RECRUITMENT

Until Marius’ reform, the military service –militia- was compulsory for all Roman citizens, except the proletarians; they distinguished two groups: iuniores, serving troops in campaign, aged between 17 and 46 years; and seniores, the reserve, troops that only served in case of war, aged between 46 and 60 years; these latter formed the legiones urbanae too.

Up till then the recruitment or levy –dilectus- was only made in case of war and the army was formed in springtime and it was dissolved in autumn; we have to bear in mind that most of the army was formed by farmers so that they needed to sow and collect their harvests for the maintenance of their families and of the city; on the other hand, in autumn and winter the bad climate did not allow the navigation, nor the transport of troops by the sea, and the communications by land could be cut off; so, during these seasons, in general, the Romans did not carry out the war; logically, when Rome extended, it was necessary to have permanent soldiers the whole year, but, even in this case, during the bad weather they used to pass the winter in the winter camps –hibernacula-.

To make the recruitment, every year the tribal assemblies –comitia tributa-, people assemblies met by tribes; in this case the assemblies took place especially for farmers and urban citizens who did not belong to the upper classes- were assembled in the Campus Martius –from Mars, god of the war- and they elected the military tribunes –tribuni militum-; these tribunes helped the consules who, from the Capitolium ordered the incorporation of the soldiers in the city –agere dilectus-; to recruit the soldiers who lived in the fields, the consules sent civil servants specifically put in charge of this function; these servants were called conquisitores.

All the Roman citizens in the age of taking part in the army were not recruited; there were volunteers –volones-; afterwards, there was a draw and then it was selected a number enough of soldiers to complete the established legions; only in case of risk for Rome or in case of declared war it was made a levy in mass of all the citizens in the age of taking part in the army; even slaves were sometimes mobilized as auxiliary troops –auxiliaria-.

Only a few men kept excess of quota, i. e., they did not have to go to the army; these men were citizens who occupied some official charges –magistratus-, the priests and those who had some illness –morbus- or some defect –vitium-.

The infantrymen, after 20 years of steady military service, were discharged, while the cavalrymen were discharged after 10 years.

Under Marius it was accepted that the proletarii could enter into the Roman army; so, the voluntary enlistment increased –conquisitiones-, because the poor people considered the army as a job and as a chance of prospering in their lives. They continually re-enlisted, becoming very soon veterans –veterani-. In this way the Roman army became professional.

In the imperial age, although the military service kept being compulsory, there were such a number of volunteers than the recruitments and the levies in mass were hardly ever necessary. The increase of the volunteers took place especially between the men from the provinces who saw in the army a way of making a living, because they had a stable salary (between the I and the III century a. C. the pay passed from 150 to 500 denarii per year), increased with extra payments; in addition, at the end of the military service, they received the retirement pension –praemia militiae- (about 3.000 denarii and plots of land); finally, the auxiliary soldiers, who were not Romans, used to receive the Roman citizenship for themselves and for their families.

		SOURCES: - CONNOLLY, Peter: Greece and Rome at War, Londres, 2006 - HACQUARD, Georges: Guía de la Roma Antigua, Madrid, 2003 - WILKES, John: El ejército Romano, Madrid, 1990