Customer Reviews

Making of the Roman Army

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book for a graduate course in Roman history.

The glory that was Rome came with a price. Some historians have said at too high a price--the fall of the Republic and the reinstitution of a monarchy. This political change came about for two important reasons. The first reason was that the political structure of the Republic could no longer adequately serve Rome's expanding empire in the last century BCE. Secondly, politically ambitious generals facilitated changes in Rome's military structure from a volunteer force to a professional force. This change gave them total control over the military, which they used to usurp the political power of the Senate. This precipitated the bloody political revolution, changing the government from a republic to a dictatorship and eventually a monarchy.

The goal of this book is to examine the importance of the development and the effect that a professional army had on the downfall of the Roman Republic. The focus of this book includes such topics as how the Roman army developed from a volunteer force into a professional, mercenary force, created by generals and politicians who coveted power. Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, Mark Antony, and Augustus are four examples of men drunk with power who plunged Rome into Civil War to wrest power from a weak Senate, which proved to be inadequate in coping with the intricacies of a burgeoning empire. In addition, this book examines how by changing the traditional pay structure, bonuses, and retirement payments made to the legions, these politically ambitious generals changed the traditional allegiance that the legions had to the Republic and essentially not only bought their services, but also brought the legions under their control for their own personal and political gain. This book proves that the successful subversion of the Roman Legion's structure for personal gain had a direct correlation in the downfall of the Republic and the rise of a permanent monarchy.

Rome had an army from its earliest beginnings as a small city-state. There is little known of the structure of the military in early Roman history. Lawrence Keppie did a masterful job of compiling the first solid information that has survived through history regarding Rome's military. "At first, military service in the Roman Army entailed a man being away from his home...for a few weeks or months over the summer. The campaign season opened in March and closed in October, as official festivals in the Roman calendar make clear." Keppie also did vital work in explaining the military importance for Rome in the Servian Constitution. Servius Tullius was the sixth king of Rome who reigned from about 580-530 BCE. Servius instituted many reforms in both the political and military structures of Rome which were codified in the Sevian Constitution. He conducted the first census of the citizenry and used this information to divide the population into classes based on wealth. The class structure was then used both politically for voting classification and militarily to determine in what portion of the legion a man would serve in to defend Rome. The men were organized into centuries (hundreds) within the class structure. Militarily, the class ranking was based on wealth, which determined where a man would serve in the legion based on his ability to provide his own weapons and equipment. The wealthiest class in Roman society served in the equites or the Roman cavalry, of which there were eighteen centuries. Obviously, these men had the financial ability to provide their own horses. The majority of the population was divided into five classes who served in the infantry. Men who had no property had no military obligation. The military tactics used were similar to the Greek hoplite formation.

"Members of the `first class' were to be armed with a bronze cuirass, spear, sword, shield and greaves to protect the legs; the `second class' with much the same panoply minus the cuirass; the `third', the
same but lacking the greaves; the `fourth; the shield and spear only, and the `fifth' was armed only with slings or stones.

The first critical change to the Roman army came by the hands of Gaius Marius 157-86 BCE. Marius made sweeping reforms in army recruitment in 107 BCE so that he would have enough men to fight in the Numidian War. Marius broke with Roman tradition and recruited troops from the ranks of the poor, who owned no land. Marius felt forced to do this because of a manpower shortage due to Rome's involvement in many years of warfare. Marius' action at the time caused him to be hailed as a hero of the people, standing up against the Roman nobility. However, the nobility saw this as a great deviation from Roman tradition. They viewed his actions as a political power grab, accusing him of recruiting a personal army from the ranks of the poor, which would owe allegiance to him alone in return for financial gain. Marius' military reforms had far-reaching consequences not only on the army, but on the political future of Rome as well. The army was changed from an army of conscripts to an army of paid professionals. This change often caused the soldiers to be callous and indifferent, which was to have serious repercussions for the Roman Empire later. No longer did soldiers fight for hearth and home. With their new landless recruits, generals had to promise them the bonus of land for their service, which bought their recruit's loyalty, not to Rome but to their generals. Now, with the new advent of the role of the general in politics, this change in the army structure helped to set Rome on a course of Civil War.

The second critical change to the Roman army came about through the machinations of Pompey, Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, and Caesar Augustus, all men vying for power a generation after Marius. These men emulated Marius' tactics by using the army to further their own political ambitions. As an example, between 70-54 BCE, Pompey and Caesar bribed senators and sent their soldiers to Rome "ostensibly to vote." When Pompey stood for election of the consulship in 55 BCE, it marked the first time in Roman history that the violence and bloodshed caused anarchy at the polls. However, it was Caesar's change to the army with his ability to buy the loyalty of his soldiers that ultimately gave him a decisive advantage over his rival Pompey, as well as his enemies in the Senate. Caesar's ability to accomplish this feat was cemented when he spent nine years in Gaul, winning military victories and enriching himself and his men. Caesar's successes made it easy for him to gain new volunteers to swell his ranks. Thus by 50 BCE, his army grew in number to twelve legions. These accomplishments served to secure Caesar's unrivaled political standing during the Civil War, which ultimately gave him the political power necessary to conquer Rome. The key military reforms Caesar made was in how he guaranteed the loyalty of the army to him personally now that the Republic was being transformed to a monarchy. He discharged all of his veteran legions except one, making sure that each of the soldiers received land in Italy and southern France. This insured that they would stay loyal to Caesar personally. From his very able military staff, Caesar picked men to fill ministerial positions throughout the empire, which also strengthened his hand politically. However, what social, political, and military reforms Caesar started were cut short by his assignation in 44 BCE. Many of his reforms would really come to fruition under Caesar Augustus, his heir and Rome's ruler for forty-five years.

The third critical change to the Roman army came after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Once again, Rome was plunged into Civil war, this time the two protagonists were Mark Anthony, and Caesar Augustus. Caesar Augustus learned how to use the army to gain political advantage with efficient alacrity from his great uncle Julius Caesar's example. Once he defeated his rival Mark Anthony, he took Julius Caesar's military reforms to new heights solidifying his political power and reinstituting the Roman monarchy. Under Caesar Augustus' reign, the potential for a soldier to gain wealth, rank, and upward mobility in society was much greater. It was not uncommon for a soldier to reach the rank of centurion after fifteen years of service, with the potential for earning an even higher rank. During this period, the rank of centurion garnished him fifteen times that of the ordinary soldier. Almost half of the centurions would succeed to the office of primipilares--the senior centurion of a legion for one year. With this rank came the honor of becoming a member of the Roman equestrian order, which provided a step up the ladder of the Roman social class structure. Upon their retirement, these successful military men would receive a substantial payment of 600,000 sesterces. This payment, coupled with their savings from pay and booty they earned while on campaign could propel a man well beyond his original station in life. However, one of the most important military reforms Caesar Augustus made was to introduce a permanent garrison of troops into the city of Rome itself. He created the Praetorian cohorts soon after his return to Rome from Egypt around 27 BCE. There were nine cohorts in number and they were staffed with between 500 to 1,000 men each. Their commanding officer, known as a prefect, answered directly to the Emperor. The cohorts served as a police force within the city of Rome. The best of these men were formed into a bodyguard unit for the Emperor, known as the Praetorian Guard. They gave the Emperor control of the only military power in the city. The military reforms that Caesar Augustus instituted in 13 BCE and again in 6 CE demonstrated how he solidified his control of all the armies of the Roman Empire, which he was then able to wield as an effective political instrument. As an example, Caesar Augustus insured that all bonuses known as donatives, as well as severance pay and territorial grants made to soldiers and veterans were made in the name of the princeps. Thus, his patronage to the army insured that he and subsequent emperors controlled a network of armed and devoted garrisons throughout the Empire.

The fourth critical change to the Roman army came as a direct result of Caesar Augustus' reforms that were played out over time. First, the Praetorian Guard became a potent political entity in its own right. At several junctures in Roman history the Praetorian Guard were active participants in political intrigue. Such was the case when the Emperor Caligula's own Praetorian Guard successfully assassinated him and installed his uncle Claudius on the throne. Secondly, the military reforms made by Diocletian 284-305 CE and Constantine 305-337 CE effectively split the army into two distinct entities to deal with maintaining order in the Empire--the field army and the border troops. The border troops were organized to defend the provinces and were garrisoned in fortress communities around the edges of the Empire. Once the Empire had ceased to expand and the cost of maintaining it became exorbitant, the emperor instituted reforms in military recruiting that had a profound change on the army and the Empire. From the late fourth century onwards, the Romans made increasing use of recruits from barbarian allies and garrisoned them in far off provinces. This reform to the army had a profound effect on the western portion of the Roman Empire to govern effectively. Since the Empire found it increasingly difficult to pay for its army, quite often the officers and soldiers turned to extortion and plunder of the very territories and communities they were given charge to protect. In addition, the western Empire's army became a much weaker fighting force and eventually fell prey to its enemies easily.

Recommended reading for those interested in Roman history, military history.