Provincial governors and auxiliary soldiers*
Jonathan R. W. PRAG
It is a commonplace that provincial government under the Republic
divides into three principal areas: military, judicial, and fiscal. Marcus Cicero,
in a letter to his brother Quintus during his governorship of Asia Minor,
begins by observing that Quintus is fortunate to be spared the first of these,
and thereafter focuses most of his attention upon the other two. 1 In his prosecution ofVerres, Cicero reserves the fifth and final speech of the second action
for Verres' failure as a military commander of his province. 2 In his defences
of M. Fonteius and L. Flaccus, their actiohs •in relation to military forces are
central considerations, confronted early on in both speeches. 3 Cicero's own
governorship of Cilicia in 51/50 BC was likewise dominated by such matters. 4
However, it is rather too easy to take this aspect of Republican imperial
control for granted, without examining more closely how, in fact, it was
carried out. In the examples cited above, Roman military forces {meaning
legionaries) are either conspicuous by their absence, or else clearly inadequate
to the task: Verres had none that we know of; they are not attested for
Flaccus-or Quintus-in Asia; in the case of Fonteius, a garrison of two
legions in Gallia Transalpina is generally assumed for this period, but
not directly attested at the time of Fonteius himself; in Cilicia, Cicero
commanded a severely depleted pair oflegions that were wholly inadequate
to his needs. 5 Already, at a much earlier stage in Roman provincial
* I am grateful to Nathalie Barrandon and Frans:ois Kirbihler for their invitation and hospitality;
to the other participants at the conference for their valuable comments on the first version of this
paper; and to Frederik Vervaet for some typically precise observations. Some of the work for this
paper was undertalten within the framework of the project directed by Dr E. Garcia Riaza, 'EI
Occidenre romano durante Ia epoca republicana: modelos de inregraci6n de las comunidades
indigenas' (HAR2008-026I2).
1. Cicero, Qfr., I, I, 4-5; c£ RicHARDSON J., "The Administration ofEmpire", CROOK]A, Lmrarr A.
and RAwsoN E. (eds), The Cambridge Ancient History, val. IX, Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press, I994, p. 564-98, at p. 568.
2. Cicero, 2 vetT., V, I; c£ IVetT., 13.
3. Cicero, F!ac., 27-33; Font., I2-I4.
4. See esp. Cicero, Att., V, I8; V, 2I; VI, I; VI, 5; Fam., XV, I; XV, 2; XV, 4.
5. See e.g. BRUNT PA, Italian Manpower, Oxford, Oxford University Press, I987, p. 457-8 on Cicero
and Cilicia (and esp. Cicero, Fam., XV, 4 and Att., V, I5, I "me nomen habere duamm legionttm
15
jONATHAN R. W:' PRAG
government, the Senate had explored the possibilities of assigning (regular)
prouinciae without legionary forces-Sicily for one seems to have been
without any such forces from at least the early second century and indeed
may well have been so for much of the period between the first two Punic
wars also, and there is little if any evidence for regular forces in, for example,
Africa after 146 BC. 6 In part, this reflects the fallacy of attempting to draw
up clear distinctions under the Republic between the "administration" of
those regions that were regularly assigned as prouinciae and those which
were nor?-a standing military force is neither necessary nor sufficient for
the existence of a "province." But it is also simply a consequence of the fact
that other ways of maintaining military control were available to the Roman
commander in the field; ways which, although little discussed in the modern
literature are relatively widely attested in our ancient sources.
In the short study that follows, I shall approach this general subject by
focusing on two particular topics which have received little attention to
date: firstly the nature of provincial levies, that is levies conducted primarily
in provinces by provincial governors; and secondly, evidence for local
celebration of "Roman" military actions, both honours for commanders
(including governors) and celebrations ancr rewards for the soldiers as a
whole (including provincial auxiliaries).
Provincial levies
There was of course no standing army under the Republic: soldiers,
be they citizen legionaries, Latin and Italian socii, or auxilia externa, were
levied at need, usually annually, although it is true that terms of service,
especially overseas, became longer over the course of the Republic. 8 It is
with the third of these categories, the auxilia externa, that this paper is
concerned. During the last two centuries of the Roman Republic, the
Roman state made use of troops from outside of Italy, i.e. from peoples
who were not part of the Italian socii ac nomen Latinum. These soldiers can
be classified under the semi-formal designation of auxilia externa, although
the term is used with little regularity, and they are more usually described
by our sources in diverse ways: typically by ethnic, e.g. ''A.etolians," and/
exilittm"), and p. 465 on Fonteius (with the assertion that: "This ttir militaris [... ] must have had
an army").
6. For Sicily, PRAG J.R.W, "Auxilia and gymnasia: A Sicilian Model of Roman Republican Imperialism",
]RS, n• 97, 2007, p. 68-100, at p. 71-6; for Africa, BRUNT P.A., op. cit., p. 451-2. Compare the
important comments ofl<ALLET-MARx R., Hegemony to Empire, Berkeley, University of California
Press, 1995, Part One, esp. p. 30-1 with reference to Macedonia. For the deliberate reducrion of
provincial forces in the early second century, see Livy, XXXI, 8, 8; XXXII, 1, 5; XXXII, 8, 5-8;
XXXII, 28, 11; XXXIII, 26, 3-5; XLIII, 9, 1-3.
7. See the aposite remarks of RicHARDSON]., op. cit., p. 564 and l<ALLET-MARx R., op cit., p. 11-29 on
the essen rial absence of the concept of an organized province.
8. See BRUNT P. A., op. cit., p. 391-415, 625-34.
16
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND AUXILIARY SOLDIERS
or type of soldier, e.g. fonditores. 9 Frequently their presence can only be
inferred, or guessed at. The evidence exists to suggest that the use of these
troops was extensive, but their existence is rarely acknowledged in modern
discussions of the Roman army, and there is to date no systematic collection
or analysis of the material as a whole. 10 Polybius makes no mention of them
in his naturally Romano- and Italo-centric account of the levy, although
he does note in his description of the typical Roman camp that: "Finally
the spaces remaining empty to right and left next the agger on each side of
the camp are assigned to foreign troops and allies who reinforce them at
the appropriate time." 11 In his prosecution ofVerres, Cicero suggests that '
the model of the levy as applied to the Italian allies was likewise employed
across the provinces:
''All expenditure on the [Sicilian] fleet, for grain, pay and everything else,
each city has always entrusted to its own navarch, as a matter of habit. [... ]
This was done, as I say, repeatedly and always, not only in Sicily, but in all
the provinces, and likewise for the pay and expenses of the allies and Latins,
at the time when we were accustomed to employ auxilia from them." 12
Exactly the same model for levying naval forces,_or extorting money in their
place, was employed by Flaccus in Asia iri die late 60s BC; Plutarch records
M. Crassus doing something similar in Syria with land forces at the start of
his Parthian campaign in 53 BC. 13
However, we can refine this model somewhat, and identify several
different categories oflevy in relation to such auxilia. Firstly-and this goes
hand-in-hand with the lack of Roman or Italian troops in regions ッオエセゥ、・@
Italy-turnultuary levies are widely attested in the provinces, in the face of
9. The key textS are: Fesrus, 16 L: "AtiXiliares dictmtur in bello socii Romanontm e:xteramm 1zationum [...]";
Varro, Ling. V, 90: "AtiXilium appellatum ab auctu, cttm accesserant ei qui adiumento essent alienigenae";
Livy, XXII, 37, 7-8 (a view aruibuted to Hieron II in early 216 BC): "Milite atque equite scire nisi
Romano Latinique nominis non uti populum Romanum; leuium armontm atiXilia etiam e:xterna ttidisse
in castris Romanis; itaque misisse mille sagittariontm ac fimditortem, aptam manum adtternes Baliares
ac Mauros pugnacesque alias missili telo gentes."
10. I am currently preparing a monograph on atiXilia e:xterna in rbe Republic. In rbe existing literature,
in addition to PRAG J.R.W., op. cit., note: AFZEuus A., Die romische Kriegsmacht wiihrend der
Ateseinandmetzung mit den hellenistischen Grossmiichten, Copenhagen, Aarhus University, 1944,
p. 90-8 who reviews rbe Livian evidence for 200-167 BC; HAMooUNE C., Les atiXilia externa
afticains des armies romaines, Iff siede av. J-C.-w siecle ap. J-C, Montpellier, universite Paul-Valery
Monrpellier III, 1999, p. 7-104, who discusses rbe Nurnidian evidence in detail; CAoiou F.,
Hibera in terra miles. Les armies romaines et Ia conquete de l'Hispanie sotes Ia Repttblique (218-45
av. J-C.), Madrid, Casa de Velazquez, 2008, p. 611-84, who discusses rbe Spanish evidence in
derail; McCALL ].B., 7he Cavalry ofthe Roman Republic, London, Routledge, 2002, p. 100-13, on
cavalry auxiliaries. The best overviews of Republican auxiliaries can be found in CHEESMAN G.L.,
7he Auxilia ofthe Roman Imperial Army, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1914, p. 7-11, and ILARI V., Gli
Italici nelle stnttture militari romane, Milan, Giuffre, 1974, p. 25, n. 1. By contrast, HARMANo J.,
L'Armie et le Soldat Rome de 107 50 avant notre ere, Paris, A]. Picard et Cie, 1967, p. 41-51
largdy repeats rbe misleading generalizations ofPasserini, Marquardt, and orbers.
11. Polybius, VI, 31, 9.
12. Cicero, 2 ven:, V, 60.
13. Cicero, Flac., 27; Plutarch, Crass., 17, 9.
a
a
17
JONATHAN R. W. PRAG
military emergency. 14 Secondly, we see deliberate, one-off levies for specific
campaigns. Arguably this second category has less to do with "provincial
government," and is more usefully considered in terms ofRoman campaigning
overseas (i.e. "big war"); this interpretation is suggested by the number of
times we learn of a specific Senatus comultum authorizing a commander
to undertake such a levy in order to supplement his forces for a specific
campaign. The most famous example is that of Scipio Aemilianus recruiting
for Numantia in 134 BC, but there are many other instances throughout
the period. 15 It does not of course follow that such an SC preceded every
levy, although strictly speaking the argument from silence cannot be used to
insist upon this point (i.e. the fact that we know of non-tumultuary levies for
which no SC is attested). 16 More significant is the SC of 171 BC directing
Greek communities not to respond to demands from Roman commanders in
the field, except in response to an explicit SC-such a measure both suggests
that the practice was widespread, and that it regularly took place without
explicit senatorial authority. 17 Of course, the dividing line between requests
for troops consequent upon an emergency or a pre-planned action will often
(and conveniently for the Roman commander) have been unclear. Thirdly,
we find smaller scale, more regular defence fmces. The naval levies referred
to in the previous paragraph could be placed in this category: the levies in
Sicily and Asia seem to have been repeated over a number of years, and both
provinces show signs of the existence of squadrons protecting the coastlines
(forerunners perhaps of the later provincial fleets?). 18 Needless to say, naval
forces require some degree of regular maintenance and organization if they
14. Appian, lb., 38, 156 (205 BC); Livy, XXXV, 23, 3-9 (192 BC), cf. XXXVII, 2, 8 (190 BC);
XXXVII, 57,5-6 (189 BC); XXXIX, 30,7 (185 BC); XL, 30,2 (181 BC); XLI, 5, 9-10 (178 BC);
Per., L (150 BC) cf. Zonar. 9.28; Diodorus Siculus, BH, XXXIV!XXXV; 2, 18 (c. 135 BC); XXXVI,
3-4 (104 BC); Appian, Mithr., 11, 17 (89 BC); Velleius Paterculus, II, 42, 1-3 (75 BC); Caesar,
BG, I, 7 (58 BC); BG, III, 20 (56 BC); BG, V, 1 (55/54 BC).
15. Livy,XX:VII, 38, 9-12 (207 BC); XXXV, 2, 7-9 (193 BC); XXXVI, 1, 8 and 36,4 (191 BC); XLI,
5, 5 (178 BC); XLII, 35, 4-6 (171 BC); Polybius, XXXIII, 11, 6-7 (154 BC); Appian, lb., 44, 182
(153 BC); Lib., 112, 534 (147 BC); lb., 84, 365 (134 BC); Sallust, BJ, 43,4 (109 BC); B], 84, 2-3
(108/7 BC); Diodorus Siculus, XXXVI, 3, 1 (104 BC); Appian, Mithr., 94,429 (67 BC); Cicero,
Flac., 27 (63 BC); Fam., XV, 1, 5, XV, 4 (51 BC); Appian, BC, II, 34, 134 (49 BC).
16. E.g. Livy,x:x:x:rv, 20,2-3 (Spain 195 BC);Appian, BC, II, 8, 27 and Plurarcb, Caes., 12, 1 for Caesar
in Spain in 61 BC; also rbe cases ofVerres, Flaccus, and Crassus cited previously. There is no evidence
of sucb an SC for rbe campaign against Arisronicus in 131 BC, bur rbere is plentiful epigraphic
evidence for local recruitment during rbat campaign (collected in PRAG J.R.W., op. cit., p. 84).
17. Livy, XLIII, 17, 2; Polybius, XXVIII, 13, 11; XXVIII, 16, 1.
18. Cicero, Flac., 32 for rwo squadrons, protecting respectively rbe coast norrb and sourb of Ephesus,
cf. Cicero, 2 verr., I, 86-90 for a squadron of ten ships built by Milerus as parr of a classis populi
Romani; rbere were ten ships raised from local communities in eastern Sicily (Cicero, 2 verr., V,
63), and one could speculate rbat a comparable squadron existed in rbe west (cf. PRAG J.R.W.,
op. cit., p. 80-1, and PrNZONE A, "I socii navales siciliani", CAcCAMo CA!.TABIANo M., CAMPAGNA L.
and PrNZONE A. (eds), Nuove prospettive della ricerca sttlla Sicilia del III sec. a. C. Archeologia,
Mtmismatica, Storia, Messina, Di.Sc.A.M, 2004, p. 11-34, at p. 20-4). For provincial fleers in rbe
Empire, SADDINGTON D.B., "The Origin and Character of rbe Provincial Fleers of rbe Early Roman
Empire", MAxFIELD V.A. and DoBSON M.J. (eds), Roman Frontier Studies 1989, Exeter, University
of Exeter Press, 1991, p. 397-9.
18
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND AUXILIARY SOLDIERS
are to be in any way viable or effective. Certainly to be placed in this third
category is the evidence for small, regularly maintained garrison forces found
in several provinces. Some of these are (or became) at least partly honorific
in character, while others are certainly temporary; but others again appear
to be more permanent in nature-here it seems we do come close to some
sort of standing force, and it is not "Roman." 19
Confirmation of such an approach to imperial control in the provinces
can be detected in several elements ofRoman organization of their hegemony.
Roman concern to safeguard Italian recruitment is demonstrated in the
terms of the treaty with Carthage of 241 BC, which prohibited Carthage '
from recruiting mercenaries from within Italy. 20 However, such concern
with potential recruitment is not restricted to Italy: in Livy's account of the
terms of the Treaty of Apamea of 188 BC we find the explicit prohibition
that: "King Antiochus shall not be authorized to hire soldiers from those
peoples which are under the control of the Roman people, nor even to
accept volunteers therefrom." 21 Italian recruitment in the second century
was organized through the formula togatorum, the development of which
is usually thought to coincide with the catalogues of manpower requested
for the tumultuary levy of 225 BC and fanlously reported by Polybius. 22
It is undeniable that the socii ac nomen Latinum were increasingly clearly
distinguished from the exterae nationes in the second century in various
ways. 23 However, it should be noted that the only explicit reference which
we possess to the formula togatorum is that which is to be found in the
epigraphic lex agraria of 111 BC, which states: "whichever Roman citizen
or ally or member of the Latin name, from whom they [sc. the Romans] are
accustomed to demand troops in the land ofltaly, according to the formula
togatorum." 24 Beyond this text there are three passages of Livy which refer
19. Diodorus Siculus, IV; 83, 7 (c£ Cicero, 2 Ven:, V, 124; CIL, X, 7258; IG, XIV; 355; IG, XIV; 282)
for a garrison of 200 at Eryx in Sicily; other garrisons in Sicily: Cicero, 2 Verr., V, 51; 87; 133;
auxiliaries used for temporary garrison duty, e.g. OGIS, 443 = IGRR, IV; 196 = LI/ion, n• 73 (Ilion,
80/79 BC); regular garrisoning of Macedonia by auxiliaries: Livy, XLV, 29, 14 and c£ XLV, 30, 7;
Polybius, XXXI, 8, 9; SJG3, 700; Cicero, Pis., 84.
20. Polybius, III, 27, 4; Appian, Sic., 2, 4.
21. Livy; XXXVIII, 38, 10: "Milites mercede conducendi ex iis gentibttS quae sttb didone populi Romani
s:mt Antiocho regi im ne esto, ne uoluntarios quidem recipiendi."
_
22. Polybius, II, 23, 9-24, 16 for the mmultttS of225 BC. On theformtt!a togatomm see especially
BRUNT PA, op. dt., p. 545-8; ILARI V., op. dt., p. 57-85; LoCAscio E., "I togati della 'formula
togatorum'", Anna/i de/l'lstimto Italiano per g/i sttuli storid, n• 12, 1991-1994, p. 309-28 (p. 325
on225 BC).
23. See e.g. the formulation of the lex repemndamm of 123/2 BC, CRAWFORD M.H., Roman Stamtes,
London, 1996, I, n• 1, line 1: " ... quai sod11m no]minist1e Latini exteramm11e in natiomtm quoi11e
in arbitratlt didone potestate amidtiau[e populi Romani... " (" ... from whomever of the allies] or of
the Latin name or of the foreign nations, or from whomever within the discretion, sway, power or
friendship [of the Roman people ... "). On the Italian allies in clle second cenrury, see BISPHAM' E.,
From Ascttlttm to Actittm, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 113-60.
24. CRAWFORD M.H., op. dt., I, n• 2, lines 21 and 50: "quei ceittis RomanttS sodttmue nominisue Latini,
アエセゥ「ュ@
ex formula togatomm mi/ites in terra ltalia inperare solent" (both lines are damaged, but the
text is fully restorable between the two).
19
jONATHAN R W. PRAG
to the levying of soldiers from the socii ac nomen Latinum explicitly ex
formula, and a fourth which employs closely parallel language. 25 As E. Lo
CASCIO noted in a discussion of the significance of the term togatus, the lex
ag;raria text contains the additional qualification "in terra Italia," and unless
the formula togatorum also included socii outside of Italy, then arguably
such a phrase appears redundant. 26 Scholars, including E. Lo Cascio, have
however been reluctant to explore this apparent redundancy. I do not wish
to deny what seems to be undeniable, namely that the regular practice of
recruitment in the second century involved distinct an:d regular recruitment
from the specifically Italian allies as standard, alongside citizen legionary
recruitment, and that such recruitment was conducted in accordance with
whatever precisely was denoted by the formula togatorum. However, E. Lo
Cascio's suggested explanation of the term togatus, together With the passage
from Cicero's Verrines quoted above, opens additional possibilities. E. Lo
Cascio offers the plausible explanation that the term togatus signifies those
of an age to perform military service (i.e. wearing the gown of manhood)
and not currently performing military service (i.e. wearing civilian
dress). In other words, it has the generic meaning of "those available for
be extendable to all Italians,
military service" (the point being that it ュオセエ@
including the Italiotes, contrary to what, e.g., Mommsen believed). 27 If
this is accepted, then there is in fact little to hinder a broader application
of the formula togatorum, at least in principle, to all Roman recruitment,
and it would be perfectly in line with the widely attested practice of local
recruitment overseas by the Romans, already alluded to above. Such
parallelism is explicitly asserted in the above-quoted passage of Cicero: "This
was done, as I say, repeatedly and always, not only in Sicily, but in all the
provinces, and likewise for the pay and expenses of the allies and Latins, at
the time when we were accustomed to employ auxilia from them." On this
interpretation, it is the chronological priority, scale, and annual regularity
of Italian recruitment, in contrast to the less regular, ofren smaller scale,
local service for local campaigns overseas of the exterae nationes, which is
responsible for the evolved situation with which we are familiar from the
second century BC, where formula togatorum is used customarily in relation
to the Italians and the Italians constitute a standard 50% (or more) of the
Roman field army.
As E. Lo Cascio went on to note, this would mean that what was of
interest to Rome was, precisely, a list of those available to bear arms in
any particular community, which in turn entails the need for a system of
25. Livy, XXII, 57, 10 (216 BC); XXVII, 10, 2-3 (209 BC); XXIX, 15, 6 and 12-13 (204 BC); xxx:rv,
56, 5-6 (193 BC, this last without explicit mention of afommla).
26. LoCAsciO E., op. dt., p. 315; C£ BISPHAM E., op. dt., p. 61-2, 114. It is worth at this point recalling
MoMMSEN's commenrs about the significance and application of the term socius, in MoMMSEN T.,
Droit public romain, Paris, E. Thorin, 1889, VI, 2, p. 285-90.
27. LoCAscio E., op. cit., p. 322-3.
20
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND AUXILIARY SOLDIERS
local census. In this context it is worth noting the existence of local civic
census in some of the provinces, attested in the case of Sicily and Bithynia.
Although this is only explicitly mentioned in relation to taxation, given that
one of the primary functions of a census for any community is detailing
available manpower, it is perhaps legitimate to speculate over whether the
known existence of local censuses in some provinces served to provide
the basis for local recruitment. In the case of Sicily at least, it was islandwide and to some extent supervised by the governing Roman magistrate.
However, it must be acknowledged that there is no explicit mention of this
aspect in any of the surviving references to Republican-era local censuses. 28 '
Roman concern for local recruiting in the provinces is furthermore
explicitly attested to both by the existence of requirements to provide troops
and by exemptions from such provision. It is a repeated feature of Roman
settlements with Iberian communities in the first half of the second century
BC that they are obliged to provide troops; subsequently, we see some
Spanish communities gaining exemptions from this from the Senate. 29
Already in the late third century the Sicilian city ofTauromenium obtained
a clause in its treaty with Rome that exempted it from providing soldiers
(the unavoidable implication being that sucp. demands were expected); and
in the first century their treaty contained an exemption from providing a
ship, in contrast to that of Messana which formally required a ship from
the city. 30 The provision of ships is attested from a variety of communities
across the Mediterranean, as well as southern Italy, in the second century. 31
It should further be noted that the principle of supplementary provincial
recruiting came to be extended to Romans resident in the provinces, not
just from colonies, but also those resident individually. 32 In part this reflects
a natural preference for veteran troops over untried local forces: the negative
ideological discourse regarding such foreign troops is widespread in our
28. For Sicily, see Cicero, 2 Ven:, II, 131-139; Bithynia-Ponrus, Pliny the Younger, Ep., X, 79-80 and
112-115. On the local census in the provinces (but without reference to military contributions), see
MARQUARDT]., De l'organisationfinanciere chez les Romains, Paris, Ernest Thorin, 1888, p. 235-7,
273; LE TEUFF B., "Les recensements dans les provinces de Ia R.epublique romaine: aux origines
de Ia n!forme augusteenne", BARRANDON N. and KIRBHILER F. (dir.), Administrer les provinces de
Ia Rfpttb!iqtte romaine, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2010, p. 195-215, esp. 200-210
on Sicily, Bithynia-Ponrus, and Asia. MoMMSEN Th., op. cit., rv, p. 81-2 for the general point
concerning the direct relevance of the census to military service.
29. Livy XL, 34, 9; XL, 47, 10; Appian, lb., 48, 201; 52, 218. Obligation and subsequent exemption
in Appian, lb., 44, 182-3.
30. Appian, Sic., 5; Cicero, 2ven:, V, 50. MoMMSEN denied that such exemptions from military
service on land existed (in contrast to naval exemptions), as part of an account which, like almost
all those who have followed him, minimized the extent of non-Italian service in Rome's armies
(MoMMSEN Th., op cit., VI, 2, p. 306 n. 2).
31. E.g. Livy, XXXVI, 42, 1; XLII, 48, 7.
32. Livy, XLI, 5, 9-10 and Caesar, BG, III, 20 for Gallic colonies (also BG, VII, 65 for euocati in
Transalpina); Cicero, Att., V, 18, 2; Fam., XV, 1, 5 in Cilicia in 51 BC (c£ BRUNT P. A, op. cit.,
p. 227-33). Compare the Italian resistance on Delos in 88 BC, Athenaeus, V, 214d-215b; and
Sallust, Bj, 21, 26 and 47 for resident togati I ltalici in the Jugurthine war.
21
jONATHAN R W. PRAG
sources, both in relation to loyalty and effectiveness. In part it must also
reflect the wider general practice of using auxilia and oflocal recruitment. 33
Provincial celebration
All of the above has significant implications for the relationship between
Roman officials and provincials, since in this regard the provincial governor
occupies a role equivalent to that of the consul at Rome, both overseeing
recruitment and leading the subsequent campaign. 34 One should not assume
this always to be a negative relationship, either: there are examples of magistrates being unpopular for not undertaking a levy, and local disarmament
was rarely popular nor always carried through. 35 Local militarism hardly
disappeared with the advent of Roman rule, and military service doubtless
provided not only an important outlet for such elements in society, but also
a valuable potential means of integration and incorporation. 36
Aspects of this relationship can be seen in the honours set up for
provincial governors and their subordinates. Honorifics ·are frequently
erected by soldiers, or their communities, in honour of their immediate
commander-most often a native 」ッュセ、・イL@
although reference to
the overall Roman authority is sometimes included. 37 Roman legati, or
other junior officers, are sometimes directly honoured in this way, as the
commanders in the field of such troops. 38 Strikingly, so far as I am aware, we
lack examples of direct honours of this sort for a senior Roman magistrate;
this may be no more than a function of our (lack of) evidence, or else it
may reflect soldiers'· or citizens' concern with honouring their immediate
commanding officer rather than the more remote overall commander. 39
33. Some negative assessments of attxilia: Livy, XLIV; 20, 6; Appian, lb., 48, 201-203; Memnon,
FGrHist, 434, F22, 6-8; Appian, Mithr., I9, 74-5; Frontinus, Strat., II, 7, 3; II, 7, 8; Cicero, Fam.,
XV, I, 5; Att., V, 18, 2; VI, 5, 3; Caesar, BG, III, 20.
34. See already the consideration of provincial auxiliaries specifically in relation to the model of clientela
in YosHIMURA T., "Die Auxiliartruppen und die Provinzialklientel in der ri:imischen Republik",
Historia, n• 10, I96I, p. 473-95. YosHIMURA aimed to expand on a perceived omission in the
classic account of BADIAN E., Foreign Clientelae, Oxford, Clarendon Press, I958 (in which see
esp. p. 39 and 272).
35. Anger of those in Narbonensis at blocking of the levy; Dio Cassius, XXXVI, 37, 2. Displeasure
at disarmament: Livy, XXXIV; I7, 5-I2; XXXIX, 2, I-2; 3, I-3; 54, 3; XL, I6, 6; 4I, 5; Caesar,
BG, II, 32.
36. For the continuance of local militarism in the Greek East, see MA J., "Fighting poleis of the
Hellenistic World", VAN WEES H. (ed.), mtr and Violence in All dent Greece, Swansea, The Classical
Press of Wales, 2000, p. 337-76; for the example of Republican Sicily see further below, and
PRAG J.R.W., op cit., esp. p. 96-9.
37. E.g. Syl/. 3, 744; SEG, XV, 254; XLIV; 867. For a preliminary examination of Republican auxiliary
command structures, see PRAG J.R.W., "Troops and commanders: aztxilia extema under the Roman
Republic", opJ.Loc;-Quademi di Storia Antica, n.s. 2, 20 I 0, p. I-II.
38. E.g. LDt!los, I855-1858; SEG, XXXVII, 760.
39. Cf. FERRARY J.-L., "De l'evergetisme hellenistique a l'evergetisme romain", CHRISTOL M. and
MAssoN 0. (eds), Actes duX: congres international d't!pigraphie grecque et latine, Nimes, 4-9 octobre
1992, Paris, Publications de Ia Sorbonne, I997, p. I99-225, at p. 207 (after Habicht) for the point
22
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND AUXILIARY SOLDIERS
It is equally possible that some of the honorifics for provincial governors
which we do possess were put up as a consequence of such actions, but
without explicit mention of the reason in the inscription itsel£ 40 Provincial
magistrates do however become the target of local anger in the face of
military failure. 41 By contrast, it is usually the senior magistrate in a
prouincia who is honoured when a community is relieved from the burden
of providing troops. 42 This sort of honour is familiar, reflecting the power
of the Roman governor to confer, protect, deny, or ignore privileges for
local communities. Such honours should be linked to the rise of provincial
patronage, and the reciprocal relationships that evolve between provincial '
communities and provincial authorities in the granting of privileges and
patronage and the expectation of honours and support (not least with
reference to the repetundae court, which became the primary forum for
claims against magistrates in this and other areas of activity). 43
Magistrates can also exploit and develop these relationships themselves,
above all with individuals from the local elite, and most obviously through
the provision of rewards for service. Rewards take two main forms: material
rewards, and the granting of Roman citizenship. The latter has generally
of provincial clientelae,
received greater attention, not least in the 、ゥセ」オウッョ@
and it is on the former that I shall concentrate here, as being less studied and
reflecting a more immediate relationship between governor and provincials,
commander and soldiers. 44 Material rewards for provincial auxiliaries present
that honours in this period were commonly linked not to the person/rank bur to the individual's
actions regarding the place in question.
.
40. As exemplified·by the honours forM. Minucius Rufus, cos. I10 and proconsular governor of
Macedonia I 09-I 06 BC, which reflect his military victories in Thrace: BE, I934, p. 230 (Europus)
and Sy!L 3, 710 (Delphi); the "inscriptions" (plural) from Demecrias, which are repeatedly cited in the
modern literarure as JG, IX, 2, II35; BE, 1954, I36a; and BE I955, I 52 (e.g. BROUGHTON T.R.S.,
Magistrates ofthe Roman Republic, Aclanra, Amercian Philological Association, III, I986, p. I44),
and which are said ro be more examples of the same, are in fact a single fragmentary epigram (IG,
IX, 2, I135) for an unlmown individual which includes the words el;]e(.laA!oc; raAihav, and which
]. and L. RoBERT subsequencly noted could hypothetically apply to Minucius (comments in BE
I954, I36a; I955, I52).
41. E.g. Livy, Per. Oxy., LIV (Q Servilius Caepio threatened in Spain, 139 BC); Sallust, Cat., I9, 3
(Cn. Calpurnius Piso killed in Spain, 64 BC; cf. Asconius, 92C; Dio Cassius, XXXVI, 44, 5);
compare Cicero, 2 Verr., V, I00-10I (Verres' discomfort in Syracuse afrer a pirate victory, 7I BC).
42. E.g. Syl/. 3 , 700 {Lete in Macedonia honours M. Annius for protecting the region without levying
further troops, II9 BC); SEG, XLVI, I565 (Alexandria Troas honours Pompeius Magnus, late
60s BC); FERRARY J.-L., "Les inscriptions du sancruaire de Claros en l'honneur de Romains",
BCH, n• I24, 2000, p. 33I-76, at p. 35I-4, notes that the honours for Q. Cicero set up by the
dry of Colophon were most likely inspired parcly by his exemption of the cities ofAsia from naval
contributions (Cicero, Flac. 33; cf. Q fi:, I, I, 26).
43. On this theme, see especially FERRARY J.-L., De l'tvergetisme, op. cit., p. 209-Il.
44. On the reward of citizenship see Cicero, Balb., passim and esp. 5-6, 22-4, 26, and the list of
individuals at 50-51. Compare the material collected in O'BRIEN-MOORE A., "M. Tullius
Cratippus, Priest ofRome", YC), n• 8, 1942, p. 25-49 at 38-49 and in BADIAN E., op. cit., p. 302-8;
KNAPP R.C., "Provincial prosopography in the West", AncSoc, n• 9, 1978, p. I87-222 takes the
approach ro its extreme. The Asculum inscription of Cn. Pompeius Strabo is the best-known
example, albeit from the potentially atypical context of the Social War: ILLRP, 515; CruNm N.,
L'Epigrafe di AsCillum di Gn. Pompeo Strabane, Milan, Vitae Pensiero, 1970.
23
JONATHAN R W. PRAG
an interesting contrast with the socii ac nomen Latinum of Italy. The latter
participated in triumphs in Rome and received a share, usually an equal
share with citizen legionaries, of the booty. 45 Provincial auxilia externa on
the other hand are almost never arrested as participating in a triumph at
Rome-indeed, the only certain exception would seem to be the three Epirote
charioteers who participated in the campaign against Aristonicus at the end
of the 130s BC in Asia, and who "having conquered him with the spear, I
they led him to Rome, these men sprung from the Bouchetioi I and from
long-native Oxylos." 46 1he one other partial exception, the SC de Asclepiade
of 78 BC, whose three honorands were clearly present in Rome at the time
of the decree and were permitted to sacrifice on the Capitolium, illustrates
why this should be so: the majority of the rewards granted to the three Greek
naval captains for their service in the "Italic war" relate to their property and
juridical status at home; for non-citizen soldiers, resident in the provinces,
local material and juridical rewards are of much more immediate benefit. 47
The general dynamic is even more clearly illustrated by the highly
unusual case ofT. Albucius, governor of Sardinia c. 106 BC. 48 Albucius
triumphed in his province, afrer a campaign conducted wholly with local
auxiliaries (although one should perhaps allow for a little Ciceronian
a supplicatio by the Senate
exaggeration), and was subsequently イ・ヲオウセ、@
back in Rome. 49 It is important to be clear about the sequence .of events
in this case (i.e. that the provincial "triumph" preceded the refusal of a
supplicatio) because this enables one to see that the motivation for the
local triumph was not the failure to triumph in Rome, but a desire-or
need-to triumph with the local troops. 50 Attestations of such provincial
45. On Italian participation see ILARI V., op. cit., 140-42, and PFEILSCHIFTER R., "The Allies in the
Republican Army and the Romanization ofitaly", RoTH R. E. and KELLER J. (eds), Roman by
Integration: dimensions ofgroup identity in material mlture and text, Portsmouth RI, ]RA Stppl.,
n• 66,2007, p. 27-42, at 31 and 36-8.
46. SEG, XXXVI, 555, lines 9-11: ilv Kpan'\crav-rEc; llopll 'PcOJ.l.l]V ayoucrtv o'tOE BouxEnrov alto, I
pt..acr-rov-rEc; ᄋッセ{オエN}@
ou -rE -roii 1taA.aixeovoc; (with the correction ofMERKELBACH R., "Epirotiscbe
Hilfstruppen im Krieg der Romer gegen Aristonicos", ZPE, n• 87, 1991, p. 132, who capitalizes
the word 'PcOJll]V); see further ISE, III, n• 147.
47. IGUR, n° 1; see the comments of SHERK R.K, Roman Documents ftom the Greek East, Baltimore,
The Johns Hopkins Press, 1969, p. 131 and 154 n. 14 on the potential numbers of such local
beneficiaries of this sort of reward and the local resentment this could incur.
48. The date of Albucius' governorship is uncertain, but Cn. Pompeius Strabo's quaestorship in his
service is most probably to be placed in 106 BC (see esp. BADIAN E., "Three Non-Trials in Cicero",
Klio, n• 66, 1984, p. 291-309 at 306-9). BRENNAN T.C., 1he Priutorship in the Roman Republic,
Oxford, Oxford Universiry Press, 2000, II, p. 476 is certain that Albucius was there for more than
one year (probably 107-106 BC), although he offers no explanation-the assertion is presumably a
deduction from Cicero's (very) unusual use of"propraetore"in Prou. Cons. 15 (c£ MRR, I, p. 560),
in contrast to his more normal practice of refering to a provincial governor as "praetor"; whether
the variation supports the inference of prorogation in the province seems questionable.
49. See Cicero, Prou. Cons., 15 andln Pisonem, 92; sources for Albucius' subsequent prosecution,
generally assumed to be de repettmdis, in ALExANDER M.C., Trials in the Late Roman Republic,
149 BC to 50 BC, Toronto, Universiry ofToronto Press, 1990, p. 34-5, n• 67.
50. The sequence is clear in Cicero, Prou. Cons., 15, and clarified by BRENNAN T.C., op. cit., II, p. 476
with nn. 3-4.
24
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND AUXILIARY SOLDIERS
"triumphs" are very rare. Suetonius reports that Cn. Dornitius Ahenobarbus
(cos. 122 BC), "having vanquished the Allobroges and the Arverni in
his consulship, rode through the province on an elephant, attended by
a throng of soldiers, in a kind of triumphal procession." 51 This sort of
activity can be linked to another development of the period, namely the
erection of victory monuments on the field ofbattle, which is traditionally
said to begin with the trophies erected in Gaul by Q. Fabius Maximus
and the same Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, c. 121 BC.52 The practice
of provincial trophies seems to have been picked up rapidly by later .
commanders, including Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Lucullus-as well as
by lesser figures such as L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus ·in Macedonia,
whom Cicero compares directly with Albucius. 53 Modern assessments of
such monuments typically view them as symbols of oppression: "These
were concrete vehicles of dominance and subjugation, which made it clear
to provincials exactly who their new master was." 54 However, if (some
of) the provincials were themselves participating in the campaigns which
these monuments commemorated, this picture must be modified. The
example of Sulla at Chaironeia highlights エィゥセ@
very- clearly: Sulla erected two
trophies at Chaironeia, one of which, Plutarch reports, recorded in Greek
that Homolo!chos and Anaxidamos distinguished themselves; earlier in
his account, Plutarch records the actions of a detachment of Chaironeians
in Sulla's service. 55 Not only is the erection of a trophy on the battlefield
in honour of these Chaironeians now confirmed by its actual discovery,
but Plutarch goes on to record what is commonly omitted in modern
accounts, that: "The festival in honour of this victory was celebrated by
Sulla in Thebes, where he prepared a stage near the fountain of Oedipus.
But the judges were Greeks invited from the other cities, since towards
the Thebans he was irreconcUeably hostUe." 56 In other words Sulla, like
51. Suetonius, Nero, 2: "at in consulatu Allobrogibus Antemisque s:peratis elephanto per prottinciam
uecttts est tttrba militum quasi inter sollemnia triumphi prosequenten. As E. PAis noted (Fasti
Triumphales Populi Romani, Rome, Dr. A. Nardecchia, 1920, p. 204, n. 1): "il trionfo provinciale
di Cn. Domizio prova che il caso di Albucio non era isolam e che Cicerone, secondo il suo cosrume
avvocatesco, gravava Ia mano.n
52. Scrabo, IY, 1, 11; Florus, I, 37, 4-6. The link is suggested by BRENNAN T.C., op. cit., II, p. 834
n. 4, who however omits the Suemnius passage and does not consider the further parallels which
follow below.
53. Marius near Mutina, Obsequens, 70; Sulla at Chaironeia, Appian, Mithr., 45, 176; Plutarch, Sulla, 19,
9-10; Pausanias, IX, 40, 7 (and see further below); Pompey in i:he Pyrenees, Scrabo III, 4, 19; Pliny,
NH, III, 18; ARcE J., "Los trofeos de Pompeyo 'in Pyrenaei iugism, AEspA, n° 67, 1994, p. 261-8;
Lucullus, Plutarch, 36, 6; Piso in Macedonia, Cicero, In Pisonem, 92 (and c£ Prou. Cons., 4).
54. So WELCH K., "Introductionn, DILLON S. and WELCH K. (eds), Representations of War in
Ancient Rome, New York, Cambridge University Press, p. 1-26 at 13; Welch is expanding upon
HoLSCHER T., "The transformation of victory into power: from event to scrucruren, ibid., p. 27-48
(at p. 33 describing such monuments as "concrete means of subjugationn).
55. Plutarch, Sulfa, 19, 9-10 for the trophy; 17, 10-18, 2 for the Chaironeians' participation (and
Appian, Mithr., 41, 159 for Sulla's mixed forces more generally in this period).
56. CAMP, J., IERARDI M., MciNERNEY J., MoRGAN K. and UMHOLTZ G., "A trophy from the battle of
Chaironeiaof86 B.C.n,A]A, n° 96, 1992, p. 443-55; Plutarch, Sulla, 19, 11-12 (c£ SANTANGELO E,
25
JONATHAN R W. PRAG
Domitius Ahenobarbus before him, engaged in a local form of celebration
as well as erecting victory monuments, and the role of his local troops was
highlighted and rewarded in this way. Sulla's actions at Thebes, in turn,.
belong in a sequence of local victory celebrations by Roman commanders
in the Hellenistic manner, identified by Jean-Louis FERRARY: L. Aernilius
Paullus' celebrations at Amphipolis in 167 BC; P. Cornelius Scipio
Aernilianus at Carthage in 146 BC; M. Perperna at Pergamum in 129 BC,
and L. Licinius Lucullus at Ephesus in 71 BC. 57 It is surely significant that
in all these cases we know of the participation of auxilia externa in the
campaigns. 58 There are two further instances which it is tempting to place
in this general framework, one more speculative, the second more certain.
The first is the dedications of L. Mummius in Greece and elsewhere in
146 BC, since in this case too we know that Murnmius employed auxilia,
and that he sent spoils to Pergamum in recognition of this. 59 The second
is Cicero's bete noire, C. Verres, whose use of auxiliaries we have already
noted (and see further below). Verres was the recipient of a fornix, i.e.
a triumphal arch, in the forum of Syracuse, adorned with an equestrian
statue of himself and one of his naked son-the first known example
of a Republican arch honouring living individuals. 60 As with Albucius,
this must have been in anticipation of ultimately foiled triumphal hopes,
and should be understood firmly in the context ofVerres' actions, using
local forces, against both pirates and the threat posed by Spartacus and
the slave-uprisings. 61 Cicero's treatment of the arch amongst the variety
of statues and honours apparently extorted from the Sicilians by Verres
undoubtedly obscures its original context: "he [Cicero] does not allow for
sエセャ。L@
the Elites and the Empire, Leiden, Brill, 2007, p. 48). MAcKAY C.S., "Sulla and the Monwnenrs:
Studies in his Public Persona", Historia, 49, 2000, p. 161-210 at 169-71 argues ilnconvincingly
that the monwnent in question is only a personal dedication put up by the Greeks. The second
Chaironeia monwnent recorded by Plutarch has also now been discovered, but remains unpublished.
57. FERRARY J.-L., Philhellinisme et imptrialisme, Rome, Ecole frans:aJse de Rome, 1988, p. 564-5.
For Paullus, Livy, XLV, 32, 8-33, 7; Dio Cassius, XXXI, 8, 9; Plutarch, Aem., 28, 7-8; Scipio
Aernilianus, Livy, Per., LI; Appian, Lib., 135, 642; Perperna, LPriene, 108, I. 223-230; 109,
I. 91-94; Lucullus, Plutarch, L11c., 23, 1; Appian, Mithr., 83, 376.
58. Paullus' auxiliaries: Valerius Maximus, V, I, Id; Livy, XLIV; 36, 8; XLV, 14, 8-9; Polybius, XXIX,
14-15; Plutarch, Aem., 15-16; Justin, 33, 1, 2; Sicilians served in Scipio's navy at Carthage in
146 BC and were rewarded subsequently, Cicero, 2l1,;n:, V, 124-125 (cf FERRARY J.-L., op. dt.,
p. 578-88); Perperna, see esp. SEG, XXXVI, 555 and the material in PRAG J. R. W, Auxilia and
gymnasia, op. dt., p. 84; Lucullus, Appian, Mithr., 77-79, 84, 87; Memnon, FGrHist, 434, F28, 4
and F38, 3 (and c£ F36, 4 for naval forces).
59. For Mumrnius, the texts are conveniently collected and discussed, in this general perspective,
by YARRow L., "Lucius Mumrnius and the Spoils of Corinth", SCI, 25, 2006, p. 57-70; for the
participation of atiXilia and consequent sending of spoils to Pergamwn see Pausanias, VII, 16,
1-2 and 8.
60. Cicero, 2 Vt77., II, 154; DE MARIAS., Gli archi onorari di Roma e del!Ttalia romana, Rome, "I:Erma"
di Bretschneider, 1988, p. 326-7, n° 107.
61. Verres' triwnphal ambitions, Cicero, 2 Vt'1T., V, 5, and observe the more positive note in Sallust,
Hist., N, 32 M; c£ BERRENDONNER C., "Verres, les cites, les srarues, et I' argent", PITIIA S. and
DuBOULOZ D. (eds), La Sicile de Cidron, Lect11res des Verrines, b・ウ。ョセッL@
Presses universitaires de
Franche-Comte, 2007, p. 205-27 at 214.
26
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND AUXILIARY SOLDIERS
the possibility [which he doubtless understood all too well] that honours
served an internal function in the relationship between cities and governor";
and, we might add, between soldiers and commander. 62
Although explicit testimony is relatively, and unsurprisingly, scarce,
auxiliaries were certainly on occasion materially rewarded in the same
military fashion as Roman and Italian troops with dona militaria, in
contione, in the aftermath of battle. 63 Livy records an instance after the battle
near Sycurium in Greece in 171 BC, when the disgraced Aetolian duces
were sent to Rome for punishment, whereas: "The Thessalians were praised
before an assembly (pro contione laudati), and their leaders (duces) were also ·
awarded presents for valour (uirtutis causa donati)." 64 Cicero scathingly
describes Verres giving out rewards to Siculi potentissimi nobilissimique, in
contione at Syracuse in 71 BC, after a campaign against pirates-but for
all Cicero's cynicism (he implies that Verres' intent was to deter them from
testifying against him), the instance makes very clear sense alongside the
extensive evidence for regular Sicilian service under Roman command,
and the material evidence for local Sicilian celebration of military activity,
visible in inscriptions, sculptural monuments, and coins. 65 Cicero himself
was acclaimed imperator in Cilicia for his c;:apt:Ure of Pindenissum in late
51 BC, by an army over half of which was made up of provincial auxiliaries,
including the tetrarch Deiotarus; he then proceeded to spend five days
plundering the region, celebrated the Saturnalia with the soldiers, before
giving all the praeda (captives excluded) to his troops-although he does
not specify further, it is inconceivable that this distribution did not include
his auxiliaries. 66 With the cases of Albucius and Verres in mind, it is notable
62. W.ALI.AcE-HADRIU. A., "Roman arches and Greek honours: the language of power at Rome", PCPS,
n• 36, I990, p. I43-8I, at I54-6.
63. For the general practice, PINA PoLO F., Las contiones civiles y militares en Roma, Zaragoza,
Universidad de Zaragoza, I989, p. 206-8.
64. Livy, XLII, 60, 8-IO. Compare, e.g. Livy, XXIX, 35, 5 (rewards granted to Massinissa, his officers
and troops after Zama); XXXVIII, 23, II (praise of Attalus in contione by Manlius Vulso). For
further examples of rewards in the Republican period, see MAxFIELD VA, The Military Decoratiom
ofthe Roman Army, London, Batsford, I98I, p. I26-7. MAcKAY C.S., op. cit., p. I69 n. 27 asserts
that such rewards are only attested jointly with citizenship, as in the Asculum inscription (ILLRP,
5I5), but this ignores the literary evidence which contradicts that claim, and his discussion is
limited to the problematic case of Syl£3, 744, which records honours of an uncerrain type (could
be either material and/or citizenship) for an Aetolian in the service ofSulla.
65. Verres giving rewards in contione, Cicero, 2Verr., III, I85-I87. Examples of Sicilian celebrations of
military activity: epigraphic, SEG, XXXVII, 760; sculptural/ monumental at Segesta, BECHTOLD B.,
"Una villa ellenistico-romana sull'acropoli sud di Segesta", Atti delle seconde giomate intemazionali
di studi sttil'area elima, Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore, I997, I, p. 85-110 (also in PuGLIESE
CArulATELL! G. (ed.), The Wertem Greeks, Milan, Bompiani, I996, p. 636); atTyndaris, SPIGO U.
(ed.), Tindari. L'area archeologica e i'antiquarium, Milazzo, Rebus Edizioni, 2005, p. 73-4, fig. 3;
numismatic, see e.g. the summary in FREY-KUPPER S., "Appendice I. I ritrovamenti monetali",
BECHTOLD B., La Necropoli di Lilybaettm, Rome, "eErma" di Bretschneider, I999, p. 394-457,
at 4II-I4. Fuller discussion and further examples in PRAG J.R.W., Auxilia and gymnasia, op. cit.,
p. 98-9.
66. Title of imperator, collection and disposal of booty, and the Saturnalia, Cicero, Att., V, 20, 3-5;
make-up of Cicero's army, see esp.Att., V, I8, 2, VI, I, I4, VI, 5, 3, Fam., XV, I, 5, XV, 4, 3.
27
JONATHAN R W. PRAG
that all these elements of celebration are omitted by Cicero in his letters to
M. Porcius Cato and to the Senate. 67
Provincial governors as local military commanders
If an imperial power has any intention of remaining in a region, then
military action has local significance which extends well beyond the phases
of initial conquest. It is undeniable that Rome, in maintaining control over,
and protecting, its imperial domain, made use of local troops. Indeed, it
should be clear that Rome made use of such local forces considerably more
frequently than is usually acknowledged-the evidence fprlocallevying is
sufficient to establish the point, although it can be greatly supplemented by
the evidence for actual participation on the battlefield (not discussed here).
Local levying, at the direction of the senior Roman authority in the region,
naturally creates a set of interactions between Roman authority, local elite,
and wider population, that can be both positive and negative-the same is
of course true of Roman levying in Italy-and those relationships are, to
some extent, reflected in the surviving hon9rifics for Romans and others
that we find in the provinces. 68 Evidence of attempts to recognize, develop,
or even exploit, the ensuing relationship is provided by the examples of
celebration and reward discussed in the second part of this paper. Such
actions derive their models from not only Roman but also local practices,
and so operate in multiple directions when considering dynamics of
acculturation, as for example in the Roman adoption of Hellenistic modes
of celebration. Although it is true that such actions also provide a very
clear channel for the development of relationships between Roman and
local elites, which on occasion one might choose to characterize· as clientela,
in this respect also, the currents of influence and power may in fact be
multi-directional. The extent to which the Roman provincial governor was
in fact at the potential mercy of those able to provide provincial forces is
well illustrated by the events of 88 BC in Asia; 69 Roman governors were
not simply engaging in self-aggrandizing triumphalism, but rather there
was a need to offer local rewards (which might well not be looked upon
favourably at Rome), which a Roman governor would ignore at his peril. In
his letter to Quintus in Asia, Cicero emphasizes the complexity of satisfying
the competing interests of the provincials and the publicani; satisfYing the
competing interests aroused by military affairs was surely no less d.i.fficult. 70
67. As nored by BRENNAN T. C., op. cit., p. 833 n. 3.
68. PFEILSCHIFfER R, op. cit., esp. p. 35, challenges rhe usual view rhar Italian allied service was a
channel for integration.
·
69. REYNoLDs J., Aphrodisias and Rome, London, Society for rhe Promotion of Roman Studies, 1982,
n" 2 and 3 (Q. Oppius and Aphrodisias) can srand as examples.
70. Cicero, Q fi: I, I, 32.
28