The Auxilia of the Roman Imperial ArmyThis is the first systematic study of the auxiliary soldiers who accompanied the ancient Roman legions into battle. Using evidence ranging from their gravestones to the discharge papers that eventually granted them citizenship, Cheesman traces the evolution of the “barbarian” auxiliaries from ad-hoc local levies to highly specialized units that were a vital component of the Roman war machine. Separate chapters cover the size and organization of auxiliary units, including conditions of service and military titles; where and why auxiliaries and their officers were recruited; their role in war and frontier defense; and the different kinds of arms and armor used by auxiliaries from the many regions of the Roman Empire. A final conclusion deals with the decline and break-up of the Augustan military system, and the varied fates of auxiliary units left to defend isolated forts far from their ancestral homes. Two appendices cover the strength, positioning, and recruitment areas of the auxiliaries in the peak years of the second century AD. |
