The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337: A Sourcebook

The army in peacetime 119
that have been decided; those who are showing dissension [shall be
punished in accordance with] the decisions’. Valens: ‘The Anosseni
request that they should be granted a soldier on police duty’. [Philocurius
the procurator: ‘To guarantee (?)] the decisions I shall provide a soldier’.
This is an extract from a document dealing with a dispute (continuing until AD
237) between two villages in Asia, Anossa and Antimacheia, over contributions
in animals, fodder, and carts, that they were obliged to make for people on
official business using the local roads. They belonged to an imperial estate and
so were under the jurisdiction of a procurator. The initial hearing with the
people of Anossa as the plaintiffs took place about AD 200 before the procurator,
who ordered an optio to carry out his decision. At a further hearing in AD 213
the people of Anossa seem to be complaining that the earlier decision was not
being properly implemented; it is interesting that they ask for a soldier to be
sent to them—it was not always the case that local communities wished to
avoid contact with the military (below, pp. 170–80).
189 Pliny (1st–2nd C.AD), Letters 10. 19–20
Pliny to Emperor Trajan. I request, sir, that you guide me with your
advice since I am uncertain whether I ought to employ public slaves of
the local communities on prison guard duty, as has been the practice
up to now, or use soldiers. For I am apprehensive that public slaves are
not sufficiently reliable guards and on the other hand that a not
inconsiderable number of soldiers would be detained on this duty. For
the moment I have added a few soldiers to serve as guards with the
public slaves. I see that there is a danger, however, that this very action
will cause carelessness on both sides since they will be confident that
each can direct the blame on to the other for any mistake for which
they were both responsible.
Trajan to Pliny. My dear Pliny, there is no need to transfer more
fellow-soldiers to prison guard duty. We should adhere to the custom
which pertains in that province, namely that prisons are guarded by
public slaves. For it is your responsibility through your discipline and
watchfulness to ensure that they carry out this duty reliably. The most
important point is, as you say in your letter, the fear that if soldiers are
mixed in with public slaves, both sides may become more neglectful of
their duty by relying on each other. Moreover, we should adhere to the
general rule that as few soldiers as possible should be diverted from
military duties.
As governor of Bithynia-Pontus, Pliny had some auxiliary troops under his
command.