01-06-2003, 03:01 AM
Greetings all!<br>
I just recently finished reading The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation by Arthur Ferrill. His main thesis centers around the destruction of Rome as a result of two main problems with the army.<br>
One, the "barbarization" of the army i.e. influx of Germans and others into the ranks of the legions. Second, he proposes that the collapse was due to the barbarian influcences that caused the discipline and training of the legions to break dow which, he states, caused the close order formations of the legion to not function properly anymore which, consquently, led to Rome's defeat at the hands of the barbarians.<br>
I am also wondering about several other items he raises:<br>
1. He states that the barbarians became primarily an infantry army (I had been told in school and college that one of the reasons for the defeat of Rome was cavalry vs. infantry warfare).<br>
2. He also mentions that the arym of the later empire has many horse back archers. I had heard about this about Byzantium, but never with the Western Empire.<br>
Any help would be appreciated. I have only recently began a detailed study of Rome, so most of this is new to me. As an educator, I want to give my students as much variety of valid theories as possible, but I also want to know if the idea are valid or at least feasible.<br>
Thanks in advance for any help. I hope with the help I receive here that I can inspire my students to explore Rome on their own so the more detail I have the better.<br>
Tim <p></p><i></i>
I just recently finished reading The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation by Arthur Ferrill. His main thesis centers around the destruction of Rome as a result of two main problems with the army.<br>
One, the "barbarization" of the army i.e. influx of Germans and others into the ranks of the legions. Second, he proposes that the collapse was due to the barbarian influcences that caused the discipline and training of the legions to break dow which, he states, caused the close order formations of the legion to not function properly anymore which, consquently, led to Rome's defeat at the hands of the barbarians.<br>
I am also wondering about several other items he raises:<br>
1. He states that the barbarians became primarily an infantry army (I had been told in school and college that one of the reasons for the defeat of Rome was cavalry vs. infantry warfare).<br>
2. He also mentions that the arym of the later empire has many horse back archers. I had heard about this about Byzantium, but never with the Western Empire.<br>
Any help would be appreciated. I have only recently began a detailed study of Rome, so most of this is new to me. As an educator, I want to give my students as much variety of valid theories as possible, but I also want to know if the idea are valid or at least feasible.<br>
Thanks in advance for any help. I hope with the help I receive here that I can inspire my students to explore Rome on their own so the more detail I have the better.<br>
Tim <p></p><i></i>
