Vegetius and the Roman Army

Publij Vegecij Renat je najverjetneje ob koncu 4. stol. napisal vojaški priročnik De re militari. Delo je oblikovno zastavljeno kot priročnik za cesarja, ki ga Vegecij slavi kot brezgrajnega vojskovodjo, vendar gre v resnici za kritičen dokument, namenjen tudi širšemu vladajočemu sloju. Vegecij je želel z De re militari preko vpliva te družbene skupine spodbuditi k izvedbi vojaških reform. Opredeljuje nekatere bistvene probleme, ki jih je dojemal v rimski vojski: sistem novačenja, korupcijo in pa opuščanje oklepa, urjenja ter utrjevanja taborov. Vsaj za prva dva od teh se zdi, da sta dejansko predstavljala resno težavo, čeprav Vegecij pri njihovi analizi ne seže dlje od moralizma. Njegovi opisi in napotki glede bojne taktike odražajo njen dejanski razvoj ob koncu antike. V nasprotju s ponekod uveljavljenimi prepričanji je bila poznoantična rimska vojska kompetentna vojaška sila, kar se zrcali tudi v De re militari, kjer jo sicer kritični Vegecij v več vidikih izrecno pohvali. Prav tako ni razvidna kakšna močnejša kritika barbarizacije rimske vojske in tudi v tem se Vegecijevo delo ujema z novejšimi stališči zgodovinopisja, ki so bolj skeptična do domnevne usodnosti tega pojava.Publius Vegetius Renatus wrote a military manual titled De re military, most likely at the end of the 4th century. The work is formally conceived as the manual of an emperor whom Vegetius praises as an impeccable commander, but it is in fact a critical document addressed to the wider ruling class. With De re military, Vegetius wished to encourage the implementation of military reforms through the influence of this social group. He outlines some critical problems he perceived in the Roman army: the system of recruitment, corruption and the abandonment of armour, drill and camp fortifications. At least the first two appear to have actually been grave problems, even though Vegetius reduces his analysis to moralism. The descriptions and precepts he offers regarding battle tactics reflect their actual development at the end of Antiquity. Contrary to beliefs established in some circles, the late Roman army remained a competent military force – a fact also reflected in De re militari, where it is praised in multiple aspects by the otherwise critical Vegetius. No strong criticism of the barbarization of the Roman army can be discerned eitherin this regard as well, Vegetius\u27 work agrees with the views of more recent historiography, which are more sceptical towards the supposed fatefulness of this phenomenon