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This volume demonstrates the development of Roman military bureaucracy during the Middle Republic, expanding on recent research to examine these administrative systems that made possible Rome's expansion in this period.
Bringing together literary works, epigraphy, archaeology, topography and demography, the study reveals a complex and well-structured bureaucratic system developing in parallel with the army during the Middle Republic, propelled in no small part by the stresses of the Hannibalic War. Not only the contents of documents, but the physical objects, individuals and spaces are discussed to re-create the administrative processes in maximum detail.
Exploring the Mid-Republican Origins of Roman Military Administration provides an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Rome's military and administrative history, as well as anyone working on the Republican period.
List of contents
List of figures; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Introduction; I: Dilectus; II: The census and centralised military bureaucracy; III: Recording men on campaign; IV: Tributum and stipendium; V: Documents and archives; VI: Record producers and record keepers; Conclusion: The Mid-Republican origins of Roman military administration; Appendix I: Men liable and available for military service; Appendix II: Men over 17 years old with a paterfamilias; Bibliography
About the author
Elizabeth H. Pearson is an independent scholar. She completed her PhD at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2016. In 2020, she won the Society of Military History’s Vandervort Prize for her article ‘Decimation and Unit Cohesion: Why Were Legionaries Willing to Perform Decimation?’.
Summary
This volume demonstrates the development of Roman military bureaucracy during the Middle Republic, expanding on recent research to examine these administrative systems that made possible Rome’s expansion in this period.
Report
"The central position the army occupied in Imperial Rome is self-evident. This is reflected in the amount of research that has been devoted to the Roman army in the Imperial period. Far less is known about the army during the Republican period. Pearson seeks to remedy this imbalance in the unspectacular, though vitally important, sphere of military administration... The real virtue of this book is its attention to detailed argument. There is little in it that one could find fault with." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review
