Auxiliaries as Specialist Troops

Author: Brown, P., (2005), “Auxiliary Specialist Troops”, first published in The Imperial Courier, Volume 1, Issue 5, THE RMRS, pp. 4-7.

One of the myths put forward by (other) re-enactment groups is that auxiliaries were solely light infantry skirmishers, with the heavy legionaries in their lorica segmentata following up behind. In fact, the auxiliaries provided light and heavy troops, as well as key specialists. Auxiliary archers from Hamia in Syria are a good example, as are the Batavians recruited from the north Rhein area who were an early example of amphibious troops.

Specialised roles As specialists in river crossings and amphibious warfare, they might be the ancient equivalent, perhaps, of the commando units of the Royal Marines.

"In the home country, they (the Batavians) also had a picked cavalry force specially trained for amphibious operations. These men were capable of swimming the Rhine while keeping hold of their arms and maintaining perfect formation." (Tacitus, Historiae, 4.12.)

"Some (the Batavian cavalry) utilised fords but in deeper water the men swam beside their horses." (Tacitus, the invasion of Anglesey).

Scranus, a Syrian born trooper from Cohors III Batavorum Miliaria Equitata records in his epitaph in AD 118 that he was: “the man who, once very well known to the ranks in Pannonia, brave and foremost among one thousand Batavians, was able, with Hadrian as judge, to swim the wide waters of the deep Danube in full battle kit. From my bow I fired an arrow, and while it quivered still in the air and was falling back, with a second arrow I hit and broke it. No Roman or foreigner has ever managed to better this feat, no soldier with a javelin, no Parthian with a bow. Here I lie, here I have immortalised my deed on an ever-mindful stone which will see if anyone after me will rival my deeds. I set a precedent for myself in being the first to achieve such feats" (Cll 03, 03676; AE 1958, 0151).

The impact these unexpected amphibious assaults had was both military and psychological, as Tacitus reveals:

“Depositis omnis sarcinis lectissimos auxiliarium quibus nota vada et patrius nandi usus, quo simul seque et arma et equos regunt, ita repente inmisit, ut obstupefacti hostes, qui classem, qui navis, qui mare expectabant, nihil arduum aut invictum crediderint sic ad bellum venientibus."

"After dropping all baggage, he quickly sent the most elite of the auxiliaries, who were familiar with shallows and traditionally used to swimming in such a manner that they kept control over arms and horses, to the effect that the flabbergasted barbarians, who expected a fleet, who expected a ship across the sea believed that nothing was hard or insurmountable to those who went to was in this fashion” (Tacitus, Agricola, 18.4).

That the Batavian cavalry were adept at amphibious type operations is also recounted by Cassius Dio is his account of the invasion of Britain, specifically the crossing of a major obstacle, the river Medway:

“The barbarians thought the Romans would not be able to cross this [the river Medway] without a bridge, and as a result had pitched camp in a rather careless fashion on the opposite bank. Aulus Plautius, however, sent across some Celts who were practised in swimming with ease fully armed across even the fastest of rivers. These fell unexpectedly on the enemy" (Cassius Dio, “The History of Rome”).

In Epitoma rei militaris (“Epitome of military science”), the 4th-century AD treatise by Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus (usually referred to simply as Vegetius), he gives us some insight as to how the Batavians achieved such a feat:

"Expediti vero equites fasces de cannis aridis vel facere consueverunt, super quos loricas et arma, ne udentur, inponunt; ipsi equique natando transeunt colligatosque secum fasces pertrahunt loris."

"Battle ready horsemen though have been accustomed to make bundles arms from dry reeds or, on these they put the body armours and weapons in order that they do not get wet; they themselves and their horses cross by swimming and they draw the packed bundles along with them with leather the straps" (Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris, 3.7).

Native weapons A key part of auxiliary specialisation was the retention of native weapons, often with specialist uses. A possibly surprising example is the Dacian falx used with great effect against the Romans during Emperor Trajan’s wars to subdue Dacia (modern Romania). The falx has been described as a "terror weapon", with the ability to attack vulnerable legs and arms while the wielder remained out of the range of the short Roman sword (gladius). Marcus Cornelius Fronto [1] writes of the "huge wounds" inflicted by this weapon ("ingentia Dacorum facibus inlata vulnera") the like of which are supported by reconstructions. In experiments by Dr David Sim (JRMES, volume 11, 2000), a human simulacrum [2] was struck with a reconstructed falx to produce the following:

On unarmoured flesh, for example on arms and legs, an impact wound 165 mm long, 113 mm deep and 2 - 9 mm wide.

On 1.2 mm thick piece of mild steel, the weapon created a 40 mm long and 6 mm wide laceration and its point projected 38 mm beyond the steel.

These wounds would be disabling if not fatal (either immediately or in the aftermath of battle) and determined the minimum thickness of armour needed to prevent a fatal wound would be 1.2 mm or greater. Significantly, the falx did not "foul" or stick in the armour, as the hole produced is wider than the blade dimensions, so the Dacian warrior would quickly be ready to strike the next blow. It is notable that the Tropaeum Traiani [3] shows the adoption of manicae possibly as a defence against the scythe like blows of the falx. The remains of one such manica was found at Carlisle.

The obvious disadvantage of the falx is that it is difficult to brandish effectively in close formation. The falx armed warrior needed space to wield the weapon effectively, which means fighting individually or in a smaller group. It is therefore surprising to see the falx adopted by Dacian auxilia in the Roman army.

An inscription (RIB 1909) from Birdoswald (Camboglanna) shows a Dacian falx, and further evidence is provided by an inscribed stone plaque, also from Birdoswald, that clearly depicts a falx on the right-hand side panel (see right). The latter’s inscription translates as: "Under Modius Julius, legate of the emperor with pro-praetorian power, the First Aelian Cohort of Dacians (built this), under the command of the tribune Marcus Claudius Menander." (RIB 1914). As Modius Julius was governor of Britain in AD 219, we can date the Dacian’s presence.

The 3rd- and 4th-century AD garrison of Birdoswald was Cohors I Aelia Dacorum Milliaria, a one-thousand strong infantry regiment from Dacia, by then a Roman province on the north bank of the Lower Danube. Their presence is attested in the Notitia Dignitatum and confirmed by epigraphic evidence recovered from the interior of the fort itself. Of course, the falx could simply be a regimental symbol, such as a kukri displayed on a Gurkha monument. Yet, on the column of Marcus Aurelius (c. AD 180), a falx carrier, presumably an auxiliary, is clearly depicted at the Emperor's adlocutio, his address to the troops. A similar individual carrying a two-handed falx is also depicted on one of the base panels of Trajan’s Column standing between the standard-bearers and the Emperor (see above right). This auxiliary, which presumably he must be, is dressed in a sagum, with the cloak fastening in "barbarian" Dacian style. He is shown looking away from the emperor, which contrasts markedly with the other troops gazing at their leader. This attitude may indicate he is a member of the Emperor’s personal bodyguard. Certainly, the falx would not only be highly visible and "terrifying weapon" for crowd control, but conceivably it also could be used to restrain a crowd if held horizontally.

A unit of Dacian auxilia might, therefore, have had a number of falxes as part of their standard equipment. These could vary from the two-handed version shown above (and also on the Tropaeum Traiani at Adamklissi) to the single-handed falx used in combination with a shield and similar in appearance to a reversed sabre. In fact, on Trajan's Column itself, the falx is always shown in one hand together with a shield. Evidence for the smaller weapon is provided by the discovery of a wooden example in Oberaden (Germania, Ivii 1979) and iron versions found in Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia/ Croatia.

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Endnotes:

1. Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. AD 100 - late AD 160s), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta in Numidia, North Africa. ▲

2. It was made of Plastalina, an oil- and wax-based clay modelling material. ▲

3. The Tropaeum Traiani is a monument in Roman Civitas Tropaensium (site of modern Adamklisi, Romania) in what was then the province of Moesia Inferior. It was built in AD 109 to commemorate the Emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians, in the winter of AD 101-102, in the Battle of Adamklisi. ▲