In 60 BCE, the @Auxiliary forces of the @Roman Republic are not yet the fully standardized corps of the Empire, but they already form a crucial layer of Rome’s military power. Auxiliaries are recruited from non-citizen peoples—Italians outside full citizenship, Gauls, Iberians, Numidians, Greeks, Syrians, and others—chosen for skills the legions lack, such as cavalry, skirmishing, archery, and irregular warfare.
At the base of the auxiliary structure stands the Auxiliary Miles, the ordinary auxiliary soldier. He fights as a light infantryman, cavalry trooper, archer, or specialist depending on his people and tradition. Unlike a legionary, he does not yet possess Roman citizenship, and his service is harder in some ways, as he often operates on the fringes of the battlefield or in rough terrain. His loyalty is enforced by discipline and the promise of reward rather than by civic duty.
Above him are the Decuriones in cavalry units or senior enlisted men within infantry contingents. These soldiers command small groups, maintain order, and act as intermediaries between common auxiliaries and Roman officers. Though still non-citizens in most cases, they enjoy higher pay, greater prestige, and closer contact with Roman command.
Over auxiliary units stand Roman-appointed officers, often Roman citizens or allied elites loyal to Rome. These commanders ensure that auxiliary forces remain firmly under Roman control, preventing independent power bases while integrating foreign troops into Roman strategy. Authority is clear and uncompromising, reinforcing Rome’s dominance even within allied formations.
Service in the auxiliaries is defined by promise. Unlike legionaries, auxiliaries fight not as citizens but to become citizens. After long and faithful service—often twenty years or more—an auxiliary soldier is rewarded with Roman citizenship, a transformation that changes his legal and social standing permanently. This grant usually extends to his legitimate children, binding entire families to Rome.
Beyond citizenship, veterans receive land grants, cash rewards, or settlement rights, often in frontier regions or newly pacified territories. These veterans form loyal communities that spread Roman language, law, and customs far beyond Italy. For many auxiliaries, Rome offers something their homeland cannot: legal protection, inheritance rights, economic opportunity, and entry into the Roman world.
In 60 BCE, the auxiliary system is already a powerful tool of empire-building. Rome fights with foreign arms, rewards obedience with citizenship, and turns former outsiders into defenders of Roman order. For the auxiliary soldier, service is risk and hardship—but also the clearest path from subject to Roman.
@The World:
@Rome
@Asia Minor
@Tripolitania
@Hispania
@Epirus
@Macedonia
@Achaea
@Crete
@Cyprus
@Sicilia
@Sardinia
@Corsica
@Judaea
@Syria
Roman:
@Titus Pullo
@Lucius Vorenus
@Mark Antony
@Gaius Julius Caesar
@Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
@Mark Antony
@Tullus Vagnius Titillus
@Spurius Rufius Octobrianus
@Drusus Caerellius Porphyrius