Stratagems (Frontinus)
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''Strategemata'', or ''Stratagems'', is a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
work by the Roman author
Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube frontier ...
(c. 40 – 103 AD). It is a collection of examples of military stratagems from Greek and Roman history, ostensibly for the use of generals. Frontinus is assumed to have written ''Strategemata'' towards the end of the first century AD, possibly in connection with a lost work on military theory. Frontinus is best known as a writer on water engineering, but he had a distinguished military career. In ''Stratagems'' he draws partly on his own experience as a general in Germany under
Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
. However, most of the (more than five hundred) examples which he gives are less recent, for example he mentions the
Siege of Uxellodunum The siege of Uxellodunum was one of the last battles of the Gallic Wars. It took place in 51 BC at Uxellodunum. It was the last major military confrontation of the Gallic Wars and marked the pacification of Gaul under Roman rule. The battle r ...
in 51 BC. Similarities to versions in other Roman authors like
Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...
and
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
suggest that he drew mainly on literary sources. The work consists of four books, of which three are undoubtedly by Frontinus. The authenticity of the fourth book has been challenged.
Jean de Rovroy Jean de Rovroy (died 10 July 1461) was a French theologian and priest. He defended the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception at the Council of Basel in 1433–1436. Three of his writings on this theme survive, all in Latin, but he is best known fo ...
translated the ''Strategemata'' into French for King
Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
().Pierre Santoni (1979)
"Jean de Rouvroy, traducteur de Frontin et théologien de l'Immaculée Conception"
''Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes'' 137(1): 19–58.
Another French translation by Nicolas Volcyr de Serrouville appeared in print at Paris in 1535. In 1664,
Nicolas Perrot d'Ablancourt Nicolas Perrot d'Ablancourt (5 April 1606, Châlons-en-Champagne – 17 November 1664, Paris) was a French translator of the Greek and Latin classics into French and a member of the Académie française. Biography Nicolas Perrot d'Ablancourt was ...
published a new French translation.Robert Bossuat (1960), "Jean de Rovroy traducteur des ''Stratagèmes'' de Frontin (fin)", ''Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance'' 22(3): 469–489. A Spanish translation by appeared in print in 1516. In the 20th century, Charles E. Bennett translated the ''Strategemata'' into English. His version was published with ''
De aquaeductu (') is a two-book official report given to the emperor Nerva or Trajan on the state of the aqueducts of Rome, and was written by Sextus Julius Frontinus at the end of the 1st century AD. It is also known as or . It is the earliest official r ...
'' (translated as ''Aqueducts of Rome'') in the Loeb Classical Library.


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''Strategemata''
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(LacusCurtius website): this source provides the Latin text and the English translation from the 1925
Loeb Loeb or Löb may refer to: People * Loeb (surname), including a list of people surnamed Loeb or Löb * Löb Nevakhovich (between 1776 and 1778–1831), Russian writer * Löb Strauß, birth name of Levi Strauss (1829–1902), German-born Americ ...
edition. {{Authority control Military books in Latin Military strategy books 1st-century books in Latin