In this blog we dive into the Roman legionnaire from the early Imperial period. But before we begin, let's take a quick look back at the origins of the Roman professional army.
In the previous blog we discussed how the Roman professional army emerged after the massive losses of the 2nd Punic War (218-201 BCE) and the subsequent enormous territorial expansion of the Roman Republic. Originally, the army consisted of conscripts who had to serve for a limited period. This led to economic and social imbalance. As a result, more and more volunteers from the poorer classes with citizenship rights were recruited as professional soldiers. Professional soldiers served for periods of 6 years in the army. After the Socii War (91-88 BCE) the legions emerged as most people know them.
Legionnaires, loyal to their general
The legions formed mini-societies. And during the Roman Civil War 49-45 BCE, it became clear that the legionnaire's loyalty was primarily directed towards his general, a pattern comparable to the Roman patron-client relationship of citizens, but armed. After the murder of Julius Caesar and the subsequent war of the Second Triumvirate (32-31 BCE) Octavianus won total power and became Emperor Augustus the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
The army of Emperor Augustus
After obtaining undisputed power in 27 BCE Augustus faced the challenge of an army that had grown significantly through recruitments during the Roman Civil Wars. At the same time, the army lacked good organization to both defend and expand the empire. Even though after his victory he dissolved most legions of his defeated rival Marcus Antonius, Augustus had 50 legions under his command. Around this time, the army consisted of legions, auxilia and Foederati (allies). By the end of his reign, the army numbered around 250,000 men, divided among 25 legions and 250 auxilia units.
The first priority was to reduce the number of legions to a sustainable level. Fifty legions meant too high a recruitment pressure for a male civilian population of only about two million. The emperor retained slightly more than half of his legions, dissolved the rest and settled their veterans in 28 new Roman colonies. The number of legions remained close to that level until the beginning of the third century (varying between 25 and 33).
Augustus extended the period during which a professional soldier could serve. Under the late Republic, a Roman citizen aged 16 to 46 could legally serve a maximum of sixteen years in the legions. Of which a maximum of six years consecutively. In 13 BCE Augustus issued the decree that sixteen years was the standard term of service for legion recruits, with four additional years as reservists (evocati). In 5 CE the standard term was extended to twenty years plus five years as a reservist. This ensured the legionnaire of an entire career as a soldier.
New command structure
Augustus changed the command structure of the legions. In the Republic each legion was under the command of six cavalry tribunes who took turns commanding. In the late Republic, however, these military tribunes were overshadowed by higher-ranking officers of senatorial rank, the legati. Augustus appointed a legatus to permanently command each legion, with a term of office of several years.
Augustus' expansion wars
Augustus' ambitious expansion plans for the Roman Empire (including moving the border to the Elbe and Danube) soon showed that 28 legions were not enough. Starting with the Cantabrian Wars, aimed at annexing the mineral-rich mountains in northwest Spain, his 41-year sole rule saw an almost uninterrupted series of major wars that often pushed manpower to the limit.
Composition of the legions
The basic unit of the legion was the centuria, which literally means "one hundred men," but in practice consisted of 80 men during the Principate. The main tactical sub-unit of the legion was the cohors, which contained six centuriae for a total of 480 men. Each legion consisted of 10 cohorts, or 4,800 men (approximately 5,000 including the small legion cavalry of 120 riders and officers). Around 100 CE, however, the First Cohort was divided into only five centuriae, but with double strength of 160 men each, providing a total of 800 men. From that point on, a legion numbered approximately 5,300 men.
Each legion contained a small cavalry unit of 120 men. This performed tasks such as messengers, scouts and escorts for senior officers.
The legion consisted of heavy infantry. Although almost invincible on the battlefield against non-Roman infantry, it was a large, inflexible unit. Support from auxilia troops such as archers and cavalry were essential for the proper functioning of a legion.
Auxilia troops
Augustus retained the services of numerous units of native allies. But there was an urgent need for extra regular troops, organized, if not fully equipped, in the same way as the legions. These troops could only be recruited from the enormous pool of non-citizens of the empire, known as peregrini. In the early 1st century there were approximately nine times as many peregrini as Roman citizens. The peregrini were now recruited into regular units the size of cohorts (approximately 500 men), they formed auxiliary troops without citizenship rights and are known as auxiliae. By 23 CE Tacitus reported that the auxiliae were about the same size as the legions (approximately 175,000 men). The approximately 250 regiments were divided into three types: a fully infantry regiment (ca. 120 regiments); an infantry unit with a cavalry contingent, the cohors equitata (80 units); and a fully cavalry unit, the ala (plural: alae, literally: "wing"), of which approximately 50 were originally established.
Allies
During the Principate there is evidence for ethnic units of barbari outside the normal auxilia organization who fought alongside Roman troops. These units were called socii ("allies"), symmachiarii or foederati. An estimate places the number of foederati in the time of Trajan at about 11,000, divided among approximately 40 units of about 300 men each.
The foederati first appear officially on Trajan's Column, where they are depicted as half-naked barbarians. Probably this was to make a distinction between foederati and regular auxiliae.
Legionnaires
As military units that consisted entirely of Roman citizens, the legionnaires represented Rome in person. Therefore, the lower class of Roman Italy, who did have citizenship, had a privileged position compared to the rest of the population (peregrinus). Their ancestors had paid dearly for this during the Punic Wars. This superiority was reflected in the pay and additional benefits that legionnaires enjoyed. Moreover, legionnaires had better equipment than auxilia troops.
The life of a Roman legionnaire
The life of a Roman legionnaire was hard. In addition to strict discipline, hard training and the dangers of combat, they also performed various tasks such as construction projects, police work and tax collection. They were not continuously in combat; most of their service time consisted of routine military tasks such as training, patrols and equipment maintenance. Furthermore, they played a crucial role in civil projects, such as building roads, bridges, harbors and public buildings. They were also deployed to establish new cities (coloniae) and improve agricultural land by cutting forests and draining swamps.
Although the salary and secondary working conditions were more favorable than the existence of a poor farmer, conditions in the army were far from ideal. The service term originally lasted 25 years, but in some cases soldiers could remain in service for up to 30 or 40 years. Even after their official discharge, many were sent to remote areas as reservists.
Recruitment and composition of the army
From the middle of the 1st century, the borders of the Roman Empire were largely stable, allowing legions to be stationed in certain provinces for extended periods. This had consequences for the composition of the army. In the early Imperial period, about 65% of legionnaires were born in Italy, but under Emperor Hadrian (early 2nd century) this was only 8%. When also counting auxiliary troops (auxilia), only 4% of Roman soldiers were Italian, while Italians made up 12% of the total population and more than 50% of Roman citizens.
Many legionnaires came from Roman colonies in the provinces. These settlements were originally established to house veterans, so their descendants had partly Italian blood. Emperor Hadrian, for example, was born in the Spanish colony Italica to an Italian father and presumably an Iberian mother. As the Roman borders further consolidated, sons of auxilia veterans with Roman citizenship became an important recruitment source for legionnaires. To compensate for the declining number of Italian legionnaires, Emperor Marcus Aurelius established in 165 the legions II Italica and III Italica, presumably filled with Italian recruits through conscription.
Another recruitment problem was the lack of citizens in some border provinces. In Britain, for example, around 100 CE there were only 50,000 Roman citizens in a population of two million. This meant that the British legions were largely dependent on recruits from other regions, especially from northern Gaul. Although some historians think that the requirement to recruit only citizens was sometimes ignored, there is evidence that this rule was strictly enforced. Known are cases where recruits were punished and dismissed after it was revealed that they had forged their citizenship. An exception applied to sons of legionnaires. Officially legionnaires were not allowed to marry until the 3rd century, but many had long-term relationships and children. Because these children were legally illegitimate, they could not inherit their fathers' citizenship. Yet they were often recruited and presumably received Roman citizenship upon enlistment.
Salary and benefits
Despite the harsh conditions and long service term, the Roman army offered attractive benefits. Under Emperor Augustus a legionnaire earned
