Women and the Army in the Roman Empire

The first sustained treatment of the social roles and expectations of women who were associated with the Roman army.

Lee L. Brice (Edited by), Elizabeth M. Greene (Edited by)

9781107068575, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 November 2024

360 pages
25.1 x 17.6 x 2.4 cm, 0.78 kg

The presence of women in Roman military contexts has been established beyond doubt by scholars in recent decades. Nevertheless, very little sustained attention has been paid to who these women were, how they fit into the fabric of settlements, and what their contributions were to these communities. This volume offers new insights into the associations, activities, and social roles of women in the context of the Roman army, emphasizing the tangible evidence for the lived realities of women and families at different social levels. The various chapters adopt dynamic perspectives and shed new light on archaeological and historical evidence to provide novel conclusions about women's lives in antiquity. Histories of the Roman army can no longer ignore the women who lived and worked in its midst and histories of Roman women must acknowledge their important military role.

1. Present but not accounted for: women and the Roman army in the 21st century Lee L. Brice and Elizabeth M. Greene
2. Approaches to women and the Roman army: the history of a debate Elizabeth M. Greene and Lee L. Brice
3. Agrippina and company: elite women in the castra Lee L. Brice and Georgia Tsouvala
4. Elite marriage and adultery in the camp: Plin. EP. 6.31.4-6 and Tac. Hist. 1.48 Sara E. Phang
5. Mother courage and her children: the family and social life of the garrisons stationed in Rome Alexandra W. Busch and Elizabeth M. Greene
6. Investigating roles for women inside Roman military bases through artifact distribution Penelope M. Allison
7. (In)visible women and children: literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence for British migrant families in the Roman army Tatiana Ivleva
8. Soldiers' wives en route in Roman Egypt: a study through graffiti, private letters, and official documents Lien Foubert
9. The role of women in the religious activities of Roman military communities Elizabeth M. Greene
10. Mater castrorum: imperial women and succession ideology Julie Langford and Christina Hotalen
11. Women and the military in the age of Justinian Conor Whately.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]