Mavors news:

The Latin term "militia" and Late Roman administration
In the Late Roman Empire the Latin word "militia" also meant civil service. This has often led to the conclusion that the Roman government of the fourth and fifth centuries was thoroughly militarized. This study traces the development of the word "militia" and its use within Roman administration and thus comes to an entirely different conclusion.

Militia

Commagene - a small kingdom on the Euphrates becomes Roman
For many decades of the first c. AD small kingdoms surrounded the Roman provinces in the East. Their incorporation into provincial territory particularly during the reign of the emperor Vespasian (69 - 79 A.D.) is generally understood as an act of Roman imperialism to expand the Empire. The history of Commagene, however, is an example of a rather different integration into the Roman Empire.

Commagene

Roman Military Diplomas:
Download a report on our international congress on Roman Military Dipomas:

Diploma report

Roman military equipment from Martigny / Switzerland:
An analysis of all pieces of Roman military equipment so far found at Martigny / Forum Claudii Vallensium sheds important new light on the administration of the small alpine province alpes Graiae et vallis Poenina.

Militaria from Martigny

Satala:
Download the latest report on our 2004 investigations at ancient Satala:

Satala campaign 2004 (October 2004)

Or help yourself to one or more of the many other free downloads on our project-pages! They include unpublished and recently published scientific articles, bibliographies and project reports!

Other news in Ancient Military History :

Slingshots in the Alps:
A number of early Roman military objects as well as several lead slingshots have been discovered near Tiefencastel / Switzerland and near the Septimer-Pass bearing inscriptions of l(egio) III, l(egio) X and l(egio) XII. They date to the late 1st c.BC and could therefore shed light on the Augustan military operations in the Alpine valleys in 16 and 15 BC. However, as yet all are surface finds.

J. Rageth, JbSGU 86 (2003) 247-248.
Idem, JbSGU 87 (2004) 297-303.
Idem, JbSGU 88 (2005) 302-311.

Germanic warriors:
Just published: M.P. Speidel, Ancient Germanic Warriors, Warrior Styles from Trajan's Column to Icelandic Sagas, London, Routledge, 2004, 313 pages, 53 figures.

Vindonissa:
Recent excavations in the southern central area of the legionary fortress have led to the discovery of well preserved parts of the via praetoria (left; mid 1. c. AD) as well as the remains of soldiers' barracks (right). This raises new questions concerning the development of the fortress' layout (cf. M. Hartmann, Vindonissa. Oppidum, Legionslager, Castrum, 1986 for plans and a history of Vindonissa). Several finds point to the presence of women and children within the fortress. This confirms the evidence from the Vindonissa writing tablets (M.A. Speidel, Die römischen Schreibtafeln von Vindonissa, 1996) as well as the conclusions reached from other sources (M.A. Speidel, Frauen und Kinder beim Heer. Jahresbericht Gesellschaft Pro Vindonissa 1997, 53-54).

T. Pauli-Gabi / J. Trumm, Ausgrabungen in Vindonissa im Jahr 2003, Jahresbericht der Gesellschaft Pro Vindonissa 2003 (2004), 45ff. The above pictures are fig. 4 & 6 on p. 48.

Caucasus frontier:
New archaeological and epigraphic information on the Roman garrisons of Apsaros (Black Sea / Caucasus frontier): recent excavations have revealed tile stamps of a cohors II and an inscription of a cohors Aur(elia)!

Sh.Kh. Mamuladze / M.S. Khalvashi / L.G. Aslanishvili, Rimskie garnisonu Apsara, VDI 240/1 (2002) 33-39.

Two new journals on Ancient Military History!

La Revue d'Études Militaires Anciennes (REMA)

The Journal of Ancient Military History (JAMS)