Abstract
The fourth century was a turbulent period for ancient Rome that necessitated drastic structural and compositional changes in the military in order to stabilize the Empire amidst persistent threats both internal and external. The resulting entity, the late Roman army, often found itself derided by contemporary authors as being ineffectual and undisciplined with decidedly problematic morale. As military morale is a decisive component for combat effectiveness, its maintenance at a sufficient level is imperative. When examining various institutions, relationships, and events encountered by the army and its soldiers during this time, trends in the factors that affected morale are revealed and the question of whether morale was truly at issue can be addressed. This work discusses in-depth citizen recruitment, the use of barbarian troops, infrastructure and strategy, leadership, and the effects of victory and loss in order to understand the different factors that influenced the morale of the army during the fourth century, both positively and negatively. The conclusion summarizes the various problems detected, asserts that morale was problematic, and attempts to address the origins of the troubles with morale.