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Enlistment - where?
#1
Hi! This is my first post here.

I am working on a short novel set during the 60s-70s AD and the character is supposed to be a soldier in Britain. I have a question for you - where would he have to enlist if he was coming from Italy? Rome? Or would he have to go to Britain?
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#2
Do you know which legion? There were multiple legions in Britain at the time, what with the Boudicca revolt.
HONOR VICTORIAQVE TECVM

John F.
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#3
I was thinking about the XI Hispana or XX Valeria Victrix. The story would either be Boudicca's revolt or Agricola's campaign. But where could this soldier come from? Britannia would not supply it with enough roman citizens would it? I've read about soldiers coming to their legions with their officers after getting money for travel, could it be so in this case? It is after all very far but a legion must need some reinforcements, soldiers get sick and die or have an accident even when there is time of peace.
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#4
These quotes come from "Legions of Rome," by Stephen Dando-Collins:
(XX Valeria Victrix) "The original 20th was a reliable legion stemming from Caesar's mass civil war enlistments in Italy. Another comment from Germanicus indicates that the legion was receiving recruits from Syria by AD 14. Gravestones in Britain show that by later that century there were indeed a number of men from the East serving in the ranks of the 20th Legion." (Basically, the Middle East)

(IX Hispana [Spanish 9th]) "The republican 9th Legion served under Caesar, most likely during his 61 BC posting as governor of Further Spain then most definitely during the Gallic War and the Civil War." (This doesn't concern its post in Britain directly, but it does show that it was probably raised in Spain, hence the name "Hispana," or "Spanish." You could probably be safe in assuming that Spain remained its primary recruitment grounds.)

Hope this helps, Amice! Happy to help any further if you need it!
HONOR VICTORIAQVE TECVM

John F.
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#5
'For many decades, each imperial legion had its own dedicated recruitment ground. The 3rd Gallica Legion, for example, was for many years recruited in Syria, despite its name, while both 7th legions were recruited in eastern Spain. By the second half of the first century, for the sake of expediency, recruiting grounds began to shift; the 20th Legion, for instance, which had up to that time been recruited in northern Italy, received an increasing number of its men from the East.'

From the same book quoted before -"Legions of Rome" by Stephen Dando-Collins. What I find interesting is that he mentions 'increasing number', meaning that at least some of the men might still have been recruited from Italy in the second half of the first century.
(-) Emil Petecki
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#6
Quote:"Legions of Rome," by Stephen Dando-Collins...Gravestones in Britain show that by later that century there were indeed a number of men from the East serving in the ranks of the 20th Legion."

Dando Collins seems to invent a lot of details, and has unorthodox ideas (to put it politely) about legion recruitment!

Does he provide any reference for these 'gravestones'? I can find only two: one a praefectus castrorum of XX Valeria Victix "natione Syrus Osroenus" - but as a camp prefect the man almost certainly served in other legions (in the east) before coming to Britain, and Chester probably wasn't established until after the Agricolan period. The other is from Colchester - the man grew up in the east, ("oriundus Nicaea in Bithynia") but had previously served with the African legion III Augusta and arrived in Britain by transfer to the XX. In both cases the 'Valeria Victrix' name makes them probably post-Agricolan.

However, there are a few tombstones from early military camps in Britain, which provide some more clues. All of these are probably mid-late 1st century, and the men concerned may well have participated in the Claudian invasion, Boudica revolt and/or Agricolan campaigns:

AE 2005, 00898 (Alcester): Dis Manibus / L(ucius) Val(erius) L(uci) Pol(lia) Gemi/nus Foro Germ(anorum) / vet(eranus) leg(ionis) II Aug(ustae) - this soldier of II Augusta came from Forum Germanorum (San Lorenzo di Caraglio) in Piemonte, Italy.

CIL 07, 00154 (Wroxeter): T(itus) Flaminius T(iti) Pol(lia) Fav(entia)] / annorum XXXXV stip(endiorum) XXII mil(es) leg(ionis) / XIIII Gem(inae) - a soldier of XIV Gemina, from Faventia (Faenza) in northern Italy.

CIL 07, 00155 (Wroxeter): M(arcus) Petronius / L(uci) f(ilius) Men(enia) / Vic(etia) ann(orum) / XXXVIII / mil(es) leg(ionis) / XIIII gem(inae) - another XIV Gemina man, from Vicetia (Vicenza), again in northern Italy.

CIL 07, 00156 (Wroxeter): C(aius) Mannius / C(ai) f(ilius) Pol(lia) Secu/ndus Pollent(ia) / mil(es) leg(ionis) XX - a soldier of the XX, from Pollentia (Pollenzo) in north-west Italy.

CIL 07, 00188 (Lincoln): -rcu- -s M(arci) f(ilius) / Camilia Pisa/uro mil(es) / leg(ionis) VIIII - soldier of IX Hispana from Pisaurum (Pesaro) on the east coast of Italy.

These would suggest that most recruits to the earliest legions in Britain still came from the old recruiting grounds of northern Italy. There may well have been the sons of veterans from these legions' previous bases on the Rhine as well. Only IX Hispana (previously based in Pannonia) still appear to have been recruiting from further afield in the early-mid 1st century:

CIL 07, 00184 (Lincoln): L(uci) Semproni Fla/vini mil(i)t(i)s leg(ionis) VIIII / |(centuria) Babudi Severi / aer(orum) VII an(n)or(um) XXX / (H)ispani Galeria / Clunia - soldier of IX Hisp from Clunia in northern Spain.

CIL 07, 00183 (Lincoln): C(aio) Saufeio / C(ai) f(ilio) Fab(ia) Her(aclea) / militi legio(nis) / VIIII - from Heraclea in Macedonia.
Nathan Ross
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#7
Thanks!
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#8
Also, do we know exactly where would potential recruits present themselves? Would there be a static place like local temple or some official's residence or would it always be a different place?
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#9
Quote:where would potential recruits present themselves?

This, I think, is a lot less clear! We know that the recruits were given money (viaticum) to reimburse them for the costs of travelling to join the legion, but beyond this the mechanism of recruitment and transfer is a bit of a mystery. There's a note in one of the Vindolanda tablets recommending a recruit to a named centurion at Carlisle - presumably in this case the prospective recruit just presented himself at the nearest military base, letter (and bribe, probably!) in hand.

In the case of the Italian recruits listed above, it seems less straightforward - there were no military bases in Italy during this period. We could assume that legions sent out something similar to the 19th century recruiting sergeant - presumably a centurion or similar - to tour particular areas and sign men up as he found them, telling them to head for the depot of his legion and collect their cash.

Whether this was organised in some less ad hoc way in particular communities with high levels of enlistment is unknown. We might imagine notices posted in the forum, perhaps, telling prospective recruits to Legion XIV ('Conquerors of Britain! Terrors of the Rhine!) to present themselves to centurion Furius Agrippa at the porticus of the Temple of Mars at the fifth hour on the Ides of the month, or something...But I don't know if there's anything more we can know for sure!
Nathan Ross
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#10
Thanks again!
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