Commanders and Command in the Roman Republic and Early Empire


Book Description

In this work, Fred Drogula studies the development of Roman provincial command using the terms and concepts of the Romans themselves as reference points. Beginning in the earliest years of the republic, Drogula argues, provincial command was not a uniform concept fixed in positive law but rather a dynamic set of ideas shaped by traditional practice. Therefore, as the Roman state grew, concepts of authority, control over territory, and military power underwent continual transformation. This adaptability was a tremendous resource for the Romans since it enabled them to respond to new military challenges in effective ways. But it was also a source of conflict over the roles and definitions of power. The rise of popular politics in the late republic enabled men like Pompey and Caesar to use their considerable influence to manipulate the flexible traditions of military command for their own advantage. Later, Augustus used nominal provincial commands to appease the senate even as he concentrated military and governing power under his own control by claiming supreme rule. In doing so, he laid the groundwork for the early empire's rules of command.




Rome's Armies to the Death of Augustus


Book Description

National armies, as we know them today, are a comparatively recent development. It has been assumed that the Romans had an army similar to the national institutions of advanced, almost exclusively European, powers at the end of the nineteenth century. But the assumption was wrong as is the belief that changes seen in the armies can be explained because the Romans “reformed” their armies. Up to the death of Augustus, the Romans had no permanent military forces. Roman armies were raised for particular campaigns and disbanded at their conclusion. Repeated campaigns were conducted in places like northern Italy and Spain but the armies were always disbanded. These armies were not seen by Romans as part of a national institution as modern armies are; they were simply a part of the life of a Roman citizen, like religion or elections. These armies were more like a militia than a national army. There is little evidence even of systematic training and what changes can be detected can be better explained by contingent adaptation to circumstances rather than “reform”. The emperor Augustus is commonly seen as the originator of the imperial armies but it was an unintended outcome of a long life.




Conflict in Ancient Greece and Rome [3 volumes]


Book Description

The complex role warfare played in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations is examined through coverage of key wars and battles; important leaders, armies, organizations, and weapons; and other noteworthy aspects of conflict. Conflict in Ancient Greece and Rome: The Definitive Political, Social, and Military Encyclopedia is an outstandingly comprehensive reference work on its subject. Covering wars, battles, places, individuals, and themes, this thoroughly cross-referenced three-volume set provides essential support to any student or general reader investigating ancient Greek history and conflicts as well as the social and political institutions of the Roman Republic and Empire. The set covers ancient Greek history from archaic times to the Roman conquest and ancient Roman history from early Rome to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE. It features a general foreword, prefaces to both sections on Greek history and Roman history, and maps and chronologies of events that precede each entry section. Each section contains alphabetically ordered articles—including ones addressing topics not traditionally considered part of military history, such as "noncombatants" and "war and gender"—followed by cross-references to related articles and suggested further reading. Also included are glossaries of Greek and Latin terms, topically organized bibliographies, and selected primary documents in translation.




Eurasian Empires in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages


Book Description

A comparative and interdisciplinary study of ancient and medieval Eurasian empires using historical, philological and archaeological evidence.




Leadership and Initiative in Late Republican and Early Imperial Rome


Book Description

This volume breaks new ground by exploring how the political actors of different formal statuses, age, and gender were able to “take the lead” in ancient Rome through initiating communication, proposing new solutions, and prompting others to act.




The Fall of the Roman Empire


Book Description

What caused the fall of Rome? Since Gibbon's day scholars have hotly debated the question and come up with the answers ranging from blood poisoning to immorality. In recent years, however, the most likely explanation has been neglected: was it not above all else a military collapse? Professor Ferrill believes it was, and puts forth his case in this provocative book.




Provinces and Provincial Command in Republican Rome: Genesis, Development and Governance


Book Description

When the Roman Republic became the master of an overseas empire, the Romans had to adapt their civic institutions so as to be able to rule the dominions that were successively subjected to their imperium. As a result, Rome created an administrative structure mainly based on an element that became the keystone of its empire: the provincia. This book brings together nine contributions from a total of ten scholars, all specialists in Republican Rome and the Principate, who analyse from diverse perspectives and approaches the distinct ways in which the Roman res publica constituted and ruled a far-flung empire. The book ranges from the development of the Roman institutional structures to the diplomatic and administrative activities carried out by the Roman commanders overseas. Beyond the subject on which each author focuses, all chapters in this volume represent significant and renewed contributions to the study of the provinces and the Roman empire during the Republican period and the transition to the Principate.




The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic


Book Description

This second edition examines all aspects of Roman history, and contains a new introduction, three new chapters and updated bibliographies.




Politics in the Roman Republic: Perspectives from Niebuhr to Gelzer


Book Description

Politics in the Roman Republic rewrites the field’s modern historiographical narrative through critical re-examinations of four foundational historians: Barthold Niebuhr, Theodor Mommsen, Friedrich Münzer, and Matthias Gelzer. Each chapter traces these scholars’ impact and offers novel (re)interpretations of their enduring frameworks, conceptual and methodological alike.




The ›magister equitum‹ in the Roman Republic


Book Description

The magister equitum, a subordinate to the Roman dictator during the Roman Republic, has been little studied to-date, in part due to the scattered and antiquarian nature of the evidence. This book addresses this gap by providing a definitive description and analysis of the office, focusing on three core questions: first, and most importantly, what were the powers and role of the office?; second, what senatorial rank did the magister equitum have?; finally, how did the magister equitum evolve under the first century BCE dictators, Sulla and Caesar? The book engages with recent advances in understanding the constitutional foundations and development of the Republican state to re-assess the role played by the office and its occupants in crucial moments of Roman history. It argues that the magister equitum was, and was understood by Romans to be, a central and significant part of the Roman Republican constitution.