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How did Rome deal with defeats, losses and losers? What were the effects on the army and society? Researchers at the University of Passau develop a "Theory of the Roman Defeat" that is connected with Rome's culture, society and political system.

How Rome dealt with its own war dead and prisoners

In the course of the work on and with the sources, individual "defeat phenomena" such as death for the state or captivity are also to be examined. It is intended to bring out how Rome dealt with its own war dead and prisoners. The direct effects of a defeat on the army are also taken into consideration: mutinies, disturbances, traumata. In addition, the question is examined whether Roman defeats led to a change in political strategies, whether there were social repercussions resulting from the defeats and losses in the course of military conflicts that also caused lasting changes to Rome's society and elite. The question of the role of defeats in the collective memory and a cultural historical comparison with the Greek Poleis are then intended to prepare an assessment of how defeats were specifically dealt with in Rome and to give an answer to how 'Roman culture' or 'Rome's political culture' itself shaped how the military phenomenon was dealt with.

At the end there is a "Theory of the Roman defeat" that is connected with Rome's culture, society and political system and lets the phenomenon be understood once again in context.