08-02-2016, 09:20 PM
(08-02-2016, 08:39 PM)Bryan Wrote: The Roman Republican legion makeup was not just middle class, it was all propertied males of the iunores age bracket. The most powerful, of the Senatorial class and Equestrian order, they served as the officers commanding the legions and armies. The rich served in the cavalry as equestrians of the public or private types, the rest of the centuries of the Class I-V served as line infantry, as Hastati, Principes, and Triari, and the youngest and poorest served as Velite, skirmishers.
This description comes from Polybius and covers the period of 140 BC, the next detailed highly detailed and contemporary description of the Roman legions of the Late Republic comes from Sallust for the Jugurthine and Cataline Wars, which is similar, albeit there is no more direct references to the Velites or Roman citizen skirmishers. By the time of Caesar's Commentaries there is almost no reference to Roman citizen cavalry either, aside from some raised by Pompeius Magnus during the Civil War (Caesar had none in Gaul or during the Civil War). However, Caesar did possess lightly armored Roman citizen infantry, antesignani, however its unclear whether they fought as line infantry or as skirmishers, it doesn't appear to be, as they are said to have still fought as normal line infantry, they just marched faster.
There are of course many other sources that covers this period that I didn't mention that give great detail, however, many of them are either unclear or they are writing hundreds of years later and often using anachronistic language. Livy is one, Plutarch, and there are many others.
Actually, Velites were just young guys, that couldnt be used as front rank infantry therefore were used as light skirmishers.. they were from the same Middle Class citizens as other citizens that were allowed to join. It would actually make no sense let say force 44-45 old man run around the field with javelins at position which required speed and agility... eventually, when they got older, they were allowed to join Hastati.
Lowest and poorest - Proletarii were not allowed to join Legions at all. Not until some crisis, like for example during second Punic war after Cannae, when anybody willing to serve was accepted.
Regarding Equestrian class, those were not being selected same way as Infantry. each year 1200 of those eligible "knights" were divided for 4 Legions, and only then actual selection from those who came began for the infantry. But Infantry was only formed from Middle class Citizens. not from the poorest.
