Stipendium (Pay)

From the time of the Consul Gaius Marius onwards, legionaries received 10 assēs a day or 225 denarii a year (equal to 900 sestertii). Soldiers were paid three times a year in January, May and September. The basic rate remained unchanged until the reign of the Emperor Domitian (AD 81 - AD 96) who increased it to 300 denarii (1,200 sestertii) payable every three months. Despite steady inflation during the 2nd-century AD, there was no further rise until the time of Emperor Septimius Severus (AD193 - AD 211), who increased the legionaries’ stipendium (“pay”) to 500 denarii a year. At no time were Roman soldiers paid in salt.

At no time did soldiers receive all their pay as the state deducted money at source. Deductions could amount to more than half of a soldier’s wage which might seem a lot but he got all his accommodation, fuel (for heating and cooking), bathing facilities, medical treatment, and ration of acetum, a thin wine, for free. what was left must have been sufficient for their needs otherwise we would likely read of discontent and insubordination. Deductions included:

• Faenaria (“bedding”).

• Invictum (“rations” as the soldiers clearly had to pay for their own food).

• Vestimentis (to replace damaged or worn out “clothes”).

• Caligas fascias (“boots”, which must have worn out regularly, and udones (“socks”) ideal for chillier climes such as Britannia. Boot studs were freely issued, however).

• Armas (for the replacement of damaged or lost equipment issued to the soldier).

• Loros (“leather straps” essential for securing equipment, armour, etc.).

• Ad signa (“to the Standards” a contribution to a burial club to pay for the soldier’s burial should they die on active service and for a wake. The Signifer (Standard-bearer) acted as the century’s banker).

• Saturnalicium castrum (a contribution toward a “regimental dinner” in the camp celebrating this popular religious festival).

Soldiers could also be fined for a variety of misdemeanours which were added to the deductions from their pay. Any money the soldier did not draw as cash would have remained on account in the legion’s savings bank. Over the length of a soldier’s service, a man could accrue a tidy sum payable on his eventual retirement. Should the soldier die on active service then, if he had lodged a will with the legion’s administration, any money would be payable to the man’s beneficiaries.

A legionary on active campaign would hope to add a share of the spoils of war to their basic wage. It was standard practice for victorious armies to profit from the sale of booty such as coin, jewellery and other valuables taken from the bodies of their enemies, including arms and armour, or the plunder taken from enemy settlements. Slaves could also be claimed from the prisoners of war and their resale value divided amongst the legion. The hard cash generated was proportionally divided from the senior officers downward and could amount to a sizeable supplement to a soldier’s regular pay.

There was the possibility of a donative, a special payment, from the emperor to the citizen soldiers. This was typically paid, or at least promised, on the succession of a new emperor, usually in gold, and could amount to a year’s salary or more for each legionary. Buying the loyalty of the legions could be a costly business.

All legionary soldiers would also receive a praemia (veterans' benefits) on completion of their term of service of 25 years or more. Typically this was a sizeable sum of money (3,000 denarii from the time of Emperor Augustus onward) and/or a plot of good farmland, which was much in demand. Significantly, farmland given to veterans often helped in establishing control of the frontier regions and over rebellious provinces. Much later, under Emperor Caracalla (AD 211 - AD 217), the praemia increased to 5,000 denarii.

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Endnote:

1. “Salt and salary: were Roman soldiers paid in salt?”, in Kiwi Hellenist: Modern Myths about the Ancient World, retrieved February 2021. ▲