SeveralaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
fru m e n ta rii tombstones show the subject in a four-wheeled
COMMISSARY
carriage with a driver. The lance indicates he travels on offical business.
By Duncan B.
OFFICERS OR ROMAN ARMY SPIES?
am p bel
RE FRUMl'rARLI
There is a category of promoted soldiers
known as
itumenuuii,
but scholars
are divided over their precise duties.
Some describe them as 'corn collectors' involved in the military commis-
ru m e n tu m
F
is the Latin word
the Mediterranean
world. The Ro-
man army
on supplies
relied
fru m e n tu m .
of
Caesar, for example,
refers to a schedule by which fru m e n tu m
distributed to the army, and the continuator
sariat, while others would interpret
his C o m m e n ta rie s ,
them as imperial agents who were as-
soldiers engaged in transporting
fru m e n ta rii,
for
'corn' or 'grain', the staple food of
was
of
Aulus Hirtius, refers to the
the grain as
'grain men' (G a llic W a r 8.35). This
signed clandestine tasks. So what ex-
is only logical. In previous instalments of "The
actly do we know about these men?
Roman Army
military
in Detail",
we have seen how
titles are often formed
by adding the
suffix -a riu s to a given term, in order to denote
a soldier's particular responsibility
W a rfa re XI1.6).
52
Ancient Warfare
X III-4
(see A n c ie n t
Although
the
historian
Tacitus uses the
his successor, Claudius (11or Gothicus; L ife o f
slightly different word aZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
fru m e n ta to r to refer to
th e d e ifie d C la u d iu s 1 7.1 ).
soldiers engaged in the collection
and transport
In his book on P o lic in g
th e R o m a n
Em-
of grain (H is to rie s 4.35), a handful of inscrip-
p ire (2011), Christopher
tions demonstrate that the soldiers themselves
the fru m e n ta rii
used the title fru m e n ta riu s . This term appears,
Domitian
for example, on the grave slab of Aurelius Lu-
such as execution,
cianus,
nage". There is no specific link with Domitian,
in the
"fru m e n ta riu s
Second
Italica
Legion for the care of the grain supply"
VI.3340),
which
is unique
in explicitly
(c /L
men-
Fuhrmann tells us that
were created by the emperor
to perform
"special
policing
tasks,
arrest, and domestic espio-
but a century ago, Otto Fiebiger, writing
aforementioned
R e a le n c y c lo p a d ie ,
in the
made the
tioning the man's duties in this role. The dedi-
suggestion that it might have been the emperor
cation by a c e n tu rio
Trajan who first employed
(presuma-
fr(u m e n ta riu s )
blya centurion in charge of trumentsrih
to Titus
Messius Extricatus, prefect of the grain supply
However,
the
them
passage allegedly
"in order to be acquainted
connection
the affairs of state that occurred
fred von Domaszewski
However, as Al-
commented,
"how the
supporting
this view doesn't actually mention fru m e n ta rii:
at Ostia (A E 1977.171), further underlines the
with provisioning.
in this role.
more swiftly with
anywhere,
the state postal system was employed
[by Tra-
Dating from the first century AD,
jan], but this reasonably useful service turned
this relief shows a soldier (identi-
was one of the scholars
into the curse of the Roman world through the
fiable by his sword) transporting
whose researches have placed the study of the
greed and arrogance of later generations" (Au-
provisioning
was organized is unclear".
Domaszewski
Roman army on firm foundations. However, he
relius Victor, B o o k o n th e C a e s a rs 1 3 .5 -6 ).
In fact, probably
did not work in isolation. The turn of the twentieth century saw several scholars working
on
the earliest epigraphic
attestation of a fru m e n ta riu s
papyrus archive
articles for the ongoing German-language
covered at Karanis in Egypt in the 1920s and
e le n c v c to p iid ie
der
c la s s is c h e n
A lte rtu m s w is -
Museum, Strasbourg.
© Karwansaray
Publishers
comes from the
Roman military topics, many of them providing
Re-
of Claudius
baggage in a wagon drawn by two
mules. Now in the Archaeological
Tiberianus,
dis-
1930s. The letters in the archive date broadly
A modern copy of a commemorative arch, "which Dativius Victor
promised to the people of Mainz",
the D ic -
from the reigns ofTrajan and Hadrian. In one of
C re c q u e s e t R o m a in e s .
them, Tiberianus writes that he has sent a letter
imperial house and dedicated to
Writing the entry on the fru m e n ta riu s for the lat-
"which
Jupiter Best and Greatest Protec-
ter publication
will
s e n s c h a ft and its French counterpart,
tio n n a ire d e s
Antiquites
in 1896, the French epigrapher
Rene Cagnat concluded that provisioning
"was
Sempronius Clemens the fru m e n ta riu s
deliver"
(P . M ic h .
VII1.472). Since Egypt
was very much the breadbasket of Rome, it is
the least of the functions entrusted to them; of
not surprising to find a 'grain man' operating
all the texts we possess, it seems to follow that
there, but whether he delivered Tiberianus' let-
the fru m e n ta rii
ter as a special favour or as part of his official
were, above all, police agents
in Rome, just as much as in Italy and the prov-
duties cannot be said with any certainty.
erected in honour of the Severan
tor "by Ursus the
irumeniarius
and
lupus, sons and heirs of Victor"
(e lL
LKJIHGFEDCBA
1 3 . 1 1 8 1 0 ) . Dismantled and
its
stones reused in antiquity, the
original arch can be found in the
Landesmuseum in Mainz, Germany.
©
Livius.org
inces". But where had he got such an idea?
Imperial agents
Cagnat was struck by the curious duties of fru m e n ta rii mentioned
~
in a number of passages in
("" "~
the H is to ria A u g u s ta . For example, Hadrian, we
are told, "submitted
-:.,;~
not only his own house-
well,
to the extent that he discovered all their
hold~~rutin~b~tho~clhis~en~~
secrets by means of the fru m e n ta rii;
'.'
~:
\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'~'l~
nor were
his friends aware that their private lives were
1
known to the emperor until the emperor himself revealed it" (L ife o f H a d ria n
11 A ). Similar-
ly, the emperor Macrinus seems to have used
the fru m e n ta rii to investigate the behaviour of
his soldiers (L ife o f M a c rin u s
1 2 0 4 ),
while
it
was the fru m e n ta rii who suppl ied the emperor
Gallienus with confidential
information about
~""--=e:::
.~:
~,-~,~
-:
,;:/
e »>
j,o-~--.,,",,~
Couriers?
ers"), gave their commanding
~ DID YOU KNOW?nmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Frumentarii are found elsewhere acting as
fru m e n ta riu s
named Gaius juA aZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a title that struck 0 0 -
p e re g rin o ru m ,
maszewski as very similar to Dio's description
lius Pudens was placed in charge
couriers.
of building work at Delphi during
ed Pupienus and Balbinus as emperors in op-
of Oclatinius
position to Maximinus
gremmetophoron ("head of the letter-carriers").
the reign of Hadrian (IL S 9 4 7 3 ).
In AD 238, when the senate elevat-
p rin c e p s
officer his title of
Thrax, "a letter, sent to
Adventus'
role as p ro k rito n
to n
all the provinces by means of the frumentarii,
(TOp)Tombstone of T. Flavius Fruof the Eighth
endus, [ru m e n to rtu s
Augusta Legion, erected in Rome
ordered that whoever gave assistance to Max-
Assassins?
iminus would
So far, these activities could
be numbered
amongst the en-
emy" (H is to ria A u g u s ta , L ife o f M a x im u s
by his three heirs, who were all
8 a lb in u s
and
10.3). It is surely this aspect of the
of the Twenty-second
fru m e n ta riu s 's duties that the tombstone ofTiPrimigenia Legion. (e lL 6 .3 3 5 1 ). LKJIHGFEDCBA
tus Varron i us Maro (C l L 111.2063)hints at, with
© Dan Diffendale
fru m e n ta rii
(sortorn) Dedication to M.Aquilius
Felix by the people of Antium (modern Anzio), on account of his role
its claim
of the fru m e n ta rii".
(m 10.66547)
©
Dan Diffendale
"hurried
implying
for 40
constant
For this reason, any mention
of couriers
it is worth
exercis-
ing caution, as these were not the only type of
Marcus
Oclatinius
promoted,
Septimius
during
Severus,
Cassius
Adventus
the
reign
from
the
before
(g ra m -
advancing
(R o m a n
to
H is to ry
P A T R IJv 1 P R J V A 'P R o r O P l:~ ,p V B
)RAEPVFXILIATPPltG'XI (I
R:I' J R O N r O l:O B M F R E I V \·
TIA~fPVBL:
W a rfa re
xiu -«
epigrapher
Dessau, famous for his five-volume
dium of /n s c rip tio n e s
(see
Hermann
compen-
L a tin a e S e le c ta e (1 8 9 2 -
Aquilius,
"a centurion
employed
a certain
well known for assassi-
nating generals" (L ife o f P e s c e n n iu s N ig e r 2 .6 ),
while a high-ranking equestrian named Marcus
the fru m e n ta rii.
Aquilius
of
Felix was known
career with a promotion
to have begun his
to the post of c e n tu -
(C lL 10.6657).
It seems too
these couriers and messengers was
rio fr(u m e n ta riu s )
concerned, this was evidently Rome.
much of a coincidence
For, although
were
been two centurions named Aquilius who were
drawn from the legions, as several
assigned the kind of clandestine tasks that are
the fru m e n ta rii
make clear, they were
quar-
fru m e n ta rio ru m )
at Rome, records that he was
"a veteran of the unit of fru m e n ta rii
l pp R AVFNN/\ T'
P R O C P l\T R I'M 'B IS P J OCHL!?n
the
3 .5 .4 -5 )
as fru m e n ta rii
78.14.1) surely hints at a career in
found
- P lM h
Interestingly,
H is to ry
(de-
head of the "letter-carriers"
ple, the tombstone of Gaius Annius Valens,
O M f\
Rom an
Albinus
1916), noticed that, during the reign of Severus,
tered on the Caelian Hill. For exam-
FE f 1
scribed by Herodian,
Clodius
the emperor's opponents
seconded to a "unit of fru m e n ta rii"
III
sassinate the pretender
"spies and scouts" to become the
(n u m e ru s
A n c ie n t
him, as he
4.5). For this rea-
(L ife o f C o m m o d u s
ing to the Greek historian
inscriptions
54
m e n ta rii"
also A n c ie n t W a rfa re XII1.3).
As far as the destination
I
ence over the emperor, "murdered
have often been explained
m a to p h o ro i)
ro v rr
indi-
vidual who was felt to exert a negative influ-
Nevertheless, the fact that, accord-
a procuratorship
V
to remove a particular
Severus to Britain in AD 195 with orders to as-
of
lfN
prefects, wishing
son, the 'agents' sent by the emperor Septimius
although
was
I
der the emperor Commodus, whose Praetorian
the frumentarii,
Dio,
[-A [~ J A
of a sort. But the fru m e n -
had far more sinister duties un-
or messengers is often seen as a reference to
soldier to be assigned such duties.
MA
intelligence
ta rii apparently
as
was returning to his estate, by means of the fru -
travel backwards and forwards.
as "patron of the colony". His career
begins with the post of "c[enturion]
that the deceased
years as a fru m e n ta riu s ",
military
be construed
that there should have
elsewhere associated with the fru m e n ta rii. So it
was surely Aquilius Felix, in his role of c e n tu rio
fru m e n ta riu s ,
who "was sent, being notorious
as the assassin of senators, to murder Severus"
(L ife o f O id iu s }u lia n u s 5.8). He evidently
decid-
ed not to carry out his mission, for not only did
Severus survive, butAquilius
was promoted, via
from the Fourth Flavia Legion" (C lL
a succession of lucrative procuratorships, to the
V1.3341), while
command of the imperial fleet at Ravenna.
two different
erected altars at Sirmium
day Sremska Mitrovica
commemorating
(presentin Serbia)
a promotion
the rank of b e n e fic ia riu s
to
c o n s u la ris
"from the unit of fru m e n ta rii"
1994,1443,
men
(A E
and 1446). The name
of their camp at Rome, the c a s tra
p e re g rin a
("camp
of the foreign-
A developing role
Some researchers have played down the role of
the fru m e n ta rii
as spies and assassins. For ex-
ample, the recent E n c y c lo p e d ia
o f th e R o m a n
A rm y (2015) defines the fru m e n ta riu s
a "soldier with
and distribution;
responsibility
simply as
for grain supply
later a messenger and scout".
However,
duties
it may be the case that their
evolved
their initial
over time,
connection
and their tendency
forwards
developing
with the grain supply
to travel backwards
ta riu s appears to have belonged
central
Their
freedom
a
in the c a s tra p e re g rin a .
of movement
no doubt
to their employment
throughout
century
and
as couriers
led
the second
messengers.
And,
they may have acted as assassins on
occasion,
they may more often
have repre-
fru m e n ta riu s
which
of Cornelius
of the Tenth
was found
Gemina
Turkey, suggests such a connection
enforcement,
of his dearest
legion,
with
tent-companion
by
in charge of the prison"
Neither
legion was stationed
by the fru m e n ta rii.
(Cll
Elpinius
who
claimed
upon
they
the fru m e n ta rii
One edict from Agabey
were
records
2 4 4 -2 4 9 ),
"arrested
world
is a common
dealings with such establishments,
in which he was perhaps assisted
had
in chains, and sent
again suggested by several edicts
from
e g rln a
c a s tra
p e r-
in Rome.
© Sailko / Wikimedia
Commons
Certainly,
theme, but it seems that
IV Y
Upper section of a b e n e fic ia riu s
Dr. Duncan B. Campbell is a regular contributor to Ancient W arfare magazine.
lance, now in the Thermenmuseum,
Heerlen, the Netherlands.
Similar lances were used
by fru m e n ta rii,
FURTHER
•
READING
were travelling
©
Officia",
fu r P a p y ro lo g ie
und
on ot-
ficial business.
the Castra Peregri na and the
Provincial
perhaps
to indicate that they
N.B. Rankov, "Frumentarii,
Livius.org
Z e its c h rift
E p ig ra p h ik
Vol. 8 0 ( 1 9 9 0 ) , pp. 1 7 6 - 1 8 2 .
•
The edicts from Asia can be
found
role is
Pius. The Prefect of the
Grain Supply no doubt had regular
the abuse of power by soldiers in the Roman
travelled
and prisons.
a law-enforcement
Antoninus
to in-
that the fru m e n ta rii
nine, put them
at
Koyu, per-
them to the equestrian procurator".
near
Nor is there a clear link
C /L 1 4 . 4 7 0 9 )
Ostia, which dates from the reign of
by fru m e n ta rii
from the
the reign of Phi lip the Arab (AD LKJIHGFEDCBA
haps from
111.433).
anywhere
to the distances
between grain procurement
Nevertheless,
and called
tervene.
of the First Adiutrix
legion,
Ephesus, attesting
rural communities
of
law
for it was erected "in memory
Festianus, fru m e n ta riu s
e t E p a p h ra d itia n a ,
preserve the complaints
Florinius,
at Ephesus in present-day
The store-house of Epagathus and
These inscriptions
the 'grain men' were seldom the culprits.
sented the forces of law and order.
The tombstone
of Asia (broadly present-day Turkey)
Epaphroditus C H a rre a E p a g a th ia n a
tion
to a particu-
they seem to have liaised with
bureaucracy
while
and
province
dating from the first half of the third century.
being harassed by soldiers of some descripeach aZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
fru m e n -
to Rome. Although
lar legion,
from
in T. Hauken,
R esponse
P e titio n
and
(Bergen 1 9 9 8 ) .
the
A n c ie n t
W a rfa re
X III-4
55