Download PDF | Mark Hebblewhite - The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235–395-Routledge (2017).
257 Pages
With The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235–395 Mark Hebblewhite offers the first study solely dedicated to examining the nature of the relationship between the emperor and his army in the politically and militarily volatile later Roman Empire. Bringing together a wide range of available literary, epigraphic and numismatic evidence, he demonstrates that emperors of the period considered the army to be the key institution they had to mollify in order to retain power, so they consequently employed a range of strategies to keep the troops loyal to their cause. Key to these efforts were imperial attempts to project the emperor as a worthy general (imperator) and a generous provider of military pay and benefits. Also important were the honorific and symbolic gestures each emperor made to the army in order to convince them that they and the empire could prosper only under his rule.
Mark Hebblewhite completed his PhD at Macquarie University, Australia, in 2012 and has taught widely in the field of Ancient History. His research interests centre on the ideology and politics of the later Roman Empire, with particular reference to the role of the army. He is currently an Adjunct Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Preface
This book began life as my dissertation, which I completed as a student at Macquarie University, Australia, in 2012. Given my career as a political advisor, I had originally thought to look at the civilian advisors of the very misunderstood Constantius II. However, my longstanding love of the Roman army kept drawing me away. I quickly came to the conclusion that no other institution within the Roman Empire was as inherently political as the Roman army. Added to this was a predilection, dating from my undergraduate days, for both the chaotic years of the third-century crisis and the remarkable period of transformation that occurred in the following century.
It became clear to me that the role of the army in imperial politics was clearest during this diverse epoch. At its heart this is a book about power and the exercise of power. Some will find my thesis of the Roman army as a towering goliath determining the course of imperial history as overly simplistic. What of the Senate? What of the aristocracy or, for that matter, religious leaders and even the urban plebs in any number of cities across the empire? While it is true that the emperor did have to appease numerous interest groups in the empire to stay in power, there was simply no institution as important to him as the army.
Its influence on political power was immediate, overwhelming and final. An emperor could withstand a discontented Senate or an angry citizenry, but he was helpless in the face of an army that was determined to end his rule. Even a relatively small section of this huge institution could impact the course of imperial politics in a far more decisive way than its civilian or religious counterparts could ever hope to. That no one has yet attempted to write a dedicated monograph on the influence of the army on imperial politics during the period 235–395, and more importantly on how the emperor attempted to come to grips with this power, continues to surprise me. But while there is clearly room for this book, I make no claim that it will be the final word on the subject. In fact, I hope it inspires a renewed interest in unravelling the most important relationship an emperor entered into upon taking the throne: the one with his army. I would not have been able to complete this book without help from many people.
My colleagues, Dr Peter Brennan, Associate Professor Ted Nixon, Dr Peter Edwell, Dr Christopher Matthew and Dr Jeroen Wijnendaele, all proved themselves to be indispensible sounding boards who not only greatly assisted me in sharpening my arguments but who also saved me from many inconsistencies and outright errors. Any remaining errors in this book remain mine alone. In undertaking this journey I was very fortunate in my commissioning editor, Michael Greenwood. His patience and professionalism made a necessarily long process far less stressful than it may have otherwise been. My family has offered me unflinching support while I completed this book.
I would like to thank my mother, Frances Hebblewhite, and my parents-in-law, Gail and Len Willan, for their encouragement through a long and sometimes taxing journey. My father, Ken Hebblewhite, passed away while I was still completing the thesis that would eventually become this book. He sparked my love of history many, many years ago, and I’m sure he would have enjoyed seeing the fruits of the seed he planted. Finally, this book is dedicated to my partner Melissa Willan and my son Tobias Hebblewhite. It goes without saying that I was only able to complete this project with their love, support and encouragement. I remain forever indebted to both of them.
Finally, I owe a great debt to the musical artists who provided the soundtrack to the very solitary task of writing and editing. The dulcet tones of Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Public Enemy, Bad Religion and of course the mighty Black Sabbath were my constant companions as I completed this book. Given the turmoil, war and horror of their age, I would like to think that the emperors I have examined here would have found these apocalyptic sounds more than appropriate for their often grim endeavours.
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