16.01 Łukasz Różycki (UAM), Hush! The late Roman art of intimidation in the light of selected sources

The purpose of my paper is to examine the Roman art of war through the lens of silence, which was used both to intimidate the enemy and boost the morale of Roman troops. Roman authors of military treatises, both Latin and Greek, emphasized the usefulness of silence on the battlefield. Silence had multiple meanings: on the one hand, it demonstrated the discipline and determination of a professional army; on the other hand, maintaining silence before battle affected the morale of soldiers on both sides. Thus, the Romans used silence deliberately as a form of psychological warfare.

Interestingly, historiographic narrative sources confirm that silence was employed during wars against the Persians, as well as during campaigns against the Avars, and later, against the Arabs and Turks.

This does not mean that war cries were absent from Roman warfare; rather, each behavior had its own place and time, dictated by well-developed and closely followed tactical patterns. The aim of this paper is to analyze silence as a vital factor on the battlefield, considering both Roman tactics and its effects on the morale of both Roman and enemy forces.