Description
- Abstract:
- From Polybius in the second century BCE to Delbrück in the twentieth century CE, scholars have devoted significant energy to understanding how the Roman army of the Republic was able to work so effectively, examining its organization, hierarchy, recruitment, tactics and ideology in detail. In these close studies of the structures and systems of the Republican army, soldiers and their motivations, interests and goals beyond their military duties have been of little concern. This dissertation attempts to redress the lack of attention that Republican soldiers have received by studying the development of military communities during the last two centuries of the Republic. It argues that the nature and ideology of Roman military service created a sense of community among soldiers on campaign from the third century BCE onwards (Chapter 1). These feelings of community made them powerful as a group. They were capable of acting collectively to protect the social and economic interests of the group while on campaign and were willing to take on Roman power structures in order to do so (Chapter 3). Further, the agency and power that military communities possessed did not dissipate when they returned home. Rather, they continued to act collectively, particularly in political matters, to ensure that their concerns were heard (Chapter 4). Further, this project demonstrates that, in spite of the claims of our sources, Roman camps were not hermetically sealed, soldier-only zones. Beyond the connections that Roman soldiers established with one another, they also developed relationships with the various non-combatants that they met while on campaign (Chapter 2). In fact, some of the bonds that were created, particularly those with local women, ultimately led to the integration of Roman soldiers within local communities and laid the foundation for Roman settlements in the region. The Roman armies of the Republican period were not just effective fighting forces, but they were dynamically constructed communities that had a significant impact on various social, economic and political aspects of the Roman world as well.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2017
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Citation
Machado, Dominic,
"Community and Collective Action in the Roman Republican Army (218 – 44 BCE)"
(2017).
Classics Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.7301/Z090227K
