LE3 .A278 2016

2016

Provencal, Vernon

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Classics

History & Classics

This thesis aims to provide a new perspective on the change in the Roman military, mainly with respect to equipment and tactics. Instead of looking at change in the Roman military from the perspective of Roman expansionism, which focuses on how military changes enabled Rome to expand, it is more accurate to regard Roman military change as arising out of Rome’s need to adapt in order to survive. Through a continuous cycle of defensive wars starting with the three Samnite Wars, Rome changed its military by adapting ideas and techniques of its enemies. Adaptations of the Roman military came in several forms, including weaponry and armour, tactics, training, and fortification. These adaptations, once put into action, led to Roman victory and expansion by way of military defeat of hostile enemy forces. Since the beginning of the Samnite wars in the middle Republic, Rome was caught in a continuous series of conflicts, almost all of which threatened Rome and its interests. The defensive wars that followed not only provided safety for Rome and its people, but increased the territory under Roman control due to military superiority. Following the establishment of the Pax Romana, little innovation occurred in Rome's military structure until the reintroduction of defensive wars during the crisis of the third century. Following reintroduction of defensive wars, the Roman military, through adaptation, began to resemble the bar barian forces they fought against, eventually changing into the Byzantine Medieval army.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1455