Claudian Army Reforms - Livius

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Claudian Army Reforms: modern name of a wide-ranging series of changes of the Roman

military, initiated early during the reign of the emperor Claudius (41-54).

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Claudian Army Reforms

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Claudius

The Roman army was, essentially, created by Julius Caesar, whose legions, although

meant to be temporary, became permanent units, surviving their founder. Marc Antony

and Augustus used them, and the latter handed them over to Tiberius. When he died,

several legions were more than ninety years old. They had long traditions, and Augustus

and Tiberius had not changed much, although the terms of service, payment, and pension

had become standardized. The grand strategy -whether this was conscious or not- had not

changed either: the Empire consisted of a nucleus of provinces, surrounded by a periphery

of vassal states, which would one day be converted into provinces; at that moment, a new

periphery of vassal states would be created, which in turn would one day be annexed.

This conservatism came to an end during the reign of Claudius. He inherited Caligula's

plan to conquer Britain and must, during his first regnal years, have dedicated much time

to military planning. He was more or less forced to: after all, he had come to power against

the wishes of the Senate, could not present himself as a member of the imperial family

(the gens Julia), andneeded to show that he was worthy of his new position. He had, on

the one hand, to break with the traditions associated with his predecessors, while he had,

on the other hand, to show that the Roman armies would be just as efficient. So, he had

reasons to listen to generals and officers who proposed military innovations, and decided

to conquer Britain.

As we will see in our discussion of the raising of new legions, reform may have started

during Caligula. It is certainly possible that the accession of Claudius, a non-military man

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who needed military support, offered an opportunity to the reformers.

Strategy

The main military decision by Claudius was, of course, the conquest of Britain, for

which new legions were necessary. It has long been recognized that the legions XV

Primigenia and XXII Primigenia were raised between 37 and 43. Both Caligula and

Claudius had reasons to form them, because both had plans to invade Britain.Primigenia

was one of the titles of Fortuna, the favorite goddess of Caligula and his father

Germanicus; it may well have been a personal favorite of Claudius as well, but this is not

indicated in our sources. Because a connection between Fortuna and Claudius is merely

hypothetical, while this connection certainly connects between Caligula and this deity,

the logical principle known as Ockham's Razor forces us to conclude that it is more likely

that Caligula was the founder of these units.

Elsewhere, however, Claudius preferred a defensive strategy (and perhaps the conquest of

Britain, which meant that the Ocean became Rome's frontier, was meant to be defensive

too). Along the Rhine, the first evidence for stone foundations of Roman fortresses (and,

hence, the intention not to move across the Rhine), is from Xanten. Between the forts,

watchtowers were built, like the one at Leidsche Rijn, which can be dated to the forties. In

Raetia, units were transferred to the Upper Danube (and to supply them, the Via Claudia

was built), while Thrace was annexed, creating better access to the forts along the Lower

Danube. In other words, it seems that Claudius created the limes along the Rhine and

Danube. We would like to know more about it, but it is interesting to read how general

Corbulo was recalled when he tried to subdue the Frisians, who lived across the Rhine

(Tacitus, Annals, 11.19).

At Cologne, the fleet (Classis Germanica) received a base at Alteburg and was reorganized.

The Classis Britannica was created, and the command structure of the two Mediterranean

navies were changed: from now on, they had the rank of procurator Augusti et praefectus

classis, a remarkable title that combines a civil and a military rank.

Organization

Until Claudius, there had been little system in the career path of Roman knights serving in

the army. According to Suetonius, the order of promotion was praefectus cohortis -

praefectus alae - tribunus militum (Claudius, 25.1). This was was not a long-lived reform:

when Nero was emperor, the sequence had become praefectus cohortis - tribunus militum -

praefectus alae. This last office was, from now on, reserved to equestrians only.

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Diploma of an Isaurian soldier named Lualis, from Weissenburg (Germany)

The auxiliary troops appear to have been reorganized as well. Until Claudius' reign, their

cohortes and alae were usually temporary units, mostly named after a commander or a

tribe. Claudius created permanent units with names that consisted of a number and an

ethnic name, like Ala I Sebastenorum. Terms of service were also fixed: any auxiliary soldier

was entitled to Roman citizenship. The evidence for this development consists, of course,

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of countless numbers of diploma's.

Other changes

During the reign of Augustus and Tiberius, the walls of fortresses and forts often followed

the contours of the land, although some attempt was made to keep it as rectangular as

possible (e.g., Anreppen). After Claudius, we see the rise of camps and forts with

increasingly square shapes.

There may have been a change in tactics as well, because old swords of the Mainz type

were replaced with the Pompeii type. The first one is useful for a soldier who is thrusting

with the point of his weapon during a formal battle; the second one has a shorter point

and may allow for other types of fight. The changeover can not be dated precisely, but

appears to have been well underway in the mid-first century.

Finally, armor may have changed. The bronze Coolus (or Hagenau) type was replaced with

the Imperial-Gallic (or Weisenau) type, which was usually made of iron and offered better

protection of the neck. The old chain mail orlorica hamata remained in use, but the lorica

segmentata, the modern name of an assembly of metal plates, may have become more

popular in this age. But this is not very certain. Fragments of this type of armor have been

found on earlier sites (Dangstetten, Kalkriese), so the change may, after all, be apparent

only.

Literature

The main article on the subject is C. Thomas, "Claudius and the Roman Army

Reforms", in: Historia 53 (2004); this webpage is essentially a summary, with some

modifications and changes in emphasis. Other literature:

H. Devijver, "Sutone, Claude, 25, et les milices questres", in: Ancient Society 1

(1970).

J.C. Mann, "The Raising of New Legions during the Principate," in Hermes 91 (1963).

This page was created in 2009; last modified on 30 January 2015.

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