Since the reign of Hadrian, a single legion held
the southern frontier of the Roman Empire. That legion was the 3rd Augusta. Though their formal
headquarters were in the province of Numidia and under its governor, their reach far outgrew
this, stretching into the provinces of Africa and Mauretania. Compared to other legions, they
were largely isolated from the northern conflicts, and guarded their provinces for centuries without
departing. In this video, instead of covering their legion’s history, as we normally do, we
will use them as an example of the vast impact a stationed legion had on a province; a topic
largely overlooked and underappreciated. So crucial were their provincial roles, that
when a legion departed from a province, it was a sizable blow to its economy and
stability, and wise rulers tried to refrain from repositioning legions as much as possible.
This video will give you a better understanding of how legions operated and ran
provinces, and in turn, the whole empire… Before carrying on, I wanted to thank our sponsor,
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and get an extra layer of security at all times. For centuries, the 3rd Augusta had stood guard
in a frontier stretching thousands of kilometers along the limits of the Sahara, bordering many
desert tribes, like the Gaetulians, Phazanians and Garamantes, who proved troublesome at times.
Naturally, the legion’s first unquestionable role was regarding MILITARY affairs in the region.
On top of all this, and in times of need, the legion has also provided support to
other Roman forces operating as far as Dacia by sending strong detachments to take part in the
Emperor’s campaigns, where many legionaries and officers have brought back honour to the legion by
distinguishing themselves in combat. But the North African frontier can also be very treacherous,
with the IIIrd Augusta so thinly stretched. On occasion, the 3rd legion themselves have been
in need of reinforcements, such as when a local soldier by the name of Tacfarinas, deserted
from the Roman army and with a sizable force, started raiding settlements and convoys in a
prolonged guerilla war. In response, the empire’s veteran 9th legion was called in to put an end to
the opposition. Through the centuries, a lot more detachments from Hispania, Syria, Germania and
Pannonia have also helped stem the tide before returning to their distant bases. For a more
in depth look, we have researched the region known as Tripolitania in more detail. The ancient
geographer Strabo describes the region as: “like a leopard's skin, spotted with inhabited places
that are surrounded by waterless and desert land.” Tripolitania, meaning the land of the three
cities, encompassed the big cities of Sabratha, Oea and Leptis Magna. They were the most remote
bastions of Roman power in Africa, far from the nearest legionary bases, with the frontier very
exposed to the Garamantes and phazanian nomads. At first, relations with the local tribes were
not always violent. A very prosperous trade relationship between the cities of Tripolitania
and the Garamantes had been established in the first century AD, While the phazanian nomads
had worked as farmers, tended their herds, and always migrated with the passing of the seasons
without trouble. But the growth of agriculture disrupted the stability in the region, because the
Roman expansion inland came at the expense of the nomadic tribes losing valuable land for pasture.
It wasn't long until violence erupted and the nomads started to harass the local settlers. The
Romans retaliated by building fortifications and outposts manned by a small force of legionaries
and auxiliaries to protect the newly settled lands. As such, western Tripolitania saw some
military activity during the reigns of Vespasian and Hadrian, but the Romans eventually subjugated
or expelled the Gaetulians and Phazanians, a labour culminated by the many forts in the
area. The IIIrd Augusta took an active part in these operations and left a small garrison to
support the local auxiliary units. To discourage attacks on the eastern side of the region,
The Roman forces undertook several offensives inland. It is in this state of affairs that we
reach the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus. As a native of Leptis Magna, Severus undertook the
task of expanding inland FURTHER than anyone else, and converting the arid lands of the Tripolitanian
predesert into profitable agricultural land. The IIIrd Augusta, under legate Quintus
Anicius Faustus was to be the spearhead of this expansion process. In 201 AD, detachments of the
IIIrd Augusta started building a series of three forts on the oases of Gholaia, Gheriat-el-Garbia
and Cidamus. The building process was followed by a series of minor operations against the most
warlike tribes. It is estimated that a maximum of three cohorts from the III Augusta took part
in the whole operation. This campaign of Severus is briefly mentioned in the Historia Augusta:
“He freed Tripolis, the region of his birth, from fear of attack by crushing sundry warlike tribes”
The strategic locations of the new forts were supposed to act as a shield for the
agricultural settlements and cities behind them. They also secured the control of strategic lines
of communication and most importantly, regional water sources in the area. The Roman control
of water put a lot of strain on the tribes, as it hindered their agriculture, logistics,
and limited the movement of all raiding parties… After such a military expansion, the legion’s
CIVIL ROLE has been an immense catalyst in the development of the entire Province. They have
built quality roads for faster transportation, oversaw the exploitation of valuable resources and
directed civilian construction projects. They also aided in performing administrative tasks for the
province under the governor himself. Furthermore, the 3rd augusta would aid in tax collection and
serve as a police force to maintain public order and safety. A record from 244 AD gives testimony
to the efforts undertaken by the Roman forces: “...by building a new fort (void) preserved
the area distinguished as the frontier district of Tentheis, and the road along
it, from the attacks of barbarians...” This is but one notable example of the benefit
of the many forts, which the men of the IIIrd Augusta would have constructed periodically.
The legion’s presence as a whole would go a long way in minimizing corruption, crime and
unrest, while bringing prosperity and rapid development to the VAST area behind the forts…
The forts themselves varied in size, and while Cidamus was composed of several centuries,
totalling about 200 legionaries, Gheriat-el-Garbia housed a combined garrison of approximately 1000
men from the IIIrd Augusta and an auxiliary cohort of Syrian archers. It was the largest fort in the
tripolitanian frontier. Gholaia and Garbia also had all possible commodities, even boasting
bathhouses for the local garrisons. Directly outside each of the forts were small civilian
settlements, which would have housed hundreds, ranging from native libyans to veteran soldiers,
who took advantage of the safety and trade with the stationed soldiers. The three major forts
were also complemented by a series of minor fortifications known as castella. These
were manned by only a handful of soldiers, and acted as listening posts or stopping
stations for caravans and traders. But supplying these forts in the harshness
of the Saharan Desert was no easy task, as the agricultural production of the region was
not enough to cover the needs of the military forces stationed there. As such, the legionaries
of the IIIrd Augusta relied on shipment convoys carried by camels from the coast. The convoys were
made of local tradesmen and military contractors employed by the Roman army. To oversee the
process, some legionaries were tasked with keeping records of impending convoys; everything
from their quantity, to the men responsible for sending and delivering the shipments. At
Gholaia, examples of how the supply chain operated have survived to this day, including
a message from a soldier to his commander: “To Octavius Festus, decurion, my commanding
officer, Aemilius Aemilianus, soldier, sends greetings. I have sent you,
lord, by the camel driver Iassucthan, nine, sbitualis of wheat, which is equivalent
to 108 modii. The consuls in office after the consulship of Tuscus and Bassus, 21 January.”
This Roman tradition of intense record-keeping prevented the loss of supplies due to corruption
or mistreatment, as everything can be tracked all the way to the supplier. In this example,
the shipment totals 670 kilograms of wheat, a mere fraction of all the necessities of the
fort, which at this time, hosted a cohort of 480 men of the IIIrd Augusta. The name of
the camel driver suggests he was Libyan, as were some of the soldiers in
the fort, who were local recruits. The 3rd augusta was also entrusted with
maintaining the peace through very-active COMMUNICATION and correspondence
with nearby forts and settlements, like exchanging information about movements of
civilians, traders or military threats. As such, it was common to see letters like the following
sent to the local commander’s headquarters: “The Garamantes arrived. They bring four
donkeys and two Egyptians with letters to you, Gtasazeihemus Opter, and a runaway slave.”
Controlling the movement of people and information across the frontier was vital for managing a
province, and the disciplined legions were very efficient with this. Moreover, a diplomatic
line of communications also existed between the Roman garrisons and local tribes,
as they had agreements for trade, the exchange of letters and even the return
of runaway slaves, as we see here. Evidently, the tripolitanian frontier was far from a static
military border, as many would assume. Instead, it was an extremely dynamic social border,
where Roman troops were expected to control the movements in their sections of the frontier
and stand on guard against any potential threat. Even when soldiers retire, they can still play
a big role in a province. The military garrisons at the frontier were supported by a large
network of civilian fortifications behind them. Roman and native settlers erected large
rectangular fortified farms known as centenaria in the region. Today, more than 2,000 of these small
structures have been found. In case of emergency, the farms would have acted as fortified positions
and rallying points for the civilians of the region to fall back to. They could then be
transformed into improvised militia forces, as large numbers of veterans would also be present
among civilians. The city of Ghirza for example, had a large number of ex-soldiers from the
auxilia and 3rd legion, like one named Migin, who lived to the venerable age of 111. Even in
their fifties, these veterans could take up arms and bolster the size of the garrisons or delay
enemy troops until reinforcements could arrive… Due to the presence of a single legion, it is
unsurprising that the area is known to have boomed during the next few centuries. Vines, olives,
dates, and figs became the main produce of the region; something achieved by a huge investment
in cisterns, dams, and irrigation systems; as well as a stable level of peace that the
Roman army was able to provide the area. Despite its great development, the frontier
policy of Tripolitania came under intense scrutiny and criticism from parts of
the upper echelons of the Roman Empire. The historian Cassius Dio thought the
whole effort had been a waste of money, as it only committed more precious Roman resources
to another backwater region of the Empire. Either way, the legions of Rome showed that they
were more than fighting units; they could bring peace and prosperity to the most distant lands
of the Empire, or violence and instability, were they to ever depart from them. Regardless, it
is a fact that the legions were a critical cog in the huge machine that WAS the Roman Empire…
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