In the Shadow of the Tiber: A Tale of Intrigue in Ancient Rome

The following is a discussion on the structure and phases of the Castra Praetoria, the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, built in AD 21 to 23 under the auspices of Tiberius Caesar’s praetorian prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, to concentrate the nine Praetorians cohorts together with three Urban Cohorts at one location within close proximity to Rome’s centre, as related by Cassius Dio.

Malhata is one of a group of fortresses on the Roman-Judaean frontier with Nabataea (roughly equivalent to modern Jordan). This fortress, located on a tel in the southern portion of the group, is associated with the remains of a Roman road and occupied a strategically central position on an important crossroads between southern Roman Palestine and central Judaea, and between the Dead and Mediterranean seas. It was also on the Roman sector of the Frankincense Trail caravan trade route with the Arabian Peninsula. As well, it is believed to have been ‘Malatha’, mentioned by the Roman- Jewish historian Josephus as the location where the fugitive Herodian prince, Agrippa I, hid when forced to fiee his privileged life in Rome among the Julio-Claudians. An archaeological excavation report and GIS spatial analysis of Malhata reveal information on the fortress’ purpose, and support its being the location where Agrippa hid.

This essay will discuss several aspects of Roman military medicine, including providing a discussion on military doctors and their divisions; the debate concerning the valetudinaria, or military hospitals; medical pharmaceuticals; and medical surgical practices.