The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

their own decisions about how to react to a particular set of circumstances, being
unable to rely upon receiving instructions from the emperor in time to avert
a crisis. For this reason, from the late first century onward, the emperor ceased
to wait at the hub of the Roman world for news of the frontiers and war zones,
and took charge himself.
Mi l i t a r y Med i c i n e
Tools of Wa r 233
Medicine in the Roman world was derived almost wholly from the Greeks, but
in the area of m i l i t a ry medicine the Romans devel oped and improved upon
Greek theory and practice. In particular, they learned how to treat wounds but
did not neglect the cure of diseases, and they established hospitals in their forts,
particularly in the legionary fortresses. The hospitals were staffed by specialist
personnel, and medical staff went on campaign with their units. Hyginus mentions
a hospital tent in his work on laying out the camp (De Metatione Castrorum
4.35), recommending that it should be placed where convalescent soldiers
could find peace and quiet.
The most com m on staff were the m ed i ci , a t te s ted in all types of u n i t s , i ncluding
legions, auxiliary cohorts, and alae, the Urban Cohorts, the Praetorian
Guard, the vigiles, and the equites singulares. The title medicus likely covered a
range of different ranks and functions (Davies, 1969). Some of the medici were
prob a bly ord i n a ry soldiers , i n clu ded with the i m mu n e s who were exc u s ed fati
g u e s , but others were of f i cers , perhaps of con s i dera ble statu s . On some inscriptions,
medici ordinarii are named, such as Caius Papirius Aelianus at Lamb
aesis in North Af ri c a , who inciden t a lly lived for ei gh ty - f ive ye a rs , s even
m on t h s , and fifteen days , in itsel f a good recom m en d a ti on for a doctor (I L S
2 4 3 2 ) . In the later Empire at the fort of Ni ederbi eber in Germ a ny, a cert a i n
Processus set up a dedication to the household of the emperor, calling himself
m edicus hord i n a ri u s (ILS 9 1 8 2 ) , perhaps a guide to the way in wh i ch he pronounced
the word. It is possible that the medici ordinarii held the rank of centurion,
but no source confirms this, so it must remain a contested theory. Some
s ch o l a rs su ggest that o rd i n a rius s i m p ly means that the doctor served in the
ranks. On a monumental inscription in Rome, listing the officers and men of
the fifth cohort of the vigiles, there are four medici: Caius Runnius Hilaris, Caius
Julius Hermes, Quintus Fabius Pollux, and Sextus Lutatius Ecarpus. These men
are listed after an enumeration of the centurions and other officers such as the
cornicularii, but before the soldiers of each century with the centurion’s name at
the head. The position of their names with the officers lends some support to
the theory that the medical men ranked with them. Some or perhaps all of the
medici in the fleets ranked as duplicarii on double pay, as attested on an inscription
from Puteoli (RIB 2315; see also CIL X 3441 from Misenum).