09-07-2005, 05:21 AM
Quote:the roman army was a killing machine but slowly that machine became weak. At what point did this happen were the reforms made by Constantine what killed the efficiency of the army or what was it , was it the influence of the barbarians in society , what happened ? What made the once invincible roman army weak and beatable
Blaming Constantine's military reforms for the decline of the Roman army represents a small school of thought in scholarly circles. Most scholars, I believe, actually praise him for restructuring it the way he did. There's a book written by someone from the aformentioned school of thought titled "The Fall of the Roman Empire" by Arther Ferrill. It's thought provoking and I own it although I disagree with the author's conclusions.
I think the consensus isn't that the army became weak. In fact, just the opposite. The army during the principate was for the most part a peace time force. Discipline was actually higher from the 3rd century AD onward due to continuous warfare.
The army didn't become weak, it's just that when ever you fight an enemy for decades or centuries without actually conquering them outright, they learn your tactics and adapt to them. So when the Romans are fighting barbarians during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries the wars they fight are more akin to civil wars than to the wars of expansion during the time of the Republic and early Empire.
Jaime
