On eastern shores – A Roman Timeline
- Thread starter Alcsentre Calanice
- Start date
I can hardly see anyone benefiting from this reform except the Emperor.
The reform weaken the power of the aristocracy. And for the common people, it is even worse, they are practically sold into slavery. They are asked to give a lot to the state (lost of freedom of speech, yearly duty to the state, production quoto, limited wage) without getting anything in return. The production quota is the worst, "peasants that failed to meet these quotas were enslaved". Who would want to a slave due to factors as fickle as natural disaster ruining their crops, and it is not likely that the officials would be considerate to them. It really reminds me of the story of the end of Qin, Liu Bang was tasked with escorting a group of convicts to Mount Li to build Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. When some prisoners escaped during the journey, Liu Bang feared for his life because allowing convicts to escape was a capital offence under Qin law. He rebelled and the rest is history.
If they are gonna be slave anyway why dont they they rebel?
Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
Well, not only. The Emperor gets a lot of power, but life for common people improves too, as long as they comply with the law and work hard. People who in before were stuck in lower orders have now a chance to move up the ladder by showing their skill. Taxes are enforced rigorously, but administration is less corrupt than during the Principate or the Republic. If common citizens have conflicts with aristocrats, they have now a good chance to win their case since the judge can be a former commoner too. And if you commit a crime, justice gives you a second chance to prove that you're useful for society - so common people does benefit from the reforms too.
I admit this law is really draconian. But I didn't invent it, Shang Yang did. And:
There were many commoners who welcomed the reforms of Shang Yang, since there was even immigration from other states to Qin. So the reforms couldn't be that unpopular, could they?
And don't worry, at some point there will be enough malcontents (aristocrats, peasants enslaved because of a natural disaster, convicts etc.) to revolt - on the other hand, the Ears will be able to prevent some of these revolts before they can even start,
I fail to see the benefits for the common people in this Reforms. I only understood that the Aristocracy was attacked and purged, but that doesn't necessary means that the small folk will get a fairer life. The limits in freedom of speech, for example, can stop dissent, but it won't improve the conditions in Rome. Even more, a lack of critics might stagnate the state, closing it to further reforms. Specially dangerous when the Germans are still a threat, the new provinces aren't fully pacified and the Partians probably will look after Roman weakness to recover their former territory.
Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
However, the meritocratic reforms will help the army to become more effective, so the reforms will at first strenghten the empire.
Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. The Severan reform were slowly enacted not only by Septimius, but also by the following emperors: Geta, Publius and Alexander.
Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
Caput Undevicesimus: The Severan Military
Self-evidently, an authoritarian state like the Severan government had designs on the military; the military hierarchy was the model to be followed, and military efficiency had to improved so the troops could fulfill all the tasks they were charged with. Besides the Ears, the army was the main pillar of the Severan Dynasty, and the Severan Era has often be described as a heyday of militarism after the peaceful era of the Adoptive Emperors.
The meritocratic system implemented in the administration was strictly followed during the reform of the army. Legalist ideology dictated that officers should be promoted according to their merits, principle that was fully adopted by the Severan government. The army reform consisted of three steps: Reform of the lower ranks, reform of the high command, modernization of the equipment.
The first bunch of reforms was undertaken under the reign of Septimius Severus and included a modernization of the legions' command structure. The number of cohorts of each legion was reduced to five by merging each time two of the old cohorts into a new one of roughly thousand legionaries – this new cohorts, also known as vexillationes, could be used as independent detachments when it was not necessary or even impossible to redeploy the whole legion [1].
To stress the independence of the new cohorts, each of them received one of the five equestrian Narrow Band Tribunes (Tribunus angusticlavii) of the legion as commander. Prior to this, the equestrian Tribunes were taken among the sons of equites, that is to say among the aristocracy. To become one of these Tribunes, it was now necessary to become first a simple legionary, then deputy centurion and then centurion; only few of the Tribunes were appointed because of their ancestry as it was done in before.
However, Septimius couldn't radically transform the Roman army's high command without antagonizing the senatorial class which supplied all the empire's senior officers. That's why it was up to Publius to do it, when his time as emperor came. Since Augustus, every armed Province was governed by an Imperial Legate, either a former consul or a former praetor. Below the Imperial Legate ranked the Legion's Legate, a former praetor commanding a legion. Additionally, a Broad Band Tribune (Tribunus laticlavus), chosen among the senators' sons assisted the Legion's Legate in commanding the troops.
This system worked as long as the borders were calm and the incompetence of the senatorial amateurs was compensated by the skill, the training and the equipment of the troops. However this highly ineffective system was catastrophic in times of barbarian invasions, like the empire faced them since Marcus Lollius' reign – that is why Publius decided to oust the civilian officials from the armed forces.
Firstly, the senatorial Tribune was replaced by the Camp Prefect, who in addition to his tasks as commander of the equipment, logistics and building works had to deputize for the legion's commander. Secondly, the command of the legion was no longer assumed by a senatorial Legate. Instead, the Legion's Legate was now a former equestrian Tribune, that is to say a former simply legionary. Thirdly, the troops of one province were not longer commanded by the governor (Imperial Legate), but by a General (Praefectus militum), himself a former Legion's Legate.
These reforms had several repercussions, as the Cursus honorum had been stripped of all its military offices. That meant that the old aristocracy lost its military role, whereas the Senate was literally invaded by former commoners appointed Legion's Legate or General, thus becoming senators. Also, since the provincial governors had no military commands anymore, the military command became separated from the civil administration, increasing the professionalism of the army.
Besides the reformation of army structure, the soldiers' equipment was modified as well. While the segmented cuirass (lorica laminata) was maintained because of the formidable protection it offered [2], the traditional short sword (gladius) was replaced by the spear (hasta), a necessary adaptation of the Roman army to the growing importance of cavalry. The Chinese influence emerged in form of the widespread use of handheld crossbows (manuballistae) and even repeating crossbows (polyboloi), fielded by specialized units of archers. Since most of the inhabitants of the empire enjoyed Roman citizenship, the difference between auxiliary cohorts and legions vanished – once the equipment of both was harmonized, the auxiliary cohorts were merged into legions to standardize the army structure, and the auxilia diasppeared.
Though the Severan Army Reforms caused discontent among the senatorial class, they won the soldiers' hearts over to the Severan cause. They created social mobility and replaced the fossilized vestiges of the republic by a modern army structure, adapted to the challenges Rome met in these times on all its borders and within the empire. The new model army should soon prove it was ready to face the test.
[1] This happened in OTL during the Late Antiquity when the size of the legions was reduced to 1000 men.
[2] In OTL the segmented cuirass was abandoned in favor of the mail and scales cuirass because of the logistical problems of the 3rd century CE.
Overview over the Severan Military Structure
Self-evidently, an authoritarian state like the Severan government had designs on the military; the military hierarchy was the model to be followed, and military efficiency had to improved so the troops could fulfill all the tasks they were charged with. Besides the Ears, the army was the main pillar of the Severan Dynasty, and the Severan Era has often be described as a heyday of militarism after the peaceful era of the Adoptive Emperors.
The meritocratic system implemented in the administration was strictly followed during the reform of the army. Legalist ideology dictated that officers should be promoted according to their merits, principle that was fully adopted by the Severan government. The army reform consisted of three steps: Reform of the lower ranks, reform of the high command, modernization of the equipment.
The first bunch of reforms was undertaken under the reign of Septimius Severus and included a modernization of the legions' command structure. The number of cohorts of each legion was reduced to five by merging each time two of the old cohorts into a new one of roughly thousand legionaries – this new cohorts, also known as vexillationes, could be used as independent detachments when it was not necessary or even impossible to redeploy the whole legion [1].
To stress the independence of the new cohorts, each of them received one of the five equestrian Narrow Band Tribunes (Tribunus angusticlavii) of the legion as commander. Prior to this, the equestrian Tribunes were taken among the sons of equites, that is to say among the aristocracy. To become one of these Tribunes, it was now necessary to become first a simple legionary, then deputy centurion and then centurion; only few of the Tribunes were appointed because of their ancestry as it was done in before.
However, Septimius couldn't radically transform the Roman army's high command without antagonizing the senatorial class which supplied all the empire's senior officers. That's why it was up to Publius to do it, when his time as emperor came. Since Augustus, every armed Province was governed by an Imperial Legate, either a former consul or a former praetor. Below the Imperial Legate ranked the Legion's Legate, a former praetor commanding a legion. Additionally, a Broad Band Tribune (Tribunus laticlavus), chosen among the senators' sons assisted the Legion's Legate in commanding the troops.
This system worked as long as the borders were calm and the incompetence of the senatorial amateurs was compensated by the skill, the training and the equipment of the troops. However this highly ineffective system was catastrophic in times of barbarian invasions, like the empire faced them since Marcus Lollius' reign – that is why Publius decided to oust the civilian officials from the armed forces.
Firstly, the senatorial Tribune was replaced by the Camp Prefect, who in addition to his tasks as commander of the equipment, logistics and building works had to deputize for the legion's commander. Secondly, the command of the legion was no longer assumed by a senatorial Legate. Instead, the Legion's Legate was now a former equestrian Tribune, that is to say a former simply legionary. Thirdly, the troops of one province were not longer commanded by the governor (Imperial Legate), but by a General (Praefectus militum), himself a former Legion's Legate.
These reforms had several repercussions, as the Cursus honorum had been stripped of all its military offices. That meant that the old aristocracy lost its military role, whereas the Senate was literally invaded by former commoners appointed Legion's Legate or General, thus becoming senators. Also, since the provincial governors had no military commands anymore, the military command became separated from the civil administration, increasing the professionalism of the army.
Besides the reformation of army structure, the soldiers' equipment was modified as well. While the segmented cuirass (lorica laminata) was maintained because of the formidable protection it offered [2], the traditional short sword (gladius) was replaced by the spear (hasta), a necessary adaptation of the Roman army to the growing importance of cavalry. The Chinese influence emerged in form of the widespread use of handheld crossbows (manuballistae) and even repeating crossbows (polyboloi), fielded by specialized units of archers. Since most of the inhabitants of the empire enjoyed Roman citizenship, the difference between auxiliary cohorts and legions vanished – once the equipment of both was harmonized, the auxiliary cohorts were merged into legions to standardize the army structure, and the auxilia diasppeared.
Though the Severan Army Reforms caused discontent among the senatorial class, they won the soldiers' hearts over to the Severan cause. They created social mobility and replaced the fossilized vestiges of the republic by a modern army structure, adapted to the challenges Rome met in these times on all its borders and within the empire. The new model army should soon prove it was ready to face the test.
[1] This happened in OTL during the Late Antiquity when the size of the legions was reduced to 1000 men.
[2] In OTL the segmented cuirass was abandoned in favor of the mail and scales cuirass because of the logistical problems of the 3rd century CE.
Overview over the Severan Military Structure
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Did I understand that correctly that there is no officer track in the Roman army for positions below Tribune, so leadership talent has to serve as common legionaries and hope to be recommended when command vacancies open up? Wouldn't that cause issues?
Another question: Were the auxiliaries at the point of this reform still fielded attached to regular legions or did they get formed into legions of their own?
Another question: Were the auxiliaries at the point of this reform still fielded attached to regular legions or did they get formed into legions of their own?
Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
Simplified. Not important for the new command structure.
Right. Either you are a lucky aristocrat and become directly a Tribune or General, or you have to enlist as a simple legionary. As in OTL, most of the centurions start as a common soldier.
But very gifted man can skip some ranks, for example becoming a Tribune without having to serve as Chief Centurion, or becoming a Centurion without being an Optio.
The army was standardized - the remaining differences (nothing really important, even in OTL at this point) between the legions and the auxiliary cohorts were abolished. Then, always 5 of the auxiliary cohorts formed one legion (though, it may have happened that some cohorts were attached to regular legions). There is now no distinction left between the two former types of units.
If you have 5 equal vexillationes per legio, you do not need centuriones primi ordines anymore. He simply replaced the very traditional internal struture of the legion with the more modern structure of the auxilia. Well he also cancelled the career of the primipilares but di not explain, ho he replaced it.
I see massive problems with sons of equestrians or even senators having to start as legionary. This does not work in a class society. Never, no way!
At least let them start as beneficarius tribuni followed by centurio ex equite romano. But for gods sake, don't tell an equestrian to live in the same contubernium as humiliores.
Not really. We got no very exact figures, but about 20-30% of the centurions were directly comissioned. Either sons of equestrians or local nobility (decurions). Average age was about 30 when they entered the army. But with already some experience in civil city government.
Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
A simple legionary can now become Centurion and then Tribune or even Legate - the career of the primipilares isn't necessary anymore.
That's why there is the possibility for equites to directly become a Tribune, so they don't have to hang around with the dirty legionaries.
Shall I change the chart so it's more clear that equites can also directly start as Tribunes?Shall I change that in the chart too? So that decurions can directly become Centurions?
The seperation of civil and military administration is an important step to modernize the Roman army - I'll not overturn it.
And the cohorts of Rome and their tribunes which were almost exclusively set aside for primipilares don't exist either anymore? You know I am asking about the primipilares, not the primipili.
That's why there is the possibility for equites to directly become a Tribune, so they don't have to hang around with the dirty legionaries.
I don't like the idea of directly comissioned tribunes too. This just leads to amateurs. Minimum would be, that everybody has to start at least as centurio. In best case, we would have something like a military academy, followed by a time of service as deputy commander (learning by doing). The late romans had something like this with their protectores and junior/senior tribunes as commanders.
I am not sure, if the separation of military and civil career was a good idea. It led to militarists, who had no understanding for the needs of the civilian people. And vice versa to civilian office sitting leaders, who are not accepted by the militarists. So you run into trouble sooner or later.
I agree, with the split of the militarian and civilian reponsibilities / offices of governors and others. The civilian governor and the militarian one should not be the same guy. And their provincia (area of authority) must not be the same.
But I don't agree about a split of careers. Everybody who wants to lead this empire should have shown performance in both departments. Historians said, that Diocletian splitted the careers in order to professionalize the military. I disagree and say, he did it in order to weaken the governors even more, which was ok. But he also did it, because he had too many uneducated officers, who were not longer able to do the more challenging civil job. Plus the elite more and more rejected military jobs at all after 40 years of civil war. The roman model, that a leader has to proof his abilities in both departments was no weakness. It was one of the critical success factors of the roman empire, which made it great once.
So I am afraid you are just repeating Diocletians mistake.
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Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
The Praetorian Cohorts still exist, but their Tribunes are now chosen from their own centurions. Isn't that consequential - that the command and advancement structure of the legions is also applied to the Praetorians?
Okay so I'll change it in the chart so that equites can start as centurions too.
I also thought about a military academy, but I think that's too early for this. The Romans have to develop some ideas of public education before they can form something like an academy for officers.
At this point, they are still so traditional that would teach Platon or Confucius or rhetorics or other useless shit in a military academy.
That was another goal of mine.
Yes, but once all public problems could be solved by one Praetor Maximus who was judge on the one day and lead a succesful raid against Rome's neighbors on the other.
However, such a complex, bureaucratic state like the Late Roman Empire IOTL and the Severan state ITTL needs specialization.
You just can't expect from a military commander to know everything about Roman law and to be a military genius on the same time. The Empire needs specialized judges and bureaucrats on the one hand and capable military leaders on the other hand. To achieve this, a seperation of civilian and military leaders is inevitable.
Perhaps they should be handpicked tribunes from the legions? It all depends how you implement ideas like central field army and regional field army. However, Augustus had a reason, why his tribunes were old ex-primipili owing their position to the emperor and nobody else. So equestrians from the Tres Militia almost never became Tribune in Rome.
Okay so I'll change it in the chart so that equites can start as centurions too. I also thought about a military academy, but I think that's too early for this. The Romans have to develop some ideas of public education before they can form something like an academy for officers.
At this point, they are still so traditional that would teach Platon or Confucius or rhetorics or other useless shit in a military academy.
The roman way is clearly learning by doing / watching. Direct comissioned centurions are not perfect. But still better than direct comissioned prefects / tribunes. As mentioned you find better examples in the structure of the late empires military.
I agree about the expert in roman law. Thats why I would separate law from the general public career and give it to dedicated judges in order to create an independent iurisdiction longterm. I know, this is a huge change in roman mindset. Because for a roman adminsitration always means judging. But military and adminsitration does not need a genius. Both were rather trivial jobs in ancient times. At least for the lower and middle ranked officers.
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Alcsentre Calanice
Gone Fishin'
I think that for the Central Army, the emperors will try to choose the best officers from all over the empire.
What was the exact role of the protectores?
Also, the Chinese had Military Examinations, so the Romans could adopt a similar system to choose able commanders.
Seperate the judiciary from the executive/administration? That isn't Roman, that isn't even ancient. Rome had only one branch of government, the imperium. A magistrate vested with the imperium had both the power to administrate (meaning to judge according to the laws) and the power to command. I'm trying to seperate the military from the civilian administration, as Diocletian did.
The goal is to have three branches of government, like in China: The military command, the civilian administration and the control/inspection.
But separating the judiciary from the administration? No way.
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Caput Vicesimus: Foreign affairs
The Roman army, modernized by the emperors Septimius Severus and Publius, was finally able to keep pace with the times. The problem of the Great Migrations, that had begun during the reign of Marcus Lollius, became even more pressing under the reign of the Severan Dynasty. In the east, a new Parthian attack on Mesopotamia was always possible, and a great number of legions was deployed to deter the Parthian Empire from invading the Roman provinces.
Including the legions formed out of former auxiliary cohorts, Rome could field ninety legions [1] in 1003 AUC [2]. Of those, thirty were already formed before Quietus' reign. Eight were drafted by Lusius Quietus using Mesopotamia's taxes. Furthermore, two legions were levied by the Severans. Then, the legions' roughly three hundred auxiliary cohorts were merged into fifty additional legions. Of the legions, the majority was deployed on the borders or within rebellious provinces.
However, eight of them formed, together with the Praetorian Guard, the imperial retinue (comitatus), thus fielding roughly 50,000 men – the task of this Central Army based in Italy and following the emperor on his travels through the empire was to reinforce the local troops against barbarian invasions and to serve as a loyal force in case of a usurpation.
This system proved to be effective – under Septimius Severus, Publius and Alexander, of the few rebellions that couldn't be prevented by the Ears, none stood a chance against the Central Army. This became a problem when the commander of the Central Army (Praefectus comitatus) was disloyal himself – this happened once in the described time period, when the Prefect Publius overthrew his nephew Geta. Under Alexander, the command was therefore given to two or more Prefects, each of them commanding only a fraction of the Central Army.
Even if the Severan army had multiple task, it hadn't to deal with local unrest and brigandism any more: The gendarmery took care of these problems. That's why the army could focus on its military functions that were exhausting enough. The main zones of conflict were, unsurprisingly, located on the northern border of the empire, along the Danube and the Rhine.
The Agri Decumates, the only Roman territory east of the Rhine and protected by the Upper Germanic limes, was under high pressure exerted by the Germanic tribe of the Alemanni. The Severan government, at first trying to hold the territory, soon decided that an effective defense was only possible if the Alemanni were integrated into the Roman Empire along with their territory. The new Roman border, established first under Publius and fortified under Lucius, followed the rivers Weser (Visurgis) and Main (Moenus), as showed in the map below.
Since Septimius Severus was of Punic origin, another focal point of Severan foreign policies was North Africa. Septimius Severus tried to imitate the Indian Company that secured the eastern trade routes – so the emperor decided to protect the trade with sub-Saharan Africa (Aethiopia or Libya) by conquering Garama, capital of the Berber people named Garamantes.
The Garamantes, benefiting from the Trans-Saharan Trade, often raided on the Roman province of Africa; the conquest of Garama [3] helped to improve the Roman trade with the region of Agisymba [4] and the different African people of Western Africa, like the Hesperidian or Ichthyophagous Ethiopians [5]. Soon, economic, political and cultural contacts between Rome and Africa multiplied, catalyzing the formation of sub-Saharan states and empires.
In the east, relations with foreign powers were more peaceful. Since the Roman forces concentrated on the west, it was impossible to mass enough troops for a campaign against Parthia, so Rome did everything to ensure that its eastern border remained calm. Equally, delegations were exchanged with the collapsing Kushan and Han empires, as well as with the different successor states like the Gupta and Jin empires.
[1] Or roughly 450,000 men (without the Navy and the forces of the Indian Company), number that corresponds to OTL's strength of the Severan army
[2] 250 CE
[3] In OTL, Garama was conquered under Septimius Severus, but was soon abandoned.
[4] Probably Kanem-Bornu on the shores of Lake Chad
[5] Groups living in West Africa mentioned by Ptolemy
Severan conquests in Germania