Spring 2007

AHC 378 • Roman Army-W

Course Description

It is widely believed that the Roman army in the first two centuries was one of the finest fighting forces ever created, even if used sometimes to make emperors instead of to beat back or to win victories over foreign enemies. The aim of this course is to study the army in detail, examining how it was made up, how it was trained, what were its strengths and what its weaknesses. Topics for discussion will include recruiting, training and discipline, prospects for promotion and the nature of the officer corps and of the soldiery they commanded. Finally, we will examine in detail episodes covered by the Roman historian Tacitus in the time period, e.g., the mutinies of AD 14, Corbulo's campaigns against the Parthians, and the various wars that made up the Year of the Four Emperors.

Texts

B. Campbell, The Roman Army: A source book (Routledge) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, translated by Robert Graves (Penguin) Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome, translated by M. Grant (Penguin) Tacitus, The Histories, translated by Kenneth Wellesley (Penguin)

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