231i. history and culture

S. PHANG, ROMAN MILITARY SERVICE: IDEOLOGIES OF DISCIPLINE IN THE LATEREPUBLIC AND EARLY PRINCIPATE. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Pp. xv + 336. isbn 978-0-52188-269-9. 50.00.

Phang, using literary sources supplemented by military documents, claims that disciplinamilitaris addressed a social and political crisis stemming from a fear of the army which was dueto the late Republican soldier being portrayed, in the literary tradition, as a greedy mercenarywhose desires were exploited by ambitious commanders. The ideological crisis concerned thetransi tion of the army from the citizen militia of the Republic to the professional army of thePrincipate. P. argues that the emperors and leading men of the Empire sought to routinize thearmy and re-establish their legitimacy through disciplina militaris. Her work discusses the ideol -ogies of the lite with regard to the ordinary soldier, senatorial commanders and emperors; thisis not a book about campaigning or warfare.

As an analytical framework P. uses the sociological and critical theories of Max Weber andPierre Bourdieu. In ch. 1 we learn that disciplina militaris provided a legitimatizing ideology inWeberian terms since it helped to routinize charismatic elements of late Republican warfare.Bourdieus theory of habitus is applied because many aspects of disciplina were based on habitualtendencies. P. notes that the strict ideal of rational discipline required by Webers theory cannotbe present in an ancient context.

Ch. 2 explains how combat training inculcated discipline and generated combat virtus throughits emphasis on physical fitness. In ch. 3 P. suggests that disciplina militaris was used to addressthe moral standing of the soldier. Military habitus was ensured through the imposition of a moralcode that emphasized masculinity and austerity. In ch. 4 P. observes that penalties were neverfully rationalized since they remained at the discretion of individual commanders or the emperor.Capital punishment remained, but shaming punishments which depended on a sense of honourhaving been instilled through disciplina militaris were used more often. Punishments remainedvalue-rational and were influenced by traditional exempla, although legal-rational punishmentswere developed that showed a high degree of administrative rationality (allowances were madefor mitigating factors). Ch. 5 focuses on the control of soldiers wealth through the rationalizationand routinization of wages, pensions, and donatives; this helped to expel fears of avarice. Fixedser vice conditions formed a rational bureaucratic system that routinized the army. The sixthchap ter discusses how military work such as monument building came to exemplify a soldiersvirtus. P. argues that virtus evolved under the Empire, where combat was rare, to incorporateobedi ence, endurance and the masculinity of peacetime military toil. Military labor avoided idle -ness which was thought to bring physical, mental and moral degeneration and could lead torevolt. However, military labor produced an ideological contradiction; military labor was hon -our able, but hard manual labour was indicative of status, thus associating soldiers with slaves.Recommended methods of discipline and management for both groups were also similar. If workwas particularly menial, soldiers resented the implication and were likely to rebel. Emperorswould attempt to assuage tensions through their own displays of labor; the sharing of labours,even symbolically, lessened the social divide. In ch. 7 we learn that disciplina militaris includedthe imposition of an austere diet which promoted social control and allayed aristocratic fears ofunruly soldiers. Controls on feasting and drinking also ensured that the army remained in condi -tion and alert. To mitigate potential complaints from the soldiers about the unjust privil eges ofthe officers, emperors or commanders could adopt an austere diet themselves whilst on campaign.

Disciplina militaris was a method of control that went beyond the inculcation of obedience.The legitimation of the army was achieved through economic controls placed on wages and dona -tives, administrative controls on labour and methods of training, and restrictions on a soldiersconsumption of food and drink rather than through any political loyalty. Consequently, theelements of control formed the ideology of disciplina militaris which inculcated the soldier andhis officers, instilled obedience and reaffirmed the social hierarchy and cultural elements of virtus.

It is hard to do justice to the wealth of material contained in this book. It is a fascinating readfor anyone interested in the imperial army, and is especially useful to those interested in imperialand military ideologies. My only criticism would be that the sociological approach becomes alittle tiresome. The few typos I observed (21, 60, 65 n. 202, 240, 285) do not detract from this well-researched and thematically-organized work. It offers a refreshing look at the Roman army froma social and cultural perspective and provides an impressive thirty-page bibliography.Hughes Hall, Cambridge/ Karen L. PickfordFellow of the New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women

Reviews:Layout 1 09/10/2009 14:56 Page 231