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[1] On dating of the work, see footnote 2; on the reality and dating of the antiqua legio, see e.g. Parker, H.M.D. 'The Antiqua Legio of Vegetius', Classical Quarterly 26 137-49.
[2] For a summary of the evidence, see R. Sablayrolles, 'Bibliographie sur l'Epitoma Rei Militaris', Cahiers du Groupe de Reserches sur l'Armee Romaine et les Provinces III (1984) 139-46. I am most inclined to follow Theodosius as the references in the work to Rome seem to indicate, as Milner points out (e.g. iv, pref.), that Rome appears to represent a symbol of inviolability, and the date must therefore be pre-410 and its sacking by Alaric.
[3] Goffart, W. Rome's Fall and After, London, 1989 49.
[4] Vogt, J. The Decline of Rome, London, 1993 153-55.
[5] Ibid. 153-55.
[6] Goffart, Rome's Fall..., 1989 75.
[7] Ibid. 72.
[8] Gordon, C.D. 'Vegetius and his Proposed Reforms of the Army', in Evans, J.A.S. (Ed), Polis and Imperium: Studies in Honour of Edward Togo Salmon Toronto 1974 45-48.
[9] Milner, N.P., Vegetius; Epitome of Military Science, Liverpool 1996 Introduction, xxviii.
[10] Ibid. xxix.
[11] I believe that the 'Germans' were not the homogenous group that they are usually taken to be. Historians such as Goffart (Rome's Fall..., 1989 111-133) have begun to question the relevance of the term 'Germanic' being used to cover all tribes between the North Sea and the Black Sea as this implies a theoretical idea of unity amongst them that is nowhere in evidence until the Carolingian period. Consequently, the idea that, for example, the Goths may not want to fight the Franks as they were both 'Germanic', or that Burgundian leaders at court would be angered by slights cast at the Alamanni can be dismissed.
[12] Milner, Vegetius 1996 xxix.
[13] Ammianus makes few references to disloyalty in Germanic troops; eg.xiv, 10.7 (alleged);
xxix, 5.20; xxxi, 10.3
[14] e.g. Veg. III, 4; III, 10
[15] e.g. Amm. Marc. probable earthworks; xv, 4.9, xviiii, 2.11, xxiv, 4.6, xxiv, 5 12: mention of Praetorian Gate; xxv, 6.7: shields only; xxiv, 8.7.
[16] Milner, Vegetius 1996 xxix.
[17] Veg. I.20; Gordon in Evans, Polis and Imperium 1974 42.
[18] Ferrill, A The Fall of the Roman Empire, 1986 128.
[19] see above, footnote 11.
[20] Jones, A.H.M. Later Roman Empire, 1990 177: Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire 1993 102. The argument also ignores the fact that Aetius was half ’Scythian’.
[21] Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire 1993 149
[22] Jones, A.H.M. Later Roman Empire, 1990 175ff.
[23] e.g. Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire, 1993 149.
[24] Veg. I.20; III.21.
[25] Gordon in Evans, Polis and Imperium, 1974 44
[26] Veg. I, Chaps. 1-7.
[27] e.g. Jones, A.H.M. 1990 201; 619.
[28] Jones, A.H.M. Roman Empire, 1990 615.
[29] Jones, A.H.M. Roman Empire, 1990 619.
[30] Jones, A.H.M. Roman Empire, 1990 619; Amm. Marc. xxi, 4.4.
[31] Jones, A.H.M. Roman Empire 1990 201; 619.
[32] Veg. I.28
[33] Veg. II.18.
[34] Veg. II.3
[35] Gordon in Evans, Polis and Imperium, 1974 51.
[36]Ferrill, A., The Fall... 1986 29.
[37] Ibid. 65
[38] Amm. Marc. xxxi, 13.8-10.
[39] Ferrill, A. The Fall... 1986 129.
[40] see above.
[41] Veg. III, 9-10.
[42] Amm. Marc. xxxi, passim.
[43] For example, the Gothic inroads into the western empire under Wallia which were controlled, at least to some extent, by cutting the Gothic supplies and starving them into submission. In this context, it is an unremarked phenomenon that after Adrianople the Romans very rarely indulged in face-to-face battles, and what is more surprising is that when they did they usually emerged victorious, despite the poor modern reputation of their troops; commentators on the Fall of the West very rarely attempt to explain this fact.
[44] Care on march, III.6; outnumbered, III.20.
[45] Amm. Marc. xxxi, passim; Veg. III, 9-10
[46] Veg. III.11. refs to Amm.
[47] An example of siege warfare in the West is that of Adrianople following the battle.
[48] Veg. III.26.
[49] Veg. I.20.
[50] It is interesting to note that, despite their reputation, they are depicted in a less than favourable light in Amm. Marc. e.g. xxv, 1.7-9 (a cavalry unit which had given ground forced to march with the baggage); xxvi, 12.37 (the rout of the right-wing cavalry at Argentoratum).
[51] Veg. I.28.
[52] Veg. II.3.
[53] Veg. II.19.
[54] The situation is reminiscent of the reforms that were under way in Russia prior to the German invasion in 1941 which allowed the German army to penetrate Russia to such devastating effect.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
Ammianus Marcellinus
Vegetius
Secondary Sources
Barnes, T.D. 'The Date of Vegetius' Phoenix 33(1979) 254-7
Birley, E. The Roman Army Papers 1929-1986 Amsterdam 1988
Cameron, A. The Later Roman Empire London 1993
Ferrill, A. The Fall of the Roman Empire; the Military Explanation London 1986
Gauld, W.W. 'Vegetius on Roman Scout-Boats' Antiquity 64 (1990) 402-6.
Goffart, W. Rome's Fall and After London 1989
Gordon, C.D. 'Vegetius and his Proposed Reforms of the Army'
IN
Evans, J.A.S. Polis and Imperium: Studies in Honour of Edward Togo Salmon Toronto 1974
Jones, A.H.M. The Later Roman Empire (2 Vols) Oxford 1990
Ladner, G.B. 'On Roman Attitudes Towards Barbarians in Late Antiquity' Lactor 7 (1976) 1-26.
Milner, N.P. Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science Liverpool 1996
Parker, H.M.D. 'The Antiqua Legio of Vegetius' Classical Quarterly 26
137-49
Sablayrolles, R. 'Bibliographie sur l'Epitoma Rei Militaris de Vegece' Cahiers du Groupe de Reserches sur l'Armee Romaine et les rovinces III (1984) 139-46.
Vogt, J. The Decline of Rome London 1993
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