When did the Roman Army lose it\'s...

[Jona Lendering]

We could say, then, that the late Roman army did not fail the state, but rather that the state failed the army...

I agree. But this creates another interesting question: why did the state fail? I personally think that the conquest of Africa by the Vandals, which cut off the food supply of Italy, was the most important cause. Within six years, the tax department had been abolished.