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

The soldiers 33
Given Maximus’ distinguished war record, his advancement was not rapid since
some soldiers were promoted straight from the position of legionary cavalryman
to the decurionate and progressed to a legionary centurionate. See further below,
p. 46. Decebalus in fact committed suicide to avoid capture (Dio 68. 14).
43 P. Mich. 468, lines 31–41, papyrus, Karanis, Egypt, 2nd C.AD
I beg you, father, to write to me at once about your health, that you are
well (?). I am anxious about things at home unless you write to me.
God willing, I hope that I shall live frugally and be transferred to a
cohort. However nothing gets done here without money, and letters of
recommendation are no use unless a man helps himself.
This letter is part of an archive (P. Mich. VIII. 467–81) including correspondence
in both Greek and Latin from a soldier, Claudius Terentianus, to his father
Claudius Tiberianus, who was himself a soldier (a speculator) though at some
stage he had become a veteran (P. Mich. 475). Terentianus was serving in the
fleet at Alexandria but was eager for a transfer to an auxiliary cohort. His
efforts were amply rewarded, since he later describes himself as a legionary
soldier (P. Mich. 476). Promotions, and transfers to different parts of the army,
could be subject to the operation of personal patronage, often expressed in a
letter of recommendation written by an influential person to the officer or
commander who could smooth the way. For example, in a fragmentary letter
from the Vindolanda collection, a man writes to Crispinus, possibly a member
of the governor’s staff: ‘… so provide me with friends so that through your
kindness I may be able to enjoy a pleasant period of military service’ (Bowman
and Thomas 1983: no. 37; also below, text no. 48).
Auxiliaries
Auxiliary troops were recruited from peoples within or on the periphery
of Roman control and who in the main did not yet possess Roman
citizenship. They provided cavalry, light infantry, and specialist
requirements often supplied, in the Republic, by mercenaries. Originally
the auxiliaries were recruited into ethnic units commanded by their own
chieftains, or by Roman officers when they were incorporated into the
formal structure of the army. At least from the middle of the first century
AD there was a tendency to dilute the ethnic character of some units by
using recruits from areas with plentiful manpower, notably Gallia Belgica,
Lugdunensis, and Pannonia. By the late first century local recruiting had
become common and units were kept up to strength by supplements
from the province where they were serving, or areas adjacent to it. There
were two reasons for this: firstly, the spread of Roman citizenship had
restricted some of the traditional recruiting areas; secondly, auxiliary