Blood of the provinces : the Roman auxilia and the making of provincial society from Augustus to the Severans / Ian Haynes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haynes, Ian P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rome--Army.

Rome.

Rome (Empire).

Armies.

Rome--History, Military.

History, Military.

Rome--Social conditions.

Social conditions.

Rome--History--Empire, 30 B.C.-284 A.D.

History.

Physical Description:

xviii, 430 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Blood of the Provinces offers a fully comprehensive study of the largest part of the Roman army, the auxilia. This non-citizen force constituted more than half of Rome's celebrated armies and was often the military presence in some of its territories. Diverse in origins, character, and culture, they played an essential role in building the empire, sustaining the unequal peace celebrated as the pax Romana, and enacting the emperor's writ. Drawing upon the latest historical and archaeological research to examine recruitment, belief, daily routine, language, tactics, and dress, this volume offers an examination of the Empire and its soldiers in a radical new way. Blood of the Provinces demonstrates how the Roman state addressed a crucial and enduring challenge both on and off the battlefield-retaining control of the miscellaneous auxiliaries upon whom its very existence depended. Crucially, this was not simply achieved by pay and punishment, but also by a very particular set of, cultural attributes that characterized provincial society under the Roman-Empire. Focusing on the soldiers themselves, and encompassing the disparate military communities of which they were a part, it offers a vital source of information on how individuals and communities were incorporated into provincial society under the Empire, and how the character of that society evolved as a result. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Blood of the Provinces 1

Part I The Auxilia and the Structures of Imperial Power

2 The Formative Years: From the Late Republic to the Death of Tiberius 31

3 'Together under the Name of Romans': The Auxilia from Claudius to Trajan 51

4 A New Provincialism: Hadrian and the Antonine Revolutions 75

5 Shifting Fortunes: The Auxilia under the Severans 85

Part II The Human Resource: The Recruitment of the Auxilia and its Consequences

6 The Captive Body: Individual Recruitment 95

7 Geopolitics: How Rome Selectively Exploited the Manpower of the Provinces 103

8 Recruitment and the Limits of Localism 121

9 Ethnic Exceptionalism? Examining 'Special' Recruitment Practices 135

Part III A Home from Rome: Daily Life in the Auxilia

10 Military Service and the Urban Experience 145

11 Incorporation through Routine: The Power of Everyday Life 165

Part IV Through the Eyes of Believers: Religion, Ritual Activity, and Cult Practice

12 Sacred Space and Sacred Time in the Auxilia 191

13 Centralizing Cult 207

14 Distinct Cult Communities within the Auxilia 227

Part V Arms and the Men: Equipment, Tactics, and Identity

15 Armoury of the Bricoleur? The Disparate Origins of Auxiliary Equipment 239

16 Status, Competition, and Military Adornment 251

17 Between Roman and Barbarian: Auxiliary Soldiers on the Battlefield 271

18 Disarming Ethnicity? 'Ethnic' Fighting Traditions in the Alae and Cohortes 285

Part VI Pen and Sword: Communication and Cultural Transformation

19 The Spoken Word 301

20 The Written Word 313

Part VII Auxiliary Veterans and the Making of Provincial Society

21 Veterani and Other Veterans 339

22 Conclusion: Embodying Rome 369.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 383-420) and index.

ISBN:

9780199655342

0199655340

OCLC:

861619431