From the late fourth century onwards, Christendom was assailed by a succession of invaders. The first wave consisted of Germanic tribes – Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Vandals – and their irruptions brought down the West Roman Empire. During the sixth century, Slavonic groups emerged in the territory north of the Danube that the Germanic tribes had evacuated and began incursions into the South-East European lands of the Byzantine empire. In the late ninth century, the old Roman province of Pannonia together with the Hungarian Great Plain was occupied by the Magyars, a Finno-Ugrian group, originally from Siberia, that had over the preceding centuries made its home on the western steppes. The Magyar settlement destroyed several nascent Slavonic principalities and was accompanied by extensive raids into the Balkans and Western Europe.

Warfare was a significant phenomenon throughout the history of the Roman world, exerting a fundamental influence on the evolution and fortunes of the Roman state over more than a millennium, and on the neighbours with whom the Roman state came into conflict. Warfare’s role varied according to the relative size of the Roman state at particular points in time and the relative strengths of its neighbours, making it difficult to generalise. The complexities of historical causation also need to be acknowledged so as to avoid the temptation to make warfare the underlying explanation for everything in Roman history. Even with those caveats, however, there is no denying the impact of war in Roman history. At the risk of over-simplification and over-generalisation, this epilogue attempts briefly to draw out some larger themes and observations.

This chapter examines three subjects relating to the themes of authority and allegiances. The first section considers the qualities that Romans considered important for effective generalship, including calculated displays of courage and a reputation for good fortune, which astute generals could foster as a way of strengthening their authority and the morale of their men. The much-debated subject of pre-battle speeches is also discussed, with less familiar but highly relevant late Roman evidence brought to bear. The second section examines the strategies deployed for maintaining the obedience of soldiers and changing patterns of military mutiny over the course of Roman history, with a view to identifying factors which influenced its incidence. The third and final section addresses the subject of civil war: its incidence and impact, and the ways in which commanders sought to negotiate the strains that internal conflicts placed on soldiers’ loyalties.

This chapter considers the experience of war from two perspectives. The first half examines the problem of literary topoi in ancient descriptions of battle and some of the ways in which scholars have tried to make sense of them. Debate about the dynamics of battle is discussed, together with the ‘face of battle’ approach. Attention is given to controversies over the application of conclusions from modern contexts about ‘ratio of fire’ and small-group cohesion. The application of ‘non-linear’ models is also considered apropos the unpredictability of battle. Finally, the battle of Busta Gallorum (43 BC) provides an intriguing case study of a battle for which, unusually, an eyewitness account has been preserved. The second half focuses on civilian experiences of war, especially in the context of sieges. Civilian involvement in the defence of cities is examined, as is the impact of food shortages, famine and disease, together with the sexual violence and enslavement that typically followed the capture of a besieged city. The impacts of raiding and of protracted wars are also considered. Late Roman evidence is particularly illuminating for the experiences of those enslaved through war.

The overall approach of the book is thematic, with the Introduction providing important context for what follows, especially for those less familiar with Roman history, first by defining key terms and parameters (especially explaining the chronological range of the volume, from the fourth century BC to the early seventh century AD), and then through an overview of the incidence of warfare, both external and internal, across the course of Roman history. The evolution of Roman military forces from the Republic through to Late Antiquity is outlined, with particular attention to Augustus’ formalisation of a standing army and the reconfiguration of the empire’s forces in the early fourth century. Finally, the most important ancient sources for the subject are introduced, with discussion of key literary sources (Polybius, Caesar, Livy, Josephus, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and Procopius), the less familiar Syriac chronicle atttributed to Joshua the Stylite, military treatises, documentary evidence (inscriptions, papyri) and relevant archaeological material.

This chapter examines the practical matter of resources in war-making, both human and material. The first half assesses recruitment practices across the course of Roman history, especially the role of conscription and compulsion, and then the changing size of military forces through time and its likely demographic impact. Consideration is also given to the logistical implications of the size of campaign armies. The second half focuses on the financial costs of maintaining the armed forces in the different periods of Roman history, before turning to the financial benefits of warfare, including booty, indemnities, territory and taxes – as well as the material costs of defeat. The quantitative dimension of all these subjects means that much of the discussion concerns the limitations of the extant evidence.

This chapter considers aspects of the military’s place in Roman society, especially in relation to the issue of identity. The first section examines how features of military life served to develop a sense of the armed forces as a distinct community, particularly from the Principate onwards, including military privileges, restrictions on soldiers marrying, and the role of symbols and rituals. The second section addresses the debate about relations between soldiers and civilians, and the extent to which the military can be considered a ‘total institution’. The presence of non-combatants in military camps is discussed (slaves, prostitutes, merchants), alongside interactions with civilian society in such contexts as marriage patterns and requisitioning and billetting. The third and final section focuses on the military and religious practices, which were another context in which soldiers sometimes interacted with civilians. Consideration is also given to the role of state-sponsored religious rituals during the Principate and under the Christian emperors of Late Antiquity, and the validity of assumptions about specifically ‘military cults’ (Mithraism, Jupiter Dolichenus) is discussed.

This chapter examines the cultural impact of warfare in a range of contexts. First, the interchange of military technology and ideas is considered, partly in relation to other states emulating Roman practices, but above all in Roman openness to adopting military practices and equipment from their enemies – an important factor in Roman military success. Secondly, the role of the military in disseminating aspects of Roman culture is discussed, including the debate about the term ‘Romanization', the status of Latin in the military forces, soldiers’ use of religious and social rituals, and dietary patterns. Thirdly, the role of written documentation in the military is assessed, alongside the related subject of the extent of literacy among troops, from officers to the rank-and-file.

This chapter considers changing Roman attitudes and ideology in relation to the fundamental issues of war and peace. The first half examines the basis for the now common assumption that the Roman state and society had a positive attitude to warfare during the Republic. It draws attention to some important qualifications, before assessing the extent to which the same factors continued to operate in later periods. It also discusses Roman attitudes to peace, a subject that has received much less attention in modern scholarship. The second half focuses on the related themes of Roman attitudes to victory and defeat. Roman military successes during the Republic encouraged the development of a range of rituals associated with the celebration of victory (most famously the triumph) and reverence for the goddess Victoria. These rituals illuminate the close relationship between war and religion in Roman culture, while also highlighting the political implications of military success. Their evolution in subsequent periods of Roman history is considered, alongside Roman responses to defeat – how it was explained and how those explanations changed over time.