09-10-2008, 08:18 AM
It's more difficult to say things in few words than in many pages. Do you think that the following summary is adequate?
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Increasing pressure on the Roman frontiers led to the creation of new legions: Matcus Aurelius added two, Septimius Severus three. This could not be financed (Roman Empire had no economic growth), so they debased the denarius. Because the soldiers realized they were cheated, they demanded more money; and this created a spiral of inflation, which made an adequate defense very difficult.
The deepest crisus was during the reign of Gallienus, when the Empire was split into three parts. This made it possible to look for new solutions. In the Gallic Empire, defense in depth was developped; Gallienus and the Palmyrene leaders preferred to put more soldiers on horseback. All this was even more expensive, but it worked, especially because the three empires had better defined borders: Rhine, Danube, Euphrates.
Although Aurelian -who united the three empires- gave up the Gallic system and the separation of the three command zones, Diocletian returned to these. The tetrarchy essentially was a return to the separated command zones (although with four sectors). A monetary reform (from silver to gold) enabled financing all this. Constantine again preferred defense in depth and built very heavy fortifications.
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I am not quite sure about what I say about the soldiers on horseback and Diocletian. If defense in depth in Gaul strikes you as odd: trust me, that's a recent contribution of Belgian archaeologists.
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Increasing pressure on the Roman frontiers led to the creation of new legions: Matcus Aurelius added two, Septimius Severus three. This could not be financed (Roman Empire had no economic growth), so they debased the denarius. Because the soldiers realized they were cheated, they demanded more money; and this created a spiral of inflation, which made an adequate defense very difficult.
The deepest crisus was during the reign of Gallienus, when the Empire was split into three parts. This made it possible to look for new solutions. In the Gallic Empire, defense in depth was developped; Gallienus and the Palmyrene leaders preferred to put more soldiers on horseback. All this was even more expensive, but it worked, especially because the three empires had better defined borders: Rhine, Danube, Euphrates.
Although Aurelian -who united the three empires- gave up the Gallic system and the separation of the three command zones, Diocletian returned to these. The tetrarchy essentially was a return to the separated command zones (although with four sectors). A monetary reform (from silver to gold) enabled financing all this. Constantine again preferred defense in depth and built very heavy fortifications.
******
I am not quite sure about what I say about the soldiers on horseback and Diocletian. If defense in depth in Gaul strikes you as odd: trust me, that's a recent contribution of Belgian archaeologists.
