The Old Roman World : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization.Lord, John
History
The Old Roman World : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization.
Lord, John
Rome -- Civilization
There was a change in the constitution and disposition of the legion
after the time of Marius, until the fall of the republic. The legions
were thrown open to men of all grades; they were all armed and equipped
alike; the lines were reduced to two, with a space between each cohort,
of which there were five in each line; the young soldiers were placed in
the rear, and not the van; the distinction between Hastati, Principes,
and Triarii ceased; the Velites disappeared, their work being done by
the foreign mercenaries; the cavalry ceased to be part of the legion,
and became a distinct body; and the military was completely severed from
the rest of the state. Formerly no one could aspire to office who had
not completed ten years of military service, but in the time of Cicero a
man could pass through all the great dignities of the state with a very
limited experience of military life. Cicero himself served but one
campaign.
[Sidenote: Changes under the emperors.]
[Sidenote: Pay of soldiers.]
Under the emperors, there were still other changes. The regular army
consisted of legions and supplementa,--the latter being subdivided into
the imperial guards and the auxiliary troops. The auxiliaries (Socii)
consisted of troops from the states in alliance with Rome, or those
compelled to furnish subsidies. The infantry of the allies was generally
more numerous than that of the Romans, while the cavalry was three times
as numerous. All the auxiliaries were paid by the state; the infantry
received the same pay as the Roman infantry, but the cavalry only two
thirds of what was paid to the Roman cavalry. The common foot-soldier
received in the time of Polybius three and a half asses a day, equal to
about six farthings sterling money; the horseman three times as much.
The Praetorian cohorts received twice as much as the legionaries. Julius
Caesar allowed about six asses a day as the pay of the legionary, and
under Augustus the daily pay was raised to ten asses--little more than
four pence per day. Domitian raised the stipend still higher. The
soldier, however, was fed and clothed by the government.
[Sidenote: The Praetorian cohort.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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