Barbarization of the Roman Army
The fourth and fifth centuries saw a profound change in the great Roman army. What was once a predominantly Roman institution became increasingly “barbarized”, a term used by historians for the Germanization of Roman culture, with more and more northern peoples being used in the army, which, some modern historians claim had a negative impact on the Empire itself. Many modern historians claim that this was a key factor in the decline and fall of Rome itself. But to understand the impact this had on the Empire, one must first look at how and why the army underwent such a change. The army went from using German mercenary units as extra troops to the barbarians becoming the backbone of later armies . Was it just a sign of the times, or was it a forced situation, as some historians have thought? Or was it just a continuation of Roman tradition of synthesis and absorption of outside cultures? Rome has always used troops from other cultures and adopted their tactics if superior to theirs. In my paper I shall try to prove that the “barbarization” of the army was no different than what Rome had done throughout its history, and that the Germanization had little impact upon the empire. First I shall look at modern interpretations of the “bar
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Germanization Roman, Hugh Elton, Thomas Hodgkin, Ammianus Marcellinus, Rome Roman, Clovis Franks, Rome German, Barritus Roman, EA Thompson, Synesius Procopius, roman army, impact empire, modern historians, fifth centuries, barbarization army, fourth fifth centuries, historians claim, fourth fifth, army modern, impact army, roman troops, modern historians claim, impact empire modern, army modern historians, key factor decline,
Approximate Word count = 2354
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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