Unit 1- "The Imperial Army"

Author Bio: Flavius Josephus was a Jewish historian during Roman times. He fought in a war against the Romans, as well as becoming a slave translator for emperor Vaspasian, and eventually gained his freedom and took on the family name of Flavius. His background gives him a large knowledge of the Roman Army, and makes him an excellent person to explain it.

Date/Context: The context that this was written, was sometime during the reign of the Roman Emperor Vaspaian, because he was the one who granted Flavius his freedom from slavery, as well as his Roman citizenship. In the Roman Empire, this is still a time for expansion and conquering, because he talks of the Romans expanding their military forces.

Summary: Flavius gives a thorough explanation of the Imperial Army of Rome in this text. He describes, with much pride, the perfect discipline instilled into the troops, and their perfect rank and order, every soldier knows his place, and stays perfectly in it. He describes the perfect organization, and at the sound of a trumpet, every man knew exactly what he had to do, whether it was to pack up, burn the previous ground, or move out, no man was left not understanding what he had to do.

Key Quotes: 
"As though they had been born with weapons in hand, they never have a truce from training, never wait for emergencies to arise."
"When the camp is to be broken up, the trumpet sounds a first call; at that none remain idle..."