Knowledges and Powers of Onassander´s General: Military Handbook and Soldiers’ Leadership

Abstract

An small, and rather understudied, Military Handbook of Onassander has come to us from the I century AD, whose title is Strategikós. In this work, the author presents the virtues that should shape the character of a good military commander, appropriate for the historical context of Principate. These virtues should have been put into practice to train the soldiers and to build the military camp. In this article, we reflect on the concept of Military Handbook, from the new themes and research objects posed by Cultural History, in order to rethink the information collected from Onassander´s work. We emphasize the general's virtues and its application in soldiers’ daily life, in a time when the empire has reached its highest territorial extension, and when, during and after Octavian’s rule, the act of governing was reframed.