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unarmoured auxiliaries
#1
is there any evidence to suggest or disprove that auxiliary spearmen serving in the rear rank in the 1st-2nd century may or may not have worn body armour, I really see no reason why some might have lacked this. Armour was expensive, and also troops of some ethnicities would have a a cultural reason not to wear it. <p></p><i></i>
aka., John Shook
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#2
There is no reason to assume that all auxiliary units always went into battle armored to the last man, but why would the military stint on so important a piece of equipment? The Roman economy was certainly capable of turning out the gear, and metal armour once produced is a surprisingly durable item.<br>
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We have some sculptural evidence for 'ethnic' auxiliaries from the Antonine period fighting in various states of undress (Germanic 'clubmen' from Trajan's column and Mauretanian horse), but I can't think of any depiction that could be attributed with certainty to a 'line unit' (ie a numbered cohort or ala). The majority of auxiliaries are shown armoured. Tombstone reliefs showing unarmored soldiers usually show 'peacetime dress' rather than battle gear, so they can't really be counted.<br>
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I'm not going to categorically exclude the possibility by any stretch, either for units of the regular army or for the more ethnically homogenous and picturesque auxiliaries pre-Claudius, but it looks to me like the 'typical' auxiliary infantryman was imagined by Roman sculptors in armour. No reason to assume they got it wrong, IMO. <p></p><i></i>
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!

Volker Bach
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#3
I would also assume that skirmsers would be unarmoured. <p></p><i></i>
aka., John Shook
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#4
Slingers were likely unarmored, but, then they could run if the enemy got too close (or be massacred if they couldn't run). Armor may have hindered launching their particular "missle". Interestingly, archers are shown in sculpture, such as Trajan's Column, as armored, yet they, too, would usually run if enemy troops got too close and their own supporting infantry or cavalry were unable to stop the attackers.<br>
So, that said, armor or lack of armor would not dictate a soldier's or unit's position in the battle. The regular line troops should be assumed to be armored and the specialist troops might or might not be.<br>
I also agree that the supply of armor would not have been a problem during the Principate. Metal armor lasts a long time, could be passed from soldier to soldier, and the Romans had plenty of the raw materials and the skilled/unskilled labor needed to make it. In addition, the Romans were recycling metal, especially copper alloy, long before our modern efforts at recycling.<br>
After the civil wars, when Augustus cut the army's size from 60 or so legions down to 28, he must have had warehouses full of surplus armor.<br>
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Marcus Quintius Clavus/Quinton <p></p><i></i>
Quinton Johansen
Marcus Quintius Clavus, Optio Secundae Pili Prioris Legionis III Cyrenaicae
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#5
Assuming that is, that these often hastily recruited legions were all fairly close to full strength and that all of the commanders had had the time and resources to properly equip their men. The number of 'Gemina' legions which Augustus created suggests that some of these 'legions' were at half strength or less and it is entirely possible that some units had serious supply problems.<br>
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Crispvs <p></p><i></i>
Who is called \'\'Paul\'\' by no-one other than his wife, parents and brothers.  :!: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" />:!:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.romanarmy.net">www.romanarmy.net
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#6
I also thought about the issue of leftover civil war gear, but for the auxiliary this is much less relevant than for the legions. Even long after Actium, many auxiliary units continued to be recruitred from ethnic groups or the militaries of client kings and many of them would have provided equipment of their own. The standardisation familiar from later art took time developing, and several decades is a long time in the arms manufacturing business. <p></p><i></i>
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!

Volker Bach
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