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

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The Roman A rmy
s econ ded to civilian proj ect s . Tac i tus (Agri col a 21) rel a tes how the govern or of
Bri t a i n , his father- i n - l aw Ju l ius Agri co l a , en co u ra ged and hel ped the Bri tons to
build tem p l e s , m a rketp l aces (fo ra) , and priva te houses, i m p lying that of f i c i a l
s a n cti on for these activi ties invo lved the loan of m i l i t a ry bu i l ders . In s c ri pti on s
f rom other provi n ces attest the pre s en ce of m i l i t a ry bu i l ders in civilian proj ect s .
A veteran of l egio III Au g u s t a c a ll ed Non ius Datus was sent to help with the recon
s tru cti on of a tu n n el that had been started badly (C I L VIII 2728 = ILS 5 7 9 5 ) .
It was part of a sch eme to bring water to the town of Sa l d ae in the provi n ce of
Ma u retania Cae s a ri ensis in North Af ri c a , and no one except Non ius could advi s e
on what to do after the proj ect failed . An o t h er inscri pti on from the provi n ce of
D acia (modern Romania) records that soldiers built the walls of the city of Romula
(ILS 5 1 0 ) . The legi on a ry su rveyors som etimes establ i s h edbo u n d a ries on
beh a l f of c ivilian com mu n i ti e s , as at Ardea in It a ly in the rei gn of An ton i nu s
P iu s , and there are at least two instances of l egi on a ries marking out the bo u n da
ries of n ew towns that were laid out for veteran set t l ersin Af rica (ILS 9375) and
in Pa n n onia (Hygi nu s , C a tego ries of La n d in Ca m pbell , 1 9 9 4 ) .
This cooperation between army and civilians can sometimes lead to the mistaken
conclusion that there was a military presence where none was ever establ
i s h ed . For instance , finds of bri cks and tiles from certain legi ons may merely
represent a building project that had no military purpose, nor do they indicate
that any soldiers participated at all in the building work, since bricks and tiles
produced by the legions were sometimes sold to private building companies, a
procedu re that can be traced all thro u gh the Im perial peri od and into the
fourth century. Hence, archaeological material that seems to suggest the presence
of military buildings must be regarded with caution (MacMullen, 1963).
In provinces where the army moved on from their forts and fortresses as the
conquest progressed, the old fort sites were often given over to civilian occupation.
Some of these towns had a long and independent civilian life, whereas others
retained their military associations because the old fort sites were converted
i n to co l onies of vetera n s . Wh ere the army units set t l ed down as the fron ti ers
were crys t a ll i zed and forts became perm a n en t , the rel a ti onship with civi l i a n s
developed and expanded. While the Empire was expanding, the prime purpose
of the army was figh ting battles, but on ce the Empire ce a s ed to ex p a n d , t h e
a rmy on ly occ a s i on a lly fo u ght in preem ptive stri kes or in re acti on to attack s
(Whittaker, 1994). Whenever army units settle in any place and in any period,
c ivilians fe a tu re more in their daily tra n s acti on s . So l d i ers begin to form rel ati
onships with local wom en , to trade with local peop l e , and to cultiva te the
land. Literary and archaeological sources confirm that fields and meadows were
laid out within the immediate vicinity of Roman forts. Roman occupation was
not simply a matter of placing forts in isolated territory. Civilians soon moved
in to take advantage of the pay that the soldiers received and wanted to spend.
Within a short time, towns clustered around forts. The growth of the canabae