Transcript the roman army - North Andover Public Schools

THE ROMAN ARMY

Army consisted of professional,
long-term soldiers who were
paid relatively good salaries
• Under Augustus, the had to
be Roman citizens but later
non-citizens were allowed to
enlist
 And receive citizenship
after 20 years of service
• Given choice at retirement of
either 12,000 sesterces cash
bonus or its equivalent in
land
LOYALTY

Army loyal to emperor in normal
times
 But no emperor ever took this
loyalty for granted
• All generals and many
lesser officers appointed by
and responsible to the
emperor
• Commanders continually
shifted from place to place
• Governors were prohibited
from raising their own
armies and discouraged
from contacting each other
 Not allowed to pay
troops or reward
bonuses
SPIRITUAL CONNECTION


All soldiers were spiritually bound to
the emperor
 Swore oath of allegiance vowing “to
perform with enthusiasm whatever
the emperor commands, never to
desert, and not to shrink from death
on behalf of the Roman state”
Not easy to incite soldiers to rebel
 Average rank-and-file soldier was
fairly trustworthy (during first 200
years of empire)
CONDITIONS

Conditions of service were
pretty tolerable
 Soldiers paid fairly well
 Dangers faced were not
particularly great
• Commanders were
expected to win through
caution rather than by
boldness
 There were occasional
disasters
• Such as total destruction
of 3 legions commanded
by General Varus by
Germans during reign of
Augustus
• But this was rare
ACTIVITIES

Most soldiers spent their long
service in peacetime activities
 Going on marches and
training exercises
 Building and maintaining
roads, forts, walls,
aqueducts, bridges
 Acting as police force in
territories where they were
stationed
• This job could get
burdensome
POLICE PROBLEMS



Bandits and brigands were a
problem
 As were pirates on the
Mediterranean Sea and major
rivers
Runaway slaves were another big
problem
 Special brigades created just to
catch them
Rebellions also sometimes occurred
 Usually broke out within first 20
years after a new territory had
been conquered
 Most rebellious people in the
empire were the Jews
• Masada Revolt (66-75 AD)
• Even worse revolt (133-135
AD)
THE PRICE OF REBELLION

Open challenge to imperial
system was simply not
allowed
 If troops were called in
to quell a revolt or riot,
they could leave a town
or city in a shambles
• Destroyed Cremona,
Lyon, and Byzantium
after soldiers put
down minor revolts
THE FRONTIER

Emperors generally content to keep
what they held
 Some exceptions
• Claudius’ conquest of Britain and
Trajan’s conquest of Dacia

But they basically still realized that
to conquer more territory would
have been a losing population in
terms of money and manpower