The army of the Late Roman Empire (roughly 284 to 500) had a multitude of problems it had to face: rebellions, civil war, barbarian raids, outright invasions, and secession. Popular memory holds that this military was extremely ineffective, in part because the Roman was forced to rely increasingly upon barbarian recruits as opposed to native Romans. This has led to the so-called "Barbarization Thesis" and is one of the main ideas for the end of the Western Roman Empire around 500. But is this really the case? Recent archaeological and textual work has revealed to us that the Roman army was extremely efficient in Late Antiquity and that towards the end of the fourth century it suffered not from a manpower shortage, but from a recruitment issue. What caused this, and how long did it go on? Why did the Romans recruit so many barbarians? And what was the overall effect on the roman military?
SOURCES:
Warfare in Roman Europe, Elton
The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation, Ferrill
The Roman Army: A Social & Institutional History, Southern
The Late Roman Army, Southern & Dixon
The Roman Army: A History 753 BC - AD 476, Southern
Barbarian Migrations and The Roman West, Halsall
The Fate of Rome, Harper
17 авг 2024
