridge the gaps in the 5th century, what did the Justinian forces do and were capable of engineering and tools wise, thus what had survived the chaos of the 5th century.
Although non scholars might not find this an easy book to read; the setup is for further research and that is why my somewhat lackluster score. It is an impressive piece of scholarly research but I do have look at reading enjoy ability and on that front it does not hit the mark. Nevertheless I do recommend the book for anyone interested in the time period be it for academic or mere fascination reasons. I would not be surprised that Ken Broeders might have used this book to help depict the Roman army in his masterful series, I cant imagine how else he would have known about the dragon head standard with the flowing tails used by the later Roman Army. At the times I thought it to be a little fantastical flavor element but I was wrong.
I might be tempted to purchase the book for my personal collection as it feels I can get more out of it then I have now. Might push this review to a fourth star if I do.
August 6, 2024
A really nice sourcebook for students, and anyone that wants a general introduction to the late Roman army. I only wish this one used footnotes instead of in-text citations.
It starts with the end of the Antonines and usually stretches as far as Justinian. This period and its developments in terms of the army are placed into the “Fall of Rome”/“Late Antiquity” debate.
Sources include both textual and material sources and occasionally a remark on the historical debate.
The book starts with an overview of the transformation towards the general structure of the late Roman Empire in contrast to its earlier counterpart. From Constantine to Justinian, the developments are discussed in terms of topics such as barbarisation, administration, and structure.
It proceeds to outline the conditions of recruitment, following the earlier arguments to explain the prevalence of barbarisation in the West in contrast to the East. Additionally, archaeological information is given for the equipment of the army.
The following chapters on siege warfare and morale emphasise the shift in the of ways of warfare and its reciprocity with the changing army. The main argument being the combination of disastrous events leading to a lack of trained manpower, economical strain and eventually, the collapse of discipline which proved fatal for the army to function as a proper Roman army.
Some historiographical statements seem to be a bit outdated (or at least can be supplemented by newer publications), but this book covers the essential workings and important developments of the army extensively and systematically in ways that a Wikipedia read could never.
It starts with the end of the Antonines and usually stretches as far as Justinian. This period and its developments in terms of the army are placed into the “Fall of Rome”/“Late Antiquity” debate.
Sources include both textual and material sources and occasionally a remark on the historical debate.
The book starts with an overview of the transformation towards the general structure of the late Roman Empire in contrast to its earlier counterpart. From Constantine to Justinian, the developments are discussed in terms of topics such as barbarisation, administration, and structure.
It proceeds to outline the conditions of recruitment, following the earlier arguments to explain the prevalence of barbarisation in the West in contrast to the East. Additionally, archaeological information is given for the equipment of the army.
The following chapters on siege warfare and morale emphasise the shift in the of ways of warfare and its reciprocity with the changing army. The main argument being the combination of disastrous events leading to a lack of trained manpower, economical strain and eventually, the collapse of discipline which proved fatal for the army to function as a proper Roman army.
Some historiographical statements seem to be a bit outdated (or at least can be supplemented by newer publications), but this book covers the essential workings and important developments of the army extensively and systematically in ways that a Wikipedia read could never.
October 16, 2011
A wealth of details on the Imperial army in the twilight of the empire
December 21, 2013
Extremely detailed and well referenced, more academic than populist in style.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews