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Abstract
Because fortifications and sieges form an important part of the literary narrative for early Roman history, the ambiguous picture offered by the archaeology for early Roman fortifications is intriguing. While limited fortifications, typically of the agger and fossa variety, have been found in central Italy dating back to the early Iron Age, full circuit walls seem to have been a relatively late phenomenon, generally appearing in the late fifth, fourth, and third centuries BC—and well after the development of large, wealthy, and vibrant urban centres. This disjunction between the size and wealth of communities and the development of fortifications has long been seen as problematic—as demonstrated by the modern debate around it. If early fortifications were indeed as limited and ‘piecemeal’ as they appear in the archaeological record, their function is unclear. They would have not offered the sort of continuous and defining civic boundary which Livy and other late republican historians seem to have envisaged, nor would they have represented a significant hurdle to an army attempting a determined siege or assault. Additionally, we are also left to wonder what prompted the shift to the massive, stone-built, full circuit walls in late fifth and early fourth centuries BC. Taking a holistic view of Roman society and warfare during the archaic period, this chapter argues that limited fortifications may actually make sense and can be correlated to social changes amongst Rome’s elite. Although Livy may have been anachronistic in pushing Rome’s great walls and siege warfare back into the regal period, his interpretation of their function and importance for the city—as a symbol of social cohesion—may have been correct. This cohesion merely occurred much later in Rome’s development than he (and many modern scholars) thought.
Author:
Abstract
During the Roman Republic, lictores traditionally accompanied imperium-wielding magistrates. Walking in front of the official, in single file, and carrying their fasces on their left shoulders, these apparitores announced the great man’s arrival, protected him, enforced proper behaviour, and enacted his rights to summon, arrest, and – supposedly – to execute. By the late Republic, lictores also accompanied vestal virgins, and under the Empire even occasionally members of the imperial family. The lictores, then, could be seen as Rome’s earliest, and most important ‘bodyguards’ – tasked with protecting the most important people in the community. But these enigmatic figures were far more than ‘hired muscle’. The present chapter will explore the institution of Rome’s republican lictores, illustrating that while they may indeed fit the description of ‘ancient bodyguards’ (attendants whose duties explicitly, and primarily, involved physical protection), they were much more than that as well. Focusing particularly on their symbolic character, it will suggest that while they were granted to individuals, their role must always be understood in relation to the community. The core function of the lictores was to symbolize and mediate a new set of relationships which resulted from assuming certain roles.
Editor:
Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare presents a thematic approach to current directions in ancient military studies with case studies on topics including the economics of warfare, military cohesion, military authority, irregular warfare, and sieges. Bringing together research on cultures from across the Mediterranean world, ranging from Pharaonic Egypt to Late Antique Europe and from Punic Spain to Persian Anatolia, the collection demonstrates both the breadth of the current field and a surprising number of synergies.
Editor:
Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare presents a thematic approach to current directions in ancient military studies with case studies on topics including the economics of warfare, military cohesion, military authority, irregular warfare, and sieges. Bringing together research on cultures from across the Mediterranean world, ranging from Pharaonic Egypt to Late Antique Europe and from Punic Spain to Persian Anatolia, the collection demonstrates both the breadth of the current field and a surprising number of synergies.
Author:
Abstract
The Romans seem to have recognized, from an early period, the importance of good nutrition for successful warfare. Throughout the Republic, and despite the massive changes which Roman society and the Roman state underwent between 509 and 31 BCE, Rome’s armies were generally well-supplied with a military diet which remained remarkably stable over the centuries. Based primarily on grain (consumed as puls or bread), supplemented with lentils, vegetables, some meat, and wine, dinner for a Roman soldier in the fifth century would have likely been recognizable to his first century counterpart. However, while the diet remained stable, both the mechanisms of supply and the social and cultural norms associated with it evolved, with substantial implications. This chapter will explore the origins of Rome’s military diet in archaic Italian society and the elite, gentilicial warfare of the regal and early Republican periods before tracking its development down through the late Republic. Focusing on a few key moments and periods of change – most notably the advent of the tributum/stipendium system, the introduction of coinage, and Rome’s wars of overseas expansion – it will argue that Rome’s military diet, like Roman warfare more generally, slowly transitioned from an elite preserve to a symbol of an increasingly cohesive and state-centred activity. Food which was once acquired, prepared, and consumed in a private or family setting, was gradually moved into a more communal, state and army-focused context. Thus, although the practical nature of the Roman military diet and nutrition changed very little over the course of the Republic, the way it was achieved and its associations changed considerably – which has significant consequences for our understanding of how both food and logistics operated (esp. socially) within the Roman military system of the Republic.
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