Commanders’ Responses to Mutinies in the Roman Army

Bibliographic Data

ID20052649
AuthorsLee L Brice (0000-0002-5100-092X, corresponding author)
Year2020
Pages44-67
Publication date2020-09-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenuePeople and Institutions in the Roman Empire (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/9789004441378_006
OpenAlexW3206248935
ISBN9789004441378
LanguageEN
Citations received2

Although most readers think of the Roman army as a most disciplined institution, it was occasionally subject to breakdowns of discipline. While we have always acknowledged the military instability of the third century, we now also recognize that the military of the late Republic and early Principate was more inclined to mutiny and insubordination than was formerly accepted. This chapter is a revision of previous work focused on how after incidents of mutinies, reinstitution of social control by Roman commanders of this earlier period kept restive military units and soldiers from becoming a threat to stability. Some of the original observations and conclusions are in need of revision due to further work on the problems of military unrest. In addition to addressing the historiography and methodology of examining mutinies, this chapter includes examination of mutinies in 49 and 44 BCE and 14 CE. Based on these case studies, we can distinguish common strategies officers employed for successful resolution of indiscipline and how some commanders fell short. This examination is also useful for revealing why mutinies did not typically become a threat to stability

Ancient history · Historiography · Institution · Military history · Military organization · Mutiny · Political science · Politics · Principate · Unrest · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Law

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