Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Barbarization of the Armies (378 AD- 476 AD)
#16
You may wish to read Burns' "Barbarians Within the Gates of Rome" as he argues that contrary to received wisdom that the Gothic federates were in fact regular units and that the theory of Theodosios recruiting large numbers of barbarians outside of the regular army is not supported by the evidence. <p></p><i></i>
Reply
#17
Hello,<br>
<br>
Just thought I would throw in one little monkey wrench into the equation. Western Rome did lose a sense of itself. What country deserves to survive when few of its citizens desire to protect it from those who wish it harm? Here is the wrench. I am sure most of you have taken a look at what actually caused the pressure upon Rome's borders during its decline? It was the existant tribes that were being pressed upon from the East by massive upheavels of population movement (migration). The East was not immune from this ordeal but it was in a widely better postion than the flat and fertile grounds of the gateway to the Western Roman Empire; Germany and Gaul. The East was buffered by natural geography that in many cases deterred or minimized tribes to only conduct minor raids across the border. Although yes the occassional organized effort was made to threaten it by the Visigoths and later the Huns. The Huns were a well oiled and highly organized military machine most capable of such sustained carnage against any civilization at the time. The East had its main source of grain located in Egypt and in order to get to Egypt an army would have to migrate across moutains, rivers, and deserts of vast expanse. Trivial one might thank but a huge deterrant if you have to move tens of thousands of people including women and children. The future of your tribe in essence. It would take a systematic destruction of its manpower base in order to bring down the Eastern Empire. Attrition of manpower was not a concept the barbarians cared much for. Although attrition of will was.<br>
View any organized map of invasions through Western Rome from 350 AD to 476 AD. And you can see the trend. View maps of the Eastern Empire and it was only receiving massive threats from its western border where Rome was crumbling. Greece in particular and some portions of the Balkans. The Persians would pop up every now and then but to no lasting effect. Read over the campaigns of Narsus and Belisarius both of whom were from non-Roman lineage yet both were Roman educated and cultured and its greatest generals.<br>
Last point. Western Rome has considerable wealth even at its downfall. For years it paid off rampaging bands of tribes with large quantites of gold, silver, and jewels. So I think the argument about monetary resources is rather far-fetched. You can argue that paying tribes off for so many yrs depleted the treasury, but for any interested in a lovely mystery/connection with the Goths, a small church in France, and a Roman treasure there is much documentation on it. It is said that it is the triumph treasure brought back by Titus after he sacked Jerusalem that was kept under lock and key in the Famed Temple of Jupiter and left completely intact for many centuries until the Goths hauled it away with some 2000 carts and 2 weeks of work. Estimated worth is 10s of billions.<br>
<br>
Thanks!<br>
<br>
Germanicus..any questions see my Scribe.. Sarcasmicus..an unpleasant fellow <p></p><i></i>
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Barbarization? Nathan Ross 24 3,880 12-20-2018, 08:39 PM
Last Post: Brucicus

Forum Jump: