Goodbye to All That

Abstract

This chapter examines the Roman militia system from the end of the Third Macedonian War to the outbreak of the Social War (167–91 bce). This period saw dramatically lower military deployments and significantly less intensive fighting than had characterized the years from 218 to 167 bce, defined by persistent and intensive hegemonic warfare. The reduction in both the deployment tempo and the intensity of fighting had a number of important implications for Rome’s citizen militia, namely: (1) diminution in the collective military experience within the citizen body; (2) increased military failures by less-experienced soldiers, officers, and commanders; and (3) increased reluctance of citizens to serve in campaigns, especially in Spain from 153 to 133 bce, in Numidia against Jugurtha, and against the Cimbri and Teutones from 112 to 101 bce, operations characterized by repeated debacles and significant casualties.