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Thread: The Roman Army Is Not Mysterious – Here Are Five Ways Modern Historians Gain Their Knowledge

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    Default The Roman Army Is Not Mysterious – Here Are Five Ways Modern Historians Gain Their Knowledge

    The Roman Army Is Not Mysterious – Here Are Five Ways Modern Historians Gain Their Knowledge

    Source: http://www.warhistoryonline.com/anci..._army-x.html/2



    Given the circumstances, we know an amazing amount about the ancient Roman army. Over 1500 years after the fall of the Roman Empire fell, we know more about its military than we do for many more recent civilisations.

    We know all these thanks to five kinds of sources.

    Literature


    Roman Orator.

    Roman culture valued literature, and especially literature that told the stories of war and politics. As a result, we have a wealth of narrative information about the wars of Rome, much of it left by Romans themselves, some by their opponents. The record is not consistent throughout the empire, and we know more about periods when major historians were alive. Some saw the events they described first-hand. Polybius was at the siege of Carthage in 147-146 BC while Caesar left a full though biassed account of his Gallic Wars.

    The sources have their limits. Being literature rather than history as we now know it, they seldom record technical information, and details are often vague. Polybius’s description of the finer workings of the republican legions is the exception rather than the rule. Literary conventions sometimes cloud our understanding of events, as do the biases of writers justifying the actions of their homeland or political sponsors.

    For more technical information we have military manuals. Records of theoretical forms of war rather than the compromised reality works such as Frontinus’ Stratagems and Vegetius’s Concerning Military Affairs still provide a valuable insight into how men thought about war.

    Archaeology


    Inverted kite aerial photo of an excavation of a Roman building at Nesley near Tetbury in Gloucestershire.

    It is very rare for a new literary source to be discovered, lost and unexamined for centuries. Archaeological remains, on the other hand, are being found, studied and recorded in growing numbers.

    Remains are most often found at places where the army was based for some time, such as forts and barracks blocks. Hadrian’s Wall has provided great insights into the life of legionaries in Roman Britain.

    Rarer are finds of temporary camps such as siege lines though these have been unearthed at opposite ends of the empire, at Masada in Judea and Numantia in Spain. There show how camps were constructed and siege works conducted.

    Rarest of all, and often the most fascinating, are traces of armies on campaign. The marching camps of legions were seldom recorded and leave little physical evidence, and the location of battle sites is hard to pin down. When such evidence is found, as at Maiden Castle in Britain or the exciting finds at the Teutoberg Wald in Germany, this provides valuable insights into battle’s and their aftermath.

    Sub-literary Sources


    Vindolanda tablet.

    When we think of written evidence or records we normally think of the literary sources – the histories, chronicles and fighting manuals written by scholars and men of power. But other written evidence is sometimes found, providing a record of more mundane details and the lives of ordinary legionaries.

    Literary sources have survived not in their original editions but in copies made and preserved down the centuries. Sub-literary sources, on the other hand, are the real deal, preserved by accidents of environmental conditions. For a fragile document to last two millennia takes very special circumstances, such as papyruses preserved by the dry heat of Egypt, or the wooden tablets that survived in piles of waste at the Hadrian’s Wall fort of Vindolanda.

    While the literary sources provide us with the big picture, sub-literary sources provide an insight into ordinary life. Some are private correspondence while many record administrative details such as legal disputes, inventories of supplies and business dealings. They show us what the day-to-day working of the legions was like, and as more are found, so our understanding grows richer and broader.

    Epigraphy


    Basilica of Aquileia, 4th-century mosaic with Latin inscription: IANUARI DEDEI DONO P * DCCCLXX.

    The third, form of written source comes from the inscriptions carved on monuments and tombstones. Like the literary and sub-literary sources, these engravings show us the Roman army from a different angle.

    The two most common sorts of inscriptions are tombstones and monuments. Small monuments were often erected to record the achievements of units, such as the completion of construction projects. Others came in the form of altars and other religious monuments.

    Both tombstones and monuments, though religious in flavour, provide us with insight into far more than what the legionaries believed. The names of soldiers are recorded upon them, along with ranks, units and achievements. On an individual level, these offer a record of commanding officers. On a broader level, they show us where certain units were at certain times, and other details of army organisation. Much of what we know about the rank structure of the armies of Rome comes from these inscriptions, with their records of how men rose through the ranks.

    The names of the men recorded in carvings and the gods they made offerings to can be used to draw conclusions about the ethnic makeup and geographical origin of specific units and the army as a whole. These conclusions are always a little speculative, but give an idea of the diverse nature of the legions.

    Art


    Trajan’s Column around 1896.

    One of the reasons why Europeans have remained so fascinated by their Roman past is the magnificent remains the Romans built across the continent and beyond. Their artistic endeavours, and in, particular their carvings, have stood the test of time, allowing us to learn more about the appearance and actions of the legions.

    While archaeological remains provide the most detailed and reliable insights into legionary equipment, carvings show us details usually lost to archaeology. Cloth and leather quickly rot away, but stone imitations can last for millennia. Tombstones again play a part, as does public art and architecture.

    The most impressive record of the Roman army is Trajan’s Column, built in Rome to celebrate the Emperor Trajan’s victory of 106 AD over the Dacians. While it shows an idealised army, it shows a great deal of details and information on auxiliary troops and different forms of uniform, as well as events in the Dacian campaign. The Tropaeum Traiani at Adamklissi, now in Romania, shows the same campaign more realistic point of view and demonstrate the legionnaire’s equipment and everyday duties.

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    Vindolanda tablets are vry interesting , they show us what romans of that time don't like we know .
    it's not about propaganda it's about what romans think in everyday life
    the invitation to a birthday party the oldest surviving document written in Latin by a woman is something special , more than interesting , it's touching !!
    Ironically that kind of documents are very rare . romans din't want they survive , they habit burn them as they wanted leave us a different idea about themselves ...as strong people with no hearts and flowers

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    Claudia Severa was a literate Roman woman, the wife of Aelius Brocchus, commander of an unidentified fort near Vindolanda fort in northern England.
    (England,Northumberland,Chesterholm,Vindolanda ) She is known for a birthday invitation she sent around 100 AD to Sulpicia Lepidina, wife of Flavius Cerialis, commander at Vindolanda. This invitation was discovered in the 1970s and is probably the best-known item of the Vindolanda Tablets

    Sister, for the day of the celebration of my birthday,
    I give you a warm invitation to make sure that you come to us,
    to make the day more enjoyable for me by your arrival, if you are present (?).
    Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send him (?) their greetings.
    I shall expect you sister. Farewell, sister my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper, and hail.

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