Sacramentum militiae : Empty words in an age of chaos
Book chapter
Hebblewhite, Mark Kenneth. (2016). Sacramentum militiae : Empty words in an age of chaos. In In Armstrong, Jeremy (Ed.). Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare pp. 120–142 Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004284852_008
Authors | Hebblewhite, Mark Kenneth |
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Editors | Armstrong, Jeremy |
Abstract | The sacramentum militiae, or military oath of loyalty, has long been recognized as a core component of the relationship between the emperor and the Roman army during the early imperial period.1 Far less, however, is known about its role in the relationship between the emperor and Roman army during the politically volatile period that stretched from the onset of the third century crisis in ad 235 to the death of Theodosius in 395.2 This chapter is an attempt to at least partially rectify this state of affairs. After briefly examining the origins of the sacramentum in the republican epoch this chapter will trace its development through the early imperial period in order to establish a point of contrast for its role from 235–395. It will then establish the basic operation of the sacramentum during this later period, including discerning the content of the oath, the occasions on which it was sworn, and the manner in which it was sworn. These findings will then be used to explain the role the sacramentum played in the ongoing relationship between the emperor and the Roman army. |
Keywords | Ancient Near East and Egypt; History; Classical Studies; Ancient History; History ; History of Warfare |
Page range | 120–142 |
Year | 01 Jan 2016 |
Book title | Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare |
Publisher | Brill |
Place of publication | Netherlands |
Series | Mnemosyne, Supplements, History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity |
ISBN | 978-90-04-28485-2 |
ISSN | 0169-8958 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004284852_008 |
Web address (URL) | https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004284852/B9789004284852_008.xml |
Research or scholarly | Scholarly |
Publisher's version | License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
14 Jul 2016 | |
Publication process dates | |
Completed | 10 Jun 2016 |
Deposited | 05 Sep 2023 |
Additional information | Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8z95x/sacramentum-militiae-empty-words-in-an-age-of-chaos
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