Warning Concerning Copyright Restrictions The Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If electronic transmission of reserve material is used for purposes in excess of what constitutes "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. I. Introduction From the evolution of the Roman society as a Republic to an Empire, the Roman Army was instrumental in the success or failure of the Roman state. As one of the greatest militaries of all time, the primary focus of the army was to conquer lands and people to further the state’s agenda. Discipline, strength, fraternity, and loyalty were the pillars and glue that held the army together. However, militaries also are a direct reflection of the political world they inhabit. Over six hundred years, many changes took place in the Roman government, none more important than the fall of the Western Roman Empire. By comparing texts written in 105 BC and 530 AD on a variety of topics, a larger picture of the roman military, and the roman world as a whole can be seen. Rufus’s Military Laws were used as a guide post for the discipline of the Roman Army at the end of the second century. Stringent guidelines were in place in order to keep order in a highly stratified military group. By comparing these Laws with the laws with writings Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, it is possible to trace the social and political changes that had a drastic effect on the composition and structure of the Roman Military. These changes made the army at times more, and at times less, effective in combating threats from both inside and outside the empire. Previous scholarship focuses on the effect the barbarians had on the military and the subsequent fall of the Empire, but ignores the foundations of Roman Military Law, and its’ fundamental base of soldiers. 1 | Page Greiman “War, inherently involves destruction-of life, property and old patterns of behavior.”1The Roman military was one of the most well trained and finely tuned martial structures of all time, and was responsible for protecting and enforcing laws over one of the largest empires the world had ever seen. Unfortunately, there is very little scholarship regarding a comparative analysis for Roman warfare that looks directly at the legal aspects, due in large part to the sheer size of the Empire, which spanned from Scotland to the Middle East and Germany to North Africa.2 The longevity of the Roman state also contributes to the lack of scholarship. From the beginning of the Republic around 508 BC to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD span roughly one thousand years and the Empire continued in the East for much longer. Throughout this period, the roman army was constantly evolving in both training and structure, as well as law and discipline. There is much debate surrounding the author of the Military Laws of Rufus. Some historians believe it to be Sextus Rufius Festus, a consul under Valentinan II, or an unknown officer under the Emperor Maurice. This last one can be discounted as Justinian, who was an Emperor before Maurice quotes Rufus in his Digest.3 Most scholars think the author of the Military Laws of Rufus was Publius Rutilis Rufus, a consul during 105 BC . Born in 158 B.C. Publius Rutilis Rufus served in the military, 1John Patterson, ed. John Rich, and Graham Shirley, "Military organization and social change in the later Roman Republic", in War and Society in the Roman World. 5 ed. adstow, Cornwall: T.J. Press Padastow, 1997. 93. 2Victor Davies Hanson. "The Journal of military history: The status of ancient military history: Traditional work, and recent research." The Journal of Military History no. 2 (1999): 63, 380. 3 Pat Southern. The Roman army: a social and institutional history. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC- CLIO, 2006. en: Brill, 2011. 145. 2 | Page Greiman most notably under the younger Scipio in the Numantine War of 134 BC. In 105 BC, during the time leading up to the Social War, he was elected to a consulship and spent part of his time restoring the order and discipline of the army and creating a manual for drill. After his consulship, he served as a legal advisor to the governor of Asia, where he tried to protect the public from extortion by the upper classes, specifically the publicani. This angered the equestrian order, which the publicani belong to, and Rufus was tried and convicted (the equites also made up the judges) and exiled in 92 BC.4 Rufus was a unique blend of military man and scholar. Victor Hanson suggests that the reason there are so few classical military historians is that the best ones require not only an education in discourse, but also hands on experience in military affairs.5 He cites N.G.L Hammond or W.K. Pritchett as more modern examples of true ancient military historians, but Rufus is perhaps the best example of a legal minded military scholar. Rufus’s drill book was written in a chaotic time, not only for the Roman Military but also for Roman Society. 6 The beginning of the first century B.C. was a tumultuous time for the Roman Republic. Massive power plays between Lucius Cornelius Sulla and C. Marius’ were leading up to The Social War which would that spanned three years and forever changed the shape of the Roman state. Mass political and social reforms were enacted, shifting the power structure between individual social classes. During the second and first centuries B.C., Rome had a disproportionately high citizenry enrolled in the army, with 4 John H. Arms. Romans on the Bay of Naples; a social and cultural study of the villas and their owners from 150 B.C. to A.D. 400. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970. 31. 5 Hanson, "The Journal of military history: The status of ancient military history: Traditional work, and recent research." 380. 6 Hanson, "The Journal of military history: The status of ancient military history: Traditional work, and recent research." 379. 3 | Page Greiman mobilization comparable to countries in Europe from 1914 to 1918.7 This is a change from the middle republic era in which the army more closely resembled a “citizen’s militia”.8Although the enrollment numbers ranged anywhere from twenty-six percent during the second century to six percent before the Social War that began in 91 BC, the roman military was still one of the most active during the time period. Towards the end of the Republic, the army was a means of increasing social standing within the class structure. One of the features of the Roman republic was a stratified society between rich and poor, and the army was a means of gaining wealth through pay and, later, through land grants from the Empire. Promotion, at least in the early days, was based on skill, and “an able and courageous soldier could gain promotion to the rank of centurion after fifteen or twenty years’ service.9 Up to a half of these members would later gain yet another promotion and gain entrance into the equestrian order, allowing for civil offices in town. This allowed for their children to enter the senate in the next generation. This system however, would not survive for long, and eventually the polarization between the rich and poor would grow ever wider due to the influx of imperial wealth coming from the farthest reaches of the empire.10 This system however, was not limited solely to citizens of the empire, but also individuals from outlying areas. 7John Patterson, ed. John Rich, and Graham Shirley. "Military organization and social change in the later Roman Republic." In War and Society in the Roman World. 5 ed. adstow, Cornwall: T.J. Press Padastow, 1997. 93. 8 Patterson, “Military organization and social change in the later Roman Republic.”, 95. 9 Patterson, “Military organization and social change in the later Roman Republic.”, 97. 10 Ibid. 4 | Page Greiman The Roman Army also posed a unique opportunity for provincials. In comparison to those centurions whose families would eventually be allowed into the ranks of the senate, provincials would be integrated into the Roman society, gaining rights of citizenship after service. As time progresses, less and less of these provincials join the army, to be replaced by federates.11 These federates were made up mostly of members of defeated barbarian clans that were recruited by individual generals. These federates posed a unique challenge for their superior officers, and would eventually be responsible in part for the fall of the Empire. The Empire is a lot different six hundred years after Rufus writes his military drill. The Republic is gone and the Western Empire has fallen to the barbarians. Two hundred years have passed since the seat of the Roman Empire has moved to Constantinople, and Justinian is a very different Emperor then his predecessors. Justinian is one of the most interesting Roman Emperors, he served as co-ruler with his uncle Justin, and upon Justin’s death became Emperor unopposed on August 1, 527. In keeping with the traditionalized Christian Orthodoxy of the Emperors beginning with Constantine, Justinian is of the Caledonian orthodoxy, the two natures of Christ belief, while his wife Theodora was a Monophysite.