The Roman Army of the Principate 27 BC–AD 117

by FIELDS, NIC

• ISBN13: 9781846033865
• ISBN10: 1846033861
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-31
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

The Imperial Army established by Augustus drew heavily on the nomenclature and traditions of the late Roman Republic, but was revolutionary in its design. He decided to meet all the military needs of the Empire from a standing, professional army. Military service became a career, and pay and service conditions were established that took account of the categories of soldier in the army: the Praetorian Guard, the citizen legionary troops, and the non-citizen auxiliaries. Enlistment was for 25 years (16 in the Guard), and men were sometimes retained even longer. The loyalty of the new army was to the emperor as commander-in-chief, and not to either the Senate or the People of Rome. Imperial legions became permanent units with their own numbers and titles and many were to remain in existence for centuries to come. Likewise, the auxiliary units (auxilia) of the army were completely reorganized and given regular status. Trained to the same standards of discipline as the legions, the men were long-serving professional soldiers like the legionaries and served in units that were equally permanent. Drawn from a wide range of peoples throughout the provinces, especially on the fringes of the Empire, the auxilia were non-citizens and would receive Roman citizenship upon completion of their twenty-five years under arms.

Author Biography

Dr Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines. Having left the military, he went back to University and completed a BA and PhD in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director at the British School at Athens, Greece, and then a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh. Nic is now a freelance author and researcher based in south-west France.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
Roman military organization	p. 6
Legion
Detachments
Auxiliaries
Weapons and equipment	p. 23
Helmets
Body armour
Shields
Shafted weapons
Bladed weapons
Command and control	p. 33
Legion command
Centuriate
Junior officers
Equestrian officers
Command and control in action
The Roman Army in battle	p. 44
Roman tactical doctrine and practice
Legion
Auxiliaries
Engineering	p. 50
Marching and practice camps
Forts and fortresses
Siegeworks
After Actium	p. 57
Saltus Teutoburgiensis, a province lost
Mancetter, a province saved Second Cremona, a throne won
Mons Graupius, a battle too far
Pax Romana	p. 81
Chronology	p. 84
Roman emperors
Ancient authors	p. 86
Josephus (b. AD 37)
Suetonius (b. c. AD 70)
Tacitus (b. c. AD 56)
Bibliography	p. 89
Glossary	p. 91
Legionary titles	p. 93
Index	p. 95
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