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The Roman Army of the Augustan era |
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Page 2 of 3
The ‘military complex’ So how was Augustus’ army put together after he came to power? It has already been noted that there were thousands of veterans waiting for retirement. That was given to a large part of them. About half of them were immediately discharged, paid for by confiscations and booty from the civil wars. The remaining soldiers were then reorganised in 28 permanent legions. More infantry and especially cavalry and specialized troops were organised in auxiliary units, while on water the empire had several fleets at its disposal. Finally, Augustus’ personal security was (supposed to be) guaranteed by the Imperial Guard.
LegionsThe numerous legions of the civil wars, which on Octavian’s side alone were numbered into the forties, were reorganised and in several cases renumbered. To these were added several legions which used to belong to Antony’s army and some depleted legions were joined together making up so-called Legiones Geminae (twin legions). This policy, basically one of appeasement to Antony’s veterans combined with the will to preserve some of Caesar’s legionary heritage, caused the confusing legionary series where several different legions had the same number (e.g. Legio X Fretensis, Legio X Gemina).
These legions were dispersed across the (border-) provinces Augustus had assigned to himself as still threatened by internal or external enemies. They were often paired and when they were grouped for a war, always under control of himself, his close friends or family.
Every legion had the same basic structure. At its head stood a trusted senator, called the legatus (chargé d’affaires), assisted by a young member of a senatorial family, a tribunus militum laticlavius (military tribune with a broad stripe – as sign for his senatorial rank) and five young equestrian tribunes, tribuni militum angusticlavii (military tribunes with a narrow stripe, signifying their equestrian status). They seem to have functioned as a sort of general staff, messengers and sometimes fulfilled command functions on the battlefield. All of these officers served only year, with the exception of the legate, who sometimes served for a few years more.
The legate commanded some 4800 legionaries, all Roman citizens; infantrymen with state-supplied armor, shield, sword and two heavy javelins. They were paid 225 denarii per year in three instalments and a large lump-sum, worth ten to fifteen yearly salaries on retirement. From their basic pay an amount was deducted for their equipment and food. The rest they could keep themselves and was used to buy slaves, fancier equipment, keep a girlfriend – they were not allowed to marry –, pay contributions to the communal funerary fund and pay off their centurion.
The latter was part of arguably the most important category in the roman army, the centurions. They were in command of a centuria of 80 legionaries of which there were six to a cohors, ten of which make up a legion. Since there was no formal commander of a cohort and the senior officers served only a short time, it becomes immediately clear how important the long serving (cases of forty and fifty years of service are known!) centurions were.
It is much debated whether centurions came in different grades. Previously, it was thought that the lowest rank was the centurion of the sixth century of the tenth cohort going up to the centurion of the first century of the first cohort, the so-called primus pilus (the first ranker –as in rank-and-file). While the latters position as the legion’s senior centurion is undisputed, it is now usually thought that all centurions were equal, and only the centurions of the first cohort (the Primi Ordines) were more equal than others. All centurions were very well paid – at least some twenty times as much as a common soldier – and the primus pilus best of all. After their retirement, their status assured them a good position in society too, perhaps as councilman of their town, and the primus pilus earned entry into the equestrian class.
Below every centurion, the hierarchy of the Augustan era was still quite simple. The centurion was assisted by an optio, his second-in-command who hoped to one day gain the centurionate for himself. It appears that below the optio there were no differences in formal hierarchy anymore, none that paid better than others anyway. The basic difference among the gregales (the herd, the common soldiers) was between those who were liable for menial services and those who were not, the immunes. The latter were those soldiers who performed specialized or honorary tasks. They were armourers, potters and the standardbearers, those who had been so conspicuously brave that they received the honor of caring for the centurial or even legionary standards, the imago (a standard with the portrait of the emperor) or aquila (the eagle, the legionary symbol). Those standards were revered with zeal and could only be granted by the emperor. They were kept in a holy-of-holies in the legionary kept and always under guard. Their high status meant that it was a terrible disgrace for the legion to lose them in battle and could mean the disbandment of the legion. If that happened, however, it was usually because the entire legion had fought itself to death trying to protect their standard. The only other possible reason for the disbandment of the legion was treason, proclaiming a usurper as emperor or supporting a revolting governor in a bid for empire. That was a great risk for a legion to take, but if it worked out, it could bring great rewards too. After a civil war, the victorious emperor could be counted upon to give lavishly to those who, depending on the outcome, had remained loyal or had helped him gain the purple.
Finally, making up the rest of the legion, were the servants of the train, mostly slaves, and a small unit of cavalry. These, some 120 elite soldiers, were divided in four squadrons, turmae, and served as couriers and scouts when the legion was on the march.
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