Armstrong, JeremyBrice, LeeDonahue, John2024-01-082024-01-082023-11-24(2023). In Brice, L., & Donahue, J. (Eds.), Brill’s Companion to Diet and Logistics in Greek and Roman Warfare (pp. 126-151). BRILL.9789004686618https://hdl.handle.net/2292/67019The Romans seem to have recognized, from an early period, the importance of good nutrition for successful warfare. Throughout the Republic, and despite the massive changes which Roman society and the Roman state underwent between 509 and 31 BCE, Rome’s armies were generally well-supplied with a military diet which remained remarkably stable over the centuries. Based primarily on grain (consumed as puls or bread), supplemented with lentils, vegetables, some meat, and wine, dinner for a Roman soldier in the fifth century would have likely been recognizable to his first century counterpart. However, while the diet remained stable, both the mechanisms of supply and the social and cultural norms associated with it evolved, with substantial implications. This chapter will explore the origins of Rome’s military diet in archaic Italian society and the elite, gentilicial warfare of the regal and early Republican periods before tracking its development down through the late Republic. Focusing on a few key moments and periods of change – most notably the advent of the tributum/stipendium system, the introduction of coinage, and Rome’s wars of overseas expansion – it will argue that Rome’s military diet, like Roman warfare more generally, slowly transitioned from an elite preserve to a symbol of an increasingly cohesive and state-centred activity. Food which was once acquired, prepared, and consumed in a private or family setting, was gradually moved into a more communal, state and army-focused context. Thus, although the practical nature of the Roman military diet and nutrition changed very little over the course of the Republic, the way it was achieved and its associations changed considerably – which has significant consequences for our understanding of how both food and logistics operated (esp. socially) within the Roman military system of the Republic.Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htmhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Book Item10.1163/9789004687189_0072023-12-04Copyright: The authorshttp://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccess