Sword moving from right to left

[Paul Elliott]

I think the auxilia was used in a more versatile role on the battlefield (during the Principate) than the legioaries, who were basically mainly heavy infantry. Interestingly we see that same versatile role extended to the rest of Late Roman infantry, aswell as oval shields, hasta and spatha. Which makes it even more interesting to see whether earlier auxilia also wore swords on the left side or not.

Robert's comments about the legions adopting auxiliary fighting styles and tactics, I think are extremely valid, and although it is getting a bit off topic, I wonder at what point, if any, we could say that the legions and auxiliaries reached parity with the very same spread of weaponry and armour. The edict of Caracalla in 212 bringing all inhabitants into the citizenship is important, but only for the auxiliary's terms of recruit and service. I doubt that edict had any impact whatsoever on military tactics or equipment. Soldiers on the Arch of Severus are depicted with oval shields so the new methods of fighting certainly seem to be in place by then.

Frank's earlier comment seems to fit in here:

I guess these changes came along with the extended use of vexillationes. Smaller units organized like auxiliary cohorts, often commanded by a tribune like an auxilia in the 3rd century. Perhaps these vexillationes were the first units which changed the equipment in order to become more flexible; ready for every task and battlefield in this huge empire. Not as a big bang. It happened step by step, unit by unit, while the reduced core of the old legions wore perhaps still scutum and gladius for a while.