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Roman Culture and Society – Lecture 8
The Army
The Political Framework of Warfare: Army Recruitment and Campaigning
1. The Late Republic
 From c.100 BC.
 Caesarian Civil Wars. From 49 BC.
Appian Civil Wars 5.17 = Campbell no.302:
…the soldiers did not serve the interests of the state, but only of those who had recruited them;
and they gave their support to these people not because of the compulsion of the law, but because of
personal inducements; and they fought not against enemies of Rome but against private adversaries,
not against foreigners, but against fellow-citizens, men just like themselves. All these factors
contributed to a breakdown of military discipline; the soldiers believed that they were not so much
serving in an army as helping out, through their personal decision and favour, leaders who found their
assistance essential for private ends.
2. Augustus and the professionalization of the army
 Units

Individuals
 Longer terms of service
 13 BC: 16 + 4 years
 AD 5: 20 + 5 years
 Financial implications – the aerarium militare:
 Problem of land confiscations.
 14 BC – AD 6
 AD 6 aerarium militare (military treasury)
RGDA 17.2:
And in the consulship of Marcus Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius {AD 6}, I transferred 170,000,000
sesterces out of my personal assets into the military treasury, which was established on my advice, and
from which rewards were given to soldiers who had completed twenty or more years of service.
Dio 55.24.9:
Now Augustus lacked funds for all these troops, and therefore he introduced a proposal in the senate
that revenues in sufficient amount and continuing from year to year should be set aside, in order that
the soldiers might receive without stint from the taxes levied their maintenance and bonuses without
any outside source being put to annoyance. The means for such a fund were accordingly sought…
when no revenues for the military fund were being discovered that suited anybody, but
absolutely everybody was vexed because such an attempt was even being made, Augustus in the
name of himself and of Tiberius placed money in the treasury which he called the military treasury…
established the tax of five per cent. on the inheritances and bequests which should be left by people at
their death to any except very near relatives or very poor persons, representing that he had found this
tax set down in Caesar's memoranda.



Discipline reintroduced
Recruitment
Loyalty to Aug as commander-in-chief
 Imperator Caesar
 Commanders/ Augustus
 Oath
 gratuity
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triumph - triple triumph 29 BC – Virgil Aeneid 8 Shield (Dryden)
The victor to the gods his thanks express'd,
And Rome, triumphant, with his presence bless'd.
Three hundred temples in the town he plac'd;
With spoils and altars ev'ry temple grac'd.
Three shining nights, and three succeeding days,
The fields resound with shouts, the streets with praise,
The domes with songs, the theaters with plays.
All altars flame: before each altar lies,
Drench'd in his gore, the destin'd sacrifice.
Great Caesar sits sublime upon his throne,
Before Apollo's porch of Parian stone;
Accepts the presents vow'd for victory,
And hangs the monumental crowns on high.
Vast crowds of vanquish'd nations march along,
Various in arms, in habit, and in tongue.
Here, Mulciber assigns the proper place
For Carians, and th' ungirt Numidian race;
Then ranks the Thracians in the second row,
With Scythians, expert in the dart and bow.
And here the tam'd Euphrates humbly glides,
And there the Rhine submits her swelling tides,
And proud Araxes, whom no bridge could bind;
The Danes' unconquer'd offspring march behind,
And Morini, the last of humankind.
3. Trends in recruitment after Augustus
 Lack of interest in service as legionaries
 Provincials recruited to legions
 Roman army’s foreignness:
Tacitus, Histories 3.24: AD 69 As the sun rose, the Third greeted it with cheers in accordance with Syrian custom.

Auxiliaries - Diplomas
Soldiers at Rome
 Emperor’s Bodyguard
 Praetorians
 Political significance
 Privileged rank
 Urban Cohorts
 Vigiles- AD 6
 Navy
TASK
Write down 3 questions about the Roman army that interest you. What types of
evidence would you turn to for answers? Do you think we’re likely to be able to
find out the answers to your questions?
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Life in the Army
Literature

‘Military handbooks’ – Vegetius, Epitome of Military Matters

legal sources
 Ulpian Book 1 Opinions (Digest 1.18.6.5-7) = Campbell no.292:
The governor of the province must ensure that persons of humble means are not subjected to
injustice by having their solitary light or meagre furniture taken away for the use of others, under the
pretext of the arrival of officials or soldiers. The governor of the province should ensure that nothing is
done in the name of the soldiers by certain individuals unjustly claiming advantage for themselves,
which does not relate to the communal benefit of the army as a whole.

historical texts
 Dio Cassius 60.24 = Campbell no.255:
Claudius granted the privileges of married men to the soldiers {AD 44}, since they were not legally
permitted to have wives.

Velleius Paterculus, 2.104 = Campbell no.121:
At the sight of Tiberius, there were tears of joy from the soldiers as they ran up to him and welcomed
him with tremendous and unprecedented enthusiasm, eagerly taking him by the hand and unable to
restrain themselves from blurting out: “Is it really you that we see, general? Have we got you back
safely?” “I served with you in Armenia, general.” “And I was in Raetia”. “I received military
decorations from you in Vindelicia”. “And I in Pannonia”. “And I in Germany”. It is difficult to
express this adequately in words and indeed it may seem incredible.

Emphasis on the extreme
Papyri – Writing tablets - Ostraka
Syria/ Egypt; Vindolanda

Fink RMR 68, Egypt, AD 81 = Campbell no.24:
In the consulship of Lucius Asinius
QUINTUS JULIUS PROCULUS from DAMASCUS
received the first salary instalment of the 3 rd year of the Emperor, 247 ½ drachmas, out of which
hay
10 drachmas
for food
80 drachmas
boots, socks
12 drachmas
Saturnalia of the camp
20 drachmas
?
60 drachmas
expenditure
182 drachmas
balance deposited to his account
65 ½ drachmas
and had from before
136 drachmas
makes a total of
201 ½ drachmas
received the second instalment of the same year 247 ½ drachmas, out of which
hay
10 drachmas
for food
80 drachmas
boots, socks
12 drachmas
to the standards
4 drachmas
expenditure
106 drachmas
balance deposited to his account
141 ½ drachmas
and had from before
201 ½ drachmas
makes a complete total of
343 drachmas
received the third instalment of the same year 247 ½ drachmas, out of which
hay
[10] drachmas
for food
80 drachmas
boots, socks
12 drachmas
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for clothes
expenditure
balance deposited to his account
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145 ½ drachmas
247 ½ drachmas
343 drachmas
SB 9207, 2nd c AD, Egypt = Campbell no.297:
To the soldier on guard duty
Gift
Suckling pig
To the guard
For extortion
To 2 police agents
To Hermias, police agent
To the [---]
2 drachmae, 1 obol
240 drachmae
24 drachmae
20 drachmae
2,200 drachmae
100 drachmae
100 drachmae
2,574 drachmae, 3 obols
Second half-year: Pha[menoth]
To the soldier at his demand
Currency exchange
8 jars of wine at 10 drachmae 1/8 obol
To the police chief
Dyke tax
Cattle tax (?)
To the soldier at his demand
Currency exchange
500 drachmae
12 drachmae
[---]
[---]
1 drachma
1 drachma
400 drachmae
15 drachmae

Fink RMR 47, Dura Europus (Syria), AD 223-5 = Campbell no.180:
27 March: net total of rank and file soldiers, 923, among these 9 centurions, 8 men on double pay, one
on pay and a half; camel riders 34, among these 1 man on pay and a half; cavalry, 223, among these 5
decurions, 7 men on double pay, 4 on pay and a half of the 20 th cohort of Palmyreni, Severiana
Alexandriana. Julius Rufianus, tribune, sent the password (chosen) from the seven planets, “Holy
(?) Mercury”.
Sent [---] 5 soldiers, among these [---] camel riders, 1 cavalryman: century of Marianus, Aurelius
Licinnius; century of Pudens, Aurelius Demetrius; century of Nigrinus, Aurelius Romanus and
Aurelius Rufus; troop of Antoninus, Iarhaboles, son of Odeatus.
Returned, formerly detailed with [---] Appadana (?) [---] troop of Tiberinus [---]
Timinius Paulinus, decurion, announced the orders of the day. We shall do whatever may be ordered;
we shall be ready for every command. Those standing guard at the standards of our lord Alexander
Augustus: decurion, Timinius Paulinus; shrine-keeper, Aurelius Silvanus; [---], son of Vabalathus;
supervisor, Aurelius Rubathus; inspector of sentries, Iarhaeus, son of Malchus; second supervisor,
Claudius Agrippa; cavalryman…

Vindolanda Tablet, c. AD 90 = Campbell no.182:
18 May, net total of the 1st cohort of Tungrians which is commanded by Julius Verecundus, prefect,
752, including 6 centurions.
From these there are absent:
Guards of the governor
46
In the office of Ferox
In Coria (mod. Corbridge)
337
including 2 (?) centurions
in London
(?) a centurion
[---]
6
including 1 centurion
[---]
9
including 1 centurion
[---]
11
In [---]
(?) 1
45
Total absent
456
including 5 centurions
Remainder, present
296
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including 1 centurion
From these:
Sick
15
Wounded
6
Suffering from inflammation of the eyes
10
Total of these
31
Remainder, fit and well
[265]
including 1 centurion

AE 1979, ostracon, Bu-Njem, Tripolitania, 3rd c AD:
December 24, number (of soldiers)
among these:
clerk
orderly
scout – (erased)
cavalry
on exercises (?)
on watchtower
at the gate
at commanding officer’s
doing building work (?)
sick:
Sulpicius Donatus
Titus Buzuris
Aurelius Rufus
at flogging
the rest, noted (?):
at the bakehouse (?)
at the bath
57
1
1
(1)
8
22
1
1
1
3
1
17
15
2
Monumental inscriptions

Keppie fig. 46, from Brixia: Lucius Antonius Quadratus, son of Lucius, of the
Fabian tribe; presented with torques and bangles by Tiberius Caesar twice. 20th legion.

CIL IX 1617 = ILS 2117, Beneventum, AD 146 = Campbell no.79:
Gaius Luccius Sabinus, son of Gaius, of the tribe Stellatina, town councillor at Beneventum, in
his lifetime constructed this for himself and Ofillia Parata, his wife, and Luccius Verecundus, his
brother, and his descendants; he served in the first urban cohort at the side of the tribunes, was
an attendant, orderly of the hospital, orderly of the prison, aide, clerk of a tribune, put in charge of
the examination of witnesses by Annius Verus prefect of the city, also officer in charge of the
watchword, orderly, standard-bearer, clerk of the treasury, orderly in charge of records,
senior clerk of a tribune, clerk of Valerius Asiaticus prefect of the city, discharged by Emperor
Hadrian Augustus in the consulship of Servianus for the 3rd time and Vibius Varus {ie AD 134},
town councillor, 22 April, in the consulship of Erucius Clarus for the 2 nd time. Frontage – 20 feet,
20 feet back {ie area assigned to tomb}.

‘Diploma’ - CIL X 867 = CIL XVI 15 = ILS 1990:
Inside:
Imperator Caesar Vespasian Augustus, chief priest, in his second year of tribunician power, hailed
victorious general six times, father of his country, consul three times, designated consul for a fourth
time,
to the veterans, who served in the fleet at Misenum under Sextus Lucilius Bassus, who had served
for twenty-six years or more and have been settled at Paestum, whose names are written below; to
themselves, their children, and their descendants, gave citizenship and the right of marriage with the
wives whom they had already at that time, when citizenship was given to them, or, if any were
unmarried, with those women whom they later married, provided that each man marry only a single
wife.
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On 5 April, in the consulship of Caesar Domitian, son of Augustus and Gnaeus Pedius Cascus; to the
rank and file soldier Marcus Surus Garasenus, son of Dama.
Transcribed and authenticated from the bronze tablet which is affixed at Rome on the Capitol,
on the podium of the altar of the Julian family, on its exterior part.
Appius Didius Praxiles, from Laodicea, Roman equestrian
Gaius Julius Agathocles from Laodicea
Gnaeus Cessius son of Gnaeus, of the Collatina tribe, Cestius from Antioch
Lucius Cornelius Simon from Caesarea Straton
Tiberius Claudius Epaphroditus from Antioch
Gaius Julius Theopompus from Antioch
Tiberius Claudius Demosthenes from Laodicea
Art


Trajan’s column
Arch of Titus
Coins – ideology
 Coin of Caligula (Campbell no.125):
Obverse. Head of Gaius (Caligula), laureate.
GAIUS CAESAR AUGUSTUS GERMANICUS, CHIEF PRIEST, TRIBUNICIAN
POWER.
Reverse. Gaius standing on a platform, speaking to 5 soldiers, 4 of whom carry
standards.
ADLOCVT COH (addressing the cohort)
 Coin of Domitian – conquest of Germany
Obverse: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P IIII
Imperator Caesar Domitian Augustus Germanicus chief priest, tribunician power 4
times
Reverse: IMP VIIII COS XI CENSORIA POTESTAT PP ‘Victorious commander 9
times, consul 11 times, censor power, father of the fatherland’

Coin of Augustus 15 BC - IMP[erator] X.
Archaeology
 Ground plan of camp at Novaesium = Le Bohec plate 32:
1: Principia (headquarters); 2: Workshop; 3: Granaries; 5/6: Shop; 7: Baths; 9:
meeting-place of 1st cohort; 10: Quarters of a century; 11: 1st cohort barracks; 12:
shop; 13: praetorium (commander's house); 14: barracks of a century; 15/17: shop;
18: hospital; 19: baths; 20: barracks; 21: officers' quarters; 22-3: auxiliary unit's
quarters & their commander's quarters;
Roman army as a community
 Routine duties
 CIL XIII 12048, Altar to Diana, Cologne (Germania Inferior):
Sacred to Diana. [Quintus] Tarquitius Restitutus, son of Quintus, of the Camilia tribe, from Pisaurum,
centurion of the 1st Legion Minervia Loyal and Faithful; having captured 50 bears within the space
of 6 months. Fulfilled his vow willingly to the deserving goddess.

Campbell no.204 – CIL VIII 2728, Lambaesis AD 152:
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Dossier of letters relating to engineering work on aqueduct; ‘Endurance; Courage;
Hope’ - citizens of Saldae in Mauretania Caesariensis to commander of legion at
Lambaesis re Nonius Datus
 Discipline & training
 Rewards
 Fort as ‘mini-town’
 Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; c25 BC
 Inchtuthil camp c.AD 84/6 [D tribunes' houses; E-J granaries; K hospital; L
senior doctors' quarters; M possible workshop and stores building; N main
workshop; P headquarters building (principia)]
 Religion:
 rituals before battle
 Festivals in the camp
 emperor worship –
 Campbell no.207 = Dura Europus calendar on papyrus, c.AD 223/7
 Mithras
 individuals' gods - AD 82 = CIL VI 20 = Campbell no.167:
In honour of Asclepius and the good health of his fellow soldiers, Sextus Titius Alexander, doctor of
the 5th cohort of praetorians, made this offering in the consulship of [[Domitian]] Augustus for the 8 th
time and Titus Flavius Sabinus.
 Life expectancy
ILS 2443: tomb of M. Billianus ‘Actiacus’
Marcus Billienus Actiacus, son of Marcus, of the Romilia tribe, of the 11th Legion, after the naval
battle, was settled in the colony, coopted into the local town council…
Relationship between Soldiers and Civilians in the Provinces
 Requisitioning
 Campbell no.293, papyrus Egypt AD 133-7:
Marcus Petronius Mamertinus, prefect of Egypt, declares: I have been informed that many of the
soldiers, while travelling through the country, without a certificate requisition boats, animals, and
persons beyond what is proper, on some occasions appropriating them by force… Because of this
private persons are subjected to arrogance and abuse and the army has come to be censored for
greed and injustice…. I shall punish severely anyone who, after this edict, is caught giving or taking
any of the things mentioned above.

Economic stimulus
 Campbell no.238, papyrus, Fayum, Egypt 2nd/3rd c AD:
Flavius Silvanus, standard-bearer of the horseguards of the prefect, to the elders of the village of
Socnopaios, greetings. I have received from you the spears of palm-wood that were assigned to you, for
which I have paid out the agreed fee from public funds.

Canabae
 Campbell no.249, AD 194
The effectiveness of the Roman army as a fighting force
 Ancient assessment: Josephus Jewish War 3.70:
If one looks at the Romans’ military system, one will recognise that the possession of a large Empire
has come into their hands as the prize of their valour, not as a gift of fortune. For this people does
not wait for the outbreak of war to practise with weapons nor do they sit idle in peacetime bestirring
themselves only in time of need. Rather they seem to have been born with weapons in their hands;
never do they take a break from training or wait for emergencies to arise. Their manoeuvres fall no
way short, in the amount of energy expended, of real warfare; but every day each soldier exercises
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with as much intensity as he would in war. This is the reason why the shock of war affects them so
little… One would not be wrong in saying that their manoeuvres are like bloodless battles, and their
battles bloodstained manoeuvres.


Training & Equipment
Impact of Individual Generals
Response to failure
 Modern response – war memorials
 Republic massacres by Hannibal, 2nd Punic War
 Practicalities
 Pliny Elder Natural History 7.54:
Cremation was not actually an old practice at Rome: the dead used to be buried. But cremation was
instituted after it became known that the bodies of those fallen in wars abroad were dug up again.



Repatriation of imperial dead
Private tombs for war-dead.
ILS 2225, Capua, late Republic = Keppie (1998) plate 10
Gaius Canuleius, the son of Quintus, a soldier in legio VII, called out for additional service, died aged
35, awarded torcs, bangles, medals and a crown. Quintus Canuleius, the son of Quintus, a soldier in
legio VII, killed in Gaul, aged 18. Two brothers. Their father erected this monument to them.

Adamklissi war memorial, Dacia - ILS 9107:
[In…] memory of the most valiant [men who…] met their death in defence of the Republic

‘Ill-omened days’ (dies nefasti): 17 July
Commemorating victory
 The Triumph

AD 71 triumph – cf Titus arch; Jos, Jewish War 7.134-36:
Silver and gold and ivory in masses, made in all kinds of forms, might be seen, not as if carried in
procession, but flowing so to speak, like a river; fabrics were borne along, some made of the rarest
purple, others embroidered by Babylonian technique with perfect representation; transparent gems,
some set in golden crowns, some in other fashions, swept by in such profusion as to correct our
erroneous supposition that any of them was rare.

Monuments:
 Ex manubiis temples/ other public buildings
 Arches
 Trophies
Adamklissi – Trajan’s Trophy, AD 108/9
Conclusions
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Roman Culture & Society Bibligraphy: Roman Army
KEY READINGS
@Keppie, L. (1998) The Making of the Roman Army. From Republic to Empire [U 35 K3]
ch. 7 [e-book]
Bispham, E. (2008) 'Warfare and the army', in Roman Europe, ed. E. Bispham [DG
209.R594] 135-69
GENERAL OVERVIEWS
@Alston, R. (1998) Aspects of Roman History AD 14-117 chap. 13 [DG 276.A5]
Beard, M. (2007) The Roman Triumph [DG 89.B4]
Campbell, J.B. (1984) The Emperor and the Roman Army 31 BC- AD235 [DG 276.5.C2]
Campbell, J.B. (1994) The Roman Army, 31 BC – AD 337. A Sourcebook [U35.C2]
Davies, R. (1989) Service in the Roman Army [U35.D2]
Elton, H. (1996) Frontiers of the Roman Empire [DG 59.A2]
Gilliver, C. (1999) The Roman Art of War [U 35.G4]
Goldsworthy, A. (2003) The Complete Roman Army [U 35.G6]
Goldsworthy, A. (2007) Roman Warfare [U 35.G65]
@Keppie, L. (1998) The Making of the Roman Army. From Republic to Empire [U 35 K3
+ e-book]
Le Bohec, Y. (1994) The Imperial Roman Army [U 35.L3]
@Ostenberg, I. (2009) Staging the world: spoils, captives, and representations in the
Roman triumphal procession [DG 89.O88 + e-book]
Potter, D. (2011) 'The Roman Army' in The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the
Roman World, ed. M. Peachin [on order]
Rich, J. & Shipley, G. (1993) War and Society in the Roman World [DG 89.W2]
Roth, J.P. (2009) Roman Warfare [U 35.R68]
Sabin, P., van Wees, H., Whitby, M. (2007) The Cambridge history of Greek and
Roman warfare [U 33.C2]
Sidebottom, H. (2004) Ancient Warfare (A Very short introduction) [U 29.S4]
Watson, G.R. (1969) The Roman Soldier [U 35.W2]
Webster, G. (1956) The Roman Army [U 35.W3]
Webster, G. (1985, 3rd edn) The Roman Imperial Army [U35.W3]
Webster, G. (1985) The Roman Imperial Army: a social and economic study [DG 59.A2]
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GEOGRAPHICAL STUDIES
Alston, R. (1995) Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt: a social history [DT 93.A5]
Blagg, T.F.C. and King, A.C., eds. (1984) Military and Civilian in Roman Britain. Cultural
relationships in a frontier province [DA 145.M4]
@Dobson, B. & Mann, J.C. (1973) ‘The Roman army in Britain and Britons in the Roman
army’, Britannia 4: 191-205
Elton, H. (1996) Frontiers of the Roman Empire [DG 59.A2]
Isaac, B.H. (1990) The Limits of Empire: the Roman army in the East [DS62.1.18]
Keppie, L. (1983) Colonisation and Veteran Settlement in Italy [DG 105.K3]
Pollard, N. (2000) Soldiers, cities and civilians in Roman Syria [DG 59.S9]
SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF ARMY LIFE
@Campbell, B. (1978) ‘The marriage of soldiers under the Empire’ JRS 68: 153-66
Gilliver, C. (1996) Battle in Antiquity [U 29.B2]
Goldsworthy, A. (1996) The Roman Army at War 100 BC – AD 200 [U35.G6]
Mann, J.C. (1983) Legionary Recruitment and Veteran Settlement during the Principate
[U35.M2]
Maxfield, V.A. (1995) Soldier and Civilian: life beyond the ramparts [DG 89.M2]
Roth, J.P. (1999) The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 BC – AD 235) [U 35.W3]
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Elsner, J. (1998) Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph
@Hölscher, T. (2003) ‘Images of war in Greece and Rome: Between military practice,
public memory, and cultural symbolism’, JRS 93: 1-17