The changes in the social composition of the armies had important consequences for Roman society and the political events of the last decades of the Republic - an age that was plagued by civil war. Already during the second century, many conscripts had reenlisted after their discharge, but now volunteers from the lower classes who had chosen military service as a means of subsistence increasingly manned the legions. More than in the second century, armies of the late Republic included professional officers and experienced soldiers, whose presence often turned the scale in the battles between political opponents at the end of the Republic. Although recruits were still levied from among the citizenry, military expertise was increasingly concentrated in fewer hands. Three aspects of the role of the army will be discussed here: veteran settlement, professionalism in the army, and the soldiers’ willingness to engage in civil war.
As in the previous century, the troops were discharged after a campaign had ended. Most of the first-century legionaries, however, came from a segment of society that had been poor to begin with, and few had any property to return to. Successful campaigns offered wealth in the form of booty and bonuses, but most soldiers desired a more substantial property after their discharge. They wanted land. However, the majority of the Senate, who would never be in a position to command an army, persistently resisted any plans to distribute land among veterans. They feared that the collective distribution of land to veterans would serve to increase the power base of those few senators who commanded armies. The majority may, in fact, have been right, but their stubborn resistance only helped to bring about what they were trying to prevent, since soldiers now depended on the political influence of their former commanders.
The first Roman forces to attack Rome itself were the soldiers of Sulla (138-78), who had been assigned the war against Mithradates (c.132-63). When Marius succeeded by dubious means in taking away the command in this war from Sulla, the latter responded by marching on Rome (88). After Sulla’s army had successfully fought king Mithradates in the East (88-84) and, on their return to Italy, had defeated his political opponents (83-82), who had taken possession of Rome in his absence, his soldiers were the first veterans to receive land on a large scale. They received the land that was taken from those Italian communities that had supported Sulla’s enemies. For years to come, these veteran colonies continued to play a role in Rome’s internal struggles. Veteran settlement became an even greater problem during the 40s and 30s, when the civil wars were fought by ever increasing armies. On the eve of the final struggle between Octavian and Marc Antony (82-30), which ended with the defeat of Antony at Actium in the year 31, an estimated 250,000 Roman men were underarms; many of them received land after the war had ended. In order to keep the troops satisfied, Octavian had to requisition land from communities in Italy and elsewhere on a large scale, thereby causing widespread hardship and poverty.23
The degree of professionalism of the late republican armies is still a matter of some debate.24 Many scholars agree that the abolition of the minimum census qualification for military service opened up the armies for men from the poorer masses who sought a living in the legions. The armies came largely to consist of volunteers whose long terms of service turned them into professionals. Soldiers generally served for eight or ten years successively before their discharge; many troops even remained under arms for much longer periods. Some of the soldiers in Caesar’s legions served not only during his Gallic War (58-50 BC) and the campaigns against his political opponents (49-45 Bc), but continued to fight under his political heirs after he was murdered in 44 BC. Admittedly, some troops served for much shorter periods and not all recruits volunteered. In particular, in times of civil war recruits were enlisted from among those liable for service, and some units only served for relatively short periods. Not all soldiers remained in the army for many years, but many veterans reenlisted after discharge. Furthermore, the military power of men like Caesar, Pompey, Octavian, and Antony was based on the fact that the core of their armies consisted of seasoned troops. In the end, no statesman could play a role in the political conflicts during the final decades of the Republic without commanding an army of experienced and hardened soldiers. Contemporary authors were well aware of this fact. When Caesar led his legions into civil war after crossing the Rubicon in 49, Cicero realized that the troops that Pompey and his aristocratic allies mustered in Italy were no match for the soldiers that had conquered Gaul under Caesar’s command. All commanders of the time tried to enlist and retain as many veterans as possible. However, the legions turned out to be an unwieldy instrument, the more so when the soldiers came to realize their value during the endless civil wars that followed after the murder of Caesar in 44 bc:
The soldiers thought that they were not so much serving in the army as lending assistance, by their own favour and judgement, to leaders who needed them for their own personal ends. Desertion, which had formerly been unpardonable, was actually rewarded with gifts, and whole armies resorted to it, including some illustrious men, who did not consider it desertion to change to a like cause, for all parties were alike. . . Understanding these facts the generals tolerated this behaviour, for they knew that their authority over their armies depended on gifts rather than on law. (App. B Civ. 5.17 [trans. H. White])
Roman soldiers were willing to fight other Roman soldiers and even to attack Rome itself. This may partly be explained by the soldiers’ background: recruits increasingly came from remote regions and from communities that had resisted Rome during the Social War. Recruitment in Rome itself was rare. Only in times of crisis, such as 90, 49, and 43, were troops levied in the city. By the time of the late Republic, the populace of the capital was deemed unfit for military service. Loyalty to Rome may have been further weakened by the poverty and hardship (much of it resulting from the Social War and subsequent civil wars) that had forced many to seek a means of subsistence in the armies.25 In the case of Caesar, an additional role may have been played by the fact that most soldiers in his legions came from the same area, Cisalpine Gaul, which increased the internal consistency of his forces. Moreover, successful generals were held in high esteem by their soldiers, the more so as their general’s glory was felt to increase their own.
Because of their military value, much attention was paid to the officers and centurions. Two instances may illustrate the changes in this regard. When Sulla marched toward Rome in 88, almost all of his officers left him. Early in the first century, many officers were young nobles or members of families that were aligned to the leading oligarchy. Things had changed by mid-century. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, all but one of his officers followed him. During his years in Gaul, Caesar had created a middle cadre that largely consisted of young men of fairly humble origins who had no ties to the leading families of Rome. They were professional soldiers, whose career depended on Caesar and his fate alone. Commanders like Caesar realized the worth of an experienced and loyal middle cadre. Hence, they offered wealth and social status to their officers and centurions. However, although the political conflicts of the late Republic were decided on the battlefield, the role of the armies as willing instruments of a commander’s ambitions should not be exaggerated. Most soldiers still had respect for law and order, and were more eager to fight for their commander if they reckoned that his case was just. The generals were wise to emphasize their legitimacy and to stress that they fought for the People’s sovereignty. An example of this can be seen at the crossing of the Rubicon. According to our sources, the soldiers went to war not only for Caesar’s honor, but also to defend the tribunes of the plebs (see also Chapter 29). Many years later, the troops of Antony and Octavian did not accept the continuous conflicts between Caesar’s two political heirs, and for a while they refused to fight each other. Despite the changes in the social structure of the Roman armies, late republican troops were not automatically eager to follow their commanders into civil war.26 Nevertheless, it was Octa-vian’s army that won the empire for him and decided the fate of the Republic.
World History
