Legio Loyalty

[Julius Ratus]

Greed is a nice quick explanation but it dosen't get anywhere near the roots of the problem. No everyone was having fun in the glorious republic. The Italians had to fight a brutal civil war to get citizenship, even though they often fought for Rome and were as responsilble for the republic's victories as Rome was. Many of the poor were loosing their land to the greedy plutocrats. At this point the people had two choices, go to the city and starve or stay in the country and starve. Now, when someone comes along, offers them a job, good pay, food, shelter, and land after retirement, they were saved. All they had to do was fight his battles for him and remain loyal. When the aristocrats, who made up the Senate and so therefore ruled the Republic had done everything in their power to make life miserable for the lower classes, there was no way people were going to put their lives on the line for the high falooting (how do you spell this word?) ideals of the senate. And when it comes to blows between the Senate and the man who gave them food clothing and a new life, it is little wonder that those men crossed the Rubicon with Caesar, or came to Marius' aide in his time of need. Even Pompey held the love of the people. People like Cato the Younger and the Optimates just did not deserve that kind of respect.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

You seem to think of greed as the money part of the deal, but you forget an important point for post-marian armies : the fact that the soldiers were poors from the cities who lacked any way of living after decommissioning and thus relied on their general to get a land bill in the senate that would give them a place to live after their military service.

 

They are also other factors. The pompeian legions for exemple, raised by the father, disbanded, re-raised by the son during the civil war were armies built around clientship relation in Picenium were the family was most powerfull. The pompeian army was thus a bit different of the usual roman army.

 

All armies of the late republic were not loyal to their general either, as show the story of Lucullus in the East who had to stop his pursuit of Tigranes because of his army's mutiny.

 

So the question of the relationship between the general and his force is a complex one mixing personnal feelings with what I'd call economic concerns of the soldiers. Especially since the army's pay was not really huge, it was the bounty which made military service attractive in the late republic.

 

As for the imperial period and the loyalty of units to their commanders to the point they followed them in rebellions against the emperor well it is another topic that I'll try to answer later.

[WotWotius]

I thought it was the IX Hispania that was said to be cursed, the one which vanished into Caledonia and was never seen again. Of course, after that people would say it was cursed, wouldn't they?

 

There is evidence to suggest that they re-emerged in the East.