The Roman Army

Be All You Can Be…

THE ROMAN ARMY By the end of the civil wars the Roman

Army had changed dramatically Service by all Roman citizens

was not practical. Long term garrison troops

New terms of service were laid down by Augustus and his military aide, Marcus Agrippa

Army consisted of professional, long-term soldiers who were paid relatively good salaries

had to be Roman citizens (later non-citizens were allowed to enlist).

receive citizenship after 20 years of service

Given choice of 12,000 sesterces cash bonus or its equivalent in land at retirement

MILITARY STRENGTH

Augustus established 28 legions About 6000 men each Trajan increased number to 30

legions and Septimius Severus increased it again to 33 legions

Most stationed along frontiers of the empire

2/3s in the western provinces and the rest scattered in the east and North Africa

Rome also had several fleets Two stationed along Italian coast,

squadrons stations off coasts of Egypt and Syria, and one each on Danube River, Rhine River, Black Sea and the English Channel

LOYALTY Army loyal to emperor in normal times But no emperor ever took this

loyalty for granted He kept control by making sure that:

All generals and many lesser officers appointed by and responsible to the emperor

Commanders continually shifted from place to place

Governors were prohibited from raising their own armies and discouraged from contacting each other

Not allowed to pay troops or reward bonuses

SPIRITUAL CONNECTION

All soldiers were spiritually bound to the emperor

Swore oath of allegiance when they enlisted in which they vowed: “to perform with enthusiasm

whatever the emperor commands, never to desert, and

not to shrink from death on behalf of the Roman state”

Also observed numerous religious holidays in which the current emperors and selected past emperors were honored

Not easy to incite soldiers to rebel Average rank-and-file soldier was

fairly trustworthy (during first 200 years of empire)

CONDITIONS

Conditions of service were pretty tolerable Soldiers were paid fairly well Dangers they faced were not

particularly great Commanders were

expected to win through caution rather than by boldness

There were occasional disasters

Such as total destruction of 3 legions commanded by General Varus by Germans during reign of Augustus

But this was rare

ACTIVITIES Most soldiers spent their long

service in peacetime activities Going on marches and

training exercises Building and maintaining

roads, forts, walls, and bridges

Acting as police force in territories where they were stationed

This job could get burdensome

POLICE PROBLEMS

Bandits and brigands were a problem As were pirates on the

Mediterranean Sea and major rivers

Runaway slaves were another big problem

Special brigades created just to catch them

Rebellions also sometimes occurred Usually broke out within first 20

years after a new territory had been conquered

Most rebellious people in the empire were the Jews

Masada Revolt (66-75 CE) Even worse revolt (133-135

CE)

THE PRICE OF REBELLION Open challenge to imperial

system was simply not allowed

If troops were called in to quell a revolt or riot, they could leave a town or city in a shambles

Destroyed Cremona, Lyon, and Byzantium after soldiers put down minor revolts

THE FRONTIER

Emperors generally content to keep what they held Preferred diplomacy to war and usually garrisoned troops on established

frontiers rather than engage in more conquests They intelligently realized the technological, logistic, financial, and

military limits of Roman power and that it was wise to stay within them Some exceptions

Claudius’ conquest of Britain and Trajan’s conquest of Dacia But they basically still realized that to conquer more territory would have been

a losing population in terms of money and manpower