MILITARY ART IN CAESAR'S

COMMENTARIES.

I. ROMAN.

Military Service. Originally, service in the army was a privilege of wealth, not a common duty of all citizens. The 82 soldier served without pay and met all his expenses, so he was necessarily a man of means. The poor were exempt from service, and when called out their equipment was provided by the state. Marius was the first to break through the barriers of this constitutional provision by enlisting those who were not taxed (capite censī). While the census list of iūniōrēs (those from seventeen to forty-six years of age) was still taken as the basis for military levies, it became more and 83 more common for the well-to-do to avoid service by the payment of a certain sum of money. Caesar had no great respect for the traditional classes of Servius. Suetonius says that he laid stress, not upon custom nor the possession of an income, but upon valor alone.

A levy (delectus) of persons for military service was made as the necessity for troops arose. Its size depended upon the circumstances. It was proclaimed in the name of the state or of the general by officers called conquisitōrēs. At first the levy was confined to Rome; but, when citizenship was extended to the Italians after the Social War (90 B. C.), it became lawful to raise troops in any designated part of the peninsula. Caesar obtained most of his recruits in Cisalpine

84

Gaul. The physical requirements of a recruit were qui 85 eyes, a broad chest, muscular shoulders, strong arms, lor fingers, a slender body, slim legs, with sinewy calves ar feet. The Roman soldier was rather undersized, strong ar active, hardy and enduring. The recruit took a solemn oa (sacramentum) which bound him to service for a period from sixteen to twenty years.

86

The Legion. The legion (legio) was the nucleus of t army and was composed of Roman citizens of Italy, the coloni and the provinces. The number of troops in the legion varie greatly, and the rule at any period is hard to fix; probab at this time its normal strength was about five thousan men. Its effective strength was always much less, ar varied according to the length of service and the severity its losses.

We are told of a legion that contained less tha 87 a thousand men. Probably the average number was 3,60 It was divided into ten cohorts (cohortes), each cohort in three maniples (manipuli), and each maniple into tv centuries (centuriae, ōrdinēs). The tactical unit of t legion was the cohort and all maneuvers were by cohort The three maniples stood side by side, ten ranks deep, t front five ranks forming the first century, and the rear fi 88 ranks the second. The size of the cohort formed in clo order was one hundred and fifty feet front by fifty feet depth; in open order, three hundred feet front by fifty fe in depth. The legions when formed received numbers which they were known as long as they existed. New levi thus led to the formation of new legions, the old legio retaining their membership unchanged except by t casualties of the service.

89

The officers of the legion were the subalterns (centuriōnē and general officers (tribūnī mīlitum). There were six the latter, appointed by the general from the equestri

class, often for political or family reasons rather than for military efficiency. Being young as a rule, they were not 90 much valued by Caesar, who confined them to the comparatively simple matters of administrative detail, such as the oversight of camp discipline, the inspection of out-posts and sentinels, the distribution of the password, etc. They served by twos in turn for a period of two months, the two alternating daily. The real officers of the legion were the 91 centurions, sixty to each legion, who, unlike the tribunes, rose from the ranks through appointment by the tribunes or commander; their duties lay between those of a captain and sergeant; and they all served on foot. Their helmets were crowned by crests (cristae) and they carried a stick (vītis) as a symbol of authority. The two centurions of a maniple were designated as prior and posterior, with a slight differ- 92 ence in rank, and each had a sub-centurion. There was a regular gradation in rank from the last centurion of the tenth cohort to the first centurion of the first cohort; this last-named officer (primipilus) had charge of the standard, and was a member of the council of war. The height of a centurion's ambition was to become a prīmipīlus, and as merit was the test, he had a sufficient stimulus to do his whole 93 duty. He must be a man of steady courage, good judgment, and always at his post. The centurions of Caesar's army are often mentioned by him for their efficiency and valor. Forty-six were killed at Gergovia (Bellum Gallicum, VII. 51), and thirty at Pharsalia (Bellum Cīvīle, III. 99).

The general's staff consisted of the lieutenants (lēgālī) and quartermaster (quaestor). The lieutenants, or military 94 aids of the general, were elected by the Senate on his nomination, and belonged to the senatorial rank. Usually there were three; Caesar regularly had ten, and mentions eighteen different persons who served in this capacity in

Gaul. The more important duties of the tribune we 95 by him given to them. They were not usually assign to permanent commands, but took such as were given the and in battle were put in charge of the legions. TH lēgātus undertook no independent operations; hence t burden of his success or failure rested upon the shoulde of his general. The quaestor went with the proconsul his province to take charge of receipts and expenditure In addition to his usual duties, Caesar often gave him con mand of a single legion or a whole corps.

96

97

98

99

As provincia His power wa

The whole army was under the command of a genera (dux belli) having the imperium or military command, wit the power of life or death over his soldiers. After a victor he was saluted as imperator by the army. governor he was judge as well as general. practically absolute. The outward marks of his dignity wer the cloak edged with broad bands of purple (palūdāmentum the toga praetexta, the ivory sceptre (sceptrum), and th chair of state (sella curūlis).

The council of war (concilium) was composed of th lieutenants, tribunes and centurions of the first rank, an was presided over by the general, or by a lieutenant in hi

absence.

Veterans. The ēvocātī were veterans who served the ful time, but who later re-entered the service voluntarily. They enjoyed the rank and pay of centurions and were exempted from ordinary routine duties. The veterānī were soldier who remained in the army without cessation of service afte their legal term had expired. Both these classes of soldiers were highly esteemed on account of their military efficiency Auxiliaries. The auxiliary forces (auxilia) were com posed of foreigners and of native provincials, usually armed with their national weapons and commanded by native