Topic 10: THE ROMAN ARMY
The aim of this topic is to carry out a study of the Roman army, by using documentary evidence (e.g. discharge diplomas, inscriptions, illustrations of Trajan's Column) and archaeological evidence (e.g. a fort and campsite study). Readings from literary sources should be used to illustrate the topic (e.g. selections from the writings of Caesar, Josephus and Tacitus, all available in Penguin Classics).
The topic should be approached under the following headings:
- the legionary soldier - his clothing, footwear, body armour and weapons, pay and conditions, diet
- encampments and legionary fortresses
- the army in action: command structure, discipline,sacramentum, standards, legions, cohorts, maniples and centuries, artillery and siege weapons, e.g. testudo,tactics, role in public works, e.g. building roads
- the army on the march: marching camps, baggage, reconnaisance
- triumph and ovation, including horse mail and trappings, gallantry awards and spoils
- specialist officers and soldiers: quaestors, pay clerks, centurions and optiones, surveyors, hospital officers and general care of the wounded, auxiliaries, the urban guard and praetorian guard
- religion in the army
- general understanding of the frontiers of the empire, e.g. Hadrian's Wall, Sahara Desert and main rivers - places of greatest concentration of legions and the reasons for this.
Further references
| Banks, A.: | A WorMAtlas of Military History, vol 1, Seeley Service, London |
| Caesar: | The Civil War, Pengiun Classics, 1976 |
| Caesar: | The Conquest of Gaul, Penguin Classics |
| Hodge, P.: | The Roman Army, Aspects of Roman Life series, Longman, 1977 |
| Josephus: | The Jewish War, Harvard University Press, 1993 |
Osprey Military Series (illustrated). Some books from the following groups might be useful:
| (1) Warrior Series | (2) Elite Series |
| (3) Men at Arms Series | (4) Campaign Series |
Plutarch: The Fall of the Roman Republic, Penguin Classics
| Rivet, ALF.: | Town and Country in Roman Britain, Hutchinson, London, 1964. |
| Stobart, JC.: | The Grandeur that was Rome, Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1948 |
| Watson, G.: | The Roman Soldier, Thames and Hudson (reprinting) |
| Webster, G.: | The Roman Imperial Army, Barnes and Noble, New York, 1994 |
| Wilkes, J.: | The Roman Army, Cambridge University Press, 1993 |