A Smaller History of Rome: from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the EmpireSmith, William
History
A Smaller History of Rome: from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire
Smith, William
Rome -- History
IV. FINANCES.--The ordinary expenditure of the Roman state was not
large. All the magistrates discharged their duties without pay; and the
allied troops, which formed so large a portion of a Roman army, were
maintained by the allies themselves. The expenses of war were defrayed
by a property-tax called _Tributum_, which was usually one in a
thousand, or one tenth per cent., but after the last war with Macedonia
the treasury received such large sums from the provinces that the
tributum was abolished. From this time the expenses of the state were
almost entirely defrayed by the taxes levied in the provinces. The other
revenues of the state, which bore the general name of _Vectigalia_, may
be dismissed with a few words. They consisted of the rents arising from
the public lands, of the customs' duties, of the taxes upon mines, salt,
etc.
* * * * *
V. THE ARMY.--The Roman army was originally called _Legio_; and this
name, which is coeval with the foundation of Rome, continued down to the
latest times. The Legion was therefore not equivalent to what we call a
regiment, inasmuch as it contained troops of all arms, infantry,
cavalry, and, when military engines were extensively employed, artillery
also. The number of soldiers who, at different periods, were contained
in a legion, does not appear to have been absolutely fixed, but to have
varied within moderate limits. Under Romulus the legion contained 3000
foot-soldiers. From the expulsion of the Kings until the second year of
the Second Punic War the regular number may be fixed at 4000 or 4200
infantry. From the latter period until the consulship of Marius the
ordinary number was from 5000 to 5200. For some centuries after Marius
the numbers varied from 5000 to 6200, generally approaching to the
higher limit. Amid all the variations with regard to the infantry, 300
horsemen formed the regular complement of the legion. The organization
of the legion differed at different periods.
1. _First Period. Servius Tullius._--The legion of Servius is so closely
connected with the Comitia Centuriata that it has already been
discussed,[49] and it is only necessary to state here that it was a
phalanx equipped in the Greek fashion, the front ranks being furnished
with a complete suit of armor, their weapons being long spears, and
their chief defense the round Argolic shield (_clipeus_).
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