AHC: Keep the Roman Army

Reform Empire's fiscal and economic system so they could actually pay for it. Romanize the foederati instead of letting them run wild.
Possibly change Roman political system which was always ripe for military takeover, rebellion or random Emperors popping up here and there.

I understand that we're talking about Late Western Empire?

Because Byzantine Army remained professional and well trained for quite a long time after Western Empire fell.
 
Allow Byzantium to prosper more.

From what I have ehard, the ROman army was steadily devolving into what we see in the middle ages anyway, which is unavoidable given economic conditions and improvements in metal and horse breeding.
 
Did the empire really devolve? The late empire had to face far more serious threats than the early empire, and arguably did a good job doing so.
 
How can we keep the Roman army from devolving from its superior training and equipment?

The late Roman army achieved great succeses which could match those of the Rebublican and early imperial period. It was a great fighting force.

In the Eastern Roman army the percentage of the 'ethnic and cultural Romans' was always higher than in the army of the Western Roman Empire. That's why the Eastern Roman Empire lived a thousand years longer than the Western Empire.

The late Western Roman army was flooded with the Germans. As a matter of fact in the end there was no actual 'Roman' army in the Western Roman Empire; there were German bands headed by the German warlords who were not Roman patriots and most often felt alien to the Romans and the Roman Empire on the whole.

So, to keep the late Roman army in existence in the West - keep more ethnic and cultural Romans in the army.
 
Don't let their enemies change equipment or tactics, either.

Eh, late republican/early imperial army was capable of dealing with enemies without need for radical equipment changes. The problem was that nature of enemy changed, not so much their equipment and tactics. Consolidation of "barbarians", new and bigger groups and so forth.

The only real problem were obvioulsy Parthians/Persians but that was the question of terrain, goals and numbers. And even then Romans came on top often.
 
The only real problem were obvioulsy Parthians/Persians but that was the question of terrain, goals and numbers. And even then Romans came on top often.
Well after Carrhae, the Romans changed up how they armed their eastern legions/what they consisted of. They made sure to have far more missile components such as archers and slingers than they usually would have, make their shields stronger (parthian missiles previously could pierce right through them), and have heavier army more suited to defend against Parthian missiles. Plus a greater cavalry component.

That's why they usually came out on top.
 
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