The junior officers of the Roman army, 91BC - AD14
This thesis examines the evolution of the junior officer positions of the Roman army in the period 91BC â AD14, and the motivations, background, and status of their holders. Two introductory chapters consider the nature of the available evidence and the way in which the agendas and survival patterns of our sources have influenced modern perceptions. There follow three chapters of diachronic analysis, each analysing the number of officer positions available, the roles and functions of the junior officers, and the status of the junior officer positions in the periods 91 â 50BC, 49 â 31BC, and 30BC â AD14, and finally three thematic chapters examining professionalism and other motivations for service, the perception of service as a junior officer, and the role of the municipal elite within the junior officer corps. In addressing these issues, the thesis challenges the modern view that the junior officer corps suffered a dramatic decline in status at the start of the first century BC through unwillingness to serve on the part of the Roman social elite. Instead, emphasis is placed on the important changes which occurred within the junior officer corps during the period 49 â 31BC, when the increasing demands
Wrobel, Thomas David
History of the ancient world ; History of War ; Rome ; army ; officers
The junior officers of the Roman army, 91BC - AD14. This thesis examines the evolution of the junior officer positions of the Roman army in the period 91BC â AD14, and the motivations, background, and status of their holders. Two introductory chapters consider the nature of the available evidence and the way in which the agendas and survival patterns of our sources have influenced modern perceptions. There follow three chapters of diachronic analysis, each analysing the number of officer positions available, the roles and functions of the junior officers, and the status of the junior officer positions in the periods 91 â 50BC, 49 â 31BC, and 30BC â AD14, and finally three thematic chapters examining professionalism and other motivations for service, the perception of service as a junior officer, and the role of the municipal elite within the junior officer corps. In addressing these issues, the thesis challenges the modern view that the junior officer corps suffered a dramatic decline in status at the start of the first century BC through unwillingness to serve on the part of the Roman social elite. Instead, emphasis is placed on the important changes which occurred within the junior officer corps during the period 49 â 31BC, when the increasing demands
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