Who were the ‘Viri Militares’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9400582 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brain Campbell (University of Worcester, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1975 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Pages | 11-31 |
| Publication date | 1975-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Roman Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0075-4358 • E-ISSN: 1753-528X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/370060 |
| OpenAlex | W2327643611 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 22 |
| References cited | 2 |
It has become the accepted view that a certain group of ‘viri militares’ can be identified among the legates who governed the consular military provinces in the Roman empire. The question of these ‘specialist soldiers’ is relevant to the understanding of how appointments to military commands were made, and, more generally, to the political history of the empire. For it can be argued that ‘viri militares’ were important not only because they were responsible for the defence of the empire and could raise revolts with their armies, but also because, as a group, they were particularly influential with the emperor. And so Professor Sir Ronald Syme, to whose work we owe most for the concept of ‘viri militares’, speaks of a ‘paramount oligarchy’ that was ‘drawn in the main from the men who govern the armed provinces of Caesar’. Now, Syme recognized a wide variety of factors that might influence the selection of consular legates. However, his theory of ‘viri militares’ tends to be repeated without qualification as accepted doctrine, and in the hands of those who do not mark his caution lends itself to a rather schematic approach and mechanical solutions. This incurs the danger to which Syme himself has adverted: ‘Historians in all ages become liable through their profession to certain maladies or constraints. They cannot help making persons and events more logical than reality’
Adversary · Ancient history · Computer security · Democracy · Doctrine · Emperor · Empire · Humanities · Oligarchy · Political science · Politics · Roman Empire · Variety (cybernetics · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Studies and Legal History · Classics · Computer Science · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Law · Philosophy
War and Peace in Ancient and Medieval History
Legati legionis
Warfare and the state
War and society
The Roman Empire IIThe Monarchy
Warfare and the state
International relations
Warfare and the state
War
Military forces
International relations
War
Battle
War and Society
War and Society
Battle
The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
Power and Privilege in Roman Society
The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
The Heredity of Senatorial Status in the Principate
Promotion and Patronage in Equestrian Careers
Roman Inscriptions 1971–5
| Citations per year | 0.21 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1920 - 2020 (101) |
| Highly cited | No |