Religion Classical Warfare: The Roman Empire [Hardcover]

&very positive news, especially for those of us who dedicate ourselves to the study of the Roman army from one of its many prisms, since the constant investigation and the publication of new contributions and perspectives benefits us all and builds a strong science. - ARYSReligion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Romans were certainly no exception. No campaign was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Mars, god of War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times. This volume addresses that omission by drawing together the work of experts from across the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Roman Empire.Aspects considered in depth include: the Imperial cults and legionary loyalty; the army and religious/regional disputes; Trajan and religion; Constantine and Christianity; omens and portents; funerary cults and practices; the cult of Mithras; the Imperial sacramentum; religion & Imperial military medicine.Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Romans were certainly no exception.Religion was integral to the waging of warfare in classical timesWritten by a global selection of experts in this fieldConcludes a trilogy on religion in classical warfare which should become a key reference on the subjectTopics covered in detail: the Roman military oath; the gods on campaign in the Roman Empire; Hercules as a war god for Roman emperors; The nexus of religion and Roman military medicine; funerary practices of soldiers; the cult of Mithras and the Imperial Roman army; Constantine and Christianity in the Imperial Roman army; Byzantines, cruslÃt