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    What Was The Role of The Roman Army in Britain v1

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    joehague
    The Roman army in Britain served three main roles: 1. Military functions including invading and occupying Britain, establishing frontier zones, and policing pacified areas with auxiliary forces. 2. Civil and support functions such as building infrastructure, managing transportation of goods, and overseeing mining operations to support the Roman economy. 3. Indirect roles through establishing trading outposts that stimulated local economies, introducing new consumer patterns, and facilitating intermarriage between troops and natives, thereby culturally integrating the local population into Roman and cosmopolitan society.

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    What Was The Role of The Roman Army in Britain v1

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    joehague
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    The Roman army in Britain served three main roles: 1. Military functions including invading and occupying Britain, establishing frontier zones, and policing pacified areas with auxiliary forces. 2. Civil and support functions such as building infrastructure, managing transportation of goods, and overseeing mining operations to support the Roman economy. 3. Indirect roles through establishing trading outposts that stimulated local economies, introducing new consumer patterns, and facilitating intermarriage between troops and natives, thereby culturally integrating the local population into Roman and cosmopolitan society.

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    The Roman army in Britain served three main roles: 1. Military functions including invading and occupying Britain, establishing frontier zones, and policing pacified areas with auxiliary forces. 2. Civil and support functions such as building infrastructure, managing transportation of goods, and overseeing mining operations to support the Roman economy. 3. Indirect roles through establishing trading outposts that stimulated local economies, introducing new consumer patterns, and facilitating intermarriage between troops and natives, thereby culturally integrating the local population into Roman and cosmopolitan society.

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    79 views2 pages

    What Was The Role of The Roman Army in Britain v1

    Uploaded by

    joehague
    The Roman army in Britain served three main roles: 1. Military functions including invading and occupying Britain, establishing frontier zones, and policing pacified areas with auxiliary forces. 2. Civil and support functions such as building infrastructure, managing transportation of goods, and overseeing mining operations to support the Roman economy. 3. Indirect roles through establishing trading outposts that stimulated local economies, introducing new consumer patterns, and facilitating intermarriage between troops and natives, thereby culturally integrating the local population into Roman and cosmopolitan society.

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    The assignment that follows has been written by, and is entirely the work of Joe Hague.

    What was the role of the Roman army in Britain: Several functional areas: Military: invasion and occupation Civil and Support: support of civil structures in the occupied territory Indirect roles: secondary social and economic roles.

    1. Military functions. Invasion opening up the province for Rome. Partly achieved in the south before invasion by diplomatic relations and client kings coming to terms. The army therefore only had unorganised and disparate native tribes to overcome. As the army swept from south to north, a civil zone was left behind, and a military zone was created at the frontier of military operations. A policing function was carried out in areas already pacified. This was largely carried out by the auxilia forces. The two functions of frontier military operations and civil operations were carried out by two separately organised and recruited units - the legions and auxilia. In this sense defence may be seen as a civil role eg the statically based defence at Hadrians wall provided by auxiliary troops, with mobile cavalry units situated north of the wall. Relative roles reflected in the numbers: 10 legionary fortresses (each average ~6000 troops on ~50 acres) and 200 auxiliary forts (each on average ~6 acres).

    2. Civil and Support functions. These functions were all carried out within the civil zone, and related to the creation, maintenance and expansion of roman economic supply lines and political power. Fulford (1996, 13) suggests II Augusta legion had oversight of the Welsh lead mines west of Caerleon, with an auxiliary fort at Pumsaint close to the gold mine. Silver was a by-product of the lead extraction process, which is indicative of the importance attached to the sites - and perhaps also suggests the significance of inscribed lead pigs, see De la Bdoyre (2001). Building work and road creation and repair work. Specialist trades were held within a legion stonemasons, blacksmiths, tanners, potters, plasterers, surveyors, engineers, medical and veterinary (De la Bdoyre, 2001). A Vindolanda tablet dated 25 april tells of several hundred men engaged in making shoes, digging clay, firing a kiln and working lead - quoted in Millett (1995, 79) Organisation of transportation for import, exports and distribution of goods also crucial.

    3. Indirect roles. a) South:

    The assignment that follows has been written by, and is entirely the work of Joe Hague. Effect on local economy via vici. Supplies were needed and this stimulated the local economy the vici grew to accommodate this trade, which would have created significant wealth locally and regionally Luxury goods. Available from the empire forming new patterns of economic demand that adjoined the other social changes taking place. Intermarriage. Perhaps as a result of the vici, social relations developed between troops and natives, resulting in a joining of cultures. Career. Auxilia were recruited from local population. Considerable reward in the award of Roman citizenship after 25 years service meant that new opportunities became available to the native population. The overall effect is one of multi-faceted social and cultural change in the south. Not just a change to Roman values but cosmopolitan values based on non-roman auxiliaries, cultural diversification and hybridisation from intermarriage and the adoption of new patterns of consumer behaviour. b) North. A much slower and less evolved process than in the south. The luxury goods economy was undeveloped. Client kingships undeveloped. But some effect on local economies from supply trade and perhaps some intermarriage.

    Bibliography De la Bdoyre, G., 2001. Eagles over Britannia. Stroud, Tempus. Fulford, M., 1996. The Second Augustan Legion in the West of Britain. National Museums and Galleries of Wales. Millett, M., 1995. Roman Britain. London, Batsford.

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