Description
Auxiliaries supplemented the Legions of the late Republic and Principate and were recruited from non-citizens, usually provincial volunteers or from allied kingdoms. With the pressures of war requiring increasing numbers, especially in the aftermath of the Social War of 91-88BC, recruitment from Rome’s expanding provinces became a necessity. To limit the risk of rebellion, auxiliary units were recruited from a single province but always stationed far from home. Auxiliaries could be infantry, cavalry or specialists such as archers, and retained their own cultural identities and equipment. Being stationed in Roman provinces, under Roman rule, had an inevitable Romanising effect on auxiliaries, as did the rewards of service: land and citizenship. Some units eventually had 'Civium Romanorum' as a title, meaning they were Roman citizens. From as early as Caesar’s Gallic campaigns auxiliaries accounted for nearly all Roman cavalry, and during the 2nd century AD auxiliary numbers actually exceeded those of the Legions.
