Legionaire light infantry

[Johnny Shumate]

So what did these guys look like? We know they carried javelins and oval shields but what about armour? Light coat of mail? No body armor? Regular legionary helmet? In the book of Acts(23:23), there is a mention of spearmen(dexiolabous-taking up in the right hand) escorting the Apostle Paul, were these light infantry?
Johnny

[Carlton Bach]

Given that this is taking place in Jerusalem,, I assume the men are auxiliary troops of some stripe, possibly forces from one of the client states (do we have a reasonably exact date on the Acts?). I'm not sure on the distinction made between the 'soldiers' and the 'spearmen', but that could be based on ethnicity, equipment, or arm of service.

Now, I do not doubt that a Roman citizen could cxall on military protection in need, but to me, an escort of 400 foot and 70 horse sounds somewhat exaggerated.

[Quintius Clavus]

The troops escorting Paul (in the account in the Acts of the Apostles) are almost certainly local auxiliaries. I can't at present put my hands on my Bible, but based on the number of troops cited, I have a good idea of the reason for the large number of troops. This is well before the First Jewish War, and Claudius was still alive (by the time Paul actually goes to Rome, Nero is or very soon will be emperor)-early 50's AD. Therefore auxiliary troops made up the garrison. The nearest legionary troops were in Syria, under the command of the Senatorial Governor/ Legate of Syria, one of whose tasks was to oversee Judea, which was governed by an Equestrian Procurator (the proper title after Claudius restored direct Roman rule).

I am assuming that this is after Paul was rescued/arrested by Roman troops during a riot or near riot at the Temple and nearly beaten with a whip, until he declared himself a Roman citizen. I recall that he received death threats, taken seriously by the Roman authorities. Since the case was being referred to the Procurator in Caesaria, the garrison commander at the Antonia fortress in Jerusalem needed to send a strong escort to make sure the prisoner, who happened to be a "born" Roman citizen, got to his destination alive. If 400 foot troops is not exagerated, that is essentially a cohort of infantry! This is allowing for the fact that a cohort's paper strength is 480. The 70 cavalry may have been 2 or possibly 3 (if understrength) turmae (paper strength being somewhere around 30 to 35 men) of cavalry. Big escort, but, guarding one Roman citizen, who had one-up on the Tribune in command at the Antonia-said Tribune having bought his citizenship (possibly from Messalina, Claudius' wife-among other things, she was notorious for selling citizenships). I agree, a large escort-composed of auxiliary troops.

I could go on and on, this period being fairly well documented thanks to Josephus, the New Testament, etc., but I'll stop here. I would have to do some digging to find out when the Acts were allegedly written, but the book definitely describes events, and ends its account, before the fire in Rome, which led to the first organized, though local to Rome, persecution of the Christians.

Marcus Quintius Clavus/Quinton

[Johnny Shumate]

Quintius,
That was an excellent summery!
You really pulled out some details I was not familiar with, even though I've read "The Jewish War". Getting to the main thrust of my question, what about the light infantry legionary? I can't think of the soldiers name, but a tombstone shows a soldier with an oval shield and javelin(s) with a thong. Daniel Peterson mentioned over on the "Off Topics" that this was an interesting troop type. Any info.....?
Thanks,
Johnny

[drsrob]

Flavoleius Cordus of Leg. XIIII Gem is certainly a light infantryman and in my opinion, so is C. Castricius of Leg II Adi.
they were imo the same as the socalled antesignani

According to Vegetius these wore lighter armour and animal skins on their helmets, like the old velites and the contemporary standard bearers. Castricius has a triple crested helmet, but this is - I suspect - a later development (Vegetius is 4th century, but joines information from all periods of the empire)

[Praefectusclassis]

Just for reference:
Flavoleius Cordus
Caius Castricius

[Johnny Shumate]

Caius looks like he is holding 2 pila instead of lighter javelins. What do you think?
Johnny

[Praefectusclassis]

I don't think you can judge that from the sculpture. Look at his sword pommel! This sculptor just wasn't as good as the one who did Flavoleius Cordus, for instance.

[drsrob]

Caius looks like he is holding 2 pila instead of lighter javelins. What do you think?
Johnny

Flavoleius dates from before AD40 and Castricius from the late 1st century AD. It is possible that the javelins of the light infantry had become heavier in the mean time.
What is significant is that Castricius holds two spears, while normally the legionary holds only one.

[Crispvs]

Rob,

On what basis do you assume that Flavoleius Cordus and Castricius Victor were light infantry? Castricius Victor is after all wearing a mail shirt and helmet. Flavoleius Cordus is unarmoured admittedly, but that hardly makes him unusual in the context of funerary sculpture and he is certainly carring a pilum rather than light javelins. Castricius Victor's triple crested helmet is comparable to the three helmets so far known, or suspected, to have belonged to the Adiutrix legions, each of which had fittings for mounting a central crest and side feathers, suggesting this was a unit identification rather than the sign of a light infantryman. If the sole identifier of them as light infantry is the fact that both are equipped with oval shields then how reliable is the identification? How do we know that the shields are shown in scale with the men depicted and what makes us think that the Romans had standardised shield shapes for certain types of soldiers? Come to that, how many sculptures show attested soldiers of Legio XIIII with any shield shape other than oval?

Crispvs

[Johnny Shumate]

Crispvs,
Good post....I also want to know how to identify legionary light infantry. Are you folks using the oval shield as the only guide line?
Johnny

[Uwe Bahr]

Avete omnes,

after Ritterling the two legiones adiutrices were built of former marines (classici = rowers and marine soldiers) in the year 70 AD, legio I adiutrix from the naval base of Misenum, legio II adiutrix from Ravenna. Soon after the beginn of the civil war both corps joined the party of Vespasian in a critical situation for the Flavians. And afterwards their promotion to regular legions was the reward therefore. I don't have the information by hand, but I read somewhere that the marines were equipped with oval shields.

So IMHO the (flat ?) oval shield of Victor does not necessarily classify him to be a light infantryman of the antesignani. My impression is that he is very regularly equipped as heavy legionary infantryman with an Imperial Gallic helmet from the Aquincum type, a lorica hamata without shoulder doubling, pugio and gladius at his cingulum and/or balteus, pteruges at upper arms and hips as well as a heavy decorated apron with lunulae terminals and last but not least with two pila. No trace of an animal skin.

If the oval shield is a problem at all, could it not be some form of a tradition line as the adiutrices derived from former marine troops?

Greets - Uwe

[Tasciavanous]

Just a thought prompted by this thread how sure are we that all Legionaries/Legions used the classic semi cylindrical scutum? Was an oval or other shape only for specialized troop types?

James

[drsrob]

Rob,

On what basis do you assume that Flavoleius Cordus and Castricius Victor were light infantry? Castricius Victor is after all wearing a mail shirt and helmet. Flavoleius Cordus is unarmoured admittedly, but that hardly makes him unusual in the context of funerary sculpture and he is certainly carring a pilum rather than light javelins. Castricius Victor's triple crested helmet is comparable to the three helmets so far known, or suspected, to have belonged to the Adiutrix legions, each of which had fittings for mounting a central crest and side feathers, suggesting this was a unit identification rather than the sign of a light infantryman. If the sole identifier of them as light infantry is the fact that both are equipped with oval shields then how reliable is the identification? How do we know that the shields are shown in scale with the men depicted and what makes us think that the Romans had standardised shield shapes for certain types of soldiers? Come to that, how many sculptures show attested soldiers of Legio XIIII with any shield shape other than oval?

Crispvs

Flavoleius definitely carries a throwing javelin. If you look closely at the right hand, you'll see a strap running downwards from the index finger and a band round the shaft, just below the hand. The way he holds his hand by itself implies the presence of such a strap. That strap is an amentum, making the weapon a javelin and the man a light infantryman.

Castricius holds longer spears, but there are two, which also implies light infantry. Sure Polybius said that each legionary carried two spears (Note: he did not use the word pilum), but no other legionary gravestone shows two pila. Also, these seem to be pila of the light variety, while most other gravestones show heavy ones.
This is why I consider them light infantrymen or antesignani. That Castricius wears a mail shirt is not significant, as Vegetius stated that the antesignani did so; it was just lighter than that of the ordinary legionary.
To me the oval shields are not proof of their status, their status proofs the use of oval shields by light infantry. After all, Sander did once supply us with quotes about antesignani adopting a particular pattern of shield, the Bruttian.

I also have thought that the bronze triple crested helmets were a peculiarity of the Adiutrices, but from the Guttmann collection a found out that:

• not all bronze Imp. Gallic helmets were triple crested
  all of them used a crest knob similar to those of late Coolus helmets

As many Coolus helmets are also triple crested, the bronze Imp. Gallic helmets are not so unique as they seem.
The Mainz praetorium has sculptures of several legionaries with rectangular shields and Imp. Gallic helmets and one with an oval shield and Coolus helmet. The latter is also armed with three javelins and is therefore clearly a light infantryman.
Finally, older Coolus helmets had no crest-supports whatsoever.

So my hypothesis is this:

• heavy infantry (postsignani) carried a rectangular shield, heavy pilum and heavy armour, including Imperial Gallic iron helmet with raised horsehair crest.
  light infantry (antesignani) carried an oval shield, light javelins and light armour, including a bronze helmet.
  • at first a crestless Coolus with animal skin (viz. Vegetius)
    later an (usually, but not invariably triple-)crested Coolus
    finally an (again not always triple-)crested bronze imperial Gallic helmet

The central crest supports of these bronze helmets are almost all the same, but entirely different from those of the iron imp. Gallic helmets.

[Crispvs]

Rob,

I am well aware of the throwing strap on Flavoleius' pilum. I wonder though: you seem to distinguish the pilum from a "throwing javelin". A pilum is a type of javelin and is therefore meant to be thrown, making it a "throwing javelin". I cannot think of a good reason why a pilum should not be fitted with a throwing strap if the owner desired. A throwing strap is afterall intended to assist in the launching of a thrown weapon, which is what a pilum is.
I don't see either that the carrying of two pila indicates a light infantryman. A heavy infantryman might still have the opportunity to throw more than one.

"To me the oval shields are not proof of their status, their status proofs the use of oval shields by light infantry"

Careful here. This looks like a circular argument based on the assumption that they are light infantry.

With reference to the column bases from Mainz, there are five bases which show soldiers, although only four of them are regularly published, the other being rather too badly damaged. Three of the regular four show curved scuta, one showing two. Three Imperial Gallic helmets are shown, as well as one which might be classified as Imperial Italic and one which is normally thought to be of Coolus type. The fifth stone is too worn to be able to identify a helmet type but it shows a helmeted soldier thrusting underarm with either a sword or spear and holding what may be a curving oval shield in front of him. The well known stone with the Coolus helmet, flat(?) oval shield and three javelins is definitely a light infantryman but is normally identified as an auxiliary and I see no reason not to agree with this. Incidentally, one of the other bases shows a soldier with a mail shirt without shoulder doubling and no belt but carrying a curving scutum. Would you define him as light, based on his armour, or heavy, based on his shield? We do not have enough information available to say catagorically that heavy infantry automatically had shoulder doubling. Some may simply have worn a greater amount of padding on their shoulders to make up for the lack of doubling.

Finally, I am not sure that the form of the central crest support on the Imperial Gallic 'I' helmets is very significant in terms of infantry type. It probably simply indicates a different centre of production.

Crispvs