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.

The lives of women associated with the army provide an avenue for better understanding women in antiquity and the complex society of the Roman Empire. This volume draws on archaeological and textual evidence and employs dynamic perspectives to shed light on an important but overlooked part of the community.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.