The Auxilia of the Roman Imperial ArmyCheesman, George Leonard
History
The Auxilia of the Roman Imperial Army
Cheesman, George Leonard
Rome -- Army; Rome -- Colonies
In contrast to Narbonensis, it was upon the remaining three Gallic
provinces that the levy fell most heavily. From this district came more
than a quarter of the auxiliary infantry[187] in the pre-Flavian period
and nearly half the cavalry. The Gallic troopers indeed maintained for
a century the reputation which they had won under Caesar’s command,
and Strabo,[188] writing in the reign of Augustus, places them above
all other cavalry in the imperial army. Arrian,[189] too, notes their
reputation and the number of Celtic words in the cavalry drill-book,
although in his day their position had been taken by the Pannonians,
already prominent in the campaign of 69.[190] Spain sent the largest
contingent after the Gallic provinces, and also contributed a few
words to the drill-book,[191] but we hear nothing of the quality of
the Spanish troops and they soon lost their early importance. The
predominance of the auxilia of Spain and Gaul in the pre-Flavian period
is, however, a clear indication of the determination of Augustus to
base the Empire on its Western provinces. Archers alone, and these in
comparatively small numbers, were drawn from the East,[192] which was
still regarded as the home of dangerous and un-Roman ideals.
Lastly, a word must be said about a group of regiments which do not
appear in the above lists and are too numerous to be passed over.
These are the cohorts which bear the titles _voluntariorum civium
Romanorum_, _ingenuorum c. R._, _Italica c. R._, and _campestris_.[193]
Collectively these regiments constitute the _cohortes civium
Romanorum_ to the soldiers of which Augustus left by his will a
donative equal to that of the legionaries.[194] From various passages
in the literary authorities it appears that they represent the
result of two levies made by Augustus in Italy, the first during the
Pannonian rising, and the second after the defeat of Varus.[195] When
free-born citizens could not be found in sufficient numbers the levy
was extended to freedmen.[196] This is corroborated by the evidence
of the inscriptions, since the title _ingenuorum_ clearly implies the
existence of regiments whose members could not make this boast.[197]
Originally, as the provisions of the will of Augustus show, these
cohorts occupied a peculiar position, and were practically on a level
with the legionaries, in consequence of which their commanders bear
the title of _tribunus_.[198] The presence, however, of the Cohors VIII
Voluntariorum on the Dalmatian diploma of 93 shows that unenfranchised
recruits had been accepted even during the pre-Flavian period, and in
the following century only their title distinguishes these regiments
from the ordinary auxilia.
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