Between the Danube and the Mediterranean – Exploring the role of Roman military in the mobility of people and goods in Croatia during the Roman Era

Between the Danube and the Mediterranean. Exploring the role of Roman military in the mobility of people and goods in Croatia during the Roman Era (RoMiCRO) – Croatian Science Foundation, project no. 6505

Name of the Principal Investigator (PI): Professor Mirjana Sanader, PhD
Name of the PI’s host institution for the project: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Project duration: 2014-2018

The objective of this project is to investigate and extend scientific information to aid in solving as yet unanswered questions about the significance of the Roman army in changes that occurred in the period from the first contacts with Rome (229 BC) to the end of the Marcomannic Wars (AD 180) on the territory of what is now the Republic of Croatia.

The project aim is to investigate the extent of impact of the military crews, camps, and harbours on the civilian population and their settlements, local trade, and the economy as a whole. The implementation of archaeological data in congruence with literary sources has shown that a more balanced view can be achieved. It has been shown that such a methodological approach can result in more extensive information about questions to which the sources cannot give answers. Thanks to archaeological data, it has been established that no overreaching conclusions can be made about integration, as it depended on factors that played different roles in different milieus. Such investigation has never been undertaken in Croatia, and the results of this research would fill the informational gaps that exist for this region of the Empire through the analysis of the largest possible amount of information about the life and activities of Roman military.

The project aims to provide scientifically valid answers to at least four still unanswered questions related to the degree of impact by the army in the various integration processes of this region between the Mediterranean and Danube in the Roman world:

1) What role was played by the Roman military in the political, social, cultural, and religious changes in the population and the environment?
2) What military influence from indigenous people was accepted by the Romans in Illyricum?
3) What was the degree of the economic dynamics as a direct result of all the changes triggered by the needs of the military forces?
4) Was the actual degree of integration into the Roman Empire of the region that is today the Republic of Croatia affected by its specific geographical position?