Proposal a) Soldiers and mercenaries
Unlike Greek and Hellenistic contexts, in Roman imperial narratives there is seldom any differentiation between soldiers as citizens and hired mercenaries, indeed it is more a question of motivation than of remuneration. Good citizens, poor mercenaries – such categories were not efficacious in empires whose military might was based on a professional army. Despite a certain flexibilisation, the changes imposed in the later Roman empire, from the wider strategy down to the individual soldier, were very tangible; textual descriptions of the combatant forces also underwent change. Which services were remunerated, what characteristics were attributed to soldiers depending on author, genre, era and context? A closely linked question is that of the recital and description of conflict and battles as a constitutive component of manhood, bound in some cases to various shades of enemy stereotype, including gender transgression, ancestry and religious identity.
Proposal b) Reconstruction and fresh starts in Italy, 5th/6th century AD
From the end of the 3rd century onwards Italy was repeatedly the scene of warfare. Some of the reports and individual accounts nourish a narrative of decline, describing supply problems, the slow death of Roman administration and security, refugee movement and destruction. However, success and solution concepts are also recorded.
This project intends to trace the textually and materially proven measures taken and the reactions to such crises in the 5th and 6th centuries in Italy. Their effectivity, their sustainability and, as far as texts are concerned, the intention and message they convey shall be assessed. Whether and how destruction, fallow fields and desolate agricultural production, the activities of marauding troops and above all subsequent measures and consequences are described, and whether they are linked causally to the wars and their perpetrators is a fascinating topic. We can expect an important contribution to our understanding of the Western Roman elite, who alongside their (textually identifiable) relation to Roman tradition are prepared for change through their reference to the past and who derive strength from renewal and realignment in the aftermath of war.