Roman
Civilization
CMS 206 /History
206
The Roman
Soldier
- The monarchy -
- We know and Roman historians knew
relatively little about the Roman army under the kings. What we
do know:
- Organization:
- Cavalry - supplied by wealthy
Romans (who may have had honorific roles as royal bodyguards
and retainers). Because Romans outfitted themselves for
military service, and because horses were very expensive,
members of the Roman cavalry would have to have been from
the elite class. The cavalry probably number around
300.
- Infantry - Each of the three
tribes was divided into 10 groups. Each of these groups
provided 100 men (century). The Romans referred to
their population when gathered and organized for war as the
comitia centuriata on the Campus Martius
("field of Mars") outside the pomerium [reconstruction
and map].
Originally a military assembly, the comitia centuriata
developed political functions during the course of the
Republic. Thus, each tribe supplied 1000 men and the 3,000
were referred to as a legio (legion - or "levying").
Historians believe that Rome was capable of fielding 4
legions (and 2 groups of cavalry at 300 men) under the
monarchy.
- The early and middle republic -
- Romans believed that one of the last
kings, Servius Tullius, conducted the first census of the Roman
people. During the census, citizens were classified according
to wealth to determine their eligibility for military service
and voting rights. Historians think the 6 census divisions
attributed to Servius Tullius probably developed later than the
monarchy. This elaborate system of classification determined
what sort of armor and arms each citizen would be required to
supply and within a class, distinguished between the
seniores (47-60) who would serve in Rome as a last
defense if the army failed in the field and the iuniores
(17-46) who fought outside Rome. The Servian census system also
identified a last class of citizens, the capite censi
("registered by headcount"), who were eligible to vote, but
could not serve in the army because they owned no property (and
so could not afford arms). The capite censi would not
serve in the army until about the year 100 BCE, when Marius,
one of the greatest Roman generals, reformed the army to meet
Rome's growing military demands.
- During the early and middle republic,
Roman soldiers were led by elected magistrates (one of the
duties of a consul was to lead Roman armies in the field).
Every year, at the end of the campaigning season, the legions
were disbanded, and had to be reformed with new officers for
the next campaigning season.
- As Rome's area of political and military
activity began to expand, the Roman government began to support
cavalry and infantry financially (i.e., help them buy weapons
and horses). Because the campaigning seasons were growing
longer, and because Roman was acquiring land some distance from
her own boundaries, the nature of military service began to
change significantly. Soldiers who could not get home every
year could not farm, and if they could not farm, they could not
afford the weaponry that military service required.
- After the sack of Rome by the Gauls, the
Romans also reorganized the class system into which the
population had been organized for military purposes. Now,
membership in a class was a function of age not wealth. Rome
also developed the maniple as a unit of military
organization. By the beginning of the Punic Wars, Rome's army
was divided into 4 legions. Each legion contained 60
centuries, and 30 maniples (two centuries working
together comprised a maniple). It is very difficult to estimate
the actual numbers of the army, however. Although in theory a
century was 100 men, in practice, there were times when Rome
couldn't field full centuries. Finally, as Rome expanded, she
obtained the services of her allies in military campaigns.
Allied with every two Roman legions were two alae
sociorum ("wings of allies") as well as
extraordinarii (elite allied troops).
- According to Polybius, during the 2nd
Punic War, the normal strength of a legion was 4,000 infantry
and 200 cavalry. Legionaries were chosen from citizens between
the ages of 17 and 46 who owned property worth 400 denarii. It
was during this period that Rome's army became
semi-professional (from the rank and file point of view) in
practice. Soldiers re-upped every year, in anticipation of
booty won by generals against Rome's enemies, and a growing
alienation from life on the farm.
- Military command:
- Consuls and praetors had overall
control of the army.
- The senate might also appoint
legates to whom a provincial governor could delegate
command of sections of the army.
- The consuls elected 24
tribunes (6 per legion) to serve as an officer corps.
At least 10 of the 24 had to have at least 10 years of
military experience. The remaining tribunes had to have at
least 5 years of experience. It was a prestigious position
and you had to be at least an equite to be
chosen.
- Tribunes selected 10
centurions (primii pilii - first spears or
prior centuriones) who served as the equivalent of
modern non-commissioned officer corps and participated with
the tribunes in military councils. These centurions each
picked a partner (posterior centuriones) to help them
fulfil their duties and take their place if they fell in
battle. Each maniple had two centurions.
- The centurions picked optiones
(who were rear-guard officers) and sgniferi (standard
bearers). Each century was divided into 10 units of 8 men
who shared a tent (contubernia) and pack-mule on
campaign.
- Marian Reforms: (2nd century
B.C.E.)
- Marius didn't do much about the formal
organization of the army, but he did make profound
changes:
- the capite censi could now
serve and the state paid for their armor
- cohortes (10 in total)
replaced the maniples (30 in total) as the principal
subdivision of the legion. There were nominally 600 men in a
cohort, but the actual number varied between 300 and
600.
- Armor became uniform across classes
of the army (everyone had a sword and pilum [a
kind of javeline], a mail shirt and shield
).
- One effect of the Marian reforms was
political. Soldiers, especially those in the capite censi, were
completely dependent on their generals for long term financial
security. Their generals, who were also Roman politicians,
began to have clear incentives a) to seek the kind of military
campaigns that would guarantee booty; b) seek the kind of
political settlements that would benefit their veterans (Rome
had no pension plan for soldiers). Accordingly, the army
increasingly became an independent social institution whose
members first loyalties were to military commanders, not the
state.
- Civil Wars: (1st century
B.C.E.)
- During the first century B.C.E., Rome
finally granted full Roman citizenship to Italians living south
of the Po (although it took them a war - the Social War, to do
it). Thus, the alae sociorum were no more.
- The cost of arming and maintaining the
army now rested entirely on the state and soldier's pay doubled
in the course of the century.
- The number of legions increased. Troops
were increasingly recruited from Roman provinces.
- Military Command:
- In an effort to prevent the
politicization of the army, Rome passed a law in 52 BCE
requiring a 5 year period between the holding of elective
office and military command. As a result, the armies ceased
to be commanded by elected magistrates
- Layers of command between commander
and tribune developed (prefect and legate).
- The Principate: (31 B.C.E. - 100
C.E.)
- After the wars, Augustus settled many of
his troops in colonies and reorganized and increasingly
professionalized the army and the navy.
- Augustus also instituted the Praetorian
Guard. It had been customary since Scipio Aemilianus' siege of
Numantia (although Carthage had surrendered Spain to Rome after
the 2nd Punic War, someone forgot to tell the Spaniards and
took the Romans until 133 to subdue oppostion to their rule),
for Roman generals to be attended by a personal bodyguard
called a praetorian cohort. Augustus, in 27 B.C.E.,
institutionalized this practice by forming the Praetorian
Guard, an elite legion comprising 9 cohorts and a small cavalry
(4,500 men total). The PG was recruited mainly from Italy
(unlike the legions which were recruited from throughout the
Roman world) and stationed in Rome.
- Military Command:
- Augustus began the practice of
appointing a legionary legate who would have command of an
individual legion for several years (the 6 tribunes
reporting to the legate who reported to the Emperor). The
post of tribune became increasingly administrative and
Augustus added the post of praefectus castrorum - the
equivalent of quartermaster. These posts became less
prestigious for members of the Roman elite, but furiously
sought after bar ordinary citizens who sought careers as
professional soldiers.
- The infantry corp fell into 3 groups
of soldiers - the principales, immunes and
milites. Principales included officers like the
signifer and optio, who recieved extra pay.
Milites were ordinary rank and file soldiers.
Immunes were skilled craftsmen/engineers who were
exempt from most ordinary military duties and included,
surveyers, equiment makers and menders, doctors, carpenters,
smiths, accountants, and clerical staff.
- The Soldier's Life
- By the time Rome was fielding armies
throughout the year (3rd century), a soldier could expect to
serve a term of 6 years, and could re-up for a period of 16
years or so of total service. Once a soldier served his initial
term, he could be recalled to service (although once you had
done 16 years total, you were supposed to be
exempt).
- Augustus increased the term of service
to 16 years, followed by four years in the reserve. After your
20th year you got a retirement bonus, but were required to live
near the army camp you retired from for another 5 years (as an
emergency reserve).
- Although soldiers were originally unpaid
(the idea was only folks who afford to defend Rome should be
her citizens), by the 4th century, soldiers were receiving a
stipendium and equites were receiving payments to cover
the expenses maintaining a horse involved. By the time of the
Civil Wars, Roman soldiers had come to regard the
stipendium as pay, not coverage of expenses. The amount
of the stipendium increased dramatically during the wars as
generals competed for soldiers. After the wars were over,
Augustus did not cut back on the stipendium (although he
did retire a lot of soldiers). Instead, he radically increased
the pay of centurions relative to ordinary soldiers. The
Praetorian Guard always received a lot more money than ordinary
legionaries.
- In addition to pay, soldiers expected to
receive a share of captured booty, occasional cash payments
from emperors and retirement gifts (which sometimes included
the grant of a nice little farm to retire to in a new
colonia).
- Technically, soldiers didn't have the
right to get married while serving. But most had common law
wives and children aquired in the regions were there army camps
were located. After retirement soldiers tended to setttle down
where they had served and get formally married. We happen to
have a lot of wills of Roman soldiers (drafted by legionary
officers) in which explicit provisions were made for these
women and children and which Roman courts enforced. So although
technically the soldiers couldn't marry, effectively they did
and Septimius Servius (a career soldier) finally lifted the ban
in 197 C.E.
Web Resources on the Roman Army:
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