Hirundo: The McGill Journal of Classical Studies, Vol.5 (2006-7)
Abstract
Much has been written about the nature of the pre-Marian army, and a similar amount of scholarship has been devoted to describing the mechanisms and methods of imperial control under the Roman Republican system. The use of the Roman army as a tool of control has received less attention. More specifically, the use of Roman armies as garrisons and occupying forces seems to be highly underappreciated in scholarly research on the nature of the army and of the empire during the Middle Republic.
While the Greek poleis, during the 5th and 4th centuries BC, amply demonstrated the difficulties of attempting to control an empire with a citizen army, Rome was able to avoid a similar experience in the 3rd and 2nd centuries, and control a territory far larger than any city-state before it. There are many reasons why the Romans were able to move beyond the limitations of the city-state and build a transcontinental empire, but the manner in which the Romans overcame the challenges of using citizen-soldiers as garrison troops is an important and rarely considered one. The Roman use of garrisons may be able to shed some light on the way in which Rome was able to turn the model of the city state defended by a citizen army into a successful and sustainable empire.
Michael da Cruz
Hirundo: The McGill Journal of Classical Studies, Vol.5 (2006-7)
Abstract
Much has been written about the nature of the pre-Marian army, and a similar amount of scholarship has been devoted to describing the mechanisms and methods of imperial control under the Roman Republican system. The use of the Roman army as a tool of control has received less attention. More specifically, the use of Roman armies as garrisons and occupying forces seems to be highly underappreciated in scholarly research on the nature of the army and of the empire during the Middle Republic.
While the Greek poleis, during the 5th and 4th centuries BC, amply demonstrated the difficulties of attempting to control an empire with a citizen army, Rome was able to avoid a similar experience in the 3rd and 2nd centuries, and control a territory far larger than any city-state before it. There are many reasons why the Romans were able to move beyond the limitations of the city-state and build a transcontinental empire, but the manner in which the Romans overcame the challenges of using citizen-soldiers as garrison troops is an important and rarely considered one. The Roman use of garrisons may be able to shed some light on the way in which Rome was able to turn the model of the city state defended by a citizen army into a successful and sustainable empire.
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