SOLDIERS

Throughout the republic, there was no regular contingent of soldiers stationed in the city of Rome. This changed when Augustus established the Praetorian Guard, who were intended to serve as bodyguards for the emperor. Originally this unit was composed of nine cohorts of 500 men each, drawn from men of Italian origin. The Praetorians enjoyed a number of perks denied to ordinary soldiers, including higher status, and they received double pay. Subsequent emperors, including Tiberius, expanded and refounded the guard. The number of soldiers in each cohort was doubled to 1,000, and the number of cohorts was raised, first to 12 and eventually to 16. Each cohort also had attached to it a squadron of cavalry, for a total of 1,200 additional troops.

Augustus also set up a group known as the Urban Cohorts, whose principal duty was to maintain order in the city. Originally there were three cohorts of 500 men each, although these too were soon doubled to 1,000. Many of the emperors also made use of a group of fiercely loyal personal bodyguards, usually numbering around 500, who were frequently drawn from frontier groups such as the Germans.

Figure 5.2 Sculptural relief of Roman legionaries showing typical arms and armor from the early empire.

When other paramilitary units, such as the fire-fighting zngiles, are included, we see that the total number of armed soldiers in the city of Rome steadily increased, from around 8,000 under Augustus at the beginning of the first century ad to 13,000-20,000 under Trajan at the beginning of the second century ad to 26,000-32,000 by the time of Septimius Severus at the beginning of the third century ad. While Rome is not often thought of as being a militarized city, the sheer number of troops stationed there during the empire would have made their presence in the streets of the city very visible. The ratio of soldiers to civilians in the city increased from around 1:125 under Augustus to perhaps as high as 1:25 by the third century AD, at which time the troops stationed in Rome numbered the etjuiv-alent of five or six legions.

Housing this many soldiers presented its own difficulties. Originally the troops seem to have been quartered at various locations scattered in and around the city, but the need for a more centralized, permanent billet soon became obvious. In ad 23, the emperor Tiberius constructed a fortress on the northeast edge of the city to house the Praetorian Guard and the Urban Cohorts in one place. This fortress, known as the Castra Praetoria, consisted of a rectangular circuit of walls 440 meters long by 380 meters wide covering just over 41 acres. The walls, made of concrete with brick facing, were 4.73 meters high, and there were gateways at the center of each of the four walls.

The interior of the camp was taken up mostly by barracks to house the soldiers as well as by the necessary attendant storerooms, armories, administrative buildings, and shrines. The camp was laid out using the sort of grid pattern standard for all Roman military installations, including even temporary legionary marching camps. Granaries were also located within the walls so that the guard was not dependent on the city for food supplies. One weakness was that the camp lacked an internal source of water, and this became an issue on at least one occasion when the camp was besieged.

The space enclosed by this fortress was not overly large for the number of men stationed there and, particularly after the number of praetorians was increased, would have been fairly crowded. More barrack space was probably obtained by adding extra stories to the existing buildings, forming the military equivalent of insulae {apartment buildings). Immediately in front of the camp in the direction of the city was a large, open space used as a parade ground and mustering area for the troops. This was known as the Campus Praetoriarum.

Eventually the Urban Cohorts were split off from the Praetorian Guard and given their own lodgings and camp in a different region of the city. The barbarian personal bodyguards of the emperor were often housed in the Transtiberim region, and the vigiles, the fire-fighting force, were strategically scattered throughout the city in seven stations.

The duties of the Praetorian Guard included accompanying the emperor wherever he went, and its protection was also extended to the other members of the imperial family. One cohort was always on duty on the Palatine hill in and around the imperial palace. The Praetorians were usually fully equipped with arms and armor, hut occasionally, when a less obtrusive presence was desired, they would dress in togas—although with swords concealed beneath their garments. These troops must have played a significant role in the economy of the city, due in particular to their high salaries, and one can easily imagine that they contributed substantially to the prosperity of many bars, restaurants, and brothels. The scorpion frequently appears as a badge on the standards, helmets, and spears of Praetorians and is perhaps a reference to the guard's permanent establishment by Tiberius, since this was his zodiacal birth sign.

The Praetorian Guard's history as protector of the emperor is mixed since, on a number of occasions, emperors were assassinated by members of their own guard. They often played a role in the selection of the next emperor, most notably when their acclamations elevated Claudius to the throne in ad 41. After defeating Maxentius, the emperor Constantine abolished the Praetorian Guard as a permanent organization in the early fourth century ad, and the Praetorian camp was demolished at the same time.