History of the Roman Army

So far it has seemed preferable to study the Roman army by successively examining each of its aspects, and this has entailed highlighting the fact that sometimes these aspects changed over the centuries. However, it would be a pity to ignore evolution in a history book. Obviously it would be impossible to summarize the events that took place in the Mediterranean basin in the course of the first three centuries ad. Nevertheless, scholars will note, perhaps with regret, that no military history of the Empire actually exists. Without going into great detail, therefore, it is necessary to sketch in the broad outlines of these questions. ¹