This thesis discusses the two groups of officers found, in every branch of the Roman Army in both Rome and the provinces below the rank of centurion, the immunes and principales. The immunes were soldiers exempted from fatigues in return for carrying out special duties and the principales were soldiers who received extra pay in connection with their higher rank. The principales were the nearest equivalent in the Roman Army of the modem non-commissioned officer. The period covered is from Augustus to Diocletian, In Volume I, following the introduction and a discussion of the nature of the available evidence, the career structure of these officers in each branch of the army is analysied. Special attention is paid to the duration of the career, the promotion prospects of the soldiers and the chronological development of the career structure, tracing its growth from the Republic onwards, its developed state in the second century and the changes in the third century resulting from the increased dichotomy between the fighting and the clerical branches of the army. The known careers of individual soldiers in the army are also examined in detail. In Volume II each post in the army is investigated in turn. An attempt is made to determine the number of soldiers holding each post, the history of the post is discussed, and wherever possible its relative status determined, its position in the career structure analysised and the promotion prospects of its holders considered.

My thesis investigates whether the Roman authorities had any policies or practices in employing and deploying their armed forces to win the hearts and minds of the population in the eastern provinces under the Principate (27 BCE - 284 CE) as kind of military strategy for exploiting their human and material resources to confront the Arsacid - Sassanid empire. Chapter 1 explains this aim with reference to previous scholarship. In chapter 2, I update and review the data for the provenance of soldiers. I argue that the hypothesis of increasing ʻlocalisation’ in the pattern of recruiting soldiers is wrong. Military units in the eastern provinces always depended largely on the recruits from Italy, Africa and the Danube, as well as from the other eastern provinces. Chapter 3 investigates the processes of recruitment and veteran settlement, and argues that the Romans had a strategic aim to strengthen social integration between soldiers and civilians. This is supported by a case study of the Roman garrison at Syene in Egypt. Chapter 4 argues that the logistics system of the Roman armed forces and their military presence within or near urban areas did not hinder the economic growth of the eastern provinces. The Roman government took action against the abuse of requisitions. As in the West, Roman military occupation brought some economic benefit. Chapter 5 shows the changing image of Roman soldiers in imperial Greek literature from invaders to guardians. Greek elites began to view themselves as part of the empire and to distinguish between insiders (Romans) and outsiders (barbarians). Provincials thought of Roman soldiers as more effective and reliable than their municipal police. Chapter 6 argues that, as part of their military strategy, the Romans used the propaganda that their emperor was a Roman Alexander who confronted the Parthian threat to protect his subjects in the East. This seems to have had some success in uniting the various eastern nations to support and serve in Rome’s military domination of their territories. All these actions would have been impossible without a strategic intention to win the hearts and minds of the population in the eastern provinces.

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The subject of this thesis is a collection of military handbooks or tactica produced in the East Roman Empire in the 6th century. Although all these texts are discussed in turn, the study naturally concentrates on the two largest works, the "Compendium" of Syrianus Magister and the Strategikon attributed to the Emperor Maurice (582-602). The approach to these tactica has been on a number of levels. The first half of the thesis is primarily a textual study, which examines the inter-relationships between the 6th century works, their probable dating and authorship and their manuscript transmission. There follows a detailed analysis of the extent to which they were influenced by earlier works within this literary genre, which dates back to the 4th Century B.C., and the manner in which this traditional material was adapted to the military circumstances of the 6th century. These classical influences, both stylistic and conceptual, are balanced by a study of the influence exerted on East Roman military theory and practice by neighbouring peoples, particularly those relatively new to the Empire's cultural sphere, notably the Avars and the Turks. This involves an examination of the processes by which military technology and techniques were diffused between pre-industrial societies, and the extent to which the Romans actively studied the military methods of their enemies. This study is set within the context of a long-standing Roman tradition of military eclecticism. Having assessed the degree of traditional and empirical content, the thesis then compares the theoretical precepts of the textbooks with the military practices described by contemporary historians and chroniclers, with a particular regard to the development of tactics – how Roman armies prepared for and engaged in combat. By such a comparison the thesis aims to establish the relationship between theory and practice, and ultimately to provide an assessment of the practical utility of this sort of technical literature in Late Antiquity.