Roman Cavalry

Date

2006-06

Authors

Cagniart, Pierre F.

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Abstract

My research was to concentrate on a puzzling question: what did happen to the military service of the Roman elite after the dismissal of a Roman cavalry and its replacement by foreign, mercenary horsemen? I do not have the answer. The cause of this temporary neglect is due to a digression. After consulting the primary evidence from early Roman history onwards, I got frustrated with working with Greek and Roman historians writing centuries after the events and, for most, with no direct experience with cavalry.. So, I decided to turn to Julius Caesar’s commentaries of the Gallic Wars and the Civil War. Here, I was involved with the writings of the general who commanded armies. My researches did focus on Caesar’s cavalry but it became necessary to integrate this topic into Caesar’s tactics and overall strategy. Soon, it became obvious that Caesar, the general, could not be artificially isolated from Caesar the politician. Ultimately, I am working on a comprehensive biography of Julius Caesar. This research, that I am still pursuing this summer, will not be completed until next summer. However, I intend to use my researches for submitting papers to academic journals. At the present time, I am completing files that deal with three aspects of Caesar’s generalship: one on cavalry, one on the uses of archers and slingers, and one on the use of stones as weapon. This last subject is largely forgotten and yet, when one pays attention to it, in contemporary sources, it is not trivial.

Description

Research Enhancement Program Final Report

Keywords

Roman elite, Julius Caesar, gallic wars

Citation

Cagniart, P. F. (2006). <i>Roman cavalry</i>. Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.

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