The Evolution of the Roman Army Finale— The Death of the Roman Army and the Fall of RomeIn cas

The Evolution of the Roman Army Finale— The Death of the Roman Army and the Fall of RomeIn case you missed: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VIIWhen we last left off with the previous post, the Roman Empire had just gone through the tumultuous period from 388 - 410 AD, starting with a series of revolts, the campaigns of Stilicho, and the sack of Rome under the watch of Honorious. The empire would never again be the same, nor would the Roman Army, which by the time the Notitia Dignitatum was published in 420 was a shell of its former glory. The events between 420 and 460 would see the total dissolution of the standing Roman Army. Three major events would bring about this end.First between 427 and 432 the empire once again erupted into a major civil war between a triumvirate of Roman generals; Flavius Aetius, Flavius Felix, and Count Bonifacius. Think of it as like the civil war between Caesar and Pompeii, or Marc Antony and Octavian. The only difference being the winner would not go down in history as a legendary empire builder, but would gain control of the shiny turd that was now the Western Roman Empire. Aetius would be victorious and become de facto ruler of Rome for the next two decades, all the while the emperor Valentinian III spent his time in Ravenna playing backgammon and picking his nose. Second, whilst the empire was warring with itself, the Vandals crossed the Mediterranean and captured North Africa. At the time North Africa was the most important province of the empire as it was the number one grain producer for Rome. After the capture of North Africa, the price of food skyrocketed. The Roman state was forced into a position where it could barely afford to feed its own people, let alone pay for things like standing armies and military fortifications.The third factor which led to the disintegration of the Roman Army was more of a long developing social change rather than a single event. As the crumbling Roman Empire found itself under more and more stress it raised taxes and continued to raise taxes to the point that it became impossible for the average citizen to make a living. The Roman middle class, already decimated by a failing economy and periods of hyperinflation, crumpled under the burden and were driven into poverty while the lower class was further stomped into the dirt. The only people who prospered during the 5th century were the wealthy upper class patricians, who were able to use their power and influence to gain tax exemptions.  By now the Roman government was thoroughly riddled with corruption and Roman patricians could easily bribe tax officials to look the other way when tax season came around. What resulted was a patronage system headed by elite wealthy Romans. Patronage was common way back in the days of the Roman Republic, however the 5th century would ramp it up to the extreme. Commoners were forced into a situation were it was impossible to make a living on their own, so they would sell out their services to a wealthy patron.  The commoner, now basically a peasant, would perform labor or services for the patron, while the patron would in turn feed him, clothe him, house him, and take care of his taxes. In addition, peasants would be required to take an oath of loyalty to the patron, backing him in any dispute, saluting him in public, and kissing his ring in private. Patrons became so powerful that they eventually came to dominate the politics of the empire. By the 5th century individual patrons were the de facto rulers of villages, towns, and even entire cities. No one really cared about the Roman state anymore or gave a damn what the emperor had to say, not that he had anything particularly intelligent to say anyway. Political power was becoming decentralized to the point that Italy was breaking down into a collection of independent city states. If this sounds a lot like Medieval feudalism, congrats, you’ve earned a piece of candy. If it sounds like Renaissance era Italian politics, have a cookie. If the patrons seem a lot like late 19th to mid 20th century mafia dons, have yourself an ice cream, you’ve earned it.A 5th century Roman patronThe result of this socio-economic change was that Roman’s no longer wanted to have anything to do with Roman government, whether as a public official and in the case of the army, as a soldier. Instead, the patrons would pay out of pocket to raise their own private armies manned by soldiers for hire called bucellarii to defend their interests. It was not uncommon for the political and business interests of patrons to conflict, resulting in open warfare or blood feuds that could last centuries. Remember the fighting between the Montagues and the Capulets in the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet? Yup, that was a good old fashioned Italian patron family blood feud. Anyway, Roman’s were no longer willing to join the Roman Army. If you wanted a military career, it was better to join a patron’s private army as a bucellarius rather than become a legionary in the Roman Army. The patrons paid a lot more and equipped and trained their soldiers better. In addition, what self respecting Roman would want to fight for the corrupt farce that was the Western Empire? Who would want to die for dimwitted spoiled brats like Honorius and Valentinian III? Thus, as the 5th century progressed the Roman state could no longer afford to equip and maintain standing armies, nor were there a rush of recruits willing to join. As a result the empire became almost entirely dependent on foederati and mercenaries. When the Huns came screaming through Gaul in 451 Aetius marched north with a small Roman army and joined a confederation of Goths, Franks, Burgundians, Saxons, Amoricans, and Alans. The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains was not really a Roman victory, but a victory of barbarian forces aligned against the Huns. When the Huns were defeated, the barbarian forces went home, leaving Rome vulnerable to further Hunnic invasion. When the Huns invaded Italy the next year, Aetius’ small army was only able to harass the invasion and slow it down. Fortunately for Rome, the Huns decided to go home rather than pillage all of Italy. After the assassination of Aetius in 453, the Roman Army collapsed entirely. Depleted of cash, the empire simply ceased issuing pay to it’s soldiers. Units scattered throughout the empire either disbanded, sold out their services to a barbarian king or warlord, or settled where they were and became civilians. One example of this comes from the account of St. Severinus of Noricum who lived along the Danube border. According to Severinus the local cohort of Batavi had long ago stopped receiving their pay. In 460 they sent a delegation to Rome to find out why, but were massacred by a group of barbarians. The Batavi cohort disbanded, became regular civilians, and hired barbarian mercenaries for their protection.In 355 Petronius Maximus ascended to the throne after orchestrating the assassination of Aetius and Valentininan III. One of his first acts as emperor was to cancel the marriage of Eudocia, daughter of Valentinian III to the Huneric, son of the Vandal King Genseric. Greatly pissed off Genseric prepared an army to invade Rome. Maximus was like “go ahead come at me bro!”, believing that the mighty Roman legions would easily deal with the problem. There were no legions to deal with the problem, and the Vandals marched to Rome unopposed. Maximus attempted to flee his post but was seized by an angry Roman mob who stoned him to death for his incompetence. His glorious reign lasted around two months. On the 2nd of June 455, the Vandals sacked Rome. As sackings go, this one wasn’t so bad. Before the sacking, Pope Leo II requested that the Vandals not burn any of the city, nor harm any of its people. Genseric agreed, and for the next two weeks the Vandals were more like tourists than invaders; enjoying the sights of the city, watching the chariot races, eating good food, drinking all the wine, frequenting the brothels, and relaxing in the baths. Then, when the wining and dining was done, they looted the city of everything of value. Gold, silver, jewelry, fine clothing, furniture, artwork, everything had to go. They even pried the bronze roofing tiles off of the Temple of Jupiter. Due to their thorough plundering, the Vandals are today remembered with the word “vandalism”.By 457, the full time professional standing army was gone, the only standing Roman military forces being the bucellarii. While the bucellarii were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the emperor, in reality bucellari owed more loyalty to their patrons and less to the Imperial State. Sometimes patrons would loan bucellarii to the emperor if doing so furthered the patron’s interests or the common good of Italy. However, most emperor’s had to hire barbarian mercenaries in order to exert any military power.  By 457 most of the empire was gone as well. Gaul had been carved up by various Germanic tribes, Spain was controlled by the Visigoths, Britain had made a Brexit from the empire way back in 410, and North Africa was controlled by the Vandals. The new emperor, named Majorian, had been installed to the throne by a Germanic Roman general named Flavius Ricimer. Since Ricimer could not claim the throne himself, being a German, he made Majorian his puppet emperor and settled being the power behind the throne. In 458 Majorian personally led an army that defeated a Vandal invasion of southern Italy. From there he would attempt to consolidate his position by instituting a number of reforms to end corruption, regain political control over Italy,  and strengthen the military. In particular he passed a number of reforms forcing wealthy patrons to pay their taxes, and using these new funds was able to hire a large army mostly consisting of barbarian mercenaries.  Over the next three years Majorian would reconquer most of Gaul and Spain. From Spain he attempted to build a fleet to invade North Africa, however his plans were foiled when saboteurs paid off by the Vandals burned his fleet. Majorian made many enemies, most notably the wealthy patrons who believed his anti-corruption reforms were ursurping their power, and Ricimer who believed the “puppet emperor” was becoming too big for his britches. When Majorian returned to Italy he was ambushed by Ricimer’s men and assassinated. All of the reforms he made were rolled back, and most of the lands he conquered returned to barbarian control. The reign of Majorian was the last time that the Western Empire was mostly united. It was the last hurrah of the “Western Roman Army”.Western Roman Empire before and after Majorian’s conquests.Throughout the rest of Western Roman history Ricimer would firmly hold the reigns of power through puppet emperors who were solidly under his control. In 475 a Roman general named Orestes orchestrated a revolt against the reigning emperor, Julius Nepos. By then the “Roman Army” consisted entirely of Germanic mercenaries. Orestes won their loyalty by promising them more money, pay bonuses, and free land. After the coup Orestes placed his teenage son on the throne, named Romulus Augustus. Ironically the last Roman emperor was named after the founder of Rome, Romulus, and the first emperor, Augustus Caesar. Roman citizens however did not take him seriously, nicknaming him “Momyllus Augustulus”, Momyllus meaning “little disgrace” and Augustulus meaning “little Augustus”. When Orestes lacked the money to actually keep his promises, the army revolted and executed him, deposing Romulus Augustus in 476.The leader of the army, a Germanic general named Odoacer, refused to follow in the footsteps of Ricimer and name a new puppet emperor. Instead he declared himself King of Italy, and dissolved the imperial system entirely.Thus the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. Bye now.The End…Unless someone would like to write a continuation series on the Byzantine Army. In that case please let met know, I would be happy to reblog it. -- source link

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