The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337 The Roman imperial army was unrivalled until recent times in its professional structure, efficient training, detailed organization, and ordnance support. It was remarkable in an age of poor communications and limited technological advance. The army sustained a great empire militarily and politically. First, its skill and success ensured Rome’s domination, and second the loyalty of the troops ensured the political survival of the emperors, who sought to preserve the fabric of government and make it work. The army was therefore a vital element in the subsequent development of Western Civilization. The large number of soldiers and their associated dependants meant that they had significant impact socially, economically, and culturally on the settlements that grew up round the camps and on some of the communitites where they settled after discharge. The privileges of the soldiers set them apart from other men of their social class, and the enhanced position of veterans established them as a very important group in their own right, an integral part of the whole phenomenon of Roman ‘government’. The study of the Roman army therefore embraces not only military but also political, social and economic history. This source book collects literary and epigraphic material, and papyri and coins which illustrate the varied aspects of army life both at war and at peace, and it takes account of evidence made available by recent archaeological investigations in many parts of the empire. Subjects covered include training, officers, the role of the emperor, fighting, community life, politics, and veterans. The introductions to each section and the linking passages provide a narrative structure and explain difficulties of the source material. This book will appeal to a wide audience: students of the army and the Roman empire, and all those interested in the ancient world and military studies. Brian Campbell is Lecturer in Ancient History at the Queen’s University of Belfast. He is the author of The Emperor and the Roman Army, 31 BC-AD 235 (1984). The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337 A Sourcebook Brian Campbell London and New York First published 1994 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 1994 Brian Campbell All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Campbell, J. B. The Roman Army, 31 BC-AD 337: A sourcebook / Brian Campbell p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Roman—Army I. Title. U35.C35 1994 335′00937—dc20 93–9032 ISBN 0-203-13730-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-17773-8 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-07172-0 (hbk) 0-415-07173-9 (pbk) For Karen Contents List of plates ix List of maps and tables x Preface and acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii Emperors from Augustus to Constantine xvi Weights, measures and money xviii Introduction 1 1 The soldiers 9 Recruitment 9 Training 15 Conditions of service 20 Careers 28 2 The officers 46 Centurions 46 Prefects and tribunes 56 Senior officers 61 3 The Emperor as commander-in-chief 68 The emperor with his troops 69 The emperor as general 72 Imperial military honours 74 4 The army in the field 79 The disposition of the army 79 Fighting 89 Medical service 103 Incentives and punishments 104 viii Contents 5 The army in peacetime 110 Military life in and around the camps 110 Soldiers as builders and engineers 120 Religion 127 Military Collegia 136 6 The army, the local community, and the law 140 Soldiers in local life 140 Soldiers, marriage, and family life 151 Soldiers before the law 160 Soldiers and civilians 170 7 The army in politics 181 8 Veterans 193 Discharge and benefits 193 Veteran colonies 210 Veterans in local life 221 9 The army in the later empire 231 Select bibliography 250 Index of translated passages 256 Index of names and subjects 264 Plates 1 Ti. Claudius Maximus 2 Centurion monument from Colchester 3 Trajan as commander-in-chief 4 Trajan addresses the army; receives an embassy 5 Aureus, AD 46–7: Claudius’ triumph over the British 6 Sestertius, AD 116–17: conquest of Armenia and Mesopotania 7 Model of a Roman camp 8 The Roman siege ramp at Masada 9 Reconstruction of a Roman catapult from Masada, made for a film version of the siege of Masada 10 Roman ceremonial helmet, AD 3–4 11 The Mithraeum at Carrawburgh on Hadrian’s Wall 12 Aureus, AD 41–2: Claudius and the praetorians 13 Bronze diploma—interior faces 14 Bronze diploma—exterior faces showing holes for binding wire 15 Bronze diploma—interior face 16 Bronze diploma—exterior face 17 Bronze diploma—binding wire and parts of metal cover for protecting seals of witnesses 18 Bronze diploma—exterior face with metal cover in position Figures and tables FIGURES 1 Legionary fortress at Inchtuthil, Scotland, c. AD 86 80 (20 hectares) 2 Auxiliary fort at Valkenburg, Holland, c. AD 40 (1.5 hectares) 81 3 The disposition of the legions in AD 14 86 4 The disposition of the legions in AD 200 87 5 Rapidum (Sour Djouab) in Mauretania. Camp built in AD 122 149 TABLE 1 Rates of pay 20 Preface and acknowledgements The Roman army inspires wide interest, yet the sources are multifarious and often difficult of access, especially for those with no Greek or Latin. In choosing material for this collection I have tried to illustrate not only military organization and practice but also something of the role of the soldiers in the social, political, and economic life of the empire. I have confined my attention to the imperial period since only then can we speak of ‘the’ Roman army; before, there were transient legions and then the various armies of military dynasts. Nevertheless, since the army of Augustus and his successors owed so much to the military practices of the Republic, I have included a brief introductory survey of the army before 31 BC. The changes made in the army by Diocletian and Constantine are a convenient stopping point, although there is a large body of evidence for post-Constantinian military developments. In presenting material I have used introductions and short commentaries to establish a narrative framework, primarily in cases where the sources are difficult or inadequate. In citing literary sources, I have given once in each section the dates of the author’s activity. In the case of inscriptions and papyri, I have included the find spot, the modern place-name where appropriate, the Roman province, and a precise date if possible, or an indication of the century, where this is pretty certainly known from internal evidence. In citing collections of inscriptions and papyri I have used the most accessible rather than the most recent, unless there are important new interpretations, and have sometimes included an alternative collection in addition to a basic work. As far as possible, papyri have been set out as the original editor transcribed the documents. John Curran, Raymond Davis, and Lawrence Keppie read parts of the text and made many useful suggestions; Walter Cockle patiently kept me informed about material from the Mons Claudianus xii Preface excavations; ] Margaret Roxan and Valerie Maxfield generously supplied photographs for some of the illustrations. I should like to thank all these scholars and exculpate them from responsibility for the author’s decisions and errors. I also thank my editor Richard Stoneman for so readily accepting this venture and for his subsequent guidance. Acknowledgements Acknowledgements for plates (apart from those contributed by Richard Stoneman): Plate 1, Ch. Koukouli-Chrysanthuki, Kavalla Museum. Plates 3 and 4, Lepper and Frere 1988, by courtesy of Mr. F. Lepper. Plate 5, 6 and 12, The British Museum. Plates 13–18, Dr. M. Roxan. Acknowledgements for figures: Figure 1, Tacitus: Agricola, edited by R.M. Ogilvie and Sir Ian Richmond (Oxford, 1967), p. 72, figure 9, by permission of Oxford Univeristy Press. Figure 2, The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire, Lawrence Keppie (London, 1984), p. 183, figure 48, by permission of B. T. Batsford Ltd. Figure 5, Rapidum: Le camp de la cohort des Sardes en Maurétanie Césarienne, J.-P Laporte (Università degli Studi di Sassari, 1989), p. 26, figure 4, by permission of the author. Abbreviations AE L’Année épigraphique (Paris, 1893–). AJ F.F.Abbott and A.C.Johnson, Municipal Administration in the Roman Empire (Princeton, 1926; reprint, New York, 1968). ANRW H.Temporini et al. (eds), Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt (Berlin, 1972–). BGU Berliner griechische Urkunden (Ägyptische Urkunden aus den königlichen Museen zu Berlin (Berlin, 1895–)). BJ Bonner Jahrbücher des Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn. BMC H.Mattingly (ed.), Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (vol. 1, 1923; vol. 3, 1966). CIL Th.Mommsen et al. (eds), Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (Berlin, 1863–). CJ P.Krueger (ed.), Codex Iustinianus; Corpus Iuris Civilis vol. II (Berlin, 1877).