<論説>ローマ帝国北西辺境における軍の補給政策 --家畜の生産と供給の実態を分析して--

Abstract

本稿は、紀元後1世紀のローマ帝国の北西辺境地域に駐屯したローマ軍の補給政策を手がかりに、先行研究では帝国規模の統一的な戦略の有無が論じられてきた「フロンティア」地域の実態を考察するものである。その中でも、食糧や労働力、皮革製品として軍で大量の需要があったと想定され、今日にも動物遺存体として物理的な痕跡を残す家畜の供給や生産に注目する。タキトゥスとウィンドランダ木板文書、動物考古資料の総合的な分析を通じ、北西の辺境地域における家畜供給は、一次史料で多く言及される穀物供給と異なり、駐屯地ごとや軍団ごとなどの小規模で管理され、帝国官僚の介在による帝国中枢からの統一的な方針が示されないことが明らかとなった。こうした家畜供給および生産の担い手として、軍役を務め終えたのちにこの地域への定住を選択した退役兵の存在が鍵を握る。69-70年にバタウィ族反乱が勃発したCivitas Batavorum をケーススタディに退役兵の世界を描くことを通じて、辺境世界を、駐屯軍と現地地域社会の需要と供給という実際上の必要性で結びついた世界として提示する。

The frontier zone of the Roman Empire has been an area of great interest and heated debate since the 19th century. In previous studies, discussion has focused on determining whether or not there was a unified strategy on an imperial scale. With its aim to explore the actual circumstances in this area, this paper focuses on the provisioning policies of the Roman army stationed in the northwestern border region in the 1st century AD. Among the various goods that have been found in the Roman fortresses in the region, attention is given to the supply and production of livestock, which presumably had significant demand in the military due to its multiple uses for food, labour, and leather products, and which also leaves physical traces in the form of bone remains to this day. Through a comprehensive analysis of Tacitus's Historiae and Annales, Vindolanda tablets and zooarchaeological evidence, the characteristics of livestock supply in the northwestern border region become obvious. Unlike grain supply, which is frequently mentioned in ancient primary sources, livestock lacked a unified strategy from the imperial centre, and was instead managed on a smaller scale, such as by individual garrisons or legions. In place of the involvement of imperial bureaucrats, the key element of military livestock supply and production is the presence of veterans, who chose to settle in the region after completing their military service. By depicting the world of veterans through a case study of Civitas Batavorum, where the Batavian Revolt of 69-70 AD occurred, various roles of veterans come to light. They not only contributed to the development of the supply-chain and the production of livestock, but they also acted as intermediaries between the military and local people, which played an important part in the preservation of the identity of those local people. As a conclusion, this paper presents the frontier as a world interconnected by the practical necessities of both the stationed army and the local community.