''Strategemata'', or ''Stratagems'', is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

work by the Roman author

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent 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 ...

(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 (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned 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 Fl ...

. 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 re ...

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: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

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 in ...

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.Paper by Rogier van der Wal (Amsterdam) to the 2010 Classical Association Conference, Cardiff

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''Strategemata''

(LacusCurtius website): this source provides the Latin text and the English translation from the 1925 Loeb edition. {{Authority control Latin military books Military strategy books 1st-century Latin books