Did Roman Legions get SOFT? | The Late Roman Army Explained

What really happened to the Roman legions in the Late Roman Empire? Were they in decline, or did they simply adapt to survive new challenges? This video explores the transformation of the Roman army from the Principate to the 4th and 5th centuries, examining the evolution of Roman legions, auxiliaries, and cavalry into the Comitatenses and Limitanei. We’ll cover how Roman military equipment, tactics, and organization changed after the Crisis of the Third Century, why the creation of mobile field armies was necessary, and how the frontier defenses of the empire were structured. Along the way, we’ll bust the myth of a “declining” army and show how the Late Roman military remained disciplined, powerful, and capable of defending the empire against foreign invasions and civil wars alike. So How and Why did the Roman Legions change?