04-18-2012, 01:29 AM
The Roman army of the 4th-5th century, at least on the surface, was very different to that of Hadrian's day. Clothing, armour and equipment, structure and religion had all changed. You can get a good idea of this by comparing the appearance of reenactment groups specialising in these periods: Legion VI Victrix, for example, portrays legionaries of Hadrian's army (here they are at the beach...), while Britannia recreates the army of the late empire (here they are in the snow...). Looking at the websites of other reenactment groups (later Roman ones include Fectio and Comitatus, amongst others) will give you a good impression of the changes over time.
It was the legions that built Hadrian's wall, but already by Hadrian's day most legionaries were recruited from the old border areas of the empire, particularly the Rhine and Danube frontiers and Spain, rather than Italy. The troops who actually garrisoned most of the wall forts were auxiliaries, originally non-citizens from even further afield - the Batavi and Tungri from the lower Rhine and modern Belgium, for example, or the Daci from modern Rumania. By the second century, however, these units - and later the legions too - were recruiting men from the local population, often the sons of former soldiers and native women. By the 4th century, even given periodic influxes of troops from abroad, the majority of Roman soldiers in Britain would have been born in the province, often of families living there for generations.
Late Roman northern Britain was a bit of a backwater, and while the field armies of the later empire changed a lot from the 3rd century onwards, the British frontier was still held for the most part by auxiliary cohorts. Structurally these probably resembled those of earlier centuries - about 500 men strong, commanded by a tribune - although much about the numbers and structure of the later army remains in debate.
The Notitia Dignitatum (a late imperial list of offices, including military ones) gives the names of the military units in Britain in the late 4th century, and the names of their forts. It's available online, but for ease of access the Hadrian's Wall section of roman-britain.org has a useful guide to all the forts and (where they're known) their garrison units at various periods.
It's a huge subject, but I hope that helps as an intro!
- Nathan
It was the legions that built Hadrian's wall, but already by Hadrian's day most legionaries were recruited from the old border areas of the empire, particularly the Rhine and Danube frontiers and Spain, rather than Italy. The troops who actually garrisoned most of the wall forts were auxiliaries, originally non-citizens from even further afield - the Batavi and Tungri from the lower Rhine and modern Belgium, for example, or the Daci from modern Rumania. By the second century, however, these units - and later the legions too - were recruiting men from the local population, often the sons of former soldiers and native women. By the 4th century, even given periodic influxes of troops from abroad, the majority of Roman soldiers in Britain would have been born in the province, often of families living there for generations.
Late Roman northern Britain was a bit of a backwater, and while the field armies of the later empire changed a lot from the 3rd century onwards, the British frontier was still held for the most part by auxiliary cohorts. Structurally these probably resembled those of earlier centuries - about 500 men strong, commanded by a tribune - although much about the numbers and structure of the later army remains in debate.
The Notitia Dignitatum (a late imperial list of offices, including military ones) gives the names of the military units in Britain in the late 4th century, and the names of their forts. It's available online, but for ease of access the Hadrian's Wall section of roman-britain.org has a useful guide to all the forts and (where they're known) their garrison units at various periods.
It's a huge subject, but I hope that helps as an intro!
- Nathan
Nathan Ross
