Slaves in the Late Roman Army

[antiochus]

Plethora, you may want to look at “Childhood, Class and Kin in the Roman World.” It has a good section of class and social status which includes slaves. The author mentions that slaves only had one name. If you PM me with your email I can help you out.

[ValentinianVictrix]

Rather than have your character serving within the ranks of the legions why not have him as part of the baggage train who then unwittingly gets caught up in the action? It would give an interesting slant on the tale, told from the perspective of someone with the army but technically detached from it.

[MagnusStultus]

If you are just after Ancient Roman former slaves under army discipline and in combat the first and as far as we know only times the Vigiles entered battle as if soldiers would be

A. Tiberius had the Vigiles deploy in order to discourage the Praetorian Guard from any potential rescue of Sejanus

B. Claudius II was so desperate to overthrow the usurper Posthumus and end the extended civil war that he deployed the Vigiles in the only recorded example of it ever fighting.

C. Although unrecorded it is a near certainty they defended Rome during the sieges near the end of the empire.

Out of the examples we have I don't think the Vigiles actually fought the Praetorians; or if they could be called needed or just an example of Tiberius not trusting the Praetorians. If they did have to fight it didn't survive in any latin text.

The second example involved essentially a massacre of the Vigiles who Claudius II used as soldiers.

I am of course assuming that for the final examples that Vigiles still actually existed in practice which in light of the decay and disappearance of the Roman army and government is debatable.

If you want a slave in combat I would go with option B, the poor man who signed up as a police officer who was sent to be soldier and was out of his depth.

[Frank]

I guess his idea, that this slave is a calo, which enters the army together with his master and from there he makes his semi-legal way into the army (or not ) is pretty solid.

Regarding Tiberius, I guess his most important support against Sejanus was the fleet and their marines and the senatorial prefectus urbi with his cohortes. Well, the prefectus vigilum was probably also on his side. Also the plebs urbana and the senate, which hated Sejanus even more than Tiberius.

But there was no battle as far as i know. Selanus was arrested rather easily.