Roman soldiers

Between Sanabor and Col several finds were found, which further suggest that in the past military operations were held in this area. An example is the discovery of a slingshot lead projectile in Gradišče near Sanabor. Such projectiles are usually associated with an earlier advance of Roman troops in the heart of Slovenia and are probably not related to the Battle of Frigidus River. Slightly more interesting is the discovery of a hiposandal near Col.

Med Sanaborjem in Colom so našli nekaj posamičnih najdb, ki še dodatno nakazujejo, da so se tu v antiki odvijale določene vojaške operacije. Tak primer je najdba svinčenega izstrelka za pračo na Gradišču pri Sanaborju. Uporaba izstrelkov za pračo je ponavadi povezana z zgodnejšim prodorom rimskih čet v notranjost Slovenije in verjetno ni v povezavi z bitko pri Frigidu. Nekoliko bolj zanimiva je najdba hiposandale v bližini Cola.

This thesis is meant to detail the impact of Roman military forces located on and around the Bay of Naples from the time of Nero to the death of Domitian, as it pertains to the archaeological record. This time period, spanning around 50 years, is rich with archaeological activity in an already archaeologically rich region of Italy.
The thesis looks at both the literary and archaeological evidence found in Campania to help construct an accurate depiction of the Roman naval and land forces present on and around the bay at this time, their significance, and their tactical, even political purpose. Special attention will be given to the naval forces stationed at Cape Misenum, as the fleet carried out the bulk of military activity on the bay, and as such the military archaeological record for this area revolves around this strategic base.

During battle the Roman soldiery could commit acts of extreme violence and brutality against their enemies. Be they the ferocious warriors of Northwest Europe, the Greek phalanxes well-drilled and bristling with spear-points, eastern horse-archers, or their own countrymen during civil wars, the Roman soldier could and did brutally suppress all enemies placed in front of him. What is less often mentioned, however, is their willingness to extend such violence to whole cities of unarmed civilians.

On a shield emblem from the Notitia dignitatum.
Re-assessment of a tomb fresco depicting the late antique soldier Flavius Maximianus from the Villa Maria-Catacombe in Syracuse (reg. Siciliana / I):

In 1964, an arcosolium of a late Roman soldier with an extensive mural fresco was discovered in the northern part of Syracuse, together with the Villa Maria-catacombe. The wall mural fresco shows the buried Flavius Maximianus in his military vestment. So far, only the depicted ridge helmet has been received while the other details have remained almost unaffected. After an accurate image analysis, the inscription on the shield, which is difficult to decrypt, could now be deciphered and identified as the emblem of the Mattiarii iuniores listed in the Notitia dignitatum, which furthermore allows to decrypt the Numerus mentioned in the tomb inscription. Therefore, in spite of their partially unknown and varying transcriptional history, the emblems of the late medieval and early modern copies of the Notitia dignitatum still seem to be considerably close to the late antique original in the light of these new discoveries.

El presente estudio es una reflexión sobre las patrias o formas de expresión de la patria de los soldados romanos en la epigrafía militar. Se tratan de definir la función
"patronímica" que tienen conceptos jurídicos tan conocidos como natio, domus, origo, aplicadas a soldados en activo o veteranos. También se reflexiona sobre algunas formas artificiales de «patrias o pseudo-patrias en la vida del soldado, como puede ser la unidad militar "étnica", y los elementos de la vida milítar como un universo propio: la vida del campamento, el culto imperial, o la lengua, que devienen en elementos comunes a todos los soldados que sirven lejos de su patria formando una "nueva nación": la que constituye el conjunto del elemento militar romano.

"The 'patriae' of the Roman soldier in the Empire".

This work is a reflection on the "mother lands" or forms of expression of the "mother land" of the Roman soldiers in
the military epigraphy. They try to define the ffpatronymicn function that juridical concepts have so known like natio,
domus, origo, applied to soldiers or veterans. Also one thinks about some artificial forms of pseudo- "mother lands" in the life of the soldier, since it can be the military "ethnic" unit, and the lements of the military world: the life of the camp, the imperial worship, or the language, which they develop into common  elements to all the soldiers who serve far from her mother land forming a " new nation", the one that constitutes the military
universe.

Nel 394 l’imperatore romano Teodosio I mosse le sue truppe da Constantinopoli per sconfiggere l’usurpatore
Flavio Eugenio che controllava la parte occidentale dell’impero. La battaglia decisiva tra i due eserciti si svolse nei
pressi del fiume Frigidus che gli storici e gli archeologi identificano con il fiume Vipava o con il suo affluente Hubelj.
Secondo alcuni scrittori dell’epoca la battaglia fu molto cruenta e durò addirittura due giorni. Finora non è stata
trovata nessuna traccia di questa grande battaglia che potrebbe essersi svolta nella zona tra i paesi Sanabor e Col.
In questa ristretta e difficilmente accessibile area passava la principale strada che collegava Aquileia con Emona e
la zona si presta benissimo per un agguato nel quale le truppe dell’usurpatore Eugenio avrebbero potuto facilmente
bloccare, accerchiare e distruggere le truppe di Teodosio. L’area presa in considerazione è sicuramente strategica
dal punto di vista militare in quanto vi si trovano tuttora diverse fortificazioni miliatri costruite in epoca moderna.
Tenendo conto della forza delle truppe miliari romane dell’epoca, è stato ricostruito un possibile scenario militare,
cercando di dimostrare che la zona è il posto ideale per fermare ed accerchiare un nemico che stesse tentando di
passare il passo Ad Pirum per entrare in Italia.
Parole chiave: Frigidus, Teodosio I, Eugenio, Arbogaste, esercito romano, Sanabor, Col, Orešelj, Kovk, Vipava,
Ajdovščina, sv. Danijel, Bela.

Soldiers sustaining battle wounds was both an historical reality and a popular literary theme in the Late Republic and the Early Empire. Battle scars were often instrumentalised as tokens of bravery on the battlefield and equated with military honours, symbolising true virtus. In this paper we analyse how some ancient authors constructed the behaviour of injured soldiers in their writing based on stoic ideals such as an indifferent attitude towards damaged body parts. We further argue that these literary depictions served as powerful metaphorical exempla that had educative and moral purposes not restricted to a military context but relevant for all aspects of life. The targeted readership was encouraged for introspection and to discern popular from philosophical views on achieving virtus. In addition, a stoic framework was cleverly selectively deployed against boasting soldiers and their ideological allies which proved to be very efficient.

Aggiornamento e revisione delle iscrizioni romane di Mutina per il sito web http://www.mutinaromana.it/it/  a cura di S. Pellegrini e G. Pellacani e realizzato da Altair4 Multimedia in occasione della mostra "Mutina Splendidissima. La città romana e la sua Eredità" (Modena, Foro Boario, 25/11/2017 - 08/04/2018).
Sezioni interessate: "Carta Archeologica" (schede nn. 1-3, 54-57, 62, 63, 74, 96, 290, 309, 326, 350, 800, 962); approfondimenti "Cittadini di Mutina nell'esercito romano", "La religiosità"  e "Artigiani e mercanti".

This doctoral dissertation is on the evaluation of metal materials recovered from archaeological excavations carried out in the Village of Gökçeseki (Philadelphia), within the district Ermenek which is part of the Karaman province.
It is observed that the metal works found in Gökçeseki (Philadelphia) consist of 348 pieces and that they were produced in small numbers from gold, silver and lead but more from bronze. The findings were first grouped according to their intended use.
According to the groupings made by considering the functions of the works, 206 of them consist of Cosmetic / Medical instruments, 29 of them cutting / drilling tools, 82 of them jewelery, belts and clothing accessories, 7 of them lock parts and keys, 4 of them mirror and mirror frames and finally, 12 of them that were not included in these groups were also evaluated. Of the finds in Gökçeseki, 270 are made of bronze, 51 are iron, 7 are silver, 4 are lead, 3 are gold, and 3 are stone artifacts associated with these finds.
It is very important to understand, identify and date the metal finds.  The works evaluated in this PhD thesis were found, arranged in a planned order in a pit. The closure of the pit must be linked to Shapur's campaign (AD 260), which caused a major destruction in the region in the middle of the 3rd century AD. In this context, the terminus ante quem for the dating of the works studied is the 1st century AD and the terminus post quem is the late 3th century AD at the latest.

This paper analyzed how since the release of Gladiator (2000), Roman Epic films, along with certain TV series, have portrayed battles following the Hollywood aesthetic of visceral and hyperrealist violence, while simultaneously focusing to a large degree on the soldier’s perspective. For a more in-depth understanding of these cinematic depictions of ‘the face of Roman battle’, a revision of scholarly works that focuses on this approach is necessary, as well as a comparative analysis of the imagery of battles in recent Roman Epic films and series to those of previous films of the genre, along with other war films. This chapter will thus attempt to answer the question of to what extent these depictions are influenced by scholarly research – the ‘face of battle approach’ – as well as by Hollywood’s conventions and the contemporary context in which each production is created.

Abstract

War and tourism have generally been viewed by scholars as mutually incompatible. Nevertheless armies charged with prosecuting warfare have often indulged in tourist-like activity as soldiers are given opportunities to travel and experience new places. This paper charts some of the evidence for tourism amongst armies through history, mainly in the English speaking world, and demonstrates how troops have mixed tourist activity with the 'business' of soldiering. The assertion is made that rather than suppress tourist interest military activity can be a catalyst for developing tourism. Additionally rather than adhering to the rigid definition of tourism as an activity outside of obligated work, this paper calls for a broader understanding of the orthodox definitional paradigm. Although at work soldiers have throughout history syncretised tourist activity with their military commitments. The paper is an exploratory synthesis of this relatively under-researched area focusing on tourist like behaviour amongst soldiers. It does not aim to provide a definitive analysis of this wide ranging topic and might in places speculate on the relationship between military activity and tourism. Nevertheless in presenting an illustrative chronological overview, and highlighting some of the issues surrounding the topic, the paper endeavours to provide a stimulus for further discussion.

The article examines characteristic traits and trends of the Roman civil law concerning privileges of the Roman military. The analysis of legal sources allows to argue that the legal status of Roman soldiers had certain duality. On the one hand, soldiers were given with significant advantages and benefits conditioned by specific needs and demands of the military discipline and service in the professional army. On the other hand, legionaries (and praetorians) were treated as Roman citizens submitted to common law principles. Officially recognized simplicitas militum, simplified order of court cases involving soldiers, applying of various legal fictions had undoubtedly influenced the perception of army and soldiers’ legal status by civil society and contributed the construction of specific image of castrensis iurisdictio as it represented in literary sources.