Citizenship & Enlistment

[Nathan Ross]

I'm currently researching the origin of Caesar's legions during the Gallic wars. This may be one of those knotty unanswerable questions, but I'd be grateful for any suggestions:

In 89BC the Lex Pompeia gave full Roman citizenship to Cisalpine Gaul south of the Po (the Cispadana), but only Latin Rights to the territory north of the Po (Transpadana). During his term as governor of the Cisalpine, however, Caesar raised several legions in the province - two in 58, two more in 57 and two in 53. He explicitly states that at least two of these were raised 'north of the river'. Since full citizenship was needed to enlist in the legions, where did these recruits come from?

Could Caesar have been recruiting Latin citizens illegally, or into 'legio vernacula', as he later did with 'V Alaudae' in Gaul? Appian mentions at one point that Caesar's famous tenth legion were 'recruited from non Italians'.

Or was military service allowed for Latins at this point?

Or were the recruits drawn solely from those in the Transpadana that possessed the full citizenship (i.e those whose families had held magistracies)? - surely there wouldn't have been very many of these, or not enough to recruit six legions anyway, and they would have formed the wealthiest sector of society...

I suspect that some answers might be found in Brunt's 'Italian Manpower', but I don't have a copy of the book. Perhaps if somebody does they could check it for me?

Any help greatly appreciated...
- Nathan

[L C Cinna]

interesting question. i'd like to add one more if that's ok>

the 2 adiutrix legions during Nero's reign were raised from soldiers of the fleet in Italy. From what I know most of the ppl. serving in the fleet where non-citizens as well (at least I guess so from military diplomas found in the area of Pompeii a.s.o.), where these granted citizenship when the legions were formed or where they some kind of partly like a legio vernacula?

[floofthegoof]

I thought, and I could be mistaken, that Marius began recruiting non citizens, even slaves into the army. I understood that the army became an avenue to obtain citizenship, but I might be thinking of a later time.

[Matthew Amt]

Marius recruited citizens who had no property and were therefore not eligible for duty under the laws of the time. It was not the first time this had been done, but it became common after Marius. I don't recall that he went so far as to enlist slaves! It was back after Cannae, if I'm remembering correctly, that a legion or two was raised by offering freedom to any slave who enlisted. Or was this after Teutoberg Forest? Or both?

Wouldn't surprise me at all if Caesar was recruiting non-citizens, but you guys know more than I do on this question!

Valete,

Matthew/Quintus

[Nathan Ross]

It was actually Sulla and not Marius who recruited a bodyguard of 10000 freed slaves - the 'Cornelii' - after his proscriptions. They later fought the Marian army, but whether they could be called regular 'legions' I don't know. After Cannae, however, two legions of slaves were recruited - commanded by Sempronius Gracchus, they fought at Beneventum and were given citizenship as a reward (each slave-soldier had to collect a couple of enemy heads, IIRC, as the price of freedom!). During the later civil wars, several commanders - Marc Antony for one - were accused of recruiting slaves into their armies, and Antony is believed to have enfranchised thousands of men in the eastern provinces to bulk up his army before Actium.

Tellingly, though, these were all times of civil war or impending national disaster. I don't know whether the sailors/marines recruited by Nero were citizens or not - Tacitus, I think, just mentions their lowly status compared with the regular legions, until Otho (?) reformed them into 'more prestigious units' (the 'Adiutrix' legions)

In Caesar's case there seems to have been no pressing need for irregular recruitment. Mommsen - who I know is very dated now but interesting nonetheless, writes that Caesar's proconsular command, 'gave him the right to nominate ten lieutenants of propraetorian rank, and (at least according to his own interpretation) to fill up his legions, or even to form new ones at his discretion out of the burgess-population--who were especially numerous in Cisalpine Gaul--of the territory under his sway.' That 'his own interpretation' suggests that there might have been something dubious in the way Caesar went about his task. Not sure what Mommsen means by 'the burgess-population' though... can anyone offer a better interpretation?

[Jona Lendering]

The problem has also been noted by Lawrence Keppie, Making of the Roman Army, page 98:
"Caesar enlisted men both south and north of the Po: those living north of the river (the Transpadanes) were not full Roman citizens, but had the status of 'Latins'. Caesar ignored the distinction, and was happy to admit all to his ranks."

[hoplite14gr]

Romans were sometimes using the Legions or more properly recruiting just like the modern famous "La Legion" today. (You know "the French citzens"!!)
Cretan archers, Rodian and Balearic slingers, Macedonian and Thracian horsemen -all these guys are mentioned in Ceasar´s and Lukulus armies and it is made a distinction from the Bithynian, Gallic, Armenian, or other Greek allies!
Some times you could rely better on "your foreighners" to make short work of your Roman opponets without much qualms and nobody accused Roman Generals-Politicians of hesitating to bent the rules when that was to their advantage!
Freed slaves with grudge against former masters-what a convinient way to eliminate political adversaries!!!
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Praefectusclassis]

The larger part of naval troops were of peregrine (i.e. non-citizen) status. That explains the existence of the diplomas for the Legiones I & II Adiutrices: time served naval troops, who ended up in those units for their last bit of service, got their citizenship when they got their discharge. Since no diplomas later than 70 AD have been found for these units, it is usually assumed that on becoming a 'iusta legio', a formal legion, all soldiers who had more time to serve, got citizenship. On the other hand, formerly naval troops who were inducted into Legio X Fretensis after the Jewish revolt to bring the legion back to strength, apparently did not immediately received citizenship, for they asked the governor for explicit confirmation of their status when they left the army in 90 AD.