on his shield to maim a man.
Being a witty rogue, Fabius was popular, andthough he never actually stole anything, an offence punishable by death, he had the ability, when it came to interpreting the rules, to sail very close to the wind, especially in the matter of acquiring extras like food. Added to that, he had an utter disdain for permanent ownership, happy to share with his fellows, particularly one that seemed a little down. He also maintained, unchanged from his days in the taverns and wine shops of Rome, his ability to drink to excess – no mean feat in a legionary camp where such things were rigidly controlled.
Quintus Cornelius, whose consular legions these were, came frequently to examine his troops. The tribunes assembled their men before the oration platform to witness the appointment of the centurions, men who only held their office on a temporary basis, facing reselection by ballot every year. In practice, unless the tribunes thought they had failed or held them to be too old, those who had held senior positions were usually reappointed. It was a matter of some importance to the men; the last thing they wanted was to be led by some idiot whose only talent lay in pleasing tribunes.
To the rankers, these noble electors were a group of men much easier to hoodwink than theofficers they were set to appoint. Tribunes were the sons of senators and the wealthier knights; they varied in age from youths on their first military posting, to men who had started on the cursus honorum and held office as aediles. No man, in theory, could stand for office until two years had passed since his last appointment, and the best way to enhance a reputation, and repair the costs of being a magistrate, was in the army, on a successful campaign.
Aquila could not keep his eyes off the cavalry, the wealthiest of the intake. They had to be able to supply their own horses, as well as their weapons. The sons of knights, they seemed overdressed and pampered, and, to his mind, indifferent horsemen. They had little to do with the other legionaries, holding themselves aloof from the foot soldiers, even when those men were set to guard their animals. The social difference was maintained in camp somewhat more rigidly than it was upheld in the city, but, in company with the auxiliary cavalry – mercenaries drawn from places like Numidia and Thrace – they would perform their task when the time came, undertaking reconnaissance and screening the legion before a battle.
The men cheered and groaned as the appointments were made, depending on theirmaniple, but all agreed that the tribunes had done a good thing in reappointing old Labenius to the senior centurion’s job, the primus pilus . He had more decorations than anyone in the army, was as fanatically brave as he was fair-minded, and not above giving an upstart young officer a tongue-lashing if they sought to condescend to him.
The new consul ordered the centurions to put them through their paces, proving that he had a sharp eye by the way he dispensed praise and opprobrium. Soon they would begin the long overland march to the north, picking up the mercenary cavalry plus two auxiliary legions supplied by Rome’s allies. The whole would form a column five leagues long, with catapults and siege equipment, while the baggage train, camp followers, merchants and prostitutes, plus all the mules needed as transport would add a tail some thirty leagues long in the army’s wake.
A Roman army trained en route; first, in the way it was assembled and marched, secondly, in the way it pitched camp. Those responsible for surveying, tribunes and centurions, would ride ahead, select a site for the camp and mark out the perimeter, then they would raise a red flag on the side nearest to water, and lay out the positions forthe roads and the ramparts. Each unit, as it marched onto the site, would take up its appointed task, the consul’s tent being pitched on the highest point. A deep trench was then
Being a witty rogue, Fabius was popular, andthough he never actually stole anything, an offence punishable by death, he had the ability, when it came to interpreting the rules, to sail very close to the wind, especially in the matter of acquiring extras like food. Added to that, he had an utter disdain for permanent ownership, happy to share with his fellows, particularly one that seemed a little down. He also maintained, unchanged from his days in the taverns and wine shops of Rome, his ability to drink to excess – no mean feat in a legionary camp where such things were rigidly controlled.
Quintus Cornelius, whose consular legions these were, came frequently to examine his troops. The tribunes assembled their men before the oration platform to witness the appointment of the centurions, men who only held their office on a temporary basis, facing reselection by ballot every year. In practice, unless the tribunes thought they had failed or held them to be too old, those who had held senior positions were usually reappointed. It was a matter of some importance to the men; the last thing they wanted was to be led by some idiot whose only talent lay in pleasing tribunes.
To the rankers, these noble electors were a group of men much easier to hoodwink than theofficers they were set to appoint. Tribunes were the sons of senators and the wealthier knights; they varied in age from youths on their first military posting, to men who had started on the cursus honorum and held office as aediles. No man, in theory, could stand for office until two years had passed since his last appointment, and the best way to enhance a reputation, and repair the costs of being a magistrate, was in the army, on a successful campaign.
Aquila could not keep his eyes off the cavalry, the wealthiest of the intake. They had to be able to supply their own horses, as well as their weapons. The sons of knights, they seemed overdressed and pampered, and, to his mind, indifferent horsemen. They had little to do with the other legionaries, holding themselves aloof from the foot soldiers, even when those men were set to guard their animals. The social difference was maintained in camp somewhat more rigidly than it was upheld in the city, but, in company with the auxiliary cavalry – mercenaries drawn from places like Numidia and Thrace – they would perform their task when the time came, undertaking reconnaissance and screening the legion before a battle.
The men cheered and groaned as the appointments were made, depending on theirmaniple, but all agreed that the tribunes had done a good thing in reappointing old Labenius to the senior centurion’s job, the primus pilus . He had more decorations than anyone in the army, was as fanatically brave as he was fair-minded, and not above giving an upstart young officer a tongue-lashing if they sought to condescend to him.
The new consul ordered the centurions to put them through their paces, proving that he had a sharp eye by the way he dispensed praise and opprobrium. Soon they would begin the long overland march to the north, picking up the mercenary cavalry plus two auxiliary legions supplied by Rome’s allies. The whole would form a column five leagues long, with catapults and siege equipment, while the baggage train, camp followers, merchants and prostitutes, plus all the mules needed as transport would add a tail some thirty leagues long in the army’s wake.
A Roman army trained en route; first, in the way it was assembled and marched, secondly, in the way it pitched camp. Those responsible for surveying, tribunes and centurions, would ride ahead, select a site for the camp and mark out the perimeter, then they would raise a red flag on the side nearest to water, and lay out the positions forthe roads and the ramparts. Each unit, as it marched onto the site, would take up its appointed task, the consul’s tent being pitched on the highest point. A deep trench was then
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