The Roman imperial army represented one of the main factors in the
exercise of political control by the emperors. The effective
political management of the army was essential for maintaining the
safety and well-being of the empire as a whole. This book analyses
the means by which emperors controlled their soldiers and sustained
their allegiance from the battle of Actium in 31 BC, to the demise
of the Severan dynasty in AD 235. Recent discoveries have
revolutionised our understanding of the Roman army. This study
provides an up to date synthesis of a range of evidence from
archaeological, epigraphic, literary and numismatic sources on the
relationship between the emperor and his soldiers. It demonstrates
that this relationship was of an intensely personal nature. He was
not only the commander-in-chief, but also their patron and
benefactor, even after their discharge from military service. Yet
the management of the army was more complex than this
emperor-soldier relationship suggests. An effective army requires
an adequate military hierarchy to impose discipline and command the
troops on a daily basis. This was of particular relevance for the
imperial army which was mainly dispersed along the frontiers of the
empire, effectively in a series of separate armies. The emperor
needed to ensure the loyalty of his officers by building mutually
beneficial relationships with them. In this way, the imperial army
became a complex network of interlocking ties of loyalty which
protected the emperor from military subversion.
General
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