Abstract

Ancient historians have demonstrated that Edward Luttwak's The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire does not accurately describe Roman grand strategy, and many conclude that there was no Roman imperial grand strategy. But the grand strategy of the Roman Empire can be studied as long as scholars ask questions that the available sources support. The field of strategic studies defines "grand strategy" as the allocation of a state's resources to meet its major objectives. Surviving sources regarding the patterns of troop movements in the Roman Empire show that emperors decided how to allocate resources empire-wide to meet objectives, and thus thought about grand-strategic issues even if they did not recognize the concept or engage in long-term planning.

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