Page 134 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

134 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

important factor in Roman politics the “arcana imperii”, the innermost secrets of power,
18
and Emperor Septimius Severus famously advised his sons to “be harmonious, enrich the
soldiers, and scorn all other men. 19
But apart from the reshaping, so to speak, of the political landscape the introduction of a
professional military on a lower level also had a profound influence on the civilian popula-
tion - indeed, one might not go too far in saying that it actually was instrumental in establish-
ing a truly civilian population in the first place. Unlike the Hellenistic period, citizen militias
now ceased to exist; enlistment in Roman army units was by and large voluntary apart from
a few rare and exceptional occasions when military setbacks or longer-term campaigns re-
sulted in a sudden shortage of manpower and made conscription necessary. also, there are
20
a few cases when in the context of civil wars civilians were recruited to form ad-hoc army
units - a famous example being the units raised by Iulius Vindex in Gaul at the beginning of
the bellum Neronis - but they were usually of a very poor quality. Military service, which
21
in the world of the Greek city state had been one of the most important political activities for
all male citizens had now turned into a highly specialized skill that only a small group within
Roman society had at its disposal. 22
Outside the army, the civilian population became more and more detached from military
affairs, even if a large number of civilians still had some relationship or another towards the
army. Many urban centres in the provinces owed their existence to military bases; the city
of Eboracum (modern York) is a good example in that it developed quickly from a small vil-
lage outside the walls of a legionary fort into one of the most important urban centres of the
Roman province of Britain. Also, the army was always a good customer and service in the
23
army proved to be an attractive if arduous way of improving one’s social status considerably
by gaining Roman citizenship. Nevertheless military action as such was no longer a com-
24
mon experience of all the citizens.
In fact, with the establishment of the empire wars were mostly regionalized or even local-
ized. Up to the end of the second century BC wars along the borders, even if they could in-
volve sizeable numbers of Roman soldiers, did rarely have a significant impact on the rest of
the empire. While border provinces could indeed be considerably affected by military opera-

18 tac. Hist. 1.4.
19 D.C. 77.15.2. The ultima verba in HA Sev. 23.3 differ considerably from Dio’s and most probably are remi-
niscient of Sall. Iug. 9.4; see H.Brandt, Aetas et senectus. Gibt es einen Generationen- und Altersdiskurs in
der Historia Augusta?, in: G. Bonamente/H. Brandt (ed.), Atti dei Convegni sulla historia augustae X, 2007,
63-72, 70.
20 After the battle of the Teutoburg forest soldiers were conscripted in Italy, see Suet. Aug. 24, D.C. 56.23.2.
For other examples see Suet. Nero 44 (under Nero), Tac. Hist. 3.58 (under Vitellius), CIL 8. 7036 (under
Hadrian), CIL 6.1377 (under Marcus Antoninus) and CIL V.7989 (under Maximinus Thrax).
21 Plut. Gal. 4-5; see also Tac. Hist. 1.51.
22 On the development of a professional Roman military see R.E: Smith, Service in the Post-Marian army,
Manchester 1958; G. Webster, The Roman Imperial Army, New York 1969, 1-27 and L. Keppie, The making
of the Roman army, London 1984.
23 See J. Wacher, The Towns of Roman Britain, London 1974, 156-177.
24 See G. Wesch-Klein, Recruits and Veterans, in: P. Erdkamp (ed.), A Companion to the Roman Army, Oxford
2007, 435-450.