The Office of Agentes in Rebus in the later Roman Empire

WE KNOW YOU’RE THERE: Roman Political Counterintelligence in the Mid-Republic

JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015

This paper explores the strategies undertaken to preserve information in an age without formal services devoted to national security and counterintelligence. It examines the primary efforts of political counterintelligence denial undertaken by Roman senate during the mid-Republic. The fundamental focus revolved around restricting and monitoring access to available information. The senate determined what information, and in what detail, the public should have access to. This served to control both Roman citizens and the information available to foreigners. Extant sources mention the existence of spies and informers resident in or visiting Rome. These agents gathered information about other states in order to aid their political and martial decisions. Acknowledging this, the Republican senate undertook efforts to protect against these forces.

TRANSMISSION OF SECRET MILITARY MESSAGES BY THE ROMAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

To a remarkable extent the legendary dominance of the armed forces of the Roman Empire rests on their exemplary structure which is inextricably intertwined with both the thorough training of the elite fighters and the innovative equipment of the military units. Undoubtedly, it is not possible to disregard the catalytic contribution of inspirational leaders who, due to their unparalleled psycho-spiritual virtues, occupy a prominent place among the all-time leading Strategists. More specifically, shrewd commanders realized the deterministic correlation of the unimpeded achievement of the set war goals and the idealized reincarnation of their high individual ambitions, emphasize the careful collection of information data and their coordinated transmission to their direct subordinates or to their hierarchically superior partners. They reasonably did not attempt to engage without the admirable consideration of current evidence to which they had access during the methodical preparation of the expeditionary force. But even during the evolutionary phases of the bloody conflicts, they adopted the deliberate inclusion of the received reports in the volatile developments of the geopolitical palimpsest. Otherwise, they would be perceived as naive warmongers, but also as dangerous utopians. This paper succinctly outlines how Roman politico-military mechanism leverages reliable actors and utilitarian practices, so as to communicate with due security the points of excellence and the vulnerable sides of the spied person or the impending target.

Power and Politics in Fifth Century BC Rome. The Censorship and Consular Tribunate in Context

ASCS 32 Selected Proceedings, edited by Anne Mackay, 2011

The issues addressed in this paper have been addressed numerous times before. The most recent in-depth studies were by Holloway and Richard, but subject was also investigated in the 1980s by scholars like Ridley and Drummond, in the 1970s by Pinsent, in a spurt of activity in the 1950s, and of course even earlier by scholars like De Sanctis, Mommsen, and others. 1 Indeed, the origin and nature of Rome's early magistracies have fascinated historians, both ancient and modern, since our first extant histories of the period, in large part because there is so little information about them. In particular, the purpose and original nature of the consular tribunes, those enigmatic figures who seem to have taken over the duties of the consuls (albeit on an irregular basis) during the period from 444 to 367 BC, is an issue which vexed even our earliest extant Roman historians (most notably Livy), who presented more than one possible reason for their creation and seem to have been more than a bit confused as to their power and purpose. 2 The reason for this uncertainty is easy to understand. While Rome's first historians, writing in the final two centuries of the Republic, could at least see later examples of most early magistracies (consuls, praetors, censors, etc.), by the late Republic the military tribunes with consular power had not existed for over 150 years, or at least not in a form which in anyway resembled their 5 th century BC incarnation. Consequently, our sources, and indeed many modern scholars, are hazy on even their basic role, power, and function.

The Eyes and Ears: The Sasanian and Roman Spies ca. AD 222-450

2016

The article The Eyes and Ears:1) Provides a brief analysis of the several parallel security organizations of the two superpowers of antiquitywhen they were still at their prime; 2) Discusses both internal and external security matters; 3) Analyzes separately the military and civilian intelligence; 4) Examines the role of the religious organizations, ‘heresies’ and security; 5) Discusses briefly the ways in which the intelligence was obtained, analyzed, assessed and disseminated, and for what purpose; 6) Provides an overview of the successes and failures and of the limits of intelligence; 7) Demonstrates some similarities between modern and ancient practices