Search results

In this book, Sara Phang explores the ideals and realities of Roman military discipline, which regulated the behaviour of soldiers in combat and their punishment, as well as economic aspects of their service, including compensation and other benefits, work and consumption. This thematically-organized study analyzes these aspects of discipline, using both literary and documentary sources. Phang emphasizes social and cultural conflicts in the Roman army. Contrary to the impression that Roman emperors 'bought' their soldiers and indulged them, discipline restrained such behaviour and legitimized and stabilized the imperial power. Phang argues that emperors and aristocratic commanders gained prestige from imposing discipline, while displaying leadership in person and a willingness to compromise with a restive soldiery

In the first and second centuries A.D., Roman soldiers were forbidden legitimate marriage during service: nevertheless, many soldiers formed de facto marriages. This book examines the legal, social, and cultural aspects of the marriage prohibition and soldiers' families. The first section covers the marriage prohibition in Roman literary and legal sources. The second section treats social and legal aspects of the soldiers' families, including a survey of epitaphs, the legal impact of the ban on families, and alternatives to family formation. The final section examines the marriage ban as military policy and its relation to Roman culture. This book will be of interest to scholars of the Roman army, Roman social history, and family law. Students of gender and sexuality in the ancient world will also find it relevant

During the first two centuries A.D., Roman soldiers were prohibited from contracting legal marriage; the masculine nature of Roman military discipline was the likely motivation for the ban. Nevertheless, many Roman soldiers formed de facto unions with women and fathered children. This marriage ban is directly attested to in papyri from Roman Egypt that show that soldiers' marriages were illegal and that their children born during service were illegitimate. Military diplomas granted to discharged soldiers show that veterans were given the right to marry. This article explores the nature of the soldiers'de facto unions in Roman law and the impact of the ban on the soldiers' illegitimate children. This article also discusses the soldiers' union in social practice, based on a survey of Latin epitaphs. Soldiers more frequently married in the second century; other features, such as relatively late marriage or celibacy, seem characteristic of the homosocial military subculture.