“Victory would be vastly more glorious if
won without the loss of Roman blood”. Such statements by ancient Roman sources speak
of a hierarchical separation between the Roman army: On one side are the legions, composed
of pure Roman citizens who represent the Empire. On the other, are non-Roman auxiliaries; expendable
troops to be sent as cannon fodder to preserve the lives of the legionaries behind them. Their lower status, salary and conditions
of service also contribute significantly to such belief. So much, that they are sometimes not even
mentioned by ancient sources, despite being in the front lines of almost every engagement,
and sometimes winning major battles on their own, with the spectating legions behind them
taking the credit. Well in today's video, we will shine some
light on this other half of the Roman army, and expose the men that bled for the survival
of the Roman Empire… Serving in remote areas across Rome, Auxiliaries
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skin! The Roman “Auxilia” units were just as
the modern word “auxiliary” implies: additional support. Since the 3rd century BC, when Rome only started
its expansion outside Italy, their powerful legions were always accompanied by non-citizen
support troops, who consisted of a mixture of local contingents, like Greeks, Iberians,
or Gauls, and specialized foreign units like Balearic slingers, Numidian cavalry or Cretan
archers. These troops were specifically hired for their
unique military skills and native combat style, which would compensate for any weaknesses
the legions had, and together, create a more effective and flexible force. Auxiliaries would continue to be more and
more standardized, until they would gain their final form during the military reforms of
Augustus, when they became permanent professional units in the Roman army, divided into two
branches: “cohorts”, predominantly heavy infantry and “Ala”, consisting of cavalry. Auxiliaries would serve in these units for
a period of 25 years, receiving a generous salary and the grand prize of acquiring Roman
citizenship upon retirement… In regards to recruitment into the Auxiliary,
it is often thought that any non-citizen population in the Empire was a good source. But surprisingly, this was not the case. As a matter of fact, the Romans were quite
picky in the process, and only targeted specific ethnicities with a high martial heritage and
militaristic culture. This ensured they needed as little training
as possible to perform well on the battlefield. For example, Gauls had a very militaristic
culture and a strong warrior class, with a legendary reputation for bravery and savagery
on the battlefield. Supplemented by their imposing height and
strength, they were the perfect candidates for serving as cavalry and heavy infantry,
right after teaching them a bit of Roman discipline, of course. In fact, it is estimated that by the Early
Empire, Gaul alone contributed between 74 -82 cohorts of heavy infantry and 33 Alae
of cavalry, all of varying sizes. That’s equivalent to 37,000 infantrymen
and 16,500 cavalrymen, which stood as one of the largest contributions to the Roman
military. Similarly, native Syrians were held in high
regard. Not because of their physical abilities, but
for their legendary skill with the bow, which made them ideal at countering eastern mounted
and foot archers, and a fine addition to any Roman force. Finally, Thracians were valued for their high
degree of flexibility on the battlefield. By 70 AD, Syrians and Thracians made up 35
of the 64 infantry cohorts and 12 of the 15 cavalry alae of eastern origin - that’s
almost 60% of all the eastern auxiliaries! Unlike their legionary counterparts, auxiliary
units never had a standardized composition or size, and even their ethnicity could vary
through the years, which has driven more than one historian mad. For example, “Cohors I Ituraeorum Sagittariorum
Equitata Milliaria”, this unit was raised in the Middle East.. The titles “Cohors” and “Equitata”
tell us it was a part-infantry, part-cavalry auxiliary cohort, while “Sagittariorum”
tells us it also had archers. Therefore, not only do we know the unit’s
size, but also if it was composed of infantry, foot archers, and cavalry, or perhaps just
infantry and horse archers… And despite being originally Middle Eastern,
they may have recruited an increasing number of local Dacians from the area they served
in. So now, we have a unit of unknown composition,
size and ethnicity, which is the case for most auxiliary units we know of. What we know is auxiliary cohorts could be
fully infantry, cavalry, archers, horse archers, or a combination of all 4, but even this isn't
a strict rule, as some were known to be composed of special units. The famous XXth mixed cohort of Palmyrenes,
boasted a small contingent of exotic dromedarii, or camel-mounted infantry… But auxiliaries did have some basic patterns. As a general rule, purely cavalry units were
considered more prestigious and held in higher esteem than units of infantry or mixed units. After all, the famous cavalry guard of the
emperor, the Equites Singulares Augusti, always came from auxiliary cavalry units. Every unit was also labeled either as quingenaria,
or milliaria, consisting of five hundred or one thousand men, respectively, with the latter
having higher prestige and seniority. The former though, was not set in stone, as
they were often strengthened up when the need arose. So we can safely say a healthy auxiliary unit
would number between 480 and 1000 men. Regarding the equipment of auxiliaries, it
was also not at all standardized. Syrian archers were famous for wearing their
unique pointed helmets and eastern clothes, while Batavian and Germanic auxiliaries often
carried their native weapons, cloaks, and belts. Other cultures would have local fair paint,
facial hair, and other accessories.. With time though, many native pieces would
be gradually replaced as the units became more accustomed to serving with the legions…[Rome
2 fragment] Now for the most shocking fact about auxiliary
units, which seems to undermine their key distinction from the legions: not all of them
were non-Roman citizens. Units that excelled on the battlefield or
had an illustrious service record could be granted Roman citizenship on the spot, without
having to finish their 25 year enlistment. Some of these units would continue serving
in the auxilia with the title Civium Romanorum to mark the distinction that they are already
citizens of Rome. Occasionally, there were even auxiliary units
levied from the core of Roman citizens, like the Cohors Itálica Voluntariorum, which held
the same distinct title. The final nuance worth pointing out is that
auxiliary units could become ethnically mixed through time. The Romans made sure to respect each ethnicity
by modifying the unit names. An example of this is the unit “Cataphract
Ala of Gauls and Pannonians”... During military campaigns and battles, we
know that auxiliaries were usually placed in front of the highly prized Roman legions. But what was their role outside the battlefield? It might surprise you, but administratively,
auxiliary units always tried to mimic the legions as much as possible. Each auxiliary prefect or tribune had a personal
staff of clerks, specialists and trusted soldiers to carry out various errands and keep the
paperwork in order. Yes, the auxiliaries also had paperwork, because
the Romans loved their lists. Ranks like Beneficiarii and singulares have
been recorded in both legions and auxilia, and tablets found at Vindolanda also mention
the existence of auxiliary medics and vets… External auxiliary tasks could range from
providing bodyguards to local governors, to escorting supply shipments, patrolling frontier
sectors, collecting tolls and taxes, helping in construction efforts and assuming administrative
duties in mines. In a previous video, we broke down the colossal
duties of Roman Legions in the provinces, but in some, like Mauretania Tingitana and
Caesariensis, no legions were stationed there. So it was up to local auxiliaries to mimic
the Roman legions and complete all previously mentioned tasks by themselves, which was an
enormous effort. But this Romanization of auxiliaries didn't
mean that their local traditions were tossed aside, as each unit was a microsocial cosmos
of its own. If the officers in charge of the unit were
native nobles, they were still addressed with local titles by their men, like “chieftain”
or “king”. Furthermore, they still venerated their local
religion and deities, and Latin was not widely spoken between themselves. This is demonstrated by many surviving documents
having spelling mistakes and overly simple sentences. In the eastern provinces, Latin was even more
uncommon, as Greek was the predominant language… A big difference between auxiliaries and their
legionary counterparts were the conditions of service and hopes of promotion. Auxiliaries were paid less, had longer service
periods and their prospects of retirement were far less welcoming. Even promotions were a lot scarcer and only
accessible to the more veteran members of the unit, as proven by archaeological documents. The only exception to the rule were the aforementioned
Equites Singulares, recruited from the best auxiliary horsemen the Empire had to offer. These guardsmen were so highly revered that
they were often granted promotions to legionary centurions and became highly respectable and
wealthy individuals. [Rome 2 clip here??] One of these lucky few was Marcus Aurelius
Lucilius. Born in Pannonia, he enlisted in an unknown
"Alae" at the age of 20, and was soon transferred to the "Equites Singulares Augusti", where
he would get promoted to the rank of "decurio". At age 45, he was granted citizenship and
chose to adopt the name of the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, as his own. After being honorably discharged, he chose
to re-enlist into the army as a centurion in the 1st Adiutrix Legion, and would go on
to serve in the 2nd Traiana Fortis (egypt), 8th Augusta(rhine), 7th Claudia, 14th Gemina
Martia Victrix, and finally the 7th Gemina legion in Hispania. Here, in the provincial capital of Tarraco,
he was hired to train and command the governor's personal bodyguard. It is here when death would take him at the
age of 60, after having spent 40 years in the army and traveled all over the Roman Empire. His lifetime companion and wife, Ulpia Iuventina,
buried her benevolent and pious husband and inherited all his possessions. Others, like the Briton Secundus, didn't enjoy
such a prestigious career, but still managed to survive until discharge and secure the
status of veteran. In this document dated April 14. And many sons are known to follow in their
father’s footsteps and join the army - but this time as Roman legionaries!th, 131 AD,
Secundus’ honorable discharge was recorded. Such documents granted all the benefits of
Roman citizenship for auxiliaries AND their descendants We would like to express a warm hearted thank
you to our Patreons for helping us deliver such videos for you! Consider joining them and helping us out! We hope to see you in the next one!
