The Roman Wars in Spain by Daniel Varga

Author:Daniel Varga [Varga, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Ancient, General, Military
ISBN: 9781473860940
Google: J1ndCQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-04-30T02:51:22+00:00

For many the wording was vague, as it was not clear what the term ‘long time’ actually meant. In 180, soldiers in Hispania were released after six years service and there is evidence from the year 140 that this had become standard practice. Did they begin to limit the duration of service to six years in the year 180? Appianus does not provide a clear answer to this question.

What had been the size of the Roman army in the last three centuries of the Republic in general, and in Hispania in particular?

Livius provides many details concerning the number of legions, including auxiliary forces and supplementa (reserve forces) that were sent occasionally to bolster an army. However, are the figures that Livius had undoubtedly collected from the sources, precise? More importantly, did these legions always include the standard number of soldiers? It is probable that under normal conditions (which were quite rare), the numbers appearing in the sources truly reflect the reality in the field. However, this had not been the case during long and arduous wars, such as the Second Punic War or the Lusitanian and Numantine wars in Hispania.

In addition, there is no doubt that in the period following the disaster of the battle of Cannae, most of the Roman army units that had operated in Rome were below strength. According to the figures provided by Polybius, the four legions Scipio Africanus had brought with him to Hispania, in the first half of the second century, were not at full strength and he had to constantly rely on supplementa to fill the ranks of his army.

In the years 167 to 154, two legions were stationed in Hispania, one in each province. In the next four years, a consular army of two legions operated in Hispania Citerior and one legion in Hispania Ulterior. In the 40s of that century and despite the fact that in general there was a return to the standard of one legion for each province, the numbers changed from time-to-time due to the many revolts that took place in the Iberian Peninsula.

In the years 145 to 144, 142 and 133, a consular army was present in Hispania Ulterior, and in the years 143 to 142 and 133 it was in Hispania Citerior. This means that for several years there were five legions in all of Hispania (2½ times more than the standard that was defined for Hispania).

In the year 123, when C. Metellus fought against the pirates of the Balearic Islands, there were at least two legions in Hispania Citerior. At the beginning of the first century consular armies were in Hispania once again: during the years 98 to 92 or 91 in Hispania Citerior, and during 97 to 94 in Hispania Ulterior.

In the first century, the Senate ceased to be the sole authority regarding conscription. The great commanders-in-chief (Marius, Sulla, Pompeius, Crasus, Caesar and others) were to decide about all matters related to the war including the mobilization of the forces. The main reasons for

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